Yesterday, the City Council voted to pass two bills written by Melissa, a new law to pay some building service workers a fair wage and a resolution to condemn the Trayvon Martin killing.

Melissa’s bill requires developers who receive subsidies from the city and landlords of buildings with government offices must pay their building services workers the prevailing wage. This will make a real difference in the lives of numerous service workers and their families, as they will now be earning a fair wage. Though Mayor Bloomberg has declared his intent to veto the bill, it is popular enough to become law over his veto.

Melissa commented on the bill’s passage:

When New York City funds new development or leases space in a building, we should be treating workers fairly by paying them a decent wage. Our taxpayer dollars shouldn’t go towards undercutting working families in a race to the bottom. Instead, this bill will ensure that office cleaners, doormen, and security guards working in buildings that receive money from New York City are paid a fair wage. It takes a tiny fraction of our budget to do so but means that these workers will now be earning wages they can live on. I thank Speaker Quinn and Finance Chair Recchia for their leadership in bringing this bill forward, and SEIU Local 32BJ for their tireless advocacy in support of this legislation.

Melissa also organized an action calling for justice in the Trayvon Martin killing, and the City Council passed a resolution condemning the killing. You can read more about it or see all the pictures on Facebook.

Saturday, we will be holding a street renaming to rename 139th St. and St. Brook Ave. to Naiesha (Nana) Pearson Place.

Naiesha (Nana) Pearson was killed at her neighborhood’s end-of-summer barbeque when two men got into an argument and a gun was fired. Unfortunately, the bullet ended up hitting Naiesha and she later died in the hospital. But beyond that tragedy, her death had a ripple effect that reached far beyond the neighborhood.

After the untimely death, her family and community took on the responsibility of preventing further deaths to gun violence. Naiesha’s death led to the creation of the Walk Against Gun Violence rally, which is now an annual event in the South Bronx community. After her death, Naiesha’s aunt, Gloria Cruz founded the Bronx chapter of the New Yorkers Anti-Gun Violence, as well as the first Gun Buy Back program in the Bronx. Her death also led to create stricter rules for buying guns and to require bullets to be microstamped with unique markings in order to identify them.

Tonight from 6-8 PM, Women of El Barrio and our office will host a Women’s History Month Celebration to honor the memory of WOEB member Virginia Paris.

Co-sponsored with the East Harlem Council for Human Services—Boriken Neighborhood Health Center, the event will be at The Louis and Samuel J. Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, 2180 Third Avenue (at 119th Street) Auditorium Room 201, 2nd fl.

The event is free but donations will be accepted to the Hostos Circle of 100 Scholarship and Emergency Fund.

RSVP to womenoeb@gmail.com.

Yesterday, voting started for participatory budgeting, making history by deciding how we want to spend at least $1 million to improve our community. About 300 people turned up yesterday at the Children’s Aid Society and the Youth Hostel to vote on which projects to fund, and a Columbia Spectator article describes the tough decisions we have to make. This is your opportunity to choose to install security cameras, get new technology for schools and libraries, improve parks, as well as numerous other great projects. You can read all about the different projects (in English and Spanish) your neighbors have developed. Now’s your chance to choose which among these 29 projects should be funded.

Voting will continue until this upcoming Saturday.

Saturday, March 31st, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
SCAN La Guardia – 307 E. 116th St.
Betances Senior Ctr – 401 St. Ann’s Ave.

If you can’t make it Saturday, you can stop by our office to vote.

March 26th-March 30th, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
Office of Councilwoman Mark-Viverito – 105 E. 116th St.

Let your friends and neighbors know that voting is going on! You can download a flyer in English and Spanish by clicking here.

Tomorrow — Sunday, March 25th — we will make history by initiating a week of community voting to determine how at least $1 million in Council Member Mark-Viverito’s discretionary capital funds will be spent through the Participatory Budgeting (PB) process.  All residents of Council District 8 (El Barrio/East Harlem, Manhattan Valley/Upper West Side and Mott Haven) over the age of 18 are invited to vote at tomorrow’s locations or any others throughout the week.  Please be sure to bring proof that you live in the district!

Sunday, March 25th, 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Children’s Aid Society – 130 E. 101st St.
Youth Hostel – 891 Amsterdam Ave

Saturday, March 31st, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
SCAN La Guardia – 307 E. 116th St.
Betances Senior Ctr – 401 St. Ann’s Ave.

March 26th-March 30th, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
Office of Councilwoman Mark-Viverito – 105 E. 116th St

Check out the sample ballots so you can look at the list of projects and think about your favorites (in English and Spanish).

Projects include plans to install security cameras, improve parks, playgrounds, and basketball courts, and new technology for schools and libraries, among other projects proposed by community members, and span all the neighborhoods of our district. These projects have been developed by committees over the last few months, and now you have the opportunity to choose among these 29 projects which should be funded.

You can vote at any of the site, but you can only vote once during this week.  We look forward to seeing you!

Settlement Housing Fund will be celebrating the 5th Anniversary of Semiperm Housing, our supportive residence for single-parent families at 210 W. 102nd Street, on April 12. A tour of Semiperm at 5:30 PM will be followed by a reading and discussion with author Jonathan Franzen at the American Youth Hostel (891 Amsterdam at 103rd) at 7 PM.

Semiperm is a residential community created by Settlement Housing Fund in 2007, and the only intermediate-term housing in New York City geared to homeless single parents who are employed or in school, and motivated to gain the skills needed to live independently. Our on-site staff provides a curriculum and social services focused on meeting each family’s individual goals, and we partner with volunteers, other organizations and city agencies to provide additional assistance and referrals. When parents are ready to leave Semiperm, We help them achieve a lasting transition to permanent housing, often in one of our own buildings.

RSVP by calling CA Hutton or Nicole Clare at 212-265-6530.

Voting for participatory budgeting is coming up this weekend and the following weekend, offering you a chance to decide on what projects get funding.

We have sample ballots available for you to look at the list of projects and think about your favorites, with English sample ballots as well as ballots in Spanish. Projects include plans to install security cameras, improve parks, playgrounds, and basketball courts, and new technology for schools and libraries, among other projects proposed by community members. These plans were then developed by committees over the last few months, and now you can choose which to fund.

You can vote at any of these locations, as well as a few mobile locations which will be confirmed closer to the date.

Sunday, March 25th, 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Children’s Aid Society – 130 E. 101st St.
Youth Hostel – 891 Amsterdam Ave

Saturday, March 31st, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
SCAN La Guardia – 307 E. 116th St.
Betances Senior Ctr – 401 St. Ann’s Ave.

March 26th-March 30th, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
Office of Councilwoman Mark-Viverito – 105 E. 116th St

The NYCHA Resident Training Academy and Harlem RBI are holding an information session about the Free NYCHA Resident Training Academy and a job screening event to work in construction.

The event will be Tuesday, March 27, 2012 from 10 AM-1 PM at Harlem RBI (1960 1st Ave, at 101st Street, inside the River Crossing Buildings). NYCHA Residents can learn about the Training Academy to help them find a job and people with construction work experience can meet with a career specialist to learn about local job opportunities.

Call 718-218-1538 to register.

Yesterday, the City Council passed Melissa’s resolution declaring that we still have a housing emergency and that rent regulations are necessary to enable New Yorkers to afford living here. The demand for rental housing is actually increasing due to the foreclosure crisis and bad economy. Renters can’t afford sky-high rents and rent regulation is necessary to keep New York accessible for middle- and working-class residents.

Melissa commented on the legislation:

Every day, I hear from constituents working two jobs but struggling to pay their rent. With rising rents and stagnant incomes, New Yorkers need help. The average New Yorker living in rent-regulated housing makes just $38,000 a year and many have to pay more than half their income in rent already. Rent stabilization make New York at all affordable for them. Unfortunately, rent regulated housing is disappearing and we have lost about one-third of New York City’s rent-stabilized apartments over the last decade. This resolution affirms that we cannot afford weaker rent regulations and we must instead work to strengthen our rent regulations to preserve the city so that all New Yorkers can live here.