April 9, 2024
Mayor Sayegh and Paterson City Council
Paterson City Hall
155 Market Street #101
Paterson, NJ 07505
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Dear Mayor Sayegh, Council President Mendez, and Members of the Paterson City Council,
We, the undersigned, are faith leaders, concerned community members, and organizations advocating for racial, economic, and social justice in Paterson and across New Jersey.
We are united in our unequivocal opposition to the Paterson City Council’s proposal to criminalize mutual aid and severely restrict the distribution of food and resources to residents most in need.
It is the moral and human duty of each of us to ensure that our neighbors have their basic needs met, which is why places of worship, volunteers, mutual aid groups, and caring individuals distribute essential resources like food, clothing, blankets, hygiene, and harm reduction supplies in Paterson.
We saw the power of this distribution during the COVID-19 crisis, when residents and mutual aid groups quickly mobilized to get food, masks, and naloxone (the medicine that reverses an overdose) to one another. Paterson volunteer groups delivered over 100 meals daily to senior residents.
The Paterson community’s mutual aid response to the COVID-19 crisis was heralded in New Jersey, nationally, and internationally as a bright spot in how people show up for one another during crises. The proposed ordinance would make these same actions illegal, punishable by 90 days in jail and $2,000 in fines.
The ordinance would criminalize the outdoor distribution of a staggering array of items food, blankets, toothbrushes, harm reduction supplies, voter registration forms, a dollar from one person to another on the street and impose an onerous permit process. It would also force any place of worship or organization that distributes
resources indoors to have space requirements, security guards, and inspection at any time by the Paterson Police Department.
If it passes, this ordinance will only punish those who are already struggling. Mutual aid and resource distribution in Paterson means access to food, clothing, blankets, books for children, HIV and Hepatitis C testing and treatment, and connections to care and community. We need more of these resources, not fewer.
As government officials, it is your job to support and uplift members of the community, not hinder grassroots efforts to support one another in times of need. The city should be doing everything in its power to support the vibrant mutual aid networks in Paterson. These organizations and individuals are filling needs in the community that the city is not.
Community is the solution, not the problem. If there are concerns, you have the opportunity and responsibility to bring mutual aid and resource distribution groups to the table to address them.
We urge you to pull the proposed ordinance immediately and work with mutual aid and resource distribution groups to find solutions that support rather than penalize their lifesaving and life-affirming efforts.
Sincerely,
ACLU of New Jersey
Black Lives Matter Paterson
Black Wall St
Bugg Foundation
Central NJ DSA Mutual Aid
Chef Butterfli
Christ Church Project HOPE
City Impact
City Relief
Coalition for Food and Health Equity
Faith in New Jersey
Faith in New Jersey (Paterson)
Feedings + Feelings
First A.M.E. Zion Church
Franchot
Free Bridge Mutual Aid
From Street to Christ Inc
Garden State Equality
Hands of Hope Ministries
Humble Beginnings, Inc
Hunterdon Anti-Racism Coalition
Hyacinth Foundation
JCMAS (Jersey City Mutual Aid Society)
Jersey City Moms
Louvenia Sparrow Missionary Society of First A.M.E. Zion Church
National Harm Reduction Coalition
Newark Community Street Team
New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice
New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition
New Jersey Policy Perspective
NJ Violence Intervention Prevention Coalition
NJ Working Families Alliance
Oasis A. Haven for Women and Children
Oxford House NJ
Palestinian American Community Center
PIFFY Award Organization
Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan NJ
Reimagining Justice Inc
Returning Citizens Support Group
Ruby’s Vision Inc.
Individual Signers
Annelore Bwire
Anthony Gray Jr
Austin Greitz
Diamond Bullock
Dr. Jason Williams
Gabriel Traylor
Grace Aroune
Holly Josephs
James Pruden
Jamie Collins
Jennifer Jativa
José Valdez
Karna Krishna
Kayla Kohler
Kelly LaBar
Kiana Colon
Lakisha Huntington
Lammii Kassa Beyene
Larisa Mendez Downes
Lea Rumbolo
LeeAnn McClain
Mariejan Tupaz
Michelle Guengue
Michelle Johnson
Mitchell Usis
MJones
Nanci Deverin
Natalie Cisneros
Neddie Nather
Phanie Morris
Renee Shalhoub
Rev. Weldon McWilliams IV
Roda I.
Starry Avilés-Espejo
Taiyiana Robinson
Tara Cormier
Tatiana Pereira
Tiana Thomas
Trevor Haav
Viviana Arturo, LMHC