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East New York/Cypress Hills Shouts “No” to Aggressive Speculators

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East New York/Cypress Hills Shouts “No” to Aggressive Speculators

By Margot McKenzie

Council member Espinal, Public Advocate Letitia James, state Senator Martin Dilan, Assemblywoman Latrice Walker, The Coalition for Community Advancement, advocates and homeowners rallied against ruthless real estate speculators in East New York/Cypress Hills on Saturday, December 10 at 12:30pm. To demonstrator’s repeated chants of, “Hey, hey, ho, ho Quic Evic has got to go”, the demonstrators marched to the Quic Evic office at 2747 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn to serve notice that elected officials will wield their power to protect the rights of tenants and homeowners in the community.

Paul Muhammad of Mosque 7C in East New York came out in support of
the Coalition for Community Advancement . Photo: Bernice Green

Currently, many tenants fall prey to unscrupulous eviction schemes which result in disastrous outcomes if legal council is not available. Moraina Gonzalez introduced her statement to the crowd with, “Quic Evic gotta go”. Then she told the story of how the Section 8 tenants in her building received eviction notices. It wasn’t until she consulted an attorney that she discovered she had the same rights as any rent-stabilized tenant, and the judge dropped the case.

A driver heading south on Atlantic Avenue can spot Quic Evic signs with an accompanying telephone number at the corner of Rochester Avenue. On the Atlantic Avenue median outside the Quic Evic office another sign gets a driver’s attention whether moving north or south. The sign points to the location of the office which is identifiable by a narrow, white wrought-iron gate with signage which only partially covers the name of the previous establishment located there.

The Preservationists: Community leader Zulmilena Then, founder, PENY
(Preserving East New York), is getting support from Councilman Rafael
Espinal in her quest to save ENY landmarks. Photo: Bernice Green

At a nearby McDonald’s, a Jehovah’s Witness named Nancy asserted that the changing tide of real estate has shaken residents who live in the public housing development at 131 Belmont Ave., 180 Powell St., 157 Belmont Ave. and 365 Sackman Street. She claimed four or five individuals representing a private entity knocked on tenants’ doors and offered them cash to move out of their apartments. Some tenants want to accept the offer, others do not. A major conflict has developed between the two groups who will conduct a meeting in the near future to resolve matters.

In addition to targeting tenants, aggressive, unscrupulous investors also target homeowners. Pointing to signs throughout the neighborhood such as “Cash for Houses”, Letitia James maintains that many unscrupulous investors trick homeowners into signing away their house or selling for below market value. These investors conduct one-stop shopping where they provide the buyer, the appraiser and the lawyer. Because the investor has provided the main players in the sale of the house, the homeowner’s interests are not represented.

Once investors buy enough of these houses in adjacent spaces, they will own space to build five- to twelve-story buildings and charge rents that exceed the amount current residents can afford.

Last Saturday, East New York and Cypress Hills community residents,
leaders and supporters demonstrated against speculators who canvass homes and erect “home
buyout” and “quick evic” signs throughout those neighborhoods. Darma V. Diaz, center, outspoken critic
of such practices and a co-founder of the Coalition for Community Advancement, lashed out against
predatory investors who are harassing vulnerable homeowners with offers to “buy homes for cash.”
These deceptive practices often trick low-income and elderly homeowners into selling their homes and
evicting their tenants. Coalition members were joined by, from left, NYC Public Advocate Letitia James,
New York City Councilman Rafael Espinoza, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and New York
State Senator Martin Dilan. (Photo credit: Bernice Green)

To understand real estate in East New York, according to Brother Paul Muhammad of Mosque 7C, “We have to go back to 2015 when the City Council approved Mayor de Blasio’s East New York Rezoning Plan. (Complete details concerning “The Plan” are carefully delineated on the “East New York Community Planning” website. A review of the map shows that the new zoning will allow developers to build five- to twelve-story buildings and maybe more on sites that now contain one-, two- and three-family houses. Inez Barron was the only Council member who voted against it.) Muhammad asserts that when news of “The Plan” revealed opportunities for private developers, an investor frenzy began. Hence, we have the presence of a business such as Quic Evic.

According to Councilman Espinal, these speculators are not only offering to buy, but “They are making repeated calls, leaving flyers, knocking on doors and sending texts to low-income, senior or monolingual Spanish-speaking homeowners”. He maintains that the only explanation for the presence of offices such as Quic Evic are the rising real estate prices which began years ago.

Whether because of real estate prices or “The Plan”, one thing is for certain: harassment of tenants or homeowners will not be tolerated in East New York/Cypress Hills. Senator Dilan issued a clear statement for investors to “Stay Out. Go Somewhere Else”.

Although the demonstrators might disagree about the reason for the prevalence of unscrupulous real estate practices in East New York, they joined forces on this chilly afternoon to state unequivocally, “East New York is Not For Sale”, and they are willing to destroy any signs in the community that suggests otherwise. To illustrate their point, demonstrators removed and cut into three pieces the sign. They hope that just as they removed the sign, their visual and vocal opposition will compel the office to move, too.

Over the phone, an operator representing the Quic Evic office, maintains that they have been in the neighborhood for over twenty years and their goal is to help landlords evict tenants who refuse to pay rent. Some of her clients deal with tenants who owe $5,000 and sometimes $20,000. “We don’t evict tenants,” she said. “We file the paperwork for landlords who come to us. Don’t landlords deserve rights, too?” she asked.

Judging from the demonstrators’ strong words, controlling the shifting sands of real estate in the East New York/Cypress Hills community will take a multipronged approach.

Councilman Raphael Espinal voted for “The Plan” which includes education, employment and digital initiatives. He also convened the demonstration saying he hopes this protest will send a “message to harasser Quic Evic. We will not give up our homes”, and he wants legislators to “give tenants and homeowners protections they need”. A representative from his office said supporting “The Plan” and protesting ruthless landlords are not contradictory.

Standing by Councilman Espinal was Public Advocate Letitia James who belted out, “Bad actors target homeowners who are equity-rich and cash-poor. Cash for houses. Cash for distressed homes. Cash for people facing foreclosure. These offers are lies. The speculators come to you with their lawyer to represent you and they offer homeowners less than what the houses are worth. We need to educate New Yorkers about these scams”.

According to Comptroller Springer, “We must balance development pressure and try[ing] to make sense of what is going on. We are at a crossroads in this community and the city. We have lost 400,000 units of housing that used to run for $1,000 or less, but developers have pushed people out”.

He offered the following suggestions to consider:

  1. Crack down on predators by auditing and investigating them.
  2. Prevent developers from building 40-story buildings with a scattering of so-called affordable housing which are not really affordable for the community.
  3. Develop a program that will give vacant city property to the East New York community so that we can move people from shelters to low-income property, and we can stop relying on midtown developers.

State Senator Dilan’s strong message to homeowners was: “Don’t go for the quick profit” Quic Evic may offer. He also announced that he has introduced legislation that would make it a felony for unscrupulous landlords to harass tenants out of their home and the penalty would include jail time.

Evelyn Cruz, speaking on behalf of Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez, said she will fight for tenants utilizing fair housing and civil rights laws. Her office is promoting the

Landlord Accountability Bill to protect tenants who receive Section 8 or any other public subsidies.

With a logo aptly reminiscent of a MonopolyTM board game icon, the office has become a symbol of tenant and homeowner abuse, and a strong contingent of political figures, community organizations and vocal residents have joined forces to bring the offensive image and practices to an end.

 

 

 

 

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Deja Blues

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By Eddie Castro

This past Saturday, two teams who have battled all year were just one win away from being able to call themselves “City Champs”. On one side, you have the young men from Curtis High School. A squad who took down every obstacle that was put in front of them. A team that went into Friday’s championship title game undefeated. Led by young stars in quarterback Quincy Barnes and junior running back Shamar Logan, they wanted to make sure there would be another team named “the Warriors” to be crowned as champions. On the other side, you have the young men of Erasmus Hall.  The No. 2-seeded Dutchman squad posted an 11-2 regular season record, led by their dynamic junior quarterback Aron Cruickshank.

Curtis had set the tone early, building on a 12-point lead midway through the first quarter, which included a 29-yard touchdown pass from Quincy Barnes to wide receiver Joshua Decambre. However, the Dutchman were able to answer back at Curtis’ rapid start by a couple of touchdowns including an impressive 66-yard kick return that was taken in the end zone by E-Hall’s Herson Telsaint. The Dutchman had a brief 21-12 lead heading towards halftime but their mini offensive surge was quickly answered by another TD catch by Decambre changing the momentum of the game and bringing them close to two points at the half.

Despite creating four turnovers on defense including three forced fumbles, the Dutchman’s offense was unable to capitalize and struggled to get anything going in the second half. In fact, five of the team’s last seven possessions led to them punting the ball and only picking up one first down the entire third and fourth quarters. Cruickshank, who is also known for using his legs as well as his arms, was limited to just 70 yards on the ground. At the end of the day, Curtis’ defense was just too much for young Cruickshank and company to solve. The top-seeded Curtis dominated the entire second half and were able to knock off Erasmus by the score of 24-21 in what was an amazing game held at Yankee Stadium. With the defeat, it marks the third straight year that E-Hall’s football squad faltered in the city championship game.

The boys from E-Hall know that even though it was a heartbreaking loss, it is important to remain humble and optimistic. A loss like this can only add fuel to the fire to have a positive off-season and be even hungrier to finally get over the hump of capturing the city title next fall. Cruickshank, who will then be a senior, knows that his team will cross paths with Curtis again, and he is determined to make sure the next time around the outcome looms different.

Stained-Glass Ceiling Finally “Shattered” at Bethany Baptist Church with Ordination of First Female

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Stained-Glass Ceiling Finally “Shattered” at Bethany Baptist Church with Ordination of First Female
Photo: Sharon Henderson
Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson.

By Margo McKenzie, Special to Our Time Press

On Sunday, December 4, 2016 Pastor Adolphus C. Lacey ordained his first minister at Bethany Baptist Church–Minister Shirlene “Faith” Holman, the first woman to be ordained there.

Rev. Dr. Sharon Codner-Walker with newly-ordained minister Shirlene “Faith” Holman. Photo: Sharon Henderson

The day began with an 11:00 o’clock sermon by Rev. Al Sharpton entitled, “We Faced Giants Before”, which could have served as the theme for the day. He told the congregation not to fear a Trump Presidency.   A look back at history reveals a litany of giants: slavery, Jim Crow, illness, debt, discrimination, etc. If these giants can be slain, so can others.

Across the country, where women dominate in attendance, leadership positions and financial support, the Black Baptist Church, though at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement, “has largely been (ardently) opposed to the ordination of women ministers or deacons,” wrote Lacey in “Pastor’s Pen” (Church Bulletin, December 4, 2016). Consequently, Min. Holman had to slay giants of doubt, discouragement and gender discrimination while waiting for her calling to be recognized.

Although she was called to preach in 1998, it took this long-term Bed-Stuy resident eighteen years to get to ordination. In the meantime, however, she served as prayer partner, encourager, teacher, director, liturgical dancer, worshipper and more. She acquired several degrees, including her Master’s of Divinity from the New York Theological Seminary.

Recognizing her service and commitment, in the same week that Hillary failed to shatter the glass ceiling of politics, Rev. Lacey announced to the church that Min. Holman would be ordained on December 4. Min. Holman underwent a four-month study and a forty-five-minute test of the Baptist Catechism to qualify.

The December 4th worship/ordination service reflected Rev. Lacey’s ongoing message of inclusion and diversity: a liturgical dance choreographed by Marie Datruche, featuring two male ministers, female children and young adults who scurried and swayed to gospel singer Donald Lawrence’s “Beautiful Feet”, a musical salute to those who preach the gospel. The Bethany choir inspiringly harmonized the classic, “A Mighty Fortress”. Pipe organ, drums, piano and guitar joined in and Remnant Praise (young adult choir) continued to elevate the atmosphere with Kurt Carr’s song “Jesus, We Reverence Your Name”. Both choirs were led by renowned director Deah Harriott.

Rev. Lacey reminded Holman her number one job is preaching, and the Ordination Council (“Council”) represented by Rev. Daryl G. Bloodsaw of First Baptist Church of Crown Heights, delivered its report. The Council of fourteen ministers tested Min. Holman on her conversion, call to the ministry, convictions, beliefs, doctrinal principles, articles of faith, Baptist policy and procedures, and pulpit etiquette. After careful deliberation, they found that Min. Holman was “well-prepared and thorough, conveyed heartfelt belief, welcomed additional teaching, displayed sincerity and love for God and seriousness about the ministry”, and they concurred that Minister Shirlene “Faith” Holman should be ordained to the gospel ministry. Deacon Victor Alvarez motioned that the church accept the Council’s report, and Deacon Jerome Young seconded. A rousing standing ovation with shouts of “Yeah” and “Amen” offered unanimous church-wide confirmation.

“I never thought I would see this day in my lifetime,” said Bethany member Maxine Anthony, “but I’m glad I did”.

Reverend Holman’s daughter, mezzo-soprano Sheherazade Holman, heightened spirits even further with her heartfelt delivery of Andrae Crouch’s “My Tribute”.

Despite Holman’s wait Rev. Lacey said, “We don’t embrace the day with any belligerence, not pulling down any pastors”. He then referenced I Corinthians 3: 5-10. In the text, Paul planted in the lives of the converted while Apollos watered. In like manner, Rev. William Augustus Jones planted seeds at Bethany while Reverend Jasper Peyton watered. Also at Bethany, Rev. Peyton planted and Rev. David Hampton watered. Ultimately, Rev. Lacey planted though Rev. Goodall may have watered. Regardless of who plants or waters, “God causes the increase”. Rev. Lacey was signaling Holman’s ordination was a cause for celebration only.

Holman Family Stands Photo: Sharon Henderson

Grateful for the leadership and support of Pastor Lacey, Rev. Holman will seek to model her ministry after the example of Rev. Dr. Sharon Codner-Walker, director of Pastoral Care at Downstate whose approach to the ministry as a woman resonates with her. “She serves with love, care and concern and handles opposition with grace.”

(Margo McKenzie is a retired educator and freelance writer.
emjmac2@gmail.com )

Never Forget

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Never Forget

Reprinted from February 2, 2012

Young girl watching lynching of Rubin Stacey Fort
Lauderdale July 19, 1935.
Postcard depicting the lynching of Lige Daniels, Center,
Texas, USA, August 3, 1920

It is acknowledged that legacies and attitudes toward life are carried on through families and down through the generations. And those persons now in their eighties and nineties can tell stories that their parents and grandparents told them about the lynchings and the terror and the days after slavery.

The other side of those stories are the memories, traditions and beliefs of the descendents of the lynching parties and the picnic-goers who came out in crowds to see the lynching spectacle. This is a part of America’s legacy that is dangerous to forget because the tribal motivation to destroy nonmembers is still with us, and it is only a matter of points on a continuum between racism and tribal behavior, between “I don’t like black people” and “Let’s string him up.”

What is foreboding about the politics we’re seeing today is that it’s tribal behavior that is being summoned with what are called “dog whistles” and “buzzwords” of the current campaign.   These descendents of the lynchers are the people the “dog whistles” are for. When candidate Mitt Romney says, “I’m not concerned about the very poor,” as he did recently on CNN, he is speaking to the heirs of those who went back to their Christian churches, state fairs and neat houses, and instilled in their youngsters the American values that allowed them to fully love Jesus and freely lynch African-Americans.

Let this list be a warning as to what the “buzz words” are for. They are for the evil we saw loosed on the Jews on Krystallnacht, when the storm troopers came and on this continent with the slaughtering of the indigenous people and the enslaving of Africans to stretch this nation from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The names of the African-Americans who were lynched and killed that we publish in this issue are only the tip of an iceberg of terror that was life in the hundred years after slavery. It is only one record. There are others. The record of white men wantonly raping African women during and after slavery can be seen in the browning of millions of black Africans and the creation of the wide-ranging hues we see in African-Americans today. There are others.   Author Michelle Alexander writes of the New Jim Crow, a criminal justice system that is designed to capture and destroy the lives of black men and women.

For African-Americans, this list is a reminder of what we’ve gone through and a glimpse of the causes of the fog of post-traumatic racial stress we are enveloped in every day.

The Occupy Movement, like the Abolitionists during slavery, are on the other side of the scale.   But instead of the chattel slavery of Africans, their concern is an economic system that is a new and more universal form of slavery where individuals are bound to financial institutions by shackles of debt.

Like the opposition to chattel slavery, opposing debt slavery is a dangerous thing to do, particularly now that there are signed documents allowing the imprisoning of U.S. citizens stateside and holding them indefinitely without trial.   If this administration were to change, do not think for a moment that this power would not be used.

When we see the pepper spraying of peaceful protesters, hear of U.S. Marines rolling grenades into residential homes in Iraq, killing peaceful people as a matter of course, the torturing at Abu Gharaib, the virulent threats against the president and his family, the attack on voting rights, the way prison, criminal justice and nonprofit industries are based on African-Americans as fodder, white supremacist groups, Tea Party literature with President Obama pictured as a monkey, Tea Party cartoons of the president with a bullet in his head, jokes about the president and his “monkey” children. No one should forget that these are very dangerous people who are being called to with “buzzwords” and “dog whistles.” They are not just racist hoots, they are tribal calls that summon an energy so ugly at its core that it cannot be hidden by suits and Bibles and a stage full of children.

Let this list also be a reminder to those who believe the “post-racial” talk and insist economics is everything. It is not. The men and women listed here were not killed because they were poor; indeed, some were killed because they were relatively rich. They died because of tribal urges that are tenuously held in check today. We must remain vigilant against them and we must never forget what they are like unleashed.

And finally, this African-American History Month, let us remember that each name had a constellation of families and friends who loved them deeply and who were stricken by the loss. And even in their mourning, had to live with the question of “who’s next?” in the air every day.

As you look at these pages and stop on a namesake or familiar place, know that we are connected to all on the list, and that their cries of pain that were met with howls of laughter, can still be heard and will not be forgotten. David Mark Greaves

“…This inventory is necessarily incomplete. Records are scant. Newspaper reports are scattered. The Tuskegee Institute Lynching Inventory began in 1882 — just before the great surge of lynchings that occurred around the turn of the century — a surge that accompanied the American conquest of the Philippines, defeating the colored fighters of the Philippine War of Independence, called by Anglo-American historians “The Philippine Insurrection.”

This inventory is offered in the spirit of healing and reconciliation, for until the wounds of the Lynching Century are healed there is little chance of reducing the ever so pervasive racism in the United States, as Ida B. Wells put it: The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

Americans have a long way to go to see full realization of the promises of the Pledge of Allegiance, to see America as a land with Liberty and Justice for All instead of liberty and justice for the white Anglo-Saxon economic elite.

This site is dedicated to all the men, women and children that suffered these atrocities. May they never be forgotten.” (The Lynching Calendar http://www.autopsis.org/foot/lynch.html)

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