You are on page 1of 36

JUN( 1999 $

a bureaucrat became
businessman and
uered the new world
welfare-to-work
Choice Cuts
m
y wife teaches history in JaTrUlica, Queens. She works at a public alterna-
tive high school, a place where students go for a second chance. A handful
of her students were escorted out of their first school because they had dis-
cipline problems. Some were scared to attend an unsafe school. Some just
never went to class. Some flunked out, plain and simple.
Most of Jill's students failed out of school because school failed them. That happens when
a school has 3,000 kids, few resources, tired teachers, absent parents, crushing poverty. It's
pretty easy to fall between the cracks. The students who apply to attend Jill's school are the
ones who have TrUlde a commitment to get an education. Plenty more drop out for good.
Jill and her colleagues at Satellite Academy have seen how daTrUlging the current sys-
EDITORIAL
tem is for TrUlny kids, how it ignores them. Spend some time talking
with these teachers, and it's clear that New York City's public
schools have big problems.
But they're working to TrUlke the system better; not draining the
life out of it. That solution comes from Mayor Rudolph Giuliani with
his plan to use $/2 million of the city budget as incentive for a dis-
trict to provide vouchers for students to attend private schools.
It's a bad idea, taking millions of dollars and the energy and
input of engaged parents away from a beleaguered system. Oh, and it also violates separa-
tion of church and state by sending tax dollars to religious institutions.
The move is a broad bow to the right, a cheap political stunt to boost Rudy's conserva-
tive credentials before a potential run for the Senate. Vouchers are an issue that conserva-
tives have zeroed in on because many black and Latino parents are understandably fed up
with sending their children to subpar schools. The day before Rudy announced his plan, he
told the crowd at a conservative Washington, D. C, fundraiser that vouchers are an issue
that "divides our two political parties right down the middle" and can be used to court
Democratic voters.
Don't befooled by Rudy's rhetoric. There are plenty of ways to fix schools that don't
involve vouchers, even some that are about choice. New York City leads the country in the
small schools movement, which gives parents an option without trampling on the
Constitution, and now charter schools are on their way. But choice alone isn't an answer;
we need to invest in a system that helps every kid, not just the ones who are lucky enough
to have parents with the time, motivation and infofTrUltion to hunt for the best school.
This is a test.lfyou oppose the right's agenda, don'tfall into its trap and defend the
status quo. Instead, argue for more democratic and effective visions for reform. Who'll be
our next mayor, senator or president might depend on it. A good education for the more
than one million kids who attend our public schools certainly does.
&0
Cover Photo by Linda Rosier: Richard Schwartz"s last day at City Hall
Carl Vogel
Editor
City Limits reli es on the generous support of its readers and advertisers, as well as the foll owing funders: The Adco
Foundation, The Bankers Trust Foundation, The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, The Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program
at Shelter Rock, The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, The Joyce Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, The Scherman Foundation, The
North Star Fund, J.P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated, The Booth Ferris Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The New York
Community Trust, The New York Foundation, The Taconic Foundation, M& T Bank, Ci tibank, and Chase Manhattan Bank.
(ity Limits
Volume XXIV Number 6
City Limits is published ten times per year. monthly except
bi-monthly issues in July/August and September/October. by
the City Limits Community Infomnation Service, Inc .. a non-
profit organization devoted to disseminating information
concerning neighborhood revitalization.
Publisher: Kim Nauer
Editor: Carl Vogel
Senior Editors: Alyssa Katz: Kathleen McGowan
Associate Editor: Kemba Johnson
Contri buting Editors: James Bradley. Michael Hirsch,
Andrew White
Intern: Chau Ouach
Design Direction: Hope Forstenzer
Proofreaders: Anne Arkush. Sandy Socolar
Photographers: Pedro Linger. Mayita Mendez
Center for an Urban Future:
Director: Neil Kleiman
Research Director: Jonathan Bowles
Research Associate: Drew Kirizaides
Board of Directors:
Beverly Cheuvront, Girl Scout Council of Greater NY
Francine Justa. Neighborhood Housing Services
Rebecca Reich. LlSC
Andrew Reicher. UHAB
Tom Robbins. Journalist
Celia Irvine. Manhattan Borough President's Office
Pete Williams. National Urban League
'Affiliations for identification only.
Sponsors:
Pratt Institute Center for Community
and Environmental Development
Urban Homesteading Assistance Board
Subscription rates are: for individuals and community
groups. $25/0ne Year. $39/Two Years; for businesses.
foundations. banks. government agencies and libraries.
$35/0ne Year. $50/Two Years. Low income. unemployed.
$10/0ne Year.
City Limits welcomes comments and article contributions.
Please include a stamped. self-addressed envelope for retum
manuscripts. Material in City Limits does not necessarily
reflect the opinion of the sponsoring organizations. Send
correspondence to: City Limits. 120 Wall Street. 20th Fl..
New York. NY 10005. Postmaster: Send address changes to
City Limits, 120 Wall Street. 20th Fl.. New York. NY 10005.
Subscriber complaints call: 1-800-783-4903
Periodical postage paid
New York. NY 10001
City Limits (ISSN 0199-0330)
(212) 479-3344
FAX (212) 344-6457
e-mail : CL@citylimits.org
On the Web: www.cityl imits.org
Copyright 1999. All Rights Reserved. No
portion or portions of this journal may be reprinted with-
out the express permission of the publishers.
City Limits is indexed in the Alternative Press
Index and the Avery Index to Architectural
Periodicals and is available on microfilm from University
Microfilms International. Ann Arbor. MI48106.
CITY LIMITS
JUNE 1999
FEATURES
Organizing Drive
They make a living driving bigshots around, but the city's
"black car" chauffeurs are only being driven one place: into debt.
A union push to organize them has yielded unprecedented
victories-and caught the labor movement's attention. By Matthew Strozier
The Welfare Estate ~
The most lucrative welfare-to-work job, as former Giuliani
advisor Richard Schwartz has learned, is finding work for other
people. A new breed of employment brokers lands contracts
by connecting government money with business sense. By Kathleen McGowan
Response Time
Five activists probe the city's reaction to the Amadou Diallo
shooting, from the politics behind the protests to the future of
organizing. Has New York witnessed the spark of a lasting
movement, or just a shooting star?
PROFILE
Switch Hitter
Green activist Judith Enck has exchanged her picket signs for
a seat inside the State Attorney General's environmental office.
PIPELINES
Eternal Wanderer
In November, City limits readers were introduced to Caryn,
a 16-year-{)ld living in a city-run East New York group home.
Her murder in April ended a life lived on the run.
The Wrong Haul
As the city moves to dump its garbage on Red Hook, the
beleaguered neighborhood fights back-with a little help
from its friends up and down the waterfront.
Cityview
Full Court Press
Review
A Fruitful Search
Spare Change
Poetry to the People
Editorial
Letters
Briefs
COMMENTARY
DEPARTMENTS
2 Ammo
4 Job Ads
Professional
5
Directory
By Kemba Johnson
By Wendy Davis
By Michael Hirsch
125
By Jeanne MuUgrav
126
By James DeFilippis
134
27
29
30
-

Development Bedevilment
This is in response to your March 1999
cover story, 'Thy Will Be Done." I would
like to submit that a more appropriate title
would be 'Thy Will Be Done In" by shod-
dy, inaccurate and tainted journalism. The
LETTERS ;, press has a responsibility to report the
tions continue to work together in a har-
monious fashion.
3) The tireless efforts of CCHD
deserve better coverage than a sidebar to a
story concerning the growing pains of our
sister organization, HCCI.
...... ""'"" objective facts related to both sides of the
proverbial coin. Without using the word
"yellow," let's just say that Matthew
Strozier and Suzanne Boothby's objective
eyes are severely jaundiced.
4) Statement: "[CCHD was] created to
build the housing that HCCI oversees." Cor-
rection: We were created to facilitate the
human and physical renewal of Harlem
through neighborhood stabilization efforts
such as rehabilitation and the construction
of affordable mixed-income housing, the
creation of jobs and business opportunities,
and the creation of growth-oriented pro-
grams to serve the community as a whole.
You make no reference to the Consor-
tium for Central Harlem Development's
mission or the strides we have made toward
its fulfillment. Instead, City Limits has sacri-
ficed these good works in an effort to ''tint-
alate" its readership with tales of internal
rifts and failed confidences. To set the record
straight, let's be clear on a few things:
1) When Rev. Mary Kendricks was
looking to identify funding, she came to
our technical support program, where we
provided her with a polished grant propos-
al complete with a financial pro forma.
2) Strozier reports that Harlem Congre-
gations for Community Improvement
(HCCI) is no longer working with-or
reportedly even communicating with-
CCHD. This is absurd. The two organiza-
5) Statement: "Without the confidence
of the city's housing department and split
from their partner HCCI, the group has
connected with the Canadian outfit." Cor-
rection: Your statement clearly states that
this was the impetus for connecting with
the Canadian outfit. Based on economic
realities facing the city's capital budget in
1996, we pursued the opportunity to attract
private-sector dollars in order to fulfill our
total revitalization program for the Brad-
hurst plan.
6) Statement: "Sources knowledgeable
about the plans say that in October, [the
Progress makes perfect!
Lawyers Alliance for New York has been the leading provider
of business law services in New York City for 30 years. We've
got our focus on your future, making sure that nonprofit groups
that are stimulating economic development, building affordable
housing, and expanding child care have the support they need.
Lawyers Alliance is pleased to announce that Sean C. Delany
has been named Executive Director. Sean will be leading our
efforts to meet your needs even better in the years ahead.
Call us to find out how Lawyers Alliance can help your
nonprofit face the legal challenges of the future.
99 Hudson Street 14th Floor
New York, NY 10013
Tel: (212) 219-1800
Lawyers Alliance
for New York
city's Department of Housing Preservation
and Development] sent a letter retracting
the consortium's exclusive right to city
support .... " Correction: As of this writing,
the city and CCHD continue to work
together toward the development of pro-
jects in the Bradhurst area .
Lynette Burkley
Director,
Marketing/Business Development
Consortium for
Central Harlem Development
Matthew Strozier R"ponds: To
answer the charges that our reporting was
inaccurate:
1) According to Rev. Mary Kendricks,
HCCI assisted her church in its applica-
tionfor the Chase grant.
2) HCCI and CCHD have dissolved
their official partnership, and several
sources indicated it was not an amicable
split. As was reported in our story, the two
groups are bidding against each other on
the same contract with the city.
3) While it is understandable that
Burkley would want more coverage of her
organization, we ran what we considered
to be an appropriately sized story.
4) The mission statement that Burkley
cites might be a fuliUst of the goals that
CCHD has set for itself. However, we
stand by our explanation of why the group
was founded: as a housing developer for
the Bradhurst plan, the buildings that
HCCI is responsible for managing.
5) It is true that Burkley's group had
begun working with the Canadian compa-
ny before their relationship with HCCI
ended. But the decrease in city support for
Bradhurst projects was at least in part tied
to CCHD's problems.
6) The city does still fund CCHD proj-
ects. It has also rescinded its agreement to
work exclusively with the group on the
Bradhurst plan.
Correction
Due to an editing error, Ken Rosenfeld
was identified as aformer Rent Guidelines
Board lawyer in "Code Blues" in the April
1999 issue. Rosenfeld was a tenant repre-
sentative on the board. (Since the article
was published, he was removed from the
board by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.)
Letters to the editor can be sent to City
Limits, 120 Wall Street, 20th Floor, New
York, NY 10005 or to cl@citylimits.org.
City Limits reserves the right to edit all
letters for clarity and space.
CITY LIMITS
Inspiration
ElRamo
A
rtist Fernando Salicrup knows that see-
ing an idea become reality in EI Barrio
can take time. But when it comes to the
buildings and other sites he envisions
for rus community, sometimes it's
enough that people see rus concept.
''I'm very idealistic," Salicrup says. "I don' t
usually have the money [to get these thlngs built],
but it's nice to be involved with thlngs that come
out of your imagination."
With that in mind he teamed up with urban
designer Miguel Angel Baltierra and arcrutects
Joyce Lee and Algernon Miller to create 'The Cul-
tural Corridor: Visions for East Harlem." The show-
case of arcrutectural plans from professionals and
Columbia University grad students ran from April 2
to May I at Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center.
Salicrup's exhibit incorporates existing cultur-
al spots like EI Museo del Barrio and the Graffiti
Hall of Fame into a futuristic vision that includes
a 2,OOO-seat theater, a Silicon Barrio new-media
JUNE 1999
school and a glow-in-the-dark art gallery along the
now-intimidating Park Avenue Metro North ele-
vated railway. Inspired by the cultural resources
and museums in the area, the corridor cruises
along I06th Street from Third to Fifth avenues,
detouring north along Park Avenue until 116th
Street.
Salicrup may treat urban planning like art,
but that's largely because he views art as EI Bar- .
rio's savior. On a whimsical level that means the
Park Avenue art boxes bring locally created art
to the community while acting as giant night-
lights for safe passage through the dark, danger-
ous tunnels under the railway. More practically,
he notes that the tourists who come to East
Harlem are there for the music and art, not the
rice and beans.
But the difference between grand plans and
grand openings is spelled M-O-N-E-Y. To that
end, the four are now in talks with officials from
the flush federally funded Empowerment Zone.
Salicrup says EZ representatives seem intrigued,
but he knows it's far from a done deal. "It's inter-
esting that an organization that has a lot of money
is learning how to give it to the community," he
says. "In reality, how much of the money can go to
smaller organizations than bigger ones remains to
be seen."
Salicrup and Baltierra are used to waiting a
long time for their braincruldren to develop. It took
Salicrup a decade to build a row of homes for
artists along Lexington Avenue, and Baltierra
recently completed a four-year portion of a project
to develop residential, commercial and cultural
spaces in downtown Los Angeles. Then there are
Salicrup's EI Yucca Rainforest Caribbean horticul-
ture museum and a Techno-Cultural Museum,
wruch will probably never be built.
"You have to realize it's a long-term project,"
Baltierra says. "It's all feasible and none of it's
feasible. It all matters who's listening to you."
-Kemba Johnson
-
Briem .......... --------........ - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ J
Film File
"Nobody can make me slit in a." proclaims Adam PIrpIe as he sets
up lis system to collect ~ I : Iunan feces used for fertilizer. "I have a
right to make earth."
GARDEN
PARTY
Purple might be the most, um, colorful character 00 screen in David
Hayward Evans' new documentary DiI1, but he is far from the ooly
intriguing one. Shot over two years starting in 1995, the film chronicles four seasons in the
community gardens of the East Village, including a wedding ceremony, a funeral, tai chi rJass-
es, a raucous community meeting-oomplete with hurled epithets-and much more.
Filmmaker
David
Hayward
Evans (right)
with
community
gardener,
squatter and
documentary
film star
Pablo.
Perhaps Evans' IOOSt remarkable achievement, however, was I:I'eatq an akmst detached rmvie
00 an intensely partisan saQect. WIiIe there is some noise from IUIdozers, IOOSt rI the screanQ
comes from a pack rI kids coofrooted with a bag rlladybugs used for pest control.
"It was really interesting to me to try to make an artistic film about a political debate,"
says Evans, who shot, directed and edited the film, his first documentary. Evans, a native
Brit turned New Yorker, theorizes that the film's ambience may come from the European
background of the movie's producer and assistant producer. "My God, if somebody [built a
community garden] where we came from, they'd be lauded and protected," he says.
The movie will be shown on WHET on July 9 at 10 p.m. Meanwhile, Evans is taking Dirt on
the festival circuit and paying the bills by shooting commercials in China. His biggest client?
American Standard, which he notes is ''the world's largest producer of toilets." --cart Vogel
Education
Mergers and
Impositions
I
n March one of the city's oldest education
reform groups suffered a strange kind of
coup. Citing money worries, the board of the
historically left -of -center Public Educators
Association made a surprise decision to
merge with the Center for Educational Innovation, a
think tank fostered by the right-wing Manhattan
Institute. PEA Executive Director Ray Domanico
promptly quit and joined up with the Industrial
Areas Foundation (IAF}--one of the nation's most
aggressive community organizing groups.
"You would think they would have asked me
about it," Domanico says. He felt betrayed by the
board's unilateral decision, especially since he
knew CEI very well: He is one of its founders. But
after four years at CEI, Domanico left, feeling frus-
trated by the lack of parent activism and involve-
ment. He then joined up with PEA, a l00-year-old
civic group that counsels parents, advocates for
reform and publishes a guide to city high schools.
PEA Senior Research Fellow Clara Hemphill
called the board's move ''bizarre politics." "It's very
bad form for the board of trustees to merge with
another group without further discussions with the
staff or with the funders," she says.
PEA's board defends the merger, which becomes
final New Year's day. "We wanted to help keep PEA
alive," agrees Cole Genn, a CEI senior fellow who is
now PEA's acting executive director. Genn says
PEA board members were also dissatisfied with
Domanico's management style in dealing with the
budget deficit.
Domanico notes that during his tenure at the
organization, he doubled its budget and has bal-
anced it annually, one year even deferring his own
salary. "I think [the board] simply got tired of rais-
ing money for PEA," he says. -Chau Quach
Banking
Delta Force
T
hink of it as the opposite of redlining:
targeting residents in poor communi-
ties for unnecessary, expensive
loans-often by unscrupulous means.
It's called "predatory lending," and the
worst offender in New York, according to a coali-
tion of activists, is the Delta Funding Corpora-
tion. "Delta has a corner on this market, espe-
cially in low-income African-American neigh-
borhoods in Brooklyn and Queens," says coali-
tion member Josh Zinner, an attorney at South
Brooklyn Legal Services.
Delta has a foreclosure rate nearly double the
industry average for high-risk loans, and a recent
lawsuit charges the company doesn't ensure that
people can swing the payments. "We do every-
thing possible to set up some kind of payment
plan. We don't want to foreclose on a property,"
counters Delta Vice President Marty Cohen. "It
makes no sense to make a loan that we don't think
the borrower can afford."
Coalition leaders announced in April that
they had taken a key step toward reining the
lender in by getting Bankers Trust to consider
resigning as Delta's trustee this quarter, when
Delta will sell off bundles of its mortgages to
Wall Street.
"The role of the trustee is crucial," Zinner
says. He acknowledges that another institution
would likely assume the job. But he argues that
the symbolic effect would be immense, serving to
embarrass and isolate Delta, which relies on this
investor cash to leverage additional mortgages-
more than $1.25 billion worth in 1997, according
to Cohen.
Bankers Trust is especially vulnerable to advo-
cate pressure because of an imminent merger with
German financial titan Deutsche Bank, which
gives community groups an opening to affect the
feds' approval. At a March meeting with high-
level representatives from the two banks-includ-
ing Deutsche chair Rolf-Ernst Breuer---coalition
members demanded an end to dealings with Delta
and a doubling of Bankers Trust's community
lending commitments.
Gary Hattem, head of Banker Trust's com-
munity development banking division, will only
say that "negotiations are underway" about
Delta, but he adds that the meeting with advo-
cates was productive. "For Deutsche Bank, and
Dr. Breuer in particular, it was an opportunity to
meet the New York constituency face to face and
learn about community development in the
U.S. ," he says. Breuer's learning curve will con-
tinue to rise-he agreed to tour some of New
York's poorest neighborhoods with coalition
members as guides.
-Carl Vogel
CITY LIMITS

GOVERNORS PATAK1 ANDWHITMAN's HlGHLtVEL DAREDEVIL TALKS

a
TO RESTRUCTURE THE PORT AUTHORITY
/
Evictions
Haitian Exile
P
or 12 years the Haitian Task Force for
Housing has worked to protect Brook-
lyn's Haitian immigrants from unfair
evictions. Now it's struggling to stop an
eviction that's closer to home.
The task force, which uses volunteers to provide
advice and other services to Haitian immigrants,
has survived on about $20,000 a year in donations
from some 20 volunteers and two small grants from
the North Star Fund and East New York Savings
Bank. But since getting an office two years ago in
Crown Heights, it has had a hard time making rent.
Three months late with payments, the group will
lose its space in May unless it produces at least
$5,000 for rent and utilities.
To raise the money, the board initiated mem-
bership drives, prepared grant proposals and even
sent out a batch of press releases in early March.
''It'll be a major blow if we give up this space,"
says chairperson Fitzgerald Limontas. "It is cen-
tral to the community."
On any given week, says founder Florence Elie,
about 100 phone calls come in from seniors who
need legal forms translated or coaching during court
hearings. "We have to explain the implications when
we're at the court with them;' says Limontas, adding
JUNE 1999
I
that many Haitians are initially unwilling to go to
court, even if they'll be evicted unfairly, because of
unpleasant experiences with the Haitian government.
Now Limontas and Elie are rethinking funding
strategies, slowly seeking help from sources they
scorned before-local small businesses and gov-
ernment. "We'll have to investigate these people,"
Limontas notes. "Many small businesses are oper-
ated by those that supported the Haitian dictator-
ship, people who have participated in the oppres-
sion of our own people."
Research
-
- --
rn
c
=
Money has been slow to trickle in, but Elie is
still optimistic that her organization can find a
group to share the space or, if it is evicted, rent the
office again when its financial picture is rosier.
Another option is merging with a local group, such
as the Haitian Centers Council. But that too may be
affected by the task force's attitude toward certain
potential patrons. Ronald Aubourg, the council's
policy analyst, says the group is cautious about ask-
ing the task force to change its firm anti-govern-
ment fundraising stance. -Chau Quach
A recent study from a new housing group has found that afford-
able housing isn't just good for the wallet, but is good for children's
health as well.
HOUSING
WORKS
San Francisco-based Housing America reports that 4.5 million
children currently live in "worst-case" housing, where many end
up suffering from anemia, lead poisoning and asthma attacks. New York City's public hous-
ing waiting lists have grown by 11 percent and the wait time to eight years. Now the hous-
ing crisis is moving into the suburbs and blue-collar midwestern communities as popula-
tions grow and private-market vacancy rates dwindle.
The nonprofit was founded only last fall, but it has managed to bring in some heavy hit-
ters, including the Denver Post and Sen. Wayne Allard, chair of the Housing and Trans-
portation Committee. On the local level, Housing America helps community groups advo-
cate on the national scene. "[Grassroots groups] don't have the resources to concentrate
on national campaigns full-time," says founder Randy Shaw. "We help them bolster their
national activism." -Chao Quach

Eternal
Wanderer
.. P.IP.E.lI ... NE--t : After spending as much time on
the street outside an ACS group
home as in it, teenager Tiffany
Stewart was murdered nearby.
By Wendy Davis
:M
O
n Easter Sunday, two fishermen on
their way to Jamaica Bay came
upon a macabre scene. In a vacant
lot near the bay's entrance they found the
corpse of Tiffany Stewart, wrapped in a
plastic bag.
The 16-year-old girl had been in the
care of the city's Administration for Chil-
dren's Services (ACS) for slightly more
than two years and was a resident of the
nearby Hegeman Transitional Center, a
group home in East New York, until three
weeks before she was murdered.
City Limits readers met Stewart in the
November 1998 story "Nobody's Homes,"
about the failure of Hegeman and other
ACS-run group homes to adequately
supervise, support or engage the teenagers
in their care. Under the pseudonym
"Caryn," Stewart said that she lived in the
group home because she and her mother
couldn't get along.
The petite teenager spent most of her
time at Hegeman hanging out on the cor-
ner in front of the home, smoking marijua-
na and partying with other residents and
local men. School was a distant memory;
her own child, a two-year-old boy, was
being raised by an aunt in Arizona. Stew-
art's life was wild, but it wasn't fun. "Right
now," Stewart asserted last summer, "I'm
trying to get the hell out of Hegeman."
The details of Tiffany Stewart's death
are still murky, but some facts are known.
On April 3, around 11 at night, she was
strangled to death near an underpass. Police
records indicate that at least three people
acted together to kill Stewart, although so
far only one, 16-year-old Amanda Gonza-
lez, has been charged. Allegedly, Gonzalez
acted as a lookout while another person
struck Stewart in the head and a third stran-
gled her; Gonzalez then helped dispose of
Stewart's body. She has been indicted for
second-degree murder.
ACS spokesperson Leonora Weiner
will not disclose any details about Stew-
art's history or the ongoing murder investi-
gation but did acknowledge that her death
was not unique. "Foster teens have died
outside group homes before," Weiner says.
Little changed for Stewart between
last summer and March 12 of this year,
when she was moved to a group home in
Queens for reasons ACS has refused to
disclose. By all accounts, Stewart had not
been in her new group home long enough
to get close to the other girls and was
unhappy there.
"She was never there," says Irene (not
her real name), a resident of the Queens
home. According to Irene, Stewart usually
came in around 2 a.m. during the week and
was not there at all on weekends. When
house parents reminded Stewart of a 10 p.m.
curfew, she reportedly answered that she
stayed out late because she worked nights.
Although Stewart's new group home in
Queens was in a better neighborhood than
Hegeman, the conditions inside the home
were not much different. As at Hegeman,
there was not much for the 12 residents,
ages 15 to 19, to do with their time.
That has been changing. "After Tiffany
died, a couple of interesting things hap-
pened," says Irene. Three new computers
and stacks of board games appeared in the
home immediately following her death.
The girls were also taken horseback riding.
ACS considered Stewart a "frequent
AWOL-er" who chronically stayed out
without permission from group home
staff, according to Weiner. But the agency
never went to court to request an arrest
warrant to get Stewart returned to the
group home, says Stewart's Legal Aid
lawyer, Jonathan Roman.
For Stewart, the only alternative to
hanging out on East New York's streets was
staying inside watching television, which
she had too much energy to do. Even as she
was being interviewed, she would frequent-
ly interrupt the conversation to dart across
the street and greet people passing by, call-
ing many by name as she ran to them.
She was socially sophisticated enough
to remember the names of everyone she
met, including her lawyer's and judge's. Yet
for all of her savvy, Stewart was still a 16-
year-old child who, tragically, needed more
attention and guidance than New York's
child welfare system gave her .
Wendy Davis is editor of Manhattan Spirit.
CITY LIMITS
The Wrong Haul
Already a dumping ground, Red Hook enlists its friends to resist becoming garbage ground zero.
By Michael Hirsch
"MY wife and I put in every
cent we could scrape
together to buy this house,"
recalls Lou Sones, who's lived in Red
Hook, Brooklyn, since October 1997.
"Not even a month later, they announced
the city's plans." The big news: The Giu-
liani administration was considering Red
Hook's beloved waterfront as the site of an
enormous trash-processing facility that
would help replace Staten Island's Fresh
Kills landfill.
This December, Sones and his neigh-
bors' worst fears were confirmed: The city
announced its intention to put one of the
behemoths on a parcel of land in Red
Hook owned by corporate trash giant
Waste Management, Inc. The company has
submitted a plan to use the site for a facil-
ity that would load up barges with trash to
be shipped to Pennsylvania, VIrginia or
conceivably anywhere else Waste Manage-
ment owns a dump. The facility could han-
dle up to 12,000 tons of trash a day-
almost as much household garbage as all
of New York City produces.
The chair of Red Hook Groups Against
Garbage Sites (GAGS), Sones is a slight
David next to the waste industry Goliaths
vying for a piece of the action when Fresh
Kills closes in 2002. He's an actor and bar-
tender; his wife Pat is a film location man-
ager. They moved to the semi-industrial
neighborhood of just 11,000 people-
most of whom live in the massive Red
Hook Houses-for its affordable housing
and a bonus view of the Statue of Liberty.
Red Hook is cut off from the rest of the
city by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
and New York Harbor. But Sones and other
GAGS members are hardly isolated in
their alarm about the city's garbage plans.
With the city negotiating in secret with the
nation's largest garbage haulers, water-
front communities in Brooklyn have been
living scared, in a void of information.
After being promised that it would not
be the site of a waste transfer station, Bay
Ridge is now bracing for a possible 6,000-
ton-a-day facility at 65th Street. In April,
rumors shot through Cobble Hill that the
Port Authority would lease its nearby piers
to Waste Management as a backup site for
Red Hook. Meanwhile, Williamsburg resi-
dents are worried that the city's provisional
JUMEI999
effort to phase out Fresh Kills-in which
private haulers are packing up to 4,400 tons
a day of trash at existing commercial sites,
then trucking it out of town-will become
permanent if the Department of Sanitation
(DOS) can't work out a long-term plan
before the 2002 deadline.
It would be easy enough for these
beleaguered communities to just let poor
little Red Hook take its trashing. But
instead, just the opposite is happening.
Unsure of their own fates and distrustful of
the city from past betrayals, the neighbor-
hoods have banded together. Attorney
Joanne Seminara Lehu, a member of Bay
Ridge Against Garbage Sites, remarks that
the city's "lack of openness and its failure
to include communities in its planning
have forced people into an 'us against
them' attitude."
Two coalitions-Boroughs Allied for
Recycling and Garbage Equity (BARGE)
and the Organization of Waterfront Neigh-
borhoods (OWN}-have pulled the west-
ern Brooklyn waterfront together into a
collective force. "When we started
BARGE," Sones says, "we realized every
neighborhood had to stick together to
defeat the city's plan, because otherwise it
would screw somebody. The glue that
keeps us together is that there are solutions
that are fair to everybody." Remarks Eddie
Bautista, an OWN organizer who has been
working to cement the neighborhoods' ties,
''The city doesn't count on impacted com-
munities watching each others' backs."
I
n addition to filing lawsuits, the coali-
tions have been drumming up support
for a proposal that could make new
garbage facilities unnecessary. The city
owns eight marine transfer stations, plants
where residential garbage is moved from
city trucks onto barges that then take it to
Fresh Kills. Under the city's proposed
plans, the barges from those stations will
take their trash to facilities like the Waste
Management Red Hook plant, where it
will be reloaded onto jumbo barges for
out-of-town shipment.
GAGS and BARGE argue that the
marine transfer stations should instead be
retrofitted with new equipment that would
allow garbage to be containerized and
loaded directly onto an ocean-going barge.
"MTSs are equitably distributed already
s
PIPELINE (

Until the
city decides
Red Hook's fate,
I8-wheelers will
continue to
rumble through
the streets of
Williamsburg.
-

around the city," says Sones. "They're not fit with containers that would shuttle from
like dropping a bomb in a neighborhood." the marine transfer stations to a container
NANCY
But from the start, the city has resisted port somewhere in the region.
retrofitting. DOS explicitly ruled out using BARGE and GAGS may have attracted
the existing stations in its requests for pro- corporate friends, but the profit motive is
posals to handle the Fresh Kills trash. No also working against them. The $35 bil-
HARDY
surprise there. Because it alters city prop- lion-a-year solid waste industry has been
erty, any reconfiguration plan would have salivating over New York ever since then-
to go through a contentious public review U.S. prosecutor Rudolph Giuliani broke up
process. Keeping the marine transfer sta- mob-controlled garbage disposal. Under
Insurance
tions as they are would also preserve Sani- the Fresh Kills phase-out plan, the biggest
tation union jobs. companies are already cleaning up: WMI
The official DOS position, however, is has a two-year, $133 million contract to
Broker
that converting the stations would reduce truck waste out of town at $58 a ton.
their capacity by 25 percent or more, mak- ''There is gold in garbage," notes GAGS
ing retrofitting a poor investment. But member John McGettrick. 'There is no
neighborhood advocates point out that incentive for or interest in reducing waste.
even with reduced capacity, each existing The more garbage they move, the more the
transfer station can process as much as carting industry gets paid." That's why the
Specializing in
4,800 tons of waste per day--enough to Red Hook neighbors aren't just worried
clean up the entire tri-state area. about handling the city's household trash;
Community
they fear that WMI will bring in garbage to
The neighborhoods fighting City Hall process from outside the city as well.
Development
have found a more receptive audi- The Red Hook plant won't be the only
ence to play to: some of the trash new mega-station being built in New York.
companies that have come to town to cash It's expected that the Bronx's garbage will
Groups,
in on the largest privatization effort in the be handled at a new station in the Harlem
city's history. The post-Fresh Kills con- River Yards, processing up to 10,500 tons a
HDFCs and
tracts will potentially channel $6 billion to day; Staten Island will take care of its own
corporate players over a period of 20 years. trash at a facility that could manage 2,880
Non .. Profits.
A few firms that have been locked out of tons. Yet the Bronx currently produces just
the city's bidding now see an opening, and 1,900 tons a day, Staten Island 1,200. Even
they're singing the neighborhoods' tune: if all the garbage from Manhattan, Queens
Retrofitting, they agree, is the best way to and Brooklyn goes to Red Hook-a nox-
go. Touting a proprietary technology that ious load to begin with-that still leaves
Low .. Cost Insur ..
shrink-wraps garbage into one-ton bundles room for 2,000 tons of out-of-town trash.
that can be shipped out directly from the Citing a federal court ruling that invali-
ance and Quali ..
marine transfer stations, a representative dated New Jersey's efforts to regulate the
from Eeoc Environmental-a subsidiary flow of garbage, DOS claims that it will not
ty Service.
of Phoenix-based Allied Waste-made a be able to prevent the private contractors
presentation to Brooklyn's Solid Waste from doing whatever they want within the
Advisory Board in March, having already new facilities' permitted uses- including
caught the attention of Staten Island Bor- processing trash from out of town. Because
ough President Guy Molinari last fall . construction costs will likely be reflected in
Over 20 Years
Molinari's political legacy depends on the dumping fees the companies charge, the
closing Fresh Kills on time, and he knows city, fumes BARGE member John McCro-
of Experience.
the biggest obstacle is a fight from Brook- ry, "is subsidizing the expansion of the
lyn's neighborhoods. "The real cause for garbage industry in a way that will make
concern is the city's refusal to look at New York City the garbage processing cen-
modernizing the city's eight existing ter for the entire region."
270 North
marine transfer stations," he told City Lim- Sones is resigned that GAGS is his
its in February, adding that community neighborhood's last line of defense, but he
Avenue, New
opponents "would probably drop their law- insists the fight is much bigger than Red
suits if the MTSs were retrofitted." Hook-that it's as big, in fact, as all of
Rochelle, NY
From Molinari the shrink-wrap concept New York City. "We want to have control
found its way to new Sanitation Commis- of the waste stream," he says, "not have the
10801
sioner Kevin Farrell, a Staten Island ally city locked into a private company's 20-
who was appointed in March. The city is year-plan when a better technology could
now exploring retrofitting at least a few of come along tomorrow." The more ques-
914 .. 654 .. 8667
the existing stations, and Sanitation has tions they raise, he says, "the more the city
agreed to a six-month test of Allied's has to answer."
process. A Fort Lauderdale company is
now on the scene with a proposal to retro- Additional reporting by Alyssa Katz .
... CITY LIMITS

Switch Hitter
Career activist Judith Enck takes her environmental fight inside the new Attorney General's office.
By Kemba Johnson
O
ne January morning five years ago,
Judith Enck got the phone call she
had been waiting 10 years for. A
state official was on the other end, promis-
ing a meeting with top environmental
agency staff to talk about dangerous emis-
sions from a trash-burning incinerator.
A few days earlier the state-run incin-
erator, which generates power for Empire
State Plaza, had belched soot allover a
blanket of fresh snow that covered
Albany. This scene had been replaying
itself in varying degrees for nearly a
decade. But on this night, the dark cloud
was thick, and the winds were wayward.
Instead of landing as usual in the low-
income, predominately minority commu-
nity of Arbor Hill, ash and oil were car-
ried to the pristine white lawns of the
Governor's mansion and its neighbors.
Enck and her fellow environmentalists
at the New York Public Interest Research
Group (NYPIRG) had been lobbying
unsuccessfully for years to persuade the
state to make the relatively simple switch
from burning trash to using clean natural
gas. So it was with surprise and reserva-
tion that Enck listened to the official 's pro-
posal of a meeting, waiting for the catch.
Then it came. The meeting would start at
noon, exactly when Enck had scheduled
another meeting-with the press about the
dangers from the incinerator's emissions.
"They wanted me to cancel the press
conference as a sign of good faith," Enck
remembers. "I laughed. I said we'd be
willing to meet with them after the confer-
ence, not at noon."
They eventually agreed to meet 45
minutes before the conference. And after
that meeting, while Enck was standing
before the cameras on the steps of Albany
City Hall, city and state officials were talk-
ing inside. A couple of days later they
announced their decision: The incinerator
would no longer burn trash.
It was vintage Enck-principled, savvy
and stubborn. Around green circles, she is
known as a relentless defender of the envi-
ronment, especially from pollution, pesti-
cides and garbage. NYPIRG environmen-
tal associate Christian Clossner says that's
true even when allies stand in the way. "I'd
be ready to strike a deal and compromise,
and she'll say, 'No way,' he says.
JUNE 1999
Now the obstinacy and blunt-
ness that got her banished two
years ago from top-level Pataki
administration meetings with
environmental groups-her out-
spoken criticism of the governor
was not appreciated-are serving
her well in the halls of power.
Since March she has been a visi-
ble presence at the state Justice
Building in the newly created
position of policy advisor in the
state Attorney General's Environ-
mental Protection Bureau.
Since defeating Dennis Vacco
last November, Elliot Spitzer has
been reconstructing the bureau, a
division that Albany insiders say
had been gutted during Vacco's
four years.
If Spitzer is trying to win
points for bringing in serious
green big guns, he couldn't have
done better than Enck. She's so
renowned for her green zeal that a
couple of years ago the Legisla-
tive Correspondents Association
lampooned her during its annual
political roast as a nun begging
for "nickels for nature." Even her
friend and former employer,
NYPIRG Executive Director
Chris Meyer, felt her sting when
he and his wife decided to use dis-
posable diapers for their second
child. "Judith is nothing if not a
loyal friend," he says, "but you could hear
[the disapproval] in her tone."
That's why shock rustled through
Albany's insular environmental commu-
nity when Enck abandoned her lO-year
post as senior environmental associate at
NYPIRG to join the enemy. "A lot of
friends and colleagues suggested that I've
gone to the dark side," Enck says. "But
this Environmental Protection Bureau
and this Attorney General's office are
going to do cutting-edge work."
E
nck first spoke to then-candidate
Spitzer during the final harried days
of last July's legislative session,
when he asked to be briefed on leading
state environmental issues. Enck was half
thinking that she couldn't spare the time
from lobbying but finally decided to
squeeze him in.
Once Spitzer started talking about
using the might of the legal system to
defend the environment, Enck admits,
she was hooked. "I grabbed my yellow
legal pad-with recycled paper, of
course-and started taking notes," she
says, flashing a lighthearted frankness
that belies her reputation as a brash,
often strident activist.
The Spitzer camp chose Enck based
on her impressive record. Besides the
Albany trash-burner victory, she helped
fight and defeat several other incinera-
tors. In 1982 she helped draft the legisla-
tion for nickel deposits on recyclables;
more recently, Enck pushed for a
statewide government-run pesticide reg-
PROFILE
Environmentalist
Judith Enck has
gone from
career gadfly to
Elliot Spitzer's
green policy
broker in one
swift move.
-

-
istry, which revealed that Brooklyn and
Manhattan are among the most pesticide-
ridden areas in the state. At NYPIRG
Enck became an activist/advisor, using
press interviews and lobbying to create
legislation and alter policies and using
her knowledge of politics and the envi-
ronment to advise local groups.
In February, Spitzer's team offered
Enck the responsibility for the office's
big think on statewide issues, a nebulous
task that begins with a topic like acid
rain and a Rolodex full of experts. She's
part of a team of seven scientists and
about 35 lawyers who enforce environ-
mental law and defend the state against
disgruntled corporations and communi-
ties who feel slighted by state Depart-
ment of Environmental Conservation
decisions. Beyond court work, the office
gets to weigh in on state environmental
legislation and DEC policies.
Spitzer is putting a lot of weight
behind the bureau, even hiring Peter
Lehner, a former senior attorney at the
Natural Resources Defense Council, to
head the division. Many of the same peo-
ple who worked under Vacco remain in
the office, but Spitzer vows they will
have more support to do their jobs. In the
"Enck has
spent a lot
of time
criticizing
government.
Mowshe's
going to have
to make
decisions."
year before Vacco came to office, the
department secured $4 million in penal-
ties. By fiscal year ' 96, that had dropped
to $1.9 million. "They destroyed environ-
mental law protection," says Assembly-
man Richard Brodsky, chairman of the
Environmental Conservation Committee.
RrF
of
NEW YORK
IN CO RP O R A T E D
For 20Years
We've Been There
ForYou.
Your
Neighborhood
Housing
Insurance
Specialist
R&F OF NEW YORK, INC. has a special
department obtaining and servicing insurance for
tenants, low-i ncome co-ops and not-for-profit
communi ty groups. We have developed competitive
insurance programs based on a careful evaluati on
of the special needs of our customers. We have
been a leader from the start and are dedicated to
the people of New York City.
For I ll/orll/Ciliol/ call:
Ingrid Kaminski, Executive Vice President
R&F of New York
One Wall Street Court
New York, NY 10005-3302
212 269-8080 800 635-6002 212 269-8112 (fax)
Now the bureau will tum its attention
to pesticides, PCBs and other pollutants.
''We definitely want to be aggressive on
environmental issues," says Lehner, who
headed NRDC's national clean water pro-
ject before coming to the bureau. "Envi-
ronmental protection is something Elliot is
personally interested in. Environmental
issues will have strong support from the
top. That has been the real difference."
C
an Enck, who has spent the last 20
years defending the environment by
causing trouble for the powers that
be, be as effective from inside the system?
"She has spent a lot of time criticizing
government," Brodsky notes. ''Now she's
going to have to make decisions."
Enck seems to have eased into her
new role, though, already making sure
she makes Spitzer look good by noting
that he has met with communities on
issues like breast cancer. And she uses
the handy "wait and see" line like an old
pro. "We're not going to be lockstep in
agreement with [environmentalists],"
Enck says about hot points like pollu-
tion. "We want to help on these issues,
but there are some things we can' t do."
While most environmentalists hail the
rebirth of a tarnished office, Brodsky
reserves judgment. The concern arises
from ongoing negotiations to shore up the
state Superfund program before it runs
out of money next year. Governor George
Pataki has set up a working group that
many green advocates feel is loosening
regulations as it drafts refinancing plans.
Brodsky's view of the revamped bureau
hardly brightened when it decided to
meet with Pataki 's group.
"There are two different issues here,"
he says. "With the law enforcement arm,
it's clear that will be more vigorous. For
the policy arm, there the fundamental
nature is unresolved." Enck disagrees,
saying that the bureau wants to create a
policy of engagement with the adminis-
tration.
However the bureau's policies unfold
in the long term, for now there's a new
spark and purpose among staff that many
environmentalists say bode well for envi-
ronmental protection. "It seems that the
mission is returning," says Jeff Jones,
communications director at Albany-based
Environmental Advocates. "There's a
new energy."
That's been the key to Enck's comfort-
able adjustment into public life. In fact,
she's hardly noticed the difference. "It still
feels like an environmental group," she
says, "but with better equipment."
CITY LIMITS
Black-car drivers-the chauffeurs for New York's business elite-recently
won their first unionizing victories, while the labor world watched for tips.
By Matthew Strozier
P
ulling out of the Holland Tunnel into Manhattan,
Gamal Salem holds forth on Greek myth. In the
back seat of his peach Lincoln Town Car, two
clerks from Merrill Lynch are complaining about
their overbearing boss and the secretary who
leaves too early each day.
Making a living by driving a ''black car" is like a punishment
meted out by the gods, Salem says, like being up past your chin
in water and having to constantly push the rising tide away or
drown. 'This business has been stretched thin, so we have to work
harder to keep up with our bills," he says. "But when you are
working 15 or 16 hours a day and you are not achieving your
goals, then it seems like something is wrong. There is millions out
there. Somebody is making that. We are not."
As a driver for Brooklyn's Ace Car and Limousine, Salem shut-
tles around executives from investment and law firms for 12 hours
a day, six or seven days a week. He says he takes home about
$20,000 a year. ''We are like slaves," Salem says. ''That should be
your headline: 'Slaves in America.'"
Like Salem, most black-car drivers are immigrants from Park-
istan or elsewhere in South Asia. Most, like him, feel overwhelmed
by the job. But four years ago, drivers at one of the largest black-
car firms in the city, Elite Limousine Plus, started trying to do
something about it, organizing for better pay, health benefits and
relief from excessive fines from the company for transgressions as
JUNE 1999
trivial as not wearing a tie.
The drivers had little success at first, until their lawyer hooked
them up with the International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers. Today, the 7oo,000-member lAM is running
the biggest union drive in the city, according to labor experts,
attempting to organize the city's 12,000 black-car drivers. During
the last few months, the drivers have won several big victories,
including a successful unionizing campaign at Ace and a union
contract at Elite, the first at a major New York City black-car com-
pany. It's all the more impressive considering that the drivers are
considered independent contractors by their employers.
In a time of shrinking union membership, the drivers' success-
es have created a buzz among labor leaders in the city and around
the nation. ''These guys work alone, they are spread out, they are
immigrants, and they work under extremely difficult conditions,"
says Ed Ott, director of public policy for the New York City Cen-
tral Labor Council. "If you had told me two years ago that they
would be where they are now, I would have said, 'No way.'"
sually, people come over here and they have no
money," says 42-year old Salem as he waits out-
side an office building in Jersey City for a pick-
up. "My story is the opposite of that. I came over
with money, but now I am dying in debts. lowe
about $20,000."
Linws are for
bigwigs-but
the drivers'
pay isfor
the birds.
-
To work for most black-car companies, drivers must purchase
a "franchise"-basically, the right to drive for the company-
which costs $12,000 at Ace but can go for as much as $35,000.
And unlike with taxis, a car company owner can sell as many
franchises as he wants. At one point, Salem says he held five Ace
franchises but was losing money on them. He sold four at a great
loss, keeping one for himself to support his wife and two kids,
who currently live in Europe.
Despite the steep costs, many black-car drivers see it as a step
up from taxi-driving. They get to wear suits, drive lUXury cars and
escape the dangers of picking up passengers off the street. There is
also a fraternity among the drivers. They talk about family, work
and homeland politics at fast-food joints and a handful of Pakistani
restaurants or in their cars parked in out-of-the-way spots where
they wait for jobs.
Corporations keep the black-car companies on account, so
employees going home late can just call a dispatcher. The drivers get
paid according to distance traveled, giving a portion to the compa-
ny [see "Fare Share"]. They have little control over how much work
he gets but doesn' t have to scramble for fares like a cabby.
As an independent contractor, however, a driver has no health
insurance and is required to pay his own social security and work-
ers' compensation, in addition to the maintenance and insurance
are
Davinder Singh ... paid off the $12,000 he borrowed to purcIaae
a franchise from VIllI TraQSPOI1ation nine years ago-it would now 10
for $20,000, he tttrs-but it still costs a lot to drive his black car.
He grosses more ... $50,000 a year but takes home .. .....
$20,000. The ....... don't even include health i .......... whicIa
Singh says he can't afford.
Used Lincoln
Town ear:
Mainteunce:
eo_pany dues:
Company base fee:
Company voucher fee:
RequIred cell phone:
Sa .. security taxes
for self-employment:
--
$9,000
(will have to buy a
new one this year)
$3,000.$4,000/year
$3,600/year
$ 15$20/day
$520/year
$300-$400/year
$2496/year
15 percent of all
fares, minimum
$1.50/each ride
assigned
$828/year
$918/year (1998)
on the car. "The biggest problem is the [health] insurance thing,"
says Mohamed Bed.ir, who has driven for Ace for 12 years. "1
have four kids-ages 17, 9, 8 and 4-and I have to pay for them
to go to the doctor."
Last year, Ace drivers, having heard about other unionizing
efforts, started working with lAM to organize their own shop.
They immediately ran into resistance from Ace owner John
Acierno, who owns at least seven black-car companies, making
him, in the words of one union organizer, the "800-pound goril-
la" of the industry. He argued that his drivers were not eligible to
form a union because, as independent contractors, they own their
cars, set their own schedules and can refuse jobs.
Acierno's appeals were rejected by the National Labor Rela-
tions Board (NLRB), and the vote to unionize was ordered for
early February. (Acierno, through his lawyer, declined to com-
ment for this story.) When the Ace ballots were unsealed in April
at a meeting at NLRB's Brooklyn offices, a small crowd was on
hand to watch. A palpable sigh went up when the tally was
announced: 84 votes for the union, 30 against.
T
he Ace vote was the fifth black-car election held by
the machinists' union since 1996. The count so far:
three victories and two delays, where ballots have
been impounded because of owner objections. The
400-plus union drivers even have a new local:
Local Lodge 9, Limousine Drivers Union.
It's a victory that few expected to come so quickly, especially
since most drivers are new to the country. "Initially, the fact that
many of these people were immigrants made them fearful," says
Kevin Lynch, the union's gravel-voiced veteran organizing direc-
tor. ''They really don' t know the laws in this country, which
means that it is easy to take advantage of them. Who else would
pay $35,000 for a franchise, $25,000 for a car, $4,000 for car
insurance to buy an opportunity to work 12 hours a day and make
$20,000 to $25,000 a year?"
In the early days of the drive, Lynch and his lieutenants made a
lot of late-night visits under the FDR Drive near 34th Street, at the
airports, near the South Street Seaport: ~ the places where drivers
park for cheap, away from the cops. "I could tell you every place in
this city where a driver goes to catch a few minutes of sleep," Lynch
says. ''The first year, we were out every night. For these guys, the
ideal time for organizing is between 12 and 2 in the moming."
The turning point was a 1997 decision by the NLRB that gave
the Elite drivers status as employees. They had voted on joining the
union at the close of 1996, but owner Shafquat Chaudhary-himself
a Pakistani ex-cabby-had appealed, arguing that his drivers were
independent contractors. The NLRB again disagreed, ruling that
since the company exerted strict control over the d r i v e ~ v e n fin-
ing them for not wearing proper suits-they were employees with
the legal right to unionize.
After a year of negotiations, Elite signed the first union drivers'
contract in the city on January 15. More than half of the 650 drivers
at Elite have elected to join the union, getting benefits like health
insurance, a life insurance plan and free legal representation in their
never-ending battles with the Taxi and Limousine Commission.
"Instead of wasting money with the lawyers, I decided it could
be spent on better wages," Chaudhary says. "I always wanted to
do something for the drivers. I thought that we can utilize this as
a marketing tool: If I have good benefits, more drivers will come
to me. It gives drivers peace of mind, and I am sure they will be
better drivers now."
The contract doesn' t have everything the union wanted. It
lacks a pension plan and health coverage for family members,
CITY LIMITS
and Chaudhary refuses to pay social security or work-
ers' compensation for the drivers-the Internal Rev-
enue Service still considers the drivers independent
contractors, despite the NLRB ruling.
Union leaders grow rhapsodic over the Elite contract
nonetheless. The president of the drivers' local, Pakistani
immigrant Syed Armughan, says he was fired from Elite
for union organizing-but even he calls Chaudhry a
"moral leader" for signing the contract.
And labor experts agree that the deal was remark-
able. "Forty to fifty percent of the time a union wins
an election, it doesn't get a contract," says Charles
Craver, professor of labor and employment law at
George Washington University. "The very fact that
they got a contract is significant, particularly in a sit-
uation where the employers were anti-union [at first]
and didn't even want to sit down with them."
T
he unions are betting that organizing cam-
paigns like this are the future. lAM has
invested more than $500,000 in the driver
campaign, and AFL-CIO President John
Sweeney and other union bigwigs have met
with the drivers on several occasions. "For
as long as it takes-a week, a month or years-we are
standing with you today, tomorrow and always," pledged
Richard Trumpka, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, at
a rally for black-car drivers last summer.
Union insiders have watched the campaign with
interest, aware of the difficulties inherent in organizing
immigrants, organizing without a shop floor and-most
of all----{)rganizing independent contractors. More than
eight million people filed tax returns as "independent contrac-
tors" in 1997. Many are treated by the IRS like high-powered
consultants but are actually paid like low-level factory workers.
Like the drivers, most do without basic employee perks. For
example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that only 3 per-
cent of independent contractors nationwide received employer-
provided health insurance in 1997, compared to 61 percent for
traditional employees.
'''The classification----{)r misclassification----{)f workers as inde-
pendent contractors has become a particularly large problem," says
Paul F. Cole, secretary-treasurer of the New York State AFL-CIO.
"In some industries, like construction or entertainment, there has
been pretty egregious misclassification by employers because they
can save money by not paying social security or workers' compen-
sation or any other benefits."
"I don't think anyone realizes how much this scam is blos-
soming across the country," adds John Turchiano, spokesperson
for Hotel and Restaurant Employees, Local 6. That local is cur-
rently fighting the owners of the Rainbow Room, claiming that the
restaurant's owners are trying to reclassify its entire waitstaff as
independent contractors.
With only a few exceptions, though, unions haven't tackled
independent contractor shops. The black-car campaign is the
machinists' first, and there are only a few similar drives nation-
wide-like a home health care workers unionizing effort in Cal-
ifornia and truck drivers in Washington State. Meanwhile, the
AFL-CIO is also lobbying hard to pass an independent contrac-
tors bill in Congress. Introduced in late April, the bill would
drastically alter how the federal government evaluates "indepen-
dent contractor" status, simplifying the rules and making it hard-
er to use the classification.
JUNE 1999
F
or the drivers in New York, the union hasn't solved
all their problems. lAM officials cite incidents of
pro-union drivers being harassed or receiving
unwarranted fines from their companies. Other
company owners appear to have dug in their heels,
ready to fight: Last Radio Group, whose drivers
unionized last year, recently appealed an order to negotiate. And
if Elite starts losing money, other companies will undoubtedly
use that as an excuse not to negotiate. George Washington Uni-
versity's Craver says he thinks the union will win more con-
tracts, "but if this contract adversely affects the company's abil-
ity to do business, then it will come back to haunt them."
Union leaders are hoping to avoid that pothole by pressuring
large investment firms and businesses to use unionized black-car
companies. As part of the Elite deal, the union will encourage law
firms it does business with to patronize Elite. They have already
attracted some business this way.
It's not easy, however, to demand concessions from titans like
Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs. The Wall Street behemoths
pay much more than the tab for a simple cab ride and use hun-
dreds of cars a day. Their biggest concern is getting people home
with no delay, a responsibility that can overwhelm some of the
smaller companies that have unionized.
Getting behemoth Ace to agree on a contract for its union drivers
is also no sealed deal. But even if Ace doesn't come around, plenty
of other black -car companies are dropping their resistance to negoti-
. ating with the growing union. "We've already won the campaign,"
Lynch says. '''The momentum is on our side. The opposition is crum-
bling. Employers are calling us up. They want to talk."
Matthew Strozier is a staff reporter for India in New York.
New union
boss Syed
Annughan
says he got
cannedfor
organizing
drivers
at Elite
Linwusine
Plus.
o
~ .
-
-
T
hree years into the new world of welfare, a system that
once gave a lot of money to poor people has been
replaced by one that gives a lot of money to the people
who put the poor to work.
Welfare reform isn' t supposed to just shove welfare recipients
off the dole; it's also supposed to help all those people find jobs.
To that end, the Clinton administration is in the middle of a two-
year commitment to spread around $3 billion in welfare-to-work
, money. New York City's total take is $88 million, with another
$20 million in federal competitive grants going directly to city
employment groups since last year.
The largesse has turned the trade of helping welfare recipients
find work into an industry, and it's made nonprofits change the
way they do business. Welfare-to-work, with its "work-first" man-
date, reroutes funds from job training toward short-term career
counseling and matchmaking. After decades of focusing on the
needs of job seekers, the experts are now supposed to think first of
the businesses that will hire them. "The emphasis has turned
toward getting people into employment rather than getting them
ready for it," explains William Grinker, a former city welfare com-
missioner who now runs a major welfare-to-work nonprofit. ''The
rules of the game have changed."
The changes have also summoned into existence a new breed of
Richard Schwartz
left City Hall to
join the
privatization gold
rush. The secret
to his success is
that he's figured
out what
is all
about-making
businesses happy.
for-profit welfare job counselors. One of the brightest stars is
Richard 1. Schwartz, a young entrepreneur with a smaIl startup who
has, up until now, spent nearly his entire professional life on the
public payroll. But that's no liability. In fact, Schwartz has exactly
what it takes to make a living in the welfare-to-work world: gov-
ernment experience, private-sector smarts and a Rolodex with plen-
ty of names from each side.
Architect of New York City's workfare system, Schwartz left
the mayor's office in 1997 to open Opportunity America, a for-
profit company that specializes in preparing businesses to hire for-
mer welfare recipients. Business looks good so far: The tiny con-
sulting firm managed to secure contracts worth about $5.5 million
in a single month at the end of last year.
His employer-first approach may be just the ticket for the new
work order. It's supply-side social service, helping the market help
the poor. But the jury is still out on whether that approach actual-
ly gets people good jobs that last.
T
he welfare-to-work revolution has been tough on old-
fashioned job trainers, some of which have been in the
game nearly a century. The business of work used to be
dominated by long-term programs that teach a trade like
carpentry or transcription. Problem was, those job training pro-
CITY LIMITS
grams often weren't keyed in to what employers actually needed
and wanted, so people would sometimes cycle repeatedly through
different programs without getting a job.
Those days are past. ''Traditional vocational training like
machine repair-almost all of that is gone in the city," says Rae
Linefsky, a job training and employment expert who briefly head-
ed the city's Human Resources Administration (HRA). "Each of
the agencies has dealt with this differently. Some have reduced
traditional training, or retained only the computer-based stuff."
Now much of the funding goes to boot-camp-style "job readi-
ness" programs that have welfare recipients spend an intense
week or two shaping up the resume, learning rudimentary com-
puter skills, and getting coached in wardrobe, approach and inter-
view poise. Some groups, like welfare specialists Curtis & Asso-
ciates, have their clients hit the streets or start working the phones
after only two weeks. In this era of low unemployment, they say,
attitude and persistence payoff faster than anything else.
Job placement, on the other hand, is more like matchmaking. If
done properly, the process is intensely hands-on, explains Alma Cox
of the small nonprofit Central Brooklyn Neighborhood Employment
Center (CBNEC) in Bedford-Stuyvesant. "I have to listen to the way
[the clients] talk, how they sell themselves," she says. "I sell that to
CONSORTIUM FOR WORKER EDUCATION
Status: Nonprofit Founded: 1985
Key Contracts: Federal competitive welfare-to-work grant of
$4.9 million in 1998; city career center grant
for $7.3 million in 1998
Founded by a coalition of unions, CWE runs a welfare
program that gives recipients 240 hours of child care
training and gets them certified and accredited. Ultimate-
ly, participants get to join the AFSCME 1707 day care
union. CWE head Joseph McDermott also sits on New
York City's Private Industry Council, which decides how
to spend federal job training money locally. Solid reputa-
tion: One of only two New York groups to win a com-
petative grant in the first round of federal welfare-to-
work. (HRA's application was turned down.)
JUNE 1999
By
Kathleen
McGowan
the employer, and then tell clients what they need to enhance. A lot
of times, all they need is confidence and a look in the eye." Good
placement people cultivate long-term relationships with employers,
and try to fit the client to the job rather than the other way around.
"We believe it's who you know that gets you a job," explains
Lee Bowes, CEO of the for-profit America Works. "It's not that
people always lack training. Sometimes what they lack is a con-
nection to the marketplace. Our salespeople become that net-
work." Building trust is crucial. Employers are, by and large, ini-
tially terrified of hiring people with a welfare history, despite the
tax breaks they get under welfare reform law.
The other big change is a new emphasis on retention: making
sure that a client who gets a job keeps it. To push this agenda, the
federal government now makes almost all contracts "performance
based," meaning that ajob broker won't get paid in full until a hiree
has been employed for as long as three or six months. Keeping a
recently hired former welfare recipient in a job often requires dili-
gent follow-up, like negotiating worker-boss conflicts, fixing
bureaucratic snags, finding child care, or dealing with the trans-
portation or housing problems that can get in the way of work.
Just as the new emphasis on employer relations favors groups
with business acumen, performance-based contracting can be
AMERICA WORKS
Status: For Profit Founded: 1984
Key Contracts: $1.4 million for a d u ~ jobs program in 1997;
$1.2 million in 1998 tD run employment centers.
Placement specialist America Works' corporate model
of "sales representatives" that find clients jobs has lead
to its reputation as the big, bad for-profit. The compa-
ny has been accused of creaming the best clients-but
even critics appreciate its job-retention results. "They
weed people out by saying you have to show up every
day," snipes one job-training expert. "But once you get
a job, they'll go to the ends of the earth to keep you
there, a fabulous example of post-placement work."
CEO Lee Bowes retorts: "There's never been any fac-
tual data about [creaming]. We can't dismiss people;
we have to place everyone."
-
--
tough on nonprofits: No new hires means no money. "It can be a
problem for lots of agencies. Even large ones have problems with
cash flow," explains Bill Forrestor, deputy executive director at
Goodwill. Little nonprofits may give up on contracts altogether,
and turn to foundations instead.
Or start looking for investors. Facing high start-up costs and
deferred returns, welfare-to-work agencies may fit better into a
for-profit structure, contends Bowes. To start up a job-placement
program you need capital. Capital requires investors, and
investors want a return. "I didn't go into [the business] for profit,"
Bowes says. "But there was no other way to get the money."
But the biggest change is probably the most subtle. Under wel-
fare reform, the emphasis shifted from training the jobless to coach-
ing the employer. The problem is, nobody knew really what that
meant, or how to do it-until Richard Schwartz made it his business.
S
chwartz was only a few years out of Columbia University
(Class of 1980, B.A. in History), when then-City Coun-
cilmember Henry Stem hired him as chief of staff. When
Stem was made Parks Department Commissioner in 1983,
Schwartz followed, eventually becoming assistant commissioner for
capital projects. ''He's very energetic, very intelligent," Stem says.
''He's one of the most able people I've met in government." Stem
reports that Schwartz was accepted to Harvard Business School in
1992, "an extraordinary honor for someone whose only experience
was in government. But he has instinctive private-sector skills."
Instead, Schwartz made a smarter business decision. He turned
down Harvard for Rudolph Giuliani. He worked on Giuliani's first
mayoral campaign as issues director, and his reward was a job as the
new administration's capital projects guy. The job soon evolved into
privatization guru. "I think we've figured it out," Giuliani said in
early 1995. "[Schwartz's] title is enhanced senior policy adviser."
By coordinating city privatization efforts like the sale ofWNYC
radio and television, Schwartz became anathema to New York
City'S liberals. But that was just a warm-up act for his next ven-
ture-designing the system that would put tens of thousands of the
city's welfare recipients into public-works jobs, sweeping streets,
emptying garbage cans and doing clerical work at city agencies.
The ideological underpinning of Schwartz's Work Experience
Program (WEP), now 5 years old, was to get welfare recipients into
GOODWILL
Status: Nonprofit Founded: 1915
Key contracts: From the city this year: $ 1 million in weHare-
to-work; $1.1 million for supported employ-
ment
Goodwill has a long history of specializing in disability
placements: It spent nearly $7 million on vocational
training for the handicapped in 1997. Recently, it has
expanded to workfare and welfare-to-work with a range
of job readiness and job-search classes. Goodwill man-
ages to bear the costs by tapping its own investments
and internal money. "We have our thrift shops, we have
some luxury to do what others can't," explains William
Forrestor, its deputy executive director.
a workmanlike mindset-waking up early, showing up on time,
submitting to routine. Its critics charged that the program was rigid,
inflexible and treated its clients like criminals, requiring them to
undergo an intimate process of verification and review. For th.e
mayor, however, it accomplished a very pragmatic goal by clearing
hundreds of thousands off the welfare rolls, an accomplishment
Giuliani still brags about as one of the biggest of his administration.
Then, on February 11, 1997, at age 38, Richard Schwartz
announced he was leaving city government. The next day, he
founded Opportunity America. His specialty would be corporate
matchmaker, the missing link to help private-sector companies hire
welfare recipients. But he promised in The New York Times that he
wouldn't take advantage of his government experience to win
consulting contracts with New York City.
The business was intended "to create a bridge between employ-
able welfare recipients and available jobs in order to help compa-
nies and government agencies move the greatest numbers of these
individuals into employment at the lowest possible cost," Schwartz
said at the time.
Translation: Opportunity America would help set up workfare
programs for mayors looking for their own success stories and
assist civic-minded businesses in navigating the confusing world
of regulations and tax credits and overcoming the logistical diffi-
culties of screening thousands of welfare recipients for a few spe-
cific jobs. Schwartz also joined the city's conservative policymak-
ers at the Manhattan Institute and positioned himself as a nation-
al expert on welfare-to-work. And he'd sell his success in the
administration-putting lots of people to work quickly-to busi-
nesses and government through Opportunity America.
With a little help from his friends.
L
uckily for Schwartz, just as he founded Opportunity
America a compatriot was going into the business of
social investing. "Government had just passed the largest
piece of legislation affecting poor communities and was
expecting employers to step into the gap," says Kathryn Wylde,
who herself had just been hired to head the New York City Invest-
ment Fund, a new economic development venture capital fund
founded under the auspices of the New York City Partnership, the
city's Chamber of Commerce. "But there was not anyone who
CURTIS & ASSOCIATES
-
Status: For Profit Founded: 1984
Key contracts: $3.7 million in HRA contracts. 1996-1998
for "employment centers"
Nebraska-based Curtis & Associates specializes in welfare-
to-work in New York. It starts with a two-week-Iong crash
course in job readiness. Then they tum their clients loose
with job listings, spurting them on while they pound the
pavement. Clients say they like the style, but not the
hurry: "It's a good program-it's good to be going out,
meeting all kinds of people," says Allison Davis, who got a
$16-an-hour secretarial job after a two-month search. "But
they shouldn't rush you to take any old job. They don't
come out and say it, but they think everybody should be
working at Burger King or McDonalds."
CITVLlMITS
Six Degrees of
Richard
Schwartz
V
II
II
Player
Program
Government or
for-profit institution
Nonprofit institution
Attention conspiracy theorists:
The diagram of Richard
Schwartz's professional connec-
tions is like something from the
Green Book of the Illuminati.
Pals like ESDC head (and fellow
board member on the Hudson River Park Conservancy)
Richard
Schwartzi
Opportunity
America
Charles Gargano and Partnership boss Robert Kiley rule this shadowy
quasi-governmental realm of authorities, ad hoc commissions and
public/private partnerships. On the city side, housing chief Richard Roberts is the
champion of Anchor, the Bed-Stuy-based retail development program that is the players'
playing field. In more obscure reaches of city government, crypto-bureaucrat Ilene Mar-
cus, now in the "Office of New Initiatives" at HRA, was Rudolph Giuliani's social services
director while Schwartz designed workfare for the mayor. Only the dimensional limitations
of the printed page prevent full disclosure of this sketch of public/private paranoia: For
example, HRA deputy commissioner Seth Diamond used to work for Schwartz in City Hall.
was positioned to help employers, to take them on as a client. That
was our interest in the Opportunity America model."
Eight months after Schwartz started up Opportunity America,
Wylde's fund bought a 20 percent equity stake in the company,
then worth about a quarter of a million dollars. It was a good
match. Wylde was quite familiar with the power of leveraging cor-
porate connections and government money for social purposes.
She perfected the art in the 1990s while doing low-income hous-
ing development for the Partnership, which had been lobbying the
city to privatize well before Giuliani moved into Gracie Mansion.
Wylde and Schwartz had crossed paths before, working on
housing, employment and economic development projects as part
of a loose federation of New York City empowerment brokers
skilled in moving between city government, quasi-public institu-
tions and the private sector (see "Six Degrees of Richard
Schwartz"). This alliance has quietly designed and directed many of
the city's major economic development programs of the last decade.
Early on, Wylde recruited a young investment banker named
JUNE 1999
Deborah Wright to the Partnership's housing wing. They started
up a minority contractors program that eventually spawned the
Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Program, one of the city Depart-
ment of Housing Preservation and Development's main strategies
for rehabbing and selling off city-owned housing. That project
also spawned CBNEC, which has helped the Partnership win a $5
million U.S. Department of Labor competitive welfare-to-work
grant last winter. Its primary partner? Opportunity America,
which was promptly promised a $2.9 million chunk of the money.
After a brief stint as head of the city housing agency, Wright
landed a job directing the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone,
probably the city's biggest public/private economic development
venture. Who's now coordinating EZ job development? Opportu-
nity America.
But only one of Schwartz's contracts comes close to being
a true conflict of interest. Last December, Opportunity Amer-
ica won a one-year contract for $537,795 from the city
Department of Employment to put 100 unemployed people-
...
Job trainers tfult
teach a trade-
like Binding
Together, where
Peter Adames
(left) and Fabian
Cancel learn
book-making-are
a rare find in this
"work first " era.
not necessarily welfare recipients-through a training and
placement program. That performance-based contract was
arranged through negotiated acquisition, meaning that it was
not open .for competitive bids.
But the city's investigation bureau apparently doesn't think it's
a problem. Around the same time, that department conducted a
formal investigation into Schwartz's business as part of a "con-
sortium proposal to HRA." The department refuses to explain why
the finn was investigated or release any information on its find-
ings except to note that Opportunity America was cleared. It may
be completely legal, but it's also true that with the DOE contract,
Schwartz broke his promise not to do business with the city.
Not every contract he wins has an old friend attached to it.
Opportunity America is also getting $1.9 million to work in
Yonkers, Mount Vernon and White Plains for the Westchester
County Department of Social Services. ''They're engaged with us
to aggressively do job finding, job placement and retention ser-
vices," says Jewru Bandeh, the department's deputy commission-
er. But Schwartz thinks bigger than just the ' burbs: He's said he
wants to find out if there is a market for welfare reform overseas.
O
ne persistent criticism of WEP from the start has been
that it does nothing to help people find real jobs.
"Richard Schwartz knew nothing when he worked for
the city," says one top city welfare adviser. "WEP was
WILDCAT
Status: Nonprofit Founded: 1974
clever as it related to morality and reflecting the mayor's point of
view. But issues of job readiness were for shit. He knew nothing
about placement programs, and to do employment is one of the
most difficult things to do."
And, apparently, Schwartz hasn' t yet worked all the bugs out
of his business. It's impossible, through public records, to gel a
formal evaluation of Opportunity America's performance, and he
would not respond to repeated requests for an interview. So City
Limits instead asked the ultimate evaluators-the women in wel-
fare-to-work programs who are relying on Opportunity America
to help them find jobs. After all, getting people off the dole and
into work is why government is investing in welfare-Io-work.
Some were very impressed: ''They went out and did their all
for you," says Victoria Bell, who found work at a catering compa-
ny, a job she says she loves. "You can tell who is there to actually
help you, and those who are there for their paycheck. They really
tried to do their best."
About half of the 15 women City Limits spoke with didn't think
Opportunity America was helpful, or said simply that it had no
bearing on their job search. ''Their goal was just to find you a job,
but they would not target your qualifications," says another client,
who had worked before as an accountant. "I was sent to a clean-
er's, a supermarket, any low-paying job, just to make themselves
look like they were doing what they were supposed to be doing."
Opportunity America has never promised to do the kind of per-
sonalized hand-holding that some placement groups do. Their role
is to provide business connections. But most of the women con-
tacted who were working said they got their jobs through another
program, from local job listings or the old-fashioned way: through
friends, networking and persistence.
T
he truth of the matter is that the work business is not
easy. At CBNEC, less than 30 percent of its clients get a
job and keep it through the first 90 days. Of those, only
70 percent stay for at least six months. The success rate
may sound terrible, but Tref Wolcott, executive director of the
Tiger Foundation, which underwrites a broad portfolio of job-
training programs, says it's respectable, about average. "You have
to expect an 80 percent graduation rate [for a training program],
then 75 percent placement rate after that," she says.
(continued on page 29)
Key contracts: $1.8 million in city money for work experience and training in clerical skills in 1997; $2 million this year from the
feds for welfare-to-work
If you think big companies are hiring a lot of former welfare recipients, it may be because of Wildcat's Salomon
Smith Barney project, which gets people on the dole $24,000- to $28,000-a-year jobs on Wall Street. The pro-
ject has been written up in The New York Times {twice}, the Wall Street Journal, Crain's New York Business
{twice}, the Daily News, Time, Newsday and the Associated Press, and been featured on ABC, CNN and CBS.
That's a lot of mentions for the number of new jobs provided: about 90 in the last four years. "Do I think every-
body can get a job for $25,000 a year? No," responds vice president Jeff Jablow. "But the [program's] basic
framework-work and the enormous up-front time with the employee-is the most efficient way to connect
the greatest number of people to the labor market at the highest possible salary." Funders, clients and experts
love the $9 million-a-year Wildcat, and the nonprofit has political juice in addition to their media smarts:
President Amalia Betanzos, who makes $150,000 a year, is also chair of the mayoral Commission on the Sta-
tus of Women. "They play with whoever is in office," explains one welfare advocate.
CITY LIMITS
A CITY LIMITS ROUNDTABLE
e
@spons@ Im@
Is the reaction to the police killing of Amadou Oiallo
the beginning of a movement-or politics as usual?
W
hen Guinean immigrant Amadou Diallo was killed on February 4 in a hail of police bullets, the citY's
reaction came from the gut. The first demonstrations-mourners placing flowers at Diallo's Bronx
doorway-were ad-hoc. But rage about the incident quickly sparked organized responses, starting
with marches on City Hall and the Bronx courthouse and peaking with an astounding month of civil disobedience
at police headquarters, during which nearly 1,200 people were arrested.
By the time the March for Justice and Conciliation crossed the Brooklyn Bridge on April 15, cracks had formed
in the citywide show of unity. A cqre of leaders, centered around AI Sharpton, were accused by other demonstra-
tors-including parents of police brutality victims-of turning the Diallo tragedy into their own political platform.
Four days after the march, City Limits convened a discussion with five activists who took part in the demon-
strations. They reflected on what it all means-and what happens next.
JUNE 1999
Moderator Angela Ards is
the Haywood Burns Fel-
low at the Nation Institute.
She is a journalist and
activist who covered the
Diallo shooting and its
aftermath for The Nation
and works with Citywide
Coalition for Justice, the
Diallo group affiliated with
Rev. Calvin Butts.
Charles Barron is chair of
the Unity Party and presi-
dent of Dynamics of Leader-
ship, which trains communi-
ty and nonprofit groups.
With Rev. Herbert Daughtry,
Barron organized the Lead-
ership Summit, a group that
collaborated with Sharpton's
National Action Network on
planning Diallo actions
around the city.
Karl Franklin is director of
New York City Police
Watch, a project of the Ella
Baker Center for Human
Rights. His organization
documents police brutality
and misconduct, makes
legal referrals, and supports
organizing efforts around
_"'-" ....... issues of police brutality.
Bill Batson has done organizing and commu-
nity relations for 1199 National Health and
Human Service Employees Union for more
than a decade. He served as press coordinator
for the Coalition for Law and Order and Peace
and Justice, the Sharpton-led group that orga-
nized the BrookJyn Bridge march.
Esther Kaplan is a member of Jews for Racial
and Economic Justice, a 7-year-old advocacy
group for economic and social equality in New
York. The group has been involved with police
brutality issues since 1992 and participated in AI
Sharpton's civil disobedience campaign.
Apri115, 1999
Why Now?
Angela Ards: Why does the Diallo shooting
strike such a chord?
Karl Franklin: Historically, especially with
the black community, the issue is state vio-
lence. Most of the mass rebellions in the
, 60s took place after confrontations with
the police. I actually thought that the
Louima incident would spark these types
of demonstrations. But I think it was the
nature of this particular crime that said
"enough is enough." Particularly with Giu-
liani 's attitude, coupled with people's feel-
ings of disenfranchisement toward the
police. I have to compliment AI Sharpton
for being able to see that on the radar
screen and take it and carry it forward.
Esther Kaplan: I agree-this was the last
straw. This is a little ugly, but I think that
there's been like a deal that people struck
with Giuliani which is, "Look, you make
this city safer, and we're going to overlook
your excesses." CertainJy white New York
felt this way, certainJy Jewish New York,
but big sectors of black, Latino and Asian
New York did too. I think people finally
clicked that it wasn't an okay tradeoff. It
wasn't okay to feel safe and comfortable on
the Upper West Side if people were being
gunned down that viciously. That deal that
people had made with Giuliani had run out.
There are the people that he has made
things good for and the other people he's
disregarded, but people finally didn't want
to feel that alienation anymore. That's what
I really see in the Jewish community. Now
they're saying, ''We're going to really think
about it, and make that human connection
that Giuliani has encouraged people not to
make." It's a profound spiritual moment,
where people decided to think of them-
selves as part of one city, not two cities.
Charles Barron: You never know when an
issue can just take off. People said "Black
Power" long before Stokely Carmichael,
but when he said it in ' 67, for whatever
reason, it took off. It's hard to tell whatev-
er it is that launched this one. Part of it was
the outrageous nature of 41 shots hitting a
person who is totally innocent. Another
part is it coming right after Louima. Peo-
ple had a lot of pent-up frustration. Some
of us have been on the [police brutality]
issue for a long time and have just started
pulling pieces together around Diallo.
I think the challenge for us was not to
have just another issue, but to really give it
a movement characteristic-basic and
broad, reaching different ethnic groups.
Make it into a human issue more than just a
civil rights issue, or a black issue. I think the
leadership was conscious of doing that, and
I think to some extent, it's been successful.
If the problem is systemic, we always felt
the solution should be systemic. The bottom
line is to change the political equation.
America needs wealth and power more
equitably distributed. As long as that is not
happening, symptoms of a deeply rooted
illness-racism, sexism, exploitation-will
lead to police brutality, inadequate health
care and neighborhoods that are deprived.
Bill Batson: We have to remember that ini-
tial reactions were spontaneous. The first
time it got organized was when Charles and
Rev. Daughtry brought demonstrators to
One Police Plaza. That was probably the
most brilliant move ever because the mayor
had not covered his flank. He forgot that his
whole regime is predicated on police power.
There's just been great organizing.
We've had the most improbable coalition I
have ever seen: Dennis Rivera, called a
communist by many; AI Sharpton, celebrat-
ed in some quarters, demonized in others.
And Cardinal O'Connor! There were a lot
of fights. But the miracle getting through
this was not allowing the mayor to bait us.
Ards: Do you always have to have life-and-
death issues to get people to respond?
Franklin: I can' t say that it doesn't help, of
course. That's why it's so important right
now to fight for some systemic changes-
get those things in place while the iron is
hot, while the targets are clear. If systemic
changes aren' t done, when some other
shooting or something else happens, people
are going to be back in the street again.
Next time may not be just civil disobedi-
ence-it might be outright rebellion,
because people will reach a boiling point.
It'll be interesting to see what happens
when the trial starts. Because if you remem-
ber Rodney King, that was the time when
people said, "We already did all the protest-
ing, now let the judicial system work."
Look what happened.
Barron: There's a danger of a movement
focusing on a single issue and not on long-
range, systemic changes. Even then, we
need to have the basic discussion of ''What
is systemic change?" Strengthening the
Civilian Complaint Review Board is not a
"On@ Poli(@ Plaza was a brilliant mov@, b@(aus@ th@ mayor had not (ov@r@d his flank.
U@ fOl'Cjot that his whol@ is pr@dicat@d on poli(@ pow@r."
;w
CITY LIMITS
"It's a profound spiritual mom@nt, wh@r@ p@opl@ d@(id@d to think
of th@ms@lv@s as part of on@ (ity, not two (iti@s.''
systemic change-you can have civilians
there, but as long as you're going back to the
police commissioner to mete out the punish-
ment, that's not systemic change. It's still
police policing the police. One of the things
we were calling for initially is the creation
of an independent agency with subpoena
power. Police need to be punished when
they commit crimes. It is that simple.
Batson: I'm most worried about the politics
of our cohesion. I'm not happy with the 10-
point plan. It was written on the back of an
envelope, and then it got endorsed by the
Times. It made me really nervous. It was the
overzea)ousness of people to have some-
thing substantive before a media conference.
And there was an element of human error.
Barron: Originally we had a coalition,
where it was myself and Rev. Daughtry,
working on civil disobedience. We were
meeting every Tuesday at Rev. Daughtry's
church with different groups, like Women
for Justice, Richie Perez [of the National
Congress for Puerto Rican Rights). We had
written up seven or eight points for change.
We gave Rev. Sharpton the idea about the
civil disobedience at One Police Plaza, we
were the principal organizers behind that.
Then everything was hijacked by the union
and establishment-type leaders. I think the
process was very unprincipled. Some of the
plan items, I think, don't go deep enough.
The agenda of the unions and the elected
officials is another thing I would question.
Here's the dilemma: How do you have
the front of unity, knowing you were ripped
off? By acclamation we supported the 10-
point program and then discussed the points
afterward. By acclamation! Never in my
life had I been a part of something like that.
Sharpton knew I was upset. He said, "Is
everything all right, CharIesT ''No Rev, but
I'm going with the flow." It's about unity.
Kaplan: What I think Charles is saying,
from a very high point in the leadership, is
actually happening throughout the city
right now: a conversation about a 10-point
plan that we don't all agree upon. Like
number 7. What is the need to propose a
police pay raise in the wake of a horrible
shooting? What mixed message is that?
The question really is: Can you hang with it
enough to move forward? Ultimately what
is really valuable with all this tongue-biting
JUMEI999
that's going on in a lot of quarters is that
people are really feeling that unity. I don't
know if it's going to hold, but I hope it will.
Ards: How do you move toward unity when
there are unprincipled actions taking place?
Barron: When I say unprincipled, I mean
that [former Deputy Mayor) Bill Lynch,
Dennis Rivera-tbey had to pull Sharpton in
because they knew this thing would not go
anywhere otherwise. David Dinkins too. We
were already meeting with a broad section
of people working on systemic changes. If
they wanted to do it, we could have gone in
the back room and hammered out a pro-
gram. It didn't happen that way because
there are long-range political concerns pe0-
ple have, particularly around the mayoralty.
I'm not into being prophetic, but I can
almost guarantee you that when the dust
clears, this will have a lot to do with the
mayoral race in 200 1. Peter Vallone is gonna
be the favorite for some of these folks. A few
people may think Freddie Ferrer should be
the person. A lot of them will not support
Rev. Sharpton for mayor, but I guarantee
you they'll encourage him to run anyway
because they know that Vallone cannot bring
out the black and Latino vote. They hope
that Vallone beats Sharpton in the Democra-
tic primary and then they can get AI to
pledge support for Peter in November.
That's what I think most of this is about.
Batson: We need to have new leadership.
As coalition press person I promoted peo-
ple like Yasmin Hurston, who's lived her
whole life in Harlem, works for C. Vrrgina
Fields. She should be out there. Terrence
Tolbert, Marc Lapidus-these are names
you don't hear every day. Suddenly, I'm
giving them press coverage. There's a
chance to change the way we do politics.
Barron: The one thing we have to remember
is that we have Giuliani on the ropes, and we
don't need anything to happen to take him
off the ropes. But how do we keep him
there? Keep the unity going? And be princi-
pled at the same time? Sharpton could've
pulled the Brooklyn Bridge demo off with-
out $300,000 [spent on media ads and tech-
nology, including a big-screen TV). But
there was a reason why it went that way-
the promotion was mutually beneficial to
Sharpton and to the establishment-type
leaders and the unions. Who could say ''No''
to this coalition when everybody in New
York is in on it? It's kind of got you trapped
to do what you've got to do.
WhitNnt?
Ards: How can activists working on other
issues leam from what's happened?
Barron: We have to take it from a temporary
coalition to a permanent working alliance if
March 26,1999
Wi
"I'm Rot happy with th@ IO-point plan. It was writt@R OR th@ bad of an @Rv@lop@."
April 15, 1999
we really want to move to other issues. We
need to have a retreat somewhere for a few
days. All of us are upset because our people
don' t have jobs, don't have adequate hous-
ing. Environment;ll racism is alive and well.
But we have to get more proactive and
visionary than even that. What do we want
for New York City? What if we had New
York, or America? What revolutionary
changes should we make so that govern-
ment's done differently? If electoral politics
isn't it, then what's the agenda outside those
politics that is going to create that change?
Franklin: One of the good things that's hap-
pened is that the bar has been raised. It's not
just about demonstrations anymore. On
other issues, they're doing civil disobedi-
ence now, like the community garden folks.
Kaplan: One thing that has been underlying
a lot of what we're saying is that the Demo-
cratic party is not our party anymore. Bill
Clinton is undoing most of the gains of the
'60s-this is under Democratic leadership.
Batson: And you have Sheldon Silver sys-
tematically destroying the state party.
Kaplan: There you have a guy at war with
[Councilmember] Margarita Lopez and the
real activist leadership in his own communi-
ty. Most of us live in districts with long-term
machine politicians representing us, where
we watched insurgent candidate after insur-
gent candidate being mysteriously knocked
off the ballot before we could vote for them.
I think that one of the ironies of this
whole period of activism is how much in
front David Dinkins has been as a big fig-
urehead. Police brutality was on the rise
under Dinkins. We have a real problem
with the Democratic leadership in this
city and a real lack of accountability. And
it's very easy in a Democratic machine
town for all this kind of energy to be
channeled into what are ultimately inef-
fective candidates.
Barron: I try to stay as close to the leader-
ship as I can-even though I get angry-
and try to have some kind of influence. I'm
not giving up on it. Separately, you keep
building your organization. I keep building
the Unity Party because there should be
another movement that rivals what we have
now, so we don' t feel that this is the only
game in town and we have no choice.
Batson: What I like about this moment is
that we're approaching a skip in the elec-
toral cycle [when term limits evict the
mayor and City Council]. You can see the
players lining up, like Mark Green, as close
to the podium as they can get. Because of
[POliticians' involvement] we've been able
to take a Black Panther issue and pull it into
the mainstream. The fact that rabbis are get-
ting arrested over police brutality and not
even calling it "misconduct" is incredible.
Ards: What happens next?
Barron: We use the term "movement" too
loosely. Diallo does have movement poten-
tial, but we still have to work a lot of things
out. There'll be struggle on how to build a
permanent alliance around these issues, and
that means temporary coalitions that pop up
after we have an emotional issue that pe0-
ple respond to.
Franklin: I think we have to be clear about
defining systematic change. What is it that
we're calling for? Those 10 points were
obviously not representative enough of all
our feelings. Let's talk about revamping
them or adding new ones to the mix, so that
people come in with their own. With Diallo,
a lot of people who have some connection
to an organization suddenly thought they
were players. We need to make sure it's not
just the people who are in the media spot-
light right now who sit down to talk. Other
people who've had long history on the
police brutality issue also need to be there.
Batson: When Newsday ran the list of
names [of demonstrators arrested], I knew
all these people. When I saw my name
between [Assembly Member] Dick Got-
tfried and [Weather Underground leader]
Bernadine Dohm I said "Oh my God, it's
random, it's sudden, it's shaped by some-
body else's pen." We're only going to con-
trol just a certain x percent of this. The rest
of it is out front and out of our control.
Our leadership is almost followship.
Right now we're following the masses that
are out front of us. Even the Police Benev-
olent Association is out there. If you read
letters to the editor you'll find retired police
chiefs saying that we in the law enforce-
ment community know that we are building
a police state, and we want to know how we
can be taken off this job.
Kaplan: Politically, the things that are inti-
mately linked to police brutality are our
schools and our prison system. We're deal-
ing with a level of police harassment that's
affecting the self-image of young kids of
color in the city-it's horrifying. Our
schools are now prisons, and a huge sector
of certain neighborhoods are going to end
up in prisons. That nexus of issues will pop
up soon, I hope. Who's leading the struggle
to save our schools? It's women. And once
you start contending with that, you're get-
ting a different kind of leadership .
CITY LIMITS
Jeanne MuLlgrav
is the director of
court programs
for Victim
Services.
JUNE 1999
Full Court
Press
By Jeanne Mullgrav
A
nna left her abusive husband earlier this year-
she could no longer take his beatings and didn't
want her daughter exposed to the violence. Even
before she moved out, her husband vandalized her
belongings, violating an order of protection that barred
him from harassing her.
Anna (not her real name) didn't find solace in the
justice system, however. She first went to Family
Court for child support so she would have the
money to take care of her daughter. To obtain a
divorce, Anna had to appear in State Supreme
Court. To get the order of protection, she had
gone back to Family Court. And she is the com-
plaining witness in a criminal case pending
against her husband in State Supreme Court
for breaking that order of protection. All four
cases are currently pending-in four different
courtrooms, in front of four different judges.
The fragmentation of New York's courts is not simply an
inconvenience for Anna. Repeated hearings in different courts
make it nearly impossible for her to hold down a job. She's had
to talk about her traumatic experiences over and over again. Her
husband is taking advantage of the convoluted legal process to
intimidate and harass her: He has threatened to fight for custody
unless she agrees to drop the criminal and child support cases.
Anna is struggling to establish her independence and support
herself and her child-a difficult task even without juggling
four cases that each requires numerous return visits.
At Victim Services, we try everything we can to help our
clients, but there's nothing we can do about Anna's predica-
ment. New York State's justice system consists of no fewer than
nine separate trial courts, including supreme, family, criminal,
surrogate's and city and county courts. Subdivisions also
abound. For example, housing and small claims courts are part
of New York City's civil court.
New Yorkers who go in front of a judge face the most con-
fusing system in the nation. As a litigant, your first task is to
guess which of the nine courts--each with its own jurisdiction
and procedural rules-is appropriate for your case. For a parent
looking to get her kids back from foster care, Family Court is
the place to be. But if the children were removed because their
apartment had dangerous structural CIT Y V lEW
problems, she must first get Housing
Court to certify that the landlord has
made repairs. This is confusing to most lawyers. For the public,
and particularly for people who have difficulty understanding
English, it can be a serious deterrent to seeking justice.
In 1997, New York State Chief Judge Judith Kaye proposed
a common-sense solution: consolidating the courts into a two-
tier system, consisting of Supreme Court and District Court.
The Supreme Court would include divisions for criminal, com-
mercial, family, public claims and probate matters. The District
Court would handle misdemeanors and civil cases involving
less than $50,000.
Easier said than done. The courts' Byzantine structure can't
be changed without changing the state constitution, which was
revised in 1962 and again in 1978 to combine the array of juris-
dictions-around in one form or another for centuries-into the
misnamed Unified Court System. The change has to be
New Yorkers who go to court face the
most confusing system in the naUon, a
Byzantine structure that
hurts victims of violence.
approved by two-thirds of the state legislature for two terms in
a row. Last year, the constitutional amendment had strong sup-
port in the Senate, but it failed to pass in the Assembly. This
year, the legislature is trying again. For the sake of their con-
stituents, the Assembly needs to come around.
As trying as New York's courts are for all litigants, it is in
family violence cases like Anna's that the absurdity of the exist-
ing system is most apparent. Bouncing from court to court, as
Anna has been doing, is not unusual. A recent survey of New
York City Family Court judges found that about 15 to 20 per-
cent of their dockets consist of cases in which related Supreme
Court proceedings are pending. Such cases often result in
inconsistent decisions. For example, Supreme Court orders an
abusive husband to stay away from a woman's home. But in a
separate action, a Family Court judge issues an order for visita-
tion that allows the batterer to pick up his child at the home
every week. Under the current structure, these two courts don't
often communicate, leaving victims vulnerable.
Restructuring the courts in a vacuum is not the solution.
Increased funding for legal services is essential. Long waits for
lawyers discourage domestic violence victims from pursuing
legal remedies. Whether or not the court merger succeeds, the
courts must undertake an aggressive public education campaign
to explain their structure. Finally, the court system should estab-
lish an advisory board for ongoing feedback from citizens and
court employees. With a truly unified court, communication-
both within the courts and between them and the people who
use them-will be more important than ever .
--
... - ~ - - .. , ... -
REVIEW
-
A Fruitful
Search
By James DeFilippis
"Of Cabbages and Kings County: Agriculture
and the Formation of Modem Brooklyn,"
by Marc Linder and Lawrence S. Zacharias,
University of Iowa Press, 1999,
512 pages, $32.95
T
hese days, sprawl is everywhere. As strip malls and hous-
ing subdivisions continue to spread into rural areas adja-
cent to cities, controlling this growth and preserving agri-
cultural land have gotten national attention and even high-profile
political support. Sprawl has become mainstream environmental-
ism's issue du jour. At this opportune time arrives Of Cabbages
and Kings County, a chronicle of the transformation of Kings
County from an agricultural landscape to, well, Brooklyn.
Hard as it is to imagine now, until the mid-19th century
Kings County was home to many successful farmers, raising
mostly wheat and livestock. The farming hardly ended with the
explosive growth of the city of Brooklyn and neighboring New
York City-on the contrary, those hungry markets gave farmers
a mighty incentive to grow fruits and vegetables instead. It did-
n't hurt that the cities' huge populations of horses provided a
reliable supply of fertilizer.
The shift to growing produce, say the authors, marked the
beginning of the end of agriculture in Kings County. Where
wheat farming relied on vast areas of land, growing greens was
heavily dependent on low-wage labor provided by Irish and
German migrant workers, as well as investments in fertilizer
and pesticides. By shifting their crops, Dutch landowning farm-
ers were transformed into businessmen. The book convincingly
argues that through investments in infrastructure and labor, the
Kings County landowners competed successfully with farms in
the South and other regions to supply New York with food.
But even a thriving agriCUltural industry couldn't compete
with that land-eating beast, real estate. According to Linder and
Zacharias, the Dutch landowners sold their properties to devel-
opers because it was more profitable than what farming paid. In
the brief span between the mid-1870s and the turn of the centu-
ry, nearly all of the county was transformed into a residential city.
The first town to undergo this transformation was Flatbush,
which had become a mix of farming vil-
lage and affiuent suburb relatively early,
in the late 1860s. From there, major
roads like Ocean Avenue began cut-
ting through the farm country in
southern Kings County, connecting
rural farmers with their markets but
also laying the groundwork for the
eventual demise of their farms by
making it easy to commute into
Manhattan and urban Brooklyn.
As he had done in Manhattan,
Frederick Law Olmsted also
played a role in this process:
His creation of Prospect
Park after the Civil War
seemed to publicly acknowledge
that the end was near for farming in Kings
County. Why, after all, would farmers need an urban park?
Fascinating historical details such as these emerge from a
mountain of sometimes mind-numbing information about the
lives of farmers and landowners. Repeatedly, commentators at
the time refer to the spread of development to all of Kings
County as "manifest destiny," consciously drawing parallels
between the growth of the American empire and the develop-
ment of farmland into cities. Yet the authors-professors of law
and business who practice history on the side--don't stop to
think about the implications of the phrase. They do a better job
dissecting the class and ethnic politics that surrounded the 1873
annexation of Kings County's towns into the city of Brooklyn.
Largely, their analysis reads like a list of what didn't end
agriculture in Brooklyn: It wasn't a lack of workers; it wasn't
that the increased cost of the land associated with development
drove the farmers out, nor was it increased property taxes. In the
end, the book simply argues that too many landowners had
ceased identifying themselves as "farmers" with attachment to
the land. Instead, they were capitalists looking at the land as a
commodity, and when the offer to sell the land was attractive
enough, they sold.
Unfortunately, the argument doesn't go further than that,
compromising the book's stated promise to draw conclusions
about the 20th century advance of sprawl from the experiences
of the last century. Once it has chronicled the sale of the land,
Of Cabbages and Kings County fails to consider consequences
such as the social and environmental effects of urban growth
and the divorce, well advanced now, of most Americans from
the people and places that grow their food.
Like many modem critics of sprawl, Linder and Zacharias
instead simply assume rapid outward development is undesir-
able, without examining it further. But urban growth can't just
be seen as a negative-we have Brooklyn, and a whole lot else,
to be thankful for. Their own research tells us that the lost rural
Kings County, with its dependence on worker exploitation, was
hardly paradise. Indeed, the authors' determination to unro-
manticize this history is one of the book's core strengths. By
connecting Brooklyn to its forgotten agricultural past, they've
succeeded in bringing us a little closer to the land .
James DeFilippis is a doctoral candidate in geography at
Rutgers University, conducting research in community
development.
CITY LIMITS
Image Writers
W
ith a quick look, the household income and education
levels for Asian Americans in New York City may
seem rosy. But a new statistical study says that's just
the tint of the glasses.
In its report "Half-Full or Half-Empty," the Coalition for
Asian American Children and Families attempts to remodel per-
ceptions of the so-called model minority with numbers on
poverty, depression and high school dropout rates. Averages for
Asian households come in behind whites on many topics and
they are generally higher than Latinos or African Americans.
But the central theme of the report is that since Asians cluster at
opposite ends of the well-being spectrum, poor families are hid-
den by the average.
Take income, for example. On average, 17.6 percent of
Asians live below the poverty level in the city, compared to
13.8 percent for whites and 40 percent for Latinos. The
Vietnamese community has a 42.2 percent poverty rate, how-
ever, which gets lost by merging with the income levels of
more well-to-do minorities like Filipinos, who have a 4.8 per-
cent poverty rate.
Not every aspect of Asian life in the city is so well quanti-
fied. The report's writers note that when Asians are included
in research, they are often classified as unspecified "other."
For instance, doctors report that Asians suffer from high inci-
dence of anxiety and depression due to the stress of immigra-
tion, but there is no statistical way of backing up this
anecdotal evidence.
"Half-Full or Half-Empty: Health Care, Child Care and
Youth Programs For Asian American Children in New York
City," $5, The Coalition for Asian American Children and
Families, 212-809-4675, www.cacf.org.
The Missing LINC
ftJ
Gore is the self-appointed king of innovative govern-
ment, from cutting bureaucratic waste to controlling urban
prawl. Now add assisting urban businesses to the list
Gore's new ''help the cities help themselves" strategy is
detailed in "BusinessLINC," a recent report compiled by the
Small Business Administration and the Treasury Department.
Business LINC-which stands for Learning,
Information, Networking and Collaboration-is all about big
and small companies working together, particularly in low-
income urban communities.
A mix of best practices and guidelines, the report is aimed at
multinational corporations that want new partners in the poor
parts of town. The strategies revolve around mutual benefit. For
example, Chase Manhattan created business resource centers in
the Bronx and Brooklyn to provide free advice to start-up busi-
nesses and find qualified loan prospects. Yet the Clinton admin-
istration hasn't put much money into the effort. Like many of
the administration's high-profile efforts, BusinessLINC is more
about passion and words than action or money.
"BusinessUNC: Business-to-Business Relationships That
Increase the Economic Competitiveness of Firms," free, U.S.
Treasury Department, 202-622-2000.
Conservative Estimates
D
oes it seem like the news leans a little to the right?
Follow the money, say the folks at the National
Committee For Responsive Philanthropy.
To prove it, they' ve released a report looking into the work-
ings, strategies and leadership of the top 20 conservative think
tanks. Topping the list is the Heritage Foundation with a $28.7
million annual budget; the local Manhattan Institute comes in
11 th with $5 million. If the spending trend continues, the report
estimates that conservative think tanks will have spent more
than $1 billion during the 1990s.
With techniques like using powerful anecdotes from regular
Joes and Janes to get their message out, the money is well spent.
One 1996 study found that centrist and conservative think tanks
were cited 12,441 times in major print and television media,
compared with 1,837 citations for progressive institutes.
The report's detail is interesting and informative. But the
central theme-the right is hogging the mike-is really
nothing new.
"$1 Billion for Ideas: Conservative Think Tanks in the
1990s," $25, The National Committee for Responsive
Philanthropy, 202-387-9177, www.ncrp.org.
For Asians in
New York
City, higher
education is
notthe given
Educational Attainment of Persons Age 25 or older, by RacelEthnicity. NYC, 1996
that stereotypes
claim it to be.
The language
barrier is one
reason: One-
fifth of the Asian
children in
public schools
have limited
English ability.
JUNE 1999
Asian
White
Black
Hispanic
Total NYC
% not achieving
high school degree
Wf"
l1li
-
% high school graduate
or some college
40.0%
45.9%
% college graduate
or higher
--
38.8%
-
AMMO
-
BEAR IT FIRST
Limits
Indisp.nsibl. nn'S on th. politin of housing, w.lfal'f, (rim., jobs and schools.
lNm whit (ity Hill dOfSll't WiIlt you to bow about N.w York's n.ighborhoods.
And k .. p up with .v.ryon. who's working to mak. th.m b.tt.r.
Y(S! Start my subscription to (ity Limits maguin
Individuils/Nonprofits:
Y(S! PI.ast Hnd m. th. fin (ity Limits W .. kly
(-mail and fax Bull.tin.
o $l5/on. y.ar (10 isSUfS)
o $19/two ytars (lO isSUfS)
BusinfSs/60Vfrnm.ntlLibrary:
o y.ar or y.ars
Namf
-----------------------

(-Mail Addms:
---------------
or fax Numb.r:
---------
SlND YOUR ORDlR TO: (ity Limits
IlO Wall Strfft, lOth floor
NfW York, NY
(ity Statf Zip ____ _
PhODf: (lll) 419-1144 - fax (lll) 144-6ill
Bankers Trust
Architects of Value
Community Development Group
A resource for the non-profit
development community

Gary Hattem, Managing Director
130 Liberty Street
10th Floor
New York, New York 10006
Tel: Fax:
CITY LIMITS
Welfare Estate
(continued / rom page 20)
That's why the dirty little secret of welfare-to-
work is creaming-finding a way to get clients
who are more talented, better educated or more
motivated than the general pool, and thereby
boosting a program's success rates. Everybody
accuses everybody else of doing it. But nobody
will own up to it, and it's very hard to prove. Some
nonprofits do it outright, by requiring a OED or
high school diploma, and call it "screening." But
there are also more subtle ways, like making the
program so torturous in the beginning that only the
most motivated-or desperate--candidates stick
around to get counseled and placed. America
Works gets hit most often with that criticism.
''They cream by motivation, which I think is just
as bad," says one program evaluator. "I bet those
people could get jobs on their own." (see sidebar).
The post-reform system, with all its emphasis
on accountability and retention, may be making
the practice worse, says Wolcott. "Performance-
based contracting leads to skimming," she main-
tains. "If you already have staff, you don' t want to
lay them off, so you're dependent on these con-
tracts. You're going to skim, and it's contrary to
what the public policy is trying to achieve."
But now, several years into welfare refonn, much
of the "crearn"-the people with the best prospects
for employment-is gone from the welfare rolls.
Many of the people still getting welfare checks are
classified as "difficult-to-serve"-people without
much English, who only read at a 7th-grade level,
who have a criminal record or drug problems, or are
sickly. Not exactly an employer's first choice.
Those people will need a lot more help getting
off welfare than short-term counseling classes and
job placement experts are able to provide, and
welfare experts say that's where the gap between
the profit motive and the social services mission
could get ugly.
It's an issue that for-profits dismiss, charging
that nonprofits just don't like the competition. But
it may not be that simple.
One job-placement worker at America Works
says she was thrilled to be working there-at first.
She says the business is "exciting," with unique
vitality and an honest and respectful attitude
toward the welfare recipients that came in looking
for jobs. But she also noticed that many of the
women who do well at America Works were
already doing pretty well on their own. "It helps a
certain segment of the population a lot, especially
women that already had things going for them-
they were attractive, or had some education, or a
really good attitude," she says.
She says she began wondering about the peo-
ple who needed more serious help, and suspect-
ed that the company's entrepreneurial struc-
ture-in which she and her colleagues get paid
bonuses for finding people jobs and keeping
them there-doesn' t always work in the clients'
best interests.
"You'd be talking somebody into keeping their
job, even when there were some sleazy employ-
ers," she says. "Sometimes, I'd be hurting myself,
because I wouldn' t do it, and I'd lose my bonus.
That's where the for-profit and human services
motives conflict."
It's something that Schwartz and all his com-
petitors will have to plan for, especially when this
windfall of welfare-to-work money runs out. As
the business gets tougher, entrepreneurs may not
be able to continue doing well by doing good.
Wolcott worries about that future. "I think
some for-profits do a really good job," she says.
''They do serve the people without as many
issues-it's easier to serve people who just need a
kick in the ass, or a good personnel service. Our
mission is to deal with more complicated issues. I
don't think for-profits deal with other social ills as
well. That's not what they're in business to do."
The Fund for the City of New York seeks a COOIIDItUO'OR for its Internet Housing
Court Project. The Project uses Internet technology to develop tools to provide
aSSistance, support and concrete court preparation help to litigants in housing
court. It will be tested throughout New York City. The Coordinator will work
closely with a team of programmers and legal experts, and with tenant advo-
cates and courts to implement and evaluate the project. The ideal candidate
for the position would have substantial experience in housing advocacy, par-
ticular1y with respect to courts and also in the Internet, particular1y in HTML pro-
gramming of Web pages. At a minimum, the successful candidate will have a
demonstrated capacity to work with community groups and courts in the test-
ing, deployment and evaluation of the project and have sufficient Internet and
computer knowledge to be able to provide direction in the content and sub-
stance ofthe software to the tearn of prograrnrners who will cornplete the soft-
ware. Resurne, cover letter and references to: Richard Zorza, Housing Position,
Fund for the City of New York, 121 Avenue of the Arnericas, Sixth Roor, New
York, NY 10013. Fax: 212-925-5675. E-mail: rzorza@fcny.org. The Fund for the
City of New York is an equal opportunity ernployer.
SENIOR PORTFOLIO
MANAGER
The National Equity Fund, Inc.(NEF, Inc.), is the nation's premier non-profit investment
syndicator of low income housing tax credits. NEF. Inc. is seeking a Senior Portfolio Manager
in its NEW YORK office to draw upon hislher years of experience in real estate to analyze the
portfolio performance and solve complex asset management problems.
A Bachelor's degree in Business. Finance. Real EstateJUrban Planning or related field is
required; a Master's degree preferred. Must have five or more years of experience in real
estate work- outs, asset management/property management. real estate finance or
development experience. Experience in or knowledge 01 affordable rental housing, in
particular with the Low Income Housing Tax Credit or other government housing programs, is
essential. Knowledge of or experience with non-profit community development corporations
and a commitment to the goals of oommunily development is required. Must possess
excellent written and verbal oommunication skills along with solid analytical abilities and
strong. creative problem solving skills. Extensive knowledge of Excel and Word is required.
Must possess demonstrated ability to effectively evaluate and interpret data from financial
statements. Strong ability ID negotiate and build consensus among different staff levels is
essential. Travel is required.
We offer a competitive salary along with a comprehensive benefits package. Submit resume
and cover letter with salary requirements by FAX ID: (312) 360-0804.
E-mail: cpatterson@liscnetorg or maillD:
THE NATIONAL EQUITY FUND
Human Resources Department
547 W. Jackson Blvd., Ste. 601
Chicago, IL 60661
THE NATIONAL EQUITY FUND IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
JUNE 1999
DEVELOPMENTIFUNDRAISING POSlTION. Mid-Bronx Desperadoes Community
Housing Corporation seeks an individual who has dernonstrated success in the
field of fundraising (i.e., governrnent contracts, proposal Wliting, research d e v e ~
opment and good relationship with corporate and foundations), possess strong
verbal and writing skills. Mail resume and salary requirernents: Ralph Porter,
President, MBDCHC, 1762 Boston Road, Bronx, NY 10460. No telephone calls.
COMMUNICA11ONS COORDINATOR. Energetic self-starter needed to handle all
phases of newsletter production, Web page deSign, publications production
and other writing duties for progressive NYC homeless advocacy organization.
The coordinator will serve both as an advocacy department writer and techni-
cal designer for most mass communication projects and as internal communi-
cations coordinator for agency publications and projects. Qualifications:
degree strongly preferred; expertise and at least 3 years of experience in
newsletter or Web design required; policy or other Wliting experience in the
areas of hornelessness, housing, public assistance or rnental health required.
Competitive salary and benefits package. EOE; women and minority candi-
dates strongly urged to apply. Application requirements: Fax resume, salary
history and short writing sample to: Shelly Nortz, Deputy Director for Policy,
Coalition for the Horneless at 518436-5615.
(continued on page 30)
--
(continued from page 29)
aJNlCAL SOCIAL WORKERS. FIT (Bronx, Inwood and Yonkers locations). Conduct
prescreening interviews, intake evaluations, individual, family and marital ther-
apy. Conduct crisis intervention interviews. Complete statistics, record keeping
in accordance with program requirements. Participate in case presentations at
staff meetings and in supervision. MSW Clinical experience with children and
adults. State certification in Social Work. Bilingual (Spanish/English). CUNICAL
SOCIAL WORKER. FIT (Rockland County). Provide counseling to children, adoles-
cents and families within the Rockland area. Work on a collaborative basis with
other regional counselors in the Hudson Valley area. Certification in Social
Work. Bilingual (Spanish/English). COUNSELORS. Hourly, late aftemoons and
evenings. (Manhattan location). Position provides counseling to individuals, mar-
ried couples and families. Work on a collaborative basis with team and super-
vising psychologist. MSW or doctoral student in clinical psychology who has
completed intemship and other requirements except dissertation. State
Certification in Social Work where appropriate or evidence of completion of
intemship in clinical psychiatry. Bilingual (Spanish/English). Send resume,
salary requirements and include job title in your response to Catholic Charities,
1011 Rrst Avenue, Room 1113, New York, NY 10022. Or fax to 212-82&8795.
MFY Legal Services, Inc., a not-for-profit legal services agency serving the
poor in Manhattan seeks a LEGAL SERVICES ASSISTANTICOMMUNnY UAISON
worker to work with housing attorneys. Responsibilities include: assisting
tenants in single room occupancy hotels, rooming houses and lodging hous-
es in Manhattan. Duties include: interviewing clients, advocating for clients
before government agencies, and assisting attorneys in preparing legal
papers and investigating cases for litigation. Position involves significant
community outreach. Minimum job qualifications: community involvement in
housing problems and some familiarity with building codes, building sys-
JCCGCI MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SYSTEMS
Till: .. .. I-OR \LL 't OL' R CO\lPl 'TER \EEDS
INSTALLATION AND TRAINING IN SPECIALIZED
NONPROAT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE ApPLICATIONS
lI
i
ffl;!"W.t4h1WW iJli#;lM
SKlU.$ DEskToP PuIlUSHING
SMALL GROUP INDIVIDUAL TRAINING
LAWRENCE H. McCAUGHEY
Attorney at Law
Meeting the challenges of affordable housing for 20 years.
Providing legal services in the areas of General Real Estate,
Business, Trust & Estates, and Elder Law.
217 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10007
(212) 513-0981
COMPUTER
Hardware Sales:
ffiM Compatible Computers
Okidata Printers
Lantastic Networks
SERVICES
Software Sales:
NetworkslDatabase
Accounting
Suites! Applications
Services: NetworklHardwareiSoftware Installation,
Training, Custom Software, Hand Holding
Morris Kornbluth 718-857-9157
tems, housing law and court procedures. Ability to interview and communi-
cate effectively with clients as well as excellent writing skills. Spanish lan-
guage skills a plus. Salary pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement
DOE, starting at $24,136. Resumes to: Peggy Earisman, MFY Legal
Services, Inc., 299 Broadway, 4th Roor, New York, NY 10007. EOE.
FACILnY MANAGER. Leading nonprofit housing/social service agency has an
opening for a Facility Manager. Ideal candidate will have a bachelor's degree
or 5 years of experience in the administration of housing programs or as a
facility manager. Knowledge of HVAC, electrical and plumbing is required.
Must have good supervisory/interpersonaljwritten/oral communication
skills. Send letter/resume to: Director of Human Resources, Westhab, 85
Executive Boulevard, Elmsford, NY 10523. EOE.
The Mount Hope Housing Co. needs a highly motivated individual to fill the
position of PROGRAM ASSISTANT at our Employment Service Center.
Responsible for providing support to Director of Employment in the areas of
workshop facilitation, resume preparation, client placement and attendance,
and maintain statistical database. Human services degree or related field
and bilingual a plus. Strong interpersonal, organizational, written and verbal
skills are essential. PC proficiency in MS Word, Lotus and Excel a must.
Send resume and cover letter to: Ms. Noemi Puntier, Director of Employment,
MHHC, 2003-05 Walton Avenue, Bronx, NY 10453.
The Affordable Housing Network of NJ seeks a COMMUNnY ECONOMIC DEVEl-
OPMENT SPECWJST to provide training/technical assistance to community-
based organizations engaged in economic development. Qualifications:
seven years related experience and master's degree or equivalent experi-
ence. Send resume, cover letter to: Diane Sterner, E.D. , AHN, P.O. Box
1746, Trenton, NJ 08607.
DEBRA BECHTEL - Attorney
Concentrating in Real Estate & Non-profit Law
Title and loan closings 0 All city housing programs
Mutual housing associations 0 Cooperative conversions
Advice to low income co-op boards of directors
313 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201,
(718) 780-7994 (718) 624-6850
GET A BREAK ON POSTAGE
WHILE GIVING SOMEONE A BREAK
Let us Zip+4 and Bar Code Your Mailings for Maximum Postal
Discounts and Faster Delivery
We also otTer hand inserting, live stamp aftixing, bulk mail,
folding, collating, labeling, wafer sealing and more.
Henry Street Settlement Mailing Services is a work readiness program
offering participants on-the-job and life-skills training
For information contact Bob Modica
(212) 505-7307 Fax: (212) 475-8711
NesoH Associates
management solutions for non-profits
Providing a full range of management support services for
non-profit organizations
management development & strategic planning
board and staff development & training
program design, implementation & evaluation
proposal and report writing
Box 130 75A Lake Road' Congers, NY 10920' tel/fax (914) 268-6315
CITY LIMITS
SPECIALIZING IN REAL ESTATE
J-51 Tax Abatement/Exemption. 421A and 421B
Applications. 501 (c) (3) Federal Tax Exemptions . All forms
of government-assisted housing, including LISC/Enterprise,
Section 202, State Turnkey and NYC Partnership Homes
KOURAKOS & KOURAKOS
Attorneys at Law
Bronx, N.Y.
(718) 585-3187
New York, N.Y.
(212) 551-7809
C()InplItCI SCI viccs/OttiCl' SUppUII
Time Is Money . Le1 Us Help You Save Time
Y2J( TosIing & Y2K Solutions We SpociaIzo In:
Project Management, M o n t h ~ Report.,

Microsoft Office
Infoonotion Gathering, Customized Software Solutions,

Microsoft Project
Computer Training, NewsIetten,Web Design, Proposal.

Microsoft Acc ...
Axis Information Systems, Inc.
Tel: (ZU) 121-101.
Fa: (ZU) 121-2272
WIll: bttp:II_.ID/ .....
..... : .......... clllll_
CONSlJlIANI SER\IlCES
Proposals/Grant Writing
HUD Grants/Govt. RFPs
MI(UA(L 6. BU((I
CONSULTANT
Housing/Pmgrom Oevdcpment
Real Estate Sales/Rentab
Technical Assistance
Employment Programs
Capacity Building
Community Relations
HOUSING, DEVELOPMENT & FUNDRAISING
212-765-7123
212-397-6238
m&buccIOaol.com
451 WEST 48th STREET, SUITE 2E
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10036-1298
Does your nonprofit need corporate, real estate,
tax or other business legal services?
Lawyers Alliance for New York has a staff of skilled lawyers
and a roster of 400 volunteer attorneys from leading NY firms.
We specialize in providing free or low-cost legal services to
nonprofit corporations. We also offer helpful publications and
workshops on many nonprofit legal issues.
To find out if we can help your nonprofit, call 212219-1800
Lawyers Alliance
99 Hudson Street. New York. NY 10013 for New York
Committed to the development of affordable housing
GEORGE C. DELLAPA, ATTORNEY AT LAW
15 Maiden lane, Suite 1800
New York, NY 10038
212-732-2700 FAX: 212-732-2773
Low-income housing lax credit syndication. Public and private
financing. HDFCs and notjor-profit corporations. Condos and co-ops.
j 5] Tax abatement/exemptions. Lending for historic properties.
JUNE 1999
PROGRAM DIRECTOR. Full time for new after-school youth development center
serving 210 7th and 8th graders. Strong supervisory and communication
skills, youth development/educational experience, and ability to work effec-
tively with teens, parents and school environment required. $36,000 and
good benefits. Resume to: Susan Matloff, Forest Hills Community House,
108-25 62nd Drive, Forest Hills, NY 11375.
COMMUNnY LIAISON. Economic and community development project located
in Mott Haven, South Bronx, is seeking an experienced, bilingual community
outreach worker. Develop and maintain linkages to community residents,
CBOs, churches, schools and businesses. Deliver oral presentations to a
broad array of audiences. Assist in the preparation/distribution of a commu-
nity newsletter. Promote program services/events through contact with media
outlets, development/distribution of public relations materials and telephone
outreach. Qualifications. Minimum BA or proven equivalent work experience.
Verbal and written bilingual profiCiency (Spanish/English) a prerequisite for
consideration. Ability to effectively interface with public. Proficiency in Word
Perfect 6.1 essential. Knowledge of Microsoft Publisher a plus. Salary com-
mensurate with experience. Excellent benefits package. Forward
resume/cover letter to: Estel Fonseca, NSP, 384 East 149th Street, Suite
400, Bronx, NY 10455. Fax: 718-585-1525.
STAFf ATTORNEYAAW GRADUATI. Advocates for Children (AFC) is an educa-
tional advocacy organization that works with New York City's most impov-
erished and vulnerable families to secure quality and equal public educa-
tion services. AFC is looking for an educational law advocate to assist
immigrant families in New York City in receiving proper educational services
for their children. Bilingual ability (English/Spanish) is required, knowledge
of Haitian Creole, Chinese or Russian a plus. The position requires a wide
range of advocacy for general and special education services in adminis-
trative proceedings and appeals. The advocate will also go out into immi-
grant communities to provide educational workshops and trainings. The
salary is $30,000 with excellent benefits. AFC is an Equal Opportunity
Employer. Please send resumes to: Jill Chaifetz, Executive Director,
Advocates for Children, 105 Court St., 4th R., Brooklyn, NY 11201. Fax:
718-624-1260.
SOCIAL WORKER. (PIT) For innovative East Harlem program targeting
young minority women at risk for lupus. MSW or BSW, experience in
health care counseling and entitlements. Selfstarter, independent work-
er, excellent communication, networking and data collection skills.
Bilingual Spanish required; knowledge of East Harlem preferred. Fax
resume (including salary requirements) to: Program Coordinator, P.
Santiago 212-289-8590. EOE.
The Coalition for Affordable Housing and the Environment is seeking a COOR-
DINATOR to identify and implement opportunities for Coalition members to
work together on local projects utilizing member expertise, and help local orga-
nizations understand the implications of statewide policy initiatives on their
work. Requirements: five years experience working with community-based
and/or public policy organizations; ability to work with diverse communities.
Strong organizational/communications skills a must; knowledge of New Jersey
issues and organizations helpful. For complete job description, please con-
tact 609-278-5856 or pchrystie@Worldnet.att.net with fax number, e-mail or
U.S. mail address.
CASES is New York' s largest and most experienced not-for-profit alterna-
tive-to-incarceration organization. The Community Justice Project (CJP) is a
new initiative designed to create meaningful correctional programs that
operate in the communities where offenders reside. The CJP seeks to
build new relationships-between city and state correctional agencies and
community constituents-that create opportunities to make the justice
system more responsive to the needs of offenders and high-crime neigh-
borhoods. SENIOR PROJECT ASSOCIATI. CJP seeks a person with excellent
writing, analytical and organization skills to edit and oversee the develop-
ment of communications materials, maintain relationships with project
partners, coordinate and facilitate project meetings, and manage the pro-
ject director' s correspondence. Will review external materials, identifying
important information and opportunities for collaboration. Will work close-
ly with the project director or facilitate purposes. Rve years work experi-
ence required and some graduate level education is preferred. Salary is
$40,000 to $50,000 plus benefits. Send writing samples and resume to:
Personnel Department, CASES, 346 Broadway, 3rd Roor West, New York,
NY 10013.
(continued on page 32)
-
SOlway

(continued from page 31)
Green Guerillas, nonprofit providing assistance to NYC's network of 750 com-
munity gardens seeks ADVOCACY COORDINATOR for Garden Preservation
Initiative and COMMUNnY ORGANIZER for garden preservation and urban agri-
culture projects. Both full time. Both require BA, computer literacy, excellent
writing, communication skills, ability to work flexible schedule. AC needs
some experience with press relations and nonprofit communications. CO
needs some community organizing/community development experience and
ability to work regular evening and weekend hours. Salary commensurate with
experience. Full benefits. Send resume and cover letter to: Green Guerillas,
625 Broadway, 9th R., New York, NY 10012. Attn: AC or CO.
NYC OUTREACH COORDINATOR. The coordinator will provide ongoing support to
the nearly 100 Archdiocesan-affiliated emergency food and shelter programs.
Provide guidance to programs in the areas of general management and
resources. Maintain statistics re: advocacy and fundraising efforts. BA or BS
degree. Nutrition degree preferred. Knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel
necessary. Access helpful. Excellent communication and organizational
skills. Ability to accept flexible hours and travel throughout Manhattan, Staten
Island and the Bronx. Prior nonprofit experience and work with people in
need. Excellent benefits. 19 Holidays. Send resume, salary requirements
and include job title in your response to: Catholic Charities, 1011 Rrst
Avenue, Room 1113, NY, NY 10022. Or fax to 212-826-8795.
Fabulous PORTRlUO MANAGEMENT opportunities available with fast.growing
national SBA 7(a) nonbank lender. Put your technical , personal and organiza-
tional skills to work with the nation's premier economic development company.
Responsibilities include loan serVicing; borrower site visits, loan reviews and rela-
tionship building; as well as management of watch list, workout and liquidation
accounts. Computer literacy (Word 97, IBS or similar, Lotus 123 a plus) and bilin-
gual (English and Spanish) language skills preferred. With a bachelor's degree
or equivalent (including solid economic development and/ or portfolio manage-
ment experience), one of these NYC-based opportunities may be for you.
Moderate travel in U.S. and Puerto Rico. Fax resume with cover letter indicating
salary requirements to 212-573-B118. Or &mail to VRBHB@aol.com. EOE.
POUTICAl. ORGANIZERS. The Working Families Party is an independent, multi-
racial progressive political party working through elections and legislative
campaigns to advance the work of community organizations and labor unions.
The WFP is seeking committed staff persons to organize local , grassroots
political organizations in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. EOE. Call
Bill at 718-222-3796.
-
ACQUISITIONS
ANALYST
The National Equity Fund, Inc.(NEF, Inc.), is the nation's premier non-
profit investment syndicator of low income housing tax credits. NEF, Inc. is
seeking an Acquisitions Analyst in its NEW YORK office to assist in the
underwriting of affordable housing projects sponsored by community based
corporations seeking equity investments from NEF.
The successful candidate will be an aspiring real estate profeSSional with
strong financial and communication skills and a commitment to affordable
housing and community development. Excellent Excel spreadsheet skills are
required. A Bachelor' s degree in Urban Planning, Business, Finance,
Accounting, Real Estate or related field is required; graduate level education
or some experience is a plus.
We offer a competitive salary along with a comprehensive benefits package.
Submit resume and cover letter with salary requirements by FAX to
(312) 360-0804, e-mail cpatterson@liscnet.org or mail to:
THE NATIONAL EQUITY FUND
Human Resources Department
547 W. Jackson Blvd., Ste. 601
Chicago, IL 60661
Bronx nonprofit organization is searching for an 0lII1IACII COORDIN4TOR that
will serve as our liaison representing A Better Bronx For Youth (BBFY) at various
meetings, coalitions, community boards or other collaborative efforts that need
representation. In addition, must be able to develop and prepare agency's
newsletters and press releases and to recruit new consortium members and
council members. Call : Medina Sadiq at 718-665-2449. Fax: 718-665-2464.
Growing statewide tenant organization seeks half-time DIRECTOR OF DEVElOP-
MENT. Oversee grassroots fundraising, assist with foundation fundraising.
Salary commensurate with experience, benefits. Resume and samples to:
Michael McKee, Tenants & Neighbors, 505 Eighth Avenue, 18th Roor, New
York, NY 10018-6505. Fax: 212-695-4314. EOE.
NY Jobs with Justice, a labor/ community/ religious coalition fighting for work-
place justice, seeks a Fir ORGANIZER with experience or interest in coalition-
building and in the labor/ social justice movements. Qualifications: Abil ity to
work collaboratively and independently with people of diverse backgrounds
and views. Good follow-up skills, attention to detail. Excellent communica-
tion and writing skills, computer proficiency are musts. Salary: low $20s plus
benefits. EOE. Send resume and cover letter ASAP to: Carol Pittman, NYJWJ,
330 West 42nd Street, NYC 10036.
Common Ground Jobs Training Corporation, an innovative nonprofit that
serves formerly homeless adults, is seeking a BUSINESS MANAGER for its
social venture, Common Ground Technologies (CGT). CGT is a technology ven-
ture designed to create job-training positions within an economically viable
business. The Business Manager will be responsible for all aspects of
Common Ground Technologies including, but not limited to: growth and man-
agement of business, marketing, financial management, supervision of
employees and trainees, relationship building and management with clients,
advisory board and corporate partners, monitoring and shaping training pro-
gram, and launching new business ventures. Please fax a cover letter and
resume to lIana Goldman at 212-768-8748.
INFANT CARE GROUP TEACHERS (21. (Child Care Worker) Certified teacher pre-
ferred or BS degree, 2 years as group leader in early childhood education.
Infant care experience preferred, including supervision of the Infant Care
Aide, planning and implementation of a program to meet the educational ,
social and developmental needs of the infants. Assure continuity and qual-
ity of infants' group care as well as individual care. Maintain a safe and
healthful environment. Promote sound parent relationships. Promote the
professional growth of classroom aSSOCiates, maintain necessary records,
carry out administrative responsibilities and other related duties. Salary
negotiable. EOE. Send resume to: Director of Social Services, St. John' s
Place Family Center, 1630 St. John' s Place, Brooklyn, NY 11233. Or fax:
718-771-3908.
INDEPENDENT LMNG SKILLS CASEWORKER. Bachelor's degree required.
Excellent writing, organizational and communication skills, and group work
experience. Provide direct care services to families in need of life skills train-
ing and educational assistance. Work with families individually and in group
settings. Conduct home visits to clients' apartments and maintain docu-
mentation as required. Salary negotiable. EOE. Send resume to Director of
Social Services, St. John' s Place Family Center, 1630 st. John's Place,
Brooklyn, NY 11233. Or fax: 718-771-3908.
NMIC, a Washington Heights CBO, has two positions in our advocacy-based
welfare reform projects. PARALEGAL STUDIES PROGRAM COORDINATOR. Full or
part time. Duties: supervising social work interns and program staff,
oping paralegal internships, ensuring integration of classroom and experien-
tial learning, working with attorneys and helping to coordinate NMIC' s
Workforce Development Center. MSW plus two years post-graduate
ence required. Legal experience preferred. Spanish and fundraising
ence a plus. FAMILY DAYCARE NETWORK AND COMMUNnY CARETAKER
RESOURCE CENTER COORDINATOR. Duties: coordinating participant training and
continuing education in child care and business management, overseeing
quality of daycare services provided and community outreach efforts, and
establishing an advisory council. Two years childcare experience and bilingual
English/ Spanish required. BS in early childhood education preferred.
Positions offer an excellent salary and benefits. Fax your resume to Julie
Levine, 212-928-4180.
CONTROU.ER. Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, nonprofit healthcare
zation seeks Controller. PHI creates jobs for low-income women and provides
high-quality healthcare to the elderly, chronically ill and disabled. Reports to pres-
CITY LIMITS
ident, oversees delivery and operations of all accounting activities. Ensures effi-
cient management and flow of financial data and advises on operational strate-
gies. Must be organized and capable of working independently. Financial man-
agement experience and knowledge of accounting software required. Competitive
salary, excellent benefits. EOE. Send resume with cover letter and salary to: The
Search Co., PHI, 90 Washington Street, 27th Aoor, NY, NY 10006.
DEVELOPMENT DlRCTOR. National nonprofit doing non-partisan voter registra-
tion and turnout projects in minority communities seeks Development
Director in our Downtown Brooklyn office. Exciting opportunity to be part of
social change. Campaign or nonprofit experience required. Fax letter, resume
to Project Vote, 718-246-7939. Or call 718-246-7929.
GRANT WRITERIDEVn.OPMENT ASSOCIATE. Asian Americans for Equality
(AAFE) is a 25-year-<>ld community-based nonprofit organization serving
minority and immigrant communities throughout New York City and beyond.
AAFE seeks a motivated individual with an undergraduate degree plus two
years or more of writing experience to work with our executive team as a
Grant Writer/Development. Salary commensurate with experience and
includes excellent benefits. EOE. Please submit cover letter, resume and
maximum five-page writing sample to: Seema Agnani, AAFE, 108-110
Norfolk Street, New York, NY 10002. Fax: 212-979-2219. E-mail:
aafe@Worldnet.att.net.
ANHD seeks a PROJECT DlRCTOR for its Neighborhood Organizing and
Advocacy Initiative. The Project Director works closely with NYC organizing
and preservation groups to lead advocacy efforts, administer trainings and
workshops for organizing staff and increase access to resources for partici-
pating organizations. The successful candidate will be a very hightmergy
self-starter with a strong commitment to the work of community-based orga-
nizations. The Project Director must have professional organizing experience,
a solid familiarity with NYC's neighborhoods and a thorough awareness of
the critical issues facing our lower income communities. The Project Director
should also have program management experience, a BA or above, and very
strong interpersonal and communication skills (particularly writing). Salary:
$30,000 to $40,000. Please fax resume to ANHD at 212-463-9606.
New full-time position: ADMINISTRATM ASSISTANT to the Director of Finance
and Administration. The director handles budgets, accounting, finance, insur-
ance, facilities operation and maintenance, personnel matters, purchasing,
contract compliance, occasional facility rentals and other matters including
office technology. The assistant's primary duty will be to act as bookkeep-
er and payroll clerk, maintain accounts payable and receivable, reconcile
accounts, and prepare financial and contract reports. The assistant will also
handle inquiries from the public about facility rentals, help manage the facil -
ity and generally support the work of the director. Position requires high
school graduate familiar with MYOB or QuickBooks, experience with payroll
matters, proficiency with MS Office and good communication skills. Must
love details and variety of daily work. College, nonprofit experience and
some Spanish a plus. Please call Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment
718-788-8850 Ext. 223 for a complete job announcement.
New Visions Schools - small Innovative New York City Public
Schools - are searching for teachers In all subjects, grades K-12. Teachers
in the following areas are especially encouraged to apply: math, science
and dual language (Spanish/Engli sh, Mandarin/English).
Requirements: able to work With students on diverse academic levels;
experience in active leaming, special ed. inclusion, performance based
assessment and interdisciplinary learning strategies, familiarity with state
and city standards. Applicants must have or be eligible for NYS/NYC
license.
Planning and professional development begin In July; poSitions start In
September.
New Visions for Public Schools actively seeks applicants who reflect the
diversity of the city's student population.
Please send resume and cover letter describing teaching philosophy to:
New Visions for Public Schools , 96 Morton Street, New York, NY
10014, Attn: Teacher Vacancies; or Fax to: (212) 645-7409;
or visit our website at www.newvisions.org. EOE
JUNE 1999
WORKERS CENTER DIRECTOR. Grassroots economic justice organization
seeks an individual to develop and manage programs of the Community
Voices Heard Center. The goal of the center is to build CVH's membership
of low-wage and workfare workers, develop locally based worker organiz-
ing campaigns and to provide concrete benefits and training to CVH mem-
bers. Possible programs include ESL, GED, computer training, Workers
Rights Clinic, Hiring Hall. Requirement: 4-5 years program development
and management, fundraising and organizing in a community or union set-
ting. Spanish-speaking desired, not required. Salary: $38,000-$40,000.
Resume and cover letter to: CVH, 173 East 116th Street, NY, NY 10029.
PU8UC POUCY ORGANIZER. CVH seeks an individual to manage citywide cam-
paigns focusing on job creation, economic justice and welfare reform.
Responsibilities include: membership development, leadership training, par-
ticipatory action research and coalition work. Salary: $28,000-$32,000
depending on experience. People of color, women and lesbian/gay strongly
encouraged to apply. Resume and cover letter to: CVH, 173 East 116th
Street, NY, NY 10029.
DOWNSTATE COORDINATOR. The Neighborhood Preservation Coalition of NYS,
a statewide membership organization of community-based housing groups,
seeks dynamic leader for NYC office. Responsibilities include: providing
technical assistance, advocating for members, fundraising, building local
relationships and managing the downstate office located in Brooklyn. Three
years experience in housing and/or community development required.
Experience in coalition building, fundraising and nonprofit management, and
ability to provide TA to community groups. Excellent communication skills.
Bachelor's degree preferred. Ability to speak Spanish a plus. Willingness
to travel required. EOE. Women and people of color encouraged to apply.
Submit resume to: NPC of NYS, 303 Hamilton Street, Albany, NY 12210.
State Senator Tom Duane is hiring two LEGISlATIVE AIDES for constituent ser-
vice, community liaison, office management work. Good writing skills, com-
mitment to progressive issues, knowledge of district and willingness to work
40+ hour weeks a must. Knowledge of Chinese, Spanish, Chinatown com-
munity particularly helpful. Fax resume, cover letter, writing sample to 212-
929-5562. Or call 212-929-5501 for complete description. Women, people of
color, people with disabilities of HIV/AIDS and L/G/BjT encouraged to apply.
BUIlDING DIRECTORS 121. Common Ground Community, a nationally recognized
supportive housing facility seeks two directors to manage staff and programs
operations at the Times Square and the Prince George, two midtown housing
facilities. Reports to Chief Operating Officer. Each oversees staff of 30 in
maintenance, security, finance, occupancy and tenant services including job
training. Also works with local community leaders and businesses. Must be
proven leaders and collaborators with significant facilities management and
supervisory experience, and committed to serving formerly homeless and
low-income adults. Competitive salary; excellent benefits. EOE. Send
resume and cover letter with salary history to: The Search Co. , ComG., 90
Washington Street, 27th Aoor, NY, NY 10006.
PROGRAM OFFICER. The Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation is seeking a
Program Officer to focus on one or more of the following program areas:
Toxics, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Communities and Metropolitan
New York Environment. Responsibilities will include assessing funding
requests, conducting site visits and recommending and monitoring grants.
Significant work experience is required, preferably including some combi-
nation of program and management. Having worked with or in a nonprofit
organization is desirable, as is experience in community organizing and with
organizations and communities of color. Previous foundation experience is
not needed. Aexibility and being able to work independently and as part of
a small team are essential. The ability to write clearly and concisely is nec-
essary. The Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. People of color
are strongly encouraged to apply. Send cover letter with resume and writing
sample by May 30, 1999 to: Program Officer Search, Jessie Smith Noyes
Foundation, 6 East 39th Street, NY, NY 10016. The starting date for this
position is January 2000. No telephone inquiries accepted. Web site:
www.noyes.org.
FINANCIAL MANAGER. National progressive political organization seeks full-
time financial manager/administrative director. Financial management expe-
rience required. Political campaign or nonprofit experience preferred. Salary
commensurate with experience; health insurance. Fax resume and salary
requirement to: Naomi , 718-246-3718.
(continued on page 35)
-
- ~ . . . - ~ .. , ... -
SPARE CHANGE
-,
..
, \
people
<._ ... -. ...........-- .
-
-
10
---,
-
\
The
poetry
-
-
-
I
\
\
-
-
Wish you could write for City Limits, but just don't have the time ... or can't afford the pay cut? Here's how you can
work on your journalism prose: Create your own New York stories with this handy fridge magnet set! Just glue these
key words and phrases to a thin magnet, cut along the lines and voilaJ It's hours offun and a chance to read even
more stories in the distinctive editorial voice of New York's urban affairs news magazine.
HPD I or ACS I with I HUD I but I HRA I near SSI I yet TIL I budget cuts
Legal 1 Services I and I tenants I outraged I by I Mayor Rudolph I Giuliani
will I foundation 1 dollars 1 without the 1 crumbling 1 Bronx I Jiggetts is J city
Jason Barrios Lhota I fired I a Ilead I paint I squalor covered I Liz Krueger
water damage I nonprofit Ithe I accountability Governor workfare I Roberts
unsavory dilapidated 1 Commissioner 1 lost 1 their contract 1 defraud ed sources
abandoned I that I rat-infested I single room occupancy community of welfare
poor Ily 1 planned 1 advocates 1 cash-strapped 1 grassroots thousand 1 clear 1 blight
police force I argues I next I for I neighborhood I uncertain I future I at I New York
perplexed I brownstone I harried housing I economic development I indicted
building Ilandiord 1 s Idecrepitude food stamps judge offering 1 school 1 rights
Harlem 1 sources I indicate missing state I enforce I rent strike I Council I litigated
suing organization I garbage 1 group I an lover Istate lare East Village angry adds
court protest fix I Brooklyn I lawyers 1 dismantle 1 union director 1 flummox
wholwill says homeless people picket I crack I kids I alone all I together now
borough 1 board 1 insist charter ruckus 1 million 1 freak 1 unrelenting why
scandal I ous I private 1 part I lack full I autonomous I construction I street
very I happy I control I struggle I cost sagging 1 ceiling I until year I Senate race
refused to comment I didn't return repeated calls I unavailable at press time
I City I Limits I
I
(continued from page 33)
congresswoman Carolyn Maloney seeks CASEWORKERIDISTRICT REPRSEN-
TATIVE. Responsibilities include constituent service, community outreach
and involvement in broad range of issues. Good writing skills essential.
Salary in low $20s/full benefits. Send resume and cover letter to: 1651
Third Avenue, New York, NY 10128. Fax: 212-86(}()704.
ACCOUNTANt The nonprofit organization, Committee to Protect Joumalists, seeks
a accountant to manage finances in an office of 15 staff. Duties
include bookkeeping, budget reporting and overseeing staff benefits. Please mail
resume, references and salary requirements to: Executive Director, Committee
to Protect Joumalists, 330 Seventh Avenue, 12th Roor, New York, NY 10001.
1RAINERIPROGRAM ASSISTANT. MUiti-{jisciplinary home-based child care program
seeks motivated, organized, computer-literate individual for outreach, recruit-
ment, provider training, curriculum development and translation, data collection,
home visits. Background in early childhood education, prOficiency in English and
Spanish required. BA preferred. Salary in low $20s, excellent benefits. Fax
cover letter and resume to: D. Perez at WHEDCO, 718-839-1172.
ADMINJSTRA11VE ASSISTANT. Rapidly growing nonprofit women's organization
seeks creative self-starter with excellent verbal and writing skills to assist
senior staff with special projects, research and clerical support. BA, com-
puter literate, pressure tolerant, highly organized. Fax cover letter and
resume to WHEDCO, 212-255-8722.
COMMUNJIY ORGANIZER. NFP Law Project serving tenants in single room occu-
pancy buildings (SROs) seeks organizer for advocacy, negotiation, para-
legal and other assistance to SRO tenants. Duties include strategy development,
inspection of buildings, organizing both individual tenants and groups of tenants,
negotiation with landlords, advocating before social or governmental agencies on
behalf of specific tenants or on behalf of the SRO tenant population in general ,
paralegal and administrative work as necessary. Organizers carry full case load.
Position available May 15. Salary $30K+ depending on experience. Second lan-
guage, especially Spanish, helpful; familiarity with Central Harlem a plus. Women
and minorities encouraged. Fax resume and cover letter to 212-721-1514.
MANAGER. Irnrnediate hire. Growing national nonprofit
agency seeks hands-on individual with 1-3 years experience to assist the
Director of Rnance & Administration. Responsibilities include A/P, G/L, A/R.
Working knowledge of all phases of accounting & bank reconciliation is essen-
tial. Also responsible for general office duties associated with daily office main-
tenance and operations. Must be efficient and organized. Knowledge of
EXCEL, Word, fund accounting a plus. Salary to $30K/yr. Excellent benefits.
Please fax resumes in confidence to 212-213-6582 Attn.: Search Committee.
OFFICE MANAGERIPROGRAM ASSOCIAlI. The Unitarian Universalist Veatch
Program is the grantmaking prograrn of the Unitarian Congregation at
Shelter Rock (UUCSR) in Manhasset, NY. General Description: Manage and
implement administrative procedures, provide communication with the
Veatch Board and wider UUCSR community and assist program officers in
program-related work as needed. Required skills: computer, including word
processing, spreadsheets, Internet. Excellent research, written and oral
communication and strong interpersonal skills. Sense of humor a must.
Send cover letter, resume and two references to: Marjorie Rne, Executive
Director, UU Veatch Program at Shelter Rock, 48 Shelter Rock Road,
Manhasset, NY 11030. Application deadline: May 14, 1999.
The Pratt Area Cornmunity Council (PACC) is a growing, not-for-profit organiza-
tion. We combine tenant and community organizing, tenant and homeowner ser-
vices, affordable housing development and management, and economic
opment to improve the Brooklyn communities of Ft. Greene, Clinton Hill , and
Bedford Stuyvesant. PACC has the following poSitions available: HOUSING 0EVEl-
0PftE(T DIRECTOR to implement and supervise affordable housing projects.
Self-starter with excellent organizational and writing skills. Housing, financial
packaging and supervisory experience required. Salary to $55K. COMMUNJIY
ORGANIZER to establish a network of community groups and residents to work
on community issues. Work with tenants in distressed properties providing
counseling, education and organizational assistance. Develop community edu-
cational literature and programs. Candidate will be a community-minded, high-
energy self-starter willing to be part of an organizing team. Bilingual
English/Spanish a plus. Salary mid to high $20s commensurate with experi-
ence. Must be PC literate. Commitment to community development and not-for-
profit experience preferred. Women and minorities are strongly encouraged to
apply. Salary commensurate with experience. Send cover letter and resume to:
PACC, 201 DeKaib Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205. Fax: 718-522-2604.
COMMUNJIY ORGANIZERS. The Training Institute for Careers in Organizing seeks
people eager to fight for social justice. Organize on issues such as housing,
jobs, police accountability, education and environmental justice. Intensive train-
ing and permanent positions available. Starts January or June. Call Peter ASAP
at 718-584()515. Fax resume to 718-733-6922. Or e-mail tico@ticol.org.
Newly renovated OFFICE SPACE available for nonprofit agencies in downtown
Brooklyn. Reasonable rates; secure. Call: Ramon at 718-33(}()845.
OFFICE SPACE AVAIlABLE. The Sister Fund/Astraea Foundation have attractive
office space available immediately. Several enclosed offices for $830 per
month. Share floor, conference room and full kitchen/lunch area with other non-
profits. Copier, fax and postage meter available, reception provided. For more
information call Jazmine Irizarry at 212-529-8021. Or e-mail jaz@astraea.org.
LET US DO A FREE EVALUATION
OF YOUR INSURANCE NEEDS
JUNE 1999
We have been providing low-cost insurance programs and
quality service for HDFCs, TENANTS, COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT
and other NONPROFIT organizations for over 15 years.
We Offer:
SPECIAL BUILDING PACKAGES
FIRE LIABILITY BONDS
DIRECTOR'S & OFFICERS' LlABILTY
GROUP LIFE & HEALTH
"Tailored Payment Plans"
ASHKAR CORPORATION
146 West 29th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10001
(212) 279-8300 FAX 714-2161 Ask for : Bolo Ramanathan
wp
~ ...................................... .
,
Leroy and Kenneth Morrison
of Lemor Realty surveying
construction at W. 140th St.
CALL: CHASE REAL ESTATE
LENDING UNIT 212-622-3741

Movq ill the right direction
(t@
Building like father, like son.
Leroy and Kenneth Morrison are a father and son team that is work-
ing with Qhase;s C0!llmunlty Development Group to make a differ-
ence in the community they call home.
The Morrisohs are part of '''New York City's Neighborhood
Entrepreneur Program. Working closely with the city and the New
York City Housing Partnership, Chase helped create this program,
which is designed to transfer ownership of clusters of city-owned
vacant and occupied buildings to experienced neighborhood-based
property managers/owners.
It all boils down to desire and commitment. The Morrisons' desire to
do the tough thingl) it takes to be responsible contractors and build-
ing managers. The Chase Manhattan Bank's commitment to have a
long-term relationship with people who invest in themselves and their
communities.
Through innovative financing programs and relationships with people
like Leroy and K e n n e ~ Morrison, Chase's Community Development
Group is redefining thk concepts of affordable housing and local
entrepreneurship. We call that doing business right.
: ........................ ~ Community Development Group
CHASE. The right relationship is everything. SM
C 1997 The Chase Manhattan Bank. Member FDIC. Equal Opportunity Lender A

You might also like