by Olivia Young<\/p>\n
The Riverdale rapid response team, a group of residents who monitor Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence in the neighborhood, took to Broadway Plaza on Feb. 21 to speak directly with community members.<\/p>\n
According to founder Hannah Sherak, the team has not confirmed any local ICE sightings. Still, preparation is critical, she said.<\/p>\n
Eleven members took shifts from 1 to 4 p.m., handing out whistles, stickers with a number to call if ICE is spotted, and red cards that list a person\u2019s constitutional rights if they encounter ICE agents. The group aimed to increase its presence in Kingsbridge by stationing members in a high-traffic area.<\/p>\n
Members created personal connections with passersby quickly, and listened as their neighbors spoke candidly about their fears for themselves and their families.<\/p>\n
Kelly Terry, a four-year resident who works to secure grants for a social justice nonprofit, joined the response team a week ago. She said she wants to see greater Riverdale grow into a seamless, detail-oriented network of care for those vulnerable to ICE.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in a very dangerous moment,\u201d Terry said. \u201cIf we\u2019re not paying attention, it will be too late to preserve any idea of what we think we recognize as our democracy. We have a short window to act.\u201d<\/p>\n
Human connection is essential to organizing, Terry said. If community members aren\u2019t meeting face-to-face and making an effort to understand one another, no change can be made.<\/p>\n
Another canvasser, 26-year-old Nova Shapiv, grew up in Riverdale and returned a few months ago. She isn\u2019t a member of the group, but instead heard there would be community action through a friend, and wanted to take part.<\/p>\n
Shapiv said Riverdale never felt like a progressive neighborhood when she was younger, but, after seeing the anti-ICE action, and starting a job at an after-school program through the Riverdale Neighborhood House, Shapiv was happy to see activism on the rise.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope people know the community is looking out for them,\u201d she said. \u201cNo one\u2019s alone in this. We\u2019re stronger together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since it was established in November, Riverdale\u2019s response team has grown to about 250 people who communicate via the secured messaging app Signal. Fifty of those are vetted members, meaning they are trained to identify and report potential ICE raids.<\/p>\n
Vetted members have started walkabouts, in which they patrol streets for unmarked SUVs and other vehicles commonly used in ICE operations. Four zones throughout Kingsbridge and Marble Hill have been determined.<\/p>\n
The team is focused on expanding its reach. Sherak said the group has established a relationship with the English Language Learners and International Support Preparatory Academy, the school Venezuelan immigrant Dylan Lopez Contreras attended before he was detained while attending a mandatory court hearing last May.<\/p>\n
Riverdale\u2019s group wants to connect with other local schools, and Sherak said its meetings will become more frequent since Riverdale Neighborhood House agreed to lend a monthly space.<\/p>\n
The tabling at Broadway Plaza was part of a wider, citywide initiative led by Hands Off NYC, a coalition of 200 labor unions and community groups. From Feb. 20 to 22, New Yorkers put together nearly 100 events across the five boroughs to share resources on how residents can protect themselves from ICE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Olivia Young The Riverdale rapid response team, a group of residents who monitor Immigration and Customs Enforcement…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,37219,2035,9,24,63,62412,129,131,130],"class_list":{"0":"post-148882","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-the-bronx","8":"tag-bronx","9":"tag-hands-off-nyc","10":"tag-ice","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-nyc","14":"tag-riverdale-rapid-response-team","15":"tag-the-bronx","16":"tag-the-bronx-headlines","17":"tag-the-bronx-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}