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The Brooklyn Democratic Party held its annual Gala at Giando on the Water this past Monday, featuring attendees such as New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries calling for action in the current presidential election.

“I am so angry about that spectacle that occurred in our revered arenas that host our Rangers and our Knicks,”said Hochul, alluding to former President Donald Trump’s recent MAGA rally at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. “They have sullied that place by their presence. And here’s why: They didn’t talk about their vision for America. They spent time and energy mocking America. Insulting Americans. And I want to tell you right now, we will fight back with every fiber of our body.”

Jeffries added that the “extreme MAGA far-right agenda” in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate is absolutely a concern. “If Roe v. Wade can fall, then anything can fall,” he said. “Social Security can fall. Medicare can fall. Democracy itself, as we know it, can fall, so we need your help taking the House, holding the Senate, electing Senator Gillibrand, and making sure we have enlightened leadership at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”

Ariama C. Long photos

The Gala featured presentation of plaques to a whole stage full of county committee members and district leaders, including Joseph Bova, Alan Rocoff, Anthony Beckford, Michael Boomer, Renee Collymore, and Jennifer Rappaport.

The event also honored several local unions and small businesses, including TWU Local 100, NYC District Council of Carpenters, Mason Tenders District Council, CWA Local 1109, Teamsters Local 237, Allan’s Bakery, Banco Popular, R.F. Wilkins Consultants, Marine Florists, and ParCare Community Health Network.

“We want to thank all of our labor leaders for making sure that workers are afforded their rights with care, benefits, and good pay,” said Assemblymember and Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn. “We thank you. We honor you. And we also thank you for supporting the Democratic Party.”

The post BK Dems hold Gala 2024 appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

Golden Day — the last day to register to vote in New York State and the first day of early voting — kicked off this past Saturday with the highest turnout at the polls in New York City history.

Local social justice organizations, such as National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Brooklyn Branch as one of many making themselves visible, didn’t miss the opportunity to get the vote out in Brownsville. NAACP Brooklyn Branch President L. Joy Williams and Councilmember Darlene Mealy led their on-the-ground efforts. They were joined by sorority and fraternity members, Medgar Evers students, and the New Grassroots Democratic Club.

“This is a historic time,” Mealy said.

Volunteers poured into the basement of Mount Ararat on Howard Avenue, ready to text, phone-bank, and street-canvass in Brownsville to let voters know about the start of early voting and the last day of voter registration. Their goal was to reach at least 30,000 New Yorkers and remind them to get to the polls. After Golden Day on October 26, voter’s ballots will not count toward the general and presidential election on November 5, 2024.

“It’s called Golden Day, and being a part of Sigma Gamma Rho, ‘we are golden’ — our colors are royal-blue and gold, so it speaks to who we are and what we are,” said Alyssa Abernathy-Boston, founder of the Life Equip Group and a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. “I’m absolutely passionate about giving back and being a part of such a momentous time in history. I would not have it any other way. [B]eing here is me contributing to change.”

Golden Day is a new practice in the city. Assemblymember Robert Carroll introduced the Bill S. 5984-A/A. 6132-A to create a “Golden Day” on the first day of the early voting period so New Yorkers could register to vote and cast their ballots at their polling places on the same day without hassle.

It was introduced in 2023 as a part of a larger legislative package designed to strengthen voting rights and was signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul last September. Bills in the package that were passed included protections for absentee ballots counting, forcing “faithless electors” to resign, establishing a deadline for changing location of a polling place, establishing an early voting by mail system, disseminating voter registration information at city jails, training programs for poll workers, and promoting student voter registration and pre-registration.

“It’s a progressive piece of legislation, and last year was the first opportunity to see it at play,” said Assemblymember Latrice Walker, who volunteered her time on Golden Day to help the Brooklyn NAACP text-bank voters throughout the state. “We were standing outside of a poll site and people were walking by and we [would ask], ‘Are you registered to vote?’ We got a number of people who said no, so the immediacy of ‘I can register to vote and vote’ will heighten the chances of a person actually voting, because it’s not like you have to be reminded to come back or something.”

Ariama C. Long photos

In an effort to capture the attention of more Black and Brown youth and get them to cast their ballots on Golden Day, Williams and Mealy asked the Brooklyn United (BU) youth band to escort voters to the early voting poll site at Weeksville’s Heritage Center. They played music, marched, danced, strolled, stepped, and promenaded through the streets with volunteers in tow chanting, “Fired up and ready to vote!”

Elijah Reddick, 21, a Brooklyn native who attended George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School,registered and voted for the first time on Saturday. He said that while he cares about the shortage of jobs and housing among his friends, he was not particularly “inspired” to vote.

“I feel like it’s a duty,” Reddick said. “Like people should vote, but I’m not really inspired to do it.” He was much more excited about walking with the band to the polling place and thought that was a cool experience.

Voter turnout overall has continued to improve.

On Oct. 26, the New York City Board of Elections (BOE) announced that this year’s first day of early voting was the “highest day” ever for turnout. Early voting lines in Brooklyn were down the block at times from when polls opened to when they closed, said line clerks.

As of Tuesday, Oct. 29, early voting check-ins were up to 495,478 throughout the five boroughs (unofficial and cumulative as of close of polls), posted the BOE. The most votes were cast in Brooklyn (150,805), Manhattan (136,206), and Queens (112,350). The fewest were cast in the Bronx (50,830) and Staten Island (45,287).

“It’s kind of like we’re back in an Obama moment, right?” said Abernathy-Boston. “Because when Obama was running it was such a huge response to us, people of color, minorities, feeling like we had someone who identified with us going into this space.”

Early voting ends on Nov. 3. Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

The post Golden Day: NYC sees highest turnout ever for early voting appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

People with disabilities and the elderly often face unique challenges getting accessible voter information that others may not encounter. It’s important to remember heading into Election Day on November 5 that interpretation services and assistance can be made available for those in need.

“I am deafblind,” said New York DeafBlind Advocates founder Marc Safman, who was recently awarded a REVUP! microgrant to help register more disabled voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election. He is also an Accessible Voting Advisory Committee (AVAC) member for the New York City Board of Election (BOE).

According to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC) latest report, voter turnout among those with disabilities increased in the November 2022 elections. The EAC reported about 15.8 million disabled citizens across varying demographics — like gender, race, ethnicity, age, and region — helped close but did not eliminate the turnout gap.

A big factor in boosting the vote was the decision by multiple states to make it easier to vote by mail between 2018 and 2022. New York State attempted to follow suit in 2021 by making mail-in voting permanent through a state constitutional amendment but it was voted down. The state’s lawmakers tried again in 2023, passing the No-Excuse Mail-In Voting law. Republicans filed a suit against the law, but it was upheld by the state’s Supreme Court this year.

The EAC’s 2022 post-election survey found that “14% of voters with disabilities had some type of difficulty voting” at a polling place or with a mail-in ballot. These individuals are also less likely than people without disabilities to have access to the internet for voter information, and are more likely to use non-internet sources such as printed mailings or TV, said the report.

Using the grant, Safman created a series of print voter guides in Braille and using quick scan QR codes that he’s worked to distribute to schools and organizations for the deaf and blind. The NYC Campaign Finance Board (NYCCFB) does provide a braille version of their voter guide but it’s only upon request.

“With the younger generation, there’s an emphasis on screen readers and audio,” said Safman. “And it’s not very helpful if your power goes out or if you actually want to walk away and review what you just heard.”
Safman noted that many candidate’s campaigns struggle to have adequate American Sign Language (ASL) and tactile ASL interpreters for their intended audience. Some rely on free audio description, transcriptions found on social media platforms, screen readers, or widgets and overlays on websites to be compliant with accessibility standards, said Safman, but very few invest in tools that help their message reach voters with different kinds of disabilities.

“There’s just a huge shortage of interpreters, qualified interpreters. There’s a very severe shortage of nonwhite, culturally appropriate interpreters,” said Safman. “So it’s very, very challenging.”

The NYC BOE has made strides toward meeting interpretation and language needs for disabled residents.

“We strive to provide in-person interpretation for a two-hour window during the time frame the voter plans to cast their ballot,” said the BOE’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Unit Director Ariel Merkel in an email response. “If we are unable to secure in-person interpretation, we will provide video remote interpreting (VRI) for the designated time frame.”

Voters with disabilities may request ASL or tactile interpreters by submitting a request in advance to ASLRequest@boenyc.gov. Safman suggested that voters give the BOE 48 hours notice to find an interpreter and to email at least 48 hours prior to voting with your full name, email address, phone number, date and time frame you plan to vote, and your assigned poll site.

Merkel added that voters should be able to ask poll workers on site or request a Ballot Marking Device (BMD), if they need assistance reading the ballot. Voters with other print disabilities — like blindness, low vision, dyslexia, dysgraphia, learning disabilities, and physical disabilities that limit writing abilities — can apply for an accessible ballot electronically and vote using their phone or tablet at home, however the deadline to request one online was October 26.

Voters can still apply for one in person at a county BOE through November 4, 2024.

“Voters also have the right to have someone they trust help them read and mark their ballot, as long as that person is not the voter’s employer, union representative, poll watcher or a candidate on the ballot,” said Merkel.

Lastly, Safman said that voters with mobility challenges could use discounted Uber and Lyft rides to get to the polls on Nov. 5 if they can’t arrange other transportation.

For more in depth information on how NYC BOE ensures the voting process is accessible to voters with disabilities, watch lighthouseguild.org/accessible-voting-know-your-rights/

For more information on requesting sign language interpretation at the polls, visit vote.nyc/important-notices/sign-language-poll-sites

For more information on the BMD, visit vote.nyc/page/ballot-marking-device

The post Accessibility at the ballot box appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

The Knowledge House (TKH), a non profit dedicated to strengthening the education-employment pipeline, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Founded in 2014, the primary objective of the Knowledge House is to close the gap in employment in the technology field by providing training in technology for students in underserved or lower-income communities across the South Bronx.

Over the last 10 years, the Knowledge House has seen several program alumni go on to work in the technology field. The organization’s cofounders, members of the board of trustees, and several reputable community members attended a recent anniversary celebration.

According to Kim Marshall, the organization’s spokeswoman, one of the primary goals of TKH is to diversify the technology industry. “Diversifying tech means being able to reach people in underrepresented communities across the country,” Marshall said.

While TKH started its outreach in the Bronx, they have expanded to all five boroughs in New York City as well as other parts of New York state. Through the help of donors and supporters, the Knowledge House has been able to reach other metropolitan areas in the country. In addition to New York, TKH now has locations in Newark, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. The new locations were opened in 2021 to help underserved students in those states by giving them the same opportunities to receive technology training.

The Knowledge House CEO and South Bronx native Jerelyn Rodriguez spoke to supporters and staff members who attended the celebration. “We did it, Joe,” Rodriguez said to her cofounder Joe Carano in a callback to Vice President Kamala Harris’s viral video celebrating her victory with President Joe Biden in 2020. Rodriguez told the AmNews she’s both proud of the successes of TKH and excited about what the next 10 years can bring.

“A lot of nonprofits don’t make it to 10 years. So not only have we made it this far, but we’ve accomplished so much,” she said. “We’ve served over 3,000 folks in technology education programs, we’ve changed lives, we’ve partnered with corporations to help close the digital divide, and we’re just excited to keep going.”

In March, Rodriguez was named Pix11’s 2024 Remarkable Woman of the Year. Every year, the network highlights remarkable women who are making a difference in their community. “I think it was all because of Pix11 … I was a finalist for New York. Then I got to join 112 other finalists who are also remarkable women in their cities, and it was great to celebrate everyone’s impact around the country,” Rodriguez said of the award-winning experience.

Rodriguez also told the AmNews how proud she is of the organization’s expansion. “Right now, we have stories from all corners of this country. We can talk about folks who can help their parents because they have a high-paying job or a mom who can take care of her child because now she’s working in tech. So the fact that the impact is spreading is great because it just feels

great to give back.” Rodriguez also told us the next step for the Knowledge House is to open a location in Washington D.C., as well as Silver Springs and Prince George’s County in Maryland.

New York State Assemblymember Amanda Septimo spoke to the attendees about what the Knowledge House means to her. Septimo represents the 84th district, speaking for her home in the South Bronx. “We are celebrating one of the crown jewels of our borough and that is the Knowledge House…What actually makes The Knowledge House special to me is that it is founded from a place of deep love,” Septimo said.

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* This article was originally published here