Stick a fork in 'em. They're done.

Sierra Club NYC: Stick a fork in 'em. They're done.

As the nation's largest environmental grassroots group - in theory - Sierra Club should have an especially robust presence in NYC, the nation's largest city.  As discussed previously on this blog, other large cities have vibrant and dynamic Sierra Club groups, which can support SC national programs.

For decades, the SC NYC Group was controlled by a clique of longtime members who maintained a tight grip on their official roles, but through flagrant incompetence drove the Group into the ground, maintaining its form as an elaborate parasitical charade while doing very little.  
 
I tried turning the Group around when I was chair, during 2008 - 10.  The old guard ran a campaign based on fraud and libel, defeating me and my slate of newcomers, detailed ad nauseum on this blog. The evidence was sent to the SC National Board, which could have removed the leaders of the old guard.  Instead, they misguidedly opted for lenience, leaving the old guard in charge for many years.  

In 2016, the old guard tried to incite a rebellion of other Sierra Club state chapters against the National.  Finally National woke up and threw three of the old guard's leaders out.  With the SC NYC Executive Committee down to a skeleton crew, would its new leader - picked by the old guard - try to rebuild the SC brand in NYC - or continue the charade while doing little or nothing?

An ExCom election is coming up this winter.  A visit to the SC NYC website reveals that the Group reasonably promotes the programs of other organizations, as it has has no programs of its own, besides a series of presentations not related to Group programs or organizing initiatives.   I asked the SC NYC ExCom, copying NY State Chapter leaders, a number of reasonable questions about its plans moving forward. They are recopied below.

The current chair (see her direct quote below) replied that the Group does keep minutes, which could demonstrate what the ExCom or the Group is actually doing.  Really? Several times over recent years I was told that Jim Lane, the former secretary of the NYC Group had the minutes but they were never accessible due to his computer problems.  Since Lane, the leader of the old guard, was expelled from the Club, it will be deeply surprising if any of the minutes that were allegedly kept ever materialize.  Or if they did, what light they would shed on Group activities. I asked the Group to post the minutes on its website, if they actually have them.  Don't hold your breath.

Why should anyone care? If you're a Sierra Club member or donor in NYC, the cut of your dues going to National activities are more likely to be competently spent than the portion than whatever fraction subsidizes the dysfunctional NYC Group. 

Unless there is a determined effort to rebuild the NYC Group, it is a liability for SC National and the NY State Chapter.  I suggested unplugging it. 

The NYC Group ExCom supposedly found candidates to fill its vacancies at its election this winter.  Maybe in 2017 those new members will come in and actually do something useful. SC members have a right to meet the candidates, hand-picked by representatives of the old guard, and learn directly what plans any of them might have.  Again, I'm not holding my breath. 

My aim is to encourage open discussion.  Contact NYC Group, NY State Chapter, and National leaders.  Voice your concerns. 

If you're not satisfied with their answers, consider directing your financial support to other groups.

= = = = = = =

Dan Miner <beyondoilnyc@gmail.com>

Allison, thanks for your reply.

While I occasionally get emails from National, I have not received any emails from the NYC Group.

I'm glad to hear that the ExCom keeps minutes. At some Excom meetings over the last few years, I and other ExCom members asked about minutes and were told they were not accessible. 

I'm glad to hear that you plan to put more content on the Group's website.  When can you recover and post all recent ExCom minutes on the site?

Group, Chapter and National leaders all have an interest in supporting the rebuilding of the NYC Group. I encourage all of you to discuss the questions I raised in my September and October emails below - which have so far not been addressed.

If this Group was in a thinly populated rural area, its lack of activity and transparency might be of low priority for the national Sierra Club.  However, since the NYC Group has the capacity to work collaboratively with the Chapter and National to promote Club programs in the largest city in the country, upgrading NYC Group activities is a matter of particular concern.
I look forward to hearing more about Group plans.  The website says that the next meeting of the ExCom is on Nov. 10. Is that correct, and will it take place at the office location of One Penn Plaza, Suite 6285 in Manhattan? [No one ever responded, which makes me wonder if the actual ExCom meetings take place at undisclosed times and locations. ] Thanks in advance for confirming this.

Dan

= = = = = =

	Oct 14 (4 days ago)
to Allison, blaneweber, hungryhiker, eadie2act4water, Thelma, Gary, alan, Antuan, Irene, Thomas, lisa.dicaprio, Carl, Erin, Don, kulicksw, hcohen5608, financial, legaladvisor, shlawr2, Kathryn,

Allison Tupper

No, the NYC Group is not defunct.  The nominations will be announced in the City Sierran to be mailed this fall and were announced to our active members.  We’re working on getting more current info on the web site.  We promote national and chapter activities by email, whether they are on the local group web site or not.  All ExCom members attend meetings regularly.  Yes, we keep minutes.

From: Dan Miner [mailto:beyondoilnyc@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2016 5:56 PM
To: Tupper Allison <AllisonTupper@verizon.net>; blaneweber@aol.com; hungryhiker@aol.com; eadie2act4water@aol.com; Thelma Fellows <thelmafellows@gmail.com>; Gary Nickerson <gary@gwntec.com>; alan jay gerson <alanjgerson@gmail.com>; Antuan Cannon <antuan@envirolution1.com>; Irene Van Slyke <irene.vanslyke@verizon.net>
Cc: Thomas Wysmuller <tom@colderside.com>; lisa.dicaprio@nyu.edu; Carl Arnold <carlarnold@mac.com>; Erin Riddle <riddleriddle@gmail.com>; dhughes171@gmail.com; kulicksw@lemoyne.edu; hcohen5608@earthlink.net; financial@newyork.sierraclub.org; legaladvisor@newyork.sierraclub.org; shlawr2@aol.com; Kathryn Bartholomew <ecogreenwolf@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Requesting update on SC NYC ExCom candidates - and Group activities

	Oct 12 (6 days ago)
to me, blaneweber, hungryhiker, eadie2act4water, Thelma, Gary, alan, Antuan, Irene, Thomas, lisa.dicaprio, Carl, Erin, dhughes171, kulicksw, hcohen5608, financial, legaladvisor, shlawr2, Kathryn

= = = = = = = =

Dan Miner <beyondoilnyc@gmail.com>

Alison,

In mid-September I asked you and the ExCom for an update on the NYC Group's activities.  I didn't receive a reply.  My questions - recopied below - are still pertinent for me and the many other Sierra Club members in NYC who you represent.

Fortunately, some updates are still being made to the Group's website.  Soon after my Sept. 14 email, the information about the Group's ExCom election and the request for candidates originally put up in July was removed.  However, the home page still has a link for the Spring program on the right side of the page.

I am glad to see the October 6 event from National's Beyond Coal Campaign listed.  I found out about this event a few weeks back from an activist friend and asked why the NYC Group was not promoting it.  This is especially important as the NYC Group still seems to have no current activities of its own, asides from hosting presentations at the Seafarer's House. At the very least it should be promoting National and Chapter activities accessible to members in NYC.

In September I asked a number of specific questions about the current and planned activities of the NYC Group. Since it appears that the Group has become even less functional than it was before, I encourage ExCom members to do some soul searching and brief Chapter and National leaders. 
Do Group and Chapter leaders have any plans to resuscitate the moribund NYC Group? Did Club leaders find any capable members willing to run for the ExCom, and to take charge of this important and extremely challenging project?
I suggest that if neither the Group nor the Chapter has a credible plan for rebuilding the NYC Group, the pretense should be mercifully ended.  The Group should be declared dead, and either dissolved or disbanded, or whatever is its equivalent within Club procedures. Any funds marked for the NYC Group should be redirected to the Chapter or National campaigns active in NYC. 

Perhaps this request will stimulate useful discussion, and more importantly, action.  I would appreciate any reply.

Dan

	Oct 12 (6 days ago)
to Erin, dhughes171, kulicksw, hcohen5608, financial, legaladvisor, shlawr2, Kathryn, Tupper, blaneweber, hungryhiker, eadie2act4water, Thelma, Gary, alan, Antuan, Irene, Thomas, lisa.dicaprio, Carl

= = = = = = = = =

Dan Miner <beyondoilnyc@gmail.com>

Allison,

The Group web site still contains the request for ExCom candidates that was posted back in July.  According to it, the nominating committee was to have finalized its decision at the end of August. I have a number of questions that I think are relevant to the Group as a whole. I hope your answers will stimulate discussion among the ExCom and concerned members.

• When is the Nominating Committee planning to announce its approved candidates on the website?
  
• If the committee plans to keep their identity secret until the printed newsletter containing the ballots is sent out, how does that serve the interest of Group members?
  
• Are approved candidates expected to actively carry out work on behalf of the Group before the election, and if not, why not?
  
• The homepage states the election will fill four seats with two-year terms and the unexpired year of any vacancies. As of this month, exactly how many seats is that?
  
• Did the Nominating Committee receive a number of candidate applications equal or greater to the current number of vacant seats?
  
• If the Committee approved a number of candidates equal to the number of vacant seats, it would create the appearance that the election will be a procedural formality and that Group members have no choice in electing ExCom members, who are in practice selected by the Nominating Committee.
  
• I believe the Group by-laws have a provision that ExCom members who miss a certain number of meetings should be removed.  How do you plan to address ExCom members in name only who don't attend meetings or actually do work on behalf of the Group?
  
• Does the ExCom keep minutes of its meetings, containing a record of its decisions and attendees? If not, why not?
  
• If ExCom meeting minutes do exist, I request that they be uploaded to the website.

The home page has outdated information on upcoming events - citing the Group's spring event series. There is no information on the website about the fall event series which was recently mailed out to members via postcard. Who is now responsible for maintaining the website?

The home page contains links to a Dakota pipeline solidarity event and the calendar of Lower East Side Ecology Center events. However, the Group's Issues and Actions page is empty.  Does the Group have any activities or is it working on any issues? 

Perhaps the Group's empty Issues and Actions page is a more accurate reflection of the Group's activity than the Contacts and Committees page, which alleges that the Group has over 15 committees. For many years the Group has maintained the facade of committees that exist in name only with no apparent activity.  I would encourage the ExCom to either post its actual activities on the site or remove the misleading and deceptive committees-in-name-only.

Former ExCom members used to have a solid voting bloc on the ExCom in support of maintaining the many non-existent committees.  Now that they are gone, you can choose to follow in their patterns out of habit, and maintain the denial - or rebuild what has long been a defunct Group.

I don't think the NYC Group can be rebuilt without first acknowledging - at least internally - that it has been defunct for many years.  What do you think about this?

What do you, current ExCom members, and approved ExCom candidates plan to do in order to reactivate the NYC Group?

For the record, I volunteered to assist in this effort by applying as a candidate for the ExCom.  The Nominating Committee turned down my application.

Again, I hope this stimulates useful discussion.  I look forward to your reply.

Dan

	Sep 14
to Tupper, Irene, Antuan, hungryhiker, Thelma, eadie2act4water, alan, Gary, blaneweber, Thomas, lisa.dicaprio, Carl