10 JANUARY 20 - JANUARY 26, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP EDITORIAL MONEY MATTERS With the change of administrations on Friday, January 20, educators are looking closely at changes that could be made by the incoming president and his choice for Secretary of Education. What some have learned frightens them, and with good reason – the focus on vouchers supported by President Trump, they say, could end up draining federal funding from local public schools. Indeed, the UFT did an analysis of the distribution of Title I funds (that go to schools where a certain percentage of population is eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch) and determined that, should that funding go instead to vouchers, which could be used for private, parochial or charter schools, city schools would be negatively impacted to the tune of as much as $500 million. Among the hardest hit would be several schools in southwest Brooklyn, beginning with Fort Hamilton High School, which comes in at the top of the list with over $2.5 million in Title I money at risk should Trump redirect $20 billion in federal funding from public schools to vouchers rather than potentially creating an independent funding stream that could be used for vouchers. Two other area high schools would also be hard hit – New Utrecht High School would be the second most impacted public school citywide, standing to lose $2.24 million, with Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School third on the list, with a potential loss of $2.12 million in Title I funding. And, lest you think that it’s just high schools that would be hurt, think again. Also high up on the list of schools are two Sunset Park elementary schools, P.S. 94 and P.S. 169, which come in second and third on the roster of elementary A LOOK BACK In this photo from the archives of the Brooklyn Public Library, Fort Hamilton High School – which currently serves 4,492 students -- is seen under construction in 1940. The school, which just celebrated its 75th anniversary, serves a diverse population in a variety of income brackets, with more than half of its students considered to be economically disadvantaged, resulting in the school receiving the highest amount of federal Title I money of any school in the city. However, the UFT is warning that a change in the way the federal government disperses education Photo: Brooklyn Public Library funding – if, for instance, Title I money were to be redirected to school vouchers under President Trump – could negatively impact the school, which currently receives more than $2.5 million under the Title I program, as well as several others in southwest Brooklyn. Compiled by Helen Klein GUEST OP-ED 14 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MARCH 20 - MARCH 14 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP GO BACK TO THE 1144 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUPB R• O MOAKRLCYHN 1M3E -D MIAA RGCRHO editorial A LOOK BACK Gary GO BACK TO THE A LOOK BACK Compiled by Gary Nilsen A LOOK BACK Compiled by Gary Nilsen editorial A LOOK BACK Gary 14 GOOD NEWS FOR BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP and • MARCH Helen 6 - Klein MARCH 12,THE GO BACK COMMUNITY TO THE 14 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MARCH 6 - MARCH 12,GO BACK TO THE Nilsen (USPS 248.800) ASKING FOR EQUITY and Helen Klein editorial A LOOK BACK compiled by BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MARCH editorial DRAWING BOARD A LOOK BACK compiled by GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD ▲ BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MARCH GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD editorial A LOOK BACK compiled Gary editorial A LOOK BACK compiled Gary With Nilsen (USPS 248.800) SUNY’s public teaching hospitals in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Long With Nilsen (USPS 248.800) That’s something that need. Frederick E. Kowal is Professions, the union representing staff at SUNY’s 29 state-SUNY’s public teaching hospitals in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Long the Photo by Gardiner Anderson Frederick E. Kowal is president Professions, the union representing 35,000 staff at SUNY’s 29 state-operated SUNY’s public teaching hospitals and the And the award goes to… Bay Ridge, which has provided the backdrop for many movies and television Photo by Gardiner shows Anderson over the years, from And the award “Blue goes Bloods”to…Photo Bay by Gardiner Ridge, which Anderson And has provided the award the goes backdrop to… Bay for Ridge,and “Saturday Night Fever” to “Mad Men” and,many movies which has provided the backdrop for many in 2006,movies to “Then She and And television the award shows goes over to…Photo the years, Bay by Gardiner Ridge, from which Anderson and “Blue And has television Bloods”provided the award Found shows and goes “Me,”Saturday over to… the starring Night years, Bay Fever”Ridge, Helen from to Hunt which and Bette the backdrop for many movies ““Blue Mad has and Bloods”Men”provided television Midler,and, and the in shows “2006,Saturday seen backdrop to above over “Night Then the for in She Fever”many a September, to movies 2006, years, from “Found Mad and Home “Blue Men”television Me,”Bloods” and,starring in shows Reporter and 2006,Helen “ Saturday to over Hunt “Then photo and the She taken on location on Night Bette years,Fever” from to Found Midler,““Blue Mad Me,” seen Men”Bloods” Shore starring above and, and in Road Helen in a “September,2006,Saturday at Hunt 77th and to Street.“ 2006, Night Bette Then She Fever”Midler to performed Midler,Home “Found Mad Reporter seen Men”Me,”at above the photo and,starring in most taken in a September,2006,Helen recent on location to Hunt Oscars,“ BY 2006, Then ASSEMBLYMEMBER on and She singing Bette “Wind Home Shore Found Midler,Reporter Road Me,” seen Beneath at 77th photo starring Street.taken My Helen Wings”Midler on location Hunt performed during on and the Bette awards Shore at Home Midler,the most Road Reporter seen recent at show’s 77th above above Oscars,Street.photo In Memoriam in in singing Midler a September,performed segment. 2006, taken a September,on “Wind location WALTER 2006, “Then She at on Beneath Home Shore the most My Reporter Road recent Found Wings”at Oscars,77th photo Me,”during Street. singing which taken the awards on also “Wind location starred on MOSLEY Matthew Beneath show’s Shore at the In My most Road Memoriam Broderick,Wings”recent at 77th during segment.Oscars, Street.was the also awards Midler performed “ Then singing Midler shot She performed inside show’s In “Wind a historic Found at Beneath the Me,”most Memoriam My home which recent Found Me,” which Wings”also on segment.88th Oscars,starred also starred during Street. “Matthew Then singing the She awards “Wind Broderick,Beneath show’s In was My Memoriam also Wings”shot inside during segment.Matthew a the historic Broderick, awards “Then She Then-home show’s Found Mayor on 88th Me,”Rudolph In was Memoriam Street. also which shot Giuliani also inside segment.starred was a historic a guest “Matthew Then of She honor at an early Bay Ridge St. Patrick’s Parade. Hizzoner seen home here Found Broderick,on with 88th Me,”members Street. was which also also of shot the starred inside military Matthew and some of the stalwarts who nurtured the event in its formative years Broderick,a historic home outside on Hunter’s 88th was Street. also Steak shot &inside Ale House,a historic where the annual pre-parade brunch is held. Spotted in the crowd home surrounding on 88th the Street. former mayor are Monsignor (then-Father) Jamie Gigantiello, second from left;Larry Morrish, to Giuliani’s right; and Auxiliary Police Chief Tony Christo, to Morrish’s right, front row. That’s something that Brooklyn need. Frederick E. Kowal is president Professions, union representing 35,000 staff at SUNY’s 29 state-operated SUNY’s public teaching hospitals and ▲ and intermediate schools citywide in terms of the amount of funding that’s in jeopardy. Adding insult to injury, two more southwest Brooklyn schools also made the list, with P.S. 105 coming in at number six and I.S. 220 (Pershing) coming in at number eight. Indeed, on the list of the top 10 most impacted schools in Brooklyn, nine are from the southwest portion of the borough (Districts 15, 20 and 21). Clearly, our neighborhoods stand to lose big if federal funding for public schools is funneled into vouchers. But, area residents can join educators in sounding the alarm and letting our representatives know that draining Title I funds from local schools is completely unacceptable, for the future of the students, our borough, our city and our country. HOMEREPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS HOMEREPORTER THE AND BROOKLYN SUNSET NEWS (Estab. 1953) AND SUNSET NEWS HOMEREPORTER (Estab. 1953) AND SUNSET NEWS ((Estab. Estab. 1953) 1953) (Established 1933) AND SUNSET NEWS AND SUNSET NEWS (Estab. 1953) (Estab. 1953) (USPS 248.800) 9733 FOURTH AVE. • BROOKLYN, NY 11209 Co-Publisher ... Victoria Schneps-Yunis Co-Publisher ... Joshua A. Schneps Editor in Chief ... Helen Klein Telephone 718-238-6600 Fax 718-238-6630 E-mail [email protected] Periodical postage paid at Brooklyn, N.Y. Published weekly by Brooklyn Media Group, Inc. Single copies, 50 cents. $35 per year by mail, $40 outside Brooklyn. On June 8, 1962, the Bay Ridge Home Reporter (founded 1953) and the Brooklyn Sunset News, a continuation of the Bay Ridge News (founded 1943) were merged into the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS. Postmaster: Send Address Changes To: Home Reporter and Sunset News 9733 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11209 Entire contents copyright 2014 by Home Reporter and Sunset News All letters sent to the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S POSITION. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. Brooklyn Media Group, Inc. assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to such advertisement. Photo by Gardiner Anderson And the award goes to… Bay Ridge, which has provided the backdrop for many movies and television shows over the years, from “Blue Bloods” and “Saturday Night Fever” to “Mad Men” and, in 2006, to “Then She Found Me,” Photo starring by Gardiner Helen Hunt Anderson and Bette Midler, seen above in a September, 2006, Home Reporter photo taken on location on Shore Road at 77th Street. Midler performed at the most recent Oscars, singing “Wind Beneath My Wings” during the awards show’s In Memoriam segment. “Then She Found Me,”which also starred Matthew Broderick, was also shot inside a historic home on 88th Street. Join the ght against Tips for making smart Each day, thousands of people depend on SUNY Downstate Medical Center for emergency medical care and vital health care services. skyrocketing tolls dietary choices But this state-operated public hospital has been in danger of being closed or privatized for more than two years. Hundreds of jobs have been lost, and numerous health care services have been cut or curtailed due to the hospital’s ill-prepared “Sustainability Plan.” BY STATE BY CATHERINE SENATOR MARTY ABATE GOLDEN Now, there is language in the 2014-15 proposed state budget that would open the door to as many as five corporations to operate SUNY’s public hospitals. United University Professions, the union that represents nearly 3,000 employees at SUNY Downstate, has been fighting to keep SUNY Downstate a fully operational staterun facility. However, UUP isn’t fighting the battle alone. The SUNY Downstate Coalition of Faith, Labor and Community Leaders has become an important ally. The coalition has staged a number of rallies and protests over the past 18 months to save health care services and jobs at SUNY Downstate and keep it a public facility. The latest such effort is a 48-hour interfaith fast. It will begin Sunday, March 9, at 3 p.m., in front of Downstate’s 470 Clarkson Avenue entrance. Interfaith leaders and members of the community will participate to show their strong support for this beacon in Brooklyn SUNY Board of Trustees has openly discussed the possibility of closing SUNY Downstate. There is also language in the Executive Budget, to control SUNY’s public affiliate with an academic hospital. SUNY Downstate teaching hospital. Privatizing or closing the state to save dollars is We believe the answer to lies in the “Brooklyn a UUP-backed initiative care throughout Brooklyn. This plan would preserve several financially unstable including Interfaith Medical Island College Hospital Center. You can see http://www.brooklynhospitalplan.It calls for the creation care centers, and would with 14 other Brooklyn be the network’s hub, educating and medical staff to with doctors at the other It’s a simple, effective will work. New York has a responsibility the city deciding to move forward on most of the school co-locations approved late last year, as Mayor Bloomberg prepared to vacate City Hall, parents in southwest Brooklyn are not only disappointed but angry. While the Department of Education under Mayor de Blasio wisely opted to back out of a planned co-location of a new high school inside Gravesend’s John Dewey High School, the DOE decided to move ahead with two others: the co-location of a charter school inside Seth Low Intermediate School in Bensonhurst and another inside Joseph B. Cavallaro Intermediate School in Bath Beach. These – like others in the borough and the city – are both fiercely opposed by parents, educators, students and the local Community Education Councils, all of whom contend that the co-locations would steal necessary space from students already attending the schools, and those who will be going to them in the near future. While the city has said it only considers under-utilized schools for co-locations, area education advocates say that both Cavallaro and Seth Low are well utilized, and likely to become more crowded as students now in elementary school in both District 20 and District 21 move up to middle school. Indeed, District 20 is one of the most crowded school districts in the city, so much so that the city built a host of new schools for it in the past decade, with more being planned, meaning that public school students in both District 20 and District 21 are likely to feel the squeeze should they have to share space students from a charter school. That strikes us as patently unfair. While some of the charter schools poised to open in September, 2014 may be worthy additions to the city’s educational offerings, their needs should not trump the needs of existing schools with existing students. And, indeed, when a charter school is put inside a public school, the process must involve the school communities at both educational institutions, and parents must also be involved. The city must go back to the drawing board and come up with alternative arrangements for the charter schools planned for Seth Low and Cavallaro as well as other schools where they are opposed.. The students who attend those schools deserve no less. guest op-ed Keep SUNY Downstate open BY FREDERICK E. KOWAL ▲ 9733 FOURTH AVE. • BROOKLYN, NY 11209 Co-Publisher ... Victoria Schneps-Yunis Co-Publisher ... Joshua A. Schneps Editor in Chief ... Helen Klein Telephone 718-238-6600 Fax 718-238-6630 postage paid at Brooklyn, N.Y. Published weekly by Brooklyn Media Group, Inc. copies, 50 cents. $35 per year by mail, $40 outside Brooklyn. On June 8, 1962, the Bay Home Reporter (founded 1953) and the Brooklyn Sunset News, a continuation of the Bay News (founded 1943) were merged into the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS. Postmaster: Send Address Changes To: Home Reporter and Sunset News 9733 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11209 Entire contents copyright 2014 by Home Reporter and Sunset News sent to the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld request. TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of the HOME AND SUNSET NEWS. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to the HOME AND SUNSET NEWS within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed prior to publication. Brooklyn Media Group, Inc. assumes no liability for the content or ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser to hold the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS and its employees harmless from all expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording Each day, thousands of people depend on SUNY Downstate Medical Center for emergency medical care and vital health care services. But this state-operated public hospital has been in danger of being closed or privatized for more than two years. Hundreds of jobs have been lost, and numerous health care services have been cut or curtailed due to the hospital’s ill-prepared “Sustainability Plan.” Now, there is language in the 2014-15 proposed state budget that would open the door to as many as five corporations to operate SUNY’s public hospitals. United University Professions, union that represents nearly 3,000 employees at SUNY Downstate, has been fighting to keep SUNY Downstate a fully operational staterun facility. However, UUP isn’t fighting the battle alone. The SUNY Downstate Coalition of Faith, Labor and Community Leaders has become an important ally. The coalition has staged a number of rallies and protests over the past 18 months to save health care services and jobs at SUNY Downstate and keep it a public facility. The latest such effort is a 48-hour interfaith fast. It will begin Sunday, March 9, at 3 p.m., in front of can deliver a strong message that SUNY Downstate must remain a full-service, state-operated public hospital. The threats facing SUNY Downstate are real. The SUNY Board of Trustees has openly discussed the possibility in the Executive Budget, which would to control SUNY’s public hospitals; affiliate with an academic medical hospital. SUNY Downstate teaching hospital. Privatizing or closing SUNY Downstate the state to save dollars is shortsighted We believe the answer to Brooklyn’s lies in the “Brooklyn Hospitals a UUP-backed initiative to stabilize care throughout Brooklyn. This plan would preserve SUNY several financially unstable hospitals including Interfaith Medical Center, Island College Hospital and Kingsbrook Center. You can see the http://www.brooklynhospitalplan.It calls for the creation of a network care centers, and would be with 14 other Brooklyn hospitals. be the network’s hub, educating and medical staff to the care with doctors at the other hospitals. city deciding to move forward on most of the co-locations approved late last year, as Mayor Bloomberg prepared to vacate City Hall, parents in southwest Brooklyn are not only disappointed but angry. While the Department of Education under Mayor de wisely opted to back out of a planned co-location of high school inside Gravesend’s John Dewey High the DOE decided to move ahead with two others: location of a charter school inside Seth Low Intermediate School in Bensonhurst and another inside B. Cavallaro Intermediate School in Bath Beach. These – like others in the borough and the city – are fiercely opposed by parents, educators, students the local Community Education Councils, all of contend that the co-locations would steal necessary space from students already attending the schools, those who will be going to them in the near future. While the city has said it only considers under-utilized for co-locations, area education advocates say both Cavallaro and Seth Low are well utilized, and to become more crowded as students now in elementary school in both District 20 and District 21 move middle school. Indeed, District 20 is one of the most crowded school districts in the city, so much so that the city built a host schools for it in the past decade, with more being planned, meaning that public school students in both District 20 and District 21 are likely to feel the squeeze they have to share space with students from a school. strikes us as patently unfair. While some of the schools poised to open in September, 2014 may be additions to the city’s educational offerings, their should not trump the needs of existing schools existing students. And, indeed, when a charter is put inside a public school, the process must the school communities at both educational institutions, and parents must also be involved. city must go back to the drawing board and come with alternative arrangements for the charter schools planned for Seth Low and Cavallaro as well as other where they are opposed.. The students who those schools deserve no less. guest op-ed Keep SUNY Downstate open and BY FREDERICK E. KOWAL DRAWING BOARD ▲ ▲ Gary Nilsen and Helen Klein (USPS 248.800) 9733 FOURTH AVE. • BROOKLYN, NY 11209 Co-Publisher ... Victoria Schneps-Yunis Co-Publisher ... Joshua A. Schneps Editor in Chief ... Helen Klein Telephone 718-238-6600 Fax 718-238-6630 E-mail [email protected] Periodical postage paid at Brooklyn, N.Y. Published weekly by Brooklyn Media Group, Inc. Single copies, 50 cents. $35 per year by mail, $40 outside Brooklyn. On June 8, 1962, the Bay Ridge Home Reporter (founded 1953) and the Brooklyn Sunset News, a continuation of the Bay Ridge News (founded 1943) were merged into the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS. Postmaster: Send Address Changes To: Home Reporter and Sunset News 9733 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11209 Entire contents copyright 2014 by Home Reporter and Sunset News All letters sent to the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S POSITION. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. Brooklyn Media Group, Inc. assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to such advertisement. Each day, thousands of people depend on SUNY Downstate Medical Center for emergency medical care and vital health care services. But this state-operated public hospital has been in danger of being closed or privatized for more than two years. Hundreds of jobs have been lost, and numerous health care services have been cut or curtailed due to the hospital’s ill-prepared “Sustainability Plan.” Now, there is language in the 2014-15 proposed state budget that would open the door to as many as five corporations to operate SUNY’s public hospitals. United University Professions, the union that represents nearly 3,000 employees at SUNY Downstate, has been fighting to keep SUNY Downstate a fully operational staterun facility. However, UUP isn’t fighting the battle alone. The SUNY Downstate Coalition of Faith, Labor and Community Leaders has become an important ally. The coalition has staged a number of rallies and protests over the past 18 months to save health care services and jobs at SUNY Downstate and keep it a public facility. The latest such effort is a 48-hour interfaith fast. It will begin Sunday, March 9, at 3 p.m., in front of Downstate’s 470 Clarkson Avenue entrance. Interfaith leaders and members of the community will participate The threats facing SUNY Downstate are real. The SUNY Board of Trustees has openly discussed the possibility of closing SUNY Downstate. There is also language in the Executive Budget, which would allow corporations to control SUNY’s public hospitals; one corporation affiliate with an academic medical institution or hospital. SUNY Downstate has Brooklyn’s teaching hospital. Privatizing or closing SUNY Downstate as a way the state to save dollars is shortsighted and unnecessary. We believe the answer to Brooklyn’s health care lies in the “Brooklyn Hospitals Safety Net a UUP-backed initiative to stabilize and deliver care throughout Brooklyn. This plan would preserve SUNY Downstate and several financially unstable hospitals in Brooklyn, including Interfaith Medical Center, Brookdale, Island College Hospital and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center. You can see the proposal online http://www.brooklynhospitalplan.org. It calls for creation of a network of satellite care centers, and would be controlled by and with 14 other Brooklyn hospitals. Downstate be the network’s hub, educating and supplying and medical staff to the care centers and working with doctors at the other hospitals. It’s a simple, effective plan and, if given a chance, will work. staff at SUNY’s 29 state-operated campuses, including SUNY’s public teaching hospitals and health science in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Long Island and Syracuse. With the city deciding to move forward on most of the school co-locations approved late last year, as Mayor Bloomberg prepared to vacate City Hall, parents in southwest Brooklyn are not only disappointed but angry. While the Department of Education under Mayor de Blasio wisely opted to back out of a planned co-location of a new high school inside Gravesend’s John Dewey High School, the DOE decided to move ahead with two others: the co-location of a charter school inside Seth Low Intermediate School in Bensonhurst and another inside Joseph B. Cavallaro Intermediate School in Bath Beach. These – like others in the borough and the city – are both fiercely opposed by parents, educators, students and the local Community Education Councils, all of whom contend that the co-locations would steal necessary space from students already attending the schools, and those who will be going to them in the near future. While the city has said it only considers under-utilized schools for co-locations, area education advocates say that both Cavallaro and Seth Low are well utilized, and likely to become more crowded as students now in elementary school in both District 20 and District 21 move up to middle school. Indeed, District 20 is one of the most crowded school districts in the city, so much so that the city built a host of new schools for it in the past decade, with more being planned, meaning that public school students in both District 20 and District 21 are likely to feel the squeeze should they have to share space with students from a charter school. That strikes us as patently unfair. While some of the charter schools poised to open in September, 2014 may be worthy additions to the city’s educational offerings, their needs should not trump the needs of existing schools with existing students. And, indeed, when a charter school is put inside a public school, the process must involve the school communities at both educational institutions, and parents must also be involved. The city must go back to the drawing board and come up with alternative arrangements for the charter schools planned for Seth Low and Cavallaro as well as other schools where they are opposed.. The students who attend those schools deserve no less. guest op-ed Keep SUNY Downstate open and public BY FREDERICK E. KOWAL Congratulations to law enforcement – the NYPD and Brooklyn’s new District Attorney Ken Thompson – for taking decisive action to combat the scourge of heroin and opioid abuse that has been haunting southwest Brooklyn Thanks to good information from community residents – who have kept up the push to get drug dealers off their streets – cops have arrested six people as a result of a protracted investigation, and charged them with involvement in an illicit drug-peddling scheme in which customers called in orders and dealers delivered them to street corners and bars in Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst and Sunset Park. Given the rising number of people who have fallen victim to overdoses of the illicit substances – including heroin, opiates, marijuana, ecstasy and Ketamine, a horse tranquilizer known in street parlance as “Special K” – it is truly critical that law enforcement stay on top of the situation, and make sure that drug dealers know that their activities will not be tolerated. Sources say this is just the beginning, and that more arrests are to come. While we understand that such investigations are lengthy and delicate, and can’t be rushed, we say, those arrests can’t come soon enough. SENIORS DESERVE SUPPORT Each year, it seems, the budget dance in Albany leaves seniors wondering, what’s in it for them? This year is no different, and local elected offi cials have taken a stand to push the governor to include an extra $26 million in the state budget that would go to help seniors, specifi cally those who are on a waiting list for Meals on Wheels (some 7,000 statewide, as of now) as well as those who use Access-a-Ride and other services. In addition, elected offi cials and senior advocates are pushing for a raise in the income that seniors can have and still qualify for SCRIE, a program that controls increases in rent. The last time the income ceiling was increased (to $29,000) was in 2009, meaning that an increase is now overdue. We join advocates in urging seniors and their families to call their state elected offi cials and let them know – the time has come to make it easier for seniors to age with dignity. Photo by Valerie Hodgson The Tolls are Too Damn High! That’s the unfortunate reality of trying to commute by car inside the city of New York. The cost to travel round trip across any of our tolled crossing is $15 cash. The discounted EZ-Pass rate is just under $11. For trips into Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx, we have several toll-free options which allow for easy commuting between boroughs without facing this daily expense. However, there is no way to enter Staten Island without being hit by this outrageous toll. For those that work, go to school, or visit family in Staten Island, they are paying $10.66 each time they cross the bridge, with EZ-Pass. That is unsustainable, and unrealistic. For two years now, Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis and I have been fi ghting for a reduced fare for those who cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge three or more times a month. This discount would mirror that put in place by the Port Authority, allowing for a 58 percent discount from the cash price for crossing the bridge for those who have residency in New York City and travel over the bridge more than three times a month. This would bring the price from $10.66 That would be real savings for our families, from the tolls. Last week, we had a major victory in this New York State Senate included a feasibility in its one house budget. This means our plan the way to becoming a reality. We need to pressure on. We need to convince the Assembly and the that this discount plan needs to be a priority. Please join with us and sign a petition everyone know how important this issue is. Visit www.TheTollsareTooDamnHigh.com onto our petition to make this discount plan a Together we can achieve reasonable toll the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. State Senator Marty Golden represents Senate District in Brooklyn, including Bay Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Manhattan Gravesend, Gerritsen Beach, Marine Park portions of Sheepshead Bay, Midwood and Park. VISIT HOMEREPORTER.COM FOR THE LATEST LOCAL NEWS DRAWING BOARD ▲ ▲ 9733 FOURTH AVE. • BROOKLYN, NY 11209 Co-Publisher ... Victoria Schneps-Yunis Co-Publisher ... Joshua A. Schneps Periodical postage paid at Brooklyn, N.Y. Published weekly by Brooklyn Media Group, Inc. Single copies, 50 cents. $35 per year by mail, $40 outside Brooklyn. On June 8, 1962, the Bay Ridge Home Reporter (founded 1953) and the Brooklyn Sunset News, a continuation of the Bay Ridge News (founded 1943) were merged into the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS. Postmaster: Send Address Changes To: Home Reporter and Sunset News 9733 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11209 Entire contents copyright 2014 by Home Reporter and Sunset News All letters sent to the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S POSITION. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. Brooklyn Media Group, Inc. assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to such advertisement. Each day, thousands of people depend on SUNY Downstate Medical Center for emergency medical care and vital health care services. But this state-operated public hospital has been in danger of being closed or privatized for more than two years. Hundreds of jobs have been lost, and numerous health care services have been cut or curtailed due to the hospital’s ill-prepared “Sustainability Plan.” Now, there is language in the 2014-15 proposed state budget that would open the door to as many as five corporations to operate SUNY’s public hospitals. United University Professions, the union that represents nearly 3,000 employees at SUNY Downstate, has been fighting to keep SUNY Downstate a fully operational staterun facility. However, UUP isn’t fighting the battle alone. The SUNY Downstate Coalition of Faith, Labor and and call attention to the threats it faces. You can take part in the fast or find out more about it by calling 718-270-1519, or sending an email to [email protected]. We strongly urge you to join our campaign. Take part in the fast, or come out and show your support. Together, we can deliver a strong message that SUNY Downstate must remain a full-service, state-operated public hospital. The threats facing SUNY Downstate are real. The SUNY Board of Trustees has openly discussed the possibility of closing SUNY Downstate. There is also language in the Executive Budget, to control SUNY’s public affiliate with an academic hospital. SUNY Downstate teaching hospital. Privatizing or closing the state to save dollars is We believe the answer to lies in the “Brooklyn a UUP-backed initiative care throughout Brooklyn. This plan would preserve several financially unstable including Interfaith Medical Island College Hospital and Center. You can see http://www.brooklynhospitalplan.care needs of its citizens. Net Plan—our plan and viable, workable option Brooklyn. the city deciding to move forward on most of the school co-locations approved late last year, as Mayor Bloomberg prepared to vacate City Hall, parents in southwest Brooklyn are not only disappointed but angry. While the Department of Education under Mayor de Blasio wisely opted to back out of a planned co-location of a new high school inside Gravesend’s John Dewey High School, the DOE decided to move ahead with two others: the co-location of a charter school inside Seth Low Intermediate School in Bensonhurst and another inside Joseph B. Cavallaro Intermediate School in Bath Beach. These – like others in the borough and the city – are both fiercely opposed by parents, educators, students and the local Community Education Councils, all of whom contend that the co-locations would steal necessary space from students already attending the schools, and those who will be going to them in the near future. While the city has said it only considers under-utilized schools for co-locations, area education advocates say that both Cavallaro and Seth Low are well utilized, and likely to become more crowded as students now in elementary school in both District 20 and District 21 move up to middle school. Indeed, District 20 is one of the most crowded school districts in the city, so much so that the city built a host of new schools for it in the past decade, with more being planned, meaning that public school students in both District 20 and District 21 are likely to feel the squeeze should they have to share space with students from a charter school. That strikes us as patently unfair. While some of the charter schools poised to open in September, 2014 may be worthy additions to the city’s educational offerings, their needs should not trump the needs of existing schools with existing students. And, indeed, when a charter school is put inside a public school, the process must involve the school communities at both educational institutions, and parents must also be involved. The city must go back to the drawing board and come up with alternative arrangements for the charter schools planned for Seth Low and Cavallaro as well as other schools where they are opposed.. The students who attend those schools deserve no less. guest op-ed Keep SUNY Downstate open BY FREDERICK E. KOWAL ▲ 9733 FOURTH AVE. • BROOKLYN, NY 11209 E-mail [email protected] postage paid at Brooklyn, N.Y. Published weekly by Brooklyn Media Group, Inc. copies, 50 cents. $35 per year by mail, $40 outside Brooklyn. On June 8, 1962, the Bay Home Reporter (founded 1953) and the Brooklyn Sunset News, a continuation of the Bay News (founded 1943) were merged into the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS. Postmaster: Send Address Changes To: Home Reporter and Sunset News 9733 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11209 Entire contents copyright 2014 by Home Reporter and Sunset News sent to the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld request. TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of the HOME AND SUNSET NEWS. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to the HOME AND SUNSET NEWS within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed prior to publication. Brooklyn Media Group, Inc. assumes no liability for the content or ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser hold the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS and its employees harmless from all expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording Each day, thousands of people depend on SUNY Downstate Medical Center for emergency medical care and vital health care services. But this state-operated public hospital has been in danger of being closed or privatized for more than two years. Hundreds of jobs have been lost, and numerous health care services have been cut or curtailed due to the hospital’s ill-prepared “Sustainability Plan.” Now, there is language in the 2014-15 proposed state budget that would open the door to as many as five corporations to operate SUNY’s public hospitals. United University Professions, the union that represents nearly 3,000 employees at SUNY Downstate, has been Downstate’s 470 Clarkson Avenue entrance. Interfaith leaders and members of the community will participate to show their strong support for this beacon in Brooklyn and call attention to the threats it faces. You can take part in the fast or find out more about it by calling 718-270-1519, or sending an email to [email protected]. We strongly urge you to join our campaign. Take part in the fast, or come out and show your support. Together, we can deliver a strong message that SUNY Downstate must remain a full-service, state-operated public hospital. The threats facing SUNY Downstate are real. The SUNY Board of Trustees has openly discussed the possibility in the Executive Budget, which would to control SUNY’s public hospitals; affiliate with an academic medical hospital. SUNY Downstate teaching hospital. Privatizing or closing SUNY Downstate the state to save dollars is shortsighted We believe the answer to Brooklyn’s lies in the “Brooklyn Hospitals a UUP-backed initiative to stabilize care throughout Brooklyn. This plan would preserve SUNY several financially unstable hospitals including Interfaith Medical Center, It’s a simple, effective plan and, will work. New York has a responsibility to care needs of its citizens. The Brooklyn Net Plan—our plan and the community’s viable, workable option for long-Brooklyn. city deciding to move forward on most of the co-locations approved late last year, as Mayor Bloomberg prepared to vacate City Hall, parents in southwest Brooklyn are not only disappointed but angry. While the Department of Education under Mayor de wisely opted to back out of a planned co-location of high school inside Gravesend’s John Dewey High the DOE decided to move ahead with two others: location of a charter school inside Seth Low Intermediate School in Bensonhurst and another inside B. Cavallaro Intermediate School in Bath Beach. These – like others in the borough and the city – are fiercely opposed by parents, educators, students the local Community Education Councils, all of contend that the co-locations would steal necessary space from students already attending the schools, those who will be going to them in the near future. While the city has said it only considers under-utilized for co-locations, area education advocates say both Cavallaro and Seth Low are well utilized, and to become more crowded as students now in elementary school in both District 20 and District 21 move middle school. Indeed, District 20 is one of the most crowded school districts the city, so much so that the city built a host schools for it in the past decade, with more being planned, meaning that public school students in both District 20 and District 21 are likely to feel the squeeze they have to share space with students from a school. strikes us as patently unfair. While some of the schools poised to open in September, 2014 may be additions to the city’s educational offerings, their should not trump the needs of existing schools existing students. And, indeed, when a charter is put inside a public school, the process must the school communities at both educational institutions, and parents must also be involved. city must go back to the drawing board and come with alternative arrangements for the charter schools planned for Seth Low and Cavallaro as well as other where they are opposed.. The students who those schools deserve no less. guest op-ed Keep SUNY Downstate open and BY FREDERICK E. KOWAL DRAWING BOARD ▲ ▲ Gary Nilsen and Helen Klein (USPS 248.800) 9733 FOURTH AVE. • BROOKLYN, NY 11209 Co-Publisher ... Victoria Schneps-Yunis Periodical postage paid at Brooklyn, N.Y. Published weekly by Brooklyn Media Group, Inc. Single copies, 50 cents. $35 per year by mail, $40 outside Brooklyn. On June 8, 1962, the Bay Ridge Home Reporter (founded 1953) and the Brooklyn Sunset News, a continuation of the Bay Ridge News (founded 1943) were merged into the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS. Postmaster: Send Address Changes To: Home Reporter and Sunset News 9733 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11209 Entire contents copyright 2014 by Home Reporter and Sunset News All letters sent to the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S POSITION. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. Brooklyn Media Group, Inc. assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold the HOME REPORTER AND SUNSET NEWS and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to such advertisement. Each day, thousands of people depend on SUNY Downstate Medical Center for emergency medical care and vital health care services. But this state-operated public hospital has been in danger of being closed or privatized for more than two years. Hundreds of jobs have been lost, and numerous health care services have been cut or curtailed due to the hospital’s ill-prepared “Sustainability Plan.” Now, there is language in the 2014-15 proposed state budget that would open the door to as many as five corporations to operate SUNY’s public hospitals. United University Professions, the union that represents nearly 3,000 employees at SUNY Downstate, has been fighting to keep SUNY Downstate a fully operational staterun facility. However, UUP isn’t fighting the battle alone. to show their strong support for this beacon in Brooklyn and call attention to the threats it faces. You can take part in the fast or find out more about it by calling 718-270-1519, or sending an email to [email protected]. We strongly urge you to join our campaign. Take part in the fast, or come out and show your support. Together, we can deliver a strong message that SUNY Downstate must remain a full-service, state-operated public hospital. The threats facing SUNY Downstate are real. The SUNY Board of Trustees has openly discussed the possibility of closing SUNY Downstate. There is also language in the Executive Budget, which would allow corporations to control SUNY’s public hospitals; one corporation affiliate with an academic medical institution or hospital. SUNY Downstate has Brooklyn’s teaching hospital. Privatizing or closing SUNY Downstate as a way the state to save dollars is shortsighted and unnecessary. We believe the answer to Brooklyn’s health care lies in the “Brooklyn Hospitals Safety Net a UUP-backed initiative to stabilize and deliver care throughout Brooklyn. This plan would preserve SUNY Downstate and several financially unstable hospitals in Brooklyn, including Interfaith Medical Center, Brookdale, Island College Hospital and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center. You can see the proposal online the New York has a responsibility to provide for the care needs of its citizens. The Brooklyn Hospitals Net Plan—our plan and the community’s plan—viable, workable option for long-term health care Brooklyn. That’s something that Brooklyn residents desperately need. Frederick E. Kowal is president of United University Professions, the union representing 35,000 faculty and staff at SUNY’s 29 state-operated campuses, including SUNY’s public teaching hospitals and health science in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Long Island and Syracuse. With the city deciding to move forward on most of the school co-locations approved late last year, as Mayor Bloomberg prepared to vacate City Hall, parents in southwest Brooklyn are not only disappointed but angry. While the Department of Education under Mayor de Blasio wisely opted to back out of a planned co-location of a new high school inside Gravesend’s John Dewey High School, the DOE decided to move ahead with two others: the co-location of a charter school inside Seth Low Intermediate School in Bensonhurst and another inside Joseph B. Cavallaro Intermediate School in Bath Beach. These – like others in the borough and the city – are both fiercely opposed by parents, educators, students and the local Community Education Councils, all of whom contend that the co-locations would steal necessary space from students already attending the schools, and those who will be going to them in the near future. While the city has said it only considers under-utilized schools for co-locations, area education advocates say that both Cavallaro and Seth Low are well utilized, and likely to become more crowded as students now in elementary school in both District 20 and District 21 move up to middle school. Indeed, District 20 is one of the most crowded school districts in the city, so much so that the city built a host of new schools for it in the past decade, with more being planned, meaning that public school students in both District 20 and District 21 are likely to feel the squeeze should they have to share space with students from a charter school. That strikes us as patently unfair. While some of the charter schools poised to open in September, 2014 may be worthy additions to the city’s educational offerings, their needs should not trump the needs of existing schools with existing students. And, indeed, when a charter school is put inside a public school, the process must involve the school communities at both educational institutions, and parents must also be involved. The city must go back to the drawing board and come up with alternative arrangements for the charter schools planned for Seth Low and Cavallaro as well as other schools where they are opposed.. The students who attend those schools deserve no less. guest op-ed Keep SUNY Downstate open and public BY FREDERICK E. KOWAL With the kickoff of a petition campaign to get the MTA to offer toll discounts to Brooklyn drivers and other city residents who use the Verrazano Narrows Bridge at least three times a month, the time has come for the residents of the other four boroughs to make their voices heard. The timing of the petition is no accident. It was created in response to the announcement earlier this year that Staten Island residents – who already pay substantially less than other city residents to use the bridge – will get an added discount, thanks to a recent agreement brokered by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Right now, Brooklyn residents who use the bridge pay $15 roundtrip ($10.66 with E-ZPass), while residents of Staten Island now pay $6, and will pay just $5.50 when the added discount takes effect. The disparity is glaring, and it just isn’t right. We understand that Staten Islanders have no other vehicular access to the rest of the city besides the Verrazano, but many residents of Brooklyn – and southwest Brooklyn in particular – go to Staten Island and New Jersey regularly, and those double-digit tolls add up quickly. The Port Authority gets it; for the past two years, it has offered a 58 percent discount to drivers who utilize crossings between Staten Island and New Jersey at least three times a month. It’s time for the MTA to follow suit, and for New York State to do whatever it takes to make that happen. The cost of offering a discount to drivers who use the Verrazano three or more times a month is $30 million, not insubstantial but in reality a small percentage of the state’s $142 billion budget. The petition can be found on line at Thetollsaretoodamnhigh.com. THE CONEY BOOM CONTINUES With the groundbreaking for the new Thunderbolt roller coaster, Coney Island has taken another step into its own energized future. The 21st century thrill ride, which should be completed by May, salutes the area’s storied past as it builds on the excitement and growth that have characterized the amusement area over the past several years. The continued progress is great news for Coney, for Brooklyn and for the city as a whole, particularly coming in the wake of the devastation wrought by Superstorm Sandy, which in areas like Coney Island is still a factor. We hope it is a harbinger of more good things to come. Photo by Valerie Hodgson The St. Patrick’s Parade is a Bay Ridge tradition stretching back over two decades. Replete with marching bands and folk dancers, the parade – seen here in a vintage photo from this newspaper’s les -- traditionally attracts both those of Irish heritage and those who just enjoy the event. Up until two years ago,the parade marched along Fifth Avenue as seen in this photo; last year, however, it was shifted to Third Avenue, which will host the event again this year, on Sunday, March 23. Heading up the march, for will be NYPD Chief Joe Fox, now chief of transit, but well-known to many in the neighborhood as the commanding of cer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South. Some welcome news came on the cusp of National Nutrition Month. The Obama administration announced signifi cant reforms of nutrition labeling to educate consumers better so they know what they’re putting in their bodies each day. That announcement dovetailed with a federal report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing a stunning reduction in the obesity rate of young children. Both display encouraging news, because addressing health and fi tness issues early on produces a lifetime of benefi ts. As a nonprofi t that provides access to primary care for our city’s underserved communities, Community Healthcare Network is on the frontlines of this unrelenting war on obesity. We’re taking our efforts to the streets this month to inform people as they shop – and eat. An alarming proportion of unhealthy foods stock the shelves of corner delis across our city. While these small businesses are the lifeblood of vibrant neighborhoods, the choices many folks make are packing on the pounds. This month, we encourage New Yorkers to put down those salted Wise potato chips and instead make some wise decisions about their health. Here’s our top 10 list of the calorie culprits at the corner stores: •Don’t saddle up to the breakfast bar. Breakfast bars (granola, protein and energy bars) can have more sugars than breakfast pastries and candy bars. •Quenching your thirst. Gatorade and enhanced vitamin drinks usually don’t have vitamins and contain unnecessary salts and sugars. •The low-down on “low fat.” It normally means high salt and higher sugar. •When the chips are down. No-cholesterol chips are fried in vegetable oil; cholesterol is irrelevant. •Don’t butta la pasta. Tri-color pasta doesn’t anything other than it’s dyed pasta. •Separate wheat from the chaff. Make sure bread contains “whole grains.” •Fruitful? More like full of sweeteners.smoothies and fruit juice are loaded with sugar fattening yogurt. •When Greek and regular yogurt are Avoid with added fruit/fruit syrup. And, the kinds usually pack in more sugar and far less •Down the wrong trail. Avoid mixes with chocolates (which add in tons of extra calories sugar) and watch portions. •Low price, but hidden costs. Processed easy to grab on-the-go, but boxed muffi ns and chicken nuggets and processed meats contain sodium, sugar and unhealthy preservatives. Consumed over the years, the above ingredients the recipe for an unhealthy future. Seem overwhelming? Not if you start with some simple changes.here are 10 healthier picks: sweet potatoes, avocados,plain Greek yogurt or regular plain yogurt,(without the add-ins!), whole grain bread, natural butter, light air-popped popcorn or pretzels,cheese, fruit and eggs. We want to ensure that all New Yorkers tools to develop better habits within their Starting with small changes, what they put plates can make a huge difference. Catherine Abate is the president/CEO of Community Healthcare Network. ▲ BACK compiled by Gary Nilsen and Helen Klein Each day, thousands of people depend on SUNY Downstate Medical Center for emergency medical care and vital health care services. But this state-operated public hospital has been in danger of being closed or privatized for more than two years. Hundreds of jobs have been lost, and numerous health care services have been cut or curtailed due to the hospital’s ill-prepared “Sustainability Plan.” Now, there is language in the 2014-15 proposed state budget that would open the door to as many as five corporations to operate SUNY’s public hospitals. United University Professions, the union that represents nearly 3,000 employees at SUNY Downstate, has been fighting to keep SUNY Downstate a fully operational staterun facility. However, UUP isn’t fighting the battle alone. The SUNY Downstate Coalition of Faith, Labor and Community Leaders has become an important ally. The coalition has staged a number of rallies and protests over the past 18 months to save health care services and jobs at SUNY Downstate and keep it a public facility. The latest such effort is a 48-hour interfaith fast. It will begin Sunday, March 9, at 3 p.m., in front of Downstate’s 470 Clarkson Avenue entrance. Interfaith leaders and members of the community will participate to show their strong support for this beacon in Brooklyn and call attention to the threats it faces. You can take part in the fast or find out more about it by calling 718-270-1519, or sending an email to [email protected]. We strongly urge you to join our campaign. Take part in the fast, or come out and show your support. Together, we can deliver a strong message that SUNY Downstate must remain a full-service, state-operated public hospital. The threats facing SUNY Downstate are real. The SUNY Board of Trustees has openly discussed the possibility of closing SUNY Downstate. There is also language in the Executive Budget, which would allow corporations to control SUNY’s public hospitals; one corporation affiliate with an academic medical institution or teaching hospital. SUNY Downstate has Brooklyn’s teaching hospital. Privatizing or closing SUNY Downstate as a way the state to save dollars is shortsighted and unnecessary. We believe the answer to Brooklyn’s health care shortcomings lies in the “Brooklyn Hospitals Safety Net Plan,” a UUP-backed initiative to stabilize and deliver health care throughout Brooklyn. This plan would preserve SUNY Downstate and several financially unstable hospitals in Brooklyn, including Interfaith Medical Center, Brookdale, Island College Hospital and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center. You can see the proposal online http://www.brooklynhospitalplan.org. It calls for the creation of a network of satellite ambulatory care centers, and would be controlled by and with 14 other Brooklyn hospitals. Downstate would be the network’s hub, educating and supplying physicians and medical staff to the care centers and working with doctors at the other hospitals. It’s a simple, effective plan and, if given a chance, will work. New York has a responsibility to provide for the health care needs of its citizens. The Brooklyn Hospitals Safety Net Plan—our plan and the community’s plan—viable, workable option for long-term health care Brooklyn. That’s something that Brooklyn residents desperately need. Frederick E. Kowal is president of United University Professions, the union representing 35,000 faculty and professional staff at SUNY’s 29 state-operated campuses, including SUNY’s public teaching hospitals and health science centers in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Long Island and Syracuse. With the city deciding to move forward on most of the school co-locations approved late last year, as Mayor Bloomberg prepared to vacate City Hall, parents in southwest Brooklyn are not only disappointed but angry. While the Department of Education under Mayor de Blasio wisely opted to back out of a planned co-location of a new high school inside Gravesend’s John Dewey High School, the DOE decided to move ahead with two others: the co-location of a charter school inside Seth Low Intermediate School in Bensonhurst and another inside Joseph B. Cavallaro Intermediate School in Bath Beach. These – like others in the borough and the city – are both fiercely opposed by parents, educators, students and the local Community Education Councils, all of whom contend that the co-locations would steal necessary space from students already attending the schools, and those who will be going to them in the near future. While the city has said it only considers under-utilized schools for co-locations, area education advocates say that both Cavallaro and Seth Low are well utilized, and likely to become more crowded as students now in elementary school in both District 20 and District 21 move up to middle school. Indeed, District 20 is one of the most crowded school districts in the city, so much so that the city built a host of new schools for it in the past decade, with more being planned, meaning that public school students in both District 20 and District 21 are likely to feel the squeeze should they have to share space with students from a charter school. That strikes us as patently unfair. While some of the charter schools poised to open in September, 2014 may be worthy additions to the city’s educational offerings, their needs should not trump the needs of existing schools with existing students. And, indeed, when a charter school is put inside a public school, the process must involve the school communities at both educational institutions, and parents must also be involved. The city must go back to the drawing board and come up with alternative arrangements for the charter schools planned for Seth Low and Cavallaro as well as other schools where they are opposed.. The students who attend those schools deserve no less. guest op-ed Keep SUNY Downstate open and public BY FREDERICK E. KOWAL 9733 Fourth Avenue, Bklyn, NY 11209 TEL 1-718-238-6600 Fax 1-718-238-6630 E-Mail: [email protected] Co-Publisher ... Victoria Schneps-Yunis Co-Publisher ... Joshua A. Schneps Editor in Chief ... Helen Klein THE BROOKLYN SPECTATOR is published weekly by Brooklyn Media Group, Inc., continuing THE BROOKLYN TIMES (established 1974) including Bay Record and Advertiser, The Shore Record and The Flatbush Reporter. Periodical postage paid at Brooklyn, N.Y. Subscription rate $35.00 per year, $40.00 per year out of town. POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes To BROOKLYN SPECTATOR 9733 4th Ave., Bklyn, NY 11209 Entire contents copyright 2014 by Brooklyn Spectator. All letters sent to the BROOKLYN SPECTATOR should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S POSITION. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of the BROOKLYN SPECTATOR. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to the BROOKLYN SPECTATOR within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. Brooklyn Media Group, Inc.assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold the BROOKLYN SPECTATOR and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to such advertisement. Photo by Gardiner Anderson And the award goes to… Bay Ridge, which has provided the backdrop for many movies and television shows over the years, from “Blue Bloods” and “Saturday Night Fever” to “Mad Men” and, in 2006, to “Then She Found Me,” starring Helen Hunt and Bette Midler, seen above in a September, 2006, Home Reporter photo taken on location on Shore Road at 77th Street. Midler performed at the most recent Oscars, singing “Wind Beneath My Wings” during the awards show’s In Memoriam segment. “Then She Found Me,” which also starred Matthew Broderick, was also shot inside a historic home on 88th Street. Entire contents copyright 2016 by Brooklyn Spectator NEW YEAR BRINGS NEW LAWS TO BENEFIT COMMUNITY Having rung in 2017, Brooklynites have a lot to celebrate. Every New Yorker deserves to make a livable wage, and we’re making progress on that front. Thousands of workers across the state are now bringing home more money because the minimum wage increased on December 31, and with more increases taking effect in coming years, we will continue to lift working families out of poverty. Veterans risk their lives to protect our country, and it’s important that we do everything we can to help them once they come home. The state budget I helped pass extended the Hire-a-Veteran tax credit through 2018 to help more members of the military find good jobs and build a bright future. In addition, I’m working to make the health and safety of all New Yorkers, including first responders, a top priority with the expansion of the “Move Over” law to require drivers to slow down and move over for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers whose vehicles have flashing blue or green lights. It’s important for all of us to exercise caution, slow down and move over when we see these vehicles. I also helped permanently extend the Earned Income Tax Credit for noncustodial parents who are current on their child support payments and meet the income threshold for a single taxpayer without children. In addition, homeowners are now eligible for a reduction in their homeowner’s insurance premiums upon completing a natural disaster preparedness, home safety and loss prevention course. We also continued to make important progress in combating the devastating heroin epidemic, which has destroyed thousands of families across New York. I helped pass a law to reduce the stigma of medication-assisted treatment for those with a substance abuse disorder. This year’s state budget provided $26 million to strengthen prevention and treatment programs and safely dispose of pharmaceuticals. Moreover, individuals struggling with substance abuse disorders will no longer need prior approval from insurance companies to access inpatient drug treatment services. Insurers will also cover an emergency five-day supply of medication to help overcome their disease without prior approval, as well as medications to treat drug overdoses. It’s also important to be proactive when it comes to protecting our health, which is why New York expanded access to breast cancer screenings. Starting this year, insurance companies can no longer require New Yorkers to pay annual deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance payments for screening and diagnostic imaging for the detection of breast cancer. In addition, more hospitals and clinics are now required to offer extended hours to make it easier for women who work full time to get potentially lifesaving screenings. New York City employees also now have the right to four hours of paid leave per year for breast cancer screenings As we enter 2017, it is important now more than ever that New York lead by example and remain a progressive champion. From helping to create more and better jobs, to giving students an education that sets them up for future success, to keeping dangerous drugs off our streets and helping those struggling with dependency, I’ll always work to keep us moving in the right direction. Walter Mosley represents the 57th A.D.
BSM01202017
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