Building on the tremendous response to date, the effort will culminate in a February 28-29 Grand Opening weekend for the new Socialist Workers Party national headquarters, the newsroom of the Militant and its sister Spanish-language monthly Perspectiva Mundial, and the New York Pathfinder Bookstore (see adjacent ad).

As of January 31, an international response to the appeal has brought the total to $194,000 pledged, with $164,000 collected. Because of this response, construction work is on schedule. Materials are being bought in a timely way to keep crews working to meet their deadlines. On February 1, a supporter of the communist movement who prefabricated the entire kitchen cabinetry and bookshelves for the bookstore delivered 600 pieces of cut wood to the construction site. He is now working along with others to install the cabinets, kitchen counter, and bookshelves.

Across the country supporters have been gearing up to collect the pledges from their areas and send them in right away. Receiving the funds already pledged is crucial to being able to pay for the materials needed over the next several weeks and organize for a smooth move and transition from the current temporary offices to the new headquarters.

Construction crew organizers, for example, are closing in on placing the order for double-pane windows for the entire floor. The goal is to have the new windows installed by the February 28-29 weekend. This step will result in substantial savings on heat and air conditioning bills. The new windows will also improve working conditions by shutting out the noise from “siren alley,” the street corner of where the building is located with 8th Ave., a main thoroughfare through midtown Manhattan.

While donations have been coming in at a rapid clip, several supporters of the communist movement have indicated they want to contribute additional money but couldn’t make the original January 31 deadline.

The article I wrote on the Headquarters Appeal that apeared in last week’s Militant gave the wrong impression that January 31 was the cutoff date for donations.

This is not true. Readers of the Militant who have yet to make a pledge to the fund, or who may be in a position to increase their contribution in February, are more than welcome to do so. Please send your checks as soon as possible, although contributions can even be brought to New York for the Grand Opening weekend and hand-delivered to one of the Headquarters Appeal chairpeople.

The additional contributions will make it possible to set up the headquarters with the necessary funds devoted to quality construction materials, appliances, and furniture, which will make a 10-year stay in these premises possible.

The latest budget projection shows that $225,000 is needed to complete the project—$45,000 more than anticipated in mid January.

“Over the coming weeks we will obtain a commercial-grade stove that will serve our needs for many years,” said Paul Mailhot, one of the organizers of the volunteer construction project. “Combined with purchases of other appliances and outfitting the kitchen, this raises the budget by $4,500. We will also improve the venting system in the stove area, which adds to the cost too,” Mailhot explained.

“After finishing the walls for the Pathfinder bookstore and forum hall and the Militant/PM newsroom, we realized that the space could be better configured to make a bigger and more comfortable forum hall, and at the same time have adequate space for the staff to work to the tight deadlines of producing a weekly newspaper and monthly magazine. So we moved one of the walls. That change added some expense to all of our construction categories. For example, the furniture line in the budget has been raised from $5,000 to $10,000 so we can buy or build the cabinets and desks we need to work in the redesigned office space.”

Out of that furniture budget 80 padded cloth chairs will be bought for the forum hall.

Mailhot pointed to some other expenses that have gone up based on the experience of construction work. For example, paint costs have doubled from $2,000 to $4,000 because the newly constructed walls absorb more paint. The cost of the phone system has been put at $6,500—about $1,500 more than originally anticipated, so that the SWP National Office can take advantage of the better quality and conferencing capabilities of a digital phone system.

“In addition, the $2,000 in costs of the physical move itself, from temporary offices and from storage, must be covered by the Headquarters Appeal,” Mailhot said.

The Appeal will also now include repaying the individual who put up $30,000 for the deposits necessary to secure the lease on the premises.

These adjustments add up to the need to raise an additional $45,000.

From the beginning, Mailhot noted, the budget covered by the appeal has included a $30,000 sinking fund to cover unforeseen expenses that will inevitably come up over the next five years through normal wear and tear.

The extension of the appeal will provide local organizers, and others who are working on this project nationally, the time necessary to meet with the many individuals who have not yet been spoken to about the new international headquarters. The goal is to visit every area where there is an SWP branch or organizing committee by the end of February. An important side benefit to these meetings, in addition to raising funds and reknitting ties, is that several individuals have already indicated that they are going to become volunteers in the Pathfinder Printing Project.

These volunteers, located in many countries, take a Pathfinder title that has been editorially prepared and then proofread, coordinate the indexes, and format the text of the book or pamphlet digitally. The volunteers also carry out a variety of tasks to ensure that the attractive cover designs and internal graphics are maintained in the printing of the books. Printing Project volunteers put the books on CD-ROMs, prepare the ads that go into them, and also organize to have the books printed and shipped to customers.

Recruiting new volunteers to this project is a very welcome development that jives with the political success of the fundraising effort.

Contributions should be made out to the 2004 Headquarters Building Appeal and sent c/o SWP National Office, 306 W. 37th St., 10th floor, New York, NY 10018.  
 
 
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