Cash-strapped states fuel lucrative business for privatized prisons - The Boston Globe
Posted using ShareThis
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
MAYOR BLOOMBERG PRESENTS FY 2011 EXECUTIVE BUDGET
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PR- 199-10
May 6, 2010
Reduction in Tax Dollars the State will Return to City for Education will Leave City Schools With 6,400 Fewer Teachers this Coming School Year
State Budget will Cause Major Impacts Across Nearly All City Services
Three Years of City Cost Cutting Prevented State Cuts from Producing More Severe Impacts
Controllable City Expenses Reduced from FY 2010 to FY 2011; Budget Balanced with No Tax Increases
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today presented a Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Executive Budget and an updated four-year financial plan. The Mayor outlined a plan for a balanced budget that totals $62.9 billion with no tax increases for New Yorkers. The FY 2011 Executive Budget is balanced in large part by the rollover of $3.3 billion of surplus funds from FY 2010, which was generated in large part through three years of City budget cuts. Without a State budget in place, the City was forced to make assumptions in the Executive Budget on the amount of tax dollars the State will return to the City - the Executive Budget assumes a State Budget that reduces the amount of tax dollars the State returns to City by $1.3 billion. The City's current strong fiscal position, which results from years of responsible budgeting, will limit some of the impact of the disproportionately large reduction of tax dollars the State will return to the City. But the reduction cannot be absorbed without significant consequences in nearly all areas of City services, particularly at the Department of Education.
"Our ability to put together a balanced budget is very seriously hampered by State government's continued inaction in addressing its own budget problems," said Mayor Bloomberg. "The Governor's proposed a budget that in effect balances the State's books by starving New York City, and we are still facing that very grim outlook. We've kept our own fiscal house in order, preparing responsibly for the downturn with eight different belt tightenings over the last three years, while spending in Albany has continued to spiral out of control. Now we are paying the price for Albany's irresponsibility."
State Budget Impacts - Department of Education
The Executive Budget assumes a reduction in the amount tax dollars the State returns to the City for education by $493 million. This will result in a reduction of 6,414 teachers and other pedagogical positions in the coming school year - 4,419 through layoffs and 1,995 through attrition.
Additional State Budget Impacts and Agency Gap Closing Measures
The Executive Budget proposes a gap closing program for other City agencies of approximately $1.3 billion for FY 2011, in addition to the staff reductions at the Department of Education. The $1.3 billion program is nearly $200 million larger than the FY 2011 gap closing proposal in the January Preliminary Budget.
Approximately $800 million of the $1.3 billion in agency gap closing actions are necessary due to the assumed impact of the State budget. An increase in the amount of tax dollars the State returns to the City - above the amount assumed in the Executive Budget - would mitigate the amount of budget cuts that have been proposed.
The gap closing actions will cause a total reduction in City headcount of 10,997 employees - 6,026 through layoffs and 4,971 through attrition. The total includes the aforementioned reductions at the Department of Education. There will be no layoffs at uniformed agencies.
Examples of the agency gap closing actions proposed include:
Prudent Actions Prevented More Cuts
The Mayor has ordered and implemented eight rounds of gap closing actions since early 2007 to prepare for the impacts of the national recession and keep the City's fiscal house in order.
The cumulative gap closing actions taken by City agencies are a major cause for the surplus generated in FY 2010, and the surplus, $3.3 billion, is being used to achieve a balanced budget in FY 2011 - preventing the need for further budget cuts this year.
For example, the January Preliminary Budget proposed reducing the number of NYPD officers on the street by 892 officers through attrition. The Executive Budget restores funding for those positions, so the number of officers on the street will remain the same. The January budget also proposed converting 400 NYPD desk positions, currently staffed by uniformed officers, to civilian posts. That portion of the proposal remains the same in the Executive Budget.
Controllable expenses in FY 2011 have been reduced by 2.1 percent compared to FY 2010 - the result of the cumulative cost-cutting and agency actions taken by the Administration.
Slowing the Growth of Pension and Health Care Costs
The Administration again has proposed the creation of a new Tier V pension plan for new City employees, which would result in an immediate cost reduction of $200 million in the first year implemented. The new tier would save approximately $7 billion cumulatively over the course of the first 20 years after implementation. The creation of a new, more affordable pension tier requires passage of a new State law. New York City's annual contributions to the pensions systems have grown exponentially, primarily due to market fluctuations and increased benefits authorized in Albany, growing from $1.2 billion in FY 2001 to $7.4 billion in FY 2011.
The Administration again has pledged to work with partners in organized labor to secure mandatory health care premium contributions from all City employees. A mandatory 10 percent minimum employee contribution would reduce costs by $357 million in the first year of enactment, increasing in subsequent years.
The FY 2011 Executive Budget does not rely on savings generated from pension reform or from new health care contributions from employees.
Economic Update
FY 2011 City revenues are slightly above FY 2010 revenues, up from $42.1 billion in FY 2010 to $43.2 billion in FY 2011, but revenues to the City remain below pre-recession levels established in FY 2008 - $43.9 billion. City revenues are not expected to surpass FY 2008 levels until FY 2012.
Economically sensitive tax revenues, which include personal income, sales, business, and real estate transfer taxes, have begun to rebound, but remain below pre-recession levels. Economically sensitive tax revenues are projected to be $22.1 billion in FY 2011, an increase of 4.9 percent from the FY 2010 levels, but are 14 percent below peak levels in FY 2008, when $25.7 billion in economically sensitive taxes were generated.
New York City is expected to post steady employment gains in the second half of calendar year 2010. From mid-2008 into the second half of 2010, the City is expected to have lost a total of approximately 169,000 private sector jobs - far less than previous estimates for the numbers of jobs lost due to the national recession.
Out-Year Gaps
![http://nyc.gov/html/om/gif/pr/m_divider.gif]()
MEDIA CONTACT:
Stu Loeser / Marc LaVorgna (212) 788-2958
May 6, 2010
Reduction in Tax Dollars the State will Return to City for Education will Leave City Schools With 6,400 Fewer Teachers this Coming School Year
State Budget will Cause Major Impacts Across Nearly All City Services
Three Years of City Cost Cutting Prevented State Cuts from Producing More Severe Impacts
Controllable City Expenses Reduced from FY 2010 to FY 2011; Budget Balanced with No Tax Increases
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today presented a Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Executive Budget and an updated four-year financial plan. The Mayor outlined a plan for a balanced budget that totals $62.9 billion with no tax increases for New Yorkers. The FY 2011 Executive Budget is balanced in large part by the rollover of $3.3 billion of surplus funds from FY 2010, which was generated in large part through three years of City budget cuts. Without a State budget in place, the City was forced to make assumptions in the Executive Budget on the amount of tax dollars the State will return to the City - the Executive Budget assumes a State Budget that reduces the amount of tax dollars the State returns to City by $1.3 billion. The City's current strong fiscal position, which results from years of responsible budgeting, will limit some of the impact of the disproportionately large reduction of tax dollars the State will return to the City. But the reduction cannot be absorbed without significant consequences in nearly all areas of City services, particularly at the Department of Education.
"Our ability to put together a balanced budget is very seriously hampered by State government's continued inaction in addressing its own budget problems," said Mayor Bloomberg. "The Governor's proposed a budget that in effect balances the State's books by starving New York City, and we are still facing that very grim outlook. We've kept our own fiscal house in order, preparing responsibly for the downturn with eight different belt tightenings over the last three years, while spending in Albany has continued to spiral out of control. Now we are paying the price for Albany's irresponsibility."
State Budget Impacts - Department of Education
The Executive Budget assumes a reduction in the amount tax dollars the State returns to the City for education by $493 million. This will result in a reduction of 6,414 teachers and other pedagogical positions in the coming school year - 4,419 through layoffs and 1,995 through attrition.
Additional State Budget Impacts and Agency Gap Closing Measures
The Executive Budget proposes a gap closing program for other City agencies of approximately $1.3 billion for FY 2011, in addition to the staff reductions at the Department of Education. The $1.3 billion program is nearly $200 million larger than the FY 2011 gap closing proposal in the January Preliminary Budget.
Approximately $800 million of the $1.3 billion in agency gap closing actions are necessary due to the assumed impact of the State budget. An increase in the amount of tax dollars the State returns to the City - above the amount assumed in the Executive Budget - would mitigate the amount of budget cuts that have been proposed.
The gap closing actions will cause a total reduction in City headcount of 10,997 employees - 6,026 through layoffs and 4,971 through attrition. The total includes the aforementioned reductions at the Department of Education. There will be no layoffs at uniformed agencies.
Examples of the agency gap closing actions proposed include:
| Agency | Program | FY 2011 Savings |
| Libraries: | Reduce Subsides to Library Systems | $31.2 million |
| Parks: | Close Four Pools and Shorten Outdoor Pool Season by Two Weeks | $1.4 million |
| Fire: | Eliminate Staffing of Four Engine Companies, in addition to the 16 Eliminations in the Baseline | $5.6 million |
| Fire: | Eliminate Fifth Firefighter on 60 Engine Companies | $7.9 million |
| Transportation: | Increase Parking Rates from $2 to $2.50 Per Hour in Midtown Manhattan | $12.2 million |
| Children’s Services: | Eliminate 32 Units in Protective Services increasing Caseload Average from 9.5 to 10.6 | $5.9 million |
| Human Resources: | Reduce by 248 Direct City Case Management Staff at HIV/AIDS Services Administration | $4.2 million |
| Homeless: | Close a 24 Hour Drop-In Center in Manhattan | $2.4 million |
| Health: | Eliminate Nurse Coverage for Elementary Schools with Less than 300 Students | $3.1 million |
| Juvenile: | Reduce Secure Detention Capacity | $5.0 million |
| Aging: | Close 50 Senior Centers Serving 1,600 Seniors daily | $4.2 million |
| Youth & Community Development: | Eliminate City Funded Adult Literacy Programs under Contract at DYCD | $4.6 million |
Prudent Actions Prevented More Cuts
The Mayor has ordered and implemented eight rounds of gap closing actions since early 2007 to prepare for the impacts of the national recession and keep the City's fiscal house in order.
The cumulative gap closing actions taken by City agencies are a major cause for the surplus generated in FY 2010, and the surplus, $3.3 billion, is being used to achieve a balanced budget in FY 2011 - preventing the need for further budget cuts this year.
For example, the January Preliminary Budget proposed reducing the number of NYPD officers on the street by 892 officers through attrition. The Executive Budget restores funding for those positions, so the number of officers on the street will remain the same. The January budget also proposed converting 400 NYPD desk positions, currently staffed by uniformed officers, to civilian posts. That portion of the proposal remains the same in the Executive Budget.
Controllable expenses in FY 2011 have been reduced by 2.1 percent compared to FY 2010 - the result of the cumulative cost-cutting and agency actions taken by the Administration.
Slowing the Growth of Pension and Health Care Costs
The Administration again has proposed the creation of a new Tier V pension plan for new City employees, which would result in an immediate cost reduction of $200 million in the first year implemented. The new tier would save approximately $7 billion cumulatively over the course of the first 20 years after implementation. The creation of a new, more affordable pension tier requires passage of a new State law. New York City's annual contributions to the pensions systems have grown exponentially, primarily due to market fluctuations and increased benefits authorized in Albany, growing from $1.2 billion in FY 2001 to $7.4 billion in FY 2011.
The Administration again has pledged to work with partners in organized labor to secure mandatory health care premium contributions from all City employees. A mandatory 10 percent minimum employee contribution would reduce costs by $357 million in the first year of enactment, increasing in subsequent years.
The FY 2011 Executive Budget does not rely on savings generated from pension reform or from new health care contributions from employees.
Economic Update
FY 2011 City revenues are slightly above FY 2010 revenues, up from $42.1 billion in FY 2010 to $43.2 billion in FY 2011, but revenues to the City remain below pre-recession levels established in FY 2008 - $43.9 billion. City revenues are not expected to surpass FY 2008 levels until FY 2012.
Economically sensitive tax revenues, which include personal income, sales, business, and real estate transfer taxes, have begun to rebound, but remain below pre-recession levels. Economically sensitive tax revenues are projected to be $22.1 billion in FY 2011, an increase of 4.9 percent from the FY 2010 levels, but are 14 percent below peak levels in FY 2008, when $25.7 billion in economically sensitive taxes were generated.
New York City is expected to post steady employment gains in the second half of calendar year 2010. From mid-2008 into the second half of 2010, the City is expected to have lost a total of approximately 169,000 private sector jobs - far less than previous estimates for the numbers of jobs lost due to the national recession.
Out-Year Gaps
The Mayor also announced today that if the measures outlined in the FY 2011 Executive Budget are adopted, New York City will still face budget gaps of approximately $3.8 billion in FY 2012, $4.6 billion in FY 2013 and $5.3 billion FY 2014.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Stu Loeser / Marc LaVorgna (212) 788-2958
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
School to Prison Pipeline: Exhibit A
Read all about it at http://blackandbrownnews.com and in tomorrow's Daily News.
April 8 Harvard Lecture: The New York Miracle: How One State Simultaneously Reduced Crime and Incarceration
The New York Miracle: How One State Simultaneously Reduced Crime and Incarceration
Thursday, April 8, 5:30 p.m. Welcome Reception, 6:00 p.m. Panel Discussion.
Malkin Penthouse, Littauer Building, Harvard Kennedy School
Tony Thompson, Professor of Clinical Law, NYU Law School
Greg Berman, Director of the Center for Court Innovation
Alex Calabrese, Presiding Judge, Red Hook Community Justice Center
Chris Watler, Project Director, Harlem Community Justice Center
Focusing on local innovations in the justice system, this panel will discuss New York State trends and the lessons to be learned for other states seeking to reduce crime and incarceration. Looking at the community court system that New York State has developed and examining recent initiatives in reentry, the panel will approach justice system innovation from a variety of perspectives.
Sponsored by Harvard’s Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management and Taubman Center for State and Local Government
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=316993369148&ref=mf
Thursday, April 8, 5:30 p.m. Welcome Reception, 6:00 p.m. Panel Discussion.
Malkin Penthouse, Littauer Building, Harvard Kennedy School
Tony Thompson, Professor of Clinical Law, NYU Law School
Greg Berman, Director of the Center for Court Innovation
Alex Calabrese, Presiding Judge, Red Hook Community Justice Center
Chris Watler, Project Director, Harlem Community Justice Center
Focusing on local innovations in the justice system, this panel will discuss New York State trends and the lessons to be learned for other states seeking to reduce crime and incarceration. Looking at the community court system that New York State has developed and examining recent initiatives in reentry, the panel will approach justice system innovation from a variety of perspectives.
Sponsored by Harvard’s Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management and Taubman Center for State and Local Government
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=316993369148&ref=mf
Thursday, March 18, 2010
FOIL in Action
http://www.villagevoice.com/content/printVersion/1709367
Bloomberg: The Movie (At Your Expense)
From L.A. to Bali, city workers film mayor touting himself at your expense
By Tom Robbins
Shortly after his re-election in November 2005, Mike Bloomberg decided to raise his national profile several notches. He began traveling widely, making speeches and accepting awards. We later learned this was mostly about setting the stage for a potential run for president. He ultimately passed on that race, without giving up hope that he might get lucky next time. But one of the interesting features of this publicity push was that—despite his own fabulous wealth—the mayor wasn't shy about using city resources to promote his image.
Using the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL)
All government information is presumptively public. The law specifies exceptions and how agencies must respond to lawful requests.
Generally speaking:
* You must begin with an informal inquiry
* The agency must have dedicated personnel and procedures to handle such requests
* The actual request need not be formal, but should not be too broad
* They must respond within a reasonable period, sometimes specified by law
* A stonewalling agency may require legal action or the threat of legal action to secure compliance
FOIL letter generator: http://www.rcfp.org/foi_letter/generate.php
NY State Dept of State FOIL info: http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/index.html
Generally speaking:
* You must begin with an informal inquiry
* The agency must have dedicated personnel and procedures to handle such requests
* The actual request need not be formal, but should not be too broad
* They must respond within a reasonable period, sometimes specified by law
* A stonewalling agency may require legal action or the threat of legal action to secure compliance
FOIL letter generator: http://www.rcfp.org/foi_letter/generate.php
NY State Dept of State FOIL info: http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/index.html
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Margin of Error
Margin of Error deserves better than the throw-away line it gets in the bottom of stories about polling data. Writers who don't understand margin of error, and its importance in interpreting scientific research, can easily embarrass themselves and their news organizations.
Check out the following story that moved in the summer of 1996 on a major news wire
Unfortunately for the readers of this story, it is wrong. There is no reasonable statistical basis for claiming that Clinton's lead over Dole has slipped.
Why? The margin of error. In this case, the CNN et al. poll had a four percent margin of error. That means that if you asked a question from this poll 100 times, 95 of those times the percentage of people giving a particular answer would be within 4 points of the percentage who gave that same answer in this poll. [emphasis added]
Check out the following story that moved in the summer of 1996 on a major news wire
WASHINGTON (Reuter) - President Clinton, hit by bad publicity recently over FBI files and a derogatory book, has slipped against Bob Dole in a new poll released Monday but still maintains a 15 percentage point lead.
The CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll taken June 27-30 of 818 registered voters showed Clinton would beat his Republican challenger if the election were held now, 54 to 39 percent, with seven percent undecided. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
A similar poll June 18-19 had Clinton 57 to 38 percent over Dole.
Unfortunately for the readers of this story, it is wrong. There is no reasonable statistical basis for claiming that Clinton's lead over Dole has slipped.
Why? The margin of error. In this case, the CNN et al. poll had a four percent margin of error. That means that if you asked a question from this poll 100 times, 95 of those times the percentage of people giving a particular answer would be within 4 points of the percentage who gave that same answer in this poll. [emphasis added]
Statistics: The Basics
From RobertNiles.com, an excellent source of information for reporters on the use and misuse of statistics:
When talking about averages -- for example, average income or average wages -- be sure you understand the difference between the Mean and the Median.
Percent changes are useful to help people understand changes in a value over time. Again, figuring this one requires nothing more than third-grade math.
When talking about averages -- for example, average income or average wages -- be sure you understand the difference between the Mean and the Median.
Percent changes are useful to help people understand changes in a value over time. Again, figuring this one requires nothing more than third-grade math.
Simply subtract the old value from the new value, then divide by the old value. Multiply the result by 100 and slap a % sign on it. That's your percent change.
Let's say Springfield had 50 murders last year, as did Capital City. So there's no difference in crime between these cities, right? Maybe, maybe not. Let's go back and look at the number of murders in those towns in previous years, so we can determine a percent change.
Five years ago, Capital City had 42 murders while Springfield had just 29.
Subtract the old value from the new one for each city and then divide by the old values. That will show you that, over a five year period, Capital City had a 19 percent increase in murders, while Springfield's increase was more than 72 percent.
Subtract the old value from the new one for each city and then divide by the old values. That will show you that, over a five year period, Capital City had a 19 percent increase in murders, while Springfield's increase was more than 72 percent.
That's your lead.
Or is it? There's something else to consider when computing percent change. Take a look at per capita to find out.
A Last Toast To 'Rocky,' A Brother Who Ain't Here
The New York Sun
July 24, 2003 Thursday
BY ERROL LOUIS
SECTION: FRONT PAGE; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 1138 words
You could tell the people who knew the councilman for a long time: They still called him by his nickname, Rocky. His street name.
In Brooklyn, they will be drinking toasts to the memory of James Davis tonight, and tomorrow, and for a long time to come. The politicians will hoist glasses in restaurants and ballrooms. In Crown Heights, the folks who still called him Rocky will toast in the way you do it on the street corners: a small splash on the pavement, and a moment of silence for all the brothers who ain't here.
I was watching television on my so-called day off yesterday when the phones began exploding. First was my father, saying the radio reported that Councilman Davis had been shot at City Hall.
My first call after that was to Anthony Herbert, one of the people running against James Davis this year. I was calling to ask why he'd done it. When Tony answered the phone and seemed genuinely startled, I figured that the shooter was the other guy, the strange one I met last week.
Spend enough time around Brooklyn politics, and that's how you start to think.
July 24, 2003 Thursday
BY ERROL LOUIS
SECTION: FRONT PAGE; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 1138 words
You could tell the people who knew the councilman for a long time: They still called him by his nickname, Rocky. His street name.
In Brooklyn, they will be drinking toasts to the memory of James Davis tonight, and tomorrow, and for a long time to come. The politicians will hoist glasses in restaurants and ballrooms. In Crown Heights, the folks who still called him Rocky will toast in the way you do it on the street corners: a small splash on the pavement, and a moment of silence for all the brothers who ain't here.
I was watching television on my so-called day off yesterday when the phones began exploding. First was my father, saying the radio reported that Councilman Davis had been shot at City Hall.
My first call after that was to Anthony Herbert, one of the people running against James Davis this year. I was calling to ask why he'd done it. When Tony answered the phone and seemed genuinely startled, I figured that the shooter was the other guy, the strange one I met last week.
Spend enough time around Brooklyn politics, and that's how you start to think.
A Famous Newspaper Column
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/digging-grave-an-honor.htm
Newsday's Jimmy Breslin wrote the following article for the New York Herald Tribune in November 1963.
Washington -- Clifton Pollard was pretty sure he was going to be working on Sunday, so when he woke up at 9 a.m., in his three-room apartment on Corcoran Street, he put on khaki overalls before going into the kitchen for breakfast. His wife, Hettie, made bacon and eggs for him. Pollard was in the middle of eating them when he received the phone call he had been expecting. It was from Mazo Kawalchik, who is the foreman of the gravediggers at Arlington National Cemetery, which is where Pollard works for a living. "Polly, could you please be here by eleven o'clock this morning?" Kawalchik asked. "I guess you know what it's for." Pollard did. He hung up the phone, finished breakfast, and left his apartment so he could spend Sunday digging a grave for John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
When Pollard got to the row of yellow wooden garages where the cemetery equipment is stored, Kawalchik and John Metzler, the cemetery superintendent, were waiting for him. "Sorry to pull you out like this on a Sunday," Metzler said. "Oh, don't say that," Pollard said. "Why, it's an honor for me to be here." Pollard got behind the wheel of a machine called a reverse hoe. Gravedigging is not done with men and shovels at Arlington. The reverse hoe is a green machine with a yellow bucket that scoops the earth toward the operator, not away from it as a crane does. At the bottom of the hill in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Pollard started the digging (Editor Note: At the bottom of the hill in front of the Custis-Lee Mansion).
Leaves covered the grass. When the yellow teeth of the reverse hoe first bit into the ground, the leaves made a threshing sound which could be heard above the motor of the machine. When the bucket came up with its first scoop of dirt, Metzler, the cemetery superintendent, walked over and looked at it. "That's nice soil," Metzler said. "I'd like to save a little of it," Pollard said. "The machine made some tracks in the grass over here and I'd like to sort of fill them in and get some good grass growing there, I'd like to have everything, you know, nice."
Newsday's Jimmy Breslin wrote the following article for the New York Herald Tribune in November 1963.
Washington -- Clifton Pollard was pretty sure he was going to be working on Sunday, so when he woke up at 9 a.m., in his three-room apartment on Corcoran Street, he put on khaki overalls before going into the kitchen for breakfast. His wife, Hettie, made bacon and eggs for him. Pollard was in the middle of eating them when he received the phone call he had been expecting. It was from Mazo Kawalchik, who is the foreman of the gravediggers at Arlington National Cemetery, which is where Pollard works for a living. "Polly, could you please be here by eleven o'clock this morning?" Kawalchik asked. "I guess you know what it's for." Pollard did. He hung up the phone, finished breakfast, and left his apartment so he could spend Sunday digging a grave for John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
When Pollard got to the row of yellow wooden garages where the cemetery equipment is stored, Kawalchik and John Metzler, the cemetery superintendent, were waiting for him. "Sorry to pull you out like this on a Sunday," Metzler said. "Oh, don't say that," Pollard said. "Why, it's an honor for me to be here." Pollard got behind the wheel of a machine called a reverse hoe. Gravedigging is not done with men and shovels at Arlington. The reverse hoe is a green machine with a yellow bucket that scoops the earth toward the operator, not away from it as a crane does. At the bottom of the hill in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Pollard started the digging (Editor Note: At the bottom of the hill in front of the Custis-Lee Mansion).
Leaves covered the grass. When the yellow teeth of the reverse hoe first bit into the ground, the leaves made a threshing sound which could be heard above the motor of the machine. When the bucket came up with its first scoop of dirt, Metzler, the cemetery superintendent, walked over and looked at it. "That's nice soil," Metzler said. "I'd like to save a little of it," Pollard said. "The machine made some tracks in the grass over here and I'd like to sort of fill them in and get some good grass growing there, I'd like to have everything, you know, nice."
Monday, March 8, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
FIRST STORY PROJECT: POST HERE IF YOU NEED HELP/PARTNERS
Before next Thursday, send me a written description of a project you can complete within a week that is related to mass incarceration and its effects in New York. Your project can be print, video, audio or internet-based.
Working together (in groups of 3 or less) is OK. If you are looking for help to execute your project, post a comment here asking for the people/skills you need.
Working together (in groups of 3 or less) is OK. If you are looking for help to execute your project, post a comment here asking for the people/skills you need.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Panel Discussion on "Jim Crow in New York"
Hi everyone,
The Fortune Society, in partnership with the Brennan Center for Justice is hosting a "public conversation" this Tuesday, March 2nd at 6:30pm on "Jim Crow in New York: The Empire State's Current Criminal Disenfranchisement Law and a Century-Long Effort to Keep African-American Citizens Out of the Voting Booth."
You can find the details at http://www.brennancenter.org/content/event/jim_crow_in_ny/ or on our blog at http://rethinkingreentry.blogspot.com/2010/02/jim-crow-in-new-york.html
Hope to see you there,
Debbie
Debbie Boar
Task Force Coordinator
Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force
Harlem Community Justice Center
170 East 121st Street
New York, NY 10035
212-360-4131
212-828-7416
dboar@courts.state.ny.us
Read our blog "rethinking reentry" at http://rethinkingreentry.blogspot.com
The Fortune Society, in partnership with the Brennan Center for Justice is hosting a "public conversation" this Tuesday, March 2nd at 6:30pm on "Jim Crow in New York: The Empire State's Current Criminal Disenfranchisement Law and a Century-Long Effort to Keep African-American Citizens Out of the Voting Booth."
You can find the details at http://www.brennancenter.org/content/event/jim_crow_in_ny/ or on our blog at http://rethinkingreentry.blogspot.com/2010/02/jim-crow-in-new-york.html
Hope to see you there,
Debbie
Debbie Boar
Task Force Coordinator
Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force
Harlem Community Justice Center
170 East 121st Street
New York, NY 10035
212-360-4131
212-828-7416
dboar@courts.state.ny.us
Read our blog "rethinking reentry" at http://rethinkingreentry.blogspot.com
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Prep for a Live Interview with Gov. Paterson
Intro:
With elections coming up fast and the new controversy involving Gov. Paterson’s aide, David Johnson (known as DJ) – allegations of a domestic abuse case and coverup at the highest levels of government – we thought it best to talk directly with the man at the center of it all. Joining us now exclusively, Gov. David Paterson
With elections coming up fast and the new controversy involving Gov. Paterson’s aide, David Johnson (known as DJ) – allegations of a domestic abuse case and coverup at the highest levels of government – we thought it best to talk directly with the man at the center of it all. Joining us now exclusively, Gov. David Paterson
- Gov. Paterson, how are you holding up?
- Were there any parts of the Times story that were factually wrong?
- Did you know what was going on in this case?
- Did you have a telephone call with the victim?
- What did you talk about?
- Do you think the press has covered this fairly?
- You’ve said political adversaries might be behind this story. Do you have any insight as to where it might be coming from?
- If the investigation clears DJ, would you envision re-instating him?
- Is this an accurate portrayal of DJ?
- Have you talked directly with AG Cuomo?
- How has the AG responded to your request for an investigation?
- In retrospect, would you have handled this situation differently?
- Is this an accurate portrayal of the situation and your role in it?
- How is your family holding up?
- How are your political allies responding? Are you getting calls of support?
- What’s your response to Rep. Israel?
- Will this affect your decision to run?
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Assignment #2: Follow the Aqueduct Race Track Story
Here are a few links to get you started:
NY Times Editorial: "Looks Sleazy to Us"
NY Daily News Editorial: "Bad smell at Aqueduct"
NY Times Editorial: "Looks Sleazy to Us"
NY Daily News Editorial: "Bad smell at Aqueduct"
NY Post, "Slots of Doubt"
Friday, February 5, 2010
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