Next week voters will choose a new City Council Member for District 10, representing the area that roughly lies east of Broadway in Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill. Eight candidates are vying for this honor.
Not only will the top vote getter inherit the issues that have long plagued our community – the need for improved opportunities for economic development, housing, education and healthcare and better services for both young and old – but he or she will have to heal a rift between the electorate and its representative in City Council. The winner will need to help our residents restore trust in our political leaders and squarely put the district back on the path toward progress.
It is to the credit of the candidates seeking to succeed Miguel Martinez that accountability, ethics and transparency have been recurring topics of conversation during this election season. We want to remind you that those themes can’t simply be campaign promises to be discarded on Sep. 16. The openness with which you represent this community will go a long way toward restoring the trust that constituents need to invest in their leader. Having collectively served in Northern Manhattan for many years, the undersigned community leaders hope to work with you as both a sounding board and compass. We are on the front lines addressing the issues that most vex our neighborhood. That means that we have established a tool box of solutions to meet the existing and new challenges that you face. We as community leaders plan to work cooperatively amongst ourselves and with you to reach our mutual goal of improving the lives of Northern Manhattanites.
Some of the ways you can collaborate with us include:
· Initiate community forums and other methods to receive input and share information regarding proposed legislation · Avoid the creation of new not-for-profits as “pet projects” and instead work more cooperatively with the existing service providers
· Commit to publicly list, in an easily accessible venue, funding allocations to different community-based organizations We also urge you to work in concert with our other local elected officials to help tie together solutions across bureaucracies.
The needs of the community are great. We must all pull together to ensure that the constituents of District 10 receive the services that they deserve.
We hope the best candidate is elected our next City Council Member on Sep. 15. In January 2010, we hope to work with him or her to continue building a better Northern Manhattan.
Signed,
Accion Comunitaria La Aurora
Alianza Dominicana
Audubon Partnership for Economic Development (APED)
Centro Altagracia de Fe y Justicia
Chamber of Commerce of Washington Heights and Inwood
Community League of the Heights (CLOTH)
Community Union of Washington Heights & Inwood
CUNY in the Heights
Fresh Youth Initiatives (FYI)
Latina PAC
Mirabal Sisters Community Center New Heights Neighborhood Center, Inc. @ The Armory
National Dominican Women's Caucus
Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA)
Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights (NMCIR) Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC)
Teatro Las Tablas
Washington Heights & Inwood Council on Aging (WHICOA)
Washington Heights and Inwood Development Corp (WHIDC)
