HELP ME FIGHT SYSTEMIC INJUSTICE IN ROCHESTER

I need financial help to hold the City of Rochester accountable for flagrant violations of due process and the law. Please make this effort count.

"If I don’t bring the petition, this whole pile of corruption will disappear, If I want it on the record, I must bring a lawsuit before

the Supreme Court of Monroe County ."

THE ASK - TOTAL $3,810

$2700 - to pay debt accrued since March while fighting injustice instead of making and selling my work

$660 - filing fees for lawsuit against the City of Rochester

$450 stipend to work on the project in January - will buy me a month more of working on this without going into debt. If the campaign is funded past the goal it will be used as one month stipends in this manner

THE LAWSUIT

When government institutions violate the law with impunity, it’s frightening—and deeply disempowering—especially when the systems involved are opaque by design. At the local level, this happens most easily in low-income areas, where residents don’t have the resources to push back. An individual citizen is no match for a municipality backed by a team of lawyers. That imbalance is how unlawful actions go unchecked.

My area, 14621 is one of the poorest zip codes in the country. It doesn’t have wealthy neighborhood associations or people with insider access. So I’m doing what’s left: learning the legal boundaries myself and bringing a lawsuit against the City for violations of the law which harm marginalized neighborhoods.

This work takes a lot of time, research, money and sustained effort. I have limited resources in all regards, especially financially, but I’m committed to seeing this through. I can do this…with your help.

Your financial support will allow me to keep working on this initiative and bring my case before the Supreme Court of Monroe County. It will cover the debt I incurred by prioritizing this fight over producing and selling artwork, and it will help fund the concrete costs of litigation. Most importantly, it will allow this effort to continue—so the record reflects what actually happened, and so marginalized communities in Rochester aren’t left without recourse when the law is ignored.

It could be a bust or…

....it could set a new precedent, expose corruption and force change.

THE STORY- How I got here

Some of you know that Verizon proposed a 60-foot cell tower with an exposed equipment compound on the corner of our main street. Beyond the absurdity (and illegality) of placing infrastructure like that so close to homes—and its impact on property values—there were real health concerns.

I live with CFS/ME (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). Research shows that long-term exposure to radio-frequency radiation can affect mitochondria, which are central to cellular energy. CFS/ME took away the life I once loved, and I’ve worked hard to stabilize. The fear of losing that stability due to constant close-range exposure was overwhelming.

So, panicked, I spent several months learning everything I could to stop the tower—zoning, permitting, radio-frequency radiation, telecommunications systems, organizing, and activism. This worry wasn’t abstract. My health concerns, combined with what I experienced as clear discrimination and obstruction by the administration, fueled a mix of fear and anger. For five long, stressful months, nearly all my energy went into stopping the tower.

In the end, we won. The tower was voted down.

But the relief was limited. What I witnessed within the administration and review boards during that five months—evasion, misinformation, withheld records, broken laws and apparent violations of ethics and due process—was shocking and frightening all over again. I began to study the laws and codes governing these procedures and decisions. That knowledge only deepened my concern, as my suspicion of foul play was confirmed and the systemic oppression became clear.

Despite multiple efforts to resolve my concerns --through contacting the zoning department , review boards, and City Council--nothing changed, I was brushed aside.

I know I can’t fix the system, but I can challenge the unlawful actions that affect me and my community. I didn't go looking for this problem, it arrived at my doorstep while I was minding my own business. To do nothing would be antithetical to my moral code.

So I followed the legal procedure and filed an appeal of a zoning decision I believe is unlawfully allowing commercial uses in residential neighborhoods (only in poor areas). The City accepted the appeal and scheduled a hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals. On the night it was to be heard, at a private meeting, the Chair of the ZBA refused to hear the appeal—no vote, no decision, no explanation, no hearing.

That was highly illegal.

Why all the hubbub...Bub?

The issues I’m addressing in my appeal will acknowledge and expose a long-standing pattern of disinvestment on the part of the City of Rochester. The evidence of this disinvestment is irrefutable. My appeal will put these violations on the official record.

As we watch government institutions act with impunity, it’s easy to feel powerless, especially when the processes behind government actions are so opaque. Rochester --as is true with most cities--gets away with whatever they can. There is an illusion of a lawful process which is only made firm when opposed.

If I don’t bring the petition, this whole pile of corruption will disappear, If I want it on the record, I must petition the Supreme Court of Monroe County .

THE PROJECT

The Project is what I call this whole endeavor. “I’m working on the project” is what you may hear if you are in my daily life. It started with fighting the cell tower and now includes the appeal brought before the Zoning Board, the lawsuit being prepared against the city and ongoing education I’m getting regarding systems of government and how to hold them accountable. I am trying to come up with creative ways to expose corruption and bring a modicum of equity under the law.

My work in winning against Verizon and the City proves that people with passion can effect change. Please help me see this through.

With gratitude,

Ames

'You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.' –Angela Davis