Melissa Ader
@melissaader.bsky.social
Director of the Worker Justice Project at The Legal Aid Society. Posts are my own, not my employer’s. She/her 🌈
Reposted by Melissa Ader
Perhaps if you live in NYC, you will be moved to take action in support of increased and STABLE funding for our public libraries after reading this: actionnetwork.org/letters/city...
November 20, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Perhaps if you live in NYC, you will be moved to take action in support of increased and STABLE funding for our public libraries after reading this: actionnetwork.org/letters/city...
Reposted by Melissa Ader
Advocates for the 1.8 million NYC residents who rely on SNAP benefits are calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to do more to ensure that New Yorkers are able to feed themselves and their families come Saturday
Will Hochul Let New Yorkers Go Hungry?
As Republicans shut off SNAP, the governor is sitting on billions in state reserves and tax surpluses. And more links for your Wednesday.
hellgatenyc.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Advocates for the 1.8 million NYC residents who rely on SNAP benefits are calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to do more to ensure that New Yorkers are able to feed themselves and their families come Saturday
Reposted by Melissa Ader
NYC judges have an extremely accurate statistical instrument to help them decide whether to release someone before their trial. But a new study finds that judges often disregard those release recommendations, especially for Black defendants.
NYC Judges Have a Tool to Help Them Rule on Pretrial Detention. Why Are They Ignoring It to Make Racially Skewed Decisions?
Joanna Weill of the Data Collaborative for Justice talks about its new study that finds judges are more likely to ignore release recommendations for Black defendants.
hellgatenyc.com
October 20, 2025 at 12:27 AM
NYC judges have an extremely accurate statistical instrument to help them decide whether to release someone before their trial. But a new study finds that judges often disregard those release recommendations, especially for Black defendants.
Reposted by Melissa Ader
I ALSO GOT THROUGH TO A HUMAN AT SCHUMER'S 202 NUMBER - 202-224-6542
Make those calls, friends! Tell them to vote NO on any bill that cuts trans health care - tell them that trans healthcare saves lives and defending this is worth a shutdown.
Make those calls, friends! Tell them to vote NO on any bill that cuts trans health care - tell them that trans healthcare saves lives and defending this is worth a shutdown.
I just called Chuck Schumer’s office and, for the first time EVER, a person answered, who then politely entered my complaints into their call log.
This tells me two things:
1) They’re not getting enough calls over there, and 2) If you want to yell at Schumer, today’s the day.
(212) 486-4430
This tells me two things:
1) They’re not getting enough calls over there, and 2) If you want to yell at Schumer, today’s the day.
(212) 486-4430
hey, cis people. we need you to call every single elected official you've got, now.
September 29, 2025 at 5:07 PM
I ALSO GOT THROUGH TO A HUMAN AT SCHUMER'S 202 NUMBER - 202-224-6542
Make those calls, friends! Tell them to vote NO on any bill that cuts trans health care - tell them that trans healthcare saves lives and defending this is worth a shutdown.
Make those calls, friends! Tell them to vote NO on any bill that cuts trans health care - tell them that trans healthcare saves lives and defending this is worth a shutdown.
They should not have been in custody.
2 men die in NYPD custody after arrests for unlicensed pedicab and shoplifting food, officials say https://gothamist.com/news/2-men-die-in-nypd-custody-after-arrests-for-unlicensed-pedicab-and-shoplifting-food-officials-say
2 men die in NYPD custody after arrests for unlicensed pedicab and shoplifting food, officials say
NYPD vehicles line the perimeter of a courthouse.
The deaths come as Commissioner Jessica Tisch ramps up low-level crime arrests despite criticism that they criminalize poverty. [ more › ]
gothamist.com
September 3, 2025 at 2:35 PM
They should not have been in custody.
Reposted by Melissa Ader
Today, senator Ron Wyden will raise a point of order to remove the Medicaid and CHIP ban on gender affirming care. The Republicans need 60 votes to keep it in but they only have 53. Call your Dem senator today and urge them to vote to strip the ban from the bill. Senate switchboard 202-224-3121.
June 30, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Today, senator Ron Wyden will raise a point of order to remove the Medicaid and CHIP ban on gender affirming care. The Republicans need 60 votes to keep it in but they only have 53. Call your Dem senator today and urge them to vote to strip the ban from the bill. Senate switchboard 202-224-3121.
Reposted by Melissa Ader
The New York Times is back at it again (derogatory).
An upcoming New York Times podcast on trans youth healthcare used audio from the mother of a trans girl against her will, after producers caught a vulnerable moment on tape.
An upcoming New York Times podcast on trans youth healthcare used audio from the mother of a trans girl against her will, after producers caught a vulnerable moment on tape.
‘Who Can I Talk to That Has a Human Heart?’: New York Times doubles down on harming trans people — Assigned
The mom of a trans girl pleaded with a New York Times producer not to use audio captured in a vulnerable moment. Against her will, the company is slated to use the clip for its new podcast.
www.assignedmedia.org
June 5, 2025 at 1:52 PM
The New York Times is back at it again (derogatory).
An upcoming New York Times podcast on trans youth healthcare used audio from the mother of a trans girl against her will, after producers caught a vulnerable moment on tape.
An upcoming New York Times podcast on trans youth healthcare used audio from the mother of a trans girl against her will, after producers caught a vulnerable moment on tape.
Reposted by Melissa Ader
Enough is ENOUGH! Come out and help demand the NYT show some backbone and lose their bias, or back off.
June 4, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Enough is ENOUGH! Come out and help demand the NYT show some backbone and lose their bias, or back off.
Reposted by Melissa Ader
NYC's Human Rights Law is one of the most robust local human rights laws in the country, but we need expanded resources for @nycchr.bsky.social to ensure its full implementation. We must increase their budget by $6M to enhance their capacity and effectiveness.
www.amny.com/housing/advo...
www.amny.com/housing/advo...
Advocates rally at City Hall for increased Human Rights Commission funding | amNewYork
Dozens of community advocates and local leaders called on the city to increase funding for the New York City Commission on Human Rights.
www.amny.com
June 2, 2025 at 9:54 PM
NYC's Human Rights Law is one of the most robust local human rights laws in the country, but we need expanded resources for @nycchr.bsky.social to ensure its full implementation. We must increase their budget by $6M to enhance their capacity and effectiveness.
www.amny.com/housing/advo...
www.amny.com/housing/advo...
Use the tool, and also call!
Use our tool linked below to contact your senator now. Urge them to vote NO on this bill.
Tell your Senator today: Protect Our Healthcare! Protect Trans People! (4/4)
action.transequality.org/a/stopmedica...
Tell your Senator today: Protect Our Healthcare! Protect Trans People! (4/4)
action.transequality.org/a/stopmedica...
Action Alert: Protect Our Healthcare Now!
Congress is moving forward on a bill that would end Medicaid coverage of our healthcare. It takes two minutes to send an email to your senator!
action.transequality.org
May 23, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Use the tool, and also call!
Reposted by Melissa Ader
Use our tool linked below to contact your senator now. Urge them to vote NO on this bill.
Tell your Senator today: Protect Our Healthcare! Protect Trans People! (4/4)
action.transequality.org/a/stopmedica...
Tell your Senator today: Protect Our Healthcare! Protect Trans People! (4/4)
action.transequality.org/a/stopmedica...
Action Alert: Protect Our Healthcare Now!
Congress is moving forward on a bill that would end Medicaid coverage of our healthcare. It takes two minutes to send an email to your senator!
action.transequality.org
May 22, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Use our tool linked below to contact your senator now. Urge them to vote NO on this bill.
Tell your Senator today: Protect Our Healthcare! Protect Trans People! (4/4)
action.transequality.org/a/stopmedica...
Tell your Senator today: Protect Our Healthcare! Protect Trans People! (4/4)
action.transequality.org/a/stopmedica...
Reposted by Melissa Ader
NEW: After an NY state senator told our reporter that NYU Langone had resumed treatment for trans youth, families shared their ongoing difficult obtaining necessary treatments.
Are reports that care has resumed just empty promises?
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
Are reports that care has resumed just empty promises?
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
Young NYC Trans Patients Face a Limbo With Devastating Implications — Assigned
A series of interviews conducted by Assigned Media reveals that even a step forward in resuming care is accompanied by major limitations and ongoing anxiety.
www.assignedmedia.org
May 10, 2025 at 12:19 PM
NEW: After an NY state senator told our reporter that NYU Langone had resumed treatment for trans youth, families shared their ongoing difficult obtaining necessary treatments.
Are reports that care has resumed just empty promises?
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
Are reports that care has resumed just empty promises?
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
Reposted by Melissa Ader
NEW: While Governor Kathy Hochul pushes an expansion of involuntary commitment in this year's budget, thousands of New Yorkers sit on waitlists for voluntary state-funded mental health programs.
In some cases, they wait for as long as two years.
In some cases, they wait for as long as two years.
Thousands Wait for Long-Term Help While Hochul Pushes Involuntary…
In some counties, the waitlist for state-funded mental health treatment programs can exceed two years.
nysfocus.com
April 22, 2025 at 2:12 PM
NEW: While Governor Kathy Hochul pushes an expansion of involuntary commitment in this year's budget, thousands of New Yorkers sit on waitlists for voluntary state-funded mental health programs.
In some cases, they wait for as long as two years.
In some cases, they wait for as long as two years.
Reposted by Melissa Ader
We can’t let this happen.
Repealing discovery reform means more wrongful convictions and more injustice. Call your lawmakers at 516-916-7076 or fill out our form and urge them to #ProtectKaliefsLaw today. innocenceproject.org/petitions/ne...
Repealing discovery reform means more wrongful convictions and more injustice. Call your lawmakers at 516-916-7076 or fill out our form and urge them to #ProtectKaliefsLaw today. innocenceproject.org/petitions/ne...
Protect Kalief's Law in New York - Innocence Project
Kalief's Browder's tragic suicide after his release is a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of unjust discovery practices.
innocenceproject.org
April 16, 2025 at 6:43 PM
We can’t let this happen.
Repealing discovery reform means more wrongful convictions and more injustice. Call your lawmakers at 516-916-7076 or fill out our form and urge them to #ProtectKaliefsLaw today. innocenceproject.org/petitions/ne...
Repealing discovery reform means more wrongful convictions and more injustice. Call your lawmakers at 516-916-7076 or fill out our form and urge them to #ProtectKaliefsLaw today. innocenceproject.org/petitions/ne...
Reposted by Melissa Ader
URGENT: New York is on the brink of a major rollback that could lead to more wrongful convictions.
Discovery reform — which helps prevent innocent people from incarceration — is under attack. And the process is happening behind closed doors. #ProtectKaliefsLaw
Discovery reform — which helps prevent innocent people from incarceration — is under attack. And the process is happening behind closed doors. #ProtectKaliefsLaw
April 16, 2025 at 6:43 PM
URGENT: New York is on the brink of a major rollback that could lead to more wrongful convictions.
Discovery reform — which helps prevent innocent people from incarceration — is under attack. And the process is happening behind closed doors. #ProtectKaliefsLaw
Discovery reform — which helps prevent innocent people from incarceration — is under attack. And the process is happening behind closed doors. #ProtectKaliefsLaw
Reposted by Melissa Ader
Scoop 🚨
NYC's Under-Resourced Human Rights Commission Has a Years-Long Backlog of Cases
Immigrant Workers Pay the Price
One House Cleaner Filed a Sexual Assault Complaint Against Her Boss in 2019. Her Case is Still Open
My latest @documentedny.bsky.social
documentedny.com/2025/04/10/i...
NYC's Under-Resourced Human Rights Commission Has a Years-Long Backlog of Cases
Immigrant Workers Pay the Price
One House Cleaner Filed a Sexual Assault Complaint Against Her Boss in 2019. Her Case is Still Open
My latest @documentedny.bsky.social
documentedny.com/2025/04/10/i...
Complaints Pile Up at NYC Human Rights Commission — And Immigrant Workers Are Paying the Price
One house cleaner filed a sexual assault complaint against her boss in 2019. After one interview with an investigator in 2020, she has not heard back. She's one of hundreds caught in the system’s back...
documentedny.com
April 10, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Scoop 🚨
NYC's Under-Resourced Human Rights Commission Has a Years-Long Backlog of Cases
Immigrant Workers Pay the Price
One House Cleaner Filed a Sexual Assault Complaint Against Her Boss in 2019. Her Case is Still Open
My latest @documentedny.bsky.social
documentedny.com/2025/04/10/i...
NYC's Under-Resourced Human Rights Commission Has a Years-Long Backlog of Cases
Immigrant Workers Pay the Price
One House Cleaner Filed a Sexual Assault Complaint Against Her Boss in 2019. Her Case is Still Open
My latest @documentedny.bsky.social
documentedny.com/2025/04/10/i...
Reposted by Melissa Ader
A lot going on right now but I still think it's crazy that the NY state budget is a week overdue because the governor is holding it hostage to a retrogressive policy demand based on a claim for which neither she nor anyone else have offered *any* supporting evidence. hellgatenyc.com/tisch-cant-s...
NYPD Commissioner Tisch Is Lobbying Hard to Bring Back the System That Failed Kalief Browder. Her Argument Doesn’t Add Up
Tisch keeps blaming recidivism on discovery reform, but offers no evidence.
hellgatenyc.com
April 7, 2025 at 3:31 PM
A lot going on right now but I still think it's crazy that the NY state budget is a week overdue because the governor is holding it hostage to a retrogressive policy demand based on a claim for which neither she nor anyone else have offered *any* supporting evidence. hellgatenyc.com/tisch-cant-s...
Reposted by Melissa Ader
Cammie Woodman, who is trans, claims her amateur tennis league in Brooklyn kicked her out after another member complained about playing against her. She is calling on the Parks. Dept to investigate the league, which helps players arrange match-ups on public courts.
www.thecity.nyc/2025/04/01/t...
www.thecity.nyc/2025/04/01/t...
Trans Athlete Claims Amateur Brooklyn Tennis League Kicked Her Out
Cammie Woodman claimed she was booted from an amateur league that uses Parks Dept. courts after a cisgender woman complained about losing to a trans player.
www.thecity.nyc
April 1, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Cammie Woodman, who is trans, claims her amateur tennis league in Brooklyn kicked her out after another member complained about playing against her. She is calling on the Parks. Dept to investigate the league, which helps players arrange match-ups on public courts.
www.thecity.nyc/2025/04/01/t...
www.thecity.nyc/2025/04/01/t...
Only 24 staff! And no virtual hearing option, all hearings are in Albany!
NEW: There's a small, overlooked unit within NY's education department that is responsible for reviewing ~6K complaints of teacher misconduct each yr. But it can sometimes take years to close out cases because of a huge backlog.
@nysfocus.bsky.social
nysfocus.com/2025/03/26/n...
@nysfocus.bsky.social
nysfocus.com/2025/03/26/n...
New York’s Teacher Misconduct Cases Face Years-Long Delays, Leaving…
A New York Focus investigation finds that the state can take up to seven years to resolve complaints against educators.
nysfocus.com
March 26, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Only 24 staff! And no virtual hearing option, all hearings are in Albany!
Reposted by Melissa Ader
Jewish Voice for Peace has a really useful tool/script that makes it simple to call your reps about Mahmoud Khalil's chilling arrest
www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/resource/cal...
www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/resource/cal...
Call Congress: Demand the release of student activist Mahmoud Khalil. - JVP
A permanent resident of the United States could face imminent deportation because he stood up for Palestinian rights. We must act now.
www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org
March 11, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Jewish Voice for Peace has a really useful tool/script that makes it simple to call your reps about Mahmoud Khalil's chilling arrest
www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/resource/cal...
www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/resource/cal...
Reposted by Melissa Ader
ADD YOUR NAME: American Jews demand that Mahmoud be released from custody and returned to his family immediately with his green card intact. For Mahmoud’s safety and all of our safety.
www.bendthearc.us/release_khalil
www.bendthearc.us/release_khalil
Jews Demand: Release Mahmoud Khalil
We refuse to be used by Trump to enact his authoritarian agenda.
www.bendthearc.us
March 10, 2025 at 8:10 PM
ADD YOUR NAME: American Jews demand that Mahmoud be released from custody and returned to his family immediately with his green card intact. For Mahmoud’s safety and all of our safety.
www.bendthearc.us/release_khalil
www.bendthearc.us/release_khalil
Reposted by Melissa Ader
UPDATE: Called all my NY reps - national and state, as well as my city councilperson, to ask them to speak out for and fight for the release of Mahmoud Khalil. Here's a quick script if you need one and want to make calls yourself. You can find your reps here: reps.fyi
March 10, 2025 at 2:01 PM
UPDATE: Called all my NY reps - national and state, as well as my city councilperson, to ask them to speak out for and fight for the release of Mahmoud Khalil. Here's a quick script if you need one and want to make calls yourself. You can find your reps here: reps.fyi
Reposted by Melissa Ader
Seeing every major political power broker in New York agree that serial sexual abuse is not only okay, but getting into a position to abuse new victims is a "comeback," is absolutely disgusting.
Do not rank Cuomo.
Do not rank Cuomo.
“His path to victory is to destroy the women he abused,” @lindseyboylan.bsky.social told the AP. “I’ll do everything within my power and my sense of ethics to make sure it doesn’t happen.” apnews.com/article/cuom...
As many top Democrats stay silent on Cuomo mayoral run, an accuser feels betrayed
Lindsey Boylan helped drive Andrew Cuomo from office in 2021 when the former aide came forward as the first woman to accuse the governor of sexual harassment.
apnews.com
March 6, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Seeing every major political power broker in New York agree that serial sexual abuse is not only okay, but getting into a position to abuse new victims is a "comeback," is absolutely disgusting.
Do not rank Cuomo.
Do not rank Cuomo.
Reposted by Melissa Ader
This is a big one: SCOTUS will *not* revisit its precedent allowing states to create "bubble zones" that limit protests outside abortion clinics. Thomas and Alito dissent.
Very surprising—I really thought they'd overturn those precedents after Dobbs. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...
Very surprising—I really thought they'd overturn those precedents after Dobbs. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...
![The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied. JUSTICE
ALITO would grant the petition for a writ of certiorari.
JUSTICE THOMAS, dissenting from the denial of certiorari.
In Hill v. Colorado, 530 U. S. 703 (2000), this Court upheld a state law restricting peaceful speech within 100 feet
of abortion clinics. It was clear at the time that Hill’s reasoning “contradict[ed] more than a half century of well-established First Amendment principles.” Id., at 765 (Kennedy, J., dissenting); see also id., at 742 (Scalia, J., joined
by THOMAS, J., dissenting). A number of us have since described the decision as an “absurd,” “defunct,” “erroneous,”
and “long-discredited” “aberration” from the rest of our
First Amendment jurisprudence. See City of Austin v.
Reagan Nat. Advertising of Austin, LLC, 596 U. S. 61, 86–
87, 92, 103–104 (2022) (THOMAS, J., joined by GORSUCH and
BARRETT, JJ., dissenting) (internal quotation marks omitted). We have long stopped applying Hill. See, e.g., City of
Austin, 596 U. S., at 76. And, a majority of this Court recently acknowledged that Hill “distorted [our] First Amendment doctrines.” Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 597 U. S. 215, 287, and n. 65 (2022). Following our
repudiation in Dobbs, I do not see what is left of Hill. Yet,
lower courts continue to feel bound by it. The Court today
declines an invitation to set the record straight on Hill’s defunct status. I respectfully dissent.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/bafkreicle74qq6asiii2dfd6g7gqo35wbkzt2vncdmooobhdrfhafgqai4@jpeg)
February 24, 2025 at 2:38 PM
This is a big one: SCOTUS will *not* revisit its precedent allowing states to create "bubble zones" that limit protests outside abortion clinics. Thomas and Alito dissent.
Very surprising—I really thought they'd overturn those precedents after Dobbs. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...
Very surprising—I really thought they'd overturn those precedents after Dobbs. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...