Ms. Hamlin was a great candidate to testify, because hydrofracking will directly affect her life. Her home is surrounded by land that has been made available for drilling. If this is allowed to happen, the work may force her to move from the house where she’s lived for three decades. Selling her house could prove to be difficult  due to the fear of prospective buyers to locate near where drilling is occurring, and the unwillingness of banks to finance the sale.

The DEC has already decided to ban franking in the New York City and Syracuse watersheds. This is basically an admission by the DEC that the risks of fracking are unacceptable. Why, then, is it acceptable in the Southern Tier and other locations in New York? One standard should apply to water resources throughout the state!

In case you’re not quite sure what “fracking” is, let me break it down for you (no pun intended):

Hydraulic fracturing (AKA “fracking”) injects high-pressured, poisonous chemical-laced water deep underground to break up rock and release natural gas. The highly toxic fluid that remains after the fracking process can migrate for miles underground, polluting our environment – including our drinking water.

On top of all this, fracking will also have a heavy toll on our roads, housing development, and tourism industry that the our area relies on for much needed revenue, especially after the recent flooding that caused widespread damage.

Below, you’ll find the full text of the testimony.

Testimony by Eileen Hamlin on Hydrofracking 11 17 11 (Final) (1)

For the past three decades, Washington politicians and their benefactors have broken their promises of jobs and economic relief to struggling working families. Instead, they have turned the “American Dream” of health, education and success into an American Nightmare of poverty, foreclosures and a loss of stability and dignity.

Now, they’re coming for our Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, all to pay for more tax cuts for the rich and sweetheart deals for big corporations. The upper one percent of Americans currently control over one third of the private wealth in America, and instead of paying their fair share, they now want to take the programs that we have spent our entire lives working to build. It’s our money and we’re not going to sit back and watch them take it!

Joining our staff, coalition partners, and concerned supporters were President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt and his wife Elanor Roosevelt, who oversaw the implementation of The New Deal, an economic overhaul in the 1930s that stimulated the recovery of the economy after the Great Depression and provided jobs and stability to thousands of working families. Arriving in a stately Studebaker, the elegant couple added an air of prestige and elegance to our caravan.

The Caravan commenced at Kleinhans Music Hall, a world-class venue that was made possible by Roosevelt’s New Deal. It was a fitting location to start off the procession and a testament to the ability of government to provide jobs and security instead of preying upon vulnerable working families.

Many citizens spoke about the need to restore the American Promise. Speakers included elderly people that rely upon essential services in order to pay for medication, disabled parents that rely upon the safety net in order to provide for their children, and concerned adults that have to care for their parents, among many others.

Meeting at 11 different locations across New York State, our Caravan garnered thousands of demonstrators, a myriad of press coverage (click here to read a list of articles) and supporters from different political parties (including Republicans!). America’s true majority came out to express their disbelief at the immense greed required to strip America’s social safety net.

At a press conference in the Legislative Office Building in Albany, AQE Executive Director Billy Easton spoke adamantly about the negative effects of Governor Cuomo’s budget cuts to education that are now being identified across the state as local school budgets pass. Last year, 10,000 school employees lost their jobs, including teachers, administrators, secretaries, aides, librarians, and other indiduals. Class sizes have increased, many essential in-school and after-school programs have been cut, and schools have been permanently closed. This year, 16,000 more school employees will also lose their jobs. It is important to note that the people losing their jobs are not just statistics — they are hard-working people with jobs and families that are being put out of work. Every school employee has a direct and tangible effect on a student’s life. Be it a teacher, aide, hall monitor, librarian, or secretary,  these people are employed to enhance a student’s experience and to contribute to his or her well being.

All of this, while millionaires and billionaires are getting a huge tax break.

Developing our kids’ minds from a young age is of the utmost priority. Early childhood education is increasingly being cited as one of the most important factors in a child’s future success. 75% of a child’s brain development and 85% of intellect, personality, and social skills are developed by age five. And, several studies, most notably the High Scope Perry Preschool Project, estimate that every dollar invested in early childhood education returns over seven dollars by the time a child turns 19. Governor Cuomo’s cuts are directly affecting our kids’ opportunities for success!

And, contrary to popular belief, the millionaires’ tax doesn’t expire until the end of the year. There is still time for us to tell Governor Cuomo that it’s simply not right to put the interests of millionaires and billionaires before the needs of our kids.

You can help! Tweet your message with the hashtag #KidsNotMillionaires to help fight for our teachers, aides, and other school staff. Let Cuomo know that our children need quality education and that we cant afford to cut their future.

In the news:

Advocacy Groups suggest reinstating “Millionaires’ Tax”

Groups Urge Lawmakers, Governor to extend Millionaires’ Tax

The Public School Boycot

Cuts to Schools: “Devastating” – Education Advocates

Most School Budgets Pass

Organizations participating include Alliance for Quality Education, Citizen Action of New York, New York City Coalition for Educational Justice, Long Island Progressive Coalition, Make the Road New York, New York Communities for Change, VOCAL, Push-Buffalo, Right to the City New York, Real Rent Reform New York, Community Voices Heard and also New Deal for New York , The Save Our SUNY Coalition, Strong Economy for All and Growing Together NY.

We’ll be covering the event live, using the stream below. If you can’t make it to Albany, come back here on 3/30 between 2pm and midnight for full, live coverage of the events at the Capitol.

Justice Works: A Conference for Progressive New York – is a new event like none other in New York.

For those of you who have been to a Citizen Action annual leadership conference in the past: This event is going to be bigger and better than ever before. We will have at least double the number of attendees, nationally renowned speakers, and, most importantly, we’re opening registration and inviting dozens of other organizations to participate. This is no longer an event just for Citizen Action’s top volunteers. It’s an event designed to strengthen and unite New York’s progressive movement.

For those of you who are asking, “what’s a Citizen Action annual leadership conference?” : We’re bringing together hundreds of New York’s progressive population for an intense two-day conference complete will workshops on issues and skills and plenary discussions on big questions facing our communities, our state, and our nation. We’ll also have some top notch keynote speakers to help put it all into perspective.

Justice Works will be held at the beautiful (and unionized) Crowne Plaza Hotel in historic downtown Albany, New York, just two blocks from the Capitol. It’s easily accessible by plane, train, bus, car, and, well, being just two blocks form the Hudson River, boats too. The hotel will offer free shuttle service to and from the airport and train station. With your registration, you’ll also get free covered parking in the hotel garage. There’s a lovely swimming pool, and all the guest rooms have flat panel TVs. But, you’re not going to want to watch TV…

We’ll have workshops on organizing skills, health care, education, green jobs, the economy, the arts as part of progressive change. And there’ll be some great entertainment on Saturday evening.

Now that you know why you have to be there, here’s some details about registration:

1. Early registration is from now until April 1st. We strongly encourage you to take advantage of the cheapest rate by registering today!
2. Scholarships are available. Applications for scholarships are due on March 18th. Get yours in today.
3. Sponsorship is available. If you’re from an organization, and want some good promotion at the progressive meet up of the year, become a sponsor of Justice Works. Details are here.

Once you’re registered, be sure to let your friends know about Justice Works. And be sure to “like” the Justice Works Facebook page to stay up to date on the conference agenda, speaker announcement, and other details.

These events were covered by many press outlets. Here are some of the stories:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/nyregion/15schools.html
http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2011/02/14/education-groups-criticize-governor-on-school-funding-equity/
http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20110214/NEWS01/102140361/Broome-school-advocates-protest-proposed-cuts?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/niagara/Public-meeting-in-Falls-over-education-cuts
http://www.wbng.com/news/local/Groups-Urge-Lawmakers-To-Say-No-To-Education-Cuts-116191149.html
http://buffalo.ynn.com/content/top_stories/533494/state-legislators-receive-valentines-with-special-message/?ap=1&MP4
http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2011/02/14/education-groups-send-hearts-to-lawmakers/
http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/02/from-lobbyists-with-love/
http://binghamton.ynn.com/content/top_stories/533509/community-urges-lawmakers-to-reject-school-cuts/
http://www.wicz.com/news2005/viewarticle.asp?a=17529
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wned/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1763096/WNED-AM.970.NEWS/Bake.Sale.Raises.Awareness..Dough.for.Education

And here are some photos from the events:

Shanna Goldman, our Organizing Director, and Chris Scoville, our Capital District Organizer, opened the conference with a dynamic discussion on far reach of economic concerns. Leaders then chose among 3 workshops that were divided into 2 days. Jess Wisneski, our Legislative Director, and Cynthia Ward, Northeast Action Executive Director, moderated the health care workshop. Cleo Oliver, Citizen Action Campaign Coordinator, and Carin Schiewe, Northeast Action Field Director, moderated the civic engagement workshop. Karen Scharff, our Executive Director, managed the education workshop.

Citizen Action staff loved the level of engagement–especially since we all put so many hours into organizing the conference.

The engagement, though, reached into the Internet this year. We live-streamed portions of the conference and actively used Twitter and Facebook. Leaders especially loved the Twitter projection. Be sure to click on the link to see what the buzz was all about.

We ended the conference on a riveting and uplifting note. William McNary, President of USAction – our national affliate-, brought everyone to their feet and some even to tears. Luckily, in yet another example of technological versatility, Charlie Albanetti, our Communications Director, captured this provocative engagement on video.

Here is a collection of photos that highlight our very active weekend:

We’re also embedding the informational binder that each attendee received. The pages highlight our major projects and is chock full of useful summaries. Please take a look!

2010 Leadership Conference Binder Docs

In response, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, along with Senators Casey and Specter of Pennsylvania, wrote to President Obama to urge him to fully support a rail link between Binghamton and Scranton, PA, which would allow residents of the Southern Tier easy access to New York City.

January 5, 1970 was the last time a passenger train departed Binghamton – just over 30 years ago. Since then, the infrastructure to support passenger rail has deteriorated. Getting the rails into the condition necessary for high-speed rail service would require significant investment – investment that would provide sorely needed jobs.

Most recently, there’s been a lot of discussion – and momentum – around bringing high-speed rail service to the Empire Corridor, which connects Niagara Falls to New York City via Albany, and Montreal to New York City via Plattsburgh and Albany. But this plan doesn’t include the Southern Tier – specifically what’s needed is a link between Binghamton and Scranton, providing Southern Tier residents easy access to New York City.

Since the letter from our New York Senators and the Senators from Pennsylvania was sent to President Obama, Amtrak has initiated a feasibility study to determine if the project can happen.

This is where you come in! We need to show our elected officials and community leaders that residents of the Southern Tier really need high-speed rail service connecting them to Scranton and New York City. We need to make it clear that this is a crucial component of our economic recovery.

We’ve set up an online form for you to email your Senators, the President, your Member of Congress, Assemblymember, State Senator, and other local community leader. Click here to send your message now.

“Connecting the greater Binghamton area…has the potential to unleash tremendous economic energy,” said Senator Schumer. “To make the Southern Tier an even better place to build a business and create new jobs, we must invest in our rail network to increase access to transportation and increase economic growth…”

As residents of the Southern Tier, it is imperative that we speak out now about restoring passenger rail service to our region. It’s a crucial part of our economic recovery, and will spur job growth across the Southern Tier.

In Binghamton, on December 16th, several hearty health care supporters gathered to ask a few remaining Senators, including Connecticut’s Joe Lieberman, not to be the Grinch that stole health care reform by filibustering the bill and stopping it from passing. Their fun had a serious purpose of course – to highlight that one Senator with ties to the health insurance industry in his state shouldn’t be allowed to stop over 30 million Americans and 1.7 million New Yorkers from gaining access to health insurance, and many others to gain additional protections against greedy insurance companies.

Representatives of Citizen Action of New York and Health Care for America Now in Binghamton also released a new report documenting that consumers nationwide would receive billions of dollars in refunds for too high insurance premiums if the Congress passes a provision that would require at least 90% of consumer premiums to be spent on health claims. Today, too much of our premium dollars are wasted on such things as high CEO salaries, advertising, and lobbying against reform.

Like in the Dr. Suess story – the Grinch won’t succeed in the end! As this post was written, the Senate is expected to pass its version of health care reform on Christmas Eve. And we’re not giving up on improving the final bill that will be sent to the President early next year!

Here’s some news coverage of the event.

This is the second post in our series, Faces of Change. Click here for the first post.

For about 15 years, residents of the Northside of Binghamton, NY haven’t been able to buy fresh fruit, vegetables or meat without taking a bus or cab to grocery stores in other areas. But, because of the work of one Northside resident and a group of passionate and unrelenting neighbors, on November 24, 2009, the City of Binghamton broke ground for the new $1.8 million Save-A-Lot grocery store.

This is the story of Gloria Marshall, a 33-year resident of Binghamton’s Northside neighborhood. She really enjoys her neighbors and living in her community.

In the late 1980s, she started noticing an economic decline – stores were moving out of the neighborhood. In the mid-90s, two major grocers left, leaving no where for Mrs. Marshall and her neighbors to buy fresh, healthy food.

One January day several years ago, Mrs. Marshall was outside of her home and watched as a man and woman got on a bus in the snow to take a trip to the grocery store. She said to herself, “I can’t believe this, it’s horrible, it shouldn’t be happening this way.”

Folks on the Northside have to take a bus or a cab to get to a grocery store. The cab costs between $4.50 and $7.50 each way.

Then, Mrs. Marshall did something about it. She went to a meeting with Matt Ryan, the Mayor of Binghamton, about the economic situation facing the city. It wasn’t her intention to join any committees, but she felt like she had to represent her neighborhood and do what she could to get a grocery store back on the Northside because they had been without one for 15 years.

She worked with Citizen Action to run phone banks, calling on her neighbors and building support.

When Lea Webb, Citizen Action’s Southern Tier Organizer, was elected to the Binghamton City Council, doors started to open. Mrs. Marshall worked with Lea to contact leaders in Albany.

Two years later, on November 24th, 2009, the City of Binghamton held the ground-breaking ceremony for the brand new Save-A-Lot grocery store that will be built on the Northside.

Mrs. Marshall says that “the people who live where I live who don’t have cars can walk to the grocery store and get fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and produce. It’s a great convenience and a blessing. People will walk into the store, feel like they’re part of the community, and contributing to it.”

This story is exactly why we do the work we do. From national health care reform, to bringing a grocery store to a community that desperately needs one, Citizen Action is about achieving change that matters to ordinary people.

While we’re all feeling the economic problems facing our state and country right now, it’s more important than ever that we come together and keep winning victories like this one. Click here to contribute now.

Here’s a slideshow of the ground-breaking ceremony:

Here’s some of the press coverage:

Click here for Fox 40 WICZ coverage.

Click here for Press & Sun Bulletin coverage.

Click here for Action News 12 WBNG coverage.