The Mail

Harlem has had a mail system since 1673. In order for mail to travel, however, the road to Harlem to New York and beyond had to be finished, or at least made usable. Eventually, a monthly mail between New York and Boston was officially announced and the earliest letters set out on the first of January, 1673.

The novelty of the mounted postman reining up at the tavern at Harlem, with his dangling “portmantles,” crammed with “letters and small portable goods,” but tarrying only so long as necessary to deliver his mail and refresh himself and horse, added another to the sights and incidents which dutifully noted by all in town.

By-Mail Absentee Voting (Using the USPS)

After making your votes on the ballot, fold the ballot and put it in a smaller envelope. Sign and date the back of the envelope. Seal the envelope and put it in the larger envelope that is addressed to the Board of Elections. Mail or deliver your ballot to your borough Board of Elections office.

An absentee ballot must be postmarked by Election Day and must reach the Board of Elections no more than 7 days after the election to be counted.

To learn more:

https://vote.nyc/

And, to find your polling place:

https://findmypollsite.vote.nyc/

The NYPD Wants Your Opinions

“Police and Community Working Together”

Your input is invaluable and your perspective is vital in assisting the Police Department in its efforts to reform and reinvent its policies. We have launched a brand new initiative to collect feedback from New Yorkers. We will incorporate what we learn into a plan of action to make the NYPD more transparent and fair for everyone. We want to hear all feedback. What is working? What isn’t working? How can officers better work with the community members they are sworn to serve? What are best practices we can replicate across the city? While in-person attendance is limited due to COVID-19, all meetings are streamed on Zoom and Facebook. The schedule is below along with the links to join and participate.

Wednesday October 28th in Manhattan North – Click here to RSVP

To join through Facebook, please visit : https://m.facebook.com/NYPD/

For more information click here: https://www1.nyc.gov/nypd/reformcollaborative


Thank you in advance for your help.

Phone Banking for the Election 2020

Join volunteers from around New York State as we virtually make calls to swing states for Biden+Harris. Now through Election Day.

New volunteers welcome! Click the link below to see the schedule and sign-up.

https://newyorkforbiden2020.com/#phonebank

Mail In Your Vote and Honor Wesley A. Williams

The image (above) from The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is of Wesley A. Williams, a Black mail carrier/driver from 1915. Wesley was photographed under the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, a notoriously racist American President who re:segregated the Post Office (from Vox – https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2015/11/20/9766896/woodrow-wilson-racist):

Easily the worst part of Wilson’s record as president was his overseeing of the resegregation of multiple agencies of the federal government, which had been surprisingly integrated as a result of Reconstruction decades earlier. At an April 11, 1913, Cabinet meeting, Postmaster General Albert Burleson argued for segregating the Railway Mail Service. He took exception to the fact that workers shared glasses, towels, and washrooms. Wilson offered no objection to Burleson’s plan for segregation, saying that he “wished the matter adjusted in a way to make the least friction.”

Both Burleson and Treasury Secretary William McAdoo took Wilson’s comments as authorization to segregate. The Department of Treasury and Post Office Department both introduced screened-off workspaces, separate lunchrooms, and separate bathrooms. In a 1913 open letter to Wilson, W.E.B. DuBois — who had supported Wilson in the 1912 election before being disenchanted by his segregation policies — wrote of “one colored clerk who could not actually be segregated on account of the nature of his work [and who] consequently had a cage built around him to separate him from his white companions of many years.” That’s right: Black people who couldn’t, logistically, be segregated were put in literal cages.

I, of course, don’t know what Wesley’s take would be on our current president and his efforts to sabotage the US Postal Service in order to give him an electoral advantage, but I hope that in Wesley’s spirit (if you are going to vote by mail) that you vote as early as possible, and as carefully as possible, in order to insure that your vote counts in 2020.

This image is a part of Photoville – this year an outdoor exhibition of photography throughout the 5 boroughs. See: https://photoville.nyc/exhibitions/ for more information.

The photo of Welsey is featured in St. Nicholas Park.

Billy Eckstine

Photoville’s exhibit on 145th Street at Bradhurst features a number of wonderful images of mid-century Black America. Billy Eckstine was ‘a neighbor’, living at the corner of 5th Avenue and 126th Street:

25th Precinct Officers and Community Council Clothing Giveaway

Signs Seen Around The Neighborhood

These signs speak for themselves.

And to sum it all up, a great list from Astor Row:

Events at the Harlem Rose Garden

The Harlem Rose Garden (East 129th Street at 5th Avenue) is hosting a number of events in October. Garden members thought it would be a great idea to host a series of laughter filled movie nights and their annual Halloween bash! 

The events are limited to 25 people. All events will be first come first served and you are required to wear a mask unless eating or drinking. 

To stay COVID friendly we are encouraging members to bring their own personal snacks or dinners. 

Here is the schedule of upcoming events:

Friday 10/16 – Crazy Rich Asians

Seating 6:30 PM.  Start 7:00 PM

Saturday 10/17 – Garden Halloween Decoration  (Help decorate for our upcoming Halloween Bash) 12 PM-2 PM.

Thursday – 10/22  – Movie: We will do a pick of the week, more than likely something scary in the spirit of Halloween!Wednesday

Seating 6:30PM Start 7PM

10/28 *Kids Movie Night *Seating 6:30PM Start 7PM 1HR Movie – Addam’s Family 
Saturday10/31

Halloween NIghtmare on 129th Street *Candy handout for trick or treaters * Covid friendly games * Custom contests 

Please let the garden know if you are free to volunteer for Halloween, we will also need candy donations!