THE #249: AUGUST 2019INDYPENDENT.ORG • INDYPENDENT River Park. River East the save to charge the lead to helping are Mercedes Yvette and (left) Merlin April LES residents LOWER EAST SIDE EAST RESIDENTSLOWER CHALLENGE CITY’S CONTROVERSIAL CLIMATE CHANGE PLAN FIGHTING FOR THEIR PARK BY JOHN TARLETON, P10 UNDERGROUND UNDERGROUND TINY PRICKS BROOKLYN’S RAILROAD MIGRANT MIGRANT HEALING HEALING YOUTH P12 P17 P4

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Ellen Davidson, Anna Gold, Alina Mogilyanskaya, Ann Schneider, John Tarleton UM BLOCK PARTY EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Enjoy live music, John Tarleton art-making activities, food and perfor- MANAGING EDITOR: AUGUST mances. Something Peter Rugh for all ages. FRI AUG 9 BROOKLYN BAZAAR LESLIE-LOHMAN MUSEUM OF GAY CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: 6PM • $25 150 Greenpoint Ave., Bklyn & LESBIAN ART Ellen Davidson, Alina 26 Wooster St., Mnhtn Mogilyanskaya, Nicholas HISTORY: BUSHWICK BEER HIS- Powers, Steven Wishnia TORY RUN TUE AUG 13 A running history tour focused on 7PM–9PM • FREE SAT AUG 17 ILLUSTRATION DIRECTOR: Bushwick’s cultural and industrial LIT: POETS AT THE END OF THE 5PM–7PM • $10 suggested donation Frank Reynoso history, having once been the WORLD: A READING AT CAVE LIT: WRITE FOR DEMOCRACY beer-brewing center of the city CANEM An evening of readings, music, beer DESIGN DIRECTOR: and country. Open to runners and Poets at the End of the World and pie to raise funds for Common Mikael Tarkela non-runners alike and ending at a (PEW) is a collective comprised Cause North Carolina. Performanc- nearby brewery. Funds go to Mil of acclaimed poets, Ama Codjoe, es and readings by Jane LeCroy, DESIGNERS: Mundos, a bilingual bookshop and Donika Kelly, Nicole Sealey, Evie Joshua Mehigan, Oliver West and Leia Doran, Anna Gold community space. Shockley and Lyrae Van Clief-Ste- The Indy’s Peter Rugh. KCBC BREWERY fanon, who dedicate themselves to PELS PIE CO. ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER: 381 Troutman St., Bklyn social justice. 446 Rogers Ave., Bklyn Dean Patterson CAVE CANEM AUG 10–AUG 11 20 Jay St., Ste 310-A, Bklyn SAT AUG 17 INTERN: SAT & SUN, 10AM–5AM • FREE 6PM–10PM • FREE Garret Reich FOOD: BLACK VEGFEST FRI AUG 16 FILM: IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK GENERAL INQUIRIES: Vendors galore. Dead Prez 5PM–10PM • FREE [email protected] performs. MUSIC: ACCORDION FESTIVAL This adaptation of the James WEEKSVILLE HERITAGE CENTER Experience the wide range of this Baldwin novel stars Academy SUBMISSIONS & NEWS TIPS: 158 Buffalo Ave., Bklyn often-overlooked and little-known Award-winner Regina King, Cole- [email protected] instrument at this special event, man Domingo, Michael Beach, SUN AUG 11 featuring Aces of Rhythm (tango Teyonah Parris, Aunjanue Ellis and ADVERTISING & PROMOTION: 2PM–6PM • $5 from Argentina), Fedor Chistya- newcomer Kiki Layne. [email protected] MARKET: THE LIVING DEAD kov (Russian rock-and-roll), Los ST. NICHOLAS PARK MARKET Texmaniacs (Texas-Mexican Corner of St. Nicholas Ave. & St. VOLUNTEER CONTRIBUTORS: The Jersey City Oddities Market conjunto) and Alberto Jamaica Nicholas Terrace, Mnhtn Linda Martín Alcoff, Charlyne heads to the cemetery. Come for (Vallenato from Colombia). Alexis, Bennett Baumer, Sue a dozen vendors and special live BRYANT PARK SUN AUG 18 Brisk, Valerio Ciriaci, Rico entertainment. Btw 40th & 42nd Sts. and Fifth & 12PM–6PM • FREE Cleffi , Renée Feltz, Lynne THE HISTORIC JERSEY CITY & HAR- Sixth Aves., Mnhtn PARTY: SPLIT’N LANES DODGIN’ Foster, Emma Gaffney, SIMUS CEMETERY GUTTERS’ MOTORCYCLE SHOW! Esteban Guerra, Lauren Kaori 435 Newark Ave., Jersey City SAT AUG 17 Brooklyn Bowl will be jam- Gurley, Theodore Hamm, 12PM–4PM • FREE packed with cool and unusual David Hollenbach, Manvi Jalan, Sophia Lebowitz, MON AUG 12 ART: THE 29TH ANNUAL SAND vintage motorcycles, two full Derek Ludovici, Leonardo 7PM–11PM • $30 SCULPTING COMPETITION bars, food by Blue Ribbon, a March, Gary Martin, Lydia MUSIC: BLACK FLAG Grab a shovel, pails and head to live DJ and 16 lanes of bowling. McMullen-Laird, Farid Nassif, People calling themselves “Black the beach. The entire front of the venue is Brady O’Callahan, Tiffany Flag” are still making music, CONEY ISLAND reserved for motorcycle parking. Pai, Donald Paneth, Libby including guitarist, songwriter Coney Island Beach, Bklyn BROOKLYN BOWL Rainey, Mark Read, Reverend and sole continuous member Greg 61 Wythe Ave., Bkyln Billy, Chelsey Sanchez, Steven Ginn, who helped form the legend- SAT AUG 17 Sherman, Naomi Ushiyama, ary punk band in 1976 Hermosa 2PM–6PM • FREE SUN AUG 18

and Isobel van Hagen. JUSTIN DE NOOIJER Beach, California. PARTY: LESLIE-LOHMAN MUSE- 1PM–3PM • FREE

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THE INDYPENDENT Becky Vaughan. THE INDYPENDENT 3 IN THIS ISSUE

LET HISTORY STAND, P4 A developer wants to tear down a Brooklyn building where abolitionists fought the power in the 19th century. ¡YA BASTA!, P5 New York passed sweeping housing law reforms in June, so why is Barberry Rose jacking

A. JARRETT up the rent on their elderly Hispanic tenants?

SOCIAL: SECURITEA TIME: FEMI- edge. Anyone is free THE NEWS IN BRIEF, P6 NIST CYBER SELF-DEFENSE to come on stage CASTLES BUILT ON SAND: Admire the The Blaz’s pusillanimous stance This social event from the CyPurr and give a presenta- temporal masterpieces at Coney Island’s annual on killer cop Daniel Pantaleo, NY Collective hopes to build a system of tion on something sculpture competition, or craft your own. pols won’t be prez and health care offl ine communal support by creat- they’re interested in for the Bronx. ing a comfortable space to discuss or passionate about. issues, share experiences, ask STARR BAR PUNKY FUNK: Always poetic, soulful and ANYTHING TO CONVICT, P7 questions and build digital agency. 214 Starr St., Bklyn fresh, Jill Scott is among the headliners of this A zealous prosecutor, a biased All while enjoying delicious tea and years Afropunk fest. judge and a shady witness landed snacks, of course. FRI AUG 23 Saul Robles in prison. Now he has BLUESTOCKINGS BOOKSTORE, 7PM–10PM • $99 a chance at freedom. CAFÉ & ACTIVIST CENTER PARTY: BUNGALOW LUAU A party spotlighting DJs who have 172 Allen St., Mnhtn Eat drink and be merry. Feast on been instrumental in shaping New BLOOD ON THE ROAD, P8 suckling pig, Hawaiian sides and York’s nightlife culture. Cars and trucks are mowing SUN AUG 18 delicious drinks. Hawaiian fi re danc- THE BROOKLYN MIRAGE down cyclists and pedestrians at 6PM–9PM • FREE ers will perform and dance through 140 Stewart Ave., Bklyn alarming rates. MUSIC: THE WAILERS’ JULIAN the night. JUNIOR MARVIN BUNGALOW BAR FRI AUG 30 SOMETHING MIGHTY THIS WAY Guitarist Junior Marvin’s fi rst 377 Beach 92nd St., Queens 8PM–4AM • $25, 21+ BLOWS, P9 recording with Bob Marley & the MUSIC: PARADISE GARAGE How eco-activists turned around Wailers, 1974’s Exodus, is widely AUG 24–AUG 25 REUNION plans to build an LNG terminal considered one of the greatest SAT & SUN, 12PM–10PM • $60 & up The mother of all underground and gave us a wind farm instead. albums of all time — in any genre. MUSIC: AFROPUNK dance music parties. Started as Marvin plays and sings the Bob This years line-up features Jill Scott, a private weekly party in SoHo in GOING AGAINST THE TIDE, P10 Marley & The Wailers hits the way FKA twigs, Leon Bridges, Gary Clark 1976, under the watchful eye of Lower East Side residents are he believes Marley intended them to Jr., Kamasi Washington, Santigold, the iconic DJ Larry Levan, it has racing against time to prevent be heard. Lianne La Havas and many more. since morphed into an annual event the city from burying East River MARCUS GARVEY MEMORIAL PARK COMMODORE BARRY PARK successfully running for more than Park in the name of fi ghting 6316 Mt. Morris Park W., Mnhtn Flushing Ave. and N. Elliott Pl., Bklyn 25 years since the Garage closed in climate change. 1987. MON AUG 19 SAT AUG 24 ELSEWHERE TREATING TRUMP’S OTHER 7PM–9PM • FREE 6PM–4:30AM • $45 599 Johnson Ave., Bklyn CHILDREN, P12 PARTY: PRESENTATION PARTY MUSIC: HEROES NYC: VICTOR After a 2,000-mile trek, family A monthly event dedicated to CALDERONE, DANNY TENAGLIA & separation and detention, the celebrating our shared knowl- OSCAR G journey to recovery begins for migrant children. STATE OF TERROR, P13 Trump uses fear of immigrants to build an authoritarian Fortress America. Here’s an antidote. TRAPPED IN MALTA, P14 Refugees fl eeing persecution are given a cruel reception on the Mediterranean island. PEOPLE AREN’T THE ONLY ONES ON THE MOVE, P16 Animals and plants are undergoing a mass migration in response to climate change.

STICKING IT TO THE PRICK, P17 August 2019 A new needlework exhibit memorializes the prez’s snottiest tweets.

HEART, SOUL & STRUGGLE, P18 INDYPENDENT THE Two new works of fi ction tackle the tribulations of caregivers. TAKE IT TO THE STREETS, P19 Theater for the New City’s newest work of absurdity challenges

TED RALL Trump… and all of us. 4HISTORY SUE BRISK

HISTORY LESSON: Protesters demand that the former stop on the Underground Railroad be saved at a July SAVING 26 rally.

HIRED GUNS: Bounty Hunters try to BROOKLYN’S abduct a formerly enslaved person who fl ed to the North. This practice became legal under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

GRANGER COLLECTION, NEW YORK RADICAL PAST HOME: The building was owned 227 DUFFIELD ST, ONCE A HUB OF 19TH by prominent abolitionists Harriet and CENTURY ABOLITIONIST ORGANIZING, IS IN Thomas Truesdell. DANGER OF BEING TORN DOWN around this time indicate that tunnels were built linking the buildings on Duffi eld Street. By Garret Reich & Peter Rugh Joy Chatel, a cosmologist and amateur historian who owned and resided at 227 Duffi eld until her death fi ve years ago, even ife has always been precarious in this city if your speculated that there might have been a cavernous link between skin is a certain color, but it has suddenly become the home and the former African Wesleyan Methodist Episco- all the more dangerous. Armed men roam the streets pal Church, Brooklyn’s fi rst black house of worship nearby. of New York, on the prowl for human beings. But In 2007, the city attempted to claim eminent domain over where there is oppression there is resistance. A co- the former Underground Railroad stop in order to construct an vertL network comprised of conscientious and morally outraged underground parking garage. Chatel sued and the city backed Americans has sprung up, offering sanctuary to those whose off, going as far as renaming Duffi eld Street “Abolitionist freedom is at peril. Place.” However, the building’s current owner, small developer No, this is not Donald Trump’s America and we are not Samuel Hanasab, fi led an application with the Department of talking about the movement that has arisen to thwart his mass Buildings in June to demolish the property. deportation agenda. Laura Barbieri, an attorney with Advocates for Justice, told It is 1850 and we are on Duffi eld Street not far from the bus- The Indypendent in July that she is seeking a temporary re- tling docks of Brooklyn where Southern cotton and tobacco, as straining order and a preliminary injunction against Hanasab, well as sugar, refi ned in nearby warehouses, are hoisted daily while the city’s Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC) re- into the hulls of ships bound for Europe. Though wealthy ship- views an application to grant 227 Duffi eld landmark status. ping merchants still profi t handsomely from its fruits, slavery She is also seeking to prevent the Buildings Department from has gradually been abolished here. President Millard Fillmore, granting the permit necessary to carry out the demolition. however, has just signed the Fugitive Slave Act. “We would ask that there would be time for the LPC to Nicknamed the “Bloodhound Law,” the measure is intend- consider the application,” Barbieri said, “to hold a hearing and ed to cool tensions between Northern and Southern states by to consider all of the evidence to determine if landmark status mandating that escaped slaves residing above the Mason-Dixon should be awarded to the building.” Line be returned to their masters. On this cobblestone street, Aleah Bacquire Vaughn, executive director of Circle for a patchwork of subterranean passageways connect the town- Justice Innovation (CJI), said she and other protesters want to houses, where former slaves take refuge should their bounty protect a piece of Brooklyn’s past. hunters come knocking. The Truesdells “used their home as a place to save other Today, Duffi eld Street is padded with cement and lined with people, to preserve history and freedom,” Vaughn told The highrises. Only one, three-story reminder of the 19th century Indy. “I believe that should be remembered.” remains on this stretch of downtown Brooklyn. On July 26, Equality for Flatbush has a petition on Change.org directed New Yorkers gathered in front of its broken windows to keep at the LPC, calling for the building to be spared. It has garnered it from being demolished. They want instead for 227 Duffi eld nearly 3,000 signatures as of the time of this article’s publication. Street, which once served as a sanctuary for Southern blacks Before her death in 2014, Joy Chatel told the New York fl eeing slavery, to be preserved as a landmark. Times: “There’s no black museum in Brooklyn to celebrate the “There has been a long battle to retain this space and turn Underground Railroad. This is the house to do it in. It’s impor- it into a museum,” said Imani Henry of Equality for Flatbush. tant that the children and all of the people can see what people “The city has not been respectful of the activists, the family had to go through to be free.” August 2019 August that has been wanting to make sure that this becomes a land- mark, that children walking up and down this block can go inside and know that this was a stop on the Underground Rail- road, that this was a place of black abolitionist activism.” Built in the 1840s, 227 Duffi eld was purchased by promi- nent abolitionists Thomas and Harriet Truesdell, who moved to the city from New England in 1850, shortly after the Fugi- SUE BRISK THE INDYPENDENT tive Slave Act became law. Maps and property records from HOUSING 5 bluestockings radical bookstore | activist center | fair trade cafe 172 ALLEN ST • 212-777-6028 bluestockings.com

EVERY THURS • 6:45–7:30AM YOGA: Start your day with sun salutations and a vinyasa fl ow.

AUG 8–AUG 16 • Times Vary QUEER & TRANS COMIC FESTIVAL:

SUE BRISK Dozens of vendors, talks, readings and workshops.

FRI AUG 30 • 7–930PM BUILDING POWER: Sarah PANEL: The Chinese Feminist Collective McDaniel Dyer, head of the 252 Sherman Ave hosts a discussion on China’s #MeToo THE LANDLORD Tenants Association, at her home in Inwood. movement and beyond.

tenants, about $2,000 for newer ten- ants, and as much as $4,000 for deregu- FROM HELL lated apartments. The MCI increases and lack of heat and BARBERRY ROSE MANAGEMENT HAS A SCAM hot water were “what led to a lot of the organizing,” Monge says. “Folks were en- FOR EVERY TENANT raged that they were paying additional rent for something that didn’t work.” At 252 Sherman Ave., says tenant asso- By Steven Wishnia ciation head Sarah McDaniel Dyer, Barberry Rose put room-temper- ature sensors that would trigger the building’s boiler in “the hottest ew York State passed laws in June that dramatically room” of her top-fl oor apartment — where “it won’t tell the boiler to strengthened its rent regulations, but tenants in In- turn on, and everyone below is freezing.” Monge says that’s common wood are still fi ghting a landlord they say is trying to in the other buildings she’s been in. push them out and jack up rents. The 20-unit building had 42 open violations as of Aug. 1, ac- Residents of 252 Sherman Ave. fi led a lawsuit on cording to records posted online by the city Department of Hous- JulyN 19 against Barberry Rose Management, demanding repairs and ing Preservation and Development. They include a leaky roof, roach alleging that even after their rent was raised for “major capital im- infestations in two apartments and no cooking gas since January in and provements” (MCIs) to the building’s boiler and roof, they still have one fi rst-fl oor apartment. That apartment is home to an elderly rent- inadequate heat and hot water and the roof leaks. controlled tenant whose $500 rent is the lowest in the building, says Law “We were paying for something that was supposedly new,” tenant McDaniel Dyer. Emmanuel Antigua told The Indypendent at a rally in front of the “They told him they were going to replace his stove, and they never Disorder building on July 16. He said the two MCI increases last year raised came to fi x it,” she adds. radio rents by about $100 a month on average. Tenants at 125 Sherman Ave. are also contesting Barberry Rose’s Mondays at 9am Others say Barberry Rose, which has spent more than $140 million application for MCI increases, says Milianeth Smith, an elementary- in the past fi ve years to acquire more than 30 buildings in Inwood school parent coordinator who’s lived there for 12 years. The increas- WBAI and Washington Heights, is following the classic predatory-landlord es, for work done on the outside of the building, new fl oors in the halls 99.5 FM pattern of buying up buildings in gentrifying neighborhoods and then and a new security system, will raise her $1,200 rent by $58. While trying to drive out the rent-stabilized tenants. the building doesn’t have the problems with heat and dubious eviction The nine demands listed on a fl yer that members of the Barberry attempts that others have complained about, she adds, “they’re charg- Download Podcasts at Rose Tenant Union passed out at the July 16 rally included consistent ing us for new renovations that don’t really benefi t us, they just make lawanddisorder.org heat and hot water, no more MCIs, correct rent bills and “that our the building look prettier.” neighbors not be taken to court for frivolous cases, including non- Another issue is the eviction lawsuits. At 252 Sherman Ave., says “Our basic constitutional rights primary residence cases and nonpayment cases for back rent tenants McDaniel Dyer, Barberry Rose claimed one tenant actually lived in are in jeopardy. "Law and do not owe.” Queens, where he has a brother with a similar name. In 2017, accord- Disorder” is an excellent “We’ve seen a great increase in the number of civil complaints fi led ing to the Manhattan Times neighborhood newspaper, Barberry Rose magazine format radio show, against tenants,” says Ronald Porcelli, a staff attorney at Manhattan fi led a suit accusing 66-year-old Juan A. Minaya of living in Fort Lee, hosted by progressive lawyers Legal Services’ Tenant Rights Coalition who is representing the 252 New Jersey — home of 77-year-old Juan B. Minaya. who analyze the state of civil rights in this post-9/11 period. Sherman Ave. tenants. He says such eviction cases show “a very clear Defending these cases is not as simple as showing up in court with FromFr attacks on Muslims at pattern of harassment.” a Con Ed bill with your name and address, says Porcelli. They can home to torture abroad, "Law The suit also alleges that the MCI increases are a “strategic mecha- take as much as a year. “A lot of evidence is required,” he explains, and Disorder” puts these nism” by which the landlord has been able to raise rents on rent-sta- and landlords often “allege alternative facts.” constitutional attacks into bilized tenants, “securing greater profi ts while harassing tenants and The rent-law changes enacted in June are supposed to eliminate the perspective” encouraging them to be displaced.” economic incentive for landlords to push tenants out. They restrict - AMY GOODMAN “Although we cannot specifi cally comment on pending litigation, rent increases for renovations, repeal the 20 percent increase allowed HOST, DEMOCRACY NOW! Barberry Rose Management has a long history of maintaining afford- on vacant apartments and prohibit deregulating them if the rent is able housing and improving conditions for all of our renters in North- high enough.

ern Manhattan,” Barberry Rose owner Lewis M. Barbanel responded Are they having an effect? “It’s too early to tell,” says Porcelli. August 2019 in an emailed statement. “We look forward to addressing false and Johanna Monge fi nds it encouraging that 10 days after the new inaccurate statements about our record.” laws were passed, Barberry Rose dropped its application for a con-

Barberry Rose, based in the Five Towns area of Long Island, be- struction permit in four of the fi ve buildings it owns that are in the Co-founded by: gan buying up buildings in Inwood and Washington Heights in 2014. city’s Certifi cation of No Harassment program, which requires land- Michael Ratner (1943-2016) Its biggest single deal came in December 2016, when it acquired 13 lords to prove they have not harassed tenants before they can get a President, Center for Constitutional Rights; INDYPENDENT THE buildings for $63.6 million, according to the Real Deal. permit for major construction work. That saved tenants from “a lot and hosted by movement lawyers: “Why is a landlord paying that much for buildings that are almost of really expensive work,” she says. Heidi Boghosian, all rent-stabilized?” asks Johanna Monge, an organizer with the Met- “People want to fi ght back for their tenant rights,” says Porcelli. Executive Director, A. Muste Memorial Institute; ropolitan Council on Housing who has helped form tenant associa- “They’re only asking that their landlord follow the law.” and Michael Steven Smith, tions in seven buildings. “It’s a red fl ag.” New York City attorney and author. Many of the residents are elderly and Spanish-speaking, she adds. Rents are typically $1,000 to $1,500 a month for longtime NOW ON FACEBOOK.COM 6 BRIEFING ROOM BY INDYPENDENT STAFF NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE: Eric Garner’s mother Gwen Carr takes a knee and raises a fi st during a civil disobedience DANIEL PANTALEO FIRING of any candidate in outside Barclays Center in July. More than fi ve years after he was videotaped choking Eric Garner to all but a handful of death in Staten Island, Offi cer Daniel Pantaleo was suspended from states. the NYPD on August 2. As The Indy went to press, it fell to Police Commissioner James O’Neill to announce whether he would follow an administrative judge’s recommendation of dismissal, alter the rul- JUDGE RULES AGAINST TWO ing or allow Pantaleo to keep his job and pension. For his part, Mayor BRIDGES PROJECT Bill de Blasio has expressed sympathy with the Garner family while A state Supreme Court judge issued a scathing rebuke this month defending Pantaleo’s right to due process — and doing his best to of plans to erect four luxury towers that would have cast the Lower remain at arms length from the decision his chief of police must now East Side neighborhood of Two Bridges in their shadow. The devel- declare. Few doubt, however, who holds ultimate power to determine opers behind the plan — CIM Group, L+M Development Partners Pantaleo’s future with “New York’s fi nest.” If the judge’s ruling is and Starrett Development — had argued that the highrises were a “allowed to stand, it will paralyze the NYPD for years to come,” said “minor modifi cation” to an earlier plan approved by the city in 1972 Patrick Lynch, head of the Police Benevolent Association, directing and therefore did not have to undergo the city’s Uniform Land Use his comments at the mayor. Garner’s daughter Emerald, meanwhile, Review Procedure (ULURP), which allows for community input. The promised that if Pantaleo remains on the force, “you will see the big- City Council and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer sued. gest march that you have ever seen in New York City.” The planned development, which includes one tower that would stretch more than 1,000 feet tall, can still go forward along the wa- terfront between the Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges, only BILL & GIL’S PREZ CAMPAIGNS now the council, Brewer and Community Board 3 will get to have STUMBLING their say — albeit the latter two in an advisory capacity. While distancing himself from the Garner case, de Blasio wants America to embrace him. Yet his campaign and that of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the other New York pol in the crowded Democratic presi- HEALTH COVERAGE FOR ALL dential race, appears to be doomed. During July’s Democratic de- COMES TO THE BRONX bates, Gillibrand (along with chanting protesters) criticized de Blasio This August, the city announced the rollout of NYC Care, de Bla- for allowing Pantaleo to keep his job for the last fi ve years, but neither sio’s plan to provide free or low-cost health care coverage to all New candidate seems to be cutting the mustard before a national audience. Yorkers regardless of income or citizenship status. At a cost of ap- To participate in the next round of debates this September, they each proximately $100 million, the program will eventually cover an esti- have to come up with 130,000 individual donors and reach 2 percent mated 600,000 uninsured Gothamites. Currently, it’s only available in four party-certifi ed national and/or early-state polls by Aug. 28. to those who can prove they have lived in the Bronx for at least 6 Both are struggling to reach their benchmarks and are desperately months, but the program will be citywide by 2021. Bronx residents panhandling people’s Facebook feeds for $1 donations. At the end of seeking to enroll can call 646-NYC-CARE for assistance. June, Gillibrand had 77,000 donors, de Blasio 7,000. Bernie Sanders

SUE BRISK leads all candidates with 746,000 donors and has the most donors August 2019 August THE INDYPENDENT Indypendent Ad 5x7 06-23-15.pdf 1 6/23/15 1:56 PM 7 CRIME & PUNISHMENT BROADCAST ON MORE THAN 1,300 PUBLIC TV AND RADIO STATIONS WORLDWIDE A Daily Independent Global News Hour with Amy Goodman and Juan González ESTEBAN GUERRA SET UP BY THE DA THE SAUL ROBLES CASE SHOWS HOW FAR BROOKLYN PROSECUTORS WILL GO TO CONVICT DEMOCRACYNOW.ORG Tune In Live Every Weekday 8-9am ET By Theodore Hamm Peter Liang and John Giuca cases. Accord- ing to several former Brooklyn prosecutors, • Audio, Video, Transcripts, Podcasts n August 2010, a brutally violent Chun is viewed within the offi ce as a mem- street fi ght took place on the usu- ber of the DA’s “team.” • Los titulares de Hoy (headlines in Spanish) ally placid streets of Park Slope. Just But in the Robles ruling, the appel- after midnight on Sunday, August late judges reserved their harshest words • Find your local broadcast station and schedule 1, roughly 20 people clashed with for Medow, arguing that she “engaged in Icrowbars and knives at the corner of 5th multiple instances of inappropriate and • Subscribe to the Daily News Digest Avenue and 12th Street. Alex Santiago, a unacceptable advocacy throughout her 22-year-old from Sunset Park, was stabbed summation.” Since the prosecutor’s sum- Follow Us @ DEMOCRACYNOW to death and another man was knifed re- mation is last, it’s an advantageous time to peatedly but survived. smear the defendant. After an initial media splash, the case Medow thus assured jurors that Robles remained quiet until 2013, when Brandon was motivated by “machismo” and kept us- Santana, a suspect in the case, escaped ing phrases like “because he’s guilty” and custody at the 78th Precinct station house. “[b]ecause he committed the crimes.” She Santana had reportedly been living in Iowa further declared that “it would require a since the deadly incident. lot of mental gymnastics to believe the de- Last month the 2nd Appellate Division fendant did not commit this crime.” The unanimously overturned the 2014 convic- gratuitous comments caused the four appel- tion of Saul Robles, whom Santana identi- late judges to “express strong disapproval of fi ed as Santiago’s killer. In ordering a new such conduct.” trial for Robles, the AD court strongly re- Meanwhile, there was one other convic- buked both Brooklyn judge Danny Chun tion in the 2010 street fi ght: Brandon Santa- and the prosecutor who handled the case. na. In 2016, he received a favorable sentence The court’s ruling uniquely illustrates of six to seven years for fi rst-degree gang the extent to which prosecutors will pursue assault and escaping custody. Santana was a faulty case simply to secure a conviction. paroled earlier this year. And it shows how judges are not exactly Robles’ next court date is August 20, neutral players in the process. when the DA’s offi ce will announce its deci- In building the case against Robles, sion either to retry (which seems unlikely) or Brooklyn prosecutor Kori Medow decided not retry him. Other options include an ap- that Santana’s testimony alone would not be peal of the Appellate Division’s ruling. enough to win a conviction. As the appellete Since the 2015 trial, Medow has been court ruling states, during the trial Santana’s promoted to her current position as deputy “veracity and credibility were questioned bureau chief of the Brooklyn DA offi ce’s Or- because he had lied to detectives and an as- ange Zone, which runs from Brownsville to sistant district attorney, absconded from a Park Slope. police station, and received an extremely fa- Along with Cy Vance and the rest of vorable cooperation agreement in exchange his city counterparts, Brooklyn DA Eric for his testimony.” Gonzalez supported the District Attorneys In order to help erase any doubts the jury Association of New York’s (DAASNY) may have had regarding Santana, Medow fi ght against the creation of a statewide brought in a second witness. The problem is prosecutorial misconduct commission last

that this person had not identifi ed Robles in year. Although Gov. Cuomo signed the August 2019 two police lineups. legislation, it’s currently stalled because of At one of the lineups, an NYPD offi cer a DAASNY lawsuit. asked that witness which person she would How DA offi ces like Brooklyn will handle “lean toward.” On the stand, Medow asked instances of misconduct is anyone’s guess. the witness “what made you lean towards” Regarding the appellate court’s criticisms of INDYPENDENT THE Robles, and the reply was merely “the jaw.” Medow’s conduct in the Robles decision, all As the appellate ruling states, Judge Chun that a Gonzalez spokesperson would offer is should not have allowed that witness to tes- that “We are reviewing the decision.” tify. The fact that Chun did so is the basis for the court’s decision to order a new trial. Chun has sparked controversy over the last few years because of his handling of the 8TRANSPORTATION SUE BRISK

the city’s map of the proposed reno- culture shift to prioritize pe- vations, much of the redesign will be destrians & cyclists.” WHOSE focused on Brooklyn, where 13 of The number of cars on city STREETS?: Cyclists the 18 deaths have occurred. Trot- streets has risen over the last take part in a July die-in WHEEL TROUBLE tenberg estimated that “thousands” four years, largely driven by at Washington Square A SPIKE IN BICYCLE TRAFFIC DEATHS HAS of parking spaces would be lost. e-hail apps such as Uber and Park, demanding the The Vision Zero plan was an- Lyft. According to city Taxi city do more to make its nounced by de Blasio in 2014, with and Limousine Commission roads safe. CRITICS WONDERING IF NYC DRIVERS the goal of eliminating all traf- fi gures, the average number fi c deaths in the city by 2024. The of “high-volume for-hire ve- HAVE A LICENSE TO KILL name “Vision Zero” comes from hicles” on the streets increased from 7,300 a day in January a Swedish program that theorizes 2015 to 59,900 in May 2019. that pedestrian deaths are not ac- The Green Wave plan, Transportation Alternatives com- By Emma Gaffney cidents but failures of street design. munications director Joe Cutrufo said, “is taking several In 2018, according to city Department of Transporta- good steps forward, but given the urgency of the problem, hen 30-year-old Em Samolewicz was tion data, 203 people were killed in crashes involving mo- we’d like to see action even faster.” killed on Brooklyn’s Third Avenue on tor vehicles — 115 pedestrians, 78 vehicle occupants and About “800,000 people ride a bike regularly in New July 29, after she was hit by a truck when 10 bicyclists — and more than 60,000 were injured, includ- York City, but there is this huge population of people who she swerved after being “doored” — her ing about 10,800 pedestrians and 4,300 cyclists. Bicycle- are curious and interested but are afraid because the streets path blocked by a suddenly opened car pedestrian crashes injured 55 riders and 270 walkers, and don’t adequately protect them,” Cutrufo said. “We’ve seen Wdoor — she became the 18th bicyclist to die in a crash in 329 riders were hurt in bicycle-only crashes. the number of cyclists grow over the last decade or so, right New York City this year. That number is almost twice the The revamped safety plan comes after mounting pres- along with the growth in safe cycling infrastructure. When 10 bicyclists killed in accidents in all of last year, which sure from community organizers and cyclist advocates. On you look at the expansion of protected bike lane miles, you was the fewest the city recorded in the last 100 years. July 9, more than 1,000 people attended a mass “die-in” can see the number of regular cyclists go up in tandem. If On July 25, two days after two other bicyclists were in Washington Square Park, silently lying on the ground you build it, they will come.” killed in separate accidents in Greenpoint and Staten Is- beside their bicycles. Participants decried government’s Two of the 18 fatalities this year, including Em Samole- land, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the “Green Wave” failure to prosecute drivers involved in the deaths and the wicz, occurred on Third Avenue in Sunset Park, an eight- plan, which will see $58.4 million poured into keeping cy- police history of responding to bike tragedies by going on lane road under the elevated Gowanus Expressway that’s clists safe on city roads over the next fi ve years. a ticket-writing blitz against other cyclists in the area of a major truck route and has no bike lanes. Cutrufo says “You will see continued and increased presence by the the crash. “We don’t think this is a problem that can be roads like this “deserve a rapid response,” and that any NYPD. You will see more public education […] to change policed away,” bicycle messenger Mike Pach, 28, told AM- time a cyclist is killed, the Department of Transportation the behavior of motorists,” the mayor said, speaking at a NewYork. should immediately investigate why it occurred and how to high school in Bay Ridge. “I want everyone driving a truck On July 26, hundreds more gathered at Union Square prevent these tragedies from happening in the area again. in this city to know that the NYPD will be watching, and Park to participate in a Critical Mass ride organized by Mayor de Blasio said on July 25 that the “100 most they will take action if any trucker… endangers a bicyclist.” Time’s Up to demand better infrastructure for cyclists. dangerous locations” would “receive additional NYPD en- Nine of the 18 cyclist fatalities this year involved a truck, At the July 25 press conference, de Blasio said that one forcement, with a special focus on trucks.” according to the mayor’s offi ce. in four adults in the city own a bicycle, and the number of “Third Avenue needs a protected bike lane,” says An- The Green Wave plan, Transportation Commissioner people biking to work is growing twice as fast as in any drada Popa, a Sunset Park resident who suffered multiple Polly Trottenberg explained, intends to expand the Vision other major U.S. city. “That’s good for our earth, our city foot and ankle fractures after a truck drove into her in Zero traffi c-safety plan’s goal of building 10 miles of pro- and our quality of life,” he said. “Our responsibility is to April while she was riding her bike there. “I don’t feel safe tected bike lanes each year. It would add 30 miles a year of ensure that this good option is safe.” riding in the open bike lanes. It’s a wide-open road, so it new bike lanes separated from traffi c by barriers, with 25 The mayor, however, did not address how the city might should be possible to have a protected lane there.” Popa, miles to be completed this year and 80 miles by the end of reduce the number of cars on the roads. “We must break who is still recovering from her injuries, told The Indypen- 2021. Those projects are “in various stages of planning and car culture to protect cyclists in NYC,” City Councilmem- dent she believes the 30 miles of protected bike lanes the design,” the mayor’s offi ce said. ber Antonio Reynoso (D-Brooklyn) posted on Twitter on Green Wave vows to create over each year are not enough. The plan also includes hiring 80 new transportation staff July 25. He said the “new bike plan — largely an expan- dedicated to improving bike-friendly infrastructure and re- sion & acceleration of Vision Zero — falls short. Reckless designing city streets over the next fi ve years. According to drivers will continue to terrorize our streets until there’s a

WALKERS KILLED BY BICYCLISTS 0 0 BICYCLISTS KILLED BY BICYCLISTS WALKERS INJURED BY BICYCLISTS 270 329 BICYCLISTS INJURED BY BICYCLISTS August 2019 August CAR 10 BICYCLISTS KILLED BY CARS CULTURE WALKERS KILLED BY CARS 115 CARNAGE 4300 BICYCLISTS INJURED BY CARS

THE INDYPENDENT 2018 WALKERS INJURED BY CARS 10,800 ALL DATA FOR 2018. SOURCE: NYC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ENERGY 9 FROM FOSSIL FUEL perstorm like Sandy would pose to the terminal, Sane and a coalition of other environmental groups “organized pretty TO WIND much all New York City and Long Is- land communities to push their elected IT WAS SLATED TO BE A NATURAL GAS IMPORT offi cials to tell Gov. Cuomo why this is dangerous for our region,” Fraczek said. TERMINAL, THEN ENVIRONMENTALISTS RAISED Sane and its partners started a “Wind Not LNG” campaign. THEIR VOICES “Because we had a positive, alter- native vision, that helped gather more support,” said Fraczek. “It gave people By Peter Rugh a Point B to work toward. What began with a ragtag cluster of environmentalists and lo- verything appeared to have been worked out. cal community groups rallying in defense of Long Island’s coast A $25,000 donation had been made to Gov. An- concluded on July 19, when Gov. Cuomo sat down at a desk in drew Cuomo’s re-election campaign by Liberty Natu- Albany and signed the Climate Leadership and Community Pro- ral Gas, a mysterious company owned by a Toronto- tection Act (CLCPA). based investment group with a bank account in the Passed by the Democrat-controlled state legislature in June, the ECayman Islands. The governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie at bill sets stringent targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions the time, was skeptical but said he would “keep an open mind” and increasing New York’s use of green energy. To help meet the when it came to Liberty’s blueprints. The Army Corps of Engi- goals set in the measure, Cuomo announced that the state had neers had already signed off. The plans seemed simple enough. signed contracts for the construction of two wind farms that will Tank ships would pull up about 20 miles off the shore of Long eventually provide enough electricity to power more than a mil- Island, millions of cubic feet worth of liquifi ed natural gas in their lion homes. hull. The cargo would be heated aboard the tankers upon arrival “It’s one thing to say, ‘We’re going to support these emissions and returned to a gaseous state, pumped into a pair of pipelines. reduction targets,’ but if you don’t have a path to get there it’s Four hundred million cubic feet of decompressed natural gas useless,” said Shay O’Reilly of the Sierra Club. “In this case, they a day were slated to pour into Long Beach, near the mouth of actually set into law that the state is going to support 9,000 mega- Lower New York Bay. That didn’t happen. Instead those same wa- watts of offshore wind development by 2035. That is a legal target ters will soon be home to the largest offshore wind farm in the in the bill that has now become law.” United States. How does something like this occur? How did we The 1,696-megawatt wind farms, one plugging into the city, go from a liquifi ed natural gas (LNG) terminal to wind turbines? the other into Long Island, “get us a signifi cant chunk of the way Hard freaking work, says Kim Fraczek, head of the environmental there,” Shay said. group Sane Energy Project.

GARY MARTIN Citing concerns over climate change and the risk another su- Continued on page 17 CELEBRATING BLACK AUGUST

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BOOK TALK / PANEL DISCUSSION August 2019 August 21 SCREEN PRINTING 6:30pm – 8:30pm WORKSHOP Rsvp: peoplesforum.org SAT., JULY 6- AUGUST 10 INDYPENDENT THE 10:00AM-12:00PM | FREE #peoplesforumnyc #peoplesforumnyc 320 West 37th Street, New York, NY 10018 | [email protected] | peoplesforum.org 320 West 37th Street, New York, NY 10018 | [email protected] | peoplesforum.org 10CLIMATE CHANGE 11 RESISTING THE • Loss of ball fi elds and other play spaces has been pushing its plan for local youth and possible criminaliza- through the Uniform FOUNTAIN tion of kids who might spend more time Land Use Review Process OF YOUTH: hanging out on the streets. (ULURP), which allows Neighborhood kids local community boards enjoy splashing around • Undermining the sports programs of and borough presidents to on a hot summer day. WRECKING BALL neighborhood schools, whose students hold public hearings and would have to travel as far away as Ran- weigh in, but only on an RISING OCEANS ARE INEVITABLE. BUT dall’s Island to fi nd other sports fi elds. advisory basis. MEAT ON THE Arguing that it would GRILL: The • Loss of the bike path along the river, be its plan or nothing, barbeque pits on the which is popular with cyclists who don’t the city won the condi- north end of the park DOES THE CITY HAVE TO DEMOLISH THE want to risk riding in street traffi c. tional support of Com- are the site of many a munity Board 6 (Stuyves- family gathering. • The cutting down of 981 mature trees that ant Town/Gramercy) EAST RIVER PARK TO SAVE IT? provide shade and clean the air of toxins and Community Board 3 spewed by cars that race by on the FDR (Lower East Side). the lat- A TIME TO Drive. The saplings that replace them ter of which added a list of RELAX: A couple would require 20-30 years to grow to a 28 changes it would like to enjoys a pleasant By John Tarleton as Third Avenue. The surging waters also knocked full canopy. see made to the plan. Sunday afternoon. out a Con Edison substation at East 15th Street and Like much of the Unit- t was a bright Sunday afternoon in early Au- FDR Drive, throwing almost all of Manhattan below • Loss of biodiversity: 82 bird species, 96 ed States, the Lower East gust when Yvette Mercedes looked out over 40th Street into a gloomy darkness. insect species and more than 200 plant Side lives with the legacy PLAY BALL!: East River Park from the entrance at East No group in the Lower East Side suffered more species would be displaced, perhaps never of segregated housing. East River Park plays Houston Street and FDR Drive. than the approximately 28,000 residents of the New to return, according to City College of For much of the late 20th hosts to numerous little Children scampered around a baseball dia- York City Housing Authority developments that line New York biology professor Amy Berkov. century, the neighbor- league teams. Imond as a Little League game unfolded. On the far the west side of FDR Drive. The residents — includ- hood was largely Latino, side of the fi eld, cyclists and joggers moved up and ing many seniors with no means to fl ee elsewhere — • Dust from the immense quantities of dirt but now it has been gen- down the esplanade that runs along the East River lost water and electricity for more than a week, and that would be dug up in the park or de- trifi ed by increasingly affl uent whites, while public for most of the park’s length, from East 12th Street to had to climb up and down pitch-black stairwells if livered by barge. Neighborhood residents housing is occupied predominantly by Black and just north of the Manhattan Bridge. Young couples they wanted to venture outside. already have high levels of asthma. Latino renters. lay on patches of grass, their limbs tangled together, “I saw that water come in,” Mercedes recalled. “I Naomi Schiller, a professor of anthropology at while older couples sat on benches quietly watching didn’t have light for over seven days.” • No storm protection until after the 2023 Brooklyn College who lives in the East River Co-op the river’s churning waters. To the north, some of Sandy may have seemed like a once-in-a-century hurricane season — assuming the city — a union-built housing complex located at Grand Mercedes’ working-class Lower East Side neighbors storm. But with carbon emissions and global temper- fi nishes the project on time. Street and FDR Drive that switched from limited- held sprawling family gatherings centered around the atures both rising, it’s expected that New York will equity to market-rate some 20 years ago — says park’s barbeque pits. see more supercharged hurricanes, along with high- “That’s laughable as a timeline,” says Christine neighbors have been pitted against each other. Non- “This is all we have,” Mercedes said. She has lived er sea levels as the polar ice caps continue to melt. Datz-Romero, executive director of the Lower East NYCHA residents who oppose the city’s plan have in the nearby Baruch Houses public-housing devel- To that end, the city and the federal Department of Side Ecology Center, which is based in the Fire Boat been portrayed as tree-huggers who care more about opment for more than 30 years. “We don’t have the Housing and Urban Development invited Lower East House toward the south end of the park. She noted the park than fl ood protection, when almost every- Hamptons. We don’t have summer homes. When we Side residents to help envision a fl ood-mitigation plan that it recently took the city 18 months and $3.5 mil- one in the neighborhood agrees they need some kind want to get away, we come here.” for the neighborhood. After four years of meetings, lion to repave the park’s jogging track, and that re- of seawall. That could soon change. broad support emerged for building a landscaped pairs to the esplanade began in 2001, languished for “The city has presented their plan as the only op- Seven years after Hurricane Sandy lifted up the eight-foot berm along the back of the park that many years, and were fi nally completed in 2011. She tion to get fl ood protection along the river,” Schiller ocean and inundated whole swaths of the city, includ- would abut FDR Drive, with the hope of someday worries that this project could easily keep the park said. “That’s unfair and has been incredibly divisive.” ing the Lower East Side, the de Blasio administration decking over the highway to expand the park. This closed for a decade. She was among the 150 or so people who attended is racing to win approval for the East Side Coastal plan would have provided much-needed protection “What guarantees do we have that it will be better a July 16 ULURP hearing hosted by Manhattan Bor- Resiliency Project, a $1.45 billion fl ood-mitigation for the neighborhood, while preserving access to the this time?” she asked. The city has not given her any ough President Gail Brewer. Defenders of the park plan that has sparked an outcry from some neighbor- esplanade and some of the park’s trees. It would have assurances that the Ecology Center will have a home turned out in force. Brewer didn’t reject the city’s hood residents. also required closing one of the FDR’s six lanes every in the rebuilt park. plan, but to much applause insisted that something The plan calls for closing the 58-acre park for night for fi ve years. so hastily thrown together should be subject to an three and a half years, burying it beneath eight to 10 Then last September the city Department of De- independent third-party review. Mayor Bill de Blasio feet of landfi ll, and building a new park on top of it. sign and Construction (DDC) abruptly announced it • • • agreed to a similar outside review earlier this year for The entire barrier would run 2.2 miles, from Mont- was scrapping the community’s plan in favor of the a controversial plan to repair part of the Brooklyn- gomery Street to East 25th Street. plan to close and rebuild the park. That plan would Queens Expressway. The battle over that plan is more than a fi ght over not close any lanes on the highway. Yvette Mercedes was unaware of the Robert “We’ve only got one chance to get this right,” the future of a little-known gem of a park. It raises “It’s really about saving the cars,” said Howard Moses-sized wrecking ball aimed at the park when Brewer emphasized. questions about how other major coastal cities will Brandstein, executive director of the Sixth Street she saw a fl yer taped to a traffi c crossing signal at A contingent of about 30 opponents of the city’s respond to an escalating global climate crisis and to Community Center, which hosts environmentally East Houston and Columbia streets one evening in plan turned out a week later for a City Planning whose benefi t; the legacy of housing segregation; the themed programs for neighborhood youth. “It’s Rob- late April. It was an announcement for a meeting of Commission hearing to make their arguments to the confl icting priorities of top-down city planning and ert Moses’ wet dream — the eternal, uninterrupted opponents of the park’s demolition. commissioners. A number of speakers urged that, at neighborhood-based concerns; the values we assign fl ow of traffi c.” “I listened and felt like ‘oh wow, this is horri- the very least, the DDC should carry out construc- private automobiles and mass transit; and the hol- “They’re asking us to sacrifi ce something that’s ble,’” Mercedes recalled. “I committed that I was tion in phases so part of the park would remain open lowed-out state of democracy in a New York where essential for our well-being and for a generation going to educate my community, because everyone throughout the project. DDC Deputy Commissioner “the tale of two cities” persists. of children,” said Mercedes’ friend April Merlin, a was totally oblivious.” Jaime Springer-Torres suggested that parts of the

mother of two who has lived in the neighborhood for Mercedes and Merlin met at that meeting and im- park could be reopened as construction goes for- August 2019 30 years and comes to the park regularly to jog and mediately became a team. They went from fl oor to ward, but did not make any commitments. • • • ride her bike. “If they close down a lane or two of the fl oor in the Baruch Houses, leaving informational Two of the few speakers to advocate for the city’s FDR, people will fi nd another way to get to work.” leafl ets under the residents’ doors. They also can- plan were Nancy Ortiz, longtime president of the vassed people in the park and informed them about Vladeck Houses Tenants Association, and Camille August 2019 August The land that the East River Park sits on didn’t what was happening. Mercedes estimates that she Napoleon, vice president of the Baruch Houses Ten- INDYPENDENT THE exist when Dutch colonizers arrived in the early • • • has so far spoken with 2,000 people, and that less ants Association, the younger half of the father- 1600s. Much of what’s now the Lower East Side was than 100 were aware of the city’s plans. daughter dynasty that has held its reins for decades. a salt marsh, nourished by ocean waters that sloshed “Everybody’s against the demolition of the park “Life over trees,” Ortiz said. “I believe in pro- through twice a day with the ebb and fl ow of the Opponents of demolishing the park cite a litany or didn’t know about it,” says Merlin. “We’re letting tecting life.”

tides. Hurricane Sandy marked the ocean’s emphatic of negative consequences. They include: ALL PHOTOS SUE BRISK people in on what’s happening behind closed doors.” “If we have to choose between a tree and a life, we return, as chest-high torrents of water poured down While opposition to the park’s demolition has

THE INDYPENDENT Avenues C and D and fl ooding extended as far inland • Loss of space for family gatherings. been slow to gather, the de Blasio administration Continued on page 19 12IMMIGRATION LEONARDO MARCH

You would think the system should Terra Firma has a critical role provide the most comforting, safe, in helping children acculturate COMPASSIONATE healthy environment for children so into a new environment. Chil- CARE: Dr. Alan they can recover from the trip and dren who must now adjust to Shapiro, co-founder of AFTER THE start feeling a sense of safety. Unfor- a new family, a new language Terra Firma, consults with tunately, it puts kids at more risk of and a new culture. We see chil- migrant youth. traumatization. We know from visit- dren who come perhaps from ing Customs and Border processing rural Guatemala, and now CAGES centers, and from the government’s they’re living in the South Bronx. You can imagine how in- own reports, that they are freezing, credibly disorienting that might be. We provide mental health BRONX GROUP AIDS MIGRANT YOUTH have non-nutritious food such as bo- services to help them process all of the trauma I spoke about logna sandwiches, and children often and the incredible change of now living with a new family have to sleep on cement fl oors with a that many of them have never seen in their life or not for 10 By Renée Feltz mylar blanket. Children don’t understand what the next steps or 15 years, even if it’s a parent. So there is this enormous are, and why they’re there in the fi rst place. Some are held up amount of readjustment and a lot of emotional complexity, in naccompanied children who come alone from to a month, against regulations. To add to all that: the medi- the reunifi cation process with family, both enormous joy but Central America to seek asylum in the United cal services in the Customs and Border processing centers are also feelings of guilt and anger. States have complex legal, medical and men- very cursory. All of this makes it important for us to be there for chil- tal health needs. After their release from harsh dren, and for their sponsors, their new families, to help them, conditions in U.S. border camps and detention When these children are released to the Bronx to live with as we say, to land on solid ground, which is what Terra Firma Ucenters run by the Offi ce of Refugee Resettlement, some are their court-appointed sponsor, or be reunited with their means. We also run support groups for adolescents, preteens released to New York City. In the Bronx, Terra Firma helps families, how does Terra Firma address their needs? and the children’s sponsors. Our groups are based on a trau- hundreds of kids pursue healthy lives when they are reunited ma-informed model of care. For unaccompanied children, the with their parents or sent to live with a sponsor. The Indypen- Terra Firma’s principal role is to care for the complex needs of group meets weekly for 14 weeks and follows a curriculum dent spoke with co-founder Dr. Alan Shapiro. migrant children once they are released from ORR detention that deals with the various phases of migration and living now and are living in New York City with their sponsors. We pro- in the United States. When we start the groups off, we always vide comprehensive pediatric care in a medical home model, invite veterans of the group who are kids who have already What experience motivated you to work with migrant integrated with on-site mental health services and pro bono gone through this to talk to the new cohort of children. children? immigration services. We also have a robust Youth Enrich- ment program that includes English, workshops, educational What kind of outcomes have you seen? I have dedicated my career to working with marginalized and support and fi eld trips throughout the year. It includes a sum- vulnerable children. What led to Terra Firma was actually a mer program with English as a second language courses for In general the children we see are among the most resilient Guatemalan boy that came to our mobile medical unit serving children for two hours, followed by two hours of soccer, in children I have ever cared for. Many of the kids that we fi rst homeless youth in Harlem that we’ve operated since 1987. He collaboration with South Bronx United, a youth development started to take care of back in 2013 are now in college, and had lost his psychiatric medications, and needed to get new program; a photography course in collaboration with the In- thriving. Just this year, one of our girls won a Beat the Odds ones. Sadly, this boy was very severely mentally ill and unable ternational Center for Photography and fi eld trips to muse- $10,000 college scholarship from the Children’s Defense to tell us anything about his history, except he had a business ums to other places around New York. Fund. Another one just won a scholarship to CUNY’s Hunter card from his lawyer, with Catholic Charities, and that was College. What really upsets me so much is the negative rheto- Brett Stark, who is now our Legal Director. We called Brett You describe the program as a medical legal partnership? ric one hears about who these new immigrant children are and he explained they were seeing an uptick in the number from politicians who have never seen or worked with these of “unaccompanied” children seeking legal services and they In this partnership, healthcare professionals work side by side kids and who don’t see their humanity or the incredible suc- were also looking for medical and mental health services to with immigration attorneys and may uncover invaluable in- cesses that we see. Many of these kids also want to give back send children to. When we learned that being an “unaccom- formation that can be used to support the children’s legal cas- to the community because they felt so thankful for the ser- panied” immigrant child granted them the ability to seek legal es. When children come to us they’re more likely to have been vices they received. status in the United States, we set up a program to meet their victims of community and/or domestic violence (e.g. physical needs in 2013. Then, when a large number of children came and sexual abuse) but might not feel comfortable telling their Have others been able to replicate your model? into the city in the spring of 2014, we were ready to accept lawyers about what happened. However, the medical provid- many of them. ers and mental health providers are adept at identifying those We are in the process of writing a replication manual right problems and helping children retell these histories and pro- now! We’ve given dozens and dozens of presentations and What kind of trauma have these children endured when cess those traumas. have received many requests to help replicate. So we’re look- you encounter them? What’s so important about that is that many of these trau- ing for funding so that we can grow our own program and mas are critical for children to win their legal cases to be al- then help others develop the terra fi rma model as well. You have to remember children are in the stage of develop- lowed to remain in this country. The healthcare providers will ing their identity, the sense of who they are, and that will be write mental health and/or medical affi davits that explain the How can people who read this support Terra Firma? carried through to adulthood. These children often have sus- physical and psychological trauma that child has endured and tained compounded trauma. They have been traumatized fi rst how these fi ndings corroborate the child’s own story. We had We’re asking folks to donate at terrafi rma.nyc. If people are by events in their home country. Then they leave their home an adolescent boy who was run over by a car of gang mem- interested in volunteering, they can make a request through countries, which in itself is extremely traumatic, and have to bers because he refused to join their gang. When he came to our website as well. August 2019 August leave behind family, friends, school, culture, everything. They us, we referred him to an orthopedic specialty clinic where then travel often more than 2,000 miles to the U.S. border, x-rays revealed past injuries and the metal plates in his leg. He Renée Feltz is an investigative journalist who has covered im- and many are victimized, suffer from hunger, exposure to the originally lost his asylum hearing. The medical evidence in migration since 2006. elements, and travel in dangerous ways — on top of trains and this case corroborated his history and that proved critical in in the back of trucks. By the time they get to your border, they winning his asylum case. are in a pretty fragile state. Then they either go to a port of en- try, or cross the border through the desert or the Rio Grande. How does your program help the kids adjust to their new

THE INDYPENDENT That in itself can be a frightening experience. lives? AUTHORITARIANISM 13 SUE BRISK

nage by Tim Alberta, Identity Crisis ICE raids. Presidential can- by John Sides, Michael Tesler and didate Sen. Amy Klobuchar POWER IN Lynn Vavreck or Strangers in Their (D-Minn.) said on ABC, “If NUMBERS: In Own Land by Arlie Russell Hoch- you wanted to go after secu- response to the threat of THE DOMINO schild. They traced the rising toxic rity risks […] why alert them mass raids, immigrants brew of rage and fear that was sup- and say you’re doing this on a and their supporters held pressed during the Obama years by Sunday and do it two week- a vigil outside of federal liberal triumphalism. No one gave ends in a row? Why, because immigration court in EFFECT it voice until that special man came you want to make news, Manhattan on July 12. along and put his brand on it. right? It’s not about having HOW TRUMP USES FEAR OF IMMIGRANTS “He says what I’m thinking,” people who are security risks said Susan Delemus, a fanatic deported, it’s about scaring everyone in the country.” TO STOKE CIVIL WAR Trump supporter, on CNN. He was Every ICE raid, threatened or real, goes beyond targeted her race whisperer. Saturday Night migrants to make a surveillance state in our everyday lives Live alum and talk show host, Seth seem normal. Border agents have set up checkpoints with By Nicholas Powers Meyers said Trump isn’t telepathic but his need for ap- in 100 miles of the border. And not just on the U.S.–Mexi- proval gives him a hunting dog’s power to sniff out red can border. ICE set up checkpoints in Maine and New n Minnesota, offi cers smashed a car window and meat for Red America. During rehearsal for a 2004 skit Hampshire. ICE boarded Greyhound buses to search for dragged the undocumented worker out. The ICE called “Trump’s House of Wings,” he called it dumb but migrants. ICE can search vehicles without a warrant. We raids to deport some 2,000 migrants had begun. the audience liked it so Trump danced and grinned. Mey- see occasional cell videos of resistance but most travelers Armed agents with dogs searched migrant neighbor- ers said, “When ‘Build the wall’ or ‘Lock her up’ became are intimidated and hand over their identifi cation or just hoods. But activists gave out Know Your Rights leaf- catchphrases, I realized, ‘Oh, that’s the same brain that want to get on with their day. letsI hand to hand and on social media and people knew to was convinced that ‘Trump’s House of Wings’ was a win- Every time a citizen doesn’t question authority and gives keep doors closed. ner […] the only thing is that the audience likes it.” their ID, they learn to fear the state. They are scared of get- They live in terror. It is easy to vanish in America. If Trump is a bottom feeder of mass psychology. He ef- ting detained and if black, of being shot. They learn not to you don’t have “papers.” If you have an accent. If you fectively transferred Red State America’s terror of obsoles- ask questions. They may even get angry at migrants, believ- work off the books. Any day at your job, ICE can show up. cence into a revenge fantasy against Blue State America, ing that if they had followed the rules none of this inconve- Any morning, the door can be banged on by offi cers. Half even if it was the wealthy who they worship that betrayed nience would exist. asleep, you can be seized and in a quick dizzy blur, shoved them. So Trump says he’ll build a wall. His audiences love across the border. it. America’s breach would be sealed. Now Trump prom- Terror is a political tool. The Trump Administration cre- ises more walls to trap migrants and voters and Democrats LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT ates a domino effect by attacking undocumented migrants in a state of terror. The dominos fall. to send messages to other groups. The raids ease conserva- Every step of the way, people resist. In Nashville, Tenn., ICE tive white anxiety about losing their place in America by surrounded an immigrant man and his son as they pulled “purging” the nation. They also teach moderate citizens DISTRACT & CONQUER into park. Panicked, he messaged activists and neighbors to obey their fear and look away. And Trump uses depor- who came, circled his van, gave him food, water and gas so tation rhetoric against Democrats of color to delegitimize A hand slowly peels the curtain back and scans the street. he could stay inside as ICE offi cers loomed. The stand-off elections. After the dominos fall, the Right can pick them No agents. No dogs. No ICE trucks. The migrant worker lasted for hours. ICE left without an arrest. up to build an impenetrable Fortress America. opens the door and quickly, quietly goes to work. With every domino that falls, activists and everyday The nationwide, large-scale ICE raids that Trump people rush into the streets or go to the homes where mi- threatened in mid-July did not hit. Supposedly, plans were grants are threatened by Trump’s purge. They video. They

THE RACE WHISPERER scaled back as Trump’s televised bragging tipped off his interlock arms in a chain. They text and call and chant. August 2019 many undocumented targets. It was a smaller, slower roll- They represent the majority of America that looks at the The Right’s terror began when Obama won. As we danced out over the week and at the discretion of ICE fi eld offi ces. newcomer, the stranger, and sees themselves. in the streets, Republicans bought guns. Some were afraid The 2,000 immigrants targeted were spared for now but One of their neighbors, Felishadae Young came to help of new laws. Some were afraid black criminals would run live in the shadow of ICE offi cers, who await their orders. and later said, “It put a lot of fear in me, because it could be wild like in Bush Sr.’s Willie Horton ad. Some thought the The walls close in with each new threat of mass de- me, it could be my family. It could be anybody. It could be INDYPENDENT THE Democrats would let U.N. soldiers patrol America. portation. It is not just migrants living in fear. Friends your neighbors, just like it was my neighbor today,” add- A wall — not a physical but a cultural one — had are afraid. Bosses and co-workers are afraid. Lovers and ing, “It changed a lot about how I feel about this country.” crashed down. Conservatives looked around and realized spouses are afraid. Children are afraid. Deportation how diverse the United States was and shuddered. Political sends terror through the web of relationships that hold scientists have published a mountain of books and reports neighborhoods together. on white racial grievance. Take your pick from Cornell Was terror the goal in the fi rst place? The lackluster Belcher’s Black Man in the White House, American Car- follow-through calls into question the very reason for 14INTERNATIONAL

ture — Sium has no route to permanent residency or citizenship and receives no pension benefi ts. Between 2014 and 2017, the United TRAPPED IN MALTA States was the only country resettling MEDITERRANEAN ISLAND IS PUTTING REFUGEES refugees from Malta and in the decade prior to Donald Trump’s election took BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE in more than 3,000 people. Upon tak- JACLYNN ASHLY ing offi ce, President Trump froze the resettlement program. By Jaclynn Ashly Sium’s hopes were crushed. “Now what?” he said. “We just wait in Malta until they decide to veryone was so scared on the boat,” says Bokretsion Ge- deport us back to our country? We can’t live a normal life here. Most “ brekidan, a 39-year-old Eritrean asylum seeker, recount- of us can’t get married because we don’t know what will happen to ing his journey from Libya to the shores of Malta six us in the future. I have no idea what will happen to me.” years ago. “The heat was unbearable,” he continues. “When you Elooked up it was only the sky, and when you looked down you could FAMILIES DIVIDED only see the sea. It was terrifying. People were crying and praying. No one slept for the whole three days we were at sea.” Akram Jrerah, a 57-year-old asylum seeker from the city of As-Su- The wooden fi shing boat that held Gebrekidan and about 300 wayda in Syria — one of the countries listed in Trump’s 2017 Muslim other migrants and asylum seekers from North and Central Africa travel ban — arrived in Malta on a visa in 2011, a few months after broke down. Its engine stopped working. They were attempting to the Syrian revolution broke out, fearing himself a target of forces reach Italy, but were rescued by the Maltese coast guard and taken loyal to Bashar al-Assad. Two years later, his wife and daughters, instead to a detention center in the small island nation about 50 miles ages 11 and 12, traveled to Libya and attempted to make the dan- off the coast of Sicily. gerous journey across the Mediterranean to reunite with him. Soon Gebrekidan was one of the lucky ones. The trip across the after setting off their boat was forced to return to Libyan shores, Mediterranean is a life-threatening journey for most of those who unable to withstand the waves. Deeming the journey too dangerous, depart from Libya. An estimated 2,275 migrants and refugees his wife and daughters returned to Syria. perished at sea in 2018, an average of six deaths per day, accord- His wife has since divorced him. ing to the UN Refugee Agency. So far this year, the Internation- “It was impossible to get them here, so she wanted to move on al Organization for Migration (IOM) has recorded at least 840 with her life,” Jrerah said — his story a typical one among asylum deaths in the Mediterranean. seekers here. Those who survive are not given a warm welcome in Malta. Mazelo Gebrezgabhier, a 30-year-old Eritrean who arrived in Greek, Roman, Arab and French cultures have left their mark on the Malta by boat in 2016, says that his wife back home fi led for divorce former British colony, which exists as a crossroad between Africa following Trump’s freezing of the U.S. refugee program. and Europe. But despite its multicultural history, the island nation “She’s been waiting for almost four years and we have no idea is giving its latest arrivals a chilly reception. The country is at the if it will be another four years or maybe ten years before we can be front gate of a Europe that has cooled to an infl ux of refugees who reunited,” he said. “That’s not a life.” are fl eeing war, famine and privation by the thousand, and where, as in America, a far-right preaching iron-clad borders in response to a humanitarian crisis has gained political traction. NOWHERE ELSE TO GO

Migrant boat arrivals were on the decline here, with just 23 migrants A STATE OF LIMBO disembarking on Maltese territory in 2017, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency. But since Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini Gebrekidan, like most asylum seekers in Malta, was granted “sub- took offi ce in June 2018 making closing off Italian ports and im- sidiary protection,” a status of sub-citizenship he must renew each migration centers the cornerstone of his far-right policies, Malta has year. At least 485 asylum seekers were granted subsidiary protection seen a sharp uptick. There were nearly 1,500 arrivals during the sec- in 2018 and are living in a state of legal limbo. Although most would ond half of last year and so far in 2019 1,583 migrants have landed face serious harm if returned to their countries of origin, they are on Maltese shores. not recognized as refugees and therefore have no path to citizenship. Meanwhile, the Libyan Coast Guard, which receives training and This also means that they are not afforded the right of family funds from the EU to intercept migrant boats leaving its shores, re- reunifi cation, leaving them separated from their loved ones indefi - turned 85 percent of migrants rescued to Libya in 2018. Many refu- nitely. Unless they are resettled to another EU or non-EU member gees are placed in closed detention where they face limited access to state, their subsidiary protection status can be revoked should their food and are vulnerable to disease. native land be deemed safe. Last month, the Tajoura detention center on the outskirts of Trip- Like Gebrekidan, 35-year-old Major Sium, fl ed Eritrea, often oli was hit in two airstrikes, killing at least 44 detained migrants August 2019 August referred to as the “North Korea of Africa,” after fi nding himself a and severely injuring at least 130. Following the attack, the U.N. target of President Isaias Afwerki’s regime. Both say their residency demanded the closure of the detention centers and the release of the status means occupying a state of constant uncertainty. refugees. Despite these demands, the survivors of a migrant ship- “We are basically invisible,” Sium toldThe Indypendent. “We are wreck last month — considered to be “the worst Mediterranean always worried. We see people who have been here for 10 years and tragedy this year” with up to 150 migrants believed dead at sea — are still separated from their families.” were transferred to Tajoura, in a move Doctors Without Borders Despite living, working and paying taxes in Malta for at least six called “unimaginable.” THE INDYPENDENT JACLYNN ASHLY years — and most likely continuing to do so for the foreseeable fu- The EU’s decision in March to pullback naval patrols in the Medi- 15 YARA NARDI / ITALIAN RED CROSS terranean, which have res- cued tens of thousands of TURBULENT WATERS: Migrants rescued by the Italian people since they began in Red Cross in the Meditaranean Sea in 2016 prior to a crack down 2015, coupled with Italy’s on such missions. criminalization of NGO- led search-and-rescue missions, have added to LOCK & KEY: Graffi ti demanding the opening up of the the dangers of crossing closed-off “Initial Reception Centers” in Marsa, Malta. the Mediterranean.

SEEKING FREEDOM: Sudanese asylum-seeker AUTOMATICALLY Shazali al-Nour was held for weeks in a Libyan prison before DETAINED escaping to Malta.

Malta offi cially ended its practice of automatic detention for migrants and two brothers were killed. “I couldn’t in 2015 following an outcry by advocacy live there anymore.” he said “I felt like any groups and an EU court ruling that deemed day I could lose my life.” it a violation of human rights. The country’s He left Sudan for Libya but never thought current policies mandate that arrivals be of attempting the perilous journey to Euro- transferred to “Initial Reception Centers” pean shores until he got into an argument (IRCs) where they undergo health screen- with his Libyan boss who refused to pay him ings and age assessments before being re- for months of work. His employer called the leased into what are called “open centers,” police, who threw al-Nour in jail. Two-and- where migrants can come and go as they a-half months later, he was able to escape please, but outsiders are restricted from en- by squeezing through a small opening in a tering. Conditions in both types of facilities bathroom. He boarded a Europe-bound have been widely condemned as deplorable vessel with about 100 other migrants from by rights groups. Sudan and Bangladesh. Reverend Billy & Dominik Kalweit, deputy executive di- “I was scared to get on the boat,” al- rector of the Malta-based NGO Kopin, Nour said. “But my situation in Libya was notes that Malta’s Agency for the Welfare so diffi cult. Both options were horrible, so I of Asylum Seekers (AWAS), has failed to had to choose one of them.” Jason Candler on Sax increase its capacity or provide adequate hu- Upon his arrival to Malta in October man resources and staff training. The open last year, al-Nour was placed in an IRC for centers, some of which are mere mobile met- a month. “It was like being in a prison,” he al containers, are in “dire need of refurbish- recalls. “You can’t leave. You just eat and ment and upgrading,” he said. sleep — nothing else. I had no idea how AWAS did not reply to The Indy’s request long I would be there. No one provided us for comment. any information.” Automatic Meanwhile, automatic detentions have A recent report by the Asylum Informa- continued under a different guise. Migrants tion Database lists the NGO’s concerns and asylum seekers are only supposed to be over Malta’s reception centers: “low hy- kept in the closed IRC facilities for a maxi- giene levels, severe overcrowding, [a] lack mum of 14 days. However, in reality, many of physical security, [the] location of most migrants have reported being held for sev- centers in a remote area of Malta, poor ma- Bad eral months. According to Marc Tilley, an terial structures and occasional infestation NGO advisor based in Malta, young, North of rats and cockroaches.” African men, mainly from Morocco and Al- Al-Nour was eventually transferred to geria, are particular targets. the Hal Far Open Centre, where he stayed “What we know is that certain ethnic for two months before fi nding indepen- groups are being profi led and being put into dent housing and a job at a bakery. He is detention.” If you’re a young North African waiting to fi nd out if he will be granted Poetry

man “you’ll be taken straight to Safi and subsidiary protection by the state, where- August 2019 put straight into detention,” Tilley said, us- by he will be trapped within in the same ing the name for a local prison housing mi- legal limbo that governs the lives of so Starr Bar Sunday Aug 11th grants at risk of deportation. many refugees on the island. Tilley accuses Malta of practicing “col- Calmer seas during the summer months lective asylum rejections” based on a mi- mean an increase in new arrivals like al- great food & spirit (s) INDYPENDENT THE grants’ nationalities, a practice which is il- Nour. The numbers of those seeking asylum legal. Last year, Malta deported almost 600 will likely surpass those of the previous year. migrants, the majority of them hailing from Fleeing destitution and violence, they just 214 Starr Street 7 PM FREE North African nations. keep coming. Shazali al-Nour, a 25-year-old asylum seeker from eastern Darfur in Sudan, fl ed BUSHWICK revbilly.com violence in his village after his two uncles 16MIGRATION NO BORDERS FOR THESE CRITTERS CLIMATE CHANGE SPURS A GREAT MIGRATION

By Indypendent Staff But humans aren’t the only Earthlings on the move. By paw, wing Illustrations by Tiffany Pai and fi n, a great migration is underway. Even plants and trees are get- ting in on the act. As emissions of greenhouse gases continue to heat limate change will have a profound impact on where up the planet, a whole host of species are hitting the road in search of people live and work in the 21st century. In fact, it already more hospitable environs. Their changes of address will have a pro- is. Researchers have identifi ed climate change-induced found impact on the ecosystems they leave behind, the new homes drought as an underlying cause of the Syrian Civil War, they adopt and life for us homosapiens. which has displaced millions. The Maldives Islands are Inside Climate News has put together a manifest of the critters Csinking due to climbing sea levels. Then there’s the descendants of the and fauna hitting the highway so you can keep track of their comings Biloxi, Chitimacha and Choctaw American Indians on the Isle de Jean and goings. It is available at insideclimatenews.org/species/archive. ARCTIC SHREW Charles off the coast of Louisiana. Battered by increasingly severe Here are some highlights. Solitary and parasite-riddled, the storms and with rising waters eroding their soil, they are being forced to shrew is often overshadowed by fl ee land their ancestors, escaping reservation life, settled in the 1830s. fl ashier arctic creatures like the caribou and the polar bear. But the shrew has insight to offer the shrewd observer. Modeling diets and parasite colonies from de- cades-old shrew specimens and comparing them to their present-day descendants, scientists have found a climate bellwether in the pint-sized rodent. As the climate warms, their habitats are shifting. Examining two subspecies of shrew, researchers have found that as the planet heats the masked shrew’s habitat is expanding from the south and its parasites are intermin- gling with those of its more northern cousin, the barren ground Shrew. Scientists warn disease will spread as the two relatives increasingly greet one another, potentially reaching other animals as well.

LOBSTER BLACKLEGGED TICK Succulent when boiled alive and doused in butter, our deli- You don’t want one of these vampires landing in your cious friend has all but left these New York shores in search hidden places. Latching on to scalps, armpits and crotch- of colder waters. Perhaps it’s an instinctive paranoia that es during the summer months, blacklegs, also known as sets off the crustacean’s stress levels, a suspicion that the deer ticks, spread Lyme disease, which causes fever and water it is wading in might be a chef’s pot, but once temper- fatigue and turns deadly if left untreated. All it takes atures rise above 68 degrees, it’s bye-bye lobster. Between is a day and a half or two for transmission to be com- 1996 and 2014, the amount of lobster netted in New York plete. Warming temperatures and longer summers have fell by 97.7 percent. allowed blacklegs to fl ourish. Once rare, Lyme disease is Meanwhile, Maine’s lobster population is booming. The now the fi fth most common illness in America. Blacklegs late David Foster Wallace, a man greatly concerned with are expanding their territory too, which now stretches the ethics of slaughtering the claw-limbed delicacy, de- into Canada, where there were 2,025 reported cases of scribed the state’s annual Lobster Fest as “something like a Lyme disease in 2017, up from 144 in 2009. Roman circus or medieval torture-fest.” Yet Maine’s days of living high on the lobster are numbered. Temperatures in the Gulf of Maine are expected to rise by 2 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. Northward they must go, but Canadi- BALD EAGLE an bon vivants shouldn’t rejoice yet. Lobsters are adapting Though they’re America’s national symbol, bald eagles pre- to ocean acidifi cation with thicker shells. Their meat might fer to summer in Canada. They’re fond of carrion and fi sh, be much harder to get at by the next century. and revel in swiping captured prey away from other birds. Benjamin Franklin, who was partial to the wild turkey, ac- cused them of not making their living honestly. Hunting and pesticides greatly reduced the eagle popu- lation in the 20th century, but with the 1972 ban of DDT, along with conservation efforts, the raptor made a come- back and was removed from the endangered species list in 2007. Shrinking ice cover, however, means the birds are DOUGLAS FIR heading north to nest sooner. Earlier foraging times mean August 2019 August Doug’s favorite holiday is Christmas. That’s when his increased exposure to contaminants. Man-made toxins green branches are decked with lights and presents for could once again be the bird’s undoing, and leave the Unit- children surround his trunk. Yet, despite his fondness ed States without a fi ne-feathered thief for its insignia. for Jesus’ birthday, Doug’s a tree of all seasons. An ever- green, he makes his home in the Pacifi c Northwest, but as Western North America heats up and dries, and his habitat shrinks, he is spreading his seed inland. THE INDYPENDENT ART 17 SEWING DISSENT tying all these people together: a ter and in the media, she Tiny Pricks shared desire to process the presi- began producing more often CRY ME A RIVER: By Diana Weymar dency and, more specifi cally, to and enlisting others, hosting Trump’s rude and stupid On view thru Sept. 3 at Lingua Franca (382 Bleecker St.) process the language deployed by workshops for her friends remarks appear even more the prick in the White House. and with the public. so when threaded through This need for refl ection is under- Now she hopes to have dainty cloth. By Celestina Billington standable. According to the Wash- 2,020 submissions logged by ington Post’s calculations, the pres- 2020, when the next presi- ident has so far made over 10,000 dential election will start to STITCHED he words, stitched in black, glare out from false or misleading statements. Beyond the falsehoods, heat up, and to display the TOGETHER: Artist the center of a handkerchief, decorated with there’s also the unparalleled absurdity of so much of what needle works in swing states. Diana Weymar with her a motif of pink roses: “Oh, my God. This Trump has put out there. There’s his infamous “grab them “This project has been a growing needlework is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. by the pussy” quip, in addition to many other infl amma- call and response,” Weymar assemblage. I’m fucked.” TThe stark contrast of the language and the visual aes- says. “The next step is to move thetic encourage the sort of it into a more political realm, cognitive dissonance that is to really use it as a tool to draw now commonplace in Ameri- attention and awareness to the can political consciousness. language that has come out of Looking at the kerchief, one this presidency.” could imagine blowing one’s Weymar recently revisited nose comfortably into the cot- the “stable genius” quote that ton cloth, covering the embed- started the ongoing textile ded “presidency” in snot. protest, posting her updated This hand-sewn phrase, and version to her Instagram on thousands of others like it, line July 19, the date marking 18 the walls of Lingua Franca, months since the original went

a compact shop in Manhat- ESTON BAUMER viral. The updated take on the tan’s West Village dedicated quote is sewn on burlap and to embroidery that has been decorated with colorful mush- temporarily converted into an rooms. The choice to depict optical echo chamber of Don- fungi, hinting at psychedelia, ald Trump quotes, his words suggests the statement is hal- fashioned to textiles of vary- lucinatory, rather than that of ing styles. It’s all part of “Tiny a stable person. Pricks,” a public art project This revisit feels more ex- created and curated by artist plicit than the original, the Diana Weymar. needlework more steady. Wey- “I feel that Trump’s words mar accompanied the post are like pricks. I mean, I feel containing it with the hashtag poked and pricked,” Weymar #DelusionsOfGenius. It’s an tells The Indypendent. “This indication that “Tiny Pricks’”

project is trying to reverse that.” ESTON BAUMER foray into more blatant po- Weymar’s own creations litical messaging will be bold, make up only a small portion of while maintaining a sense the display, with the majority of the works being submis- tory remarks, but there are also downright bizarre phras- for the kitsch and the cute. Weymar’s growing army of sions from people all across the United States. Through es, such as “The kidney has a very special place in the seamstresses are wielding their needles like so many tiny Instagram (@tinypricksproject), a series of workshops heart” and “I am a very stable genius.” swords — and pricking back. and now via this traveling exhibition, thousands of people The “stable genius” comment was the fi rst Weymar have joined the project. documented. Using her grandmother’s needlework kit Participants pick a quote from the president, sew it and from the 1960s, she sewed the mail their work to Weymar, who fi nds a space for each letters with yellow thread over amidst the growing assemblage. a print of red and purple fl o- For Weymar, it’s a way of creating a space for refl ec- rals. The fi nished product and ‘IF WE HAD TO tion, the act of stitching calms her. “I fi nd that my mind the multitude of responses it re- slows down, that my language slows down,” she says. “I ceived on Instagram served as STITCH EVERYTHING think if we had to stitch everything that we said we’d all the catalyst for “Tiny Pricks.” be much nicer people.” Weymar set out to create one THAT WE SAID, WE’D With over 33,000 followers on Instagram and daily piece a week, though with the ALL BE MUCH NICER posts that consistently receive over a thousand likes, Wey- ongoing onslaught of Trump’s mar’s concept is resonating. There’s a collective thread ridiculous comments on Twit- PEOPLE.’

a turbine manufacturing plant at the South “There’s a slight chance that on the rate hikes, warning that the utility wants to WIND FARM Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park, clearest of days, if you have really good overcharge consumers in order to beef up its Continued from page 9 an area the environmental justice group UP- eyesight, when you look out you’ll see fossil fuel infrastructure. Meanwhile, the Si- ROSE has long fought to transform into a something that looks like the tip of a pin,” erra Club is sounding alarm bells over plans

The deal — reached with the Nordic hub for green industry against a tide of gen- said O’Reilly, adding that state offi cials to meet New York City’s own emissions August 2019 fi rms Ørsted and Equinor, respectively — is trifi cation. A company spokesperson told took into account migratory patterns of reductions targets by importing Canadian the largest procurement of renewable ener- Crain’s the hundreds of jobs Equinor plans wildlife when selecting the site, so as to Hydroelectric power. Shay and others warn gy in U.S. history. The twin projects, which to create “will ensure manufacturing and have a minimal environmental impact. the dam and transmission-line construc- push New York toward the CLCPA’s ulti- maritime uses will be in New York City for Though Al Gore sat by Cuomo’s side tion would offset any progress made toward mate goal of eliminating its greenhouse gas decades to come.” when the project was announced and the cutting emissions. Environmentalists want INDYPENDENT THE emissions entirely by 2050 — the strongest Each wind turbine blade will stretch over CLCPA signed, that is the extent of the vice- more of the kinds of projects under way target yet set by any state — are expected to a 165 feet long and must be transported to president-turned-celebrity-climate-champi- off the coast of Long Island that put people create 1,600 jobs and to generate $3.2 bil- the wind farm via water since they are too on’s involvement in either achievement. It is to work locally and address the planetary lion in economic activity and come with a heavy for concrete roads to bear. Nonethe- activists like Shay and Fraczek who made it emergency of climate change. $23 million state investment in workforce less, given their location about 30 miles off all happen. development and education. the coast, the turbines won’t have much of a As for next steps for New York’s climate Equinor is currently considering opening visual impact on the horizon from the shore. movement, Sane is working to halt Con Ed 18BOOKS FICTION WORKING CLASS WHEN YOUR CHILD They plan a union know- HERO ing they’ll be betrayed. ONLY SAYS ONE Sheard details their in- caring for Ben, cajoling One Foot in the Grave: A Lenny Moss Mystery teractions with the casual WORD him, playing games with By Timothy Sheard intimacy of a man who him, and simply hanging Hard Ball Press, 2019 knows this world inside out with him. After Ben’s and out. Degrees of Diffi culty umpteenth school dismiss- The characters feel By Julie E. Justicz al, teenaged Hugo seems By Nicholas Powers like old friends. It’s hard Fomite, 2019 thrilled to have his brother to read their squabbles nearby, and in short order and anxieties and not becomes Ben’s default care- working-class hero is some- feel like you’ve met them before, whether By Eleanor Bader giver. Perry and Caroline “ thing to be,” sang John it’s the nurse Mimi or the Dr. Austin or know, intellectually and Lennon, author and activ- Moss. The saving grace of this novel is emotionally, that this is a ist, Timothy Sheard proves less the plot than the care given to por- t fi rst glance, the Novotny- bad idea, but later, when Hugo graduates him right in One Foot in traying working-class life. Clissold family, protagonists from high school, they allow him to move Athe Grave, his 18th in the Lenny Moss Yet Sheard, a communist, makes a sol- of Julie E. Justicz’s Degrees of out of the family home with Ben in tow. mystery series. The novel delves into the id political point without using any jar- Diffi culty, seem pretty garden Hugo seems to take everything in stride: struggle between labor and management gon. The nurses are required to wear GPS variety: white and middle class he makes sure Ben takes his meds, attends Awith two good looking, well-put-together, all appointments, and eats, bathes, and fol- opposite-sex parents and two kids. But lows long-established routines; for a while, that’s only when third child Ben is away — everything appears to fall into place, thanks in a residential school or hospital. to a loose and frequently changing network When Ben is around, people stare, of home health aides. Still, when the inevita- sometimes sympathetically and sometimes ble crisis comes, it jostles each family mem- not, at the large, drooling, non-verbal boy ber’s sense of self and exposes deep-seated whose only word, “guh,” is sometimes re- guilt, remorse and shame over tasks left un- peated over and over at high volume. Ben done and sentiments left unexpressed. is also prone to grand mal seizures which This makes Degrees of Diffi culty a occur at all hours of the day and night. powerful, emotionally resonant and deeply JULIEJUSTICZ.COM

In addition, Ben’s IQ, 32, has meant that moving story. At the same time, Justicz — he needs near-constant oversight, a chal- who drew on her personal experience with lenge that each member of the household a profoundly disabled family member — responds to differently. has created a work of fi ction that highlights Dad Perry Novotny, a successful build- the dearth of programs available to fami- ing contractor, is relentlessly optimistic, lies desperate for respite care. Additionally, and spend his off-time researching board- it addresses the shortage of well-trained ing schools for the disabled in each of the workers who can provide compassionate

TYRONE WALLACE 50 states. Ben has tried dozens, with each in-home assistance. sending him packing after he unwittingly What’s more, that the Novotny-Clissolds uses his physical strength to menace or are privileged — college educated profes- over work safety as a new Zika virus tracking devices. “I hate the GPS units hurt other children. Still, Perry is unfail- sionals with enough money to buy the care strains threatens lives. Sheards channels we have to wear,” said nurse Kim, and ingly positive, sure that one day he’ll fi nd Ben needs — but still hit wall after wall, real working-class sensibility and the plot the others chimed in. It cuts into their the perfect program. speaks volumes. moves like a jet. physical freedom and autonomy. Sheard Caroline Clissold does not share her hus- To its credit, the novel resists preaching Toiling away at James Madison Hos- smartly makes it a major confl ict that band’s enthusiasm. A renowned Shakespeare and instead offers characters whose insights pital as a custodian, Moss holds down drives the novel because it taps into the scholar and professor at Emory University, beautifully illustrate the toll of inadequate two jobs and is the union steward. A new ever-present desire to control labor. Caroline wants nothing more than to write social supports on those who need them. By Zika strain appears and scares the staff One Foot in the Grave is fun, provoca- and do research. She’s frustrated, and fi nds introducing thoughtful people who are nei- into starting a union to force better safety tive and well told. In its pages, you’ll get Ben’s 24/7 needs depressing, even madden- ther wholly likeable nor wholly monstrous, it rules. A race starts between the pressure a refl ection of working-class life, miss- ing. Over time, she stifl es her feelings with prods readers to empathize and maybe even to treat Zika in a hospital with no real ing from so much of American writing. pills and alcohol, in essence removing her- begin to imagine how they’d handle being August 2019 August equipment and the anger and frustration You’ll see people you know and relation- self from the turmoil that surrounds her. thrust into the complex, chaotic, exhausting of nurses who risk infection. ships you’ve lived. You’ll see yourself. Similarly, only daughter Ivy, the eldest world these folks inhabit. The limits of love The pleasure of One Foot in the Grave sibling, copes by losing herself in school are writ large here. Elegant and provocative, is Sheard’s invocation of workers in work and dreaming of the day when she’ll Degrees of Diffi culty is a great read. struggle with their own fears and man- be able to leave her family of origin forever. agement. They are terrifi ed of Zika but And then there’s middle child Hugo. A loyal to their patients. They shoulder the star on his high school swimming team,

THE INDYPENDENT blatant disrespect of those higher in rank. Hugo nonetheless loves nothing more than THEATER 19 TRUMP GOES TO HADES dron, splashing Hell’s demented Phillip Guston painting. Gor- No Brainer Or The Solution To Parasites parasites out and into the world. don’s Social Worker mistakes THE GREAT Book, Lyrics & Direction by Crystal Fields TV Host wants to become president a garbage bag for what is in OUTDOORS: Theater Theater for the New City so TV Host becomes president. TV fact a fuzzy cartoonish ball For the New City’s Host desires to be king so TV Host of bright pink-tailed rats. A annual Summer Street becomes king. The whispers of para- scooter rode on stage isn’t Theater debuted Aug. By Hazen Cuyler sites guide his conquest every step of one you’d buy from a store. 3. It will perform at 13 the way. It’s made from thick metal outdoor venues across Field’s script is full of insight and pipe, a board, a single wheel all five boroughs during uring the 1970s, Theater for the New City of course it’s about Trump. But more broadly it’s a warning and a triangular stand. Sim- August and the first half played a crucial role in Off-Off-Broadway’s against an archetype. The archetype of a vessel for evil. ple pieces and yet every work of September. emergence, revolutionizing New York City An archetype of a very powerful and ambitious person act- is a bold spark enhancing the theater. Today, an East Village play’s homemade feel, perfect- staple,D the theater’s dedicat- ly accenting the vivid and play- ed artists and audiences are ful hand-painted backdrop more family than ensemble. from a talented Walter Gurbo. Housed within an expansive His large scenic murals are honeycomb of gritty theaters intentionally two-dimension- and scene shops, each sum- al and yet you are captive to mer they take a show on the a unique perspective of place road. That traveling event is and atmosphere. Gurbo trans- called “Street Theater” and ports us to a city-sanctioned, their production this year is affordable household, to the No Brainer or the Solution to depths of Hades, to an iso- Parasites, written and direct- lated blue offi ce that is im- ed by Crystal Field, the com- mediately reminiscent of Van pany’s executive director. It’s Gogh’s bedroom. a sharp, playful, political sat- A great deal of this pro- ire running through Septem- duction is also committed to ber 15. And it’s totally free. protecting immigrants living Social Worker (that’s the in our city. Near the play’s character’s name), played with conclusion, a search warrant bravado by Michael-David is displayed as actors describe Gordon, is confi ned to a sys- what is required of authori- tem of crippling bureaucracy, ties before they may enter withholding social services your home. from those in need. When, There’s no Broadway bud- during a standard government get here. No naturalistic,

home visit, he assists in an QUINN C. kitchen sink drama. But for emergency childbirth, Social Theater for the New City’s Worker questions his vocation work, it would be totally un- while gazing into the newborn’s eyes. ing as a conduit for humanity’s evil ideas. Field cautions necessary. If theater has anything above all other art The play then transports us to Hades, where a wicked us against any capricious man stunted in independent forms, it’s community. Without community, theater does cauldron simmers and pops, boiling with history’s most thought, easily persuaded by advisors and dogmatically not exist. Crystal Field and Theater for the New City is horrifi c events. War, genocide, slavery, every black mark commanding everything suggested to him. a pointed force in our art world, hellbent on provoking on humanity bubbles in the pot. A familiar-looking busi- Of course, her sharp criticism is also aimed at us. Gor- change within society. And I can’t think of a better reason ness mogul appears. Sporting a long red tie, a head full of don’s Social Worker means well, but by adhering to arbi- to go to the theater. wispy blond hair and relatively small hands, he bears a re- trary rules of bureaucracy he harms others again and again. semblance to the former host of NBC’s “The Apprentice.” No Brainer’s visually infectious silliness is like visiting a TV Host, performed as an impressive and entertaining funhouse art salon. Lytza Colon’s playfully inventive props caricature by Alexander Bartenieff, leaps inside the caul- pop like textures and colors ripped from the canvas of a

nior centers and parking lots. Extell is put- fi nal approval for its plan this fall and send room packed with about 80 people. They EAST RIVER PARK ting the fi nal touches on One Manhattan in the bulldozers beginning March 1. The were eager to mount a feistier, more vocal Continued from page 11 Square, an 80-story glass condominium City Planning Commission is slated to cast opposition to the plan with more rallies, tower at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge, its vote in late September. If it approves the press conferences, public outreach and cre- choose a life,” Napoleon said. and developers want to place four more plan, the matter will go to the City Coun- ative public protests, to try to spur Rivera, Mercedes was incensed. “No one is luxury towers (See Briefi ng Room, P6) cil, which has the fi nal say. By custom, the who is up for re-election in 2021, to speak telling us anything,” she said. “[My] ten- along the same shorefront. Council defers in land-use decisions to the out fi rmly against it. ant association hasn’t had a meeting at the The drive to complete the East Side wishes of the member whose district is With time running short and the power complex for well over a year, and they’re Coastal Resiliency Project is part of a most heavily affected. On the Lower East of City Hall backing the plan, stopping the making decisions but not consulting or in- larger project to build a protective barrier Side, that’s Carlina Rivera, the fi rst-term bulldozers feels like a long shot at best. Yet, cluding us, the tenants.” around Lower Manhattan known as the Councilmember who rose through the the park’s destruction seems so senseless as “Big U.” It would stretch from East 25th ranks of the political club that has held the to be inconceivable — like the death of a Street to the Financial District and swing neighborhood’s seat since 1998. close friend in the prime of their life — that • • • on over to the top of Battery Park. For Tom Rivera has said she supports the city’s it becomes impossible to accept.

Angotti, a retired professor of urban plan- plan but wants it done in phases. That’s not “I don’t know how we’re going to win, August 2019 ning at Hunter College and co-author of good enough for its most ardent critics. and it scares me. But, we have to fi ght be- The battle over the future of East Zoned Out! Displacement and City Plan- “You would still be killing every living cause it’s such a wonderful space for so River Park comes at a time when the ning in New York City, that’s where the thing in the park, just in stages,” said How- many people,” said Pat Arnow, an East Lower East Side’s poor and working-class larger scandal lies. ard Brandstein. River Housing Co-op resident who helped residents are being squeezed from all direc- “This is about the consolidation in Low- start ERPA. INDYPENDENT THE tions. Decades of government disinvest- er Manhattan of a giant Noah’s Ark for the For Mercedes and Merlin, it means step- ment have created an excuse for the city and wealthy with beautiful waterfront views • • • ping up outreach efforts to their neighbors. federal government to begin transferring while the outer boroughs get fl ooded,” he “We have a few weeks of intense work the day-to-day management of NYCHA told The Indypendent. There will only be a to do,” Mercedes said.. developments to private companies. Plans place for public housing, he added, “if there In mid-July, Brandstein’s Sixth Street are afoot to build market-rate housing on are opportunities for private investment.” Community Center hosted the fi rst meet- “infi ll” spaces currently occupied by se- In the meantime, the city hopes to win ing of East River Park Action (ERPA) in a ONLY IN THE INDY It's easy to despair and go numb in times like these. But here at the Indy we know that transformative change is possible and it's always been progressive social justice movements that have been at the forefront of that change. That's why we provide incisive, hard-hitting coverage of the issues and the movements that matter here in NYC and around the world. INDY 24/7

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