Ditmas Park and Flatbush Rep. Says She'll 'Organize' Constituents, But Has No Public Events Scheduled

DITMAS PARK and FLATBUSH, BROOKLYN — Congresswoman Yvette Clarke has already taken a strong public stance against the policies of President Donald Trump, and she told Patch last week that she wants to "organize my constituents" in opposition to him using any tools she can, including email blasts and district meetings.

But as of this week, Clarke had no public events scheduled for her district, and the "Events" page on her website hadn't been updated since November 2014.

Clarke's district includes Ditmas Park and Flatbush, as well as Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Park Slope and Windsor Terrace.

On Wednesday, a staffer who answered the phone at Clarke's Brooklyn office said the congresswoman doesn't have any public events planned at the moment, but such gatherings will be announced on Twitter when they're scheduled.

In response to questions about her public schedule, spokesman Patrick Rheaume said that, "Mostly, the Congresswoman attends a lot of church/community event when she’s back in the district."

Regarding town halls where constituents could publicly question Clarke on her work and record, Rheaume wrote, "I’m not sure about town halls (we had one by telephone in October), but if there are any I’ll let you know."

Democratic members of Congress, even those like Clarke who are publicly aligned against Trump, are facing increasing pressure from local activists to block the president's agenda. A national organization known as "Indivisible" is encouraging people to attend town halls and public meetings held by their elected officials, in order to, "Make them listen to you, and report out when they don’t."

One such Brooklyn group, "Indivisible Brooklyn," is working with residents within Clarke's district.

Brooklyn resident Liat Olenick, who is helping to lead the group, said that Clarke "has been very vocal lately" against Trump, adding that Indivisible Brooklyn is "looking to build a relationship with her office."

"I was actually just trying to research her upcoming events this morning and her website is not very helpful," Olenick added. "I called and got myself on a list to stay informed about events and was also told that they post events on twitter. They didn't tell me about any events in particular though, other than her swearing in ceremony."

Update: After the publication of this article, Rheaume, Clarke's spokesman, said she will be conducting a "tele town hall on Trump's immigration-related executive orders soon."

Pictured at top: Rep. Yvette Clarke. Photo by John V. Santore