When New York changed its laws around where incarcerated people were counted, the next step was to quantify which areas sent the most people to prisons, according to VOCAL-NY’s civil rights campaign director, Nick Encalada-Malinowski. He sees the numbers of incarcerated people coming from upstate communities as a reflection of politics. As New York City […]
People who have been treated unfairly by public officials without legal recourse argue more accountability for all officials will improve public safety, and Hochul’s position on the proposal doesn’t make sense. “Gov. Kathy Hochul has said that no one should be above the law and public safety is her top priority, but then yesterday said
Right now, the impact of the city law remains unclear due to a lack of data to analyze yet, according to VOCAL-NY’s Keli Young, the police reform group’s civil rights campaign coordinator. However, New York’s proposal would go further than the city’s law, and even those in Colorado and New Mexico. Unlike in those instances,
“The Governor’s answer to the worst overdose crisis in New York’s history is to increase penalties for fentanyl and drug-induced homicide laws that only advance the War on Drugs, rather than the fight to save lives,” said Jawanza Williams, director of organizing for VOCAL-NY, an advocacy group. “Most egregious of all: Hochul’s complete omission of
GOTHAM GAZETTE: What Wasn’t in Hochul’s 2023 State of the State Agenda: Read More »
Jasmine Budnella, the director of policy for VOCAL-NY, a drug-user advocacy group, applauded the investment in drug-checking technology and pointed to its pilot use at New York City’s two safe injection sites, also referred to as overdose prevention centers, where staff have been utilizing drug-checking technology to screen users’ samples. Advocates are still disappointed in
TIMES UNION: Cautious policies for opioid crisis miss the mark, advocates say: Read More »
The disruption to the social fabric caused by COVID-19, exacerbated by a failed government response that left over 1 million people dead and a social service safety net in even worse shape than before, has only intensified the intersecting crises faced by VOCAL-NY members. This social dislocation has also impacted the political environment, turning back
2023-2024 New York State Legislative Platform Read More »
The continued harm from criminalization, incarceration, and the legacy of former Governor Cuomo’s austerity have resulted in a historic number of New Yorkers dying from preventable overdoses, record high homelessness, increased rates of hepatitis C and emerging HIV clusters. This session, our state must continue the momentum from last year and reverse these harms by
2023-2024 New York State Budget Platform Read More »
CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org VOCAL-NY AND SURVIVED & PUNISHED CELEBRATE TRACY MCCARTER AND HER VICTORY NEW YORK — In response to news that Manhattan DA Bragg will not pursue charges against Tracy McCarter, a survivor of domestic violence, VOCAL-NY released the following statement, attributable to Keli Young, Civil Rights Campaign Coordinator: “Tracy McCarter is a Black woman who
VOCAL-NY & Survived and Punished Celebrate Tracy McCarter and Her Victory Read More »
Every person remanded to Rikers Island faces the potential of a death sentence. This year has now surpassed 2021 in the number of deaths on Rikers Island – an alarming crisis the mayor and elected officials have refused to take action on. Advocates are demanding that all officials – the Mayor, Governor, judges, prosecutors, state
NYC Jails Decarceration Demands Read More »
While speaking at the rally on Monday, Samah Sisay, another organizer at Survived & Punished NY, said “the criminal legal system has become another abuser to [McCarter].” In a press release shared with Jezebel, Susan Hadley, a civil rights organizer with the criminal justice organization VOCAL-NY, called McCarter “a Black woman who is being prosecuted
