Saturday, October 26, 2013

Ebony Power 100: 2013

EBONY MAGAZINE TO CELEBRATE THE 2013 EBONY POWER 100 LIST
 AT JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER’S FREDERICK P. ROSE HALL TIME WARNER CENTER
ON NOVEMBER 4, 2013, PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE INSURANCE


 

 Berry Gordy, Motown Records Founder, Will Receive Lifetime Achievement Award
Entertainer Nick Cannon to Host; Legendary Pop Group The Jacksons, Cast of Broadway Hit “Motown The Musical” and Famed Rockjazz Pianist ELEW to Perform
 


EBONY® Magazine, the curator of the African-American experience, past, present and future, today announced that it will host a gala event in New York City at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall on Monday evening, November 4, 2013 to celebrate the honorees on its annual EBONY Power 100 list. This is the second year that the event is presented by Nationwide Insurance.
 
The EBONY Power 100 list salutes the achievements of the most influential African-Americans in the country. Among the game changers honored this year are President Barack Obama, actress Kerry Washington, NBA legend and entrepreneur Earvin "Magic" Johnson, actor Michael B. Jordan, film director Lee Daniels, chefs Marcus Samuelsson and Roblé Ali and activists Harry Belafonte and Marian Wright Edelman.
 
Nick Cannon

Hosting the star-studded evening will be Power 100 list honoree Nick Cannon, the multi-faceted entertainer, actor, DJ, comedian and musician. For the past five seasons, Cannon has served as the host of "America's Got Talent," NBC's top-rated summer reality competition series.
 
Berry Gordy

Berry Gordy, the legendary founder of Motown Records, will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. Gordy was influential in the careers of such extraordinary talents as the Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops, the Supremes and the Temptations. Under his direction, Motown became a model for black capitalism, pride and self-expression. A gifted songwriter, Gordy also penned and co-wrote hits for Smokey Robinson, Jackie Wilson and Etta James. In addition, he has produced several movies, including “Mahogany” and “Lady Sings the Blues.”
 
The Motown themed evening will include a special performance by The Jacksons, one of the biggest acts in pop music history. The Jackson brothers—a preteen Michael, Jermaine, Tito, Marlon and Jackie—found their way to Berry Gordy’s hit-making Motown Records in the late 1960s.
 
 
Also scheduled to appear is the cast of Berry Gordy’s four-time Tony Award-nominated Broadway hit “Motown The Musical,” and famed American rockjazz pianist ELEW.
 
DJ KISS, who has spun for many of the world’s biggest celebrities and added her signature sound to the hottest fashion, music and charity events, will play throughout the evening and at the after-party along with Cannon. 
 
James Beard Award-winning chef and author Marcus Samuelsson, owner of Red Rooster Harlem in New York City, is designing the menu for the gala. The internationally acclaimed Samuelsson, who was also named to the EBONY Power 100 list, has cooked for President Obama, served as a judge for “Chopped” and has recently joined the second season of "The Taste" as a mentor. He is also the youngest chef ever to receive a three-star rating from The New York Times.
 
In addition to Nationwide, EBONY Power 100 Gala sponsors include United Airlines,Chevrolet, Ariel Investments, and McDonald’s. Wines for the evening are generously provided by Coral Brown of Brown Estate Vineyards, Napa Valley.
 
The 2013 Power 100 list will appear in the December/January issue of EBONY on newsstands the week of November 4. The full list of the EBONY Power 100 can be found here.
 
About EBONY: EBONY is the No. 1 source for an authoritative perspective on the African-American community. The monthly magazine, now in its 68th year, reaches nearly 11 million readers. EBONY features the best thinkers, trendsetters, hottest celebrities and next-generation leaders of African-Americans. EBONY ignites conversation, promotes empowerment and celebrates aspiration. Available nationwide on newsstands and the iPad, EBONY is the heart, the soul and the pulse of African-Americans (Ebony Press Release)

Friday, April 5, 2013

Sandy Regional Assembly Recovery Agenda

What is the Sandy Regional Assembly?

The Sandy Regional Assembly is an association of environmental justice organizations, community-based groups, labor unions and our allies from Superstorm Sandy-impacted and storm surge-vulnerable areas in New York City, New Jersey and Long Island. Nearly 200 participants representing over 40 organizations participated in a January 2013 meeting to assess the aftermath of Sandy and the role of local communities in the Sandy Recovery process. Together we are advocating for a grassroots-led recovery that includes priorities of low-income people, communities of color, immigrants, and workers.

What happened?

Superstorm Sandy devastated local communities and resulted in billions of dollars in damages. Coastal areas were particularly vulnerable to the unprecedented storm surge while communities located outside of the immediate impact areas experienced massive power outages, interruptions in food and transportation networks, gas shortages, hospital evacuations, and fires. Vulnerable coastal areas in New York and New Jersey are home to low-income, communities of color. As the Post-Sandy NYU Furman Center analysis revealingly reported, most of Sandy’s victims were low income New Yorkers. Sandy impacted nearly 20% of all NYCHA properties, (i.e., 402 buildings with over 35,000 units) and "nearly one-third of owners (29.9%) and two-thirds of renters (64.9%) directly impacted by Sandy had household incomes of less than $30,000 per year."1 Given those statistics, it is likely that further demographic analysis will show that people of color were disproportionately impacted by the storm. Sandy showed that when disaster hits, our communities are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather and climate change, like flooding, storm surge, erosion, high winds and sea level rise - which are increasing in both frequency and severity.

What is the role of community-based organizations & why do they need to be part of the planning process moving forward?

After Sandy, community-based organizations, neighbors, volunteers, and low-wage workers served as first – and last - responders and provided critical post-disaster support in impacted areas. Community-based organizations in NY/NJ have long demonstrated the capacity to work collectively to support neighborhoods from the ground up. Our resilience is built on decades of work establishing ties with our local communities, longstanding networks of volunteers, and effective organizing strategies. Sandy showed how communities that were resilient and organized before Sandy, were also the most resilient after disaster hit.

It is imperative that low-income and communities of color be an integral part of the Sandy Recovery decision-making process and help hold recovery projects accountable after funds are allocated. This means having a place at the table when recovery plans are made and funds are allocated; working to ensure that recovery efforts are coordinated locally and regionally; and demanding transparency from elected officials and appointed task forces. Low-income communities of color are on the frontline of climate change impacts - but we are also leaders in making our communities, homes, and workplaces safe and resilient now and in the future.

Recovery Agenda

The Sandy Regional Assembly has identified the following common Goals and Recommendations in order to make sure that the priorities of vulnerable communities in the NY/NJ region are included in the Sandy Recovery process:

Recommendations:

a. Develop community-based green infrastructure and climate adaptation projects.

b. Reduce vulnerabilities in critical energy, transportation, and food distribution networks by creating redundant, distributed, sustainable
systems that serve the needs of our communities.
c. Strengthen resiliency in public housing, expand affordable housing, and reduce displacement.

d. Secure local recovery jobs that pay wages and benefits at the
established industry standards.

e. Create community oversight and inclusive decision-making.
f. Prevent environmental hazards after disasters. g. Assess environmental health impacts.

h. Mitigate industrial waterfront threats and update NYC’s Waterfront Revitalization Program.

i. Address the needs of vulnerable populations (communities of color, low-income communities, seniors, children, youth, persons with disabilities, patients requiring permanent medical assistance, immigrants, linguistically-isolated households, etc.)
 
j. Improve evacuation and disaster response planning.

k. Train volunteers & local CERT teams.

l. Support community hubs for climate resiliency planning &
disaster response.

m. Support local climate resilience and community-based planning initiatives.

n. Support comprehensive community-based disaster preparedness plans using ground-up grassroots planning principles.


(Sandy Regional Assembly Recovery Agenda)

Friday, March 15, 2013

Environmental Justice Community Impact Grant Deadline Coming Up

Application Deadline: 5:00 PM, Friday, April 5, 2013

Information regarding the Regional Economic Development Council Endorsement:
 
For interested groups that have missed the March 1 deadline for requesting an REDC endorsement, OEJ encourages you to apply anyway. Those 5 points will not prove critical for most of the applications.
 
Grant Application in Word
 
They have attached a Microsoft Word version of the 2012/13 OEJ Grant Application form to facilitate the direct inputting of information.
 
They look forward to reviewing your application!
Office of Environmental Justice
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway - 14th Floor
Albany, New York 12233-1500
Phone: (518) 402-8556
Toll free: 1 (866) 229-0497
Facsimile: (518) 402-9018

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

EJ Grants Workshops

Representatives of community organizations and other members of the public interested in the 2012-2013 Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants are invited to attend the Grant Outreach Workshops hosted by the Office of Environmental Justice throughout New York State during January and February 2013. These workshops will provide an overview of the grant application process and useful information for potential applicants. For questions about these workshops, contact the Office of Environmental Justice by phone at (518) 402-8556 or by e-mail at ej@gw.dec.state.ny.us.
 

The workshops will take place on the following days:

Albany County - Capital District
Tuesday, February 5, 2013, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
NYS DEC Central Office, Meeting Room PA-129A
625 Broadway, 1st Floor
Albany, NY 12233


Orange County - Hudson Valley
Thursday, February 7, 2013, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Orange County Community College
Caplan Hall - Great Room
115 South Street
Middletown, NY 10940


Richmond County - Staten Island
Tuesday, February 5, 2013, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Staten Island Borough President's Office
Room 122 - Main Floor Conference Room
10 Stuyvesant Place
Staten Island, NY 10301

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

DEC Environmental Justice Grant Outreach Workshops‏

Representatives of community organizations and other members of the public interested in the 2012-2013 Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants are invited to attend the Grant Outreach Workshops hosted by the Office of Environmental Justice throughout New York State during January and February 2013.

These workshops will provide an overview of the grant application process and useful information for potential applicants. For questions about these workshops, contact the Office of Environmental Justice by phone at (518) 402-8556 or by e-mail.



Brooklyn Workshop

Wednesday, January 23, 2013, 6:30 - 8:00 pm
 Brooklyn Borough President's Office
 Borough President's Conference Room
 Brooklyn Borough Hall
209 Joralemon Street
 Brooklyn, NY 11201

Manhattan Workshop

Thursday, January 24, 2013, 6:00 - 7:30 pm
 Manhattan Borough President's Office
 One Centre Street
 19th Floor Conference Room
 New York, NY 10007

Additional workshops for applicants to the 2012 Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants will be scheduled in New York City, Long Island, Westchester County, Newburgh, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo in January and February 2013. Please check this page again later for updates of workshop schedules and locations

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

EJ Grants Deadline Extended To April 5, 2013


APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR DEC ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE GRANTS CHANGED TO APRIL 5, 2013

The application deadline for the 2012-2013 DEC Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants and Green Gems Grants has been extended to April 5, 2013 to allow grant applicants more time to obtain endorsements from their Regional Economic Development Councils. All application materials must be postmarked by April 5, 2013. If you have any questions, please contact the DEC Office of Environmental Justice at (518) 402-8556, toll free at (866) 229-0497, or by e-mail.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

DEC EJ Grants

DEC NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY IMPACT GRANTS

More than $1 Million Will Be Awarded to Community Projects

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is now accepting applications for the Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants (EJ Grants), DEC Commissioner Joe Martens announced today.DEC's Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) will award more than $1 million to organizations serving communities that face multiple sources of environmental risks.

EJ grant awards will range from $2,500 to $50,000 to help local organizations with projects that address environmental and/or public health concerns.Ten percent of the total EJ grant will be designated as "Green Gems Grants" where individual groups will be awarded $2,500 to $10,000 to be used exclusively for community-based monitoring, stewardship and education projects involving community gardens, parks and other open space.

 Funding for the EJ grants comes from the Environmental Justice Community Impact Research Grant program.Launched in 2006, the program concentrates on communities that have historically been overburdened by problems such as a high density of contaminated sites, noise, air and water pollution, health problems and lack of green space and waterfront access.

A wide variety of projects can be supported by this grant program, including community gardens and green roofs, air and water quality monitoring, lead poisoning prevention, urban forestry, subsistence fishing education, environmental education for urban youth, inventories of local pollution sources and green worker training.

Grant applications are due Friday, March 8, 2013, and awards are expected to be made in early summer.During the last grant round in 2011, DEC awarded 24 grants totaling more than $1 million.

As part of the new EJ Grant application round, OEJ will host a series of grant workshops at various locations around the state in January.Details will be posted on OEJ's grant web page.

 The mission of OEJ at the DEC is to ensure the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.OEJ focuses on improving the environment in communities, specifically minority and low-income communities and addressing disproportionate adverse environmental impacts that may exist in those communities.

For more information on the EJ Grants, the upcoming workshops or the Environmental Justice Advisory Group, please call Melvin I. Norris, director of the Office of Environmental Justice, at (518) 402-8556 or visit the DEC Environmental Justice website.