Page 71 - Demo

R l a r k I In it o H F r n n t m m m , m m m ^pr a m g i g %u25a0 %u25a0 V l i b n om n n c tra tn rc Rally M r W g %u25a0 %u25a0 V * * W *%u00bb* M i b V I W %u25a0 n vvm m m j H i i Anri M a rch m ^apa %u25a0 w %u00ab w%u00ab* %u2014 - -To Celebrate First AnniversaryBY IRENE VAN SLYKE%u201c All fired up . . . can%u2019t take no more,%u201d all along Atlantic Avenue, Sunday, June 29, more than 1000 people celebrated the first anniversary of the Black United Front (BUF). They marched in a pouring rain from the House of the Lord Church on Atlantic Avenue and Bond Street past Grand Army Plaza, the Brooklyn Museum to a rally at Kingston Avenue and Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights.Behind a 20 Foot banner proclaiming the Front%u2019s anniversary marched Rev. Herbert Daughtry, leader of the United Front, his wife and Crown Heights Assemblyman A1 Vann. Then came a Queens BUF branch, a Harlem contingent and other organizations and a small section reserved for the Black United Front%u2019s %u201c Support Committee%u201d%u2014representativesof the %u201cwhite communities of this city%u201d %u2014as one of their flyers said, all marching flanked by white and some black policemen and policecars with lights flashing on top.The Black United Front in its first year has made the news more than once, starting when the Reverend Daughtry marched on Fulton Street to focus the public%u2019s attention on the killing of black teenager Randolph Evans by white policeman, Robert Torsney.Later the BUF demonstrated- in Crown Heights where a civic leader, Arthur Miller, was killed in a scuffle with several policemen.Rev.Daughtryreturnedto Fulton Street to demonstrate for more jobs for blacks singling out the Abraham & Straus store with weekly pickets. Though recently Daughtry had kind words for the store%u2019s managers and expressed satisfaction with its performance in helping to establish a Randy Evans Memorial Scholarship Fund and in co-sponsoring a Memorial Scholarship Dinner.Daughtry has demonstrated against the reelection of 14th Congressional District Congressman Fred Richmond, against the %u201clack of responsiveness%u201d by President Carter on human rights and he even taped ten demands on the door of City Hall last fall. But with these demonstrations the Reverendhas not seen much changed, the demands, nine months later are still the same.Then as now Daughtry accused the present city administration of %u201c genocidal policies%u2019 %u2019 such as Mayor Ed Koch%u2019s proposals to close municipal Hospitals, accuses it of trying to drive out the poor of New York City by cutting services and calls for an end of \terrorist attacks upon blacks and people of color%u201d in the city listing dates and names of blacks beaten up or killed by whites or policemen.At a meeting of the BUF Support Committee three days before the march, Rev. Daughtry explained that these were the reasons why the United Front was formed and talked about the future. The Support Committee was formed four months ago and since that time has held meetings in Park Slope before this meeting at the Nevins Senior Center in Boerum Hill.There, Daughtry explained to a crowd of some 50 white people most of whom live in the area around the Atlantic Avenue Church that the present energy crises would exacerbate %u201c genocidal policies%u201d because suburban whites would want to move back to the city and that %u201c more frustration and more conflict%u201d would be ahead, and he continued, %u201cwhen the going get%u2019s thick friends thin out.%u201d He asked, %u201c How many people will stand up and say %u2018Yes I%u2019ll die?%u201d %u2019, adding that he did not expect many John Browns, but instead would take %u201cwhatever support comes to us.%u201dAt the end of a question and answer period it seemed as if the Support Committee and the BUF could have a rocky road ahead. At one point when Daughtry commented on the Womens Movement by saying that %u201c When Mr. Charlie leaves Miss Ann will take over,%u201d meaning that white women were not any better than white men, his remarks were greeted with loud boos and protests by the audience. After some discussion the Reverend amended his statement by saying that he opposed all kinds of oppression including the oppression of women.Concord Village Co-op Plan Pending ApprovalA decision by the Attorney General whether to accept the Landlord%u2019s prospectus to convert Concord Village into a co-operative complex can be expected %u201cbefore the end of the summer%u201d according to Nathal Riley of the Press Office for the Attorney General.Riley %u201c doubted%u201d whether the decision was delayed because of the passage of a new law which prohibits senior citizens from being evicted from a building when being converted into a co-op. The issue has been a source of contention between the Concord Negotiating Committee, who wanted to protect the elderly from eviction, and the Concord Village Tenants Association, who wanted a non-eviction agreement for all tenants.iviuic iline id iiecuCu to %u2018carefully evaluate the prospectus%u201d Riley stated, in order to determine the'%u201c fullest and fairest%u201d arrangement. In addition, he cited the complexity of dealing with three separate attorneys representing the landlord, the Concord VillageThe Black United Front%u2019s banner proclaims its first anniversary in a July 29 march along Atlantic Avenue (above). Reverend Herbert Daughtry, leader of the Black United Front (wearing a large straw hat) and his wife (beside him) march on despite the rain. (Van Slyke photos)Board Nine Fails To Achieve Third Quorum This YearTenants Association (CVTA) and the Co-op Negotiating Committee (CNC).In order for the seven building complex of 1,027 apartments to be converted into a co-operative, 35% of the tenant body must decide to purchase their apartments. The new law requires senior citizens meeting the necessary requirements (being over 62 years of age, residents for at least two years and earning less than $30,000) to apply to the Attorney General for an exemption within 90 days of the time they receive the prospectus.%u201cThe law throws a new equation into all formulas%u201d , said John Quint, Treasurer of the CNC. Senior Citizens who decide to opt out of ownership will alter the basennmKor unon urliioh flio J ccalculated, thus lowering the number needed to agree to purchase while at the same time reducing the number of apartments available to be sold by the landlord. Further, it is not known how many apartments at the Jay Street complex are vacant at this time. %u2014EABY LIBBY HAYMANCommunity Board Nine in Crown Heights was unable to conduct official business at its monthly meeting on July 24 because, for the third time this year, there was no quorum. Only 14 board members showed up, and in the %u201c public session%u201d , many community residents who attended stated their concerns; the Board%u2019s performance continued to be the main issue.The chief complaint was that neighborhood residents had not been informed about the upcoming Area Policy Board elections, in which Community District Nine will be electing 17 members of the new 33 member Board responsible for allocating federal anti-poverty money in the area. The election date for district Nine, one of 11 %u201c Primary Neighborhood Development Areas%u201d in Brooklyn to hold the elections, will be September 27. The petition deadline, by which each potential candidate must have 50 signatures of neighborhood residents, is August 10. A number of people at the Board meetingwere fliA n c o /> o rr fU -the first time on July 24th. Some accused the Community Board administration of not announcing the elections at the June Board meeting, since it was discovered that the District Manager, Stanley Goldberg, and the Board Chairperson Ed Hightower had known about the elections %u201c sometime late in May or in early June.%u201dHightower said that it had not been %u201cthe Board%u2019s responsibility%u201d to get the word out. Later in the meeting, representatives of the NYC Community Development Agency, administering the new elections, explained the process to the Board and admitted that publicity -had been poor. One Agency representative, Pedro Espala, of the CDA%u2019s Division of Public Participation, said that %u201cour budget for publicity is small.%u201dOther public statements involved criticisms of the District Manager who was elected by the Board in April, with several residents charging that their concerns had not been attended to, though another speaker rejoined that Goldberg had been %u201chelpful%u201d to her block association. Hightower told the meeting that %u201c there are problems with staff and they will be resolved,%u201d promising a %u201cfull, fair report%u201d on the staff performance for the next meeting, in August.W ith rr\\n r/* t h a n h a l f f h a R n o f/jabsent, including nearly all of the Hasidic Jewish members of the Board, one community resident, Dulcena Boyce, read a letter which her Block Association, the 300 block of Midwood Street in Crown Heights, had addressed to Councilman Ted Silverman, charging that %u201chis appointees%u201d to the Board were missing meetings in order to prevent the Board from getting any work done, so that in time, Silverman could charge that the Board was not able to perform under Hightower%u2019s chairmanship and seek his removal and replacement with Silverman%u2019s %u201c own%u201d candidate.Council Opts For BikesThe Park Slope Civic Council has turned its attention to bicycles as a partial cure for congestion and the gas shortage, as well as a healthy proposition for all. At its last meeting, July 5, the Council decided that it would seek to have bike racks installed at strategic locations throughout the Slope to encourage residents to take to local streets.The Council also set up afV im m ittp p tn ro s p a rrh th e f e a s ibility of creating a traffic-free bike lane to run from Park Slope out to the Brooklyn Bridge. This would encourage people who work in lower Manhattan to ride there directly instead of driving or taking crowded trains.Aug. 2, 1979, The PHOENIX, Page 3