CM James Sponsors "Beautify and Unify" To Encourage CrH/PH Revitalization; 8/20

Council Member Letitia James invites the Crown Heights and Prospect Heights communities to "Beautify and Unify", sponsored by Council Member Letitia James, NYC Community Cleanup, the Crown Heights Mediation Center, The Prospect Heights Street Tree Task Force, and the Executive Director of IKOKO!

The event is Saturday August 20th, beginning 10:00am (participants are encouraged to meet at 9:45am) on the corner of Sterling Place and Nostrand Avenue.

The clean-up day will encourage and assist in the ongoing North Crown Heights revitalization, and include graffiti removal, store front cleaning, garbage removal and street tree care. NYC Community Clean Up will provide these services (with the exception of street tree care) at no cost to the merchants and residents. Prospect Heights Street Tree Task Force will handle tree care which will include soil aeration, mulching, and pruning. The Crown Heights Mediation Center conceived of the clean-up day as a way to support new and existing businesses along Nostrand Avenue.

Council Member James encourages store owners along Nostrand to contact the Brooklyn Solution Center Branch of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, which provide alternate sources of capital and business solutions. Also, we encourage new store owners to access NBAT, New York City business acceleration initiative.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Jonathan Perez at the Office of Council Member Letitia James at 718-260-9191.

Team Tish: Some Recent (...and Not So Recent) Photos

Picture time has come 'round again!

And with all the Atlantic Yards news*, we thought we'd post these pictures from around this time last year. They're from an Atlantic Yards press conference at City Hall. Just want to remind you that this fight has been going on for a long time, and that we believe a community is defined by the how to people that live there are treated. We believe in diversity- economic and racial- and we want to see ALL the residents of the 35th District reap the benefits of our every-developing neighborhoods. We hope you support fair and affordable housing development as well. Please consider attending Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn's Community Meeting on June 9th; at 85 S. Oxford Street in Fort Greene to keep abreast of Atlantic Yards issues.

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CMs James and Yassky are joined by Assembly Members Hakeem Jeffries and James Brennan and fair development advocates at City Hall on July 2008.

From this event:

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CMs James, Barron, and Liu rally in Bedford-Stuyvesant against cuts to MTA services, specifically the B25 bus route, on February 28th, 2009. CM Liu is the Chair of the Transportation Committee in the New York City Council.

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CMs James and Weprin are joined by Assembly Member Hakeem Jeffries, State Senator Eric Adams, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and Former NYC Public Advocate Mark Green at a press conference addressing term limits on October 12, 2008.

And from this event:






CMs James and Weprin are joined by State Senator Eric Adams, members of the Crown Heights Revitalization Movement, and Crown Heights residents at City Hall to address the Brooklyn Intake Center proposal to be expanded into a Citywide shelter, and the fact that plans to create a similar Manhattan center were not included in the City budget proposal. June 7, 2009.

*FYI- We purposely try not to post too much about Atlantic Yards, being that there are so many great organizations and blogs following the issue much more closely than we can.
**Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Speaks, a civic group that informs residents about Atlantic Yards issues.
***Photo courtesy of William Alatriste.
****Photo courtesy of Patricio Barrientos, of CM David Weprin's office.

CM James, elected officials, Concerned DHS's Promise of Homeless Intake Center in Manhattan Not Reflected in Budget; 6/7; 3PM; City Hall

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 3, 2009

Contact: Sandy Taggart at (718) 771-0787

Council Member Letitia James; Council Member Bill de Blasio; other local electeds; along with representatives from community groups including the Crown Heights Revitalization Movement (CHRM); Coalition for the Homeless; and the Crown Heights North Association; as well as advocates for the homeless and neighborhood residents, gather for a press conference on the steps of City Hall this Sunday to oppose the Department of Homeless Services’ plan to move the Bellevue men’s homeless central intake center located in Manhattan, to the Bedford-Atlantic Armory shelter in Brooklyn – and to question why DHS has not earmarked money in their 2010 budget to open a men’s homeless intake center in Manhattan also, (as promised) - DHS is actually now proposing a budget savings, and a savings from the Bellevue intake center closure should not be reflected in DHS’s budget, if an intake center in manhattan is to remain open – this appears to be the case though, despite testimony by DHS Commissioner Robert Hess stating that DHS will open a new intake center in Manhattan, which he gave at the General Welfare Committee’s preliminary budget hearing for the Department of Homeless Services

**Press conference to protest DHS’s move of the men’s homeless central intake center from Manhattan to Brooklyn, and to demand that funds be allocated by the Department of Homeless Services in their budget for a Manhattan men’s homeless intake center, as stated by the Commissioner**

This press event is in support of homeless individuals and the community. Please join us to fight DHS’ misguided plan that will not benefit the City’s male homeless population (over 60% reside in Manhattan), and will harm an already overburdened community. Also, a central intake center for homeless men has existed in Manhattan for more than 30 years. Below is a portion of Commissioner Hess’s testimony, but at this time, there is no reflection in the Department of Homeless Services 2010 budget for funding to open a men’s homeless intake center in Manhattan.

“We've received considerable feedback regarding our plans to move men's intake from its current location at 30th Street in Manhattan to the Bedford Atlantic Armory in Brooklyn, when the current site closes. And based on that input, we have developed a new plan that will allow us to have in place two intake sites - one site in Manhattan, and a second site in Brooklyn at the Bed-Atlantic Armory. We will ensure that there is a new intake site in Manhattan by the time DHS exits 30th Street facility.


Who: Advocates for the homeless, the Crown Heights community and public officials

What: Press conference to demand that the Department of Homeless Services abandon plans to close the Men’s Homeless Central Intake Center in Manhattan, and move it to the Bedford-Atlantic Armory Men’s Shelter in Brooklyn - without funding in DHS’s budget to open a men’s homeless intake center in Manhattan

When: Sunday, June 7th, at 3 pm

Where: Steps of City Hall


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ATTENTION: CM James, Elected Officials, and Community Groups, Press Conference To Oppose DHS Plan to Move Homeless Intake Center, 3/8, 2PM, City Hall

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 5, 2009

Council Member Letitia James; Council Member Al Vann; Council Member Bill de Blasio; State Senator Eric Adams; State Senator Velmanette Montgomery; Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries; Assemblymember Karim Camara; along with community groups including the Crown Heights Revitalization Movement; the Crown Heights North Association; and the Crow Hill Community Association; as well as neighborhood residents and advocates for the homeless will gather for a press conference on the Steps of City Hall, to oppose the Department of Homeless Services’ (DHS) plan to move the men’s homeless intake
center from Manhattan to the Bedford-Atlantic Armory Homeless Shelter in Brooklyn

Elected officials at press conference will announce that a law firm has been retained to stop the men’s homeless central intake center move - this Sunday, March 8th at 2 pm, on Steps of City Hall.

This press event is in support of homeless individuals, and the community. Please join us to fight this misguided plan that will not benefit the City’s male homeless population (nearly 60% reside in Manhattan), and will harm an overburdened community. Manhattan has the highest concentration of street homelessness of all five boroughs, and since the late 1970s, the City of New York has always maintained an intake center for homeless men in Manhattan.

By moving the central intake center to Crown Heights, Brooklyn -- an area with limited public transportation options -- DHS is essentially moving the front door to the shelter system farther away from those who need it most. This plan will significantly decrease access to shelter for homeless men throughout the City. Also, the Bloomberg Administration has not kept its pledge to create intake sites for homeless men in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Who: Elected Officials, Advocates for the Homeless and the Crown Heights Community

What: Press conference to announce the law firm that has been retained to halt the Department of Homeless Services’ plan to close the Manhattan central intake center for homeless men and transfer its functions to the Bedford-Atlantic Armory in Crown Heights, Brooklyn

When: Sunday, March 8th at 2:00 pm on the Steps of City Hall

Contact: Amyre Loomis at (718) 260-9191, (646) 201-8183

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Crown Height Revitalization Movement: Bedford Armory Coalition

The Crown Heights Revitalization Movement (CHARM) has been keeping Council Member James and Team Tish updated on the progress to halt the Department of Homeless Service's plan to move the Men's Manhattan Intake Center from Manhattan to the Bedford/Atlantic Armory Shelter.

CHARM asserts:

· DHS commissioner Robert Hess stated at a recent City Council hearing that the Department intends to start-up the intake center at Bed/Atlantic in the spring*

· The plan is to have 230 beds in that shelter. 200 for intake and assessment, and 30 beds for a detox unit.*

· It is likely the Peter Young shelter will become a 28-day drug rehab facility.*

Council Member James feels strongly that it is the responsibility of government to care for those in our society that are less fortunate, however she joins CHARM in their concern that the Crown Heights community, and the borough of Brooklyn, hold an unfair share of that responsibility. Multiple homeless advocates, community board 8, and other elected officials have asserted that this move will be detrimental to the Crown Heights community and its ability to serve the homeless population.

Council Member James has held numerous press conferences and other events to raise awareness of this matter, and to inform the administration of the concerns throughout the community. She continues to work with advocacy agencies such as CHARM on this issue. Currently, anyone interested in working with CHARM in regards to this issue should email crownheightsrm@gmail.com to join the mailing list.

*Please note that these are not finalized plans.