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Mole's Progressive Democrat

The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. Originally intended for New York City progressives, its readership is now national. For anyone who wants to be alerted by email whenever this newsletter is updated (usually weekly), please send your email address and let me know what state you live in (so I can keep track of my readership).

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Location: Brooklyn, New York, United States

I am a research biologist in NYC. Married with two kids living in Brooklyn.

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  • Saturday, April 21, 2007

    Progressive Democrat Issue 118: NYC GROUPS AND EVENTS

    Local involvement is really what wins elections. Please get involved. I have made friends, met many of my elected officials who now (sometimes!) actually listen to me, and have really felt like I am making a difference. From time to time I will also post events going on, but mostly this is a list of organizations in your area. If I have missed any, please let me know.

    GENERAL INTEREST:

    This comes via one of my climatologist friends:

    Cynthia Rosenzweig, PhD, is a senior research scientist at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and leader of its Climate Impacts Group. She will discuss New York City as an urban heat island, climate change, and asthma incidence. Cynthia works not only on investigating impacts, but on testing mitigation strategies, i.e. greening roofs, etc.

    Speaker is cool, she's as giggly a climate rock star as you'll ever find (see her bio blurb on the NYAS site & look up her pubs on http://www.giss.nasa.gov using her last name).

    These things often fill up to capacity with smarties & whackos alike (not that it's so easy to tell us apart), so RSVP ASAP, by clicking here.

    The New York Academy of the Sciences has moved; it's now adjacent the WTC site. $10 for students. Dinner (optional) at 5:30, by reser, open bar during, & fancy but $35. Meeting begins at 7PM.
    Location:
    New York Academy of the Sciences, adjacent the WTC site
    Sponsor:
    New York Academy of the Sciences (http://www.nyas.org)
    RSVP:
    nymeetings@nyas.org

    BROOKLYN GROUPS AND EVENTS:

    UNITY 2007 -- It's Not a Done Deal
    In 2004, Councilmember Letitia James brought together hundreds of community members and local architects, planners and designers to develop an alternative to the proposed Forest City Ratner "Atlantic Yards" project. The result was the UNITY Plan and a set of Planning Principles, which reflect community needs, priorities and vision for the development of the Vanderbilt Yards.

    With lawsuits pending and opposition to the project growing, Forest City Ratner's plan is anything but a done deal. What if the project is not built? What if it's only partially built? Then what?

    The time is right to create the UNITY 2007 Plan, an updated and comprehensive blueprint for the future of the Vanderbilt Yards, developed for, and by, the residents of Brooklyn.

    Unity 2007
    An all-day workshop to create a community-driven development plan for Brooklyn's Vanderbilt Yards

    April 28, 2007
    10 am -- 4 pm
    Hanson Place United Methodist Church
    144 Saint Felix Street at Hanson Place. Brooklyn, NY

    Bring your own brown-bag lunch
    Registration 9:30 – 10 am
    RSVP by April 25 to ccpd@hunter.cuny.edu or 212-650-3328


    NEW BROOKLYN POLITICAL CLUB: Shirley Chisholm Political Collective; founded by some of my good friends including Chris Owens, Bill Batson and Raul Rothblatt. Focuses mainly on Prospect Heights neighborhood but with wider community interests as well. Joy and I plan on helping out. Meets second Saturday of each month for now, 4-6PM, Duryea Presbytarian Church, Sterling Pl. and Underhill Ave., Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

    Brooklyn Critical Mass:
    Critical Mass is a monthly celebration of bicycles and other nonpolluting means of transportation, exercising our right to the road. Critical Mass is a movement, not an organization; no two riders participate for exactly the same reason. Brooklyn Critical Mass started rolling in 2004.

    Brooklyn rides are the Second Friday of every month, 7:00 p.m., meeting at Grand Army Plaza. Come out and join Critical Mass in Brooklyn. Celebrate cycling, and assert your right to the road -- Brooklyn style!

    For more events and bike workshops, check out their calendar.


    Brooklyn Democrats for Change: covering Bay Ridge, Fort Hamilton, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, and Bath Beach; Meets the 1st Thursday of the month at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Muller Conference Room, 7420 4th Avenue Bay Ridge.


    NEW TIME: Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID) (mostly covers Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, and Kensington). My wife, Joy, is now on the executive board and is the corresponding secretary of this club. This club is very grassroots and worked very hard for progressive candidates in the recent primary. They need more people if we want to strengthen the grassroots. If you are not yet a member, please come to the next meeting and join. Membership is cheap! Meetings are usually held on the fourth Thursday of every month (NEW TIME) at 7:30 PM at the Park Slope United Methodist Church, 6th Ave. & 8th Street in the basement (enter through the garden gate on 6th Ave).


    Independent Neighborhood Democrats (IND): I usually work with this club. They cover the 52nd Assembly district, covering Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill. Meetings are usually held on the third Thursday of every month at 7 PM at their clubhouse 489 Court St. in Carroll Gardens.


    New Democratic Majority in Brooklyn: Originally an outgrowth of the Dean campaign, NDM is one of the more active progressive organizations around. This is the Brooklyn branch of that organization and we are still building our membership. I will be a co-host of this meeting. We meet the 2nd Thursday of every month (recently changed) at the 5th Ave. Ozzie’s in Park Slope, 249 5th Ave (intersection of 5th and Garfield) at 7 PM. You can contact me (mole333@gmail.com) for more info.


    Democracy for America Meetings: Another outgrowth of the Dean Campaign, this is another excellent local progressive organization. Usually meets the first Wed. of every month at various locations. CLICK HERE to find your closest monthly meeting.

    Park Slope/Brooklyn, Ozzie's, 249 5th Ave, with host Josh Skaller

    Williamsburg/Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Boulevard Tavern, 579 Meeker Ave. (btwn. N. Henry and Monitor St.) There will be no official DFNYC Linkup host here this month, but Harold at Boulevard is a DFNYC member and encourages everyone to stop in. Harold will have DFNYC info about the upcoming elections.

    Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Wycoff-Bennette Homestead, 1669 East 22nd. St. (between Quentin & Kings Highway), with hosts Annette Mott a& Estelle Glasser


    Lambda Independent Democrats (Brooklyn’s gay and lesbian organization) for meeting info contact LID@LIDBrooklyn.org.

    DRINKING LIBERALLY: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Here are our local Brooklyn groups:

    Park Slope: First Wednesday of each month, 7:30-10:00 pm, Commonwealth, 497 5th Ave (at 12th Street). Hosted by Anthony Accurso, Emilie Harkin and Emily Farris, parkslope (at) drinkingliberally.org

    Williamsburg: Every other Tuesday, 8:00 pm onward the Levee, 212 Berry St. (corner of N. 3rd). Hosted by Elana Levin and Michael Freedman-Schnapp, williamsburg (at) drinkingliberally.org (This group might be defunct...please email the organizers. How could Williamsburg not have a Drinking Liberally group???)


    To find your nearest Brooklyn Democratic club, please CLICK HERE.


    Click here to go back to THOUGHTS section and Table of Contents for this issue.


    MANHATTAN GROUPS AND EVENTS:


    NYC Critical Mass The last Friday of the month, every month, 7:00 p.m., starting at Union Square Park North. Come along for the ride! Critical Mass is a monthly celebration of bicycles and other nonpolluting means of transportation, exercising our right to the road. Critical Mass is a movement, not an organization; no two riders participate for exactly the same reason. New York City's first Critical Mass was in 1993.


    Democracy for America Meetings: Another outgrowth of the Dean Campaign, this is another excellent local progressive organization. Usually meets the first Wed. of every month at various locations. CLICK HERE to find your closest monthly meeting.

    Upper West Side, Cosi (downstairs) 2160 Broadway @76th Street, with host Merle McEldowney

    Upper East Side, location TBD, with hosts Lewis Cohen & David Kogelman

    West Village, Kettle of Fish, 59 Christopher St. (near 7th Ave.), with hosts Dana Northcraft & Judith Ren-Lay

    East Village, Cinema Classics/Rafiffi, 332 East 11th Street (btwn. 1st & 2nd), with host Heather Woodfield


    DRINKING LIBERALLY: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Here are our local Manhattan groups:

    Upper East Side Last Tuesday of each month, 6:30 pm onward, Doc Watson's, 1490 2nd Avenue (at 77th). In the backyard, weather permitting. Hosted by Matthew Bachiochi, ues (at) drinkingliberally.org

    In Manhattan: The Original Drinking Liberally, Thursday, 7:30 pm onward, Rudy's, 627 9th Avenue (between 44th & 45th Streets). In the backyard, weather permitting. Hosted by Justin Krebs, Matthew O'Neill and Katrina Baker, nyc (at) drinkingliberally.org


    Harlem

    * Second Wednesday of each month (next meeting May 9), 6:30 pm onward
    * Soundz Lounge, 3155 Broadway (between 123rd and 124th) (map)
    * Hosted by Yolanda (Shoshi) Shoshana, harlem (at) drinkingliberally.org

    Drinking Liberally Steps Out
    * Third Tuesday of each month, 7:00-9:00 pm
    * XES Lounge, 157 W 24th St (@ 7th Avenue)
    * In conjunction with the Stonewall Democrats of New York City www.sdnyc.org.
    * Hosted by Matthew Carlin and Greg Rae, outnyc (at) drinkingliberally.org

    East Village: Last Wednesday of each month, 8:00 pm onward, Grassroots Tavern, 20 Saint Mark's Place (between 2nd and 3rd). Hosted by Quinn Raymond, Elena Morin and Abby Cook-Mack, eastvillage (at) drinkingliberally.org (This group may no longer be meeting...please email the organizers. How could there not be a Drinking Liberally group in the East Village???)


    To find your nearest Manhattan Democratic club, please CLICK HERE.


    Click here to go back to THOUGHTS section and Table of Contents for this issue.


    QUEENS GROUPS AND EVENTS:

    Democracy for America Meetings: Another outgrowth of the Dean Campaign, this is another excellent local progressive organization. Usually meets the first Wed. of every month at various locations. CLICK HERE to find your closest monthly meeting.

    Sunnyside, Queens, The Grind, 39-24 Queens Blvd., with host Dan Jacoby

    Bayside, Queens, The First Edition, 41-08 Bell Blvd, right near the LIRR stop, with host Steve Behar of Democrats for New Politics


    Queens Jefferson Democratic Club: Our meetings are normally held the first Thursday of every month, @ 8:00 p.m. (the doors open @ 7:30 P.M.) except for July, August, and months in which a holiday falls on the First Thursday. Meetings are held at the Auburndale American Legion Hall, 198-09 33rd Ave Flushing, New York 11358 (just off Francis Lewis Blvd. near 33rd Avenue).

    Queens County Young Democrats: for information CLICK HERE.

    DRINKING LIBERALLY: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Here are our local Queens groups:

    ASTORIA: Last Wednesday of each month, 7:30 pm onward. Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden, 29-19 24th Avenue, Astoria, NY 11102. Hosted by Donald Graff, queens (at) drinkingliberally.org

    To find your nearest Queens Democratic club, please CLICK HERE.


    Click here to go back to THOUGHTS section and Table of Contents for this issue.


    STATEN ISLAND GROUPS AND EVENTS:

    Wednesday, April 25, 2007
    Fundraiser for Robert Gigante for Surrogate
    Location: Old Bermuda Inn, 2512 Arthur Kill Road
    Time: 6:00 - 9:00 P.M.
    Tickets: Friend $75, Sponsor $150, Benefactor $300
    Payable: Judge Gigante for Surrogate
    c/o Ralph Giorgio, Treasurer
    98 Rose Avenue
    Staten Island, NY 10306

    Thursday, April 26, 2007
    Announcement of Judge Gigante's Candidacy for Surrogate
    Location: Steps of the Supreme Court, 18 Richmond Terrace
    Time: 1:00 P.M.
    Contact: Jon del Giorno, 212-652-3825

    Thursday, April 26, 2007
    Young Democrats of Richmond County Meeting
    Location: Jody's Club Forest, 372 Forest Avenue
    Time: 8:00 P.M.
    Contact: info@siyoungdems. org

    Tuesday, May 8 - Wednesday, May 9, 2007
    New York State Democratic Committee Spring Business Meeting
    Location: Desmond Hotel, 660 Albany Shaker Road, Albany
    Contact: Marie, 212-725-8825


    Tuesday, May 15, 2007
    Staten Island Democratic Association Club Meeting
    Location: American Grill, 1180 Victory Boulevard (Corner of Clove
    Road)
    Time: 8:00 P.M.
    Program: Loretta Prisco on school governance reform
    Contact: info@sidems.org

    Thursday, May 17, 2007
    North Shore Democrats Annual Dinner
    Location: The Staaten, 697 Forest Avenue
    Time: 7:00 P.M.
    Honorees: Assemblyman Vito Lopez
    Councilman Dominic Recchia
    Lillian Roberts, Executive Director, DC 37
    Joseph Santagate, IBEW, Local 3
    Elizabeth Goodell, Liberta Merola, George Balletto
    Tickets: $85
    Journal ad deadline: May 4
    Contact: nsdems@aol.com

    Thursday, June 28, 2007
    Anthony Gaeta Club Annual Dinner
    Location: The Staaten, 697 Forest Avenue
    Time: 8:00 P.M.
    Contact: John Sollazzo, 718-761-2299

    Thursday, July 12, 2007
    Young Democrats of Richmond County Annual Dinner
    Location: Crown Palace, 235 New Dorp Lane
    Time: 8:00 P.M.
    Contact: info@siyoungdems. org

    THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO STATEN ISLAND DEMOCRACY FOR NYC CHAPTERS! You can start one by emailing linkup -at- dfnyc.org (replace -at- with @). These groups are great for keeping in touch and for candiates to introduce themselves and beg you for support.

    Young Democrats of Staten Island: The future of the Democratic Party in Staten Island!

    Staten Island African American Political Association: For more information, contact deb2badd –at- aol.com (replace –at- with @)

    THERE ARE NO DRINKING LIBERALLY GROUPS IN STATEN ISLAND!!! You can start one by clicking here. It is a fun, social way to grow the grassroots and patronize a local watering hole as well.

    For more Democratic Clubs in Staten Island, CLICK HERE.

    Click here to go back to THOUGHTS section and Table of Contents for this issue.


    BRONX GROUPS AND EVENTS:

    THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO BRONX DEMOCRACY FOR NYC CHAPTERS! You can start one by emailing linkup -at- dfnyc.org (replace -at- with @). These groups are great for keeping in touch and for candiates to introduce themselves and beg you for support.


    WEST BRONX DRINKING LIBERALLY: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. There is currently only one Bronx Drinking Liberally group:

    West Bronx: First and third Friday of each month, 7:30 pm onward at An Beal Bocht, 445 W 238th St (between Waldo and Greystone). Hosted by Jamin Sewell and Scott Kennedy, westbronx (at) drinkingliberally.org


    Find your closest Bronx Democratic Club by CLICKING HERE.


    Click here to go back to THOUGHTS section and Table of Contents for this issue.

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