TODAY - appeal to support human rights law in NYC

Subject: [nychri] Support bold new local human rights
legislation TODAY by
phoning one or more key City Council Members! From: "Barbara
Schulman"

Date: Tue, May 24, 2005 4:00 pm
To: nychri'at'yahoogroups.com
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Greetings New York City Human Rights Initiative Supporters!

Please participate in this quick and easy action to support
Intro 512-Human Rights GOAL, the bold new human rights legislation developed by
the Initiative, and also circulate it to your friends, co-workers
and listservs.

Many thanks!

Barbara Schulman and Ejim Dike
Coordinators
NYC Human Rights Initiative
www.nychri.org

**********************
HISTORIC LOCAL HUMAN RIGHTS LEGISLATION NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!

Your phone calls to key NYC Council Members can really make a
difference .
. .
_________________________________

Intro 512 - Human Rights GOAL (Government Operations Audit Law) is an innovative local law that would bring practical tools that ensure that New York City is meeting its basic human rights obligations into
city governance. This ground-breaking legislation provides a new
model for translating universal human rights standards into meaningful
local policies and programs that solve problems, strengthen local
governance, and improve people's lives. Human Rights GOAL was developed by
the New York City Human Rights Initiative, a citywide coalition of over
70 organizations. For further information on the Initiative and Human Rights GOAL,
visit www.nychri.org


Before going to the full Council for a vote, Intro 512 must be
voted out of the Governmental Operations Committee. Please call the
following Committee members to urge them to sponsor the bill and to vote
to move it out of committee (a basic script is included below) :

Joseph Addabbo (Queens):
718-738-1111/318-6411 (District Office); 212-788-7069 (Manhattan
Office)
Eva Moskowitz (Manhattan):
212-818-0580 (District Office); 212-788-7393 (Manhattan Office)
Michael Nelson (Brooklyn):
718-368-9176 (District Office); 212-788-7360 (Manhattan Office)
Madeline Provenzano (Bronx):
718-931-6060 (District Office); 212-788-7375 (Manhattan Office)
Peter Vallone, Jr. (Queens):
718-274-4500 (District Office); 212-788-6963 (Manhattan Office)

Additionally, if you live in the district of one of the following councilmembers, please phone and urge them to become a sponsor
of Human Rights GOAL. (If you don't know who your Council Member is, you can find out at:
www.nyccouncil.info/constituent/index.cfm
).

Brooklyn:Bill deBlasio: 212-788-6969
Eric Martin Dilan: 718-642-8664
Simcha Felder: 718-853-2704
Lewis Fidler: 718-241-9330
Vincent Gentile: 718-748-5200
Domenic Recchia: 718-373-9673
Diana Reyna: 718-963-3141

Bronx:
Carmen Arroyo: 718-402-6130

Queens:
Tony Avella: 718-747-2137
Dennis Gallagher: 718-366-3900
James Gennaro: 718-217-4969
Eric Gioia: 718-383-9566
Melinda Katz: 212-788-6981
Helen Sears: 718-803-6373

Staten Island:
Andrew Lanza: 718-984-5151
Michael McMahon: 718-556-7370
James Oddo: 718-980-1017

BASIC SCRIPT FOR PHONE CALLS:
1. Hi, I'm a resident in Council Member XY's district, and I'm
calling to express my support for Intro 512 - Human Rights GOAL.

2. I believe that Intro 512 reflects Council Member XY's deep
concern for the interests of ordinary New Yorkers. Can you please tell me
when Council Member XY is going to sign onto the bill? (if they do not know
the answer, ask if someone can find out and get back to you.)

OPTIONAL TALKING POINTS:
- Intro 512 uses universal human rights standards and tools to
promote more efficient and responsive governance by:

1. Putting into place measures that will prevent and change
inefficient and discriminatory policies before they result in harmful
outcomes and costly and time-consuming lawsuits.

2. Creating avenues for City personnel, community advocates and
city residents to work together as allies rather than adversaries to
solve stubborn problems.

3. Ensuring that sound data helps identify gaps facing
different populations and provides the basis for sound policies that don't
have unintentionally harmful consequences.

4. Providing training for city employees to ensure that they
understand their own rights and those of the individuals and communities they serve.

Once you've phoned any Council Members, please email
info'at'nychri.org to let us know how it went. You can also send emails and e-cards
to Council Members from the "Take Action" section of the NYCHRI website at
www.nychri.org.
And thanks for your support!
_____________

The NYC Human Rights Initiative is coordinated by the Urban
Justice Center
Human RIghts Project, the Women of Color Policy Network, Legal
Momentum,
the NY Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International USA, and
the ACLU.
For further information, visit www.nychri.org
or
contact the NYC Human RIghts Initiative at 646-602-5628/5629.