This month marks our first anniversary as co-executive directors!

When we first stepped through the doors of this organization (many years ago!), we never imagined we’d be in these roles. We are humbled and honored. And we are grateful for the support we’ve received from donors and allies like you. Thank you!

So much has happened over the past year. It was hard, but we each chose one highlight from our first year to share with you:

ARLENIS: “Purchasing our Bushwick community center and making it a permanent home for us in Brooklyn! This was the office where I started working as a part-time receptionist nearly 20 years ago. And I can’t wait to invite you to see our new Queens center, which will be completed later this year.”

JOSE: “Organizing has been in my blood since I started here as a youth member, so I’m thrilled that last year we won $2.4 billion in emergency rent relief to keep people in their homes. We also finally won $4 billion to support NY public schools and repealed the Walking While Trans ban after a decade. Community organizing works!”

THEO: “Last year continued to be devastating for our communities but I’m so proud of all the COVID support we provided to thousands of New Yorkers, including emergency food; access to testing, treatment, and vaccinations; and one-on-one application assistance for rent relief and the excluded workers fund. This is the kind of massive service operation I dreamt about when I started at Make the Road as a health advocate.”

None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the incredible work of our amazing staff and members, and of course, the generous support of allies like you.

And together, we will achieve even more this year. Among our top priorities for 2022-23:

• Providing services to tens of thousands of New Yorkers so they can learn English, avoid eviction from their homes, access healthcare, and more.
• Organizing with allies to demand immigration reform for all 11 million undocumented people.
• Winning a permanent unemployment insurance option for excluded workers.
• Passing Good Cause Eviction legislation to protect tenants statewide from evictions and astronomical rent hikes.
• Civically engaging tens of thousands of New Yorkers and conducting nonpartisan voter registration and GOTV efforts.
• Reining in policing that targets trans and queer community members and getting police out of schools.

With the help of our Deputy Directors Natalia Aristizabal Betancur and Becca Telzak, and our Legal Director / General Counsel, Sienna Fontaine, we are excited to accomplish all this and more! Thank you for being with us.