Join the ESC, VASC and GSU for a memorable evening on the streets of New York this Saturday. That’s right, ON the streets of New York, as the South Ward, with the help of our friends at The Football Factory at Legends, will shut down traffic on 33rd Street in Manhattan for a march-in before our game against LA Galaxy.

Rock your RBNY gear, wear your scarves, bring that skeptical friend who always wondered what the ESC and the South Ward were all about. We’ll be dancing in the shadow of the Empire State Building, so the more the merrier!

Here are the details:
WHEN: 5pm we gather, 5:30 we march.
WHERE: Greeley Square Park. The park is between 32nd and 33rd Streets, and right where Broadway and Avenue of the Americas intersect. Take the PATH train to the 33rd St. stop, and you’re right there.

Once we’re all amassed, we’ll make the walk up 33rd St. and into Legends. Everyone over 21 will be allowed downstairs into The Football Factory, the under-21′s will have to stay on the main floor at Legends. As a bonus to the over-21′s, you’ll be given a wristband so you can stay and watch the Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto fight later that night free of charge. That’s a $20 value, so all the more reason to come out. Plus we’ll have the usual food-and-drink specials for all our road games at Legends.

So clear your schedule, and come out for an epic day in New York City!

Here’s the Facebook link, let us know you’ll be there: http://www.facebook.com/events/324385194298708/

Tickets for the May 19 game in Montreal are on sale now. Cost is $16. You can pay at the link below or at El Pastor before/after any home game. Sale ends on May 10th.

We are only selling tickets, there will be no bus for this trip. Tickets will not be mailed. We will hand them out on game day.

Hotel Info
We have reserved 10 rooms in a block for the night of May 19 at the Quality Hotel Montreal Downtown. Please book now, they will only hold rooms until May 4th, and could sell out. It is about a 15 minute ride (six stops) on the subway away from the Montreal stadium (Olympic Stadium/Stade Saputo complex), and in Downtown Montreal. Rate $97.00 +tx per room per night for a room with double beds. There is on-site parking (for a fee) and free wi-fi in the hotel.

Of the hotels that we looked at, there were some that had things like free parking, but were 1.5mile walk to the subway and in the middle of nowhere, or some that were cheaper but were out by the airport and not really where we wanted to be. So, this hotel is a balance of all factors. We can hang out downtown easily from this hotel, and there’s plenty of stuff around to do, places to eat, etc. We have 10 rooms reserved under ‘South Ward‘, and the hotel can open up more rooms as needed after those are booked.

Each guest should contact the hotel at 514-849-1413 or email cn329s@whg.com before May 4 to make reservations. Please tell them you are making a reservation for the ‘South Ward‘ group.

Each guest will be responsible for making reservations and payment. To make reservations they will need address and phone number. Our contact at the hotel is

Nancy Lemay- Sales Coordinator
Quality Hôtel Centre-Ville Montréal
3440 avenue du Parc
Montreal, Quebec H2X 2H5
Tél.: 514-849-1413 Fax 514-849-6564

If you still need game tickets, use the link and promo code below.

Link: www.philadelphiaunion.com/promo
Promo code: RBNY12

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
– Game time has been changed from 1pm to 12:30pm
– We will have a pickup in New York (corner of 31st and 8th) and at Red Bull Arena. For those of you driving to RBA, you will be allowed to park your car there. Tentative pickup times are 8:30am for NY, 9:00am for NJ. At the PayPal checkout there is a space for Special Instructions. In this area please indicate NY or NJ pickup location.
– Cost for members is $40, non-members is $50.
– If you have your own transport, tickets are $20 each. Link to purchase is below.
– Tickets will not be mailed. Tickets will be distributed at the game.
– All sales will close on Sunday, April 29. If there is still room on the bus you will be able to purchase before/after the home game on April 28. However, we encourage you not to wait as the buses may already be full by then. After sales close any additional seats in the section will be sold via Philly’s website at a higher price. So buy now!
– As always, if you have any questions please email us at empiresupportersclub@gmail.com

There is no better way to get stuck in, meet your fellow members and learn all the songs than on a bus trip. This season is PACKED with chances to go cheer on your boys up and down the east coast, and it all starts on April 22nd with a trip down to the crumbling death trap known as RFK Stadium.

WHAT: New York @ DC United Scum
WHEN: Sunday, April 22nd
NO, YOU MENTIONED THE DATE ALREADY, PLEASE BE MORE SPECIFIC: Sorry. Bus will leave the East Lot at Red Bull Arena at 11:30am SHARP, so be there by at least 11:15, because the bus will leave without you. Kickoff in DC is at 6pm. (and yes, you can park your car at RBA)
COST: $50 for members, $60 for non-members. Price includes a bus seat and a game ticket.

– Get your 2012 ESC membership
– Pick up the 2012 scarf and other ESC merch.
– Enjoy the musical stylings of our own DJ HaroldGrados
– We’ll have appetizers and a cash bar
– And…

… the first ever ESC FIFA 12 Tournament.

What you need to know
Platform: PS3 (shut it, Xbox nerds.)
Cost: Free to members, $10 for non-members. Though, really, 2012 ESC memberships are $20, and come with all sorts of other perks, so…
How to enter: E-mail EmpireSupportersClub@gmail.com with your name to let us know you’re coming. Signups are on a first-come, first-served basis until all spots are filled.

Thanks for another year, and please take the off-season to rest your voices for 2012, opening day will be here before you know it.

Our 2012 Membership Drive will be January 21st, 2012 at Legend’s from 7-9pm, followed by the USA-Venezuela game from 9-11pm.

Happy Holidays, and we’ll see you then.

- ESC

The official voting thread for the 2012 Board Elections for the Empire Supporters Club can be found here:

http://www.empiresupportersclub.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=3041

We encourage all members to vote

As a reminder:

Voting will close at 5pm on Saturday, December 17th. Please remember that you must be a 2011 ESC member to vote. Voting will be done via online poll in this thread only. If you have problems voting please shoot us an e-mail at empiresupportersclub@gmail.com so that we can help you.

Please find below a list of candidates, in alphabetical order:

- Paul Andersen

- Nicole DiCrecchio

- Robert Hak

- Timothy Hall

- Piotr Paczynski

- Amanda Reichert

- Eric Rios

Each has made a submission, and those are listed individually in the thread, in alphabetical order by last name. Please take the time to read them all to their conclusion.

We wish all of them the best of luck.

As a reminder, we have 4 spots open on the board, 3 for 2 year terms and 1 for a 1 year term. The three candidates with the most votes will get 2 year appointments, the candidate with the 4th most votes will get appointed to the board to finish Konrad’s 2010-2012 term. You can vote 4 times, once for each open seat.

Thank you.

All members are hereby advised that the 2012 elections for Empire Supporters Club board of directors will be voted on by the membership in December, and your participation is encouraged.

We have planned our 2011 annual meeting for December 17th from 4-7pm at El Pastor Restaurant in Newark, at 570 Market street. Voting will begin during the week of December 12th, and will conclude at the end of that meeting. All voting will be done electronically, and the winners of the vote will be announced after the vote has been verified, within 72 hours of the completion of the annual meeting. We are asking all members to please take this time to register for the ESC boards, if you haven’t already, as the voting will likely be done via the ESC website.

Due to an earlier retirement, there are 4 spots open for election. Three of these spots are for 2 year terms, and 1 is for a one year term. As long as 4 or more people run, the three candidates with the most votes will be elected to a 2 year term, and the candidate with the 4th most votes will be elected to a one year term.

Per the by laws of the corporation, to be eligible to vote, you must be a member of the club in good standing for the year of 2011. Registering for the web site now ensures that there are no snags when you try to vote. Note, to be registered, you have to be a 2011 ESC member. If you have not already purchased a membership for 2011, please do not try to do so, as memberships are closed for the year. You can sign up again in January.

To be eligible to RUN for a seat on the board, the following qualifications apply:

- You must be a natural person over the age of 18
- You must be a dues paying member of the ESC for the last 2 consecutive years (years 2010 & 2011)
- You must submit a signed letter of intent (sending an email to us at empiresupportersclub@gmail.com is fine)

We are requesting that all members who intend to run for the board please send us the letters of intent to run by midnight, December 1st.

Once the notices of intent to run are received, we will officially schedule the start of the election (likely December 12th.)

You may, should you choose to do so, also include a 1 page letter of text to be sent out to each club member, highlighting your qualifications & why you believe you would be a good candidate. Note, this is optional, it is not required. Submissions of this text must be made by 5pm on December 11th, so that we can send it out prior to the vote commencing during the week of the 12th. You do not need to have that to us by December 1st, but we are just advising you of the option to have it in case you’d like to spend some time in the upcoming weekend working on it.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

We will conclude the voting for the 2012 ESC Board Member Elections at the conclusion of the meeting (voting will be done online).

There will be a food buffet and cash bar.

We will also plan for a player appearance. Please save the date, we all look forward to seeing you there.

We are asking, begging, pleading and darn near threatening to shoot you in order to get you out to Legends this Saturday night for the New York vs. Dallas game at 8:30pm.

The bar, the team, all 3 supporters clubs and more will be united in an effort to try to get every darn MLS fan in Manhattan & the surrounding hemisphere out to the viewing party this weekend as we try to set a record attendance number for an away viewing party, try to set a record for noise at a bar in midtown, and try to scream loud enough into the TV that Dallas’ keeper gets injured again (Go Thierry!).

The bar is reserving the entire street level floor for us, and they’ll have the game up on all of the TVs, with sound. (No Mayweather fight PPV nonsense at the door). They are bringing in the Modelo girls, and if you aren’t familiar, that means women who sell beer for a living. So there. There will be $ 4 Coronas, the $ 10 Red Bull food menu, $ 5 pints, $ 6 Stella & Guinness and the first 15 people to show up in Red Bulls jerseys get a free pint of Modelo.

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!

The front office will also be there in full effect, giving away RBNY swag.

BUT, THERE’S MORE.

MSG will be live on site, a videographer will be there, and ‘We Live Soccer’ will be using the footage. So, get your Andy Warhol on & be famous for 15 minutes. (In the future). Finally, NBC Sports will also have reps there, so it’ll be a good chance to make a first impression to get some of the exposure soccer supporters deserve.

So, seriously, what else were you going to do this weekend? Exactly.

Football Factory/Legends is at 6 W. 33rd street, just west of 5th Avenue and across the street from the Empire State Building.

You can get there by just about every subway in midtown, including the N/Q/R/1/2/3/6/A/C/E/D/F/V. Plus, it’s a block from the 33rd street PATH train, and 2 blocks from Penn Station.

Have a question? Shoot us an e-mail at empiresupportersclub@gmail.com.

See you there. Or else we get to shoot you.*

*with silly string.