There has been much to be thankful for in the implementation of the dotOrg-athon event on a time schedule that basically compressed 8-12 months of work into 4 months. Many people and organizations gave of their time and resources to make the vision a reality. At every turn, all it took was a serious discussion about the event impetus and help was offered sua sponte. Except in the instance of the government entities. If ever there existed an impediment to progress, a stumbling block on the road to innovation, the bureaucracy I faced in having this event vetted and approved was it.
My initial thinking in visioning the first round of this event in the Bronx was that it would be easier to work out the logistics. Orchard Beach is a gorgeous venue that is 95% underutilized 9 months out of the year. In fact, there should be some sort of public outcry that there is no bus service to the beach 9 months out of the year, and that the programming in those months is practically nonexistent. As a Bronxite, it seemed...like a great idea to do this innovative special event in a borough that has so few marquee events, rather than to try to shoehorn another event into Central Park.
Well, shame on me for thinking that all boroughs were created equally. That services which are afforded to the residents of other boroughs, especially Manhattan, would be equally available to the residents of the Bronx. After all, we all pay taxes...or is it assumed Bronxites are poor, generally, and therefore pay less taxes...and therefore should have less in the way of governmental services available? Perhaps, poor people shouldn't be allowed to walk the streets, ride their bikes, run marathons, have a successful festival, fundraise to support community, hold high profile events, use public space to showcase innovation. Perhaps we should all be standing in a line for cheese, while the government intelligentsia shake their heads and bemoan how we're all fat, and unemployed, and organizationally "below-median" while they're trying to figure out how to tax soda, raise the tolls on every outer-borough crossing and charge NYC residents to drive into Manhattan. I wonder what the powers that be actually think about this.
I love the Bronx. With all the rhetoric lately, I've had occasion to forget that it's not the world that sees the Bronx as an underclass destination as much as it is the way NYC treats the borough internally. Treat the Bronx as an integral part of a world class city, and maybe, just maybe, people all over the world will stop sucking in their breath sharply when they are given the response to: "Where in New York?"
The Bronx.
Below, my open letter to the Mayor's Director of Community Affairs for the Bronx -- who, of course, didn't event bother to respond. I guess we get the community affairs people who...don't feel it necessary to respond to public inquires. lol
***
I spoke to you last week about the NYC dotOrg-athon, a special event for nonprofits that we were trying to have permitted for October 11th. You were kind enough to call the police department - Bronx Operations -- to try to facilitate.
Unfortunately, after some discussion with various police officials our permit application has been denied. I am writing to request that you review our case and offer what help you think is appropriate.
First, we were told that our event apparently conflicts with the Bronx Columbus Day parade on Morris Park Avenue. The police feel they would be spread too thin on this day, however, it is the only date we can use because the Parks Department gave our original date away as a rain date, and the following weekend is the Tour de Bronx. I was also told that Yankees playoff games are somehow a consideration.
I very much appreciate cultural celebrations like parades, and tourist attractions like the marathon and the Tour. These very fine events make NYC the cultural mecca of the world. However, the event we are organizing involves hundreds of nonprofits from all across the city, including a host committee comprised of major nonprofit institutions such as World Vision, the American Red Cross, The Bowery Mission, Citizens Advice Bureau, NYC Clothing Bank, Per Scholas, Hope for New York, and Bronxnet. This event is structured to provide much-needed resources for nonprofits that are currently struggling, and will be struggling to make it through the holiday season. Long after the last drunken reveler is escorted home and the last tourist has left the city, the money raised through this event will be impacting the lives of NYC residents in meaningful, measurable ways.
Second, this event is directly in line with the Mayor's strategic goals for the nonprofit community during these difficult economic times, as evidenced by his Five Borough Economic Plan, NYC Service, NYC Civic Corps and Greater NY initiatives. The dotOrg-athon event is a nonprofit empowerment project more than it is just a simple walk-athon. It equips and empowers nonprofits to rally their regular constituency -- those individuals that can only give $25, $50 or some other modest increment -- and leverages what is basically the economic power at the bottom of the pyramid, which is exactly how our esteemed president was able to set fundraising records during this past presidential election. I can't believe that the city can't find some resources to spare for such a broadly supported initiative at the grass roots level that is so firmly in line with our Mayor's expressed interests.
Third, our esteemed Bronx police force feels that this event is too expansive in its vision, and they, therefore don't have the resources to support it. Their apparent feeling is that it should be sufficient for us to walk around in a circle in Pelham Bay Park. However, this event has an economic model. That model enables hundreds of organizations to participate in the event at no cost; enables event expenses to be centralized; and enables a matching fund to be developed so not only do the participating organizations get what they raise themselves, but they also receive a share in the economic power that their unity around this initiative engenders. This model requires that we be noticed. It requires a visible mobilization -- because that is the best way to attract consumer-based sponsorship. For instance, we have Target willing to sponsor a formation area at the Gateway Center, in which they are providing money and hundreds of volunteers -- all because we can bring a substantial group of people to their parking lot. Walking around in a circle in Pelham Bay Park neuters the event, and because we are trying to raise community funds, rather than funds that support national awareness around research our sponsorship procurement potential would be extremely limited if we have to so drastically change our event format.
Fourth, while I very much respect the limited resources argument, NYC is a wold-class city, and the Bronx is a part of that city. Manhattan manages to have multiple events on the same day all the time. Queens can have the US Open and a Mets ballgame all on the same day. I can't help feeling that this response is somehow indicative of outer-borough discrimination; after all, the Columbus Day parade on Morris Park Avenue is, perhaps, a 10 block procession? It's certainly not the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Our event would encompass 2-3 hours in the morning. Most people will be walking, on sidewalks and greenways. It should be possible to do both of these events at the same time, or, if police resources are really stretched that thin, to have help detailed out from another borough, since many of their residents will be in attendance, or to somehow coordinate Parks PEP and Parks Rangers to lend support. I find it astonishing that only one event can take place a day in a borough the size of Philadelphia.
Fifth, from a practical standpoint, this event will be one of the largest collaborative showings of the nonprofit community to ever take place in NYC. The Fiscal Policy Institute released a report in April that definitively established that the nonprofit sector is the biggest economic sector in NYC, second only to government; that in the Bronx, 33% of private employment resides in the nonprofit community -- that's 1 in 3 people working for nonprofits in the Bronx. I can't believe in an election year, the Mayor wouldn't clearly see the import and magnitude of the perception of his support in this instance.
I understand that we are asking for much--perhaps, too much. But I am going to ask because the cause is just and so significantly supports the common good. We are well aware that we are trying to do an enormous event in very little time. However, the situation facing our nonprofit community is critical. Simply because the nonprofit community always finds a way to fight the good fight doesn't mean we are not in desperate need. We designed this event to have an impact now, before the holidays, and committed ourselves to working double time without immediate pay to see this initiative become a reality. I would really hate to have to tell all of these nonprofits that our city, the city that we support day in and day out, let us down, in favor of a parade, or a Yankees game.
I respectfully request that you consider escalating this situation to someone who can allocate resources on a citywide level. I'm not asking on behalf of myself, but on behalf of nonprofits, big and small, who desperately need this event to go off in the way we envisioned it. Please excuse my long-windedness, but this matter is of the highest import.
Please call me, at your convenience, to discuss.
Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Sincerely,
***
Somehow I think...if Michael Jackson had died in the Bronx, somehow, someway, the government would have found the means to accommodate a public outpouring in very little time. But, I suppose, we're no Michael Jackson. I suppose there should be a bailout of Wallstreet, and of the banks, and of the insurance agencies, and of the auto industry and let's give them cash for clunkers, too, and the financial fat cats should still be entitled to their bonuses out of their bailout money because without those bonuses, they might abscond to...Japan? But the NYC nonprofits--certainly not important enough to warrant anything meaningful. Certainly not.
After all, we have NYC Service, and gosh, shouldn't that be enough?
--Theresa
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