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EditorialsSometimes Something isn't Better Than NothingThe old saying %u201c half a loaf is better than none%u201d just doesn%u2019t always hold.There are some things better left -alone if they can%u2019t be done right. Andthough it may be too early to tell yet, we think that Mayor Koch%u2019s Councilon Intergroup Relations may just have been better not compiled at all.The 93-member Council, which includes community activists and leadersleaders of all races and ethnic origin throughout the city, was originallyinstituted after the %u201c Crown Heights affair%u201d brought religious and racialtensions to the fore in that community last June. In theory, the Council isprobably a good idea-and in theory, was instituted precisely to %u201ctrouble1shoot%u201d in areas before real trouble-or real shooting-begins.But intergroup relations in New York City don%u2019t operate on theory, so itshould come as no surprise that an unweildly committee of 96 disparatesouls, some of whom were not even contacted before they were placed onthe list, hasn%u2019t operated very well yet, either.And given the Mayor%u2019s previous track record both on committeerecommendations and racial hostilities (ignoring and inflaming,respectively) it should come as no surprise that many members of theCouncil question the Mayor%u2019s motives on forming it-and the liklihood ofhis listening to it, now that it%u2019s formed.Which may be a moot point anyway, since so far the Council has hadnothing much to say. A 93-member Council is hardly a block associationcore group, and the infeasibility of that large a body ever acting as a unityis undoubtedly what forged the recent delineation into borough councils.Perhaps now, with more flexible structure, groups will actually begin tomeet and actually begin to talk.Some Council members, as our story this week relates, are optimisticabout the Council%u2019s potential. Others are not. City problems may haveforced the formation of what oould be an effective de-fusing source-or ofyet another bureaucratic and ineffective city structure. So far, the signs arenot optimistic; we hope those signals prove false.%u201c Inter-group%u201d relations in New York City are the last thing to foolaround with in a half-baked fashion.Sound Off Feedback from ReadersSwan SongOn behalf of the North Heights Merchant i Association, thank you for a first ltc article on the North Heights in your ug st 10 issue. The pictures and text refle th struggle of the past few years and thi ptions presently available which may ndeed turn the ugly duckling into the beautiful swan.The North Heights is an idea whose time has come. The combination of history, waterfront, desire for community, culture and commercial potential promises remarkable prospects.That the North Heights has its problems would be foolish to deny. Exaggeration does no one good either. What should have been reported in your article is that some 20 businesses have come and gone over the last 3 or 4 years, not every year.Increased pedestrian traffic over the next few years will see a change in the quality of business offerings in our area. Indeed, the seeds of the future have already been sown by a number of businesses solidly run by dedicated persons who wish genuinely to serve their neighbors. We invite your readers to visit us and see for themselves.%u2014Donald E. Beckerman, President, North Heights Merchants AssociationPeddle PushersYour recent article on peddlers (PHOENIX, August 24) was fine as far as it went. But what does the president of A&S have to say about them, or the police, or industry groups? All should be interested because the way in which the peddlers operate adds not only to our taxes but to inflation. For one strongly suspects that much of the goods peddled have been hi-jacked. The public pays for highjacking and other crimes supportive of peddling. How many of the peddlers are actually working for the Mafia? The casual manner in which officials%u2014from Brooklyn's own City Counsel on down, and up and including the incumbent we not long ago elected to a sinecure spot at Boro Hall%u2014brush off the peddlers is axiomatic of the moral corruption of those running the city and its affairs.%u2014Eliot H. Sharp, Montague TerraceWatch Out!I would appreciate your printing this account of the latest stupidity dumped on their clients by the Postal Service.Watch Out, Park Slope!Postal District 11238 is way ahead of you on the downward spiral of deteriorating mail service. They reached an all time low on August 17th, when they %u201c delivered%u201d a stack of mail, including a monthly bank statement, through the gate and onto the lid of a convenient garbage can. (Saves all that time opening the gate and walking up the steps.) And all this at 10 minutes to 6, P.M. I have sent letters to the 11238 supervisors, Bklyn. Postmaster Stein, Pc^tmuoicr Genera! Helper and ^ rt,,occman Fred Richmond. Rumor has it that he planned an investigation of operations at 11238 last Spring.Since our move here in 1964, the regular mailmen have been alcoholic, the most recent illiterate and later and later, with only an occasional punctural, sober substitute.We need a revision of policies at the local Post Office, no on-the-job-alcoholicrehabilitation, and an intelligent response to community complaints from those in charge.%u2014Marge Gehm, Washington AvenueLet us hearfrom yo u .P o s t h a s t e !3 9 5 At l a n t a . BiayNoN-y. w zqPoverty WarThough we left Park Slope almost four years ago, my wife, Dawn, and I continue to subscribe to The PHOENIX. Your extensive Aug. 3 story by Peter Haley%u2014 frontpaged as %u201c From Waging War on Poverty to Fighting for Existence%u201d %u2014made me feel that we were back on the New York frontlines where I was HRA Multi-Service Systems Director for the Human Resources Administration in the early 1970%u2019s. Haley%u2019s mention of the Koch Administration%u2019s %u201cre-examination of the migration of the poor and the spread of poverty%u201d reminded me of projects I headed up for HRA and the City%u2019s Council Against Poverty just before we left.Your readers might find interest in the most recent (September, 1974) official mapping of poverty. I enclose copies of two of the three studies which I supervised on the subject and a copy of a third, based on my work but focusing primarily on Italian Americans and their relationship to the migration of poverty in New York City.After resigning my HRA post in December, 1974, I was unable to see through any follow-ups. But colleagues still there tell me that the enclosed materials remain the most up-to-date official analysis. (A Brooklyn Italian delegation marched down to HEW last month, protesting the omission of Italians from HEW coverage and arguing inclusion on the basis of my studies.)A comparison of the poverty boundaries delineated in 19^4 witVi current boundaries%u2014first delineated in the mid1960%u2019s%u2014shows substantial change for Borough Park, Canarsie, East Flatbush, etc., few of which have benefitted from the millions in funds mentioned in Haley%u2019s article as going to Brooklyn.%u2014Tino Calabia, Oliver St., Washington, D.C.Get SmartLast week the Democratic voters in the 57th Assembly District received the Albany report from the incumbent Assemblyman Harvey Strelzin. It is apparent that the intelligence of people in this community is grossly underestim ated. Some of the statements of the present Assemblyman%u2019s community involvement are either misleading or blatantly untrue. For instance, we know that the upgrading of Underwood Park was achieved mostly through the hard work and dedication of Joan Wenger and other community members. As a member of the Pratt Area Community Council, I would like to know when and for what did we receive a tax abatement.The food program for women, infants and children (the WIC program) is Federally funded with no State or local matching funds. It was inititated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, not Mr. Strelzin.The fact is that tjiere are numerous instances where community groups or organizations have identified issues or problems, initiated actions and spent many hours working toward solutions, with little assistance from our present Assemblyman. Therefore the credit and recognition should go to those for whom it rightfully belongs rather than be stolen by politicians who have had minimum input.The people of the 57th Assembly District deserve more respect from those who at present represent them. As the September Primary draws near, the Democratic voters, for once, have a choice. I urge them to seize this opportunity to end the politics of neglect and false acclaim. %u2014Velmanett Montgomery, 195 Willoughby Ave.More On PovertyI was greatly dismayed over Peter Haley%u2019s %u201c Community Anti-Poverty Corporations: The War On Poverty Is Proving A Messy Fight,%u201d (August 3). Obviously, Mr. Haley intended to write a definitive article on the subject yet his research stopped short of including an extremely successful program in the Fort Greene area. I am referring to Project Teen Aid. For your information, and especially for Mr. Haley%u2019s, here are the facts about a program which I, a fifteen-year resident of the Fort Greene area, take pride in being a part of.In 1965, a demonstration proposal was submitted to the Fort Greene Corporation sponsored by the Visiting Nurse Service of Brooklyn and Willoughby House Settlement. The proposal was to provide a program of comprehensive medical, social and educational services to pregnant adolescents.Funding began in July of 1965 from Community Action Program. The project was incorporated in 1972, loosing sponsors. It operates with a functioning Board of Directors, which sets policies.The program is a combination of two programs: Project Teen Aid, Inc., which provides the medical, social and community services and is a Community Action Program, and Teen Aid High School, P931K, which provides accredited educational services, including a full curriculum and corrective reading and math programs.Based on a sampling by the Brooklyn Junior League in 1973 of 800 participants in Project Teen Aid:1. 64 percent were in high school and planning to remain.2. 7 percent were in college.3. 2vpercent were employed.4. Of the 90 percent on public assistance, 30 percent still were.5. The rate of recidivism (second pregnancies) was 14 percent.The extreme importance of a program such as Project Teen Aid is amply evidenced by the national and legislative attention being given to the problem of teen-age pregnancies. Right now, H.E.W. is in the process of Senate hearings on the Hill Bill to establish nationwide centers for pregnant teenagers. Not only have such pregnancies reached epidemic proportion in the United States, the age range is younger than ever before. The problem, and our solution - Project Teen Aid - should be of concern to THE PHOENIX and Mr. Haley.In view of your purpose, to search out the facts and present them to your readership, I would sincerely suggest that you contact the Director of the Project, Mrs. Andrea Cicso, for more details on this very worthwhile delegate agency in the Fort Greene area. You may phone her at her home, 789-5036, after 4 p.m. for an appointment. Because of budget cuts, we have no phone services slated before September. %u2014Elizabeth Rauch, Secretary, . Board of DirectorsSee No EvilRecently we watched a newscast on Eyewitness News concerning street conditions on 52nd Street between 4th Avenue and 5th Avenue. As there were many inaccuracies in this newscast we would like to set the record straight. To begin with, those of us who live and work in this community know that 52nd Street is part of the Sunset Park community and not Bay Ridge as was reported.Secondly, the street does not suffer from an over-abundance of potholes. The street is in a state of almost total collapse due to the fact that many sewer, water and gas lines were changed within a relatively short period of time.The most disturbing fact about this story was that no attempt was made to describe what has been done about the problem. In a recent district service cabinet meeting w% attempted to determine which City Agency (W ater Resources or Highways) was responsible to make the necessary repairs. As the problem had to be resolved on a higher level, Councilman Thomas Cuite was helpful in facilitating similar conversations with the appropriate Commissioners. As a result, the Department of Highways assumed the responsibility ahd will soon reconstruct the entire street including the installation of a concrete base. In addition, approximately 15 trees will be planted. Therefore. %u201cDisaster Block #1%u201d is well on its way to becoming %u201c Cinderella Block #1.%u201d We hope this information has been useful and invite the community to call us at 854-0003 for assistance with service delivery problems.%u2014Andrew DIOrio, Chairman, Joseph G. Montalto, District Manager, Community BoardPage fi THF PHOFNIY August S3 1378