Due to lack of planning and ineffective negotiation by New York City's Department of Education (DOE) we have lost our 5th Grade's classrooms at the Whitehall Annex! Our Bronx elementary school, PS 24, is already filled beyond its legal capacity, yet the DOE is attempting to make up for its planning debacle by bringing the 5th grade back into the main building. Our student population has increased by 36.3% over the past seven years, from 769 students in 2008 to 1048 students in 2015. The PS 24 main building is built to accommodate 610 students. This is a major safety issue. The current overcrowding is detrimental to our children and shows little consideration for the teachers in our school. Overcrowding and lack of planning has already caused the loss of the school library and classrooms specialized for music, science and Spanish. We could lose the art room next year. Indoor recess space is extremely limited. There is simply no room for additional classrooms in the main building. We petition the NYC DOE to seek space equivalent to the Annex to lease as soon as possible and to not attempt to build additional classrooms within the already overcrowded space of the PS 24 main building.

"Even if we could agree on how to avoid offense – and I’ll note that no one around campus seems overly concerned about the offense taken by religiously conservative folks to skin-revealing costumes – I wonder, and I am not trying to be provocative: Is there no room anymore for a child or young person to be a little bit obnoxious… a little bit inappropriate or provocative or, yes, offensive? American universities were once a safe space not only for maturation but also for a certain regressive, or even transgressive, experience; increasingly, it seems, they have become places of censure and prohibition. And the censure and prohibition come from above, not from yourselves! Are we all okay with this transfer of power? Have we lost faith in young people's capacity – in your capacity - to exercise self-censure, through social norming, and also in your capacity to ignore or reject things that trouble you? We tend to view this shift from individual to institutional agency as a tradeoff between libertarian vs. liberal values (“liberal” in the American, not European sense of the word)." - Erika Christakis

we want our lives back.

I am concerned for the long term health of people who eat meat. I am also against the cruel suffering inflicted on animals by factory farms that produce bacon.

New York once led the U.S. in providing an affordable, high quality public college or university education. I benefited greatly and am one of hundreds of thousands of CUNY and SUNY alumni who believe that a college degree should not put you in debt for decades.  I'm urging all New Yorkers, but especially my fellow alumni, if CUNY and SUNY were there for you, think about the students who come after you. They are your neighbors, your children, and grandchildren. Public investment in higher education is a sound investment for the state and for our communities.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie just vetoed his state's Democracy Act, a bill which would have automatically registered eligible voters at the DMV, adding up to 1.6 million voters to the rolls, among other crucial voting rights reforms. The Governor’s veto is a step in the wrong direction. But right now, the Senate is considering the REGISTER Act, a federal bill sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that would make automatic voter registration the law of the land. Its companion bill – the Automatic Voter Registration Act (introduced by Rep. Cicilline (D-RI)) – is before House members. In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to gut the Voting Rights Act, and an ensuing wave of anti-voter restrictions across the states, we need reforms like this one to engage every eligible American in our democracy. Oregon and California are leading the way, bringing millions of eligible voters onto the rolls. Now, call on your senators to follow their lead and co-sponsor the REGISTER and/or Automatic Voter Registration Acts to bring automatic voter registration nationwide.

The majority of Democrats sympathize with Palestinian as well as Israeli political aspirations. [1] But you wouldn’t know this from following the news from Washington, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes Palestinian political aspirations, expects to get a warm welcome from Democrats without being challenged to change his policies towards the Palestinians. Representatives Keith Ellison, John Yarmuth, and Debbie Dingell are trying to do something about that. They’re circulating a letter among their colleagues, asking them to stand up for a political resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, to stand up equally for Palestinian and Israeli aspirations and humanity. [2] Urge Representatives to sign the Ellison-Yarmuth-Dingell letter by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.gallup.com/poll/181682/americans-closely-split-palestinian-statehood.aspx 2. http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/letters/ellison-yarmuth-dingell-letter-israel-palestine-peace

Hydraulic Fracturing or "fracking," a dangerous, dirty and extreme form of fossil fuel extraction puts the public health of communities at risk and increases emissions that contribute to climate disruption. Recently, Governor Andrew Cuomo banned the practice in New York citing public health concerns. Florida should follow this example to better protect citizens, water quality and, given its particular vulnerability, address climate change. Senate Bill (SB) 318 and House Bill (191) would not only allow for an expansion of fracking throughout the state, they would also prevent local jurisdictions from banning this harmful practice in their communities. Your citizens deserve a Frack-Free Florida and the ability to make local decisions that best serve and maintain the safety of their communities. Additionally, the many tourist who frequent and bring commerce to the state are also concerned about the health risks associated with an expansion of fracking that would be unregulated at the local level. Therefore, we the undersigned demand that you veto any bills that would expand fracking and/or preempt local communities from banning fracking. Sources: 1. Text of House Bill 191: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2016/0191/BillText/Filed/PDF 2. Text of Senate Bill 318: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2016/0318/BillText/Filed/PDF 3. Industry Backed-Fracking Bill Clears Florida House Panel. Margie Menzel, WJCT 11/4/2015: http://news.wjct.org/post/industry-backed-fracking-bill-clears-florida-house-panel 4. Florida Bill Draws Complaints About How Far it Goes to Block Local Governments. Jenna Buzzacco-Forester. Napels Daily News, 11/3/2015: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/government/fracturing-bill-draws-complaints-about-how-far-it-goes-to-block-local-governments-23a950d2-9457-1379-340007721.html

Darden Restaurants owns and operates more than 1,500 restaurants -- including Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Yard House, and The Capital Grille. Through these restaurants, Darden employs more than 150,000 people and serves more than 320 million meals a year, in terms of revenue. As the nation’s largest casual-dining operator, Darden has a unique opportunity and responsibility to use its considerable purchasing power to improve food industry practices and support a healthier, fairer and more sustainable food system. Sign the petition now!

DEADLINE: November 12! The United States has moved away from waste incinerators as an energy source because the miniscule amounts of energy produced comes at a high price that pollutes communities and bankrupts local governments. But now the New York company Energy Answers is trying to build one of the first new waste incinerators in the country in over two decades in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, an area already overburdened by polluting industrial facilities. Opposition to this project is strong in Puerto Rico: coalitions representing every local government on the island have spoken out against the project as a burden on their already troubled municipal finances, and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources has denied a permit to the company in order to preserve the ecosystem of a nearby Natural Reserve. Unable to find private financing, Energy Answers is now asking USDA to use taxpayer money in a last-ditch attempt to fund this boondoggle of a project. The project will lock Puerto Rico into the most polluting method of energy production for decades and severely compromise the island’s recycling goals. Don’t let USDA fund a project that will pollute Puerto Rico and bankrupt its municipalities. Tell USDA not to waste your taxpayer money to build a dirty, uneconomical waste incinerator in Arecibo.

Children need the protection of seat belts when riding on school buses. Children are at risk of death or injury in the event of a crash. Seat belts are required in private vehicles, why not on school buses?

I love New Mexico's wildlife, and the practice of leg hold traps and snares is cruel and painful. Traps ensnare the animal, which is then forced to wait, immobilized and frightened, until the trapper comes and dispatches them. It is not right to treat our wildlife this way. Ghandi said it best: "The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”