#Timeisnow for Immigration Reform rally & live music, Tuesday October 8th

Time is Now Immigration rally 10/8/2013

The Fight For Ivy City

Cross-Posted From Street Sense
Written by Eric Falquero

Ivy CityThree children race through the intersection of Providence and Capitol streets NE. Two kids ride scooters and one is on a bike. An oncoming taxi stops short.

Danger seen, crisis averted.

But traffic pollution poses a more insidious threat to neighborhood health, local activists say. And it is proving harder to stop than a hurrying cab.

In  the low-income community where many residents already suffer from respiratory ailments, the Ivy City Civic Association (ICCA) is fighting to keep the city from opening a  new tour bus parking lot. The neighborhood is hemmed in by busy New York Ave.NE as well as  train yards, warehouses and city vehicle lots. And advocates worry the increased fumes from the charter buses will only make health problems worse.

“We can’t just let you come in and kill us,” says ICCA president Alicia Swanson-Canty, 40, who has spent her whole life in Ivy City. She worries that current pollution levels in the neighborhood are taking a particularly heavy toll on elders, including her mother.

On December 10, 2012, Superior Court Judge Judith Macaluso buoyed the advocates in their fight against city hall.  She ruled that city officials violated the law when they moved forward with plans for the bus depot  without getting the required input from the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) or doing a mandated environmental review.

But now, the Ivy City activists are bracing for the next round of their battle.

City Mayor Vincent Gray is appealing the ruling and his day in court is is scheduled for Sept. 17. The office of the mayor would offer no comment for this story, except to say the city is pursuing the requirements specified in the injunction.

Advocates hope the December ruling will stand. And they hope for more.  Their ultimate goal is seeing the former Alexander Crummell School, where the bus lot is proposed, transformed into a community or recreation center that could offer resources that are now in short supply such as a safe play area for kids and adult education classes.

Historic Photo of Crummell School - courtesy of Empower DC

“If they’re trying to make this a community, we need a rec,” said Ivy City resident Juice Williams, age 39. “We don’t need buses, we nee

d something productive: job training, GED classes…”

His fellow resident Nate Wales and David Hayes agreed that a community center would be a haven for children like the ones they had just watched cross the street in front of the taxi.dents Nat

“They’re not doing anything but chasing each other in the same circles,” Wales says of the kids.

Hayes could not help but compare the lack of services in Ivy City to the resources in other neighborhoods. “Brentwood has a work program, Rosedale has a rec, Edgewood has a rec…”

Wales added that the presence of a juvenile detention center does not send a hopeful message to young people. “There’s nothing to do, but they’re ready for you when you get destructive.”

Swanson-Canty said she believes that workforce development programs could help both longtime residents and men staying at the New York Avenue Shelter, which is also located in the neighborhood. She pointed out that the city has been promising a community center to Ivy City for years.

“Just give us what you said you would,” said Swanson-Canty. Most recently the city’s 2006 comprehensive economic development plan called for a community center and additional green space in Ivy City.

To Read The Entire Article CLICK HERE

A nonprofit perspective on the “living wage” bill and Wal-mart in DC

On Friday, September 13th, the day after the Mayor vetoed the Large Retailer Accountability Act, the Nonprofit Quarterly (NPQ) posed the question, “Will Nonprofits Join D.C. City Council’s Plan to Require Walmart to Pay a Living Wage?

One response that came to our attention is from the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, an organization whose mission is to “to use the law to make justice a reality for our neighbors who struggle with homelessness and poverty.” Here’s some of what they had to say:

In a city where a worker earning the current minimum wage of $8.25/hour would have to work 132 hours each week to afford the fair market rent on a 2 bedroom apartment, the prospect of a $12.50/hour wage could mean the difference between remaining a District resident or being forced to abandon a life-long home in DC for a less expensive jurisdiction. A livable wage is key to addressing the crisis of homelessness in the nation’s capital. Families and individuals who are homeless are not going to be able to earn their way out of shelter in a community where housing costs are as high as in DC, unless they are able to earn a better wage than the law presently mandates.

One of the Mayor’s cited reasons for vetoing the LRAA in his letter to the DC Council is that it would only raise the minimum wage for a small fraction of the District’s workforce. While we absolutely support a  higher living wage bill for all DC workers, the LRAA is an important step forward in allowing District workers to make a wage that will actually let them live in the place they have called home their entire lives. (For a point by point response to Mayor Gray’s stance against the LRAA, read the DC Fiscal Policy Institute’s blog.)

For the full article, see: “Save Money. Live Better.” Just Not DC Workers?” (…With Housing and Justice for All blog | 9-13-2013)

“Will Nonprofits Join D.C. City Council’s Plan to Require Walmart to Pay a Living Wage?” (Nonprofit Quarterly | 9-13-2013)

Beat Club at Potomac Gardens

Young residents of Potomac Gardens teamed up with Beat Club founder Barrett Jones for a beat-making session at Potomac Gardens. The Beat Club is part of Grassroots DC’s efforts to teach radio and audio production skills. Video shot and edited by Carlton Moxley.

Photos by Ben Dorger and Ben King

Living Wage Bill Mixtape

Courtesy of Chip Somedevilla / Gettysburg Images / New York TimesBy now we’ve told you how the bill made its way through Council, the heavy-duty organizing and coalition-building that’s taken place over the summer, and even how you can get involved — no matter how you feel about the bill.

We’ve heard strong opinions for and against the bill in Council, hints from the Mayor on how he’ll vote, and continued threats from Walmart to leave DC and drop development if the Large Retailer Accountability Act (i.e. the LRAA or “Living Wage” bill) were signed into law.  In other words, we know pretty well how the politicians and corporate executives feel. But what about those most impacted by the bill, like DC residents and retail employees themselves?

GrassrootsDC brings you this mixtape of voices collected from actions in support of the Living Wage bill across the District. We hope you enjoy!

Living Wage Bill Mixtape

Mixed with Head Roc’s 2012 track “Keep DC Walmart Free,” these are the voices of:

Reverend Virginia Williams (native Washingtonian, Ward 7 resident),
Kimberly Mitchell (Macy’s employee, UFCW Local400 member, lifelong Ward 7 resident,),
Tonya C. (former Walmart employee, fired from a Laural, MD location),
Cindy Murray (13 year Walmart associate at Hyattsville, MD store, member of OUR Walmart),
Mike Wilson (organizer with RespectDC), and
Inocencio Quinones (Ward 7 resident and organizer with OurDC)

We thank everyone who contributed to this mixtape, including all the speakers listed above, Head Roc for the musical element, and the folks that live-streamed a protest from a Hyattsville, MD location on September 5th, 2013.

Audio download available here (Living Wage Bill Mixtape), please share freely!