Community Board 3 Stumbles Into Spring

Spring might have sprung since the last time Community Board 3 met collectively. However, when it comes to the community being actively engaged in issues concerning the health and vitality of the neighborhood, residents seem to be hibernating. School test scores are drastically dropping, Census numbers are trending towards a record low, and many homeowners are once again facing tax and water liens.
After a brief intro and welcome, Chairman Henry Butler took a deep breath.   Something heavy was on his heart.  The district test results were in and Bedford-Stuyvesant scores were at an all-time low.  Adding insult to injury, the twelve-member Community Education Council (the collective that shapes district-wide educational policy) only has 2 Bed-Stuy residents on its board.  “We got to do better, people,” he said. 
In the shadows of a major ad campaigns specifically targeting hard-to-count communities, Bedford-Stuyvesant’s Census numbers once again are trending towards a record low. According to the Coalition for the Improvement of Bedford-Stuyvesant (CIBS), as of Monday, April 5, 2010, less than 20% of applications were returned. Although residents have been warned via print and radio ads, posters and celebrity pitches of the importance of filling out the Census forms, Bed-Stuy residents are still lagging behind.  Without accurate numbers, our community stands to lose billions of federally funded dollars. Yet, the urgency to complete the form and mail it in remains a low priority.  
In an eleventh-hour dash to get residents to fill out their Census form, Melissa Lee, an associate from CIBS, is keeping hope alive and demanding that Bed-Stuy be heard. Her organization is making a commitment “to spreading the Census message by mobilizing residents of Bed-Stuy around the importance of achieving a complete count in 2010,” stated Ms. Lee. Over the next few days, Ms. Lee and her street team will canvas the community with an arsenal of posters and postcards urging residents to “BE Heard and BE Counted.”  Deadline for turning in the Census forms is April 15. 
It’s tax season again. Although this time of the year is often celebrated with an anticipated refund check courtesy of Uncle Sam, for many homeowners who have fallen behind in their taxes, it could easily result in the loss of their homes.  The Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant has teamed up with New York City Department of Finance to make sure that Bed-Stuy residents remain in their homes.
During the month of April, the Brownstoners’ foot soldiers will be knocking on doors personally inviting homeowners to the annual “Know The Facts, Don’t Lose Your Home,” tax lien night.  The event takes place at 5:00 PM, Thursday, April 22 at Boys & Girls High School, 1700 Fulton Street.  Lien candidates will have an opportunity to receive individual counseling and guidance from HPD, Department of Finance and DEP where they will have an opportunity to set up installment agreements and payment plans.
On a more upbeat note, Deputy Inspector Donald V. Lyons, from the 79th Precinct, dropped by to thank the community for helping take a bite out of crime.  According to Lyons, incoming calls to the precinct’s crime tip line are at an all-time high and have resulted in taking several criminals off the streets including a high-profile rapist who had attacked two women in the area. 
Other agenda items included two co-naming public hearings.  Velma C. Armstrong of the Alliance of Panamanian Organizations in the United States petitioned the CB3 for a letter of support to co-naming Franklin Avenue between Fulton Street and Atlantic Ave. “Avenida Republica de Panama,” to commemorate the 107th Anniversary of the Independence of Panama. 
The other co-naming was for Jefferson Avenue, between Throop and Tompkins to be co-named in honor of Bertram L. Baker.  The presentation was given by Altovise Fleary, Jefferson Avenue TNT Block Association. Bertram L. Baker was Brooklyn’s first black elected official representing Bedford-Stuyvesant in the New York State Assembly where he wrote this nation’s first laws barring race discrimination. The board voted 35 for co-naming Franklin Avenue and 5 against. The Jefferson Avenue co-naming received a glowing 34 for, with no votes cast against it.
Keith L. Forest is a freelance publicist, writer and proud Bedford-Stuyvesant homeowner who lives and works in the beloved community.  His current blog space (mybedstuy.blogspot.com)  seeks to celebrate the people and places that make up this great community while addressing issues such as gentrification, predatory lending and other ill norms that seek to exploit, discredit and harm the area and its people. 

Community Action Forces Illegal Shelter to Close

Community Board 3, Small Businesses, Residents, Block Presidents Take Back Malcolm X Blvd.

A victory took place in Bedford-Stuyvesant this week. Residents, merchants, civic leaders and elected officials joined forces to express their concerns about a rehabilitation center that covertly moved into the area in the beginning of January. Standing in solidarity, the collective succeeded in forcing the Gelzer Foundation, that ran a temporary housing facility for recovering alcohol and drug addicts, at 332 Malcolm X Blvd. out of the neighborhood.

After a weeklong battle, neighbors were thrilled to learn that the beat-up van that dropped off the wayward clan returned to reclaim the bed frames and mattresses it left behind. Earlier in the month, members of the community met with two representatives from the Gelzer Foundation. Unfortunately, the meeting only raised more questions and suspicions about how this organization, which apparently receives some city funding and holds no certificate with the state, was able to enter a neighborhood undetected.
After the request for a second meeting and documentation of the agency’s legitimacy was declined, the collective swung into action. True to the time in which we live in, there were no picket signs or bull horns demanding justice. Instead, the fight played out in cyberspace with e-mail campaigns fired off at jet speed to elected officials and civic leaders; and numerous blog postings and text messages soliciting support. New York Daily News, Our Time Press, the Real Deal Newspaper and News 12 covered the action; phone calls were placed to the agency, forcing elected officials to take action. By Friday, the Gelzer Foundation had enough and permanently closed its doors.
Program housing is a major concern in Bedford-Stuyvesant and other low-income communities throughout the city. Although the city and state has placed a “fair share clause” which monitors the number of program agencies committed to one region, developers and venture capitalists are able to exploit the lucrative market by secretly setting up such agencies in privately owned homes.
Community Board 3, which meets regularly with several city agencies during its closed-session meetings, promises to address the issue in a public forum soon. Chairman Henry Butler commended Bainbridge Street & Malcolm X Blvd. , Block Association and the Malcolm X Merchants Association for their unwavering commitment in tackling the issue noting that it was the community’s acting in the early stages that made the difference.

Community Board 3 Kicks Off The New Decade With Public Hearing

Neighbors Voice Their Concerns About  the Oversaturation of Public Programs
Community Board 3 opened its first meeting in 2010 with a public hearing addressing the growing concern for the oversaturation of Public Programs in the area. For the past 10 years, residents have been constantly complaining about the numerous and abundance of programs being allowed into our community. 
As a resident and home owner in Bedford-Stuyvesant, I can certainly attest to this growing concern. On our block of Bainbridge Street between Malcolm X Blvd. and Patchen Avenue alone has 4 Single-Room Occupancy residents, 2 half-way homes and several other social service programs in operation. Unfortunately, our concern for the quality of life for our neighbors and safety for our children is shared by numerous other blocks. Yet, our cries are going unanswered.
Demetrius Mills, who resides on the northern tip of Bedford-Stuyvesant, was one of the first to state his grievances.  Since 2000, he has been fighting to have some of the numerous programs infiltrating the community designated to other areas. However, so far it has been a losing battle.  Currently his area alone houses a women’s shelter, domestic violence facility, a methadone clinic and numerous other social service programs. According to Mr. Mills, there were over 1 thousand agencies listed in Bed-Stuy in CB3 alone; today, that number is estimated to have doubled. 
As a father and homeowner, Mr. Mills has witnessed drug usage and sexual acts performed right under his window.  On more than one occasion he, as well as his teenage son, have been propositioned.  In addition to the prostitution, Mr. Mills fears for the safety of his family and had an alarming encounter when a mentally ill patient wandered in his home and confronted his wife and son. 
Nancy Russell, a former manager at NYC Department of Homeless Services, and current President of the Tri Block Association, argued that the concern of most residents is not “rejection of the homeless, needy or poor, but equality and fairness.” She suggested that CB3 identify alternative sites where these programs can be housed.
Linda Simmons, Vice President of the Jefferson Avenue Block Association lives in fear. Within a 2-block radius, she shares residence with 2 schools, 3 day care centers and several Level 3 sex offenders. This fear has created an unhealthy lifestyle for her children who are forbidden to go out and spend most of their time in the house. “With physical education classes being taken out of the school system, my kids and grandchildren unfortunately have no means of exercise. I am too afraid to let them go to the park fearing they may encounter the sex offenders.”
Ms. C. Doris Pinn, who co-chairs The Housing Land/Use Committee, assured those in attendance that their complaints have been heard and that Community Board 3 has been and will continue to utilize all of its resources to combat and resolve the issue.
Other concerns addressed included the renaming of The Bradford Apartments which is scheduled to undergo construction this year. The site, which is located on the corner of Fulton Street and Albany Avenue, is currently scheduled to be named after the unsavory “Bradford” pear tree that produces an inedible nut and large white flowers with a pungent odor. CB3 is currently holding a contest to rename the block in honor of something, or someone with significance. Pradine Content, a representative from the Census Bureau, ended the evening by asking everyone to encourage others to fill out their census form. According to Ms. Content, Bedford-Stuyvesant is considered a “hard to count” community with less than 60% of its residents participating in the 2000 census.
There are many events, activities and initiatives that are taking place in the month of January. However, one in particular merits mentioning. On Saturday, January 16, Voices of Action Against Violence, Parents United to Rally for Gun-Violence Elimination (PURGE) and Calvary Fellowship AME Church are joining forces for Step Up and Take a Stand. The special forum will address the issue of the growing concern of gun violence in our community and will include special guest speaker Graham Weatherspoon of Black Law Enforcement Alliance.