But a Medgar Evers College spokesperson Christopher Hundley noted the vote was taken only among some members and said it doesn’t accurately reflect faculty or staff sentiment.

The April 23 vote came among allegations including that under Pollard’s helm the school was discriminating against women and hiring cronies.

“A total of six chairs, four female, have been removed or forced out over three years. This is unprecedented, certainly at Medgar, and probably in CUNY,” said Dr. Sallie Cuffee, a professor at Medgar Evers College, who was recently removed as chair of the college’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Department. “These chairs were saying no to the hiring of cronies and high paid consultants.”
Cuffee said that under Pollard the school has created a hostile environment for faculty and staff.
Hundley responded the document upon which the vote was taken is filled with numerous falsehoods and mischaracterizations.

“In recent weeks, rather than pursue constructive attempts to resolve philosophical differences on the direction of the college through the proper internal channels, some members of the Faculty Senate (who organized the vote) have made these claims public, which has not only damaged the reputation of the college, but also the hard work of all of its employees, its students, and graduates,” said Hundley.
The school held a public meeting recently with Pollard reportedly in attendance and Hundley said the administration remains committed to the mission and ideals of the school.

“We will continue to increase support and initiatives for academics and student support services. We will continue to ensure our College classrooms are filled with highly qualified and effective professors. We will continue the work necessary to increase retention and graduation rates, said Hundley, throwing something of an olive breach to the faculty and staff.

“We hope to work with all campus personnel and bodies to achieve those aims for the betterment of all of our students,” he said.

Last year at a Jefferson Avenue (between Tompkins and Throop Avenues) block party, I heartily shouted out my favorite phrase: “Bed-Stuy, do or die!”

Some do not like that term, which has been buried in the archives of Central Brooklyn’s past.
In fact, in some sense, it could be said that the old Bed-Stuy did, in fact, die, given the huge demographic changes of the past two decades.

And now, with Congressman Ed Towns’ announcement that he was retiring after 30 years in office, it’s more clear than ever that a new Bed-Stuy is being born.

At the birthing table these days, eager with scalpels, are Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Councilman Charles Barron, who are vying with eagerness to replace Towns as Central Brooklyn’s Big Daddy in Washington.
Here’s the interesting thing that makes Bed-Stuy so important in this.

Jeffries, a 41-year-old attorney at ease in corporate board rooms (as well as on the street), now represents Fort Greene, a place that has become a Brooklyn version of Chelsea, with snazzy hipster restaurants up and down DeKalb Avenue, a gathering place for countless newcomers from Michigan, Wisconsin, Alaska and beyond.

Barron, a ex-Black Panther who says he sometimes likes to curse out (white people) for emotional release, was elected to the Council from Brownsville and neighboring sections, which have some of the highest crime and poverty rates in the city, and where young black men are stopped-and-frisked by police every day of the week.

Bed-Stuy is the no-man’s-land of the congressional race and all are waiting to see which way she will go.
“It’s neither of their bases,” said political consultant Lupe Tood, now working as a spokesperson with Jeffries.

“Bed-Stuy will be the Ohio of this race . . . It’s the toss-up.”

Bedford-Stuyvesant, you see, was once an archetypical ghetto. I remember well the 1964 riots and the quick departure of Jewish storeowners after that, as they their time was up and they sold their businesses to a new generation of Latinos and Arabs of more recent years; and even black professionals abandoned the community for what they considered prettier pastures.

How different things are now. Everyone wants to come back to Bed-Stuy. There are so many white young women walking from Fulton Street subway stations at night that my grandparents would not believe it, even if they were alive to see it.

So how will Bed-Stuy go in the June 26 election?

Perhaps the most telling indicator is the decision, a few weeks ago, by the Vanguard Independent Democratic Association(VIDA). They invited Towns, Jeffries and Barron to show up and make their cases before the group. Towns didn’t even show up (perhaps an early indication he had little desire for the fury that would blow through this political race).

VIDA chose to support Jeffries, said activist and Bed-Stuy political scholar Dr. John Flateau.
It’s since occurred to me, by the way, that perhaps Barron burned his bridge with VIDA back a few years ago when he supported challenger Mark Winston Griffith over incumbent Bed-Stuy Council member Al Vann.

Then again, burning bridges is Barron’s favorite pastime, said political consultant Hank Sheinkopf.
As for Barron, he says he will spend his coming days and nights on the streets and at meetings, seeking votes of those who, he said, want “a fighter” like him to speak for them in Washington.

Barron told me that Jeffries “has no history in our struggle” and that he is a “go along, get along” politician currying favor with unions and political bigwigs.

Almost any other elected official in the city would take issue with that, pointing out that Jeffries has pushed for state laws controlling aggressive police tactics, for example, and recently sponsored a law making sure prisoners get counted in the communities they come from, rather than the upstate counties that hold them behind bars. This means more political power for Central Brooklyn.

History matters here. The redrawn lines of Towns’ district (now the Eighth Congressional District of New York) leaves it less Black than it was before. But it is still mostly Black. And its history as a Voting Rights District – requiring review by Washington before changes to its makeup – make it especially meaningful to Brooklyn old-timers and others who appreciate Civil Rights history.

Jeffries says it is he who can bond the past with the present, and he is strongly critical of Barron for Barron’s continual complaining about alleged shortcomings of President Barack Obama.

“This is a generational moment,” Jeffries said of the current political contest (in which he has perhaps eight times more than Barron in campaign contributions and far more endorsements from political leaders and unions).

Jeffries said the race is between “someone who has a strong legislative record” and “someone whose focus has been on rhetorical flourish.”

He did not say precisely who was which, but given the tenor of the exchanges so far, no one really has to guess.
Ron Howell is an associate professor of journalism at Brooklyn College.

Protesters fear closing or merger of the recently renovated Interfaith Medical Center will reduce health services in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

The 287-bed Interfaith, located at 1545 Atlantic Avenue, in one form or another has for many years served both Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant.

However, the state, which is facing ballooning Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement costs, coupled with growing Brooklyn medical facility debt, commissioned Stephen Berger, chairman of a private investment firm specializing in private corporate transactions to do a report to remedy the crisis.

The report, released late last year, recommended Interfaith to merge with Brooklyn Hospital and the Wyckoff Medical Center, and for Brooklyn Hospital to be the lead facility.

Hospital officials, workers and residents now fear this merger will mean a reduction of some services at best and possible closure at worst.

“I am on the board of two day care centers in Crown Heights and both day care centers use Interfaith if a child gets injured there. It is very convenient for the child and the child’s parents,” said Connie Lesold, a local resident. “I’m also a member of the Fort Greene Albany Senior Center, just a few blocks from the hospital, and it’s very valuable to the senior center when someone needs emergency medical care. Ever since St. Mary’s Hospital closed, Interfaith has been all the more valuable, not just to individuals but to institutions in the area as well.”

Lesold’s comments were echoed by one source at the rally who noted that every organization in the community including schools, day care centers, senior centers, churches, community groups, businesses, homeowners, tenants, block associations and health care workers were devastated that they were not informed of the list to close or merge hospitals.

Another source said there are fears that the hospital will be pushed to increase some hard services such as mental health while much of the physical medical care will be taken out of the neighborhood and be put into Brooklyn Hospital, which is increasingly serving the more gentrified areas of Downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene/Clinton Hill.
Lesold said organizers against the merger approached Community Boards 3 and 8 and they wrote a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state Department of Health to express their concern about the merger.
But Community Board 3 Chair Henry Butler said there are a lot of rumors floating around about Interfaith and the board felt it was best to follow the lead of local elected officials rather than to write a letter.
“We’re working with the elected officials to see if this plan presented is in the best interest of Interfaith and the community of Bedford-Stuyvesant,” said Butler.
State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery spokesperson Jim Vogel said the senator was in transit, but she is keenly aware of the issue and is against any cuts in services. Assemblywoman Annette Robinson did not return phone calls.
Interfaith spokesperson Diane Porter stated her greatest concern was to have a good community hospital in Bedford-Stuyvesant. She would like to see a redistribution of services to support the needs of the community. With a high rate of diabetes, asthma, hypertension she wants to see the recognition that Interfaith plays a vital role in solving this problem.
“We hope to be recognized as a full community hospital. We want to remain independent and have some say in this,” said Porter.
Porter said Interfaith has been having conversations with both the state and Brooklyn Hospital and is focusing on managing their respective debts.
“In the end, it stems from a monetary issue and we are moving forward to put this in place,” she said.
State Department of Health spokesman Peter Constantakes said the state is reviewing medical facility applications for some of the $450 million statewide HEAL grants, for which both Interfaith and Brooklyn Hospital have applied.
This review takes some time and the state expects to make a decision on the future of Interfaith within the next six months, Constantakes said.

At the spring board meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists, board members interviewed attorney Daryl D. Parks, the principal in the Tallahassee, Fla.-based law firm representing the parents of the 17-year-old who was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch captain.

By Wesley Lowery
Special to NABJ

An attorney for the family of slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin on Saturday shed light on his legal team’s strategy, the status of state and federal investigations and the outpouring of support for the case.

In a wide-ranging interview with board members of the National Association of Black Journalists, conducted via Skype, attorney Daryl D. Parks said that after separate meetings with federal and state authorities, he doubts Travyon’s killer will be indicted with a federal hate crime.

However, Parks said he is increasingly hopeful that the gunman, George Zimmerman, will face state criminal charges.

The 17-year-old Trayvon was killed Feb. 26 as he returned from a trip to a convenience store to his father’s finance’s house in a gated community in Sanford, Fla. Unarmed, carrying Skittles candy and ice tea and wearing a hooded sweatshirt, he was spotted by Zimmerman, 28, a captain of the community’s neighborhood watch.

In 911 tapes released by Sanford police, Zimmerman tells the operator that Trayvon was suspicious and appeared to be drugged. Zimmerman then pursued Trayvon on foot and after a struggle shot and killed the teenager, according to police.

Police say Zimmerman was not arrested because there was no evidence disputing his claim of self defense, prompting national outcry for state and federal officials to level charges.

Members of Trayvon’s family met with U.S. Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigations officials on Thursday afternoon.

“It was rather clear that the attorney general is quite aware of the situation, and they have devoted a great deal of resources to this matter,” Parks said. “It’s very clear that this is a very high priority for this administration.”

The Martin family also met briefly Friday with attorney Angela Corey, who was appointed as special prosecutor this week by Florida Gov. Rick Scott to head the state investigation.

The legal team representing Trayvon’s family plans to pursue civil litigation against Zimmerman and the community’s Homeowner’s Association.

Parks, who also is president of the National Bar Association, said that, ultimately, he does not believe the Justice Department will pursue federal hate crime charges against Zimmerman.

Even without hate crime charges, Parks said it’s clear that race played a role in Trayvon’s killing and that the family believes Sanford police actively covered up the racial component to protect Zimmerman.

“Trayvon’s situation is very tragic for this family and, I think, for every black person who lives in America,” Parks said. “We all know many situations where the person of color was not given the benefit of the doubt. That’s a subtlety in America that a lot of people don’t talk about.”

Parks said he hasn’t seen any photo or video evidence documenting any injuries sustained by Zimmerman during the altercation with Trayvon. He also said Trayvon’s girlfriend, whom attorneys say spoke with him just moments before his death, has yet to give a statement to police.

Zimmerman’s attorney, Craig Sonner, said earlier Saturday that if charges are filed against his client, defense attorneys will argue that Zimmerman was acting in self defense.

“George Zimmerman is trying to turn the story around,” Parks said. “At this point … you charge the guy. If he wants to try to explain it away, explain it to the jury.”

Parks said that Zimmerman’s legal team has not been in touch with the team representing the Martin family, and that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been in contact with Zimmerman.

In addition to a slew of civil rights leaders, various celebrities have reached out to the Martin family. Parks said the family received a call from Oprah Winfrey and is appreciative of the public support from various professional athletes.

Members of the Miami Heat, including Lebron James and Dwayne Wade, posted on their social media accounts pictures of the team wearing hooded sweatshirts in support of Trayvon’s family. Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who has three sons living in Sanford, has talked to the family by phone, Parks said.

“I don’t think it’s a political statement,” Parks said of the professional athletes who’ve expressed support. “Trayvon’s situation speaks to all of us. We’ve all had some situations where we felt that race played an issue … and they can identify with that.”

Park said Trayvon’s killing, which has prompted a national dialogue on racial profiling in the U.S., is not unlike the historic case of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy murdered in 1955 after allegedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi.

Till’s death and the choice of his mother to have his casket open during the funeral prompted a national effort to eliminate Jim Crow laws.

“Most of us, especially those of us who live in the South, can clearly identify with this type of interaction with the police.” Parks said. “It’s not too often
that we as African Americans get to help America with its conscious just a little bit. This is our opportunity.”

Parks spoke from Atlanta to NABJ board members, who had gathered in Boston for a meeting.
Wesley Lowery is the Student Representative on the NABJ board of directors. He is a senior journalism major at Ohio University.

To continue

Congressman Ed Towns

Towns seemed unconvinced by what turned out to be a rather lengthy infomercial by bank representatives that had been summoned to the hearing – Wells Fargo, CitiMortgage, Bank of America, Chase Bank, Capital One, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (now known as FHFA), Chairman of the Federal Reserve were represented.
Present from Congress were Congressman E. E. Cummings (D-Md.) Maryland’s 7th CD, this is his 14th year serving on the House Oversight and Reform Committee; Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif. and Todd Platt from Pennsylvania.

The standing-room-only hearing had as many protesters on the outside of the chamber doors as there were inside, and as many more on the steps outside Borough Hall. Clearly, this is a subject of great concern and frustration in Brooklyn, as in other parts of the U.S.

It was clear, from his tone and demeanor, that Congressman Issa (though a Republican) was as dissatisfied with the testimonies on the part of the bank representatives as the Democratic representatives were. He took several personal privilege opportunities to cross-examine statements made by reps from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, CitiBank and Chase. The focus was primarily on using principal reduction as a means to alleviate overly burdensome monthly payments. He also queried why it was “okay for a homeowner whose house was ‘under water’ to walk away without penalty, but not okay for a person who was trying to hold on to their home to apply for a refinance to give them a better rate and a lower monthly payment.”

Both Issa and Congressman Towns attempted to get the bank representatives to commit to distinct, people-friendly rules, amd consider those homeowners who would prefer to refinance their homes and stay in them.
Issa also stressed that they had selected these particular panelists to represent their banks because their current CEO’s lacked the wherewithal, capacity, interest or will to comply. “Some of you banks have been trailing in refinancing homes for those who want to continue paying for their homes, they just need a more reasonable monthly payment. How are you rationalizing turning them down?”

Each bank gave glowing testimony about how much they were doing to accommodate the homeowners; how much they were their top priority in getting attention and assistance, and saving their mortgages. Even Chase Bank proudly cited their cooperation with NACA in fast-forwarding assistance to homeowners in distress. Each touted programs they had designed to speed up and streamline the refinancing program. It prompted both Congressman Towns and Congressman Cummings to query, “If this is true, why are we getting so many complaints from our constituents?”

Congressman Cummings asked: “If you’re doing so much to help, why am I getting so many complaints. It appears that many of our citizens are going out of their way to comply with your requests – they’re gathering their required documents, faxing them over to you, but for some reason you don’t seem to be receiving them. They continuously ‘get lost.’” He further queried as to whether “there was some sort of hole that all of these documents are falling into?”

Cummings spoke of the time it took to reach the bank servicers, and how long it took to process all the information, get a decision; all the while the bank continued to harass the homeowner, heaping penalties and fees on them while they are trying to rectify the situation. “My constituents go to the library, fax their papers to you, and then are told they were not received. And then they come to my office, and we send them, and the company still claims they never got it. So we are saying that it is something like a big machine eating up the paper. I’m very serious about this. Have you been able to resolve this? These are hardworking people. They don’t have a lot of money. They have to take off from work. They don’t have a fax machine at home. They’re trying to get stuff done, and they are subsequently being fined. It’s like a deep hole that everything is falling into. So, what’s going on here?

Towns was particularly perplexed about why it was that banks seemed now more than willing to do principal reduction to help the homeowners, yet FHFA refused to do so. He queried: “ Even the chairman of the former special inspector general have all called for a principal reduction as the best way to help homeowners and save taxpayers money. But with FHFA, any loan guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, is ineligible for principal reduction modification. When Mr. DeMarco appeared before this committee last fall he said he lacked authority for principal reductions.” In 2008, Congress passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. “We directed FHFA to maximize systems for owners, and we explicitly authorized the use of principal reduction as the chief method for FHFA. And are you now abandoning the legal obligation of principal reduction as a method for helping constituents on the part of FHFA?
Issa backed Towns by stating, “You are hearing the question again and again because we’re not getting the answer we want, which is do you have the authority to provide principal reductions? And if the answer is yes, why aren’t you doing it? And it looks as if we have to raise it again.”

At the end of the panel Issa declared, “The chair will stipulate that it is within congressional authority, and permission is granted for FHFA to provide the principal reduction method as a way of saving homes from foreclosure to those who have FHFA loans. We are stipulating at this point!”
While the question was never answered, the partial reason FHFA is not providing principal reduction may be because they are still trying to make the HAMP and MAP programs work. The guise of saving taxpayer dollars was shot through when they were asked which was more damaging: providing $100 million dollars in subsidies to save homes, or allowing all the homes to go into foreclosure with no assistance, and losing $600 million dollars in housing stock, not to mention traumatizing millions of families and demoralizing whole communities. The juggling act that it takes to formulate a 31% ratio in terms of debt to income to determine whether or not a family is eligible for subsidy could be mitigated by just doing a simple principal reduction from the outset – particularly on those homes that were sold for overinflated prices to begin with. The mental, social and emotional deterioration, moral and spiritual fiber of thousands of American families for having to endure such a traumatic situation. So the cost in human and spiritual coin is monumental. They also claimed it would not be fair to the taxpayers.

Congressman Towns countered by asking, “If your agency could be saving Maryland taxpayers $500 million today by doing principal reductions, why are you refusing to do so?” Still no intelligible answer from FHFA. Chairman Issa stated, “We want to hold you accountable for not being cognizant of the harm you cause to the American family. We want to make sure that people don’t come here and make nice statements, and then leave and go back to doing the same old thing. We want you to be able to inflict suffering with no accountability.”

The FHFA panelist stated, “We will make an announcement of our quarterly foreclosures for the first time on a state-by-state basis. We will announce the numbers, amounts, frequencies, foreclosure prevention activities; properties and refinances; key states Calif., NY, Florida, Illinois; servers’ reports, etc.” To which Issa offered to hold open the congressional report to include it. Concluding, “We don’t want just words, we want results.” Congressman Towns has called this hearing to Brooklyn just to make sure that it is clear to all of us that this problem is happening coast to coast. “We have to all be aware of the cost in human coin.”

The field panel cited increased assistance for veterans and those who are on the war front protecting the nation, stating it was unconscionable to evict soldiers and their families from their homes while they are away trying to protect their country. Forensic measures to review any homes that have been foreclosed upon while the soldier was on active duty and restore the home to them will be enacted, or they will be financially compensated. Those guilty of such acts may well find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

The second panel consisted of New York State Supreme Court Judge Meaghan Faux, of the South Brooklyn Legal Services, and a marketing specialist.

Faux cited the dire situation in Brooklyn: “One in three families are going to lose their long-time homes, and long time communities will lose longtime members. Homeowners who are trying to make ends meet, to homeowners who are barely coping. The problems with many of our homeowners is financial hardship. We are not alone – the fundamental problems with mortgages now is the need of a reduction. In Brooklyn alone ,27,000 mortgages were in default in 2011. And a possible 14,000 in Queens. That means 1 in 3 homes is at the risk of being vacant and deteriorating in Canarsie, Brownsville, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Flatbush. Every day I see the stress, the terror these foreclosure threats have on the families. We employ 45 attorneys and paralegals, and we have assisted more than 6000 homeowners in the past years. Our Bedford-Stuyvesant office alone has assisted 300 homeowners since Congress enacted this legislation. Yet and still with all our efforts people in Brooklyn are struggling more now than ever before.”

Sitting Supreme Court Justice testified as to the kinds and numbers of cases as well as the inequities: currently 16,000 foreclosures being heard in the Supreme Court. In 2007, the foreclosures went from 3500 per year in Kings County to about 7500. Problems include shoddy paperwork submitted by lenders for foreclosures, disproportionate number of foreclosures for (the same) properties. “For a client to receive a debt from a foreclosure he must demonstrate three things in court: existence of mortgage note, the plaintiff’s ownership of the mortgage and note, and the default of the defendant (the homeowner). It might sound relatively simple, but in this age of mortgage securities, and numerous assignments of mortgages and notes, it’s not easy to demonstrate at this time who has the ownership of the mortgage and note. Such techniques as robo signers, or people disguising themselves as different representatives, have been a major problem. Another problem is when the issue has been adjudicated, but the bank’s lawyer won’t accept it without the approval of the investor (who is usually unknown to the buyer in the first place).

Towns called for mortgage servers to be prosecuted for any wrongdoing in the case of homeowners where undue pressure, continued loss of documentation and other egregious acts against homeowners who were earnestly trying to rectify their problems. Servers should not be above the law in these instances. He called for a means by which documented evidence of any wrongdoing can be brought to the attention of Congress as well as other federal entities that have jurisdiction over these issues.

The panel is open to additional commentaries via e-mail for the next five days, and will take time to deliberate over their findings and report back to Congress.

Governor Andrew Cuomo

No matter how you slice it, pensions (and reform of pension formula) are state appropriations. Article 3, Section 23 of the New York State Constitution requires a 3/5 quorum for “any act which imposes, continues or revives a tax, or creates a debt or charge, or makes, continues or revives any appropriation of public or trust money or property.” Last week’s pension vote garnered 32 “ayes” and 5 “nays.” The governor and Senate Republicans are pretending that all they needed was a simple majority of the 62-member Senate. Wrong. They needed 38 votes.

It’s not that Senate Republicans didn’t know. State Sen. Daniel Squadron addressed the issue of lack of quorum. He was overruled.

State Sen. John Sampson has been pilloried relentlessly in local media for engineering his caucus walkout that denied the quorum. But Sampson was protecting the interests of New York State taxpayers. Gov. Cuomo orchestrated the late-night votes under the constitutional “message of necessity.” Under that process, the normal three-calendar legislative days necessary for legislative and public scrutiny was waived. Therefore, no one knew the details of the more than 40-page pension reform bill until after the fact.

The stated purpose of the pension reform bill is to rein in burdensome retirement benefits for New York State government workers by saving New York State taxpayers approximately $80 billion over the next 30 years. The governor has been touting his pension reform as “his latest step in restoring fiscal discipline to New York and ensuring our state remains on sound financial footing for years to come.” There are elements embedded in the legislation, however, which would strengthen the executive powers of Gov. Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg. Both executives would have the power to unilaterally approve full early retirement benefits starting at age 57 for nonuniformed workers with 30 years’ experience. The impacted unions must agree that their membership must bear the cost. The legislature, which is normally charged with approving changes to the pension system, would have no say at all. History has shown that state pension fund managers don’t usually meet the average rate of return of 7.5%. As usual, taxpayers will fund the difference.

With the governor and the mayor having the ability to unilaterally grant pension enhancements, there would be no point to unions and other concerned citizens to lobbying their legislators. All allegiance would go to the executive branch.

The entire middle-of-the-night process did not sit well with the NYS Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA). CSEA President Danny Donohue declared, “CSEA will immediately suspend all state political endorsements and contributions,” while accusing the governor, Senate Republicans and Assembly Democrats of “trading the future retirement security of working New Yorkers for legislative redistricting lines.” Calling out the “disrespect and disenfranchisement of working people by our state’s elected officials,” Donohue stated “New Yorkers should understand that lawmakers’ actions did not result from meaningful debate and good judgment – it resulted from political expediency – and it will have harmful consequences to people and communities now and for a long time to come.”

In addition to the pension debacle, there is serious concern about the backroom deal establishing seven casinos in New York State, which in addition to the racetrack in Queens and upstate Indian casinos, would as a spokesman for Sen. Sampson put it, “would make New York State the gambling capital of the East and open the floodgates for organized crime.”

Gov. Cuomo also approved the state Senate and Assembly district lines. The governor had assured New York citizens that he would veto any redistricting plan that did not come from an independent commission. Yet, he went along with the lines drawn by Senate Republicans including a questionable 63rd Senate District in the Albany region. The Senate Minority Conference is challenging that 63rd seat in court.
Instead of having state district lines drawn by an independent redistricting commission, what New York State citizens received is a proposed Senate Republican constitutional amendment that would bring back prison-based gerrymandering and population formulas that could easily give one region more than its fair share of districts while leaving another region underrepresented. Requiring votes in two successive legislative sessions and a public referendum, there is no guarantee that by the next census in New York State would have a truly independent redistricting commission.

NYS voters should also know: As per Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos’ instructions, 311 bills due for debate and vote within their respective committees were pulled and placed in the Senate Rules Committee, where it is unlikely they will see the light of day before the legislative session ends in June. Dean Skelos chairs the Rules committee. Under the two years of Democratic control, Sen. Sampson enacted a rule allowing any senator to introduce a bill in committee, with the proviso that the bill would be debated within committee during a 45-day period. Those 311 bills yanked from consideration include the Reproductive Health Act, the Dream Act, and a gun “microstamp” bill. Senate Democrats see the Republican ploy as a means to stifle debate.

Lastly, Skelos has decided to retain the state primary date in September, rather than June when the congressional primary will be held, costing taxpayers $200 million and possibly suppressing the vote.

These northern neighborhoods are Jeffries’ constituent base in the Assembly.
The newly created 8th Congressional now starts in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill and gerrymanders east and south to include such traditional white neighborhoods such as Howard Beach in Queens before moving west along Brooklyn’s coast neighborhoods including Manhattan Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach and ending in Coney Island.

To make way for Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, U.S. Magistrate Roanne Mann put a swath of Brownsville in Congresswoman Yvette Clarke’s neighboring district.

Under the new formula, if ultimately approved by a three-panel judge, both districts will have a slight black majority as per the federal voting rights district mandate.

“Judge Mann clearly acknowledged that keeping communities of interest together is paramount to a fair and just redistricting process and the court should be commended,” said Jeffries. “This is a victory for the residents of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill who will benefit from the preservation of historically African-American, central Brooklyn neighborhoods within the same congressional district.”

City Councilman Charles Barron, who is also in the three-person congressional primary on June 26, responded that he opposed Mann’s first and second proposal for the same reason – it only marginally gives a black majority.

According to data, Towns’ former 10th Congressional District was made up of 64 percent eligible black voters, and the newly created 8th Congressional District will have only 56 percent eligible black voters.
“These lines still reduce the number of voting-age blacks and Yvette Clarke’s district even has less blacks,” said Barron. “It’s a shame people only went against these lines for personal ambition reasons. I stood out against them on principle.”

Barron also pointed out that with such a slim margin of black voters, it opens the door for a white candidate to enter the primary, much like former City Councilman David Yassky did in running against Clarke in 2008.

A Towns spokesperson said the congressman is reserving comment for when the judges officially rule on the lines.

The official lines are expected to be released later this week (too late for this paper’s deadline).

Today, the New York City Department of Education publicized their intent to revoke Williamsburg Charter High School’s operating charter at the end of the 2011-2012 school year based on the concerns regarding items such as the school’s organizational structure, Board of Trustees’ composition, and compliance with the school’s charter and applicable state law. Please note that none of the New York City Department of Education’s concerns relate to the school’s academic program.
Principal Spampinato went on to assure the parents and students that the WCHS will continue its commitment to the highest academic standard possible. The conflict began as the result of an NYCDOE audit of the WCHS. After the audit, the NYCDOE sent their “preliminary findings” to the WCHS. The findings listed approximately 25 discrepancies which required a written response from the WCHS. Out of the 25 questions, 14 of the findings were disputed, 3 were given an explanation and 8 (which do not appear to be criminal) were substantiated by the WCHS. None of the NYCDOE’s findings were against the school’s academic program. The WCHS was placed on probation in September of 2011 and was required to meet 9 conditions of a “Remedial Action Plan” outlined by the NYCDOE. One of the conditions the WCHS had to meet to avoid violating the terms of the Remedial Action Plan was to terminate its contract with the Believe High School Network, who manages the school. The Board of Trustees passed a resolution to sever its ties with the Believe High School Network as of January 31, 2012.
In a meeting called by the WCHS on Monday, the parents and children voiced their displeasure at the possibility of the school being closed at the end of the year and called on elected officials to step in and save the school for the students. Although not much was discussed about the conflict with the NYCDOE for legal reasons, there were many parents who believe that there are many in the NYCDOE, and possibly in the Bloomberg Administration, who believe that their children’s 30-million-dollar high-tech high school (which is equipped with “Smartboards,” “Elevators,” a Varsity Basketball team that made the playoffs and a “Rock-Climbing Wall”) is too good for Black and Hispanic children. The NYCDOE plans to meet with the WCHS on Friday to discuss the issue in more depth. For updates on the ongoing dispute, go to the Williamsburg Charter School’s Web site at: http://www.thewcs.org/