New York Officials Make Statements on Palestine/Israel + State Public Matching Still in Flux
No. 343 | Monday, October 9, 2023
The NYC Thorn is a weekly roundup of local political news compiled by members of NYC-DSA.
Local News
Hamas, a militant group based in Israel-occupied Gaza, launched a series of attacks that broke through the border of Israel. The unprecedented attack resulted in hundreds of Israeli deaths, and were preceded by decades of violent occupation as well as a more recent uptick in aggression towards Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told residents of Gaza to “leave now because we will operate forcefully everywhere,” despite Gaza residents being forcefully detained in the area. New York area politicians, ranging from conservatives to moderates to self-identified progressives, have quickly responded with unequivocal support for Israel, and condemnation for DSA and other groups standing in solidarity with Palestinians during a peaceful demonstration opposing the Israeli occupation.
Staffing shortages and underfunding are leaving the NYC Health Department ill-equipped to handle the largest spike in tuberculosis cases in a decade.
The first public beach in Manhattan has opened.
The MTA has asked to join a lawsuit, alongside the federal government, to fight New Jersey’s attempt to stop congestion pricing from going into effect.
Mayor Eric Adams has asked a court to allow New York City to temporarily suspend the City’s right-to-shelter, a practice that has been in place since 1981 when the city agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the Legal Aid Society to provide shelter to any adult who requested it.
Election News
Although over 100 candidates have already signed up for the state’s new public matching fund program for campaigns, the Governor has yet to sign the legislation into law and it is possible there will still be significant changes to the program.
Rest in Power, Ryan
Ryan Thoresen Carson, an environmental activist and harm reduction advocate, was murdered. He was a valued leftist organizer and friend to many in our community.
The NYC Local
We're excited to say that last month, Alex Chan, David Kim, and David Turner revived our chapter's labor newsletter The Local. It arrives every other week with a focus on labor organizing, bargaining, and local legislation that impacts NYC's workers. Give them a follow and thoughts about what you'd like to see from a socialist labor newsletter.
Revolutions Per Minute
Listen to NYC-DSA's weekly radio show Revolutions Per Minute. Check out the show here.
Thanks for reading The NYC Thorn ! Subscribe for free to receive weekly updates.