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May 10, 2012 
Number Of Stop-and-Frisks Concerns Officials
By
Maria Fitzsimons
/ Queens Chronicle
The “Know Your Rights” mural outside Ravenswood Houses, 21-10 35 Ave. Astoria, was unveiled Sunday, with a mission to educate community members about their rights if they feel they are being stopped by police unjustifiably.
The event was hosted by Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who offered his support with Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) to the advocacy group Make the Road New York. The organization worked with high school students from its Youth Power Project in Jackson Heights to combat discrimination by painting the half-a-block mural with unique messages, under the guidance of commissioned Chilean artist Dasic Fernandez. The mural was completed in three and a half weeks by up to 20 teens who worked on it each day.
“We chose this location, which was relevant to the issue — to use this as a piece of knowledge,” Jose Lopez said, from MRNY.
“There’s a respect from the art community for projects like this,” Lopez added.
De Blasio has called upon the mayor to use Compstat data collect about stop-and-frisks, to hold precinct commanders accountable for bad stops. According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, in 2011 87 percent of New Yorkers stopped were black or Latino; less than 1 percent were found with weapons and drugs, which is appoximately 7,000 people.
“Unwarranted stop-and-frisks are poisoning the relationship between communities and police. The path we are on is making the city less safe and it’s time to change,” de Blasio said.
For original article, click here.
More on: Expanding Civil Rights 
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 Historic Paid Sick Days Victory in NYC!New York City just became the largest city in the U.S.to win paid sick days! On May 8, 2013, the City Council passed legislation to require paid sick days for one million New Yorkers. Without this critical legal protection, workers risk losing their jobs for taking a sick day. When workers go in to work sick, they put the public and their co-workers at risk of disease.
Starting April 2014, all workers will be protected from being fired if they must take a sick day to care for themselves or a sick family member, and workers at larger employers will receive 5 paid days of sick leave each year.
This major workplace justice and public health victory is the product of a four-year campaign led by courageous workers and small businesses who stood up for what’s right. We thank our partners at the Working Families Party, the NYS Paid Family Leave Coalition, SEIU 32BJ, the Progressive Caucus, Speaker Quinn and Council Members Brewer and Ferreras, for standing with us for NYC’s workers. 
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