Page 131 - Demo

Boston Activist Here to Talk About Dealing With Real Estate DevelopmentBY LIZ KOCHBrooklyn has a lot to learn from Boston, according to former Boston mayoral candidateMel King. King, who is currently runningagainst Joe Kennedy for the congressionalseat soon to be vacated by House Speaker TipO%u2019Neill, spoke last Saturday at a conference,%u201cHousing and Economic Development inDowntown Brooklyn and the SurroundingNeighborhoods.%u201d Brooklyn had a lot to learnnot from Boston%u2019s example, but Boston%u2019smistakes, King stressed.%u201cTo the extent that we react to a proposalthat comes from outside, we have alreadylost,%u201d King told the 100 people gathered in theauditorium at Sarah J. High School.In some ways King%u2019s message was grim forthe activists who hope to influence what isunderway downtown. He said the time waspast for effective opposition to developmentplans already underway and communityorganizers should turn their eyes to thefuture, to yet undeveloped sites and stay onestep ahead of the City planners. He stressedat the conference, sponsored by groups seeking to change the current plans for DowntownBrooklyn development, that organizers mustpinpoint potential areas of development anddevise a plan based on community needs andBoston activist Mel King told a group of Brooklyn the time to start to influence plans is before they are announced. (Phoenix/Koch Photo)r i g h t s K o f n r o a r lo u o ln n n r %u00a31*1*1 YCd W ith hif,own blueprint in hand.%u201cTo the extent that there is no plan for thecommunity is the extent that you will getpicked off in isolation,%u201d he warned. Stayingone step ahead of the developers necessitatedmaking such a plan he added, and tightorganization was the only way to ensure community input into future plans.%u201cThey are not going to let you stop themfrom making money,%u201d said King simply.%u201cBut there is opportunity. If there are abandoned buildings then they are an opportunity.If there are people in need, they are an opportunity,%u201d he stressed. %u201cWhat are the strengthsof the people in these communities?%u201d he asked. %u201cSelf definition leads to selfdetermination. The failure to act is the lackof belief that you deserve certain rights,%u201d hesaid.Taking a closer look at the Atlantic Terminal Plan, King pointed out that communityinput was lacking and compared the CopleyPlaza project in Boston where communityneeds were largely ignored. %u201cUnless you canshow in measurable terms that the development is beneficial to the community, then it isbetter to have nothing on the land than landwith nothing,%u201d he said, adding: %u201cDisplacempnf of fHo nonnln ic %u00bb* -----%u2014 V. %u00bbw *%u00bbWV MV V V/iV/pillCUt.%u201cWill the office building improve the quality of life of the people in the neighborhood?%u201dhe asked. %u201cYou are correct when you say youdon%u2019t need 10 movie theaters. Who needs jobsthat no one in this room would want? That%u2019show they keep people in the slavery kind ofpositions and relationships,%u201d he said.King advised those present to look at thegreater possibilities for low-income housing.%u201cTake a look at what is possible to developthrough programs with Germany and Japanwhere there is new technology for housing.Look at factory built housing,%u201d he advised.He also suggested that they seek legalrecourse for putting through their goals.%u201cFifty percent of the people doing the construction work have to get local workers,%u201d hesaid. %u201cGet a lawyer. Work toward an evictionfree zone,%u201d he stressed.King concluded saying: %u201cIf you win thestruggle for the mind you win the struggle forthe land. This is a struggle for the land.%u201dThe all-day conference also offeredworkshops on financing low-income housing,maintaining small businesses, communityjob development and affirmative action,questions that have arisen in response to theplanned downtown Brooklyn developments.A Workshop on YouthState Senator Velmanette Montgomery willpresent a public workshop on youth servicesThursday, June 19, from 6-8:30pm at theLafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church inFort Greene. Four State agency officialscharged with youth programs will participate in a panel discussion about currentavailable services, focusing on teenagepregnancy prevention, job opportunities,foster care and mental health care forchildren.The panel will consist of Leonard Dunston,director of the State Division for Youth;Sarah Curry Cobb, deputy to the commissioner of the Office of Mental Health; CarolWashington, director of grants managementat the Department of Labor; and AlexandriaDouglas, associate director at the Department of Social Services%u2019 Bureau of ProgramDevelopment.%u201cThe workshop will give everyone practical information on how to design the idealprogram, how to set priorities, how to perform needs assessments, and how to makeideas come true,%u201d says Sen. Montgomery.Rainbow Meeting SetAn organizational meeting of the 11th Congressional District Rainbow Coalition is setfor Monday, June 16 at House of the LordChurch, 415 Atlantic Avenue and the public isinvited to attend says Dorothy Jackson andKatie Davis, co-chairs of the North Brooklyndistrict%u2019s steering committee.The coalition grew out of Jesse Jackson%u2019scampaign for the Democratic nomination forthe presidency and the organizers will reporton the National Rainbow Coalition FoundingConvention, the continuing organization thatthe campaign started. Speakers on June 16include Rep. Ed Towns and Rev. HerbertDaughtry. For information, call 443-0300.Want Finance ReformThe Brooklyn Citizens Committee for Campaign Finance Reform is preparing to holdneighborhood meetings in hopes of mobilizing a local movement demanding politicalreform. The group, organized by formerPark Slope Assemblyman Joe Ferris, hasbeen meeting to adopt a declaration admonishing the current political process andits %u201cdomination by party machines.%u201d%u201cWe won%u2019t be having elections any longerbecause they are being run by the candidateswho are bankrolled,\will eventually not be able to run becausethey won%u2019t have the big bucks.%u201d Following therecent indictment of Stanley Friedman, theD m o w rV A m A M w n f%u00ab /t T %u00ab%u00bb%u2022 a m%u2014 4b MftllJ UVUUVt|| VII V.1HU g wof bribery and corruption, Ferris says %u201cthetime is right for real reform of the electionlaws.%u201dThe committee would like to see a $1000 capplaced on individual campaign contributions; the elimination of contributions fromcorporations, unions, and special interestgroups; legislation to insure that no personmay hold public office and be an elected party official at the same time; and the financing of campaigns for public office throughcheck-offs and tax credits on State incometax forms. For information call 965-9635.A Report on JudgesThe first report of the Independent JudicialScreening Committee of the reform KingsCounty Democratic Coalition was releasedJune 2, and provides reports and evaluationsof three sitting judges of the Civil Court andone person who might place his name beforethe voters. The judges who appeared beforethe panel were: Bernard Fuchs, Judge of theCivil Court; Barry Hurowitz, Acting Justiceof the Supreme Court; and Wendell P.Levister, Judge of the Civil Court in NewYork County.,The committee is sponsored every yearsince 1976 by the Coalition. KCDC ChairmanEric Wollman says the committee is widelyrespected and valued because because it includes a numerical preponderance ofBY LIZ KOCHWith the most recent city-wide schoolboard election barely over, the whole processof how the school board members are electedand questions of whether the system needs tobe reformed are being scrutinized by theNew York State legislature.With upcoming public hearings on community school board election reform, theBrooklyn Heights-Fort Greene-BedfordStuyvesant School Board 13 Legal andlegislative Committee met May 29 to hashout the issue and seek to reach a consensus onthe proposed changes including a new systemfor electing the board members and regulation of conflicts of interest. They also explored the causes of low voter participation incommunity school board elections. Only 2594people voted in the 1986 balloting, down fromover 10,000 who participated in the last votethree years ago.The committee, chaired by board memberEmma Lee Billings, concluded afterdeliberation that some changes were neededbut that the basic proportional voting system,whereby voters can choose up to nine candidates, ranking them in order of preference,should continue to be the method by whichmembers were elected.In preference of this system, nine peoplepresent rejected the alternative of a pluralityvote and subdividing, a method that wouldmembers who are not just affiliated with thereform-oriented clubs, assuring its independence from the reform Democraticgroup. To get a copy of the report, callWollman at (212) 732-0467.Women%u2019s Caucus PicksThe Brooklyn Women%u2019s Political Caucus(BWPC) met Thursday, June 5, and endorsedsix female candidates and 10 male candidatesrunning for office in the September primaryand November general elections. The femalecandidates who received endorsements areeligible for contributions from the caucus%u2019political action committee.The criteria for endorsement included support for publicly funded child care, abortion,gay rights and the Equal Rights Amendment.All the endorsed candidates are Democrats.The caucus voted to endorse four female incumbents including State Sen. VelmanetteMontgomery (22nd District), and RhodaJacobs (42nd District). Two femalechallengers were also endorsed includingBeatrice Jones, who is challenging WilliamBoyland (55th District) in the primary, andYvonne Lewis, who is running for BrooklynCivil Court Judge.The ten male incumbents receiving thedivide the district into nine smaller areaswhere voters in each district would elect oneboard member. They also agreed that aswitch to polling machines would have to accommodate proportional voting.In addition, the committee concluded that:terms of members should be extended to fouryears from the current three; terms shouldnot be staggered; and current regulationsconcerning attendance of board members atmeetings need to be strengthened andclarified. Vacancies which are now filled byremaining members of the board, they feltshould be filled under an amended procedure: giving the board 60 or 90 days to fillthe vacancies, and if no choice is made fill theboard spot with remaining candidates fromthe election, called in order of rank. Barringthat, a replacement would be appointed by ayet undetermined person.All present agreed that the elections required more publicity in order to increasevoter turn-out and in the area of conflict of interest said that a period of three years shouldpass before a former school board membercan be employed by the community board ofwhich he or she was a member.The next public hearing on the reform issuewill be held on June 5 .10:00am at the Boardof Estimate Chamber at City Hall in Manhattan. For more information concerning theissue call Community School Board 13,789-0239.District 13 Panel Looks at Issues GrowingOut o f Recent School Board Election VotingBWPC%u2019s endorsement included: U.S.Representatives Major Owens (12thDistrict), Edolphus %u201cEd%u201d Towns (11th), andStephen Solarz (13th); State SenatorsHoward Babbush (17th) and Donald Halperin(18th); and State Assemblymen James Brennan (51st), Albert Vann (56th), ThomasCatapano (54th) and Daniel Feldman (45th).The caucus also voted to endorse JosephMontalto, who is challenging State. Sen.Christopher Mega (R-23rd) In the generalelection. No endorsement was made in therace between State Sen. Martin Markowitz(21st District) who is being challenged in theDemocratic primary by Maurice Gumbs.On May 30, the BWPC held a fundraiser atthe Williamsburg Savings Bank Building andraised $3000. The caucus%u2019 by-laws only consider contributions to female candidates.Solarz Wants LabelingWest Brooklyn Congressman Stephen J.Solarz will introduce new Federal legislationwhich would mandate ingredient labeling ofproducts at fast food restaurants. He described the details of his bill, which would affect more than 40 million Americans, at apress conference on June 3 on the steps of City Hall.%u201cBecause fast foods are filled with ingredients that are potentially harmful to a largesegment of the population that is eitherallergic to certain elements in the foods, orcannot eat them for other health or dietaryrestrictions, it is imperative that we knowwhat is in these foods. Our economic systemis based on the ideal of consumers making informed choices among competing products.Where fast meals are concerned, we are veryfar from that ideal,%u201d Solarz said.Look at Arts CostsHeights Councilman Abe Gerges has concerned himself with the plight of the struggling theatre group in a new resolution to be introduced at the next meeting of the full CityCouncil. The resolution calls for a hearing onthe availability and cost of rehearsal spacefor theatre groups.%u201cIt has come to my attention, throughnumerous conversations with people involved in the theatre world, that rentingrehearsal space is almost as expensive anddifficult as finding a theatre to perform in,%u201dGerges says.According to the resolution, the availabilityof practice space is decreasing throughoutthe city, and the cost of the space is increasing so as to become prohibitive. %u201cA hearingon this important issue will help to clarify thenroblem so the Citv Council can c o m e tin withconcrete solutions,%u201d Gerges adds. %u201cWe cannot let the theater industry in New York Cityfall by the wayside.%u201dJune 12,1986 , TH E PH O E N IX , Page 47