| From the Village of Brooklyn | OOURUR TTIMEIME PPRESSRESS THE LOCAL PAPER WITH THE GLOBAL VIEW | VOL. 21 NO. 18 Since 1996 May 4 – 10, 2017 | From These Roots, Greatness Springs Photo Credit: Barry L. Mason Black Gold: Last Saturday, New Yorkers for Responsible Waste Management gave away free compost outside the Hattie Carthan Community Garden, as gardeners from around the city arrived to pick up plants from the site. Located at Marcy & Lafayette Avenues, the garden is equipped with a children's learning space, chicken coops, urban farmers' spaces, a farmer's market and more. Here, a young gardener blends compost -- black gold processed at an upstate Columbia County, New York farm -- into the soil of the local Bedford Stuyvesant garden. Page 8 One of the most important things is to ☞ INSIDE believe that we are Tellers of Stories: Amanda Gorman, 19, Named powerful and that we can affect change. National Youth Poet Laureate That power isn’t about ➔ Page 4 money; it is about the City to Invest $7M to Better Apprehend Domestic belief that each and Violence Abusers and Ensure Support for Survivors every one of us can ➔ Page 2 make a difference. That there are forces Despite Controversy, Bedford Union Armory developer that we can’t see but & CAMBA, Partner to provide community sports are helping, supporting programming and directing our ➔ Page 3 actions and that wrongs will be righted. RestorationArt Inaugurates the Harry Belafonte Artist This is the force of and Activist Achievement Award with First Honorees love and by using Marjorie Moon and Ruben Santiago-Hudson this energy we can ➔ Page 7 continue to protect the 200,000 people who Q & A at Congressman Hakeem Jeffries’ Bed-Stuy live in our community. Town Hall ➔ Page 6 Alicia Boyd Page 9 2 OUR TIME PRESS May 4 – 10, 2017 VOL. 21 NO. 18 City to Invest $7M to Better Apprehend Domestic Violence Abusers and Ensure Support for Survivors BP Adams: Mayor’s move “ensures care of children who are often invisible victims”. hat should be one of the tolerate domestic violence, survivors have accountable. Recommendations include: warmest and most peaceful the city’s full support and abusers must be Expanding the Child Trauma Response days of the year, Mother’s held accountable. We will do everything we Teams: expanding the program to an ad- Day,W will be the extreme opposite for indi- can to ensure that New York City is safer for ditional location will provide immediate linking domestic violence services with viduals trapped in abusive situations. Or everyone, everywhere, at all times.’” intervention for more victims of child trauma immigration legal services to ensure that locked in memories of them. “There is no simple, one-size-fits-all who have witnessed domestic violence in survivors can seek help without fear or While crime has lowered in New York solution to domestic violence but there are their homes, which has been shown to reduce immigration consequences. City, domestic violence has drastically risen, actions we can take to provide pathways to the odds of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Additionally, the strategy devotes re- according to the NYC Domestic Violence safety for survivors and hold abusers ac- by 65% for children who have witnessed sources to the continued work of the NYC Task Force. One in every five homicides— countable,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray, violence. Domestic Violence Task Force to improve and two in every five reported assaults—city- co-chair of the Domestic Violence Task Force Investing in enhanced evidence-gather- data collection, integrate domestic violence wide is connected to domestic abuse. and the Commission on Gender Equity. “The ing: purchasing state-of-the-art technology, reduction resources into the ThriveNYC It could be that more people are reporting new investments we are announcing will help including alternative light source cameras, network and develop additional strategies to it. It could be that the statistics are reflecting us leverage bold innovations that support which can reveal evidence of strangulation prevent domestic violence. a horrible reality, but all across the country, families, help them heal and address root often missed by traditional cameras, and Convened in November 2016, the Task small towns and big are reporting an increase. causes of abusive behavior.” mobile evidence-gathering technology, Force was charged with developing a coordi- Here in New York, Mayor de Blasio and his “We believe that these investments which can be a critical source of information nated response to this persistent problem that wife First Lady Chirlane McCray and city will enable us to further reduce crime and in stalking cases. Forensic evidence can help included both criminal justice and social ser- officials, including the NYPD Commissioner violence, particularly with the victims of validate a victim’s experience by substan- vices intervention. Co-chaired by First Lady James O’Neill and Borough President Eric domestic violence,” said NYPD Police tiating abuse in a way that can be used to Chirlane McCray and NYPD Commissioner Adams, are taking stands. Commissioner James P. O’Neill. support criminal prosecution, inform victims James O’Neill, the work of the Task Force This week, the de Blasio Administration In 2007, 4.8% of all major crimes in of domestic violence of available options and is directed by the Director of the Mayor’s announced an investment of nearly $7 mil- the city were related to domestic violence, increase the strength of a criminal case to Office of Criminal Justice Elizabeth Glazer, lion to better apprehend abusers as well as broadly defined to include offenses involving hold the abuser accountable. Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office to ensure support for survivors. It’s a start. members of the same family or household Expanding the Early Victim Engagement Combat Domestic Violence Cecile Noel The number of intimate partner homi- as well as those related to intimate partners. Program: expanding this early engagement and Executive Director of the Task Force cides rose from 26 in 2015 to 37 in 2016, and By 2016, that percentage had reached 11.6%. program to an additional two locations will Bea Hanson. The Task Force is comprised of the number of domestic violence incident The Task Force conducted an in-depth provide critical information to more victims experts from inside and outside government reports rose from 74,684 in 2015 to 91,617 review of current city programs and in- at the time of an offender’s arraignment as well as survivors. in 2016. vestments to enhance the delivery of social enhancing safety, access to resources and Director of the Mayor’s Office of “Domestic violence is disturbingly services to victims, evidence-gathering and prosecutions. An evaluation of the EVE pro- Criminal Justice Elizabeth Glazer said, “In common, and affects every neighborhood in other law enforcement tactics. The new gram in Brooklyn found that it increased the a city in which violent crime has fallen by NYC. It’s only by confronting this crime that approach focuses on intervening as early conviction rate in cases of intimate partner 75 percent in 20 years, domestic violence we will end the vicious cycle that perpetuates as possible, enhancing pathways to safety violence prosecuted by 9%, from 23.6% vs. remains a challenge, accounting for 40 it,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This report for survivors and ensuring swift, effective 32.6%. sends a loud and clear message: ‘We will not and lasting enforcement to hold abusers Providing Immigrant Legal Services: ➔ Continued on page 11 DBG MEDIA Publishers of Our Time Press, Inc. 358 Classon Avenue OUR READERS’ Brooklyn, NY 11238 (718) 599-6828 COMMENTS Web site: www.ourtimepress.com e-mail: [email protected] The Politicizing of Publisher a Community Park DBG MEDIA t is with regret that I announce another play space where older children of Editor-in-Chief color have been forced out of. 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