Our Time PressThe Local Paper with the Global View

Homeless numbers rise in city
The city’s homeless population rose sharply over the last year, causing a record number of people to enter the shelter system. The increase has forced the Bloomberg Administration to open nine more shelters in just the last two months.
Department of Homeless Shelter Commissioner Seth Diamond told reporters the city had no choice but to open the shelters, given the demand.
The city recorded 43,731 homeless people (25,475 adults and 18,256 children) in the shelter system this week, up 18 percent from the 37,143 (21,807 adults and 15,336 children) a year ago, officials said.
“We do have to move quickly, and we have to always make sure that we have enough capacity,” Mr. Diamond said. “The one thing we cannot do is have families come in and not have a place for them.”

Call for Federal probe of NYCHA
Following published that the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has been sitting on $1 billion in unused federal funds since 2009, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries called on the federal government to investigate the agency.
Jeffries, the Democratic Party candidate to replace retiring Rep. Ed Towns in Congress next year, said the allegation of fiscal mismanagement “shocks the conscience.”
NYCHA currently operates 334 public housing developments and houses five percent of the entire city’s population.

Bed-Stuy crime remains on the rise
Overall felony crime in Bedford-Stuyvesant is up nearly 12 percent for the year, according to police statistics for the 79th Precinct, which covers most of the community.
Of the major crime categories, robbery is up 15 percent, car theft is up 21 percent and felony assault is up 17 percent.
There have been nine murders so far in the area in 2012 as compared to eight at this time last year.

Fears mount they may move central operation from black to white neighborhood

By Amelia Rawlins

As the SUNY Downstate Medical Center starts issuing pink slips to workers as part of their “restructuring”, Borough President Marty Markowitz and a bevy of the borough’s elected officials wrote Gov. Cuomo urging him to save critical services and medical training at both Downstate and its affiliate Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in Cobble Hill.
Meanwhile, rumors abound that Downstate is considering moving their central base of operation from its current East Flatbush location, which is largely a community of color, to LICH, which is heavily white and upper income.
The SUNY Downstate Medical Center, located across the street from Kings County Hospital, is Brooklyn’s fourth-largest employer, providing jobs for nearly 8,000 employees, most of which are residents of Brooklyn, so a deficit would deeply affect not only the borough, but the population it has serviced for decades.
LICH recently laid off 150 workers and Downstate sent out 400 pink slips amid fears that over 1,000 workers will be laid off next year in an area of Brooklyn where unemployment is thought to be at least double the current 11 percent borough-wide.
“Downstate’s services are vital to Brooklyn residents. The population it serves—largely Medicaid recipients and underserved neighborhoods of color—absolutely cannot afford to lose Downstate’s services. Impeding Downstate’s ability to serve Brooklyn communities would have a devastating impact on the borough in many ways,” wrote the elected officials.
SUNY Downstate spokesperson Ronald Najman said like most hospitals, and especially hospitals in Brooklyn, Downstate’s University Hospital has been subject to recent financial stress, owing to declining reimbursement from public and private payers.
According to Najman, currently Downstate is working to align revenue and expenditures in order to maintain clinical services and ensure that health care education is preserved for the people of Brooklyn.
“High-quality patient care and medical education have always been and will remain our top priority,” he said. “While this phase of workforce restructuring includes both management and nonmanagement job titles, all actions align with union contracts. We cannot comment on numbers at this time as it is an ongoing process.”

Residents can use the one stop center to obtain food stamps and myriad of social service benefits

By Stephen Witt

Local residents struggling to get by are quietly learning that tucked away in Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Plaza is an organization authorized to sign you up for food stamps and Medicaid, as well as provide assistance on all kinds of housing issues.
In many cases, a visit to Single Stop on the fourth floor at Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration, or a visit to their unmarked storefront office inside the plaza at 1368 Fulton Street could replace the time-consuming task of standing in line at one of the city’s Human Resources Administration (HRA) buildings to obtain these same benefits.
“Along with providing overall case management services on-site, we are capable of completing food stamp applications electronically with immediate submission to HRA,” said Single Stop Social Services Manager Blaine Arthur. “We also do on-site health insurance enrollment, provide knowledge of low-income housing availability, assist in completing applications for many benefits such as HEAP, Section 8, SSI, SSD, unemployment insurance benefits, tax credits, child care vouchers, WIC, one-shot deals, Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE), Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE), as well as home weatherization referrals for energy efficiency and general public assistance.”
According to the state Department of Labor, unemployment in the borough overall is 11 percent, and it’s estimated to being at least double that in pockets of Bed-Stuy. Additionally, the Our Time Press office receives numerous calls from local readers with housing issues.
Established as a public/private partnership in 1967 with the assistance of former New York Sen. Robert Kennedy, Restoration Corporation and its plaza’s original mission was in part to help and empower the local community. Single Stop USA is a national organization with several centers in Brooklyn that is funded primarily through the Robin Hood Fund and other corporate charities.
Arthur said he had asked the Restoration Board on several occasions to put a sandwich board on Fulton Street advertising the Single Stop Center where one can obtain these services, but there remains no signage on the front of the building promoting these services.
“Something as simple as a sandwich board takes so much red tape,” he said. “People come in and out of the plaza and almost no one knows what goes on inside these buildings. I’m from Bed-Stuy all my life and I didn’t even know until I started working here.”
Restoration Corporation spokesperson Jako Borren said the Single Stop program is advertised through e-mail blasts and fliers but admitted that there should be more signage and outreach that these services are available.
Meanwhile, Single Stop also provides referrals, appointments for financial counseling and specific areas of legal assistance.
All these services are free of charge and available to anyone living in the five boroughs. The Single Stop Center is open from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Additionally, it’s open from 9 am to 8 pm on Thursday and from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday.
The Customer Service contact number is (718) 636-6994.