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Memorial For KidsContinued from Pane Ithe arraignment the two left the courtoom, Susana in tears, accompanied by Jackson and their familv. Suzanne Trazoff. a spokeswoman for the Human Resources Administration, said she did not know if the request for aid would be granted.Linda Sachs, speaking for District Attorney Elizabeth Holtzman, said the maximum penalty for the charge that the parents %u201cknowingly acted in a manner like to be physically, mentally or morally injurious to a child,'%u2019 was a Class A misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of up to one year in prison. The D.A.%u2019s office, she said, was also beginning an investigation into all areas related to the cause of the death. %u201cWe are deeply concerned with the plight of the homeless and we will be looking into the criminal liability of others involved,%u201d she said, adding that the hotel owner would be one of the persons investigated, as well as the charge that no fire system existed in the hotel.STILL INVESTIGATINGFire officials are still investigating the fire that broke out at 5:20pm in the second floor room where the children had been left unattended. The parents, who returned later that evening, told police that they had been out collecting bottles and cans. Two of the children were pronounced dead at the scene, and the other two died after hospitalization. Fire officials say the fire may have been started by the children playing with matches.An attack of the welfare hotel system, however, dominated the memorial held at the Brooklyn Arms Hotel just before the scheduled arraignment. Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins, Jackson and Reverend Herbert Daughtry from The House of the Lord Pentecostal Church on Atlantic Avenue called on the Mayor, the Governor and the Federal Government to provide better conditions for the homeless. They called for the closing of the welfare hotels and for permanent housing for low and moderateincome families.%u201cWe must take the profit out of the slum,%u201d Jackson rallied. %u201cPeople are paying $2,000-$3,000 a month to live in one room with no kitchen. These are not bad people, these are bad conditions,%u201d he declared in defense of the parents. %u201cThey are made to feel they are the criminals because their children are dead.%u201dJackson called on the government to take City owned buildings and let them be conThe boarded up window of the burned second floor apartm ent reminded mourners whostood in the rain to hear Jesse Jackson speak of the tragedy that occurred. Below, SusanAlvarez leaves the court where she and her husband were released after arraignment.(Phoenix/Koch and Garrity Photos)verted into housing, renovated by the tenants who would live there. %u201c Let these people in the welfare hotels be brick masons and painters. Build them a skill and let them build where they live. There is a way out,%u201d he said and called for money used for their rooms %u201cin slum, exploitative hotel buildings,%u201d to be used for job training.The crowd of 200 who gathered in the rain to hear the speakers enthusiastically cheered Jackson%u2019s proposals and loudly echoed his well-known rallying cries. %u201cI am somebody,%u201d he called out to the crowd, who resoundingly answered him back. %u201cI want a job. I want an education. I want health care. I want a home,%u201d he declared.Pointing to the recently passed Liberty weekend festivities, he called the celebration incomplete. %u201cWe had Miss Liberty,%u201d he said, %u201cbut we did not have Mr. Justice.%u201dDON%u2019T GIVE UP%u201cWhen liberty and justice come together, then the children, the huddled masses could come home,%u201d he said. %u201cDon%u2019t give up. Don%u2019t let it break your spirit. Don%u2019t become frustrated and turn on each other. Don%u2019t you give up,%u201d he urged. %u201cI know your back is against the wall, but remember, Jesus was born in a slum, but the slum was not born in him.%u201dJackson also called on the leaders in government to take on the challenge of housing. %u201cYou measure leadership by how you treat the least of these. You measure leadership by how you treat the children, not by champagne parties,%u201d he said. As the audience clustered under the awning of the hotel, and umbrellas shielded others from the rain, Jackson asked that everyone join hands in memory of the four children.%u201cGive us strength to hold out. Today our hearts are heavy, because this is a crucifixion. But we will roll a stone away and there will be a resurrection with new life, new hope and new possibilities,%u201d he said.Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins, who spoke prior to Jackson, called for the closing of the welfare hotels. %u201cOur overriding goal is to shut these hotels down,%u201d he said, and criticized the degradation of the welfare hotels. %u201cThese defenseless children suffered far more pain and suffering than any of us can imagine. The ultimate degradation came when they were trapped in a one room apartment as the fire blazed around them,%u201d he said.Brooklyn Reverend Daughtry angrily responded to the charges brought against the parents. %u201cThese parents who lost their four children are being charged with criminal behavior. But who is blameable? Who is making the money here?%u201d he asked. %u201cWith these four children burned, this must end, not next week, but now,%u201d he urged.Immediately to the right of the speakers, the burned second floor window was a reminder of the tragedy and in windows to either side, small children with their parents gazed out on to the street and speakers below.Local Green Team Makes Clean Sweep in Prospect ParkBY LIZ KOCH It may sound like a comic book cast but over the next few weeks Grand Army Plaza will be getting a face lift as the Green Team, a group of 25 Brooklyn teenagers, attacks the weeds and litter there as part of a summer job program funded by the Mobil Foundation.The teens, who began work at Grand Army Plaza on June 30 and were officially welcomed by Tupper Thomas, Prospect Park Administrator on July 10, are being paid minimum wage in this summer job program that involves horticulture, clean-up and environmental projects in the parks in New York City. The Green Teams, which are modeled after the New York City %u201cClean Teams,%u201d a subway cleaning program, are being funded by a $550,000 check from Mobil.%u201cThis is a terrific thing for Mobil to do,%u201d Thomas told the teens that day. %u201cWe all benefit from this. You benefit and we benefit because it is the kind of job that couldn%u2019t be done otherwise,%u201d she told the youths who were armed with brooms, hoes and garbage bags.Myrna Santiago, director of the Clean Team/Green Team program from the Department of Employment, points out that the program provides jobs where they were most needed. %u201cWe are doing a tremendous outreach to teenagers from homeless shelters. A large percentage are from the shelters,%u201d she says, adding that the program also provided counseling and education in obtaining a job.PROGRESS IS OBVIOUS The progress is already obvious. In the short time the group has been working in the area they%u2019ve edged the persistent ivy that tends to creep out of its patches and on to the Ragstones. The weeds growing m the cracks between the stones have been rooted out, and a broom and shovel duet removed much of the litter that collected around the fountain. Thomas, obviously pleased with their work,Som e of the participants of the Mobil Green Team program after a ceremony welcomingthem to Grand Army Plaza. (Phoenix/Koch Photo)invited the young workers to take a ride on the park%u2019s paddle boats for a celebratory finish to their summer%u2019s work.For most of the teenagers employed in the program, the Green Team is their first real job. The group works Mondays through Thursdays at Grand Army Plaza and once their work there is completed they will move into Prospect Park where they will clean and paint benches.Kevin Cleveland, 16, looks at his summer job in very practical terms. %u201cIt%u2019s pretty good,%u201d he says leaning on his broom. %u201cIt could be better if we had better pay, but I like working outdoors.%u201d Fifteen year old Sharas Fields, from Midwood Street adds, %u201cThe job is very hard but very worthwhile. It%u2019s very educational and you can learn about the environment.%u201dThe 25 students at work in Grand ArmyPlaza are under the guidance of two supervisors trained by the Parks Council to offer a special work environment for young adults in their first job. %u201cWe hope that by the end of the summer they will enjoy a good work habit and recognize the importance of keeping the parks clean,%u201d says Curtis Samuel, a Parks Council technical advisor for Prospect Park who periodically surveys the work. %u201cIt%u2019s not only weeding and sweeping, but learning how to take care of plants and shrubs,%u201d he explains. The Park Council donates the tools for the work.IN THIS TOGETHER%u201cTo help motivate the teenagers we work together with them and then they are on their own, but they see that we%u2019re not afraid to pull the weeds ourselves and that we%u2019re in this together for everyone to learn,%u201d he explains.Considering the group works together on a regular basis, the job also provides a social atmosphere that many of them appreciate. Digging out weeds as a team, beats digging out weekd alone. %u201c You make a lot of friends here,%u201d says Gloria Gonzalez from Ashland Place. Kikki Banks, from the same address, agrees with her assessment. %u201cWe re all getting along. That%u2019s fun and it makes working here fun,%u201d she says.Mobil%u2019s summer jobs program is running in four cities, New York, Dallas, Chicago and Trenton and in New York alone is providing jobs for 630 teenagers and 70-college-student supervisors. As a special feature of the New York City program, 125 (Jean Team and Green Team members who need reading, writing and math help will spend roughly one-quarter of their work time receiving computer assisted instruction. The program, called the Mobil Academy is carried out at two sites: Medger Evers College in Brooklyn and Fordham University in Manhattan.July 17,1986, THE PHOENIX, Page 3

