Jackson Heights Life

Neighbors,

Tomorrow morning’s meeting about who runs JacksonHeights.nyc has space remaining. It’s at the Renaissance Charter School and begins at 9 AM. For more info see details below from previous invites, or see the Governance Process page here https://wiki.jacksonheights.nyc/wiki/Governance_Process.

Best,

Tom Lowenhaupt

Note: The links are missing in the below. Go here: http://www.jacksonheightslife.com/community/index.php?topic=18466.0 for invites with active links.

---

...Here's the invitation sent last week...

Neighbors,


Here are some of the governance challenges and questions we’ll start to address at the November 10 JacksonHeights.nyc Founders Meeting at the Renaissance school (we'll start it off with bagels at 9 AM).

Challenges / Questions

    Privacy… Is it ok to name a Jackson Heights neighbor on posts you make on JacksonHeights.nyc?

    Privacy… When and what’s ok to post about them? (Click here to see how Wikipedia handles the “Biographies of Living Persons“ question. And see this first take about a JacksonHeights.nyc policy.)

    Privacy… More broadly, what should be included in our privacy policy?

    Posting privileges… Should we restrict participation  privileges (posting/editing/voting) to real residents (i.e. postcard confirmed)?

    Posting privileges… If real residents only, what are the neighborhood’s border?

    Posting privileges… What about former residents?

    Content… What type of posts are allowed and not? For example, how do we differentiate between an advertisement or promotion and neighborhood boosting?

    Should we create a digital neighborhood currency? This is an ambitious project that would come within the board’s purview.

    Create a positive Terms of Use agreement. (See here for things to avoid.)


Standard Startup Tasks

    We need to settle on a name: JacksonHeights.nyc Inc. seems obvious, but the founders might think otherwise.

    We need to decide how the new entity will be recognized by government - NYS and the IRS. (It will likely be a 501(c)(3), but there are oodles of choices, see https://www.upcounsel.com/types-of-nonprofits.)

    By-laws must be drafted.

    Should JacksonHeights.nyc be governed using a membership model or have a self-sustaining board?

    As a governance body, how complete does the board need to be before making significant, long term decisions?

    Assuming membership is limited to neighborhood residents, which borders  are we recognizing? (See border maps.)

    Do we want an advisory board? If so, what are the qualifications and duties?

    How do we choose a pro-bono lawyer?

    If a membership model, who qualifies as a member?


Send me your questions/suggestions. And for the latest details on the meeting and the agenda, see this page on the Jackson Heights wiki.

Hope to see you next Saturday, November 10th, 9 AM at the Renaissance School (81st Street at 37th Avenue). Please RSVP to TomL@communisphere.com.

Best,

Tom Lowenhaupt, JacksonHeights.nyc Governance Facilitator

 
P.S. If JacksonHeights.nyc doesn’t ring a bell, go here.

---

...Here's a snipit from the invitation sent last month...

Neighbors,

We need to establish the policies governing our newest neighborhood asset, the JacksonHeights.nyc domain. (Doesn’t ring a bell? See it here.)

JacksonHeights.nyc’s role is to facilitate civic engagement and help improve the quality of our lives. It’s a Swiss-knife of sorts, able to maintain a resident directory of civic, social, and business resources, improve local input to civic and government processes,  keep an eye on our children’s education and cultural advancement, encourage “neighborly networking,” and more. But it only works if governed properly.

If you’d like to help establish policies to govern JacksonHeights.nyc, come to a Founder’s Meeting at the Renaissance School (81st Street at 37th Avenue) on Saturday, November 10th, from 9 AM to 12 PM. Breakfast will be available from 9, with a formal program beginning at 10.

We’ll have a speaker or two from different neighborhood sectors - education, civic, government, business - to spark a conversation on shaping the governance scope and process.

With neighborhood support, JacksonHeights.nyc will be something magnificent, adding a digital foundation that will help facilitate our wishes for decades.

...

Short answer: Connecting.nyc Inc.

Background: In 2014 the city of New York reserved roughly 400 neighborhood names as online hubs for information sharing, civic engagement, economic development, and organizing. To be eligible for a .nyc neighborhood name, the city required that the lead organization meet the following minimum qualifications: (a) be registered as a nonprofit public benefit corporation, or local development corporation, and (b) headquartered within the neighborhood for which a .nyc domain was sought.

Connecting.nyc Inc. met these qualifications and was granted a license for Jackson Heights.nyc in November 2016. The license application for the JacksonHeights.nyc neighborhood domain as approved by the city is available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MgWNGM7fTeKqDMbtej-2GsYA1gL0jHZ2DSvjoHA8pHA/edit?usp=sharing.

As per our commitment in the license agreement, we are now seeking to transfer control to a new entity focused and dedicated to the neighborhood.

Tom Lowenhaupt, Director
Connecting.nyc Inc.

Neighbors,

Here are some of the governance challenges and questions we’ll start to address at the November 10 JacksonHeights.nyc Founders Meeting at the Renaissance school (we'll start it off with bagels at 9 AM).

Challenges / Questions

• Privacy… Is it ok to name a Jackson Heights neighbor on posts you make on JacksonHeights.nyc?
• Privacy… When and what’s ok to post about them? (Click here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons to see how Wikipedia handles the “Biographies of Living Persons“ question. And see this first take  https://wiki.jacksonheights.nyc/wiki/Biographies_of_Living_Persons about a JacksonHeights.nyc policy.)
• Privacy… More broadly, what should be included in our privacy policy?
• Posting privileges… Should we restrict participation  privileges (posting/editing/voting) to real residents (i.e. postcard confirmed)?
• Posting privileges… If real residents only, what are the neighborhood’s border?
• Posting privileges… What about former residents?
• Content… What type of posts are allowed and not? For example, how do we differentiate between an advertisement or promotion and neighborhood boosting?
• Should we create a digital neighborhood currency? This is an ambitious project https://wiki.jacksonheights.nyc/wiki/Toward_a_More_Connected_Neighborhood that would come within the board’s purview.
• Create a positive Terms of Use agreement. (See here for things to avoid http://www.cracked.com/article_19683_6-terrifying-user-agreements-youve-probably-accepted.html.)

   
Standard Startup Tasks

• We need to settle on a name: JacksonHeights.nyc Inc. seems obvious, but the founders might think otherwise.
• We need to decide how the new entity will be recognized by government - NYS and the IRS. (It will likely be a 501(c)(3), but there are oodles of choices, see https://www.upcounsel.com/types-of-nonprofits.)
• By-laws must be drafted.
• Should JacksonHeights.nyc be governed using a membership model or have a self-sustaining board?
• As a governance body, how complete does the board need to be before making significant, long term decisions?
• Assuming membership is limited to neighborhood residents, which borders  are we recognizing? (See border maps https://wiki.jacksonheights.nyc/wiki/Boundaries.)
• Do we want an advisory board? If so, what are the qualifications and duties?
• How do we choose a pro-bono lawyer?
• If a membership model, who qualifies as a member?

   
Send me your questions/suggestions. And for the latest details on the meeting and the agenda, see this page on the Jackson Heights wiki https://wiki.jacksonheights.nyc/wiki/Governance_Process.

Hope to see you next Saturday, November 10th, 9 AM at the Renaissance School (81st Street at 37th Avenue). Please RSVP.

Best,

Tom Lowenhaupt, JacksonHeights.nyc Governance Facilitator

 
P.S. If JacksonHeights.nyc doesn’t ring a bell, go here  https://wiki.jacksonheights.nyc/wiki/Yesterday_%26_Today .

---

...The below is from an earlier letter of invitation...

Neighbors,

We need to establish the policies governing our newest neighborhood asset, the JacksonHeights.nyc domain. (Doesn’t ring a bell? See it here https://wiki.jacksonheights.nyc/wiki/Yesterday_%26_Today .)

JacksonHeights.nyc’s role is to facilitate civic engagement and help improve the quality of our lives. It’s a Swiss-knife of sorts, able to maintain a resident directory of civic, social, and business resources, improve local input to civic and government processes,  keep an eye on our children’s education and cultural advancement, encourage “neighborly networking,” and more. But it only works if governed properly.

If you’d like to help establish policies to govern JacksonHeights.nyc, come to a Founder’s Meeting at the Renaissance School (81st Street at 37th Avenue) on Saturday, November 10th, from 9 AM to 12 PM. Breakfast will be available from 9, with a formal program beginning at 10.

We’ll have a speaker or two from different neighborhood sectors - education, civic, government, business - to spark a conversation on shaping the governance scope and process.

With neighborhood support, JacksonHeights.nyc will be something magnificent, adding a digital foundation that will help facilitate our wishes for decades.

...

Interested in selling? Call 718 639 4222 for Patti.

Interested in buying? Stop by on Saturday, September 15, between 9-4 at Montclair Gardens, 35-35 75 Street.

There is a rudimentary page on how to help the homeless on the Jackson Heights Wiki, for those who might be interested in offering assistance, see here: https://wiki.jacksonheights.nyc/wiki/Homeless.

FYI, there's a page on the Jackson Heights Wiki about Roosevelt Parc at Roosevelt Avenue and the BQE (see https://wiki.jacksonheights.nyc/wiki/Roosevelt_Parc). As the "Parc" impinges on my view of the sky more each day, I'm no lover. But,

...considering its proximity to Diversity Plaza (see https://wiki.jacksonheights.nyc/wiki/Diversity_Plaza), perhaps a civic evangelist might extrapolate on the co-habitation potential and draw the Roosevelt Parc developer, Friends of Diversity Plaza, and the broader neighborhood into a planning process.

How do you get to the Promenade on foot (after Willets Point - is 111th Street better?)

Nicest way to walk to Beckles Promenade is via path at 27th Avenue and Ditmars Blvd. See the pathway over Grand Central here: https://screenshots.firefox.com/LvD1pD1ck45I30CL/www.google.com