12 NOVEMBER 17 - NOVEMBER 23, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
EDITORIAL
NO MORE ELECTION DAY
EXCUSES
One of the more common cliches heard on Election
Day is, “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.”
Well, because about 78 percent of Brooklyn’s registered
voters didn’t bother showing up to vote in the
November 7 citywide election, we guess that there isn’t
much for the borough to complain about the next four
years. That’s not true, of course, but it seems as though
things aren’t bad enough to compel everyone to make
a change.
Why did voters not show up on Election Day? There
are many excuses, but two stand out as particularly
asinine.
One is the rainy weather that hit during the latter part
of the day. Voting booths are almost always placed in
warm, well-lit, waterproof venues. Your feet may get wet
by walking through the rain, but are dry feet worth the
price of a wasted vote?
The other poor excuse was a general malaise among
the electorate, that neither de Blasio nor his many challengers
14 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MARCH 20 - MARCH 26,14 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP GO BACK TO THE
1144 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUPB R• O MOAKRLCYHN 1M3E -D MIAA RGCRHO 1U9P,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 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MARCH 6 - MARCH 12, 2014
Nilsen (USPS 248.800)
GOOD NEWS FOR
THE COMMUNITY
and Helen Klein
14 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MARCH 6 - MARCH 12, 2014
Nilsen (USPS 248.800)
ASKING FOR EQUITY
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 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/file photo
compiled Gary With Nilsen and (USPS 248.800)
SUNY’s public teaching hospitals in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Long Island With Nilsen and (USPS 248.800)
That’s something that Brooklyn need.
Frederick E. Kowal is president Professions, the union representing staff at SUNY’s 29 state-SUNY’s public teaching hospitals in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Long Island the Photo by Gardiner Anderson
Frederick E. Kowal is president of 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 the award goes to… Bay Ridge,and “ Saturday which
Night Fever” to
has provided “the Mad backdrop Men” and,for many in 2006,movies
has to “Then She
and And provided television the award the backdrop for many movies
and “Blue And television Bloods”the award Found shows goes Me,”over to…Photo the years, Bay by Gardiner Ridge, from
which
Anderson
has provided shows and the goes “Saturday over to… the starring Night years, Bay Fever”Ridge, Helen from
to
Hunt which
and Bette
““Blue Mad has Bloods”Men”provided Midler,backdrop for and, and the in “2006,Saturday seen backdrop to above “Night Then for in many movies
and television Fever”many a September, to
movies
2006,
“Found Mad and Men”television Me,” Home shows over the She
years, from
“Blue Bloods”and,starring in Reporter shows and 2006,Helen “ Saturday to over Hunt “Then photo the She
years,taken on location on
Shore Road at 77th and Street.Night Bette
Fever” from
to
Found Midler,““Blue Mad Me,” seen Men”Bloods” starring above and, and in Helen in a “September,2006,Saturday Hunt and to “ 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,“ 2006,
Then on
and She
singing Bette
“Wind
Home Shore Found Midler,Reporter Road Me,” seen Beneath at 77th photo starring above Street.taken My in Helen Wings”Midler a on September,location Hunt performed
during on
and the Bette
awards
Shore at Home Midler,the most Road Reporter seen recent at show’s 77th above Oscars,Street.photo In Memoriam in singing Midler taken a September,performed
on “Wind
segment. 2006,
2006,
“Then She
at Beneath Home Shore the most My Reporter Road recent Found Wings”at Oscars,location on
77th photo Me,”during Street. singing which taken the awards
Midler on also “Wind
location starred on
Matthew
Beneath show’s Shore at the In My performed
most Road Memoriam Broderick,Wings”recent at 77th during segment.Oscars, Street.was the also awards
“ Then singing Midler shot She
performed
inside a historic
show’s Found at Beneath the Me,”In most Memoriam My home which recent Wings”also on segment.88th Oscars,starred during Street.
“Matthew
Then OP “Wind
singing the She
awards
“Wind
ED
Found Broderick,Beneath show’s Me,” In was My which Memoriam also Wings”also shot starred inside during segment.Matthew
a the historic
awards
“Then She
Then-Broderick,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
a historic
and some of the stalwarts who nurtured the event in its formative
years Broderick,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 residents need.
Frederick E. Kowal is president of Professions, union representing 35,000 staff at SUNY’s 29 state-operated SUNY’s public teaching hospitals and ▲
were appealing. It sounded an awful lot like the
same excuse people had in 2016, when Hillary Clinton
won the popular vote but Donald Trump won the presidency
with the electoral vote because he squeaked by
in three swing states.
Every Brooklyn resident has a responsibility to be
active in his/her community -- and there is simply no
excuse for not participating in every election if you are
qualified to vote.
If it’s rainy, bring an umbrella or call a friend for a
ride (some campaigns will even drive you to the polls).
If you’re going out of town, fill out an absentee ballot
before you leave. State law protects your right to go out
and vote without being docked. If you don’t like who’s
running, write in the candidate of your choice.
If you’re not a registered voter, become one: visit vote.
nyc.ny.us to find out how. And save the date -- the next
general election is November 6, 2018.
It’s easy to be an armchair pundit and voice your displeasure
about government on social media or at the
Thanksgiving dinner table. But that's all bark and no
bite. The only thing that counts, in the end, is your vote.
And if you don’t vote, you don’t have a voice.
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)
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 editorial@homereporter.com
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.
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
BY ASSEMBLYMEMBER
nearly 3,000 employees at SUNY Downstate, has been
fighting to keep SUNY Downstate a fully operational staterun
PETER ABBATE
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, which to control SUNY’s public hospitals; affiliate with an academic hospital. SUNY Downstate teaching hospital.
Privatizing or closing SUNY the state to save dollars is shortsighted We believe the answer to Brooklyn’s lies in the “Brooklyn a UUP-backed initiative to care throughout Brooklyn.
This plan would preserve several financially unstable including Interfaith Medical Island College Hospital and Center. You can see http://www.brooklynhospitalplan.It calls for the creation of care centers, and would with 14 other Brooklyn be the network’s hub, educating and medical staff to the with doctors at the other hospitals.
It’s a simple, effective plan 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.
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
the 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
any 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, 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
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; one affiliate with an academic medical hospital. SUNY Downstate has 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 proposal http://www.brooklynhospitalplan.org.
It calls for the creation of a network care centers, and would be controlled with 14 other Brooklyn hospitals. be the network’s hub, educating and 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
charter school.
strikes us as patently unfair. While some of the
charter 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
GO BACK TO THE
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 editorial@homereporter.com
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.
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 must
affiliate with an academic medical institution or teaching
hospital. SUNY Downstate has Brooklyn’s only
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 save
several financially unstable hospitals in Brooklyn,
including Interfaith Medical Center, Brookdale, Long
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 ambulatory
care centers, and would be controlled by and affiliated
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.
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
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 to That would be real savings for our families, real from the tolls.
Last week, we had a major victory in this fi ght.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 keep pressure on.
We need to convince the Assembly and the governor
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 and onto our petition to make this discount plan a reality.
Together we can achieve reasonable toll rates the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
State Senator Marty Golden represents the Senate District in Brooklyn, including Bay Ridge,Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Manhattan Beach,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
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
Brooklyn@uupmail.org.
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 to control SUNY’s public hospitals; affiliate with an academic medical hospital. SUNY Downstate teaching hospital.
Privatizing or closing SUNY the state to save dollars is shortsighted We believe the answer to Brooklyn’s lies in the “Brooklyn a UUP-backed initiative to 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. The Net Plan—our plan and the viable, workable option for 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
▲
E-mail editorial@homereporter.com
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
the 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
any 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, 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
Brooklyn@uupmail.org.
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; one affiliate with an academic medical hospital. SUNY Downstate has 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, centers It’s a simple, effective plan and, will work.
New York has a responsibility to provide care needs of its citizens. The Brooklyn Net Plan—our plan and the community’s viable, workable option for long-term 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 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
charter school.
strikes us as patently unfair. While some of the
charter 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
GO BACK TO THE
DRAWING BOARD
▲
▲
Gary Nilsen and Helen Klein
(USPS 248.800)
9733 FOURTH AVE. • BROOKLYN, NY 11209
Co-Publisher ... Victoria Schneps-Yunis
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
Brooklyn@uupmail.org.
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 must
affiliate with an academic medical institution or teaching
hospital. SUNY Downstate has Brooklyn’s only
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 save
several financially unstable hospitals in Brooklyn,
including Interfaith Medical Center, Brookdale, Long
Island College Hospital and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical
Center. You can see the proposal online the 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—is 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
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 2014,will be NYPD Chief Joe Fox, now chief of transit, but well-known to many in the neighborhood as the former
commanding of cer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South.
and Helen Klein
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 potato
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 “wheat”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 not Avoid with added fruit/fruit syrup. And, the kinds usually pack in more sugar and far less protein.
•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 foods easy to grab on-the-go, but boxed muffi ns and snacks,chicken nuggets and processed meats contain tons 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, trail (without the add-ins!), whole grain bread, natural butter, light air-popped popcorn or pretzels, cottage
cheese, fruit and eggs.
We want to ensure that all New Yorkers have tools to develop better habits within their means.Starting with small changes, what they put on plates can make a huge difference.
Catherine Abate is the president/CEO of Community
Healthcare Network.
▲
▲
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
Brooklyn@uupmail.org.
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 must
affiliate with an academic medical institution or teaching
hospital. SUNY Downstate has Brooklyn’s only
teaching hospital.
Privatizing or closing SUNY Downstate as a way for
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 save
several financially unstable hospitals in Brooklyn,
including Interfaith Medical Center, Brookdale, Long
Island College Hospital and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical
Center. You can see the proposal online at
http://www.brooklynhospitalplan.org.
It calls for the creation of a network of satellite ambulatory
care centers, and would be controlled by and affiliated
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—is viable, workable option for long-term health care in
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.
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: editorial@homereporter.com
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
A LOOK BACK
Back in the 1980s, the city acquired the property between 59th and 60th
Streets and Fourth and Third Avenues to build a new school -- two new
schools, in fact, P.S. 503 and P.S. 506. In this photo, discovered in the files of
this newspaper, the demolition of some of the small buildings that previously
occupied that lot -- at some unspecified time -- is depicted, as is a very different
period of time. Note the graffiti and the old car, which firmly ground the
photo in decades past.
Compiled by Helen Klein
MARKING THE CENTENNIAL OF WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE
Walking out of the voting booth last Tuesday,
I was handed a new “I Voted” sticker celebrating
the 100th anniversary of women’s
suffrage.
New York State has long been a national
leader in the advancement of
women’s equality. The Seneca Falls
Convention of 1848 – the nation’s
first to address women’s rights
– was organized by leading suffragists
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and
Lucretia Mott and set in motion a
decades-long push toward women’s
suffrage. On November 6, 1917, New
York legalized women’s suffrage.
Now, as we celebrate the centennial of women’s
suffrage here in New York, we are not only reminded
of what it took to get here, but also how far
we still must go to achieve full women’s equality.
Today, safeguarding women’s rights is more
important than ever, and the Assembly majority
remains committed to doing just that. Unbelievably,
women still earn less than men and face
many challenges in the workforce. I am proud
of all the Assembly has done to protect women’s
rights and know that there is much left to be done.
As we look back on this historical milestone, we
would do well to honor the commitments of those
who fought for the right to vote and free elections
when we have the chance.
This past local election cycle had extremely
low turnout with less than 15
percent of the population of the five
boroughs casting a ballot. We can all
agree that there are needed reforms
to our electoral process to make it easier
for citizens to vote but many simply
choose to stay home.
When you look back on the sacrifice
of those who came before us,
that is a shame. The right to vote is a
shining example to the world of what democracy
means and why it is so important.
Voting is one of the strongest, most direct ways
we can effect change. It is our chance to influence,
inspire, make our voices heard and hold our leaders
accountable.
As always, my door is open. If you have questions
about this or any other community issue,
please feel free to contact me at 718-236-1764 or
via email at abbatep@nyassembly.gov.
Assemblymember Peter Abbate represents the
49th A.D. in Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Dyker
Heights and Boro Park.