Author Archives: dana b

Financial District wedding to mark 3rd anniversary of Citizens United, infamous U.S. Supreme Ct case.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Occupy Wall Street Press Relations Team, 347-292-1444, press@occupywallst.org

Human and corporate “person” to unite in exuberant protest/celebration – “Get Money out of Politics”

New York—A Financial District wedding on Saturday, January 19, will mark the 3rd anniversary of Citizens United, the infamous 2010 US Supreme Court case. 

The event will creatively spotlight the impact of Citzens United — how elections and democracy are corroded with big money from rich people and corporations.  The wedding will join in (un)holy matrimony a real human being to a non-human corporate “person.”

At 3:30 PM the wedding party will gather at 60 Wall Street and then proceed to the steps of historic Federal Hall at Wall and Broad St. for the ceremony.   Officiating will be Rev. Billy accompanied by the Stop Shopping Choir.

Members of Occupy Wall Street and other civic-minded groups will be in attendance to cheer the perfect coupling.  Interlopers are also expected, to jeer and cry out, “Get money out of politics.”   Wall Streeters and the 1%, of course, cheered the Citizens United decision in 2010. 

Further information online at:  https://www.facebook.com/events/313891162046444/

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NYPD, Media Reports Attempt to Link OWS to Crime (Again)

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Re:  the alleged link to Occupy Wall Street (OWS) in media reports about the arrest of two Greenwich Village residents charged yesterday with possession of weapons/explosive material.

Since its beginnings in September 2011, Occupy Wall Street has vigorously used its Constitutional rights to protest Wall Street greed, and is firmly committed to non-violence. Nonetheless, Occupy has been subjected to extensive surveillance and repression, and the NYPD takes every opportunity to link OWS to crime.

There is nothing in the news stories to support a link between OWS and the individual arrested; his name is unfamiliar to many OWS activists. A very large number of people came through Zuccotti Park, and there are countless Occupy-related groups nationwide, so it is very difficult to ascertain if one person participated in anything related to OWS.

We urge members of the media to refrain from spreading rumors and misinformation.

New Yorkers hard-hit by Sandy will take to the streets in Rockaways, Staten Island, Manhattan

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Occupy Wall Street Press Relations Team, 347-292-1444, press@occupywallst.org
For Rockaways action only: Virginia Deer 347-733-8887, Gayle Grantham 917-701-5337
For Staten Island action only: Amin Husain 917-407-1226, Sandy Nurse 917-678-5395
For Manhattan action only:  Bill Dobbs 917-822-5422

New York—With winter closing in and anger rising at Mayor Bloomberg’s foot-dragging, New Yorkers hard hit by Hurricane Sandy will be on the streets on Saturday, Dec. 15 in the Rockaways and Staten Island, with many converging Saturday PM outside the mayor’s Manhattan home. Thousands of New Yorkers are still without power or heat and are fighting for survival against black mold and bureaucracy.

Saturday will be a first – New Yorkers taking collective action to protest the government’s glaringly inadequate response to the storm, and to demand:  emergency local housing, immediate mold remediation and an end to red tape and delays in deploying critical resources. Community residents and activists from groups including Occupy will raise the question, how, in this great city, can thousands still be without electricity, living with mold creeping up walls and getting sicker in an emerging public health crisis.

As the weeks have gone by, many of those hit by Sandy’s fury sense betrayal and are now raising their voices, leafleting and standing together; hundreds are expected to join the protests.

Rockaways 12:00 Noon
Community members gather at Mott Ave. and Beach 21st St. (Thriftway parking lot), and in a show of solidarity, will “March for Health, Housing and Just Recovery” to Beach 29th St. (bet. Seagirt and Boardwalk) while getting a close-up view of homes devastated in the storm including those contaminated by black mold and still without utilities.

Staten Island 12:00 Noon
Residents will gather outside 1128 Olympia (across from St. Margaret Mary’s Church) for a community speakout, and then depart as a group for a ‘Tour of Destruction” of damaged and mold-plagued houses in the area with a public health expert from Hunter College. A statement from Staten Islanders is online at: http://pastebin.com/Q3gBV2ja.

Manhattan 5:00 PM
Rally at Bloomberg’s townhouse, 17 E. 79th St (bet. Madison and Fifth Ave.) – those still suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane will gather, taking their plight to the door of the mayor’s private residence. Staten Islanders, Rockaways residents, community allies will join together for an action in the darkness, emblematic of thousands who are still without power.

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Scathing Report on Post-Sandy Recovery: Who Really Shoulders the Cost?

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Contact: OWS PR Team, 347-292-1444, press@occupywallst.org
Who is Paying for Sandy? New Report from Occupy Offshoot
Reveals Debt-Burden as Trade for “Aid”

Who is really paying for the Sandy Recovery? An important and little understood question. Strike Debt, an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street, has just released a detailed and scathing report about the state of hurricane relief around New York City. Post-Sandy, loans are being used as the main form of federal “aid” to disaster-impacted communities and the financial burden lies on individuals, many who are already struggling with debt. Read the report, entitled “Shouldering the Cost”, which includes assessments and recommendations from grassroots responders about the state of Post-Sandy recovery.

Other findings include:
FEMA and the Red Cross have been incredibly slow in responding and haven’t been able to meet basic needs of affected communities; thousands of residents are still living with inconsistent power, heat and hot water, even a month after the storm hit.

Relief options aren’t being clearly communicated to affected residents.
Mold is at a public health crisis level in affected areas, and the burden of clean up is largely on the individual.

 

Direct link to report: http://bit.ly/TFTvj6
For more on Strike Debt visit strikedebt.org
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Emergency Protest at Spectra Pipeline in West Village

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 1, 2012
Contact: Patrick Robbins (917) 364 7461/Kim Fraczek: (646) 387 3180

EMERGENCY PROTEST AS SPECTRA PIPELINE TAKES CRUCIAL CONSTRUCTION STEP IN WEST VILLAGE

This Saturday, December 1, at 1 PM, residents and activists will protest construction of the Spectra Pipeline, a high-pressure gas pipeline being built at Gansevoort Street and the West Side Highway.  If completed it will bring ‘fracked’ gas from Pennsylvania and New Jersey into densely populated NYC.  The emergency protest was called because organizers learned construction, which had been halted for the season, will resume for a crucial ‘pullback’. During this step, the pipe is pulled back through a hole under the Hudson River in one long continuous, uninterruptible operation.

Over four months, a coalition of residents, artists and activists called Occupy the Pipeline has waged a multi-tiered campaign to stop the pipeline’s construction because if it is completed the pipeline poses serious health risks to all of NYC from possible explosions and increased exposure to radon. The construction of the pipeline will also increase reliance on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a controversial method of shale gas extraction.

Spectra was given permission to start construction despite a pending state-level lawsuit pending challenging the construction’s legality, and despite a pending federal-level lawsuit that will get underway in several weeks. Thousands have expressed opposition via comments to the federal agency in charge [Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)], letters to state, federal and local government, and continuous actions and protests at the site that have resulted in eight arrests.

“Spectra Energy Corporation and their government allies are trying to rush this through without listening to the people,” said Monica Hunken, an organizer with Occupy the Pipeline. “They think we’re not paying attention; they’re wrong — we will not let one drop of gas flow through it.”

The protest will be highly visual: participants will have images and mementos to symbolize what they are protecting, such as photos of friends and lovers, or their pets.

www.occupythepipeline.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/OccupyThePipeline
@occupy_pipeline
Text @fracked to 23559 for action alerts

30 DAYS IN: Occupy Sandy on the Worsening Crisis

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Hurricane Sandy is an ongoing tragedy that for many people is only getting worse.
Residents, community organizations and city, state, and federal agencies must come together to address the IMMEDIATE crisis that is worsening as the weather gets colder.
A month after Hurricane Sandy, thousands remain without electricity, heat, water, healthy food, basic healthcare, adequate housing, or even temporary shelter.
Continue reading →

Occupy Sandy NJ Recovery Thanksgiving

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCCUPY SANDY NJ RECOVERY

Contacts:

Occupy Sandy NJ is coordinating a major statewide work-day this Saturday, November 24th, across the disaster area in the Garden State. Until very recently, only residents were able to return and witness the devastation for themselves. Now that the coast is beginning to open up, residents are returning, and the recovery effort has begun.Volunteers are urgently needed in NJ now.

Continue reading →

Thanksgiving meals around NYC; Black Friday protest at Walmart

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For Immediate Release
Contact: 347-292-1444, press@occupywallst.org
Contact info for specific events are listed below

Occupy Sandy for the 99%

Thanksgiving meals around NYC; Black Friday protest at Walmart

New York–On Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, many activists from Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Sandy will be providing food and kindness to New Yorkers, especially those struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  The holiday meals are part of a large, volunteer mutual aid effort which began right after Sandy struck.

24 days after the storm many New Yorkers are in severe distress, even without heat or electricity as winter weather looms. Community meals provided by Occupy Sandy and local allies:

Rockaways (Queens):

Veggie Island. B96th St. and Rockaway Beach Blvd. school auditorium. 12-4pm.
St. Camillus Church. B100th St. and Rockaway Beach Blvd. 12-4pm.
St. Gertrude’s Church. B38th St. and Beach Channel Dr. 12-4pm.
Contact: Diego Ibanez, (347) 486-1313 or Sofía Gallisá, (787) 403-6492

Lower East Side (Manhattan):

St Marks Church, East 10th St. between 2nd Ave. and 3rd Ave. 1pm.
Contact: Jessica Alfreds, jessalfreds@gmail.com

Midland Beach (Staten Island):

489 Midland Ave. A community-managed distribution hub with hot food, clothing, supplies.
1128 Olympia Blvd. Community-catered meal at the Occupy Sandy hub. 2-4pm
Contact: Daphne Carr, Occupy Sandy Staten Island co-organizer (646) 398-0869 (texting is best)

Sheepshead Bay (Brooklyn):

Corner of Brown St & Emmons Ave.
Contact: Yelena Serebrenik, (646) 573-6268
BLACK FRIDAY PROTEST


Wall Street to Walmart: Occupy Black Friday: November 23rd
400 Park Pl, Secaucus, NJ  5am & 12:30pm
As thousands of underpaid Walmart workers threaten to strike, members of Occupy Wall Street, 99 Pickets, the Alliance for a Greater New York (ALIGN), Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping, Retail Action Project (RAP) and community allies will protest in solidarity at Walmart. This is one of a thousand such actions planned nationwide. 
http://www.nycga.net/events/black-friday-strike-against-walmart/

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Occupy offshoot ‘Strike Debt’ launches a bailout for the 99%

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For Immediate Release: November 15, 2012
 

Strike Debt, an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street, is launching the Rolling Jubilee–a project that buys debt for pennies on the dollar, but instead of collecting it, abolishes it. The project has already drawn national attention to the crippling burden of debt on the average household, the 99%.

The launch of the Rolling Jubilee — a sold out telethon called the “People’s Bailout”– featuring musicians and comedians will be held at  Le Poisson Rouge in NYC. Live stream is available (embed code below), and local NYC viewing party at Church of the Village (201 W 13th St) is open to everyone. Telethon viewing parties are organized in over 30 cities across the country.

The event is to raise additional funds to buy defaulted debt. This is an effort to turn the tables against Wall Street and bring collective power to debt resistance. Debtors are liberated at random through a campaign of mutual support, good will, and collective refusal. The  Rolling Jubilee is just the first step toward lifting the crushing debt burden and remaking the economic system so that no one has to go into debt for basic necessities.
So far there has been enough raised $180,000 which should enable the purchase and cancellation of roughly $3.5 million of debt. There has already been a successful debt buy which abolished $100,000 in medical debt.
Follow @StrikeDebt @RollingJubilee and #PeoplesBailout on twitter

Over three-quarters of American households are in debt and one of out every seven American is being pursued by a debt collector. $26,000 is the average level of student debt in this country. 25% of homeowners are underwater in their mortgage. Debt is everywhere.

You likely have questions. How does this work? Has this been done before? Whose debt will be forgiven? We have Frequently Asked Questions and are happy to connect you with one of the many Strike Debt organizers behind the Rolling Jubilee to answer any other questions. Please contact us at 347-292-1444 or email press@occupywallst.org

There are big plans for the future, stay tuned.

EMBED for LIVESTREAM:
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align:center;width:560px”>Watch <a href=”http://www.livestream.com/?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks” title=”live streaming video”>live streaming video</a> from <a href=”http://www.livestream.com/lepoissonrouge?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&amp;utm_campaign=footerlinks” title=”Watch lepoissonrouge at livestream.com“>lepoissonrouge</a> at livestream.com</div>
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Occupy Sandy Relief Efforts

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Right now, all over the city, Occupy Wall Street activists, allies at community based organizations such as the Red Hook Initiative, Yana Community Center (Rockaways), and GOLES (LES), organizations like 350.org and recovers.org, and tireless volunteers are establishing hubs to coordinate volunteers and distribute much needed supplies to the neighborhoods devastated by Hurricane Sandy. This upsurge of people power is called Occupy Sandy, a dedicated relief effort by the 99% for the 99%.

Occupy Sandy’s information hub (http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/) is  source for constant updates on volunteer and supply needs, drop off locations, ride share opportunities, sharing food, water, medical and psychological care, clothes, flashlights, clean-up capacity, (and even entertainment), for people without power.

Here are some opportunities to capture relief efforts in action and interview community organizers:
*St. Jacobi Church, 5406 4th Ave, Sunset Park. Work crews sent out around the borough around 10am. Contact: Michael Premo 917-547-1292
*Yana Community Center, Far Rockaways, B113 and Rockaway Blvd. Meals served 10am, 1pm and 5pm. This is a hyper local effort at a newly opened community center.
*GOLES, 169 Ave. B between 10th and 11th. Work crews out between 12-6pm. Contact: Laura Gottesdiener 617-519-5659
(Need to charge your equipment? There are always the Occupy Wall Street bike generators on Avenue C between 9th and 10th Street!) If you are interested in connecting with the hardest hit residents from Red Hook to the Rockaways to Chinatown, let us know and we’ll point you in the right direction.

Check the Occupy Wall Street Sandy Relief page for up-to-the-minute volunteer updates.
Check occupywallstreet.net for individual testimonies from the hardest hit areas.

Sandy hit rich and poor alike, flooding Wall Street bank lobbies, mangling mansions in the Rockaways and stranding the elderly in Chinatown projects. But in America’s most economically stratified city, marginalized communities are experiencing vastly different access to relief than the top 1%. If you have questions or want to talk to organizers on the ground, please reach out and we’ll point you in the right direction.

Thanks,
OWS PR Team
Contact: 347-292-1444 | press@occupywallst.org | @occupywallstpr