On Thursday, May 12th, thousands of concerned New Yorkers will converge at public assembly points throughout lower Manhattan to protest a devastating state budget that puts millionaires before working New Yorkers.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is proposing disastrous budget cuts as the solution to the economic crisis caused by Wall Street. These cuts include stripping thousands of teachers of their jobs and shutting down childcare and senior centers. Meanwhile, Bloomberg is pushing for more tax cuts for the wealthy and giving billions of dollars to Wall Street as our schools are left to fall apart.
We’re joining with a coalition of hundreds of organizations and thousands of New Yorkers who are sick and tired of our government going behind our backs to give billion dollar bonuses to the very people who cause the financial mess in the first place. We’re attending this event to demand that none of our teachers are laid off, no schools are closed, and no essential services are cut – and that the millionaires, billionaires and big banks pay their fair share.
New York City should cut business ties with banks that won’t contribute their fair share on budget relief.
What would this do? Stop foreclosures, provide fee relief to families, businesses and students, and replace investments in climate catastrophe and war by investing in greener technology and local jobs.
By forcing banks to give back their subsidies and special deals, New York City will save hundreds of millions of dollars and instead utilize these funds to restore cuts to schools, firehouses, childcare, and senior citizens.
Who is participating? Alliance for Quality Education (AQE), Coalition for Educational Justice (CEJ), Center for Children Initiatives, Center for Working Families, Children’s Defense Fund – New York, and Community Voices Heard, among many others. Click here for a full list of collaborators.
How can you get involved? It’s easy to be heard On May 12th. Just hop on the subway or bus to your Assembly site of choice and bring some snacks and plenty of water to share. This map shows a list of the meeting locations:
View May 12 Assembly Sites in a larger map
Where are we meeting? Citizen Action of New York will be gathering at the South St. Seaport site, located at 20 Fulton St (number “8? on the map) to rally for Human Services. Wear your Citizen Action t-shirt and make it known that we wont sit back and allow Mayor Bloomberg to cut education funding!
Can’t make it? Don’t worry. We’ll be live-tweeting the event from @citizenactionny. Use the hashtag #OnMay12 to contribute to the conversation. There’s also a Virtual Rally being hosted on Friday, May 6th that will give New Yorkers a chance to tell Mayor Bloomberg how the cuts will affect them personally.
You can also find ways to get involved at On May 12th’s website, Facebook, or Twitter.
We hope to see you there!