What Pastor Brashear wrote to the West Side Spirit concerning what to look forward to in 2014 from the perspective of the faith community

Letters To The Editor

WRITTEN BY ADMIN ON JANUARY 14, 2014. POSTED IN NEWS WEST SIDE SPIRIT.

To the editor:

Many thanks for your annual New Years’ edition and look ahead to 2014. I would like to share a few thoughts from the perspective of the faith community.

First, look for a follow-up to the work begun last fall when many of us came together to form the Upper Westside Congregations for Food Justice. After participating in the SNAP challenge, living on a food stamp budget for one work week, we came together to share our experiences and plan strategy working with the New York Coalition Against Hunger where we learned about the impact of draconian cuts on November 1st. We will press our new administration to implement universal school lunch as a first step.

Look for us to continue to work with the Interfaith Assembly and other homeless and housing advocates to press for restoration of the rent subsidy program and a comprehensive plan to address the now record number of homeless people in the city. We will also continue to work with the Sweatshop Free Upper West Side movement for a livable increase in the minimum wage.

Under the leadership of new Borough President Gale Brewer and new Councilmember Helen Rosenthal, we will put the community coalition together to restore the facade at West-Park as we continue to be not just a part of our neighborhood’s historic cultural heritage but a more open and usable space for our neighbors.

Come join us as our congregations join together in our annual Upper West Side march for peace circling our neighborhood on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

May 2014 bring us closer to a more just, humane and sustainable community…

Rev. Dr. Robert L. Brashear

Pastor, West-Park Presbyterian Church

Dear Editor,