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ACLU Sues Georgia Over Failure to Extend Voter Registration Deadline After Hurricane Matthew

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ATLANTA — The American Civil Liberties Union today sued Georgia for refusing to extend the voter registration deadline in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.
“The state’s failure to extend the voter registration deadline, despite the massive disruptions caused by Hurricane Matthew, means that thousands of Georgians will be prevented from participating in the November election. This is unethical and illegal,” said Kathleen Burch, interim counsel for the ACLU of Georgia.

Just last week, the ACLU and other groups successfully sued Florida to secure an extension of the voter registration deadline there. Both Florida and Georgia were pummeled by Hurricane Matthew, with mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders affecting millions. In Georgia alone, more than 1 million people were under evacuation orders, and government offices were closed and services disrupted due to storm conditions.

“These huge disruptions occurred during the busiest time for voter registration. Gov. Deal’s refusal to extend the deadline is an affront to the democratic process and to voter participation in this critical election,” said Julie Ebenstein, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project.

Racial minorities and younger people tend to register at disproportionately higher rates during the last few days of a voter registration period.

Georgia’s voter registration deadline was October 11. The lawsuit seeks to extend the deadline in the affected counties — Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty, and McIntosh — by six days from the court’s order. The case was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. It names Gov. Nathan Deal and Secretary of State Brian Kemp as defendants, and cites violations of the Constitution, Voting Rights Act, and National Voter Registration Act.

11th Annual HOME BUYER SEMINAR SERIES

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11th Annual HOME BUYER SEMINAR SERIES

Bedford Central Community Development Corp. Presents The 11th Annual HOME BUYER SEMINAR SERIES  Sponsored by: Assemblywoman Annette Robinson

16 Week Program; 4 Courses/4 Weeks Each Beginning Tuesday October 18, 2016

6:30 PM-8:30 PM at the Bedford Central Presbyterian Church 1200 Dean St. Brooklyn New York  718-467-0740

Certificates and a Pre-qualification letter for a Home Loan will be Given to Each Graduate who Qualifies

Registration details: www.BedfordCentralCommunity.org

Course 1

  1. Getting Ready for Home Purchase

Week 1. 10/18               a. What are Banks Looking For & Benefits of Homeownership

Week 2. 10/25               b. How to qualify for a Mortgage

Week 3. 11/1      c. The Role of the Realtor, Attorney and Home Inspector

Week 4. 11/15    d. Building Finance Basics

Course 2

  1. Repairing and Building Your Credit

Week 5. 11/29     a. Money Attitudes & Budgeting

Week 6. 12/6     b. Personal Financial Planning

Week 7. 12/13    c. Credit Building and Repairing

Week 8. 12/20    d. Mortgage Payments versus Rent

Course 3

  1. Budgeting for your Home Purchase and Getting Pre-Qualified

Week 9. 1/3       a. Getting Pre-qualified and Pre-approved

Week 10. 1/10    b. Contract, loan application, down payment & closing

Week 11. 1/17               c. Predatory Lending

Week 12. 1/24 d. Choosing the Right House and Neighborhood

Advanced Course 4

  1. Minor Repair and Maintenance of your Home or Apartment

Week 13. 1/31               a. Introduction to Residential Property Maintenance 1

Week 14. 2/7      b. Introduction to Residential Property Maintenance 2

Week 15. 2/14    c. Intermediate Residential Property Maintenance 1

Week 16. 2/21    d. Intermediate Residential Property Maintenance 2

 

Black Millennials Use Social Media, Mobile Tech to Raise Influence, Awareness

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Black millennials are killing the game. In the 2016 Nielsen African-American report, black millennials are being described as tech-savvy, socially and civically engaged, with a growing population and growing buying power. Indeed, the report, “Young Connected and Black: African American Millennials Are Driving Social Change and Leading Digital Advancement,” indicates that black millennials are very…

Source: Black Millennials Use Social Media, Mobile Tech to Raise Influence, Awareness

What’s Going On By Victoria Horsford

Victoria Horsford
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2016/US PRESIDENCY    

November 8, 2016 will go down as an important date in American history. To Be Or Not To Be! Will America elect its first woman president, Hillary Clinton, who will work towards that more perfect union or will America elect Donald Trump, who promised to make America great again. Will he invoke Jim Crow? I cannot remember a more polarizing presidential aspirant than Trump, who has managed to alienate all non-European Americans. November 8 will be the first election where the Democrats will enjoy a victory sweep of votes from all of America’s non-Euro electorate: Asian-Americans, Latino-Americans, African-Americans. Trump has dissolved the Republican Party. I dread thinking of a Hillary Clinton loss on November 8, roughly 20 days away. Trump’s dystopian America will be a hard pill to swallow.

This is the 11th hour of his presidency and Barack Obama’s popularity numbers soar despite the joy, tragedies and craziness which is unfolding in America 24/7. Media is lining up for swan song sessions with President Obama. The 10/3 issue of NY magazine’s cover reads EIGHT YEARS IN AMERICA: HOPE, WHAT CAME AFTER by Barack Obama and 60 other protagonists and observers. It is exhaustively researched, well-written, a good POTUS handbook. Vanity Fair magazine includes The Big Obama Exit Interview by revered American history writer Doris Kearns Goodwin, another must-read piece. Book companies are involved in bidding wars for the Obama Presidency memoir. In the post-Obama era, America returns to white power in the White House, which will alter the consciousness of white America.

 

NEW YORK CITY

 

TRUMP’s children, Donald, Jr. and Ivanka, are considering a NYC mayoral run. According to a WSJ/NBC-4 poll, 8 out of 10 NY voters are horrified by the speculation.

HARLEM: Councilwoman Inez Dickens, a NYS Assembly hopeful, debates her GOP rival Heather Tarrant, at the Friendly Baptist Church, located at 144 West 131st Street, on Thursday, October 20, 6-7 pm. On October 27th, Charlie Rangel and David Dinkins have blocked seats for the hit musical THE COLOR PURPLE when they co-host a fundraiser for her Assembly race. [Call 212.862.4990]

Who is Republican Jon Girodes? He is running against NYS Senator Bill Perkins. Hmm.

Girodes, 38, has lots of street creds, a rap sheet which includes two prison visits. Last weekend, he was arraigned on charges related to fraud, taking large deposits for his midtown apartment, then going AWOL before victims begin occupancy. Moreover, he is a deadbeat dad. The NY GOP is distancing itself from him saying that he should withdraw from the race immediately. He is on the Donald Trump ticket. Why is he eligible to represent Harlem?

 African-American lawyer Tony Evans, the Republican contender for the 13th Congressional District, appeared recently on NY1 Cable Television with Errol Louis.   He opposes NYS Senator Adriano Espaillat and has unsuccessfuly tried to debate Espaillat. NYS Republicans seldom invest adequate monies for Black candidates to run as victors.

 

Eric Gonzalez

BROOKLYN: For a nanosecond, rumors proliferated that the Black Brooklyn establishment was lobbying NYS Governor Cuomo to name NYC Public Advocate Letitia James to succeed the late Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson. On 10/17, Cuomo said that he would allow Acting Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez, handpicked by Thompson, to succeed him until Thompson’s term expires at the end of 2017.

 

 

 

 

HAITI: AFTER THE STORM

 

Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc throughout Haiti with a death toll of almost 900. More than 1.5 million Haitians were affected by the storm who are homeless, hungry and battling cholera anew. Haiti is a humanitarian crisis, close to Florida, which Americans need to address and help abate. But for the NYTimes, the crisis is off the media radar.   Items such as clothing, food, hygienic products are needed. The following is a list of Haitian-managed nonprofits and websites to contact for guidance about a donation.

 

Madre, madre.org; Haitian-American Caucus—Haiti, hacus.org; sowaseedonline.org; Haiti.communitere.org; Sakala-haiti.org; SOIL Haiti, oursoil.org; Konbitsoleyleve.com; Voluntariat Pour Le Developpement d’Haiti,vdhhaiti.org; Capracare.org. For updates visit thehaitianroundtable.org. Hashtag info #HurricaneMatthew, #HelpHaiti. Check with your churches about drop-off centers.

 

BLACK ENTERPRISE

 

Eddie and Sylvia Brown

The latest CNNMoney report about American’s wealthiest, the top 1%. Report indicates that people who made the list have a minimum net worth of $6 million. African-Americans represent 1.7% of the coveted 1% super American wealthy. Two members of the 1.7% elitists include 1) Sheila Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET) and founder of Salamander Hotels and Resorts, and the first African-American woman to attain a net worth of at least $1 billion and 2) Eddie and Sylvia Brown, Brown Capital Management, which boasts $8 billion in assets under management.

 

 

Forbes magazine’s 400 RICHEST PEOPLE IN AMERICA list identifies two African-Americans. They are philanthropists Oprah Winfrey, media mogul and OWN Channel CEO and Robert Smith, the IT mogul, founder of Vista Equity Partners and Chairman of Carnegie Hall. Different media researches different sources. Sheila Johnson, Eddie and Sylvia Brown should be on the Forbes 400 Richest list, me thinks.

 

Alvin Lee Smalls

Crain’s NY Business magazine profiles South Carolina-born Alvin Lee Smalls, who is labeled “Harlem’s Last Old-Style rugelach baker. Rugelach is an almost-peerless, rich fruit filled with Jewish dessert confections. Located in an off-the-beaten-path area of West 118th Street, off of Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Lee Lee’s Bakery opened in 2001 and is a popular, arguably the city’s finest bakery. Smalls’ cake matches his rugelach to perfection. Smalls is a “neighborhood institution whose bakery crosses South and Jewish cultures”. My favorite is the apricot and chocolate rugelach!

 

 

 

UPTOWN FRIDAY NIGHT

This summer, the Peg Alston Gallery started hosting Friday evening open-house exhibits, showcasing the works of emerging and master fine artists. The Friday gallery caught on and is an autumn staple. Gallery is located at 407 Central Park West, Manhattan……. Caterer/ restauranteuse Norma Darden’s Miss Mamie Spoonbread Too offers live entertainment on Friday nights from 8-10 pm. Josh Givens is the resident Friday DJ at 364 West 110th Street, Harlem……..Jazz, blues, R&B vocalist JaRon Eames performs at the Sugar Bar, 254 West 72nd Street on Friday, October 21 and 10/28.   He will have copies of his newly published book HISTORICAL JAZZ CONVERSATIONS.

 

NEWSMAKERS

 Belated greetings to Dr. Lorraine Williams Monroe, living legend and educator extraordinaire who celebrated her 82nd birthday on October 10. Education was not only her calling but her ministry. She started as an English teacher at Wadleigh JHS in Harlem. Then she wore a variety of hats – principal, NYC Board of Ed hierarchy, college professor at Bank Street College and Columbia University public speaker and author of the “Monroe Doctrine”. She founded the Frederick Douglass Academy, two in Harlem, and the Lorraine Monroe Leadership Institute.

 

A Harlem-based entrepreneur, Victoria Horsford can be reached at victoria.horsford@gmail.com

Housing Justice Leaders Stand with Tish James in Calling Out 100 Worst Landlords

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Housing Justice Leaders Stand with Tish James in Calling Out 100 Worst Landlords

By Akosua K. Albritton

NYC Public Advocate Letitia “Tish” James held a press conference in the company of long-standing housing rights nonprofits at City Hall on Thursday, October 13, 2016. Tish James presented the “2016 100 Worst Landlords in New York City” list. The top 5 “Worsts” include Harry D. Silverstein (8 buildings), Allan Goldman (25 buildings), Efstlathios Valiotis (8 buildings), Martin Kirzner (11 buildings), and in fifth place, Ved Parkash (4 buildings).

In between chants of “Tenants United Will Never Be Defeated” and “Fight! Fight! Fight! Housing is a Right”, various elected officials and housing justice leaders came to the podium to talk about the issues of basic livable conditions and demands, deferred maintenance, increasing rent and gentrification.

Some groups represented particular boroughs or neighborhoods, while others were citywide service providers. From Brooklyn came the Fifth Avenue Committee, Crown Heights Tenant Union, CAMBA, IMPACCT and representing the Bronx was Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association (Banana Kelly). Citywide housing justice groups attending the rally included Association of Neighborhood Housing Developer (ANHD, with a membership of 95 nonprofits), HASA (HIV/AIDS Services Administration), CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates for Children), Asian-Americans for Equality and Make the Road New York.

Crown Heights Tenant Union, created in 2013, is a relatively new housing body; however, it counts 14 multiple dwelling buildings in Brooklyn Community District 8 and 19 buildings in Brooklyn Community District 9 as part of the union of tenants who take their landlords to task to provide habitable units immediately. Donna Mossman, one of the group’s founding members, came to the podium to applaud the groups who were present at the rally and to encourage the body in their tenant advocacy.

In addition to the landlord list, the Public Advocate demanded such essential housing needs as “no vermin and no holes within a building or an apartment; all housing units being free of lead paint; no illegal evictions and landlords ensuring the warranty of habitability is in place”. James also advised renters to “know your rights about a cash buyout”.

Harold DeRienzo, President of Banana Kelly, added his voice by stating: “Banana Kelly has worked over these past 40 years to preserve and create affordable housing in the South Bronx. We work hard to maintain affordability – our average rent is about $900 a month, compared to $1,950 for the Bronx as a whole. But now that we have redeveloped areas like the South Bronx, we are seeing speculators and owners looking to take advantage of profit-making opportunities.”

DeRienzo explains the speculators use “tactics to push out tenants”. These tactics range from “owners, directly or through their agents, making life so uncomfortable, creating such a nuisance, and generally making life so unbearable for tenants that they either leave on their own or are willing to take “buyouts” to leave voluntarily to doing other things to skirt the building code rules while using the excuse of “making improvements” that are never fully completed until tenants move out”.

James added the demand to alter the calculation of the Area Median Income (AMI) from using areas within the New York City MSA to calculating it based on the zip codes that cover the five boroughs.

This rally was indeed rousing and a time for groups across New York City to coalesce. But what is the reality of dispensing housing services back in the neighborhoods? How are neighborhood preservationists fairing financially and tactically?

On October 9 and 11, 2016 this reporter contacted (via e-mail) the Executive Directors for ANHD, Brooklyn Neighborhood Improvement Association, Erasmus Neighborhood Federation, Make the Road New York, North East Brooklyn Housing Development Corp., FUREE’s Program Coordinator and Pamoja House’s Program Director to inquire about the state of community/building organizing as well as moving the homeless into permanent housing. Two leaders responded.

Yves Vilus is the Executive Director of Erasmus Neighborhood Federation (ENF). For 30 years, ENF has served the Flatbush and East Flatbush communities by organizing buildings and tenant patrols, mediating landlord-tenant disputes, providing housing workshops, supporting commercial revitalization and managing a child care network. Mr. Vilus stated public funding from such agencies as NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development and NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal “has totally decreased. Most groups are forced to merge or go out of business completely. The private pools are getting smaller; only the well-connected get private funding”. In terms of the activism of residents, Vilus opined that “block associations and tenant associations are not like they used to be. We have mostly new tenants who [are] not too caring about attending meetings and the old ones either died or moved out of the buildings or [were] forced out by their landlords”.

His response to whether he sees a distinction between the terms “gentrification” and “displacement” is that “they are both the same. When you are displaced, the new tenants are paying higher rents. The old tenants either have to move out of the community or put their belongings into storage–which they are building constantly in our community”. He recognizes “the Executive Directors of BNIA, Fifth Avenue Committee, [IMPACCT], Carroll Gardens and some organizations in Manhattan” as people who strongly exemplify agents of neighborhood preservation”. However, he believes that “we are losing the battle regarding so-called affordable housing. The old tenants, especially those on fixed incomes, cannot afford Brooklyn”.

Jeffrey Dunston is the Executive Director of North East Brooklyn Housing Development Corp. (NEBHDCo). He explained that NEBHDCo chose housing construction early in its life because the organization spotted the decline in funding for housing organizing. Dunston stated NEBHDCo has been in the trenches of community development:

Over the past thirty-one years, we believe our work toward combating displacement has evolved through the creation of affordable housing–both rental and homeownership. Based on today’s housing policies, homelessness continues to be the main topic as an issue of concern. As a result, the demand for more affordable housing has surpassed the [supply] of new units being developed in Brooklyn. Much of the displacement advocacy work today focuses on tenant evictions.

With regards to “gentrification”, we view this as a by-product of our earlier work to rehabilitate and create new units of affordable housing. We also believe that housing and social policies, as well as market forces, have led to increased real estate values in part due to the deregulation of the mortgage markets in the 2000’s. While, yes, we have gone through a downturn in the market, values for New York City was minimal at best because high-end development in the city insulated market values throughout [the] five boroughs. The end result [for] rents meant that market rents would continue to increase. With regards to stabilized housing markets, rents also increased historically due to RGB increases over more than a decade. Independent of the rent increase freezes or lower percentage increases, these housing units, for some, have become unaffordable to those at the 30 to 40 percent of AMI because of reduced housing subsidies.

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