CITIZENS OF OLD BRIDGE JOIN FORCES TO SHOW STRENGTH AND SOLIDARITY
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CitizensOfOldBridge NJ
Oct 17, 2010, 2:09:28 AM10/17/10
to Citizens Of Old Bridge NJ
Press Release: September 25th 2010; Old Bridge, NJ
In the first of its kind an educational and experience sharing forum
titled: "Working Together to Secure and Strengthen Our Communities"
held on September 25th at the George Bush Senior Center, Old Bridge,
the residents of the town under the banner of Citizens of Old Bridge,
NJ (COBNJ) joined forced with the US Department of Justice, local law
enforcement and seven Asian American civic rights advocacy groups lead
by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) in a remarkable
display of strength and solidarity in dealing with hate crimes. The
meeting attended by over 175 people, including several NJ State
Senators, Assemblymen and Councilors was hosted by the Old Bridge
township was kicked off by the Mayor, James Phillips. Mr. Phillips
said that local residents, led by Suresh Kumar, had approached him
immediately following the attach on Dr. Divyendu Sinha on June 25,
2010 seeking full measure of justice for the family. However the group
did not stop there and took the initiative to improve the safety of
the neighborhood. The Mayor praised the members of COBNJ for its
positive agenda in working with local law enforcement to improve the
security and safely of the community in Old Bridge.
In his address, Mr Suresh Kumar, one of the COBNJ founders and Co-
Chair of the Indian American Defense League (IADL), said the that the
murder of Dr Divyendu Sinha, residents of Old Bridge, NJ was a "wake
up call that made it clear to us that in order for us to enjoy the
freedoms that we routinely take for granted, we have to make a few
small sacrifices". Mr. Kumar said that was point at which he along
with a handful of friends decided to step up to the plate and create
the Citizens of Old Bridge. The group has now over 150 members
belonging to all ethnic groups. COBNJ has started a neighborhood crime
watch program and is working with local law enforcement to enhance the
safety and security of all residents. Mr. Kumar and Mr. Murali Sastry
presented the COBNJ's "COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE MODEL" which was based
upon the groups experience working with the Mayors office, local law
enforcement, Federal and State agencies, advocacy groups, the school
system and the media. The model stressed the importance for community
members to organize and take a collaborative approach while also
playing a watchdog role to local government. The COBNJ model is simple
to implement can be easily replicated in any other town or city across
the US.
Other presenters included Navneet Bhalla, Policy and Outreach co-
ordinator of SAALT-NJ, who gave a brief history of bias incidents in
NJ, Mr. Amardeep Singh of the Sikh Coalition and member of the
Advisory committee to President Obama, who explained the difference
between bias incidents and bias crimes, Mr. Ravi Sattiraju of South
Asian Bar Association-NJ, who stressed on the importance of reporting
bias events, Ms. Aparna Garg of Asian American Legal Defense and
Education Fund (ALDEF), NJ Legal Services (NJLS), MANAVI and the newly
created Indian American Defense League (IADL), which is umbrella
organization of leaders of many Indian American community
organizations along the lines of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
The program included a joint presentation by senior officials of the
Middlesex County Prosecutors office and the Old Bridge Police, which
explained the various issues and complexities involved in bias
incidents and why it was critical that these events are reported to
local law enforcement immediately. Lt. Robert Greenway of the Old
Bridge Police outlined the Neighborhood Watch program which now has 45
members. The County officials reiterated the commitment of the Country
and Local authorities in properly investigating and prosecuting all
incident that could involve bias.
The event concluded with multiple interactive workshops on examples of
incidents that potentially could involve bias. The workshop, lead by
Linda Ortiz, Concilation Specialist with the US Department of Justice-
Community Relations Service, saw vigorous discussion and opened the
eyes and minds of the participants about the intricacies of bias
incidents and re-emphasized the need for timely reporting of all
incidents. Participants left with the feeling of having gained useful
information about bias incident and what actions could be taken on a
proactive basis to reduce them. Dharmendra Parikh, of COBNJ the MC of
the event summed it as "We organized this event so that we could share
with others what we are doing at Old Bridge. We should not have to
wait for an incident to occur, the community should get organized and
involved right away".
Among the elected officials who attended was Upendra Chivukula, Dy
Speaker- NJ State Assembly, Sam Thompson- State Senator, Amy Handlin-
State Assemblywoman and several Councillors from Old Bridge and other
NJ towns. The event concluded at 1.30 Pm.
Note: Please look under "FILES" for copied of some of the media
coverage of the event.
In the first of its kind an educational and experience sharing forum
titled: "Working Together to Secure and Strengthen Our Communities"
held on September 25th at the George Bush Senior Center, Old Bridge,
the residents of the town under the banner of Citizens of Old Bridge,
NJ (COBNJ) joined forced with the US Department of Justice, local law
enforcement and seven Asian American civic rights advocacy groups lead
by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) in a remarkable
display of strength and solidarity in dealing with hate crimes. The
meeting attended by over 175 people, including several NJ State
Senators, Assemblymen and Councilors was hosted by the Old Bridge
township was kicked off by the Mayor, James Phillips. Mr. Phillips
said that local residents, led by Suresh Kumar, had approached him
immediately following the attach on Dr. Divyendu Sinha on June 25,
2010 seeking full measure of justice for the family. However the group
did not stop there and took the initiative to improve the safety of
the neighborhood. The Mayor praised the members of COBNJ for its
positive agenda in working with local law enforcement to improve the
security and safely of the community in Old Bridge.
In his address, Mr Suresh Kumar, one of the COBNJ founders and Co-
Chair of the Indian American Defense League (IADL), said the that the
murder of Dr Divyendu Sinha, residents of Old Bridge, NJ was a "wake
up call that made it clear to us that in order for us to enjoy the
freedoms that we routinely take for granted, we have to make a few
small sacrifices". Mr. Kumar said that was point at which he along
with a handful of friends decided to step up to the plate and create
the Citizens of Old Bridge. The group has now over 150 members
belonging to all ethnic groups. COBNJ has started a neighborhood crime
watch program and is working with local law enforcement to enhance the
safety and security of all residents. Mr. Kumar and Mr. Murali Sastry
presented the COBNJ's "COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE MODEL" which was based
upon the groups experience working with the Mayors office, local law
enforcement, Federal and State agencies, advocacy groups, the school
system and the media. The model stressed the importance for community
members to organize and take a collaborative approach while also
playing a watchdog role to local government. The COBNJ model is simple
to implement can be easily replicated in any other town or city across
the US.
Other presenters included Navneet Bhalla, Policy and Outreach co-
ordinator of SAALT-NJ, who gave a brief history of bias incidents in
NJ, Mr. Amardeep Singh of the Sikh Coalition and member of the
Advisory committee to President Obama, who explained the difference
between bias incidents and bias crimes, Mr. Ravi Sattiraju of South
Asian Bar Association-NJ, who stressed on the importance of reporting
bias events, Ms. Aparna Garg of Asian American Legal Defense and
Education Fund (ALDEF), NJ Legal Services (NJLS), MANAVI and the newly
created Indian American Defense League (IADL), which is umbrella
organization of leaders of many Indian American community
organizations along the lines of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
The program included a joint presentation by senior officials of the
Middlesex County Prosecutors office and the Old Bridge Police, which
explained the various issues and complexities involved in bias
incidents and why it was critical that these events are reported to
local law enforcement immediately. Lt. Robert Greenway of the Old
Bridge Police outlined the Neighborhood Watch program which now has 45
members. The County officials reiterated the commitment of the Country
and Local authorities in properly investigating and prosecuting all
incident that could involve bias.
The event concluded with multiple interactive workshops on examples of
incidents that potentially could involve bias. The workshop, lead by
Linda Ortiz, Concilation Specialist with the US Department of Justice-
Community Relations Service, saw vigorous discussion and opened the
eyes and minds of the participants about the intricacies of bias
incidents and re-emphasized the need for timely reporting of all
incidents. Participants left with the feeling of having gained useful
information about bias incident and what actions could be taken on a
proactive basis to reduce them. Dharmendra Parikh, of COBNJ the MC of
the event summed it as "We organized this event so that we could share
with others what we are doing at Old Bridge. We should not have to
wait for an incident to occur, the community should get organized and
involved right away".
Among the elected officials who attended was Upendra Chivukula, Dy
Speaker- NJ State Assembly, Sam Thompson- State Senator, Amy Handlin-
State Assemblywoman and several Councillors from Old Bridge and other
NJ towns. The event concluded at 1.30 Pm.
Note: Please look under "FILES" for copied of some of the media
coverage of the event.
CitizensOfOldBridge NJ
Oct 17, 2010, 2:45:05 AM10/17/10
to Citizens Of Old Bridge NJ
COBNJ would like to thank all those who attend our Community forum on
September 25th. In particular we would like to thank the following
members for the key role they played in organizing the event: Satish
Penkala, Dhamendra Parikh, Murali Sastry, Deepak Verma, Charles
Daniel, Balaji Natarajan and Sudeep. We would also like to thank
Navneet Bhalla of SAALT, Linda Ortiz of DOJ and Lt. Robert Greenway of
the Old Bridge Police for their help with the event. We share below
some of the event feedback that we recieved.
*******************************************
Suresh,
I would like to congratulate you and your team Citizens of Old Bridge
team for the well organized and professional program today with Mayor,
Prosecutor Office, Department of Justice, Old Bridge Police as well as
several advocacy groups. I had no idea that there are so many legal
assistance groups.
This is not small effort and requires good teamwork and leadership.
It will be role model for others, as mentioned by the Sikh group
leader who said he was active 20 years in the community dealing with
these issues but not seen a program like this.
Regards,
Satya D
Justice For Divyendu Sinha
*****************************
The NJ Community Forum in Old Bridge was an absolute success! The
event was a collaborative effort between the Citizens of Old Bridge,
SAALT and the Community Relations Service of DOJ along with our
advocacy group partners mentioned below who did a great job with the
presentation. We worked very closely with Suresh Kumar, the COB, DOJ
and law enforcement throughout the process and coordinated with them.
Suresh Kumar and the COB worked extremely hard and put in a lot of
time and effort and it was wonderful to see such an active and
mobilized community group.
Navneet Bhalla
Policy and Outreach Coordinator-NJ
I attended the following community forum, and the organization and the
contents of this forum is exceptional. I learned a lot in this forum
and it's very informative. Although I attended this forum as a private
Citizen of West Windsor, I am also a member a member of a team, which
runs NJ based IIT forums. These forums are run on an infrequent
schedule and the attendance is about 40-60 people. However, we are
working on an IIT Forum on Non-Profit Groups, Nov 4th, 6:00 PM - 9:00
PM in New Brunswick, at the GingerNOlive Restaurant (opposite New
Brunswick Railway Station). We are still working on the agenda, and we
would like to include an Informal update on activities associated with
Citizens of OldBridge and Dr. Sinha's case. We hope that you, or some
one else from the Citizens of OldBridge Group can participate in the
Nov 5th IIT Forum in New Brunswick.
Thanks,
Ram Chelluri
**********************************************
Kudos to Suresh Kumar and the Citizens of Oldbridge.
Congratulations
Govinda Rajan
*************************************************
I attended the COB event today with a friend and just wanted to say
it was OUTSTANDING. To be honest, I got much more that what I
expected. I was very happy that COB was able to bring so many diverse
organizations and the government to the table and pull it of so well.
The COB presentation was well put together. All other presenters had
good information to share. My heartfelt thanks to all all involved
(and your spouses) with this wonderful effort. Great Job!
Neerja
***********************************************
September 25th. In particular we would like to thank the following
members for the key role they played in organizing the event: Satish
Penkala, Dhamendra Parikh, Murali Sastry, Deepak Verma, Charles
Daniel, Balaji Natarajan and Sudeep. We would also like to thank
Navneet Bhalla of SAALT, Linda Ortiz of DOJ and Lt. Robert Greenway of
the Old Bridge Police for their help with the event. We share below
some of the event feedback that we recieved.
*******************************************
Suresh,
I would like to congratulate you and your team Citizens of Old Bridge
team for the well organized and professional program today with Mayor,
Prosecutor Office, Department of Justice, Old Bridge Police as well as
several advocacy groups. I had no idea that there are so many legal
assistance groups.
This is not small effort and requires good teamwork and leadership.
It will be role model for others, as mentioned by the Sikh group
leader who said he was active 20 years in the community dealing with
these issues but not seen a program like this.
Regards,
Satya D
Justice For Divyendu Sinha
*****************************
The NJ Community Forum in Old Bridge was an absolute success! The
event was a collaborative effort between the Citizens of Old Bridge,
SAALT and the Community Relations Service of DOJ along with our
advocacy group partners mentioned below who did a great job with the
presentation. We worked very closely with Suresh Kumar, the COB, DOJ
and law enforcement throughout the process and coordinated with them.
Suresh Kumar and the COB worked extremely hard and put in a lot of
time and effort and it was wonderful to see such an active and
mobilized community group.
Navneet Bhalla
Policy and Outreach Coordinator-NJ
South Asian Americans Leading Together
*****************************************
I attended the following community forum, and the organization and the
contents of this forum is exceptional. I learned a lot in this forum
and it's very informative. Although I attended this forum as a private
Citizen of West Windsor, I am also a member a member of a team, which
runs NJ based IIT forums. These forums are run on an infrequent
schedule and the attendance is about 40-60 people. However, we are
working on an IIT Forum on Non-Profit Groups, Nov 4th, 6:00 PM - 9:00
PM in New Brunswick, at the GingerNOlive Restaurant (opposite New
Brunswick Railway Station). We are still working on the agenda, and we
would like to include an Informal update on activities associated with
Citizens of OldBridge and Dr. Sinha's case. We hope that you, or some
one else from the Citizens of OldBridge Group can participate in the
Nov 5th IIT Forum in New Brunswick.
Thanks,
Ram Chelluri
**********************************************
Kudos to Suresh Kumar and the Citizens of Oldbridge.
Congratulations
Govinda Rajan
*************************************************
I attended the COB event today with a friend and just wanted to say
it was OUTSTANDING. To be honest, I got much more that what I
expected. I was very happy that COB was able to bring so many diverse
organizations and the government to the table and pull it of so well.
The COB presentation was well put together. All other presenters had
good information to share. My heartfelt thanks to all all involved
(and your spouses) with this wonderful effort. Great Job!
Neerja
***********************************************
Navneet Bhalla
Nov 3, 2010, 11:19:21 AM11/3/10
to CO...@googlegroups.com
Hi All,
Hope you are all well. I have been out of the country for the past two weeks so I haven't been able to correspond with everyone. I wanted to personally thank each one of you once again for all the hard work and effort you put into the community forum on September 25th. It was great working with each of you and I truly appreciate your collaboration.
On behalf of SAALT, I wanted to particularly thank Suresh and every single member of the Citizens of Old Bridge (COB) who worked together as a team and put long hours into making the community forum such a success. It really was a great event by everyone's account and the COB did an amazing job! Your hard work and commitment are very much appreciated.
We value your collaboration and look forward to working with all of you in the future. Thank you.
Best,
New Jersey Policy and Outreach Coordinator/Consultant
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
Tel: (301) 270-1855 | Fax: (301) 270-1882
Cell: (201) 993-3758
Email: nav...@saalt.org
Web: www.saalt.org
Follow us at twitter.com/SAALTweets or become a fan at SAALT's Facebook Page.
Check out our blog, the SAALT Spot , at www.blog.saalt.org.
From: co...@googlegroups.com on behalf of CitizensOfOldBridge NJ
Sent: Sun 10/17/2010 2:45 AM
To: Citizens Of Old Bridge NJ
Subject: [Citizens of Old Bridge, NJ] Re: CITIZENS OF OLD BRIDGE JOIN FORCES TO SHOW STRENGTH AND SOLIDARITY
Email: nav...@saalt.org
Web: www.saalt.org
Follow us at twitter.com/SAALTweets or become a fan at SAALT's Facebook Page.
Check out our blog, the SAALT Spot , at www.blog.saalt.org.
From: co...@googlegroups.com on behalf of CitizensOfOldBridge NJ
Sent: Sun 10/17/2010 2:45 AM
To: Citizens Of Old Bridge NJ
Subject: [Citizens of Old Bridge, NJ] Re: CITIZENS OF OLD BRIDGE JOIN FORCES TO SHOW STRENGTH AND SOLIDARITY
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