Author Archives: paulnewell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Yetta Kurland 917 701 9590
Leo Glickman 917 582 1405
Wylie Stecklow 917 576 6727

Elected Officials and Members of the Press File Civil Rights Suit Against NYPD and JP Morgan Chase For Arrests Related to OWS

Federal lawsuit alleges civil rights violated by NYPD and private entities including JP Morgan Chase and Brookfield Properties asks for federal independent monitor

New York, NY. April 30, 2012. Lawyers on behalf of 5 elected officials and over half a dozen members of the press filed a major lawsuit today in federal court alleging the City of New York, the MTA, the New York Police Department, Brookfield Properties, JP Morgan Chase and others are in violation of numerous civil rights, including First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly.  The suit seeks redress for police misconduct in arrests made during the “Occupy Wall Street” protests and asks that a federal independent monitor be appointed to oversee the NYPD in order to safeguard the public.

The 143 page complaint submitted by a group of civil rights attorneys including Leo Glickman, Yetta G. Kurland and Wylie Stecklow, was filed today in United States District Court in the Southern District and includes a 24 minute video which highlights the use of excessive force and selective enforcement which many have claimed has become an issue over the past 6 months during the “Occupy” protests.

The suit also addresses the City’s relationship with JP Morgan Chase who donated $4.6 million to the NYPD during this time, as well as the fact that members of the press and elected officials have been arrested while observing and/or reporting on these protests.

One of the plaintiffs, New York City Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez, who was bloodied and arrested on November 15, 2011 for attempting to observe the eviction of Zuccotti park stated “While my charges were dismissed, the bigger issue still remains, namely that the NYPD misused their power and did not respect my First Amendment or the NYC Charter which gave me the right to act as an observer.”

New York City Councilmember Letitia James, another plaintiff in the suit, stated “this is about accountability but it is also about ensuring that we have a proper balance of powers in this City. People should not be afraid to suffer harm from the police when they express their First Amendment right to assemble.”

New York City Councilmember Melissa Mark Viverito has also joined the suit. She stated “Some of us in the City Council are looking to address these issues legislatively, in the meantime we will avail ourselves of the United States judicial branch to ask for its help to ensure our police properly protect the public they are entrusted to serve.”

Jumaane Williams, another New York City Councilmember made the point that this effects everyone not just OWS protestors. “We hope this suit will help all New Yorkers, as well as the NYPD. We believe officers should not be put in a situation where they are asked to act in a way which results in this type of misconduct or puts them at odds with the public.”

Paul Newell, a plaintiff and Democratic District Leader for Lower Manhattan added that the police misconduct “had a chilling effect of the freedoms of speech, movement and assembly as well as quality of life in Lower Manhattan.”

John Knefel, a journalist and radio show host, who was arrested while covering a protest in the publicly-accessible Winter Garden in lower Manhattan because he didn’t have NYPD issue press credentials, is one of the plaintiffs as well. “It is of course concerning that the public is arrested for exercising their First Amendment rights, but it is likewise concerning that members of the press are arrested when they try to cover this.”

Justin Sullivan, another plaintiff and citizen press journalist who assembled the video exhibit for the suit stated “I was arrested while covering someone else being arrested for complaining about someone else being arrested for doing a ‘mic check’. This is not how our police should act.”

Attorneys and the plaintiffs will be holding a press conference at 9:45am on the steps of City Hall on Monday April 30, 2012. Copies of the complaint are available below and at http://www.scribd.com/doc/91818746/Rodrigeuz-et-al-vs-Winski-et-al-Complaint .

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[scribd id=91818746 key=key-14f0hjq6w1v0lh6jg4ja mode=list]

I have only one biological uncle and he, thankfully, is alive and well.  But growing up in Greenwich Village in the 1980s, I lost many uncles.  It was a community beset by a plague. My mother’s friends, my Bar Mitzvah tutor, our next door neighbors, my favorite teacher at P.S. 41 and many others around seemed to be dying all the time.  Watching the birth of ACT-UP, GMHC and AIDS activism around me taught me what it meant to organize communities.

On May 20^th, I will walk in AIDS Walk New York to support Ubuntu Education Fund and several organizations fighting HIV here in New York.  In many ways, this is the defining struggle of my life.

Please help me fight AIDS in NYC and around the world: http://aidswalknewyork2012.kintera.org/newellnyc

In 2001, I traveled to Port Elizabeth, South Africa to help build Ubuntu Education Fund.  I worked with Ubuntu for six years, in NYC and South Africa.  There I met, and lost, countless other uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters to HIV and AIDS.

But there again, I learned that organizing and working with communities can have an incredible impact.  In a community where 1 in 4 adults is HIV positive, Ubuntu works with over 25,000 orphans and vulnerable children and their families.

Whether it’s getting a mother onto life-saving drugs, or enrolling a child who’s lost their family in school, Ubuntu is committed to long term, intensive interventions. 12 years on, Ubuntu’s model is working. Many of the most vulnerable children I worked with in South Africa are graduating university and moving on to careers.

Please help me support Ubuntu Education Fund: http://aidswalknewyork2012.kintera.org/newellnyc

Recently, I’ve been involved in an organization called Healthcare Vote 2013, founded to focus New York City political discourse healthcare in the wake of the closure of St. Vincent’s Hospital.  That hospital was the beating heart of New York’s AIDS epidemic – where so many of my teachers and my parent’s friends were treated. The largest HIV clinic on the East Coast has been closed to make way for luxury condos.

On Sunday, May 20^th, I will walk with Team Ubuntu in AIDS Walk New York. I have pledged to raise $5,000 to support the work of Ubuntu Education Fund and many other organizations fighting. I ask for your help.

Even the smallest gift makes a huge difference.

Thank you,

Paul

P.S. Please join me on May 20th. It’s a great time, a beautiful walk, you get a cool T-Shirt and it makes a difference.  Sign up here: http://tinyurl.com/UbuntuAIDSWalk2012

The insiders of the New York State Legislature just released new legislative redistricting maps.  They differ in virtually no substantial regard from the widely disparaged maps released in late January.  They continue to divide communities, weaken the accountability of lawmakers and ensure that those in power stay in power.

As a proud progressive Democrat, I want to focus on our party’s role in this.  While the maps drawn by the State Senate Republicans are clearly worse than those drawn by the Assembly, The Assembly Democrats are equally responsible for the Senate Map.  That is because the entire package must be passed by both houses and signed by Governor Cuomo to take effect. If not passed by the legislature AND signed by the Governor, the process will be completed by a Federal Court Panel.  That would undoubtedly result in a legislature that is both more democratic (small “d”) and more Democratic (big “D”).

If New York State is saddled with a corrupt Republican-dominated State Senate for the next 10 years, the Assembly Democrats and Governor Andrew Cuomo will be to blame. If over the next decade that State Senate weakens tenant protections, attacks women’s health or continues to underfund mass transit, the Assembly Democrats and Governor Andrew Cuomo will be to blame.

The Senate Republicans are protecting their party. Assembly Democrats and Governor Cuomo have no excuse to go along.

Why do Assembly Democrats not stand up for their fellow Democrats in the Senate (and the millions of New Yorkers they represent)? Because they get the prize of drawing their own safe districts.  But 100 of 150 Assemblymembers are Democrats.  Their complicity in this subversion of democracy does nothing to advance the Democratic cause – and indeed creates a Republican Senate where otherwise it could not possibly exist.

Much of the lobbying from reformers on this matter has focused on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s explicit promises to veto a gerrymandered map.  Governor Cuomo should keep that promise and veto the bill.

Likewise, any Democratic Assemblymember who claims to support progressive change for New Yorkers should vote against this bill.

Please contact your State Assemblymember at http://assembly.state.ny.us/ and tell them to vote “NO” on the gerrymandering plan.

Please also contact Governor Cuomo at (518) 474-8390 or http://www.governor.ny.gov/contact/GovernorContactForm.php and ask him to keep his promise to veto this Albany insiders’ map.

For Immediate Release

Contact: Paul Newell, 347-351-7285, Paul@NewellNYC.org

March 5, 2012

All Charges Against Paul Newell from OWS Arrest Dropped

At a hearing today before Judge Matthew A. Sciarrino Jr. in Manhattan, all charges against Lower Manhattan District Leader Paul Newell stemming from his November 15, 2011 arrest near Zuccotti Park were dismissed.  The Manhattan District Attorney’s office moved to dismiss the charges of Obstructing Governmental Administration because they did not have evidence to prove the charges.  Newell was represented by civil rights attorney Mark Taylor of Rankin & Taylor.

Newell said “I am grateful for the DA’s swift dismissal of this matter and encourage them to quickly dismiss all the illegal arrests related to Occupy Wall Street and other peaceful protests.  I look forward to continuing to work for economic equality and freedom of speech in Lower Manhattan and more broadly.”

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NY Observer: Paul Newell: My Night In The #OWS Lock-Up

As I’m sure you’ve noticed from the constant stream of debates and shallow news coverage, we are again in presidential election year.  One in which a great deal hangs in the balance, and will not be easily won.

I believe President Barack Obama has earned our help, and that he will need it.  While we don’t expect New York to be a major battleground, there’s a lot we can do from here.  And the time to start is now.

So we’re rebooting Downtown East for Obama, our local branch of the campaign, tonight.  We’ll have some staff from the campaign explain strategy, and then break out into small groups to start getting things done.  I’ll be facilitating one of the groups.  We’ll also find time to catch up with old and new friends.  So please join me tonight at 6PM.  Details below.

2012 Downtown East for Obama Launch

Tonight, Thursday February 2, 2012

6:00 – 9:00 PM

Drom – 85 Avenue A

Between E. 5th and E. 6th Streets (MAP)

RSVP at https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gppzdz or on the Facebook Event.

Looking forward to seeing you there.  Thank you.

The draft legislative districts released yesterday by LATFOR (NY Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment) are deeply disappointing.  In both process and product, the lines fail to serve the interests of New Yorkers.

Every 10 years, districts must be redrawn to comply with the decennial census.  By far the best way to do this is through independent, nonpartisan redistricting.  In the LATFOR map, we see again why.  Both the Senate and Assembly maps have been extravagantly gerrymandered to favor political parties and incumbent politicians with little or no concern for community representation.

This is undemocratic and unwise.  The Senate map is particularly egregious.  Statewide and locally, communities were spliced – weakening their representation.  Bizarre almost non-contiguous districts snake along highways, bridges and rivers to protect or weaken certain politicians and communities.  You can see some of the worst districts at http://www.politickerny.com/2012/01/27/the-20-ugliest-gerrymandered-districts-2/.

Fortunately, Governor Andrew Cuomo has already promised to veto this gerrymandered map.  He should do so as soon as it is submitted to him.

In Lower Manhattan, the East Village, Greenwich Village, Soho and Tribeca have each been split into multiple Senate districts where previously they had been whole.  In the Assembly map, the insiders split the East Village between three districts, and Battery Park City between two.  Important parts of our community, such as Village View and Independence Plaza have been carved out from their surrounding community.

This map will weaken our community’s voice as we face major issues from education to transportation, the expansion of NYU and the loss of nursing homes and hospitals.  And our experience is repeated throughout the city and state.

Please contact Governor Cuomo at (518) 474-8390 or http://www.governor.ny.gov/contact/GovernorContactForm.php and ask him to keep his promise to veto this Albany insiders’ map.

You can also contact your Assemblymember at http://assembly.state.ny.us/ and your State Senator at http://www.nysenate.gov/ and ask them to revisit this map with an eye to impartiality and community cohesion.   In our neck of the woods, the best person to call is Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver at 212-312-1420.

Thank you.

Wishing you and your family the happiest of holidays and

a joyous, healthy and prosperous new year.

Peace,

Paul

Photo by Laura Goggin.

It appears that Mayor Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly are planning to forcibly evict the Occupy Wall Street protesters from Zuccotti Park in the heart of Lower Manhattan.  This is unlawful, undemocratic and risks silencing what may be an important voice.

Please call Mayor Bloomberg right away at 311 (If you are outside of NYC right now, call 212.639.9675 instead.) and tell him not to kick the protesters out of Zuccotti Park.

The reason I have been so impressed with the Occupy Wall Street movement so far is that, for the first time in my memory, Americans are talking about economic inequality.  I do not agree with all of what is said and done at OWS.  Indeed, neither do most of the protesters. But in a country where 1% of the population controls 42% of the wealth and 80% of us control only 7% of the wealth this is a conversation we need to have.

I also know that for many of our neighbors, the OWS protests are one more quality of life burden for a community that has borne too many over the last 10 years.  I have spoken with many people at Occupy Wall Street and most are genuinely committed to being good neighbors.  There remains more work to be done there – the drumming in particular is an issue.  But this is not a reason to shut down political protests.

Lower Manhattan is a special community.  Part of why we love it is its symbolic power.  Let us celebrate that, and continue to work for justice.

Please call the Mayor at 311 or 212-639-9675 tonight.  Thank you.

All the best,

Paul

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P.S. – The Downtown Independent Democrats passed a resolution last week stating our neighborhood’s unique position on the Occupy Wall Street Movement.  It reads:

Resolution from the Downtown Independent Democrats on the Occupy Wall Street Movement:

Downtown Independent Democrats is the oldest and largest progressive Democratic organization in Lower Manhattan and has represented New York City’s Financial District for 40 years.  We have been committed to social justice and equality as well as to the general improvement of the quality of life of Lower Manhattan for that entire time.

In light of these two missions, the Downtown Independent Democrats:

•  Shares the Occupy Wall Street Movement’s grievances on the growing and unsustainable economic inequality in the United States.

•  Endorses Occupy Wall Street’s call for increased regulation and accountability for the financial services sector, including reinstatement of legislation similar to the Glass-Steagall Act.  The DID recognizes that a robust, dynamic, stable and well regulated financial services sector is essential to the life of our neighborhood, our city and our country.

•  Commends the OWS organizers for their outreach to community members on quality of life and noise concerns, while calling upon them to improve on this front especially in the area of drumming as well as to continue their engagement with our neighbors.

•  Recognizes the NYPD’s difficult and important role in maintaining public safety and calls upon them to use maximum restraint when dealing with non-violent political protest.

The people – united – will never be defeated.

Testimony of Paul Newell to

NYS Public Health and Health Planning Council

Committee on Establishment and Project Review

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Thank you Chairperson and Council members for this opportunity, and your service on this board.

My name is Paul Newell.  I testify before you today as steering committee member of The Coalition for a New Village Hospital.  At the previous hearing, you heard testimony from other Coalition Steering Committee Members, attorney Yetta Kurland Dr. David Kaufman.

In addition to my work with the Coalition, I am the elected Democratic District Leader for Lower Manhattan and a lifelong health activist in New York, in Southern Africa and elsewhere.

I am here to ask you to deny Lenox Hill’s petition for a 2-bed facility.  Ms Kurland and Dr. Kaufman have already testified extensively, so I will try briefly highlighting a few concerns.

1) The Community has repeatedly, emphatically and nearly unanimously expressed its opposition to this plan as mere window dressing for unwanted residential development.  While that aspect clearly falls outside your mandate, it would not serve New York well for this body to act as a facilitator of development as opposed to a guardian of public health.

Extremely serious legal concerns remain about the process and substance of this proposal.  An existing Certificate of Operations is still valid and in place. This council should hesitate long before invalidating a certificate for a full-service 700 bed hospital – one reaffirmed just 2 years ago – and replacing it with a 2-Bed urgent care center.

2) Serious medical and public health concerns remain as well.  Already, the applicants have severely misrepresented the services and capabilities of the proposed facility.  These representations themselves could prove a community health risk as residents, tourists and area workers may come to the facility for services it cannot provide.

No answer has yet been provided to the question of transfer time from this facility to full-service hospital and if that time complies with dictates law and good policy.

3) Viable alternatives – alternatives that include full service hospitals – are available.  Alternatives proposed by the community in conjunction with established, credible service providers.  These should be thoroughly vetted before such a serious diminution of healthcare is approved.

In short, there is a site, a structure and millions of dollars of medical infrastructure at the location of St. Vincent’s. There are revenue streams available from the federal government, especially given the strategic location of the hospital.  There are other funds that can be brought in to make a viable financial package.  A hospital, properly run, will not lose money.

Big changes are coming to the United State’s health care system. Over the next decade, the population of uninsured Americans will drop by 80 percent and billions of dollars in new revenue will come on line. These changes will add more pressure to our overtaxed infrastructure – and provide new financial resources. A new village hospital will play a vital role.

There are hospitals that are well-managed in our city, as well as competent managers that can run a new hospital if the DOH allows it.  The community has stated clearly that it opposes the proposed plan.  However, in the event the Council chooses not to reject this plan, we propose two potential compromises.

The actors in this plan have asserted that it would be cost prohibitive to build a hospital.  However, they are prepared to put forward an entire building and $125 million to build the urgent care center.  According to leading experts in hospital engineering, for the same or similar cost a smaller 200 to 300 bed hospital could be built.

Plan 1

Add two to four floors on the O’Toole building. This would resolve some of the community burden of the dramatic upzoning proposed for the other side of the street.  More importantly, this would provide ample space for a 200-300 bed hospital at this site – thereby fulfilling the obligation of this Council and this Department to the existing Certificate of Need, and the the health of New Yorkers.

Plan 2

Refurbish and repurpose the Coleman building on the East side of 7^th Avenue.  Refurbishing and existing medical facility is dramatically cheaper than building entirely new infrastructure.  A smaller, 200-bed hospital can be built at the site where one stood for 160 years for similar cost basis to what is proposed in the petition before you today.  This hospital could be financially viable – indeed profitable- in and of itself as well as freeing other lots for revenue producing uses.  This plan likewise would enable this Council to fulfill its obligations.

In Summary, the petition before you today faces overwhelming community opposition, violates both New York State law and common sense, is of questionable health benefit at best and may indeed be of net detriment to the health of New Yorkers.  It is the wrong plan for the site.  The Coalition for a New Village Hospital calls upon you to deny – or at the very least defer – this petition.

Thank you.

I am thrilled to report that I have been reelected as Downtown’s District Leader with 68% of the vote, and that I will be joined by Jenifer Rajkumar, who was elected with 70% of the vote.

In the neighboring district, progressive candidate John Scott upset a longtime incumbent to complete the sweep.

There are, of course, far too many people to thank.  But four people deserve special mention.

• Councilwoman Rosie Mendez is the Lower East Side’s most fearless advocate and her support was invaluable and a great honor.
• Former District Leader Adam Silvera is one of the most genuine, organic, committed community leaders I have ever met.  His work on our behalf, his cajoling of his neighbors, his great strategic mind were decisive, and are of incalculable value to progressive Democratic movement in New York.
• Downtown Independent Democrats, led by President Jeanne Wilcke, have proven they are Lower Manhattan’s finest reform Democratic organization.
• Finally, Jenifer Rajkumar is one of the hardest working, tenacious campaigners around.  I am tremendously proud to have run alongside her.  I know she will do great things for Lower Manhattan.

Thank you all for your votes, your work and your wishes.  I am humbled and honored by these results, and look forward to serving our neighborhoods and our party over the next two years.

Now that the campaigning is done, please reach out to me at Paul@NewellNYC.org  on any community issues.

All the best,

Paul

The Winning DID Team!