Walmart: Broken promises. Every Way. On Everything.

We’re seeing the Walmart steamroller roll from the corridors of power in City Hall to the undeveloped lots in East New York. The laundry list of complaints against the multinational retailer is longer than the L Train, but here’s a few more reasons to fight back against the Bentonville Bunch, and their plans for East New York.  

Jumaane Williams is cool

Remember that time when you had your dog off his leash in the park after dark where you were riding your bike on the sidewalk, and you threw your beer can at the sign that said “No Littering?”  Yeah, remember how you ignored that summons you got from the cop, and got a warrant issued against you?  Wanna get it lifted?

Co-Location’s just another phrase for, Your School’s Overcrowded

Working on education issues at NYCC is a challenging job. We get to meet with parents who want the best for their kids, which is great, but we often find ourselves fighting City Hall. We’ve fought for more funding, against school closings, and for a responsible testing and teacher evaluation process. Our latest struggle is against the New York City Department of Education’s misguided co-location policy. 

What the Frack is going on?

A cartoon from the 1990′s called Captain Planet and the Planeteers showed a merry band of eco-warriors traveling to exotic locations while saving us all from greedy, evil corporations bent on destroying the world.  Of course, they had a theme song: ‘We’re Planeteers / you can be one too! / ‘Cause saving the planet is the thing to do! / Looting and polluting is not the way! Hear what Captain Planet has to say!’ And then Captain Planet ends with: “The Power is Yours!”  

Tax Day, 2011

There are stories floating around telling how large corporations pay next to nothing while working families bear an ever-increasing tax load while getting ever-decreasing government services.  Try as we might, we cannot come up with anything quite so direct and eloquent as the Labor Religion Coalition’s Tax Day Rally Speech, which addresses this very issue.  

UPDATED: Modifications, not Bonuses!

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Take a look as NYCC Members enjoy the day’s positively balmy Spring weather to tell Chase our neighborhoods need loan modifications, not foreclosures!  Jumaane Williams stopped by, so did Minister Patricia Malcolm; all joining together to tell Chase, your way … Continue reading →

Been down so long…

It’s nobody’s ideal situation to be counted part of the “working poor”.  Still, as we all know, bad things happen to good people and especially in this economy we’ve all had friends and neighbors lose their jobs, lose their homes, and face a very long road back.  And the recent budget battles and cutback have only made things worse.  

“A genuine crisis” in NY State Education

Now that he’s the “outgoing state Education Commissioner, ” David Steiner has the freedom to speak his mind regarding schools, funding, and those standardized tests we cram down kid’s throats starting in the 4th Grade.  Anyway, soon-to-be-ex-Commissioner Steiner speaks the truth, and for that we’re grateful.  

Reminder: Close your Account Day

Upset about the wave of foreclosures roiling through our communities?  Still banking at JP Morgan Chase?  Did you know Chase has a purely abysmal record when it comes to offering permanent loan modifications to their customers?  This Saturday, place yourself on the right side of this issue and join us for ‘Close your Account Day”!  

Choice means Chance in the NYC Education System

A couple different news stories about public education in Brooklyn go a long, long way to illustrate that, for many parents, getting a quality education for their kids is more about chance than choice.