Voting in the Bronx
The June 22 primary election is quickly approaching. With two-thirds of citywide elected officials, four of the five borough presidents, and most of the 51-seat City Council on the ballot, the city is bound to see significant changes.
What Bronx-based elected positions will be on the ballot?
City Council members for all districts in the Bronx (11-18) and the Bronx Borough President will be on the June 22 ballot. Bronx residents have the opportunity to help shape the future of city politics and policies by electing officials who prioritize their needs and interests. You can find a list of candidates running across the city here.
What has voter turnout looked like in the Bronx before?
20.9% of Bronxites voted in the 2017 general city elections, and only 13.5% of eligible voters between the ages of 18-24 turned out on election day. In the 2017 local primary election, a mere 12% of Bronx residents showed up to the polls. In the Bronx, where a majority of elected officials, aspiring candidates, and constituents are Democrats, the primary election is an important opportunity to engage in the electoral process.
Learn more about what voter turnout looked like in your neighborhood for the 2017 primary and general elections by exploring these maps:
Important dates for the June Primary Election!
While the deadline to register to vote has passed, there are still opportunities for Bronxites to ensure they’re ready and equipped to vote!
Be an informed voter
Review the candidates who will be on your ballot and create a plan before you submit your ballot. whosontheballot.org lets you know what your ballot will look like and provides you with links to the candidates’ platforms!Vote early from June 12 - June 20
Want to vote early? Find your early voting site here.Request an absentee ballot
Need an absentee ballot? Make sure you request one by June 15! Your absentee ballot will need to be postmarked or dropped off at a poll site by June 22!Learn about ranked choice voting!
Summer Rising: Enrollment Open!
Summer Rising is New York City’s free summer plan for any child in grades K-12 who wants to participate. Programs will operate in hundreds of DOE buildings, giving students safe and supervised experiences in their neighborhood. Most students will be able to attend a program in their home building!
Summer Rising will be available throughout the City to every New York City student, including students with disabilities.
All programs will be run by local school leaders and trusted community-based organizations.
Summer Rising programs are full day and in-person experiences.
All programs will create a bridge back to school in the fall and give parents peace of mind as they return to work.
The environment will be safe and supportive. Staff members are prepared to respond to children’s social and emotional needs.
Summer programs will offer academic support, arts, recreation, and social-emotional support.
Breakfast, lunch, and a snack will be served to each student.
Learn more and register here.
Drafted Child Care Development Fund Plan (2022-2024)
The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program, which is administered by states, territories and tribes, provides financial assistance to low-income families to access child care so they can work or attend a job training or educational program. States can also use CCDF dollars to invest in improving quality through teacher workforce, supporting child care programs to achieve higher standards and providing consumer education to help parents select child care that meets their families’ needs. Two weeks ago, the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) released the proposed Child Care and Development Fund Plan for 2022-2024. South Bronx Rising Together submitted testimony alongside other advocates and child care providers. Read our testimony here.
Partner Corner
Need Help Finding Child Care?
Care Finder NYC is building a FREE platform where Family Child Care providers and families needing childcare can connect. The platform has launched in beta—families can search for childcare providers and licensed providers can claim their page and advertise current openings. If you have any questions, please reach out to Jaime-Jin Lewis at jaimejin@wiggleroomnow.com.
COVID-19 Vaccinations
All Bronx residents (16+ for Pfizer, 18+ for Moderna) are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Visit vax4nyc.nyc.gov or call 877-VAX-4NYC or 877-829-4692 to book a vaccine appointment at vaccination sites run by the city. NYC Health + Hospitals has a separate site for vaccine appointments at covid19.nychealthandhospitals.org/COVIDVaxEligibility. The city also has a site to find appointments at pharmacies at vaccinefinder.nyc.gov.
Advocacy Corner
The Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) is an FCC program to help families and households struggling to afford internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic. EBB will provide a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.
Who is Eligible?
A household is eligible if a member of the household meets one of the criteria below:
Has an income that is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, or Lifeline;
Approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision in the 2019-2020 or 2020-2021 school year;
Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year;
Experienced a substantial loss of income due to job loss or furlough since February 29, 2020 and the household had a total income in 2020 at or below $99,000 for single filers and $198,000 for joint filers; or
Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider's existing low-income or COVID-19 program.
How Can Families Apply?
Contact your preferred participating broadband provider directly to learn about their application process.
Go to GetEmergencyBroadband.org to apply online and to find participating providers near you.
Call 833-511-0311 for a mail-in application.
Emergency Rental Assistance Program
New York State began accepting applications for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. The program will provide up to 12 months of rent arrears and utility assistance as well as three months of future rent payments to low and moderate-income households at risk of housing instability. New York has $2.4 billion available for the program.
To qualify you must be:
A tenant whose primary residence is in New York State;
Part of a household that is at or below 80% of the Area Median Income ($85,950 for a family of three in New York City);
Part of a household that is at risk of housing instability or homelessness; AND
Part of a household that experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship due to the pandemic; or where at least one household member qualifies for unemployment
Immigration status is not a factor. You do not need to have a lawful immigration status to qualify for this program. Apply at otda.ny.gov/erap.
Flyers (in English and Spanish) to promote this program across the city can be accessed here.
Ensure Access to Full-Day / Year-Round Child Care for Families Who Need it the Most
Publicly funded early care and education is a lifeline for working families in the city, allowing caregivers to pursue career opportunities and provide for their families, while children benefit from licensed and high-quality early education settings. But recent investments and expansions in the sector fail to increase access to full day and full year programs. Meanwhile from April 2020 to March 2021, prime age women were two and a half times more likely than men to cite child care as their primary reason for being out of work.
In order to ensure that child care and preschool is available for working families, we urge the Mayor to make the following investments in the adopted budget:
$10 million for approximately 1,000 new full-day family child care slots for infants and toddlers.
$17.5 million to convert over 2,000 school-day/school-year slots for 3- and 4-year old children to full-day/year-round slots.
$17.5 million to expand center-based infant toddler capacity by approximately 700 slots.
Invest in CBOs to Ensure a Successful Summer Rising Program
In Spring 2021, the City announced plans to run a new program, Summer Rising, in Summer 2021. The City plans to serve 190,000 youth through Summer Rising and plans to expand contracts with CBOs to serve more youth. Community-based organizations who operate COMPASS, SONYC, and Beacon programs are well-positioned and tasked with playing a key role in Summer Rising, working with DOE teachers to provide social-emotional support and activities to youth alongside academic enrichment.
For Summer Rising to succeed, CBOs must have the resources to recruit staff and get programs up and running. Summer rates across COMPASS, SONYC, and Beacon contracts must be increased to:
$1,700 for elementary programs and
$925 for middle school programs.
Finally, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene must be allocated enough resources to ensure timely processing of Comprehensive Background Checks (CBC) for all CBO staff working in Summer Rising programs.
Send a letter to urge Mayor de Blasio and City Council members to ensure CBOs have what they need to make this summer a success for children and families.
Upcoming Events
June 7 | BX Power! Strength in Numbers
Join us today for the last session of a two-part workshop that will support you in understanding local and state governance, who's who in local politics, how to exercise your people power, and where voting fits into it all. Discussion will also be grounded in the upcoming primaries and how local offices impact our daily lives. These interactive sessions will be facilitated by food systems leader and policy advocate Qiana Mickie with music to support the engagement by DJ Jahmedicine.
