1) Update on March 19
2) Support the Right to March on 5th Ave.


***Update on March 19

The Troops Out Now Coalition has won an important victory
by securing rallies in Marcus Garvey Park and Central
Park's East Meadow on March 19.

The day will begin at 10:00 am in Harlem, with a rally at
Marcus Garvey Park, located at 5th Ave. between 120th and
124th Streets.

Following the rally, we will march to the military
recruiting station, one of the busiest in the U.S., on
125th St., where we will protest the economic draft.

Then we will march to the East Meadow in Central Park
(97th St. & 5th Ave) for a major noon rally.

At 3:00 pm, we will march to Mayor Bloomberg's mansion mon
79th St. to demand "FUND CITIES NOT WAR!"

Activists are coming from all over the country to take
part in the rally. Buses are coming from as far away as
Saint Paul, MN. Buses, vans, and car caravans, are being
organized from all over the eastern U.S., and new
orgnizing centers are being added daily--check the updated
list at troopsoutnow.org/orgcents.html.

All over NYC and the surrounding area, antiwar groups,
churches, unions, and community organizations are
preparing to take to the streets on March 19. Some are
organizing feeder marches; others on Long Island, Hudson
Valley, and New Jersey are organizing "Peace Trains"--see
troopsoutnow.org/trains.html for more information.

We need your help with the enormous expenses of this
protest-- You can donate online at
troopsoutnow.org/donate.html.



***Support the Right to March

Although we have secured our right to rally in Marcus
Garvey Park & Central Park, the City is attempting to deny
us the right to march 11 blocks on 5th Ave to Mayor
Bloomberg's house at 79th St. off 5th Ave.

Below is a letter to Mayor Bloomberg aserting our right to
march on 5th Avenue. You can add Your Name to the List of
Signers at:
troopsoutnow.org/statements/marchon5th.html



A CALL TO SUPPORT THE RIGHT TO DEMONSTRATE ON 5TH AVE
AGAINST THE WAR ON MARCH 19 March, 2005

To Mayor Michael Bloomberg:

On March 19, after joining the Harlem community in a
pre-rally and march, tens of thousands of people from all
over New York City and the surrounding region will rally
in Central Park to call for the withdrawal of U.S. troops
from Iraq. We will also call for our tax dollars to be
spent on healthcare, education, food stamps, job programs,
and other human needs, not war. March 19 marks the second
anniversary of the start of the war. Activities will occur
on every continent. Across the U.S., people will mark the
day with protests with the same message: "Bring the troops
home, Funds for cities, not war."

The Troops Out Now Coalition—a grassroots coalition of
over 400 labor, community, and human rights groups—plans
to march down 5th Avenue after a rally in the East Meadow
in Central Park, to your residence on 79th Street, a
distance of about 11 blocks. The police have told
organizers that they will not issue a permit to march on
5th Avenue because they have declared a "moratorium" on
marches there.

Banning protest marches on 5th Avenue is wholly
unwarranted and unreasonable. It is also inconsistent with
the Constitutional right to free speech and assembly. We
call on you Mayor Bloomberg, to lift the ban on protest
marches on 5th Avenue, and let the country and the world
see free speech on 5th Avenue on March 19.

President George Bush recently proclaimed that his primary
mission is to spread freedom all over the world. What
message does it send when one of the most important cities
in the U.S. does not allow a peace march on its most
auspicious avenue?

On March 19, the people of France will march down Champs
Elysee, in London at Hyde Park. Around the world, people
will gather and march in the centers of major cities and
capitals. How can 5th Avenue be declared "off-limits" to
the peace movement?

No issue is more central in the country today then the war
and occupation of Iraq. The economic and personal stakes
in the debate over the war are tremendous. People are
losing loved ones in Iraq; cities are losing funds for
desperately needed services to the war. This is apparent
in our city where the gap between the wealthiest New
Yorkers and the poor or working and unemployed people has
never been greater.

The major peace coalition during the Vietnam War was
headquartered in New York City. It was called the Fifth
Avenue Peace Parade precisely because it wanted the world
to know that the peace movement was not marginal but
central to society. This was a good idea 40 years ago and
it is a good idea today.

Unfortunately, the post-September 11 climate has been used
to challenge civil liberties time and time again,
particularly in this city where a major protest last year
was not allowed to rally in Central Park during the
Republican National Convention. On Feb. 15 2003, when
millions marched against war around the world, protesters
were denied that right in New York. It is vitally
important that the government at every level refrain from
using spurious excuses to impair or limit free speech or
freedom of movement.

The undersigned call upon you Mayor Bloomberg to guarantee
that a permit will be issued for a march on Fifth Avenue.






Initial Signers:


Action 21, Jersey City, NJ Action Center for Justice
Action for Community Empowerment Alberto Lovera Bolivarian
Circle All People's Congress, Baltimore American-Iranian
Friendship Committee Arab American Civic Organization
Artists and Activists United for Peace Association of
Mexican American Workers (AMAT) BAYAN-USA Central New
Jersey Coalition for Peace and Justice Committee to
Support the Iraqi People Cuba Solidarity New York Fight
Imperialism, Stand Together (FIST) Harlem Tenants Council
Hawai'i Solidarity Committee International Action Center
International Concerned Friends & Family of Mumia
Abu-Jamal International Socialist Organization Jersey City
Peace Movement Korea Truth Commission Network in
Solidarity with the People of the Philippines (NISPOP) New
Jersey Solidarity-Activists for the Liberation of
Palestine No Draft No Way Not in Our Name (NION) New York
NY Committee to Defend Palestine NY Committee for Human
Rights in the Philippines NYC Labor Against the War People
Judge Bush People's Organization for Progress (POP)
People's Video Network Progressive Democrats of Illinois
Queers for Peace and Justice Support Network for an Armed
Forces Union Veterans for Peace Western Mass.
International Action Center Women's Fightback Network
Workers World Party

Individual Endorsers Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney
General Anne Pruden, 1199 SEIU* Dr. Luis Barrios, John Jay
College* Brenda Stokely, Pres. AFSCME District Council
1707* Gloria Pacis, Mother of Stephen Funk Teresa
Gutierrez, NY Committee to Free the Cuban 5* Brian
Barraza, AMAT Gina Magloire, Fanmi Lavalas* Kim Rosario,
mother of GI in Iraq Leslie Feinberg/Co-Chair/LGBT
Caucus/National Writers Union* Mike Gimbel, Local 375,
AFSCME / NYCLAW Bill Doares, Million Worker March NY/NJ
Sharon Black, Million Worker March, Baltimore/DC Ken
Stern, Vets for Peace* Kahlil Khan, Movement in Motion
Billy Martin / Spiritchild, Movement in Motion Artists &
Activist Collective* Samia Halaby, Defend Palestine Martha
Grevatt, Pride At Work - Northeast Ohio* Susan E. Davis,
President, External Organizing, United Auto Workers, Local
1981* Steve Gillis*, President, USWA L. 8751 - Boston
School Bus Drivers, Boston, MA

*For I.D. purposes only