January Commons

January Commons

January Commons will be Friday, January 15, 2016, 7:30 p.m. at the home of John and JoAnna Motylewski, 658 53rd Street, Brooklyn, New York

DIRECTIONS

By subway

R train to 53rd Street station. Walk uphill to #658; use downstairs 1st floor entrance.

By car

From Bronx or Manhattan:

Take Battery Tunnel, Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge or Triboro Bridge to BQE (Rt 278) westbound. Exit at 39th Street. At the end of the ramp, turn left, then turn left again at the next corner. You are now heading east on 40th Street. Go 2 blocks to 4th Ave and turn right. At 52nd Street, turn left and go down to 7th Ave. Turn right. Then turn right on 53rd Street. Number 658 will be on the left. You may need to take some time to find parking.

From Queens and Long Island:

Take the LIE or your best route to the BQE (Rt 278) westbound. Proceed as above. Alternately, take the Southern State Pkwy to the Belt Pkwy and proceed as below.

From Southern Brooklyn or from Staten Island:

Take the Belt Pkwy or the Gowanus Expwy to the BQE (Rt 278) eastbound. Exit at 38th Street. At the end of the ramp, turn right onto 4th Ave. Proceed to 52nd Street and turn left. Take this up to 7th Ave and turn right. Then turn right on 53rd Street. Number 658 will be on the left. You may need to take some time to find parking.

 

Viceregal Succession

As a reminder, the election for Østgarðr’s new Viceroy and Vicereine is coming soon. There is one slate of candidates, Suder Saaren and Lada Monguligan, and a polling ballot will be sent out to all paid members some time in January. Even though there’s only one slate of candidates, we need at least 50% of the ballots to be returned in order for the poll to be considered valid. Ballots of members 14 and up will be tallied toward the outcome. Ballots from those under 14 will be included for determining validity, but not for determining the outcome. The ballots will state a deadline, which will be between 30-45 days from the time they’re mailed.

After that, ballots will be tallied by the Branch Polling Deputy, a Regional Seneschal, and the Kingdom Seneschal (or designate). Talliers must not reside in the branch conducting the polling or have any other conflict of interest regarding the polling. Returned ballots may only be viewed by the talliers, the Kingdom Seneschal and/or the Kingdom Seneschal’s designates, and The Crown. The outcome of the polling will be determined by a simple majority of valid returned ballots. If a polling fails to result in a simple majority, the disposition of the polling falls to The Crown. (Which it technically is anyway….)

(The Østgarðr Bylaws specify a Borda count, not a majority, but when there are fewer than three slates of candidates, they’re equivalent.)

Relevant Law

The Bylaws of the Crown Province of Østgarðr; see section II.C

Current East Kingdom Law; see section VII.C.

The Governing Documents of the SCA; see section V.A.1.

Ostgardr commons – 11/20/15 7:30pm

Ostgardr is now accepting candidates for the position of Seneschal. And will be until the process begins at the meeting (yes you can declare at the meeting at before the election).
Currently we have two candidates and encourage more people to join in the process. In alphabetical order
Francesco Gaetano Greco d’Edessa Court Bishop of the East
Master Philip White
As well you are welcome to come to the meeting and ask the candidates questions.

Directions to November Commons
http://www.panix.com/~piglet/solar-directions.html

November Commons will be Friday, Nov. 20, 2015 at 255 W. 105th St., #21 (at Broadway) on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

The building is on the northwest corner of 105th St. and Broadway, above Henry’s (restaurant). The apartment building entrance is about midblock on 105th west of Broadway. Tell the doorman you are here for the meeting in 21. The elevator is around the doorman’s desk, towards the Broadway side of the lobby. 2nd floor, exit the elevator, *turn around*, enter door beside elevator.
By Subway
The closest subway stop is 103rd St., on the #1 train.
By Subway & Bus (NO STAIRS)
Take your best route to the 1/2/3 96th St. stop; exit using the elevator.
Cross Broadway uptown to its east side, north of 96th St. Board the uptown M104 bus. Exit at 104th or 106th St. Cross Broadway, walk 1 short block to 105th St.
Enter building. Take elevator to 2nd floor…

ALLERGEN INFORMATION
2 fluffy cats, neither of whom will be in evidence
1 large friendly dog, who will appear briefly; well-vacuumed

Ostgardr Commons – 11/20/2015

PLEASE READ-
The Next Commons meeting on the 20th.
There will be some Very important issues discussed.
I highly recommend that if you can make it please do.
Some of the topics, but not limited to, will be
1) the Viceregal succession
2) the choosing a new Seneschal for the Crown Province
3) upcoming officers meeting
4) the Exchequer office- replacing our current Exchequer when he steps down.
Other things of note-
Important there will be no December meeting
The Meeting starts at 7:30 address on link below.
Thank You
Viceroy Gui
PS please feel free to contact me if you have any questions
http://www.panix.com/~piglet/solar-directions.html

Commons on 9/18/15 at 7:30pm

Mariya I will be hosting the September Ostgardr Commons Meeting on Friday, September 18th, at 7:30PM.

My address is 24-47 26th Street, Astoria, NY 11102 (between Hoyt Avenue and 24th Avenue).
Nearest subway stop is the Astoria bound N or Q line stopping at Astoria Blvd. Walk 4 blocks in the direction of the Triboro Bridge (stay to the right of the bridge). Turn right onto 26th Street.

If you’re driving from Westchester/Bronx/NYC take the first exit off the Triboro Bridge (31st Street/Astoria Blvd Exit). Keep left at the fork and follow signs for 31st Street and merge onto Hoyt Avenue. Turn left onto 33rd Street. Take the first left onto Hoyt Avenue North. Go straight (3 lights) and turn right onto 26th Street. I’m about the 5th house on the right side of the street. It’s a 2 family home and I’m on the first floor.

If you’re coming from Long Island or Queens, take I-278 East to exit 45 (31st Street Exit) It’s the last exit before the Triboro Bridge. Merge onto Hoyt Avenue North. Go straight for three lights and turn right turn onto 26th Street.

A friendly havanese dog will be there to greet you. Come prepared if you have allergies.
Dessert is always welcome!

Attending Commons is an excellent opportunity to find out what’s taking place in Ostgardr. If you have an idea for an event, want to help out or just want to socialize with fellow friends, I encourage you to attend and be a part of Ostgardr.

Viceregal succession

By unanimous vote at Commons, the deadline for submission of letters of intent for the Viceregency has been extended to August Commons, August 21. Procedures for the polling process will be discussed at that meeting.

See The Viceregal Succession, 2015 for more details.

Vicereine/Viceroy Polling

Unto the Populace of the Crown Province of Ostgardr:

It is with a heavy heart that we announce that their Excellencies Vicereine Baroness Johanna i Visby and Viceroy Gui avec Cheval will be stepping down within the next few months. As such, a polling of the populace will take place for a new Vicereine and Viceroy. Potential candidates must submit letters of intent to me, the Seneschal by June 19th, 2015. They may be emailed to eilionorasca@aol.com with Letter of Intent in the subject line or hardcopy to Lori Copland, Attn: SCA, 3655 Johnson Avenue, Bronx, NY 10463. Hardcopy letters must be postmarked by the aforementioned date.

Before sending letters of intent, I suggest potential candidates speak to the current Viceroy and/or Vicereine to discuss the duties, time and cost that this office incurs. I do not wish to keep anyone from seeking office, however, for full disclosure; it does take its toll which is why I feel a real in depth conversation should take place by any who chose to do so. While it does offer certain perks, it does also carry with it a special burden to represent the people of Ostgardr at many and varied events.

After the candidates list has been finalized, we will do our best to host an Ostgardr Candidates Forum in each of the Cantons. Of course, these will begin after everyone is home from Pennsic. Following this, a polling ballot will be sent out to all paid up members. Ballots of members 14 and up will be tallied toward the preference. Ballots received by those under 14 will be added to the count as at least 50% of the polled members must respond for the polling to be considered valid. A minimum of 30 days to the maximum of 45 days is given for return of the ballot.

After that, ballots will be tallied by the Branch Polling Deputy, a Regional Seneschal, and the Kingdom Seneschal (or designate). Talliers must not reside in the branch conducting the polling or have any other conflict of interest regarding the polling. Returned ballots may only be viewed by the talliers, the Kingdom Seneschal and/or the Kingdom Seneschal’s designates, and The Crown. The outcome of the polling will be determined by a simple majority of valid returned ballots. If a polling fails to result in a simple majority, the disposition of the polling falls to The Crown.

I truly wish to give my most heartfelt thanks to their Excellencies for their guidance, service and dedication not only to Ostgardr but to the SCA as a whole. They are exemplary examples of that which is the heart of the SCA. A love of the world we chose to create, a place to enjoy others who have that same special love of history, art, glory and chivalry of that era which we call home. They have gone above and beyond and have set a standard that we only hope to reach for.

For Vicereine Johanna and Viceroy Gui, Vivat, Vivat, Vivat!

Commons meeting

The next Commons meeting is this Friday (January 16th) at office of Congressman Eliot Engel, 3655 Johnson Avenue, Bronx, NY 10463 at 8:00pm.

February Commons will be held on Friday, February 20th – location to be announced.