Capitalocene Q&A (with Joerg Rieger)
NJ.com: City council ready to introduce Jersey City’s right-to-counsel program legislation after some tweaks
By Mark Koosau
The creation of Jersey City’s right-to-counsel program for tenants and a fee on new developments to fund it has hit a snag as the city council plans to reintroduce the legislation with some changes.
Two related ordinances will be up for re-introduction Wednesday night, but the original purpose remains unchanged: a program to provide free legal representation for tenants facing evictions, and a 1.5-2.5% fee on new developments that would fund its $4 million budget.
“We are doing a better job of making sure the ordinance serves everybody,” said Councilman James Solomon, the sponsor of the legislation, in regard to the changes.
“Ultimately the end goal is keeping tenants in their homes… Read on at NJ.com
The Indypendent: The Long Struggle for Affordable Housing in New Jersey Dates Back to the Civil Rights Movement
“Just as Mount Laurel residents fought back 50 years ago, tenants in Jersey City are currently organizing against rising rents and evictions. The two right to counsel ordinances they are fighting for will give all tenants in Jersey City the right to free legal representation, create a right to counsel office in City Hall and introduce fees on developers to create an affordable housing fund. Part of that fund will be used to cover the costs of tenants’ legal services.”
HCV: Jersey City RTC advocates march to City Hall as council gets ready for vote
“Workers and tenants are fighting back in their unions in their tenancies with their neighbors and at City Hall. We’re not paying for right to counsel through taxpayers. We’re going to tax the rich. We’re funding right to counsel with a fee on development…Including the biggest developer in Jersey City, the LeFrak organization. LeFrak is the chief architect of Newport and the displacement of thousands of Jersey City residents that lived right here.”
Hop Shop Social - Tucson DSA
|
LETTER: The Jersey City Council must adopt Right to Counsel (RTC)
From longtime Greenville resident Hakim Hasan: RTC has the potential to protect vulnerable residents from housing injustices and provide them with the legal support they desperately need.
“For far too long, the landscape of Jersey City has been shaped by mega-landlords, developers, and real estate investors, resulting in an increasingly unaffordable city for its residents. Sadly, it is the poor and working-class individuals throughout our city who bear the brunt of exploitation by unscrupulous landlords. It is imperative that the Right-to-Counsel ordinance provides the necessary legal representation and advice to vulnerable families facing illegal evictions and habitability issues in their homes.
Supporting the Right-to-Counsel ordinance is an easy decision for me.”
Read “The Jersey City Council must adopt Right to Counsel (RTC)” in TAPinto Jersey City
HCV: Hudson County DSA hosts Town Hall about Jersey City’s Right to Counsel proposal
The Hudson County chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) hosted a town hall at the Mary McCleod Bethune Center last night about Jersey City’s right to counsel proposal ahead of next week’s council meeting.
“Hudson County DSA has been campaigning for nearly a year for the law and have asked for a universal policy, immediate implementation, and protections for tenants with vouchers.”
Our Response to SB-20
On May 16th, 2023, the NC GOP, the majority of whom were men who had no consultation from women and ignored warnings from medical professionals, voted to override Governor Cooper’s veto of SB-20, a bill that bans abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy and includes medically unnecessary restrictions. Some of the measures of the bill require doctors to be present when abortion medication is given, require those seeking abortions to have an in-person consultation with a doctor 72 hours before the procedure, and require brand new licensure requirements for abortion facilities, which could potentially close every abortion clinic in North Carolina. These restrictions are designed to place bureaucratic hurdles for the working class to prevent access to increasingly limited abortion care. Knowing that access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare is life-saving, their goal is to keep the working class in precarious living conditions so we will work more hours for less money.
Following bills that limit trans children’s participation in sports and restrict their access to gender-affirming care earlier this year, this is yet another example of the state’s increasing control of our bodies. The willingness to block people’s rights to fundamental healthcare in exchange for votes reflects the cynicism and cruelty of the GOP. The inability of the Democratic Party to block these attacks reminds us that they cannot protect us -- because they haven’t, over and over again. Our fundamental rights are a mere bargaining chip for the ownership class and are only protected if these rights align within the needs of a capitalist system. We cannot wait for the next election to vote ‘the right people in.’ We must build a multi-racial, multi-generational movement led by the working class to win our rights regardless of who is in the legislature.
It's more important than ever to bring this fight to the forefront of the anti-abortion movement. A key part of SB-20 is the continued public funding for maternity homes and Anti-Abortion Centers, commonly known as Crisis Pregnancy Centers, both of which have strong ties to anti-abortion, Evangelical Christian organizations. We need to push these unethical and manipulative establishments out of our neighborhoods. Politicians tell us they are providing “alternatives to abortion” by providing childcare resources through AACs. But access to resources is not a reward for going along with what they tell us to do with our bodies; those resources are a right that should be available to all. We are fighting for more than abortion rights - we are fighting for reproductive justice, our right to have children as much as our right to not have children. Our first step in pushing back against anti-abortion efforts will be picketing CPCs regularly and involving the surrounding communities in this effort.
Join our Socialist Feminist Working Group at our next picket on Monday, May 22nd from 4-7pm at one of the most well-funded anti-abortion clinics in the state, Gateway Women's Care in Raleigh. Or if you want to help with our pregnancy-related mutual aid efforts, please register for our next Socialist Feminist meeting on Tuesday, May 30th at 6pm.
Come to Jersey City: Make It Ours - Tenants Town Hall
Join us on Thursday, May 18th at 6pm at the Bethune Life Center on MLK Dr., and learn about our campaign for Right-to-Counsel!
Justice for Jordan Neely
Two weeks ago, millions of New Yorkers were devastated and horrified to learn of the murder of Jordan Neely on the New York City subway. Neely, a young Black person and street artist experiencing homelessness, was held in a chokehold on the F train by a white man who remained unidentified for several days after the incident. In the weeks since Neely’s killing by the man identified as Long Island native Daniel Penny, the impact of this story has continued to unfold with reactions pouring in from across the city and country. While NYPD brutalized protestors and press at vigils and actions demanding justice for Jordan, Daniel Penny was allowed to turn himself in on a charge of second-degree manslaughter. On tonight's show we're live with Andrew, an organizer with NYC-DSA's Racial Justice Working Group, on how they have reacted to Jordan Neely’s murder and the socialist demands that we believe will make New York a truly safer place. We also hear from the WBAI listening audience with perspectives from the public on this story.
RSVP for NYC-DSA's Socialist Approach to Mental Health and Public Safety town hall event TONIGHT, 5/17, at bit.ly/nycdsa-townhall.
RSVP for NYC-DSA's Racial Justice Working Group Vigil and Teach-in for Jordan Neely on Saturday, May 27: https://actionnetwork.org/events/jordan-neely-deserved-better-a-vigil-teach-in
Follow the Racial Justice Working Group on Instagram or Twitter @nycdsarjwg.