Mariah McGough

New York Focus: A Wave of Upstate Cities Could Ban Eviction Without “Good Cause”

In the News / By

Smith, a statewide organizer with the advocacy group VOCAL-NY since 2017 and early member of the Housing Justice for All coalition, said that ending the cycle of precarious housing will be among her top priorities when Rochester’s new city council is seated in January.

“As we talk about people having stable housing, first we want to make sure that we are dealing with evictions and people not being homeless, so one of our first steps has to be good cause,” she said.

New York Focus: A Wave of Upstate Cities Could Ban Eviction Without “Good Cause” Read More »

Governor Cuomo’s Legacy of Failure on the Overdose Crisis is Punctuated by Deadliest Year on Record

Press Statements / By

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, July 14 2021 CONTACT Jasmine Budnella, jasmine@vocal-ny.org Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org GOVERNOR CUOMO’S LEGACY OF FAILURE ON THE OVERDOSE CRISIS IS PUNCTUATED BY DEADLIEST YEAR ON RECORD Preliminary Data Released By CDC Today Shows Over 5,100 New Yorkers Died From Preventable Overdoses In 2020 Over 30,000 New Yorkers Have Died From Overdose

Governor Cuomo’s Legacy of Failure on the Overdose Crisis is Punctuated by Deadliest Year on Record Read More »

Over a Dozen Homeless New Yorkers and Activists Take Lobby of Department of Homeless Services to Demand ‘Hotels to Housing’

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, July 13, 2021 CONTACT Joseph Loonam, Joseph@vocal-ny.org, 347-409-4650 OVER A DOZEN HOMELESS NEW YORKERS AND ACTIVISTS TAKE LOBBY OF DEPARTMENT OF HOMELESS SERVICES TO DEMAND ‘HOTELS TO HOUSING’ As New Delta Variant Spreads, Activists Demand Permanent Housing, Oppose Mayors Attempts to Force Homeless New Yorkers Back into Dangerous Shelters See Pictures

Over a Dozen Homeless New Yorkers and Activists Take Lobby of Department of Homeless Services to Demand ‘Hotels to Housing’ Read More »

New York Times: 8,000 Homeless People to Be Moved From Hotels to Shelters, New York Says

In the News / By

At a small protest outside Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s residence, on Monday, homeless people and organizers from the advocacy group Vocal-NY demanded that the homeless remain in the hotels until they could be offered permanent apartments.

“Why the rush to put us back into the shelters now?” said Milton Perez, 45, who has spent five years in the shelter system. “Why the rush to put us in danger?”

New York Times: 8,000 Homeless People to Be Moved From Hotels to Shelters, New York Says Read More »

Williams Hotel Residents Receive Transfer Notices Day After Rally at Gracie Mansion

Press Statements / By

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, June 16, 2021 CONTACT Joseph Loonam, Joseph@vocal-ny.org WILLIAMS HOTEL RESIDENTS RECEIVE TRANSFER NOTICES DAY AFTER RALLY AT GRACIE MANSION Homeless New Yorkers Demand Hotels to Housing; Instead They Face Forced Transfers and Total Lack of Transparency in Process NEW YORK — A day after rallying at Gracie Mansion to demand transfers

Williams Hotel Residents Receive Transfer Notices Day After Rally at Gracie Mansion Read More »

Landmark Year for VOCAL-NY: More Legislative Victories This Session Than in Any Other Session in 20+ Year History

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 11, 2021 CONTACT Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org LANDMARK YEAR FOR VOCAL-NY: MORE LEGISLATIVE VICTORIES THIS SESSION THAN IN ANY OTHER SESSION IN 20+ YEAR HISTORY Leaders Now Call on Governor Cuomo Demanding He Signs Life-Saving Bills Into Law  NEW YORK — Following the close of the 2021 legislative session in New York

Landmark Year for VOCAL-NY: More Legislative Victories This Session Than in Any Other Session in 20+ Year History Read More »

After a Fight Spanning Over a Decade, Assembly Passes Life-Saving Bill to Decriminalize and Expand Access to Syringes in New York

Press Statements / By

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, June 10 2021 CONTACT Jasmine Budnella, jasmine@vocal-ny.org Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org AFTER A FIGHT SPANNING OVER A DECADE, ASSEMBLY PASSES LIFE-SAVING BILL TO DECRIMINALIZE AND EXPAND ACCESS TO SYRINGES IN NEW YORK See Statement on Monday’s Senate Vote From VOCAL-NY Leader, Ivette Chavez-Gonzalez, Who Has Been Incarcerated Multiple Times for Syringe Possession

After a Fight Spanning Over a Decade, Assembly Passes Life-Saving Bill to Decriminalize and Expand Access to Syringes in New York Read More »

VOCAL-NY Applauds the Senate Passage of Bill to Convert Distressed Hotels Into Affordable Housing

Press Statements / By

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, June 9, 2021 CONTACT Paulette Soltani, Paulette@vocal-ny.org Mariah McGough, Mariah@vocal-ny.org VOCAL-NY APPLAUDS THE SENATE PASSAGE OF BILL TO CONVERT DISTRESSED HOTELS INTO AFFORDABLE HOUSING The Assembly Announced Earlier Today it Would Also Vote for the Passage of HONDA ALBANY, N.Y. — Today, the New York State Senate passed the House Our

VOCAL-NY Applauds the Senate Passage of Bill to Convert Distressed Hotels Into Affordable Housing Read More »

After a Fight Spanning Over a Decade, VOCAL-NY Celebrates the Senate’s Passage of Lifesaving Bill to Decriminalize and Expand Access to Syringes in New York

Press Statements / By

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, June 7, 2021 CONTACT Jasmine Budnella, jasmine@vocal-ny.org Mariah McGough, Mariah@vocal-ny.org AFTER A FIGHT SPANNING OVER A DECADE, VOCAL-NY CELEBRATES THE SENATE’S PASSAGE OF LIFESAVING BILL TO DECRIMINALIZE AND EXPAND ACCESS TO SYRINGES IN NEW YORK ALBANY, N.Y. — Today, the New York State Senate passed S2523/A868, legislation to decriminalize syringes and

After a Fight Spanning Over a Decade, VOCAL-NY Celebrates the Senate’s Passage of Lifesaving Bill to Decriminalize and Expand Access to Syringes in New York Read More »

NBC News: Forty years after first documented AIDS cases, survivors reckon with ‘dichotomy of feelings’

In the News / By

“AIDS in the United States is not over, and especially it’s not over in the Global South or around the world,” said Jawanza James Williams, the director of organizing at VOCAL-NY, a nonprofit that helps low-income people impacted by HIV and AIDS. “There’s a sort of tendency to talk in the past tense, as if HIV and AIDS, as an epidemic, has been ended in the States, and it erases the realities and the experiences of Black people, of brown people, or poor people, people that are uninsured, and it really misses the mark.”

NBC News: Forty years after first documented AIDS cases, survivors reckon with ‘dichotomy of feelings’ Read More »

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