Click here to learn more about The Peoples Walking Tour and buy your tickets here!
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Have you had a chance to see Mira al Horizonte? If not CLICK HERE to see it now!!
New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) collaborated with the Foundry Theater to create Mira al Horizonte (Look at the Horizon), a play led by members of the organization.
NICE members worked with Director Lisa Rothe and performer Carlo Albán to create a piece about the lives of immigrant workers and their struggles in New York City.
The participants of Look at the Horizon are members of the organization. The script of the play is based on their personal stories and not only reflects their own migratory experiences but the reality of migrant workers in this city.
For months NICE members (who are not professional performers) met with artists and NICE organizers to develop this play.
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NICE Advocates for Immigrant Workers’ in Albany
NICE members and organizers participated in the 2012 Immigrants’ Day of Action in Albany along with more than 90 organizations from across New York State organized by the New York Immigration Coalition. NICE was able to represent the community of low-wage newly-arrived Latino workers in Queens and move forward our priorities. NICE spoke with the offices of Senator Jose Peralta and Assemblyman Michael Dendekker on community concerns surrounding workers’ rights, police enforcement, collaboration between ICE and the policy, consumer rights, and community relations.
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Interpretation Services Begin at Community Board 3 (CB 3 ) Meetings!
Now Community Board 3 (CB 3) meetings are being translated into Spanish! CB 3 is the first Community Board in Queens and only the second in the whole city where interpretation services are available.
NICE and the New York Civic Participation Project (NYCPP) worked together to secure funding for these efforts from the office of Council Member Daniel Dromm. We thank Danny for his support!
Immigrant civic engagement is a top priority for NICE and the community we represent. Through interpretation, we can now make our voices be heard!
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A New Cycle of Know Your Rights – ESOL Classes Begins!
On Tuesday, March 17, 2012 NICE will began the spring cycle of Know Your Rights – ESOL classes in partnership with Immigrant Movement International/ Movimiento Inmigrante Internacional. These classes (which run until Thursday, May 17, 2012) do not only teach students English, it also teaches them about their rights as workers, immigrants, and members of the community. For more information contact Adriana Escandon at 718.205.8796 or by email at adriana.nynice@gmail.com.
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NICE Creates Public Service Announcements!
NICE members are developing a series of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to raise conciousness about immigrants’ rights as consumers!
In partnership with the Mexican Consulate in New York, as part of the Mexican Consulate’s Financial Education Week, NICE is sharing its first PSA in a number of radio stations across the tri-state area!
Click Here to listen to our first PSA.
Stay tuned for a lot more coming in the upcoming months from our Immigrant Consumer Justice Campaign, including the release of NICE’s first ever fotonovela and the release of our report of immigration services and employment agencies.
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Tax Education for Immigrant Workers!
This tax season, NICE brought together a panel of experts to discuss what immigrants should know when filing state/federal taxes, what deductions are and are not allowable by employers, and what it means to file using an Individual Tax I.D. Number (ITIN).
This informative panel gave crucial information to the NICE community, who face rampant non-payment of wages, misclassification, unjust deductions and more. The forum was very educational and addressed the tax concerns of newly arrived low wage immigrant workers.
NICE is proud to partner with Food Bank of NYC this year for free tax preparation.
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Did you know that NICE is now a member of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network?
This past December, NICE became the newest member of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON)! You can learn more about NDLON here: http://www.ndlon.org/en/
NICE attended NDLON’s Assamblea General in Los Angeles, California in February. Above in the NY Delegation at the conference representing day laborers from all over New York State.
On Thursday, March 22, 2012 , NICE joined director Chris Weitz, Maria Hinojosa of PBS, and Pablo Alvarado of NDLON, in a screening of A Better Life, a moving movie about an immigrant day laborer which raises questions about worker’s rights and the devastating effects of the collaboration between police and immigration enforcement. For more information about the film, click here.
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Community Board 3 in Jackson Heights will Simulcast in Spanish
In shared efforts with the New York Civic Participation Project, NICE was able to secure funds from Council Member Daniel Dromm to purchase equipment and provide interpretation services at Community Board 3 (CB 3). CB 3 is the very first CB in Queens and only the second in the whole city where interpretation services will be available. This one year pilot project will make the Community Board accessible to Spanish-speaking immigrant for the first time ever. It is only the first step, but a very important one indeed!
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Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Speaks to NICE Members About Their Rights as Consumers!
As part of NICE’s Immigrant Consumer Justice Campaign, which focuses on substandard, predatory and fraudulent services and practices in our community, NICE invited the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) to give an informational session to the NICE membership and community about their rights as immigrant consumers and how to file complaints with the DCA.
After the informational presentation, NICE staff worked with the DCA to help attendees file complaints on the spot. Most of the complaints filed were for Employment Agencies and businesses that provide Immigration Services, two problem industries in our community.
The event served as a venue for the community to share their concerns directly to the DCA and it gave representatives from the DCA the opportunity to hear directly from the community members their concerns in regards to businesses that target them to provide substandard and fraudulent services. The event helped further the efforts of the Immigrant Consumer Justice Campaign by strengthening NICE’s relationship with the DCA, who had the opportunity to hear policy recommendations from NICE’s members.