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Major Issues for District 38




Bringing Dropouts Back

February 10, 2006

By Gail Robinson

Red Hook, the Brooklyn neighborhood immortalized in gritty waterfront stories, is supposed to be the next hot neighborhood, with chic bars and restaurants edging into the area, and plans for a Fairway grocery store and an Ikea. But for now the stretch of Conover Street heading down to the water’s edge seems to have resisted such changes. It remains a shabby streetscape of small frame homes, chain link fences and vacant lots.

In this setting, South Brooklyn Community High School stands out – a modern, striped-brick building with ample windows and a terrace that will be bedecked with flowers when the weather gets warmer. Inside the building light pours in even on a bleak day. Student work decorates the bright clean halls, and there are ample spaces for students to gather in large and small groups.

South Brooklyn is one of the city’s 21 so-called “transfer high schools,” designed to serve students who attended some high school and then dropped out or were at risk of dropping out. Through counseling and individual attention, these schools enable many of their students to earn a regular diploma – not an equivalency certificate – and go on to job training or college. In December, the mayor announced plans to create 15 more such schools. Good Shepherd Services, the private youth development and social services agency that runs South Brooklyn Community High School in partnership with the city, plans to open a second transfer school, modeled on South Brooklyn, in September.

South Brooklyn high school has a 68 percent graduation rate. Key to that is individual attention. With about 150 students, classes are small, and teacher advisors help each student navigate their way through school. ìThe advisors help them put their life in order so they can get to school,î said Rachel Forsyth, associate director of community based programs for Good Shepherd Services. This can mean working with students who must juggle various responsibilities ñ jobs, sick family members, children of their own. And it means making sure the kids get to school in the morning, even if that involves going to a studentís house to check out the situation.

This stands in sharp contrast to what many students saw before. Najsha Chacon, who graduated from South Brooklyn in December at age 20, used to go to Fort Hamilton High School, one of the city’s biggest and most crowded. Uninterested, she began missing classes. “I felt discouraged,” she said. The school sent postcards home to alert her father of the problem, but she intercepted them and continued to cut. Despite that, she rarely saw a counselor, and no one tried to call her father. A short-lived transfer to another Brooklyn high school did not solve the problem.

Then Chacon received a pamphlet from South Brooklyn, part of the school’s efforts to reach out to students who have officially dropped out or simply stopped attending school. “I thought it was too good to be true,” she said, figuring she might really be able to graduate this time. She came in and met with people at the school and took a test. An advisor tried to get a sense of where she was coming from and what her needs were -- whether, for example, she had to have a job. Then her parent visited the school with her.

The school learns of students like Chacon from the local Department of Education offices. Word of mouth has helped too. But the program is not for everyone. Students cannot begin their high school careers at South Brooklyn. To handle the work, they have to read on at least a sixth grade level. They must have completed enough academic credits so there is a reasonable expectation they can fulfill the requirements for a diploma by age 21. They should demonstrate a willingness to attend school, with their family willing to help. “We want the young person to be a partner” in their education, said Forsyth. Then, she said, “we do everything we can to help them.”

The school selects teachers interested in working in this type of setting and then offers small classes – 23 or fewer students in a class, as opposed to the more than 30 common in most city high schools. Classes run longer than usual, and there are three semesters plus summer school so students can complete the needed courses quickly but still master the material.

But to Chacon, what is most important are the relationships between teachers and students at South Brooklyn. “The teachers are concerned about how to better us as people,” she said. “At other schools, you don’t see your teachers” outside class, Chacon said. ”Here there’s this warm feeling – she’s not my teacher, she’s my friend.”

Although the school prepares students for Regents tests, it tweaks the curriculum to pique student interest in the basic subject matter. Chacon was particularly enthusiastic about a forensic course offered as a science elective. And in history the teacher used a series of legal proceeding cases, such as Richard Nixon’s impeachment and the case that produced the Supreme Court’s Miranda ruling protecting the rights of criminal suspects, to cover the required material.

As much as possible, the classes feature hand-on projects and practical application. In math, for example, students put geometric principles of lines and angles to work constructing stick models of bridges. Science classes looked at food, examining the reactions produced by yeast and the formation of crystals in rock candy.

And while graduation represents a major step, it is not the end. Forsyth said the school wants to make sure every student “graduates with a plan” for work or some level of school – two-year, four-year, CUNY, SUNY or private. The school helps students find internships and offers counseling on future options.

While at South Brooklyn high school, Chacon had an internship working in an after-school program at nearby PS 32. When she graduated in December, that evolved into a paid job helping the children with homework and running various activities. “These children can test your patience,” she said. Despite that, she hopes to go on to college and become a teacher.





Challenges Lie Ahead for Planned Park

February 25, 2005

By Alisa Opar

Miguel and Jose Rodriguez, 11-year-old twin brothers, love to play baseball, but the gravestones at Greenwood Cemetery often impede their game.

“We gotta practice and we don’t have anywhere else to go,” said Miguel, who plans to play for the Yankees someday.

In the next few years the boys, and all Sunset Park residents, may have a new waterfront park – instead of a cemetery – to use for recreation. But the project still faces challenges. Before the park can be built the site must be decontaminated. Also, while most of the funding for the park has been secured, concerns remain as to how to pay for the cost of maintaining it once it has been built.

IN NEED OF OPEN SPACE

Sunset Park has high densities of both housing and industrial development. The area plays host to three power plants, two power transfer stations, a solid waste transfer station, and a federal prison.

Its population has increased by over 20 percent from 1990 to 2000, with no comparable increase in housing, leaving the ratio of open space to residents far lower than the citywide goal set by the planning department. The park would double the amount of open space in the area.

“We have power plants, a federal prison and they’re reopening the [waste] transfer station,” said Lynne Kenny, a life-long Sunset Park resident. “We need this park.”

NEED FOR CLEANUP

Community leaders, residents and environmental organizations are planning a 24-acre waterfront park with a playground, playing fields, bike and running paths, an esplanade and a wetland restoration area.

The park’s planned site—currently Sunset Park’s only public access to the waterfront—is located behind Bush Terminal, which was an active port complex until the 1960s. Today 10-foot high chain link fences prevent any curious visitors from walking onto the dilapidated piers behind the brick buildings.

Because much of the site was used as an illegal dumping ground and is now filled with construction waste, it is considered a brownfield – or hazardous site – and must be cleaned up before residents can access the area.

The city Economic Development Corporation – which is aiming to bring life to the waterfront citywide – is in charge of the park project, including the cleanup. It expects the cleanup to begin next fall and end sometime in 2006.

FUNDING CONCERNS

Advocates have raised $24 million, which they say is enough to ensure that the site is cleaned and the park is built. They are less confident about what will happen when the Department of City Planning and the Parks Department become involved. Mayor Bloomberg has made his interest in park and waterfront development known, and the city has given $500,000 to the project. But Alyssa Cobb, the Economic Development Corporation’s project manager for Bush Terminals, says that the Parks Department will not be able to afford to pay for maintenance.

“Only one half of one percent of the city’s budget goes to parks,” said Cobb. “As we develop the project we’re trying to find innovative ways to pay for the upkeep.”

Cobb said other parks generate management funds by charging for events in the park, charging a general use fee, or linking non-profit organizations to the park.

“The city is pushing a public/private partnership,” said Irene Shen, environmental justice coordinator for United Puerto Rican of Sunset Park, a local environmental group. She said such a partnership works for Brooklyn Bridge Park because it’s part of an affluent community, “but in low income areas, like Sunset Park, the private interests can’t provide funding.”

Shen’s organization is working with other community leaders and Councilmember Sara Gonzalez to put pressure on the city to help them develop such a partnership in Sunset Park. They are trying to convince the city to help them tap into the industry that already exists in the area, and into a proposed recycling center and a renovation of a pier for automobile transport.



Red Hook IKEA

November 12, 2004

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RED HOOK'S IKEA: CAN SWEDISH FURNITURE SAVE A NEIGHBORHOOD?

The city has approved a 346,000 square foot IKEA store in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The giant Swedish furniture store - which expects 3 million shoppers a year and hopes the location will be the most lucrative in North America - will also build a parking lot, three additional structures for other stores or restaurants, and a 6.3-acre public esplanade along the waterfront.

The proposal has divided neighborhood residents. Supporters say people in the area need jobs; opponents fear the store will bring traffic, noise, and pollution.

To address community concerns, IKEA said neighborhood residents would be able to submit early applications for the 600 jobs it promises to create. The company also agreed to pay for free weekend ferry service to the store from Manhattan and shuttle bus service from nearby subway stations. The city also has plans to extend the B-61 bus to the store.

The City Council approved the plan by a vote of 50 to 1. East New York Councilmember Charles Barron was the only representative to vote "no." The plan still needs federal approval. Construction could begin by the end of the year.

YES: Why Brooklyn Needs IKEA - Sarah Gonzalez
NO: Companies Must Share Our Values - Charles Barron
LEARN MORE: Related Links





WHY BROOKLYN NEEDS IKEA

By Sara Gonzalez



Post your views on Red Hook Ikea

After a great deal of thought and nearly two years of effort to make sure the residents of Red Hook, Sunset Park and surrounding neighborhoods will greatly benefit, I am proud to offer my support for the IKEA Red Hook.

The proposed IKEA store in Red Hook has generated a huge amount of discussion within our community, and I am gratified that so many residents - whatever side of the issue they are on - have actively participated in this process. I am especially happy that IKEA has actively sought out this participation from residents, community groups and elected officials such as myself. We have provided significant input and suggestions and the final project we now have before us is better as a result.

Do I still have concerns about the impact of this large store on our neighborhoods? Of course I do.

For example, I have made it clear to IKEA that they cannot allow traffic to overwhelm our streets and that I will hold them to the commitments they have made to address traffic and pay for intersection improvements. My office will work with city transportation experts to continue to monitor IKEA's efforts and impacts once the store opens.

I also expect them to become good corporate neighbors and invest in the community they have asked to become part of. We will work closely with IKEA to ensure that they understand the needs of senior citizens, children and other residents who are about to become their neighbors.

But we are also grateful that IKEA has been so responsive and has worked closely with us to make sure that their investment in Red Hook is made wisely.

Let's face it; there hasn't been an investment of this size in Red Hook since World War II. The New York Shipyard site has been underutilized, unproductive and blocking our neighbors from their waterfront for far too many years. Though the property was on the market for years, no one has ever stepped forward with this kind of financial commitment for that site until IKEA put their proposal -and their money - on the table.

An Opportunity We Can't Afford to Lose

It's an opportunity for the future of Red Hook that we can't afford to lose.

There are numerous reasons why this project has earned my support:

In a community with such tragically high unemployment, the importance of nearly 600 new jobs can't be ignored. But there's a difference between "just jobs" and "good jobs," and IKEA has proven to me that they are serious about "good jobs."

IKEA provides full benefits even to part-timers working 20 hours per week, pays for tuition reimbursement and retirement benefits, and was voted one of America's top places to work by Working Mother magazine.

Furthermore, IKEA has demonstrated that it is committed to promoting from within and has a proven track record of moving new employees quickly up the management ladder as they gain experience. I have been assured that this will include management opportunities for our local residents from day one.

I personally made it clear to IKEA numerous times that even if these are high-quality jobs, it doesn't do my community any good if our local residents do not have access to them.

That's why I am proud to have worked with IKEA to help create the unique advance 2-week local hiring period that was the result of my request to ensure local residents have the opportunities they deserve.

An Improved Waterfront

While jobs for our residents is obviously issue number one, we shouldn't overlook the fact that a private company is spending millions of dollars in our community to create public space.

While Red Hook is a neighborhood bordered on two sides by water, we have virtually no way of getting to our own waterfront. Red Hook residents who are now presented with nothing but a high wall of brick buildings on that site will soon have a nearly one-mile-long, 6.3-acre esplanade to enjoy. And while people are enjoying this beautiful space, they should remember that much of it exists because of community input.

IKEA had originally proposed an esplanade of approximately 3.5 acres, which myself and other community leaders suggested should be expanded. I am delighted that IKEA heard our concerns and nearly doubled the size of the esplanade as a result of our urging.

It should also be pointed out that IKEA recognized our concerns about preserving the site's maritime history and use. As a result of IKEA's willingness to think a little bit "out of the box," Erie Marine Basin Associates, the tug and barge operation located right next door, will now actually be able to expand their operations onto the piers at the IKEA site.

Not only does this allow Erie Marine to maintain and grow their business here in Red Hook, but it keeps a working maritime use on the IKEA site. Finally, it is important to note that IKEA will substantially improve the environmental condition of this significant waterfront property by conducting a comprehensive clean up.

This will include the proper removal and disposal of contaminated soils found on the site, and I have been assured that during the clean-up and new construction IKEA will ensure that all air quality standards are maintained; the regulations of the New York City Air Pollution Control Code, which regulates the emission of dust and other particulates, will be adhered to rigorously.

Additionally, prior to any demolition or construction, IKEA will put a comprehensive and rigorous rodent eradication program in place throughout the site.

Good Neighbors

After nearly two years of work, IKEA has proven itself to be responsive and sincere.

They said from the outset that they would accept recommendations and input from me and my neighbors and they have:

  • the IKEA ferry to Manhattan
  • the extension of the B61 bus route
  • their local hiring policy
  • millions of dollars in traffic improvements
  • and the continued maritime role for this important waterfront site.

These were all the result of community input.

This is an incredibly important development for the economic future of our neighborhoods and I am proud to be part of it. I look forward to continuing to work closely with IKEA to ensure that the reality of IKEA Red Hook matches its great potential.

It's about time that we begin expecting all companies seeking to come into our community to meet the kind of standards IKEA has set right here in Red Hook.

Sarah Gonzalez represents City Council district 38 and the neighborhoods of Red Hook, Sunset Park, and South Park Slope in Brooklyn.





COMPANIES MUST SHARE OUR VALUES

By Charles Barron

Most of the residents in neighborhoods where unemployment is high are seeking jobs. And they deserve them. But it is the responsibility of City Council members to send a signal to developers to look out for residents.

To do this, the City Council should pass a bill that says anyone who does business with the city or gets tax breaks, has to pay a living wage. Next, if a company comes into a neighborhood, particularly a low-income, economically depressed neighborhood, they should have to agree to a legally binding labor agreement that they will create jobs and give them to local residents.

The Right Company for the Neighborhood?
We should also have profit sharing; one to two percent of profits should go to a local development Red Hook corporation, so we can build a community economy and build up the neighborhood.

And we should have profit-shared ownership; there are some companies that give employees shares of the stock in the company.

I'm certain that people who need jobs will say, "Any job is better than none." But I have a responsibility as an elected official, to say, "You deserve better." The City Council should protect the neighborhood. IKEA cannot build a furniture store without rezoning the area. City Council must vote on that, so we should use that power over land use to make sure we have economic development and not economic exploitation.

We are allowing the owner of IKEA, one of the richest men in the world, to get a tax break. It's corporate welfare. In a cash-strapped city that has huge deficits, we cut $10 million to summer jobs for our youth while we are giving out subsidies.

Who Gets The Jobs?
IKEA says it will create 600 jobs, but 300 of those are going to be management jobs that many area residents won't qualify for. Of those 300 for which they can apply for, most of the jobs pay minimum wage and are part-time with no benefits.

The corporate world, which gets corporate welfare called "subsidies," sees our communities as huge plantations where there is labor. And since they can't do slave labor, they pay slave wages. When you maximize profits for your corporation by hiring minimum wage job earners, people are going to be exploited.

We don't talk about the fact that IKEA is a Swedish company from a country where 90 percent of the workers are unionized and the fact that none of the IKEA workers in America are unionized. Those things don't get discussed because we are on a survival level and all we hear is "jobs, jobs, jobs." People can be easily exploited when they desperately need jobs.

My "no" vote was for the people of Red Hook, not against them, because I knew they were getting the project.

Maybe my other City Council colleagues believe this is the best deal we can get from a developer or they voted along with the council member who represents the district. But I have to vote my conscience, my principles, and my conscience. I think we should have all held out and said, "NO IKEA, you aren't going to get in this easily."

We can do better.

Charles Barron represents City Council district 42 and the neighborhoods of East New York and Brownsville, Brooklyn.





These articles were adapted from public statements or interviews with the City Council members.

RELATED LINKS
Debating Jobs and Economic Development (Gotham Gazette)
Community Gazettes District 38: Gotham Gazette's Interactive Web page for Sunset Park and Red Hook
Official IKEA Red Hook Web Site
Preliminary Site Plan
Proposed Transportation to IKEA
IKEA and Red Hook's Racial Divide (Gotham Gazette)
Jobs and Traffic: What Would IKEA Bring to Brooklyn? (Brooklyn Rail)
Q and A With Pat Smith, real estate representative for IKEA (New York Magazine)
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz Statement on IKEA





Robbing The Chinese

November 6, 2004

By Benjamin Harvey

Criminals in Sunset Park have targeted Chinese immigrants because of a perception that they carry wads of cash, don't fight back, don’t speak English and don't report crimes, police officers and residents said.

While Police Captain Frank Vega of the 72nd Precinct said that crime has dropped 12 percent overall this year in Sunset Park and statistics do not show the number of Chinese victims to be disproportionate to the population, much of the crime may go unreported.

"They don't realize that in the United States you have to speak up to let the government know you need help," said John Lee, director of the Crime Victims Service at Brooklyn's Chinese-American Association. New Chinese immigrants to the U.S. don't usually use credit cards, debit cards or checks, Lee said, making them appealing targets for muggers.

A walk down busy 8th Avenue, the heart of the neighborhood's Chinatown, illustrates the cash culture Lee spoke about. Many Chinese merchants can be seen conducting business with little more than a stand full of goods and fistfuls of dollar bills. After a workday, the merchants pack up and go home, often carrying hundreds of dollars in cash in their pockets.

As the Chinese population has grown -- it now numbers some 20 percent -- police have become concerned about its victimization at the hands of muggers. Initially, the biggest problem in addressing (even assessing) the problem was one of communication between English-speaking police officers and Chinese-speaking victims. But the precinct now has a policy of keeping at least one Chinese-speaking officer on duty for each shift.

That hasn't solved everything. Some victims don't report the crime because they are scared they'll be deported.

It's important that victims know that is not the case, said police officer Brian Fusco -- that the police department is not interested in the immigration status of a crime victim, and that the district attorney's office would not prosecute on that basis: "We're not going to bust some guy who's just worked a 150-hour week and got cracked on the head."

Lee explains this in presentations he gives to Brooklyn's Chinese residents. He also helps Chinese crime victims deal with paperwork, gets translations, explains police procedures to them, and helps them get to court and get compensation. Still, he said, "many, unless they're really injured, just forget about it."

Officials from the neighborhood observe that there has been some tension between Asians and Hispanics (who comprise 50 percent of the population), and even some isolated reports of clearcut bias incidents, though "I believe relations are getting better," says City Councilmember Sara Gonzalez, who represents the district. But she and the other officials seem to agree that Hispanic-Chinese antagonism is unlikely to be a large factor in any muggings.

"It's a crime of opportunity," said Fusco, "not so much a crime of bias."





Engine 278: A Temporary Reprieve in Sunset Park

August 8, 2003

By Charlotte Triggs

On a recent afternoon, three firefighters stand on the sidewalk outside their firehouse on 7th Avenue in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn. The door is open and passersby can glimpse a fire engine inside. Neighborhood residents, seeing the open door and the fire engine, are relieved. Despite Mayor Michael Bloomberg's order to close Engine 278, they see their community firehouse as still open, their protection intact.

But things are not quite what they seem. Engine 278 has indeed been closed. Its old quarters are being used only temporarily by Engine Company 282, while its firehouse on 12th Avenue in Borough Park is being renovated.

"People don't realize it," said firefighter Mike Lyons, of Engine 282. "It was all highlighted in the newspapers, on TV and everything. It was high profile. People knew that this firehouse was closing. Now people walk down the streets and look in here. They see a firehouse still open, they see a fire truck coming in and out of here, they think - huh - maybe it didn't close."

One of the busiest engine companies in Brooklyn, 278 made some 2,680 fire and emergency medical calls in 2002. The area that comprises Community Boards 7 and 12 (which includes Sunset Park, Borough Park, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, Midwood, and Park Slope) had five fire-related fatalities in 2002. (The citywide total was 97.) Engine 278 was called in to fight several of these fires.

With Engine 278 closed, nearby Engines 201 (also in Sunset Park) and 282 must pick up the extra calls. Firefighters say the dense population and influx of immigrants make Sunset Park a high risk area. "There's more people, more going on, so when there is a fire situation then there's that many more people you have to save, or get out of the way," said John Kelly of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, a former firefighter with Engine 201.

According to the U.S. Census, the population in Sunset Park rose 17.6 percent from 1990 to 2000, when it reached about 120,000 people. And the number may be higher, district officials say, because many people are crowded into illegal apartments and not counted.

"We have a real influx of Mexicans and Arabs," says Sara Gonzalez, City Council member for District 37, which includes Sunset Park. "There are so many people, so with no affordable housing, there could be maybe 10 people living in a single family apartment -- and yes there's a danger."

With the inherent risks of a densely populated neighborhood, residents are wary of any increase in response time.

On August 7, the fire department released statistics that showed that response times in the area increased by 25 seconds over the same time last year. However, the city argues, this is still 20 seconds faster than the citywide average of 4 minutes 50 seconds.

The Uniformed Firefighters Association, a union for firefighters, argue that the city's statistics are misleading and that there are many different ways to calculate response times (see related story).

On July 4, about three weeks after Engine 278 closed, there was a three-alarm fire in a lumberyard on 60th Street and 11th Avenue near a catering hall and a group of framed row houses. "If Engine 282 didn't respond because it happened to be in the 278 spot, it could have become a five- alarm fire," Kelly explained. Once Engine 282 returns to Borough Park in late October, "then you'll really see the response times go up," he says.

And the issue goes beyond safety. The approximately 25 firefighters of Engine 278, now scattered around the city, had a close relationship to the Chinese community on 8th Avenue, as well as with the large Dominican community on 5th Avenue. "There was one senior [in the community] who couldn't get their pipes fixed, so they [the firefighters in Engine 278] provided water," Gonzalez said. Now new firefighters serving the area will have to earn the trust of this immigrant neighborhood.

For a look at the city-wide issue of firehouse closings, see Gotham Gazette's Issue of the Week, Firehouses.






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ALL DISTRICT 38 MAJOR ISSUES
Bringing Dropouts Back
(Feb 10, 2006)

Challenges Lie Ahead for Planned Park
(Feb 25, 2005)

Red Hook IKEA
(Nov 12, 2004)

Robbing The Chinese
(Nov 06, 2004)

Engine 278: A Temporary Reprieve in Sunset Park
(Aug 08, 2003)

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