This fall, voters in New York State will head to the polls for some important elections. While we are in a state of economic uncertainty and devastating budget cuts, it is more important than ever for us to use our votes to elect policymakers who will advocate for the issues that affect our communities.

Drop the Rock has partnered with the Bronx Defenders, to co-sponsor the 2010 edition of Better Ballots NY, a nonpartisan voter education guide for New York voters. The guide is produced by the Bronx Defenders’ Voter Enfranchisement Project (VEP), which is coordinated by Dawit Getachew, a dedicated Drop the Rock coalition member. VEP is “a non-partisan effort that seeks to encourage participation among historically underrepresented voters and ensure that all communities have a voice in our democracy.”

Better Ballots NY will cover candidates running for Governor and Attorney General, as well as the legislative races in New York City districts that are disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system. Candidate’s responses to the Better Ballots questions will be published in the Better Ballots NY Voter Guide, which will be widely distributed via its website and partner organizations.

We urge organizations that are partners with Drop the Rock to sponsor the voter guide. Once published, we can publicize it widely and hold candidates accountable to their responses. Sponsors will promote Better Ballots NY to their members or client communities, circulate information about how to access the voter education guide, and, if possible, print out the guides for distribution.

If you have any questions about the guide or if your organization would like to sponsor Better Ballots NY, please contact Dawit Getachew at the Bronx Defenders at dawitg@bronxdefenders.org.

Autumn is just around the corner, and with that comes election season. In New York, a number of crucial legislative seats, including Governor, Attorney General, State Assembly, and Senate, are up for grabs. In the midst of high unemployment rates, shrinking budgets, and severe cuts to valuable services, it is more important than ever for New Yorkers to use our votes to elect policymakers who will advocate for our communities.

The 2010 Primary Election is Tuesday, September 14, 2010. The last day to send an application by mail is Friday, August 20, 2010; the last day to register in person is Friday, August 20, 2010.

The 2010 General Election is Tuesday, November 2, 2010. The last day to send an application by mail is Friday, October 13, 2010; the last day to register in person is Friday, October 8, 2010.

Are you registered to vote in New York? For information about how to register to vote in New York State, click here.  You can also register to vote online with Rock the Vote.

Click here for information about voting eligibility for people with criminal records in New York, or keep reading for a quick summary. Read more…

Are you registered for DTR’s Train the Trainer workshop? In preparation for District Day, we will be hosting two training sessions on Thursday, August 5th and Tuesday, August 10th. The training will focus on the components of DTR’s platform and advocacy activities planned for the coming months. Let us know which date works best for you. Both trainings will begin at 6pm at the Correctional Association office.

District Day is September 24th, will we be meeting with a legislator in your neighborhood? Bring District Day to your community by registering today!

Contact Denise Thomas at 212-254-5700 x 339  or at dthomas@correctionalassociation.org to sign up for the training workshop and District Day.

On September 24th, coalition members will break into teams across the city and meet legislative officials in their district offices. District Day continues the conversations begun during our Advocacy Day in March on Drop the Rock’s campaign to downsize NY’s prison system.  Our aim is to show state legislators that support for closing underutilized and costly prisons is spreading and gaining more traction especially in the most affected communities and especially during this time of severe fiscal constraints.

This is our first District Day and it will be similar to Advocacy Day without traveling to Albany. It is an opportunity for coalition members to develop relationships with the leaders of their community and hold them accountable. Since 2010 is an election year, District Day is especially important as it will better prepare us for our next Advocacy Day in Albany and also provide the coalition with information on the most effective strategies to advance the goals of our campaign.  Download our District Day flyer to help spread the word.

Will we visit your legislative leader? Register now by contacting us with your availability for September 24th to bring District Day to your community. We will work with your schedule if you are only available to take off a portion of the day.

In preparation for District Day, Drop the Rock is hosting two Train the Trainer workshops on Thursday August 5th and Tuesday August 10th. The training will focus on the components of DTR’s platform and the kinds of public education and advocacy activities planned for the coming months. If you would like to freshen up on your presentation skills or general outreach to your community on our agenda, register today!

For more information on District Day and the Train the Trainer workshops, contact Denise Thomas, Drop the Rock Coordinator, at 212-254-5700 x.339 or dthomas@correctionalassociation.org

The front page of Wednesday’s New York Times featured an article about the agreement between the federal and NY state governments regarding conditions of confinement, mental health services, and treatment of youth inside the state’s juvenile prisons. The reforms will be the most substantial expansion of mental health services in years for youth in custody, and the benefits of these improvements will be far-reaching. The article closes with a smart and pointed quote from the Correctional Association’s own Gabrielle Prisco, Director of the Juvenile Justice Project.

Federal Oversight for Troubled N.Y. Youth Prisons
By Nicholas Confessore
Published July 14, 2010

Four of New York’s most dangerous and troubled youth prisons will be placed under federal oversight, strict new limits will be imposed on the use of physical force by guards, and dozens of psychiatrists, counselors and investigators will be hired under a sweeping agreement finalized on Wednesday between state and federal officials.

The agreement will usher in the most significant expansion of mental health services in years for youths in custody, the vast majority of whom suffer from drug or alcohol problems, developmental disabilities or mental health problems.

Currently, the state does not have a single full-time psychiatrist on staff to treat young offenders. Read more…

Check out a letter Bob Gangi, Executive Director of the Correctional Association of NY, wrote in response to Heather Mac Donald’s Op-Ed in this Saturday’s NY Times (”Fighting Crime Where the Criminals Are“) about the NYPD’s objectionable stop-and-frisk practices that primarily target minority neighborhoods.

When the Police Stop and Frisk
Published July 2, 2010

To the Editor:

Heather Mac Donald misses two key points. Critics of the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk tactics do not accuse individual officers of racial bias, but question the practice itself because of how it focuses almost entirely on minority neighborhoods.

Also, Ms. Mac Donald writes as if stop-and-frisk methods were the only effective response to unlawful acts in high-crime areas. Other police departments in the nation, like those in San Diego and Boston, have engaged in community policing strategies that have been successful in reducing crime in designated areas.

Read more…

We are pleased to share with you good news from the Correctional Association’s Juvenile Justice Coalition as well as an invitation to the Bronx Defenders’ annual Community Block Party on Wednesday, June 30.

Earlier this week, the New York Senate passed ReDirect NY, legislation that would provide fiscal incentives for localities to expand their use of alternative programs for youth. Now that the Senate has passed the bill - thanks in large part to the leadership of Senate sponsor Velmanette Montgomery and the Juvenile Justice Coalition’s advocacy efforts - it’s up to the Assembly to decide whether it will go to Governor Paterson’s desk. Assemblymember William Scarborough, the bill’s sponsor in that house, has been a staunch advocate for the bill, but he needs our help.

Please click here to email your Assemblymember and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and ask them to support ReDirect New York (Scarborough/A10253).  It takes just a moment, and could make all the difference.

After you’ve emailed your Assemblymember, mark your calendars for the Bronx Defenders’ Community Block Party on Wednesday, June 30.  Members of our coalition will be there to spread the word about our prison downsizing campaign and to connect with our community.

EVENT DETAILS:
BRONX DEFENDERS’ COMMUNITY BLOCK PARTY
Wednesday, June 30
12pm - 5pm
160th St. between Melrose and Courtlandt Avenues

Read more…

This week, the NY Times featured an article about the prominent role the issue of Rockefeller drug law reform is playing in the state’s Attorney General primaries.  It concludes with a persuasive quote from Bob Gangi, Executive Director of the Correctional Association.

More notable than the details of the candidates’ platforms is the political reality that it reflects.  Namely, that candidates for office are rushing to promote their Rockefeller drug law reform credentials, rather than their “tough on crime” policies, as pragmatic way to connect with voters.

Litmus Test in Primary: Overhauled Drug Laws
By Nicholas Confessore
Published June 20, 2010

For many Democrats in Albany, it was a landmark achievement: the long-sought overhaul of New York’s strict Rockefeller-era drug laws, repealing mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders that critics said disproportionately and unfairly fell on blacks and Latinos.

But that legislative victory last year has emerged as a litmus test in the increasingly bitter five-way Democratic primary battle for attorney general.

One candidate, Kathleen M. Rice, the Nassau County district attorney, who many believe is the favored candidate of Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, the Democratic candidate for governor, says she has always supported the drug law overhaul. Two other candidates, Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky of Westchester County and State Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, who represents parts of Manhattan and the Bronx, have assailed her in recent weeks, saying that Ms. Rice had opposed the overhaul last year and had changed her views only recently, after she decided to run for higher office.

Two weeks ago, Mr. Schneiderman, who sponsored the Senate version of the legislation, even challenged Ms. Rice to debate the issue with him, one on one. Ms. Rice has not yet agreed. Read more…

Dear Friend of Drop the Rock,

It is an honor to join the Public Policy Project as the Associate Director and Coordinator of Drop the Rock. My experience with the coalition has been rewarding and I am prepared to take on the challenges of this new position. My passion for policy reform is rooted in the Bronx, where I watched family members and friends become disenfranchised by the criminal justice system. I knew immediately that I wanted to use my degree to advocate for change in the communities directly affected by these issues.

Under Caitlin Dunklee’s leadership, I have had the opportunity to engage in policy reform that I believe in and that will break barriers for the individuals in prison and those transitioning home. Not only have I gained an enormous amount of knowledge assisting Caitlin, she has been an effective organizer and wonderful mentor. I also enjoyed working with the talented group of DTR interns on various projects and will continue to work with them going forward. I would like to thank Bob Gangi for being supportive of my transition into the field and providing me with this opportunity. Together we will work with the coalition to expand our policy agenda.

Read more…

Below is a column by Jim Dwyer in yesterday’s NY Times discussing the governments waste in keeping prison beds open. The column makes a strong case in favor of both Drop the Rock’s and the Juvenile Justice Project’s platforms to downsize the New York State prison system. Check out Bob’s quote in the article.

155 Workers, 6 Young Men, 1 Fiscal Mess
By Jim Dwyer
Published June 8, 2010

Every day brings dreadful news of some worthy cause that is going to be cut because government budgets are being hit with cannonballs.

Today, for a change, we present some causes worthy of being cut.

Take, for instance, a place called the Tryon Residential Center, run by the state agency in charge of juvenile justice. It is a place for children who get into trouble.

State records show that 155 public employees are assigned to the boys section at Tryon. They oversee a total of six young men, lodged in a place that few people believe should exist anymore, and that is scheduled to be shut down by the end of the year.

Yet Tryon will remain completely staffed because the state is tied in a knot: two governors ago, the state promised public employee unions that it would give one year’s notice before shutting down juvenile detention centers or adult prisons.

So as of Tuesday, with six young people living there, here are some of the jobs still budgeted at Tryon: 11 cooks, 1 food manager, 6 keyboard specialists, 5 nurses, 1 motor mechanic, 7 teachers, 1 teaching assistant, 4 vocational instructors, 3 recreation specialists, 81 youth division aides and 2 calculations clerks.

Also, one “principal accounting clerk.” Read more…