Author Archives: paulnewell

FIND YOUR POLL SITE HERE: http://gis.nyc.gov/vote/ps/index.htm

I ran for District Leader two years ago to be an independent progressive voice for Lower Manhattan.  I believe I a fulfilled that pledge.  As District Leader I have co-founded and led the Coalition for a New Village Hospital to replace St. Vincent’s with a hospital serving downtowners regardless of ability to pay. I was also a prominent voice advocating for religious tolerance when our community board meetings were being invaded by the culture wars. I have been a fierce advocate for stronger rent laws for ALL New Yorkers. I am honored to have been endorsed by Borough President Scott Stringer, State Senator Daniel Squadron and Councilwoman Rosie Mendez.

District Leader has precious little actual power.  For it to positively impact our communities, the Leader has to be willing to use the small platform the position provides energetically, independently, passionately and consistently.

I believe I have done so, and I humbly ask for your vote on Tuesday.

Each district has two Democratic District Leaders, one male, one female. They should work together as a team to represent their community. To do so well requires commitment, dedication and hard work in to organizing and speaking up for our neighborhoods.  It is important that the two leaders share a vision of their community and how to improve it.

Jenifer Rajkumar not only shares my vision of a dynamic, diverse lower Manhattan, she is already a leader, and an inspiration to me and many in New York City’s progressive, reform Democratic movement.

Born and raised in New York, Jenifer is a tireless social justice attorney, with a long history of fighting for the excluded and voiceless. She was a lead advocate for health care for families in the recent federal health care reform bill. She helped litigate some of the largest gender and race discrimination class actions ever filed, and was the lead counsel for whistleblowers in lawsuits against corporate fraud.  She has fought for domestic violence survivors in our neighborhood, has advocated to save the South Street Seaport, and is a strong voice to keep our neighborhood’s firehouses open.  She founded W-Spin, an organization to catapult more women into government leadership positions world-wide.

Jenifer Rajkumar has the dynamism, energy and understanding that is vital right now. Lower Manhattan, and the New York Democratic Party need Jenifer’s voice.

Please join me in supporting Jenifer Rajkumar for Female Democratic District Leader for the 64th Assembly District Part C on Tuesday, September 13th.

Jenifer Rajkumar and I have been endorsed by: Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, Downtown Independent Democrats, Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club (LGBT Rights), 504 Democratic Club (Disability Rights), The SoHo Alliance, District Leader Jean B. Grillo, Former District Leader Adam Silvera, Former District Leader Jim Stratton, Thomas Goodkind, John Scott, Jeanne Wilcke, PJ Kim, Alex Muwu Li, Michael Kramer, Darren Marks, Robert Lavalva, Tiffany Winbush, and many more.

FIND YOUR POLL SITE HERE: http://gis.nyc.gov/vote/ps/index.htm

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Finally, since many on this email list do not live in my district (http://newellnyc.org/where-is-the-64th-district-part-c/), here in geographic order are my endorsements in other NYC elections tomorrow:

Male District Leader, 66th District, Part B: John Scott – Tribeca, Soho, Noho, North Battery Park, South Village, parts of the East Village.

John was organizing tenants and parents in lower Manhattan when I was still at P.S. 41.  He richly deserves your vote.

In Queens/ Brooklyn, for the 9th Congressional District: David Weprin,

In the Upper East Side, the 73rd Assembly District: Dan Quart

In Flushing, the 27th Assembly: Michael Simanowitz

In Chelsea/Hell’s Kitchen, for Civil Court Judge, 3rd Municipal Court: Tony Cannataro

In Bushwick and East New York, Brooklyn, for the 54th Assembly District: Jesus Gonzalez

In all of Brooklyn, for Civil Court Judge, Kings County: Cheryl Gonzales

Thank you,

Paul

I am honored to announce that Rosie Mendez, one of the NY City Council’s most fearless advocates for working and middle class New Yorkers, NYCHA residents, immigrants, the LGBT community and more on the Lower East Side and throughout New York has endorsed Jenifer Rajkumar and myself for Democratic District Leader.

Below is her endorsement letter:

Councilmember Rosie Mendez

September 2011

Dear Neighbor,

Your vote on Tuesday, September 13^th in the Democratic Primary is a very important one.  That’s why I ask you to join me in supporting Jenifer Rajkumar and Paul Newell for Female and Male District Leaders.

It is important to my work in the City Council to have District Leaders who share my vision for our neighborhoods –including affordable housing, full funding for NYCHA, quality public schools for all our children and the guarantee of civil rights for all New Yorkers.

Jenifer Rajkumar is a social justice attorney who has fought tirelessly for the excluded and voiceless at the National Women’s Law Center and at the ACLU.  She was a lead advocate for women’s health care in the recent federal health care reform bill.  In our neighborhood, she has fought for the rights of domestic violence survivors and to keep our neighborhood’s firehouses open.  In addition to her civil rights and community work, Jenifer is the founder of W-Spin, a nonprofit whose mission is to promote women into government leadership positions world-wide.

Jenifer Rajkumar has the dynamism, energy and understanding that we need right now.  Please elect Jenifer as Female District Leader.

Paul Newell was first elected Democratic District Leader in 2009.  Born and raised in the Village and Lower East Side, Paul has quickly become one of Manhattan’s most active District Leaders.  As  a longtime health activist, Paul is on the Steering Committee of the Coalition for a New Village Hospital and is leading the fight to get a new hospital at the site of the old St. Vincent’s.  Paul was also a founding member of New York Neighbors for American Values – a coalition dedicated to preserving diversity and religious tolerance in our neighborhoods. Paul built an organization that brings HIV education to over 40,000 children in New York and Southern Africa.

One of the most independent minded District Leaders, Paul has never been afraid to stand up for our neighborhoods.  Please re-elect Paul as Male District Leader.

Jenifer and Paul have also been endorsed by former District Leader Adam Silvera, my Co-District Leader Anthony Feliciano, the Downtown Independent Democrats, 504 Democratic Club (for Disability Rights), The Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club (for LGBT rights), and many more.

Please join me in electing Jenifer Rajkumar and re-electing Paul Newell on Tuesday, September 13th.

Sincerely,

Rosie Mendez

Please Don’t forget to Vote for Jenifer Rajkumar and Paul Newell

for Female and Male Democratic District Leaders!

This Tuesday, September 13th, 2011.

Find your polling site here: http://gis.nyc.gov/vote/ps/index.htm

This weekend will be a difficult one for our neighborhood, our city and our country.  You do not need me to tell you so.

Below is some information on commemorative events, as well as the detail on the significant traffic and transit changes to expect.

All the best,

Paul

1)New York Neighbors Vigil is going ahead as planned

TONIGHT, Thursday, September 8th.  7:00pm – 9:00pm Corner of Church and Park Place, Manhattan

NY Neighbors for American Values, a group I helped start as our neighborhood became a front in the culture wars, is holding its 2nd annual candle light vigil again today as planned.

The vigil welcomes New Yorkers and visitors of all backgrounds who want to reflect on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 in a way that celebrates the diversity and vibrancy of New York. NYNAV is a coalition of organizations and individuals that works to promote the constitutional and American values of diversity, equality and freedom of religion. Candles will be provided.

Please join me and Jenifer Rajkumar there.  Event information at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=210963738960012.

2) Saturday: Hand in Hand – Remembering 9/11

Community Board 1’s Hand in Hand – Remembering 9/11 is scheduled for Saturday morning.

Saturday, September 10th, 8:46AM (Please arrive between 7:30 & 8:15AM to check-in)

Registration (required) and information for the day of the event can be found at: http://www.handinhand911.org.  Jenifer and I will be standing with the Downtown Independent Democrats.  To join us, check in at the Zone A Check-in Station at Wagner Park and Battery Place.

3) Below is an outline of the vehicle and pedestrian access information for this area from Friday September 9th through Monday, September 12th, 2011.

Use public transportation whenever possible to stations outside of the event area.

Please note:

• MTA passengers should plan for the Cortlandt Street R station to be bypassed from 7:00 AM to early afternoon and check the MTA website at www.mta.info for updates on bus routes and service.
• PATH passengers should plan for suspended service to and from the World Trade Center and restricted access to the WTC Path Station from approximately 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

Please note below significant routes that will affect your vehicular travels:

• Northbound West Street between Battery Place and Murray Streets will be closed to traffic from Friday, September 9, 11:59 PM through Monday, September 12, 5:00 AM.
• Southbound West Street between Battery Place and Chambers Street will be closed to traffic from Sunday, September 11, 5:00 AM through Monday, September 12, 5:00
• Church Street/Trinity Place between Rector and Barclay Streets will be closed Sunday, September 11, 5:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m.
• Broadway will remain open to vehicles.

The following streets will be closed to traffic and parking from Saturday, September 10 at 8:00 AM through Sunday, September 11, 8:00 PM. Pedestrian access will be very limited:

• Warren Street between West Street and West Broadway

• Murray Street between West and Church Streets

• Barclay Street between West and Church Streets

• Park Place between Greenwich Street and Broadway

• Greenwich Street between Warren and Vesey Streets

• West Broadway between Warren and Vesey Streets

• Vesey Street between North End Avenue and West Street

• Vesey, Fulton, Dey and Cortlandt Streets between Church Street and Broadway

• Liberty Street between South End Avenue and West Street, and between Greenwich Street and Broadway

• Albany Street between South End Avenue and Greenwich Street

• Cedar Street between Greenwich Street and Broadway

• Thames Street between Greenwich and Broadway

• Carlisle Street between West and Greenwich Streets

• South End Avenue between Liberty and Thames Street

• Washington Street between Albany and Rector Streets

• Greenwich Street between Liberty and Rector Streets

Please note, both the Vesey Street and Liberty Street pedestrian bridges will be closed on Sunday, September 11th. To cross West Street, pedestrians will be directed north to cross at Warren Street or south to cross at Rector Street.

No parking will be in effect on all closed streets, including official permit parking. All cars parked illegally will be towed. If you have further questions, please call 311 or visit http://www.nyc.gov.

The city has lifted all local evacuation orders. In lower Manhattan, Gateway Plaza (Battery Park City), Independence Plaza (Tribeca) and all the NYCHA properties in the LES are safe to return to and elevators are running.

In more good news, the MTA has announced that subways will be running from 6AM tomorrow (Monday). This is ahead of schedule and should greatly improve morning commutes. That said, be sure to expect delays on all lines. The C train will be suspended, but A trains will be making all local stops.   Buses are already running throughout the city.  Metro-North and LIRR will have longer delays.

It looks like we dodged the worst of this storm. Many people felt the preparations were extreme, but authorities all along the East Coast felt it better to play it safe.  In other areas, severe flooding is still a serious problem.

I spent last night supervising an evacuation center at I.S. 131 in Chinatown/LES.  It was a great opportunity to see how these systems work in crisis, as well as to meet a lot of my neighbors (and stranded out-of-towners too).

I look forward to meeting more of you over the next two weeks as Jenifer Rajkumar and I ask for your vote for Democratic District Leader on Tuesday, September 13th.
Thank you,

Paul

CORRECTION: Private vehicles will not be banned in lower Manhattan tonight.  Bridges will be closed if wind speeds exceed 50 MPH, but the city has determined that streets will be open.

That said, the city is still strongly discouraging private car use except for evacuation or other emergencies.

I apologize for any confusion.

• Con Edison may shut down all power south of Fulton Street and East of Broadway tomorrow (Sunday).  If you are in an evacuation zone, please leave immediately. See Map of Evacuation zones here: http://project.wnyc.org/news-maps/hurricane-zones/hurricane-zones.html.  Con Ed will make an announcement between 2-10AM Sunday morning.  Prepare for the worst.

• Mandatory evacuation orders have been extended to NYCHA Smith Houses in the Lower East Side.

• All public transportation has been shut down.

• The storm has made landfall in North Carolina and has caused significant damage.  It is expected to arrive in our area by midnight tonight.

• Many people have asked about pets.  As a cat owner, I understand their concern.  NYC shelters are taking pets this weekend.  For more info on pet care during an evacuation, see http://home2.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/get_prepared/preparedness_pets.shtml.

• Keep track of developments online or via radio and television.  The city is updating http://www.nyc.gov/severeweather regularly.  You can sign up for text alerts by going to https://a858-nycnotify.nyc.gov/NotifyNYC/Home.aspx.  Or follow https://twitter.com/NotifyNYC

If you are not in an evacuation zone, here are a couple of ways to help:

1)      Contact elderly or mobility-impaired neighbors, family and friends.  Make sure they have a plan for evacuation.

2)      The Mayor’s Office is looking for volunteers to staff the evacuation/hurricane centers at Seward Park HS (Grand St. & Ludlow St) and Baruch College (E. 24th St. & Lexington). They are asking for any willing volunteers that live in these areas to please help out if they can. Any hours today would be greatly appreciated. Overnight staffers are particularly important. Anyone interested in helping during this difficult time, please contact Leland M. Dyer at 347-844-3309 or via email at LDYER@CITYHALL.NYC.GOV.

3)      The city needs volunteers (preferably in four hour shifts) from now through Monday. They would be especially grateful to those willing to volunteer for the Sunday shifts. The 311 facility is located on Maiden Lane and Williams street in Lower Manhattan and the 311 staff will provide training. If you can volunteer, please email Christie Huus at chuus@cityhall.nyc.gov.  You can also fill out the city’s volunteer form at http://bit.ly/nycvolunteer.

Again, I know many New Yorkers think this is overblown.  I hope they are right.  But all the relevant authorities are in agreement that we face a serious possibility of major damage.  Please take this storm seriously.

My apartment is not in an evacuation zone, so I’ll be volunteering at Seward Park High School tonight.

Please be safe,

Paul

New York City has issued a mandatory evacuation order for all residents of hurricane Zone A – including all of Battery Park City, most of the Financial District, the Seaport area and parts of the Lower East Side and Tribeca closest to the river.  NYU Downtown Hospital will be evacuating fully.

New Yorkers often feel like we can handle anything that comes our way.  But please take this hurricane seriously.  As if you needed more proof of the gravity of the situation, The NYC Subway will be closed beginning 12 noon tomorrow (Saturday).

Our closest evacuation center is Seward Park High School, 350 Grand Street, between Ludlow and Essex Streets, but it is preferable to find other accommodations.  Please contact friends and family who live in higher ground today, and make arrangements in the event of evacuation.

What else can we do right now?

1) If you live in Zone A, please prepare to leave now.  The Subway and all NYC Transit will be closed from noon on Saturday

2)      Contact elderly or mobility-impaired neighbors, family and friends.  Make sure they have a plan for evacuation.

3)      Keep track of developments online or via radio and television.  The city is updating http://www.nyc.gov/severeweather regularly.  You can sign up for text alerts by going to https://a858-nycnotify.nyc.gov/NotifyNYC/Home.aspx.

4)      Make a go bag with medicine, keys, emergency supplies, important documents and a few essential personal items, non-perishable food, water, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, extra flashlights and batteries in a waterproof portable container.

5)      Charge your cell phones and other important electronics.

Please be safe, and we’ll be sure to keep you posted.

Best,

Paul

“Three dead city residents from the same East Village housing complex rose from the grave last month to sign petitions in a hotly contested race for party positions. – New York Post July 31, 2011

For two years now, I have been proud to be Lower Manhattan’s independent Democratic voice as District Leader.  When I ran for this unpaid office in 2009, I promised supporters that I would never be afraid to stand up for New Yorkers.

I believe I have kept that promise.  From big real estate interests like the Rudin Organization to big political bosses, I have called out the powerful when our communities needed a voice.  District Leaders have very little power, and that voice is one of them.

Unsurprisingly, not everyone is thrilled.  The allies of the status quo are backing a corporate lawyer from a “white-shoe” law firm running against me on behalf of the political bosses.  Trouble is, they don’t have any grassroots support in Lower Manhattan.  So they reached way back into their Tammany Hall playbook. 

They had dead people sign their ballot access petitions. Our supporters – all neighborhood activists – spotted the scam right away.

The details of this scandal aside, it highlights how committed the machine is to silencing independent voices.  Please consider donating $25, $50 or $100 right now to help fight corrupt politics in New York.

The machine candidates have all the armies of Albany and Wall Street behind them.  I’ve got you.  When I’m campaigning in the East Village, the Lower East Side, the Financial District or Battery Park City, I know that downtowners support our message of honest, progressive government (at least the living ones, anyway).

If we are going to build real, progressive change in New York, we need a political system that listens to New Yorkers, not big donors behind closed doors. Please make a contribution today to help keep independent voices in NYC politics.

Thank you for your support.  I’ll be sure to keep you posted as the campaign develops.

Thank you,

Paul

NY Post – Pols in “Dead Heat” July 31, 2011

NearSay – Dead Men Voting! – July 31, 2011

I wanted to let you know about two important informational meetings on health care in Lower Manhattan today.

1) FDNY Presentation on how the closing of St. Vincent’s hospital has impacted EMS/Ambulance operations.

Since the illegal closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital over a year ago, the hole in services has impacted countless New Yorkers.  While much of the mounting evidence has been anecdotal, we have seen quantifiable impacts on the wait times at other New York hospitals like New York Downtown and Beth Israel.  Last fall, Dr. Lewis Goldfrank, Bellevue’s longtime chief of emergency medicine, went on the record to call the loss of St. Vincent’s a “a significant disaster” for emergency care in NYC.

Another important part of this puzzle is the impact on ambulance services.  We know travel times are longer, but exactly how we haven’t heard.

Tonight at 6:00PM, the FDNY will give a presentation to CB2’s Environment, Public Safety & Public Health Committee on precisely this question.  It will be valuable community information, and an opportunity to ask the important questions.

I hope you will join the Coalition for a New Village Hospital there.

Tonight, Wednesday July 20th at 6:30 PM

Little Red School House, Auditorium

196 Bleecker St. (enter on Sixth Avenue)

2) Zadroga Bill Post-9/11 health care forum in Battery Park City

Last year, years of hard work and advocacy by our communities and representatives paid off when the US Congress finally passed the Zadroga Act to provide medical care for responders and residents suffering from post-9/11 health care issues.

No one yet knows how many lower Manhattanites this has impacted.  Many of us have questions about the bill, our healthcare and more.  Tonight, Advocates for Justice is holding a forum for residents and first responders to learn about the bill and see how it may apply to them.
Tonight, Wednesday July 20th at 6:00 PM

Advocates for Justice

Community Forum on the Zadroga Act

Museum of Jewish Heritage

2 Battery Place (MAP)

Battery Park City, NYC
If you can’t make it to the Zadroga meeting tonight, there will be two more in the next few days

Sat, July 23, Noon-1 pm: Lin Sing Association, 49 Mott Street, Chinatown and
Tue, July 26, 4:30-6 pm: Borough Hall, Brooklyn

Apologies for the short notice on these two important meetings.  I’ll be sure to keep you posted.

While the details are unclear, it seems that Albany’s infamous “Three Men in a Room” have negotiated a bad deal for tenants on rent regulation.

Again, as negotiations have been secret, we don’t know the details.  But according to tenant activists and our friends at the Real Rent Reform campaign,  it appears that the deal negotiated will not include indexing of “destabilization” rates to inflation, nor will it significantly raise the rate at which stabilized units can be deregulated.  For a city losing tens of thousands of affordable housing unites per year, this will be very bad news.

None of this is set in stone yet.  If you are a fellow lower Manhattanite, please call Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver at 518-455-3791 immediately and ask the Speaker to renegotiate a better deal for New Yorkers.

If you don’t live downtown, you can find your Assembly member’s number here: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/.

And while you’re at it, Marriage Equality remains up in the air.  The Three (straight) Men in the Room have so far left that out of their plan.  Please take a second to call your State Senator here:  http://www.friendfactor.org/fs/107506

I’ll try and keep you posted as things develop.

Thanks,
Paul

The next few days in Albany will decide two of the biggest issues facing New Yorkers today. I’m writing to encourage you to take a moment and contact your State Senator at http://www.nysenate.gov/.

Later today, the rent protections that have allowed New York City to retain its diverse, dynamic character will expire. This will leave 2.5 Million New Yorkers at the risk of eviction.  While rent regulation is not a perfect system, it has permitted working and middle class families to stay in the city, when in other cities they have been driven out.  It is essential that these laws not only be extended, but strengthened to prevent landlord harassment and loss of housing.

This afternoon, please join me and the Real Rent Reform Campaign at a midtown Rally to demand stronger rent laws now:

Rally for Real Rent Reform
Today, June 15 at 5pm

At Governor Cuomo’s NYC Office

633 Third Avenue (Between 40th and 41st Streets)

If you can’t make it, please contact your Senator now at http://www.nysenate.gov/contact_form and demand that they strengthen and extend rent protections for New York.

Another vital issue, as I’m sure you’ve heard, is marriage equality. Today, New York State is on the brink of reclaiming our title as a leader in civil rights that we earned at Seneca Falls in 1848, in labor protections in the early 1900s and in a hundred other struggles.  As of this email, our State Senate is one vote short of passing Marriage Equality so that all New Yorkers can marry the ones they love.

Please call your State Senator TODAY and weigh in on the side of justice and love.  You can use Marriage Equality New York’s nifty “Call your Senator” feature.

Thank you,

Paul