Faith and Hunger Network letter to Gov. Cuomo

     This week, the Governor proposed a 5% increase this year, saving the State $6 million by depriving the poorest among of us essential support, and increasing the grant another 5% next year. We are glad that the Governor thought it was important enough to include in yesterday’s budget address, and the 5% is greatly needed, but we are disappointed that he is not asking for the full 10% that was promised by the Legislature.    

     As part of the NYS Faith and Hunger Network, IINYS participated in sending the following letter to Gov. Cuomo in December.

Faith and Hunger Network 275 State Street, Albany NY 12210

December 21, 2011

Dear Governor Cuomo:

     As representatives of the faith community in New York State, we urge you to include in the 2012-13 state budget the final year of the three-year increase in the basic welfare grant.
     It had been 19 years since the woefully inadequate grant had been increased when the Governor agreed to a 10% annual increase for three years. Your budget last year postponed the last year of the increase. During this time, hunger, poverty and unemployment continued to grow in our state.
     We urge you to join us in embracing the Scriptural mandates to feed the hungry, give shelter to the homeless, and clothe the naked. Every week in our congregations we see a terrible loss of hope among those who depend on the State for the basic necessities of life.
     Poverty diminishes hope and crushes the human spirit. The Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions speak for the dignity of people in poverty in God’s sight, and that it is society’s responsibility to address and alleviate such inequities. Helping people in need is a matter of fundamental principle, responsibility, righteousness and justice, not an act of charity.
     To this day churches, synagogues, and mosques provide food, clothing, housing, health care, and job assistance to those in need. The efforts of our religious communities on behalf of the poor constitute a strong, prophetic voice. Our call is grounded not only in economic realities, but in essential moral truths: the belief that each person has intrinsic dignity and worth, that we are our brother’s and sister’s keeper, and that we as a state are best measured by how we treat “the least of these.”
     But our charitable contributions are no substitute for government action and economic justice. We believe it is immoral that in this the richest nation, New York leads in the growing gap between the poor and rich. The wealthiest 1% of the state’s residents now receive 34% of its income. But nothing illustrates this gap better than the decline in value of welfare benefits. The grant is less than 50% of the federal poverty level and is a significant factor in the high rate of poverty in New York, especially among children.
     The list of issues that need to be addressed in alleviating poverty in our state is unfortunately long: affordable housing, quality education, living wage jobs, child care, quality health care for all, to name a few. We encourage you to look at the solutions being promoted by the national campaign to cut poverty in half in America in the next 10 years. We urge you to raise the state minimum wage so it is no longer a poverty wage.
     We call on you to increase funding for our state’s 3,000 food pantries and soup kitchens, which feed more than3 million New Yorkers annually. The lines keep growing every year. Such programs are stark symbols of our society’s failure to share the bounty of the richest economy in the world.
In language that resonates with a deep understanding of religious values, one of your gubernatorial predecessors, Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” We urge you to take up this challenge.

Yours in hope,

Rev. Cass L. Shaw General Presbyter, Albany Presbytery
Robb Smith, Executive Director Interfaith Impact NYS
Rev. Debra Jameson FOCUS Churches. Albany
Rev. Thomas W. Goodhue Executive Director, Long Island Council of Churches
Rabbi Michael E. Feinberg, Executive Director Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition
Mark Dunlea, Executive Director Hunger Action Network of NYS
Rev. Ann M. Kansfield and Rev. Jennifer Aull Co-Pastor, Greenpoint Reformed Church
Ruth Giammichele Peace & Justice Committee, St James Church Johnson City
David Napell MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
Rabbi Donald P. Cashman B’nai Sholom Reform Congregation
Chaplain Wally Merna LI Council of Churches Freeport Emergency Food Pantry Sister Phyllis Tierney, SSJ Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester Justice & Peace Committee
Rev. Christopher Smith North Presbyterian Church, NY NY Fatima Goldman, Executive Director & CEO Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies
Rev. Gail A. Burger, Exec. Dir, Emeritus; Dutchess County Interfaith Council, Inc
Rev. Dr. Edward L. Hunt
Susan J. Bendor DSW Temple Isaiah, Great Neck,
Lois Griffin Social Responsibilities Council First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany
Marc Greenberg, Executive Director Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing
Janet Dorman St. Mary’s Episcopal Church Food Pantry
Rev. Eleanor Collinsworth Pastor, First United Methodist Church of Seneca Falls
Phyllis Zuckerbrot, Social Action co-Chair Temple Am Echad of Lynbrook
Rev. Mark Chaffin and Rev. Deb Jameson, Co-Presidents
Capital Region Ecumenical Organization, Albany, NY
The Rev. Polly McWilliams Kasey
Rabbi Michael Goldman Temple Israel Center, White Plains
The Reverend David J. Ware, Priest
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Cold Spring Harbor
Rev. Leah Ntuala, First Presbyterian Church, Seneca Falls
Rabbi Ellen Lippmann
Kolot Chayeinu / Voices of Our Lives
Alice Bunnell, member
Christ Episcopal Church of Poughkeepsie
The Reverend Elizabeth G. Maxwell, Interim Pastor
St. Michael’s Church, NY
LaSonya Thompson member of Riverside Church, NY
Sybil A. Stock, MD, Chairperson, Peace Team
Elected Member, Social Responsibilities Council
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany
Robert Ruane Jr.
Catholic Advocates for the Disabled
Richard Koubek, PhD, Coordinator, AMOS Project, LI Jobs with Justice
The Reverend Peggy Ann Sauerhoff Fishkill United Methodist Church

Board Member Introduction: Don Odell

I am secretary of the Interfaith Impact of New York State Board of Directors. Why? It is an opportunity for this Unitarian Universalist to participate in a religious advocacy coalition to have a greater impact on New York State governmental policies and programs. I am a member of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, NY.
Now I need to communicate widely about what we are trying to do, and am on Facebook, have a Word Press account. Twitter is next. Let me and IINYS know what you think. By the way, I am a 71 year old trying not to be a Luddite.

Casino Gambling in New York?

In his State of the State message on Wed., Jan. 3, 2012, Gov. Cuomo called for a constitutional amendment that would permit casino gambling (gaming) throughout New York State. In the past, Interfaith Impact has been strongly opposed to this because of its negative impact on the poor. Now that the issue has come up again, how do you feel about it?

Fair Share Taxation Now is Challenge for Governor and Legislature

(Albany, Dec. 6, 2011) Interfaith Impact of NYS is encouraged by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s call for the NYS Legislature to consider new tax code and other economic proposals to increase revenues in the coming tax year.

Now is the time to call your NYS Legislators and ask them to accept the challenge and create fair taxes now that meet the needs of all New Yorkers. (To find out who represents you, click here.)

“Budgets and tax codes are moral documents,” said IINYS President Rev. Dr. Richard S. Gilbert. “There is a spirit in the land that cries out for justice.  The ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement has energized people around the world to question an economic system that widens the gap between rich and middle class and neglects the poor. The situation is urgent. Now, during this holiday season, the NYS Legislature and the Governor have an historic opportunity to redress the imbalance.”

“We reaffirm our support for continuing the so-called “millionaires’ tax” on the top earners in New York,” said Robb Smith, IINYS Executive Director. “Failure to appropriately tax the wealthiest 1 percent of New Yorkers will result in increase in taxes for the other 99 percent through increased local taxes.  It will also cause a decline in our shared quality of life as infrastructure is allowed to deteriorate, educational programs are cut, food and other subsidies for the poor are decreased, and access to health care is further limited.”

Numerous studies have show that tax cuts for the wealthy do not create jobs. Our economy flourishes only when the wealthiest among us pay their fair share. This finding is echoed by our traditional religious positions that require a just economy.

This month, the Governor and Legislator can do the right thing and stop the $5 billion tax break for New York’s richest families. In next year’s budget, they can reinvest the money to create jobs, save schools and services, fight poverty and rebuild a stronger New York.

Interfaith Impact of NYS strongly urges the Legislature and Governor to take on this great moral and economic challenge of our generation and create a tax policy that meets the needs of all New Yorkers.

The Occupy Movement is a Moral Challenge

Conditions of economic injustice have led to Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Albany and related protests across the country. These highly visible occupations are revitalizing the spirit of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution.
For decades, legislators, Governors, and highly paid lobbyists have been crafting policies that ignore the poor, drain resources from the middle class and flow a disproportionate share of our national wealth upward to the top 1% of earners. This is burning up our prosperity and our future. The impoverishment of the many for the benefit of the few destroys us all, but change is possible.
We choose the kind of society in which we live. The choices we make are moral choices that are ultimately based on central religious values. The question is, what kind of society do we want?
Levels of taxation are a moral choice driven by our religious values. So is the level of pollution, the adequacy of our transportation system, and the quality of childhood education. We could choose to make universal health care insurance a right. We could choose to make sure everyone has enough to eat.
Occupy Albany and the other occupations across the state are sending a message to the legislature and Governor: stop crafting policies that are destroying the middle class, hurting the poor and allowing our economic system to prey on the majority for the benefit of the very few.
Let us hope that these protests can revitalize the spirit of equality and fairness that makes our democracy work.

IINYS at Occupy Rochester

The Rev. Richard S. Gilbert, President of IINYS, speaks at Rochester City Hall

IINYS Treasurer John Keevert reports that he and IINYS President Rev. Richard Gilbert joined Occupy protesters on Tuesday, November 4th in Rochester, NY.

“Dick Gilbert and I were at the rally in support of Occupy Rochester,” John reports. “Dick spoke both at Washington Square Park, which we are trying to
occupy, and at City Hall , where we are denouncing the mayors choice to
arrest 34 people last weekend.” See pix above and below.

John Keevert, IINYS Treasurer, supports the American Dream at Occupy Rochester.

If you attended Occupy events, send photos to info@interfaithimpactnys.org and we’ll put them up on this site.

Interfaith Prayer Vigil, Occupy Albany, 11-4-11 @ 4

Dear Albany Area Friends:

Interfaith Impact of NYS is cosponsoring an Interfaith Prayer Vigil for a Fair Economy with the NYS Labor-Religion Coalition this Friday, Nov. 4th, at 4:00 p.m. in Academy Park in Albany, across the street from the State Capitol building.

     People of multiple faith backgrounds are coming together to demonstrate solidarity with the Occupy movement. Together, we will affirm core religious values of compassion and justice in a time of crippling income inequality. Speakers and prayer leaders include:

• The Rev. Cass Shaw, General Presbyter, Presbyterian Church USA
• Fr. Richard Vosko, St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church
• Barbara DiTommaso, Director, Commission on Peace and Justice, Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany
• Abraham Hmiel, Occupy Albany
• Robb Smith, Interfaith Impact of NYS
• The Rev. Sam Trumbore, First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany
• Many more

For more information or to offer a prayer/reflection (all those who feel led will have space on the stack), please contact: Sara Niccoli, saran@labor-religion.org, 518-213-6000, ext. 6176.

Metered parking spots in the neighborhood are usually available by 4:00 in the afternoon. I hope some of you will be able to join us. Interfaith Impact members have been active in Occupy events across the state during the past few weeks.

Yours in Community,

Robb Smith, Executive Director, IINYS

IINYS Support for Occupy Wall Street Movement

There is a spirit in the land that cries out for justice.  The “Occupy Wall Street” movement has energized people around the world to question an economic system that widens the gap between rich and middle class and neglects the poor.  Interfaith Impact likewise questions an economic regime which disempowers the majority while ceding unwarranted economic and political power to the wealthy elite.

There is political power in such symbolic and dramatic action.  The protestors have not yet created a specific political and economic strategy.  Their main mission has been pinpointing the evils of the age by singling out the “powers and principalities”

whom they believe are responsible.

The “occupiers” of Wall Street have rightly sensed a growing evil in our time.  We witness a society in which the few who control money and market rule all else.  Infrastructure crumbles, hunger and poverty grow, public schools struggle, governments groan under debt, and people feel politically powerless, but the market insists on its own way.  There is in our midst a policy of affirmative action for the rich.

Theologically speaking, the market is not God.  The Golden Calf procession of the protestors at Wall Street was a none-too-subtle reminder of this.  Ethically speaking, showering the rich with tax breaks while neglecting the poor is unjust.  Sociologically speaking, class warfare is not a weapon wielded by activists; it is a reality in nation and world where the rich are winning.

Not all of us agree with everything the “occupiers” say and do.  Our task is to utilize this moral energy, to make explicit the ethical questions raised in these protests, to persuade the protestors and the American people to take their zeal into the marketplace, the legislative corridors and the voting booth and to help channel moral indignation into a creative building of beloved community in which there is economic security for all.

Rev. Richard S. Gilbert
President, Interfaith Impact of New York State

Assembly Health Chair Asks Help to Ban Fracking in NY

FROM ASSEMBLY HEALTH COMMITTEE CHAIR RICHARD N. GOTTFRIED:

Governor Cuomo Should Ban Fracking in New York State

On Thursday, it was reported that the Governor will seek to lift the moratorium on horizontal hydraulic fracturing  (“fracking”) in parts of the state.

It appears that the moratorium will remain in effect for the New York City watershed, and areas near Syracuse.  But the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) should not approve any permits for natural gas extraction in other areas.  The moratorium prevented DEC from making decisions about new permits for natural gas extraction.  If DEC is going to begin making decisions on permit applications, the decision should be “No.”

As chair of the Assembly Health Committee, I held a public hearing on fracking with Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee chair Robert Sweeney.  The testimony made it clear to me that fracking is not safe for the environment or for human health.

If you have not already done so, I urge you to contact Governor Cuomo and tell him not to allow DEC to approve any permits for fracking and to support banning it from New York State.  His contact information is available at:  http://www.governor.ny.gov/contact/GovernorContactForm.php.

Any benefits of gas production simply do not justify the many potential dangers associated with fracking such as pollution to our lakes, streams and drinking water supplies, and the release of airborne pollutants. We should not wait until our natural resources are destroyed to act. (Food & Water Watch)

New York Has Marriage Equality!

After more than a decade of effort, our fundamental democratic and religious belief in the equality of all persons prevailed 33-29 in the State Senate. Governor Cuomo signed the bill last night, and in 30 days, wedding bells will peal for same-sex couples across New York  State!

Take a minute today to contact your State Senator and let him or her know how you feel about their vote.  You can the Senate switchboard, (518-455-2800), to reach your Senator. (You can find your Senator’s name by clicking here.)
All those who voted “yes” deserve a big “THANK YOU!” from their constituents. Here’s how they voted:

Voted For:

Eric Adams, D, District 20
Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr., D, District 15
James S. Alesi, R, District 55
Tony Avella, D, District 11
Neil D. Breslin, D, District 46
David Carlucci, D, District 38
Martin Malave Dilan, D, District 17
Thomas Duane, D, District 29
Adriano Espaillat, D, District 31
Michael N. Gianaris, D, District 12
Mark Grisanti, R, District 60
Ruth Hassell-Thompson, D, District 36
Shirley L. Huntley, D, District 10
Timothy Kennedy, D, District 58
Jeffrey D. Klein, D, District 34
Liz Krueger, D, District 26
Carl Kruger, D, District 27
Roy J. McDonald, R, District 43
Velmanette Montgomery, D, District 18
Suzi Oppenheimer, D, District 37
Kevin S. Parker, D, District 21
José Peralta, D, District 13
Bill Perkins, D, District 30
Gustavo Rivera, D, District 33
Stephen M. Saland, R, District 41
John L. Sampson, D, District 19
Diane J. Savino, D, District 23
José M. Serrano, D, District 28
Malcolm A. Smith, D, District 14
Dan L. Squadron, D, District 25
Toby Ann Stavisky, D, District 16
Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D, District 35
David J. Valesky, D, District 49

Voted Against:

Greg Ball, R, District 40
John J. Bonacic, R, District 42
John A. DeFrancisco, R, District 50
N – Rubén Díaz, D, District 32
Hugh T. Farley, R, District 44
John J. Flanagan, R, District 2
Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., R, District 8
Patrick Gallivan, R, District 59
Martin J. Golden, R, District 22
Joseph A. Griffo, R, District 47
Kemp Hannon, R, District 6
Owen H. Johnson, R, District 4
Andrew J. Lanza, R, District 24
William J. Larkin, Jr., R, District 39
Kenneth P. LaValle, R, District 1
Tom Libous, R, District 52
Elizabeth Little, R, District 45
Carl L. Marcellino, R, District 5
Jack M. Martins, R, District 7
George D. Maziarz, R, District 62
Michael F. Nozzolio, R, District 54
Thomas F. O’Mara, R, District 53
Michael H. Ranzenhofer R, District 61
Patty Ritchie, R, District 48
Joseph E. Robach, R, District 56
James L. Seward, R, District 51
Dean G. Skelos, R, District 9
Catharine Young, R, District 57
Lee M. Zeldin, R, District 3