Numbers Don’t Lie
January 28, 2010
• Kindergarteners denied gym time.
• Kids getting speech therapy in a former closet.
• Gym locker and shower rooms now used for administration.
• Some kids getting lunch at 10:30 a.m., some at 1 p.m., because 1,000 students must share common space built for 700.
• Indoor recess held in the auditorium, at the same time as music or science classes in the same auditorium. [Read more]
Food for Thought
November 5, 2009
If I told you that the top problems facing our country today are unemployment, global warming, the cost of health care and terrorism, few people would bat an eye. But what if I said that we could make strides toward solving each of these problems simply by changing the way we eat and where we get our food from? Now that might spark more of a discussion. [Read more]
Against Spot Zoning
October 1, 2009
Communities are composed of intangible elements: familiar faces, a well-worn path to a well-stocked bodega, the background voices and cooking aromas and church bells that signify home. There are concrete and tangible aspects of community as well, including green space, the height of buildings and the amount of air and light that reach the street. These elements also impact the quality of life and future of a neighborhood, and zoning is an invaluable tool for their regulation. [Read more]
Carriage Horse Oversight
October 1, 2009
Recently, the City Comptroller’s office issued a follow up audit on the licensing and oversight of the carriage horse industry, which critics have long complained is inhumane and unsafe.
Auditors found that the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene could do a better job overseeing inspections and licensing requirements. Among other things, the report alleges that these agencies do not maintain an updated listing of horse-licensing numbers, which means that inspectors and outside organizations cannot properly conduct field visits to make sure the animals are being treated humanely and maintained in a healthy manner. [Read more]
Are You Prepared?
September 17, 2009
At the end of summer and in early fall, New York City often weathers storms that can cause flooding and power outages. Winter will bring its own set of problems, including apartments that lack heat, and heavy snows and ice storms that can also cause power outages. Then there are the year-round unexpected problems, like water, gas or steam line breaks that can cause widespread havoc; building (or crane) collapses; explosions; subway problems; and disease-related issues such as swine flu and West Nile virus. Finally, there is fire. A fire starts in New York City every eight seconds, and doubles in size every 30 seconds—meaning that the tiny fire in your garbage can become a blazing inferno in three minutes. [Read more]
Building a Healthier New York
September 2, 2009
A few years ago, a Manhattan borough president community initiative called “Go Green” was launched in East Harlem with the help of local Council Member Melissa Mark Viverito. The goal was to engage New York’s dynamic communities in the effort to bring farmers’ markets, greenspace and cleaner air back to our city neighborhoods, and to reduce the impact of environmentally driven diseases, like asthma and obesity.
Go Green was about the sustainability of our neighborhoods, but as the project continued, eventually spreading as far north as Washington Heights and Inwood, and south to the Lower East Side, we realized that the sustainability of New York goes hand-in-hand with the sustainability—i.e., the health—of New Yorkers. [Read more]
A Win for Parents
August 19, 2009
New York City’s 1.1 million public school children are the real winners in the State Legislature’s decision to return control of city schools to the mayor. By voting to renew mayoral control, the Legislature acknowledged that having a single point of decision-making works. In so doing, they took a giant step toward ensuring that the substantial successes achieved by New York City public school students in the seven years of mayoral control will continue. <!–more–>
As a parent who has been deeply involved in the fight for education reform, the magnitude of this vote cannot be overstated. I consider it an accomplishment of which the governor, Senate leaders John L. Sampson and Malcolm A. Smith, and Assembly leaders Sheldon Silver and Cathy Nolan—as well as every member who supported it—can be proud. It is one for which every parent I know is immensely grateful.
The reality is that for too many years, New York City’s public school students were defined by failure and low achievement. Prior to mayoral control, children across virtually all grade levels lagged behind their counterparts across the state and country. English scores were abysmal, math scores even more so.
There was a persistent and seemingly insurmountable gap between black and Latino students and their white and Asian counterparts. Graduation rates and test scores of low-income black and Hispanic students fell dramatically below those of upper-income white and Asian students.
Under mayoral control, there has been an appreciable closing of these gaps: more black and Latino students are graduating from high school, narrowing the gap substantially between Latinos and whites and between blacks and whites.
Likewise, between 2002 and 2009, the gap between the number of Latino and black students meeting 4th grade reading levels, compared to white children, fell by nearly a third, while the gap in the number of 8th grade black and Latino students passing the English reading test dropped by 22 percent.
As a member of the Latino community, it is clear to me that this accomplishment has far-reaching implications that are often under emphasized.
Studies show the long-term impact of academic success on one’s income-earning ability and overall life quality: high school graduates tend to live up to seven years longer than high school dropouts, and college graduates out-earn high school graduates by more than 70 percent throughout the course of their lifetimes.
Perhaps it is for these reasons that the school governance issue has weighed heavily on me. Too much depends on the students in my community, and all New York City students, achieving.
The narrowing of the achievement gap pays off in real-world ways, with real-world consequences. Achieving in school boosts a student’s confidence, increases the likelihood that they’ll graduate from high school and college, and in so doing ups their likelihood of life success. It puts them within closer grasp of leading productive lives.
On that measure alone, mayoral control has shown itself to be a remarkable success and worthy of renewal. I join with parents throughout the city in thanking my Legislators for making this possible.
<em>–
David Rodriguez, the parent of two daughters in public school, is a supporter of Learn NY’s efforts to enhance mayoral control. He resides on the Lower East Side.</em>
Bailout Plan Doesn’t Go Far Enough
May 21, 2009
On May 6, the State Legislature agreed upon a plan to provide consistent, stable funding to the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority. I strongly believe that a safe, efficient and dependable mass transit system is critical to the region’s economic health and a major factor in our ability to weather this economic crisis and attract and retain jobs. I was always committed to supporting whatever the legislature ultimately decided to do to fund the MTA. A part of the recent agreement that was very much underreported was the restoration of all proposed service cuts, including the elimination of the M10 bus line, overnight service on the M104 and staffing at various subway station booths. [Read more]
TRUE COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION
April 23, 2009
Community boards are the first line of local democracy for New Yorkers, giving residents a voice in the decisions that determine the future of their neighborhoods. But when I took office in 2006, I found that Manhattan’s 12 boards had little new blood and often had little expertise in their original mission: community planning. Many board members had held their seats for decades without a formal reapplication process, and new candidates had been shut out. [Read more]
KEEP MAYORAL CONTROL OF SCHOOLS
April 16, 2009
In New York City during the 1980s and 1990s, the public education system avoided change and was failing our kids. Yet no one was held accountable for those failures. No one was responsible for improving the schools and providing New York City’s kids with a chance at success.
Fortunately, in 2002 the New York State Legislature passed a law granting the mayor control over the New York City School system. That law put accountability back into the system and empowered the mayor to change what was clearly not working. [Read more]
