2017 Reflections from our Board President, Shoshana Brown

2017 Reflections from our Board President, Shoshana Brown
Dear Community,

From filing a lawsuit against the NYPD to creating “No Eviction Zone” campaigns in over 9 Brooklyn neighborhoods, the work of Equality for Flatbush has expanded beyond our imaginations of last year. I continue to be awed by resolve of our members and moved by the urgent need for us to continue this work. This political moment is not in our favor and we know the work we are doing has not been “sexy”, that’s what makes you even more important to the work we do. Since our founding we have relied completely on individual donors and small social justice funders, in 2018 we hope to continue this trend.

ThankYou

I thank you personally for contributing to the many successes had over this past year including but not limited to:
In response to the February 2017, uptick in ICE raids and presence in East Flatbush and Flatbush, Brooklyn , we created How to document NYPD & ICE Harassment fact sheets in Bangla, Haitian Kreyol, Spanish and English
We created a Suggestions & Tactics as an Alternative to Calling 911 to prevent police murders of community member facing mental health and medical crisis after the murder of Dwayne Jeune at the Flatbush Gardens Apartments in June 2017
In partnership, with the Street Vendor Project of the Urban Justice Center, we launched a campaign that successfully decreased the racially profiling and the economic harassment of street vendors In Flatbush, Brooklyn. The public campaign included an online and paper petition as well as a Spanish language film.
We initiated the Rapid Response Legal Fund to support bail for survivors of police violence and prevent them from going to Riker's Island post-assault and to provide trusted lawyers for free / or low cost for Brooklyn tenants, homeowners, and small businesses.
We filed a lawsuit against the NYPD for the records for 2016 deployment of personnel and equipment for Caribbean Day Weekend
We organized over 22 “No Eviction Zones”campaigns in 9 neighborhoods in Brooklyn including Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Bushwick, Clinton Hill, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, East New York, Flatbush, Park Slope, and Prospect Heights and with literature in Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Japanese, Haitian Kreyol, Bangla, Spanish and English. We have been able to win repairs, obtain new appliances, stop evictions, build a ramp, win $4500 in damages for a homeowner and save a beloved Caribbean bakery all through public direct action campaigns

I would love to toast to another year with you on December 20th, 6:30pm at our partners Sip and Unwine (1197 Flatbush Ave). Come celebrate the may victories this year and help us meet our fundraising goal.

Your contribution to the work of Equality for Flatbush means that less people will be evicted and less people will sit in Rikers after being assaulted by police. HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT. Please help us continue this fight for justice by making your end of the year contribution to our Rapid Legal Fund and asking your friends to make a contribution in your name for the holiday season.

Wishing us all peace, justice, and love in this coming year,

Shoshana