Sunday, December 14, 2008

"Sense, Heart, Feet and Hands Will be in Accord..."

Happy Birthday, Nostradamus!

Here are some opportunities to find your own alignments in the coming days, right here in North Brooklyn:

There was a march at McGorlick Park today, sponosred by Parsons Students for Greenpoint, to generate awareness around the Greenpoint Oil Spill, the result of longterm leakage from tanks and pipelines that has put between 17 and 30 million gallons of oil in the ground. The spill was three times greater than the Exxon Valdez spill, but many people know nothing about it.

J and I attended a meeting of the New Kings County Democrats yesterday, which is representing for people who feel that the Kings County Democrats machine (aka (what some would call) the Vito Lopez for Vito Lopez machine) doesn't meet their needs these days. Thanks to NKD outreach and mobilization, around 50 of the 400 or so members of the Brooklyn County Committee are of the New branch. Around 40 people turned up at Sound Fix late yesterday afternoon to lay the groundwork for local and national action under an Obama administration. While long-term plans were discussed, some immediate projects were developed, too, including a food drive for local hungry people. Stay tuned.

If you haven't yet, please add your John Hancock to a petition to keep East River State Park open through the winter.

Finally, if you're interested in contributing thoughts to the North Brooklyn Story Project, please do.

Doom and gloom aside! The world is always beginning...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

last time i checked only about 10 (at most)of the NKD people became county committee members. And might I add their leader Matt Cowherd, couldn't even win his own seat.

So, first and foremost, get your facts straight. Moreover, Vito Lopez has done more good for his community of Brooklyn and Williamsburg than any other politico has done for their respective constituency.

He has also been a great help to the Brooklyn, and as Jay-Z would say "putting Brooklyn back on the map." Until Lopez became chairman Brooklyn, the most populated Borough, was disregarded and disrespected.

So before you join the Anti-vito-crowd make sure you know what you are talking about and aren't just trash-talking to be "down" with the NKD.

Rachel said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I welcome dialogue and education and think that blog posts can be a great forum for discussion. One thing that I also think is great is directness, and commenting anonymously, while not disallowed, seems like a less than optimal way to _own_ a position. I listen to as many people as will share with me and will revise opinions accordingly - of course, my post does not say anything outright against Lopez or the Kings County Democrats - it only says that some people don't feel like the KCD, lead by Lopez, is a voice for them. Thanks for making your voice heard and for being a part of this conversation. - Rachel

Rachel said...

More: factually speaking, at least 50 of the current County Committee members are from the New Kings Democrats. And Lopez has been good for certain local causes, for example saving La Marqueta. Still, a whole organization has sprung up - the NKD - to remedy what it considers to be a faulty local dialogue, and I think their numbers (also a fact) can be usefully heeded as well. I don't affiliate at this point with the NKD or the KCD - but I'm curious about what both and either might do for a community I love.

Anonymous said...

Rachel: Anonymous is wrong and you are right. New Kings Democrats has over 55 members who are County Committee Members and that number is growing all the time as more people become disaffected by Anonymous's beloved Vito Lopez. Isn't it funny how people who preface their statements with "get the facts straight" always launch into some mangling of the truth? My experience is that Vito's pawns spend long hours trolling the internet looking to "correct" facts erroneously. Such is their method of cognitive dissonance. For your readers who don't believe me, just ask yourself how come the pro-Vito voices always post anonymously. They're embarrassed to be promulgating such nonsense. Keep telling the truth, Rachel. More and more people are listening. Great blog. I just linked to it on my own. - The Brooklyn Optimist