One local elected official is hosting a town hall to bring together his constituents and local organizations that want to organize in response to several policies brought forth by the Trump administration.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer is leading a “Resistance Town Hall” at MoMA PS1 at 7 p.m. on Feb. 15. The event will share with Queens residents the most effective ways stop the ideas and initiatives that President Donald Trump has proposed in his first few weeks in office. Attendees will also learn about strategies that organizations are implementing and plans for future events and programs.
Several organizations including immigration advocacy group Make the Road New York, Legal Aid NYC and the New York Immigration Coalition will attend the town hall on Feb. 15 and immigration attorneys will also be present to discuss the recent ICE raids.
Recently, ICE officers conducted a raid in New York City, where they detained 41 individuals. East Elmhurst was targeted and according to Van Bramer, people dressed up as ICE agents in Woodside to try to scam residents out of money. This town hall is in part a response to the recent raids and the hard stance President Trump has taken against immigrants in the United States.
In November, Van Bramer hosted a similar event in Sunnyside, and hundreds of Queens residents — including about 20 community groups — came together, bringing forth dozens of ideas to help those who have felt threatened during Trump’s campaign.
The councilman also held a march to Trump Tower a few days after his first town hall in November. The march was meant to show the president, who is from the borough, “Queens values.”
“Donald Trump may have been raised in Queens, but he is not from here anymore,” Van Bramer said at the march. “And the Queens that he grew up in, it is not the Queens that we love. Queens is about diversity. Queens is about love and equality. Queens is proud to be the most diverse county in the United States of America.”
MoMA PS1 is located at 22-25 Jackson Ave.
