Rochester resident, Elizabeth McGriff of 618 Cedarwood Terrace, facing eviction pledges to stay in her home with the support Take Back the Land Rochester. She has attempted to negotiate with Midfirst Bank to work out a fair settlement for her to stay in her home. As early as August 7th 2015 Midfirst Bank with the backing force of the Rochester police department could remove Elizabeth and her children from their home of over fifteen years. Below is a letter from Elizabeth to Midfirst bank written in September of 2014 detailing her struggles with the bank.
Rochester's 2015 Pride parade blasted off on Saturday July 18. This years theme was science fiction. There were plenty of references to Star Trek, Star Wars, Dr Who, aliens and the Space Program. One of interest was the Rochester Kink Society's "Gender Bender" a reference to Bender the robot in the animated sci-fi series Futurama.
Take Back The Land Rochester Home Defenders Alex Comardo and Michael Connelly both took 6 month Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissals (ACDs). Joe Woods' daughter Audrey who was arrested by the RPD and used as leverage to get her father out of his home also took a 6 month ACD.
Quintin Keene was told to come back to court for the judge's decision on July 27, 9:30am, Judge Morse.
Josiah Krause had his case adjourned until August 31, 9:30am, Judge Dixon.
We still need people power in court this week! Please come out and support these awesome individuals. Court is at 99 Exchange St.
WEDNESDAY (7/22): Beaten and arrested by officer Mario Masic: Rasheed Griner: Wed. 7/22, 9:30 am, Judge Dixon's court
Take Back The Land home defender arrested for defending the home of Joe Woods during his wrongful eviction: Shannon Coleman: Wed. 7/22, 2:00 pm, Judge Dixon's court
Submitted by R-IMC / Enough Is Enough / Take Back The Land Rochester on Sun, 2015-07-12 21:03
We need some people power in court this week! Please come out and support these awesome individuals. Court is at 99 Exchange St.
MONDAY (7/13): Beaten and arrested by officer Mario Masic: Quintin Keene: Mon. 7/13, 9:30 am, Judge Morse's court
Take Back The Land home defenders arrested for defending the home of Joe Woods during his wrongful eviction: Alex Comardo & Mike Connelly: Mon. 7/13, 2:00 pm Judge Dixon's court
Please join these home defenders, Ms. Woods, and Ms. Mcgriff in solidarity at their upcoming court dates! Upcoming Take Back the Land Rochester court dates for this week:
TODAY! Shannon Coleman, Jacob Spezio, and Christian Nelson: All three were charged with trespass and resisting arrest. They were arraigned last week. Their next court date before Judge Maija C. Dixon is Monday, June 29, 2015, 2:00pm at the Hall of Justice, 99 Exchange Blvd.
TOMORROW! Audrey Woods: Audrey was held by police until her father left their home. She was eventually released to him. She was charged with obstruction of governmental administration. Her arraignment before Judge Stephen T. Miller took place on June 25, 2015. Her next hearing is Tuesday, June 30, 10:30am at the Hall of Justice, 99 Exchange Blvd.
WEDNESDAY! Other pending eviction actions: Liz Mcgriff is facing foreclosure as well. Her next court appearance is before Judge John J. Ark, on Wednesday, July 1, 9:30am at the Hall of Justice, 99 Exchange Blvd. She has not been evicted yet, but is combating the bank's arguments for her removal. Please come out and support her. Let's stop it before it begins!
The Rochester Coalition for Police reform convened a press conference on Tuesday June 16 at 10:30am on the steps of City Hall. The purpose was to 1. Proclaim a victory with $2 million alotted to Body Worn Cameras that was passed in the city's budget and 2. To indicate that the coalition wants a role in the shaping of the policies which will be approved by City Council at a later date. You can read CPR's body worn camera policy recommendations here. Also CPR has put out a guide to help people with the city's survey regarding body cameras. That guide can be found here.
CPR also renewed the call for the Community Safety Agenda which includes an independent and viable Civilian Review Board process with subpoena power and independent investigative authority; a curtailment of Sop and Frisk (racial profiling), improving community understanding of individual rights to consent to be searched, and anti-racism professional development training for police officers.
Submitted by R-IMC / Contributors: Ricky Six (and photos), Lisa (and photos), Alyssa (and photos), Ryder, Christian, and T. Forsyth (and photos), Liz Mcgriff, and Julie Gelfand on Sun, 2015-06-21 08:24
Take Back the Land Rochester News Alert:
7 People Arrested Defending Webster Ave Family from Eviction
Police Use Extortion to Coerce Homeowner to Leave Home
Press Conference held at 5pm, Thursday, June 18 at 394 Webster Ave, Rochester, NY
ROCHESTER, NY - On the morning of June 17, 2015, MidFirst Bank, the Rochester City Marshal, and 15-20 Rochester police forcefully evicted Joe Woods and his family from their longtime home of 25 years at 394 Webster Ave, Rochester, NY 14614. In order to evict the family, 7 people were arrested, including one family member and 6 home defenders, chanting “Housing is a Human Right.”
The City of Rochester's budget seems to come up short every year. There never seems to be enough money to fix the parks or the potholes. Libraries and recreation centers are having their hours and staff cut. But there seems to be plenty of money for tax breaks and subsidies for some of Rochester's richest shareholders and corporations. All the while poverty keeps rising despite billions in "investment."
Rochester Indymedia is now requiring editor approval for account creation.
We came to this decision after we had repeated spam posted to our website that caused difficulty with the website's functioning. We will still have open publishing and keep our site as nonrestrictive and accessible as possible.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. As before, we will continue to be Rochester's grassroots news and education site. Thank you for your continued support and remember, "Don't hate the media, be the media!"
Editorial Meeting Times / Locations
The Rochester Independent Media Center (R-IMC) is no longer meeting regularly. We will set up meetings by necessity and appointment. Please contact us at rochesterindymedia@rocus.org. Our home is still the Flying Squirrel Community Space at 285 Clarissa St. Occasionally, we hold meetings at RCTV located at 21 Gorham Street.
Rochester resident, Elizabeth McGriff of 618 Cedarwood Terrace, facing eviction pledges to stay in her home with the support Take Back the Land Rochester. She has attempted to negotiate with Midfirst Bank to work out a fair settlement for her to stay in her home. As early as August 7th 2015 Midfirst Bank with the backing force of the Rochester police department could remove Elizabeth and her children from their home of over fifteen years. Below is a letter from Elizabeth to Midfirst bank written in September of 2014 detailing her struggles with the bank.