Author Archives: kaylena17

Assignment #2

Kaylena Gonzalez

10/16/14

Community Organizing

Chafe Meeting

Chafe is a group of parents that meet on a monthly bases to talk about problems that are facing in cypress hills community public schools. The meeting started with them discussing agendas for school. CHAFE member leaders and members discussed how to apply the program in schools. They realized to get the program going they needed to capture the attention of parents to educate them about the CHAFE platform and then engage them in their fight for better public schools. Some of the issues the members had were: special education (specifically autism), how to have good afterschool programs, and a better sense of community. Is P.S. 89 ready for special needs students? P.S. 7 has no water in the school. These was some of their concerns with the fight for better public schools. They brainstormed idea of for outreaching to parents. Some of the things they came up with is having general meetings in schools, talking to parents about the platform before talking to principals, and engaging with churches.

To solve the concerns they had earlier in the meeting they decided to have a meeting for special education parents. So that they will feel welcomed and comfortable with the schools. Join PTA Meetings to engage the parents. Have a meeting with the superintendent about the lack of water in P.S 7. They wanted to take a tour of P.S. 89 and PS.7. So they can address anymore concerns they couldn’t see earlier. These were the outreach plans that CHAFE came up with so that they can not only educate parents about CHAFE but make sure that the schools of the community become safer.

Assignment #1

  1. 11208
  2. Cypress Hills
  3. Community Board 5. Neighborhoods: East New York, Cypress Hills, Highland Park, New Lots, City Line, Starrett City, and Ridgewood. CB Info: Address: Brooklyn Community Board 5, 127 Pennsylvania Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11207, New Yorkers elect the Mayor, Borough Presidents, City Council Members, Public Advocate, and Comptroller. These officials are collectively responsible for overseeing City government, either directly or through their appointees. The City Charter defines the authority of each official or body, including community boards, and the relationships among them. Community boards have a variety of responsibilities, including but not limited to:
  • Dealing with land use and zoning issues. CBs have an important advisory role and must be consulted on the placement of most municipal facilities in the community. Applications for a change in or variance from the zoning resolution must come before the board for review, and the board’s position is considered in the final determination.
  • Assessing the needs of their own neighborhoods. CBs assess the needs of their community members and meet with City agencies to make recommendations in the City’s budget process.
  • Addressing other community concerns. Any issue that affects part or all of a community, from a traffic problem to deteriorating housing, is a proper concern of community boards.

(www.nyc.gov, 2014)

4. Hakeem S. Jeffries

5. S Senate: Nydia M. Velazquez

6. New York Senate: Sen. Martin Malavé Dilan D-District18

7. Assembly District 54: This seat is currently vacant.(assembly.state.ny.us)

8. Rafael Espinal District 37 – Council Member – Democrat. Rafael L. Espinal, Jr. assumed office as the Councilmember for the 37th district in Brooklyn on January 2, 2014. The 37th district covers Cypress Hills, Bushwick, City Line, Oceanhill-Brownsville, and East New York. Rafael currently serves as the Chair of the Consumer Affairs Committee and sits on the Health, Housing & Buildings, Immigration, Public Safety, Rules and Privileges, and Federal and State Legislation Committees. (council.nyc.gov)

9. District Manager: Walter Campbell

10. Chair: Nathan Bradley

11.  HOUSEHOLDS BY TYPE: SEX AND AGE: Total population 94,469 Not Hispanic or Latino    53,824   57.0 HISPANIC OR LATINO AND RACE  Total population  94,469   100.0  Hispanic or Latino 40,645   43.0 White alone 12,825   13.6 White alone 12,825  13.6 Black or African American alone  5,386 5.0 American Indian and Alaska Native alone 678 0.7 Asian alone 106  0.1 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone  47  0.0 Some Other Race alone 18,652   19.7 Two or More Races  2,951  3.1 Not Hispanic or Latino 53,824   57.0 White alone 1,973  2.1 Black or African American alone 39,761   42.1 American Indian and Alaska Native alone 453 0.5 Asian alone  7,772     8.2 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 48 0.1 Some Other Race alone 2,069  2.2 Two or More Races  1,748

HOUSEHOLDS BY TYPE:

Total households             29,211   100.0

Family households (families) [7]                22,120   75.7

With own children under 18 years            11,989   41.0

Husband-wife family      9,631     33.0

With own children under 18 years            5,155     17.6

Male householder, no wife present        2,385     8.2

With own children under 18 years            1,000     3.4

Female householder, no husband present           10,104   34.6

With own children under 18 years            5,834     20.0

Nonfamily households [7]            7,091     24.3

Householder living alone              5,942     20.3

Male      2,666     9.1

65 years and over            433         1.5

Female 3,276     11.2

65 years and over            1,078     3.7

Households with individuals under 18 years         14,298   48.9

Households with individuals 65 years and over   5,847     20.

Average household size                3.21        ( X )

Average family size [7]  3.67        ( X ) (census.gov)

12.  There is an increase in “demand use” at our Health and Hospital facility located at 2094 Pitkin Avenue due to the fact of new housing and shelters housing a large homeless population are in need of specialized care. Our Social Services programs continue to be compounded; currently 42% of our total population received some sort of income support, such as SSI, Public Assistance, Medicaid, AFDC, etc. We are still in need of a Day Care and an additional Health Care Center west of Pennsylvania Avenue to accommodate the many residents in the area. Death since 2010, 1,044(nyc.gov)

13. Crime declined 70 percent from 1993 to 2010, with murders dropping to 33 incidents, representing a 74 percent decline for that category. East New York comes in a relatively respectable 53rd in per capita crime out of 69 New York City neighborhoods in DNAinfo.com’s Crime & Safety Report. Those 33 murders in the neighborhood’s 75th Precinct represent a 38 percent spike over 2009, and are nearly double the total number of killings since 2008. For that crime category, East New York ranks 66th, with almost two murders per 10,000 residents. Even though felony assaults dropped 7 percent in 2010, to 746, robberies went up 12 percent and rapes spiked by 22 percent, helping to raise the overall crime rate by 2 percent that year.(dnainfo.com)

14. Education Statistics: No High School 12,409, Some High School 15,661, Some College 18,566, Associate Degree 8,685, Bachelor’s Degree 14,799, Graduate Degree 6,402.(point2homes.com).  63 schools in the community. 4 Libraries. 118 Park lands. (nyc.gov)

15.Our parks are very special to our residents and it is obvious that the Parks Department has a great responsibility in maintaining ours parks. The few staff members are over worked and they have to be commended for the amount of work they do. The maintenance and upkeep of our parks and playgrounds continues and remain a major concern. We have volunteers ready to play a major part in maintaining the parks but we need to help of staff that the Department do not have. An example of this is it takes too long for grass to be cut in order for volunteers to do their part. We are happy that the Robert Venable “State of the Art” has just been completed and the Sperandeo Brothers Playground is being reconstructed. We also need a soccer field that will serve the many youth especially on the north side of the district.(www.nyc.gov, 2014)

16.What I know about my community is that it’s very diverse with religion. But the most I see is Christian, catholic and baptism. Observation

17. They have many banks like Chase, Capital one and Queens county community bank. Groceries stores in every corner and more than 50 supermarkets. There have many clothing stores mostly on Jamaica and city line. Observation.

18. The area has a lot of pot holes on the road. As well as the pavement and sidewalk have a lot of cracks. Traffic is usually easy to get through. There are drug stores in every corner and trees in front of every house. The tallest I have seen is 6 floors. Observation.

19.Community strengths: Many schools, programs that can assist the community, and easy access to stores and shopping areas.

20. Community Issue:  Street pot holes, pavement cracks and rape crime rate have risen. Observation.

21. Any issue that is affecting the community affects the individual and families. That is what why it’s essential for human services professionals to care about what is happening within the clients communities. Being informed about the issues in the community will help the human service professional identify significant resources and also advocate for the rights of all members in society including the clients.