BSR_p016

BSR04272017

16 APRIL 28 – MAY 4, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP EDITORIAL REMEMBERING THOSE WHO SERVED On April 22, the corner of 78th Street and Third Avenue was named in memory of a great lady, Maureen Stramka, who, over the decades preceding her 2014 death, made her mark on Bay Ridge. A former president of the Ragamu n Parade, the Bay Ridge Community Council and the Bay Ridge Lions, Stramka was omnipresent, also serving as a volunteer member of Community Board 10 and the 68th Precinct Community Council, among other organizations, on top of holding down the jobs that paid the bills. Stramka is just one of this neighborhood’s greats being honored in the coming weeks and months. Another is Police Oficer David Guttenberg, a member of the 68th Precinct, who was gunned down in 1978, just before Christmas, at the corner of Seventh Avenue and 86th Street. Thanks to the e orts of Auxiliary Police O cer Christian Durante, Guttenberg is well on his way to a similar honor, with CB 10 voting on Monday, April 24, to name the corner where he was killed in Guttenberg’s memory. A street naming in memory of another Bay Ridge icon is also right around the corner. On May 13, just across the street from the sign commemorating Stramka’s 14 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MARCH 20 - MARCH 26, 2014 14 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MARCH GO BACK TO THE 1144 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUPB R• O MOAKRLCYHN 1M3E -D MIAA RGCRHO 1U9P, 2• 0 M14ARCH GO BACK TO THE editorial A A LOOK LOOK BACK BACK Compiled by Gary Nilsen compiled Gary CHANGING THE FOX NEWS CULTURE A LOOK BACK Compiled by Gary Nilsen service, a street sign in honor of the late Howard editorial A LOOK BACK compiled Gary 14 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MARCH 6 - MARCH 12, 2014 Nilsen and (USPS 248.800) Dunn,GOOD who died in 2015 NEWS at the age of 88. FOR A naval veteran was THE a fi xture in COMMUNITY who served in World War II, Dunn the neighborhood, working on behalf of veterans, the Boy Scouts and the American Legion. Other street corners have been named in memory of late State Senator Christopher Mega (80th Street and 10th Avenue in Dyker Heights); Police O cer Moira Smith (74th Street and Fi h Avenue), who was killed trying to save lives when the World Trade Center was attacked on September 11, 2001; Charles Ahl, the fi rst chair of CB 10 (Fi h Avenue and 80th Street); and Community A airs Commissioner Rosemarie O’Keefe (Fi h Avenue and Bay Ridge Parkway), among many others, including several victims of 9/11 who hailed from the neighborhood. We think it’s only fi tting that all of them should be permanently remembered, at street corners meaningful and Helen Klein 14 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MARCH 6 - MARCH 12, 2014 Nilsen and (USPS 248.800) ASKING FOR EQUITY editorial A LOOK BACK compiled by BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MARCH 6 - MARCH editorial DRAWING BOARD A LOOK BACK compiled by GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD ▲ BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MARCH 6 - MARCH GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD editorial A The very LOOK notion of creating a news network BACK compiled by editorial A LOOK BACK compiled by Gary Nilsen and Helen (USPS 248.800) Gary Nilsen and Helen (USPS 248.800) the Photo by Gardiner Anderson Frederick E. Kowal is president of United Professions, the union representing 35,000 faculty and staff at SUNY’s 29 state-operated campuses, SUNY’s public teaching hospitals and health science 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 which Night Fever” to has provided “the Mad Men” and,many in 2006,movies to “Then She and And television the award Found shows backdrop goes Me,”over to… Photo the for many years, Bay by Gardiner movies Ridge, from which Anderson and “Blue And has television Bloods”provided the award shows and the goes “Saturday over to…the starring Night years, Bay Fever”Ridge, Helen from to Hunt which and Bette backdrop for many movies ““Blue Mad has Bloods”Men”provided Midler,and, and the in “2006,Saturday seen backdrop to above “Night Then for in She Fever”many a September, to movies 2006, and television shows over the years, from “Found Mad and “Blue Men”television Me,”Home Reporter Bloods” and,starring in shows and 2006,Helen “ Saturday to over Hunt “Then photo and the She Night Bette years,taken from on location on Fever” 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,in most taken in a September,2006,recent on location to Oscars,“ 2006, Then on She singing “Wind Home Shore Found Midler,Reporter Road Me,” seen Beneath starring at 77th photo starring above Street.taken My Helen Wings”Hunt and Bette Helen 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 Oscars,Street.photo In Memoriam in a September, 2006, in singing Midler taken a September,performed on “Wind segment.location 2006, “Then She at Beneath Home Shore the most My Reporter Road recent Found Wings”at Oscars,77th photo Me,”during Street. singing which taken the awards Midler on also “Wind on location starred on Matthew Beneath performed show’s Shore at the In My show’s In most Road Memoriam Broderick,Wings”recent at 77th during segment.Oscars, Street.was the also awards “ Then singing Midler shot She performed inside “Wind a historic Found at Beneath the Me,”most Memoriam home which recent also on segment.88th Oscars,starred Found Me,” My which Wings”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 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 “Then of She honor at an early Bay Ridge St. Patrick’s Parade. Hizzoner is seen home Matthew 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. need. Frederick E. Kowal is president of United University Professions, union representing 35,000 faculty and staff at SUNY’s 29 state-operated campuses, SUNY’s public teaching hospitals and health science ▲ to their families. We also think it would be wonderful if someone could compile an easily-accessible directory, perhaps online, to the memorials so, as the years go by, not only their names but their lives will never be forgotten. 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 [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, which would to control SUNY’s public hospitals; one affiliate with an academic medical institution 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 and care throughout Brooklyn. This plan would preserve SUNY Downstate 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 centers with doctors at the other hospitals. It’s a simple, effective plan and, if will work. New York has a responsibility to provide SUNY’s public teaching hospitals and health 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 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 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 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 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 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 allow corporations to control SUNY’s public hospitals; one corporation affiliate with an academic medical institution hospital. SUNY Downstate has Brooklyn’s teaching hospital. Privatizing or closing SUNY Downstate as 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 several financially unstable hospitals in including Interfaith Medical Center, Brookdale, Island College Hospital and Kingsbrook Jewish Center. You can see the proposal online http://www.brooklynhospitalplan.org. It calls for the creation of a network of satellite care centers, and would be controlled by with 14 other Brooklyn hospitals. Downstate be the network’s hub, educating and supplying and medical staff to the care centers and 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 public 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 [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 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 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, it 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 $6.30. That would be real savings for our families, real relief from the tolls. Last week, we had a major victory in this fi ght. The New York State Senate included a feasibility study in its one house budget. This means our plan is on the way to becoming a reality. We need to keep the 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 to let everyone know how important this issue is. Visit www.TheTollsareTooDamnHigh.com and sign onto our petition to make this discount plan a reality. Together we can achieve reasonable toll rates on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. State Senator Marty Golden represents the 22nd Senate District in Brooklyn, including Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Manhattan Beach, Gravesend, Gerritsen Beach, Marine Park and portions of Sheepshead Bay, Midwood and Boro 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 Editor in Chief ... Helen Klein 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, which would to control SUNY’s public hospitals; one affiliate with an academic medical institution 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 and care throughout Brooklyn. This plan would preserve SUNY Downstate several financially unstable hospitals including Interfaith Medical Center, Island College Hospital and Kingsbrook Center. You can see the proposal http://www.brooklynhospitalplan.org. care needs of its citizens. The Brooklyn Net Plan—our plan and the community’s viable, workable option for long-term Brooklyn. That’s something that Brooklyn residents need. Frederick E. Kowal is president of Professions, the union representing 35,000 staff at SUNY’s 29 state-operated campuses, SUNY’s public teaching hospitals and health 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 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 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, 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 allow corporations to control SUNY’s public hospitals; one corporation affiliate with an academic medical institution hospital. SUNY Downstate has Brooklyn’s teaching hospital. Privatizing or closing SUNY Downstate as 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 several financially unstable hospitals in Brooklyn, including Interfaith Medical Center, Brookdale, It’s a simple, effective plan and, if given a will work. 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 Brooklyn. That’s something that Brooklyn residents desperately 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 public 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 [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. 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 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 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 a 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. 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 mean 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. Some smoothies and fruit juice are loaded with sugar and fattening yogurt. •When Greek and regular yogurt are not chic. Avoid with added fruit/fruit syrup. And, the frozen kinds usually pack in more sugar and far less protein. •Down the wrong trail. Avoid mixes with added chocolates (which add in tons of extra calories and sugar) and watch portions. •Low price, but hidden costs. Processed foods are easy to grab on-the-go, but boxed muffi ns and snacks, chicken nuggets and processed meats contain tons of sodium, sugar and unhealthy preservatives. Consumed over the years, the above ingredients are the recipe for an unhealthy future. Seem overwhelming? Not if you start with some simple changes. So here are 10 healthier picks: sweet potatoes, avocados, plain Greek yogurt or regular plain yogurt, trail mix (without the add-ins!), whole grain bread, natural nut butter, light air-popped popcorn or pretzels, cottage cheese, fruit and eggs. We want to ensure that all New Yorkers have the tools to develop better habits within their means. Starting with small changes, what they put on their 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 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, it 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 a 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. 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 A LOOK BACK The late Bay Ridge activist par excellence Maureen Stramka, second from right, is the subject of this week’s Look Back. In a photo from the les of this newspaper, Stramka -- who succumbed to cancer just short of three years ago -- is seen with former First Lady Hillary Clinton, to her left. Also in the photo -- former Assemblymember Adele Cohen and Democratic District Leader Dilia Schack, both Democrats, and Republican Bob Capano. On Saturday, April 22, the corner of 78th Street and Third Avenue was named in memory of Stramka who, over the years, served as president of the Bay Ridge Community Council, the Bay Ridge Lions and the Ragamu n Parade. Compiled by Helen Klein GUEST OPED BY JULIAN PHILLIPS that gave voice to a conservative viewpoint was a novel idea—and very much needed at a time where liberal opinions dominated the airwaves. Television maverick Roger Ailes was certainly the right person to catapult such a concept onto the scene, and it quickly found a willing audience and ultimately skyrocketed the network to the top of the cable news ratings. The rise and dominance of Fox News may have surprised many in the business, perhaps because they underestimated Ailes’ ability to promote and “sell” his product with cra y slogans like “Fair & Balanced” and “We Report, You Decide.” It all sounded great—and more importantly, looked even better. For its targeted audience, Ailes hired young, mostly white blonde women with short skirts and pumps, accentuated by glass desks to ‘see all,’ and dashing white men in sharp suits delivering hard-hitting headlines geared towards presenting news with a conservative agenda that had tremendous appeal to those willing to tune in. Like it or not, Fox ruled cable news—and every other network was scrambling to catch up. For a time, Fox did deliver news and a message that gave voice to a conservative think tank that was sorely needed. However, conservative news started to shi toward a right wing agenda. Hannity & Colmes became just Hannity. With the 2008 presidential election approaching, there was a clear shi to hammer the Republican agenda home without balancing that viewpoint with credible le leaning analysts. It was a direct departure from 2002, when Ailes hired me as the network’s fi rst African American male anchor and host of “Fox & Friends Weekend.” Eleven years later, outside of Juan Williams hosting “The Five,” there is no African American male presence hosting a prime-time show on that network. I guess that did not matter to executives at Fox, because they still command sizable ratings over their competition. But what about fairness and balance? Can a network which claims to be just that, achieve those goals with very little minority presence in front of — or behind — the cameras in production or editorial decision making? Equally as important, can Fox maintain any sense of credibility settling sexual harassment suits now in the millions of dollars against its talent and executives? It boils down to how Fox intends to move forward. It can die a slow death in the ratings with its current base—or it can change how it presents news and treats its employees. I’m not suggesting Fox change its political focus—rather the culture in which it operates. In the end, that has everything to do with its character. Julian Phillips is a journalist and author.


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