"It's not about the grass,
it's about our future!"

Battle for NYC Central Park rally permit renewed - West Side Highway rejected. Not in Our Name Bay Area takes up national action alert.

Central Park's Great Lawn (above) vs. the obscure West Side Highway (below)

Not in Our Name
August 14, 2004

On Tuesday August 10th United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) held a press conference to announce that they would not organize a rally at the West Side Highway at the end of their permitted march past Madison Square Gardens on August 29th. “Exiling a rally to a remote sun-baked highway makes a mockery of the right to assemble,” declared Leslie Cagan, UFPJ’s national coordinator. New permit applications were filed with the NYC Parks Department for a massive rally in Central Park, but the permit was quickly rejected by the city by the end of the day.

On August 3rd, Not in Our Name publicly urged UFPJ to re-open the permit battle. From the beginning, Not in Our Name has felt that the City of New York’s denial of a Central Park permit is outrageous. "We see this as part of an overall clamping down on protest and civil liberties in our country since 9/11. This is something that cannot be allowed to continue," declared Tanya Mayo, Not in Our Name national organizer.

Not in Our Name is now re-doubling our efforts to pressure the Bloomberg/Bush administration to respect the right to dissent by granting a legal permit for the Aug 29 rally in Central Park. “We need the most massive outpouring of opposition to the whole direction Bush and his team are taking our country, and our world—a massive NO! to the entire agenda. It has to be so loud, so clear, and so forceful that it cannot be obscured, covered over, or misrepresented. Everyone who cares about the future of humanity… Central Park, August 29th is THE PLACE TO BE!” urged Tanya Mayo.

Press conferences in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are scheduled for Monday August 16 to announce nationwide plans to win a permit to rally in Central Park. A large New York Times ad calling for "more than a million" to take to the streets will also be published next week.

The city administration seems to see nothing wrong with trampling on the constitution, allegedly, in order to preserve the sanctity of the Central Park grass. However, the people can win this battle—our future depends on it—but we need your help. See the action alerts below, and get yourself to New York City!

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Bay Area Action Alert

1. Contact New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office to "politely" protest the city's denial of a permit for the rally in Central Park on August 29. Please email Mayor Bloomberg, call his office at 212-788-3000, and send a fax to 212-788-2460. Also let the Parks Commissioner, Adrian Benepe, know how you feel by calling his office at 212-360-1305.

2. Create your own petition to distribute among friends and family to send to the Mayor's office. Sample text: "Please reconsider your opposition to the Aug 29 Central Park rally and grant the organizers a permit without delay."

3. Write an op-ed or a "letter to the editor" for your local newspaper. Here is an example published in today's New York Times.

4. If your going to NYC early, come to a poetry speak out in Central Park on Friday August 20 at Strawberry Fields, 6 PM. "This is not about the grass! - It's about our future!" A celebration of resistance. Open mic, poetry and creative resistance. Not in Our Name has requested a permit for this event.

5. Be in New York City on August 29 and stay the week. Join more than a million in the streets to say NO to the Bush Agenda!

6. Send a copy of your own city's resolution in support of the right to assemble. Contact the Bill of Rights Defense Committee for more information.

7. Make a donation. Please make tax deductible checks out to "Not in Our Name/IFCO" and send to: Not in Our Name, P.O. Box 20221, Greeley Square Station, NY NY 10001—or online via credit card.

www.notinourname.net