Planning To Succeed

New York Swelter

It's the fourth or fifth heatwave for NYC and counting. These heatwaves will not let up. In fact, humidity and high temperatures in the 90s will become common summer weather here. Beyond carbon emissions, global warming is a natural occurrence. Other planets in our solar system are warming up as well. These planets don't have throwaway paper-,plastic- and petroleum-dependent humans to contend with. Humans are just making it more unbearable. Living in a city intensifies the situation because the asphalt roads and cement sidewalks, curbs, and parking lots make the urban design seem orderly but it covers vegetation. Trees, bushes, and grass regulate the temperature, provide shade, absorb carbon dioxide, emit oxygen, and calm nerves. I frequently walk through streets and wish I had a jack hammer to break up the cement to free the Earth. It's just a daydream and won't act on it but the grass and weeds do their best find cracks and spaces in the cement and asphalt from where to sprout out. So knowing how great trees and bushes serve humanity, why not serve them? Get a pail of water and pour it in a tree tub near your house or apartment. The Department of Sanitation isn't watering the trees nor is the Department of Parks and Recreation, so New Yorkers have to do it. Put yourself in the place of a tree, your higher roots are cramped in the tree tub; your lower roots are slowly extending deeper into the Earth seeking moisture. The trees somehow. How long could humans live without water? Hey,share your Fiji water.

Labels: climate change, community, environment, lifestyle, New York City, the Earth

posted by Unknown @ 8:15 AM 0 Comments

Brooklyn Families Scrutinize the Close to Home Proposal*

NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) held the Brooklyn community forum for the Close to Home program March 13 at NYCHA Van Dyke Community Center. The overcrowded condition had its good point and detraction. It was encouraging to see the range of ages in the packed room and the involvement of the audience during the community discussion segment. Given this was Brooklyn’s only community forum for Close to Home, NYCHA Brooklyn Community Operations ought to have chosen a NYCHA facility that had triple Van Dyke’s capacity. Suggested alternatives would be Penn-Wortman or Louis Pink Houses’ community center. The depth in consideration for the forum’s location underscored the depth of consideration into the Close to Home program. The event’s first few stages described this alternative to upstate detention of juveniles and built a clear framework for community input. Close to Home’s goal is to direct the majority of detained NYC youth to rehabilitation, supervision, and confinement to services near their families, rather than facilities hundreds of miles from New York City. Family members can more easily visit them and educational attainment is a key element. ACS Commissioner Ronald Richter extolled a screening tool that guages the level of detention required for each juvenile that reduces the number in confinement. Close to Home is State legislation pending voting. If passed, New York City can do operational planning. The people’s questions revealed the community’s insight into family dysfunction, juvenile delinquency, disaffection with public school curricula, and inadequacies of city agencies serving youth. There were instances of ACS staff not responding directly to questions and admission of not considering certain events yet, being consistent in needing the community’s input, especially that coming from young people. One young man revealed that he’d been confined three times as a minor. He spent time at Bristol, Lincoln Hall and Boys Town. He found the Upstate facilities had more structure than Boys Town which is located in downtown Brooklyn. He admitted he needed structure. Adults who were parents, nonprofit staff members or part of the clergy raised questions about adequate funding and a wholistic approach that helped families with adjudicated youth. When asked how much money would be saved by providing services in NYC rather than Upstate, ACS Commissioner Richter stated he didn’t know the cost because it has been a State expense. His goal is reducing the numbers in detention. The forum attendees learned from another concerned citizen that NYS expended $240,000 per youth annually at Upstate facilities. This session revealed people were concerned with resolving claims of educational neglect in the face of teens who are determined to be truant. The program’s efficacy is in question given ACS has reduced the number of caseworkers and there is a need for parent advocates and youth advocates. While the Commissioner stated costs weren’t a part of this discussion, the people wanted to talk dollars. One nonprofit manager who had spent 16 years behind bars and now held a doctorate requested that NYC Department of Education and ACS put their funds together to allow funded community-based organizations to conduct intervention programs within public schools. ACS asked a teen how to improve school. The young man attempted an answer; however, he was at a disadvantage because he can only talk about what he’s been exposed to. The more exposure to history, STEM, and global studies from direct experience, school, and other sources, the better anyone can talk about what is lacking. What pupils or truants can adequately talk about is the affect of the teaching-learning environment. This is why youth make such statements as “school is boring.” The community forums will be held in each borough. The Queens forum was scheduled for March 14; the Manhattan forum is scheduled for March 16;Staten Island's forum is scheduled for March 26; and The Bronx forum is slated for April 2. *Most names withheld due to no prior knowledge of media coverage.

Labels: ACS, DOE, families, juvenile detention, New York City, NYC Ho, parent advocacy, urban

posted by Unknown @ 7:17 PM 3 Comments

If Green is Lean Why Resist

I attended the Building Green Expo, April 28, to learn more about the green industry and see where I fit in the scheme of things. One thing that amazed me was the low attendance. It was cheap and packed with useful information. I received invitations from Building Green Expo, Webgrrls International, and Urban Go Green months in advance. With so many people looking for work and so many enterprises that have relocated permanently outside of the tri-state region and the nation, I anticipated crowds.

During the roundtable discussions, various green businesses went from table to table explaining their product or service. Tri-State Biodiesel sales manager Dehran Duckworth perplexed and informed me to no end. Rather than selling regular fossil fuel-based diesel, this company sells biodiesel made from used commercial cooking oil. Tri-State Biodiesel has ten trucks that vacuum up the used cooking oil in restaurants' oil traps and deliver it to a processing facility that separates food particles, moisture, and chemicals from the oil to produce biodiesel. It has a different color than the regular diesel however, it's a clean burn with a carbon footprint that's 80% smaller than regular diesel. In fact, the US Environmental Protection Agency gave its seal of approval late July 2010.

The restaurants buy into the service because they have a lawful means to dispose of the waste. Consumers enjoy it because it serves as a fuel for diesel engines and for heating. NYC Mayor Bloomberg signed Intro 194-A which encourages biodiesel use in heating systems on July 26, 2010. “We all know the most cost-effective way to remove pollutants from any fuel is to never burn them in the first place,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “But the reality is that New Yorkers burn more than one billion gallons of heating oil each year. By changing the type of oil we use, we will reduce pollutants and spend less money on maintaining and operating our heating systems, while simultaneously reducing our dependence on overseas sources of energy."

The challenge is getting more trucking fleets to purchase it. Duckworth says Tri-State Biodiesel has heard "The color is different from the regular fuel;" "It may hurt the trucks' engines;" "We don't want to clean out the old fuel to pump in this new fuel;" and more from fleet managers. None of these issues are in this plane of reality. The truth is there's no need to install new engines or clean out the diesel engines tanks before putting in the biodiesel. This diesel fuel is compatible with the other and doesn't hurt engines.

Tri-State's ceo Brent Baker spends much time changing minds through the media and exhibiting at events. If he's not meeting with the elected, he's ensuring that a staff member distributed a press release to the media. May 7, the business exhibited at the NHS of East Flatbush-sponsored Eco-Fair in Brooklyn. When I caught up with Duckworth today, he said it is all the media attention that influenced their existing clients to do business with them. Duckworth mentioned concern over pricepoint and mitigating maintenance as the usual business concerns. When asked whether the pricepoint was comparable to regular diesel, he said it was. Do you understand why I'm perplexed? It sounds like a win-win situation but changing minds and habits takes time.

Labels: biodiesel, economy, employment, New York City, pricepoint

posted by Unknown @ 3:16 PM 0 Comments

City of Wellness Settled Across The Pond?

Queen Afua, the one who spawned the Heal Thyself Center, Heal Thyself 21-Day Fast, Sacred Woman Initiation, City of Wellness and Queen Afua Wellness Institute, is known for her travels to global destinations to profess the power of a natural and holistic lifestyle for total body, mind and spirit wellness. She’s broadcast her message on television and radio. She’s arranged numerous teleconferences that keep the momentum going and hosted countless fasting shut-ins in and out of New York City. Queen Afua had been a resident of Brooklyn, and Heal Thyself Center a/k/a City of Wellness a fixture at 106 Kingston Avenue in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn for over 25 years. But no more, as many have observed in recent months.

It is official: Queen Afua pulled stakes and relocated to London, England.
A long time partner said she “was in shock…no one told her anything.” She now pays her monthly space rent to Ken Bey, Esq., a lawyer and businessman who is authorized by Ida Robinson, the property owner and mother to Queen Afua.

Though one will hear Queen Afua’s voice on the outgoing message at 718 221 HEAL, she moved to London November 2009. Two newer employees who were responsible for promotion and sales left October 2009. Visit 106 Kingston Avenue and make note the Health Thyself Center and City of Wellness signage are removed. The space is available for rental. One source explains “The 40% share of revenue on top of the rent charge makes deals prohibitive.”

Actually, she moves between New York and London. Sunday, January 10 2010 the winter fasting shut-in was at Grace Family Health Center in Canarsie, Brooklyn; Saturday, January 23, 2010 Queen Afua will lead the Women’s Healing Soul Sweat and January 13 – February 3, she will run Setting up a Home Detox Spa at The Open Center in Soho. Customers who purchased product online will have their orders fulfilled. The timing of which is in process.

A Sacred Woman initiate and Kemetic priest remarks on the state of relations between Queen Afua and the many priests and Sacred Woman initiates, “Perhaps there is bad blood running if no one is there to take the work forward in her absence."

Queen Afua is an innovator and reframer of the wellness discourse. She and her diehard naturalists will be missed but it’s a sure bet that she won’t abandon New York altogether. Stay in contact with her by telephone 718 473 0677, 718 221 HEAL or online www.queenafua.com.

Labels: City of Wellness, holistic health, London, New York City, Queen Afua

posted by Unknown @ 3:41 PM 10 Comments

Publicly-Funded Can Stand Some E-Government

For at least three years, New York City's publicly funded child care providers have been on pins and needles about their existence. They're accused of not collecting parent fees, being under-enrolled and/or not hiring certified teachers quickly. Let's face it, if you were certified by the NYS Education Department, would you prefer being compensated the 40 odd thousand dollars running a public school classroom or $20 - $30,000 a nonprofit childcare center can afford? If you loved the work environment and the great one-on-one with parents, you'd do what many existing childcare center employees do: stay there and enroll in college. It takes four years to get a baccalaureate and two more for a graduate degree. True, recruiting retired teachers is another solution.

If it's true centers aren't collecting the parent fee, enforce the reality that the uncollected parent fee is their lost operating budget. If a center's budget is, for example, $100,000 and $25,000 is in parent fees, then to cover annual costs that money needs to be collected.

What's disturbing in this electronic age is under-enrollment. Enrollment is based on families being certified eligible for public childcare and the public being aware that publicly-funded childcare--home-based and center-based--is available throughout NYC. Certification involves different forms being completed by parents or guardians accompanied by certain documents. The material is sent to the Resource Areas for processing. Childcare providers and families say that the Resource Areas take several weeks--sometimes months--to recertify families. In the meantime, families' previous certification expires; then, they can't afford the market fee and the center can't afford to serve the family without payment. Enrollment drops because time lapsed in families' recertification.

Administrtion for Children's Services (ACS) instituted an online 'recert' process that permits centers to do the work online and transmit the application electronically. The hitch is application review is still performed by the Resource Area staff; therefore, weeks pass before a decision is made.

Maybe ACS needs to sidle up to DoITT to devise the means to connect recertification and new applications with various online, backdoor databases. This means as a family or childcare provider inputs the data into the system, it's being compared with Department of Labor, Social Security Administration and/or Human Resource Administration data on the same family. In nanoseconds an 'approve,' 'disapprove,' or 'more information needed' message would appear. Isn't this what the Department of Labor does to process unemployment benefit applications? Why should New York's children and families not get the same benefit of accurate, electronic processing?

The other factor in under-enrollment, public awareness, can be resolved through public service announcements through traditional and social media. Why doesn't New York City have PSAs on satellite radio, Internet radio, WNYE, WNYC, the daily papers and Web sites catering to moms? Transit advertising during the summer would work wonders.

Hmmm, Let me contact ACS and DoITT for their thoughts.

Labels: childcare, media, New York City, social media, technology

posted by Unknown @ 1:08 PM 0 Comments

New York Uses Diamond to Close the Digital Divide

Across the globe in cities like Philadelphia, Paris, and Beijing citizens and institutions enjoy 24/7 high-speed Internet access, using broadband technology. Even Manassas, VA (2006 pop. est. 38,066) has broadband over power lines, making the Internet as close as a wall socket. The Big Apple, however, is lost in its sauce. What blocks New York from closing the digital divide so that every section of the five boroughs has the latest in e-communications?

On July 30, 2008, Diamond Management & Technology Consultants’ Chris O’Brien briefed the New York City Council, the Mayor’s Office, and the Broadband Advisory Committee on the findings of a study of access, cost and connectivity challenges faced by NYC residents, small to medium size businesses and large businesses. Research uncovered that the demand for greater bandwidth that comes from streaming video and HDTV required replacing existing copper cables with fiber optics and installing it in uncovered areas. Existing cable services gave access to 98% of NYC residences and 87% of NYC residences had access through DSL. Actual subscription rates varied based on socio-demographics. For example only 26% of NYC Housing Authority tenants subscribed to broadband. A low subscriber rate is also the case for New Yorkers aged 50 years and over. The common reasons for not subscribing were the affordability of computers, the cost of monthly subscriber fees, the need for computer training, and not seeing the value of in-home access.

In fact, one-third of people accessing the Internet at public libraries that were polled stated the library was their sole source. About half of them go to the library three times per week for this purpose.

Business users were split between those having T-1 lines and using DSL. Large firms experienced lower costs due to their T-1 line investment, while small to medium size firms had comparable cost to those of residences if they chose DSL.

Shaun Belle, Mt. Hope Housing executive director and chairman of the Broadband Advisory Committee and Jose Rodriguez, committee member and president of HITN TV both recognized that the study validated what they knew as on-the-ground technology service providers.

New York City is the United States most populated city and its largest media market. To stay competitive internationally New York must get up to speed to that of San Francisco, Boston and Philadelphia. New York City Council Committee on Technology in Government, chaired by Gale A. Brewer (C.D. 6), exists “to make better use of technology to save money, improve City services, and bring residents, businesses and non-profits closer to government and their communities.” The city explains the relative slow pace in the roll out of municipal wireless and broadband infrastructure is due to a concern for avoiding quick obsolescence yet high installation costs. Another concern is using programs that effect technology adoption by low-income households. Given a significant proportion of black New Yorkers are low-income and/or residents of NYC Housing Authority properties, it’s imperative that we become proactive in our demand for technology so as not to become obsolete as the broadband infrastructure is laid.

Labels: broadband, Broadband Advisory Committee, digital divide, New York City, technology

posted by Unknown @ 4:31 PM 0 Comments

Like Deer Staring into the Headlights

While news reports still won't use the word depression to label the economic picture for America, we have the symptoms of a depression. 70% of American homeowners are at risk of foreclosure. GM lost $15 billion in sales because people stopped buying trucks and SUVs in the first two quarters of 2008. The airline industry is laying off employees and Starbucks will close 3,000 outlets. With optimism and a plan, we can swing this period to our advantage. It takes a good mind to be optimistic and formulate a plan. The question is how many of us have "good minds"....and if we don't have one, can we develop "good minds."

There was a job fair at the New York Hilton, July 31, that was an eye-opener into the psyche of some New Yorkers. It was billed TechExpo in certain circles but for the most part it was the Diversity Fair. Women and men of various ages, religions and ethnicities were there. The table under observation was Web Grrls International. Unlike the other exhibitors, Web Grrls is a membership organization for women involved in technology and the Internet for personal or professional reasons. Members can meet face-to-face or connect online. Due to the high volume of job-seekers to the table, the display card had the following handwritten message: "We Aren't An Employer And Have No Jobs." Obviously people didn't notice the sign because they came to the table and attempted to leave resumes on it. People were leaving resumes without a discussion.

Looking at the growing crowd, you saw job seekers in jeans, evening wear, heavy jewelry, tie-less, jacket-less and, unfortunately clue-less. Too many job seekers didn't know what they wanted to do. They couldn't explain what interest them. They were like deer staring into the headlights of a car. Hey, didn't anyone tell them how to dress for success, discover their passion or how to strike up a conversation? One recent journalism grad from Hofstra University didn't want to learn to blog because she'd be in competition with newspapers. Didn't Hofstra's journalism professors tell her about social media, RSS feeds, podcasting, blogging, Nexis Lexis, or search engines? Didn't this fresh-faced grad know that the New York Times' Web site is one of the most popular in the world?

Another Indo-Asian gent came to the Web Grrls table and wanted to know what it was all about. Once told it was a membership organization for women involved in technology and the Internet, however men may join, he wanted to know how the organization made money. Would you believe that a membership organization's revenue base would consist of event tickets and membership dues? This gent couldn't accept this; it had to be more complex.

In these economic times people have to study trends to uncover the jobs in demand, know what's their passion, and how to best present themselves. The number of people that didn't have a clue could have images of roadkill along a US interstate highway dance in a smarter person's head. Americans have too many online tools and resources to be clue-less and hope someone in human resources will find something for them to do. Human resource professionals have benefits, trainings, grievances and payroll to handle to make the time to tell someone what his passion is. Can you imagine what may have run through the minds of the recruiters at this Diversity Fair?

Labels: cashless society, job fairs, job search, New York City, technology, US economy, Web Grrls International

posted by Unknown @ 12:22 PM 0 Comments

NYC Schools Have a Brief Scare

The Mayor told the Chancellor, so the Chancellor told the Principals. The Chancellor told the Principals told them that it would be just $500,000 cut from their operating budgets for the next school term.

The Chancellor shook in his boots and so did the Principals. But the City Council members of NYC didn't shake or quake. They roared. They roared with the Keep The Promise Coalition. The City Council reminded everyone that it was the Council that passed the budget and they weren't passing any budget that didn't consider NYC's youth. They wouldn't allow a $428 million cut from the Department of Education's budget in the face of a $4.2 billion surplus.

Though the Council members made their vows, the Principals didn't hear. They started working on budgets that didn't make sense--sort of like playing insane games with a mad man and trying to be realistic. June 29 in the PM, the NYC Council was victorious. Schools didn't get slashes; they got raises. Other youth programs got their money, too.

The lesson to this story is when in need, follow the chain back to the real decision-maker.

Labels: Bloomberg, Joe Klein, New York City, NYC budget, NYC Dept. of Education

posted by Unknown @ 5:57 PM 0 Comments

Keeping NYC Kids Needs in the Budget

Families, nonprofits, unions, and NY City Council members converged on City Hall’s steps, on May 28, 2008, in a show of solidarity for quality and adequately funded programs for New York’s kids—from crib to the high school prom. In the face of a “4.2 billion city budget surplus,” these advocates are amazed that Mayor Bloomberg intends to drastically cut money for child care centers, public schools, Beacons, afterschool programs, the Summer Youth Employment Program and Runaway and Homeless Youth Shelters. Cries of “Keep the Promises,” “Joe Klein Must Go,” and “No Cuts, No Cuts” rang in the air. Being more than a ‘photo opp’, leaders asserted the balance of power between the people, the City Council and the Mayor. Councilmember Lew Fidler, Youth Services Committee Chair, said, “The City Council will be dragging Mayor Bloomberg, kicking and screaming, to pass a budget that covers our young people.” Councilmembers Charles Barron, John Liu and Finance Committee Chair David Weprin declared, at different points, “The Mayor must be reminded that the Council passes the budget.”

The show of unity consisted of three press conferences. District Council 1707, AFSCME co-sponsored with Councilmembers Bill deBlasio, Diana Reyna and Letitia James the first one, at 11 AM, to stop child care defunding and further center closings by the Administration for Children’s Services. DC 1707 Executive Director Raglan George, Jr. presented highlights of the draft “The Better Way Alternative to ACS Child Care Funding Formula.” The “Better Way” includes continued full coverage of centers’ fixed costs, restoring the number of eligibility workers in ACS resource areas, reinstatement of “BIG MAC,” a citywide enrollment campaign, and keeping children in centers for the full year when parents’ pay raises bring household incomes over the income ceiling. General Welfare Committee Chair Bill deBlasio promoted Resolution No. 1415, a resolution that requires ACS to set tangible goals for the Full Enrollment Initiative. Councilmembers Reyna and James went a step further by introducing Resolution No. 1420, which calls upon the Bloomberg Administration to place a moratorium on the implementation of ACS’s “unproven” Project Full Enrollment Initiative. Educational Director for Stagg Street DCC and head of the Professional Association of Day Care Providers Larry Provete was one of many workers and families representing the interests of working families.

The New York City Youth Alliance, an umbrella organization for such groups as The After School Corporation, The New York Immigration Coalition, YMCA of Greater New York and Human Services Council of New York City, took over the steps, by noon, to decry the lack of support for older children. NYC Coalition for Educational Justice’s Ernesto Maldonado echoed the frequent observation of the Bloomberg Administration’s $1 billion funding of Yankee Stadium’s renovation yet, cutting $38.15 million in such youth and family programs as SYEP, Adult Literacy and Beacons. Directions for Our Youth’s Cary Goodman explained that “An average of 22,000 pupils drop out of public schools yearly yet, the money for drop out intervention is cut.” The Youth Alliance continues its daily vigil at City Hall during budget negotiations for fiscal year 2009. The United Federation of Teachers and Keep the Promise Coalition held the third press conference. UFT President Randi Weingarten stamped her feet as she derided Chancellor Joel Klein’s “ Robin Hood divide and conquer mentality.” She, along with Councilmember John Liu, urged advocates not to give into distinctions between high performing and challenged schools, low- to moderate-income neighborhoods and affluent ones or division by color. Rather, the City Council must vow to vote no for city cuts to public education and restore $428 million to the Department of Education’s budget. Each councilmember, then, came to the podium to make the vow.

Labels: Joe Klein, New York City, NYC Executive Budget, NYC politics, society, youth agenda

posted by Unknown @ 11:17 AM 0 Comments

Is Tech Really Buried Treasure?

Even with all the technology trade shows at Jacob Javits Center, Internet cafes in places like Bed-Stuy and Crown Hts., NYC government is still unsure just how big the tech industry is. How can that be? The mayor Michael Bloomberg runs a financial services megagiant powered by information technology.

Maybe it’s a matter of documenting it and reading the numbers over and over that’s required. On October 10, 2007 NYC Council Committees on Economic Development and on Technology in Government held a public hearing in the Council Chamber that brought out businesses, economic development organizations, trade groups and academia. In fact, representing Brooklyn’s interest was a staff member from Brooklyn Economic Development Corp. The centerpiece to the proceedings was a report done by Industrial + Technology Assistance Corp. (ITAC) entitled Buried Treasure New York City’s Hidden Technology Sector 2007. Franklin Madison, ITAC technology program director summarized the report and offered best practices for industry growth.

The report reveals, “For 2004, the New York metropolitan statistical area was the nation’s biggest center for high-tech employment.” The metropolitan area includes northern Jersey, southern Connecticut, Westchester and Rockland counties as well as Long Island. This finding is reasonable--maybe too obvious; New York metro is the most densely populated area in America. It contains banks, hospitals, universities, media outlets, publishing and financial enterprises. It also has big and small software developers, computer technicians and programmers operating throughout the five boroughs. IBM is in Westchester County, Google recently set up in the City, and Steiner Studios is in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The report indicates, “Close to 620,000 people have tech jobs.” Of that number 226,000 live in the five boroughs. Taking off from an old spiritual, are you counted in that number?

To whet your appetite more, another finding is “high-tech jobs generate well above average earnings, a total of $12.5 billion in 2004 alone.” That works out to an average salary of $75,458. Actual figures vary dependent upon self-employment and employment within the private vs. public sectors. Now don’t you want to be in that number?

The people providing testimony know the industry. Their concern was organizing and cultivating the sector. Councilwoman Diana Reyna (CD 34) advocated for her constituents by suggesting “matching neighborhoods to this industry”, meaning training and employing folks in the community rather than recruit workers from miles away. Reyna wanted to ensure the tech firms in northern Brooklyn stay in Brooklyn. One best practice Franklin Madison advanced was business incubators. Bruce Bernstein, president of NYSIA, Jerry Hultin, president of Polytechnic University and Victor Goldsmith executive director of Pace University’s SCI2 Incubator promoted their existing incubators and wanted money to expand operations. This public hearing was well orchestrated—like the saints that formed a line and marched in.

You have to love Councilwoman Gale Brewer (CD 6). She is the chairwoman for the Committee on Technology in Government. She’s on top of her game. Brewer knows city procedures. She’ll keep crossing t’s and dotting i’s until New York’s tech industry is at world class level—not just big.

Labels: business incubators, economic development, ITAC, New York City, NYSIA, Pace University, Polytechnic University, society, technology

posted by Unknown @ 9:10 AM 0 Comments

Crazy as a Fox 5

Fox News at 5 PM was dead set on showing a negative face to the 40th West Indian/Labor Day Parade. Although the broadcasters described it as New York City's largest parade, Fox never showed shots of the floats, dancers, stiltwalkers, or trucks. In fact, there was a party of christians asking people did they want to pray. The Brooklyn Catholic Archdiocese paraded on a truck. It was an event attended by people of various ethnicities, nationalities and personal interests. In fact, restaurateur Kathy Ewa set up one classy vending booth offering jumbo shrimp cocktail and Bourbon Chicken over rice pilaf.

No, Fox News, on September 3, during the 5 PM airing had reporter Robert Malcolm talk about an unidentified 26 year old black man getting shot in the leg two times. This shooting occurred in front of 935 Eastern Parkway during the latter part of the parade. Rather than the usual on-the-ground shots, the video was done from the helicopter. Why? there was plenty of crowd and traffic control to allow for a news van to get to the site. Robert Malcolm did his report away from the shooting site.

Interestingly, no one was arrested. There were police officers along the parkway and posted two blocks away from each intersection between Grand Army Plaza and Utica Avenue. To add to the sensationalism, Robert Malcolm, during his last of five reports on the shooting, said it was a double shooting, excused himself and said one shooting involving two shots.

Then Fox repeatedly showed a 5 second shot of men being jostled. It appeared that they were swinging at one another as if someone was walking through the crowd creating a disturbance. Once the disturbance moved along, the same crowd went back to dancing on the sidewalk. Just what is Fox news trying to depict? That a body of 1 million or 3.5 million people can't behave themselves? Is it too easy to believe that there must be a shooting when people of color come together?

A flick of the TV knobs to Channel 11 revealed the other side of the event. The preview of the 10 o'clock news spotlighted the gaily costumed dancers and stiltwalkers found on Eastern Parkway at the same event. What's a parade without colorful costumes, music and smiling street performers.

Labels: crowd, Labor Day, media, New York City, news slanting, parade, West Indian, West Indian/Labor Day Parade

posted by Unknown @ 6:06 PM 0 Comments