By KEVIN LIMITI
A City Council committee passed a bill on Thursday that would expand anti-discrimination and sexual harassment protections in the New York City Human Rights Law to include freelance workers and independent contractors.
Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander, member of the Committee on Civil and Human Rights, called the move “a major step forward” at a press conference on the steps of City Hall surrounded by contractors and freelance workers including representatives of the National Writers Union and the Freelancers Union.
“Sometimes people like the freedom and flexibility that being an independent contractor brings, but nobody likes having their rights taken away,” Lander said. “It is unconscionable that in New York City where we pride ourselves on our diversity, on protected civil rights, on protecting the rights of workers, that we have not extended those protections.”
Angela Ivana suffered what Lander called, “blatant, out-and-out racism” which was not protected under the old human rights law.
Ivana, who works as a freelance beauty professional said she experienced race-based discrimination from her agency.
“I’m proud NYC is staying ahead of the curve by recognizing that the future of work is changing.,” Ivana said in a statement. “Expanding these protections to freelancers gives me hope for the future.”
Independent contractors and freelance workers don’t usually get health insurance, union rights, or unemployment insurance.
According to a freelance data tracker, Fiverr, New York is the number one city in the country for freelancers. In 2018, there were 559,000 freelance workers here who earned $25 billion.
In 2017, the City Council passed the Freelance Isn’t Free Act which provided legal protections for freelancers against employee retaliation, delayed payments, and wage theft.
Carolina Salas Saunders, a freelance marketer, was visibly emotional as she got up to the podium and said that she was a victim of sexual assault.
“I am grateful to Council Member Brad Lander and NYC leadership for passing this much needed Bill that protects and empowers freelancers like myself, to report and challenge the harassment and discrimination often found in oppressive work cultures,”she said.
Photo by Kevin Limiti
By NICHOLAS WILLIAMS
Residents near a Bedford Stuyvesant Charter School were shocked on Thursday to hear that an 11-year-old boy slashed a 13-year-old boy in the face Wednesday morning.
Around 7:30 am, the two students, who knew each other and attended Uncommon Schools Leadership Prep Charter School, were on their way to the school when they got into an altercation causing 11-year-old to slash the 13-year-old. The altercation happened a block away from the school on MacDonough Street near Marcy Avenue.
The 13-year-old boy was rushed to the Maimonides Medical Center and received 78 stitches. The 11-year-old boy was later taken into custody and was charged as a juvenile and released to his family.
Mama Gee, a parent coordinator at Historic Boys and Girls High School in Bedford Stuyvesant, heard the news of the two students Thursday morning and was baffled since her own experience with students does not illuminate why the students resorted to violence rather than talking things out.
“I don’t blame everything on the parenting, there’s so many elements that raise our children,” Gee said. “Obviously it was anger, something made him angry, there are so many things that play a part.”
Barbara Martinez, a spokeswoman for the school, released a statement: “We share our deep concern for the students involved in yesterday morning’s incident which happened outside of school. We are cooperating with law enforcement and are focused on supporting the families and students involved, as well as our school community at-large.”
Residents near the school were asking what prompted the slashing.
“That’s terrible! We’re supposed to love each other, not kill each other,” said John Kimpson, a Bedstuy native.” They’re kids, but they’re not being taught nothing. A lot of our people are loss, a lot of these kids aren’t being taught nothing, they want to be on the computers, we need to come together as people, we need unity!
“The children today are too angry, they watch too much TV, they take it out on parents and classmates,” said Marcia, a 70 year old neighbor of he school. “It’s shameful, the parents should take responsibility. It is not okay, why would you want to slash someone?”
By KEVIN LIMITI
The sun was shining on Yankee stadium and on the bright futures of young 12, 13, and 14 -year- old athletes who competed in the 9th annual Bronx Borough President’s Cup. Though balls and strikes were top of the agenda keeping kids out of trouble pinch-hit as a topic of conversation.
The competing teams, the Bronxchester Realtors and Grand Slam Little League, are the best in the Bronx and the players could only play on the condition that they maintain a B average, perform community service, and keep an average of at least 90 percent in attendance in school.
Micah Garrett Jr. is the pitcher of the Bronxchester Relators whose father, Michah Garrett, was grateful that his son was given the opportunity. “I’ve been able to keep my kid out of trouble,” said Garrett who lives with his son in the South Bronx. It helps that his son was, “constantly playing baseball,” he said.
Garrett laughed when asked if he and his son were Yankee fans as they were both fans of their crosstown rivals, the Mets. “Hopefully, he’ll come out here and play for the Yankees one day. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind as a Mets fan,” he said.
On the other hand, George Rosa and his son Ethan Rosa, who plays 1st base for the Bronxchester Realtors, are both huge Yankee fans. Rosa described seeing his son play at Yankee Stadium an “awesome experience.”
Rosa stood for virtually the entire game, cheering on his son from just above the dugout. The mood of the game was relaxed and jovial as police officers and security guards mingled with the parents and spectators viewing the game.
“I told him to take it all in,” Rosa said about his son, saying he emphasized the importance of soaking in the experience. “Enjoy yourself playing. Have fun.”
The Borough President’s Cup began when Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. was asked to start a game in which two finalists from Little League could battle for supremacy at Yankee Stadium, arguably the greatest and most well recognized ball park the world over. However, he also wanted to underscore the importance of academics and community engagement.
The game itself was exciting with the Bronxchester Realtors in the lead for most of the game until Grand Slam rallied late in the 5th inning. The game ended in a 5-5 tie. The two teams proudly shared the trophy and posed for pictures.
By MARIE FIERO
The New York City Fire Department held a public hearing before an almost empty room today on proposed amendments to rules requiring building owners and landlords to distribute fire safety guidelines and notices.
A major focus of the amendments was requiring landlords and apartment building owners to post “close the door” signs in the lobby and stairwell of buildings. The amendment would also require the distribution of “emergency preparedness/evacuation planning checklists” to apartment residents.
Only one person from the public spoke at the meeting, Michael Jaffa, the chief operating officer of Jack Jaffa and Associates, a company known for defending building owners from accusations of violations. His questions focused on how the amendments would change the rule.
“What kind of proof of distribution is adequate?” he asked.
He also asked if can it go out with other different paperwork. The FDNY’s answers indicated that they wanted distributions for landlords to be as easy as possible. The new evacuation checklists can be sent through the mail, email, or simply slipped
under tenants doors, even combined with other paperwork, as long as proof can be provided it was distributed to tenants.
No other members of the public commented.
The FDNY has been recently pushing the “close the door” initiative to help save lives. According to the FDNY, fires killed 88 people in 2018, the highest number in a decade. A closed door contains smoke and flames from spreading carbon monoxide fumes.
Government statistics show that the FDNY responded to 1,983 “serious incidents” involving fires in 2018. That included fires ranging in severity from “all hands”, where a minimum of four units are called, to five alarm fires and higher.
By Jonathan Wilson
Music, particularly jazz, always contains a message. For Arturo O’Farrill it is this: “I have found that music consistently delivers that jolt of emotional growth and spiritual growth . . . Music will take you and cause you to have experiences that are outside of the realm of what you know.”
O’Farrill, the power of music has always been around him. That’s because his father, Chico O’Farill, was an Afro Latin jazz musician from Cuba. Therefore, Arturo O’Farrill not only had a taste of jazz in its North American form but its Cuban “son” (or sound) that gives it a distinct and even revolutionary flavor.
Since the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, the social climate of the U.S. has been one of divisiveness. One of the largest divisions, both literally and physically, is the U.S-Mexico border, where Trump has been vowing to “build a wall.”
But the idea of a separation between neighbors has led Arturo to declare that we as a people in this hemisphere will not be divided. And this is the main idea in Arturo’s “Fandango Fronterizo.”
Fandango Fronterizo was held in the aptly named Friendship Park, located at the U.S.-Mexico border. It is the antithesis of the current global zeitgeist of division. If we were to put up high walls all around us in the world, we would create more divisions and the high walls would make it hard see each other and extend olive branches.
Fandango Fronterizo was not only symbolic but also practical. It was practical in its physical display of opposition to a wall as something that keeps people apart.
It was this idea that prompted O’Farrill to take a trip to that part of America (and the Americas). The trip led to the album “Fandango at the Wall,” which is designed with the message of unity through the meshing of cultures. Just as the meshing of cultures at the border permeates the United States and Mexico, it is done in the music that speaks to the cultures radiating through there. Music can break any barrier and shine a light that breaks divisions.
O’Farrill is a humanist, reflecting the issues of wholesomeness as opposed to individuality.
O’Farrill says: “I think the most important thing a human being could do is travel internationally. I just remember being 19 and being in the departure lounge of Lufthansa airlines and hearing people speak a foreign language for the first time . . . and just waking up in Berlin and seeing people go to work and seeing people with kids . . . It will humanize you.”
Music offered O’Farrill a new perspective on life outside his own bounds and it reinforced how similar we all are, as human beings throughout the world. Photos, videos, and paintings all show us something about the world. And music is a loudspeaker telling us what human beings are like at points in time and space.
[O’Farrill was interviewed by The Brooklyn News Service at Douglas Recording Studio in Gowanus.]
By Carolann Lowe
Former 45th District City Councilman Jumaane Williams was elected New York City Public Advocate on March 20. Following William’s successful run, twelve candidates were in the running to replace him on the City Council. Today, the competition is down to eight candidates.
The original candidates consisted of Anthony Alexis, Anthony Beckford, Monique Chandler-Waterman, Louis Cespedes, Farah Louis, Jovia Radix, Hercules Reid, Xamayla Rose, Adina Sash, James Similien, Rickie Tulloch and Victor Jordan.
Louis Cespedes dropped out of the race a week after he made his first press appearance with the other candidates at the Central Brooklyn Action Association Forum. According to Kings County Politics, Cespedes said, “The number of candidates of color that are splitting the vote presents the real threat of losing our representation in this community. I want no part of this.”
The deadline to turn in petitions to the Campaign Finance Board was April 4, 2019. Each candidate was required to have at least 450 signatures to make it on the ballot. Former candidate James Similien had not turned in his petition by the required deadline.
Hercules Reid, chair of Legislative Affairs for CUNY and youngest former candidate in the running for the 45th district, was eliminated from the race after failing to provide his Certification form to the Campaign Finance Board by the required deadline.
Anthony Beckford was also disqualified before the scheduled election for next week after having submitting invalid petitions to the board, which put him under the 450 requirement for signatures.
The elections are now heating up as candidate endorsements continue to develop.
The special election will take place on May 14. There will be a primary and general election in June and November.
By Maya Dower-Johnson
Councilmember Robert Cornegy, Jr., Assemblymember Tremaine Wright and furious seniors of the Sumner House Senior Center gathered on Thursday to say “no way” to Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The seniors were upset as they found themselves, for the third time, in a position where they could lose the facility they had been coming to every day, to socialize and participate in a multitude of activities.
During the meeting, Councilmember Cornegy said it’s “unacceptable to even have a discussion about cutting senior services, especially to centers like Sumner that provides such a great opportunity to our seniors to eat and to socialize and take time out of their day with their friends.”
Assemblywoman Tremaine Wright speaking at Sumner House Senior Center. Councilman Robert Cornegy is standing behind her. Credit: Maya Dower-Johnson
Assemblymember Wright made that point in her own words. “It’s absolutely ridiculous for us to use language of underutilization,” said Wright. “We cannot rely on somebody deeming something to be underutilized when we know that we see people like this showing up every single day.”
Cornegy said that community leaders are dutybound to help seniors remain connected. Seniors should not have to trek long distances across the city to make valuable social connections.
“We have a responsibility to make sure that our seniors can age in place, can be with their family and friends in close proximity to their home,” said Cornegy. “So that proposal (of Mayor de Blasio), to us, it doesn’t make any sense.”
Wright added, “We want to make sure that everyone has what they need to live successfully, healthy, full lives in our community, and senior centers, such as our Sumner Center, is exactly what does that . . . I am here to remind our mayor, as well as our city council and everybody else watching that our priority are our seniors.”
Included in the mayor’s Fiscal Year 2020 Executive Budget, which was released on April 25, de Blasio sketched a plan to close 12 senior centers and consolidate them with other senior “clubs” throughout the city operated by the Department for the Aging (DFTA). The City Council responded to the budget by calling for $3.1 million to support the 14 senior centers that are under NYCHA management. However, the Mayor’s plan would consolidate and/or close seven centers currently managed by NYCHA and five additional centers currently operated by DFTA.
Seniors at Sumner Houses would then need to travel about 1.5 miles away to the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Center in Bushwick for senior-specific programming. That distance may not seem like much to young people, but to the older New Yorkers it could mean not being able to go to a center.
Referring to de Blasio’s plan, Sumner Houses resident Rachel Smith said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea cuz you got some people who really can’t do that traveling and they’re right here in the neighborhood and some of them come every day, faithful.” Smith has lived in the Sumner Houses for 40 years.
“Where would I go everyday if I didn’t come here? I don’t know what I would do,” said Crystal Todd, who has lived next door to Sumner Houses for 20 years and attends daily. “I’m definitely not going to get on no bus and go anywhere else. It has a lot to do with your health. Getting up and coming here every day, I’m rejuvenated by this.”
By Jada May
Anna Sorokin, better known Anna Delvey, was blinded by the glitz and glamour of the lavish style she was living as a lie. Thursday, Delvey, 28, came into the New York courtroom with a black cocktail dress, large prescription glasses, hair neatly coiffed, hands behind her back. The well-dressed social media influencer received a sentence of 4-12 years in prison for eight counts of grand larceny. She was also hit with over $200,000 in fines for attempts to steal millions of dollars through multiple scams, such as fake money wiring and for not paying for services during her time spent in lavish hotels.
According to prosecutors, the brazenness of her crimes was a reason for demanding the times in prison. Another reason was for falsely telling people she was a German heiress.
Judge Diane Kiesel in the courtroom Thursday
Prosecutor Catherine McCaw argued that Delvey was not taking her case seriously and cared more about her physical appearance than her case. “Anytime she showed emotion was because she was not happy with the clothing,” McCaw said. “She laughed when you gave her hearing last time. Her conduct throughout the case was not acceptable.”
There was talk among those in the courtroom about Delvey’s lawyer having hired a celebrity stylist for her court appearances.
Todd Spodek, another prosecutor, referred to Delvey as someone who was a victim of herself. “She was a 25-year-old that got ahead of herself,” he said. “She’s young and a non-violent criminal.”
At her time to speak, Judge Diane Kiesel said, “The defendant still seems clueless. She was more concerned of who was going to play her in a Netflix series.” Judge Kiesel ended, saying, “The sentence should be a message to her followers of the consequences of the lifestyle the defendant has led.”
By Edward King
Under the cover of a gray sky, Queens Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer and transportation advocates called for stiffer enforcement of illegal parking regulations.
The Thursday gathering was held on the southeast corner of 43 Ave. and Crescent St. in Long Island City, which is home to a number of construction sites. The location was fitting. Nearby were cars parked on the sidewalk or double parked on the street.
“Let me be very clear, sidewalks are not made for cars to be parking on them,” bellowed Van Bramer. “It is illegal and there is no excuse.”
Transalt member Juan Restrepo speaking, Queens Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer to his left. Credit: Edward King
He added, “It is not just inconvenient, it is dangerous and it’s potentially deadly. There are so many people in this community, moms with strollers, those with disabilities, and everyone else simply trying to get to and from where they need to get to safely. It is an epidemic not just in Long Island City but all over the city of New York and it has to end and it has to end now.”
For Van Bramer and advocates like the transportation advocacy group Transalt, the solution is two fold.
The first is a robust implementation of the #techforsaftey initiative, which calls for new cameras that would give tickets to cars parked illegally on sidewalks, bike lanes, and other inappropriate places. The initiative is currently being drafted for submission to the City Council. Van Bramer said the final wording is being put into ink and an actual bill should be submitted soon.
The second solution is for the New York Police Department to take a more serious approach to enforcing parking regulations, particularly parking placard misuse that has drawn ire from the public. So much so, locals have taken it upon themselves to create the #placardabuse twitter account reporting abuse of placards issued by the NYPD and other city agencies.
Placard abuse has become such a contentious issue that Mayor de Blasio held a press conference in February, promising to repair the placard system and crack down on illegal parking infractions. The administration intends to phase out physical placards by 2021 in favor of a digital “pay by plate” system. In the interim, the administration vowed to crack down on enforcement via a new Department of Transportation (DOT) taskforce and a three-strike policy that would lead to permanent revocation of placards for habitual abusers.
Despite the promises, until serious efforts are made by the NYPD and DOT, local activists like Transalt Queens committee chair Laura Shepherd are not convinced. “Parking on sidewalks is not a victimless crime,” said Shepherd. She added, “No matter how many 311 reports we make, how many reports we file with councilman Van Bramer or the 108 (police precinct), often our reports are closed because by the time police can catch up the offender has driven off the sidewalk or bike lane wherever they’ve endangered us. Even overnight, simply by parking there they block visibility for people walking and biking and puts us in even more danger and increase the risks. It’s not a victimless crime.”
By Tywanna Webb and Alexander Parisel
New York City’s construction industry has added over 43,000 jobs between 2010 and 2018, according to the report released by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli on Thursday.
“While the nation has yet to recover all the construction jobs it lost during the Great Recession, New York’s construction industry is booming,” said DiNapoli. DiNapoli addressed the reports’ data at a gathering with the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, at the society’s office in Midtown.
Left to right: Gary LaBarbera, President of Building and Construction Trades Council; Thomas DiNapoli, New York State Comptroller; Penda Aiken, owner of Penda Aiken Inc.; Carlo Scissura, President & CEO of New York Building Congress. Credit: Tywanna Webb
“We’re also only one of 14 states where construction employment has surpassed 2006 levels, which was the year when construction employment peaked nationally,” said DiNapoli.
New York state has the fourth largest construction industry in the nation, coming behind California, Texas and Florida. New York City’s construction employment was the highest of all cities in the nation for 2018, with over 409,000 jobs.
The report highlights the contribution of the city’s construction industry to the strengthening of the state’s economy. In 2018, city construction firms generated an estimated $84 billion in economic activity.
“Your efforts have really helped ensure that New York City’s economy has been able been able to come back stronger and stronger,” said DiNapoli.
In the city, construction projects like Hudson Yards, the World Trade Center and the Pacific Park Project have contributed significantly to the positive numbers. In 2017, construction was the fourth highest paying employment sector in the city, paying out a total of $11.9 billion in wages. The average salary was $80,200.
DiNapoli said the construction industry is special because many of its high earning jobs do not require a college degree.
Not having a college degree “doesn’t mean you can’t get a good, middle class job and provide for your family,” DiNapoli said. “This industry provides that kind of pathway.”
Penda Aiken said she is evidence of the importance of the construction sector to survial of the working class in the city. Aiken said her father was one of the first African-American brick masons admitted to the union. He was able to raise seven children with his salary.
“That is clearly an indication of the success one can have for himself and his family if given the opportunity,” Aiken said. Aiken now owns Penda Aiken Inc., a staffing solutions company.
In 2017, immigrants held 59% of the city’s construction jobs, the highest rate in the nation.
“Immigration has been positive for our city and certainly for our state,” said DiNapoli.
The city’s industry saw an 40 percent increase in the number of female workers between 2007 and 2017. Despite that increase, women account for only nine percent of the city’s construction workforce.
DiNapoli said the report show that the construction industry is critical in the city’s social and physical development.
“It suggests that in order to keep strengthening our economy, we need to continue to foster forward momentum in the construction industry here in New York City.”
