Fall2014

Aneesha Mohamed                                                                                                                        Assignment #1

Know Your Community: Twenty One Questions

1. What is your home zip code?
   • My home zip code is 11220.
2. Does your community have a name? If so, what is it?
   • The name of my community is Bay Ridge.
3. What is the number of your Community Board? Briefly state its purpose.
   • The number of my Community Board is 10. There mission is to advise elected officials and government agencies on matters affecting the social welfare of the district.
4. Who is the President of your Community Board?
   • Eric Adams
5. Who is the District Manager of your Community Board?
   • Josephine Beckmann
6. Who is your current New York City Council Member, and what communities does s/he serve, what council committees does s/he serve on?
   • The current Council Member is Vincent J Gentile. He currently serves as a Deputy Leader and Chairman of the powerful Oversight and Investigations Committee.
7. Who is your New York State Assembly Member?
   • Peter Abbate.
8. Who is your New York State Senator?
   • Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
9. Who are your U.S. Senators?
   • The U.S. Senators are Dianne Feinstein, Chuck Grassley, Orrin Hatch, Richard Shelby, Carl Levin, Jim Inhofe, Pat Roberts, Barbara Mikulski, John McCain, Jay Rockefeller, Thad Cochran, Tom Harkin, Harry Reid, Patrick Leahy, Lamar Alexander, Barbara Boxer, Bernie Sanders, Mitch McConnell, Bill Nelson, Jim Risch, Dan Coats, Ben Cardin, Saxby Chambliss, Mike Enzi, Angus King, Dick Durbin, Johnny Isakson, Richard Blumenthal, Ed Markey, Jeff Sessions, Tim Johnson, Tom Carper, Jeanne Shaheen, Joe Manchin, Mazie Hirono, Tom Coburn, Tom Udall, Ron Wyden, Elizabeth Warren, Jack Reed, Roy Blunt, Debbie Stabenow, Mike Johanns, Mark Udall, Patty Murray, Chuck Schumer, John Boozman, Deb Fischer, Mike Crapo, Al Franken, Roger Wicker, John Cornyn, John Barrasso, Bob Corker, Sherrod Brown, Susan Collins, Kay Hagan, Claire McCaskill, Bob Menendez, Jerry Moran, Mark Warner, Ron Johnson, Lindsey Graham, Joe Donnelly, Sheldon Whitehouse, Heidi Heitkamp, Mary Landrieu, Richard Burr, Rob Portman, Jon Tester, Jeff Merkley, John Hoeven, Lisa Murkowski, Tim Kaine, Maria Cantwell, Mark Kirk, Bob Casey, Jr., Dean Heller, Amy Klobuchar, John Walsh, John Thune, David Vitter, Pat Toomey, Tammy Baldwin, Mark Begich, Jeff Flake, Rand Paul, Mark Pryor, Chris Coons, Michael Bennet, Tim Scott, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kelly Ayotte, Cory Booker, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mike Lee, Martin Heinrich, Brian Schatz and Chris Murphy.
10. Who is your U. S. Congressional Representative?
    • The U.S. Congressional Representative is Michael Grimm.
11. What are the basic demographics of your community (total population, gender, age levels, race/ethnicity, income levels, household sizes, educational levels)
    • The total population of Bay Ridge is 80,069. There are 39,303 males and 42,261 females. The median age for males is 37.8 years and 40.1 years for females. The ethnicity for Bay Ridge, The average household size is 2.4 people and the percentage of family households is 43.5%. 9.6% of the Bay Ridge community is Chinese, 50.8% are Hispanic, 28.2% are Middle Eastern and 11.4% falls under the other category. The income levels for Bay Ridge range from an average of $53,250 per house hold. When education is considered, 38.3% of the population holds a Bachelor’s degree. 28.3% of the population barely finished high school.
12. What is the health status of your community?
    • The health status of my community is fair. May people are sick due to old age.
13. What are the crime statistics for your community?
    • For the year of 2013, there were 0 Murders, 4 rapes, 98 robberies, 102 Assaults, 236 Burglary, and 388 Grand Larceny.
14. Briefly describe the educational/cultural resources (ex: schools, libraries, theatres, museums, movie houses, etc.) of your community.
    • There are many libraries and schools within the community, but they need some restructuring. There are also movies theatres, one of which was recently renovated. There aren’t any museums in the area.
15. Briefly describe the educational/cultural resources (parks, sports centers/facilities, public pools, etc.) of your community.
    • The parks in Bay Ridge vary depending on the area. Some parks are fair in the sense of appearance, while others are filled with garbage. The public pools are reasonable, but need some work as far as maintenance. The activities center located at a public school has many resources and supplies which are well kept.
16. Briefly describe the religious/spiritual institutions of your community.
    • In Bay Ridge, there are many Christian and Catholic institutions, which are well maintained. The appearance both inside and out of the facility is in great condition. There are also a few Muslim facilities which are fair in appearance, but needs to be restructured.
17. Briefly describe the financial and business institutions in your community (ex: banks, check-cashing businesses, supermarkets, small groceries, real estate agencies, brokerages, travel agencies, clothing stores, drug stores, etc.)
    • There are several banks with in the area. The most popular are Chase, Bank of America and Banco Popular. There are a handful of checks cashing facilities, some in which are horrible in condition. Most of the grocery stores available are small corner stores as oppose to the large super markets. The popular large supermarket is Pathmark. There are many clothing stores accessible to the community and they cater for all ages. The most popular drug store in the area is Duane Reade, which was recently renovated and relocated to a busy area. From observation, there are a few travel agencies in the area, which mostly focus on destinations to the Caribbean.
18. Briefly describe the infrastructure of your community (ex: roads, sidewalk and street pavements, street furniture, street and traffic lighting fixtures, tree care, air quality, buildings, etc.)
    • The roads in Bay Ridge have improved substantially. There were many pot holes, which use to cause severe accidents. The sidewalks are fair, with the exception raised pavements due to the roots from the trees. There were a few trip and fall accidents in the area due to these raised pavements. The buildings in the area are fairly old and there always doing construction to improve the appearance. There aren’t any benches or rest areas in the neighborhood. The traffic light fixtures are always maintained and always function properly. For the most part, the tree care and plants on the side walk are in healthy condition.
19. Based on your research and walkabouts, identify 3 of your community’s strengths or assets:
    • Development
    • Maintenance
    • Accessible Resources
20. Based on your research and walkabouts, identify and prioritize 3 issues of concern to you about your community:

• Clinics
• Pollution
• Jobs

21. Human services ethical standards speak about our profession’s concern for individuals, families, communities, and society. Why should human service professionals care about communities and society?

• It is imperative that human service professionals care about communities and society because the people that we are helping come from various communities. Every setting is different and it’s the community/society that can have a major impact on what someone may be going through. As human service professionals, we need to be open minded that many people go through certain obstacles due to their surroundings.