VOCAL-NY (Voices of Community Activists and Leaders)
@vocal-ny.bsky.social
G'roots organizing for healthy & just communities. HIV, drug policy, incarceration & homelessness.
🔴 LIVE on Instagram Friday 7/24 at 1pm: join us for a crucial conversation with @advocate.nyc.gov @Jumaane.bsky.social, Victor Dempsey (brother of #DelrawnSmall), and Utsho Rozario (brother of #WinRozario) about the two brothers’ long-delayed fights for justice ✊
NEW STATEMENT ON NYC BUDGET DEAL: It takes strong leadership for the Mayor to hear vociferous criticism on this issue and to consider and respond to it. Today @mayor.nyc.gov did just that. Full statement online here: rebrand.ly/d11b31
“Freezing the rent is just the start. The City budget offers an opportunity for the Mayor and Council to make good on their promises to make housing and transit more affordable for struggling New Yorkers." Read the full statement here: www.vocal-ny.org/press-statem...
As Rent Guidelines Board Considers A Rent Freeze, City Hall & Council Should Unite To Deliver Another Campaign Promise For Low-Income New Yorkers In The City Budget | VOCAL-NY
CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org AS RENT GUIDELINES BOARD CONSIDERS A RENT FREEZE, CITY HALL & COUNCIL SHOULD UNITE TO DELIVER ANOTHER CAMPAIGN PROMISE FOR LOW-INCOME NEW YORKERS IN THE C...
vocal-ny.org
NEW: VOCAL-NY Calls on Council Members to Reject a Budget That Doesn’t Include CityFHEPS Expansion. We're grateful for @cmpisanchez.bsky.social & @council.nyc.gov leadership on this issue. The time is now for them to deliver CityFHEPS expansion in the FY27 budget. www.vocal-ny.org/press-statem...
VOCAL-NY Calls on Council Members to Reject a Budget That Doesn’t Include CityFHEPS Expansion | VOCAL-NY
CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org VOCAL-NY CALLS ON COUNCIL MEMBERS TO REJECT A BUDGET THAT DOESN’T INCLUDE CITYFHEPS EXPANSION Mayor Mamdani and Speaker Menin Have an Opportunity to Decr...
vocal-ny.org
My essay with Jeremy Saunders of @vocal-ny.bsky.social on our new report, “The Way Home” calling on the social housing movement to intentionally integrate supportive services and accessibility planning from day one — not as afterthoughts, but as core features. @forgeorganizing.bsky.social
Completing the Social Housing Vision - The Forge
A call to fellow organizers: Don’t replicate the exclusions we’re all fighting against. The progressive left has correctly diagnosed the housing crisis. We understand that Wall Street landlords and ...
forgeorganizing.org
New op-ed in OtherWords by @ips-dc.org from leaders with lived experience: Tony Carter, @vocal-tx.bsky.social Sandra Scott, Vocal Kentucky Marianne Dolan, @vocal-ny.bsky.social They reinforce the strong evidence behind supportive housing. otherwords.org/the-way-home...
The Way Home Exists — We’re Living Proof - OtherWords
Cities across the country are considering permanently affordable housing. That’s good — but we’ll keep more people off the streets if we also invest in supportive services.
otherwords.org
Thank you to @cmpisanchez.bsky.social for standing with us in the fight for CityFHEPS. Everyday we delay the expansion with legal back and forth, New Yorkers suffer. We need @mayor.nyc.gov to drop the lawsuit and stop blocking this critical tool ASAP! www.cityandstateny.com/nyn-media/20...
Opinion: Mamdani must act and expand CityFHEPS, after three years of delays
The city’s choice to spend billions of dollars maintaining a shelter system instead of investing in permanent housing isn’t fiscally responsible, it’s unforgivable.
cityandstateny.com
"The nation has had multiple protests of late. But many participants on Friday said they felt compelled to lend their voices to one more. 'This is the only way I could feel any better about myself going forward,' said James Belez with VOCAL-NY." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/u...
May Day Protests Across the Country Show Support for Workers
nytimes.com
Spread the word! VOCAL-NY is hiring in NYC and Rochester to build out our organizing and base building teams! Check out the open positions on Idealist: www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit...
VOCAL-NY - Organization
<h3>Our Mission</h3><p><strong>Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY)</strong> is a statewide grassroots membership organization that builds power among low-income people affected by H
idealist.org
New op-ed from VOCAL-NY Leader Pam Stephens telling @governor.ny.gov: TAX THE RICH! www.lohud.com/story/opinio...
Hochul broke her promise to protect SNAP. She has to fix it | Opinion
Gov. Kathy Hochul must maintain her promise to protect some of New York's most vulnerable residents — SNAP recipients
lohud.com
In the past month, the Trump admin has intensified its multi-agency assault on our homeless neighbors and has issued several policies and funding changes that will make homelessness worse. These policies all tie back to Trump's anti-homeless order issued in July 2025. Read more: buff.ly/htgekaz
Trump admin intensifies attacks on homeless people; ignores real cause of and solutions to homelessness
In the past month, the Trump administration has intensified its multi-agency assault on our homeless neighbors and has issued several policies and funding changes that will make homelessness worse.…
homelesslaw.org
“Homeless encampment sweeps are ineffective, they are costly and they don’t actually solve the problem of homeless,” said Jeremy Saunders, an executive director of VOCAL-NY. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/n...
Mamdani to Reinstitute Homeless Encampment Sweeps
nytimes.com
"We got the promise of how this is going to be a new era in City Hall, but it feels like the mayor is replicating similar failures from previous administrations in not really being bold and centering solutions," said Adolfo Abreu of @vocal-ny.bsky.social citylimits.org/honor-his-pr...
'Honor His Promise': Advocates Criticize Mamdani's CityFHEPS Reversal, and What Else Happened This Week in Housing - City Limits
Faced with steep fiscal challenges, Mamdani said the city is now pursuing a settlement over the CityFHEPS expansion laws that will balances housing needs and budget sustainability.
citylimits.org
Today we released an Emergency Response Plan for @governor.ny.gov, the exec branch, and mayors across NYS to end homelessness. We’ve got the solutions to stop the senseless deaths like we saw from Storm Fern - now we need the political will and funding. www.vocal-ny.org/wp-content/u...
Our tax dollars should fund housing and healthcare, not detention camps. The No Federal Funding for Homeless Detention Camps campaign is working to prevent elected officials from using homelessness funding for jails and detention centers. Add your voice here! www.votervoice.net/NHLC/campaig...
No Federal Funding for Homeless Detention Camps
Everybody needs a safe place to live. Instead of focusing on proven solutions to homelessness, like housing and support, Utah is proposing taking money away from programs that solve homelessness to bu...
votervoice.net
@handsoffnyc.bsky.social EMERGENCY PROTEST TODAY. ICE just murdered another person in Minneapolis. Union Square. 4PM.
@handsoffnyc.bsky.social EMERGENCY PROTEST TODAY. ICE just murdered another person in Minneapolis. Union Square. 4PM.
A win for #FreetoPee! Over the weekend, @mayor.nyc.gov announced an expansion of public restrooms in NYC. Everyone deserves the access to the bathroom - especially though without living on the streets. See our statement here: www.vocal-ny.org/press-statem...
VOCAL-NY Applauds Mayor Mamdani’s Announcement to Expand Public Restrooms Across NYC | VOCAL-NY
CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org VOCAL-NY APPLAUDS MAYOR MAMDANI’S ANNOUNCEMENT TO EXPAND PUBLIC RESTROOMS ACROSS NYC Expansion Marks Win for the #FreeToPee Campaign Started by Picture the...
vocal-ny.org
Good news! Mayor @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social committed to enacting Local Law 42 and ending solitary confinement in NYC jails. As Civil Rights Union leader, Roger, shares in a statement: "Solitary confinement is torture and must end." vocal-ny.com/uek
VOCAL-NY Applauds Mayor Mamdani’s Commitment to End Solitary Confinement in City Jails | VOCAL-NY
CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org VOCAL-NY APPLAUDS MAYOR MAMDANI’S COMMITMENT TO END SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN CITY JAILS VOCAL-NY Supports the Full Implementation of Local Law 42 NEW YORK...
vocal-ny.org
Just keeps happening. A family calls 911 for help during a dispute. NYPD arrives and kills someone. The police should not be first responders to calls for mental heath distress. They cannot effectively mitigate these types of issues. www.nydailynews.com/2025/12/21/n...
NYPD cop shoots to death man with boxcutter who charged at police while fighting father
The clash erupted in an apartment building on Nameoke St. near Central Ave. in Far Rockaway about 12:25 a.m. Sunday.
nydailynews.com
"Sweeps as an approach to homelessness is just wasting millions of dollars moving people out of sight and out of mind, so I’m looking forward to seeing this new administration prioritizing housing and services instead.” www.vocal-ny.org/press-statem...
VOCAL-NY Applauds Mayor-Elect Mamdani's Commitment To End Harmful, Ineffective Homeless Sweeps | VOCAL-NY
CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-us.org VOCAL-NY APPLAUDS MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI’S COMMITMENT TO END HARMFUL, INEFFECTIVE HOMELESS SWEEPS The Adams Administration Spent $3.5 Million in Taxpayer Dol...
vocal-ny.org
Arresting or fining people who can’t afford housing is cruel AND ineffective. It does nothing to solve homelessness, OR to decrease the number of ppl sleeping on trains. This is @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social promising NYers REAL SOLUTIONS! This is what leadership and good governance looks like
The City Reporter@thecityreporter.nyc · 10mo agoNEW: Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said Thursday he will not continue sweeps of homeless encampments — which city data shows have not yielded any permanent or supportive-housing referrals in more than a year. www.thecity.nyc/2025/12/04/m...
NEW: Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said Thursday he will not continue sweeps of homeless encampments — which city data shows have not yielded any permanent or supportive-housing referrals in more than a year. www.thecity.nyc/2025/12/04/m...
Mamdani Vows to Sweep Out Crackdowns on Homeless Camps
City numbers show that sweeps started under Mayor Eric Adams have not delivered on referrals for housing in more than a year.
thecity.nyc
"CPS should not be a weapon against us, but utilized only after prevention & intervention services have been exhausted." — Elaine Smith, a parent who experienced family policing. Read her op-ed here on investing budget funding into families, not surveillance: rochesterbeacon.com/2025/12/04/m...
Monroe County should prioritize family investment over surveillance - Rochester Beacon
The county’s 2026 budget is an opportunity to redirect family policy away from racial discrimination, implicit bias, and suspicion of neglect.
rochesterbeacon.com
Police sexual violence is an insidious problem impacting NYers across all communities. Our new report with CUNY Graduate Center’s Public Science Project exposes how police sexual violence is one of the largest threats to public safety in NYC. Learn more at bit.ly/psvinnyc
NEW Blueprint to End Deadly NYC Jails Crisis: 1. ⬇️Incarceration 2. End Solitary 3. ⬆️Medical/Mental Health Care 4. Divert People 5. Close Rikers 6. ⬆️Programs 7. ⬆️Standards 8. Protect Young People 9. Protect Women & LGBTQIA+ People 10. 🛑Crises Statewide nycaic.org/wp-content/u...
nycaic.org
Low-income New Yorkers are not part of Gov. Kathy Hochul's affordability agenda. She's cutting programs we rely on, and her tax rebate is sending checks to everybody but us! Trump gets $200 million, wealthy New Yorkers get up to $400 & poorest New Yorkers get zip. www.vocal-ny.org/press-statem...
VOCAL-NY Responds to Gov. Hochul Budget Letter Directing State Agencies to Do More With Less Funding | VOCAL-NY
CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org VOCAL-NY RESPONDS TO GOV. HOCHUL BUDGET LETTER DIRECTING STATE AGENCIES TO DO MORE WITH LESS FUNDING NEW YORK — Yesterday, Governor Hochul’s Division of B...
vocal-ny.org
Today we joined 100+ organizations with a message for Trump: Hands Off NYC! We pledge to organize together, build local power, and stand in solidarity with every city facing military intervention. Our cities and our people are our greatest strength.
Still feeling the love after another amazing Gala for Justice, Compassion & Love. Ain't no party like a VOCAL-NY party! Didn't get a chance to attend? You can still support are work here: give.vocal-ny.org/give/699630/...
