Page 8 - Demo

EditorialsAnti-Poverty Plan UnworkableEver since the Great Society campaign of President LyndonJohnson, the City of New York has tried to find a way to win the battleagainst poverty. But we%u2019ve not been able to chalk ud manv successes.Community Corporations, in the Sixties, were organized to give thepoor the power to make their own decisions on what services werenecessary in their communities and came with funding to help do thejob.In the Seventies more and more critics expressed misgivings of thesystem and said that no significant impact on poor communities wasevident. At the same time, commitment of federal administrationswaned and support for the war on poverty evaporated.Both federal and city officials have agreed that a change in the waythis \plan devised by them fails in more than one way. Ironically, what theyproposed to do makes Mayor Ed Koch and the federal CommunityServices Agency as guilty as their predecessors in coming up with anun-workable and unresponsive plan.With no discussion of how poor communities can or should beserved, the present structure gives the to-be-elected boards littlepower over the allocation of funds because administrators of theprograms will negotiate contracts with the city, in addition to the vetopower the city Community Development Agency has over anydecisions made by the local boards.The time frame of the plan also makes a viable and workablealternative impossible with temporary service contracts running outbefore the new boards are installed, leaving the poor just asbewildered, unconsulted and as powerless as before. The electionprocess has not been publicized and consequently few if any peopleunderstand its significance or know who, what, where and when theywill be held.It appears that everyone should go back to the drawing boards andthis time a plan should be put together that is a genuine attempt togive communities a hand in governing themselvesSound Off R e a d e rs T a lk B a ckAppreciatedWe appreciated the coverage you gave to our Historical Awareness in Neighborhoods Conference on June 22nd.The participation of your readers wasterrific.Your coverage will lead to the initiating of historical projects throughout the borough. %u2014Dona Lopez, Researcher / Writer, Brooklyn In Touch Information Center, Inc.B-51 BustAfter waiting over 2Vi years for the B-51 \1 for one am a bit dismayed. First, while it's nice the bus is running, how can they call it an %u201c Express\when its route is circuitous as hell? Second, why is Councilman Gerges unable to provide any information %u2014 save for a press release plumping his own efforts %u2014 on several key points?To wit %u2014 and I've repeatedly written, called his office and personally spoken withhim:c Why must the bus run only during rush-hours? (That decidedly doesn%u2019t serve the needs of the community?)0 Why must the route be so roundabout, it%u2019s a less than \c What is the running time to the last stop? (I%u2019ve repeatedly tried to find just this key point out %u2014 the Councilman says theMTA is unable to tell him.)%u00b0 Why must the bus terminate downtown? Many of us must get uptown!0 Why is it not possible for the Councilman to find out what transfer points (to other uptown buses) the new bus will cross? (I%u2019m sorry, but the vague reply I've been given, %uptown buses,%u201d won%u2019t do. Searching %u2019round the streets is not my idea of \%u00b0 While this is a trial run, how can the public be expected to patronize the %u201c mystery bus%u201d ride? If we%u2019ve no information on running times, transfer points, et al. why should we waste time?Finally, again no reply ever offered, though I%u2019ve asked continually %u2014 will this bus intersect with any uptown express bus? Or, with any \only stop on major cross streets? Here again, the Councilman and his aides have provided no help.If we%u2019re to be expected to forego our cars, and if public transportation and public officials seek to serve us, it%u2019d be better if they did some homework before they foist an \hope for the best! Let%u2019s have some facts, please! %u2014Elane Feldman, Clark StreetThe Bus StorySeveral of us tried to take the new bus that you wrote about, home on Monday night. We waited at (Manhattan) stops asshown in your story. No bus ever came! Finally, another bus driver told us the bus was \Will you please print the whole story. We are all quite peeved and we had to chip in and try to find a taxi-cab home. Which, at rush hour, was expensive and difficult.Please check into this and print why the express bus is not in service. %u2014J.R. Reeves, State StreetNo WalkwayWith all the rhetoric about our need to conserve oil, isn%u2019t it sad that the Manhattan Bridge Walkway is still closed?%u2014Harvey Karten, Jay StreetCredit Left OutYour article of June 7th on the Pierrepont House for the Elderly was very informative. However, in order to set the record straight I would*like to point out an inaccuracy, or perhaps, an error of omission. Several times you refer to %u201cthe community board%u201d . I%u2019m not sure which organization you are referring to as you use the lower case. In fact, the Brooklyn Heights Association was the community organization responsible for the start up of the project.At the instigation of the BHA a Hotel Task Force was set up. Member organizations included the Heights & Hill Community Council, the Orange St. Block Assoc., the BHA and other community groups. They provided a single voice on Hotel issues affecting not only the Pierrepont, but also other local hotels. The concept of using Section 8 Housing was researched by the BHA with the cooperation of various city agencies.Much of the credit is due to the BHA and especially to Sarah Brown, Ed Rullman and Denise Clayton for their extraordinary efforts on behalf of the elderly and their work with Congressman Richmond and Catholic Charities. %u2014Sally Crane, Schermerhorn St.Poor PerformanceI was happy to see Jeff Trachtman%u2019s %u201cOff the Record%u201d in the 6/21 issue regarding the Americans for Democratic Action City Council Ratings.As the only ADA Board Member from Brooklyn, I am deeply concerned over the very poor performance of the Brooklyn delegation in the Council. I note, however, the one exception, Robert Steingut who received an 88 and ranked in the top 10. I congratulate him on his outstanding record and especially for his leadership on the more progressive and liberal matters which have come before the Council.I also note the rating of 20 which Majority Leader Tom Cuite received%u2014it%u2019s time for a change%u2014Peter A. Drago, HenryStreet.Coping b y Ju dy LinscottWhy Susan B. Anthony%u2019s Profile Is On Our Dollar Rather Than Jackie Onassis.The world, apparently, is aflap over the Susan B. Anthony dollar. I say apparently because I didn%u2019t even know there was a Susan B. Anthony dollar until my editor called me and asked me what I thought.Nevertheless, I%u2019m not sure I think much. Lines of women circling the Women%u2019s Bank of New York to get a hold of first editions, or whatever they%u2019re called in the minting business. A hot media item, I hear. Been in the papers for weeks. Women mad because the thing is diminuitive (as in \weighty,%u201d as in, \majorette%u201d ). Cries of cheap shot on the part of the government, which saw this thing as a cheap way to put out a metal dollar that someone wouid actually use, thereby ensuring its success. Give it to the girls, they%u2019ll snap %u2019em up. Something like that.I dunno, I%u2019m just telling you what I managed to miss for myself. On the subject of coins I have, unfortunately, little to say. I don%u2019t know them well enough. Those 1952 Buffalo nickels or whatever they are never caught my fancy; they always seemed the sort of thing would-be civil aeronautics engineers were collecting. It takes all sorts, if you know w-hat 1 mean. \silver anymore, have never appealed either, except in threes, in little velvet money pouches, corded with gold. Just a quirk, actually, and 1 never hankered to carry them around with me.Which is one reason I don%u2019t understand the objections over the Susan B. Anthony dollar, which hefts more like a quarter.Would women prefer to carry Susan B. Anthony-not to mention wealth-as a burden? I sympathize with objections on the basis of size and confusion with the quarter, but on the other hand think of theSusan B. Anthonys wiil bring new life to the vending m achine business as hapless folk try to force a dollar through the quarter slot.advantages: When a mugger approaches you can shrug, show him a handful of Susan B. Anthonys and say ruefully: %u201c Sorry, just change.%u201d If he rddely persists, you can then say, \Just kidding. Have $10.%u201dLet us not assume that the world will consequently hold the dollar in less esteem, but will in fact elevate the berated quarter to new heights ofadmiration. We may, in fact, see an era wherein parents can dupe their kids into once again accepting 25 cents from the tooth fairy without throwing self-indulgent tantrums at 6 a.m. Think of the possibilities in the realm of magic tricks for children, should those petty tyrants slip and throw tantrums anyway. Shut up, kid, and watch mommy turn this crummy quarter into a dollar on the spot.Think of the possibilities for money thrown into the cookie jar. When the proverbial till gets low and you%u2019re reduced to scrabbling under the couch for quarters, now there%u2019s always a chance that you may unearth dollars instead. Susan B. Anthonys will presumably bring new life to the vending machine business, as hapless folk in search of a Pepsi try to force a dollar through the quarter slot. Infinite possibilities for heated arguments, not to mention fist fights, at the checkout counter as well. Nevermind the havoc these little items could wreak in the exact change lane on the New Jersey Turnpike.There seems to be some feeling on the part of women that for the government to save itself some money minting coin-dollars and to put a woman on it to ensure its acceptance is a simple matter of exploitation. I think that feeling is probably right, but look at it this way: if the government is getting smart enough to exploit a burgeoning women%u2019s consciousness to its own ends in the mint, men maybe it%u2019s gening smart enough to do it elsewhere. Not likely, but you never know. They may start throwing women Energy Commissionersand inflation fighters in there, hoping to keep over half the populace quiet. So shut up and let %u2019em. They might just be that dumb.The real grounds for objection to this coin, it seems to me, lie elsewhere. It proudly lays claim to being the first dollar coin to depict a \as opposed to the likes of the Statue of Liberty. What, I should like to inquire, is \Anthony, unfortunately, passed away some time ago. Nobody seems to have bothered to ask her if she wanted to be depicted on a U.S. dollar coin before she went. Ms. Anthony, as it happens, had some very strong feelings on the touchy subject of women and money, and it%u2019s perfefctly valid to assume that she would just as soon keep her nose out of the minting business as not. It might have been more logical to put someone on there whose financial ties are a little more self-evident, like Jackie Onasis. You can bet they%u2019d snap that one up. Her profile would be simple enough to execute%u2014just lift it off all those souvenir plates.On the other hand, in these lean days there%u2019s something to be said for the fact that a dollar is a dollar is a dollar-or less. As long as we can%u2019t do anything with them, they might as well entertain us, and you can bet there will be a lot of people out there for a very long time saying \wno.' Encyclopedia saies snouiu boom as a result and before you know it, the economy will be off and running. Women, as usual, will have saved the day.Page 8. The PHOENIX. July 12,1979