Grassroots Action

At noon on Wednesday, July 9, 2008, 30 Long Islanders gathered on the sidewalk in front of Rep. Gary Ackerman's Bayside office with signs and flags to protest HR 362, Ackerman's resolution asking for an embargo to be imposed on Iran. Our action took place several hours after Code Pink's "naval blockade" of Ackerman's houseboat in Washington, D.C. We were comprised of members of Great Neck SANE/Peace Action, Five Towns Forum, Code Pink, Pax Christi Long Island, MoveOn.org, LI Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives, Veterans for Peace, and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock. The "Honk for Peace" sign elicited many supportive honks from passing motorists, including a city bus driver.

Two police officers from the Community Affairs section of the nearby 111th Precinct were present to oversee our demonstration. I introduced myself to them as a resident of their precinct. They thanked us for notifying them about the protest but requested that we give them more than a day's advance notice in the future. They also told me that they had to ask one of us to stop playing a drum, because we needed a $45 advance permit to use any "sound device" (loudspeaker, music) which is "an extension of the human voice." I asked if singing needed a permit and they said no.

Marty Melkonian (LI Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives) had a letter to Ackerman and information* about the dangers of such a resolution as HR 362 or S 580, which we all signed. I had a packet of articles critical of HR 362 with a cover letter to Ackerman that we also all signed.
At 12:30 p.m. nine of us went up to Ackerman's office where two of his aides met us in the outer office/waiting room and politely and patiently listened to our statements, since Ackerman was in D.C.
We expressed our opposition to HR 362 and disappointment with Ackerman's sponsoring of it. We explained the dangers of this resolution and our urgent hope for negotiations between Iran and the U.S. instead of a blockade or other military action. We covered the moral, legal, geopolitical, and political aspects of our opposition to any military action against Iran. Neither aide knew when HR 362 would be voted on. In reply to a request to meet with Ackerman when he returns from D.C., we were informed that Anthony Lemma, in charge of scheduling meetings at the Bayside office, was on his honeymoon till July 22, so we'd have to contact Ackerman's D.C. office to find out when Ackerman will be back in Bayside.

Those of us who live in Ackerman's district wrote our names, addresses, and phone numbers on a sheet of paper for his aides.
We dispersed at about 1 .p.m, with some of us, led by Marty, heading out to Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's office near Roosevelt Field Mall to duplicate the protest at Ackerman's office.

Submitted by Ed Ciaccio, July 9, 2008.