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Boro MarchesTo Bridge U.S.-H a na. 1 A V M AContinued from Page Iin tow, a few carrying their own placards.%u201cThrough your work you can help us,%u201dKlaudia Rivera, a Nicaraguan who teachesliteracy at an adult education program inQueens said to the marchers. %u201cWe know youcare and we make the difference between thegovernment of the United States and the people.%u201dOne elderly man, nodding his head to thedrum beats, said in response to the passingstream of people: %u201cI don%u2019t want war either.That%u2019s what they%u2019re saying.%u201d Petitioners collected signatures for the Sister City project %u2014thus far they have gathered over 2,500 %u2014 toprepare for their meeting with the membersof Community Board Six in September.Although the sister city could be establishedwithout the approval of the board, organizerswant to gain its support as part of an effort toinclude a large portion of the CommunityDistrict Six coverage area in the plan.As marches tend to do, and with a sunnysky overhead, pedestrians intermittentlyjoined in as the group proceeded throughPark Slope, and when some dropped outothers picked up where they left off, until thegroup arrived at its final destination in Prospect Park, approximately 200 strong withrefreshments, entertainment and speecheson the agenda.On a sunny slope near the Prospect ParkPicnic House, with a baseball game in actionin the background, the marchers laid downthe tank, set up a table to gather more petition signatures and wearily dropped to take arest on the grass. But most smilednonetheless, for the day was a success and achorus group, Four Parts of the Movement,raised the song appropriate for the occasion.One of the speakers this day, a formerBrooklyn Heights resident with a backgroundin political science, Sarah Stookey, has sincemoved to Nicaragua where she works for thegovernment%u2019s agrarian ministry. She says ofher work, %u201cIt is a good example of how it is inNicaragua. A lot of people are doing thingsthey never thought they would be doing.%u201d Shedoes not plan to move back to the UnitedStates in the %u201cforeseeable future,%u201d she says,but sees an important role for the Americancitizens in international relations and on thisoccasion Brooklyn citizens in particular.This project is the most powerful way forpeople in the United States to make a statement of human oriented foreign policy,%u201d sheadded. %u201cI don%u2019t see this as the generous people of Brooklyn doing something to help littleNicaragua because they will get 150 percentin return. There is a lot to learn from eachother,%u201d Stookey explained.The sister city project, she said, is differentthan writing a check or sending a letter. %u201cIt%u2019svery empowering for the people involved. It%u2019sa very practical and immediate way to makea statement,%u201d she told the crowd, pointing tothe exchanges that can take place withchildren sending drawings back and forth,and musicians and unions sending supplies.%u201cThey can do whatever they feel they can tomost identify with the people there,%u201d she added.The group has already targeted an area inNicaragua to link its Brooklyn area with andon June 20, organizers received a letter fromthe government%u2019s Office of Municipal andRegional Affairs in Managua approving andendorsing the plan. The region, not far fromthe Honduran border, is a series of resettlement communities in San Juan Rio Coco.Nicole Fauteux, one of the organizers of theJuly 19 event, pointed out that the choice isappropriate. %u201cThese are new towns wherepeople are moving to because they%u2019ve beendisplaced by the contra war,%u201d she said. %u201cWecan aid them with whatever new towns need,with water, agricultural supplies and schoolsupplies,%u201d she explained, adding: %u201cIt%u2019s moredifficult than an existing city.%u201dFauteux drew a parallel between Brooklynand Nicaragua%u2019s city. %u201cThe people here arevictims of crime and terrorism in their ownneighborhood. The Sandanista governmenthas a very good record in terms of programs,of health and literacy,%u201d she explained. %u201cItcan serve as a model that shows the people ofBrooklyn another approach to the relationship between a government and its people.%u201dOther speakers and performers on July 19included Rev. A. Finley Schaef, whose ParkSlope Methodist Church has alreadyestablished a sister relationship with achurch in Nicaragua. Adeyemi Bandele ofthe Black United Front brought the messageout clear asking those present how the futurelooks for America if people cannot rejectReagan%u2019s policy at home. %u201cIt%u2019s a matter ofself-determination,%u201d Fauteux summed it upsimply, looking over at the dwindling crowdas the event ended.The next meeting of the Sister Cityorganizing group will be held on July 30 at808 8th Avenue, Apt. 1L. For information,call 220-3282.Riverside Tenants Fear Conversion As Renovation StartsBY ROB TAYLORIn the courtyard of their building at 30Joralemon Street, some residents of the Riverside Apartment complex met with arepresentative of the building%u2019s owner, Penson Development, July 17, to hear about thecompany%u2019s construction plans.Located alongside the Brooklyn QueensExpressway at the end of a cobble-stonedstreet in Brooklyn Heights, the RiversideApartments were acquired by Penson, aGreat Neck, LI firm, in 1984. The new ownersimmediately began planning a $6 millionrestoration of the run-down, five-buildingcomplex.Tenants in the building quickly becamealarmed at Penson%u2019s proposals as theylearned that the developer was also trying tobuy out their leases and was apparently making plans for a cooperative conversion. Fearing that they might be forced to leave theirapartments, members of the tenants association began to object to some of the work beingdone in the three-phase restoration project.%u201cIt%u2019s no fun being homeless,%u201d said one ofthe tenants during the meeting to DavidFramberger, Penson vice-president and project manager for Riverside.%u201cNo one is going to be homeless,%u201d hereplied.Framberger said that there was a%u201cpossibility%u201d that a cooperative plan wouldbe filed in the future, but it would be a noneviction plan. Residents of the building,however, say they are sure that Penson willfile a plan with the New York AttorneyGeneral. Penson has also hired a public relation firm that has released an announcementthat says the development firm %u201cplans to convert it to 156 cooperatives under a noneviction plan.%u201dRiverside tenants say they are also worried about the rent increases that will accruefrom the costly renovation. Framberger saidthat the increases would be no more than sixpercent each year as is allowable under rentstabilization law.The apartment complex was built in 1890 asmodel housing for working-class people byBrooklyn philanthropist Alfred TredwayWhite. With its ornamental facade and largegarden for outdoor concerts, it represented aMARGY PROVENZANOSigns reading %u201cBrooklyn Underground iscoming%u201d have been stirring the curiosity andimaginations of Fort Greene/Clinton Hillresidents for weeks now. Is it a new nightclub? A gang? Or a singing group? On theweekend of July 25th and 26th everyone willfind out when an empty lot on the comer ofSt. Felix St. near DeKalb Ave. will be turnedinto an outdoor market that will offer goodsmade by and for local residents.Billed as an art/craft/design open-airmarket, the Brooklyn Undergroundshowcases works of artists from the FortGreene/Clinton Hill/Wallabout area. It alln %u2014X-----XM h M f t i i v u m i w t t u u v i ^ i w v i U W U 1 1 1 ^ 1 L U C U l tdonated use of the empty lot to local artists.Stephen Mohney, a photographer, becamethe coordinator of the project and hasorganized this event which he hopes will bethe first of a series.After putting out an open-call for local ardramatic improvement in living conditionsfor 19th-century workers.Framberger said that Penson is trying torenovate the buildings to their originalgrandeur. %u201cWe sense that residents of theHeights are breathing a collective sigh ofrelief, now that Riverside is being transformed from an eyesore to a showplace.%u201dPenson is now waiting to hear from the City%u2019s Landmarks Commission for permissionto renovate the street-level storefronts andthe fire doors, he told the residents.Once the firm%u2019s conversion plans were extists through flyers, signs on the street andword of mouth, Mohney has come into contact with 40-50 interested artists. As there isonly room for 18 artists to display their workat one time, this allows for quality control, hesays. At the first market, July 25th and 26th,llam-7pm, there will be a variety of works ondisplay ranging from fine arts, such aswatercolors. to commercial arts, such assilkscreened and painted clothing, to jewelry,cards, photography, sculpture, leather craftsand illustrations.Mohney explains that most of these artistsalready have retail outlets where they selltheir works, but that his organization grew...* - f _ J . . 1 A - --------1_ -%u2022 - L 1------- <%u2018 A -v / u i u i a u c o u c t u i c a u i u c A g i i u v i o . v s u i j j i i rblem is we don%u2019t have a market in Brooklyn.We%u2019d like to become visible and known herein our own area,%u201d he says.One of the things Mohney seems most excited about is that it is becoming %u201caneighborhood thing.%u201d Money for expensesplained, the questions moved on to cover anumber of other management questionsabout window replacement, mailbox locationand courtyard landscaping.After the meeting, Brad Smith, presidentof the Riverside Tenants Association, said hethought the residents were still %u201cvery apprehensive%u201d about the plans. He observedthat much of the trouble was due to %u201cpoorplanning%u201d on Penson%u2019s behalf.has been raised from donations of local merchants who wish to be patrons of the event,and the Pratt Area Community Council(PACC) has been very supportive to theircause as well, he says. Even jazz musiciansfrom the neighborhood have agreed to provide entertainment for the market. Althoughall of the musicians have not set their specifictimes as of yet, the Fort Greene Ensemblewill be playing on Friday from 3-6pm. An Executive Committee of five ether artists,Sharon Cropper, Nevin Washington, JuliaGonzalez. Ronnie Crews and Yancey havealso volunteered their help to plan the marketand work with Mohney.Aluiuugli i.mo io uuly a unc-wcckemi ciuuiceto and and support local artists, contingent onthe reception the Brooklyn Undergroundreceives, the organizers say that the open-airmarket could continue throughout the fall. Tocontact Mohney about participating in futureactivities, call 625-6061.Brooklyn Underground Struts Stuff At Local Craft FairJuly 24,1986, TH E PHOENIX, Page 3