Weldon Kennedy, the "Mayor of DUMBO", has been integral to the local DUMBO community in Brooklyn for many years and has always looked out for everyone, and been a rare fixture over the past two decades where so much has drastically changed on his block of Jay St. In recent years, Weldon has fallen on very hard times and many of us in community have been trying to find ways to support him.

For the last 20 years, The Rude Mechanical Orchestra (RMO), a political project that uses music to support social justice causes in New York City, has been rehearsing in DUMBO on Weldon’s block. During this time, we have had the honor of getting to know Weldon, and we’ve put this fundraiser together as part of the community support.

So far, after much effort and bureaucratic hurdles, Weldon is now getting Social Security again, but because of his lack of ID, it has been very hard to get him food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid, all of which he is eligible for. He is on a waitlist for senior housing, and we have been told he has a good chance to getting this in about 10 months. Many of us who have been operating as his financial safety net for the past two years are now tapped out and are asking for help from our networks and community to assist with Weldon's food and housing expenses over the next few months as we work to get him enrolled in the programs he needs.