Murder Stains Parade

GARCIA MAKES METS AS CLONES CLINCH BACK PAGE INSIDE Including The Bensonhurst Paper Painters take on avant-garde Published weekly by Brooklyn Paper Publications at 26 Court St., Brooklyn, NY 11242 Phone 718-834-9350 © Brooklyn Paper Publications • 16 pages including GO BROOKLYN • Vol.26, No. 36 BRZ • September 8, 2003 • FREE Hillary rips fed cover-up of post-9-11 air quality By Deborah Kolben big enough to understand and take,” Clin- The Brooklyn Papers ton told The Brooklyn Papers. “We shouldn’t be treated like we’re in- The plume of smoke that streaked capable of making decisions about our own across Brooklyn following the attacks health and well being. She changed it to on the World Trade Center may have put in very reassuring happy talk and justi- been more hazardous than the govern- fied that by saying that it was needed for ment let on. national security grounds, which makes no At a Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce sense to me.” luncheon on Tuesday, Sen. Hillary Rod- The first-term senator also called for ham Clinton called for congressional hear- more testing of both indoor and outdoor air ings and a Department of Justice investiga- and called for a sampling to be taken from tion into whether the Environmental apartments and offices in both Lower Man- Callan / Tom Protection Agency intentionally covered- hattan and Brooklyn to determine if there up air quality reports right after 9-11. is any remaining contamination. “The case has been pretty well admit- Clinton called on the federal govern- ted,” Clinton told Brooklyn reporters be- ment to foot the bill for any required fore addressing the Chamber at the New cleanup. The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn York Marriott Brooklyn on Adams Street. “Brooklyn has to be involved because of A reveler dressed in full regalia marches down Eastern Parkway “[Former EPAAdministrator] Christine the obvious proximity to what happened,” during Monday’s West Indian American Day Carnival and Parade. Todd Whitman went along with the White she said. House changing some of the cautionary Last week, EPA Inspector General Nikki language of the experts in EPA — the peo- Tinsley reported EPA didn’t have sufficient NASA ple who actually know about air quality — data on Sept. 18, 2001, to say the air was Smoke plume from World Trade Center is blown across Brooklyn on Sept. 11, 2001. who had cautionary language that we’re See HILLARY on page 8 Murder New system compounds stains start of latest school year By Deborah Kolben parade The Brooklyn Papers As more than a million New York City children prepare to return to public school Monday, there is bound to be some confusion. West Indian festival was In addition to the ordinary hustle and bustle of back-to-school shopping, families now have a dizzying array of changes with which to contend. Gone are the local in honor of James Davis school district offices. Community school More on Back Associated Press with The Brooklyn Papers boards? A thing of the Violence marred the festive atmosphere of the West Indian past. to School: p4 American Day Carnival Parade on Monday, which organizers The former Board of had dedicated to the memory of Fort Greene Councilman Education headquarters James Davis, who had himself been fatally shot. at 110 Livingston Street? Slated for condo development. Toward the end of the festivities, a man wearing a mask and stand- All of these changes, in addition to a new uniform reading and math cur- ing on a parade float shot another man in the head as he tried to get on riculum, come under Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s new greatly expanded the float, said Det. Kevin Czartoryski, a police spokesman. The victim, control of the public school system. Anthony Bartholomew, a Brooklyn College student, was taken to Kings So what does all this mean for parents? County Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Authorities were A lot of confusion, according to Clara Hemphill, author of the school- searching for the shooter. rating guidebooks “New York City’s Best Public High Schools,” “New On Wednesday, the Daily News and New York Post had somewhat York City’s Best Public Elementary Schools” and “New York City’s Best conflicting reports of what transpired. The News reported that Public Middle Schools.” Bartholomew was shot for bumping into the shooter, who had been “There’s enormous confusion over applying to gifted programs. You dancing and flailing his arms. It quoted a “high-ranking police source,” used to go to district offices, where do you go now?” she asked. as saying, “This guy is a good kid. It’s over nonsense. He bumped into Gifted programs aren’t the only things that may throw parents for a loop. someone, and he gets shot, and the killer managed to blend into the Instead of seeking variances, voicing concerns and filing complaints crowd.” with the district offices, parents must now head to one of the 10 learning The Post, however, cited a confidential eyewitness to the cold-blood- support centers. ed murder as saying Bartholomew was killed because he laughed at a Under the mayor’s new system, the 32 former school districts have Bloods gang member who was making gang hand signs. been consolidated into 10 regional divisions guided by one of the 10 re- The witness told the Post that after Bartholomew laughed at the gang gional superintendents. Those regional superintendents will oversee a member, he and two other gang members stared at Bartholomew from near group of local instructional supervisors, who oversee no more than a a tree. When Bartholomew and a friend saw a float they like and jumped a dozen schools. police barrier, the three gang members following them, the source told the Those superintendents will be housed at the 10 new learning support Post. centers located throughout the city. Parents are able to visit any of the cen- The witness said the man Bartholomew laughed at, who was wear- / Greg Mango / Greg ters, not just the one in their area. ing a red bandana, purposely bumped into Bartholomew and when the “The good news is that learning support centers are polite and pleasant, victim turned around he pulled out a gun, firing two shots, one of which which is a step in the right direction, said Hemphil. “But a lot of them don’t struck Bartholomew in the head. know a lot.” Police could not verify that account. As of this school year, districts 13, 14, 15 and 16, including Brooklyn Later, across the street from the shooting, another man was stabbed The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Sunset Park, Red Hook, in the neck. The victim, Jean Thomas, 29, of Montclair, N.J., was taken Second-graders Justin Ramirez and Joseph Guiliano are all smiles Wednesday at first day of classes at Kensington, Windsor Terrace, Boerum Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, Fort to Kings County Hospital in “extremely critical” condition. He is ex- the St. Anselm Catholic school, on 83rd Street between Third and Fourth avenues. See CONFUSION on page 4 See MURDER on page 3 Next phase of Shore Rd fixup Profs picket By Deborah Kolben bility of the Verrazano Bridge, of the more beautiful parks in attracts residents with its The Brooklyn Papers increased light, and will estab- Brooklyn,” said Department of sweeping views of Upper New Shore Road Park is get- lish maintenance programs to Parks and Recreation spokes- York Bay and the harbor. Strike LIU over wages, benefits ting a makeover. avoid heavy erosion from hap- man Eric Adolfsen. According to Golden spokes- A section of the 58-acre pening in the future,” said a The last phase of the plan man John Quaglione, these are By Patrick Gallahue no payment from the university.” park, between 69th and 86th Golden spokesman. will include the reconstruction the first capital improvements The Brooklyn Papers The union unsuccessfully asked the streets, just underwent a $1.7 Golden secured funding for of four baseball fields along the park has seen since the Belt school to match $50,000 it was willing to million renovation and now its the renovations when he was Shore Road at 95th Street. Parkway opened in 1934. The faculty at Long Island Uni- put towards a benefits package for adjunct city councilman for the district. Shore Road Park, a 2.5-mile “We’re fortunate to have this versity’s Downtown Brooklyn Cam- neighbor to the south is about professors. The administration in turn of- to get the same. “We look forward to the park running between the Belt many acres of parkland,” said pus went on strike Wednesday. fered $20,000 a year for three years, which State Sen. Marty Golden an- completion of the project and Parkway and the Narrows, Quaglione. “What’s the sense Faculty members, consisting of full-time the union rejected, said fellow journalism nounced the kickoff of the sec- look forward to helping re- from the Verrazano Narrows of having them without having and part-time employees, rejected the ad- professor Mike Bush. The administration ond phase of the project, which shape the park and make it one Bridge to the 69th Street Pier, them in top notch condition?” ministration’s offer of a three-year contract also offered a 2-percent raise this year and will stretch from 87th to 94th and demonstrated outside the school at 4-percent raises in the following two years. streets. Reconstruction started Flatbush Avenue Extension and DeKalb The faculty members voted 190-26 on Aug. 26 and should be com- avenues starting early on the rain-soaked against the contract with three abstentions pleted by June.

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