By Alec Pruchnicki
On Thursday June 4th, the Village Independent Democrats ( VID ) held their monthly meeting in St. John’s Church on Christopher Street. It started with reports from club president Nadine Hoffman and Democratic party district leader Keen Berger on a variety of local and state political issues including the selection of candidates for Judicial delegates, the proposed Stonewall national park site, and the lease for the club’s office.
The main forum was a detailed discussion of the New York City Human Rights Law. It was organized by Alison Greenberg, a VID member and lawyer, and included Craig Gurian and Daniela Nanau, also lawyers active in anti-discrimination cases, especially in employment. They pointed out that New York City is one of the few cities in the country which has its own Human Rights Commission which is often stronger than both Federal and State commissions. They also asked for support in future proposals to strengthen the authority of the NYC Commission and help reverse some of the massive cuts that occurred during the Bloomberg administration.
There were additional reports by members on small business protection (Sharon Woolums), campaign activities (Tony Hoffman and Ed Yutkowitz), Indian Point nuclear plant issues (Nat Johnson, Jonathan Geballe, and Jim Fouratt) and rent stabilization legislation (Marlene Nadler).
