Dozens of CVH leaders came out in the freezing cold alongside several elected officials to push for greater Congressional support for a national Community Jobs Bill. Showcasing the Great Depression and the "New Depression," CVH was successful in convincing four additional Congressional representatives to sign on as co-sponsors of the bill.

CVH Board Member Zoila Almonte was interviewed by Telemundo. Below the link to the segment is a translation of the Spanish piece.

Telemundo 47 coverage

Show Host: Not wanting this year to be a nightmare for thousands of New Yorkers, a group of politicians have proposed a bill that would create jobs, Liz Gonzales will tell us more about it.

Liz Gonzalez:  Zoila Almonte has been looking for a job for 5 years, but the statistics don’t count her as unemployed anymore.  No one wants to hire her due to her age and her lack of professional training.

Zoila:  You spend time with applications and sending out resumes and giving out your information.  You keep trying and trying but you never hear from anyone.

Liz Gonzalez:  In Harlem, Herminio Arista who owns a local business, says that sales have gone down in the last year and that people are desperate.   

Hermini Arista:  We see it every day.  People come and ask if we can give them donut and coffee for free.  They haven’t eaten anything because they don’t have a job.

Liz Gonzalez:  Elected officials in NY sent today a letter to members of the US Senate asking them to pass a bill that will help low income people in NY.

Melissa Mark-Viverito:  The Financial Sector is creating jobs and people are finding jobs, but people in our communities are not as prepare as the rest.  There are no new jobs for African American and Hispanic communities.  

Liz Gonzalez:  This new program would provide money for the municipalities.  They would be able to create one million jobs in low-income communities where the levels of unemployment are higher.  Council members, State Senators, and Community Voices Heard got together in front of City Hall to speak in favor of this bill.  This was just only one of many events throughout the country in support of the Community Jobs Program.  From Manhattan Liz Gonzalez, Telemundo 47 News.  

CVH released a report, "Democracy (In)Action: How HUD, NYCHA and Official Structures Undermine Resident Participation in New York City Public Housing," which finds that the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is violating federal regulations (referred to as the 964 regs) that ensure residents’ participation in policymaking. To make matters worse, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – the chief enforcer of the 964 regulations – is failing to provide the appropriate oversight to ensure that residents can meaningfully and democratically participate.

The report is based on a survey with over 1100 public housing residents across the five boroughs, five in-depth focus groups, a review of three years of meeting minutes between NYCHA and public residents, and observations of key resident participation events.

The report release was covered by the World Journal. Additionally, AM 1600 WWRL and the Gotham Gazette posted links to the report on our website.

 On Monday, January 11th CVH Public Housing leader and board member Anne Washington was interviewed on WBAI's Housing Notebook Radio Show. Anne talked about her experiences living in Grant Houses in West Harlem, how she first got involved with CVH, and what we are working on this year. Follow the link below to listen to the show online:

http://archive.wbai.org/files/mp3/100111_200001housing.MP3

CVH was honored with the Independent Sector's American Express Building Leadership Award in early December 2009. Board Co-Chair Ketny Jean-Francois and Executive Director Sondra Youdelman accepted the award on behalf of the members.

Prior to the event, Independent Sector filmed a video featuring CVH, which was broadcast at their annual conference in Detroit, MI.

Independent Sector's - American Express - Building Leadership Award from Independent Sector on Vimeo.

CVH members traveled to Washington, D.C., to join coalition partner Center for Community Change in calling on President Barack Obama to make sure that jobs are also created for low-income workers and those transitioning off welfare.

CBS Evening News

Note: CVH is shown at the 1:50 mark in the segment.

CVH members joined the New York City Right to the City in calling on elected officials to open vacant luxury condominium developments to the poor. The construction of many of the buildings began before the economic recession, leaving many of the homes unoccupied.

The effort has been gaining widespread media coverage throughout New York.

Right to the City-New York Survey: 601 Condo Buildings in Distress in NYC, More Than Formerly Noted, Daily News

A Close Look at the City’s Condo Crisis, Metro

Survey Finds 601 Troubled Condo Projects, Crain’s New York Business

Condos, Condos Everywhere, Gotham Gazette

Arrested Development: Dueling Stalled Construction Lists , Curbed

150 Rally for Conversion of Vacant Condos to Affordable Housing, Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Condos for the Poor, Courier Life/Your Nabe

Just How Many Condo Projects Are Unfilled And Unfinished In New York City?, Luxurist

CVH members in Yonkers demanded to know who would monitor a land disposition agreement between the city and Struever Fidelco Cappelli (SFC). Members have pushed for the construction of affordable housing as a part of the development that would include 1400 housing units, in addition to a new baseball stadium and hotel. CVH member Walter Lipscomb was among those in attendance at a Yonkers City Council Real Estate Committee meeting where final terms were discussed. The full article can be viewed through the link below.

LoHud.com - New York's Lower Hudson Valley

   Over 100 CVH members led three New York City Council members on a tour of public housing to illustrate the effects of funding cuts to the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), and called on their elected officials to fully fund public housing and include residents to be involved in the oversight of the Federal Stimulus Funds allocated to NYCHA.  City Council speak Christine Quinn and members Robert Jackson and Melissa Mark-Viverito were given an intimate look at the some of the problems public housing residents face at the Jefferson Houses in East Harlem and Grant Houses in West Harlem.

On June 30, 2009, dozens of CVH members held three simultaneous, statewide press conferences in all chapters to draw attention to $100 million in economic stimulus funds that could be used to help create jobs for low-income people in New York State.

In New York City, Board member and leader Ketny Jean-Francois and CVH leader James Graham gave statements to the press. Johanssis Peralta, a former welfare recipient and current leader in the Mid-Hudson chapter gave a statement at thePoughkeepsie press conference. And CVH leader Valerie Pearson spoke at theYonkers press conference.

CVH leaders and members were joined and supported by elected and appointed officials as well as advocates and allies. These people include: District Council 37 (DC37), Community Service Society of New York (CSSNY), Hunger Action Network of New York State (HANNYS), the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI), Common Cause New York, Good Jobs New York (GJNY), Mt. Vernon United Tenets, New York City Comptroller William "Bill" Thompson, New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and New York City Council Members Melissa Mark-Viverito and Julissa Ferreras, Yonkers City Council Member and Majority Leader Sandy Annabi as well as New York State Senators Daniel Squadron and Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

WBAI Coverage

Mid-Hudson News

Times Herald Record

WAMC

On June 30, 2009, dozens of CVH members held three simultaneous, statewide press conferences in all chapters to draw attention to $100 million in economic stimulus funds that could be used to help create jobs for low-income people in New York State.

In New York City, Board member and leader Ketny Jean-Francois and CVH leader James Graham gave statements to the press. Johanssis Peralta, a former welfare recipient and current leader in the Mid-Hudson chapter gave a statement at thePoughkeepsie press conference. And CVH leader Valerie Pearson spoke at theYonkers press conference.

CVH leaders and members were joined and supported by elected and appointed officials as well as advocates and allies. These people include: District Council 37 (DC37), Community Service Society of New York (CSSNY), Hunger Action Network of New York State (HANNYS), the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI), Common Cause New York, Good Jobs New York (GJNY), Mt. Vernon United Tenets, New York City Comptroller William "Bill" Thompson, New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and New York City Council Members Melissa Mark-Viverito and Julissa Ferreras, Yonkers City Council Member and Majority Leader Sandy Annabi as well as New York State Senators Daniel Squadron and Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

Mid-Hudson News

Times Herald Record

WAMC

On June 30, 2009, dozens of CVH members held three simultaneous, statewide press conferences in all chapters to draw attention to $100 million in economic stimulus funds that could be used to help create jobs for low-income people in New York State.

In New York City, Board member and leader Ketny Jean-Francois and CVH leader James Graham gave statements to the press. Johanssis Peralta, a former welfare recipient and current leader in the Mid-Hudson chapter gave a statement at thePoughkeepsie press conference. And CVH leader Valerie Pearson spoke at theYonkers press conference.

CVH Leader Johannsis Peralta speaks to the press

CVH leaders and members were joined and supported by elected and appointed officials as well as advocates and allies. These people include: District Council 37 (DC37), Community Service Society of New York (CSSNY), Hunger Action Network of New York State (HANNYS), the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI), Common Cause New York, Good Jobs New York (GJNY), Mt. Vernon United Tenets, New York City Comptroller William "Bill" Thompson, New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and New York City Council Members Melissa Mark-Viverito and Julissa Ferreras, Yonkers City Council Member and Majority Leader Sandy Annabi as well as New York State Senators Daniel Squadron and Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

WBAI Coverage

Mid-Hudson News

Times Herald Record

WAMC

In November 2008, CVH released a report entitled Missing the Mark: An Examination of NYC's Back to Work Program and Its Effectiveness In Meeting Employment Goals for Welfare Recipients. Since the release of this report, CVH has been advocating for much needed and long overdue changes for the program. Our efforts include encouraging New York City Council to hold this joint oversight hearing of the failing program.

New York City Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito and Contracts Committee Chair Letitia James were among those who attended the press conference in support of CVH as members gave statements to the press and handed out public education flyers before testifying at the hearing. Over a dozen of CVH members turned out for this event and packed the hearing room holding up signs that read: "Back to Work Doesn't Work!"

CVH members also delivered a giant Failure to Comply (FTC) notice to HRA executives, informing them that HRA Commissioner Robert Doar has failed to comply with his "scope of work" requirements through administering a program that fails to assist welfare recipients in their aspirations towards self-sufficiency. FTCs are punitive actions given to welfare recipients who fail to meet their work requirements, many of which are given in error.

Our press conference and hearing participation was covered in three media outlets: NY1, WNYC and Metro News. Below you can watch the news coverage of the event.

New York 1 - NY1

CVH was recently featured on GRIT TV with host Laura Flanders to discuss the impact of the economic recession on grassroots community organizing, organizations that are organizing and fundraising for those organizations.  CVH Grassroots Fundraising & Communications Coordinator Talia Schank joined a panel with Katherine Acey of the Astrea Foundation, Marjorie Fine from the Center for Community Change and journalist Eyal Press.

Saturday, March 28th, CVH Newburgh members led 12 of their elected officials on a tour of their neighborhoods to demonstrate how the economic crisis is playing out in their world.  The officials, including Congressman Maurice Hinchey and State Assemblyman Frank Skartados, walked on broken sidewalks down Lander St. where almost half of the buildings are abandoned, into an apartment with numerous code violations, visited a motel where Social Services pays thousands to house homeless families.  A each stop they heard testimony from the members.

The City of Newburgh is suffering one of the highest forclosure rates in New York State--many families live in dilapidated buildings with numerous health hazards, and all the shelters and temporary motel housing for homeless families in the area are full.  The "Day in Our Shoes" tour aimed to create both transparency of the crisis, and hold officials accountable.  CVH members led ten officials, including Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), NY State Assemblyman Frank Skartados, Newburgh Mayor Nick Valentine, as well as Newburgh City Council members, Orange County officials.  To read and hear press coverage of the tour, click on the link or attachments below.

WAMC - Northeast Public Radio 

CVH members joined protest organized by the Right to the City-NY coalition in protesting New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg during his speech to business leaders at the Grand Hyatt New York Hotel in Manhattan. Eight protesters were arrested as the group of 100 demanded that low-income people be included in the future of New York, and interrupted the event for about 15 minutes. Mayor Bloomberg was speaking at a luncheon hosted by Crain's, focused on "The Future of New York City." The protest garnered significant coverage in the media. Below you will find a sampling of coverage. Click on the links below for each media outlet for the related story.                                                           

New York Times

WNBC (includes video of protest on left side of page)

WCBS

WABC-TV

Gotham Gazette

PolitckerNY.com

New York 1

On Tuesday, December 9th, the Census Bureau released statistics from the American Communities Survey that were compiled for areas with less than 65,000 residents.  

CVH members held a holiday-themed press conference to announce the poverty statistics and call on City Officials to stop ignoring the widespread poverty that they and their families live through every day.  Their message was: you can't ignore poverty anymore!

CVH member Susan Smith announced that poverty had risen since the 2000 Census - now more than 28% of Newburgh residents live in poverty.  She also pointed out that the median rent had grown from $614 to $926 in only 5 years!  More than 61% of Newburgh residents now spend more than 30% of their income on rent.  Susan explained that as a disabled widow, the government assistance she receives is barely enough to cover her rent, let alone utility and food costs.

Leader Yusuf Belford, who is currently homeless, talked about the  hypocrisy of Social Services spending $1500 per month to house him in a motel but only giving him $300 towards rent.

Leader Maretta Melvin, a 50 year Newburgh resident who lived through Urban Renewal, spoke about the importance of saving low-income housing.  "We pay taxes, we vote, and we deserve a voice in the future of our city too!" she exclaimed. You can read the members' testimonies below.

Our ally Jim McElhinney from the Newburgh Ministry spoke about the dramatic increase in families needing a free Thanksgiving meal this year.  As the director of a resource center for homeless and low-income people, he added, "We all have a right to affordable housing."

CVH members draw attention to City's practice of spending money meant for low-income residents in ways that fail to benefit our communities.  Singing carols like "Where's the Dough?" to the tune of "Let it Snow" and "Deck the Halls with Grant Money," members entertained people passing by and Councilwoman Angelo who also stopped by.  Check out the CVH Holiday Carols below!

Brenda McPhail, who MC'd the event, invited City, County, and State officials to "walk a day in our shoes."  

The Times Herald Record, the Mid-Hudson News, the Sentinel, Hudson Valley Press, and Cable 6 News covered the event.  

An audit released recently by the office of NYC Comptroller, William Thompson, supports the findings of Community Voices Heard's 2007 report "Failure to Comply: The Disconnect between Design and Implementation in HRA's WeCARE program." Similar CVH's research findings, the Comptroller's audit found that the WeCARE program is not being adequately monitored, public money is not being effectively spent and disabled clients are not getting the services that they need.

Since "Failure to Comply" was released in March, 2007, Community Voices Heard members have been fighting to improve the oversight and transparency of HRA's programs, including WeCARE. Specifically, CVH members testified at a City Council General Welfare Committee hearing and met with the Comptroller's office to provide information and insight into the program. As outlined in this City Limits article, CVH members continue to fight to improve the WeCARE program as well as to improve accountability in all HRA programs and services.

CVH is currently finishing a report on the HRA Back to Work program, HRA's other large welfare to work program. The report is due to be released in late October.

CVH ally John Raskin, Director of Organizing for Housing Conservation Coordinators, recently called into WNYC Radio's Brian Lehrer Show, to  discuss the remarks made by former NYC Mayor Giuliani (as well as Sarah Palin) at the Republican National Convention that belittled community organizing.  Raskin, in responding to Giuliani's mocking of community organizing, cited the work of Community Voices Heard's members in going against Giuliani's policy of unpaid workfare and winning paid Transitional Jobs for people transitioning off of public assistance.  Listen  to the show, with Raskin's comments starting at approximately six minutes into the broadcast, below.

CVH Leaders Brenda Beal, William Cerf, and Randolph Robinson had their issues aired once more in this article in the City Limits Weekly on the last of the state Economic Security Cabinet hearings held in Harlem. Brenda Beal spoke about the inhumanity of people having to live in poverty in such a rich state; William Cref spoke about the need for REAL job training and job search assistance rather than simply a hand-off of a list of websites for people to search under; and Randolph Robinson spoke of the challenges of finding work as a former felon. CVH members were some of the only low-income individuals to testify directly. They now eagerly await word of the Security Cabinet's next steps and whether or not their own priorities will be included in the plans to come.

CVH Sustainable Communities Project sent 5 members to Brooklyn to support partner group Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE) in their battle against John Catsimatidis, a developer who demolished grocery store and hasn't been quick enough to put new stores in their place. Read the attached article to find out more about the demonstration. See CVH members Keith Gamble and Larry Gadson standing behind Council Woman Leticia James. CVH Sustainable Communities Project members want to learn from other groups around the city working against displacement and for community involvement in community evolution.

CVH Leader Brenda McPhail Speaking to Mayor, City Manager, and Director of Development

On Tuesday, July 29th, CVH members met face to face with 3 of the most powerful Newburgh City Officials. Mayor Nick Valentine, City Manager Jean-Ann McGrane, and Director of Planning and Development Bob McKenna came to the Forum to answer to CVH's concerns about housing policies in the Master Plan and the planned Waterfront Development. 6 CVH members gave testimony about their experiences with housing living as a low income resident of Newburgh, and then asked a specific question to each of the City Officials. Some of the questions were: Will you include housing that Newburgh residents can afford in the proposed development? Will you require everything new that is built to include some housing that we can afford? Will you hire and train Newburgh residents for all new jobs?

Despite all of the research and work CVH members had done to come up with these questions, the City Officials were hesitant to answer many of the questions directly. They also strongly fought the format of the meeting, but became more comfortable as it went on.

Some of the highlights: Director of Planning and Development Bob McKenna agreed to push for some housing units in the Development that will be affordable for households making 25-125% of the Newburgh Household Median Income. Mayor Nick Valentine committed to hiring Newburgh residents for 100% of the jobs created by the proposed Waterfront Development, as well as setting aside money for a training program. All three agreed to put rent stabilization back in the Master Plan. They also agreed to adjust the definitions of low income, moderate income, and workforce housing in the Master Plan to better reflect Newburgh's income levels rather than the Area's.

The meeting was covered in 4 local papers, on cable news, and on the local NPR affiliate.

Mid Hudson News Coverage

CVH Leader Brenda McPhail is interviewed for a segment on affordable housing on WAMC, the local NPR affiliate

Earlier that day, the City Manager held a meeting with Newburgh-based affordable housing providers and advocates, which she planned to replace CVH's meeting, although she eventually agreed to attend. CVH attended the "Housing Task Force" meeting, and it was decided that the meetings would continue monthly and that CVH would have a place at the table!

Below you can read two of the testimonies, by CVH members Maretta Melvin and Linda Ballinger.

GRITtv with Laura Flanders did a piece this week called "Election Roundtable: Getting out the Vote in '08". Henry Serrano, Senior Organizer and Coordinator of the Voter Engagement Project at Community Voices Heard, Brian Lee of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), Steven Carbo, Senior Program Director of the Democracy Project Demos, and Susan Lerner Executive Director of Common Cause were all part of the roundtable. Serrano spoke about the high voter registration numbers and low voter turnout in low-income communities that CVH targets and how CVH's Voter Engagement Project focuses on inspiring people to get to the polls through a repetitive contact approach that connects voting to critical issues being faced in the community. Click on the link below to be directed to the GRITtv website and see the piece.

http://lauraflanders.firedoglake.com/2008/07/23/election-roundtable-getting-out-the-vote-in-08/

On July 24th in Newburgh, CVH members from three different chapters came together to tell OTDA Commissioner David Hansell and other State Officials what they need for economic security. Governor Paterson's Economic Security Cabinet held a series of Town Hall meetings around the state to hear poverty-fighting recommendations. CVH members Korrenthea Catts from Poughkeepsie, Johannsis Peralta from Beacon (Dutchess County), and Alya Russell from Yonkers testified about their experiences with Social Services and gave recommendations to the Cabinet members present.

Korrenthea Catts spoke about the need for sanction reform, after her 12 year old daughter's public assistance was cut off for forgetting a form. Johannsis Peralta testified about being a public assistance recipient who can't get access to good training programs or job opportunities, and spoke about the need for statewide transitional jobs and Career Pathways program. Alya Russell, a young mother who was told she would be cut off from public assistance if she attends school full-time, spoke about the need for better access to education.

Korrenthea, Johannsis, and Alya were all mentioned or quoted in the local papers' coverage, which you can read here:

Korrenthea Catts and Alya Russell in the Mid Hudson News article

Johannsis Peralta in the Poughkeepsie Journal article

The CVH members were among the only low income residents to speak at the meeting. Now they are just waiting to hear which of their recommendations make it into the Governor's plans for New York State!

Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs unveiled a new poverty measure created by New York City's Center for Economic Opportunity in an effort to evaluate poverty more accurately than the measure created 40 years ago that is currently used. The new measure which better incorporates rising housing costs as well as the impact of government supports, moved the City's official poverty rate from 18.9 percent of the city's population to 23 percent. Even more startling, the share of the population living below 150 percent of poverty leaps from 27.8 percent to 44.3 percent. CVH Board Member and Welfare/ Workforce Campaign Leader Ketny Jean-Francois is quoted in the following City Limits article on the topic, "It's great that the CEO invested in creating a new poverty measure; now let's see them invest in some REAL programs to combat the poverty!" Click on the attachments to learn more about the measure and hear more about what Ketny and others have to say about the new measure.

CVH at Waterfront Development Press Event

On Monday, June 30th, the City of Newburgh held a small, exclusive press event announcing $1.25 million in state funds coming to support the proposed waterfront development. State Senator Bill Larkin and Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez were the invited guests, and Congressman Maurice Hinchey made a surprise appearance. Although the event was announced only days before, and was held under a tent set up to accommodate about 25 people, 5 CVH members made our way there. While the politicians were speaking, a few members stood silently with signs that said, "Jobs and Housing for All," "Newburgh Residents First," and "Can I live here too?" Congressman Hinchey even mentioned they would be sure to address the issues our signs raised.

After the event, members got the chance to speak directly with and present letters to the State Senator, Secretary of State, and Congressman. The Times Herald Record covered the event, which you can read here. They also took pictures for an online photo gallery, which you can see below.

4 Community Voices Heard Members gave testimony at the first oversight hearing of the New York City Council’s Committee on Community Development. Members testified on the problem of poverty in NYC, gave recommendations on waht the Committee should focus on in the next year and a half in order to effectively address the City's poverty problem. We were covered in the black start news. Below are copies of the 4 testimonies as well as the press coverage. The original article can be found here.

CVH is organizing a housing forum to demand that the city council commit to preserving and creating more low-income housing and jobs for low-income Yonkers residents in the plans for re-development.

Where? Yonkers Riverfront Library, 1 Larkin Center, 2nd Floor Community Room Community

When? On Thursday, June 26, 2008, at 6:30 PM

The flyer is attached below as well as an article in the Yonkers tribune about the upcoming action. If you would like more information about this action call Sarah at 914-751-2641

Community Voices Heard joined up with other community organizations who are a part of Right to the City (RTTC) to go to Miami for the US Conference of Mayor's (USCM). Right to the City is a national alliance of organizations taking back our cities from the throws of gentrification. Led by community-based grassroots organizations, the alliance spans 7 cities and includes legal, media, and academic advocates from across the nation. USCM, is comprised of the mayors of some 1100 cities with populations greater than 30,000. CVH with RTTC are in Miami right now demanding mayors around the country fund public housing. The two articles below each have a quote from CVH Board Member and public housing resident Agnes Rivera, the original MOLI blog article can be found online here. The original Miami Herald article can be found online here. CVH Board Member and Leader Anne Washington was quoted in an article in the South Florida Times, the original article can be found here.

Here is a New York Times article about how the budget deficit of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is causing the closing of community centers that Senior Citizens and children use every day. CVH Board Member and Public Housing Resident, Agnes Rivera is quoted on the last page of the article.

The original article can be found on the New York Times website here

CVH had their on going six month meeting with Commissioner Robert Doar of Human Resources Administration (HRA) on June 11th. CVH was please that the Comissioner actually listened and agreed to do something to push the expansion of the Job Training Program (JTP). CVH members asked one questions 5 times through chants loudly and clearly, "The Work Experience Program (WEP) exploits welfare recipients as unpaid workers. We believe this is unacceptable. Commisioner Doar, will you eliminate the over 13,000 WEP positions and replace them with JTP positions?" We felt our voices were heard by Commissioner Doar with the help of the District Council 37 representatives.

Below we have attached the testimonies of Anita Walton, Janine Douglas, Ketny Jean-Francois, and Melvinia Mcgill who are all CVH members with personal experience in HRA programs. We have also attached the statement read by Lillian Roberts, the Executive Director of District Council 37.

The New York Metro wrote an article about Robert Doar's meeting with CVH. The article quotes CVH board member Ketny Jean-Francois on her experience with the Work Experience Program (WEP). The original article is located on the Metro's website here.

 

CVH Holds a Press Conference after Marching to City Hall

On June 16th, Community Voices Heard members marched to Newburgh's City Hall and into the Council meeting that was happening that night. Even getting caught in a thunderstorm didn't stop almost 50 members from marching from our office on Lander St. to City Hall, where we held a press conference outside. CVH leaders Maretta Melvin, Anne Dehaney, and Brenda McPhail spoke at the press conference, and were interviewed for Cable 6 news!

City officials had originally hoped to vote on the Master Plan that night, but had postponed the vote. Even though it was not on the agenda, CVH leader Brenda McPhail spoke at the microphone and made it clear why CVH was there - explaining that our voices are being excluded from the planning for Newburgh's future and we want the Master Plan changed before it comes to a vote.

Brenda is quoted in the Times Herald-Record article below about how she feels that her community is being left out of the redevelopment plans. You can see the original article on the Record's website here. The Record also wrote another article about this event which can be seen here or by clicking the PDF of the article below. We were also covered in the Times Community Newspaper and Hudson Valley Press. The full articles are below or you can see the original here and here. Stories were also written in local papers the Sentinel and the online Mid-Hudson News. There is a video that was posted on YouTube that shows CVH inside the Council meeting.

On Thursday May 29th Community Voices Heard Members and Leaders who are also public housing residents went to the city council hearing in order to demand funding to close the budget gap in the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). Today's New York Times Metro Section featured the article below on the front page. This article highlights how dire the situation in public housing in New York is right now. They will be closing down senior centers and community-based programs. Tino Hernandez is quoted as saying, “As chairman of the New York City Housing Authority, I am here to tell you today that the future of public housing is at stake." This shows how important CVH's work in public housing is at this time. The dozens of residents mentioned in this article were mobilized by CVH and are CVH members. Board Member and Public Housing Resident Agnes Rivera is quoted in the El Diario article also posted below. There is also an article from the Brooklyn Eagle about this event. They did not mention CVH but there is a picture of the press conference.

Community Voices Heard participated in a large May 1st rally with the Teamsters Local 237 union, the union that represents maintenance workers in NYCHA buildings. CVH leader and public housing resident Agnes Rivera spoke at the rally sharing the stage with many elected officials, union members, and supporters of public housing. We were rallying to demand that funding be restored for public housing both to preserve jobs for the teamsters as well as preserve housing for the residents. Attached to this post is a copy of an article written by Daily News Columnist Errol Louis that gives a good impression of the rally as well as an article in the Local 237 Newsline.

This is a story about the public hearing that CVH members testified at. The press conference CVH members held prior to the hearing is mentioned and CVH member Valerie Pearson is quoted.

This was an online article posted April 29th, the day of our action at the public hearing on the SFC development.

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804290440

This is selected pages from the Spring issue of City Limits Investigates. The full issue can be purchased from City Limits here. City Limits is a non-profit magazine that focuses on policy. This issue is about poverty policies and Community Voices Heard and its members are quoted throughout the issue.

This is an article that appeared into today's Gotham Gazette. The article is about how the economic slump has affected the workforce. The article speaks about welfare programs and whether or not they are effective at helping to move people into the workforce. Community Voices Heard board member and leader in the Welfare/Workforce Campaign Ketny Jean-Francois is quoted in this article. The article is attached below or can be found on the Gotham Gazette's website.

Here is an article that appeared on the front page of the New York Times Metro Section this Sunday. The article highlights Tino Hernandez, Chairman of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), as a former NYCHA resident. The article discusses the affects of disinvestment on public housing and mentions demolitions in other cities. Community Voices Heard Leader and Public Housing resident of Lincoln Houses Keith Massey is quoted in this article.

This is an article about our recent march to City Hall in Yonkers published in the Home News & Times on Friday, February 22. CVH member and Yonkers resident Adrienne Knight is quoted in the article.

This is an article about the recent march in Yonkers. We were the front page article in this issue of the Westchester Guardian. The article is split into two PDF files that you can see below, the first is the photo from the paper's cover and the second is the article.

This is an article that was put in the Journal News about the march that Community Voices Heard held in Yonkers, NY to demand that no more public housing is demolished, and that the city include housing and jobs for low-income families in the plans for development in Getty’s Square. The cold and the snow couldn't stop CVH members from coming out to have their voices heard! CVH member and Yonkers resident Shateema Sherrill is quoted in the article.

This is an article in today's New York Metro about Republican Presidential Candidate and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and how he lost the Florida primary last night. As a result of his loss in Florida, he will be most likely quitting the race for the White House. The article focuses on all of the negative things Giuliani did while he was Mayor of New York including a quote about the WEP program from Community Voices Heard Board Member, Yvonne Shields.

This article is an editorial by Errol Louis regarding New York State Governor Spitzer considering to raise the pay of the state Legislature, which is currently $79,500 a year. The article quotes CVH Members Ann Michelle Valdez, a Brooklyn Public Housing Resident, and Harold Gardner, a CVH member from our Poughkeepsie chapter. Our members helped to point out that those receiving public assistance have not seen an increase in the welfare cash grant since 1990 and if the Governor is considering giving an increase for the pols he should also consider giving an increase in benefits for the poor.

Here is a packet of our press coverage for all of 2007. We took all of the articles from 2007 and digested it into two PDF files to make the downloads smaller.

Recently reporters from the BBC came to New York to find out about WEP and how it works here. They were interested in WEP because there is talks of instituting a similar system in Britain and they wanted to find out what people here thought about the program. They interviewed Anita Graham, the Welfare / Workforce Organizer at Community Voices Heard you can check out this link for the video.

You can also read the article and see other videos the BBC made relating to what is going on in Britain on the BBC website. Click this link for the BBC website.

This is an article about a march that Community Voices Heard participated in. The march was organized by Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito and a coalition of grassroots organizations in East Harlem. For more information about the march you can read the article on our website, "CVH Marches with the East Harlem Anti-Displacement Task Force" and the Daily News Article below.

This is a segment from The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. This segment is based on the Errol Louis Daily News article from Thanksgiving Day, "Pass the Praise Please" in which Mr. Louis offers thanks and praise to activists he has met including CVH Leader Agnes Rivera. Agnes is featured on the segment and she speaks about Community Voices Heard as well as public housing issues.

Two members, Ann Valdez and Agnes Rivera, and one Staff, Mike Selick, went to Miami Florida this weekend to join with students, unions, and other grassroots organizations to march in solidarity with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) in a 9 mile march against Burger King. The CIW is demanding that Burger King pay their workers just 1 penny more for one pound of tomatoes. McDonald's and Taco Bell have already agreed to the workers demands but Burger King refuses to negotiate. These workers are working 16 hour days for often only $55. They are living in trailers with 15 to 20 people sleeping wherever they can. Check out the link below to read more about the march or read any of the articles that are attached to this post including an New York Times Editorial by Eric Scholsser, the author of "Fast Food Nation".

http://www.ciw-online.org/2007_BK_March/index.html

This is an article that was printed in the Thanksgiving issue of the Daily News. It is an editorial by Errol Louis that offers thanks and praise to activists he has met. He mentions Community Voices Heard as well as CVH Leader Agnes Rivera.

This article is from City Limits and is about the Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) changing the poverty line for NYC. New York is an expensive city and the poverty lines that make sense for other parts of the country may not make sense for people in our city. Community Voices Heard Leader Marilyn Bezear and Community Voices Heard Board Member Sandra Killet are both quoted in this article.

Here is an article from The Daily Gotham blog. This article comes on the heels of a posting a few days ago titled, "NYCHA's Phony Fiscal Crisis" where the author does a good job of breaking down the budgetary problems NYCHA is currently facing. This new story, "Will NYC Save Public Housing, Sell it, Or Sell It To Save It?", talks about Sean Moss' (the NY Regional Director of HUD) comments at the recent public housing forum at the New School where he advocated for the selling of NYCHA properties. The article mentions Community Voices Heard Leader and Public Housing Resident Agnes Rivera who spoke on the panel at the New School Forum. You can read the article using the attachment below or directly on the Daily Gotham blog by clicking the link.

This is a letter to the editor of The New York Sun that Community Voices Heard Leader and public housing resident Agnes Rivera wrote. The original article is below as well. The article advocates for NYCHA to sell some of their land to developers so that they can be turned into luxury condominiums. Agnes wrote about how public housing is an important part of our city and should be valued.

This article appeared on http://www.citylimits.org. It is about the WeCARE program and talks about the report put out by Community Voices Heard. You can read the article by downloading the PDF below and you can read the CVH report on our website at this link.

Here is a report from WNYC New York Public Radio about the recent City Council Hearing about Welfare and the WeCARE program. They quoted Community Voices Heard member Tyletha Samuels talking about how the program failed to exempt her from work for long enough to recover from her knee surgery.

This is an article about the WeCARE hearings. They quote Community Voices Heard member Ann Valdez as well as discuss problems with the WeCARE program that we uncovered in our report, "Failure to Comply: The Disconnect Between Design and Implementation in HRA's WeCARE Program". The article is from El Diario and is in Spanish.

This article is about the WeCARE program and how it does not work. It mentions the report that we put out about the WeCARE program and they quote Ann Valdez, a Community Voices Heard leader, as well as Alexa Kasdan, the CVH Polilcy & Research Associate.

You can download the attached article as a PDF and you can view the report referenced in this article on our site at http://cvh.mayfirst.org/node/145

Here is an article from the City Limits website. It covers the recent City Wide Public Housing Rally as well as discusses the Section 8 Housing Voucher Reform Act of 2007 (SEVRA). CVH Leader Ann Valdez is quoted in this article.

This is an article about the City Wide Public Housing Rally at City Hall Park last week. This article talks about how underfunding of Public Housing is leading to the loss of jobs in Maintenance and other areas essential to Public Housing. Those workers who have not been laid off have a more difficult job now that they have more work that needs to be done. Many of the NYCHA workers are public housing residents as well as workers.

Here are two articles about the City Wide Public Housing Rally. This first article is from the online edition of the Columbia Spectator and they quote CVH leader Ann Valdez.

This article can be found at http://columbiaspectator.com/node/27251 or you can download the PDF below.

The second article is from the onNYturf blog. This article can be found at http://www.onnyturf.com/articles/read.php?article_id=636 or you can download the PDF below.

This article discusses the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) budget deficit and how it is affecting NYCHA workers and residents. It also mentions the City Wide Public Housing Rally we are hosting as well as the Section 8 Housing Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA).

This article is about the suggested new MTA fare hike. Once again the MTA is going to raise the price of the subway and buses, this time a single ride may go up to $2.25. This raised fare will effect all New Yorkers, but for low-income New Yorkers who are already struggling to make ends meet this raised fare will make a big difference in their lives. Community Voices Heard leader Ketny Jean-Francois is quoted in this article.

This is a video from Democracy Now, it is in real player format and you will need that player in order to watch the video. You can download this player for free at http://www.realplayer.com/ if you do not already have it on your computer. The video is coverage from the take over of the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) that Community Voices Heard took part in.

This article talks about the Shelter Allowance bill and how it is a good step in the right direction, but NYCHA needs more money in order to get out of debt. Council Person Rosie Mendez is quoted about the state of NYCHA.

Here are two articles from the Times Picayune, the paper in New Orleans. They deal with the take over of the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO). This was part of the GGJ Survivors Tribunal that Community Voices Heard participated in.

This article is from the District Council 37 (DC 37) newspaper. DC 37 is the union that represents Public Housing Workers, they have been working with Community Voices Heard in order to secure funding for Public Housing because they are at risk of losing their jobs because of lack of funding. This article talks about the recent victory with Governor Elliot Spitzer signing the Shelter Allowance Bill and the Public Housing Constituency Tour that CVH organized.

Sandra Killett, Co-Chair of CVH is in this WNYC radio piece. She was spoken to as a recipient of the Cash Incentives program, but while personally she is pleased to get additional resources into her household, politically and organizationally she challenges its very design and purpose. Below is the segment from WNYC with Sandra as well as the full text.

This is a segment from The Brian Lehrer show on WNYC. Agnes Rivera, a Community Voices Heard Leader and long time resident of Public Housing is on a panel of people to talk about Public Housing and NYCHA. Errol Lewis of the Daily News is standing in for Brian Lehrer for this segment because Brian was on vacation.

Governor Elliot Spitzer signed the Shelter Allowance Bill. This is a huge victory for Community Voices Heard and Public Housing. This will provide $47 million in funding annually to NYCHA.

Here are two more articles that were printed about our Constituency Tour of Public Housing. The first one was printed in "The Chief" the DC 37 union paper and the second article was printed in the Amsterdam News and is written by Zita Allen.

This is a segment from The Brian Lehrer show on WNYC. Rosie Mendez talks about Community Voices Heard and our constituency towards the end.

CVH members brought elected officials and the media on a tour of two housing developments in Harlem, Wagner and Drew Hamilton. The tour was to highlight the effects of government disinvestment in public housing. New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is facing a large deficit as a result of underfunding on the State and Federal levels. As a result of this they are raising rents, not doing vital maintenance, selling off property, and they may be laying off up to 2000 maintenance workers. There are 2 Articles, 1 radio piece from WNYC, and 1 Op Ed from Daily News writer Errol Lewis (check out this one, it's the best article written about this event).

This article discusses security in Public Housing in Yonkers. The article also discusses a tour of Yonkers public housing and other community sites that Community Voices Heard Organized for State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins. CVH Member Valerie Pearson is quoted in the article.

This is an article from the ABQ Journal. The article is about The People's Caravan to the US Social Forum organized by Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP). Community Voices Heard Member Agnes Rivera was quoted in the article. Here is a link to the article on the SWOP blog and attached is the original article from the journal.

SWOP Blog Article

CVH is a part of the New York Is Our Home Coalition, a coalition of organizations in NYC that is fighting to create and preserving affordable housing. Nearly 5,000 people surrounded the Stuy Town development, a housing development that was sold to developers who are planning on making units market rate. Housing groups from across the city held hands and made a full ring around Stuy Town and then marched down 14th Street to Union Square.

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is facing a huge deficit this year. As a result they are being forced to raise rents and cut services. This poses a large problem for low-income New Yorkers who live in public housing. Public housing represents one of the last strong holds of affordable housing in this city. CVH member and public housing campaign leader Agnes Rivera is quoted.

4 articles that speak about the report we published exposing issues with the WeCARE program. You can read the full report in the reports section of our website or you can read what the media has to say about our report here.

This PDF file is all of our press coverage for 2006. We took all of the our press coverage and digested it into one file so that you can see everything that the media has been saying about us for the entire year.

Verna Eggleston the Commissioner of the Human Resources Administration (HRA) is resigning in order to work for the Bloomberg Family Foundation. CVH Board Co-Chair Sandra Killet is quoted in the article. Although we were optimistic when Verna Eggleston took over as Commisioner from Jason Turner, essential changes in the City's workfare program were not made during her time at HRA.

Mayor Bloomberg plans on creating a new center to deal with poverty in New York City. This will be called the Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) and Bloomberg plans on using private funds to finance the center's more experimental programs. There will be an emphasis on rewarding "good behavior" and promoting self-sufficiency. CVH Member Gloria Walker is quoted about her views of the Mayor's new commission.

These are 4 articles about Mayor Michael Bloomberg's anti-poverty commission, the Commission for Economic Opportunity (CEO). The articles talk about how the CEO plans on putting emphasis on dealing with 3 very specific groups: young children, young adults, and the working poor.

CVH held a press conference at Columbus Circle on the same day that the Federal Census Bureau released its annual poverty statistics in order to highlight issues with the Mayor's Commission for Economic Opportunity the main commission that deals with poverty in New York City. After the press conference CVH members entered the Time Warner building demanding to speak with Richard Parsons, the CEO of Time Warner, and a Co-Chair of the Commission for Economic Opportunity. Both articles include quotes from CVH members.

These are two articles about Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Commission for Economic Opportunity (CEO). This Commission was formed by the Mayor in January and is supposed to be researching and developing plans to combat poverty in New York City. The mayor insisted that the Commission focus on plans that have proven to work and to narrow the scope of their work to children, young adults, and the working poor.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg heard recommendations for a variety of new plans to deal with poverty from his Commission for Economic Opportunity (CEO). Although nothing has been decided upon yet one proposal included a "Starbucks One-Stop" where individuals could get help with everything from legal work to Food Stamps. CVH Member Ketny Jean-Francois is quoted.

This article compares and contrasts Mayor Michael Bloomberg's approach to Welfare Reform and anti-poverty initiatives and those of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. CVH is referenced as an organization that is studying New York City's anti-poverty initiatives to figure out whether or not they are effective.

CVH Public Housing Campaign members acted out a skit at City Hall to protest the raising of rents by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). This year NYCHA is reporting a 170 million dollar deficit and they are raising rents and cutting services in order to save money.

The gap between the rich and poor in New York City is enormous. This article discusses this fact and goes into how Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants the Human Resources Administration (HRA) to improve its services. Sondra Youdelman (CVH's Policy & Research Director) is quoted in this article about the report CVH recently released.