Flipping the New York State Senate and That Other Election

On this episode of the Activist Check-In, Stanley Fritz sat down with Citizen Action, Legislative and Campaigns Director, Jessica Wisneski to talk about the New York State elections. Progressives have a real opportunity to flip the New York State Senate from Republican-controlled to Democrat, leading to what many consider an era of progressive politics not seen in our state for quite some time. But like all elections, the battle for legislative control is very contentious, and there are competitive races all across the state.


What is the Swipe it Forward Campaign?

The #SwipeItForward initiative is a collective of community organizers, activists, and concerned citizens who have been exposing and spotlighting the NYPD’s abusive and discriminatory tactics on our subways. Their goal is to challenge what they call the unnecessary practice of penalizing people of color and low-income communities for being unable to keep up with the constant fare increases from the Metropolitan Transit Association (MTA).

Currently, if a commuter is caught asking for someone to donate a fare, the police can fine, or in some instances, arrest them on the spot. In this year alone, the New York Police Department has made almost 21,000 arrest and 56,000 summonses related to “Fare beating”.