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TESTIMONY
Dmitri Daniel Glinski, President and CEO, Russian-Speaking Community Council, on Support for Exiles and Funding for Community-Based Organizations
4:26:07
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4 min
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Dmitri Daniel Glinski advocates for the recognition and support of exiles from dictatorships and the funding needs of their community-based organizations in New York.
- Glinski emphasizes the challenges faced by exiles from dictatorships, highlighting the populations from Russia, Ukraine, and other countries.
- He discusses the Russian-Speaking Community Council's struggles with funding and their recent partial success through a partnership with Catholic Charities.
- Glinski notes that New York's real estate and finance sectors have often been influenced by enablers of foreign autocrats, affecting the immigrant communities.
- He requests the city council to support Catholic Charities' programming for its inclusiveness and advocacy for the widest range of immigrants.
- A petition is submitted to rename a plot next to the Russian consulate as Alexei Navalny's way, in solidarity with efforts for Navalny's release and to honor the Russian-American community.
Dmitri Daniel Glinski
4:26:07
Good afternoon.
4:26:08
I'm Mr.
4:26:09
Daniel Grinsky, President and CEO of Russian speaking community council, twelve year old CBL based 51C3 organization based in Washington Heights, but now serving as our as our own secret from across the city.
4:26:21
So thank you for this opportunity, and I really mean that because having spoken here maybe ten times over the past decade, I know of no other venue.
4:26:29
Where we or others from our Exiled community can be heard by our city government and other CEOs on a regular basis.
4:26:36
So today for us is really about raising wide awareness.
4:26:39
Of our core constituency.
4:26:41
That is a special subset of immigrants, exempt from dictatorships, mainly Russia and refugees from Ukraine and other countries named by Israel's dreams.
4:26:51
By exiles, women, those who had to leave their countries because of having stood up for democracy justice and human rights.
4:26:57
For lawyers around here, strong as alum cases.
4:27:01
And yet this very rapidly growing segment and of population, and their CBOs here in New York have too often been muted by business partners and beneficiaries of their oppressors.
4:27:13
That is of the root cause of our migration.
4:27:15
For many years, this direct and indirect enablers of foreign autoclaves and oligarchs have wielded influence in New York's real estate, helping inflate housing prices, in finance law, and thus also in philanthropies, and other agencies involved with Russian Americans.
4:27:30
In ethnic media at times in some government offices mainly in parts of South Brooklyn, but not only.
4:27:35
Meanwhile, we at RCC and similar projects had no funds for paid staff for nearly 12 years, but we were never going to quit our organizing and advocacy.
4:27:44
Last year, our persistence got rewarded with success.
4:27:48
Partnership with Catholic Charities.
4:27:50
This has been a true blessing and a historic breakthrough for the community.
4:27:54
It finally lets us serve people like us on a professional basis.
4:27:58
At least part time for now.
4:28:00
We are providing benefit screening and navigation referrals, know your rights, and process legal information.
4:28:07
We actually have published online a pro boner handbook in Russian for his own seekers first ever in collaboration with Tony's from Eyla.
4:28:15
And on occasion, we provide free food clothes and metro cards.
4:28:19
We're seeing as alarm seekers from all formats of it countries, and of course, we're open to serving all others.
4:28:24
This is thanks to the New York State OTA funding.
4:28:27
We haven't had any funds originating from the city for 7 years.
4:28:31
I also thank Lutheran Church of our sailors' atonement for generously providing space for our services.
4:28:36
I urge the council to expand and certainly not to cut support for Catholic Charices programming, especially long term capacity building as their services and contracting are the most inclusive of the widest range of immigrants that we've ever seen.
4:28:49
And finally, back to the exiles.
4:28:51
In the spirit of what they have said, I know this is unrelated maybe to the main topic, but I submit a petition launched by others to rename the strip of land next to the Russian consulate, Alexei Navalny's way, not just for his courage and sacrifice about but for the thousands of Russian, American, New Yorkers and not only them, other Americans who are running for his release in the morning, We are aware of the community boards process for this, but we urge council members to also find ways to help this get done.
4:29:20
Thank you.
Alexa Avilés
4:29:24
Thank you thank you to this panel and particular shout out to miss Becca who's in my community, and I see firsthand the work that they do every day with so much dignity, grace, and love.
4:29:40
Y'all in Staten Island, but you really belong to me in South Brooklyn.
4:29:43
But thank you all for your testimony, and your testimony of doing this work for so many years without having received any support from anyone and your perseverance to continue.
4:29:56
And not to quit is the story of resilience of all our communities, and we share that in hope hope we must do better to make sure we get all the full support, to support all the communities that come here and call home.
4:30:10
So I thank you for your testimony.
4:30:13
And this continued advocacy to do better and to live into our ideals as a country.
4:30:19
Right?
4:30:20
And we're celebrate human rights and dignity for all.
4:30:23
So thank you.
Dmitri Daniel Glinski
4:30:24
Thank you so much for your kind words.
4:30:26
It will certainly be very grateful for operating support wherever it can come from.