Ask The 2021 Mayoral Candidates Your Questions

While the most important election of our lifetime is now only 47 days away, our city will also be reshaped by the 2021 elections which include electing a new mayor.

The City (an online NYC new organization) is soliciting your questions for mayoral hopefuls.  
Please take a moment and go to:  

https://www.thecity.nyc/politics/2020/9/14/21437265/ask-the-next-mayor-new-york-city-2021-city-hall

and (among other things) please ask the candidates to address the issue of how systemic racism has resulted in an oversaturation of addiction programs being located here, in Harlem and East Harlem, and what (as mayor) they would do to ensure that wealthier and whiter communities take their fair share of new and existing programs.

We want this issue to be on their radar, early in the process.

Racism, Heat, and Barriers to Access

WeAct for Environmental Justice has an interesting paper out on how public access to open, green spaces maps remarkably onto redlined Manhattan:

The heat stressed communities (mapped in dark red) are clearly similar to the redlined map (above):

Correlation is not causation, of course, but it does point to how systemic (and multimodal) the complex issues of racism, history, policy, economics, and more are. All these causes and consequences are not just intertwined, but also reinforcing.

As the authors note:

Northern Manhattan is home to beautiful parks, but many less visible barriers remain, limiting access to these spaces for surrounding residents. Another recent analysis revealed “parks serving primarily nonwhite populations are half the size of parks that serve majority white populations and are five times more crowded.” This poses significant safety challenges to urban residents of color who are turning to these public green spaces to practice social distancing and cool down amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, people of color may be deterred from spending time in green spaces by fear of unfair treatment by police. Other occupants of the green space, namely white people, also pose potential threats to the safety of people of color, as demonstrated by the recent example of Amy Cooper threatening Christian Cooper in Central Park.

For the whole paper and more analysis, see:

https://www.weact.org/2020/08/public-green-spaces-racism-heat-and-barriers-to-access/

Hello Harlem friends, neighbors, and yogis, this could be you! 

Lucia Russett has been teaching outdoor, in-person yoga classes through Harlem Yoga Studio–and they’re now extending their schedule! 

Lucia will be there every Monday starting tomorrow, 9/14, from 5:30-6:45pm, as long as the weather holds. Here are the details:

  • We’ll meet in the NE corner of the park at 124th and Madison. At 5:30, we’ll walk up the path together to the fire watch tower area, which has a quiet, open space for yoga.
  • Bring your own mat. The ground there is paved, so extra padding would be helpful.
  • Sign up in advance on the HYS website.
  • Other park classes (with a rotation of teachers) are Wed. evenings at 5:30, and Sunday and Tuesday mornings (on the grass) at 10.
  • Mats will be spaced; wear a mask until you’re on your mat.
  • http://harlemyogastudio.com/schedule/

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