Thank you 200+ residents for coming out in such short notice to support the tenant association presidents who called for the rally.
See this page for the news coverage associated with the rally and safe injection site. For some of the photos and videos of the rally, see this youtube video and various instagram posts: Ashley Sharpton spoke, Congressman Espaillat spoke, photos at the beginning, photos at the end.
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Greater Harlem Coalition members,
We are calling on every member of GHC to show up this Saturday at 11am to let Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hocul know ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Support our neighbors on 126th and Park Avenue who are closely located near too many social service programs including drug treatment clinics, harm reduction programs and adult only homeless shelters. Also, come protest against the government’s placing additional harm reduction program despite a moratorium by community board at that location without community involvement in front of a Pre-K School. More services need to be added to other districts of New York City to help the vulnerable population.
PLEASE SHARE THIS FLYER WITH AT LEAST 5 NEIGHBORS AND WITHIN YOUR OWN ORGANIZATION. SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram, Facebook, Twitter USING HASHTAG #FAIRSHARE4HARLEM, tagging@GreaterHarlem.
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The Tenant Associations of AK House, MS House, 1775 Houses, and Jackie Robinson Houses, and the Victory Church call on you to join their protest on 11th December Saturday (12th Dec Sunday rain day).
Attached here is the poster. Below is the description of the mission. Let us know if you belong to an organization that would like to join as supporter.
Call to Rally:
Join the citizens and schools near 125th Street to protest to demand fairshare and a healthy environment for their children and more services for people in all of New York.
Time: This Sat 11th Dec 2021 at 11am to 1pm.
- Where: Gather at the south side of 125th and Park Avenue.
- Route: Walk to 125th Street and Lexington Avenue, then circle back to the gathering spot via 126th Street to Lenox. We will circle around these few blocks.
- Event organizers: Tenant Associations AK House, MS House, 1775 House, and Jackie Robinson Houses, and Victory Church
- Event supporters: Greater Harlem Coalition, National Action Network, District Leader William Smith, Martin Luther King Jr. Democratic Club, Uptown Democratic Club, Federick E. Samuel Community Democratic Club, State Committeewoman Tamika Mapp, Uptown Dem, East Harlem Dem, Community Leader Joshua Clennon, Garden of Gesalien Ministry
Bring signs, here are some suggested slogans:
- Our Children Matters, Whose street? Our street!
- Enough is Enough, Stop Redlining Harlem
- Oversaturation is a form of racial injustice, Oversaturation is a form of systemic racism
- Harlem deserves better, Our children deserves better
- Fairshare for Harlem, Other districts need their fair share
We support safe access to treatment and services for all people who may suffer from substance abuse disorder. However, we can not ignore the blatant systemic racism of our local and state government which continues to site facilities in Harlem without community input in a district with excessive concentration of drug treatment facilities, harm reduction programs and adult only homeless shelters. The latest siting of the Nation’s first formal supervised injection site despite the existing moratorium without any community input from residents is a slap in the face to residents of Harlem. (see letter from community board 11)
We must ACT NOW while there is focus from National and international news media on Harlem
Within 2 blocks area on 126th Street between Park Avenue and Lexington Avenue are the following social services authorized by the City and the State:
- NYC’s largest methadone clinic by Mount Sinai treating 1850 patients each day and
- The M35 bus stop which is the only drop off point for the 1200+ residents of adult only homeless shelters on Wards Island.
- Now the supervised injection site that serves 6000 people in a year that has been in operation without consulting the community.
More broadly, East and Central Harlem has 3.5% of NYC’s population but serves nearly 20% of drug treatment patients. East Harlem alone has twice the treatment capacity as the entire borough of Queens combined. Everyday on average 7000 people are being treated for substance abuse issues in this small area, mostly near 125th Street. Harlem has more than its fair share, it’s time for other neighborhoods to add services to help other New Yorkers
The protest is against:
- Over-concentration of social services including harm reduction programs, drug treatment clinics, and adult only homeless shelters in one neighborhood
- Lack of social services in some districts in New York City where there is a need
- Siting of these municipal programs near schools and dense residential area,
- Siting municipal programs without community involvements, notably ignoring moratorium passed by community board and lying to the community about the intent to site the clinic
If we don’t show up in large numbers, we are telling the government that it is ok to continue to ignore the voice of our community. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We call for fair share for our children.