About Democracy for NYC

Democracy for NYC (DFNYC) is committed to the ideals espoused by Democracy for America, the organization founded by Howard Dean, and the national network of local coalition groups dedicated to the same.

EndorsedLogo PlasticWe work both locally and nationally to ensure that fiscally responsible and socially progressive candidates are elected at all levels of government. We develop innovative ways to advocate for the issues that matter to our members and support legislation which has a positive effect in our communities.  We promote transparency and ethical practices in government.  We engage people in the political process and give them the tools to organize, communicate, mobilize, and enact change on the local, state, and national level.

You can download our bylaws here.

About Democracy for New York City

Take Action

Community

Upcoming Events & Actions

No events
View Full Calendar

 

Restore the Voting Rights Act!

Published Date
Written by Richard Wallner
Category: Uncategorised
Hits: 672
  • Print

This week is the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The VRA is under siege right now. GOP lawmakers in many key states are finding ways to restrict the right to vote. A key part of the VRA was invalidated by the Supreme Court in 2013. There is a petition being circulated by vratoday.org and the Leadership Conference at www.civilrights.org  Tell your congressman that you demand that action be taken in Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act 

""If we fail or cannot repair the damage done to this act ... we will be less a democratic country, a democratic society" Congressman John Lewis

 

May 5th Special Elections in Staten Island and Brooklyn

Published Date
Written by Tracey Keij-Denton
Category: Uncategorised
Hits: 4262
  • Print

 

Gov. Cuomo has set a date of May 5th for the special election for the seat vacated by disgraced Congressman Michael Grimm. Also on that date, a special election for the 43rd Assembly District in Brooklyn (Kareem Kamera).

Read the write up on these races by Mark Johns of DFNYC leadership - click here.

Join us Wednesday Feb. 4 for Immigration Linkup with Jim Dean

Published Date
Written by Tracey Keij-Denton
Category: Uncategorised
Hits: 4496
  • Print

 

This Wednesday, February 4th, will be a special Linkup with Jim Dean, Chair of Democracy for America, and Councilmember Mark Levine. We will be talking about immigration, including a brief speech by my husband Eelco Keij. 

 

Wed. Feb. 4th, Bunga's Den, 137 West 14th Street, btwn 6&7, 7-9:30pm. More details here.

Should Shelly Silver Resign the Speakership?

Published Date
Written by Tracey Keij-Denton
Category: Uncategorised
Hits: 4817
  • Print
This email was sent this morning to our Alerts email list, which includes most of our active members:
 
Dear DFNYC members,
 
In light of the arrest yesterday of State Assembly Speaker Sheldon "Shelly" Silver, the leadership of DFNYC is strongly considering making a statement calling on Mr. Silver to resign the speakership.
 
We want to hear your opinion before we make a statement. You can respond to this email, or contact us directly at info-at-dfnyc.org (replace -at- w/@). 

While Mr. Silver is not required by law to resign as speaker right after having been arrested on federal corruption charges, we feel that for the integrity of the legislative process, he should resign now.  
 
The Speaker is a very powerful position and one that Shelly Silver has held since 1994, making him one of the "three-men-in-a-room" that essentially control state government. Due process for the accused is an important principle of government.  But the allegations against Mr. Silver are arguably not surprising to anyone who has been following state politics for awhile.  In addition, Mr. Silver has shown questionable ethics in other areas, including blocking sexual harassment and assault charges brought to him by Assembly staffers.
 
Brad Hoylman, the Democratic State Senator from the west side of Manhattan, has called for Silver's resignation.  While it is true that Mr. Silver's Democratic colleagues in the Assembly are on record as supporting him, it is important to know that there are strong incentives for them to do so, despite how they may actually feel. While Silver is Speaker, he has enormous control over the Assembly, including individual members' budgets.  In 2000, some Democrats in the state Assembly started a movement to vote him out as speaker. It failed, and Silver retaliated against the members that voted for his opponent.  See http://nymag.com/news/politics/47409/index2.html
 
As an independent grassroots organization, Democracy for NYC is in a unique position to take a strong stand  in favor of ethics and transparency in government by calling for Sheldon Silver to resign as speaker. But we want to hear your opinion, even if you disagree.
 
What's Next:
 
If Mr. Silver were to resign, we do not know who would become speaker or how the process would work; we are looking into that now. It is clear that Democrats will remain a large majority in the Assembly. We strongly feel that any speaker - whether it is Sheldon Silver, a successor, or a new candidate voted on by the Assembly members - should support rules reform in Albany, including:
 1. Making funds for staff and resources equal across all members, not determined by the Speaker, which leads to unfair distribution and conflicts of interest.
 2. Allowing Committee Chairs, and not the Speaker, to control their individual committees 
 3. Changing the system for member items so that it is not subject to discretion of the Speaker 
 4. Make it possible for bills to come to the floor without having to be approved by the Speaker
 5. Much needed improvements to campaign finance and rules about outside income
Brad Hoylman calls for Silver's resignation:
 
Your Opinion:
Should Sheldon Silver resign as speaker? Email us at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

DFNYC applauds ban on hydrofracking in New York

Published Date
Written by Richard Wallner
Category: Uncategorised
Hits: 5253
  • Print
Democracy for New York City (DFNYC) applauds Governor Cuomo for approving a ban on hydrofracking in New York State.  It has been clear for some time that this method of natural gas extraction poses significant health and environmental risks and should be banned.  DFNYC is proud to have been a member of the New Yorkers Against Fracking (NYAF) coalition, and we will continue to speak out on what is one of the great environmental issues of our time.
 
Today's decision is a historic moment for our state and we applaud the leaders of NYAF, Sane Energy, United for Action and other groups who worked so hard to make this happen.
 
Thank you governor for doing the right thing

More Articles...

For Email Newsletters you can trust

DFNYC Leadership

Max Smith, Executive Director, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Richard Wallner, Political Director, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For more contact information, click here.

Contact Information

Address: 3456 Broadway #1-C
  New York, NY 10031-5637
Tel: 646-219-8478
Email: info-at-dfnyc.org


A local coalition group of Democracy for America since 2004

Democracy for NYC (DFNYC) is committed to the ideals espoused by Democracy for America, the organization founded by Howard Dean, and the national network of local coalition groups dedicated to the same.

Read More...