NY Senate passes drilling ban
Posted by Dan Cantor on August 4th, 2010
It happened. Around midnight last night, the New York State Senate said “no fracking way” to risky natural gas drilling in our state.
Over two thirds of our Senators, including 28 Democrats and 20 Republicans, voted to pass a bill placing a one-year moratorium on “hydro-fracking” — banning this controversial method of gas drilling while experts study the risks it poses to the purity and safety of our drinking water. These leaders bravely defied the threats of the drilling lobby and stood up for the health of all New Yorkers. They genuinely deserve our thanks.
This wouldn’t have happened without you.
I know you may hear that a lot, but in this case it’s absolutely true. Three weeks ago everyone thought a hydrofracking ban was dead. Albany was caught up in budget battles, and then the State Senate went home for the year. But activists and concerned New Yorkers kept pushing, and we showed our leaders just how much this issue matters to us.
In Albany, singer Pete Seeger and actor Mark Ruffalo joined Frack Action and other leading environmental groups to urge the Senate to come back and pass the moratorium. Over 23,000 Working Families supporters signed a petition sending this same message, and we delivered it to every Senator’s office.
Then, in the final days before the vote, we flooded the Senate leadership with calls. For over 24 hours, Majority Conference Leader John Sampson’s phones were ringing off the hook. And he listened: He brought the drilling moratorium bill up for a vote, and it passed by a huge margin.
What happens now? According to the Mid-Hudson News Network, “the State Assembly is expected to take up the bill in September.” If the Assembly also passes it and the Governor signs it, the drilling moratorium will be law.
There’s still much more we need to do to keep our water safe — but this is a major step forward. With your help, we can keep fighting until we make sure that unsafe drilling practices won’t threaten a single New Yorker’s drinking water.
If you’re happy with what we’ve been able to accomplish so far, can you chip in $20 to help us keep up the fight?Just go here:
https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/1306/t/4418/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=3999
Thank you again for your incredible efforts. It’s truly amazing to see grassroots action bringing about real change that improves our lives, and all of us on the Working Families Party staff are awed by your work on this campaign.
Sincerely,
Dan Cantor
WFP Executive Director
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$100 MetroCards?
Posted by bryan on July 28th, 2010
The MTA just outdid itself. Today, they announced another round of fare hikes — including a plan to make “unlimited” monthly MetroCards limited starting January 1st.
Translation: Even as the cost goes up to nearly $100 per month, monthly MetroCards will only get you about 3 rides per day next year — the 4th ride will cost you extra. (Or you can pay even more for a truly unlimited card).1
This “limited unlimited” is just the most outrageous part of a new round of fare increases announced by the MTA. But we’re sick of this ridiculous cycle.
The MTA has to get the message that they can’t keep using more and more fare hikes as a short-term fix — they need a real long-term plan to restore the finances of New York City’s transit system.
Will you sign our petition opposing the fare hikes?
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2155&tag=MTA710
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They’re back
Posted by Dan Cantor on July 27th, 2010
Our State Senators are coming back to Albany tomorrow. But a moratorium on gas drilling still isn’t on their agenda.
This could be the last chance for New York State leaders to ban ‘hydrofracking’ and prevent the next drilling disaster from happening in our backyard. That means we have to seize the moment and expand our grassroots push for action.
We’ve already blown through the goal of 5,000 signers on our letter urging State Senators to pass a drilling ban — but we want to double that in the next 24 hours and then present a copy of the letter to every single State Senator the moment they return to Albany.
If you haven’t yet added your name to our letter, please do so now. If you have, please make sure that every New Yorker you know has signed, as well:
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2112&tag=hydro710-2
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Post-Standard on WFP’s Campaign to Defeat Espada
Posted by Dan Levitan on July 26th, 2010
The Syracuse Post-Standard today lauds the WFP’s grassroots campaign to unseat notorious anti-tenant State Senator Pedro Espada:
Get Pedro Espada: Campaign to unseat New York state senator should unsettle all incumbents
Published: Monday, July 26, 2010, 5:00 AM
The Post-Standard Editorial Board
Last year at this time, State Sen. Pedro Espada, D-Bronx, was still with the Republicans leading of a legislative “coup” against the Democrats who had won a narrow Senate majority in the 2008 elections. As a reward for his treachery, he was named Senate president by his GOP colleagues.
But the coup didn’t last. After Espada returned and Democrats regained their wafer-thin majority, he was rewarded again with the Senate majority leader’s post.
That might have been the end of the story — an unusual one, even by Albany standards, but hardly the stuff of legend. Some Democrats were disgruntled, to be sure. Just this month, the state committee urged Bronx Democratic leaders to revoke Espada’s membership. The chairman of the Bronx Democrats demurred.
But Espada’s troubles have mounted. In April, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sued, alleging Espada squandered up to $14 million from a network of health clinics he controls on lavish living and campaign expenses. A federal probe of his clinics also is under way. Now the Working Families Party has mounted a grassroots campaign to weed him out of Albany. And the New Roosevelt Initiative, a statewide reform group, pledges to spend a quarter-million dollars to defeat him.
The WFP campaign includes a commitment to visit more than 10,000 voters in Espada’s district, hold at least 100 meetings with local leaders, and maintain a barrage of media communications. “Pedro Espada represents everything that’s wrong with Albany,” says WFP Executive Director Dan Cantor. The party has thrown its support behind Democrat Jose Rivera, 34, a community activist who was an aide to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
Espada blames all his troubles on racism and bigotry. This still resonates in his largely Hispanic, lower-income district. “If you look brown and you’re an immigrant, you’re not supposed to have power,” says the Puerto Rican native, adding without any trace of irony: “You do not understand the level of our conviction.”
WFP launched its effort with an appeal for $5 contributions from at least 1,000 New Yorkers. Three days later, Cantor reported the party was collecting more than $1,000 per day. (If you want to help, go to the Working Families Party website.)
This suggests support for Espada may not be as widespread as he thinks. And as Albany stumbles toward the finish line of a particularly ignoble legislative session, there’s every reason to expect anti-incumbent fever to spread beyond the Bronx and Pedro Espada.
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The Only Way to Stop Drilling in NY
Posted by Dan Levitan on July 22nd, 2010
To stop risky natural gas drilling in New York, we have to get our State Senators back to Albany now.
At the moment, they’re on recess for the indefinite future — but if they don’t return and pass a moratorium on hydrofracking ASAP, the first gas drilling permits could be issued this August, and it could be too late to save our drinking water from pollution.
We’re about to send a letter to every single Senate office around the state, insisting that they return and pass a drilling moratorium right away.
Will you sign the letter before we send it?
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2112&tag=hydro710
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Espada Must Go
Posted by Dan Cantor on July 17th, 2010
New York’s state government is a mess, and we’re all paying the price.
But as Saturday’s New York Times reports, the Working Families Party is launching a major push to change that this election year – by kicking out the worst politician in Albany.
State Senator Pedro Espada has repeatedly blocked progress for working New Yorkers. He’s used taxpayer money for his own enrichment and switched political parties to kill pro-tenant legislation, shut down the state government, and increase his own power.
Working Families just endorsed a great progressive challenger to Espada, Gustavo Rivera. To get politicians like Espada out and real leaders like Rivera in, we’re planning to “knock on thousands of doors and recruit leaders of religious, tenants’ and civic groups,” as the Timesreports in today’s story.
To kick off our campaign, we’re launching a major grassroots fundraising drive. We’re asking 1,000 New Yorkers who want change in Albany to donate just $5 each. Can you chip in right now and ask your friends to help, too?
https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/1306/t/4418/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=3849&tag=esp710blog
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NY Times: WFP Vows to Unseat Espada
Posted by Dan Levitan on July 17th, 2010
The New York Times looks at one of the Working Families Party’s top priorities this fall: defeating notorious anti-tenant State Senator Pedro Espada. On Friday, the WFP endorsed his challenger, Gustavo Rivera, a progressive community organizer who is putting together a grassroots coalition to take Espada on.
From the Times:
Espada, Under Investigation, Faces a Well-Financed Opponent
Jose Gustavo Rivera campaigned Friday in the Bronx.
By SAM DOLNICK
July 16, 2010
Pedro Espada Jr., the State Senate majority leader, has already been accused by New York’s attorney general of using his network of health clinics for personal gain and is under investigation by federal prosecutors.
Now Mr. Espada faces a new problem: a well-financed political opposition with a history of defeating incumbents that is looking to unseat him in the Democratic primary in September.
The left-leaning Working Families Party, which has evolved into arguably the most powerful third party in the state, has decided to focus its considerable organizational resources on ousting Mr. Espada and electing a little-known candidate who is running his first race — Jose Gustavo Rivera, 34, a former aide to Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand.
Still, despite the corruption charges swirling around Mr. Espada, he retains deep support in his low-income district in the northwestern Bronx and will be difficult to defeat.
To counter Mr. Espada’s advantages in name recognition and finances, the Working Families Party plans to raise money, knock on thousands of doors and recruit leaders of religious, tenants’ and civic groups.
“Pedro Espada represents everything that’s wrong with Albany,” said Dan Cantor, the party’s executive director. Defeating Mr. Espada in the September primary, Mr. Cantor said, “is our No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 priority.”
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The next spill?
Posted by Dan Levitan on May 27th, 2010
Experts are now saying the Gulf Coast oil spill is the worst in U.S. history. But even after all the environmental devastation, lost livelihoods, and broken “safety” promises from the oil industry, New York might allow an even riskier kind of drilling here — one that could contaminate the water supply for millions of New Yorkers.
The EPA hasn’t finished studying whether this new gas drilling method (called “hydrofracking”) is safe. But energy lobbyists are pushing New York’s leaders to let them start drilling now.
Thankfully, Assemblymember Steven Englebright has just introduced a bill to ban hydrofracking in New York until the EPA finishes its safety study. Will you ask your state legislators to support the ban? Our drinking water could depend on it:
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1825&tag=hydro1
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Our Chance at the Big Leagues
Posted by Dan Cantor on May 19th, 2010
This is our chance. On Friday at Citi Field, the Yankees and Mets will face each other for the first time this season – and we’ll be there to urge both teams to boycott the 2011 All-Star Game in protest of Arizona’s new immigration law.
Just before the Subway Series starts, State Senator Jose Peralta of Queens will deliver the Working Families letter, signed by thousands of New Yorkers, calling on our home teams to skip next year’s All-Star Game unless it is moved out of Arizona or the state rolls back its extreme anti-immigrant measures.
This moment could make a huge media splash – especially if we reach our goal of 10,000 signers before the letter is delivered on Friday. Can you help us get there?
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1731&tag=az4
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Tell Mets and Yanks to Boycott AZ All-Star Game
Posted by Dan Levitan on May 4th, 2010
Will Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera have to show ID to take the mound next year?
Major League Baseball’s 2011 All-Star Game will be hosted in Arizona, where a harsh new immigration law requires police to detain anyone they “suspect” might be an undocumented immigrant unless they can prove their legal status on the spot.
If Mets or Yankees players attend the All-Star Game, they could be subjected to the same suspicion, profiling, and harassment now threatening thousands of Arizonans — both immigrants and citizens. But if New York’s baseball teams say they won’t go, they could become leaders in a national push to move the All-Star Game out of Arizona unless this law is repealed.
We’re going to deliver an open letter to the Yankees and the Mets ownership asking them to boycott next year’s game unless Arizona’s law is struck down. Will you add your name to it — and ask every New York baseball fan you know to do the same? Go to:
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1731&tag=az2
The letter is addressed to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and Mets owner Fred Wilpon and includes this message: “We urge you to take a stand for your players, immigrants and all Americans by publicly pledging not to participate in the 2011 All-Star Game unless it is moved out of Arizona or Arizona repeals its anti-immigrant, anti-American law.”
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