October 2020 Recovery Newsletter

3rd Street Beat

Produced by Clients of TRC PROVIDES NALOXONE The Recovery Center KITS AND TRAINING - Save 8 east 3rd Street 10003 a life today! #11 October 2020

UPCOMING TRC PLANT SALES Saturday November 14th & Saturday December 12th 12 to 3pm Ar󰉃 󰇿ro󰈚 󰉄h󰈩 T󰈤󰉎 Sep󰉃󰈩󰈛b󰇵󰈸 P󰈘an󰉃 󰈠󰈀󰈘󰇵 POEMS, ART, COLUMNS, AND MUCH MORE INSIDE!

TRC HALLOWEEN PARTY SAT OCT 31 *Costume Contest* *Cookies*

Election Election day is is day Tuesday, Tuesday, Nov 3rd 3rd Nov

The 3rd Street Beat Mission Statement The Third Street Beat is a newsletter written by and created for people with addiction. Our mission is to validate that experience so people know that they are not alone, and to emphasize the many unique roads that we take to recovery. This is an opportunity to share our experiences to creatively support each other. We are non-political, non-denominational, multi-racial, and gender neutral. Our mission is one of recovery and harm reduction, and all experiences are welcome. All the viewpoints herein are personal in nature and related specifically to our contributors’ recovery.

TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURES Landlords of the Future by Joey D p. 3 A Message to the Mayor by Shams p. 5

POETRY & PROSE The Struggle by Moses F. p. 4 Stop Motion by Adam K. p. 6 Para Siempre by Jerry L. p. 7 A Simple Message by J.B. p. 8 Land of Opportunity by Jacques P. p. 8 Enter the Sabbath Day by JJ7 p. 9 To the Seeking and Concerned

by K. Singleton p. 10 Spirituality by JJ7 p. 10 The Lion of Judah by JJ7 p. 11 Update from Anthony T. p. 12

ART Home by Edgar C p. 4

The 3rd Street Beat Editorial Team Shams, Homeless Hero, Adam K, Johnny Jungle, Joey, and Moses. The 3rd Street Beat is produced

by The Recovery Center community with assistance from the occupational therapy team.

3rd Street Beat back issues can be downloaded at: www.projectrenewal.org/rc-newsletters

SUDOKU (solution p. 12)

THE USUAL Sudoku p. 2 Word Search p. 6 Solution p. 12 TRC Schedule p. 14

Follow TRC on Instagram! @recoverycenternyc

The rules of the game are simple: each of the nine blocks has to contain all the numbers 1-9 within its squares. Each number can only appear once in a row, column or box.

2

Landlords

of

the

by Joey D

Future

Image by Diarmuid Ó Catháin

Okay. So our housing situation has been, much like the political climate, toxic!

Landlords, as well as management companies, are being faced with choices that oftentimes are not at all choices.

They'd rather watch a rental unit go empty and produce no income rather than hand the keys over to some applicants.

Ask yourself, whose fault is that?

Recently, as you are well aware of, the residents of The Lucerne found themselves facing expulsion - to at best an uncertain housing future. The city cited complaints regarding behavior, sexual inappropriateness, and the disposal of dirty syringes being left in public areas by I.V. drug users in order to close the location down. It's a battle that's still being waged with an outcome yet to be determined.

So, what's your feeling, regarding an outcry to defund the NYPD? Is it a good idea?

The notion of a society policing itself goes back to the earliest days of creation. A people that could regulate its own behavior would most certainly represent a Utopian dream come true - a literal Shangri La. It's a dream handed down from generation to generation, the only question being, how would we implement Justice in such a world, as well as what would be the waterline of moral standard?

I will not play devil's advocate for either side of the Lucerne debacle. Let's assume there is at least the slightest validity to the city's argument, and you know there is, unless you choose to turn a blind eye to reality. What role in such a lawless society would the few culprits in this situation play?

Would the judgements of those who are unable to refrain from causing social impropriety serve to better a society? And that's not in any way, shape or form meant to classify one as all, or all as one.

There are good people out there who would be able to facilitate a self-governed democracy.

There are some extraordinary people living in situations such as the Lucerne who possess the ability to lead by shining example! However, never are there any absolutes. People will be people. Life happening is just about the only certainty.

So, how do we move ahead from this dilemma, regarding who would have a say in a future without prisons and without a police presence?

Would you not first need to trust an individual to take charge of such a future? Would you trust them to take temporary, self-governed control of your home. More often than not, this is a home for which you pay a mortgage?

There's a good deal of food for thought there - a lot to chew on! So let's take advantage of this and consider ourselves "Landlords of the future." You have free reign to choose any constituent you... 3 CONTINUED

ON

PAGE

12

I struggle with many things. I guess the one that stands out the most is failure. I hate and fear failure so much that it sometimes causes me to not even try. In other words, it becomes a super problem...because although trying is failing, I truly believe that not trying is even worse. Basically, one should be willing to lose rather then quit.

Not trying qualifies you as a straight quitter. You are not even giving yourself a chance to win. How can you ever know if you had a chance to succeed if you never tried. So today I decided I will become a better man. Today I will be a success because I tried. Then again, what is considered success. Is success what others believe or what you believe? Who are you to judge me anyway? I must remember that I'm better than no one. Yet, no one is better than me. That, although I might not be the best in your eyes, I will always be the best me I can be… all because i stopped failing to try. ~By MOSES Home Sweet Home by Edgar C

4

A Message To The Mayor: Housing Justice Is Racial Justice

By Da Homeless Hero This message was delivered by Da Homeless Hero at a press conference a day after UWS Open Hearts Initiative and the UWS community held a vigil in front of the Lucerne Hotel to protest the Mayor’s insistence that the current residents will be displaced to another hotel, despite the growing support from neighbors. This decision reinforces that in this mayor's administration, people with money have more rights than those without.

“

Today marks fourteen days since I joined with a huge gathering of people at Gracie Mansion to call for the Mayor to discontinue his plans to transfer us from the Lucerne Hotel to the Harmonia Shelter. Now we are here once again in front of the Lucerne to address the Mayor. I spoke then and I will speak now, on behalf of myself and on behalf of my fellow residents here at the Lucerne. I hope that my words today will amplify the thoughts and emotions of those experiencing homelessness throughout the city and the world.

Many of us have not had the opportunity to speak for ourselves and have a seat at the table where discussions about our well-being have taken place and policies have been made that affect us.

Today, thanks to this community, we now have an opportunity to make our voices heard.

Now let me begin with a few quotes from member of the Upper Westsiders For Safer Streets Facebook page: “Thugs and repulsive trash lowlifes on our streets!!! Spray them with chemicals and throw them in jail. I can’t say what I think should happen to these disgusting perps… These thugs need to be eradicated from society.”

...Continued on page 13 Facebook: ssHero DaHomele

Twitter: s_hero @homeles

: Instagram lesshero e m @daho

5

Image by clipart-library.com

Fall into Fall Word Search

Stop-motion lifestyles, Animating my downward spirals, Can I have a taste of oblivion, So much less than I counted on.

History of crimes committed, Who says I played against the rest Can’t deny my life’s got zest I stay blessed Cuz I keep passing tests Got tickets for the circus tent I can make it so long as I pay my rent But I still can’t make a dent In my pile of bad debt One day though, they’ll get there’s If there’s any other way, I’m unaware I don’t take sides, I just take care.

So don’t get scared If there’s ghosts in the hall Just invite them ot the monster’s ball You take too much, So take it all Don’t forget to draw outside the line So much to do So little time So don’t whine, when you can’t score a hit Save some action For the catcher’s mitt.

6 -adam K.

Para Siempre By Jerry Lugo My name is Jerry Lugo, and today is a good day for me. Well, actually, every day is a good day for me when I am clean and sober. Staying sober is very hard, especially when something you used to do is all that you know how to do for many years. It became a habit, a part of your everyday life… an addiction. It was like I was not able to do anything without getting high. I was afraid to talk to women and I wasn’t comfortable with myself. I’ve lost many jobs, friends, money and most of all… trust from my family, wife, and daughters because of my addiction. I’ve hurt them in many ways that I never thought I was capable of. I’ve hit rock bottom to face the fact that all I was doing was hurting me and my loved ones. I’ve spent many years in prison – 12 years of my life that I will never get back, but some advantages of being incarcerated was that I had the opportunity to read many books, learn how to draw, and developed skills in maintenance work.

Now, I have a masonry certificate and have had experience in this area for 6 months. I also learned how to wax and buff floors. In other words, I have done many wrongs in life but have also gotten many positive results. I have gained many skills and different perspectives that will help me out in society and ultimately make me into a better version of myself. As for my recovery, TRC has been with me from day one, supporting me from the beginning as I continue my journey in life being homeless, coming out of jail, financially unstable, and no family to support me. It’s all really fucking hard. But if I made it, anyone could make it. That’s a fact. You just have to want it. My daughters need me in their lives. They have been through so much in life and they deserve to have the best lives. To my daughters: daddy loves you and I am coming for you, my babies.

Soon. God bless my girls and wife. Para Siempre.

A Simple Message

Images from vectorstock.com

By. J.B My friends, please tell me where are we going?

Traveling to places we don’t understand or are knowing?

But I say choose wisely because your choice is for the Land.

The lessons we learn shall determine if we fall or stand.

The country is losing things we admire.

The smoke is real and also the fire.

Watching all the land burning and so many trees.

Watching people die from this deadly disease.

Spreading across this vastness that’s so true.

Stop looking for colors because it's not red or blue.

Darkness is spreading across the land.

Falling on my knees in prayer is my plan.

The abyss of finality is slowly coming to a stop.

We need a resolution and to not just to watch.

If I am saying fables and everything is fine, Mark the event it’s almost time.

Look out through the mist that’s out of control.

People having anxiety and depression that need to be consoled.

You don’t believe what you hear or what they say My trust is in GOD so I continue to pray.

Please my friends, continue to believe in the mighty one.

The first and the last; God gets it done.

Despite the economic downturn, America is still the land of opportunity. Life in America, for the most part, is what you make it. I believe the average American does not share this view, but I live in a community of immigrants from Central and South America. They are often successful business owners. I think this is a good example of what can be achieved by hard work and owning a small business. I find it to be an inspiration because quite often I come across some who barely speak English. The Bronx, where I live, is one big melting pot comprised of many ethnic groups and races. ~ Jacques Pierre

8

Enter The Sabbath Day

By Johnny Jungle 7

Image by vectorportal.com

SPIRITUALITY/ TO ME/ IS BELIEF/ IN THE HOLY TRINITY/ AND IS THE TRUTH/ INFINITELY/ UNTIL ETERNITY./ BUT I WANT THE WORD IN ITS’ ENTIRETY/ SO MY PEOPLE MAY SEE/ WHAT THEY WERE MEANT TO BE./ I DON’T FULLY BUY INTO CHRISTIANITY/ BUT I MEAN WHY DID THEY LEAVE/ THE STORY/ INCOMPLETE/ USING THE SCRIPTURES TO TELL MY PEEPS/ THAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE/ IN BONDAGE AND SLAVERY./ AND THAT THE MESSIAH WAS A BLOND BLUE EYED MAN WHO WAS ONLY MEEK/ MAKING HIM SEEM WEAK/ FOCUSING ON US TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK./ WHY DIDN’T THE BABYLON BOYS STRESS THAT HIS EYES WERE FIERY,/ HAIR WOOLY/ AND BURNT BRONZE WERE THE COLOR OF HIS FEET./ HE IS COMING SOON TO FINALLY DEFEAT/ THE EAGLE, DRAGON, AND ANY NASTY BEAST./ THEY NEED TO BRING THE BLACK/ MAN’S VERSION BACK/ CALLED THE MACHABEE./ DON’T GET MAD AT ME/ BECAUSE I KNOW ABOUT THE GUERRILLA REBEL WARRIOR, JUDAH MACCABEE/ WHO FOUGHT VALIANTLY/ WITH HIS PRIESTLY/ FAMILY/ TO SAVE HIS ORIGINAL BLACK JEWISH COUNTRY/ FROM ANOTHER EMPIRE IN WHICH THEY/ CLAIMED VICTORY./ I CAN’T ACCEPT/ OR PARTIALLY RESPECT/ HAVING A HIGHER POWER AS A DOOR KNOB./ I DON’T MEAN TO USE MY LORD’S NAME/ IN VAIN/ BUT OH GOD;/ PLEASE SPEAK TO THEIR HEARTS/ SO THE WORLD WILL SEEK/ UNITY/ WITH INTEGRITY/ SO THE LIKES OF JOHNNY/ AND MS. CARLI/ ARE ABLE TO HAVE A SEAT/ AND RESPECTFULLY SPEAK/ THOUGH OUR HUES VASTLY/ VARY./ AND BECAUSE TODAY IS HER PARTY,/ I SHALL LET GO OF MY DISDAIN OF THAT SONG FROM CARDI/ BUT JUST FOR ONE DAY./ GOD IS GOOD AND TIMELY/ SINCE HE’S GIVEN US THE ABILITY/ TO AGREE/ TO DISAGREE/ AND THAT’S THE BEAUTY OF GROWING UP DIFFERENTLY./ I SOMETIMES DON’T CARE WHAT THEY’VE BEEN TELLING ME./ I’M MORE CONCERNED WITH WOMAN, ONES WITH DISABILITIES/ AND THAT CHILD THAT’S LONEY/ IS NOT GIVEN ‘BOLONEY’/ BUT HAS AN ABUNDANCE TO EAT./ HOW THEY DO OUR BABIES/ IS NO MYSTERY BECAUSE IT’S A PART OF OUR HISTORY/ HOW WE’VE BEEN SUBJECTED TO HORRIFIC FORMS OF TREACHERY./ THANK GOD FOR MY BABA AND MAI’S FERTILITY,/ FOR MY GENES,/ THAT I STILL HOLD OWN TO MANY/ OF THEIR IDEOLOGIES/ WHICH ARE NOT IN THEORY,/ AND I HAVE THE CAPACITY/ TO DO MUCH MORE; EVEN IF IT’S JUST TO BUY JEANS./ I HOPE AND PRAY; WHETHER STANDING OR ON MY KNEES,/ PLEASE/ THAT THE MOST HIGH FATHER FINDS ME WORTHY/ TO JOIN THE BATTLE AND BE A PART OF HIS FLEET/ OF ANGELS./ I KNOW I COME FROM A RELATIVELY/ UNORTHODOX ANGLE/ BUT MESS WITH MY RELATIVES/ AND I SHALL BE FORCED TO END YOU./ UNTIL THEN, ONE MIGHT FIND ME GETTING OFF MY FAT BACK AN’/ GETTING MYSELF TOGETHER SO I CAN GET TO FASTING;/ AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGING/ THE 4TH COMMANDMENT/- SEVENTH DAY OF THE SABBATH.

Amen Selah in The Name of The Lion of JudaH

TO SEEKING AND CONCERNED,

I am writing just to inform any interested body about our great program, T.R.C. It is so overwhelming that it has so much to offer with helping and dealing with life and life on life’s terms. I am one who appreciates the program so much, because it is like between these walls a miracle happens, For one, it helped to save my life. Most of all, it gives me a place that I can call home in so many aspects. I would like to share the opportunity with anyone. Give yourself a break and reap your rewards...and remember that you might not be where you want to be, but - thank God - I am not where I was. So in closing, T.R.C. Give yourself a shot. ~ K. Singleton

SPIRITUALITY/ TO ME/ IS BELIEF/ IN THE HOLY TRINITY AND THE TRUTH INFINITELY/ UNTIL ETERNITY/ BUT IASANT TO GET THE WORD IN ITS ENTIRETY/ SO MY PEOPLE MAY SEE WHAT THEY WERE MEANT TO BE/ I MEAN WHY DID THEY LEAVE THE STORY INCOMPLETE/ TELLING MY PEEPS/ THAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE IN DONAGE AND SLAVERY/ AND THAT THE MESSIAG WAS A BLONDE BLUE EYED MAN WHO WAS ONLY MEEK/ MAKING HIM SEEM WEAK/ BECAUSE THEY FOCUSED ON TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK/ WHY DIDN’T THE BABY LON BOYS STRESS THAT HIS EYES WERE FIERY/ HAD HAIR AS WOOL AND BURN BRONZE WAS THE COLOR OF HIS FEET/ AND HE IS COMING SOON TO FINALLY/ DEFEAT/ THE EAGLE DRAGON AND ANY NASTY BEAST/ THEY NEED TO BRING BACK THE BLACK MANS VERSION CALLED THE MACCABBEE/ DONT BE MAD AT ME/ BECAUSE I CAN’T ACCEPT/ OR PARTIALLY RESPECT/ HAVING A HIGHER POWER AS A DOOR KNOB/ I DDON’T MEAN TO USE MY LORD’S NAME/ IN VAIN/ BUT OH GOD/ PLEASE SPEAK TO THEIR HEARTS/ SO THE WORLD WILL WEEK/ UNITY/ WITH INTEGRITY/ SO THE LIKES OH JOHNNY AND MS. CARLI/ ARE ABLE TO HAVE A SEAT/ AND RESPECTFULLY SPEAK THOUGH OUR HUES APPEAR VERY DIFFERENTLY/ I SOMETIMES DON’T CARE WHAT THEY’VE BEEN TELLING ME/ I’M MORE CONCERNED ABOUT WOMAN AND CHILD AND THAT THEY HAVE AN ABANDONED TO EAT/ I HOPE MY MOST HUSH FATHER FINDS ME WORTHY/ TO JOIN THE BATTLE AND BE A PART OF HIS FLEET/ OF ANGELS AND I MAY COME FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE/ BUT MESS WITH MY FAMILY AND I SHALL BE FORCED TO END YOU/ UNTIL THEN I SHALL WAIT FOR THE SUN TO FALL TO AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGE THE SABBATH/ UNTIL I GET MYSELF TOGETHER AND START FASTING

-JJ7 10

The Lion of Judah

By Johnny Jungle PEACE TO THE LOVED ONES OF BREONNA TAYLOR/ HEAR DEATH TACTLESS/ THOSE FAKE COPS SHOULD BE FACIN/ A FIRING SQUAD/ HEADSHOTS/ LOOKING LIKE THEY GOT/ A FACE LIFT/ IF THIS DEGRADATION/ OF MY PEOPLE CONTINUES MOBS WILL BE DEFECATING/ BOMBS AND MISSILES DETONATION/ DYNAMITE STICKS BECAUSE WE NEED TO DEAD THE NATION/ THAT HAS CAUSED MY PEOPLES DEFAMATION/ FAR FROM ONE ACTING/ BUT THIS SHIT GOT ME THINKING WHAT’S HAPPENING/ I’VE BEEN OUTSIDE, TO SLIDE IN BED-STUY PROJECTS/ WHERE CHICKS/ WOULD RIDE/ AND ARE CLAPPING/ AT SOME GUY’S HIDE/ NAH, THEY WEREN’T CLAPPING THEIR BEHINDS/ FOR SOME CASH/ WHILE ME AND MY MAN PUFFING AND DRINKING/ IN THE STAIRCASE I GOT TO THINKING/ DID DUKE A SLAP HER/ AND IF SO HA HA/ I’M LAUGHING/ AT THOSE CLOWNS./ WE GOTTA RESPECT OUR QUEENS CROWNS/ MY OWNLY SISTER HAS DREAMS AND VISIONS/ WHICH GO FROM VISUALIZATIONS/ THAT FORM INTO REALIZATIONS/ IT’S DUE TO THE FERTILIZATION/ OF JONATHON INTO SABINA’S WOMB WHERE SEVEN/ APPEARED THEN/ THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS PLACED IN/ OUR LIFE/ IN THE NAME OF JESHUA CHRIST/ WHEN HE RETURNS, HE’LL BE WAGING/ WAR/ WITH ANGELS WAVING/ SWORDS/ RAGING/ AGAINST THE EVIL THE ONE/ IT WON’T BE DONE/ UNTIL THE MOST HIGH HE HAS WON/ NOBODY KNOWS THE TIME OR PLACE HE’LL BE LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT/ MOMMA TAUGHT TO STAY AWAY FROM SNAKES THAT CREEP IN THE NIGHT/ FALL ASLEEP THEY MIGHT BITE/ SO I GOTTA STOP THE RATTLE/ GET TO STOMPING/ WITH THE LION PAW/ AS IF IN A BATTLE/ AS FIERCE AS NARNIA/ WE’RE IN A FISH/ THAT’S NOT JUST PHYSICAL/ BUT SPIRITUAL/ SO THAT’S WHY SEEK OUT WHAT THE LION OF JUDHA WILL DO/ - Johnny Jungle Portrait of Breonna Taylor by Andrea Arroya for The Nation

11

AN UPDATE FROM ANTHONY T:

Anthony graduated the Project Renewal Culinary Arts Program and has maintained his sobriety “coming up on a year.” He had these words to share with his fellow TRC members.”

Blessed and Grateful. I am working. I look at the positive. You gotta look at the better side while lots of people are complaining or living in horrible conditions. A lot of people are hurting right now because of the economy. You ask me, how do I like my work? I love it. Where I came from, I didn’t have anything going for myself - still trying to be slick or something. I wasn’t thinking about Culinary arts - but I came to the TRC cooking class every week. Being around the right people at the right time showed me a way to improve my life.

“

SUDOKU solution

LANDLORDS OF THE FUTURE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 ...see fit to take possession of that future. Because, after all, doesn't a person invest in a property to secure a better tomorrow for themselves?

Do you see where I'm going with this? To a landlord we are the candidates, campaigning to take self-governed control of a future vested in the profitability of their investment, the space we vie to lease.Yeah, I know. Like the political climate, it's crazy!

Had our parents or even grandparents ever seen such a calamity? Of course they did! The names and the issues were all different - yet the same. So how did they get to today? What were the solutions to the very same dilemmas?

They'd answered that question long before I asked it. They told us what was expected of us, how to conduct our business, and how to behave! You see, the problem is real. It's complex! The solution? The solution is easy. We know the answer! It was given to us long ago: treat others the way you expect to be treated.

If we could achieve that, the simplest of goals, we could learn from the display put forth in the presidential debate. Having seen an example of how not to act, we could campaign for ourselves. We could campaign for that apartment we all want. We could re-right ourselves and rewrite our own destinies, changing the course our own shortcomings had set before us.

Then and there, when we have taken responsibility for our own actions, never again having to be accused of that which may or maynot be guilty of, we can call ourselves winners. We will be a people free to govern ourselves. And that? No one can take that away. Our homes will truly be yours!

Consider how it is that you present, how you appear, the image you put forth in the political debate that is public perception.

I believe in us, in all of us. Now let's show this city! No, let's show the whole world and everyone 12 who said we couldn't that we can ...and we will!

Our destiny is our own to decide! The American dream? It's ours for the taking! - The End

A MESSAGE TO THE MAYOR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 Someone makes the suggestion as to what chemicals to use. That person says: “Wasp Spray.

It’s more effective, shoots 20 feet in a single stream and you have to go to a hospital for an antidote.”

Yet another Upper Westsider has an even better suggestion. This one says: “Forget pepper spray or mace. Use Hornet Spray and shoot at the eyes. Will give you time to run away.”

In case you think these messages were not being heard or read by the shelter residents you were so quick to dehumanize, they were.

Now, to Mayor DeBlasio, when I first spoke of how your decision was causing trauma on top of trauma, my plea was for you halt this harmful transfer. I thought our words got through. In the meantime, myself, the Open Hearts Initiative, Project Renewal, elected officials, and supporters throughout the city have been working overtime to set up and secure a variety of extra services to ensure that our needs were being met. This all being done without any extra burden upon the City or taxpayers.

Yet after two weeks, you caved in to the pressure from those Upper Westsiders who claimed to want safer streets, but who felt that it was time form militias to get the scum from out of their backyards and wanted to have us eradicated or exterminated with chemicals.

You chose to disregard once again the negative effect that your decision would have on those of us at the Lucerne. With this decision to move you will cause the discontinuance of community-provided services and a destabilizing interruption of Project Renewal’s services. As a direct result, substance use will rise, stress and trauma will increase, mental illness will be intensified, and there is the potential that lives will be lost.

I shared those quotes from “Safer Streets” because I want you to realize that to us, it appears that you support them by your words and your decision. I can’t get out of my head that you said you visited this area and what you saw was not acceptable. I match those words to the words of “safer streets” and I ask “who did the Mayor see on the Upper West Side that he felt was not worthy of acceptance in this neighborhood?”

In my humble opinion and I say this respectfully, claiming we were not acceptable appeared to be a code word. As a descendent of slaves and the byproduct of 400 plus years of systemic racism and oppression, I know a code word for white supremist thoughts when I hear them. You were talking about us. The Black and Brown New Yorkers who make up 93% of shelter residents.

Let me tell you something Mr. Mayor, and I am a respecter of authority but I’m also speaker of truth: If you say Black Lives Matter then act like Black Lives Matter. As an elected official, as the supposed leader of our great city, you have to understand the power of your words and magnitude of your decisions. What you say and what you do can either save lives or destroy lives. Therefore, I am demanding that you first and foremost apologize for that statement and then come see us, and talk directly to us, and let’s begin a conversation that allow all of us to move forward with dignity and respect.

All that has happened here is the tale of two cities. As Mayor in your final months in office you should be working non-stop to make this city one, instead of siding with the powerful and rich over the vulnerable.

Yet, I will say this in closing, despite your decision We Still Rise. We are not deterred. In fact, we are more committed than ever to the goal of eradicating homelessness in this city. The money and the resources are there, they just need to be used properly, which is something we need all the present elected officials, the comptroller, the mayor, and the governor to work on jointly. It is an embarrassment to this great city to have 60,000 New Yorkers stuck in the shelter system for years on end, at a greater cost than it would be to permanently house them. If you all claim to be leaders, then LEAD. Everyone deserves a home. Housing justice, is racial justice. Thank you.

9/27/20

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