124 20 70359 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 11 VTMBH Article: Article Order VTMBH Article: Title Foul play investigated by Pentagon VTMBH Article: Author VTMBH Article: Publication Filipino Reporter VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb The U.S. Defense Department is considering foul play as a possible cause of the crash in the Philippines that killed 10 soldiers VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body The U.S. Defense Department is not ruling out foul play in last week's crash of a special operations helicopter taking part in the joint RP-US military exercises in Mindanao, the Phillipines. The crash, off Negros Oriental, killed all ten soldiers on board. Foul play was being eyed as a possible cause, in the light of reports that an explosion accompanied the crash of the Chinook MH-47E helicopter, though it is still unclear if the blast occurred while the aircraft was still airborne or upon hitting the waters off Apo Island. "There was an explosion of some sort," Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said. "What they didn't know as of yesterday [Feb. 26] was whether it was the result of hitting the water." "Since investigation was still underway, we just can't tell whether there was foul play," Clarke stressed. She added that misperceptions were not uncommon in disasters. A team of safety experts arrived Tuesday in Cebu City to conduct a probe. U.S. military officials initially ruled out hostile fire as principal cause of the crash. Witnesses have told the authorities they saw the helicopter plunge to the water in flames. The Chinook went down into the shark-infested Bohol Strait off Zamboangita town in Negros Oriental while on a night flight from Basilian Island in Mindanao to Cebu City. The bodies of three of the ten U.S. servicemen aboard were recovered by local fishermen who immediately responded to the accident. The remaining seven were still missing and given up for dead. The ill-fated chopper was flying in tandem with a second Chinook MH-47E when it went down some 30 minutes before its scheduled arrival at Mactan Airbase in Cebu. Tragedy struck just after the chopper shuttled between Zamboanga City and Basilian, ferrying U.S. troops and military equipment in preparation for the joint maneuvers viewed as the second front of Washington's global war on terror after Afghanistan. The U.S. special forces are about to complete an observation phase and will soon begin drawing up training courses for their Filipino counterparts. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-03-07 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File news48.doc VTMBH Article: Hit Count 56 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Foul play investigated by Pentagon 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. The U.S. Defense Department is considering foul play as a possible cause of the crash in the Philipp Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-07 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 29 VTMBH Article: Article Order 2 VTMBH Article: Title Korean-Americans protest U.S. military killing of two Korean girls and demand immediate withdrawal of American troops in South K VTMBH Article: Author Yong-il Shin VTMBH Article: Publication Korea Times New York VTMBH Article: Original Language Korean VTMBH Article: Translator Bo Kwon VTMBH Article: Section briefs VTMBH Article: Blurb VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body The families of Hyo Soon Shin and Mi Sun Shim, two 13-year old girls crushed to death by a U.S. armored vehicle last month in South Korea, are planning to visit the United States. We are promoting the victims families visit to let people know what really happened. Its not definite yet, but theres a possibility that the girls parents will be in the United States some time in August, said Sharon Ayling, the chairman of the Committee for the Withdrawal of U.S. Troops in Korea at the International Action Center (IAC). The IAC is an American organization that promotes the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea and urges President George W. Bush to publicly apologize for this incident. The Korea Truth Commission, a Korea-based organization operating in New York City, joined the IAC on July 31, in front of the U.S. army recruiting office located in Times Square. They demonstrated for an immediate withdrawal of the U.S. military in South Korea, and pledged to continue to expose the tragic deaths of the two girls. Rev. Kiyul Chung, secretary general of the Korea Truth Commission, spoke to the 20 Korean and American demonstrators at the gathering, saying, The U.S. army had the nerve to continue their military training even after the deaths of these children. Everyday, there are demonstrations in Korea, and young people are publicly burning the American flag. The American troops must withdraw. Other Korean-American organizations also participated in the demonstration, including the National Association of Korean Americans and the Congress for Korean Reunification. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-08-02 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 107 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Korean-Americans protest U.S. military killing of two Korean girls and demand immediate withdrawal o 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-02 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 14 VTMBH Article: Article Order 3 VTMBH Article: Title Yes, there is discrimination in the NYPD, Latino officers say VTMBH Article: Author Marimer Navarete VTMBH Article: Publication Hoy VTMBH Article: Original Language Spanish VTMBH Article: Translator Telesh Lopez VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Anthony Miranda president of the Latino Police Association accused the NYPD of discrimination against Latino officers at press conference this week. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body The president of the Latino Police Association charged that the Chief of Patrol, Nicholas Estavillo, lies when he says that the Police Department of New York City does not practice discrimination. To say that in the NYPD, Hispanics are not discriminated against is untrue, said Anthony Miranda during a press conference at City Hall. Miranda based his declaration on news published Wednesday in Hoy about Estavillos promotion to the Chief of Patrol in January. No Hispanic reached a rank this high before. In the same article, Estavillo said, I cannot say I was discriminated against because I got used to this society quite easily, which facilitated my career and my competition. He added, like in any other agency or career, one always tries to have a future in the NYPD, but we need to acknowledge that Hispanics have progressed very much in the last 15 to 20 years because there are many of us in high ranks. Miranda says he is not attacking Estavillo, but simply wants to clarify that his promotion is an isolated case, and does not mean that there are more Latinos in high positions in the NYPD. His declaration implies to let the public that everything is ok, which creates a false sense of security, that our community is fine, when it is not, said the Puerto Rican officer. Estavillo was promoted not only because of his skills, but because his ethnic origin. We want to clarify that it took about 150 years for this promotion to occur, and 33 years of Estavillos tenure at the NYPD. If there truly is no discrimination, Estavillo would not have to say that he was not discriminated against, Miranda. To explain his position, Miranda presented an extensive list of statistics about Latinos in the NYPD. For example, of the 20 assistants to the Chief of Police, only three are Latino. Of the 30 vice chiefs, only one is Latino. Of the 78 inspectors, 3 are Latino. Of the 133 deputy inspectors, only four are Latino. Of the 440 captains, only 12 are Latino. And when we see the Latinos who have been promoted, none of them have dark skin, so we can conclude that if they look more white, they have a better chance of being promoted, said Miranda. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-04-01 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File v14n3.doc VTMBH Article: Hit Count 88 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Yes, there is discrimination in the NYPD, Latino officers say 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Anthony Miranda president of the Latino Police Association accused the NYPD of discrimination agains Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-04-01 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 35 VTMBH Article: Article Order 3 VTMBH Article: Title Poll: No Jewish-GOP Surge; As elections near, Gallup survey shows little shift rightward post September 11th VTMBH Article: Author James D. Besser VTMBH Article: Publication Jewish Week VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section briefs VTMBH Article: Blurb VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body With midterm congressional elections only weeks away, Republican leaders continue to hope that President George W. Bushs strong pro-Israel positions and leadership in the war on terror will entice Jewish voters to the GOP side of the aisle. But a new Gallup Poll splashes cold water on those hopes. According to the survey, which examines party identification by religion, there was little meaningful change in the ways in which Americans of any religious leaning identified their basic political orientation after September 11th. That includes Jewish voters, whose identification with the Republican Party remains below 20 percent. Those numbers come only months after a surge of news stories describing an impending shift to the GOP in response to Bushs strong support for Israels campaign against suicide bombers and the growing pro-Israel zeal of congressional Republicans. Those reports also took note of the relative silence on Israel by congressional Democrats. In a series of polls combined because individual surveys do not include enough Jewish respondents to be statistically reliable50 percent of Jews surveyed claim Democratic affiliation, about one-third call themselves independents and only 17 percent identify as Republicans. That stands in sharp contrast to Protestants, with 39 percent identifying as Republicans and 32 percent as Democrats. The party identification of Jews appears to be remarkably stable, according to the Gallup report. An analysis of over 30,000 Gallup Poll interviews conducted from 1992 to 2001 shows almost exactly the same distribution of party identification among the Jewish population, as is the case in the most recent year and a half. The Jewish sample consisted of 408 respondents. Marshall Wittman, a senior fellow with the conservative Hudson Institute, said the data reflect what GOP leaders have known for a long time: Despite the media hype about a big shift, Jewish voters continue to cling to old voting patterns. Im not surprised by the Republican numbers, he said. Especially at the congressional level, the Jewish community is still a very tough nut to crack for the Republican Party. You hear many more positive things about Bush [among Jews], but that is unlikely to translate into votes for other Republicans. In data collected through 2001, an overwhelming majority of Jews73 percentdescribed themselves as moderate or liberal, only 23 percent as conservative. Forty-two percent of Protestants and 34 percent of Catholics claimed the conservative label. Bushs job approval ratings among Jewish voters surged after September 11th, but they remained significantly below the levels of Catholics and Protestants. According to the most recent numbers, 66 percent of Jews surveyed approve of Bushs handling of his job, compared to 81 percent of Protestants and 82 percent of Catholics. The poll, Wittman said, included one hopeful sign for the GOP: the surprisingly high number of Jews who identify themselves as independents. Jews have been overwhelmingly Democratic in identification over the years, he said. Any weakening of that identification has to be good for the Republicans. If you pushed most of these independents, they would still probably vote Democratic. Still, its a departure from the New Deal generation. A top political scientist agreed. The history of American party identification is that when groups are shifting from one party to another, they dont do it in one fell swoop, said Benjamin Ginsberg, a professor at Johns Hopkins University. Generally they do it through third party or independent phases. Republican politicians who have mastered the argot of the Jewish community and who have unimpeachable pro-Israel credentials may be able to tap that independent bloc, he said, citing the example of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Still, any change is likely to be slow and incremental. There wont be any stampedes, Ginsberg said. Jewish Democrats were crowing about the survey. In a statement, the National Jewish Democratic Council said the Gallup analysis is particularly significant because of a recent Hillel survey of Jewish college freshmen showing that only 9.5 percent of those surveyed consider themselves conservative or far right. Viewed together, these studies take on the myths that American Jewish adults are moving towards the right, and that Jewish college students are doing likewise, said NJDC director Ira Forman. Matthew Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, downplayed the significance of the Gallup numbers. We never expected a realignment of [voter] registration, he said. What is clear over the last few election cycles is a realignment of votes. There is undisputable evidence that more and more Jews are voting for Republican candidates across the board. Brooks also said that other surveys show that up to 48 percent of Jews would consider voting for Bush in 2004, which we see as the most encouraging aspect. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-09-20 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 71 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Poll: No Jewish-GOP Surge; As elections near, Gallup survey shows little shift rightward post Septem 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 27 VTMBH Article: Article Order 2 VTMBH Article: Title Corporate scandals rock Ireland, United States VTMBH Article: Author VTMBH Article: Publication Irish Voice VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section edits VTMBH Article: Blurb There are striking similarities between the recent financial scandals in Ireland and the United States which have made such a deep impact on both sides of the Atlantic. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body There are striking similarities between the recent financial scandals in Ireland and the United States which have made such a deep impact on both sides of the Atlantic. In Ireland, a group close to former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Charles Haughey that came to be known as the golden circle helped themselves to tax-free offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands looked after by a bagman of Haugheys, Des Traynor. Traynor himself moved far beyond the Haughey circle, and obtained funds from leading business and society figures for illegally stashing money in the offshore accounts. The Ansbacher affair, as it has come to be known in Ireland, has severely dented consumer confidence there, and may indeed be only the tip of the iceberg. In the last year alone, we have seen huge financial scandals engulf such major Irish companies as Allied Irish Bank and the drug maker Elan. There may well be more shoes to drop in the future. At a time when average Irish taxpayers were burdened by the highest income taxes in Europe, the elite were finding a way to satisfy their greed and desire to beat the system. Something similar has happened in the United States, where once again ordinary individuals have been shortchanged by the greed and power lust of many in corporate America. When one reads that the Oracle CEO made $780 million in 2001 alone, it becomes evident that the system is out of control and badly needs fixing. It is safe to say that on both sides of the Atlantic, far stricter rules are needed to restore the confidence of average investors and, indeed, the ordinary taxpaying public. The Ansbacher affair is just the latest in a series of financial scandals which have clearly proved that there is one law for the rich and another for ordinary Irish citizens. What would clearly work in both Ireland and the United States would be the sternest possible jail sentences for many of those caught up in these Ponzi pyramid schemes. It is only when such sentences are meted out that these high-flyers will finally stand up and pay attention. While no one doubts that the vast majority of businessmen and women in Ireland and the United States are honest and hard-working, there is little doubt that the explosion in the stock market over the last decades had allowed a highly unscrupulous group of operators to function almost without detection. The end result has been a major falling off in confidence in both countries, and harm to the business climate which, if it continues, will have dire consequences. Both Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and U.S. President George W. Bush have now made it clear that they believe those caught up in these scams should go to jail. For too long in both countries, white collar crime has somehow seen viewed as lesser than other types of criminal activity and jail sentences have been very rare. That must now change if confidence is to return to the system. This week, the two top officers of Irish drug company Elan, which has been caught up in the accounting scandals, resigned their positions. It is perhaps the first sign that these issues are finally being taken seriously by those in power. With the stock market in Ireland and the United States reeling from the weekly scandals, it can only be hoped that they will not be the last to lose their jobs. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-07-16 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 86 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Corporate scandals rock Ireland, United States 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. There are striking similarities between the recent financial scandals in Ireland and the United Stat Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-07-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 30 VTMBH Article: Article Order 3 VTMBH Article: Title Personal enmity within the Pakistani community responsible for many arrests, according to a senior Pakistani Embassy official VTMBH Article: Author VTMBH Article: Publication News Pakistan VTMBH Article: Original Language Urdu VTMBH Article: Translator Rehan Ansari VTMBH Article: Section briefs VTMBH Article: Blurb VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Imran Ali, second secretary at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C., recently spoke about the arrests and deportations of Pakistanis living in the United States. Ali, who is responsible for dealing with the arrests and deportations, said some surprising things. He attributed an alarming 30 percent of post-September 11th arrests to Pakistanis informing on each other. He cited an example of one woman who called the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) on her daughter-in-law. When at first the INS did not respond, she took her daughter-in-laws passport to the INS office. She succeeded. The official said that the deportation of 131 people to Pakistan in June occurred because of the embassys efforts. Otherwise, Ali said, the incarceration and deportation process could have dragged on interminably. The June deportees made statements to the Pakistani media about mistreatment in American jails and on the flight, but Ali said that he personally accompanied the deportees on the flight and there was no mistreatment. He said that they were fed seven meals, they were not forced to eat pork, they were allowed to use the bathrooms, and they were restrained with plastic handcuffs. Moreover, he said that Pakistanis who remain incarcerated will soon be deported to Pakistan, where they will not be investigated. Ali added that the rate of FBI and INS incarceration of Pakistanis has slowed. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-08-09 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 87 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Personal enmity within the Pakistani community responsible for many arrests, according to a senior P 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-09 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 43 VTMBH Article: Article Order 3 VTMBH Article: Title City homeless program rewards bad landlords VTMBH Article: Author Heather Haddon VTMBH Article: Publication Norwood News VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Faced with a growing homelessness crisis, New York City is paying Park Avenue prices to some of the worst landlords to house people it cannot fit into its exploding shelter system. The result, tenant activists and housing advocates say, is a topsy-turvy system that encourages landlords to flout housing codes and drive long-time tenants out. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Faced with a growing homelessness crisis, New York City is paying Park Avenue prices to some of the worst landlords to house people it cannot fit into its exploding shelter system. The result, tenant activists and housing advocates say, is a topsy-turvy system that encourages landlords to flout housing codes and drive long time tenants out. The case of one tenant illustrates the pitfalls of a program intended to merely house the homeless. Rosaura Robles was placed in an apartment at 2234 Davidson Ave. with her five children through the scatter-site program. It exists as a temporary fix for a shelter system bursting at the seams. When she first moved into the cramped one-bedroom, which only had bunk beds, Robles slept on the floor. She was eight months pregnant at the time. While her social worker helped Robles get a couch (landlords are supposed to provide basic furniture in the program), her unit remains decrepit. The walls are covered with an overpoweringly foul-smelling mildew from perpetually leaking pipes. Yet this substandard shelter didnt come cheap. In the six months of putting up Robles and her familyincluding one son who is autistic and another whose leg was amputatedthe Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelled out more than $18,000 to Buchanan Realty, despite the fact that the building has racked up over 300 housing code violations. Before placing homeless families in an apartment, DHS is required to make sure the unit is cleared of housing code violations. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), another city agency, has a website that lists housing code violations for every building in the city and is accessible to anyone with a computer. DHS also claims to conduct periodic visits to ensure standards. But tenants say this doesnt happen and that there is little if any communication between the two agencies. The Homeless Services Department and HPD dont talk to each other, said Yvette Smith, who was placed in the building through the scatter-site program. According to Barbara Flynn, chief-of-staff for HPD, 2234 Davidson Ave. is currently under review by her agencys anti-abandonment unitthe last stage for a problem building with an uncooperative landlord before HPD brings legal action. [DHS] doesnt tell us what buildings they are going into beforehand, Flynn said. If they were to say, What do you think of this building? we would tell them. Working with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, tenant activists are beginning to organize to draw attention to the scatter-site programs failures. If [the landlords] are getting money from the city for us, we should be getting something for the building, said Marta Cruz, a long time tenant who is working on a multi-building organizing campaign with the Coalition. <i>Program started in 1983</i> The citys scatter-site programofficially known as the Emergency Assistance Rehousing Program (EARP)began in 1983. EARP paid stipends and bonuses to private and non-profit landlords to house homeless families in hotels and apartment buildings. Ineffective for its first 10 years, EARP only grew when landlords received, in addition to the bonuses, federal Section 8 subsidies for low-income housing. In 1994, a peak of 3,072 homeless families were placed in private housing according to a report issued by the Citizens Housing and Planning Council, a city public interest organization. Scatter-site has become the principal method of housing the homeless outside the citys overflowing shelter system. Homeless people placed in private housing jumped from less than 5 to over 40 percent between 1989 and 1997. As of February, DHS paid about 60 private entities to house the homeless. Scatter-site management companies account for 16. There are 14 scatter-site properties in the northwest Bronx, in Fordham, Kingsbridge Heights and Norwood, along with University Heights and Mount Hope. According to residents, the proportion of scatter-site tenants in these buildings has been increasing rapidly. Willia McKeiver, a resident of 1920 Walton Ave. for 24 years, remembers there were 12 scatter-site tenants in her building last year. Now, over a quarter of the 80-unit building is devoted to EARP. Doing the math explains why. A one-time bonus received by landlords to house a family starts at $2,000 and caps-off at $10,000 (for eight). Landlords also receive roughly $95 a day per family. To date, Buchanan Realty, management company for 2234 Davidson, has made an estimated $25,000 from the Robles family. Though a weathered apartments available sign is still tacked to 2234 Davidson Ave., permanent residents are far less profitable than the 10 EARP tenants there. For instance, Buchanan Realty has received only half as much from permanent resident Anthony Holmes and his wife in their two years of occupying their apartment than it has from Robles in only six months. <i>A cash cow</i> The landlords have found a cash cow, McKeiver said. Most [landlords] in the area have found it . . . and its too hard for them to look away. Other area landlords who participate in EARP include Nick Haros, Barry Singer and Frank Palazollo, landlord of 3569 DeKalb Ave. in Norwood, another violation-plagued building where a fire resulted in the death of a boy last August. With EARP placement paying way above market rates, permanent residents worry that landlords are being rewarded for allowing poor conditions to fester, thereby encouraging those who can leave to do so in order to make room for the lucrative scatter-site placements. Sylvia Rodriguez said that she and her multi-generational familyfrom Rodriguez grandmother to her own daughterwere evicted after complaining about her apartments conditions. After seeking help from housing officials, they returned to the building. But the problems in her apartment are still legion. Tubs, cabinets and walls leak, and hot water is a rarity. The kitchen has one electrical outlet, so the stove must be plugged in with three extension cords running past the sink. Rodriguez, who shies from bathing her two-year-old in the leaking tub, fears she will be electrocuted in the kitchen sink. I could try to fix up the apartment for Christmas, said Rodriguez, who mops up excess water some 10 times a day, but whats the point? Buchanan Realty did not return a call seeking comment. Tenants, organizers, and housing experts say the way scatter-site has been implemented is a recipe for destabilizing buildings and neighborhoods. One main concern is that landlords have been filling vacant apartments exclusively with EARP placements. Increasing the density of homeless families to unsupportive levels becomes a dangerous environment to those living there before, according to Frank Barconi of the Citizens Housing and Planning Council. This is especially true if temporary residents are not getting the services they need from the program. Landlords are contractually obligated to provide support services like help with finding permanent housing. Too often that support is poor or non-existent, organizers say. The quality of support services [the homeless] are getting has always been an issue, Barconi said. Tenants say all this makes for strained relationships within already difficult buildings. The pushing of [scatter-site tenants] into buildings is making residents angry with each other, McKeiver said. Its not good for the community. While DHS officials did not respond to calls from the Norwood News, organizers who recently met with Mary Hall, director of EARP, were unsatisfied with the agencys regulations. Theres no contract with the landlords per se, said McKeiver after the meeting. Its just a handshake. Tenants are working to hold DHS more accountable. Organizers are drafting letters to officials detailing the buildings violations. And, as the Norwood News went to press on Tuesday night, tenants were scheduled to have a meeting with senior HPD and DHS officials at the parish hall of Our Lady of Refuge Church in North Fordham. <i>Lead paint and rats</i> Yvette Smith will tell you theres a lot at stake. Down the rickety stairs at 2234 Davidson Ave. and past the mailboxes, which no longer lock or receive mail, Yvette Smith lives with her four children. About a year ago, she accepted the EARP placement when her daughter got asthma after a three-week stint at the Emergency Assistance Unit. While an improvement, she remains unsatisfied. When Smith moved into her first EARP placement in the building, she discovered that the apartment had dangerous levels of lead paint. Now in a second apartment, there are still problems. My cats are scared of the rats, said Smith. She is even more fearful of the buildings environment where, according to many tenants, drugs and burglary are on the rise. Smith has her brother stay there during the day and as she said, I keep the phone near the bed. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-12-04 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 166 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource City homeless program rewards bad landlords 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Faced with a growing homelessness crisis, New York City is paying Park Avenue prices to some of the Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-12-04 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 15 VTMBH Article: Article Order 2 VTMBH Article: Title Beware: Narcotics VTMBH Article: Author Rafael Nektalov VTMBH Article: Publication Bukharian Times VTMBH Article: Original Language Russian VTMBH Article: Translator Liz Vladeck VTMBH Article: Section edits VTMBH Article: Blurb Today, Jewish community activists from Rego Park, Forest Hills, and Lefrak City are alarmed because police have begun arresting no small number of young people from the Bukharian Jewish and Georgian Jewish communitiesprimarily children from successful and well-established families. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Until recently, it seemed the drug problem wasn't more serious in the Bukharian Jewish community than in any other community. Immigrants from the Central Asian republics, as is well-known, come from conditions which closely resemble Colombia. Afghanistans narco-traffic and traditional culture of growing tobacco and preparing hash, were common knowledge. But worried Bukharian Jewish parents successfully guarded their children from the influence of eager distributors. The thinking was that resistance to drugs was at a sufficiently high level: long centuries of Jewish values, a strong foundation and upbringing, and the examples of elders all served to protect the Buhkarian Jewish families form the opium haze. But preventive action has turned out to be insufficient. What is the reason? I do not intend to immediately answer this extremely difficult and pressing question (notwithstanding the scale and acuteness of the problem). I will try together with you, dear reader, to outline the contours of the phenomenon, in the hope of elucidating concrete signs. For before fighting an illness, doctors recommend diagnosing its character. In our case, we must identify the source of the threat that is becoming a reality among Bukharian Jews. I wish to note that I do not share the view that an immigrant people assume the new society's vices. An immigrant community draws on its strength, cultural and spiritual traditions. Bukharian Jews are not the only ones proud of their heritage. At the same time, it's no secret that drug use, and smoking dope specifically are part of 20th century civilization. Each community, independent of its social or religious orientation, will sooner or later have to reckon with drugs. Though consciousness of the struggle with the disease is growing, it is at times not effective enough. The mass culture industry struggles itself with this evil; the problem has been gently romanticized as artistic intelligence. In the mass media societys struggle against drug abuse is portrayed as intense, and very black and white: the police battle drugs with dedication. Of course, theres a lot more shooting and blood in reality, and unlike what we see on TV, the shooting and blood are real, and have real consequences. The point is that in the grand scheme of things, the number of those on drugs isnt decreasing, but on the contrary, is going up. You don't have to go far for the facts. Apart from the submerged part of the iceberg, empirical evidence of the problem can be found in the constantly expanding network of special clinics and government and social centers for prevention and treatment of drug addiction. Queensin particular the residential complex Lefrak Cityhas long been considered a drug center. Its not accidental that in the songs of popular rappers, this place has become famous as a heavenly corner of New York. Lefrak City is quite close to Corona, where many of our community reside. Until comparatively recent times, the inexpensive prices for apartments in Corona brought around 600 Bukharian Jewish families and almost 300 Russian and Ukrainian Jews to this neighborhood. Almost 1000 immigrant families from the former Soviet Union wound up living in this, now Jewish region of Queens, which, under the liberal administration of African-American Mayor Dinkins, had become a Black and Hispanic neighborhood. Particularly because of the Bukharian Jews, a Jewish life began to thrive in Coronaa new social center (which publishes this newspaper) appeared, the doors of a 100-year-old synagogue on 108th Street reopened. For those invested in the religious life of the community, existence of a Lefrak City drug scene wasn't that much of an issue: their paths didn't cross. The synagogue, Shabbat, Jewish holidays; there was enough spiritual care, they thought. Today, Jewish community activists from Rego Park, Forest Hills, and Lefrak City are alarmed because police have begun arresting no small number of young people from the Bukharian Jewish and Georgian Jewish communitiesprimarily children from successful and well-established families. While some may have tried to comfort themselves that their sons (and daughters too, by the way) were merely spoiled, they now also have to admit that their children's drug use is no joke. The Chief Rabbi of our community, Yitzhak Jeshua, said that the problem is a real one, and maintained that among drug addicts there are a significant number of Bukharian Jews, a number which, unfortunately, is confirmed. The Rabbi refers to arrest rosters in the affected police district, in which given and family names with Jewish roots and endings in ov have begun to abound. You'll find quite a few ...Bergov, ...Shteinov, Shvili... on that list, summarized the rabbi. At the present time, many rabbis are working with families which have narcotic-dependent members. Some are achieving positive results. But these numbers aren't yet impressive, though when it comes to human life, each saved person is a triumph. Lyuba Pilosova, a playwright and actress at the Bukhara on the Hudson theater and the mother of two sons, gives all her spare time to the theater and to work with young people, has formulated her own solution to the problem. Pilosova created a small talk show, with scenes drawn from the lives of immigrants struggling with difficult fates. It began to reveal the violence that comes from drug abuse. Young girls began to share with Lyuba, telling stories about how their boyfriends/fiancés/husbands changed after they began using drugs. In Pilosovas opinion, efforts directed by several organizations in the Bukharian-Jewish community to deal with drug abuse thus far are ineffective because those who get involved are barely acquainted with the community, don't know the young people, and dont establish contact with those who need it the most. It is said that one should just count how many doctors and engineers arrive in the community, and keep quiet about the negative side of modern reality. On the one hand, indifference; on the other, panicneither are good ways to deal with the problem. Here I can't help agreeing with T. Aronova, who justly notes that biased attitudes about illegality exacerbate the problem. It creates the impression, she says, that after being processed at Kennedy Airport, all of our young people can be divided into three groups, bound for the streets, smoking drugs, or occupying themselves with criminal activities. This, of course, is not the case, but the problem still exists! Zoe Pilosova, a psychotherapist who works in a drug clinic at New York Association of New Americans (NYANA), speaks with great alarm about the proliferation of drug addicts among Russian-speaking immigrants. I'm convinced that many dont know how to begin to struggle with this illness, parents don't have the addresses of such clinics. I think that such centers need to be opened in Queens and Brooklyn, in places where there are concentrated populations of Russian-speaking immigrants. Helen Kagan, director of the drug-abuse-prevention program H.E.L.P., which operates in Manhattan, believes that of the overall number of Russian-speaking drug addicts who turn to them for help, 1015 percent are Bukharian Jews. Given the percent we constitute of all Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants, appears that the drug abuse situation in our community is similar to others. Our community now reflects this calamity, which, as one feature of modern reality, must number among the first of our concerns. Dear readers, to continue the conversation about this difficult and complex theme, we ask you to write to us. How did you personally, or your loved ones, help someone free themselves from the hold of narcotics? What, in your view, must be done in society order to prevent the opium haze from clouding the lives of our young people? DRUG TREATMENT CENTERS IN NEW YORK: NYANA, 17 Battery Place, Manhattan Zoe Pilosova, Psychotherapist: 212-425-5051, ext 1313 Program HELP, 371 East 10th Street (near Union Square), Manhattan Director Helen Kagan, 212-780-2332 VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-04-01 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File v15e2.doc VTMBH Article: Hit Count 265 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Beware: Narcotics 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Today, Jewish community activists from Rego Park, Forest Hills, and Lefrak City are alarmed because Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-04-01 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 31 VTMBH Article: Article Order 1 VTMBH Article: Title Say no to juvenile gangs VTMBH Article: Author VTMBH Article: Publication Hoy VTMBH Article: Original Language Spanish VTMBH Article: Translator Hannah Emmerich VTMBH Article: Section edits VTMBH Article: Blurb The recent shooting of a young girl in the Bronx exposes a resurgence of gang violence in New York. Now is the time to dismantle all gang activity in the city. We cannot allow people to feel scared in their own neighborhoods because of the actions of a few insecure young people. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body The recent shooting of a young girl in the Bronx after a gang stormed a private party is evidence of a resurgence in gang violence in New York. The gang members responsible appear to have ties to powerful Mexican gangs in Los Angeles, where whole neighborhoods and supposedly under their control. It is not an accident that Los Angeles has a disproportionate rate of violence, homicide, suicide, and teen pregnancy, among other problems caused by young gang members. Now is the time to demand the dismantling of gang activity in all New York neighborhoods. We cannot allow people to go on feeling scared in their own neighborhoods because of the activities of a few insecure young people who must create a marginal organization in order to feel special. In past years, we have seen the influence of Latino gangs wane, and some members have even become community leaders. There is no reason that a new wave of gang violence should be allowed to continue to claim young lives. This particular incident, which occurred in a private residence, demonstrates what little respect these young people accord their community, and what high respect they pay their weapons. They use their weapons when someone recognizes them for what they are: cowardly and confused. On the night in question, the young men did not intend to settle an old score with another gang; rather, they invaded the party because they were not invited. We all know the stereotype of the insecure person who uses violence as a way to feel powerful, almost always under the influence of alcohol or drugs. These types of tough guys end up crying in jail when they become the victims of criminals far worse than them. This resurgence of gangs that lay claim to whole neighborhoods should not be allowed. New York should belong to everyone, and the arm of the law should reach every street corner. Whoever thinks we are in Los Angeles should know that this is New York in the new millennium, and there are more worthwhile pastimes than playing gangster with real guns. If there are gang members who can still be rescued, so be it. But those who kill innocent, hard-working people and their children should understand that they are in the wrong place and the wrong time. Neither the Saint James Boys nor Los Locos deserve to exist; they must be eradicated before they turn their guns on their own community. They should be cut off at the roots before they spread into an epidemic. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-08-20 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 139 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Say no to juvenile gangs 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. The recent shooting of a young girl in the Bronx exposes a resurgence of gang violence in New York. Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 43 VTMBH Article: Article Order 2 VTMBH Article: Title Clean-up of Bronx River still a long haul VTMBH Article: Author Robert Waddell VTMBH Article: Publication Siempre VTMBH Article: Original Language Spanish VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Since the mid-90s, community activists, private citizens and students have cleared garbage and waste from the Bronx River. These eco-activists believe that its their responsibility as citizens to correct the damage done by polluters, industry and sewage plants. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Since the mid-1990s, theres been an ecological and social battle to clean-up the Bronx River. Community activists, private citizens and students vigorously cleaned out garbage and waste from the river that spans six miles from the city to upstate New York. They believe it is their responsibility to preserve this natural resource before government or polluters will step-in and clean the ecological damage that has already been done. These eco-activists believe that its their responsibility as citizens to correct the damage done by polluters, industry and sewage plants. Theres great potential for economic growth, said Janis Astor del Valle, project director of A.C.T.I.O.N., which works with The Point CDC and Casita Maria. We need to beautify our communities. We need to invest more time and money and energy into preserving our community. Most of the clean-up efforts originated from Hunts Point where sewage treatment plants and water treatment plants exist along the river. The clean-up effort has recovered car parts, used diapers and dead animals during this process. Astor del Valle said that the land surrounding the river had great potential for creating gardens, a park, a pier, ferry service and a youth recreation center. In the long run, the clean-up would revitalize the area, preserve the natural landscape and conserve water life in the river. We need people to be accountable, said Astor del Valle, speaking of individuals and industries that pollute and refuse to admit any wrongdoing. The river and surrounding land has great potential for renovation. Hunts Point has had a bad reputation of garbage and prostitution. We can change that, Valle said. To be sure, the complete clean-up of the Bronx River is far from complete. And activists, whove worked hard, face an uphill battle as pollution continues to build. However, the Point CDC has spearheaded the clean-up with a vigorous campaign of education and action directed at the problem. The clean-up has restored and preserved some of the rivers natural beauty. Fishermen can now catch fiddler crabs, bluefish and striped bass. And as a recent New York Times article reported, marine biologists discovered the presence of the naked goby and the seaboard goby, two species never before detected in the Bronx River. In spite of the rivers natural beauty, the Times reported that the scene was less than pristine. …Just upstream from the crabs, wrote Seth Kugel in an article headlined Hoping Urbanites Will Venture Where Crabs and Killifish Thrive, a grapple hoisted hulks of twisted metal from the yard of Bronx Metals Recycling onto a barge. Soundview Park Homes, a public housing project, loomed behind fences. And the banks were littered with bottles and other trash. Later in the article, Dr. Joseph Rachlin, a professor and director of the Laboratory for Marine and Estuarine Research at Lehman College, said, Most people think that the Bronx River is a sterile river, and its not. Its a very diverse and abundant river. In 1998, The Point CDC, Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice and Sustainable South Bronx, along with more than 60 other groups, began cleaning up the river and the surrounding lands. Cleaning the rivers, said Majora Carter, one of the activists, its a continuing process. The Point at first got a $10,000 grant from Partnership for Parks to begin the massive clean-up effort and start developing the surrounding park area. Above the Bronx Zoo, said Carter, its respected as a river. Lower than that its been industrialized. At best it was neglected, at worst it was abused… [We asked ourselves] Why are we being dumped on all of the time? If anyone is going to clean-up our environment, its going to have to come from us. Another idea in the clean-up effort is getting the community to understand that the river belongs to the people who live in the community. Hector Rivera, another activist, said that the river clean-up was a way for the Bronx community to reclaim a natural resource. Its all about cleaning up and creating open spaces for our kids, said Rivera. Were making proactive steps. This is how development should happenpeople should be held accountable. And community people, their vision, their needs need to be taken into account. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-12-02 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 124 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Clean-up of Bronx River still a long haul 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Since the mid-90s, community activists, private citizens and students have cleared garbage and waste Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-12-02 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 34 VTMBH Article: Article Order 3 VTMBH Article: Title No takers for WTC scrap brought into India VTMBH Article: Author George Iype VTMBH Article: Publication India Abroad VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section briefs VTMBH Article: Blurb VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body It is only not the Indian victims of September 11th, but the nearly 50,000 tons of steel scrap from the destroyed World Trade Center (WTC), now in India, that has people worried. Feeling that the scrap from the WTC is jinxed, mill owners, steel contractors and retail manufacturers are refusing to buy it from importers. The bulk of the steel debris from the New York tragedy still lies in warehouses across India. The India Steel Alliance, an industry lobby of steel-makers, estimates that since January, scrap processing companies across Indiafrom Coimbatore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Ludhianahave imported nearly 50,000 tons of the WTC steel wreckage. We are told many construction companies in the country have refused to buy the scrap. It could be a fear of bad luck of being associated with a major tragedy that is putting off people, K. Muralidharan, an advisor to the Alliance told India Abroad. There could be other reasons, too. First-of-all, scrap steel from New York is not first-grade quality. Secondly, construction companies across India have put in place very strict guidelines on the quality of steel, especially since the Gujarat earthquake, said Muralidharan, who found it upsetting that the Indian government had permitted the import of WTC scrap in the first place. Alex Pereira, managing director of Galaxy Constructions in Coimbatore, bought a small quantity of steel scrap from an importer in Chennai. But we found the WTC scrap steel was not of good quality. Secondly, we were suspicious it could contain hazardous elements, so we sent it back to the importer. Environmentalists in India have warned that the scrap contains cancer-causing asbestos and other hazardous elements such as mercury, dioxins, furans and poly-chlorinated biphenyls. Admitting the scrap is not moving in the market as expected, Shashi Kumar, managing director of Sabari Exim Private Ltd. in Chennaithe first company to import the WTC steel from a New York-based firm for $120 per tonsaid it was the superstitious belief of people that is preventing companies from buying the product. Kumars company bought 10,000 tons of mangled WTC scrap, and a company executive admitted that most of it lies unsold. We have suffered a huge loss by importing the steel, he said. Most firms that imported the steel from New York have a similar tale. We have refused to take a large order of secondary steel from various scrap processing companies who imported the WTC steel, since there is no information on its quality, said Satya Gopal, a Chennai mechanical engineer working with Skyline Steel Builders. Also, major steel companies, like Tata Steel, Steel Authority of India and Essar, petitioned the government to ban the import of scrap steel because it would cut into the demand for domestic production. Environmental activists allege that the Indian government has been silent on the issue of importing hazardous wastes like WTC scrap. According to Greenpeace Indias toxics campaigner, Manu Gopalan, the United States tops in exporting hazardous wastes to India. Indian importers are unscrupulously importing hazardous wastes like scrap steel, zinc ash and other toxic and lead-bearing materials into the country, flouting all norms and health concerns. The Indian government can prevent such imports under the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes. But our government refuses to open its eyes, Gopalan told India Abroad. According to Greenpeace, the WTC wreckage cannot be treated as ordinary steel scrap because everything in the Twin Towers, including the mercury-containing tube lights, the carcinogenic asbestos insulation, PVC articles and computers were incinerated in the attacks. After the first WTC shipment reached India, Greenpeace and other environmentalists wrote to the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi to stop the export of WTC wastes and scrap to other countries. But the U.S. administration and the Indian government did not care to act on our request. Now we want to know what the Indian government plans to do with the unsold WTC scrap, said Marxist leader Muthuraman Kumaran. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-09-13 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 88 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource No takers for WTC scrap brought into India 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 22 VTMBH Article: Article Order 2 VTMBH Article: Title Traced through the 'Net VTMBH Article: Author VTMBH Article: Publication El Sol News VTMBH Article: Original Language Spanish VTMBH Article: Translator Maria Bonilla VTMBH Article: Section edits VTMBH Article: Blurb VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body In the upper left, Attorney General John Ashcroft says, Hey! Call me 'spider.' The person caught in the web is labeled foreign students. In the right hand corner, the description reads, internet tracing system. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-05-29 VTMBH Article: Thumb v22edit2thumbnail.jpg VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 136 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Traced through the 'Net 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-05-29 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 36 VTMBH Article: Article Order 7 VTMBH Article: Title Theatre project to stimulate economic growth in the Bronx VTMBH Article: Author Robert Waddell VTMBH Article: Publication Siempre VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section briefs VTMBH Article: Blurb VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body In an effort to revitalize the economy of the South Bronx, State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr., allocated a half million dollars to a newly created theatre based economic development project. The project would take possession of the Olympic Theatre, located at 163rd Street and Longwood, Westchester and Prospect Avenues, improve the façade of local stores, build a parking lot and stimulate growth in the area, said Eugene Rodriguez, the projects president. Four years ago, Rodriguez wanted to develop a theatre district in East Harlem but soon moved his attentions to the South Bronx. Rodriguez hopes to create a Lincoln Center-type hub where smaller theatres, shops, restaurants, a movie theatre and a poetry café would grow around the larger Olympic Theatre. He hopes that the venture will stimulate growth in the impoverished area and attract more tourism to the Bronx. It means businesses will start doing very well, said Rodriguez, who is the president of the community Health Support Inc., which will oversee the Olympic Plaza project. Well create 150 to 250 new jobs and generate $40 million in new revenue, Rodriguez estimates. The Olympic Plaza project is a three phased undertaking in which Rodriguez will take possession of the Olympic in November and bring Broadway quality shows to the theatre, he said. The second phase includes treating the facades of already existing local stores so that a more attractive uniformity can be established. The third phase, the most ambitious, would develop the vacant land around the theatre where Rodriguez and his team plan to build four 150 seat theatres, a movie house, café and an arcade for shops. With the half million dollars in pocket, Rodriguez needs to now raise the rest of the 40 to 60 million dollars from the city, state and federal governments, as well as from corporate sponsorship. Rodriguez agrees that in supporting the Olympic Plaza project, State Senator Espada made a political move, but also a wise one. In a borough where waste disposal plants and bus depots have been dropped, a theatre district to infuse the economy of the Bronx is a bold move, even in a election year, said Rodriguez. None of the other politicians had any vision, said Rodriguez. This will bring new life to the Westchester corridor. It will be a catalyst in the heart of one of the poorest communities. No one else stepped up to the plate. It may be a political move, but it is good for the community. Rodriguez has had a long career in the theatre and in politics. He feels that his grassroots experience in the Latino community makes him the right man at the right place at the right time. This project will contribute to changing the negative image of the Bronx, said Rodriguez. This project will attract a lot of tourists with disposable incomes and that is what the Bronx needs after September 11th. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-09-07 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 83 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Theatre project to stimulate economic growth in the Bronx 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-07 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 17 VTMBH Article: Article Order 1 VTMBH Article: Title An attack on our people supported by the Supreme Court VTMBH Article: Author VTMBH Article: Publication Resumen VTMBH Article: Original Language Spanish VTMBH Article: Translator Hannah Emmerich VTMBH Article: Section edits VTMBH Article: Blurb On March 27, the Supreme Court delivered a fierce blow to immigrants and workers rights with its decision to deny undocumented workers the right to sue employers for unpaid wages. It seems the courts decision pleased conservatives in the media, who refuse to acknowledge that undocumented immigrants contribute much more than they receive. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body On March 27, the Supreme Court delivered a fierce blow to immigrants and workers rights with its decision to deny undocumented workers the right to sue employers for unpaid wages. The decision issued from the case of Hoffman Plastics, a California corporation involved in a lawsuit with four former employees who claimed they were fired for attempting to organize a union in 1989. The company later refused to pay the workers wages owed to them when it learned they were undocumented. It seems the courts decision pleased conservatives in the media, who are by no means underrepresented. For example, columnist Cal Thomas recently bemoaned President Bushs support for granting amnesty to more than 200,000 undocumented Mexican immigrants, horrified at the possibility of the legalization of some 12 million undocumented immigrants the government estimates live in the United States. According to Thomas, the amnesty granted to 2.7 million undocumented immigrants in 1986 permanently elevated the number of poor and uneducated people living in this country. Apparently Thomas does not believe that, given the chance, illegal immigrants would take advantage of the opportunity to work and live here legally. Thomas cites a study by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) which reports that the combined direct and indirect costs of supporting immigrants granted amnesty, minus their fiscal contributions, is over $78 billion. However, Thomas neglects to mention that the CIS is a wealthy private foundation with an agenda of its own. Founded in 1985, the CIS, according to their website, is devoted to a pro-immigrant vision that supports the entry of fewer foreigners, but with an improved quality of life. One cannot help but be moved to tears by their effusive vision. Journalist Jorge Ramos presents strong opposing evidence. In his book, The Other Face of America, Ramos cites federal government-sponsored studies from the National Academy of Sciences and the Urban Institute which report that immigration to the United States, both legal and illegal, contributes between $10 billion and $30 billion annually to the North American economy. A 1994 government study conducted in the seven states with the most immigrants (Texas, California, Arizona, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Illinois) concluded that the cost of services for undocumented immigrants is slightly more than $3 billion for education, almost $500 million for prison, and $422 million for medical care. Even considering the lowest estimate of annual contribution by undocumented immigrants, $10 billion, the costs still come nowhere near the prospective gains. In other words, undocumented immigrants contribute much more than they receive. Contrary to popular belief, the current influx of foreigners entering the United States every year is not the highest it has ever been. That level (proportional to population) occurred at the turn of the 20th century, when the United States opened its doors to newcomers, mostly Europeans, needed to fill jobs to fuel the growing economy. In 1910, foreigners constituted 15 percent of the U.S. population; in 1997, less than 10 percent. The perception that immigrants take jobs away from citizens, deplete government resources, and fail to assimilate into American society is erroneous. Various studies have shown that illegal immigrants accept jobs that Americans refuse and, in fact, contribute to the generation of more jobs. It has also been shown that Spanish-speaking immigrants learn English more quickly than immigrants from other countries. I will not ask how Thomas came to the conclusion that the children of illegal immigrants cannot be assimilated into American society in public schools. I suspect that Thomas, a strong patron of private, religious education, knows little about public schools. To me, it seems obvious that public schools are a bastion of patriotism, and that the children of immigrants identify themselves as American more than anything else. Public education generates solidarity and national identity, while private education only promotes elitism. Immigrants are quick to become scapegoats in times of economic hardship. While the maxim that the weakest link will break the chain may be true, we must put myths aside and face reality. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-04-25 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 179 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource An attack on our people supported by the Supreme Court 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. On March 27, the Supreme Court delivered a fierce blow to immigrants and workers rights with its dec Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-04-25 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 21 VTMBH Article: Article Order 2 VTMBH Article: Title A polarized New York VTMBH Article: Author Ana María Ramírez VTMBH Article: Publication Hoy VTMBH Article: Original Language Spanish VTMBH Article: Translator Hannah Emmerich VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Almost half of all New Yorkers over five years old speak a language other than English at home, according to the latest census figures. Ligia Jaquez, Program Coordinator at the Census Bureau, said that according to the data there is no doubt poverty increased in New York City in spite of the economic boom. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body The average salary of a family living in New York City decreased between 1989 and 1999, according to census data released yesterday. While in 1989 the average annual salary for residents within the five boroughs was $38,900, by 1999 that number fell to $38,300. In New York State as a whole average income levels increased slightly, rising from $43,000 to $43,400. The Census Bureau also reported that the number of New York City residents born outside of the United States rose to 2.9 million in the year 2000. Almost half of all New Yorkers over five years old speak a language other than English at home. Urban planner Arturo Sánchez called the data released yesterday by the Census Bureau general, and said that in order to analyze the situation of a specific ethnic group, like Latinos data must be collected and compared based on regional differences. This information is at the state and county level, he noted. Meanwhile, we cant even determine differences between Latino residents of Forest Hills and those of Jackson Heights. What the data does confirm is how much the average family salary has decreased in this city, and that the process of globalization has not served to produce an equal distribution of resources. Only certain groups have benefited from this model of economic development, remarked Sánchez. He also attributed the decrease in average income levels to the Koch, Dinkins, and Giuliani administrations favoring of the financial services, real-estate and insurance industries. These industries are the most dynamic and produce the highest levels of income. As a result, different geographic areas experience distinct levels of economic growth. In Manhattan, many people work in the stock market, so obviously the economy is different from that of the South Bronx. For example, when we talk about salaries among Latinos, a single Dominican mother cannot support her family in the same way as another Latino family where both parents work, Sánchez added. Anabel Heckler of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) agreed with Sánchez to the degree that resources are not equally distributed among all sectors of the population. This census data does not surprise us. During the past decade we have heard a lot about economic growth, but this growth only favored the rich. Salaries among the poor and middle class have been decreasing, and we are seeing more economic inequality, said Heckler. She added that ACORN frequently runs campaigns to improve the quality of life in these communities. We started a living wage campaign in New York City, and another on the state level to augment the minimum wage to at least $6.75 an hour. We are calling for salaries that can actually enable people to pay their rent or support their families, said Heckler. Ligia Jaquez, Program Coordinator at the Census Bureau, said that according to the data there is no doubt poverty increased in New York City in spite of the economic boom. After their release last year, Census 2000 data were criticized by numerous organizations who believed that many people were not counted. According to Jaquez this will not happen in future census counts. We are working now on Census 2010. In last years census we had problems with the long forms; however, we had a diverse group of census-takers, many of whom lived in the communities and spoke the languages where the data was taken. The important thing is that the politicians as well as the people understand the significance of the census and that we maintain constant communication, said Jaquez. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-05-24 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 659 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A polarized New York 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Almost half of all New Yorkers over five years old speak a language other than English at home, acco Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-05-24 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 9 VTMBH Article: Article Order 4 VTMBH Article: Title Redistricting to divide Jewish constituencies VTMBH Article: Author Rachel Donadio VTMBH Article: Publication The Jewish Forward VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section VTMBH Article: Blurb VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body A New York State Senate redistricting map intended to preserve a Republican majority will divide Jewish communities and put the seats of six incumbent Jewish Democrats at risk, opponents say. From the Russian Jewish enclave of South Brooklyn to the modern Orthodox world on Manhattan's Upper West Side to the heavily Jewish area of Forest Hills, Queens, Jewish activists worry that the plan would fragment Jewish communities by carving them up into new districts. Among the loudest voices protesting the plan is the Russian Jewish community in Brooklyn. They claim the new districts would dilute the community's burgeoning voting power by merging the Brighton Beach neighborhood, which has the largest population of Russian Jews in America, into a new district with three largely minority neighborhoods. The Russian-speaking community in South Brooklyn is being disenfranchised, said Oleg Gutnick, a Republican and special assistant to Governor George Pataki who narrowly lost a city council race in Brighton Beach last fall. That race, featuring three Russian Jewish immigrant candidates, was considered a political coming-of-age for the city's Russian immigrants. Activists are concerned that the new State Senate map would nip Russian voting clout in the bud. "We showed that we do have some political power. This redistricting will cut off all our hopes for the future," said Inna Arolovich, the chairwoman of the New York chapter of the American Association of Jews from the Former USSR. She is organizing busloads of Russian immigrants to protest the plan at a hearing at Brooklyn Borough Hall on March 8. A state legislative task force drafted the redistricting plan after the 2000 Census, with the stated aim of preserving the Republican majority in the State Senate while protecting the rights of minority voters under the 1965 Voting Rights Act. "The lines were drawn to try to protect the rights of minority voters," said a spokesman for the State Senate, Mark Hansen. If people disagree and have concerns, then thats why there will be public hearings. The plan is expected to see several rounds of public hearings and lawsuits before it is approved. In Brooklyn, the plan would merge Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan Beachpredominantly white and Jewish areas that are now part of State Senator Carl Kruger's districtwith predominantly Caribbean and African-American areas in State Senator John Sampson's district. Both Kruger and Sampson want to preserve their original districts. We are tearing apart communities in some distorted view of developing districts that are completely disrespectful of community boundaries, said Mr. Kruger, a Jewish Democrat. In the process of doing that, the largest Jewish community in Brooklyn is being torn apart. Mr. Kruger is helping to mobilize the Russian community to protest the plan. Mr. Sampson, an African-American Democrat, also opposed the plan, as do African-American community activists. We're satisfied with the job our State Senator is doing. Why chop it up and put together two communities that might not even be fighting for the same issues? said Gordy Brazela, president of the Friends United Black Association of Canarsie. Citing population growth, the Legislative Task Force has also proposed a new inland State Senate district. It would merge the predominantly Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods of Boro Park and West Flatbush with the more Italian, Republican enclave of Bensonhurst. Analysts say it would give Republicans a strong chance of winning. Orthodox voters have elected both Republicans and Democrats in recent years. The district would encompass about half of the current district of State Senator Seymour Lachman, who said that he planned to run in the new district if there are no major revisions in the proposed district lines. There are people who say this plan unfairly puts Jewish members of the state legislature in jeopardy, Lachman said. He said that there were ten Jewish members when he was elected six and a half years ago. "Now there's a possibility of it dropping down to four or five." Kruger agreed. He said the new Brooklyn district, which would include parts of his former district, could ghettoize the Jewish community. "We'd find ourselves in the position where one person would be speaking for constituencies where we have learned as Jews that when the more people speak for us, the louder our voices, Kruger said. Conversely, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Orthodox activists are upset at a plan that would parcel the community among three districts. As a community we feel disenfranchised, said Michael Landau, the chairman of the Council of Orthodox Jewish Organizations of the West Side. Landau, who is a Republican, is fighting to preserve Democratic Senator Eric Schneiderman's district. It makes no logical sense to completely split a community, Landau said. He said it was inefficient to have three representatives instead of one. In Queens, some Jewish activists are worried about a plan that would combine the districts of two Jewish Democratic State Senators: Daniel Hevesi, whose district includes parts of the heavily Jewish Forest Hills neighborhood, and Toby Ann Stavisky. To the extent that youre packed in one district you might have less influence in a given area, said Cory Bearak, the executive vice president of the Queens Jewish Community Council. Meanwhile, State Senator Martin Connor is protesting a plan that would remove the Hasidic enclave of Williamsburg, Brooklyn from his current district. Jewish activists in the five boroughs say theyre not concerned about a redistricting plan in the state Assembly, where Democrats have the majority. However, upstate Republicans have protested the plan, which they say pits them against each other in traditional GOP strongholds. The counties encompassing Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx are the only three in the state to fall under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which states that they must create or maintain a certain number of minority districts. The Justice Department has to sign off on the plan to insure that minorities are left in the same or a stronger position. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-03-07 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File n4.doc VTMBH Article: Hit Count 13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Redistricting to divide Jewish constituencies 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-07 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 38 VTMBH Article: Article Order 5 VTMBH Article: Title Caught in the whirlwind of the Central Park jogger case VTMBH Article: Author David Greaves VTMBH Article: Publication Our Time Press VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Sharonne Salaam, mother of Yusef, one of the wrongfully convicted in the Central Park jogger case, found out about Matias Reyes' recent confession on the TV. Ms. Salaam was shocked by the report. If it wasnt for TV and the paper, wed still be in the dark, she said. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Sharonne Salaam, mother of Yusef Salaam, said she heard about Matias Reyes confession to the rape in the 1989 Central Park jogger case, when a friend called and said to turn on the TV. And she read more about it from a report in The New York Times. Ms. Salaam, whose son was imprisoned for the crime, was shocked by the report, because it was evident that the police had known about the confession for some time, but it had been quietly leaked to the public. If it wasnt for TV and the paper, wed still be in the dark, she said. She does not think it was an accident that she learned about it in this way. Since I heard about it through the press, it meant that there was possibly going to be a cover-up taking place. If the police had been really acting in earnest, they would have called first and said that an investigation was going on. Now that Matias Reyes has confessed, and his DNA matches the semen found on the jogger, I would like all the childrens names to be cleared from all this, so they will have an opportunity to move on with their lives, said Ms. Salaam. They all have a cloud over their heads. My son is considered a sexual predator of the highest degree and hes doing the best he can under the circumstances. But everyplace you go for a job you have to say you have a record as a felon and sexual predator. Whos going to hire you? What kind of life is that? My son grew up in jail. When Yusef was arrested, Ms. Salaam was working on Seventh Avenue as a fashion designer and instructor at Parsons School of Design. I was as far away from this kind of thing as you could imagine, and when this happened, I was thrown into a whirlwind of mass hysteria. And in the end, Ive changed. Everythings changed. The subject of the youths confessions always comes up. First of all, Yusef had no confession, and the other youngsters were manipulated into agreeing to whatever the police said. I dont know if thats even considered a confession. You play these mind games, keeping people up all night. Its like on television, where they have prisoners of war whom theyre trying to break to the point where theyll say anything you want. As you can see, it works much easier when you have a bunch of children that youre working on, and you have seasoned professionals who are doing the act. Even so, they had problems with the confessions. One of the children had four different videotapesin each one he told a different story. The judge ruled they were all right. With her life redirected by her sons arrest and imprisonment, Ms. Salaam learned firsthand about young people in the criminal justice system. On one of my visits with Yusef, I ran into Father Lawrence Lucas. Father Lucas started telling us about what was happening to children and asked if we could help some of the children who were in prison. We talked with him about what that would mean if we expanded and started advocating on behalf of other children besides Yusef. What that would mean to him in terms of others becoming angry with him and wanting to do things to him. In the end we made an agreement, and we went out and started putting together People United For Children. There were a number of us: Father Lucas, Bill Perkins, Bob Stokes, Anne Evans, Frank Harris and myself. They started out by taking food to incarcerated children and bringing speakers and community people in. We went on from there to begin direct service advocacy, Ms. Salaam said. It was later that the group found that many of the children came from the foster care system. About 30-35 percent of kids in foster-care have trouble with the juvenile justice system, says Salaam. And when they come out of foster care, 70 to 75 people go into the criminal justice system. When you talk to people in prison, the majority of them had been in foster care. Its sad because we spend so much money on the foster-care system, but the majority of the children are poorly served by whats being done. Ms. Salaam feels that this speaks to the type of services offered young people as they age out of the foster care system. And our commitment to young people is we say we want to save from abusive parents. We realized there is nothing the children can do to help themselves, and that we had to get the parents involved in the process of advocating for their children. People United For Children assists the parents whose children are in jail in being better advocates for their children. When youre talking to the kids who are incarcerated and theyre telling you about a system thats breaking down and that they need help, theres nothing that they can do. You have to get their parents involved in the process of being there for their child. And making sure their needs are being taken care of. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks VTMBH Article: Date 2002-10-01 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 114 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Caught in the whirlwind of the Central Park jogger case 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Sharonne Salaam, mother of Yusef, one of the wrongfully convicted in the Central Park jogger case, f Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-01 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 20 VTMBH Article: Article Order 4 VTMBH Article: Title Udi Eloni participated in a Manhattan demonstration against the occupation VTMBH Article: Author Michal Daniels VTMBH Article: Publication Yedioth-Ahronot VTMBH Article: Original Language Hebrew VTMBH Article: Translator Jonathan Lincoln VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Last Saturday afternoon, a group of protestors gathered outside the Israeli Consulate in New York as another group simultaneously protested in Tel Aviv. Among the New York protesters was Udi Eloni, the son of [Israeli human rights activist] Shulamit Eloni. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Udi Eloni participated in a Manhattan demonstration against the occupation, by Michal Daniels,Yedioth Ahronoth, 17 May 2002. Translated from Hebrew by Jonathan Lincoln. Last Saturday afternoon, a group of protestors gathered outside the Israeli Consulate in New York as another group, including singers Dudu Topaz, Yaffah Yarkoni, left-wing politician Yossi Sarid, protested in Tel Aviv. Both groups called for a withdrawal from the territories and a return to the negotiating table. The protest was organized by members of Meretz, a left-wing political party, Peace Now, and Ha Shomer Ha Tsair, a left-wing youth movement, in New York. About 500 protesters made their way from the consulate, on 2nd Avenue, to the offices of the Palestinian Mission to the Untied Nations on Park Avenue. Protestors carried banners that read, Two states for two nations, Israel and Palestine. Among the protesters was Udi Eloni, the son of [Israeli human rights activist] Shulamit Eloni, who has been living in New York the last couple of years. In English, Eloni declared, Liberate Palestine from the occupation now! Liberate Israel from the occupation now! He held Palestinian and Israeli flags. Yedioth Ahronoth asked the following questions: <i>What does Liberate Israel from the occupation now mean?</i> The occupation is responsible for everything. I always carry the two flags. <i>So your support of Israel is selective?</i> I cannot support Israel while Sharon is Prime Minister and there is an occupation. I am refusenik, I refuse to accept the occupation. <i>And what about Israeli victims of terror?</i> The occupation is responsible for all of this. Today, every demonstration in support of Israel is really a demonstration in support of Sharons policies. The demonstration I participated in was pro-Israel. To demonstrate against the occupation is the most pro-Israel thing you can do. It was a Zionist demonstration. <i>What kind of Zionist demonstration calls for the liberation of Palestine?</i> We finished the demonstration by singing the Tikvah [The Hope which is the Israeli national anthem]. <i>How did people on the street react?</i> There was a lot of support. People made peace signs and said, good for you, and some people clapped their hands. I went to a Palestinian rally in Union Square the same day. I also brought my flags with me there. <i>Did they accept you?</i> They accepted me very nicely. They said, good for you. Its a good thing there are people like you. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-05-17 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File v20_n4.pdf VTMBH Article: Hit Count 96 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Udi Eloni participated in a Manhattan demonstration against the occupation 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Last Saturday afternoon, a group of protestors gathered outside the Israeli Consulate in New York as Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-05-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 42 VTMBH Article: Article Order 4 VTMBH Article: Title The politics and economics of Haitian refugees VTMBH Article: Author VTMBH Article: Publication Haitian Times VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section edits VTMBH Article: Blurb Until Haitian Americans have economic and political power, Haitian boat people will be sent back to their homeland without a Democrat or a Republican feeling any remorse. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Last week, as more than 200 Haitian boat people ran aground in Miami, activists quickly framed the story as one of Haitian vs. Cuban treatment. It is a good story and one that needs to be told. It is unfair that Haitians are sent back and Cubans are allowed to stay here. The reality is that this is not new. The reality is that Cubans are rich and powerful in Miami while Haitians are poor and powerless. But there is a little bit of hypocrisy in shaping up the story that way. Activists could not say too loudly that Haiti is a political hot bed because many of these Haitian-American activists and their allies long supported the government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide and fought tooth and nail to have him returned to power after he was ousted in a coup in September 1991. The reality is that these refugees are escaping economic hardships brought on by an ever-worsening political climate. It has been that way for a very long time in Haiti and unless some serious compromises are made from the political classes, we don't expect things to improve too much. We are more likely to see more Haitians attempting to come by boat, even if their escape ashore wont be as dramatic as we witnessed last week on national television. Until Haitian Americans have economic and political power, Haitian boat people will be sent back to their homeland without any Democrat or Republican feeling any remorse. To fight for equality we need to have federal legislators whose elections hinge on our vote and whose political campaigns depend on our money. Until we have that power, Haitian refugees will be sent back and Haitians in the United States will take to the streets to denounce the unfair treatment. Its time to attack this problem at its roots. Lets organize ourselves economically and politically. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-11-12 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 63 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The politics and economics of Haitian refugees 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Until Haitian Americans have economic and political power, Haitian boat people will be sent back to Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-11-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 26 VTMBH Article: Article Order 3 VTMBH Article: Title Groups continue to fight the living wage battle VTMBH Article: Author Macollvie Jean-Francois VTMBH Article: Publication Haitian Times VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb It is not uncommon to see Haitian women, some of them dressed in the white nurse uniforms, rushing before daybreak to catch the train to an elderly or sick persons home. They are just a few of thousands of city workers who would gain if the New York City Council passes a bill to tie their minimum wage to the financial breaks their employers receive from the city and the state. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body It is not uncommon to see Haitian women, some of them dressed in the white nurse uniforms, running for the No. 35 bus on Church Avenue in the early morning, when the sky is still that dark blue slowly giving way to light. For 15 years, Lerette Cazeau has been one of those women, rushing before daybreak to catch the train to an elderly or sick persons home. Once inside the house and after washing their hands, the women cook breakfast, wash the patient, change their bed-sheets, do their laundry when necessarysometimes dailytake them to the doctor, pick up their medication from the pharmacy and take them out for walks, among other tasks. Its hard work. You have to have a lot of patience, Cazeau said. Some of these people dont have families or parents. Its up to you to care for them. Cazeau is one of thousands of city workers who would gain if the New York City Council passes a bill to tie their minimum wage to the financial breaks their employers receive from the city and the state. Known as the living wage bill, it would, if passed, have a significant impact on not only the workers paychecks, but their quality of life and reduce pressure on city service agencies that they rely on for assistance. The New York City Living Wage Coalition has been working on the bill that would force companies who have contracts with or are receiving certain economic benefits from the city to pay their workers more. Home attendants would stand to gain the most if the City Council passes the proposed living wage law. The citys 50,000 home health and housekeeping workers is the largest group that would be affected out of an estimated 80,000 total workers, said Bertha Lewis, executive director of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). Most of these home-health workers are women of color from other countries. The bill, introduced to the Council in March, states that increasing workers basic pay would alleviate the workload of social service agencies that families turn to for help. This would provide them with at least a decent wage, Lewis said. The only way to boost the economy is if people have money in their pockets. Samuel Nicholas, a Haitian community activist who testified before the New York City Council for the bill, said, Right now, theyre living below poverty level. They cant even pay their bills. So were not even talking a drastic changejust the necessities. Nicholas is a member of the Haitian clergy group that belongs the to the coalition. ACORN and New York Working Families Party formed the Living Wage Coalition about two years ago. Composed of about 250 organizations, including labor union, clergy and nonprofit groups, its goal is to have the city increase the living wage of the workers. Lewis said the tax breaks, land, grants, and other special deals that contractors receive from the city should be passed on to their employees. [The coalition] has been growing and growing because people realize that people need decent wages, Lewis said. About 50,000 home attendants, predominantly immigrant women of color, are assigned by a home-care agencies to assist the elderly, persons with mental or physical disabilities, AIDS, cancer and other diseases. Some homebound people might ask to be taken outside for fresh air while it is snowing, as one womens elder patient demanded, by threatening to report the attendants to the agencies. When you do this job, you look at the person as someone in your own family having some difficulties, said Yolette Thezar, a home attendant for 15 years. Some of them are so annoying that your really have to watch that they dont put you in trouble. In 1986, when Thezar and Cazeau started as home attendants, the citys home care agencies paid $3.25 an hour. Health benefits were granted after joining the 1199 Service Employees International Union. Thezar, who stopped working as a home attendant last year, said they got pay raises about every three years, which put most workers in the industry at just over $7 an hour a few years ago. Essentially, [the bill] stands for the principle that the city should not do business with employers who pay their employees less than a living wage, the bills authors state. If passed as proposed to the City Council a couple months ago, the law would increase the minimum wage to $8.10 an hour and provide health benefits for most employees for the first year that it goes in effect. Those who do not receive health benefits would be paid $9.60. Home attendants and housekeepers are paid $7.69 an hour, and their unions provide health insurance. If the increases go as planned every year, the wage may reach $10 an hour, with health benefits included, by July 2006. The bill recommends that the city comptroller increase the rate every year, based on the citys cost of living, budget and economic condition. After four years, the living wage would be indexed to inflation, meaning the wage would increase proportionally to that economic indicator. People who work at day care sites, (such as security guards, street cleaners and in the mailroom) are among those whose checks the living wage would boost. Paul Sonn, associate counsel at New York University Law School Brennan Justice Center, a public policy research and analysis group, said that the living wage would never decrease. Even if there is deflation, the living wage would remain at the highest level it reached during the periods of inflation. It only goes up, he said. It would make a big difference. Its still not enough, but it would be better, Cazeau said. We have to put together with the union to make this happen. Patrick Gaspard, a spokesman for the New York State Council Service Employees International Union (SEIU), said the union has been fighting for the living wage since day one. He said that although it is difficult to pinpoint the number of Haitian women home attendants in the union, there are thousands and that they have been for the wage increase. Gaspard said that since the premise of the bill is that people will have more money to take care of their families, increasing their total take-home pay will help. Lewis said the proposed law is sponsored by 44 of the councils 51 members, including Speaker Gifford Miller, Chairman of the Committee on Governmental Operations Bill Perkins, and Chairman of the Committee on Government Contracts Robert Jackson. Perkins and Jackson held the first of a series of hearings in April to hear testimony from the organizations asking for the bill, those who would be affected by it, and those who would implement it. Another hearing has been scheduled for mid-July and the bill may be voted on by the end of the summer, said Gregory Heller, the living wage coordinator at ACORN. The bill has met some resistance from Mayor Michael Bloombergs office during the March hearing. The mayors representative said the city might lose contractors and companies it subsidizes if it mandates that they pay their workers more, Lewis said. They testified in April that the bill would cost the city more than $100 million. Comptroller Bill Thompson and the coalition estimate the cost at less than $10 million in its first years, Heller said. Sonn said the discrepancy between the two figures is a result of the administration assuming a host of programs that the bill does not cover. Repeated calls to the mayors office were not returned. The New York Living Wage Coalition is one of several organizations demanding living wages in cities and states. Lewis said 85 bills have either been passed or are about to be passed by various states. She said some people are planning to draft a federal living wage bill. Everyone is confident [the bill] will pass. There are some fine-tuning problems, Sonn said. Gaspard is hesitant to predict whether the bill will pass, given their experience with lobbying and politicians. However, with positive signals from political officials such as the Council speaker, he is cautiously optimistic if the bills fate. Things look really good, he said. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-07-09 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 81 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Groups continue to fight the living wage battle 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. It is not uncommon to see Haitian women, some of them dressed in the white nurse uniforms, rushing b Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-07-09