The Ya-Ya Network

The Ya-Ya Network YA-YA Network is a youth-led organization that empowers New York City youth to become leaders in the movement for economic and social justice.

This past Saturday, YA-YA Network was proud to co-sponsor the 3rd annual Peace and Justice Youth Conference. We were exc...
06/04/2026

This past Saturday, YA-YA Network was proud to co-sponsor the 3rd annual Peace and Justice Youth Conference.

We were excited to have a YA-YA alumn, Janice, facilitate a workshop around building solidarity amongst women. Our Communications and Development Associate, Bria, and new Summer Intern, Sekna, also hosted a workshop guiding participants on finding their place in the social change ecosystem.

Thank you to all who came out to the conference and joined us -- we can't wait to see you next year!

June has rounded the corner, and that means its your LAST CHANCE to apply for the YA-YA Network's Summer Institute!The Y...
06/02/2026

June has rounded the corner, and that means its your LAST CHANCE to apply for the YA-YA Network's Summer Institute!

The YA-YA Network Summer Institute is a radical learning experience founded on the belief that, in their collective power, young people will rise up and address issues impacting their community as activists and organizers.

In this stipended 7-week program, youth (ages 15-19) are trained in anti-oppression, organizing, and political education through transformative workshops and visits to citywide organizations working for change.

This is a great opportunity for youth new to advocacy and organizing, as well as those with more experience. We tailor our program to the cohort, and all are welcome to apply.

Applications due: JUNE 8TH, 2026 through the link in our bio or at: yayanetwork.org/summer

05/21/2026

We stopped 175-B! YA-YA Network is proud to have joined our coalition partners in standing up against repression. Listen to YA-YA youth activist, Janice, speak to why this matters. We won the fight today and we will always be there to protect the free speech rights of students and youth.

Our Statement: It has always been a false choice that safety should come at the cost of our free speech rights. These “buffer zone” bills are built on the premise that protests are inherently unsafe and need to be policed and ultimately repressed. Time and time again young people and students have been at the forefront of protecting and expanding the rights of the most marginalized in our city and country. Especially in this moment of extreme attacks on our rights from the federal government, it is shameful that this bill was initially passed to codify yet another barrier to practicing our free speech rights. We thank the City Council Members who originally voted no on this bill and stayed steadfast in opposition to it. Thank you to Mayor Mamdani for vetoing this bill. Our message to the City Council Members that supported this bill or flipped, we are watching and it is noted.

The Speaker intends to reintroduce a new version of this same bill with updated language. Let us be clear, any bill that suppresses free speech and our rights to protest are unacceptable. Handing the NYPD wide-discretion to police these activities is wrong, harmful, and a failure to meet the moment we are living through.

05/19/2026

Realizing we should also have a caption—can we make it like

📣 Calling all NYC students to SUSTAIN THE VETO on Intro 175-B and protect free speech! Call your City Council member today!

With the veto of 175B, stood up for young people’s right to speak out. Youth are leading movements for justice & we mus...
04/24/2026

With the veto of 175B, stood up for young people’s right to speak out. Youth are leading movements for justice & we must encourage their leadership, not silence them. Now must vote to sustain the veto & say . Write to your CM: https://tinyurl.com/noto175b

Today, Mayor Mamdani protected students’ rights to organize by vetoing 175-B, a dangerous bill passed by the City Council that would have restricted free speech outside vaguely defined “educational facilities”. At a time when our rights are constantly under attack, this veto shows that our freedom and safety should not come at the cost of our rights. Students and young people have always been at the forefront of the fight to protect and expand those rights and justice, and today we keep that legacy alive.

We are proud to be part of hundreds of organizations and unions, and thousands of New Yorkers, who came together in opposition to this bill. The fight continues as we call on the City Council not to override this veto.

NYC’s young people have spoken loud and clear: protect protests, keep us safe, and do not expand the NYPD’s power to attack us.

🚨 : Veto 175-B! 🚨We’re joining 100+ orgs, unions, and thousands of New Yorkers demanding veto Intro 175-B by Friday 4/...
04/23/2026

🚨 : Veto 175-B! 🚨

We’re joining 100+ orgs, unions, and thousands of New Yorkers demanding veto Intro 175-B by Friday 4/25.

This bill expands NYPD power to limit protest and gatherings outside of broadly defined “educational facilities” and makes our communities less safe, especially students, families, and communities of color. At a time when dissent is under attack nationwide, NYC should be protecting our rights, not restricting them.

✊ Take action in 1 minute: https://tinyurl.com/noto175b [link also in bio]

📍 Show up:
Vigil for Our Rights
Parents & community members rally
Thursday at 5 PM
Tweed Courthouse

Let’s make it clear: we want safety, not censorship.

04/20/2026

Earlier this march, City Council passed Bill 175-B, which would enable NYPD perimeters around education facilities and training centers and suppress dissent. It did not pass with a supermajority, meaning it could be defeated by a mayoral veto and a revote.

At the No Buffer Zones rally last Thursday, one of our YA-YAs spoke out against the passage of the bill. We call on the mayor to veto 175-B and for the city council not to override that veto.

Young people want safety, not censorship.

🚨 ACTION ALERT 🚨The City just passed 2 bills that could restrict where you’re allowed to protest—or even gather. But we ...
04/07/2026

🚨 ACTION ALERT 🚨
The City just passed 2 bills that could restrict where you’re allowed to protest—or even gather. But we still have a chance to defeat one of them.

At a time when Trump and the far right are attacking dissent and criminalizing protest across the country, NYC should be protecting our rights—not rolling them back.

Intro 175-B would let the NYPD set up “police perimeters” around schools and broadly defined “educational” sites—giving them more sweeping power to crack down on protests, limit gatherings, and expand police presence.

That’s not safety. That’s censorship.

We know how this plays out: more discretion for NYPD, less space for New Yorkers to speak out—especially for Black, Brown, immigrant, LGBTQ people, Muslim, Jewish, and young people.

Silencing protest doesn’t make us safer.
It makes it harder to hold power accountable and organize in moments when resistance matters most.

Now the fight isn’t over:

🚫 We need Mayor Mamdani to veto Int-0175B
🚫 And we need City Council Members to sustain that veto and defeat the bill

Join us:

RALLY TO PROTECT FREE SPEECH & SAFETY
📍 Steps of New York City Hall
🗓 April 16
⏰ 12 PM

LINK IN BIO: tinyurl.com/rallyNo175b

These 20 Council Members voted to protect our free speech rather than bow to special interests and those in power. 5 vo...
03/30/2026

These 20 Council Members voted to protect our free speech rather than bow to special interests and those in power. 5 voted against Intro 1-B, which authorizes the NYPD to maintain ‘buffer zones’ around places of worship. In this moment of rising repression, it is crucial that our elected representatives safeguard our right to protest. Do you see your CM? Repost and thank them!

Background: Last Thursday, passed two bills that infringe on free speech and criminalize Black, Brown, and LGBTQ people around houses of worship (Intro 1-B) and educational facilities (Intro 175-B), echoing Trump’s efforts to punish dissent and protest.

Council leadership attempted to justify these bills as “transparency measures,” but those Council Members truly representing their communities called BS and spoke up loud and clear: HANDS OFF OUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS!

Because of their courage, Intro 175-B — which would enable NYPD perimeters around education facilities and training centers and suppress dissent — did not pass with a supermajority, meaning it could be defeated by a mayoral veto and a revote.

There’s more work ahead to ensure this bill is defeated. But first, we want to recognize the Progressive Caucus members who stood up for their constituents and voted NO — breaking the Council’s supermajority, refusing to bow to political pressure, and defending our First Amendment rights! We thank them for their courage as we prepare for the next iteration of this fight to defend our people and our rights.

📢📢📢YA-YA Network stands with youth throughout the country today to say
03/28/2026

📢📢📢

YA-YA Network stands with youth throughout the country today to say

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