*************************************************************** 1. TAKE ACTION - Tell Sen. Nozzolio to move the Family Connections bill out of Committee 2. GET INVOLVED - 5 things you can do to end the contract 3. CONTRACT UPDATE - What to expect on April 1, 2007 4. UPCOMING - NYC Board of Correction Public Hearing on April 17, 2007 *************************************************************** TAKE ACTION - Tell Sen. Nozzolio to move the Family Connections bill out of Committee We've come close the past two years in passing the Family Connections bill, but this is the year we're going to make it happen. Senator Nozzolio must follow the leadership of Governor Spitzer and the New York State Assembly and move the Family Connections bill (S.705) out of Committee immediately. Write him today: http://hq.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ccr/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=7033&t=TJfinaltemplate.dwt We need EVERYONE to participate in this action. If you are a part of a group, community or organization in the NYC area - a tenants' association, a church, a service organization - NYCTJ wants to come to your next meeting! Please contact Lauren Melodia at [email protected] or 212.614.6481 so that your community can participate in this action! GET INVOLVED - 5 things you can do to end the contract 1. SPREAD THE WORD. Distribute information about our letter writing campaign to Senator Nozzolio far and wide! Forward this email to your friends and family. Pass out information about NYCTJ at your bodega, your workplace, your apartment building, your school, your church. We will be planning more actions in the next couple of months, and we'll need you to keep reaching out in your own way. If you would like us to send you a packet of brochures, fact sheets and letter actions or make a presentation in your community, please contact Lauren Melodia at [email protected] or 212.614.6481. 2. TELL YOUR STORY. If you have been affected by the prison telephone contract, the world needs to know! Write a Letter to the Editor of your local paper, post your story on blogs and websites, create public artwork and poetry. Borrow the giant telephone puppet from our office and do some street theater! Get contact info for community papers in your area at: http://hq.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ccr/pickMedia.jsp?letter_KEY=113&t=TJfinaltemplate.dwt 3. COME TO A NYCTJ PHONEBANKING NIGHT. Many NYCTJ members do not have email access, and we need to call them in the next couple of weeks to update them about the contract, how they can take action, and notify them about the upcoming NYC Board of Correction public hearing (see below). On Monday, April 9th, 2007 and Monday, April 16th, 2007 from 4:00pm - 8:00pm, we will be making calls to our members. Help us reach out and bring people in. Come to our office for phonebanking days, even if only for an hour. 4. VOLUNTEER WITH NYCTJ. There is a lot of research we need to do in the coming months, to convince Spitzer to create a new contract that works best for families. Additionally, we need to find better ways to advise individuals who are experiencing problems with MCI/Verizon on a daily basis. We always have mailings to do, educational materials to update and events to plan. Volunteer an hour or two to the NYCTJ at our office or from home or work. 5. DON'T GIVE UP. We know that there are still a lot of problems on a daily basis with the ways NYSDOCS and MCI/Verizon treat collect call consumers. It is exhausting and frustrating to be materially and emotionally exploited by this contract and the companies and NYSDOCS who manage it. This is why we know that a 50% reduction in rates on April 1, 2007 - as great as it is - is not enough. We are all here to support one another, and there is a lot of power on this list! CONTRACT UPDATE - What to expect on April 1, 2007 Spitzer's decision to end the state commission provision of the contract will take effect on April 1, 2007. But what does that mean? Here is what we know as of now: Because there are so many problems with the contract, Spitzer's administration has decided to give MCI/Verizon a one-year extension but with the 50% rate reduction. He and his staff are currently researching prison telephone contracts, and they will draft a new Request for Proposal in late summer 2007 for a completely new contract to go into effect in 2008. We are moving forward to plan meetings with his key staff, and we will need you to participate in telling Spitzer what you need from a prison telephone contract. Please stay tuned for a letter writing campaign to Spitzer in the coming weeks! UPCOMING - NYC Board of Correction Public Hearing: April 17, 2007 On Tuesday, April 17, 2007, NYC Board of Correction, the department that oversees all NYC jails, will be holding a public hearing to discuss changes to its Minimum Standards. These standards set the basic rules for humane treatment of prisoners' in the NYC jail system, and the proposed standards will have a negative impact on the quality of life for people living inside these facilities if we do not stop them. If passed, NYC's jails would be able to listen in on people's phone calls without a warrant, read prisoners' mail without a court order, reduce living space behind bars, and use 23-hour lock-ins more widely, force pre-trial detainees to wear jail uniforms, increase surveillance and censorship of letters and publications, and reduce spanish speaking staff requirements. We need to pack the public hearing and collectively share our stories about the NYC jail system. Testify at the hearing on Tuesday, April 2007 at 9:30am at the City Planning Commission hearing room at 22 Reade Street, 1st Floor in Manhattan.