Smith Electric Vehicles will establish a clean technology manufacturing facility in the Bronx that's expected to create more than 100 new jobs, Gov. Cuomo's office says. Smith is leasing the 90,000 square-foot former Murray Feiss building near Hunts Point. The private investment is bolstered ...
Electric Truck Manufacturer Coming To Bronx
Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:28:32 GMT
Heavy D’s Funeral Set For Friday At Historic Church
Dwight Myers, the rapper known as Heavy D, will be laid to rest at the historic Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, New York, this coming Friday, November 18.
The cemromony is scheduled to begin at 11am and will be led by Senior Pastor Reverend Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, who will deliver the eulogy.
A viewing will be held a day earlier on Thurday, November 17 from noon to 6pm.
In lieu of flowers the family is requesting that donations be made to the Heavy D and Xea Myers Fund:
C/O JP Morgan Chase
726 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10085
Checks payable to: The Heavy D and Xea Myers Fund
Heavy D Information Line: 212-381-2037
See also: Rapper Heavy D Dead At Age Of 44
Heavy D’s Funeral Set For Friday At Historic Church
Johan Thomas
Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:57:43 GMT
Date: November 13, 2011
Celebrate the emerging sport of Quidditch with the 5th World Cup, with ten fields of games featuring college, high school, and intramural teams from around the world.
In addition to the athletic events, spectators can listen to live music of all stripes (performances in 2010 ranged from Harry and the Potters to a jazz quartet to a beat boxer), eat a variety of ethnic and American foods, shop for Harry Potter- and other whimsical-themed merchandise, see live owls, fire jugglers, and get their faces painted. World Cup is a celebration of having fun and growing up on our own terms. Come for the spectacle, for the atmosphere, and for the world-class athleticism.
Start time: 9:00 am
End time: 10:00 pm
Contact phone:
Location: Harlem River Ballfields (in Randall's Island Park)
Quidditch World Cup
Mon, 07 Nov 2011 05:00:03 GMT
One day after Andrew Lopez (18), Kristian Lopez (17), and Jonathan Carrasquillo (22) were arrested for the rooftop shooting that killed pregnant mom Zurana Horton, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Joe Hynes attended "A Cup of Joe with Joe" in East Flatbush with Assemblyman Karim Camara and Councilman Jumaane Williams.
I asked DA Hynes the question folk in Brownsville have been asking: Will there be a plea deal available for Ms. Horton's killers?
"There will be no plea bargains, at all," said DA Hynes. "They have crossed the line. I have lots of programs for people before they cross the line. But, if you use a gun to kill one of our people, or use a gun to hurt one of our people, no plea bargain."
Rev. Al Sharpton will eulogize Zurana Horton on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011 at Cornerstone Baptist Church located at 570 Lewis Avenue. The wake will be 3:30-5:30pm. The funeral will be 5:30-7:30pm.
DA Hynes: No Plea Deal for Killers of Hero Mom Zurana Horton
Mary Alice Miller
Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:04:26 GMT
An HIV/AIDS prevention agency in Harlem has launched a new campaign concentrating on a demographic that is not normally targeted: black heterosexual men. Its campaign posters can be seen throughout Central Harlem, East Harlem and the South Bronx, where its other branches are located. The poster, illustrating a brawn, black male standing poised is currently stationed at several bus shelters in the city.
The campaign is sponsored by the Iris House, a community-based organization that meets the needs of women, families and at-risk communities infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS. The goal of the heterosexual male targeted campaign is to increase awareness, shared sexual responsibility, openness and honesty, according to the agency.
Though the 8-year-old agency was established to provide care for HIV-infected minority women, in October 2010, the Iris House decided to turn its focus to what Executive Director Ingrid Floyd called a “forgotten population.” Floyd said most HIV/AIDS programs target women or gay and bisexual men, but that the agency sought to “fill that gap,” by tailoring a program for black heterosexual men.
The campaign, dubbed “Keep It 100” is named after a commonly used phrase in the black community, which means to be honest.
The idea of targeting heterosexual men came about, after the agency analyzed data on their female clientele, which revealed that 90 percent of them said that they contracted HIV/AIDS from their male partners. Floyd said the Iris House decided to analyze the data after they noticed a pattern in its clientele and the national rates of women infected by men.
“We decided in 2008 when completing our strategic plan that we had to begin providing services for the men in their lives and in the community since no other places were targeting heterosexual men,” Floyd said.
“We wanted to figure out a way to engage the men in the prevention education so that we don’t just put the responsibility on the women.”
The black and Latino populations account for the highest rate of new infections per 100,000 people in the United States, according to 2009 federal data from the Centers for Disease Control. The center also cites New York as the state with the highest number of AIDS diagnoses. Among racial and gender demographics, black men accounted for the highest new infection cases, according to Centers for Disease Control data.
Central Harlem and East Harlem, where the Iris House does most of its outreach, have the second and third highest infection rate in the city, according to 2008 data from the New York City HIV/AIDS Annual Surveillance Statistics.
Patrick Wilson, a professor at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, said predominantly black and Latino neighborhoods like Central Harlem and East Harlem experience high rates of HIV/AIDS infections because of a prevalence in poverty, and socioeconomic disadvantages.
“People have less access to health care and HIV testing,” he said. Wilson said many members of the black community don’t have a desire to get tested because there is still a stigma of promiscuity that is lobbed with HIV/AIDS.
Nevertheless, Wilson cautioned that the high concentration of HIV infections among black, gay and bisexual men remains an epidemic in the community.
Among black men who have sex with men, there were more new HIV infections (52%) among young black men who have sex with men aged 13–29 years, than any other racial or ethnic age group, according to CDC data.
As a result, Wilson says, the Iris House should focus on black men in general, not just heterosexual men.
“Sexual identity is very fluid,” he said. “One can be gay today, and heterosexual tomorrow.”
Wilson said non-heterosexuality remains a stigma in the community, which may cause men not to disclose their sexual identity. For this reason, Wilson questions the effectiveness such a campaign could have, for the long run, in the community.
However, the Iris House also offers a program geared toward black men who have sex with men called d-Up!, a Centers for Disease Control approved intervention program. According to the agency’s website, d-Up! is designed to change social norms and perceptions of black MSM regarding condom use.
Men, both heterosexual and homosexual, report more negative attitudes about condom use than do women, according to data from the American Psychological Association.
Floyd said the Keep It 100 campaign and the agency’s other outreach programs stress the importance of partners engaging in healthy conversations about sex and their HIV status, “before going to the bedroom.”
“It’s the only way to make sure that you are being responsible for yourself,” Floyd said. “That’s the message we want people to get.”
Men who come to the Iris House are encouraged to participate in group workshops, where they are shown videos that encourage them to avoid unprotected sex and be honest about their sexual history with their partners. The agency also provides one-on-one counseling and free testing. Floyd said the Iris House does community outreach, and supplies free condoms to local barbershops, beauty shops, and local businesses.
The agency is also using technology as a means of marketing its Keep It 100 campaign. Around the city, the campaign posters feature small bar codes that can lead smart phone users to the campaign’s website. From there, Floyd says, they can get additional information about the program and its services.
The Iris House was established in 1993, and was named after an AIDS advocate who died of the disease in the 1980s. Until recently, the agency exclusively focused on infected women and their families. Within a year, Floyd said the Iris House hopes to have 75 to 100 men participating in the Keep It 100 one-on-one and group workshops.
The Keep It 100 campaign is funded by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.
Harlem HIV Prevention Agency Targets Straight Black Men
Gerren Keith Gaynor
Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:32:06 GMT
Here, in all its glory, is the sample ballot posted online today by the NYC Board of Elections. The posting is already getting props from Citizens Union, which said in a statement, "During the 2010 primary election, many New Yorkers struggled to cast their votes accurately due to the small ...
Document Drop: NYC Sample Ballot (Updated)
Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:45:57 GMT
N.Y. / REGION
For $10, He’ll Find the Guys Who Didn’t Do It
Published: October 16, 2011
The decoys in police lineups are often drawn from homeless shelters and street corners, but in the Bronx, one man plays the role of casting director for detectives.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/nyregion/a-casting-director-for-police-lineups.html
A former NYPD narcotics detective snared in a corruption scandal testified it was common practice to fabricate drug charges against innocent people to meet arrest quotas.
We fabricated charges to meet quotas: ex-cop
JOHN MARZULLI, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:25:00 GMT
The woman Mayor Bloomberg is expected to endorse as a successor disagrees with his administration in at least one public battle currently being fought over the city's poor. City Council speaker Christine Quinn is questioning New York City's requirement that food stamp applicants provide fingerprints to sign up and contends, "We’re spending public dollars where there is no crime being committed." The Council estimates that some 30,000 New Yorkers are not seeking aid because of the requirement and claims that would amount to $55.4 million in federal funds, "money they would then spend at the supermarket or at the bodega," Quinn says. A new bill would require more information on the fingerprinting from the city, but a Bloomberg spokesperson counters, "This bill sounds as though it’s asking the wrong question. The right question is how much fraud is there, and the answer is: thanks to imaging, next to none."
The executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger claims the fingerprinting treats "poor people as if they’re basically criminals for trying to access a program to which they’re legally entitled," referring to the requirement as the "electronic stop-and-frisk."
Texas and California recently got rid of a similar requirement, leaving New York City as only the second jurisdiction in the country with such a rule.
Fingerprinting Those Seeking Food Stamps Is Denounced [NYT]
Read more posts by Joe Coscarelli
Filed Under: the third terminator, christine quinn, city politics, food stamps, michael bloomberg
New York City Still Requires Fingerprints for Food Stamps
Joe Coscarelli
Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:08:00 GMT
By WILLEM ALKEMA and REED TUCKER
Last Updated: 5:33 AM, September 25, 2011
Posted: 2:05 AM, September 25, 2011
In his heyday, he lived at 783 Bel Air Road, a four-bedroom, 5,432-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion that once belonged to John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas.
The Tudor-style house was tricked out in his signature funky black, white and red color scheme. Shag carpet. Tiffany lamps in every room. A round water bed in the master bedroom. There were parties where Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Miles Davis would drop by, whereEtta James would break into “At Last” by the bar.
Just four years ago, he resided in a Napa Valley house so large it could only be described as a “compound,” with a vineyard out back and multiple cars in the driveway.
JOHN CHAPPLE
SOUL SURVIVOR: Sly Stone, now 68 years old, shows he can still get funky -- brandishing a Taser for a photo session in front of his Studebaker.
JOHN CHAPPLE
"I like my small camper. I just do not want to return to a fixed hom ... I must keep moving," Stone says.
But those days are gone.
Obesity, bigger waist may mean higher death risk for black women (Daily Hampshire Gazette)
Being obese and having a larger waist may be linked with a higher risk of dying for African American women, a study finds.
Our First Black President (The Atlantic)
Remember Mr. Coates, Morehouse College put Howard University on the map; the first African-American president of Howard University was a Morehouse Man, Dr.
NAACP Chapter Joins Maryland Coalition to Pass Marriage Equality Bill (MySoCalledGayLife)
Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the broad and diverse coalition working to bring civil marriage equality to Maryland, today announced the Baltimore branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the newest member of its steering committee.
Nashville museum on African American music planned (The Macon Telegraph)
A new museum in the works for Nashville will aim to expand the public's idea of what makes the town Music City.
James Craig Anderson Was Killed Because he was Black not Because he was Gay (womanist-musings)
There is no doubt in my mind that this is a racial hate crime. I found his murder incredibly triggering and that is why I didn't write about it before. I have however been following this story very closely. As a Black mother with Black sons, what happened to Anderson represents my worst nightmare. This weekend as I was going through my reader, I noticed that several gay blogs have finally gotten around to writing about this story. Please note that Black blogs have been writing about Anderson's death since it happened, and I doubt that without their constant attention, that this story would have made the national news. At any rate, reading these gay blogs I learned that Anderson was Black and gay. A light bulb clicked on, and I realized why his death had suddenly been deemed worthy of coverage - his sexuality. When Anderson was just another Black man, who was a random victim of White supremacy, none of the GLBT blogs had a damn thing to say about it. I suppose it was considered not to be a gay issue. Now that it has been revealed that Anderson was a gay man, being beaten and then driven over by a truck is suddenly deemed horrifying. To that I say fuck you - fuck you ten thousand times over. They weren't screaming gay slurs at Anderson, they were screaming racial slurs at him and believing that you can appropriate his death to advance the cause of gay rights is repulsive.
National Panhellenic Council, NAACP and Black Caucus hold candlelight memorial (The Digital Collegian)
A crowd of people aggregated in front of Old Main with candles last night in remembrance of those who lost their lives on Sept.
September 8, 2011 6:30am | By Julie Shapiro, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
SEE MORE PHOTOS BATTERY PARK CITY — When Stuyvesant High School's 3,000 students returned to their Battery Park City classrooms on Oct. 9, 2001, they thought the worst was over.
Less than a month earlier, the 14-to-18-year-olds had fled their school, some in tears and some numbly silent, as the World Trade Center collapsed just three blocks behind them.
The students at one of the city's most selective high schools were ready to get back to their routine of coursework and college applications, and ready to reassemble the pieces of their pre-9/11 academic and social lives.
But from their first breath of smoky, dusty air they took as they emerged from the subway that October morning, many of the students feared that they had returned to lower Manhattan too soon.
"We could see the fire burning [at Ground Zero] on our way to school," said Lila Nordstrom, who was a senior on 9/11.
"It was very clear it was not safe."
September 3, 2011 4:51pm | By Tom Liddy, DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — An East Harlem teen vanished from his home last Wednesday, police said.
Matthew Rosario, 14, was last seen at his house on Lexington Avenue, near East 101st Street, at 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 31.
He is described as 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
Those with tips can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS, log onto the Crime Stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text CRIMES (274637) then enter TIPS577.
Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/20110903/harlem/teen-missing-from-lexington-avenue-home#ixzz1XDJZFdwk
Police repeatedly hassled Sojourner Hardeman for sitting quietly in front of a shuttered store on Fifth Avenue, so she's taking them to court. Homeless since last September, Hardeman was arrested in March and detained, but released without charges and has been issued disorderly conduct summonses despite her lawyer's claims that "passive panhandling" is "clearly constitutionally protected." A judge has already ordered that cops leave her alone unless they have probable cause, but her lawsuit has not yet been settled.
According to Ms. Hardeman's complaint, officers approached her four times in July and ordered her to leave the spot in front of the empty storefront, at one point, saying: "You can't be here. This is Fifth Avenue."
Nothing says privilege and elegance in 2011 like boarded-up windows.
After Panhandler Says Police Harassed Her, a Judge Tells Them to Stop [NYT]
Read more posts by Joe Coscarelli
Filed Under: nypd, fifth avenue, lawsuits
Judge Defends Homeless Woman’s Right to Sit on Fifth Avenue
Joe Coscarelli
Tue, 30 Aug 2011 19:33:00 GMT
Correction Appended
Washington
AS we celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, we reflect on the life and legacy of this great man. But recent legislation on voting reminds us that there is still work to do. Since January, a majority of state legislatures have passed or considered election-law changes that, taken together, constitute the most concerted effort to restrict the right to vote since before the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Growing up as the son of an Alabama sharecropper, I experienced Jim Crow firsthand. It was enforced by the slander of “separate but equal,” willful blindness to acts of racially motivated violence and the threat of economic retaliation. The pernicious effect of those strategies was to institutionalize second-class citizenship and restrict political participation to the majority alone.
We have come a long way since the 1960s. When the Voting Rights Act was passed, there were only 300 elected African-American officials in the United States; today there are more than 9,000, including 43 members of Congress. The 1993 National Voter Registration Act — also known as the Motor Voter Act — made it easier to register to vote, while the 2002 Help America Vote Act responded to the irregularities of the 2000 presidential race with improved election standards.
Despite decades of progress, this year’s Republican-backed wave of voting restrictions has demonstrated that the fundamental right to vote is still subject to partisan manipulation. The most common new requirement, that citizens obtain and display unexpired government-issued photo identification before entering the voting booth, was advanced in 35 states and passed by Republican legislatures in Alabama, Minnesota, Missouri and nine other states — despite the fact that as many as 25 percent of African-Americans lack acceptable identification.
Having fought for voting rights as a student, I am especially troubled that these laws disproportionately affect young voters. Students at state universities in Wisconsin cannot vote using their current IDs (because the new law requires the cards to have signatures, which those do not). South Carolina prohibits the use of student IDs altogether. Texas also rejects student IDs, but allows voting by those who have a license to carry a concealed handgun. These schemes are clearly crafted to affect not just how we vote, but who votes.
Conservative proponents have argued for photo ID mandates by claiming that widespread voter impersonation exists in America, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. While defending its photo ID law before the Supreme Court, Indiana was unable to cite a single instance of actual voter impersonation at any point in its history. Likewise, in Kansas, there were far more reports of U.F.O. sightings than allegations of voter fraud in the past decade. These theories of systematic fraud are really unfounded fears being exploited to threaten the franchise.
In Georgia, Florida, Ohio and other states, legislatures have significantly reduced opportunities to cast ballots before Election Day — an option that was disproportionately used by African-American voters in 2008. In this case the justification is often fiscal: Republicans in North Carolina attempted to eliminate early voting, claiming it would save money. Fortunately, the effort failed after the State Election Board demonstrated that cuts to early voting would actually be more expensive because new election precincts and additional voting machines would be required to handle the surge of voters on Election Day.
Voters in other states weren’t so lucky. Florida has cut its early voting period by half, from 96 mandated hours over 14 days to a minimum of 48 hours over just eight days, and has severely restricted voter registration drives, prompting the venerable League of Women Voters to cease registering voters in the state altogether. Again, this affects very specific types of voters: according to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice, African-Americans and Latinos were more than twice as likely as white voters to register through a voter registration drive.
These restrictions purportedly apply to all citizens equally. In reality, we know that they will disproportionately burden African Americans and other racial minorities, yet again. They are poll taxes by another name.
The King Memorial reminds us that out of a mountain of despair we may hew a stone of hope. Forty-eight years after the March on Washington, we must continue our work with hope that all citizens will have an unfettered right to vote. Second-class citizenship is not citizenship at all.
We’ve come some distance and have made great progress, but Dr. King’s dream has not been realized in full. New restraints on the right to vote do not merely slow us down. They turn us backward, setting us in the wrong direction on a course where we have already traveled too far and sacrificed too much.
Correction: August 27, 2011
An earlier version of this article misstated a quotation engraved on the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington. The quotation is "out of a mountain of despair we may hew a stone of hope," not "out of a mountain of stone."
Philip Scott Andrews/The New York Times
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial will officially be dedicated on Sunday. More Photos »
For Immediate Release
August 10, 2011
Pilot Program Exposes Students to Educational and Workforce Possibilities, and Cultural Experiences
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., City Council Speaker Christine M. Quinn, Council Member Robert Jackson, Council Member Inez E. Dickens, and Khary Lazarre-White, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Brotherhood/Sister Sol, joined nearly 40 students on the steps of City Hall today to announce the launch of a new summer internship program. Based at The City College of New York, the six-week program kicked off in late July. The participating students, who are between the ages of 12 and 16, attend educational workshops and tours at some of New York’s leading cultural institutions and businesses.
“This program was born out of a desire to engage youth this summer, and provide them with unique educational and cultural opportunities,” said District Attorney Vance. “Learning doesn’t stop when school is out, and thanks to the generosity of the City Council, these 40 teens and pre-teens are being exposed to some of the best that New York has to offer through a multitude of workshops and educational field trips.”
Council Speaker Quinn said: “Today's announcement could mean the start of something very big for the young people participating in this program. At the completion of this internship, students will have had the opportunity to experience a world of cultural and educational institutions while also giving back to the community. Young people can have life altering, lasting, positive experiences in this type of environment. I want to thank Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, The Brotherhood/Sister Sol, and my colleagues for their unwavering support in helping our young people thrive.”
Council Member Dickens said: “I have admired and supported the work of Khary Lazarre-White, Executive Director of Brotherhood/Sister Sol, and his dedicated staff and volunteers. This project embraces our young people. It is also inclusive of emancipated youth. Through exposure to positive educational and cultural enrichment, this project opens the doors to limitless possibility for our young. I want to applaud Speaker Christine Quinn, for she has been consistent in leveraging resources to stem the tide of youth violence and gang activity. It is my hope that through continued collaboration with the DA’s Office, the City Council, law enforcement, community based organizations, concerned parents and citizens, we will see the day when we do not lose another precious child to senseless violence.”
Council Member Jackson said: “Taking a fresh look at what is around us is a challenge at any age; understanding the significance of what we see, even more so. I am very pleased that District Attorney Vance and Brotherhood/Sister Sol will be collaborating and working together to open the eyes of forty lucky youth to some of the astounding cultural resources that are right here in our neighborhoods. I thank my Council colleagues and the Speaker for committing the funding that makes this program possible; the horizons of these young people will be forever broadened as a result of participating and I believe they, in turn, will share what they know with their friends and families.”
Brotherhood/Sister Sol Executive Director and Co-Founder Khary Lazarre-White said: “The Brotherhood/Sister Sol’s Future Foundation summer immersion program builds on sixteen years of our youth development model – we are seeking to expose young people to workforce possibilities, culture, and higher education; to provide nurturing and holistic mentorship; and to empower youth to define a moral and ethical code by which to live their lives. I appreciate the work of the Manhattan DA’s Office and City Council in facilitating this program.”
Brotherhood/Sister Sol Program Coordinator Frantz Jerome said: “The Bro/Sis Future Foundation program exists to guide children in Harlem and open their eyes to cultural, educational and career possibilities. It is an introduction to the ideals of Bro/Sis: Positivity, Community, Knowledge and Future.”
Led by several counselors who are former graduates of the Brotherhood/Sister Sol program themselves, the participants in this program take educational and cultural field trips up to three days each week, to places including Central Park, El Museo del Barrio, and Fordham University. When not out in the community, the students attend workshops at City College on a range of topics, including community building, conflict resolution, and spoken word performance. Upon completion of the six-week program, participants will receive a $250 stipend.
In an email to principals, Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott says beginning in the second semester of the upcoming school year, all public middle school and high school students will have to have at least one semester each of sex education as part of their health curriculum.
Sex Ed Becomes Mandatory For City Middle, High School Students
Wed, 10 Aug 2011 03:52:41 GMT
