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Rep. Clarke Calls for Cyber Awareness

Mary Alice Miller
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Congresswoman Yvette Clarke

Cyber Security is among the top issues that Homeland Security considers “our first and last line of defense for the nation,” said Rep. Yvette Clarke. The ubiquitous use of laptops, desktops and smart phones bring a host of national security issues with them, from privacy to identity theft and hacking.

“We have to be conscious of what these tools are capable of,” said Clarke, “not for the protection of individual citizens but also because “there are nation states, hacktivists, terrorist organizations, all kinds of different groups out there that knows how to utilize this other universe that I’m talking about – the Internet – to wreak havoc for good or ill. These are people or entities that go after the financial sector each and every day, multiple times a day. These are the ones that are infiltrating news organizations, hospitals, universities and government agencies.”

Clarke sits on the Cyber Security Subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee. “Essentially what we do is examine with private industry because a lot of what we are talking about is in the private domain,” she said. “What DHS is responsible for is coordinating, setting standards for the types of protections for the nation that are required, given what we know about this threat.”

She made her case for a seat on the committee when she was first elected to Congress in 2007 because at that time there were no members of Congress from the City of New York on the Homeland Security Committee, the closest being Peter King. It was right after 9/11 which personally impacted everyone in the city. “And as you know we had to rebuild the FDNY after 9/11,” said Clarke. “My work in the City Council had some bearing as well because I chaired the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice at that time.”

The congresswoman gets animated when discussing the variety of issues that Cyber Security addresses. “I enjoy it. It’s science fiction in real time. If you grew up on science fiction like I did, I am intrigued by it,” Clarke said. “But it can get scary at times. And we have got to become much more astute as a civil society. Part of that is the cyber hygiene that I talk about.”
Clarke explained the various threats from viruses to cookies and other software – that despite antivirus software – quickly makes computer equipment obsolete. “We live in an open society. Having that openness is what makes America so innovative.

Once you accept that, then you know that dealing with the Internet is like a universe that layers on our actual day-to-day interactions,” said Clarke. “It is a virtual scenario that has been set up, but it communicates. There are a lot of vulnerabilities.” It is as simple as smart phones today that just connecting them transfers information. “So imagine what one can do if you can quickly transfer information that way,” Clarke said. “That’s a powerful tool.”

But, according to Clarke, “there has to be some level of judicial thought when it comes to how we regulate” the Internet and what the repercussions are for information and action, and the spectrum of users from baby boomers, who go no further than cable TV and flip phones, to babies who play with iPods as a standard toy. “All of those factors have to go into how we begin to view what is normative behavior,” said Clarke.

The federal government is grappling with establishing a baseline of what will become accepted operating procedure regarding the Internet’s utility. During the last congressional session, CISPA (the Cybersecurity Intellectual Sharing Protection Act) was introduced. CISPA sets up a framework for how the Internet is regulated. “Because a lot of what we have is in the private domain,” said Clarke, “and how we prescribe how information is shared is very, very important.”

The first iteration of CISPA was defeated. Why? “Because it didn’t adequately enough protect the users of the Internet. The privacy was not strong enough. Essentially, it said that private entities would basically receive immunity if they were to share personal information with the government or other entities. These private companies are trying to get around any liability should something that they did not anticipate happens,” said Clarke. “Hence, that’s why I voted against it.”

Rep. Clarke anticipates a modified version of CISPA will be reintroduced during Washington’s Cyber Week which commences on April 15. She is hoping the bill’s sponsors will take into account what happened with the last version and have done the modifications.

“We are just at the beginning of our understanding of the breadth and depth of what we are dealing with,” said Clarke. “But just like the adoption of seat belt use, there has to be that level of practice and perfection to a baseline of security that people are conscious of. It takes a while for it to become a norm because we’ve got such a spectrum of users right now. Until we do a concerted effort as a government and a society, it’s still hit or miss.”

In the meantime, Rep. Clarke has been advocating for the Advertising Council to join with government to begin doing advertisements that are basic PSA’s, a sort of Cyber 101. She stresses awareness that despite the open sharing that takes place on the Internet, “Copyright infringements have always been the law, whether digital or not,” said Clarke. “We have to figure out how we deal with the origin of something.”

Clarke believes civil society has to come to a consensus on Internet etiquette. “If you can get the next generation to at least consider that as a way of maximizing the utility of the Internet, then you are doing something,” said Clarke.

“But right now, I think what we are seeing in terms of behavior is almost a reflection of how we deal with each other in society. That is going to be reflected in the usership of the Internet. There is nothing that you can do other than try to set standards — through law — that enables someone to know they are going against the consensus of the civil society. We’ve all (for the most part) gained consensus to law on a number of issues. Otherwise, we’d have anarchy. That has to be applied to the use of the Internet as well.”

Boys and Girls Debate Team Defeats Brooklyn Collegiate, 72 – 68

Editor, Our Time Press
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Healthy Effort and then some: Boys & Girls H.S. debating team beat out the competition recently on the subect of Health Care: A Right or a Privilege. Team members seen here, from left: Knaqui Germain, Senior; Christine Alexander Johnson, Junior; Maris Cooper, Senior; Kerry Benoit, Junior; Christopher Bough, Junior. Their coach is teacher Thomas Paisley, who took this photograph.

On Thursday, March 14, 2013 Boys and Girls High School and Brooklyn Collegiate High School debated on the topic of “Health Care—A Right or A Privilege”.

Bernard Gassaway, Principal of Boys and Girls High School, opened the debate by welcoming students. Ms. Joan Eastmond, Community Liaison of Velmanette Montgomery’s Office, New York State Senator of the 18th District, congratulated both Brooklyn Collegiate High School and Boys and Girls High School and wished them well.

Ms. Cami Whittingham, Assistant Principal of the Barack Obama Leadership Academy, introduced Mr. Samba Diallo, owner of Jarama Barber Shop, one of the Solomon Project Barbershops, located on Fulton Street and Franklin Avenue who sponsors the haircuts for the young men debating. Mr. Diallo stated, “The community stands behind the Solomon Project because the students at Boys and Girls High School have brought honor to our community.” Ms. Whittingham also introduced Michael White, Founder of the Solomon Project who chaired the debate.

Mr. White introduced the judges for the debate, Boys and Girls High School’s Judge Advocate Reverend Conrad B. Tillard, Sr., Minister of Nazarene Congregational United Church of Christ in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York and Brooklyn Collegiate High School’s Judge Advocate Mr. Davis. Professor Louise Layton of Essex County College, NJ was the neutral judge.

Boys and Girls High School was the first to address the audience. Christopher Bough (BGHS Junior) stated the 2-minute and 30-second “Definition” of Boys and Girls High School’s argument. It was clear that the affirmative argument was for “top health care” to be made available for all human beings and against “top health care” only for the privileged.

Brooklyn Collegiate opened by attacking with “The Expense of Health Care”. Their argument made points that health care is so expensive that everyone does not have a right to the same level. Some people can afford to pay more or pay less and because it requires payment, it is not a right.

Kerry Benoitt (BGHS Junior) added a second opening of four minutes by stating facts of the over-100-year struggle with establishing the health care system. He kept an analogy of the theme of a baseball game and the two teams were basic rights and privileged.

Christine Johnson Alexander (BGHS Junior) started the rebuttals off with “Social Ills” which expressed how privileged health care used social ills of racism, discrimination, separatism and promote inequality with health care.

Knaqui Germain (BGHS Senior) was explosive with the second rebuttal “International Perspective” that connects international statistics of the United States Health Care System ranking and contrasting against health care expenditures.

Shortly after Brooklyn Collegiate’s response, Christopher Bough dropped the “National Perspective” and correlated President Obama’s State of the Union Address with “top health care” being available for citizens of the United States. Boys and Girls used five minutes. Brooklyn Collegiate returned after each BGHS rebuttal with very strong attacks on basic rights. Brooklyn Collegiate continued their attack on privileges.

After the strong “rebuttal” segment period there was a dismissal for certain students and the EnViDe Tech dancers took stage for an explosive halftime show. Students of Ms. Helena McCalla’s Dance Class showcased a hip-hop choreographed routine to “Poison” by Bell-Biv-Defoe which matched Boys and Girls High School’s argument perfectly.

Returning from intermission both teams took stage for the “Question and Answer” segment. Kerry Benoitt answered all questions that Brooklyn Collegiate’s Judge Advocate Mr. Davis asked. Afterwards, Reverend Conrad Tillard, Boys and Girls High School’s Judge Advocate asked the Brooklyn Collegiate team questions.

After the “Question and Answer” segment the “Closing” segment began with Christine Johnson Alexander leading off with the first three closings. Her first closing was “Heritage”, and her second closing was “Future vs. Past”. Brooklyn Collegiate rested after their first two three-minute closings.

Boys and Girls continued with a barrage of strong closings, with Christine Johnson Alexander’s third closing “The Survey”, which explained the outcomes of the local survey they conducted on health care.

Knaqui Germain followed with the fourth closing on the topic of Magic Johnson and his story of being privileged and surviving HIV. Christopher Bough’s closing number five was “Solomon’s Grandfather”, and he went into character taking on Representative Paul Ryan and saying to him what he thought about his budget proposal to block the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act.

Miss Maris Cooper (BGHS Senior) continued the barrage of closings with the sixth “System of Control,” the seventh “The Ironic Tragedy of Dr. Charles Drew,” and the eighth the “Local Perspective”, addressing the recent health care topic of NYC—Mayor Bloomberg’s attack of large sugary drinks. Miss Cooper called for the mayor to use his power to improve the indexes of response time and quality in the 161 public hospitals. Finally, Kerry Benoitt concluded and recapped the argument in 30 seconds.

The final scores were Brooklyn Collegiate High School with a score of 68 out of 75 and Boys and Girls High School with a score of 72 out of 75 points for the victory. Principal Gassaway stated, “Both schools were exemplary. The students were well-prepared and presented convincing arguments. I was proud of all of the student debaters and their coaches”.

Boys and Girls High School’s Debate Class will begin the next topic in the “Solomon’s Race to The Top Series”. In addition, the debate team will be preparing to debate Cicely Tyson High School of Performing Arts, East Orange, NJ—who were the opposing team from the Presidential Series Final and Christ the King, Newark, NJ, who are currently undefeated. All teams will meet in the tournament “Urban Meets Suburban”, which will be held late April at The South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) and compete against schools in suburban leagues.

Please join us for upcoming home debates at Boys and Girls High School. When adults support young people that are making positive choices, engaged in activities that promote consciousness, positive school culture, academic excellence and increase community connectivity it reinforces the message that they are participating in the correct activity and on the correct path. The debate was sponsored by the Yanks Group with Michael White, founder of Solomon’s Adventures, and organized by Ms. Cami Whittingham, Assistant Principal of The Barack Obama Leadership Academy of Boys and Girls High School; Ms. A. Best-Adams, Academy Director; and Miss Katrina Brown with the support of the entire school.

State Senator Eric Adams’ Path to History as Brooklyn Borough President

Mary Alice Miller
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Flanked by the diversity of the Brooklyn Democratic machine, Eric Adams declared his candidacy for Borough President under a crisp, clear sky. “This is a pivotal moment for Brooklyn. We have to turn our popularity into prosperity and leave no one behind,” Adams told the crowd of supporters. “After three decades as a police officer, community organizer and elected representative in this beautiful borough, I have the experience to be Brooklyn’s strongest advocate and the passion to be a champion for every Brooklynite who needs help, wants a better life, and strives to make Brooklyn the best it can be.”

Local elected officials offered their own anecdotes demonstrating their confidence in an Adams Borough Presidency.

“I want you to know that I refer to Senator Adams as ‘Senator Po-Po.’ It’s my way of constantly reminding him and myself where he came from,” said State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, “We gain a voice that we can trust, a voice that we can be proud of.”

“I remember Eric Adams when the police officers had taken a sergeant’s test and they said the Black officers had cheated. [Adams and fellow officers] came down and around City Hall and said ‘Black officers don’t cheat,’” said Assemblywoman Annette Robinson. “He stood up then, and he stood up for other issues within and around the community.”

“When you look at the issues that matter to people, he’s always in the right place,” State Senator Kevin Parker said. “He has been in the forefront of the argument about minimum wage. On stop-and-frisk, his leadership has guided us through that issue. Eric had legislation banning assault weapons three years ago, and was in the forefront on women’s reproductive health rights, the economy in our communities, and the image of our young people.”

“If you need a guy to fight crime and be in the forefront, that’s Eric. If you need a guy to talk to young people, that’s Eric. If you need a speaker to talk to big crowds and energize them, that’s Eric. But also, if after a hard day at work you need a person to sit down and have some Russian water together and talk about life, that’s Eric, too,” said Assemblyman Alex Krasney.

Adams has stood for various constituencies across the city on a broad range of issues from term limits and foreclosure to gas price gouging and preeclampsia (a medical condition that impacts pregnant women). Adams hosts an annual commemoration for fallen NYPD Officer Russel Timoshenko.

When Yoseph Robinson — a former hip hop executive who had converted to Orthodox Judaism — was killed in a liquor store robbery, Adams was there to provide emotional and material support to his family and community. Aware of the negative impact on officers and community, Adams crafted legislation to address NYPD ticket and summons quotas.

Eric Adams’ advocacy began long before he was elected to the State Senate. As he moved up the ranks from beat cop to NYPD Captain, Adams engaged in commensurate community activism by founding 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care.

“When we were the most provocative, the most meaningful, and the most potent during that time before Eric went into politics, most of us were clear that we wanted Eric to go as far as he can go,” said Marc Claxton of the Black Law Enforcement Alliance, one of the early members invited to join 100 Blacks by Adams.

“I am very proud of him. We wish him nothing but the best.”

Claxton recalled that among the most substantive things they did during Eric Adams’ direct tenure with 100 Blacks were “hundreds and hundreds” of community workshops on what to do when stopped by police, senior safety and domestic violence.

“We did anti-bullying before bullying was even a subject in this city,” said Claxton.
Every month 100 Blacks gave $1,000 to organizations and individuals in the city under Adams stewardship.

“We identified groups, such as Bed-Stuy Ambulance Corp.,” said Claxton. “That was Eric’s initiative. We did this for many, many years and that was during the time that Eric was spokesperson at the helm.”
Under Adams’ leadership, 100 Blacks engaged in public policy issues on policing and police/community relations. They testified before city and state hearings. They filed formal complaints with federal agencies over civil rights violations.

“All the stop-and-frisk that nowadays people seem concerned about,” said Claxton, “we talked about it 15 years ago.”

Claxton credits Adams for introducing Take Back Our Community (TBOC), a 150 page action plan to guide local communities who want safe neighborhoods.

“We provided a lot of information and access. We went on the record and spoke the truth when a journalist or council person or senator called and said ‘I need to understand this particular policy. What’s the truth behind it?’ said Claxton.

Claxton said he “learned a lot about the dynamics of this city and different groups from Eric.” Under Adams, 100 Blacks would meet with diverse groups to discuss tense issues,” said Claxton.
“People understood if he disagreed with you, he’s going to tell you he disagrees with you. But, he still maintained respectful relationships with different people.”

Claxton added, “People don’t understand that he had and has established long-time relationships in a whole lot of different communities.

“The relationships that are benefitting him now, he established those relationships many, many years ago.”

More than 40 elected officials endorsed Adams, including Borough President Markowitz, Manhattan Borough President Stringer, Deputy Borough President Sandra Chapman, former Congressman Edolphus Towns, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Comptroller John Liu, former Comptroller Bill Thompson, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Senators Dilan, Parker, Sampson, Montgomery, and Savino; Assembly Members Brook-Krasny, Camara, and Jacobs; Council Members James, Williams, Recchia, Lander, Gonzalez, Mealy, and Vann; Carlo A. Scissura, President & CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, as well as clergy and community and union leaders from across Brooklyn.

Nearly 2,500 people have already contributed to Adams’s campaign to become Brooklyn’s next Borough President—bringing his fundraising total of mostly small-dollar donations to about $420,000 as of the last filing on January 15.

He was also recently endorsed by United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union Local 1500, the New York City Corrections Officers’ Association (COBA) and the Assistant Deputy Wardens/Deputy Wardens Association, the New York Hotel & Motel Trades Council, AFL-CIO and 32BJ SEIU.

Restoration President Colvin Grannum’s vision for Bed-Stuy

Stephen Witt
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The Restoration Plaza Corporation remains committed to its mission of serving the entire Bedford-Stuyvesant community from its large African-American professional and middle-class base to those still mired in poverty.

So said Restoration President and CEO Colvin Grannum, who was born and raised in Central Brooklyn and remains an esteemed attorney, activist and resident of the area.

“The key to fighting gentrification is promoting family economic stability,” he said. “The goal is to get people into qualified jobs where they can move up the career ladder. Earning a living wage is a key component to economic stability and it helps in preventing displacement from the community.”
Grannum noted that when Restoration was first established, Fulton Street did not have the same thriving business district as it has today, which the Plaza now anchors and whose tenants include three banks, a full-service supermarket, an Applebee’s, several thriving nonprofit arts organizations, the College of New Rochelle and social service centers.

Additionally, through the corporation’s initiatives, a Fulton Street Business Improvement District (BID) was created and millions of dollars in streetscape improvements have occurred, he said.

Grannum said Restoration has also divested from several thousand units of affordable housing that it controlled in recent years but has found better managers of low-income housing to take the reins.
“Our decision led to improved facilities and there has been no displacement because of economics. No person has been evicted due to lack of affordability. We see it as a huge win for the community,” he said.

Grannum said Restoration believes strongly in a mixed-income housing model as a catalytic force to create an environment conducive to forging new social networks between the haves and have-nots.
“Bed-Stuy has always been a mixed-income community with a high concentration of low-income residents,” he said. “But we’ve always had doctors, lawyers, engineers and teachers along with the biggest stock of brownstones in Brooklyn. The question is how to make it all work together for the better of the community.”

Grannum’s comments about the future of Bed-Stuy came in a wide-ranging conversation
a week after this newspaper reported that the Restoration Board had evicted the Committee to Honor Black Heroes (CHBH) and that rumors were circulating the Plaza would be turned into a high-end hotel.
CHBH was started by the late community activist leader Sonny Carson, who was one of the founding fathers in the establishment of Restoration as a federally orchestrated public-private partnership brokered by U.S. Senator Bobby Kennedy in 1967. Restoration’s original mandate held that local grass-roots activists, policymakers and corporate entities work together to build the community.

“There is no hotel. We haven’t even made a preliminary effort to develop a high-end hotel,” said Grannum. “We always got along with Sonny Carson. Our goal is not to kick people out, but to be of assistance to them. For a decade, we tried to be patient with Heroes, but it didn’t work and at some point you have to take action for the well-being of the other tenants.”

Grannum said CHBH signed a lease for a very nominal rent which they never paid and the organization did not treat the office like a commercial space in that people often slept in the office and used the community bathrooms in the morning to wash up.

“We are respectful of the work they (CHBH) do, but you can’t let one tenant disregard the rules,” he said.

n Anticipation of a New President, Medgar Evers College Works to Streamline Governance Plan

Mary Alice Miller
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June will mark a new phase in Medgar Evers College (MEC) history: a new president will likely be named who will hopefully put MEC back on the path of academic achievement. But before the new president arrives, CUNY Chancellor Goldstein has directed that the School Governance Plan (SGP) — last updated in 1992 — be brought in compliance with current open meeting law. Vice Chancellor Frederick Schaffer has been appointed by Goldstein to draft an Interim Governance Plan (IGP) that would consistently achieve a quorum in order to function effectively. The final IGP will be presented to the CUNY Board of Trustees in June so that MEC will have a functioning governance council in September which will review the IGP in a year for permanent completion under the leadership of the new president.

Schaffer addressed a meeting of various MEC constituencies, telling the group that the CUNY Board of Trustees is mindful that for the past several years “governance at MEC was not operating well.” Almost every other CUNY school has amended their governance plan to comply with a Court of Appeals decision requiring CUNY colleges to comply with state open meeting law. MEC’s 1992 document is complex, and there number of vacancies making it difficult to obtain quorum to get the school’s business done.

Schaffer said his first draft came from the original and he took ideas from other CUNY College Council plans.
Senate Faculty member Dr. Sallie Cuffee questioned the legality of the meeting itself for being in compliance with the 1992 document. In addition, she pointed out that Shaffer emailed his IGP around 6:30pm the day before, leaving little time for stake holders to scrutinize the document before the meeting. Schaffer acknowledged the late transmission but stressed that time was of the essence as June is fast approaching.

“The Chancellor gave me the task of constructing a first draft of an IGP that would preserve as much as possible some of the traditional structures that are part of the old governance plan, but at the same time would achieve a more effective plan. That is the goal,” said Schaffer. “There is no ulterior motive in term of changing balances of power,” said Schaffer, “and I do know that no governance plan — no matter how good or perfect — can work unless there is good will and coming together for the college to achieve what’s necessary to move the college forward.”

Schaffer kept stressing the bottom line. “You need a new governance plan that works. A new president needs to be able to partner with you in ways that are effective,” he said. “This can’t wait. It would be a grave tragedy if this didn’t get done before a new president arrives and there is not an effective way for that person to work with faculty and student body and other members of the staff.”

Dr. Senen Vivero suggested electing a committee chair and later in the meeting was himself elected to that position (putting to rest Dr. Cuffee’s procedural questions about the role of MEC Counsel Valerie Kennedy in convening and running the group). Vivero suggested the group needed time to review the plan in order to suss out what was stricken or not included from the original document.

Dr. Amor welcomed the change in the governance plan and said “the Faculty Senate was one of the main instigators in why we haven’t been able to do things.” He was called out by Dr. Cuffee for not having attended any Faculty Senate meetings.

Employee Beverly Tarver also said she needed time to review the IGP, but looking it over she wondered why classified civil service employees were eliminated from the IGP. Schaffer said he was trying to reduce the size and complexity of the College Council, while making it more faculty dominated. He said he did so not out of lack of respect, but because the current amendment process is truncated, with a more deliberative process available over the next year.

Dr. John Flateau reminded the group about the June timetable being imposed upon the process. “If we at this college are going to maintain some of our own autonomy and self-determination,” said Flateau, “then we need to move to conduct our business.”

Dr. Clinton Crawford asked on behalf of students present why the number of students on the College Council was reduced in the IGP from 23 to 3 students. MEC student Evangeline Byars said she was concerned about the plan to greatly reduce the number of students on the College Council. Addressing Schaffer, Byars said, “It is very concerning and alarming that you are trying to remove the student voice from the governance process. I think that is something the committee needs to look at. It was not the students who were the reason why you have not been able to move with the [school’s] business. It has been because there has been division because you won’t give us an interim president but you are trying to give us an interim governance plan.” She added, “The students need to continue to have a voice.”

Schaffer’s IGP reduces the size of the College Council overall, primarily be decreasing the number of non-faculty (administrators, staff and students), thereby making it easier to achieve a quorum and to conduct deliberations. This will also result in making the faculty a higher percentage of the membership similar to most other CUNY campuses. In addition, the IGP provides for the election of alternates, thereby making it easier to achieve quorum.

The past few years have seen an unprecedented level of distrust among various constituencies at Medgar Evers College. The school is now turning a corner with new leadership pending. A good faith, transparent IGP would help lay a strong foundation to move the school forward. The challenge is to get it finalized within the next couple of months. The MEC community has risen above other challenges and will rise above this one, too.

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