Actions for Week of May 24, 2020
Send the legislature back to work to protect us, election updates, and phone bank to flip the Senate.
ELECTION NEWS UPDATES
The Court of Appeals issued two election rulings.
The first upheld the decision requiring a presidential primary. It will be on June 23. Everyone (once again) will get an absentee ballot application in the mail. Or, you can request one at this link: https://nycabsentee.com/
The second one held that Rebecca Seawright’s petitions to be on the ballot contained “fatal errors.” She is no longer on the ballot. The only official candidate is a GOP doorman!: https://nypost.com/2020/05/21/nys-highest-court-knocks-lawmaker-seawright-off-ballot-over-snafu/
ENDORSEMENT
We issued a press release endorsing Carolyn Maloney. You can read it here.
RENT RELIEF AND NOVEMBER VOTING
Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand are both on board for federal help. No timeline yet for a vote.
On the state front, there are a number of rent relief bills pending.
The full list of state rent relief bills, with links to the bills.
The Indivisible letter that was sent.
Sen. Krueger and Assembly member Rebecca Seawright have co-sponsored bills calling for state rent relief. Dan Quart has not signed on yet, so if you are in his district, contact him here:
Dan Quart: (212) 605-0937
quartd@nyassembly.gov
If you want to contact Rebecca Seawright and Liz Krueger to thank them for their support, their contact information is:
Liz Krueger: (212) 490-9535
lkrueger@nysenate.gov
Rebecca Seawright: (212) 288-4607
SeawrightR@nyassembly.gov
WEEK OF ACTION
The legislature has been home, talking to constituents, but not passing any bills. There is urgent legislation that needs to be passed to protect our vote, our health, and our our democracy. Indivisible is planning a week of action to urge our reps to do their jobs and pass legislation such as rent relief and no-excuse absentee voting for everyone in November. S8015A would add pandemic as an excuse for absentee voting, and S8130 would allow email receipt of applications to vote absentee. We've got online tools that make it all easy. Just click on the links to get started.
Tuesday, May 26
WRITE TO YOUR LEGISLATORS
Write letters to the editor and email your reps about these actions using easy tools from Indivisible that do most of the "grunt" work for you.
Wednesday, May 27
CALL YOUR STATE REPS
Script:
New Yorkers have been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic and we deserve elected officials who work on our behalf during this crisis. Instead, the legislature has been focusing solely on constituent services, and not legislating. The June primary is weeks away, and it is imperative that you get back to work and vote remotely to pass bills to protect our democracy and our health.
(see numbers above)
AND
TOWN HALL WITH ELIZABETH WARREN
5 PM
Join Indivisible national and Elizabeth Warren for a virtual town hall to demand safe voting come November. RSVP at the link.
Thursday, May 28
MAKE A VIDEO
Use Indivisible's Soapboxx tool to post a short video (just make the video with your phone and send it in, they will take care of the rest).
Friday, May 29
USE SOCIAL MEDIA
Friday is social media day. There's a Twitter tool you can use. Or, post on Facebook:
Script:
Protecting democracy and public health should be the top priority for state legislators -- and yet they’re not voting on legislation amid a global pandemic. It’s time for _____ and ______ to #GetBacktoWork and ensure there’s a safe way to vote in the June primary -- and again in November. Executive orders from the Governor won’t cut it -- they’re temporary, too broad and difficult to implement, and are less likely to hold up in court. Instead, we need actual legislation like S8015A (Biaggi) and S8130 (Myrie) to ensure people can apply for an absentee ballot electronically and vote from the safety of their homes so as not to risk spreading or catching the coronavirus.
*****SAVE THE DATES******
VIRTUAL PHONE BANKING AND LETTER WRITING
We're planning virtual phone banking and letter writing events in June. Phone banking June 2 and 14 (for Mark Kelly and whoever wins the Georgina Democratic primary) and then letters to voters on June 18 and June 25 to encourage registration.
Sign up form and more details at the link.
FUN AND EDUCATION UNDER QUARANTINE
ADULTS
Shakespeare in the Park
A mad king, wicked children. It’s not current events. It’s Shakespeare. From a 1974 Shakespeare in the Park performance of King Lear, with James Earl Jones, Paul Sorvino, and Raul Julia.
Alvin Ailey City of Rain
This week's performance (available until May 28) is City of Rain. It seems especially appropriate in this time of loss. Watch it, plus behind the scenes commentary, at the link.
Peabody Museum of Archaeology
Online exhibits of African masks, spirits of the Amazon, and Native American delegations to DC
The Brain Scoop
Emilie Graslie of the Field Museum in Chicago, takes you on behind the scenes looks at the insides of animals, rocks, snakes, and other natural history topics. Some may not be for the squeamish. But, this one is just about King Tut's head.
Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum
Take a virtual tour of a museum dedicated to sculpture. Red dots are objects of interest to kids, blue is for grownups. Click on each for explanations and videos about the objects. There's also a lovely mini-exhibit of wooden bowls and carvings.
FAMILIES
Unicorn tapestries
A guide to the unicorn tapestries at the Met Cloisters and the myths and legends behind them.
KIDS
Bubbles
Make your own bubble solution and bubble wands using ordinary kitchen supplies. It's both fun and helps kids figure out measuring and making predictions.
or
Play with Boxes
Kids can collaborate (and find out what that means) on ideas for adventures, stories, and how to transform an ordinary box into something fun.
Sensory Friendly Saturdays
The Miami Children’s Museum has sensory friendly activities on Saturdays. Since they are closed, they've put it all online.
Cheese Bread
Everyone has been cooking a lot more during the quarantine. Here's a quick video showing you and the kids how to make cheese bread. No yeast needed!
Coloring Pages
The new children's museum of San Diego has put together a collection of coloring pages, based on exhibits.
****** Your steering committee: Jodi, Margo, Nicole, and Jonathan
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