Do you remember our old bed bug task force letter writing campaign?
Would you write one more letter?
The City Council Speaker has a contact form that you can use to send a simple (and polite) note asking her to appoint the members of the bed bug advisory board without further delay.
If you are up for it, would you also write to the Mayor’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, to Mr. Eddie Bautista, at this address:
Eddie Bautista, Director
Office of City Legislative Affairs
253 Broadway
14th Floor
New York, NY 10007
And/or by fax, (212) 788-2647.
Thank you for your help. I’m not entirely sure that this will help, but I’m asking anyway.
I will update this with my own letter to Mr. Bautista.
These pages may be of related interest:
- Lou Sorkin: loved, respected and essential to this endeavor
- Stepping up our campaign: a sample letter to the Speaker of the City Council
- Reminder: our CitizenSpeak campaign
- “the need to educate the public to identify and effectively exterminate bedbugs”
- The NYC Council will hold a hearing on three bed bug bills on February 24
I would like to make a suggestion.
Let’s be specific about nominating people we would like to see appointed to the advisory board.
My first nomination…. Let’s recommend Lou Sorkin for a position on the advisory board. Lou is well known, extremely knowledgeable & works for an independent scientific organization (American Museum of Natural History). He has been active in educating the community about bed bugs for several years. I believe Lou would be a valuable resource to represent the our interests in formulating rational public policy.
Secondly, I think that Renee would be an excellent advocate for the public’s interest on the advisory board. Renee possesses remarkable insight with regard to public advocacy, the scope of the problem & educational outreach. Her technical writing skills & street level understanding of the issues would be an invaluable resource for the advisory board.
Or make your own nominations, …. if you are reading this comment…. then you part of our constituency…. All I am saying is that we need to try to influence the city government to appoint capable people that will advocate for effective policies…. People that appreciate the magnitude of the problem & understand the actions that must be taken to properly address the public spread of these prolific parasites.
Doug, thanks, I’m sorry I didn’t reply to this before today; I’ve had some very pressing matters. I think having Lou on the board is absolutely vital and I would be happy if people who know him would mention that in their letters. (We think that Lou, Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, and Ray Lopez are no brainers as far as this board.) But I’ve heard from no one who intends to write one, so we’ll see. I’ll post our letter tomorrow.
As for me, I don’t have professional credentials as you know, and this board should have the best people available, from that small pool of those who even care in the first place.
Having you on the board, Renee, is a no brainer as well.
Renee,
Lou Sorkin, Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann and Ray Lopez are excellent choices for us to recommend to the council for appointment to the bed bug advisory board.
I still believe that you would be a good choice, but I understand your desire to see people with scientific credentials on the board. When I look at the quality of the information that is available on your site & the fact that you are running the only visible public advocacy organization for NYC… I can’t help but feel that you are well qualified for a position on the board.
The important task is for us to contact our Representatives & urge them to get the advisory board appointments finalized.
We need advisory board members that understand the scope of the problem & the actions that must be taken to combat the widespread transmission of these insidious parasites throughout community.
Thanks for the letter you sent, Doug. Lisa has written an excellent letter in support of Lou. Thank you both.