Monthly Archives: October 2014

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Know your community

1 Reply

Erica Jenkins

HUS 2307 Community organizing and development

Assignment 1: Know your community

 

I’ve lived in my community West Farms for about 11 years. As for communities go in the Bronx it’s neither the safest nor the cleanest, but the community does care for each other. In the summer there’s a block party and everyone pitches in to bring food and drinks, it’s a lot of fun.

My community board doesn’t have a president, but it does have a chair and its Wendy Rodriguez, Ivine Galarza is the community board’s district manager. My current New York City council member is Ritchie Torres, Torres serves the Central Bronx communities, and Torres severs on the public house committee. My New York state Assembly member is Luis R. Sepulveda. My New York state senators are Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer; they are both my U.S senators as well. My U.S. congressional Representatives are Joseph Crowley and Jose E. Serrano.

So the total population in West Farms is 58,893; which is made up of 27,249 males and 31,644 females, the median age in this community is 26.7. The ethnicity that make up West Farms are: Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican; which makes up more than half of the population, African American and Chinese. The income level in West Farms is between low – middle income, the average household income is $36,828 and 64.49% of households have children living. The education level in this community are very low; 39.79% have some high school experience, 27.55% have graduated from high school, 17.30% have some college experience, 6.53% have their Associate’s degree and 6.53% have their Bachelor’s degree.

Finding information about my community’s health status was hard, but from what I did find was that my community is very unhealthy. In my community there isn’t a lot of healthy eating options in West Farms compare to communities in Manhattan. All the dells advertise unhealthy foods like chips, soda, fried foods; that’s one the main reason why people in my community are unhealthy. 63% of adults are overweight or obese, 31.7% of the youth is overweight or obese, 43.5% of adults consume one or more sugary drinks a day and 55.8% of the youth consume one or more sugary drinks a day. One thing I was surprised to find was that smoking is very low in West Farms, only 17.3% of adults smoke cigarettes and 6.9% youth smoke cigarettes.

The crime rate in this community is terrible but compare to 23 years ago it’s a drastic improvement, for example in 1990 there was 653 reports of murder compared to 2013 there was 83 reports of murder. West farms was really unsafe in the 90’s its still unsafe but it’s not as bad as it was 23 years ago.  In 2014 there were 60 complaints about murder, 222 reports of rape,  2,671 reports of robbery,  3,691 reports of federal assault,1,959 reports of burglary,   4,079 reports grand larceny and there was 984 reports of grand larceny auto.

The educational and cultural resources are limited but do exist in my community. There are four Elementary Schools, six Primary Schools, six middle schools and seven high schools in west farms. I was disappointed to find only one museum in West Farms and its called Bronx River Art center; it a multi-art, non-profit organization that provides a place for the community, artists and youth to transform creativity into vision. And there is only one library branch in West Farms, called the West Farms library.

The recreational resources in this community is good there’s a lot of thing to do and it very family friendly, the biggest one here is the Bronx Zoo, families goes there all the time and its free on Wednesdays. There’s only one public pool called Mapes pool, it an outdoor pool and direly across the street is the Mapes Ballfield, it has two baseball fields.  One of the things I like about the parks in this community is that they are big, there’s a playground and also a place to barbecue or relax. There’s only two parks here in West Farms one is called Vidalia park; I will admit it’s not the safest park in the community, but they have a lot of events there. And there River Park it’s my favorite park, it’s called River Park because there’s a waterfall that connects to the Bronx River. Also there are three community gardens there’s the Krystal Garden group, Daly Avenue garden and the Volky Garden.

The religious institutions in this community are very diverse which is great; everyone has the opportunity to practice their religion. There are seven different religious institutions in West Farms: there the Grace Episcopal Church, St. Thomas Aquinas RC church; which is a catholic church, gifted life, I don’t know what they practice there. There’s also the Honeywell Baptist church, New Tabernacle Baptist church, and the Emmanuel Swedish Evangelical church which is a Lutheran church.

There is a lot of locally owned business in west farms most of them are groceries stores, hair salons  and family discount stores to just name a few. There are no big name banks in the community like TD bank and Chase; there are these ATM places I wouldn’t call it a bank but there’s three of them in West Farms. In low income community like mine there are more check- cashing places then actual banks branches; there is two in the community, one is called Pay-O-Matic and the other one is called Cash Transactions Inc. There are only two supermarkets one is called Price Choice and Pioneer. The rest of them are small grocery stores there is about seven of them. There is five real estate agencies in West Farms, there one called Chadwick Realty group.  There are nine hair/barber shops in West Farms; there are three on my block alone, there’s Lucy’s Unisex salon, Ace’s barber shop to name some.

The infrastructure in my community needs some improvement when it comes to the sidewalks; it’s really bad there are cracks, bumps it’s not safe people trip on the sidewalk because of the damage. The roads need work as well there are potholes that need be filled in, road bumps and the road needs to be repainted. The tree care in this community is good the parks department comes often to do maintenance on the trees.

After my walkabout in my community I’ve have identify some my community strengths and weakness. Some of the strengths include the parks, the Bronx Zoo and the religious institutions. Some the weakness are the high crime rate, the lack of healthier food options and for some reason there are no trash cans on every block; and for the blocks that have one its always over full; and this community have a big problem when it comes to picking after their dogs, it makes the community smell really bad and look dirty.

Twenty one questions

1 Reply

Isary Gutierrez-HUS 2307

1. 11206

2. East Williamsburg

3. Community Board , to discuss community issues, monitor government performance, advise city agencies. Have town hall and public meetings on neighborhood matters.

4. President of Community Board is Dealice Fuller.

5. District Manager Gerald A. Esposito.

6. Antonio Reynoso New York City Council Member. He serves the Bushwick/WIlliamsburg/Ridgewood Queens. Reynoso serves on sanitation and solid waste management.

7. New York State Assembly Member Michael DenDekker.

8. Senator Martin Malace Dilan.

9. U.s. Senators Kristen E. Gillibrand and Charles E. Schumer.

10. U.s. Congressional Representative Nydia M. Velazquez.

11.Basic Demographics

Population: 81,403

Gender: Female: 42,022 Male: 38,855

Age: Female: 30.10 yrs Male: 27.00 yrs

Income Levels: 28,584

White: 36,669 Black: 24,595 Hispanic: 35,118 Asian: 5,004 American/Indian: 1,360 Hawaiian: 228 Other: 17,426

12. Health Status Williamsburg/Bushwick

19% Smokers 28% Obesity 350 with Heart Disease 2,800 Hospitalizations 14% Diabetes 2,223 Living with HIV 10% Psychological Distress

13.  Crime Statistics 90th Precinct, year to date 1 murder, 9 rape, 174 robberies, 191 Fel. Assault, 211 Burglary, 509 Gra. Larceny.

14. There are public schools in my community and a public library right across the street from public school 147.

15. There is a local ymca with recreational pools and activities.  Local city parks that are closed after a certain time. In the Williamsburg community you find your local drug stores as well as franchised pharmacies. Travel agencies are not really seen except for one that has been in the community for many years now Edwin Travel. Grocery stores there are plenty almost on every corner, as healthier and natural food stores are coming up in the Williamsburg community.

16. in the Williamsburg neighborhood there are local catholic churches as well as Pentecostal, Lutheran, and Baptist.

17. Popular banks are found in the Williamsburg/Bushwick area, like Chase and Bank of America. Phone stores like At&t, Sprint, and T-Mobile. Our regular and local supermarkets are Key Food, Associated, and Food Bazaar. On the North side of Williamsburg its now up and coming with natural food stores and more of our popular clothing stores like Urban Outfitters and Jcrew.

18. East Williamsburg is still an industrial neighborhood. There are factory buildings that have been turned into lofts. There are still about two or three existing factories and a cement mixture company across the street from a local city park, The irony of having clean air in our neighborhood. There are still many trees in our neighborhood. Some streets have poor lighting, and there are not enough light poles on the streets. Along with our street pavements which some still have pot holes and cracks in our sidewalks.

19.Living in a private house is a community strength, neighbors working together to keep our community safe and clean. Having a homeowners association allows us to follow certain rules and the opportunity to have resources available to us. Our Assets of living on a private block gives us some source of privacy and safety, having closed gates.

20. 3 concerns about the community that arise are not have enough light post on our sidewalks to keep the streets brighter, Having the cement trucks drive through our residential streets instead of their back exit, and keeping our community safer by adding security cameras out side of our gates.

21. The human services professionals should care about communities and society because there are important factors to our living and our community status that has a lot to do with our daily lives. Keeping our communities safe and having healthier options for the young, middle age, and older population. There are many community stressors that can influence a human being, whether it being there physical or mental health.

Know Your Community: TwentyOne Questions

1 Reply
My Street. I love the view.

My Street. I love the view. Pleased.

Target at The Junction. Cant walk by without going in.

Target at The Junction. Pleased.

I HATE this intersection. People don't know how to drive.

I HATE this intersection. Troubled.

1. 11210

2. The Junction

3. Community Board # 14.  My community board plans local projects, handles complaints and requests from local agencies, reviews zoning changes.

4. Alvin M. Berk

http://www.cb14brooklyn.com

5. Gerald A. Espositio

6. Jumaane D. Williams. He serves, Flatbush, East Flatbush, Flatlands parts of Midwood and Canarsie. Hr serves on the Gun Violence Task Force and is a member of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus and is a founding member of the Progressive Caucus.

http://council.nyc.gov/d45

7. Rhoda Jacobs.

http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Rhoda-Jacobs/

8. Kevin S. Parker

http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/kevin-s-parker

9. Chuck Shumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.

http://www.senate.gov

10. Yvette D. Clarke

http://www.house.gov

11.  Population: 150, 161

Gender Male 45.8% Female 54.2%

Race: Asian 2.6% . Black 59% Latino  7.1% White 29% Other 1.5%

Age: 65 and Older- 10.95.  18 to 64 – 64%.  6 to 17 -16.4%.  0 to 8- 8.4%

Household Sizes:

Income Levels between $15,000 and $200,000.

Education Levels: A majority of both the community have only completes high school or               GED program, females approximately 18,302 and males 15,440. Associates degree for                  females approximately 5798 and males 3227, bachelors degree female 10205 and male               7306,    masters degree females 4713 males 2769, doctorate females 382 males 390.

http://nyc.pediacities.com/Resource/CommunityStats

http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Flatbush-Brooklyn

12.  More than 1 in 4 adults are obese and 1 in 10 adults have diabetes.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/data/2006chp-207.pdf

13. Total crime from January 2013 to December 2013: 2057.

COUNTS:

Burglary: 358. Felony Assault: 362. Grand Larceny: 744. Larceny with a Motor Vehicle: 151.  Murder: 10. Rape: 28. Robbery: 404.

http://nyc.pediacities.com/Resource/CommunityStats

14.  Their are 27 schools, 1 College (Brooklyn College) and 41 Youth and Development Programs, their is a museum called the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum.

http://nyc.pediacities.com/Resource/TouristAttraction

15.  Their are 14 parks/playgrounds.

http://nyc.pediacities.com/Resource/TouristAttraction

16.  Their are many churches and spiritual institutions, for example St Gabriel Spiritual Church and Beulah Tabernacle.

17.  I live one block from a Target i am there all the time.  My neighborhood has a lot of corner store Delis, a Starbucks, 7/11, Caribbean restaurants and bakery’s, 99 cent store and a Beauty Supply Store.

18. My neighborhood has gone through slight renovations, the city has put up benches and seating areas they are currently fixing up the street a few block from my house. A majority of the building are living spaces not offices.

19. (1)Their is a lot of culture, the Caribbean food is amazing.  (2) I feel safe in my neighborhood even on nights i get home very late. (3) their is a real sense of community, people aren’t afraid to speak up and say/do what is right.

20.  (1)Because I live on the last stop of the train their can be a lot more homeless people sitting and laying on waiting seats.  (2) The intersection that i must walk across can be very scar, i feel that people in my area are rather reckless drivers.  (3) Even though the little Caribbean shops have tasty food i think my neighborhood still need more/nicer sit-down restaurants.

21.  It is extremely important that Human Services professional care and know about communities and society because we will be working one on one with the individuals living in the society.  We cant be efficient advocates helpers if we know nothing about who or what the people we serve need and want.

KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY:TWENTYONE QUESTIONS

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1. What is your home zip code? 11201

2. Does your community have a name? if so, what is it? Brooklyn heights

3. What is the number of the community board? Briefly state its purpose. 02, the purpose of community board 2 is to be responsible for the welfare of their respective community districts

4. Who is the president of your community board? Eric L. Adams

5. Who is the district manager of your community board? Robert Perris

6. Who is your current New York City Council Member, what communities does s/he serve, what council committees does s/he serve on?  Laurie Cumbo serves the 35th district. She serves on the committee for elected members on Brooklyn community board 2

7. Who is your New York state assembly member? Joseph Lentol

8. Who is your New York state Senator? Daniel Squadron

9. Who is your U.S Senators? Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand

10. Who is your U.S Congressional Representative? Hakeem Jeffries

11. What are the basic demographics of your community (total population, gender, age levels, race/ethnicity, income levels, household sizes, educational levels) Theres total population of 20,256. 10,038 are males while 10,218 are females. average age for males is 38 and the average age for females is 37. Brooklyn heights is a predominantly white neighborhood. Median income for Brooklyn heights in 2011 was $119,999. Household sizes averaged at 1.9 people.

12. What is the health status of your community? Brooklyn heights has above the national average amount of people with health care.

13. What are the crime statistics for your community? There are 205 major crimes per 10,000 residents, 63 of them being violent crimes

14. Briefly describe the educational/cultural resources (ex: schools, libraries, theaters, museums, movie houses, etc.) of your community.  Brooklyn heights Montessori school for students 2-8, Brooklyn heights public library on Cadman plaza west and Brooklyn heights cinema on Clark street.

15. Briefly describe the recreational resources (parks, sports centers,/facilities, public pools, etc.) of your community. Eastern athletics located on Clark street has an indoor pool. Parks in Brooklyn heights include the Brooklyn bridge park and the Brooklyn heights promenade. We also have basketball courts and soccer fields located on the east river connected to the Brooklyn bridge park.

16. Briefly describe the religious/spiritual institutions of your community The first presbyterian church of Brooklyn is located off of Clark street.  St. Ann and the holy church is an episcopal church that encourages individuals to follow their spiritual paths and seek solace.

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.).  Brooklyn heights has banks such as Chase, city bank, HSBC. Supermarkets and grocery stores include gristedes, all in one organic market, garden of eden and key food. Drug stores include CVS, Rite-aid and gristedes pharmacy.

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 Brooklyn bridge is the only bridge in Brooklyn heights, the BQE also runs through the west-side of Brooklyn heights.

19. Based on your research and walkabouts, identify 3 of your community’s strengths or assets: 1)  Access to the major subway lines such as the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, F, R and N

2)  Both the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridge are within walking distance and can be walked over

3) It’s not a sketchy neighborhood

20) Based on your research and walkabouts, identify and prioritize 3 issues of concern to you about your community:

1) Brooklyn Heights or downtown Brooklyn could use a Skatepark possibly at the Brooklyn bridge park

2) Cabs are often hard to find in the area

3) Because of its location on the east river/ so close to downtown manhattan many things are a lot more expensive compared to back home, at least for a college student like myself.

21) Human service ethical standards speak about our profession’s concern for individuals, families, communities, and society. Why should human services professionals care about communities and society? The state of the community and societal standards set the route for future development of the area. If nobody cared about the community there would never be any progression and most likely a decline in ethical standards