New York Neighbors for American Values today launched a website listing events that will take place to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11^th attacks, http://www.NYNeighbors911.org.  The coalition, which came together last summer in response to the controversy surrounding the proposed Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan, is providing a centralized listing of events so New Yorkers can easily determine how they will commemorate the anniversary of this life-changing event.

“This anniversary provides us with an opportunity to reaffirm our shared values of religious freedom, diversity and equality, and to reject the politics of fear that have too frequently led to a polarizing public debate that is not representative of how most New Yorkers want to move forward from 9/11,” said Susan Lerner of Common Cause/NY, the chair of the coalition’s steering committee. “NYNeighbors911.org shows that the ways people are responding to the anniversary are much like New York itself: diverse, passionate, representative of myriad cultures and perspectives, and focused on building a better future.”

In years past, there has been no central listing of events, making it difficult for New Yorkers to find out about events going on in different communities across the city. Because it is the 10th anniversary of the attacks, there will be hundreds of events, from concerts to memorial services to bike rides and much more. The site, NYNeighbors911.org, which is built around a community events calendar, is provided without advertisements and at no cost to event sponsors. Individuals and organizations are invited to visit the site to learn of the different events they can attend in the coming months and to post information about relevant events. Site users will be able to search by area or event type, to locate the event venue on a map, and will be able to connect with organizations holding events to get more information or to RSVP.

New York Neighbors does not endorse the events listed on www.NYNeighbors911.org, nor can we make any claims about the quality or content of the event. We provide the listings as a public service to encourage New Yorkers and visitors to our city to find the event(s) which will help them commemorate the September 11^th anniversary in the way that each finds most meaningful.

New York Neighbors is sponsoring 2 events in commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of September 11.

The New York Neighbors for American Values coalition will hold a roundtable discussion on Wednesday Sept. 7 from 10am-12noon focusing on various topics for reflection 10 years after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Confirmed panelists include: Donna Lieberman, Talat Hamdani, Peter Marcuse, Margaret Fung, Catherine McVay Hughes, David Kallick, and Juan Gonzalez..

On Thursday, September 8, we will host a commemorative concert and vigil at Church Street and Park Place.  Check back for details!

Hello NY Neighbors!

You are cordially invited to the New York Neighbors for American Values

Independence Day Multi-cultural Potluck Picnic on Sunday July 3^rd, 2011.

What better way to celebrate Independence Day weekend with your family then to come together in the name of diversity, equality and religious freedom?

We will be holding two simultaneous events, one in Prospect Park Brooklyn, and one in Staten Island, NY. Please join us!

Details:

Prospect Park Brooklyn Picnic (see attached flier or rsvp page for a map and more details)

Featuring a potluck intercultural recipe exchange and pot luck, children’s games, mini-kite making and excellent company. Bring a dish to share from your tradition, and make sure to jot down the recipe to share. Halal, Kosher and vegetarian options will be available. RSVP today!

Staten Island Picnic

Join us at the Miller Field picnic area for outdoor barbecue, international cuisine, music, and fun for the whole family – especially kids.  The picnic will bring back the spirit of Harmony Day that has been celebrated for years on Staten Island.   Families with children are especially welcome.  There will be face painting, live entertainment, and games for children of all ages.   This will be an opportunity to share food, stories and friendship with your neighbors around the city and Staten Island who come from many countries and traditions. More info at www.gettoknowyourneighborsi.org

Feel free to contact me with any questions or if you would like to volunteer at either of these events.

Thank you!

We need a catchy, one-line phrase that encapsulates what we do, and we want you to help us!

Post your submission on our Facebook wall, in these comments, or on Twitter #nynbrsmotto

Since NY Neighbors focuses on anti-Muslim bigotry in New York City, we will not be responding as a coalition to this issue. However, we encourage you to lend your support to the Muslim community in Bridgewater, NJ as individuals and organizations.

ACTION ALERT

The Issue:

Bridgewater, NJ has enacted a discriminatory zoning policy that will effectively block the Muslim community from establishing a mosque (Al Falah Center) in their neighborhood.  After an anti-Muslim internet campaign prompted hundreds of people to show up at a Planning Board meeting to consider the proposal, the Township altered its zoning laws, transforming the applicable zoning for the proposed mosque property to prohibit rather than permit development of a house of worship, citing traffic concerns. The center has brought suit against the Township. For more information visit here and here.

What you can do:

Write an email to the city officials who have jurisdiction over the issues, the Town Council and the Mayor, urging them to protect the constitutional rights of all residents, including the Muslim community.

bwtclerk@bridgewaternj.gov – Howard Norgalis, President
dhayes@bridgewaternj.gov – Dan Hayes
akurdyla@bridgewaternj.gov – Allen Kurdyla
christinehrose@gmail.com – Christine Hendersen Rose
mayor@bridgewaternj.gov – Mayor Flannery

Here is a sample email:

Greetings,

I am joining my voice to those who urge you to support al Falah Center and protect the freedom of worship for all our citizens. I do not support the actions by the Planning Board and Town Council that will effectively block the ability of Bridgewater’s Muslim community from establishing a house of worship.

Changing zoning laws in a way that will exclude a religious minority is not only unjust, it violates federal laws which state “No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that imposes a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person, including a religious assembly or institution.”

Nor is it right to fast-track a change in laws, on an already-submitted conforming application, to avoid the statute to take effect on May 5th that would completely prohibit such actions. The timing and nature of these rushed changes will unjustly impact the application of a permitted religious institution – one which adheres to the existing zoning laws in every way. This is neither good governance, nor does it show good faith towards Bridgewater’s own citizens.

The members of al Falah Center are an integral part of the community, peaceful and upstanding. They are making every effort to work together with the Township on this project and accommodate concerns of the neighborhood. We rely on you, our elected officials, to support their efforts toward a house of worship in every way you can. We look forward to working with you to find a solution that is fair and balanced. We call on you to seek a resolution that not only addresses the neighbors’ concerns regarding this application which already conforms to every law – but also protects the constitutional rights of a religious assembly.

Many of our coalition members and partners were quoted in the following articles:

(before the hearing)

New York Times (Adem Carroll quoted)

Staten Island Live (Hesham El-Meligy quoted)

News 12 (on the press conference, only works for cablevision subscribers)

WNYC (Udi Ofer quoted)

Brooklyn Eagle (Betsy Palmieri quoted, photo from press conference)

NY Observer (Specific to CAIR)

NY Post

NY Daily News

Times Union

Times Union Opinion

(after the hearing)

Wall Street Journal (Linda Sarsour quoted)

WNYC (Linda Sarsour quoted)

NY Times

NY Times City Room

New York Neighbors for American Values

http://nyneighbors.org

CONTACT:

Mike Cummings, 212.697.3363 / mcummings@nyclu.org

Natalie Chap, 646.379.6499 / NChap@CommonCause.org

State Senate Homeland Security Committee Hearing Must Focus on Legitimate Public Safety Concerns, not Fear-Mongering Directed at Muslims

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 6, 2011 – A State Senate committee hearing scheduled on Friday to purportedly examine homeland security issues must not be used as a forum to attack and demonize Muslim and immigrant New Yorkers, New York Neighbors for American Values, a coalition of more than 100 civic, labor and religious organizations, urged today in a letter to state Sen. Gregory R. Ball, R- 40^th district, chairman of the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs.

According to a memo circulated by Ball’s office, Friday’s homeland security committee hearing is titled “Reviewing our Preparedness: An Examination of New York’s Public Protection Ten Years After September 11.” The important agenda topics include the NYPD’s preparedness for terrorist attacks, radio interoperability in the MTA and potential threats posed by the Indian Point nuclear plant. But it also includes topics such as “the culture of jihad and shariah law,” and driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants.

While the coalition welcomes the committee’s focus on New York’s emergency preparedness for a terrorist attack, the coalition expressed concern about some of the hearing’s topics and the lopsided witness list, which suggest that the hearing will advance a political agenda, like that of Representative Peter King, which questions the Muslim community’s loyalty to the United States, and conflates religious practices with preparations for terrorism.

The hearing agenda released by Ball’s office provides insight into the hearing’s intent. Security at the Indian Point nuclear plant, perhaps one of the greatest potential threats to New Yorkers’ safety and a timely subject, is scheduled for a 15-minute discussion, while the discussion of Sharia law is scheduled for 30 minutes.

“This hearing is being used as a political platform to promote Islamophobia, instead of a serious and judicious look at our preparedness since 2001,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York; a coalition member. “It is in every New Yorker’s interest that our public servants examine our safety without the insertion of bias and fear-mongering for cheap political points. To have biased and ideologically-driven sources testifying at length next to high-ranking city officials is absurd, and distorts the public discourse on these critical issues”

“The committee hearing should focus on public safety and emergency preparedness, not on isolating and condemning Muslim and immigrant New Yorkers,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union; a coalition member. “In America, we do not judge people by their religion, race or beliefs. Stereotyping and guilt-by-association smears distract and divide us, instead of uniting us.”

New York Neighbors for American Values was formed in the summer of 2010 in response to anti-Muslim sentiments expressed in the opposition to plans to develop an Islamic community center near ground zero. Its members embrace the American constitutional values of religious freedom, diversity, and equality and work to counteract anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic rhetoric and actions in New York City.

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NYN Press Release on 4-8 hearing

find a pdf of the letter here: Letter to Senator Ball on 4-8 Hearing

(From our statement released Oct. 7th
See the NY1 news story below.)

New York Neighbors for American Values applauds the Upper West Side Community Board (Community Board 7) for endorsing Community Board 1′s support for the Córdoba House/Park51 project. By adopting this resolution, Community Board 7 joined Community Board 1 in showing respect for our constitutional values and the importance of equal treatment for all New Yorkers.

Community Board 7’s statement highlights the importance of community boards in planning and development decisions, and the importance of civil dialog in our democracy. We share Community Board 7’s concern about the threats and intimidation directed against members of Community Board 1 by opponents of the Córdoba House/Park51 project. The language of violence and intolerance that dominated so much of the public hearing is now being heard in too many election campaigns this fall.  We agree with Community Board 7 that “the anti-Muslim vitriol” directed against Córdoba House is not only an attack on Muslims – it is also a threat to our democratic values.

New York Neighbors for American Values is a coalition of more than 100 civic, labor and religious organizations. We came together to welcome the planned Muslim cultural center to Lower Manhattan, and to make sure that grassroots voices would be heard in support of diversity, equality, and religious freedom. Community Board 7’s resolution is one such voice, and we encourage other community boards and civic institutions to speak out as well.

New York City is known for diversity, inclusion and a democratic spirit. Let’s follow the example of Community Board 7 and Community Board 1, and stand up together for the values that have made our city strong.

See the video clip and news story from NY1 on Community Board 7′s resolution & New York Neighbors here.

The following statement was read and distributed to the press at the September 26th protest organizing by the NYC Coalition to Stop Islamophobia. It was covered extensively – see below.

Embracing the core American values of religious freedom, equality and diversity, we oppose the efforts to stop construction of the planned mosque in Sheepshead Bay. As State Sen. Marty Golden said, “It’s their religious right to put up these individual mosques as one would put up a church or a synagogue….That’s what the Constitution is based on.”  In Sheepshead Bay or anywhere else in our state, all religions must get equal treatment.

Organizers of the Sept. 26 anti-mosque protest say that because “the neighborhood residents are mostly of Italian/Russian/Jewish/Irish descent and will not benefit from having a mosque and a Muslim community center,” Muslim families in the area should be stopped from building a place of worship.  They define this as an issue of “neighborhood character.”  This is contrary to spirit of Brooklyn and all New York City, where diversity and equality have been the keys to our success.  The Muslim community in Sheepshead Bay already includes more than 150 families, along with others who work and socialize there.  Sheepshead Bay has been a diverse neighborhood and a haven for new immigrants for many years, and building a mosque will be the latest chapter in that long history.

We encourage local community groups in Sheepshead Bay to create safe spaces for open, civil dialog, where the concerns of all neighborhood residents can be heard. Such dialog can help dispel misconceptions about Islam and Muslims that lead to fear and division. As in the case of Park 51, we reject the idea that any neighborhood in our great city is off-limits to any particular community. We welcome the effort of Muslim New Yorkers, and New Yorkers of all backgrounds, to build institutions that serve their communities and our diverse city.

– New York Neighbors for American Values Steering Committee

Selected Press Clips:

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/40/bn_mosquerallies_2010_10_01_bk.html
http://www.forward.com/articles/131727/
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/mosque_man_blinks_r8bWo4WSbhRwau1fZz5DLN
http://www.news12.com/articleDetail.jsp?articleId=262313&position=1&news_type=news

This is a clip of NY Neighbors member Peter Hogness reading the statement:

We were touched to get this:

Dear New York Neighbors for American Values,

Friday’s Vigil was deeply encouraging and humbling. For those of us who were blessed to be there in person (some of us had to be with you in spirit) it was an Eid we will never forget. We stood with our neighbors, supporters and friends, and we were again reminded that as a community of multiple ethnicities, faiths and backgrounds we cannot live in isolation from each other. What we accomplish together, we accomplish better and for all.

In deep gratitude and appreciation for this show of support, and other ongoing efforts,

The Park 51 Team