Committees

Activism & Policy Committee

Chairs: John Wagner & Amy Schwartz

The Activism & Policy Committee engages club members in a variety of activities. We organize phone banks and canvasses, march in the streets, write letters and postcards to our elected officials, and register new voters. We also take the pulse of club membership on the issues confronting us at the neighborhood, city, state and federal levels and then engages the club in the passing of resolutions on the issues of greatest concern and then advocating for legislation and other government action reflecting the resolutions we adopt. We organize our activisim through Working Groups that focus on specific issues.  Our current active Working Groups focus on the following issues:
2021 Elections Working Group is being reorganized, but interested parties can contact: Jeremy Berman & Jordan Stein
  • We’re working to elect high quality Democrats with progressive values at all levels of government
Education Working Group Chairs: Amy Schwartz & Debra Freeman 
  • We advocate for excellent education for all residents of New York City and the entire country.  Our immediate objectives are to increase funding for NYC's public schools and to ensure that all students have acess to digital devices and broadband access to the internet.
Rule of Law Working Group Chairs: Royce Cohen & Finn Dusenbery 
  • We monitor violations of constitutional rights by the Executive Branch and coordinate rapid responses of the club to these violations by organizing demonstrations or by writing statements that are submitted to the Executive Committee and/or the membership of the FFDC for approval.  We try to cooperate with like-minded Democratic Clubs and organizations to make our response more visible and effective.
Transportation Working Group Chairs: Ben Wetzler & Nancy Lang
  • We educate the club on the state of the subway system and the barriers to improvement. We also focus on street-use and street safety, issues where the Club’s advocacy is  likely to have an impact.

Bicycling Working Group Chairs: Jordan Stein & John Wagner

  • We seek to rationalize and improve laws and infrastructure to facilitate safe, environmentally friendly bicycling in the city.

End-of-Life Working Group Chairs: John Wagner & Linda Howes

  • We seek to change the NY law that prevents NYers from accessing help from physicians to peacefully end their lives when death is imminent.

Marijuana Legalization Working Group Chairs: Jane Lindberg & Fred Newton 

  • We seek to legalized the possession of marijuana at teh state and national level and to create a simple, sensible, system to allow production and distribution of marijuana while providing additional taxes to NY.  We are also concerned about the possible abuse of drug testing.

Reforming the Democratic Party Working Group Chair: John Wagner

  • We seek to reform the anti-democratic, bureaucratic, and secretive practices and structure of the Democratic Party, especially at the level of the Count Committee and the State Committee; but we also have interests in the functioning of the Party at the national level.

Gerrymandering and Reapportionment Working Group is being formed and interested parties can contact  Frank Wilkinson or John Wagner

  • We will work to promote the rights of every citizen and every group to have a fair impact on our government at the ballot box by promoting equitable reapportionment and an accurate census.

Taxes Working Group: Being formed, but those interested can contact John Wagner or Jeremy Berman 

  • We seek implementation of simpler, fairer tax plans that will raise adequate revenue for government functions and address the growing inequality of income and wealth in the US.  We see this as an efficient way to improve quality of life.

Health Care Working Group Chairs: Courtney Ferrissey and Flor de Maria Eilets

  • We advocate of quality health care for everyone living in both NY and the USA.

Climate Change and Environment Working Group Chair:  Amy Schwartz

  • We focus on reducing carbon dioxide emission as a key strategy to limit global warming and we identify and promote legislation and policies to save our environment.

Election Reform Working Group Chair: Ben Wetzler

  • We coordinate with the statewide 'Fair Elections for NY' campaign, taking direction from them on what forms of advocacy were appropriate (e.g., ranked choice voting, matching funds programs, voter registration, and voting procedures),

 

Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging Committee

Chair: Antonio del Rosario

The Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging Committee seeks to create a more diverse and inclusive club, and to increase outreach to traditionally marginalized communities. The committee meets once a month to discuss ongoing initiatives and events.

Member Outreach Committee

Chair: Kim Moscaritolo

The Member Outreach Committee in Four Freedoms Democratic Club (FFDC) seeks to expand the club's outreach in order to increase membership and better engage our current members. The Committee generally meets once a month to discuss ongoing club initiatives and possible future events. 

Events Committee

Chair: Matt Lombardi

This committee is responsible for planning and execution of the club's fundraisers and social gatherings, which draw a wonderful mix of Club members, elected officials, and the community.  If you have attended the summer BBQ, the winter holiday party, Spring Soiree, or small dollar fundraiser, you've seen the events committee's work in action

Digital Committee

Chair: Benjamin Akselrod

Our work in media encompasses maintaining our accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter; issuing and promoting news of club activities to the press; and using any and all media to engage our elected officials, club members and potential club members. We are also responsible for content on the Four Freedoms website.