Healthcare professionals across the country, from nurses, doctors, EMTs, public health officials to other staff critical to hospital operations are on the frontline against COVID-19. We support soldiers for putting themselves in danger, and should now do the same for those fighting this battle. Please support our nurses and sign this petition to tell lawmakers that our troops need the following: 1) Protective gear and operations planning to mitigate exposure 2) Hazard pay 3) Mobilize a reserve of students and retired healthcare professionals *** If you are able, please consider donating to your local food bank, homeless shelter and/or local caregiver organizations. *** #hazardpayfornurses #COVIDfrontline #COVID19 #healthcare #hospitals #crushCOVID #flattenthecurve

On March 21, the NYS Department of Health issued clear guidelines on treating patients in labor during the COVID-19 crisis.  These guidelines determined a support person, whether a spouse, partner or other chosen person, is essential to care for the patient during labor, delivery and in the postpartum period.  The World Health Organization (WHO) agrees.  We agree. As of March 26, all New York Presbyterian and Mount Sinai affiliated hospitals, and Staten Island University Hospital in the New York City area will act against WHO, CDC and DOH guidance and ban all support people--including spouses--from Labor & Delivery and Postpartum units.  This means people in labor will give birth alone and parent alone.  Parents will miss the birth of their child. Fundamentally, risks for the people laboring alone will increase substantially. Not only can partners and spouses provide physical and emotional comfort during labor and postpartum, they are also essential in alerting staff when something has gone wrong and the laboring patient cannot notify nurses themselves, like in the event of an eclamptic seizure or a fainting episode.  Timing is critical in these cases and monitors can be unreliable. We cannot expect nursing staff, already spread thin, to spend the limitless hours needed with each patient to ensure their health and their baby's health, to provide physical assistance and emotional support.  We know the hospital system is overwhelmed in this crisis.  However, the burden will only be increased by banning support people from Labor & Delivery. We must ensure no one gives birth alone. We must ensure the maternal mortality rate does not increase during this time.  

We are the Naila Amin Foundation. Naila Amin, our founder, is a New Yorker who was forced by her parents to marry her first cousin when she was just 13. The first petition for her marriage was approved by the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) when she was only 14 years old. Her ex-husband was 13 years older than her at the time of the Nikah (Islamic ceremony), and she was then forced to go overseas to live with him at age 15, where she was abused. All of this, however, was enabled by legal child marriage in New York State. Naila hopes to enact legislation to ban the exceptions that lead to her suffering and prevent others from having to endure the same. We seek to create a bill, very similar in style and content to the one recently passed in New Jersey. Child marriage occurs legally through loopholes and exceptions. In New York State, a person can be married as young as 17 with judicial review. This does not protect 17 year old's. Lets raise the age to 18 with no exceptions. If a 17 year old is married off and decides he/she is not happy, they have to wait to turn 18 to file for divorce, trapping them in abusive marriages and a shelter wont take anyone under 18. This is just a recipe for disaster. However often times, parents are the ones forcing the marriages rather than consenting to them. In fact, abuse, honor killings, or being disowned are the repercussions of refusal on the part of children. Because these victims are underage, abuse is inherent in these marriages. Since 2000, more than 200,000 youths have been legally married in the US. In the summer of 2017, NY changed its child marriage age from 14 to 17, this is not enough. Lets protect everyone under 18. 

This Petition is to close All New York Schools during coronavirus outbreak Our kids and the staff members are taking the subway to school every day, contacting a lot people on the subway and in school. I think they are in an extremely dangerous situation, especially as the second case of coronavirus in New York, The lawyer works at Grand Central, where the many train lines are located as well. Many kids and staff members taking Trains to get to school or back to their homes, which is now a big risk. We think the alternative of having kids taking online class with teachers using Skype or any online teaching app is safer. Closing school should be the number one priority now. With today’s technology, we will still be able to progress academically as well as keep everyone safe; our kids, our teachers, and all the administrative people on the school. We think surviving is the main priority now. By that we are asking you to please close the school, and have our kids and teachers communicate via email, Skype, or other sources to progress academy.  

As seen in the disgusting video posted of Amy Cooper as she called 911 to report a fraudulent crime supposedly committed on her by an African American man, police departments across America have historically been weaponized against People of Color. This behavior will continue until the perpetrators of these calls are arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Using 911 as a personal hotline to remove / harass/ or arrest PoC for, in many cases, living their lives not only wastes police resources, it puts the lives of minorities in danger. While police are responding to fraudulent crimes, real crimes can go unpunished or unsolved, and the resulting lag in police response can result in the loss of life. When 911 is used to report fraudulent crimes committed by minorities, the offended should be immediately apprehended, jailed, and prosecuted. Only when this behavior is harshly punished will it be curtailed.

Twelve states have moved to ban "ex-gay therapy" for young people -- dangerous "therapy" that tries to change someone's sexual orientation. "Ex-gay therapy" has been linked to suicide, depression, isolation and anxiety, and has been condemned by nearly every medical and psychological body as dangerous, destructive and something no child should be forced to undergo. And yet in 38 states -- including states like New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Ohio -- "ex-gay therapy" remains a practice that's largely legal under the law. But there is national momentum as more and more states move to ban "ex-gay therapy" and protect minors from attempts to "cure" them of their sexual orientation. Hawaii just became the 12th state to ban "ex-gay therapy," and New Hampshire and Delaware are close to following suit. They join states like California, New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, New Mexico, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Oregon. That's nearly 25% of the country! But it's not enough. LGBT kids are still facing dangerous "ex-gay therapy" attempts in more than 30 states around the country.  All these states have seen bills introduced to ban "ex-gay therapy". New York -- which touts itself as one of the most LGBT-friendly states in the country -- has seen legislation pass the State Assembly three times; Pennsylvania has had a bill introduced several times; Ohio now has a bill as well that legislators are pushing; and activists in Minnesota have been pushing for a ban on "ex-gay therapy" programs for years. Let's build on this national organizing momentum, and work to get these states added to the list of states stepping up to protect LGBT youth, and banning harmful "ex-gay therapy" that tries to "cure" LGBT people and change their sexual orientation or gender identity.

UPDATE (SUMMER 2021): SOME GREAT NEWS!  You have all probably heard by now that there are brand new bills now in both the Assembly and the Senate to reverse the re-naming of the current Mario M. Cuomo Bridge and to bring back the TAPPAN ZEE name.  Although legislative action won't be taken until after January, right now is the crucial time we need to gather support and build momentum.  WHAT TO DO?1. CALL YOUR REPS: Call them in both the NY assembly and also the senate and ask them to support restoring the Tappan Zee name.******2. CALL THE RULES COMMITTEE:  This is really important.  Call members of the rules committees in both the senate and the assembly and ask them to support and co-sponsor the bill that restores the Tappan Zee name.  In order to advance out of committee, a bill must have as many co-sponsors from that committee as possible, and right now, we don't have the co-sponsors we need.Click here to make it easy for you: Senate: www.nysenate.gov/senators-committees (choose Rules Committee from dropdown) Assembly: https://nyassembly.gov/comm/?id=33 (should bring you to the Rules Comm page)******3. CALL OTHER REPS: Don't stop at just calling your reps.  Call any whose district is in or near lower New York or the Hudson Valley.  Ask for their support. 4. HELP SPREAD THE WORD: Please share this Change.org petition. In 2017, our petition had 110,000 signers. We are now up to 176,000+ and the numbers continue to climb!   We expect to surpass 200,000 in the next few days based on some intelligence we have received.  Don't forget to ask friends and family to call their representatives too. IF YOU ARE UNSURE WHAT TO SAY, here are some points you can make:• Ask them to support the bill that will restore the Tappan Zee name to the bridge. Also, ask them to consider co-sponsoring the bill• Remind them that this is not partisan. The trend of politicians - republicans or democrats - naming public structures after themselves or their family members must not be normalized, and indeed must stop. The Tappan Zee name is historical and we want it back. • Changing the name behind closed doors without public input is just one more example of bad behavior by Gov. Cuomo that needs to be reversed.Momentum is with us but if we wait, the effort will stall.  So please, make the phone calls, spread the word, share the petition, and ask others to make calls too. Thanks, All!-Monroe Mann and the SOTZ TeamUPDATE (WINTER 2021): Although the bills we were championing did not pass, since 2018 when we delivered our petition to the governor's office, the number of signatures has jumped from about 120,000 to now nearly 150,000!  That's a whopping 30,000 more people who agree that we need the Tappan Zee name returned to our bridge.  This is not a dead issue, and we will continue to work hard to gather more signatures, because once we hit 200,000, that's newsworthy.  300K is a force.  400K is a mandate.  And 500K would be impossible to ignore.  So, be patient we must!  All in good time!  All we want now are more signatures.  So... moving forward, instead of making donations to our organization, Save Our Tappan Zee, we ask that you please apply your money directly here on change.org to further promote this petition.  Every $5 helps promote the petition to a bunch more people.  Thank you! -Monroe & the SOTZ Team UPDATE (2018): Our efforts have resulted in two bills in our state legislature: one in the senate; one in the assembly--with identical language.  To change the bridge name to "The Mario M. Cuomo Tappan Zee Bridge".  Yes, this is a compromise.  Yes, this has upset some people that don't want Mario's name anywhere in the bridge.  Alas, this petition I started (and that you signed) never was about 'removing Mario Cuomo's name'--it was about preserving the Tappan Zee name on the bridge.  Would it have been great if the bridge ONLY had Tappan Zee, and didn't honor a politician?  Of course.  But to accomplish things in this world, sometimes you MUST compromise, or nothing will get done.  These bills are a fair compromise that honor the Tappan and the Dutch, preserve NY history, avoid the spending of countless wasteful dollars to replace all the signs in NY state, and yes, allow Governor Andrew Cuomo to honor his father at the same time.  Is it the ideal?  No.  However, it most assuredly is the only way we will ever see Tappan Zee on our bridge.  So please support these bills.  They are our only shot at victory.UPDATE (2017): A fundraiser was started on December 1, 2017 to support this cause that has already raised over $8,800 from over 300 individuals making small donations to fund a full-blown advertising campaign. We have also recently started a Fundraiser here on Change.org as well.  We are now officially Save Our Tappan Zee, Inc., a NY not-for-profit corporation. You can choose to support us via the Change.org fundraiser here, or you can read more and also consider supporting us at www.SaveOurTappanZee.org and [WE HAVE SHUT DOWN THIS FUNDRAISER--PLEASE PROMOTE THE PETITION DIRECTLY HERE ON CHANGE.ORG] ORIGINAL PETITION STORY: In the summer of 2017, the N.Y. State Legislature voted to rename the famous and now rebuilt Tappan Zee Bridge (named for the Tappan Indians and the Dutch) after former NY governor Mario Cuomo.  While Mr. Cuomo may be deserving of something named after him, it should not be at the expense of history, and the original settlers of our land: the Tappan Indians and the Dutch.  And certainly not at taxpayer expense.  The name Tappan Zee has no politics associated with it.  And it properly recognizes the true founders of this land: the Tappan Indians and the Dutch. Plus, it sounds cool to say, “I’m taking the Tappan Zee.”  It does not sound cool to say, “I’m taking the Cuomo.”  Come on people!   Most importantly, we should not recognize the contributions of one in history by destroying a memorial to another.  Out of curiosity, why didn't the tax payers have a direct vote since we are the ones who ultimately paid for it, and will through toll taxes?  Didn’t a large part of the funding come from a FEDERAL grant? That is OUR bridge. America’s bridge. New York’s bridge. Last I checked, Mario Cuomo and his family did not personally contribute hundreds of millions to its construction... It is time for Albany to do the right thing: bring back the former name of the Tappan Zee Bridge. We want our bridge’s name back. In less than one week, I have amassed more than 27,000 names to my petition to return the Indian & Dutch name to the Tappan Zee Bridge. We are furious that the state legislature voted to rename OUR bridge the Cuomo Bridge in the dead of night without any input from the public. In 2008, the famous and historic Triborough Bridge was renamed the RFK. Now the famous and historic Tappan Zee is the Cuomo. What’s next? The GW? The Golden Gate? The Grand Canyon? Politicians should not be able to do this unilaterally. Why aren’t these national landmarks? I know the Journal News has a section devoted specifically to news of the bridge once known as the Tappan Zee Bridge. Isn’t it ironic, that even THEY still call it the Tappan Zee? But not for long. Sure, our older generations may continue calling it the Tappan Zee, but Generation Z? Soon all signs will be changed. In 30 years, the Indian and Dutch heritage that inspired the naming of the bridge will be gone. And for what? For someone who had NOTHING to do with EITHER bridge and provided ZERO personal funding for the bridge. Governor Cuomo states that because it's a new bridge, it deserves a new name.  But that conflicts again with history.  England's London Bridge was destroyed four times and each time, it was rebuilt anew, but the name never changed.  Why?  History.  Place.  Tradition.  Florida's Cape Canaveral was renamed Cape Kennedy only to see its original name returned a few years later.  Why?  History.  Place.  Tradition.  The same should and can happen here.   I hope you will join our collective outrage. We want our bridge back. Immediately.  Sincerely, -Dr. Monroe Mann, PhD, Esq, MBA P.S. - the original bridge was called the Governor Malcolm Wilson–Tappan Zee Bridge, known commonly as the Tappan Zee. So why can’t the new one be called the Governors Cuomo/Wilson—Tappan Zee Bridge?  In this way, we recognize Cuomo while not destroying the bridge’s true namesake. Why shouldn’t this happen?  The answer: there is NO reason. It should happen immediately, at very minimum. At best, it should just be the Tappan Zee Bridge. MEDIA COVERAGE TO DATE INCLUDES:(Links coming soon.  In meantime, just search Google or Bing)* Front page of the NY Post* Editorial endorsing the petition in the NY Post* The Journal News (multiple articles, including an amazing one sharing the breathtaking contributions of the Tappan Indians on our nation)* CBS 2 TV* Spectrum TV NY* Fios TV NY* The NY Daily News* Hamodia* Pix 11 News* NYStateofPolitics.com* Tarrytown Patch* The Los Angeles Times* The New York Times* The Yeshiva World* NY1* WestFair Online* NewsDay* News 12 Westchester UPDATE: A fundraiser was started on December 1, 2017 to support this cause that has already raised over $4,500 from nearly 200 individuals making small donations. You can read more and also consider supporting us at [WE HAVE SHUT DOWN THIS FUNDRAISER--PLEASE PROMOTE THE PETITION DIRECTLY HERE ON CHANGE.ORG]

This petition is in reference to "Charlotte" (previously "Snowflake"), the tiny, 2lb, 3 month old puppy, who, at the hands of Ms. Alsu Ivanchenko, allegedly, was starved, had her skull crushed, and her bones broken. To add to this heinous act, Ms. Ivanchenko allegedly stuffed the puppy into a plastic bag, tied it at the top, and threw the bag out of a moving car against a fence, leaving the dog to suffer and die. Charlotte was found and is currently under veterinary care. Her injuries caused temporary blindness due to the head trauma she suffered.  Ms. Ivanchencko, in a statement to police, showing no remorse, simply (allegedly) stated "Just give me my misdemeanor so I can get out of here, it's just a dog", and then proceeded to purchase a new dog.  We, the petitioners, are asking for your help in changing the animal abuse laws. We are asking for the maximum penalty of two years in the case of Ms. Ivanchenko (Case number: 00204-2014) We, collectively feel that stronger animal abuse laws need to be in place. Animals are defenseless, and we need to be their voice. Animal abuse is cruel and evil, and should not be tolerated. A mere slap on the wrist will not prevent these heinous acts from occurring. Research has shown a correlation between animal abuse, family violence, and other forms of societal and community violence. Animal protection professionals have noted that abuse of animals is connected in a self-perpetuating cycle of violence.  We are the voice of helpless animals, and we will continue to be. We need to protect animals, and send the message that cruelty and abuse will NOT be tolerated in this society.  We hope you take this matter seriously. We need to see Justice for Charlotte, and justice for all that do not have a voice.  We want to see the maximum penalty of two years incarceration be handed to Ms. Ivanchenko. We want to be certain that animal abusers attain the maximum penalty for their crimes.

Judge Sheila-Abdus Salaam was the first black female judge in appeals court in the United States ever, who was found floating in a river in Manhattan around April 2017. She was the first African-American woman appointed to the court of appeals, the highest position you could have. This was huge, and she’s now dead. Surely this shouldn’t sit right with anybody. Not only was her death publicised as a suicide despite countless evidence to the contrary including signs of struggle on her neck, but this case has stayed quiet for 3 entire years as of now with no sort of proper investigation? The fact I only came across Judge Sheila-Abdus Salaam’s case yesterday should speak for itself. Black people deserve so much better their lives are important and matter and their voices can change the world we live in for the better! With particular reference to the fact this happened in New York, the fact she was married to a Muslim husband and therefore had a Muslim surname is important contextually when understanding the case and why this happened to her. New York is one of the cities with the highest anti-terrorism surveillance systems put in place, and where Judge Abdus-Salaam had a Muslim surname, this immediately would unfortunately make her a target for hate crimes and racist violence. We can’t just let her be another name in the long list of victims. Each black life matters just as much as the other, and despite her being a particularly extraordinary person, every black life matters regardless of their accomplishments. People need to understand this so we can start to head towards a brighter future for all people of all races. I’m sick and tired of seeing more and more cases where there has been clear systemic racism at play in which black women and men alike have been victims of the institutional hate towards black people simply for the colour of their skin. It has been clear for a long time now that white people and other non-black people of colour have felt intimidated and angered by the power black people could potentially have in our large institutions and companies where they can make revolutionary changes for a better world. She simply wanted to thrive in a foundation that created a fairer and more just New York for people of all backgrounds, for there to be no bias in trials based off religion and race etc. We can’t let this go. It’s been 3 years and her and her family haven’t received the closure they deserve and are rightfully owed. Please sign this petition so we can hopefully get the New York Police Department to reopen her case !!! Thank you 

Mayor Bill DeBlasio is destroying New York City. We cannot have him continue as mayor for the next two years. The people of NY want change, and now is the time to act before it becomes any worse. This is not about being conservative, left, etc. This is about “radical” politics that are harming the city and being neglectful of New Yorkers. Below are some of the issues with Mayor Deblasio: 1) Bill does not care what New Yorkers think, want, or need. “The issue is people don’t like him, and he doesn’t care,” said Rebecca Katz, a former longtime de Blasio adviser and founder of consulting firm New Deal Strategies. 2) The mayor plans to run for President in 2020. He has been absent and neglectful of NY, especially in times of need. (Ex: summer blackout of 2019) How can Bill abandon NY anymore than he already has to go on a campaign tour, especially when he has no chance of winning?!  3) The mayor has made more horrendous choices than past infamous Mayors like Lindsay and Dinkins.  4) The mayor avoided acknowledgment of the  Puerto Rican Day Parade and veterans’ D-Day ceremonies. He also “forgot” to attend a 9/11 memorial event for victims.  5) The mayor is anti-police. However, he has no issue with gathering a squad of officers to guard him as he works out at a gym in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Yeah, that’s what he’s doing instead of being a mayor. Summer 2019 has proved that people feel protected when they want to assault and mistreat the NYPD. He has allowed criminals to gain ridiculous protection. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-de-blasio-rudy-giuliani-hooligans-nypd-water-20190723-2ehxmsay2ngsnjxudth5gedrui-story.html%3foutputType=amp 6) Crime is low? HA! It might appear that way because police cannot do their job. He ended Stop and Frisk. Officers do not receive any support when it comes to arrests and investigations. Their lives are in danger even more so now that they do not have the city’s support. He has passed laws for so-called minor offenses to be ignored. (Like urinating in the street). Critics charge that the shift will undermine the “broken windows” theory of policing that began in the city in the 1990s. Ignoring these so-called minor crimes have and will continue to lead to bigger offenses. 7) DOE. The mayor does not support schools and teachers. Instead he has appointed a chancellor who is a racist and failed superintendent of Texas schools. Together, they are implementing one of the worse discipline codes to protect unruly students. Like crime, it’s a way to limit consequences so they can say, “Hey, look at how bad behavior has decreased in schools!” Educators are limited in what they can do with poor behavior. His appointment of Chancellor Carranza is to support his diversity narrative so he can say “Look what I’ve done! Vote for me in 2020!” 8) The MTA continues to increase their rates, but the the conditions of trains and stations are unsanitary, unsafe, and unstable. 9) The mayor is a socialist. Mr. de Blasio announced a plan to spend $100 million to ensure that undocumented immigrants and others who cannot qualify for insurance can receive medical treatment. Interesting. Tell the hardworking US citizen mother who struggles to provide for her child that one! Tell the increase of homeless people that you will support “illegal immigrants” over their needs this one. Is that why he refuses to work with the federal government when it comes to immigration issues? Again, he only supports people who will fit his broken diversity narrative.  10) Increase in parking meter rates. The new system consists of six tiers of hourly parking prices, ranging from $1.25 in some neighborhood shopping districts to $7.50  11) Park Slope residences and workers are experiencing an extreme difficulty parking, and this issue will continue to spread across the city. He is eliminating parking spots for bikers and car shares.  12) Increase in property taxes. For decades, tax laws have prevented assessments from rising more than 6% a year, even though property values in certain areas—such as de Blasio's home neighborhood of Park Slope—have increased far more. Advocates argue this has forced a disproportionate burden on rental buildings, commercial properties and houses in outer-ring neighborhoods which are more likely to belong to minority homeowners. He believes that we cannot reduce taxes because that will take away from the city’s services. What?! Everything has become run down, and New Yorkers are fleeing from neighborhoods they have grown up in for years because they cannot afford it. Instead many illegals are buying single or two family homes, and allowing anywhere from 3 to 5 families to reside to support their taxes and mortgages. Obviously, most Americans refuse to live this way. Rent is at an all time high because landlords have ridiculous taxes to pay. 13) The mayor’s wife, Chirlane McCray, “lost” over $1.8 billion taxpayers money. Some say it was “wasted” on organizations or laws that never proved to be anything other than their name slapped on it. These are just SOME of the issues with the mayor. Sign this petition to say Impeach Mayor de Blasio! We want our New York back to being safer, supported, and loved!