This press alert just arrived in my email inbox. Given the recent scandal around the New York Times story on Governor Paterson’s alleged involvement in a case in which the State Police encouraged a victim of domestic violence not to testify, this might catch people’s eye. (Quick guide to the Paterson chain-of-events here). I will have to look into what other legislators and experts think of  a law require electronic monitoring bracelets on those with restraining orders issued against them. Also, I’m curious why he chose Sunday noon for the event…

(New York, NY) – Assemblyman Felix W. Ortiz (Brooklyn) will hold a press conference to advocate for legislation, A.2599, which requires individuals with an order of protection issued against them to wear electronic monitoring devices.

• Time:12:00PM Sunday, February 28th
• Location:New York City Hall Steps

Domestic violence occurs every 15 seconds in the United States which is more frequent than any other crimes. There are more than 50,000 cases of domestic violence each year in New York State. Victims of domestic violence will frequently seek out an order of protection which most often is not enough. Assemblyman Ortiz is pushing for support of the legislation in order to stop any future violence.

Though potentially hundreds of undocumented youth in the foster care system are eligible for green cards granting them legal working status and access to financial aid for college, many have no idea they qualify.

The City Council hopes to change that.

City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn last week announced the introduction of legislation to improve services for young immigrants who qualify for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. This provision of the Federal Immigration Act of 1990 offers permanent resident status, better known as a “green card”, to some undocumented minors in the foster care system.

“We know that hundreds of children in our system have been slipping through the cracks and we need to take action to catch them before that happens,” said Quinn in a statement.

The Council’s legislation would require the Administration for Children’s Servies to keep a close eye on immigrant children in the system. The bill could, according to the council,  improve the process by which ACS identifies undocumented minors and helps them to access immigration services. Though it remains unclear how many undocumented children would qualify for permanent residency, the bill has the potential to change the lives of those who do, said Nancy Downing, the director of advocacy and the legal department at Covenant House, a youth shelter.

“Even if you’re talking about 10 kids a year, that’s significant because those are 10 kids that are really going to be leading a life of poverty,” Downing told the Gotham Gazette. “They can’t get jobs. They can’t get education, if they cant get financial aid.”

But time matters. The process can be slow, and many in the foster system do not have key documents like birth certificates, passports and medical records required to complete the application, Katherine A. Fleet, an immigration lawyer with the Legal Aid Society testified to the Council in October 2009.

Once a child leaves the system, they can no longer apply for residency under Special Immigration Juvenile Status. The council bill would apply only to children who qualify for foster care, not to those in the juvenile justice system.

Find more information about Special Immigration Juvenile Status here.

If you are among those who missed Borough President Marty Markowitz’s speech on how Brooklyn fares these days, McBrooklyn has a nice round-up.

Markowitz was typically understated in his speech, judging from the transcript. He gave props to local entrepreneurs who got creative during this economic downturn, such as Ditmas Park writer Faye Penn, who started Brokelyn.com and Phllip Peng, owner of Get Well Pharmacy (5218 8th Ave) in Sunset Park.

“Watch out CVS!” Markowitz warned, before adding “Kung hei fat choi!”

The February 3 address included plans to re-develop an historic theater and pledged $2 million to revitalize two Brooklyn armories, the announcement of Park Slope’s Tina Chang as the next Poet Laureate and charter changes that would add heft to the role of the offices of borough president, public advocate and the community boards.

To bolster the move, he cited his role in creating more affordable housing and 2009’s rezonings of Carroll Gardens, North Flatbush, Greenpoint-Williamsburg, Canarsie and Sunset Park. Sunset Park Chronicled reported earlier this year on the rezoning supported by the Community Board and some community members, while others in Community District 7 opposed the rezoning of 128 blocks of Sunset Park.

Perhaps most prescient to Sunset Park residents, Markowitz announced a plan to “remake” the deadly Fourth Avenue into a “stunning boulevard…worthy of the name ‘Brooklyn Boulevard!’” Community Board 7 also plans to look into ways to make Fourth Avenue safer for the families, children and elderly who regularly cross the multi-lane road.

* Protests, lawsuits and contentious conversation have followed the announcement the city plans to shutter 19 schools for poor performance. The city has since 2002 closed 91 schools, many large high schools that have reopened as smaller and charter schools. A recent New York Times article offers insight into some of the city politics behind these closures. The new comptroller, John Liu, is adding his two cents–he questioned the school vote when he appeared last week on Local 237 President Greg Floyd’s new radio show, the Daily News reported.

* Other school issues have hit close to home. The Brooklyn Eagle last week covered a meeting about the slated consolidation of students from District 13 (Fort Green, Downtown, Park Slope) and District 15 (Sunset Park, Red Hook, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace). The building that houses P.S. 133 will be rebuilt, and students from Sunset Park’s overcrowded schools will join them in a new, larger building. “Sunset Park is in a crisis situation,” James Devor, president of CEC-15, a governing body for District 15, told the Brooklyn Eagle. But not everyone was pleased with the plan. The Eagle reports race issues bubbled up, with parents from P.S. 133 worried that their 300 children would get short shrift after the arrival of 660 students from District 15, who are predominantly white.

* Though the Bloomberg administration has touted its success slashing fat and fillers, the Daily News reports lunches may not be as healthy as they look. Cheese sandwiches, mozzarella sticks and pizza still make regular appearances on school menus. These dishes feature unpronounceables like azodicarbonamide (a bleach used in food), the maligned high-fructose corn syrup, and processes food with high levels of fat and salt.

Photo taken by EyOne

In December, the Metropolitan Transpiration Agency passed controversial budget cuts which would, among other things, discontinue a program that provides free MetroCards for over half a million students in New York City. Under the current plan, students would begin to pay half price for rides this September, and full price fares at the start of the 2011 school year. The Urban Youth Collaborative opposes the cuts, and says eliminating the cards will affect students’ ability to attend school.

The group, sponsored in part by Sunset Park’s UPROSE, will hold a protest at MTA headquarters tomorrow, February 1 at 12:30 pm.

Here is the information sent in an email this weekend:

Location: 347 Madison Ave, between E 44th st and 45th st
Time: 12.30 pm
Train Directions: 4.5.6.. line to 42ND St Grand Central
B.D.F.V to 47-50th st Rockefeller Center

WE REALLY WANT YOU TO COME OUT & ACT TO MAKE A CHANGE!
If you have an organization or affiliate interested in participating,
please contact us ASAP!
Urban Youth Collaborative.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact the event
administrators via facebook:

Khaair Morrison, email:khaairmorrison@aol.com
Sharmin Hossain, email: sharmin.hossain@hotmail.com

Feel Free to email us or message us via facebook.

Marty Markowitz, image by Shooting Brooklyn.

Well, well, here is a development:

With the recent purchase of a house in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has officially ensconced himself in Community Board 7.

Markowitz already began to draw attention to his new home in southwest Brooklyn when he attended the swearing in of Joseph Longobardi, CB7’s new chair, the Brooklyn Eagle reported.

The self-proclaimed “newest resident” of Windsor Terrace, the 65-year-old Makowitz encouraged people to stop by in a few decades for his mortgage burning celebration in December 2039. The neighborhood will have to wait and see the effect this famously colorful Brooklyn character has on a community district often overlooked.

Community Board 7’s Public Safety Committee voted Wednesday to recommend denying the liquor license for Peyton’s Playpen, a gentleman’s club on Second Avenue and 39th Street.

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Two Sunset Park-related articles caught my eye recently.

The New York Times did a great piece on the Ardon Sweet Science Gym, the last boxing gym left in Sunset Park. Pat Russo used to run another gym at the Sunset Park Rec Center. The Parks Department ousted the ring from the Sunset Park Rec Center in 2007 to make room for an after-school program. Don’t miss the slideshow that accompanies the story.

The Brooklyn Eagle featured a run down of what city council member spent in their recent campaigns for office. The quarter-million dollar figures seem like chump change when compared with the whopping $100 million that Bloomberg shelled out in his race for a third term. That said, it’s always interesting to see how much people think their seat is worth. Councilwoman Sara Gonzalez of Sunset Park made the list; according to the Eagle, she spent $232,858 during her successful bid to stay in office.

Community Board 7 will hold a Public Hearing this coming Wednesday, December 9, on a liquor license for Peyton’s Playpen. The Playpen’s application has apparently been a point of contention–check out the Best View in Brooklyn archives to read about Sunset Park Alliance of Neighbors (SPAN) rally against the club and questions about adult businesses in the area.

Below find information on the hearing:

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