Where to Count Prisoners Leads Concerns at Congressional Hearing on Census

Issue Impact Redistricting and Federal Funds

Where prisoners are counted as living determines both electoral districts as well as how many federal dollars are available for everything from job creation to food stamps and other human needs.  With 75% of prisoners in upstate New York coming from seven zip codes in New York City, it was an area of special concern at the congressional hearing of The Information Policy, Census and National Archives Subcommittee held at Brooklyn’s Borough Hall this past Monday.

The hearing on Group Quarters such as prisons, schools and nursing homes, chaired by Congressman William Lacy Clay, Jr. and held jointly with the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Congressman Ed Towns, took testimony from  Census Director Dr. Robert Groves that since 1790, the United States Census Bureau has counted people using the usual Residency Rule, i.e., where they eat, sleep and live most of the time.
Peter Wagner, Executive Director of the Prison Policy Initiative, had a startling statistic: the 2.3 million people incarcerated is larger than the population of 15 states.  “Some districts are 80-90% prisoners” he told the committee.  The Web site for the Initiative says that “In New York State, for example, one out of every three people who moved to upstate New York in the 1990s actually ‘moved’ into a newly constructed prison. The state bars people in prison from voting, but their presence in the Census boosts the population of the upstate districts whose legislators favor prison expansion. Without this phantom population, seven upstate New York Senate districts would not meet minimum population requirements and would have to be redrawn.”
Currently, with prisoners included as residents of the county where they are incarcerated, rather than where they came from, the federal dollars for social services based on population are sent to counties where the prisons are located, even though the prisoners don’t use any local services and the counties where the prisoners come from, usually high-need areas, lose the dollars earmarked to provide them with services.
They can’t do  an individual count/interview because of the security. The bureau depends on administrative records to count the prisoners.  In later testimony, Mr. Thomas Ellet, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs at New York University, said that in terms of the accuracy of administrative records, the quality varies across systems, “particularly in prisons.”
Wagner later reminded the congressmen that legally speaking the prisoners have not left their homes.  Here he was referring to the NY Constitution which says that “no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence by reason of his presence or absence … while confined in any public prison.”   And he said that the legislature can do something this year to include the prisoners in the count of their home addresses.  
The bureau is taking the position that the Census is not proposing to change where people are counted, and are leaving it up to the states to determine how that count will be used in the reapportionment process, where political districts are drawn to contain the same number of people in order to adhere to a federally-mandated “one man, one vote” standard.   Dr. Groves agreed with Chairman Clay that he was glad not to be a part of the redistricting process.  According to Senator Velmanette Montgomery’s office, a Bill in the NYS Senate is due to be proposed momentarily.
Chairman Towns asked Robert Goldenkoff, Director of Strategic Issues for the Government Accountability Office, about the technological readiness of the Census Bureau for the April 1st start date.  Goldenkoff divided the problems into categories.  First: People, the technicians are falling behind schedule and can’t take away the time from doing the work to train new people. Second was Hardware: the Census computers are simply outdated.  Third was Software, where defects are continuing to mount and of course four, the Schedule.  The operation has a fixed date (April 1st.) when the system must be ready.  He acknowledged that the Bureau has gained some time by scaling back from the full-blown version as originally envisioned, but said that even at the reduced level, the bureau remains challenged to hit the April 1st mark.
Looking to improve the job the Census does in traditionally undercounted areas such as Bedford-Stuyvesant, Chairman Towns asked Dr. Groves if the discretionary funds the Bureau has could be used to target areas such as Kings County that have been traditionally undercounted in the past.  “We need to get the information out to the people, using local news and local press.” Dr. Groves responded that they were advertising to the grassroots level, using community newspapers. [ Publisher's Note: we haven't gotten any.] As for the discretionary funds, Dr. Groves said that response rates to the mailing were being analyzed and areas that appeared to be undercounted will be the target for the discretionary funds.

Providence House Proposed 60% Transitional Complex on Kosciuszko Raises Question of “Social” Service Saturation

Are service providers overdosing Bedford-Stuyvesant with affordable housing we can’t afford to have anymore? A nonprofit organization founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph has provided transitional and permanent housing for 30 years, twenty-seven of them in Community Board 3.  Now they want to create affordable/supportive apartments at 273-277 Kosciusko, including 26 apartments for formerly homeless women with a history of incarceration, graduating from Providence House’s other transitional housing programs.  They say 40% of the housing will be available to neighborhood residents who meet low income criteria, but its the 60% we’re concerned about.  We believe everyone should have a place to go.  But how many more transitional places can Bedford Stuyvesant hold. Not to mention, the personal demons that transitional residents face –  echoed all around them in the many transitional, supportive and social services facilities in the area.  By bringing in even more, there is the creation of an enabling community.  And if each housing area has only a 20% recidivism rate, then with the concentration of facilities creates a critical mass of negativity, posing a threat to the family-centered strivings of the hosting community. That the provider wants to bring former Bedford-Stuyvesant residents back to where they’ll find former acquaintances, seems to suggest Providence is tone deaf to the nature of toxic relationships.  We know there’s no use in recommending Providence build academies and learning centers.  But this is exactly what we need –  institutions that encourage healthy life choices and real independent living.  Now that’s something we can afford to have in this community.

Children at Risk

On December 1, Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes announced a 21-year sentence for Frank Ryer, 49, who raped and impregnated his 12-year-old stepdaughter. The rape occurred between May 15 and June 15, 2007, while Ryer was visiting the girl at her grandmother’s Brownsville home, where the victim lived. The victim was afraid to tell anyone about the attack, but several months later, when her grandmother realized the victim was pregnant – and took her to see a doctor – they alerted the police. DNA testing confirmed that Ryer had fathered the victim’s baby.

Ryer’s conviction and sentencing is one of many sex abuse cases handled by the Brooklyn DA’s office – 19 cases so far this year. In the past 6 years, the DA’s Sex Crimes Bureau has obtained 1

st degree rape convictions in 103 cases. The Sex Crimes Bureau handles rape cases in which victims are 11-years and older.

THE GOVERNOR LAUNCHES “PEOPLE FIRST” CITY-WIDE CAMPAIGN in BEDFORD STUYVESANT

Three thousand people came out to hear Governor David Paterson’s message to the community on Tuesday at Brooklyn’s First AME Zion Church, pastored by Rev. Darren H. Mitchell. The governor was warmly greeted by the standing room only crowd in the first of a series of conversations he is holding across the state.
Governor Paterson spoke of NYS’s budget woes, and put them in a national context. “The amount of deficits states have run are twice the stimulus dollars,” said Paterson. “Without it, things could be worse.” Paterson credited President Obama’s stimulus as mitigating the problem.
The Governor gave an overview of the problem. NYS receives 20% of our tax proceeds from Wall Street. Our tax receipts are down – twice the national average. Governor Paterson identified the national crisis first in July 2008. In August 2008, NYS balanced its budget and was able to create a ½ billion dollar emergency fund that has enabled New York to do far better than other states.
Paterson said 34 states have had to take actions that NYS has not: 26 states shut down all Pre-K and kindergarten programs; 21 states have furloughed workers; 9 states have let prisoners out. Hawaii shortened its school week from 6 days to 4. In addition Hawaii, and Michigan (which has a 16% unemployment rate) have no more after-school programs. Arizona sold its assets, including the state capitol, which is leased back to itself. California’s credit rating is triple B – one step above junk bond status. As a result, California has a $1 billion interest on their debt.
In comparison to many other states, Governor Paterson said NYS policy is “shared sacrifice.” He acknowledged NYS has the 2nd highest tax rate in the country. The state’s rebate on property tax relief has been abolished.
The Governor said 55% of NYS’s budget goes to health care and education. In response to what Paterson describes as “misleading” commercials, 71% of all education costs go to administration; 29% is for children. Paterson said 95% of school districts we cut have reserve funds, therefore he recommended “wealth-based” tax cuts. The state didn’t cut poorer school districts.
Regarding the impact of health care cuts, Paterson said “No Medicaid patients will be denied services due to cuts.”
The Governor gave an example of how painful it has been for him to make cuts to services. In 2004, when he was a State Senator, Paterson co-sponsored a $50 million bill for lead paint. In 2008, that legislation passed. Paterson said, as governor, he had to veto it. The Governor described how he had to face the music from his then-Assembly member co-sponsor, David Gantt who all but “cussed” him out. Paterson said since then, he found $25 million to help victims of lead poisoning.
Paterson said he is cutting now to avoid closings later. “California is closing hospitals. Arizona is closing schools. New York will be recovering in the new economy.”
In contrast to 34 states that are behind on payments, Governor Paterson said, “I’ve balanced 2 budgets in the middle of a recession. We have not missed a payment [obligation]. NY has maintained its credit rating.”
After his opening remarks, Governor Paterson took questions from the audience.
Regarding a question about John White, the husband and father who was convicted for protecting his family and home from a drunken mob, the governor said he “has met with John White,” and explained he “cannot intervene in ongoing court proceedings,” (the case in on appeal) and cannot comment further.
On the ever-controversial Atlantic Yards project, Paterson said he met with representatives of the opponents to Atlantic Yards just prior to his conversation with the audience. The Governor promised “an objective and fair hearing” on the issue. “The state has an interest in Atlantic Yards,” the Governor said. “Upon advisement of [Council woman] Tish James, I will review.”
On the topic of employment, Governor Paterson said NYS’s official unemployment rate is 8.9%, “but I believe 15-18% of able-bodied adults don’t have jobs.” Paterson said he has expanded the W/MBE system. “NYS was 45th out of 50 states” in awarding contracts to W/MBE’s. He explained while “8% of W/MBE’s qualified, only 2/3 of 1% (.66%) were getting business.” Paterson said NYS had one of the worst records in the country, “Mississippi was better.” Under his leadership, Governor Paterson said the rate of M/WBE’s that do business with the state increased from .66% to 11.1%. Paterson views W/MBE’s as a way to “create jobs in the community.”
Governor Paterson was asked about Alton Maddox’s law license and records surrounding the Tawana Brawley incident. Paterson said Maddox’s law license has been suspended for 20 years, amounting to “4 times the maximum suspension” under NYS law. Paterson felt it would be “equitable to give Maddox’s license back.” Regarding the records on Tawana Brawley, Paterson said he doesn’t have those files. Paterson recommended taking up the issue with the independently-elected District Attorney or the state’s Attorney General, Mario Cuomo. There were many more questions than time, and the Governor said he would return to continue the conversation. Oh, and yes the governor is running in 2010.

Democracy and Diversity Called For in City Council Leadership

“I would bring Democracy to the City Council,” says Councilman Charles Barron, throwing his hat in the ring to replace the current City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and reform the rules of the Council in January 2010.

“No one should have the absolute power so that fifty-one members are unable to vote their consciences, their principles and be the voice speaking for their people’s interests because they fear punishment by this all-powerful Speaker. No one should have that, me or anyone else.”

Barron contends that the result of this concentration of power has been in the impact on middle and working-class people. He cites the statistic that 1.1 million people left New York City and their average salary was fifty-seven-thousand dollars or less and says the city has been made unaffordable for the middle-class and working-class families struggling in our neighborhoods. “So the middleclass and working class are leaving, but at budget time they say we can’t put a tax on the rich because they may leave. So while you won’t raise the taxes on the rich, you will raise the subway fare, you will raise the SUNY and CUNY tuitions, you will charge the homeless rent. The reforming and democratizing of the City Council would lead to giving priority to the working-class people in our neighborhoods over the power elite.”

In a city as diverse as New York, skin color is always a factor in power-sharing. “The Mayor is White, the Speaker is White, the Public Advocate is White, the Comptroller is Asian.” And then there is the Council itself. “Historically, the three most powerful positions are Speaker, Chair of the Finance Committee and the Chair of Land Use. No person of color has ever held one of those positions. And with the Blacks, Latinos and Asians being 27 of the 51 City Council members, it’s time for the sharing of power and diversifying the power ethnically.”

To the reasons of diversifying ethnically the power and bringing integrity to the City Council, Barron adds that there must be “a check and balance to the power of the Mayor and not a Speaker who acts like a Deputy Mayor.”

Barron insists the times call for a powerful City Council and reminds that it’s the Council that passes the budget, the laws and determines land use issues, not the Mayor. “And if they are afraid of the Mayor and the Speaker, that just won’t happen.”

Toward this end, the councilman called a meeting to explore the possibility of a challenge to Speaker Quinn, and said it was “Very spirited, very productive and very promising.” Asked to elaborate, Barron said that about 30 people attended including a representative of Reverend Al Sharpton, Tony Avella, several union leaders, Alton Maddox, notable community leaders, and several Council members as well.”

They announced the formation of the Barron/Avella New York City Council Democratic Reform Movement with Paul Washington acting as coordinator. Barron said the purpose of the movement will be to bring Democracy to the City Council, diversity to the power positions, and take power away from the Speaker and give it to the Council members, such as having an equitable distribution of capital and expense money, allowing Council members to determine the process of legislation as opposed to the Speaker who can determine whether or not it lives or dies in committee and a process to determine who chairs committees.

The councilman will be making a public announcement on the 24th of November at 12 noon on the steps of City Hall. He hopes to bring community support to put pressure on their Council members “to consider this campaign and this movement. At least support the movement,” says Barron. “The City Council should be a Democracy built from the bottom up rather than the top down.”

 

 

 

 

 

Community Outraged at Proposed NYPD Use of Youth Center

 “This is ludicrous” was the emphatic comment of community activist Salema Davis, speaking about the New York City Police Department takeover of the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Community Center, a 25-year-old East New York PAL Center and the only youth center in the area.  “But because the building needed work, they had to close the building and put the NYPD in there as a training facility.” 

“The building is huge” she continued.  “There is a library, studio, basketball courts, and the basement areas have old little courtrooms.  What they need to do is bring enrichment programs in there for young people and for the seniors.  Bring a training facility.  Their failure to do that says they’re looking for this community to fail.”

Ms. Davis spoke of the four housing projects in the area, the high crime rate and the numerous gangs in the area.  “The young people don’t have many enrichment programs.  When you have more children than community centers, what do you do?” 

Carolyn Walker Diallo, Executive Director of The George Walker Jr. Community Coalition, Inc. said “I was born and raised in East New York and recalled going there as a teenager. About two years ago we heard rumblings that the PAL was out and the building was unsafe for children and the building was closed. With the population of over 90,000 mostly low-income people in the East New York community we need this Center to provide much-needed services.”   

A coalition of several groups contacted the city to see what could be done with the building to provide  a multi-service center for the community.  “We got the run-around and the next thing we know, the response is that there is so much work to be done that the NYPD will come in and take over the building.  At the same time, they are requesting money from the community board to fix the building.” 

Ms. Walker was perplexed by this, asking “If we have money to fix the building for the NYPD, then why don’t we have money to fix it for our seniors and our young people?” Speaking more on the young people of the area, she says,  “We have a very high crime rate.  The gangs are out of control and when you speak to these children, a lot of them just don’t have anywhere to go.” 

“It’s absurd,” said Councilman Charles Barron, who’s district is nearby.  “How are you going to take away youth services?  The reason you need the police is because we have no youth services.”

Ms. Davis and Ms. Diallo both described Councilman Erik Martin Dilan, as a supporter, but we were unable to reach the councilman before press time.

A coalition that includes the George Walker, Jr. Community Coalition, Inc.; East New York United Concerned Citizens, Inc.; Brooklyn East New York Crisis Team and We The Kids Foundation has come together and held a rally in front of the Schwartz Center.

Ms. Diallo reported that at their Wednesday meeting, Brooklyn Community Board #5 passed a resolution in support of retaining the location as a community center and in opposition to the NYPD bringing in offices and a training center.

View From Here: Bandits, Dangers and Opportunities

The marauding packs of  corporate bandits are at it again, robbing the common citizenry, causing pain and death with utter abandon and no remorse.  First they came for the homes, using mortgages as gambling chips, extracting bonuses and fees for every toss of the dice and with the homeowner left to account for the value after the game is done.

And here they are at it again, these economic parasites, now guised as a “health insurance industry”, have placed themselves between the citizenry and basic health care like common toll road warlords commanding “pay us or die.”   A single-payer plan, such as those typical in the rest of the industrial world, would be like the sheriff coming to town and the townsfolk  paying him, or her, for protection. 

From the chemical industry’s insistence there are acceptable limits and no ill effects, the pharmaceutical industry that produces illness sustainers that must be purchased for a lifetime, because cures are business killers, but that’s not how capitalism rolls.  They saw what the Salk vaccine did to the iron lung industry, and they are not going to make that mistake again.  The only thing that can stop them is a massive campaign that takes the battle for “single payer” to the streets in a roar of public defiance.   And don’t let them tell you that “It’s a done deal” – “Too big to fight against” – “Too powerful.”  That’s the Bloomberg Bamboozle and we can’t let it work again.

 

There is a new reality taking hold of the world and it is both grim news and opens a world of possibilities for the young people of Bedford-Stuyvesant.  An argument can be made that we are living in the beginning waves of the Future Shock world that Alvin Toffler warned about in his 1970 book of the same name and if that is so, then all of the change in the last few decades has finally caught up with us and the unemployment rate will not be improved by the once-useful measures of the past.  The grim news for our children is that the jobs they are being trained for are dying and the education they’re receiving to enable them to survive and prosper in the economic environment of the future, is not up to the national, much less international, standards that are being set and exceeded around the world.

The resurgence in jobs will not be coming from big growth in middle-sized or large companies, but rather big growth from individual income-producing activities, businesses of 1-10 people.   Here is where the world of possibilities lies, as a part of these many micro-businesses powering the economic resurgence by the power and redundancy of a parallel-processing system, as opposed to “Too big to fail” industries and institutions whose time is inevitably coming to a close.

In the online book, Unbounding the Future: the Nanotechnology Revolution, The Foresight Institute, a think tank and public interest organization focused on transformative future technologies, says “The trend for advanced technologies seems to be leading away from centralization. Will nanotechnology counter or accelerate this trend? By reducing the cost of equipment, by reducing the need for large numbers of people to work on one product, and bringing greater ability to produce the customized goods that people want, nanotechnology will probably continue the twentieth century trend toward decentralization. The results, though, will be disruptive to existing businesses.

There’s been a respite from future shock in the last three decades; people have had a chance to catch their breath. When nanotechnology arrives, will future shock arrive with it?”

 Well, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to that world.  Companies simply do not need the people they have let go.  Software is now performing many of those jobs and the workforce has to remake itself and be able to re-imagine what it wants to be and this is just the beginning.

According to Foresight, this is what our children will need: “These human skills that people carry with them will continue to be valued; managing complexity, providing creativity, customizing things for other people, helping people deal with problems, providing old services in new contexts, teaching, entertaining and making decisions. A reasonable guess would be that many of the service and information industries of the twentieth century will continue to evolve and exist in a world with nanotechnology. What is harder to imagine would be what new industries will come into being once we have new capabilities and lower costs.” And harder still to imagine that the Department of Education is preparing our children to thrive in that world, however it may look, and for that, we really have no clue.  As Foresight says, “Today, it’s as hard to predict what new industries will be invented as it would have been for the creators of the ENIAC computer to have predicted cheap, handheld game computers for children.”

Lights on the horizon are the young people we’ve seen operating Web-based businesses, and the small shops springing up around the area that are pretty well-described by Foresight as examples of what is to be expected.  “We’ve also seen the resurgence of small, but highly diverse stores: gourmet food shops, specialty ethnic shops, tea and coffee purveyors, organic and health food stores, bakeries, yogurt shops, gourmet ice cream stores, convenience stores offering twenty-four-hour access, shops selling packaged food plus snacks. These stores epitomize something fundamental: At some point, what we want is not a standard good at an ever-cheaper price, but special things customized to meet our own individual tastes or needs.”

Whether these are the best of times or the worst of times is yet to be determined,  but one thing we know for sure, they will be the times we make them.

View From Here: Dastardly Deeds

“There are two things you need for success in politics. Money, and I can’t think of the other,” was Senator Mark Hannah’s (R-OH) analysis in 1903 and it pretty much held true until Bloomberg spent $100 million  dollars and barely eked out a victory over William Thompson. 

Mayor David Dinkins had called it exactly right at a Manhattan fundraiser five days before the election when he spoke about the polls as “nonsense” and insisted that Thompson can win.  “Bill Thompson is in a win-win position,” said the former mayor of New York.  “First of all, the very worst that can happen is that he would lose by a certain margin.  Were that to occur, it will be a far smaller margin than is anticipated by the pollsters and by Mayor Bloomberg.  That alone is a victory.”

And yet the story could have had such a different ending if more people had kept the faith, but that was not to be, most embarrassingly in the Black church.   The late Reverend William Augustus Jones of Bethany Baptist Church used to say, “You eat the king’s meat, you do the king’s bidding.” And that continues to hold true as shown by the wide support Mayor Bloomberg was given by the so-called leaders of the religious establishment and those who want to join them.  During slavery, the church was a place away from the master, where destinies could be determined outside of his control.  Begun as a pacifier, it became a conduit for strength and freedom.  During Reconstruction, the church was a place of safety and personal development.   The church was a place where a Civil Rights Movement could come to life and change the nation. 

Today, too many churches have become conduits for the master’s dollars and have returned to the role of  pacifier of the masses.  There is no more interest in advancing African-Americans, only in building a Development Corporation into a local empire and buying a really good-looking suit.  

And these ministers have no shame in their game.  After all, they are only doing what is pragmatic.  “You do have to get cooperation from city agencies in order to get things done,” said Rev. A.R. Bernard, Sr. the pastor of the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn.  “Everything I have ever called on, his people called right back, and been supportive,” said Rev. Floyd H. Flake, the pastor of the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in Queens.

Had these pastors been centered on continuing their role of guiding their congregations on the road to liberation, they would have used their offices as a base for Bill Thompson, eschewing the “king’s meat” and growing their own by standing together and demonstrating to young people that you can walk your own way.   Had they acted in the faith that took us through the hard times rather than in fear and self-interest, they’d have gotten either their planned project anyway or a different one when Thompson became mayor.  They could also have been instrumental in African-Americans regaining control of the education of their children.  They could have ushered in a return to the Dinkins-era of minority contracting programs when small businesses thrived on city contracts.   They would have helped their congregations to earn the living that would allow them to care for their elders in their own multigenerational households in homes they owned rather than giving them over to a senior program supplied with master’s money.  They would have shown that their air of dignity and respect was deserved, and not just the theatrical posturing of  well-dressed minstrels sent out to perform every Sunday to the willingly blind.  We miss you Reverend Jones.

When term limits were enacted, there was a rush of candidates in the 36th Council District and we got a taste of what 2012 will look like, with candidates popping up wanting to run because it seems like a good idea.  We hope those who are thinking of running will spend these intervening years not merely showing up at meetings, but doing actual work, giving real time to community issues and programs and showing the vision and leadership that will set them apart at the next election.

The Brooklyn That Can’t be Bought…

 

Mike Bloomberg’s first thoughts the morning after Mayoral election night might have wavered seamlessly between “ I won!” and “I almost lost!”  A bittersweet victory/defeat for the richest man in New York City, who lives in a world where powerful egos have no patience with almost losing.  He won 557,059 expensive votes to Democrat Bill Thompson’s low-cost 506,717.

 

That morning, our friend Robert Taylor woke up to a world that eludes the city agencies.  He was at peace padding his way from Brevoort Place to Clinton Hill’s Grand Avenue, as he does every morning.  “If it snows, I pick up a shovel and clean the streets for a few dollars. I just keep moving, but I keep coming back.”  Virtually homeless after losing his apartment on the avenue just after 9/11 due to escalated rents; Robert is accustomed to “street guy” references.  But he also knows how to train horses; he does not bet on them.  He sometimes entertains small crowds, outdoors, with his phenomenal classic music playing, when a used piano is dropped off at his friend Eddie Hibbert’s Antique warehouse down the street.

Mr. Taylor informed us that the Mayor shelled out about $200.00 per vote  for each of the more than half million votes he received, compared to his Democrat opponent Bill Thompson’s $14 each for almost the same amount of votes.  “But, remember, it’s not always about the money; it’s about what you want that money to do. When the stakes are high, you cast high bets to win at any cost.  He now has a lot of work to do to make true on those promises he paid for.”

On the north easternmost edge of Brooklyn, Mr. B., a block association president and former corrections officer agrees, but he still thinks arrogance, not money interfered with Mr. Thompson’s sure shot.  At his election site, the lever for DeBlasio was stuck, and the pollworker told him gruffly,  “Don’t worry ‘bout that, it’ll count.”  After putting his strength on that lever to bring it to its place, he informed everyone present what was going on.  “This ‘kiss-my-ass’ attitude – on the part of a lot of folks connected with the political process, including local elected officials, only succeeds in keeping voters away.  And it may have pushed votes away from Thompson.  People are turned off, they don’t want to participate. 

“At the community board meeting this week, a guy stands up and asks about construction jobs that are going to other ethnic groups who don’t live in the neighborhood; a weatherization official announces that it doesn’t make sense for owners of 2-family homes to apply for special funding, ‘especially,’ he said, ‘since you don’t use that much hot water anyway’, plus we learn about 75% of the program’s $10 million is available to owners of multi-family dwellings, well – that’s not us; then there’s these rezoning issues and whether or not certain areas of Bedford –Stuyvesant will be rezoned in accordance with the special interests of other ethnic groups in other areas.  Point is … if local politicians are servants of the public, they should come out of their comfort zones and get into the neighborhood and go to the people. Explain to them what’s going on.”

The 45-year-old block association president was recently stopped by police in Herbert Von King Park and asked to show ID because he was walking through the park at night, three nights before the election.  Officers apologized profusely after they discovered he was a retired Corrections Officer. “This is the way it is.  But attitudes across the board must change if they are to get the support from all of the people.

“Some of the young Turks seeking election against incumbents could have gotten a lot of mileage out of putting their weight solidly and visibly behind Mr. Thompson. There are so many lessons to be learned.”

It’s still no excuse for such a low turnout, says New York City Parks worker Earl Williams.  “When I went to P.S. 305 at 4pm to vote, there was no one there except the poll workers.”

It was chilly and dry the day after the election, and everyone had something to say abouthow Thompson should have won. Except, of course, the mainstream press, stunned that their polls didn’t get it right, and perhaps numbed by the same thinking as Taylor, Mr. B., Mr. Williams and Mr. Bloomberg: if Black people had turned out, in force, Thompson, who earned 50.9% of Brooklyn votes to Mr. Bloomberg’s 45.3%, would have enjoyed the landslide of the century.  For pennies on the dollar.  Lessons to be learned, indeed.

New Democratic Political Club Seeks to Bring Power to the People

“We are very grass roots,”  said Renee Collymore, standing outside the new Parliament Democratic Club, housed in a narrow storefront on Putnam Avenue, between Grand Avenue and Downing Street.  Ms. Collymore is just coming off her work as Deputy Campaign Manager for Queens Democratic Council Member David Weprin during his run for city comptroller and is still geared for action.  “Democracy has to be exercised and it is not being exercised to its fullest here in Brooklyn.  The people have to be energized.  Political freedom is very important and the people have been giving up their power to the elected officials because of lazy voting and inertia.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While there are other political clubs in the area, Ms. Collymore says that the way for a political club to have an impact on the community is to actually perform useful services, and that is where her club will differ.  “It cannot be just politics while people are not getting assistance.  Politics mixed with social programs is the key,” says Ms. Collymore.  “Politics alone makes  a club handicapped.   We have implemented a pilot program, The Fundamentals of Citizenship, to sixth-graders where I will be teaching them their responsibility as citizens, and what their duties are as citizens.  Even as sixth-graders, they are citizens. 

“This is a Democratic Club with an independent voice.  We have Republicans, Conservatives and Libertarians in this club. This is a club of inclusion.  I want to popularize the idea of political clubs again.  I want to pull people out of poverty and give them political clout.  I want the little political club on the corner to be like a small branch of government.  We will be working block-by-block to include people so that they can exercise their power locally.” 

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