{"id":9555,"date":"2025-10-20T16:35:41","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T16:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/9555\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T16:35:41","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T16:35:41","slug":"staten-island-unity-coalition-to-host-political-candidates-at-2025-legislative-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/9555\/","title":{"rendered":"Staten Island Unity Coalition to host political candidates at 2025 legislative forum"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"AC4MEV3IH5AYRLI23CN75OCRPU\">STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 The Staten Island Unity Coalition will host its 2025 Legislative Forum on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the Central Family Life Center in Stapleton. The event will bring together elected officials, political candidates and local residents for a public discussion focused on the needs of Staten Island\u2019s communities of color.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"RTBPMBD6ZNEZBOGXLOJ2APWZ7I\">The nonpartisan event, open to the public, will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m. The forum will take place at 59 Wright St., and is expected to draw community members from across the borough.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"CRMIOCD5YJDARGNWTO2VC5ZHZY\">Organized by the Staten Island Unity Coalition\u2014a network of Black-led, community-based organizations\u2014the forum will give residents a chance to hear directly from local and citywide leaders and candidates for public office. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"HQNFLAC45NFTFD6J4KU75BRC6I\">All Staten Island elected officials and 2025 candidates have been invited to participate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"42ULSQKQAVHOJKPHBBHZBTZV34\">\u201cFrom housing and education to healthcare and food insecurity, the issues affecting the communities served by Staten Island Unity Coalition members deserve our full attention,\u201d said Nicole Meyers, co-facilitator of the event. \u201cTuesday\u2019s forum offers a vital opportunity to hear directly from elected officials and candidates, while also providing information on early voting and the ballot proposals that will shape this year\u2019s elections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"7EZM4CS7CJF7VOKJX57HJGLSNY\">Moderated by members of the Coalition, the forum will center on issues identified as priorities by the community, including housing, transportation, education, youth empowerment and food insecurity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"IH7UZ5KJHZCD7OVOOSRWMPGOMI\">Also on the agenda are economic development, public safety and policing, healthcare access and equity, and the local impacts of the federal budget bill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"62TMGXT3KFAHHOPVQ7TCQFBCFU\">\u201cThis event is about transparency, accountability and amplifying the voices of Staten Island\u2019s communities of color,\u201d the Coalition said in a statement. \u201cWe want to ensure our concerns are heard and addressed in concrete ways.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>About the Staten Island Unity Coalition<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"2DM2BLS52JGHPMTMYDWCMV4M3E\">Founded in 2021, the Staten Island Unity Coalition brings together a broad group of civic and cultural organizations working to advocate for the borough\u2019s Black and Brown communities. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"63BA2MS6EVAQXBPRKGMISIEF2U\">Its mission includes advancing dialogue, promoting equity and holding public officials accountable to the needs of underserved neighborhoods.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"KIGIT2Y4RBCADKX2UKZRICFZSA\">\u201cThe coalition aims to represent a large segment of Black communities on Staten Island. We are focused on collaborative action to engage elected officials, promote economic stability, and improve the overall quality of life,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.silive.com\/news\/2025\/05\/for-too-long-our-concerns-have-been-ignored-coalition-rolls-out-staten-island-black-legislative-and-policy-agenda.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.silive.com\/news\/2025\/05\/for-too-long-our-concerns-have-been-ignored-coalition-rolls-out-staten-island-black-legislative-and-policy-agenda.html\">Aurora Evans,<\/a> the second Vice President of the Staten Island Section of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), said in May. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"CXHSCYDJVRCLHIZGTFIH4HATXU\">\u201cStrategies will involve workshops, advocating for increased funding for Black-led organizations, and addressing systemic inequities related to economic development and access to resources,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"KDHESLMDGRFXVGZELWRMMKKASA\">Member organizations include the Central Family Life Center, Staten Island NAACP, Community Health Center of Richmond, Staten Island Black Heritage, and several sororities, fraternal groups and advocacy nonprofits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"VLT4KXT4QZEUBNUZJ7TFDPC4EE\">For more information about the forum, contact <a href=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">edwinamartin@hotmail.com<\/a> or <a href=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">clevermeyers@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancelocal.com\/advancelocalUserAgreement\/user-agreement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancelocal.com\/advancelocalUserAgreement\/privacy-policy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 The Staten Island Unity Coalition will host its 2025 Legislative Forum on Tuesday, Oct.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-9555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9555","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=9555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}