Harlem’s Council Member – Adriano Espaillat – endorsed Inez Dickens – the latest Harlem establishment figure to support Dickens in her bid for City Council on June 27th.
Espaillat stated that: “Inez is who we need… City Council needs her leadership, experience and passion.”
Inez Dickens is seeking to reclaim her seat on City Council (District 9). Dickens noted that:
“We have very serious issues in the district that require more than aspirational speeches.”
“With the support of my colleagues, the esteemed former Congressman Charles Rangel and Congressman Adriano Espaillat, as well as my neighborhood and constituents, I feel confident that better days are ahead for us.”
Remember, election day is June 27th!
Eater is Back With “Where To Eat In Harlem”
Take a look at Eater’s list of great places to eat in Harlem:
Cayuga Centers is working with the American-Italian Cancer Foundation to bring their Mobile Mammography Van to Cayuga Centers for a 2nd year on Thursday, April 27th!
To register for an appointment, email [email protected]. This event is FREE and Open to the Public. Location: 1900 Park Ave (Parking Lot on the corner of 129th)
No insurance, no problem! The American Italian Cancer Foundation is supported by funds from New York State, and you will be able to have this important health screening completed at no charge.
If you have any questions, please contact Jasmine Lawrence at [email protected].
Mark Your Calendar!! Heart to Heart Concert is LIVE again from Symphony Space!HEART TO HEART CONCERT – The Sounds of Gospel! Date: Saturday, September 17, 2022 Time: The concert begins at 6:00pm EST Location: Peter Norton Symphony Space Address: 2537 Broadway, NY, NY (Located on the southwest corner of 95th St and Broadway)
We’re back and ready to “Raise the Praise!” Labor of Love Association hosts Heart to Heart Concert – New York’s Premiere Event for Authentic Traditional/Contemporary Gospel Music!
What A Thrilling Line-Up! Our Featured Performers for the 2022 Concert The Labor of Love Ensemble, Reverend Vandell Atkins, Brother Jospeh Ellis, Brother Alson Farley, Jr, Elder George Heyward, The Richard Curtis Singers, and Brother Henry Mitchell
This year Heart to Heart presents, “The Sounds of Gospel!” Join us as we celebrate the origins of Gospel, one of the most prolific genres of American music! Don’t miss this evening that will take you on a journey through the phases of Gospel from the early days of “call and response” to the energizing sounds of contemporary Gospel music!
Plan now to be with us on Saturday, September 17 for an evening of high-energy gospel music and a fascinating trip down musical memory lane! You don’t want to miss this year’s concert experience. Tickets are available now.
We can’t wait to see you in person in September! The Labor of Love Ensemble
This summer has two primaries instead of one. We chose candidates for statewide races like Assembly and governor in June. On August 23, we’ll choose nominees for Congress and the State Senate. Early voting runs between August 13 but, before you head to the polls, however, make sure you double check your polling location using the city Board of Elections poll site locator tool — and keep in mind that, often, your early voting site will be different than your election day site.
Where’s Your District, and Who’s Running?If you’re not sure where your new political districts are after the big political reshuffling earlier this year, find out with this redistricting tool and interactive map. You can also use the map to find out who’s running for each office. Or, you can find your sample ballot from the city BOE — with a list of candidates who will appear for each contest — by plugging in your address here, then clicking the dark blue “View Sample Ballot” button on the right hand side of the page.
Note that a potentially primary-changing election law fluke last week that will effectively turn August’s election into an open primary.Because of a loophole opened during the court-mandated redistricting reshuffling this year, voters can switch parties and vote in whatever primary they choose in August — and can do so up until or on primary day. That means a voter registered as a Republican right now could, in theory, switch their party to Democrat and vote in the Democratic primary this month, for example. In a low-turnout primary, it could have a major effect on races’ outcomes. Here’s a guide from WNYC/Gothamist about how to switch parties, and the limitations of the rule change.
The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association has a foot in two political doors – State Assembly District 68 (formerly held by Robert Rodriguez) , and State Assembly District 70 (held by Inez Dickens).
To see which district you’re in (and yes, the boundaries just changed with the whole redistricting process), take a look at the two maps, below (68 East Harlem – is first):
And below is the 70th district (central Harlem):
The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association is co-sponsoring two candidates’ forums (one for each district). Click the links below to pre-register for the event/s:
68th Assembly District Forum
When: Jun 9, 2022 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Every day that New Yorkers and visitors ride the subway, some of them review their experience. You may have done this, or can imagine doing this – reporting on cleanliness, complaining about a late train, noticing rats, etc.
A company called FleetLogging collated Google reviews of subway stations and used a social media analysis tool called TensiStrength to rank subway lines by the number of stressors and their severity.
Below are their top 10 most stressful lines with the Lex 4/5/6 line being the 6th most stressful:
And here is the full list:
Ballot Initiatives
On November 2nd you will be able to vote for 5 proposals:
A borough president is an advocate for their borough in a number of ways.
First, they have a sizable chunk of change at their disposal to fund local initiatives, groups and projects like buying technology for public schools, renovating local parks or spearheading community health outreach. Borough presidents share about 5% of the city budget to fund things in their borough — about $4 billion among them, according to the city’s Campaign Finance Board.
Borough presidents can also introduce bills in the City Council, though they do not get a vote.
They weigh in on land use proposals — in other words, development projects that need public approval — with an advisory vote and written decision. Their input is not binding, but it can be quite influential if they are staunchly for or against a project and lobby Council members or the mayor.
Working with local City Council members, Borough presidents also appoint all members of community boards, the local bodies that weigh in on everything from new bike lanes to liquor licenses for restaurants. With that power, the borough presidents can exert significant sway over neighborhood-level politics and projects.
In addition to their formal powers, the borough presidents play an important role as a champion and booster for their borough, calling news conferences to shed light on issues they believe need attention and making appearances at ribbon cuttings, groundbreakings and cultural events.
Join the Greater Harlem Coalition’s look at the intersection of Harlem and East Harlem’s quality of life issues and the 2021 NYC elections. Click here to learn more tonight.
City Comptroller
The person who oversees City Hall’s wallet is called the comptroller, a position currently filled by Scott Stringer.
Four contenders are vying to replace the term-limited Stringer (who is running for mayor). And while the ultra-crowded mayor’s race will undoubtedly steal most of the attention this election cycle, choosing our next comptroller is critical for city voters.
The primary vote is set for June 22 of this year. Given New York’s firmly Democratic lean, whichever comptroller candidate nabs a win then will have a strong advantage heading into November’s general election. A Republican has not been elected comptroller since 1938.
New York City’s comptroller is our municipal auditor and fiduciary.
The Office of the Comptroller does several things, but its chief responsibilities are to prepare audits and oversee how city agencies are spending their money, manage the city’s public pension funds — the largest in the world at $224.8 billion as of October, Stringer’s office says — and issue bonds to help pay for large projects. The comptroller also reviews city contracts.
To do all this and more, the comptroller employs a staff of about 800. The comptroller has another important role: serving as second in line of succession to the mayor, after the Public Advocate.Here’s a comprehensive list of duties from the comptroller’s office.
Benjamin, our Harlem neighbor and State Senator represents Harlem, East Harlem and the Upper West Side. The former investment banker and affordable housing developer pledged to return some donations in early January after THE CITY found donors named in campaign records who said they’d never given money to his campaign.
Lander currently serves as the City Council member representing Carroll Gardens, Park Slope and Kensington. Previous to government work, he directed a community planning center at Pratt Institute.
Parker, a Brooklyn native, is the current State Senator representing Flatbush and surrounding neighborhoods from Ditmas Park to Park Slope. Before taking elected office, Parker worked for local officials, including the then-state Comptroller H. Carl McCall and then-Flatbush Council member Una Clarke.
Weprin, a native of Queens, currently serves as the State Assembly member representing northeast Queens. He previously represented the area in the City Council, worked in the financial services industry and, in the 1980s, served on the state’s Banking Board.
As Seen on 2nd Avenue in East Harlem
Unfortunately, no, the 2nd Avenue Subway isn’t yet in East Harlem. This remnant of an earlier attempt to build the 2nd Avenue Subway is at 117th Street, and was part of the “cut and cover” trenching done in the 1970s
The new 2nd Avenue Subway will incorporate some of this earlier tunneling into the project.
Council members are responsible for proposing and voting on bills relating to all aspects of civic life, for example: policing, housing, street safety and environmental issues like the plastic bag ban.
Bills passed by the Council go to the mayor for to be signed into law. The Council can override a veto from the mayor with a vote of at least two-thirds of the members.
The Council also negotiates with the mayor to pass the city budget every year. Each Council member has his or her own discretionary budget to fund local projects and groups. The Council holds oversight hearings through its many committees. And, critically, the body votes to approve or reject development projects that need public approval.
You can think of the Council as like Congress for the City of New York, as this guide from the Council puts it. The city’s Campaign Finance Board created the below video outlining some of the duties and responsibilities of the City Council:
Sumptuous Gifts from a Black Women-Owned Harlem Business
If you want a gift from Harlem to take to a friend’s (now that you’re both fully vaccinated), the Harlem Chocolate Factory on ACP at 139, is a great place to consider.
The City has a great newsletter (below) that details everything you ever needed to know about registering to vote, and how to help register others: your colleagues, friends, neighbors, family, etc.
Can you vote in New York’s June 22 primary election?
We’re officially six weeks out from Election Day on June 22.
But there’s another date you need to mark on your calendar: May 28. That’s the last day you can register to vote in the June 22 primary.
To help make sure that as many New Yorkers as possible participate in choosing our next leaders, we’re going to break down who has the right to vote in New York, how to register and how to help someone register to vote.
If you’re already registered to vote, feel free to share this with others. As we’ve said what seems like a million times, these elections will be momentous in shaping the future of the city.
Who has the right to vote in New York?
To be able to cast a ballot in New York, you need to be a U.S. citizen who has lived in the city/state for at least 30 days, not currently incarcerated for a felony conviction and at least 18 years old.
If you turn 18 on or before June 22, you’ll be able to vote, so make sure you register now. And remember, all 16 and 17 year olds can pre-register to vote, which means you automatically become a registered voter the day you turn 18.
Can I vote if I am an immigrant?
If you have become a naturalized U.S. citizen since moving here, you can vote.
Otherwise, you can’t vote in New York… yet. A coalition of nonprofit organizations has been pushing to expand city voting to nearly 900,000 immigrants across the five boroughs, including green card holders, DACA recipients and people with certain work permits.
Paul Westrick, senior manager of democracy policy at the New York Immigration Coalition, said: “It’s a huge population of New Yorkers who may not have the piece of paper that they’re a citizen, but they’re New Yorkers. We have folks who are woven into the fabric of New York City and who are being taxed but not represented.”
The expansion has broad support in the City Council, among a few borough presidents, numerous local state and federal elected officials and even from some mayoral candidates, but it will not pass before the 2021 elections. If the measure passes later, it would mean non-citizen immigrants with certain statuses could vote in New York City municipal elections, but not in statewide or national contests. Keep your eyes out for 2023.
What if I’ve been convicted of a felony?
Big news: Just last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law that gives people back their right to register to vote as soon as they’re released from prison. That includes everyone still on parole or probation, even those convicted of a felony.
“Anyone who has been formerly incarcerated and is now out in the community has the right to vote. There’s no sort of question or anything like that,” said Nick Encalada-Malinowski, Civic Rights Campaign Director for VOCAL-NY.
In 2018, Cuomo issued an executive order that granted the right to vote to most but not all people on parole through a pardon process. It was a little confusing, so the new law clears it up and makes the right permanent for anyone who has been formerly incarcerated.
Once again, because there is a lot of confusion and misinformation about this: State law now says if you were incarcerated and now you’re out, you have the right to register to vote.
When someone is released from prison, they do need to *re-register* to vote, even if they were a registered voter before they were incarcerated.
What if I’ve moved? Do I need to re-register?
If you’ve moved from out of state, you need to re-register, but if you’ve moved from somewhere else in New York, you just need to file a change of address request with the BOE/Post Office/DMV so you can vote in your current district. You can do that here.
How do I register to vote?
You have a few options…
If you have a New York driver’s license or state ID from the Department of Motor Vehicles, you can register online using a tool from NYC Votes and TurboVote, here.
If you don’t have a New York driver’s license or state ID, the law requires that you sign an actual form and mail it to the Board of Elections office.
You can use this site to have the forms mailed to you, or you can download and print the forms yourself to fill out and mail in. If you request to have them sent to you, they come with a pre-addressed envelope to send them back.
You will be asked to plug in your name as it appears on your state ID. If you don’t have one, that’s ok. Just put how your name appears on official documents.
If you need language access or you want to help someone register to vote in another language, you can download the registration forms and FAQs in a bunch of languages here.
You can also request voter registration forms in various languages by calling 1-866-VOTENYC.
Lastly, you can pick up voter registration forms at any library branch, any post office or any city agency office.
After you fill them out, mail them to the BOE’s main office:
Board of Elections 32 Broadway, 7 Fl New York, NY 10004-1609
And make sure it’s postmarked by May 28.
Other materials needed: If you don’t have a state ID, you will need to provide the last four digits of your social security number.
To vote in the June 22 election, you have to register with a party.
If you want to vote in the primary election next month, you need to register with a party. This is because New York has what’s called a closed primary.
For example, to choose from the 13 Democratic candidates for mayor, you need to be registered as a Democrat. If you’re not affiliated with a party or you’re registered as an independent, you can’t vote in the primaries.
According to city Campaign Finance Board officials, there are nearly 5 million registered voters in New York City as of March. Of those, about 3.3 million are registered Democrats and eligible to vote in the Democratic primaries. There are just under 500,000 registered Republicans in the city who may vote in Republican primaries. About a million voters are either registered with a third party or have no party affiliation, so they can’t vote in the primary. So if you’re planning on voting June 22, check your party.
The deadline to switch parties was Feb. 14, so it’s too late to change your party before the primary.
Don’t miss the deadline!
Once again, you have to register by May 28. New York does not have same-day registration. If you aren’t already registered and you don’t apply either online or send your forms in postmarked by May 28, you will not be able to vote in the June 22 primary. Remember: Early voting starts June 12.
What are *your* election questions?
If you have any questions about the election process, the candidates or any other information when it comes to voting in New York, let us know by replying to this email or sending a note to [email protected].
To subscribe to The City’s awesome newsletter, go to:
You can join the virtual Rat Academy, put on by the Department of Health on May 24th and sponsored by the amazing MMPCIA. Learn about preventing rats, and dealing with rats if they arrive. It’s a great and very informative program. Highly recommended for the rat-curious and it certainly falls into the news-you-can-use category of time spent.
