DANIEL DROMM, Democrat for City Council

From Queens Courier: By Luisa Garcia

Years of dreams and hard work went up in smoke for the owners and employees after an accidental fire destroyed several Jackson Heights businesses the day before Valentine’s Day.

Nevertheless, with the help of friends and customers by their sides, many owners have already taken the first steps towards restoring their businesses.

Maria Laura Ines Solano, co-owner of Lalita’s gift shop, feels the urge to continue and finish what she started.

“I have a moral obligation to my clients,” she said. “This week I have been taking calls and working on baby shower decorations and sales paid before the fire took place.”

Solano came to the United Sates in 1994 with the hope of making money to help her three sons, who she left in Peru. The blaze that started in a nearby furniture store on Saturday, February 13, has forced her to start over again.

“I arrived in Florida [in the 1980s] and began working very hard; I was a babysitter for three years and moved on to taking care of an elderly woman,” said Solano. “After her death I was determined to continue moving on. I began working as a house keeper, doing alterations for clothing and then party decorations.”

In 2007, Solano’s younger sister persuaded her to open their own business in the city. After finding the location at 84-05 37th Avenue, an enthusiastic Solano moved from Florida to New York and became the third generation of women in her family to open a business. She began selling toddler clothing and imported items her sister sent from Peru.

Now that her store has burned down, she fights off tears of confusion as she sees herself and her employees left with nothing.

“I am very thankful to the people who have called me and kept me in their prayers,” she said, thanking in particular Councilmember Daniel Dromm, who put her in touch with someone at the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “They have kept me going and filled me with warm feelings that have me looking ahead to what is to come.”

The fire, which took all of the material items Solano kept for her business, has only motivated her to sell more and become more prosperous. She continues to hold on to her entrepreneurial spirit and hopes to find an affordable new space to rent and continue on with her gift shop, selling children’s clothing, floral decorations and party supplies.

“I am safe and the fire did not harm any of my employees or neighbors,” Solano said. “I am still healthy and I will continue on fighting to bring back my own shop once again.”

Labels: EconomicDevelopment, Fire, Press, PublicSafety

by Steve Mosco

In an effort to connect with small businesses in the area, newly-elected Queens City Councilmembers recently met with members of the Queens Chamber of Commerce at the organization’s Jackson Heights headquarters.

Councilmember Danny Dromm, representing District 25, said he looks forward to working very closely with the Chamber in the near future. The newly elected Dromm, a former city teacher, was excited to introduce himself to the business community.

“I believe very much in small businesses and I know large businesses also need our support because they are major employers,” said Dromm. “What happens in the business community affects the rest of the community.”

Labels: EconomicDevelopment

From Queens Chronicle: By Willow Belden

After a four-alarm fire tore through a commercial strip in Jackson Heights on Saturday, destroying eight businesses, local elected officials are denouncing the mayor’s proposal to close 20 fire companies across the city.

The blaze, which began in a furniture store on 37th Avenue between 84th and 85th streets, appears to have been caused by a malfunctioning boiler, according to the FDNY. No one was killed or injured, though dozens of people were evacuated from an adjacent apartment building, and nearby businesses sustained damage.

The fire started around 10 a.m. and burned for more than three hours, with some 200 firefighters working to contain it.

It took the FDNY three minutes to get to the scene. If it had taken any longer, many say, the damage could have been significantly more devastating and likely would have resulted in fatalities. That’s why some are calling on the mayor to rethink his plans to downsize the Fire Department.

“For a fire of this scale, you need manpower, and you need it here quickly,” said Leroy McGinnis, Queens trustee for the Uniformed Firefighters Association. “Seconds matter.”

In his proposed budget for the 2011 fiscal year, Mayor Mike Bloomberg called for 20 fire companies to be closed — a measure he says is necessary to help close the city’s $4.9 billion deficit.

Bloomberg hasn’t specified which companies he would close, but McGinnis and various local politicians say it doesn’t matter; any closures would affect the city as a whole. That’s because engine and ladder companies are routinely taken out of commission for training sessions, parades and other events — leaving neighborhoods with fewer vehicles and staff than usual, and forcing firefighters to come from farther away to respond to emergencies.

If the city eliminates 20 companies more, neighborhoods would be stretched even thinner, and response times would increase, according to critics of the mayor’s plan.

“Any closing of a fire company has a ripple effect,” McGinnis said, adding that if firefighters had had to come from farther away to reach the Jackson Heights blaze, the fire would likely have consumed adjacent buildings.

City Councilman Danny Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) and Assemblyman Jose Peralta (D-Jackson Heights) held a press conference on Monday, calling on the mayor to reconsider his plan.

“We need to ensure the safety of our residents,” Dromm said. “We cannot afford to risk peoples’ lives with these closures.”

The Bloomberg administration contends that the city can’t afford to keep all its fire companies running. “In tough economic times, every agency has been asked to do more with less, including the Fire Department,” Jason Post, a spokesman for the mayor, said in an email.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), chairwoman of the Fire and Criminal Justice Committee, said the city’s financial woes don’t justify the cuts.

“Fires don’t care about budgets,” Crowley said, adding that downsizing the FDNY could cost more in the long run than maintaining the Fire Department’s current numbers. “We cannot shift the costs from the city to the citizen,” she said. “We cannot shortchange our safety by forcing these cuts upon our New Yorkers.”

Trimming fire companies isn’t a new strategy to deal with deficits. In 2003, Bloomberg closed six engine companies, and last year he proposed cutting 16, though the City Council blocked the measure.

In December, the city reduced the number of firefighters in each unit from five to four, though the positions were restored the following month, amid strong criticism from the firefighters’ union.

Dromm said he will urge colleagues in the City Council not to approve a budget that includes cuts to engine companies for FY 2011.

Labels: Budget, CommunityOrganizing, Fire, Press, PublicSafety

From The Queens Courier: By Tonia N. Cimino & Claudia Cruz

As the remnants of the six stores ravaged by a four-alarm fire in Jackson Heights were razed, neighbors and other business owners reflected on the loss to the local economy.

“It’s a big tragedy,” said David Samaia, owner of Franco’s Corner, located one block away from the inferno. “These people lost a lot. Some of these businesses have more than one owner that will be affected. Employees lost their jobs. In this economy, it’s hard enough trying to find jobs.”

It was just before 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 13 when the fire started inside the Acme Furniture store located at 84-09 37th Avenue. It took 39 units with 168 firefighters to get the blaze under control – in three-and-a-half hours – but not before it chewed through conjoined storefronts and forced people from their homes.

Fire officials, who said there was a “significant delay” in calling 9-1-1, have determined the cause was a defective boiler on the first floor.

Locals credit the FDNY – which was fighting hot spots for hours after the fire and arrived on scene in just three minutes – with a job well done.

“It could have been a much bigger disaster if the fire department didn’t show up as fast as they did,” said Alex Chin, owner of Kelly Han Dry Cleaners, Inc., located at 84-11 37th Avenue. “I might not be here in this store if they hadn’t.”

Chin continued, “When I saw the smoke, I thought the fire was from my store. The fire was so close. I just stayed across the street and watched. I feel extremely lucky that it wasn’t me. I feel bad for those other business owners. I knew most of them — they were my friends.”

Though the Chin family’s cleaners sustained a little bit of water damage near the front door, an official with the Office of Emergency Management on scene on Sunday, February 14 – on the phone with the Department of Buildings (DOB) – deemed it structurally safe.

The DOB, however, determined the six stores were structurally unstable and ordered them leveled on Sunday, February 14. A spokesperson for the agency told The Courier that in 2003 and 2005, violations were issued at the site because one store had been subdivided.

As of Monday, February 15, Chin said his dry cleaning business was open. “All of our machines are working so far, knock on wood, so we plan to stay open,” he said.

However, Ilona Pozniakiene was not so lucky.

An employee of Colony Wine & Liquor Store on the corner for 10 years, she said she saw the flames from her kitchen window a few blocks away. “I’ve lost my job,” she said.

“The flames were as huge as the building,” said Councilmember Daniel Dromm as he surveyed the damage and helped a few business owners – from storefronts not affected by the fire – get back into their stores. “This will have a tremendous affect on the community because it was eight businesses and all ‘mom and pop’ stores.”

Dromm said that he is unsure at this time as to the monetary loss, though city agencies are working to determine this. He continued, “I have already conducted meetings with five of the eight business owners affected and the Department of Small Business Services has arranged to give those affected immediate assistance.”

“It’s horrible. It’s terrible at this time with the economy being so bad,” echoed Fannie Beylot, who lives on 79th Street. “Your heart goes out to these people. All of these stores have been here forever.”

Labels: CommunityOrganizing, Fire, ImmigrantRights, Press, PublicSafety

From The New York Times: By Fernanda Santos

There were a Russian liquor seller, an Ecuadorean manicurist and a Dominican barber. There was Thomas Kourakos, 83, who is from Greece and who opened his shoe-repair shop in 1956. And there was Maria Solano, 54, who is from Peru and who opened her party-favor store in 2006.

Along 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, from 84th Street to 85th Street, a diverse global cast toiled every morning in an equally diverse collection of neighborhood stores.

They could count on the Uruguayan furniture salesman to shovel the sidewalk after snowstorms, on the Ecuadorean accountant for financial advice and on one another for companionship.

Yolanda Mitsis, 59, a Colombian aesthetician who had a skin-care clinic on the block, described their relationship as “una cadenita,” or a little chain. But that chain was broken Saturday morning when flames, water and smoke pulverized 8 of the 15 stores on the block.

“I used to say hi every morning, when they walked by,” Alex Chin, 59, a Chinese dry cleaner whose shop was spared by the fire, said of the people whose businesses were destroyed. “It feels very lonely without them.”

A malfunctioning boiler inside a furniture store between Mr. Chin’s and Mr. Kourakos’s shops sparked a blaze that raged for four hours, forcing the evacuation of a neighboring apartment building and requiring 168 firefighters to bring under control, officials said.

No one was seriously injured, but the flames left a crater of mangled metal and charred brick in the heart of a commercial strip that has offered many immigrants a foothold in a new city.

For the lucky ones, like Mr. Chin and Abdul Rahim, an Afghan who owns a fabric store on the block, life goes on. Those not so lucky lost pretty much all they had.

“Everything I had saved I invested in this store,” said Robinson Valderrama, 30, who is from Colombia and who last year opened a clothing shop, Stylus Boutique, in a storefront facing 84th Street. He has a 9-year-old son, a 21-month-old daughter and a 7-year-old stepdaughter. His wife is unemployed, and the store was their only source of income, he said.

Mr. Valderrama did not have insurance. Ms. Mitsis thought she had insurance, but said that when she called to check on Tuesday, she found out that her policy had lapsed. Ms. Solano had coverage but said it would not offset her losses.

Then there are people like Amada Sánchez, 51, the manicurist from Ecuador, who rented a work station at La Pelukeria, a hair salon. She accepted only cash and kept it at work, in a small cardboard box that she emptied every Saturday at the end of her shift, she said.

“I had worked like crazy all week because of Valentine’s Day, but the fire burned my money,” Ms. Sánchez said dejectedly, estimating that she probably had $1,000 in the box. She said the fire also burned her nail polishes, nail drying machines and the rest of her equipment.

Very little has been recovered from the debris. A contractor in charge of the demolition said his crew had salvaged seven helium tanks and a cash register from Ms. Solano’s party-favors store, Lalita’s, with $1,400 inside. They also retrieved a filing cabinet and a safe from the liquor store, facial vaporizers from Ms. Mitsis’s clinic and a pair of pedicure chairs from the hair salon.

“I would love to have the businesses that were destroyed come back, but to be honest, I don’t know if it’s going to happen,” said Councilman Daniel Dromm, who represents the neighborhood and who spent much of the weekend at the fire scene. “This was devastating to people’s lives.”

Their loss is more than just material. Mr. Kourakos, the cobbler, was working in the back of his shop when flames erupted next door. Because he is hard of hearing, he did not know that Ms. Solano and her husband, Julio Aragón, had been calling out his name, unsure if he was still inside.

Ms. Solano said Mr. Aragón visited Mr. Kourakos every morning after he had helped her roll up Lalita’s gates. If a Spanish-speaking client needed Mr. Kourakos’s services, Mr. Aragón helped translate. If Mr. Kourakos had to bring a heavy box into his shop, Mr. Aragón would carry it. If Mr. Kourakos had trouble pulling nails from the heels of a shoe, Mr. Aragón would do it for him.

Mr. Aragón dashed inside Mr. Kourakos’s shop, Tom’s Shoe Repair, even as smoke and flames threatened to overpower him. Mr. Kourakos emerged wearing an apron smeared with shoe wax. His winter jacket, keys and all the machines and memories he had amassed in more than five decades had been left behind.

“I don’t know what he’s going to do,” his daughter Jeannie Kourakos said. “He went there to work, but he had a social life with the people who worked around him. They’d come in, bring him a doughnut; they stopped by to say hello. He’s going to miss his friends.”

Labels: CommunityOrganizing, Fire, ImmigrantRights, Press, PublicSafety

From Queens Gazette: By John Toscano

Two Jackson Heights lawmakers, joined by area Fire Department officials, cited a devastating fire in their area to emphasize demands that no firehouses be shut down because of anticipated budget cuts.

The massive fire destroyed a commercial strip on 37th Avenue between 84th and 85th Streets.

City Councilmember Daniel Dromm (D–Jackson Heights) declared:

“We cannot afford to lose any firehouses anywhere in the city. If one firehouse closes, firehouses in other communities will be called upon to cover those other communities. That will leave everyone short of firehouse coverage if an emergency occurs.”

Joining Dromm, Assemblymember Jose Peralta (D–Corona/Jackson Heights) stated he would work closely with Dromm “to ensure that the businesses affected by this devastating fire receive the resources and assistance they need to recover and rebuild”.

Then turning to the firehouse closing issue, Peralta said, “This weekend’s fire further reinforces the critical need to keep all firehouses open. We cannot afford to have less fire protection in our neighborhoods: Our lives and our businesses depend upon it.”

Dromm, a former school teacher said something must be done to correct “the false impression that response times [in fires] are down.”

The freshman lawmaker noted: “Response times are now calculated in a different way. These changes are troublesome.” He explained,

“Response times are now calculated not to include the time a caller spends making the emergency call to 911. This creates the false impression that response times are down. Also, response times only consider when the fire engine arrives on the scene. It does not take into account the amount of time it takes to stretch hose lines, get water on the fire or administer EMS. Providing services could take another 10 minutes or more.”

Dromm also praised the firefighters for doing “an excellent job here in Jackson Heights over the weekend”.

Labels: Budget, CommunityOrganizing, Fire, Press, PublicSafety

From El Diario: By Editorial

Labels: CivilRights, Espanol, Immigrant Rights, Press

Labels: Budget, CommunityOrganizing, Fire, Press, PublicSafety

Jackson Heights business owners say coin-fed parking meters limit turnover in shoppers
by Clare Trapasso

Welcome to No Park Heights - aka Jackson Heights. Residents and shoppers compete daily for scant street parking while dodging ticket agents in one of the city's most ethnically diverse neighborhoods. The crunch is worst in the 70s, between 35th and Roosevelt Aves., local leaders said, where densely packed rows of South Asian shops compete for customers. But they - like officials in other areas that Queens News has spoken to for its "Queens Parking Crunch" series - had some ideas that could help alleviate the mess. The city Department of Transportation will hold an open house to address parking and transit concerns at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 27 at Public School 69, 77-02 37th Ave. City Councilman Daniel Dromm would like to see many of the coin-fed parking meters along the busiest streets replaced by muni-meters.

"If you took out all of these meters, you might be able to get two or three cars per block extra," said the newly elected Jackson Heights Democrat. Dromm also proposed turning many of the two-hour spaces along a main shopping drag - 37th Ave. - into one-hour spots. "Cars come and they stay all day," he said of the congested streets. "What we need to do is keep them moving."

He has even asked the city to remove the parking spot his predecessor, Helen Sears, reserved for herself in front of the district office he now occupies. The Transportation Department is processing Dromm's request to remove that spot, officials said. The agency is also looking into installing muni-meters.

But Dromm's long-term goal is to create parking permits for locals. This could dissuade commuters from parking in Jackson Heights all day while they take public transit into Manhattan.

That could cut down on the roughly 30 minutes it takes Jackson Heights resident Teemoia Marino, 35, to find a parking spot.
"It's like you win the Lotto if you find the parking," he said. The dearth of parking isn't just driving motorists nuts - it's hurting businesses, too.

"If you can't park, you can't do the shopping," said Fatema Shakoor, 46, whose sister owns the South Asian clothing shop Aanggan on 74th St. "They can't take their time [or] they get a ticket."

Labels: EconomicDevelopment, Press, Transportation

Labels: EconomicDevelopment, Fire, Press

 

Labels: CommunityOrganizing, EconomicDevelopment, Fire

Labels: CommunityOrganizing, EconomicDevelopment, Fire

by Anna Gustafson
A four-alarm fire ravaged an entire block in Jackson Heights Saturday, destroying eight businesses and forcing the evacuation of about 100 residents, fire officials said.

Nearly 170 firefighters worked for 3 1/2 hours to extinguish the blaze that began at 9:53 a.m. Saturday morning in the Acme Furniture store at 84-09 37th Ave., officials said. Four firefighters sustained injuries and were treated at area hospitals, officials said. No civilians were hurt in the blaze, an FDNY spokesman said.

The fire, which sent plumes of smoke into the sky that could be seen from miles away, was under control by 1:30 p.m., according to an FDNY official.

City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) said his office met with owners of the affected businesses Saturday and said the city Department of Small Business Services has arranged to give those affected by the fire “immediate assistance.”

Dromm also met with evacuated residents, many of whom have been able to return to their homes, to help secure “medical assistance for those in need, including seniors and the disabled, and make special arrangements for pets.”

Labels: EconomicDevelopment, Fire

Labels: EconomicDevelopment, Fire, Press

"A massive fire broke out this morning in a commercial strip on 37th Avenue between 84th & 85th Streets in Jackson Heights. At this time, four fire-fighters have been reported to have minor injuries and are being treated. No civilian injuries have been reported as of yet. The damage is extensive and it appears that these commercial stores are destroyed. The Fire Department is doing an excellent job of handling this dangerous situation. I have been in regular contact with the Fire Chief and other city agencies. The FDNY has successfully stopped the fire from spreading to nearby residential buildings.

However, the residential apartments may have suffered from water or smoke damage. I have already conducted meetings with five of the eight business owners affected and the Department of Small Business Services has arranged to give those affected immediate assistance. In addition, I've met with residents of 35-43 84th Street and have helped secured medical assistance for those in need, including seniors and the disabled, and make special arrangements for pets.

Many people have now been able to return to their apartments. I will make sure that the full resources of the City Council are available to residents and small businesses in this time of need. I would like to thank the Office of Emergency Management for the excellent job they are doing coordinating services. We are committed to helping the businesses and the community rebound from this fire", said City Council Member Daniel Dromm.

Labels: Press

From NY de Día: By Edison Esparza

Labels: ImmigrantRights, Press

Labels: CivilRights, ImmigrantRights, Legislation

To describe the last few weeks as a whirlwind for New York’s two new gay City Councilmembers is a gross understatement. Inaugurals, new committee chairmanships, press conferences and a trip to Puerto Rico to meet with the family of a murdered gay teenager have certainly kept Jimmy Van Bramer [D-Sunnyside] and Danny Dromm [D-Jackson Heights] quite busy. Both men, however, remain all too quick to point out how much they love their new job.

"It’s been a great experience," Dromm, a former public school teacher who had taught in Queens for more than 20 years, told EDGE. "I love teaching, but this is a wonderful, wonderful job to have."

Dromm and Van Bramer are the newest members of what many affectionately dub the City Council’s "gay and lesbian caucus." Councilmember Rosie Mendez [D-Lower East Side] and Speaker Christine Quinn [D-Chelsea] round it out, and Melissa Mark-Viverito and others have periodically proclaimed themselves honorary members. Both men maintain their election will allow them to use what they categorized as the Council’s bully pulpit to push for marriage for same-sex couples and other LGBT-specific issues.

"There will be opportunities for us to stand up as a unit and express our feelings and express our power-as we did with Jorge Steven López Mercado," Van Bramer said to EDGE earlier this week.

Dromm, who chairs the Council’s Immigration Committee, agreed.

"I’m a strong believer of when people get to know each other, it’s very hard to discriminate against each other," he said. "As legislators, we can bring that home to our colleagues because we’re openly gay."

Dromm added his and Van Bramer’s election broke a glass ceiling, but the question remains: Will they, Mendez and Quinn have any collective power to further advance an LGBT legislative agenda at the city and state levels?

Kenneth Sherrill, a political science professor at Hunter College, became the city’s first openly gay elected official with his election as a Democratic district leader in 1977. He told EDGE gay and lesbian Councilmembers could prove pivotal during the upcoming city and state budget process. They could prove decisive in shaping the discourse over funding for HIV/AIDS services and the city’s Human Rights Commission and the implementation of safer-school programs.

"I would look for members of the state legislature and members of the City Council to mobilize to protect the community from what could be dangerous retrenchment," Sherrill said.

He conceded it is more difficult to determine whether a stronger LGBT legislative presence in Albany, which already includes state Sen. Tom Duane [D-Manhattan] and state Assemblymembers Deborah Glick [D-Manhattan,] Micah Kellner [D-Manhattan,] Danny O’Donnell [D-Manhattan] and Matt Titone [D-Staten Island,] could have secured passage of the marriage bill in the state Senate late last year. Sherrill added, however, their presence inevitably keeps an LGBT-specific agenda on the table.

"You can prevent them from forgetting about the issue," he said.

Pauline Park, co-president of the Out People of Color Political Action Committee and a long-time transgender activist, acknowledged the importance of LGBT people in office. As a long-time critic of Quinn, however, she argued their presence alone does not necessarily translate into progress for LGBT New Yorkers.

"Just because someone is openly LGBT or queer, that doesn’t mean there’s any guarantee they will support a progressive political agenda as an elected official-or an LGBT-inclusive agenda," Park said.

She further questioned whether LGBT Councilmembers actually have any tangible influence in Albany, and even in the five boroughs themselves.

"Holding press conferences doesn’t move legislation," Park added.

Both Dromm and Van Bramer remain optimistic they and their colleagues on the City Council and Albany will be able to advance an LGBT agenda.

"We’re going to be saying to our colleagues; this is important to us and we need you on board," Dromm said.

Labels: CivilRights, Press

From Philippine Daily Mirror: By PDM News

Rain, wind, and cold weather did not hinder supporters from rallying behind Daniel Dromm at the Jewish Center in Jackson Heights. Dromm held a press conference to announce his latest position as the chair of the New York City Council Immigration Committee. “Dromm is the person we need for the job. He has been active in community affairs in the district for almost two decades already. He has advocated for community issues which includes just wages, traffic concerns, LGBT rights and justice for victims of hate crimes in the community”, Mon Mappala of the Filipino Political Action Committee (FPAC) said.

On November 3, 2009, Dromm received overwhelming support from the immigrant community when he was elected to serve the 25th district. His district has the highest percentage of foreign-born residents in New York City (the 25th district includes sections of Jackson heights, Elmhurst, LeFrak City, Corona, Rego Park and Woodside).

Council member Dromm declared, “As committee chairperson, I look forward to addressing the wide array of issues that our immigrants face when they come here. In the City council, I represent what is perhaps the most diverse, immigrant rich community in the city, if not the world. It is indeed an honor to chair this committee.”

“A patchwork of immigrants elects an openly gay councilman”, is how the New York Times dubbed Dromm’s recent election. Dromm who has irish roots, speaks Spanish fluently and once worked as a teacher promised to address different issues in the community.

Among the issues which is Dromm’s priorities in the Immigration committee are expanding of English-as-a-Second language programs, improving health care access for immigrants, opening jobs and community centers, improving housing for immigrants, relieving school overcrowding in communities with large immigrant populations, supporting federal legislation for the DREAM act and focusing on the need for a comprehensive federal immigration reform.

“Dromm truly understands the diversity of his district and the needs of the different neighborhoods that thrive in it. We are hopeful that his appointment as Chair of the immigration committee will bring our voices, the immigrant voices into the New York City Council. And he will help bring changes to our community including the ever growing Filipino Community”, Mappala said.

Council member Dromm declared during the press conference, “It does not matter where you come from or how you got here. What matters is where we are going together”. “What immigrants want is what all New Yorkers want – the right to pursue happiness and freedom in our great land”, Dromm added.

Philippine Forum, a local organization in Queens fighting for the rights and welfare of Filipinos, signified to help Dromm push for a comprehensive immigration agenda.

"The appointment of Council Member Dromm is a big victory for the Filipino community and our immigration campaign. Danny has been a close ally even before he was elected as NYC council member and we look forward to working with him in bringing concrete changes for immigrants”, Julia Camagong, Co-Executive director of Philippine Forum, stated.

Labels: ImmigrantRights, Press

From Gotham Gazette: By Courtney Gross

Hundreds of undocumented children in the city's foster care system may be eligible for permanent residency, City Council members said yesterday.

The problem is no one knows it.

On Wednesday, Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Immigration Committee Chairman Danny Dromm announced a proposal that would make sure the Administration for Children's Services kept tabs on children's' statuses. Quinn and Dromm introduced a bill (Intro 3) that would require the administration promptly identify children who qualify for protected status from the federal government.

While in foster care, undocumented children are eligible for a special immigrant juvenile status from the federal government, which could lead the way to permanent residency and a green card.

"We unfortunately know little of how many documented children even exist in the system presently," said Quinn.

The bill would also require the administration to assist kids in immigration services and mandate the administration report back to the council on results.

Currently, said council officials, the city has no idea how many children in the foster system who are eligible for protected status actually receive it. Quinn said the Administration for Children's Services only has two staffers devoted to finding out children's immigration status.

Many, officials said, slip through the cracks.

Quinn suggested this new legislation could help "hundreds" of immigrant children.

Advocates were on hand yesterday to champion the proposal. Although it would likely affect only a small population of foster care children, even one child moving on without protected status is a tragedy, said Nancy Downing, the director of advocacy and the legal department at Covenant House, a youth shelter.

"Even if you're talking about 10 kids a year, that’s significant because those are 10 kids that are really going to be leading a life of poverty," said Downing. "They can't get jobs. They can't get education, if they cant get financial aid."

When a child is 18, he or she leaves the city's foster system. Once out of the system, the child would no longer be eligible for the status, said Quinn.

The council's proposal would only apply to undocumented children in the foster system. It does not affect children in the juvenile jail system.

Labels: Immigrant Rights, Press

On Wednesday, Councilman Daniel Dromm joined other Council Members in expressing outrage that the Department of Citywide Administrative Services continues to use entrances examinations that put Black and Latino candidates for New York City Fire Department jobs at a disadvantage in entering the service.

Labels: CivilRights, Press

From The Epoch Times: By Jack Phillips

NEW YORK—The Hispanic Federation slammed possible Democratic Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. on Monday, alleging that his record on immigration isn't up to par for New York City. Ford is a former congressman from Tennessee who is rumored to be seeking a primary challenge against current U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).

Ford voted yes on a 2005 bill that was mostly Republican-backed in the House and, if it was passed in the Senate, would possibly have charged all illegal immigrants in the U.S. with a felony, forcing them to be incarcerated for one year. Many civil rights, human rights, and religious groups opposed the bill when it first appeared.

Councilman Daniel Dromm said that Ford could not win over the city without immigrant support. "This is New York City. And New York City was built strong because of our immigrant population," said Dromm.

Labels: ImmigrantRights, Press

From Gotham Schools: By Anna Phillips

The city’s teachers union and the NAACP filed suit against the Department of Education today, claiming that the city lost the right to close 19 schools when it violated the law that governs school closures.

Those who have read the law — or the “carefully crafted multi-tiered public process,” as the lawsuit states —can testify that it is not a simple one to follow.

Part of the mayoral control legislation that barely made it through the state legislature last summer calls for the city to hold hearings at each of the public schools slated for closure, for “stakeholders” to be consulted, and for the city to study and report on the effects closing schools would have on their surrounding communities. All of this had to be completed a certain number of days before the citywide schoolboard, the Panel for Educational Policy, voted on the closings.

The United Federation of Teachers is charging the city with putting up only “a pretense of compliance” with those procedures. The department’s Educational Impact Statements were “boilerplate,” Mulgrew said. Their notices of public hearings were published too late and the views of Community Education Councils, which function as local school boards with limited power, were ignored, the lawsuit alleges.

“I don’t know any other way to get the attention of the DOE,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who joined the UFT’s lawsuit. Stringer said he doesn’t oppose closing failing schools on principle, but believes the city has violated the law.

Absent from the news conference at the UFT’s headquarters in Lower Manhattan today was Democratic State Senator Daniel Squadron, who sponsored the law along with Republican State Senator Frank Padavan. In October, Squadron told a small gathering of residents from his district who objected to the law that he felt personally responsible for ensuring that the city followed the protocol it laid out.

DOE officials expected the UFT to sue, but appear particularly irritated by the NAACP’s decision to join as a plaintiff.

“Either you’re for fixing schools that have failed poor and overwhelmingly minority students for far too long, or you’re not. I know what side we’re on,” said Deputy Mayor for Education Dennis Walcott in a statement.

Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit include: the Alliance for Quality Education, Marty Markowitz, Bill Perkins, Eric Adams, Martin Dilan, Hakeem Jeffries, Robert Jackson, Charles Barron, Mark Weprin, Al Vann, Daniel Dromm, and Lewis Fidler.

Squadron did not return a request for comment.

Labels: Education, Press

From NY1: By Lindsey Christ

The United Federation of Teachers filed suit Monday against the Department of Education over its plans to close 19 city schools.

The suit accuses Schools Chancellor Joel Klein of ignoring the law and not properly analyzing the impact of closures on students and communities.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew was joined by teachers, parents, community groups and elected officials for the announcement.

"It has become clear to us that they have not followed the law," Mulgrew argued.

The Panel for Education Policy voted last week to close 19 underperforming schools.

The decision came against objections from students and parents, who rallied and spoke at the meeting for nine hours.

"We listened. I mean we did detailed analysis of these schools and we listened to what people had to stay, but at the same time we cannot allow schools that have not done their job, so we met the letter of the law," said Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott.

"What we are asking here is for this process to be redone, because it was not followed correctly. We cannot ignore the public comment," Mulgrew said.

During an appearance Monday on NY1's "Inside City Hall," Klein responded strongly to the lawsuit.

"The schools that were front and center in that lawsuit like Jamaica, Beach Channel and Columbus and others, they were schools that were identified by the state as persistently lowest performing in the entire state. What we need to do is come up with better solutions for our state," Klein said.

When asked about accusations that the process was fixed, Klein said that during the public hearings, no one made a compelling case for keeping the schools open.

The schools will be phased out over several years, meaning current students will be allowed to graduate, but there will be no new enrollments.

Most of the closed schools will be replaced by smaller schools, often in the same building.

Labels: Education, Press