By Curtis Brodner, Dec 19, 2019      

New York Senate District 17 for Progress, a group of progressive activists and organizers in Borough Park and Midwood, are rebranding their organization as South Central Brooklyn United for Progress (SCBUP). With the new name comes hope for political change and a broader impact in 2020….

The organization has grown to roughly 40 regular members in addition to a 14-person executive board. Their newsletter reaches 700 Brooklynites. 

As membership grew, SCBUP formed committees to advocate for the changes that community members felt were most pressing. Those topics range from traffic safety to ICE raids to health care.

These areas of focus arise organically from members. Sarah Herbst, for example, is an SCBUP executive board member who works for a large health system, so she’s seen the issues with health insurance in the United Statesfirst hand. 

Herbst’s experience inspired her to help organize a committee at SCBUP that advocates for the New York Health Act, a bill that would provide universal, single-payer healthcare for New Yorkers. The bill has beenlanguishing in the New York State Legislature for decades, but SCBUP aims to change that.

“We recently hosted an event at a church in Park Slope where we spread the word about the NY Health Act and hopefully built momentum on how we can build support, get this passed and provide a national model for single-payer [health insurance],” said Herbst. “We can lead the way.”…

Continue Reading