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Crisis: Teen shootings, stabbings,and summer concerns

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Crisis: Teen shootings, stabbings,and summer concerns

By Nayaba Arinde
Editor-at-Large
The recent rash of teenage stabbings and shootings from Brooklyn to the Bronx has the community, activists, violence interrupter advocates, and city officials concerned about the summer.


“Our young people are in crisis struggling with violence and mental health,” Deborah Levine, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, told Our Time Press. The Community Engagement Officer for the City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy said, “ I think even before COVID, our young people were feeling isolated, disconnected, unsupported. I think all of these things during the last four years have made our young people feel even more isolated. I think of the stigma around talking about anxiety and depression.”


There were three stabbings in New York City schools in Glen Oaks, Queens, Williamsbridge, Bronx, and Manhattan on Tuesday, May 14th, 2024. Three teens aged 15, 16, and 17-year-olds were treated in area hospitals.


“This society has us in conflict, and we need to resolve this stress, which is presented as unwarranted violence,” proclaimed activist Caleef Cousar. Speaking to Our Time Press, the founder of the community-focused Transitions Foundation added, “This is not our natural way of being, but the oppressive conditions our community is living under is changing how we are dealing with each other.

We need to talk to each other like we are community therapy.”
On Tuesday, May 7th, Makhi Brown, 16, was shot dead in SoHo as he tried to break up a fight between two fellow students. Police said that two males rode up on a CitiBike, and one shot into the crowd of over two dozen students, hitting Brown twice.


On the same day, a 17-year-old boy was wounded after being shot in NYCHA’s Amsterdam Houses in the Upper West Side.


In Williamsburg on Keap Avenue at around 4:30 p.m., two 15-year-old male teenagers were stabbed. Police were seeking two teens who reportedly fled the scene.
In Far Rockaway, Queens, police said four teens were stabbed in a melee. There were no fatalities, but four teens – three 15-year-olds and one 16-year-old went to the hospital for treatment.


The next day, Wednesday, in Brooklyn and the Bronx three 15-year-old boys survived being slashed in separate encounters. Outside a Bronx McDonald’s, two 15-year-old boys were stabbed.


In Sunnyside, Queens, 17-year-old Sara Rivera was stabbed in the neck and killed. Her 15-year-old friend has been charged with murder.
NYPD said that city crime figures are trending downwards. Their stats show that overall crime in the city went down in April by 4.9% compared to the same time in 2023. Perception may be battling with reality again.


“The behavior shown by the children is a direct result of the oppression faced by their parents and community,” activist Shaeed Muhammad told Our Time Press. The member of the Bed Stuy-based community and human rights advocacy December 12th Movement took the analysis deeper. “We tie it into the call for reparations in that 500 years of being under white supremacy and oppression, we have been psychologically damaged, and it leads to all kinds of expressions of mental disorders.

Franz Fanon speaks of the mental disorders that come as a result of colonial oppression. Now, our children are saddled with all these maladies, causing all these instances of children being injured and children being killed. The cure is resisting your oppression and making yourself psychologically stronger to rebuild your self-esteem and morale. The self-esteem of a people is expressed in the children.”


Saying that she had a gun pointed at her by a young person a couple of times, Ms. Levine explained that a few years ago, she was employed by the City of New York as a clinical director for a group home in the Bronx, and worked with local gangs to negotiate for peace and non-violence.


They were able to bring other Black and brown people with similar backgrounds, “who had been able to navigate through the system and came out in the streets with us. We mentored those young people. It wasn’t just enough to put them into programs, but we stayed with them coached them, and continued to support them.

Through that tenure of time, we were able to get over 30 young people to go to school in one form of fashion, whether it was a trade school, a two-year-old school, or a 4-year school. In some cases, some of those young people actually went on and got their masters. Some of those young people I still am in touch with still provide support as they navigate through the world of business, through the world of just being adults.”


There is more:
“I think society as a whole is struggling. When you think about what’s happening in Black and brown communities, we are fighting for survival. It’s the fear of stepping outside your door. You can feel the tension outside. We’ve never had so many homeless and mentally ill, substance use, a lot is going on…We have structural racism.

We’ve got social and racial inequities…but as a clinical psychiatric social worker by trade, I always think that there is hope because collaboratively as a community, we are beginning to come together to try to address these things.”

NYPD Chief Gerald Nelson Passes

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NYPD Chief Gerald Nelson Passes

by Joe Gonzalez
Retired New York City Police Department (NYPD) Chief Gerald Nelson has passed after a long battle with cancer.


Chief Gerald Nelson had a storied police career that lasted forty-one years; it started in 1973 when he joined the now-defunct New York City Housing Authority Police (HAPD). He marched up the ranks of the Housing Police, reaching the rank of Captain; in 1995 then, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani fulfilled a campaign promise and merged the 2,700 Housing Police officers and the 4,000 Transit Police Department (TAPD) officers into the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Chief Nelson continued to march up the ladder, becoming the Commanding Officer of the NYPD School Safety Division; he then was promoted to Assistant Chief and placed in charge of the Brooklyn North Patrol Bureau. That assignment gave Chief Nelson supervisory authority over ten NYPD precincts totaling slightly more than three thousand police officers from the 84th precinct in Brooklyn Heights all the way over to the 75th precinct, which covers the East New York neighborhood.


Following his retirement in February 2015, Chief Nelson’s commitment to public safety remained unwavering. In August of the same year, he assumed the role of Vice President of Safety for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). In this capacity, he spearheaded initiatives to enhance security, including the installation of video cameras, additional lighting around NYCHA housing projects, and the implementation of building locks. Chief Nelson’s dedication to his community was evident in every role he undertook, and his absence will be deeply felt.


Funeral arrangements are set as follows: the WAKE is being held Today, Thursday May 16, 2024, from 2pm-4pm and 6pm-8pm at the J. Foster Phillips Funeral home and the FUNERAL will take place tomorrow, Friday May 17, 2024 at 10 am.

Jason Gibson Brings Computer Coding to Black Youth through Hood Code

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Jason Gibson Brings Computer Coding to Black Youth through Hood Code

By Fern Gillespie
Learning about entrepreneurship and technology while in prison was a life changer for Jason Gibson. As a youth and young adult, the Queens native had been incarcerated several times for dealing drugs. In 2013, when he was released from prison, he was determined to make a positive difference for Black and Hispanic youth through technology.

By 2019, he launched the nonprofit Hood Code, which merged his mission as a changemaker for Black and Hispanic youth through teaching computer coding and being a social entrepreneur. Gibson grew up in NYCHA housing and now Hood Code is situated in NYCHA housing projects in New York. Over 400 Black and Hispanic young people ages 8 to 13 in Harlem and Queens have learned computer coding through afterschool programs at community centers and summer programs.

During COVID, Brooklyn students participated online. In 2022, Hood Code received a $200,000 grant from The David Prize, which celebrates extraordinary New Yorkers. Our Time Press spoke with Hood Code founder Jason Gibson for our series on Black youth living with the new technologies.

What inspired you to start Hood Code while you were in prison?
During my time in prison, I decided to really take it seriously and put some of my ideas to fruition. I started studying a lot about the tech industry, app development, and entrepreneurship. It led me to see how much I didn’t know and how much people from my community probably didn’t know because we didn’t have access to technology. I learned business and the different coding languages and software that existed. I read about the tech founders of our time like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerburg. Also, stories about having access to computer coding at young ages. That’s what inspired me to just start Hood Code.

What do the students learn at Hood Code?
The ages that we work with are 8 to 15. We’re teaching them just the basic fundamentals of coding so we’re using Scratch. It’s a platform that was created by MIT. It’s an Introduction to coding and some of the disciplines that go into computer coding. We are exposing the kids from our neighborhoods to the concept of coding and helping them develop disciplines like critical thinking and the other hard skills and soft skills that go into coding.

The goal is to introduce them to coding while young and to also have the infrastructure in place to allow them to continue that education into more sophisticated coding languages like tech-based coding.

What type of tech projects do the students work on?
We do projects that are predominantly games that the students are creating. They are creating games like tennis games or ping pong type of games where they customize their background and customize their functions. We have introduced some students to website development. But, because our students are really young that’s been a challenge.


Are the younger students, like the 8-year-olds, involved in special coding projects?
The eight-year-olds are using Scratch. For a lot of our students, coding is their first time getting exposed to it so they’re using Scratch, which is basically a block-based computer coding. Imagine Legos with code in it.

So, you put these blocks together like puzzle pieces with code in it. As you put them together, what it does is that it makes your games function. There are different levels to Scratch–from easy to more complex levels.

All of your students are underserved and the program takes place at community centers in NYCHA buildings. Do many of your students have access to computers at home?
No, they don’t. What Hood Code does is we provide the computers, the internet, if necessary hotspots at the community centers. We have the teachers and we give refreshments, and we have projects. We bring everything.

All the students have to do is show up we go to the community centers in NYCHA developments. It’s an afterschool program and we bring our program in for free. For most of our students, the only access to technology that they have at home is a smartphone. Not computers. You can’t do this type of programming on a smartphone. A lot of times families cannot afford a computer.

The household family income for a Hood Code student is $25,000. It’s the average for a family income in NYCHA. They have to pay bills and groceries and things like that and they can’t afford things like computers and the cost of an afterschool program like Hood Code. These kids are fantastic at Googling and doing research by using Google. They are very savvy with the smartphone device. It’s just that you are limited in what you can do on the internet using a smartphone as far as creation.

How important is it for parents to be involved which their children’s work with the new technology?
It’s extremely important. I’m always encouraging parents to work and try with students. We always encourage parents to watch tutorials with the students even if it’s like a 15 or 30-minute tutorial on YouTube. Also allowing students a day to work on their project outside of Hood Code. We suggest reading material for the parents to use, and engage with the students at home. The more hours for practice, the better you become.

Are you looking at holding Hood Code programs in Brooklyn NYCHA housing?
There are a lot of housing projects in Brooklyn like the Marcy Houses and Brownsville Houses. A lot of the housing projects in Brooklyn are really tough notorious places and that’s part of my mission to bring Hood Code into some of the most needed neighborhoods.

Does Hood Code mentor Black youth to look at future careers in technology?
With technology being one of the things for people to amass a lot of wealth, young Black people must start learning about the tech industry and developing skills in the industry. We cannot only continue to be the tastemakers and the people who make it popular, but also the people who are in a position to monetize it, and create our own platforms. It’s ultimately a way to change a lot of our family’s financial legacies.

For more information on Hood Code, check out www.hoodcodenyc.com

Rev. William Lawson, Civil Rights Icon and Spiritual Leader, Passes at 95

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Rev. William Lawson, Civil Rights Icon and Spiritual Leader, Passes at 95

Was Friend of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Rev. William “Bill” Lawson, the esteemed civil rights leader and close ally of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement, died in Houston. He was 95.
The Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church of the Third Ward, he founded, in that Texas city, announced on its website that he died on Tuesday.
“He has completed his time of service here on earth and is now enjoying eternal rest,” the church said in its announcement.


Rev. Lawson founded Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in 1962 and served as its pastor for 42 years before retiring in 2004. He remained active in his church and the community after retirement, specifically advocating for affordable housing for seniors and developing a public defender service for residents who unable to afford legal representation. Rev. Lawson started the church in his home with 13 members. Currently, the church membership is at 12,000.
He worked with King during the civil rights movement by setting up the local office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the civil rights organization that was led by King.
William Lawson recalled how he offered to play host to King at his church when others would not after the FBI wrongly accused King of being a communist.


“I told his staff I don’t have a big church. But he’s perfectly welcomed to come to my church, and he came to Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church and he preached there,” Rev. Lawson said.
Both men remained close friends until King’s assassination in 1968.


Community leaders in Houston praised Lawson and his legacy on Tuesday.
“He is one of the reasons why our city is so great. He helped us during the period of civil rights and social justice,” Mayor John Whitmire said. “Houston benefited from his leadership, his character.”


Rodney Ellis, Commissioner of Harris County, said although Houston mourns his loss, “we celebrate a legacy that will guide us for generations to come.”
Memorial services celebrating Lawson’s life were set to be held at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church on May 23 and May 24.

— From NBC’s Houston affiliate and other media sources

Warm Weather Brings Mixed Results for Black People Accessing Outdoor Recreational Spaces

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Warm Weather Brings Mixed Results for Black People Accessing Outdoor Recreational Spaces

By Mary Alice Miller
New York City, through its Department of Health, encourages healthy living with programs like Shape-Up New York, a free family fitness program, and publicly available indoor and outdoor spaces. However, accessing these spaces is a mixed bag.
Recently, High-Quality Tennis, a Black-woman-led tennis organization, lost its concession in an unsuccessful bid after serving the Bed Stuy community at the Jackie Robinson playground for five years. The loss has led to community outcry.


SS Soccer Academy has served the Bed Stuy community since 2015. Their participants range from ages 3-13, and as the kids grow up, they add a year. They have been at their current location on Lafayette Avenue and Malcolm X Blvd. since 2020, then the pandemic happened. They submitted their permit renewal last year and were subsequently told it was given to a group in Williamsburg. Sharard Sullivan, who runs the soccer academy, said he couldn’t sleep thinking about the kids who would be disappointed.


Sullivan called everyone he could think of and eventually connected to Councilman Chi Osse’s office. The councilman’s office “made stuff happen,” said Sullivan. “We were able to get our permit back.”


Caribbean Premiere Soccer League has yet to finish last year’s competition and still has its 2023 first-, second-, and third-place trophy prizes to award. Why? The league has been using the multi-school park at the old Wingate High School field for the past four years. CPSL’s season runs from May to just after Labor Day. However, repairs on the field began around Labor Day and were completed recently.

Meanwhile, CPSL applied for permit renewal and was denied first because the City said the field was still under repair, and then they were told that the schools did not want adults to play on the newly renovated field, and then they were told that the field is booked with activities. However, CPSL only uses the field on Sunday evenings after 2 pm. The league was offered a backfield in Flatlands but that location is not easily accessible to community members who find it convenient to use the park on Rutland Road. CPSL remains hopeful.


Lincoln Terrace Tennis Association uses the permit route to access tennis courts in Lincoln Terrace Park and has done so for the past ten years. LTTA’s season starts in May and has friendly games with other tennis groups throughout the summer. This year, LTTA is going to host Fort Greene in June and then visit Brookville in July. LTTA’s season ends in August with a Family Day celebration. LTTA volunteers with the Parks Dept. To clean the area and perimeter of the park.


Kings County Tennis League also uses Lincoln Terrace Park. KCTA has youth enrichment programs for children ages 3-5 enrolled in Brooklyn Kindergarten Society throughout central Brooklyn. Assemblywoman Latrice Walker accepts KCTL funding requests for the program at Howard Houses. As the children get older, KCTL works with them at Lincoln Terrace Park to teach tennis, build eye-hand coordination, and have fun.


This year SS Soccer Academy partnered with another organization and took a dozen kids to Dubai during Easter week for an international soccer competition where they interacted with kids from all over the world.


“The kids love soccer. It challenges them and exposes them to new ideas. Kids who have problems getting up early for school have no problem getting up for soccer. You spell love to kids with T.I.M.E.,” said Sullivan. “As an international student from Trinidad, soccer gave me everything. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t get this opportunity through soccer. These kids should be able to get partial or full scholarships to go to college through soccer.”

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