Dec. 9, 2016 Staff Report
Jackson Heights residents will have the opportunity to discuss the fallout of last month’s election at a town-hall style meeting Saturday.
State Senator Jose Peralta is hosting a Post-Election Town Hall from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Renaissance Charter School at 35-59 81st Street where community members, politicians and activist organizations will be discussing the changing political and social climate of the city.
According to a flier for the event, attendees will have the chance to share their stories, take a stand against hate crimes and harassment, learn about their rights, and come together to show solidarity with their neighbors following an uptick in hate crimes this year of more than 30 percent throughout the city.
The event will be co-hosted by several community and activist groups, and will be broken in to several segments, including a question and answer session, a panel discussion, and an open microphone segment.
For the panel discussion, Peralta has recruited local experts on the areas most concerning to Jackson Heights residents.
The panelists will include Alina Das, an Associate Professor of clinical Law and the Co-Director of immigrant rights at NYU; Sarika Arya, an NYU Law student; Nishan Bhaumik, an Attorney with the Anti-Violence Project; and a representative from the Human Rights Commission in the Mayor’s Office of immigrant Affairs.
The event is is free and open to the public.