The Campaign Continues-Round 2

[Jerry]

Pride month is over and now those of us who are commited to keeping a daily drop in room presence at the center need to unify and prepare to wage a battle of the people.
We were given time...how much isn't clear yet..the room was not closed down on June 25th as was seemed to be a done deal...but it is clearly a temporary stay of execution...the fight starts now to maintain a permenant drop in space at the hub of our LGBT community..THE CENTER.

There will be a regular 2nd Tuesday of the month community meeting at the drop in room at the center at 4PM July 10th..Tom Weber will conduct the meeting and we can be coonfident he will relay all of our issues to the "higher Powers"who do make the final decisions.

I am calling again for a pre meeting on that day at 3PM...hopefully we will again present a unified and determined activist community with the understanding that we have the people power needed to fight for what is a very important cause to the many men,woman,transgendered,etc who count on and use that room on a daily ongoing basis.

I am going to hand out a flyer I put together at the room and around the center for those concerned members of our community without internet access.

I know some who supported this issue do not feel as strongly about it as some others do...but the vision of us all standing together in unity was proof that as a unifeid community we have the clout to accomplish whatever needs to be done on this and other issues we feel our opinions have been given short shrift to up till now.

As a unified community "attention will be paid"!

Here is part of the flyer I will be handing out next week..it is the second page..
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Here are a few questions we think should be addressed to the powers that be at Sage and the Center
Please be prepared to add additional questions to the community meeting..all of our concerns should be addressed and taken seriously.
1-When fund raising was done last year why was it deemed unimportant to maintain a social space at the LGBT Center which continues to be the heart of the NYC political, social and activist center of our LGBT community?
2-Was any advocacy expressed at the Advisory Board meeting in support of the importance of maintaining that space which has been an integral Sage hub of great importance linking our seniors to the general LGBT community?
3-How much actual influence in reality does the advisory board have in final decision making as to allocation of funds and expressing the will of the Sage community?
4-Have any members of the advisory board been participants on a regular basis on the daily activities of the Sage drop in room...if not why not...and why should individuals who do not attend or participate at drop in room activities have any say as to it's importance and necessity to the countless Sage members who do?
5-We have been told that in the future 51% of the advisory board will be elected..WHEN will that take place?
6-As of now we are not sure exactly how much longer the current room will remain open..we think the Center and Sage owe it to our people to clarify the time frame with as an exact a date as possible
7-Is it true the Center offered Sage a replacement room that Sage turned down...If so who made that decision and was any input from the Sage members who use that room on a daily basis from morning to night sought?
8-In the case of a national emergency, fire or power failure how safe is it for a large group of seniors to be on the 15Th floor of an office building?..the Center has regular fire drills and at most 3 short flights of stairs would be used to evacuate the building...the 15th floor at 305 would be one of many other offices that would have to be evacuated..of the two spaces-305 or the LGBT Center common sense tells us the LGBT Center is a far safer environment for our senior community.
9-If Sage has a current money crunch is the LGBT Center prepared to evict Sage from the center and not be willing to compromise on some arrangement to retain the drop in room...If money is the only issue they should be willing to publicly say that so we can respond and clearly express our outrage on that fact.
10-Why is Sage not specifically doing fund raising directed to maintaining a presence in the form of a daily drop in room at the LGBT Center?
11-When will the next meeting be scheduled between our community and Micheal Adams and Glennda Testone as time at this point is a major factor it is essential that another such meeting be set up in the near future.
These are some questions...Our community no doubt will have many more...please bring your concerns and questions to the July 10Th meetings..
For online updates- www.Jerrynyc.com-click on message board on top menu post or reply to any thread.

Jerry

[Great Jerry]

This is great, Jerry. Very well thought out. I love that you are putting the users of the space ahead of the usual bureaucracy, which has now become very self-satisfied, especially at the Center. It's sad that the higher management "Team" at the Center has become so unaccessible. I guess this was a result of Richard Burns's leaving, although there were times when he was not all that accessible either. I'm glad you are taking on this important fight. Keep at it. Perry Brass

[Roger]

Way to go Jerry

[Tom]

Thanks for supplying this message board, Jerry. I hope I am submitting correctly. Here goes..

I am reporting from notes I took at the drop-in community meeting on Tuesday, July 10th.
This is what I thought I heard expressed as the main issues on the part of users of the SAGE drop-in room. I am open to additions/corrections from anyone else who attended the meeting:
• I opened the meeting by stating that the SAGE drop-in room, in its current location, will definitely be operating through the end of September, the date when the LGBT Center told us they will start their demolition and construction. This means that the drop-in itself, plus other SAGE programs currently meeting there, could continue to meet there through that same time period.
• I stated that the SAGE office at the LGBT Community Center will be closing this weekend and the staff moving out this Sunday.
• I stated that there is an open meeting of the SAGE NYC Communities Advisory Council next Thursday, July 19th, at 6 pm at the SAGE Center. Everyone is welcome and invited to attend and bring their issues and concerns. Both Michael Adams, SAGE Executive Director, and Catherine Thurston, Senior Director of Programs, will be at this meeting.
• A lot of outrage and anger was expressed about the decision to close the drop-in center, because of historic ties to the LGBT Community Center and the neighborhood. People want to make sure that SAGE and seniors are still represented at the LGBT Center.
• People wanted to know who made the decision to close the SAGE drop-in room at the Center. I told them the decision was made primarily for budget reasons and could only be made at the highest levels of the organization. Michael Adams, Executive Director of SAGE, has taken responsibility for this decision.
• People made it very evident that they would like another SAGE drop-in room at the LGBT Community Center and wanted to know what the plan is for beyond September 30th. I told them there is no definite plan at this time because things are still being investigated and worked out. There would probably be more to say about this by next week’s meeting, July 19th.
• People stated that they would like and would participate in a fundraising campaign to keep the drop-in open. If this is a question of economics, did SAGE and the LGBT Center discuss this to see if there were a way for SAGE to continue to have the drop-in room at the Center?
• People stated that if SAGE were to leave the LGBT Community Center, it would risk becoming irrelevant to LGBT older adults. They also stated they had been talking with financial backers of SAGE and were ready to go to the media if their demands for a drop-in room at the LGBT Center were not met.
• There was a demand for much better communication from SAGE and also consultation before some big decisions are made which directly impact program participants. People thought SAGE was much better at sending fundraising letters than communicating important information.
• People wondered about SAGE expansion to outer boroughs and how SAGE had money for that when it was closing the drop-in. I explained that outer borough expansion was a completely separate pool of money which could not be used for anything else, and had nothing to do with the decision to close the drop-in center. SAGE also has a mission to serve under-served LGBT older adults throughout the city, including the other boroughs, where there are much fewer or no services currently in place.

As a program director at SAGE, I must take responsibility for my share of poor communication. Although I strive to be as clear, up-to-date and transparent as possible, treat people fairly, and maintain good relations, things could always be improved and I welcome feedback and constructive criticism.

These notes respectfully submitted by Tom Weber, Director of Community Services at SAGE