City Limits Magazine, December 2004 Issue

8/3/2019 City Limits Magazine, December 2004 Issue

1/44

D I L E M


2/44

EDITORIALJOB-KILLING TAX CUTSIWRITE THIS ONE week before Election Day. Noone-not you, not I-knows what will comeof it. Well, maybe Karl Rove does.

But one of the many ugly victories of thearch-right takeover of public life is that thenation has been so obsessed with the presidential election, and with the specter of terrorism,that we 've allowed a second coup on the homefront. No matter who wins the presidency,New York is at a moment of crisis and transition . So are most other U.S. cities and states.

That's because the war on government-ontaxes, on regulation, on the very premise thatthere ought to be a public sector that is theguardian of the public-has left the creature incritical condition. In New York , GovernorPataki and his allies have worked hard on theirfront, and it's paying off.

Look at the numbers the Bloombergadministration sent the state Financial ControlBoard in October. They predict a budget gapof $4.2 billion two years from now-about$1.9 billion of which the Office of Management and Budget anticipates it can recoverthrough new actions. The biggest: $600 million more in cuts from local government agen-

cies. Already, the administration has indicatedthat to build new schools, it will have to borrow still more money. And then there's theMetropolitan Transportation authority, whichhas presented the region with a stunningchoice: less and worse service, or some of thehighest mass transit fares in the nation.

Of course, government agencies need to cutdown on the expense side of their ledgers-particularly the MTA, which is wasteful and unaccountable. Pension payouts and health care are agrowing cost that's hard to rein in.

But there's no way to ignore the billions in taxcuts that helped get us in this budget hole. Cityand state need to get their revenues from somewhere. Governor Pataki told us he would neverimplement new "job-killing taxes." But the taxcuts at the state and federal level threaten towreak their own havoc on the region's economy.Name New York's number-one competitiveadvantage. Our world-class talent? Our finebistros? Let me suggest another: Our 24-hourtransit system. Virtually everything else thatmakes New York City such a desirable place tolive and work--charming walkable neighborhoods, lively street life, intense creative interaction between people, and on and on-is utterlydependent on the bloodstream of mass transit.

And yet ideologues like Pataki have helped starvethe MTA to advance their own political agendas.

New York is an expensive place to run abusiness, and we ought to be very cautiousabout further burdening companies with higher taxes. But neither can we burden our businesses with mass transit and other public sys-tems that don't work, which would eliminatethe city's chief competitive advantages.

Is government as we 've known it the onlyanswer? Ofcourse not. The Bloomberg administration is doing an impressive job at pullingtogether private initiative and resources to helpwith housing, schools and social services-effortsthat other cities ought to emulate. The publicand private sectors need one another to thrive.

But if we are to have functioning andaffordable transit, or habitable school buildingsproducing a skilled workforce, there ain't noway around it: There has to be a robust progressive tax system paving the way.

-Alyssa KatzEditor

Cover design by Tim Leong. Cover photo: Gregory P. Mango. Inset pMtos: Maya Gilliam,Margaret Keady, Gregory P. Mango, Dave Mazer, James J.Messerschmidt.

LET US DO A FREE EVALUATIONOF YOUR NSURANCE NEEDS

We have been providing low-cost insurance programs andquality service for HDFCs, TENANTS, COMMUNITY MANAGEMENTand other NONPROFIT organizations for over 15 years.We Offer:

SPECIAL BUILDING PACKAGES . FIRE LIABILITY BONDS

DIRECTOR'S & OFFICERS' L1ABILTY 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: Bala Ramanathan

City Limits and the Center for an Urban Future rely on the generous support of their readers and advertisers, as well as the following funders: The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, The Unitarian Uni-versalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock, The Scherman Foundaton, JPMorganChase , The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Booth FerrisFoundation, The New York Community Trust, The Taconic Founda-tion, The Rockefeller Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The Ira WDeCamp Foundation, LlSC, Deutsche Bank, M&TBank, The Citigroup Foundation, New York Foundation, Bernard F. and Alva BGimbelFoundation, ndependence Community Foundation, Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation,Washington Mutual, FAR Fund,Child Welfare Fund, United Way, Merrill Lynch, F.B.Heron Foundation,1M.KaplanFund, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation.


3/44

CONTENTS15 OPEN UNIVERSITY

Columbia University plans to build anew campus in Harlem, usingeminent domain if necessary. Local residents and businesses areproposing an alternative: campus and community coexistence.By Bob Roberts

18 THE CHILDREN'S HOURNew York City's foster care system is shrinking at ahistorically

unprecedented rate. Children will be kept safe at home-but whathappens to the organizations that used to house them?

By Xiaoqing Rong23 SHAKEUP ARTISTSTroublemakers, do-gooders, gadflies: Call them what you

will-these 10 New Yorkers have been around the block,and they're fighting to better yours.

5 FRONTLINES : BIRTH OF A CULTURAL DISTRICT ...HOUSINGGROUPS RECONNECT WITH NEIGHBORHOODS...RENT SUBSIDY TIME LlMITS ...HIRINGS AND

FIRINGS...LEAD PAINT LAW TAKES OFF ...TEENS PUT THEIR CITY ON THE MAP(QUEST)

INSIItE TRACK13 UNDERGROUND JUSTICE

Reporting domestic violence brings government authorities intothe family. Anew wave of organizations offers immigrant

women an alternative.By Debbie Nathan

2 EDITORIAL37 JOB ADS

39 PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY42 OFFICE OF THE CITY VISIONARY

tN ~ ~ t I G E N C E 31 Q&A

Will plans for Harlem ignite a new renaissance?Kenneth Knuckles of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone

interviewed by Jonathan Bowles.

32 THE BIG IDEAWhen New York City's unemployment went up, why poverty didnBy Tracie McMillan

33 CITY LITAmerican Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and aNation's

Drive to End Welfare, by Jason DeParle.Reviewed by David Jason Fischer.


4/44

LETTERSNO BUCKS FOR BROWN FIELDS

oncern over tax incentives in the state's newrownfield Cleanup Program going to wealthyis justified ["The Green Lady," Sepember/October 2004]. Equally troubling,owever, is that the part of the plan targeted to

nner-city neighborhoods is stalled. Therownfield Opportunities Area (BOA) proYork's poorerrban communities blighted by brownfields, is

of failed leadership in Albany.The BOA program-the heart and soul ofhe new brownfields law-is intended to pro

of eligible

The lack of BOA funding comes not as aesult of fiscal belt-tightening but becauseovernor Pataki, Senate Majority Leaderruno and Assembly Speaker Silver cannotgree on a required Memorandum of Undertanding (MOU), the legal document impleenting the entire program. The Legislaturehas already appropriated $30 million-$15million in each of the last two state budgetsbut the money can't be touched until the leaders agree.New York State's departments of Environmental Conservation and State, the agenciesadministering the brownfields program, havedone admirable work in getting the word outabout the BOA program and its benefits forNew York's low-income communities. Already,52 applications worth more than $10 millionhave been received. Now it's time for the state'sleaders to sign the MOU and allow the investments in New York's inner-city, urban communities to begin, as the law intended.Tim SweeneyRegulatory Watch DirectorEnvironmental Advocates of New YorkTHINK REGIONALLY, ACT REGIONALLYCompliments on ''Adios, Nueva York" [September/October 2004]; very well written andresearched. I grew up in an Allentown-esquearea of Pennsylvania that saw an influx of Blackand Puerto Rican immigrants from New Yorkand Philly in the early and mid-1990s. Unfortunately, these immigrants met similar economic and social challenges, as well as anuneasy relationship with civic leadership andlaw enforcement.There is definitely a much bigger issue toaddress, though-making a case for regionalapproaches to governance and economies. Itbegins with the issue of why many Allentownsin America are caught off-guard socially andeconomically when a nearby metropolis begins4

to spill over its so-called ills into the suburbanand exurban counties. Most of these nonmetroareas are flabbergasted that "these types" ofeconomically dispossessed people magicallyappear in their vety own backyard. They cannot fathom that "something so awful" couldever happen to their American Dream townand consequently have not prepared theirsocial safety net, their schools or their communities for the impact.

The result is that instead of embracing theenergy of an influx of the new group of people,and instead of being positioned to help theimmigrants (and ultimately themselves) up thenext rung of the socioeconomic ladder, theyperpetuate the poverty and social dysfunctionof the ghetto. They are left overextended fiscal-ly, applying tax revenue to band-aid social welfare programs. They are left scrambling to findways to uncrowd schools and to stem crime.They are left scratching their heads at immigrants being "bad neighbors" and poor civicparticipants. And they end up further harmingtheir municipality by fleeing the city limits.

The article illUStrates the need for regionalgovernance, and regional approaches to economic development. Areas that possess andfoster regional approaches to economic development, sprawl, transportation and housingare much healthier than areas that do not. Suburban/exurban areas must realize the inevitability of urban out-migration. Pennsylvania, NewJersey and New York are fragmented into myriad local governments; the political environment is poorly suited to the establishment ofany sort of regional consortium. But this country's suburbs, and now exurbs, must realize thatthey too have a huge stake in the health andgovernance of nearby urban centers.Thanks again for the good read.Elysium Drumm ShekhdarRockville, Maryland

PROVIDENCE: NO ALLENTOWNI just read your story on Puerto Ricans leavingNew York for rust belt cities in the sticks. All inall, a great, informative article. However, Ithought you were off the mark on a few points.First, that Puerto Ricans are going to Providence, Rhode Island. Having attended collegethere and tutored in the local Latino community, I can assure you that the vast majority ofNew York-to-Providence migrants are actuallyDominican. In fact, I never came across a single Puerto Rican neighborhood or even a singlePuerto Rican restaurant in the four years I livedthere. There is a huge difference between Puerto Ricans and Dominicans, and it bothered meto have them lumped together like this.

continued on page 36

CITY LIMITSVolume XXIX Number 10

City Limits is published ten times per year, monthly except bimonthly issues in July/August and September/October, by CityFutures, Inc ., anonprofit organization devoted to disseminatinginformation concerning neighborhood revitalization.Publisher: John Broderick [email protected]: Alyssa Katz [email protected] Editor: Trac ie McMillan [email protected] Editor: Cassi Feldman [email protected] Editor: Xiaoqing Rong [email protected] Editor: Ethan Hauser [email protected] Editors: Neil F. Carlson,Wendy Davis, NoraMcCarthy, Debbie Nathan, RobertNeuwirth, Hilary Russ,Kai WrightDesign Direction: Hope ForstenzerArt Director: Nia Lawrence [email protected]: Angela Jimenez, Margaret Keady, MichaelBerman , Philip MansfieldContributing Photo Editor: Joshua ZuckermanContributing Illustration Editor: Noah Scalin/ALR DesignInterns: Abby Aguirre, Michelle Chen, James Connolly,Janelle Nanos, Sarah UnkeGeneral E-mail Address: [email protected] FOR AN URBAN FUTURE:Director: Neil Kleiman [email protected] Director: Jonathan Bowles jbowles@nycfuture .orgProject Director: David J. Fischer djfischer@nycfuture .orgDeputy Director: Robin Keegan [email protected] Associate: Tara Colton [email protected]

BOARD OF DIRECTORS :Andrew Re icher, Chair

Ira Rubenstein, Vice ChairKaren Trella, Secretary

David Lebenstein, TreasurerMichael Connor

Ken EmersonMark Winston GriffithMarc Jahr

John SiegalPeter Williams

SPONSORS:Pratt Institute Center for Communityand Env ironmental DevelopmentUrban Homesteading Assistance BoardSubscription rates are: for individuals and communitygroups, $25/0ne Year, $39/Two Years; for businesses, foundations , banks, government agencies and libraries , $35/0neYear, $50/Two Years. Low income, unemployed , $IO/One Year.Newsstand circulation through BigTop Newsstand Services, adivision of the Independent Press Association . For more information call (415) 643-0161 or fax (415) 643-2983 or E-Mail:[email protected] Limits welcomes comments and article contributions.Please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope for returnmanuscripts.Material in City Limits does not necessarily reflectthe opinion of the sponsoring organizations. Send correspondence to: City Limits, 120 Wall Street, 20th FI., New York, NY10005. Postmaster: Send address changes to City Limits, 120Wall Street, 20th Fl., New York, NY 10005.

Subscriber inquiries call: 1-800-783-4903Periodical postage paidNew York, NY 10001 City Limits (lSSN 0199-0330)

PHONE (212) 479-3344/FAX (212) 344-6457e-mail: [email protected] and online:www.citylimits.orgCopyright 2004. All Rights Reserved. No portion or portions of this journal may be reprinted without the expresspermission of the publishers. City Limits is indexed in theAlternative Press ndex and the Avery Index to ArchitecturalPeriodicals and is available on microfilm from ProQuest, AnnArbor, MI 48106.

CITY LIMITS


5/44

FRONT LINES

FABFourth

STARVING ARTISTS NO MORE! Thir teen East Villageculrural organizations are now the proud ownersof six buildings and two vacant lots. Known asFourth ArtS Block (FAB), the groups purchasedthe buildings from the city for $1 apiece. Thesale, initiated by Councilmember MargaritaLopez, marks the creation of what she's dubbedthe East 4th Street Culrural District."

Four of the buildings have been occupied bycultural organizations for years, but groupmembers always feared that they would losetheir spaces to rising rents or luxury housing .Councilwoman Lopez did a lot of work underthe Giuliani administration to keep the buildings from being sold out from under us," saysRyan Gilliam, chairperson of FAB. Now thesespaces, as a part of the sale, will house nonprofit cultural organizations in perpetuity.

FAB will use the property for performances,workshops, classes for adults and children, andrehearsals. They will also create theaters forTeatro Circulo and lnstituto de Arte TeatralInternacional, the first Latino theater companies in the city to own their stages. Lopez hopesthat besides enriching the neighborhood, thecultural experiences of the district will stimulatethe neighborhood's economy. We wanted tocreate a magnet to attract people to spend dollars in the community," she says.FAB isn't the first group of arts organizationsto garner the city's help. New York City has thelargest arts budget of any city in the nation,funding more than 600 programs. It also acts aslandlord, leasing city-owned property for artistic ends. BAM Local Development Corporation, for example, has renovated several cityowned sites along with private ones. "The cityis a parmer," says Lee Silberstein, executive vicepresident of the Marino Organization, the pub-DECEMBER 2004

lic relations fum that represents BAM LDC."There's a complicated set of leases."As owners, FAB members may have an easiertime, but they still aren't quite official. "We havelandmark districts, we have historical districts,but we aCtually don't have culrural districts," saysGilliam. That may be changing. At the state level,two pieces of pending legislation would createNewYork State Culrural DevelopmentAreas. Putforward by State Senator Serphin Maltese andAssemblyman Joseph MoreIle, the bills wouldmake arts businesses in these districts eligible fortax incentives. Meanwhile, Lopez is drafting leg-

islation at the city level that would offer incentives while protecting culrural organifrom being pushed out.

Not everyone supports the idea. "I fpay taxes, a tax credit won't help meNorma Munn, chairperson of the NewCity Arts Coalition, explaining that nondo not pay the types of taxes the legabates. "Cultural districts are not first anmost abour improving the entire neihood: she said. "They're first and foabo u t creating art."

-Sara


6/44

NANCY'=-HARDYInsurance

BrokerSpecializing inCommunityDevelopment

Groups ,HDFCs andNon-Profits.

Low-Cost Insuranceand Quality Service.

Over 20 Yearsof Experience.

270 North Avenue,N ew Rochelle, N Y

10801914-636-8455

FRONT LINES

Housing Gets Organized

A ew fundrevives advocacy_By Robert NeuwirthSOME NEIGHBORHOOD NONPROFITS have nevertaken to the streets. Others never gave up agitating. But here's a guarantee: For the next fouryears, 15 New York neighborhood housinggroups will have a community organizer onboard. From the North Bronx to the center ofManhattan to far-flung areas of Queens andBrooklyn, a new network of organizers is busyidentifYing and responding to local housingproblems-and working together to plan citywide action. The $4.8 million Initiative forNeighborhood and City Wide Organizing(INCO) is the brainchild of the Association forNeighborhood and Housing Development(ANHD) and has major fmancing from theNeighborhood Opportunities Fund, a consortium of major corporations and foundations."What makes this a really big deal is thatcommunity organizing is a really hard thing tofund," says Irene Baldwin, executive director ofANHD. "The confrontational piece of organizing can make people uncomfortable. It's aheck of a lot easier if you're a corporation toput your name on a golf tournament than acommunity organizing effort."

The city's large network of nonprofit community development corporations grew out of

strong neighborhood movements. But controversies, leadership changes, political fights andthe professionalization of the housing movement left many nonprofits out of touch withthis heritage of mobilization.Many of the groups have become more concerned with managing apartments than promoting pressure tactics. For instance, New Settlement Apartments is the developer and landlord of 16 buildings in Mount Eden, in theBronx. With funding from INCO, New Settlement has now moved into tenant organizing,and is using its own money to hire a secondhousing organizer.New Settlement has initiated a survey of conditions in apartment buildings in the area, looking at such basic security issues as locks, intercoms and lighting. Of almost 200 buildingsalready evaluated, 86 had significant deficiencies,reports organizer Jackie Del Valle. She is startingwith one building on the Grand Concourse andpromises that her group will be active in six moreby the end of 2004.

Other groups tapped for INCO fundinginclude Abyssinian Development Corporation,Asian Americans for Equality, Forest HillsCommunity House, Good Old Lower East Side,Housing Conservation Coordinators, PrattArea Community Council and the St. NicholasNeighborhood Preservation Corporation. Eachwill receive $50,000 a year for four years.

INCO arose at a time when many nonprofitsthat advocate for affordable housing sensed theyneeded the kind of political muscle that mobilizing local residents can generate. At its best, organ-CITY LIMITS


7/44

izing fosters grassroots democracy-and it hdpskeep city politicians focused on neighborhooddemands. "The neighborhood-based housingmovement has been extraordinarily effective," saysBenjamin Dulchin, direeror ofINCO and formerhead of organizing for Brooklyn's Fifth AvenueCommirree. "But we weren't really able to translateour neighborhood strength into a powerful city-wide voice. "

Gary Hattem, a managing director ofDeutsche Bank and one ofINCO's major backers , says the renewed push for organizing is necessary because many community groups havebeen slow to adapt to changing populations andissues in their own communities . On e ofINCO 's goals, Hattem says, is "reconnectingnon profits with changed neighborhoods."

Plus, adds Baldwin, many groups becamegun-shy during the 1990s. "The Giuliani administration was really hostile to organized communities," she notes. In response, some groupstoned down their talk. Today, a decade after Giuliani took office, the city still has vast unmethousing needs, despite the successes of community development groups. Says Baldwin, "Peopleplayed nice and saw how far it got them."

As INCO grows, the neighborhood organizations will need to mobilize people around issuesthat are not always close to home. "We 've beenvery local in our advocacy role," says David Pagan,administrator of Los Sures, a housing group inSouthside Williamsburg. "The idea of the newcontraer is to be more citywide." ANHD hasidentified three possible citywide issues for localgroups to tackle: more aggressive housing codeenforcement, inclusionary wning to mandateaffordable housing, and recapturing promisedhousing money rrom the Battery Park City surplus.

At the same time, the foundations sponsoring the project must recognize that organizing'saccomplishments cannot be easily measured."It's not enough to say 'organizing for organizing's sake,'" says Darren Walker, director ofWorking Communities at the Rockefeller Foundation. "Foundations are increasingly concernedabout their grantees delivering outcomes thatdemonstrate accountability and achievementtoward specific objectives." And, of course,there's the age-old question of confrontation,which can put funders in a politically uncomfortable position. Says Hattem, "I don't see INCOlying down in the streets or doing radical things."

But whatever tactics the groups choose, Baldwin is certain of one thing: More organizing willimprove the city. "No matter how you felt aboutcommunity organizing, we sure felt the loss ofit," she says. "The housing crisis we're in, wewouldn't have had if there were more organizedcommunities." DECEMBER 2004

m NEW YORK CITY

Master of Professional Studies in Industrial and Labor RelationsAunique opportunity for working adults in the NYC area

Pursue a Master's degree, without interrupting your careerExplore today's workplace issues with distinguished Cornell faculty

Weekend classes for serious professionals Collective Bargaining Organizational Behavior Human Resource Law & Public

Management Policy Labor Economics Research

[email protected]

www.ilr.comell.edulmpsnyc

Need a Lawyer Who UnderstandsNonprofit Youth Programs?New York City's youth are vital to the future of ourneighborhoods. Nonprofit groups are providingafter-school programs, childcare, mentoring, jobtraining, leadership activities and other innovativeservices to help young people throughout the Cityachieve their full potential.Lawyers Alliance for New York's staff and volunteerattorneys are committed to providing expert tax,corporate, employment, real estate, restructuringand other business law services to nonprofit groups .dedicated to these young people.For more information, call us at 212-219-1800 x 242.330 Seventh AvenueNew York, NY 10001212 219-1800www.lany.org

Lawyers Alliancefor NewYork

Building a Better New Yor


8/44

FRONT l lNES

8

CITYLIMITSwants you.Gain newsexperience.

Buildcharacter.

Intern forCityLimitsDon 't just run thephotocopier.

Work as ajournalist.InternshipsAvailable in:

SessionJan-May

ReportingPhotoProduction

DeadlineDec. 1

June-Sept May 1Oct-Dec Aug. 1

Contact [email protected] or visitwww.cityl imits.org

for more information .

r;;;;;;;;:-== .:tt.o US I NG==Rent WellRunning DryA CITY PROGRAM designed to get homelessfamilies into solid jobs and apartments isyanking the rug out from under them, CityLimits has learned. The Employment Incentive Housing Program (EIHP), a join t projectbetween the city's welfare and homeless agencies, operates initially much like other rentassistance programs, offering low-incomefamilies that are leaving the shelter system asizable rent subsidy. Then comes the catch: Ifclients leave welfare or hit the two-year timelimit, they're expected to get by on their own.

That's leaving parents like Diana Dortch inthe lurch. Dortch, a mother of two whoentered EIHP about a year and a half ago, saysshe recently got notice from her landlord thatshe owed back rent totaling over $2,700-andfears she'll soon be facing eviction. She leftwelfare in late June, when she landed a job ina law office making about $1,500 a month,and lost her housing subsidy soon after. Untilthen, EIHP had been paying all of her $980rent, which she says she can't afford withouthelp.

"Once you get on your own feet, to dosomething for yourself, you can't maintain it,"says Dortch. "And you end up back in the system." In a city where a two-bedroom apartment can run upward of $1,000, expectingformerly homeless families to suddenly find anextra grand is a tall order.Dortch's situation underscores concernsabout Mayor Bloomberg's new rental assis-tance plan: In mid-October, the administration proposed rent subsidies for homelessfamilies and adults that would decrease by 20percent annually-hitting zero after five years.Enforcing time limits may not be easy, ifEIHP is any indication. "We still have clientsthat have been with us now, three or fouryears," says Angela Farmer, an HRA workerwith the program. EIHP has extended thesubsidy for some participants, she says, if theyare still on welfare. "With the rent rate goingup so high, not even a person who's workingcan pay some of this rent," says Farmer. "Let'sbe realistic here."

EIHP was originally designed to open upspace in shelters, and thus keep homeless families from sleeping on the floors of the city'sEmergency Assistance Unit. Facing contempt

When she loses her housing subsidy,Diana Dortch faces eviction.orders from Judge Helen Freedman, the Giuliani administration created the program in2000 to expedite the process of moving families into permanent homes, says Legal Aidchief attorney Steve Banks, who helped bringthe initial suit. The offer is tempting: Join theprogram, find a job, and get a subsidy to helpcover the cost of your new apartment.

It certainly made sense to Cesar Rodriguez.When he, his pregnant wife and four childrenended up in a shelter last year, he jumped atthe chance to move into a Bedford-Stuyvesantapartment instead. "People now are telling me,'You should've waited,'" says Rodriguez. "Bur Iwasn't there by myself. The children needed togo to school, they needed a better place thanjust hanging around there." Now working as asecurity guard, Rodriguez's welfare case hasbeen closed, and his rent supplement has beensuspended, leaving him to figure out how topay $1,230 in rent on $1,600 in pay.EIHP has no easy answer for families likeRodriguez's. Sighs Farmer, "Those families jushave to do the best they can." -Tracie McMillan

CITY LIMITS


9/44

== INS A-ND OHTS,--==:INew Jersey Immigration Policy Network welcomesPARTHA BANERJEE as its new executive director. AnIndian immigrant, Banerjee is known for his work onbehalf of the city's newest arrivals. Most recently, heserved as acommun ity organizer for the Queens-basedNew Immigrant Community Empowerment, working toaddress the curtailment of civil rights and the risingbias against immigrants in the wake of September 11.Before coming to the United States in 1985, he workedon behalf of war refugees in Bangladesh and minoritiesand domestic-violence survivors in India .CHRIS WARD , ormer commissioner of New York City 'sDepartment of Environmental Protection , has joinedAmerican Stevedoring, a Brooklyn -based shippingcompany, as chief executive officer. In awritten statement, Mayor Bloomberg called Ward "an outstandingsteward of our precious water supply" and highlightedhis achievement in adding "thousands of acres to NewYork'swatershed." Ward is expected to use his expertise on waterfront issues to lead Stevedoring's 800employees . The company operates the Red Hook terminal , he only active shipping port in Brooklyn. The cityhas started asearch for his successor.Hope Community, an East Harlem-based communitydevelopment organization, has appointed WILLIAMJACOBY as its new executive director. He previouslyworked as the director of development for CommunityHousing Innovations in White Plains, New York, and aschief counsel of the Albany Community DevelopmentAgency. His experience elsewhere includes senior positions in the Health and Welfare Planning Association inPittsburgh, and the New York State Department ofSocial Services.DEBORAH RAND joined the New York City Departmentof Housing Preservation as Deputy General Counsel forlitigation for its legal affairs office. n the newly created position , Rand will guide the agency's efforts inpushing landlords to comply with their legal obligations.A D-year veteran in litigation with aspecialty inaffordable housing, Rand headed several legal services agencies , including the West Side SRO Law Project.More recently, she worked in the city's Law Department.DAVID LANSKY joins New York's Markle Foundation ,anorganization focusing on using technology to addresscritical medical needs, as director of its health program .Until recently Lansky was president of the Foundation for Accountability, an Oregon-based health careorganization. -Xiaoqing Rong

DECEMBER 2004

The City University of New YorkINFORMATION SESSIONS

5-7 P.M.JANUARY 20 FEBRUARY 23

MARCH 1If AFFORDABLE TUITION EVENING CLASSES FORWORKING PEOPLE CONVENIENTMIDMANHATTAN LOCATION

For more Information: 212-4815111www.hunter.cuny.edujschoolhpjuphSTUDY PUBLIC HEALTH

The Program in Urban Public Health at Hunter College offers accredited Masters in PublicHealth (MPH), degrees in Community Health Education and Public Health, Nutrition and accredited MPH and MS degrees in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. We educate public health professionals to improve the health of diverse urban communities and to reduce urbanchallenges such as obeSity, lead poisoning, cancer, air, solid waste, water pollution, substanceabuse, asthma,diabetes, HIV, workplace diseases, violence and health disparities. Our graduatesmanage health programs and community organizations throughout the metropolitan region and

our faculty is at the forefront of developing innovative urban interventions.Urban Public Health, Hunter College, City University of New York425 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010

LEGAL ASSISTANCEFOR NONPROFITS &COMMUNITY GROUPS

N Y L P INew York Lawyers For The Public Interest 151 W 30 St, New York, NY 10001 212-244-466


10/44


11/44

==-IE DtI"G Att 0NI==Mapping Their CitiFORGET VIDEO GAMES and instant messaging-this fall ninth and tenth graders at the BushwickAcademy for Urban Planning have discovered afar better use for computers.

As pan ofCommunity Information TechnologyInitiative (CIT!) Youth Program, a partnershipbetween the Planning Center of the Municipal ArtSociety and the Brooklyn Center for the UrbanEnvironment, the students were trained to usemyciti.org, a mapping website. Worksheets askedthem to find their houses, acceptable property usesin their area and the year their school was built."It tells everything," marveled Earl Dunn, a 15-year-old sophomore, who sat with his classmates,staring at the screen. Bright green manuals helpedthe students locate hard-to-find information.

Micaela Birmingham, director of the Planning Center, explained the website's uses andencouraged the students to apply for internshipsas "map technicians" with Community Board 4,which represents Bushwick. Working with thecommunity board will show students how urbanplanning is applied in real life, she said, whilegiving the board a youth perspective.

The student interns will provide maps for areasthe board is discussing, complete with wningrestrictions and building information. "Very rarelyis there a map that everyone can see," said Birmingham, who hopes to expand the program citywide. "The students get a fi.m leadership rolebecause they're the ones serving up the maps."

-SarahUnke

Apollo Takes OffNY APOLLO, a coalition of union workers, businessleaders ,environmental justice advocates and educa-tors , recently launched its Ten Point Plan for aStrongEconomy and a Healthy City. The program aims tomake New York City safer and healthier through ini-tiatives like green building, elimination of waste,transit alternatives and the use of renewableresources. While striving to improve indoor and out-door environments, NY Apollo also wants to trainskilled workers to fill jobs created by energy efficienttechnologies. As Jim Quigley, director of the Center forSustainable Energy at Bronx Community College,explains, "Why do we keep exporting money forimported oil when we could create jobs and make ourown energy? " -Sarah Unke

FRONTLINE


12/4412

Milano

Courses AvailableDegree and Non -DegreeDay and Evening'SaturdayOn-line'Site-line (.12 on-line and 1/2 in-class)

Earn a Master of Science degree in: Nonprofit Management Health Services Management and Policy Human Resources Management Organizational Change Management Urban Policy Analysis and Management

Ph.D. degree: Public fj Urban Policy

Wednesday, December 86:00 p.m.

to RSVP or fo r more information, call 21 2 -229 -5400 , ext. 1120 or email milanoadmissions(i>newschool.edu72 Fifth Avenue, New York , N.Y. 10011www.newschool.edu/milano

Commitment is

Tomorrovv starts today

leading to results

Deutsche Bank's commitment toglobal corporate citizenship recognizes aresponsibility to improve and enrich the com-munities throughout the world inwhich we conduct business.With a focused strategy of support for com-munity development, the arts and the envi-ronment, Deutsche Bank partners with localorganizations to build a brighter future.Our commitment to a better tomorrowstarts today.

Deutsche Bank IZICITY LIMIT


13/44

INSIDE TRACK

Underground JusticeDomestic violence groups create their own protection systemfor immigrants, far from cops and courts. By Debbie Natha

Basdeu Bangal i and daughters Normela and Ishwarie are mourning wife and mom Anjelita, one of awave of immigrant "femicides.BEFORE 29-YEAR-OLD Anjelita Bangali and herfu.mily immigrated from Guyana to the Bronxtwo years ago , she went to the beach with her husband and young daughters to lay hibiscus blossoms, homemade delicacies and scatues of godson the sand. The Hindu good luck rite was pristine and vibrant, but in the United Scates, Bangali's luck turned messy and fatal. Shortly afterarriving, she began an affair with a man-alsoGuyanese-who srarted threatening to kill her.He succeeded late last summer, by slitting herthroat, before raking his own life. Bangali's chil-dren wailed, her husband wept, the cabloidsscreamed, and there was another rite: her funeral.DECEMBER 2004

The murder is part of a doubly disturbing setof statistics. They indicate that women are morelikely to be killed in domestic violence incidentsif, like Bangali, they're immigrants. Between1995 and 2002, according to a recent cityhealth department study, women from othercountries comprised 51 percent of what criminologists call "intimate-partner female homicides" in New York City. Yet only about 40 percent of the city's women are foreign born.

The murderers are mostly current and former husbands and lovers-who are also morelikely to batter women even when they don't goso far as to kill them. In New York last year, the

police received some 240,000 reportsdomestic violence.Once a victim calls the city's domestic-

lence hodine, a huge criminal-justice apparrevs up. During the past few years, police hbeen making arrests in about 1 in 10 cases reped. In criminal court, these are prosecutedspecial domestic-violence units in the borouDA offices. Even when perpetrators aren't aroto arrest-many have fled the home by the tthe cops arrive---victims can file restrainorders, mandating that their abusers keep a rance. In October, to make all this easier, MaBloomberg and Kings County District Attor


14/44

INSIDE TRACK

Charles Hynes announced a new, one-stop center, financed by the u.s. Justice Department.Brooklyn victims who call the city's domesticabuse horline or the police will soon be able tomeet with a prosecutor, file for an order of protection and get legal advice, all in the same place.But the convenience means nothing to peoplelike Anjelita Bangali. Most domestic-violence vic-tims never call 911 or official horlines, and immigrants are even less likely to contact the authorities or seek a restraining order. They're more proneto remain with their abusers. So, increasingly,domestic-violence community organizations arecircumventing the legal system entirely. They'recrafting a parallel universe, with its own strategiesfor addressing and minimizing domestic violence.And they are prepared to bypass police and prosecutors when they think it's necessary.

CONNECT is one of these organizations.With about halfits $2 million annual budget covered by the City Council and half by the federalgovernment, CONNECT, formerly the FamilyViolence Project of the Urban Justice Center,works with dozens of organizations in Brooklyn,Queens and the Bronx's Highbridge section. Thegroup provides training, public presentations andflyers to social workers, church leaders and otherprofessionals in close contact with neighborhoodwomen. CONNECT also helps communitygroups develop multiculrural, multilingual materials and distribute them at places women fre-quent every day; like WIC offices, schools, braiding salons, "even laundromats and bakeries," saysExecutive Director Alisa Del Tufo.

CONNECT also runs therapy and reeducation groups for male batterers-groups that arestill frowned on by many activists, who think14

abusers should s imply be locked up. The pointof all the work, Del Tufo says, is to "makedomestic violence unacceptable-to changethe culture of entire communities."IMMIGRANTWOMEN have many reasons for staying mum and staying put. Some are culrural."In Asian countries," says Angela Lee , associatedirector of the New York Asian Women's Center, "i t's considered shameful to disclose abuse toother people." Newcomers from the formerSoviet Union are loath to report because "inthose countries you don't go to the authoritiesabout anything," adds Nechama Wolfson ofShalom Task Force, which runs a domestic violence hotline for Jews.Poverty and economics also playa big part."She's not fluent in English and she's financially

Brooklyn 'sTrinityHealing Center

teaches teens toshun risky

relationships . Here,the Fork in the Road

Players portray anabusive boyfriend,

and agirlfriend whocan't decide whatto do. After the skit

the actors stay incharacter andthe audience

shouts advice .dependent on the husband or boyfriend," saysJean Debrosse, a social worker at Flatbush Haitian Center, in Brooklyn, who works mostlywith Caribbean immigrants. "She says to herself, 'He's feeding me and the kids. If I leavehim, how am I going to survive? '"Then there's immigration papers. "What ifyou're undocumented?" says Del Tufo, a longtime domestic violence activist. "You worry thatif you report abuse, you or someone else in thefamily could get deported." And, documented ornot, says Del Tufo, "many women are reluctantto have their husbands arrested because that contradicts the traditional values of their countries."

The reluctance is shared by many native-bornminority women, says Darlene Post, a Safe Horiron social worker at Lehman High School in theBronx. "African-Americans and Latinas: Evenwhen they're abused, a lot know the reality of the

prison system for men of color. They ask, 'Do Iwant to send my man there?'"A generation ago, the women's movemen

didn't just bring domestic violence out of theshadows; it also pressed for mandatory arresand prosecution of abusers. The effort wasas toundingly successful. In New York and elsewhere today, when police answer a domesticviolence call involving a felony, they must makean arrest--even if he victim doesn't want thatIf the case is prosecuted, she's called to testifYagainst her husband or lover. If she balks, shecan be subpoenaed, or even held in contempt .Activists have become increasingly troubledby a growing sense of disconnection berweenwhat women want and what the criminal justicesystem offers them, says Adelita Medina, directoof the New York-based National Latino Alliancefor the Elimination of Domestic Violence (betteknown as Alianza). So organizations nationwideincluding many in New York, have begun offering alternative ways of getting help.

"The first thing we do is try to ensure theisafety," says Antonia Clemente. Her Brooklynbased organization, Trinity Healing Centercounsels mostly undocumented Mexican victims of domestic violence. When a womancontinues to live with her abuser, workers aorganizations like Trinity help her make a "safety plan." It can be as simple as going to another room if her partner comes home drunk andprimed for violence. Or it can marshal friendschildren, and ploys straight out of a spy novel."We ask where she'd go if she needed to geaway fast," says Gemelyn Philogene of DwFarun, a Brooklyn organization whose name iHaitian Creole for "women's rights." "We telher to identify someone who wouldn't tell theabuser where she went, and give that personmoney and a set of keys." Other groups teachprearranged signals so neighbors will know ishe needs help but can't say so directly becausher parmer is terrorizing her. "Things like putting the blinds a certain way or giving a wink,says Clemente. "The children learn a code ,Philogene explains. ''' Black shoe,' for instanceWhen they hear that it means 'Get the hell ouof here, now----don't even stop to take clothes!'

Advice like this is reinforced in supporgroups. Manhattan-based Sakhi for South AsiaWomen, for instance-whose name mean"woman friend" in several South Asian languages-serves immigrants from countries likeIndia, Pakistan and Guyana (though Guyana iin South America, many of its population arethnic Indians). Kinship ties are extremelimportant to Sou th Asians, says Sakhi directo

continued on page 36CITY LIMITS


15/44

OpenUniversityColumbia plans to expand to West Harlem. West Harlemwants to be part of the plan. Is there a way for campus andcommunity to share the same streets? By Bob RobertsIN FRONT OF THE 116TH Sueet gate ofColumbia University, Tom DeMort surveys thesmall knot of his neighbors milling about. Aspicketers fall into step, DeMort grabs his megaphone and leads a chant: "StOp eminent domainabuse in West Harlem! Stop eminent domainabuse in . . .wait a minute, it's hard to shout 'eminent domain,' isn't it? Anyone have any ideas?"

Luisa Hentiquez blows her whistle and giggles . But it's no laughing marter for her : T hebuilding where she lives would be demolishedunder the university's expansion plan.DECEMBER 2004

The crowd of demonsuators grows to almosta hundred. Some bear signs with inflammatotyslogans, such as "We are Defending Our Property Rights as Defined by the U.S. Constirution!"They begin to chant the names of small businesses: "Hands Off Tuck-it-Away! Hands off Pearlgreen!" All are located in Manhartanville, an areaColumbia has identified as the site fo r an expansion of its upper Manhartan campus.

No tear gas, no riots, no revo lutionary bombas t.The real action isn't on the meets this time,but in the realm of zoning policy. Activists, ten-

ants, business leaders and urban plannerslooking to negotiate the terms of Columexpansion into Harlem by offering an alternaplan for development-one that would accmodate both the university's growth andcommunity's own goals. Most are not agaColumbia's expansion. They're protesting homay be done: through eminent domain.

Eminent domain is the state's poweacquire private property for public use . Inhands ofRobert Moses, it proved a powerfulin reshaping the New York City landscape.Cross-Bronx Expressway, Lincoln Center Shea Stadium all resulted from the seizure ofvate land for a perceived public good. But a 1U.S. Supreme Court rul ing broadened the scof eminent domain to also allow private entto use state power to acquire private property

That's how the New York Times acquland for its recent expansion. The propoNets arena in Brooklyn and the stadium slfor midtown will also depend on emidomain. As proposed by the university-self-contained campus- Columbia's visionManhartanville will be impossible without

THE COLUMBIA CAMPUSIt's envisioned as Columbia's largest expansince Seth Low moved the university f


16/44

midtown to the empty headlands of Morningside Heights a hundred years ago. This April,Columbia unveiled its plans for a glitteringnew campus in Harlem. A collaborative effortbetween the architectural firm Renw PianoBuilding Workshop and planners SkidmoreOwings & Merrill, the roughly 18-acre campuswill contain open green space, a new arts center, research facilities and dormitories.Refurbished commercial thoroughfares willflow seamlessly into the Harlem waterfront,which itself is about to be redeveloped as part ofthe Economic Development Corporation'sWest Harlem Master Plan. Columbia PresidentLee C. Bollinger has said that the university willbe creating something of "immense vitality andbeauty." Columbia promises 9,500 new jobsand $5.5 billion in economic activity by the endof the 30-year build-out of the campus."Columbia sees this as an opportunity to real-

Department of City Planning to remne an areafrom 125th to 133rd streets, from Broadway to12th avenues, which is currencly limited toindustrial uses. Located in the shadow of theBroadway IRT tracks, Manhattanville represents the remains of a once thriving manufacturing area.The Studebaker plant is long closed,and vanished too are the breweries and dairiesthat used to employ thousands. Left behind arevacant lots, an MTA bus depot, a Verizon facility and a handful of small businesses. There areapproximately 1,600 jobs in the area, dividedbetween government and the private sector.In the last year and a half, Columbia hasaccelerated its property acquisition within thesite; the university now estimates it owns 42percent of the area. Its holdings include thehulking Studebaker factory, which houses theAlexander Doll Company's 80 U.S. employees,and the old Prentice Hall building.

PLANS AND PROMISES FOR MANHATTANVILLECommunity Board 9 197 A PlanMixed use for Manhattanville:Light manufacturing, retail andresidences.Community Benefits Agreement askingdevelopers to promote affordablehOUSing, environmental improvementand local skill development.Set building height limits.Zone for affordable housing.Establish green construction standards.

ize the economic potential of the area, " says Jeremiah Stodt, director of Campus Plan and Facilities Management for the university. Notingthe plan's improvements to the area's landscape, Stodt adds, "We think it makes a significant contribution to the character of theneighborhood."Unlike in its previous attempts at expansion,Columbia has invited Harlem along. The university has assiduously courted CongressmanCharles Rangel, former Mayor David Dinkinsand the entire spectrum of Harlem's politicaland business leaders. In order to lay to rest thelingering memory of its ill-fated attempt in1968 to build a gymnasium in MorningsidePark, Columbia appointed an advisory councilof business, community and clerical leaders toweigh in on the proposal.As a first step, Columbia will be asking the

16

Columbia Expansion PlanSite new campus on 18 acres, includingBroadway to 12th Avenue between 125thand 133rd streets.Create net gain of 9,500 jobs.Generate $1 billion in spending annually.Build a network of open spaces.Employ workers from upper Manhattanand the South Bronx.Open new retail on 125th Street.Build energy-efficient facilities.

But under its current plan, Columbia wouldneed all of it. The university has said it intendsto go through the the city's Uniform Land UseReview Process (ULURP) in order to have theindustrial wne redesignated as "mixed use. "Under ULURP, the proposal will journey fromCommunity Board through the Borough President's office for recommendations, then to theCity Planning Commission. I f he commissionapproves it, it moves on to the City Council,and, with a majority vote, from there to thedesk of the mayor. The process can be stoppedat any point from City Council on up.Following rewning, the first 10-year stage ofColumbia's development will be the constructionof tsArts Center, a central quadrangle (includinga park), a science building and the refurbishmentof Prentice Hall and the Studebaker Factory.Columbia has already made itself highly visi-

ble around Manhattanville. Officials havattended numerous community board and advsory council meetings and placed op-eds in thAmsterdam News. Officials attending local meeings ftequencly speak of "transparency" and"collaborative community planning process."At the same time, the university has releasefew concrete details about its plans. The dowload on its website consists chiefly of aeriphotographs, statistics from planners at thconsulting firm Appleseed and breezy watercoors of hypothetical Harlemites walking in thsunshine reflected from glass building fronts.

The Columbia plan has so far been presened as an all-or-nothing proposition. Columbofficials have acknowledged that the univesity has opened talks with the city EconomDevelopment Corporation and Empire StaDevelopment Corporation about using thpower of eminent domain to acquire privaproperty they are unable to purchase.Stoldt says that the university is continuinnegotiations with Manhattanville properowners. Acquistion thtough eminent domaihe adds, does remain as a last resort. Aswhether Columbia is contemplating anchanges in its plans, Stoldt says, "It's really toearly at this point to consider alternatives."

THE ALTERNATIVEThe lack of information is frustrating for thowho want to figure out an alternative plan fManhattanville that would accommodate boColumbia and community-that would allofor university development and the jobs aneconomic activity it will bring, without displaing everything that's there now. "They're vecautious," says Mercedes Narciso of the PrInstitute Center for Community and Enviromental Development (PICCED), which has fthe last year been helping community residenand businesses formulate their own urban plfor Manhattanville. "They don't reveal whthey're doing as they're doing it. We see everthing on a piecemeal basis , lime by lime."Narciso wants to see Columbia's plabecause she's working with Manhattan Community Board 9 to help shape them. Undsection 197-A of the City Charter, communties can formulate their own plans for land uand development, and CB9 is now racingget its own 197-A plan for Manhattanvithrough ULURP and in to City Planning.far, the community plan is moving ahead fastthan Columbia's. In late October, it passCB9 and will come before the borough presdent and the City Council within the next yeIt's been 13 years in the making. City Pla

CITY LIMIT


17/44

ning rejected a version in 1998 because-likemany such documents-it amounted to anunworkable wish list. (It was titled "SharingDiversiry Through Communiry Action.") Thistime around, under the guidance of Narcisoand former PICCED director and Ciry Planning Commissioner Ron Shiffman, the board isgoing to play hardball. Communiry boards haveno legal power over land use; what they dohave, potentially, is political leverage. "This isn'ta silver bullet," cautions Shiffman. "It's a basisfor negotiation."

The communiry plan divides Manhattanvilleinto three areas: one for light manufacturing,one geared toward arts and entertainment, and amixed-use district. These could accommodateexisting businesses-and the universiry. Insteadof a separate campus, Columbia's facilities wouldbe part of a neighborhood streetscape.

Board members hope their plan will presenta viable alternative to Columbia's seizure of theentire area. Already, Roben Jackson, councilman for the CB9 district, has taken the positionthat Columbia's plan must fit into the communiry's 197-A plan, not the other way around.

Board member Marina Dunn, who is theexecutive director of the Harlem Valley HeightsCommuniry Development Corporation and amember of Columbia's Communiry AdvisoryCouncil, says that she and her neighbors arenot antidevelopment. What she won't tolerate,she explains, is the displacement of existingbusinesses. ''A 3D-year plan with eminentdomain in place rapes this communiry," saysDunn. She says she's confident that, withrezoning and the planned waterfront redevelopment, West Harlem will thrive economicallyno matter what, and she sees no need to handover the whole area. "Columbia isn't doing usany favors!" says Dunn.

To prep elected officials for ULURP, Dunnhas conducted walking tours of the neighborhood and its businesses. Manhattan BoroughPresident C. Virginia Fields-who, along withthe communiry board, will submit a recommendation to the Ciry Planning Commission-issiding with Dunn and her neighbors. "On theissue of eminent domain, I fully suppon thecommuniry board," says Fields. "I have suggested to Columbia that we may need to convene ameeting with all of the electeds and look at everything that is in the plan."Fields is also the most prominent endorserof CB9 's demand for a communiry benefitsagreement with Columbia. Communiry benefits agreements, or CBAs, have become populartools for corporations and communities tonegotiate the terms of major real estate development-though not, until now, in New York.

The Staples Center in Los Angeles spentseven months developing a CBA with the sur-rounding communiry. Several universities,including Harvard, Penn and Temple, haveused them to come to terms with their neighbors before embarking on expansion programs.CBAs can cover anything from minoriry contracting and job training programs to environmental impact and traffic flow.

The Communiry Board 9 plan calls for anyrezoning to include an accompanying CBA. Abenefits agreement was also one of the key rec-ommendations of the Communiry AdvisoryCommittee in its report to Bollinger in July.Columbia says it's prepared to negotiate."We're not ruling it out," says Stodt. "Certainly there's an advantage to codifY ing our relationship to the communiry. We're just trying to

Group. Says Siegel, "What excites me here iscombination of the small businesses, commry activists and tenants all working together.

Siegel also sees an opportuniry to challethe broad scope of New York State's emindomain laws - specifical ly the state's powetransfer properry from one private owneranother. Across the country, courts are forcstate and local governments to reexamtheir eminent domain laws, and in partichow "public benefits" are defined. In Migan, a recent court decision overturne1982 ruling that allowed General Motorsexpand at the expense of a residential neiborhood. Right now, the u.S. Supreme Cois preparing to hear the case of homeownerNew London, Connecticut, whose landscheduled to be seized for use in a priv

The owners of Hudson Moving and Storage turned down Colum-bia's offer to buy or relocate their Broadway facility. The statemay use eminent domain to tear it down.

figure out what format it will take. A lotdepends on who's involved. We want to be asrepresentantive as possible." As for CB9's role,Stodt says, "They would have a seat at the table."

EMINENT DOMAINFacing an uncertain political process, Columbiahas continued its efforts to acquire properry.When six neighborhood businesses reportedbeing pressured by Columbia's real estate agen ts,Dunn and ShifIinan put them in touch withattorney Norman Siegel, who has since agreed torepresent them as the West Harlem Bus iness

development project.The scope of New York State's emindomain power hasn't been challengeddecades. And Siegel's not taking any chanHe wants to make certain that Columbia son the ULURP track for its proposed rezonplan-and thus remain accountable to lelected officials. He is hopeful the univerwill negotiate. "I hope we don't have to gate," he says. "But ifwe can't reso lve this incourt of public opinion then we will resolvin a court of law." Bob Roberts is a Bronx-based freelance writer


18/44

1our New York City's foster caresystem is downsizing at anunprecedented clip. It's a breakthroughfor families-and a crisis for theorganizations that work with them.

ByXiaoqing HongPhotographs by Philip Mansfield

The campus of St. Christopher's Inc, a 123-year-old child welfareagency in Westchester, is bathed in summer sunshine. The boysare in classes; the girls, playing ball on the grass. The HudsonRiver shimmers in the background. Construction is underway on a newschool building. All seems to be in perfect shape."Looks can be deceiving," sighs Luis Medina, the agency's executivedirector. Budget curs are biting deep, leading to the shutdown

vate homes. Today, he has 797.And the worst may be yet to come. The agency has repeatedly sconear the bottom of ACS' performance evaluation for foster care agenci

which examines the quality of their services, their success in securing chdren permanent homes, and the thoroughness of paperwork and othbureaucratic procedures. St. Christopher's is currently under investigati

of some projects and pay freezes for staff.The New York City Administration for Children's Services paidSt. Christopher's roughly $13 million last year to house foster children on this campus and in group and private homes, as well asprovide them with services like counseling and education.That's less than he's entitled to under New York State's formu-

"Lack of predictability is hurtingthe system. It's extremely hardto plan for the future."a for paying for foster care services. But ACS can pay less if itdetermines that it does not have sufficient funds to pay a privateagency in full-and for the last three years, the city has paid St. Christopher's and its other foster care agencies 5 to 10 percent below the ratesagreed to under their contracts, according to industry groups.That's not the only reason St. Christopher's budget for foster care hasshrunk. New York City's entire foster care system is downsizing at a historically unprecedented pace.

In 2000, Medina had 1,349 New York City children housed in pri-

by the city for allegedly prodding staff to fabricate records of visits to fter homes that never took place-a practice that has been reponed by caworkers at other agencies as well but never officially confirmed.ACS will be deciding in the next few months which agencies get thcity foster care contracts renewed-and St. Christopher's may not be o

of them.In just a few brief years, New York City has seen a fundamental chan


19/44

in its child welfare system. The Giuliani administration turned to fostercare as its first line of protection. For Mayor Bloomberg's ACS, it is a lastresort. Even following a recent upswing in the number of deaths of maltreated New York City children, ACS is standing firm by its commiunentto keep the number of young people in foster care as low as it can.It aims to use preventive services, not foster care, as its primaryresponse to families' problems. "We need to reinforce and bump up thepriority and visibility of intact-family services," new ACS Commissioner John Mattingly told Child Welfare Watch in an October interview."You are going to see a new focus on that."If Mattingly and his agency can protect more and more childrenwithout removing them from their homes, it's amoment of triumph forfamilies facing trouble. And for operations like St. Christopher's, it's athreat to their continued existence.Medina, like every child welfare agency executive in the New Yorkregion, has had to rethink hisentire organization. Last year, St.Christopher's shut down an officein the Bronx, one of a dozen outside Dobbs Ferry. As for its threegroup homes, which can house upto 36 residents, he's looking intoother ways to fill the bedsincluding housing juvenile

offenders or the disabled elderly.St. Christopher's is also considering selling one of its group homes.There may be no turning back,not even if there's a resurgence indemand for foster care. Longtimeobservers of New York's child welfare system say we ought to beprepared for exactly that possibility. "The lesson we should learnfrom the mid-'80s is that thedemand can turn around veryquickly," says Fred Wulczyn, aresearch fellow with the ChapinHall Center for Children at theUniversity of Chicago who is helping ACS assess the performance of private contract agencies like St. Christopher's. As New York's entire fostercare system shrinks, adds Wulczyn, it "shouldn't take place in a way thatdiminishes the capability to respond to an increasing demand."But Medina can't afford to plan for a hypothetical future need for hisfacilities . His chief concern right now is stable income, and there areplenty of people out there who need peaceful homes and attentive care."Lack of predictability is hurting the system. It's extremely hard toplan for the future, " says Medina. "That's the world we are in ."

Controlling the Contraction

T he number of children in foster care in New York City is lowerthan it has been since 1987. That's when the crack epidemicpushed child welfare officials to start removing legions of chil-DECEMBER 2004

dren from their drug-using parents, including newborns whose btested positive for cocaine. In 1991 , the population of kids in caNew York City reached an all-time high of more than 49,000.Even once crack faded, the foster care census didn't. Kids stuck arofor years. And more and more went in all the time. By 1999, thetook two or three dozen more children from their parents everyThat year, there were 38,441 New York City children in foster c

By July of this year, there were fewer than 21 ,000. At the press coence introducing new ACS commissioner John Mattingly in July, MMichael Bloomberg called the decline a "dramatic stride forward inprotection of New York City children."But the organizations that have housed children for all these yearsuddenly finding themselves all built up with nowhere to go. Theacquired extensive infrastructure, accumulating office leases and vercampuses. These organizations are paid for this work under con

LUIS MEDINAExecutive Director,SL Christopher's InSL Christopher's iskeeping itsWestchester groul}homes filled bybringing in moreand more teenagerfrom outside NewYork. It may alsostart hou singjuvenile offenders,or even the elderly

with the city-paid per child. Fewer children spell less money.Under the Bloomberg administration, the Administration for Cdren's Services suffered some of the biggest declines of any NewCity government agency. Foster care spending alone declined bymillion during the first two years of the Bloomberg administradown from $750 million."The trend is for agencies to go out of business," says Edith Holzerspokesperson for the Council ofFarnily and Child Caring Agencies, a associationof foster care providers. In the past five years, eight agenciesclosed or eliminated their foster care programs, some ofwhich were stin the 19th century. The 40 left are reinventing themselves to survive.Under its new commissioner, ACS wants to help decide which agenstay in the business and which don't . "I fwe don't take action we will stand we already have to some extent-losing providers," says Commisser Mattingly, who took over the agency in August. "The number ofthey have in care is not going to sustain their administrative expense."


20/44

To shrink the system, ACS will be looking at agencies ' performanceevaluations. St. Christopher's, whose group homes are currently rankedsecond-worst, is not the only one whose future is on the line. Another isbottom-rated Miracle Makers, which was created in the 1980s inresponse to the surge of demand for foster care in Bedford-Stuyvesant.Mattingly is keen to have ACS keep the highest quality agenciesopen-and make sure that those without their own endowments survivetheir current budget troubles. "The system is at some risk i f we don'tmake decisions about either closing some beds, closing some contracts,

JOYBAILEYExec utive Director,Forestda leForestdale is one ofthe Administration forChildren's Services'best-perfo ringagencies, yet it had tocut back sta ff to closea budget gap. Itsboard hasco nsidered shutting

down theorga nization's fostercare I) rog ram.

and a father's education program. It's also one of the five top-performinagencies in the city, according to ACS. Why is it doing so well? Exeutive director Joy Bailey points to what she calls its "task-centereteam approach."Instead of having a single staff member handle all aspects of a casworking with the birth family, the children, the foster family and a judgas well as handling all paperwork-Bailey has three-member teams woring collaboratively. This speeds up the process, she says, and avoids delacaused by staff turnover. It also allows staff to specialize. One of the thr

is a social worker with a mastedegree, assigned to counsel birparents trying to get their childrback. Another worker interacts wichildren and their foster familieand a third does paperwork. "Befoit was just one person wearingthe different hats," says MSW Jenifer Garofalo. "Now I have a more one-on-one with our clientsthe field."

"If you are rigid ., you are not going to survive.

But efficiency hasn't protectForestdale from financial pressureThe number of kids in its fostcare program has dropped to 28from 504 five years ago. For eachild it is still working witForestdale has been paid only percent of the rate set by New YoState. "So here I am, a top-peforming agency running a deficisays Bailey. Last summer, when tdeficit reached $100,000, Bailcut her staff. Nine teams becamseven, and their average caseloawent up to 57 from 44.You have to be ready to switch gears."" Now 150-year-old Forestdaleconsidering more drastic chang

moving some beds or contracts to higher performing agencies or agenciesbetter serving the community," says the commissioner. "Because if wedon't do that, we risk having the system contract because of fiscal pressureonly. T hat would leave some of the better programs out."A managed process would go a long way toward ensuring the bestpossible care for children at the lowest cost. But the system has already

been shrinking for years, and the agencies that provide foster care havebeen irrevocably reshaped in the process. "The train is 90 percent out ofthe station," says Wulczyn.

Efficiency ExpertsPster care has never been a cushy business, and the most successfulagencies are already vigilant about efficiency. Forestdale, in Queens, isnot a big or complicated organization. It has a budget of about $10million and runs foster boarding homes, adoption and prevention services,20

The board is evaluating whetheradd new programs to get funding from new sources-and to possibly eliinate foster care programs entirely.They're considering providing servicesadolescents, such as job training. "I fyou had asked me five years ago, wouthis board ever give up foster care, I would say no way," says Bailey.Concludes Bailey: "If you are rigid, you are not going to survive. Yhave to be ready to switch gears. "

DiversificationMost foster care agencies have either diversified their operatioalready or are thinking about it. They evaluate the opportunitibased on how adequately government financing covers the coof services and what their established infrastructure allows them to do .Among the most popular new directions is to contract with the NeYork State Office ofMental Retardation and Developmental Disabiliti(OMRDD), to provide housing and services for mentally or otherwi

CITY LIMIT


21/44

disabled young people and adults who require special care.It is a viable move for agencies that own group homes, whose bedsand physicians can easily be redeployed. With OMRDD, the demand is

stable, and agencies can get fully compensated for what they spend.Likewise, there are an increasing number of agencies looking todiversify into mental health services, under cont ract with the New YorkCity Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, because many ofthem have already established the infrastructure, including clinicsand therapists.

Foster care programs themselves are reaching out to find new business opportunities. Increasingly, agencies that mainly rely on referralsfrom ACS have started to recruit children from other counties andstates. Take St. Christopher's. Five years ago, four out of five of its kidscame from New York City. Now it's three in five; the rest are from elsewhere in the state and Connecticut. "I f I was scrictly relying on NewYork City children," says Medina, "I really don't know how I wouldmake ends meet."

However, diversilication is no t always an easy choice. Agencies typically have to invest their own capital, drawn from their endowments, tofinance the transition before the government money starts flowing. Andthen the organization itself must change dramatically: revise its charter ormission, become familiar with a different bureaucracy, and so on. Thewhole process, according to experienced agency executives, can take twoyears. To agencies already in trouble, that migh t be too long.

The Urge to Merge

For mercyFirst, a Long Island-based agency that has operations inNew York City, a merger with a sibling institution was the fastestway to diversifY.A new organization emerged last March from the marriage of St.

Mary's and Angel Guardian, two separately incorporated organizationswith a shared board of directors and a history of more than a hundredyears each. Before the merger, Angel Guardian was primarily a fosterboarding program only for New York City children. St. Mary's was knownfor its high quality group homes housing young people from allover the region.

The merged agency combines 29 sites, scretching from Riverhead,Long Island, to downtown Brooklyn. Besides existing foster care, residential treatment and homeless intervention programs, they've started housingand helping adults with mental illness under contract with the state Officeof Mental Health. The new agency has an annual budget of $45 million.Once they connect with the agency, children and families can be steered toappropriate specialized services.As a merged agency, mercyFirst now commands funding from fivecity and state agencies, including ACS, the New York State Depar tmen tof Education, Department of Health, Office of Mental Health and theOffice of Children and Family Services. "The services of both agenciescomplement each other," says Executive Director Liz Giordano. "Economically speaking, I get more cost centers to spread my administrative overhead."mercyFirst has succeeded because the parent agencies shared morethan a board. Both were founded by the same religious order, the Sistersof Mercy, and offered complementary programs. A catalyst for the

DECEMBER 2004

merger was the retirement ofthe executive director of AngelGuardian; Giordano, who wasthe head ofSt. Mary's, naturallybecame the executive director ofthe new agency. They were ableto avoid power struggles andculture conflicts, which sooften arise when two organizations merge.More important, St. Mary'swas financially healthy andcould afford to pay consultantand legal fees for the mergerrescuing Angel Guardian ou tof a deficit. Instead of cuttingstaff or programs, mercyFirstwas able to hire 100 new stafffor its newly established community residence program andan enlarged quality improvement department.

Though the benefits of amerger are potentially great,mercyFirst is the only onethat's pulled it off in recentyears. There are many barriersto mergers between nonprofits, even when both couldbenefit [see "Joint Purpose,"November 2003].

The biggest is financial desperation. Facing a crisis, Brooklyn-based Brookwood hadtalked with Louise Wise, anagency also running a deficit,about the possibility of a merg-

ShutDownAgencies that have closedor no longer provide fostercare services. Association to BenefitChildrenJune 2004 Sheltering ArmsApril 2004 Louise Wi eFebruary 2004 Brookwood Child CareAugust 2003 Talbot-PerkinsMarch 2002 SL Joseph's Children'sServiceJune 2001 Central BrooklynCoordinating Council.PRACA

er. It didn't work out. Brookwood-which had been around for 160years--closed in August 2003. Louise Wise closed soon after, after thefailure of merger talks with another agency, Sheltering Arms. And Sheltering Arms, although still in operation, no longer provides fostercare services.These agencies shared a fatal liability: They were already in financialtrouble, and what they had been seeking was sheer survival. "Most agencies don't even talk of mergers until the parties are feeling pressure to doso," agrees Fatima Goldman, former executive director of Brookwood"By that time it's a lirtle late. "

RIP: Death of an Agency

Eight agencies [see above] have just given up: they've eliminatedtheir foster care programs or closed entirely. Among them aresome of the oldest foster care providers in the city.The demise of Brookwood is an example of how things can go

2


22/44

wrong. Besides foster care, the agency also ran Head Start and family daycare programs, allowing it, hisrorically, to draw funding from multiplegovernment agencies. Then the establishment of ACS in 1996 pulled allof these children's services into one operation .But futther diversification was no longer an option: The agency hadclosed its rwo group homes in 1994, as a response to early signs of thedecline of the number of children in care. At the same time, Brookwoodwas burdened with other real estate: a 20-year lease on an office thatturned out to be larger than they needed.The excessive rent costs helpeddig a $600,000 budget hole.In the end, Brookwood found itself $1 million in the red. In the rwoyears leading up to its shutdown, the agency tried to fmd creative waysto earn income. It tried to establish a for-profit child care business. Itconsidered subletting space to other agencies. And its board voted toeliminate foster care programs.

JEREMYKOHOMBANExecutive Director,Children's Village

Children's Villagewants to move itsteen residents outmore quicklygiving every one aI)ersonal mentor tohelp them make atransition fromfoster eare toindependentadulthood. It willraise private moneyto pay for the work.

Look Beyond Foster CareAt Children's Village, one of the largest child welfare agencies ithe country, new executive director Jeremy Kohomban has clear vision for the future. He wants the agency to be smalleand stronger, focusing its resources on where kids need them most. Inhis opinion, that means helping young adults thrive after they growup. "The most important thing in child welfare is not so much whahappens when kids are here, but what happens when they leave us ,says Kohomban. "Are we truly supporting kids in getting jobs, ilearning to be a son or a daughter, a husband or a wife, and a fatheor a mother?"When young people arrive to live at Children's Village, Kohomabasees one of the most striking effects of a smaller, more selective fostecare system: These teens are older and tougher. Children's VillageWestchester campus is a residential treatment center, wheryoung people who need speciacounseling and attention live in controlled environment. Thodds against them are high, anChildren's Village has a preciouchance to help vault them intsuccessful adulthood.Right now, the agency provides "aftercare" services to juone in five of the young peoplwho live there. The teens get jotraining and paid mentors whwill follow each young person fo

five years after he or she leavecare. The mentor is there to helthem on everything they mighneed, such as job applicationfinding housing and ongoinemotional encouragement.

"We want to stay focused on what we do best, whichis teach kids to go out and become young adults."

Kohomban wants to expanaftercare to everyone who cometo Children's Village. "Treatmeis just one small piece of a largpicture," says Kohomban. "Wwant to stay focused on what wdo best, which is teach kids to gout and be young adults."

But all of these efforts failed to avoid the inevitable. "Even if all ofthose had been successful, we would not have come close to closing amillion-dollar deficit," says Goldman, who had led Brookwood for nineyears. "It was just way too far. " She is now executive director of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies.Brookwood wasn't the only agency to be done in by an expensivelong-term lease. In the early 1990s, when the number of childrenin foster care peaked at a historic high, St. Joseph's Children's Servicesmoved to a building in downtown Brooklyn, with a 25 yearcommitment. At the time, it had 850 children in care. By the time itclosed in 2000-after 75 years in business-it had 750. The agencycut its staff to save money, but rent was a fixed cost it couldn't sustain.

22

The one thing that isn't theris government funding. Kohomban will have to fmd the money to fill the gap. Already, since arrivinin March, he has cut 20 top management positions. He and his boarplan to triple private donations in the next five years-spending all of thmoney on aftercare programs. "One of the struggles the system facesgeneral is that we have been so dependent on government dollars, " saKohomban. ''I'm very confident that we can go out to private donors anto corporations, and get them excited about going beyond government

This article WflSproduced in coUaboration with Child Welfare Watch, aprojectof hCenter for an Urban Future and the Center for New l-Ork City Affair;. For a foreport on the transformation ofNew l-Ork Citys child welfare system andinformatioabout a Decemberpanel discussion, visit www.newschooLedulmilanolnycaffair;.

CITY LIMITS


23/44

Meet sevenmid I fe activistswho've honedthe art of provocation.LOOK AT ANY CLASS of Union Square Awards or Open Society Institute fellowshwinners, and you see the rising stars of New York City activism: young, fresh taleraging to get out and remake the world every day.

But New York also has midcareer reformers who've been around the block and astill going strong. Some are community organizers looking for new causes and chalenges. Others are public servants who decided that they had to put themselves outhere to make essential change happen. Some never thought of themselves as anthing other than ordinary citizens until now. But all of them are committed to indpendent action to challenge and improve the institutions we count on to make thcity work. And to be effective, they are quite willing to put their personal interests othe line-perhaps because life has taught them that risk is the way to get results.

Yes, a few of these activists collect decent paychecks. And their efforts hardly dimiish the accomplishments of professionals working within the system-who've had traise millions to rebuild an apartment complex, or squeeze a one-line amendmeonto a bill, or forge a delicate alliance among far-f lung interests.

But we need people like these 10-who take the heat themselves, when that's whhas to happen.


24/44

DO-GOODERS, BEWARE : Lavon Chambers has his eye on you. Or, more specifically,on your workers. The 39-year-old union organizer is setting out to conquer one of labor 'sfrontiers, nonprofit staff.

But i f you're expecting traditional uniongripes to drive this campaign-low pay, longhours, fix it or we walk-you'd better take a sec-ond look. "I have workers that say, 'They can'tafford to pay me for 60, 70 hours, and that'sokay," says Chambers, who entered the unionmovement after a stint as a community organizer challenging it. Many nonprofit workers arewilling to deal with tough working conditionsbecause of the social mission, says Chambers.And that social commitment is exactly what hehopes to gain by getting nonprofit workers tojoin the Laborers Union. His campaign to organize nonprofits aims to build bridges betweengrassroots groups and organized labor, heightening both groups' political power.

For Chambers, it's a personal issue. The former construction worker found himself repeatedly working on union jobs, but-like many24

TheUnionBuilderLavon ChambersPresident, Loca l 279Association of Professional &Specialty Workers

black men-never getting into the union . So hejoined Harlem Fightback, a group demandingthat neighborhood residents be given unionmembership and jobs on local projects-andended up being recruited by the Laborers towork as an organizer.

Branching out to nonprofit workers is newterritory for the union movement, says Chambers, now president and director of organizingfor Local 279. His predecessor had focused onorganizing administrative staff at unions, apath Chambers could have followed. Instead,he saw an opportunity to build alliancesbetween labor and community groups. In thepast, says Chambers, community organizationshaven't been enthusiastic about organizedlabor. "They assume, 'This is some union hack,and he's going to come in and talk to us abouthis stuff. He has no idea-he just wants us topay dues," says Chambers. "And, historically,unforrunately, they're right."

Challenging those assumptions is a skillChambers honed in his last job, also for theLaborers, demanding that public housing pro-

"They assume,'This is some union hack.'"

jects employ local workers. When pro-labocommunity organizing group ACORN built new high school in Bushwick, the group waembarrassed to find tha t the developer was usingnonunion contractors. "The Carpenters said'What the hell is this? Here's a nonunion jobAnd they threatened to put a rat in from of thhigh school," says Bertha Lewis, ACORN's executive director. "So I call Lavon-who else?With Chambers' help, Lewis met with thunions an d the developer and figured out a compromise. ''That really could have been a horriblcommunity-labor showdown," says Lewis. "Anit was avoided with the work of Lavon."

His most recent targets include For a BetteBronx, an environmental justice group and stafat the Citywide Harm Reduction Program. Thmix sounds about right to Chambers. "Sompeople might accuse me of being dramatic, but ithere's not a direct link created in the near fururbetween labor and the grassroots, you're going tosee a negative effect," he says. "Both sides prettmuch have the same enemies. I think it's a perfect fit." -Tracie McMillan

CITY LIMITS


25/44

Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority LJoseph Bruno. Then Bruno created a taskto come up with some proposals . Everyoreformer now.Suozzi, the Nassau County executive fpast three years, is usually more about ming the books than about rocking the boamayor of Glen Cove for four terms, hcountywide at a time when Republicanplunged Nassau into $3 billion of debnear-junk-bond status. He has since mato reverse both trends. But he knew he wsoon have trouble balancing his budgetcounty's share of spending for Medicaipreschool programs, mandated by the kept rising. "I've got problems with traffisays. "I've got problems with gangs. I'vneeds for affordable housing. But I can't money because the programs that the stadetermined to be most important are grat 15 to 20 percent a year."Suozzi 's narrow focus on Medicaid hother reformers mystified. "I think in thwhat will energize reform is a reform athat actually addresses problems," aAssemblymember Richard Brodsky, a Wester Democrat. "You've got to be able'Here's what I'd do differently.'" But Suozzi's perspective, unfunded mandateperfect for a populist campaign, since theythe burden to local governments, whothen pass them on to homeowners. "It's nabout reforming the rules and passing buon time," he explains. "It's relating thafunction to people's property taxes bethat's what people care about."When Suozzi first mentioned challeincumbents last year, lobbyist Patricia Lyformer top aide to Assembly Speaker ShSilver, "fired" Nassau County, one o- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ ..-clients. Later, Silver left Suozzi's name o

ThePoliticianTom SuozziNassau Coun ty Execu tive

"Property taxes are whatpeople care about."

DECEMBER 2004

ALL SUMMER, political rivals had crackedthat the only people supporting ThomasSuozzi's Fix Albany campaign were newspapereditorial writers. Then came the September 14Democratic primary, when it turned out that3,507 voters in the 13th Assembly District onLong Island chose Suozzi's handpicked candidate over the six-term incumbent.That doesn't sound like many votes, but it

was enough for Charles Lavine to knock Assemblymember David Sidikman off the ticket. Itwas also enough to make reform fashionable.Within days, other incumbent Democratsintroduced bills that would wrest the legislativeptocess out of the hands of "three men in aroom"-Governor Pataki, Assembly Speaker

list of delegates to the party conventiBoston. But taking a controversial tack itral to drawing attention to his cause. 'Awas always dysfunctional. People wrote abfor 10 years," Suozzi notes. "When it comreform related to government, you have it into the political arena. " Taking a contsial tack has also drawn a lot of attentiSuozzi's political ambitions. Big deal, he"You notice that most of the people propreforms right now are people who saywant to run for higher office." The 42-yeSuozzi wants to concentrate on his job anfor it again next year, but he won't rulerun for governor in 2006. After all , it mean challenging an incumbent.

-Matthew Schuer


26/44

"ANYONE KNOW ANY success stories?"Lisa Ortega looks around the conference room.There's only silence-unusual for this group ofabout a dozen ex-prisoners and family members of incarcerated people. They know therearen't a lot of success stories out there.

"I think it will be more successful i f youshow atrocities," says Walter Jennings. Likeothers here, he used to be in prison-and has amental illness. "We need to, like, show picturesof Muslims being raped and all that," says Jennings. In other words, make mistreatment inNew York prisons as visible as Abu Ghraib.

Onega is the organizer of this group, knownas RlPPD (Rights for Incarcerated PrisonersWith Psychiatric Disablilites), and they are trying to get New York State to end mistreatmentof mentally ill pr

Documents

City Limits Magazine, December 2004 Issue