First Lady Chirlane McCray Launches Blog On Her Work For New Yorkers In Need
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray on Friday launched an interactive multimedia blog showcasing her work and the people she meets.
The blog #FLONYC, pronounced "flow nice," is hosted by Tumblr. In a news release, McCray said it highlights her work to bring social justice to the forefront and focuses on those in "the shadows."
"Today, in our City, there are too many stories of New Yorkers in the shadows. The punitive pattern of torments that affect those considered 'other' and 'lesser' remains unchanged," McCray wrote. "Sometimes 'they' are women and children and homeless; sometimes they are ethnic minorities; sometimes they are physically or mentally unwell, gay or poor."
McCray wrote that she wants to use her "life lived well" to make New York a better place for those who have been marginalized.
"#FLONYC is an open door to my thoughts and my passions. It's an interactive multimedia platform and a way to share the myriad stories of my travels through New York City," McCray wrote. "I want my home on the web to be a place where you feel welcome and get inspired to act on some of our city's most pressing needs."
McCray reads aloud the first post in the blog about a visit to the Liberty Family Center in Brownsville, Brooklyn.
"I went to read a story to the children at Liberty Family Center, to hug-um up, show some love, wrap them in caring with my warm arms. One might think that even if these children are homeless and I am a stranger, they are children and resilient, and these children will do what children always do – leap and learn and loudly boast their names; push their wet and sticky lopsided crafts into my hands, because today here at Liberty, the children are warm and safe," she said.
McCray talks about one 5-year-old boy who is particularly enthusiastic.
"There is a 5-year old who says, 'Look at me, me, me! Take my picture. Cheese. Cheese.' He is all over the room, never sitting even when asked, even when asked again, he just cannot stop moving. All his flash and action against a backdrop of too many others, too quietly, sitting. Obediently. Sitting almost branch and stone-like at small tables," she said in the poetic recitation.
In a second post, she talks about a visit to the Osborne Association in the South Bronx, which works with people affected by the incarceration of a loved one. She made the visit with her husband, Mayor Bill de Blasio.
"We have our work cut out for us, but I am eager to roll up my sleeves and get out into our neighborhoods. I'd like to share my thoughts and travels with you. So I hope you will click onto my new home on the web to see what we're up to," McCray said.
The Mayor's Fund, which had $37 million budget in 2012, develops public-private partnerships and investments with a focus on youth development, health, the environment and the arts. The Mayor's Fund also supports relief efforts after disasters such as Superstorm Sandy.
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