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.

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Community Jobs Bill Press Release-NYC 1.21.10.doc	238 KB

CVH has 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.

Follow this link to download a copy of the full report. The Executive Summary is available below.

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PRESS RELEASE for Democracy _In_Action Report Release.pdf	55.74 KB
List of CVH Reports - Jan 2010.pdf	122.71 KB
PH Testimony #1 - Shenia Rudolph.pdf	53.82 KB
PH Testimony #2 - Gloria Wilson.pdf	55.03 KB
PH Testimony #3 - Anne Washington.pdf	50.84 KB
PH Testimony #4 - Erik Crawford.pdf	56.22 KB
Story Contacts - Democracy _In_Action Report Release.pdf	95.59 KB
Democracy In_Action Executive Summary.pdf	2.05 MB

On Friday, October 30th the Federal Government released the first reports on the progress of the stimulus package. Today CVH members joined grassroots and advocacy groups from around New York City and New York State for a workshop to learn more about what's been happening in our communities as a result of the stimulus funding and for the first ever Statewide Telephonic Press Conference to share with the media our response to the statistics released yesterday. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of this page to find our press release and fact sheets on many different stimulus fund programs going on in our communities:

Attachment	Size
10 31 Press Release (v6).doc	41.5 KB
ARRA TANF Contingency Fund Fact Sheet.doc	64 KB
ARRA Transportation Investments in Buffalo.doc	43.5 KB
ARRA Transportation Investments--Albany 10 27 09.doc	43.5 KB
Community Development Block Grant Program.doc	102 KB
EECBG Fact Sheet - Oct 31-v2.doc	47 KB
Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage Fact Sheet (2).doc	38 KB
HPRP Fact sheet - Oct 31-2.doc	38.5 KB
Neighborhood Stabilization Program Fact Sheet.doc	45.5 KB
NYCHA Stimulus 2 Pager.doc	35.5 KB
WAP Fact Sheet 10 27 09.doc	50.5 KB
Transportation Infrastructure Fact Sheet--Newburgh 10.27.09.doc	63.5 KB

Low-income New Yorkers who are also leaders of Community Voices Heard (CVH) have released a short video documenting what it means to be poor in New York. The video "Faces of Poverty" puts a "face on poverty," drawing attention to the way in which statistics translate into daily lived experiences amongst NYC's poorest residents and long-term unemployed. CVH leaders highlight the solutions they deem would best address poverty in NYC as well as encouraging policy makers to remember the long-term unemployed in national and state recovery efforts. On a day that we will be bombarded by numbers and data, CVH leaders humanize and analyze poverty statistics by describing: the difficulties of finding work after being incarcerated; trying to move out of poverty while being a single mother on public assistance; getting on your feet while living in the shelter system; and the navigating an inadequate welfare system that does more to keep people in poverty rather than equip them with the skills and opportunities to move out of poverty permanently.

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Press Release-final.doc	238 KB

CVH has received the Independent Sector's American Express Building Leadership Award! The award, established in 1999, recognizes the importance of investing in leaders of the nonprofit community by celebrating an organization that embodies this principle in spirit and practice. CVH will receive the award, which includes a gift of $10,000, at the Independent Sector Annual Conference in Detroit, MI, November 4-6.

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2009 American Express Building Leadership Award - Community Voices Heard.pdf	81.8 KB

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 the Poughkeepsie press conference. And CVH leader Valerie Pearson spoke at the Yonkers 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.

 

Press packet materials are attached.

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Press Release NYC.doc	246.5 KB
Press Release Poughkeepsie.doc	245 KB
Press Release Yonkers.doc	242.5 KB
Ketny Press Statement.doc	28 KB
James Graham Press Statement.doc	25.5 KB
Johanssis Press Statement.doc	33.5 KB
Valerie Pearson Press Statement.doc	23.5 KB
FPI Summary Part I.pdf	33.9 KB
FPI Summary Part II.pdf	38.51 KB
FPI TANF Data.pdf	31.64 KB

This afternoon, about 30 Community Voices Heard members held an action outside of Bloomberg's campaign office to demand that he restore full funding for public housing in this year's budget and end unpaid workfare positions by expanding paid transitional jobs.  In his campaign advertisements, he claims to represent "real New Yorkers."  But instead of including $30 million for public housing in this year's budget, he spent about that much money, $26 million, on a new scoreboard for Yankee Stadium.  Instead of creating more paid transitional jobs for public assistance recipients who are currently required to work full time for free in the Human Resource Administration's Work Experience Program (WEP), he allocated $45 million to help retrain Wall Street workers. At our action, CVH members ripped up Bloomberg's campaign mailings they have been receiving to let him know that low-income residents ARE real New Yorkers and if he claims to represent us, he needs to do what our communities need!

New York, NY - According to a report released by Community Voices Heard this morning at a packed public briefing, the $53 million a year New York City allocated for a program to prepare and place welfare recipients in jobs and get them off of welfare is failing to serve its purpose and meet its goals.  Research points to an extremely weak program with a number of shortcomings: poor job placement, weak job retention, high rates of recidivism, limited access to education and training, punitive sanction policies, and many people falling through the cracks without receiving needed services.

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Press Release - BTW Report - FINAL.pdf	73.97 KB
Missing the Mark Presentation - FINAL.pdf	282.85 KB
STORY CONTACTS FOR REPORTERS.pdf	28.93 KB
Alisa Pizarro Testimony.pdf	19.45 KB
Janet Rivera Testimony.pdf	20.11 KB
Anita Walton Testimony.pdf	20.17 KB

Community Voices Heard joined the Right to the City Alliance at a press conference calling on the New York City Council to oppose a term limits extension without a public vote.  CVH Board Member Agnes Rivera states, "Bloomberg hasn't done anything for low-income people and his policies have been displacing people.  We need to put this decision back to the people to see what they want and what is best for them.  Just because Bloomberg has a lot of money, he should not be able to do whatever he wants.  It is time for change."

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Press Release RTTC Term Limits 10.16.08.pdf	83.4 KB

Board Member Anne Washington and Mid-Hudson Valley Organizer Jenny Loeb are representing Community Voices Heard at the Americas Social Forum this October. Thirty-nine representatives of community-based and worker organizations that are part of the U.S.-based Grassroots Global Justice Alliance (GGJ) arrived on October 6 in Guatemala City. Representing 20 organizations from 8 states, the delegation is in Guatemala to participate in the 3rd continental Americas Social Forum (ASF). With the backdrop of the spiraling collapse of the U.S. and global financial system, the GGJ delegation plans to meet with other grassroots movements from throughout the Americas to discuss a range of topics including the economic crisis, the environment, militarism, women's rights and indigenous sovereignty. Attached is a press release with more information on the delegation.

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GGJ at Americas Social Forum.doc	36.5 KB

On Monday, August 25th at noon a group of public housing residents, who are also members of the grassroots organization Community Voices Heard, held a candlelight vigil and set up a memorial in front of the offices of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the City Council, and the Mayor. The lunchtime vigil was organized in memory of Jacob Neuman, the five-year old public housing resident who fell to his tragic death last week. On Tuesday, August 19th, due to the malfunctioning of an elevator, Jacob fell ten floors down an elevator shaft to his death in the Taylor-Wythe Houses in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The elevator, like others in NYCHA buildings across the City, was long in a state of disrepair and long neglected and had failed 17 of the last 21 inspections.  After fifteen minutes of silence, a press conference was held to highlight the problems of governmental disinvestment in public housing and NYCHA mismanagement of funds and the effect this is having on housing residents.  (See attached to read the full press release.)

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Press Release - Solidarity Vigil.doc	229.5 KB

As the U.S. Census Bureau released it's report on Poverty and Health Insurance in America. As the Statistics came out CVH Members gathered at the office and gave their reaction to the Press.

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Press Release - Poverty Stats.doc	245.5 KB

At noon today, July 30, 2008, members of Community Voices Heard (CVH), a grassroots organization of low-income families, organized a soup line in front of New York City Hall.  Members of the organization stated that they wanted to highlight the precarious situation of many low-income families in the present economic downturn.  CVH members handed out cups of soup from tables that they were calling the “Linda Gibbs’ Soup Line”.  Linda Gibbs, the New York City Deputy Mayor for Health & Human Services, was called upon by CVH members to offer more opportunities to public assistance recipients to obtain career-path employment with real salaries as opposed to the unpaid workfare system.  Tayamah Gounden, a member of CVH and current welfare recipient said that “The WEP program makes me feel worst than being a slave because I want a real job.”  She was referring to the unpaid workfare program known as the Work Experience Program (WEP) in which over 10,000 welfare recipients participate in New York City.

 

CVH members chanted and waved four-foot spoons adorned with pictures of Linda Gibbs to try to catch the attention of the Deputy Mayor, whose office is in City Hall.  

“Mia Bell, leader at CVH said, “we need real jobs; Deputy Mayor Gibbs needs to stop playing with our lives and families.”

-see more- 

 

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Press Release Gibbs Action 2008-07-08 2.doc	715.5 KB

On Tuesday, April 29th about 40 Community Voices Heard members in Yonkers spoke out against City Hall's plans to use millions of city tax dollars to subsidize the development of luxury apartments and stores. Prior to a public hearing held by the City Council on the Steuver Fidelco Capelli (SFC) development planned for Getty Square, CVH members held a press conference demanding that the project include housing and jobs for low-income families, so that they would not be displaced.

After packing into the crowded hearing, three CVH members gave testimony and asked City Council members to attend a community forum planned for June. CVH members held up signs during the testimonies and at the end chanted "brick by brick, wall by wall, build a city for us all!" The CVH press conference and testimonies were covered by the Journal News and Channel 12 News. Click the links below to see the press release and members' testimonies.

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2008-04-29-Press Release-Public Hearing Action (Yonkers).doc	33.5 KB
phyllis testimony april 29.doc	25.5 KB
valerie april 29 testimony.doc	29.5 KB

Tonight low-income residents of Yonkers and members of Community Voices Heard marched to City Hall to demand that the city include housing and jobs for low-income families in the plans for development in Getty’s Square, and that no more public housing will be demolished in Yonkers.

Even though the temperature was below freezing and the snow was so bad that many buses stopped running, CVH members still marched to City Hall. We held a press conference where members gave testimony about the need for low-income Yonkers residents to have a say in the decisions affecting their lives. Adrienne Knight, a member of Community Voices Heard and resident of the Schlobohm public housing development explained why the group was out tonight, “We are here today to demand that the city invest in public housing and low-income housing – and not tear any more down. We are dropping keys off today at City Hall because we don’t want to be locked out – we are the residents of Yonkers and we have a say.”

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2008-02-06-Press Release-March to City Hall (Yonkers).doc	45 KB
val testimony.doc	26 KB
walter testimony.doc	25.5 KB
Adrienne Knight testimony.doc	25.5 KB

This afternoon, Community Voices Heard Members from Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Yonkers, and all 5 boroughs of New York City joined together for a New Orleans style funeral march to highlight the crisis facing low-income people that have been displaced from their homes in New Orleans and around the country. The group called on Senators Clinton and Obama, democratic candidates running for president, to discuss issues facing low-income people around the country—such as improving public housing and creating good jobs—in their debates and campaign speeches. Dressed in black, carrying black umbrellas and carrying a coffin, we marched on Hillary Clinton’s campaign office in midtown and then traveled to Columbus Circle where we held a press conference.

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2008-01-26 Global Day of Action Press Release.doc	48 KB

This afternoon New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer gave his State of the State Address. In his address, the governor committed to invest $400 million in a housing opportunity fund to build affordable housing for teachers, police officers, the elderly and disabled. While this represents a significant step towards addressing the affordable housing crisis in New York, some low-income New Yorkers are disappointed that Governor’s did not mention the critical need to invest in the existing affordable housing stock in New York, such as public housing.

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2008-08-01 Press Release (Spitzer state of state).doc	46 KB

Yesterday we held the City Wide Public Housing Rally with the support of: Elected Officials: Council Member Rosie Mendez, Chair of Public Housing Subcommittee, District 2 and Melissa Mark-Viverito, District 8. Unions: Teamsters Local 237, District Council 37 (DC 37). Community Groups: Community Voices Heard (CVH), Good Old Lower East Side/Public Housing Residents of the Lower East Side (GOLES/PHROLES), East River Development Alliance (ERDA), Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE), Mother’s on the Move (MOM), New York City Public Housing Resident’s Alliance, Red Hook Initiative.

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2007-10-04 Press Release Public Housing City Wide Rally.doc	39 KB

Public Housing residents from around the country have just taken over the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO). The public building that they have occupied has been surrounded by the National Guard, the New Orleans Police, including a SWAT team. It is now two years after Katrina and New Orleans public housing residents are still prevented from returning to their homes. Public housing residents and advocates from Miami, New Orleans, Georgia, Texas, Rhode Island, Chicago, California, and New York have taken over the HANO offices at 4100 Touro St. to demand that public housing, both in New Orleans and around the country, is saved, preserved, and expanded. Alexa Kasdan, our Policy & Research Associate, is inside the building representing Community Voices Heard.

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2007-08-31 Press Release Public Housing Building Take Over In New Orleans.doc	45 KB

Two years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, Grassroots Global Justice members will travel to New Orleans to provide logistical support for the International Tribunal and 2nd Survivor’s Assembly. Community Voices Heard and other member groups of the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance will be traveling to New Orleans to provide support.

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2007-08-28 Press Release (GGJ Katrina Survivors Panel).doc	151.5 KB

Here is the press release that was just put out by Governor Elliot Spitzer. He has just signed the Shelter Allowance bill that Community Voices Heard has been pushing for him to sign. This bill will provide an additional $47 million in funding annually to NYCHA.

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2007-08-15 Press Release Shelter Allowance Bill.pdf	81.93 KB

This morning, public housing residents who are also members of Community Voices Heard took elected officials through the buildings, apartments, and grounds of Wagner and Drew Hamilton Houses, both public housing developments in East and Central Harlem.

The tour highlighted dilapidated playgrounds, bathrooms without walls and burnt-out hallways, conditions that exist, residents say, due to diminishing government resources for public housing. The group ended the tour with a press conference where public housing residents, elected officials and union leadership called on Governor Spitzer to sign the shelter allowance bill (S.4329/A.7905) which would significantly increase state funding to NYCHA.

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Press Release Constituency Tour Final.doc	53.5 KB

Today, low-income residents of Yonkers who are also members of Community Voices Heard guided State Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins through a day of living in poverty. Residents took the Senator to several sites to show her the struggles they face as low-income people and ended the day by proposing solutions that she can take to address the problems presented to her.

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2007-07-12 Press Release ASC Day in the Life.doc	34.5 KB

According to the report we released this morning, the approximately $66.6 million per year that the Human Resources Administration (HRA) allocated to a program to serve an annual 45,600 public assistance recipients with barriers to employment, is neither addressing their barriers nor helping them move towards self-sufficiency. New York City Council Member Bill de Blasio, Chair of the General Welfare Committee introduced the report at today’s press conference. He said, "This is about accountability. WeCARE is intended to help people with complex or multiple disabilities reach their maximum level of self-sufficiency."

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2007-03-05 Press Release WeCARE Report.doc	33.5 KB

At 12:00 today, the Mayor’s Commission for Economic Opportunity released its plan on how to reduce poverty in New York City. The Commission, which was established in March 2006, was to release its plan by Labor Day 2006. Following the release of the plan, members of Community Voices Heard responded to the content and future steps of this final plan. Members of the group are calling on Mayor Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs to create a strong plan to monitor and evaluate the Commission’s work and to include low-income New Yorkers in the monitoring process.

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2006-09-18 Press Release CEO Recs Release.doc	32 KB
2006-09-18 Press Release - Quotes on Release Date (CEO).doc	21 KB

At 12:30pm today, shortly after the Census Bureau released its annual poverty statistics, 50 unemployed and low-income New Yorkers, members of Community Voices Heard (CVH), held a press conference to testify about personal experiences living in poverty and to offer recommendations to Mayor Bloomberg’s Commission for Economic Opportunity. On this same day, one year ago, Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast, exposing the economic and racial divide in the United States. The group gathered today, weeks before the Mayor’s Commission is due to release its final plan for poverty reduction, to call attention to the poverty crisis in New York City and demand that the Commission create a bold and concrete plan.

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2006-08-29 Press Release Census CEO Action Final.doc	30.5 KB