Poughkeepsie Community Action Collaborative

01/18/2022

Hello beautiful humans!

Thanks to everyone who attended our last meeting! The minutes are attached. Our next meeting is Wednesday, February 2, from 6-7:30pm (email [email protected] for zoom link). Before now and the next meeting we'll be asking for volunteers to join committees to address our two priority initiatives, one for youth programs in the City of Poughkeepsie and another for ongoing work in police reform. We'll have at least one meeting for the youth programs committee before our next regular meeting, so please respond to this email if you'd like to be involved with either committee. If you don't have time to join the committee but would like to submit suggestions regarding problems that need to be addressed in the city and possible youth programs that would address them please feel free to send an email to that effect to [email protected]

Community happenings/events:
Common Council Public hearing TONIGHT on Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP)- TONIGHT, Tuesday, January 18th there is an important hearing on the city’s proposed Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP). This is an important plan that will guide future development in the city all along the river and up to Market Street, as well as along the Falkill. The administration has presented a draft LWRP that favors residential development over open space, public access, and recreational amenities. It lacks any vision for the future protection of our vital waterfront resources and puts the interests of one developer over those of our community. We need everyone who is able to attend the hearing and speak out to say we need to preserve our last remaining public spaces on the waterfront for everyone’s enjoyment and to mitigate climate change impacts. Please urge the Common Council to fulfill their duty as lead agency for the LWRP and amend it to put people over profits.

Register for the zoom meeting here- https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_eQeFSAHiSQG6OLlKDwzReQ and sign up to speak by emailing [email protected] before 4pm.

Race Unity Circle- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., The Facets of an American Jewel; Please join the Race Unity Circle as we relive the emotion, and revisit the man, the philosopher, the prophet through a study of some of his lesser-known works. Wednesday, January 19, from 7-9pm. The registration link is in the attached flyer and here ==>> https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsduqgpz0vHt1NaYj3qDSxdumD-xH7Z40k

Dutchess County Interfaith Council Call for Peace- Call for Peace, a Community Candlelight Vigil hosted by the Dutchess County Interfaith Council. Thursday January 20th, 2022 at 5:30pm, at The First Congregational Church (269 Mill St. Poughkeepsie, NY 12601) *Outdoors on the Front Lawn, Parking in Municipal Parking across the Street*

MASKS Required, See Attached Flier for More Information

01/05/2022

Hello Beautiful Humans and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We have made it to a new chapter in our lives, let's prosper and make this our year! We are having our monthly PCAC Meeting TOMORROW 1/5/2022 at 6pm. EMAIL [email protected] for THE ZOOM LINK!!!

As you all know the Common Council passed an amendment to the city's budget that included OVER ONE MILLION DOLLARS for youth services and development. This represents a year-over-year increase of 640%.

Please join us tomorrow to discuss this great win! The agenda for tomorrow's meeting is as follows:
1. Youth Program Funding Initiative SUCCESS and next steps. (30 min)
2. Presentation on Affordable Housing Project (Wallace Campus)- this would be Poughkeepsie's largest affordable housing project ever (186 units) if it receives planning board approval on 1/18/21. That approval is in question and will require community support. (30 min)
3. Following up with our work on police reform and other potential initiatives for 2022. (30 min)
CONGRATULATIONS TO US ALL AND SEE YOU TOMORROW!!!

-Isis Benitez
--
Join our Facebook Group!--> PCAC Facebook GROUP
Like Us On Facebook!--> PCAC Facebook PAGE

Isis Benitez
Co- Administrator
Poughkeepsie Community Action Collaborative
[email protected]

12/11/2021

City of Poughkeepsie Family,

ALL HANDS ON DECK!! The City of Poughkeepsie Common Council has scheduled a Public Hearing on Monday, December 13th at 6:00 pm to get feedback from the community on the 2022 budget. This is the last major opportunity to urge the Common Council to allocate at least 2 to 3 million dollars to help our youth through youth programs. The right youth programs can give our kids the hope, knowledge and skills they need to not just survive, but to succeed and thrive.

PLEASE SIGN UP TO SPEAK AT THE MEETING. Every voice counts! To register for the meeting, click this link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bGnlbE0mRumtT5qU0wBMog

Though the registration says the meeting starts at 5:30, the hearing for the budget begins at 6:00. This is because the same link is being used for multiple Public Forums. After registering for the meeting, you must email Jasmin Nicole Davis at [email protected] to get on the list of speakers.

It is CRITICAL that we get as many people to speak as possible. Please pass the word and get more people to sign up. We would also like to know in advance who plans to speak, so that we can be assured we will have a good turn out.

PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO [email protected] TO LET US KNOW IF YOU PLAN TO SPEAK. If you’d like any talking points beyond the petition and related material, just let us know!

Thank you all for your support!

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: City of Poughkeepsie Common Council Public Hearing. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

11/24/2021

SIGN THE PETITION: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/invest-in-poughkeepsies-future-invest-in-our-youth

Peace Family,

To spread the word and reach our goal of at least 1,000 signatures by December 1, we are looking for volunteers to canvas the City of Poughkeepsie THIS upcoming Saturday Nov. 27th and Sunday Nov. 28th from 12pm-4pm on both days!

In an effort to amplify our impact, we are asking that all volunteers please bring at least 2 people, preferably youth, with them to canvas.

ACTION ITEM: Please email me ASAP at [email protected] with the following information:

Name
Phone Number
Email
Availability To Canvas (Nov. 27, Nov. 28th, or Both)

ACTION ITEMS:

- Please attend the December 1st PCAC Meeting from 6pm-7:30pm via zoom. Link to be posted on the PCAC page.

- Please attend the December 16th Common Council Finance Meeting to approve the proposed 2022 budget.

- Finally, Please do not forget to sign the petition here https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/invest-in-poughkeepsies-future-invest-in-our-youth, continue to spread the word individually, to make a daily social media post, and to share the petition with your networks.

Thank you in advance for your hard work and efforts. We are better together and Happy Grateful Day to you all!

-The PCAC

*Please see attached English and Spanish flyers for Adults and Youth to be posted and distributed*

11/19/2021

11/17/2021

Peace Family!

The PCAC has created a petition, Invest in Poughkeepsie’s Future- Invest in Our Youth! Please add your signature and share with as many people as you can https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/invest-in-poughkeepsies-future-invest-in-our-youth/! As many of you know, there was a shooting outside the high school yesterday, and another shooting on Smith St. in the evening. This follows on the heels of a single week that saw eight shooting victims in the city. We can no longer undertake reactive measures alone- WE MUST TAKE CONTROL OF CONDITIONS and intentionally create an atmosphere of opportunity and a continuum of interventions and support services for our youth!

We implore you all to do the following:

ATTEND THE COMMON COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING THIS THURSDAY, 11/18, at 6:30pm https://cityofpoughkeepsie.com/Calendar.aspx?EID=389&month=11&year=2021&day=16&calType=0. There should be a link to the meeting in the near future. At the beginning of the meeting there will be time for public comment- just raise your hand and you will be called on. This committee will review the administration’s proposed budget and request amendments before it’s voted on, so this is probably the most important meeting you can attend concerning this youth spending initiative.
Attend a community meeting this Friday, 11/19, from 6:00-7:30pm, where we’ll discuss and formulate a strategy to efficiently organize and mobilize before the budget is passed in mid-December. For the Zoom link please email [email protected].
Sign the petition and share with as many people and organizations as possible (our goal is at least 1,000 signatures by Dec. 1) https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/invest-in-poughkeepsies-future-invest-in-our-youth/;
Write the common council ([email protected]) and mayor ([email protected]) to demand that they drastically increase the amount we invest in our youth from less than 0.5% to 2%-3% or $2-$3 million dollars. If you have questions about what to write, you can use the petition as a guide or reply to this email for suggestions;


In the past, the city has spent little to nothing (yes, $0) on youth programming, demonstrating an utter unwillingness to engage with the community on this issue. When an effectively non-existent piece of the pie is offered to address an issue, the conversation surrounding it will inherently be non-existent. We fully recognize that specifics on how any amount of funding will be spent are critical, but at the same time we hope everyone can understand that it will take a significant financial commitment from our elected officials, a tangible amount of ownership of this city and its future by the community, for our community to become engaged in such conversations. We must demand this investment and demand that this conversation begin in earnest if we want to change the conditions we set for our young people to live and grow within.

In the City of Poughkeepsie, violence is rising, our graduation rates have been and continue to be painfully low, poverty is worsening, large sections of the city are in decay, and opportunity is difficult to come by. The last 5-year American Community Survey from 2019 showed that 25.9% of City of P...

07/11/2021

This is why we define our mission as being “police reform” and why we highlight the need for “community action initiatives”

07/09/2021

Bloop