Open Letter to Governor Cuomo, Cristie and Mayor Bloomberg: Move the Victims of Hurricane Sandy into the Condo Buildings that are Still Standing Vacant

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson URGENT MEMO: From: "gloria dulan-wilson" View contact details To: "Governor Andrew M. Cuomo" Dear Governor Cuomo: I, first of all, want to express my appreciation for your office and you keeping us abreast of the devastation and rescue efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Secondly, I totally appreciate your stance with the utilty companies in terms of a speedy recovery of the electricity and power to those families that have been wrecked by the hurricane. However, I think it safe to say, unless New York is going to use quality prefabricated homes,to replace the ones destroyed; or unless you are going to bring in Ty Pennington from Extreme Home Makeover to coordinate the rebuilding efforts, it will be months -years? - before New Yorkers are restored to their homes. So, I have a suggestion: Prior to his exiting the office as governor, David Patterson, with the help of soon-to-be Congressman, Hakeem Jeffries, had passed a law entitled Project Reclaim. It was directed at reclaiming the overbuilt, and very vacant, condominium buildings in the New York area, and making it possible for those who needed, decent affordable homes, to move in at a considerable discount. Many of these buildings - there were 66 in Brooklyn at the time, and several in the Bronx, Manhattan and other areas - had either not been sold, because they were overpriced, or the because the builder ran out of money. I think this is the most opportune time to get those families out of shelters and move them into those high rise condominiums. Not homeless shelters, or red cross centers, but some where where they can continue to live, breathe and recover from the horror and the trauma they've experienced as the result of a phenomenon they neither controlled, nor had any power over. I am emailing this to you, as well as State Housing Commissioner Darryl Towns, as well as Governor Chris Christie - who likewise has a significant number of properties in New Jersey that might have to serve as either transitional or permanent homes for the victims there as well. I am also posting it on my blog, because it may not reach you directly, depending on who handles your correspondence. Unlike the victims of Katrina, who were shipped from pillar to post because of the devastation of New Orleans, this will, I believe, be a viable alternative to long drawn out processes. Again, I appreciate your keeping me informed, and hope that this recommendation is not only accepted, but put into action, immediately, if not sooner. Stay Blessed, Gloria Dulan-Wilson --- On Tue, 10/30/12, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo wrote:

Harlem Black Businesses & Residents Getting Pushed out? Time for Harlem to Gentrifiy-It-Yourself

by Gloria Dulan-Wilson

I wonder if Marva Allen knew that she was the part of a growing trend when she announced that she was closing HueMan Book Store back in July of this year?

Activist and author, Dorothy Pitman-Hughes certainly nailed it with her recently completed book, “I'm Just Saying, It Looks Like Ethnic Cleansing,” when she pointed out the concerted effort on the part of the so-called powers-that-be to thwart the development and ownership of Black businesses in Harlem; and the rising tide of gentrification.

Everybody knows that Harlem is the target of gentrification! That Black people are being systematically pushed out of the community by so-called high end developers. The passengers on the M102 Bus, the M7, the M101, the A-Train, the D-Train, the F-Train, and on the sidewalks of Harlem certainly nail it every day when they complain about how expensive apartments are; how they are being pushed out of their communities, how the mayor does not care; how New York City is being set up for the rich only.

Interesting, isn't it that everybody pretty much knows what's happening; nobody (at least Black people) likes what's happening, but so far no one has stepped up to do anything about it.

Isn't is interesting, as well, that the New York Daily News recently penned an article about the huge numbers of businesses being pushed out of Harlem due to inordinate rent increases. And, as if to validate that, Barbara Askins of Harlem's BID's, states that the rents, which have gone up from $50 to $75 per square foot, may possibly go up to $175 per square foot by the end of the year.

It's as if they are co-signing pushing Black businesses out of Harlem, as opposed to doing their job of helping them stay in business and stay in the community. Likewise, the penchant of Harlem residents to merely discuss and complain about the pushing out of businesses, as opposed to demanding that their elected officials do something to stem the tide of this latest onslaught, means they too are co-signing their own demise.

Absent any activism on the part of the residents; the lack of local leadership and the lack of cohesive, concerted efforts on the part of Harlemites (those who claim to love Harlem and continued to live there over the years), implies that they have pretty much accepted this demise as a self fulfilling prophecy.

When I met recently with an Harlem elected official about saving HueMan Books from closing, his response was that "it was not a non-profit organization, therefore they could do nothing." Really??? It's the first I've ever heard of that little edict. While other elected officials in other areas are actively working alongside their local businesses to keep them viable and in the community. Now, suddenly, in the Black community, our businesses have to be “non-profit” before they can help them. Perhaps they need to take a tour of Kingston Ave., in Brooklyn, or Williamsburg, or Eastern Parkway; or take a walk around the many areas where there are East Indian businesses thriving, and ask them about the involvement of their elected officials in their expansion. That insipid statement boggles the mind.

I hope I'm either scaring the be-jeebers out of you, HARLEM, or you feel guilty for not having taken a stand; or you're motivated to come together with your neighbors and friends to begin to stop the evisceration of Harlem before Black people become nothing more than a memorial plaque in the middle of 125th street, stating “this is where Black people used to live”, before it turned completely white.

It kind of obviates the myth of Harlem being the mecca for Black people, if the citizens of the Mecca themselves are doing nothing to keep it in tact and progress at the same time.

The August 1 edition of the Daily News listed several business that are currently closing, or have closed already in Harlem. There are probably many others that are flying low under the radar that we are also losing. But this the roll call thus far:

Executive Fashions
Photo/Optical Shop
Harlem Lanes (Bowling Alley)
Hue Man Book Stores
MoBay's Uptown Restaurants
Delancey Leather
Center Nails
Uptown Flava
McDonalds 215 W. 125
Dr. Jays
Eden Furniture Store
Olympic Tower
Christmas Store
King Party

Not mentioned in the article:
The Seville Lounge
Record Shack (Shikulu Sange)
St. Nicholas Pub (147th St.)
Lenox Lounge (under threat)

Look around and see how many of the original businesses remain in Harlem. Look across Harlem's main thoroughfare – i.e. 125th Street - and see how many Black owned businesses are there. How many are there remaining along Adam Clayton Powell, Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass, St.Nicholas, Madison, Fifth Avenues, Amsterdam Avenue, Broadway and see how many Black owned businesses are there.

Rather embarrassing when you think of how many there were. And if you take any notice of the recent primary election, where we nearly lost Congressman Rangel in a very close election, you might also want to think about what's happening overall with the Black residents of Harlem, who have likewise been forced to move out of the community, thus reducing the votes he would ordinarily have received.

It's more than just the fact that, as one realtor stated, “the businesses might not have paid the rent”, it's more like the rents are being jacked up so high, they can no longer afford to pay the exorbitant rates, do business and turn a decent profit. They are being deliberately forced out of business.

Now is the time for me to shout: WAKE UP HARLEM!! YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE DRIVEN INTO EXTINCTION!!! But what good would it do? You already know this.

When you have elected officials who have no compunction of giving half of your neighborhood to Columbia University for some sort of genetics lab, and you re-elect them anyway, it simply means that you either don't care, or you're ignorant, or you are not the Harlemites you claim to be.

When the so-called institutions that are set to preserve and expand your community are rendered powerless either through sell outs or attrition, it means you are either dead from the neck up, or you aren't the Harlemites you claim to be.

Other businesses – Chinese, East Indian, West Indian, African, Jews, Japanese, and communities, have gone above and beyond to maintain their cultural and community imperatives. They are not relying on the powers that be to do for them, what they have to do for themselves. They come here ready to roll up their sleeves and meet the challenges of making it in America. So far, however, it seems that African Americans in general, Harlemites in particular, have not the wherewithal to do the same.

As Malcolm X said, we appear to be prepared to “suffer peacefully”, we've been novacained into silence. While we're keeping up with the Kardashians, watching the Real Housewives of Atlanta and Jersey and the NBA, and so on, the real world around us is being stolen right out from under us.

As MoBay owner, Sherone Chin-Barnes stated, emphatically, “I don't understand what is going on with Black people. We tried to do everything possible to be of service to the community. But when it comes to supporting each other, 'we don't like we; we don't love we!'”

It's an old theme that's been bandied around for decades, Black people don't like each other; don't trust each other, don't work together. (again, per Sherone: "you cannot take a donkey and make it into a stallion," well, at least not without its' cooperation). Hence, we're easy pickings when it comes to being pushed around by the so-called powers that be. We are the ones who are least likely to come together and put a stop to gentrification. We talk about it, we complain about it, but we do nothing to stop it.

In fact, one owner who has recently closed their doors, was afraid to make a statement to the effect that they were a victim of gentrification for fear that it might alienate some of her funders. Mores the pity. It might have made a critical difference in bringing to bear the assistance that would have helped them maintain their company.

Where is our Blackbone Harlem? Where is the Blackbone for people in general. It's, of course, not just Harlem that's being bulldozed into oblivion, it's happening other Black communities across the US.

Unlike Sylvia's Queen of Soulfood Restaurant, a mainstay in Harlem for more than 50 years now, where Sylvia (and the Woods family) actually owns the building in which her world famous venue is housed, most businesses are the victims of bad advice. In their penchant to cut a deal, they opt for a 10 year lease instead of negotiating for 20 years. When, to their amazement, they actually succeed and build up a successful business in Harlem, the 10 years is up, and it's time to renew their lease, they are hammered with increases that effectively cannabilize their profits, thus forcing them to close their doors because they cannot sustain the lease and the business at the same time. Some how or other it never occurs to them to bring in a co-venture to allay some of the expenses, and keep the business going. Nor doe it occur to them that they probably should have bought the building a long time ago, rather than to have continued to lease. Somehow or other in Manhattan, at least, Blacks don't seem to think they are supposed to own anything. What's up with that?

It appears that most businesses only last as long as their lease agreements, which are usually 10 years in length. It starts out reasonably enough, and the business owner usually does quite well during that period. However, the renewal of the lease becomes such a jolt, usually increasing between 30 to 40%. While the business do quite well at the initial agreed upon lease, when the amount suddenly jumps to between $30,000 and $70,000 per month – IN HARLEM!!! - it is clear that they are being gouged out of the community. The rates are not rates that most Black businesses can afford.

The Empowerment Zone, the BID, the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, Assembly representatives, City Council reps, community based organizations, even our Congressional representatives, are only as effective as we require them to be. Even the mayor has to step off if we really put our feet down, collectively.

So it's time for a major paradigm shift; and it has to start with us. We have to claim our community for ourselves. We have to stop paying others to do our doing for us. We really do have the financial wherewithal to own Harlem. That was proven by Kermit Eady when the Black United Fund was able to raise money through automated payroll deductions, and renovate over 400 units in the community, while others were making excuses, or ignoring us altogether.

Therefore what I propose is the first ever Gentrify It Yourself Program for Harlem, where we gentrify our own communities, rather than letting outsiders come in and do the improvements, push us out and reap the benefits.

We can do as good a job as the outsiders in upgrading our communities – actually better! This is the 21st Century. We're not just off the plantation any more. We are educated. We have computers and the internet. By now we should have enough creativity, skill, savvy and vision to take those areas that have become run down, and using a combination of consolidated funds and investments, grants, skills, and on the job training - where we train and hire our own BLACK out of work residents and youth, transform our community into a neighborhood reflective of our heritage, culture and – yes – sophistication.

Like the Jews, East Indians and other cultures, only hire contractors and architects who look like you. But tie their feet to the fire in terms of quality work. The ousted businesses can form tenancies in common, co-purchase abandoned properties and develop a design concept that makes it possible for a restaurant to co-exist with a nail salon, and a men's haberdashery – or something like that. We can start new corridors of profitability, so that 125th street or Malcolm X Blvd are not the only areas thriving with new businesses.

Take a walk along Canal Street, and you find countless numbers of Chinese merchants who share spaces with each other, so that each business is interdependent. You have jewelry next to purses, next to suitcases, next to electronics – and they probably don't pay more than $1000.00 per month each for their share of space

It's time to think outside the coffin (er, uh, box) Harlem (and Brooklyn, Oklahoma, Kansas, California, DC) – before you're gentrified and eminent domained off the planet.

It's time to GENTRIFY OUR OWN COMMUNITIES. We need to come up with our own “Do-It-Yourself Gentrification” protocol. Businesses can co-venture in purchasing vacant buildings, so the burden of expenses are shared across the board; with each business taking a floor, or a “stall”, and cooperate in the renovation of the properties to suit the needs of their businesses. (Ooops! I said the “s” word. I know that one of our biggest issues is “sharing”. That has to be a latter day mental illness for Black people. We certainly could not have made it Black in the Day without Sharing; but somehow, it's fallen out of favor. Well, time to pick that quality back up, dust it off, and begin using it again.)

We need to look at our dilapidated communities with the same critical eye an investor would, when deciding what to do to “upgrade” the neighborhood, and do the upgrades ourselves; but instead of pushing the people out, let's enlist their assistance, and have their sweat equity become part of their remaining in their improved homes.

If you as a business owner can afford to pay $6,000 to $10,000 per month to lease a property; you and other business owners can take those same funds and use it to service a mortgage on a property you co-own as tenancies in common. You then can co-manage the property or hire your own (BLACK) property manager to run it while you run your business.

Do the math: If you're paying $6,000 per month lease for a space:
$6,000 x 12 = 72,000 per annum x 10 years or 120 months = $720,000 x 6 (businesses) = $4,320,000 which is actually three + times the cost of a mortgage to purchase a building in Harlem. So for a third of that amount $1,440,000 – using the tenancy in common principle, Black businesses can purchase and operate in their own buildings, rather than paying out to an entity that will kick them out in 10 years. (and please don't let the realtors tell you that with a tenancy in common people can cross your property without your permission. There are legal docs drawn up to detail those rights – it's another smoke screen used to keep us misinformed and uninformed, and ignorant. Wake up and smell the sulphur, folks!)

A practical example of this paradigm shift would be as follows: a restaurant, nail salon, clothing store, boutique could co-venture in the purchase of a property. Likewise a hardware store could co venture with a furniture store and decorators salon. These are being done in other communities with great success.

In reference to the residential side of the gentrification coin, Black New Yorkers need to stop paying rent to these rapacious landlords and parlay those funds together to co-purchase buildings before they're all gone. And, quiet as it's kept, there are several in Harlem that have not sold, that are sitting vacant and abandoned, while the whites are waiting for someone else -white – to come into your Black community and buy it.

There is a New York State Law entitled Project Reclaim that makes it illegal for properties to sit abandoned in the communities, while the owners who have failed to sell leisurely take their time about the disposition of these properties. The problem with the law is that no one is making our elected officials enforce it. It was introduced into the New York State Assembly by then assembly member Hakeem Jeffries, and was passed while David Paterson was still governor. Now we need to make them put some teeth into it.

Take a visit to a community in DC, called the Adams-Morgan area, where Brownstones have been converted into mixed use properties – with commercial businesses on the ground floor and basement level, and residential living on the upper level. The street is well kept, the area is popular, the people are thriving, and the neighborhood is intact. It reflects the culture and ingenuity of the people who reside there. Can we do any less? Obviously we can, or the gentrifiers would not be pushing us out. Do we need to do more? Absolutely!

Like Walt Disney, we need to look at blight as an opportunity to do something new, different, and spectacular, but this time we are doing it together and for ourselves. (sorry if you don't like the Disney example – but anytime a man can take a line drawing, make it walk, talk, color it, and build an entire empire from it in areas other people would never have ever considered, to me he is a genius, and someone to learn from. Are there other geniuses? Of course: Marcus Garvey springs to mind; but Disney is more graphic).

We can set up special on-the-job training program so that the contractors, architects, laborers, and occupants are 100% African American, the way our latino brothers and sisters have done in the Washington Heights area.

We have to stop talking about why we can't do it, and start putting together the means by which it is done. And, it's not always just about the money. Sometimes it's about the heart, the spirit. Where is our vision?

We can enlist our churches, our educational centers, our locally based organizations, and the community itself to get together on this Do Your Own Gentrification project. From the inside out, not the outside in.

And if the so-called representatives we currently have are not on board with this, it's then time to get representatives who are, who will stand up for Harlem in the City Council, who are not bribable, and who will go down with us rather than roll over on us to curry favor from others. We need the get our Blackbone back. The Blackbone that made Harlem famous and viable in the first place.

Let's put together Block to Block contests for Harlemites to participate in for improving their community for themselves. Let's find the realtors who are not just out to make a fast buck on a commission, who will give us the inside scoop on the properties that are available for co-venture, so that we are no longer on the late show.

Someone commented recently that New York is just about the money. That's only partially true. There would be absolutely no money without the New Yorkers who live here. The lifestyles of the rich and ridiculous may play well on TV, but as the economic downturn of 2008 has proven, chances go round all over the place. And the ones who remain are those with heart. That's us - Harlem! So don't let them have another chance to subjugate you to marginal living.

We, who have survived hundreds of years of oppression and marginalization can no longer afford to be on the tail end of the situation. We have to begin to head up our own self-salvation – from our communities, to our schools, to our investments and institutions. It's now or forget about it!

So instead of the Farewell to Harlem epitaph, let's come up with a re-imagined Harlem that we Gentrified ourselves, from our own vision, sweat equity, investments, and actions.

We can do it! The question is, will we?

(PS: FYI: My credentials: In addition to being a blogger, I am also a realtor, appraiser, notary public, former executive director of an affordable housing program in Brooklyn, and former Housing Coordinator for the City of Jersey City - these are not just opinions, they are based on research and experience.)

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Dear Gov. Paterson: Tax the Wall Street Greedy, Not the Main Street Needy of New York

BY Gloria Dulan-Wilson

BELOW IS THE TEXT OF THE MESSAGE I, AND PROBABLY MANY OF YOU, RECEIVED FROM GOVERNOR DAVID PATERSON IN REFERENCE TO THE TAX ON SUGAR SWEETENED BEVERAGES. I URGE YOU TO MAKE YOUR OWN FEELINGS (PRO or CON) KNOWN AS WELL.


Gloria Dulan-Wilson ✆
to gloria, Governor

show details 12:13 PM (3 minutes ago)

Dear Governor Paterson:

If this is a tax to mitigate the ill effects of obesity, which is highly doubtful; I would also like to strongly suggest that you impose immediately a comprehensive tax on greed and ill gotten gains levied at Wall Street and publicly traded investment businesses and banks that have wrecked our economy. Let's call it the "modified tax on unscrupulous, ignorant, and incompetent business acts that adversely affect the population and citizens of New York Act." The tax can be between 2% to 10% (10% for the most egregious).

And on the basis of that tax, for every ill-gotten dollar (and I don't need to define that, I think DC, the President and the other analysts have already done so), that we get 10% back, since New York was faced with the double whammy of so many people being thrown out of jobs and homes as the result of our very own key industries ripping us off right under our very noses.

(This based on the propaganda that New York's economy is based on FIRE: FINANCE, INSURANCE, AND REAL ESTATE) Somewhere in there the concept of manufacturing, research, and creativity has been relegated to other borders - more's the pity - because we can certainly use them now).

By implementing the "modified greed and unscrupulous, ignorant and incompetent business acts tax," we will gain an effective tool to combat greed, unemployment, and people suffering at the hands of arrogant, insensitive, acerbic business figures, who have taken a hold of our city and state's economy and trashed it. This plan will restore the citizen's confidence in you as well as in the legislators for the State of New York. It will also make up for the fact that many who have been thrust into unemployment, may be able to look to the state for some extended relieve while they try to put the shamble of their lives back together.

This one cent per ounce excise tax on beverages is still punishing the victims. Let's get punish the perpetrators for a change!! They seem to be adept at ducking and dodging their responsibility; getting around the consequences, and pointing fingers of blame in other directions. As great as we are, New York cannot continue to carry the burden of thieves who have literally made off with our livelihoods, and while we continue to struggle to put our lives back together, they sit in their homes (usually in Connecticut, or out on Long Island) counting their bonuses and making "just in case everything comes back" deals behind our backs.

Rather than the tax on sugary soft drinks, let's tax on those dollars that they are taking from our pockets. Additionally, let's stop warehousing homes and apartments, being held off the market by the real estate industry while so many families who have either lost their homes, or could not afford to be gouged at the higher price points, are living shelters, or doubling up with friends and families.

Pass the Project Restore program Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries as been working on. While you're at it, restore some of the programs and protections Pataki destroyed during his tenure as Governor, that left us pretty much unprotected and powerless.
Putting a tax on sugary soft drinks only takes more money from the pockets of more families that can't afford to pay it. Like most other smart New Yorkers, they'll just go to Jersey and buy in bulk and avoid it all together. It would be better served to stop nickel and dime-ing us to death and deal with some of the real intrinsic issues that really hit us where we live.

Reinstate Kermit Eady and the Black United Fund of New York, the charitable organization that made it possible for African American New Yorkers to pool their resources and underwrite some of the programs that may not have been in the State's budget, but were nevertheless necessary. It was destroyed by unfounded allegations leveled at them by Elliott Spitzer during the time he was aspiring to run for governor. The charges were unfounded. However, not only has Mr. Eady never been "made whole", but the people who benefited from the program were seriously damaged, losing homes, jobs, and so much more. In much the same way you have pardoned individuals who are serving or have served sentences (whether deserved or undeserved), Mr. Eady deserves pardon and reinstatement of his good name, organization and property. (Mind you - this is not an aside, nor is it off the subject, but goes to the heart of how we've lost the moral compass in New York of putting people first, things second.)

New York is not just a state for brainiacs; it is also a state of ingenuity and creativity. We have become prey to those outside our borders who now have the wherewithal to fabricate, design and develop new and innovative concepts, tools, materials. To that end, bring back some of those manufacturing concerns to our waterfronts -- shipping and manufacturing -- which then takes us off of soley relying on the so-called "smartest men in the room".

Rather than acting as though working with your hands is somehow lower class, you need to return vocational training to the schools so our youth can have some competitive skills, without having to import labor from other borders, while the people here go begging or on welfare, or worse yet, end up in the streets.

Make it mandatory for all students from the 5th grade on to have comprehensive training in financial literacy, including Wall Street (in all schools and make Wall Street underwrite the program). Make it possible for an adult education class so those of us who missed it during our formative years can also learn what it is that the "biggest industry" in New York is really about.

Ever wonder why most of the guys on Wall Street come from places other than New York? Why is it that the biggest industry in NY has the lowest placement from our own hallowed halls of education? We are not providing our own youth with the opportunities people from other countries receive.

In reference to education and the concern about limits on Charter Schools vs. Public Education: Neither avenues are that impressive. It is clear that more dollars are being thrown in the path of Charter Schools to the detriment of Public Schools by private concerns. Most feel there is an ulterior motive, which may or may not be the case. For the most part, there has to be some over all standards or criteria for quality education.

There has been a tendency to make it an either or situation. Perhaps it needs to be both, with the overarching criteria being set in place by both parents and teachers; and the resulting Charter Schools required to specialize in specific fields; while the Public schools also being required to improve, and being given the additional funds to do so. The two are not mutually exclusive. It is, however, relatively off putting to know that we could be losing over $700 million dollars, that we can't afford to lose, rather than figure out a way to have the best of both worlds.

I have always had the utmost respect for you. Still do. And you've always had the ability to make those kinds of empowering choices. I don't see that you've lost that faculty or capacity now that you're governor. I think those muscles should have been enhanced.

This tax on Wall Street's greedy will definitely help the People of New York, if it's allocated appropriately. And while you are our Governor, please focus on what that means and where that is. Don't let the greedy get away with walking on the backs of the needy.

Governor Paterson, New York needs you to be the Governor that brought balance back to the state. And you can only do that by putting the people of New York first. You have to look at what's for our enduring good. Do we need homes? Yes. Do we need better jobs with career paths to them? Yes. Do we need a Transit System that is clean, safe, affordable and reliable? Yes we do. Do we need educational programs that prepare our children to be competent, competitive, and respectful in an age of buffoonery? Yes we definitely do. It may be time for a resumption of those town meetings you initiated to get a sense of what people are concerned about. That way you're not isolated (or insulated) from what's really happening.

I think you can leave a very wonderful and important legacy by not trodding over the same go no where paths your predecessors did. You have really lived among the real people of New York. You know what they need. We're looking to you to make it happen. We want you to go down in History as the Governor who save New York from itself.

Thank you and stay blessed.
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

(by the way - I am sending this response back to the email I received from you. I will be curious to see whether or not you receive it. And would appreciate a response from you in reference to this recommendation. )

BELOW IS THE TEXT OF THE MESSAGE I, AND PROBABLY MANY OF YOU, RECEIVED FROM GOVERNOR DAVID PATERSON IN REFERENCE TO THE TAX ON SUGAR SWEETENED BEVERAGES. I URGE YOU TO MAKE YOUR OWN FEELINGS (PRO or CON) KNOWN AS WELL.

My Fellow New Yorkers:
Obesity is a public health crisis. When over half the adults in this State, and one out of every four New Yorkers under the age of 18, are overweight or obese, we must recognize that there is a tremendous problem. Obesity is associated with life threatening conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer, and the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages is a major contributor to obesity. These health problems and costs will only increase in the future, unless we take steps to help all New Yorkers adopt healthier lifestyles.
By implementing my modified sugar-sweetened beverage tax, we will gain an effective tool to combat obesity. This plan will increase the price differential between the high sugar-high calorie and low sugar-low calorie beverages and encourage consumers to make healthier choices. A one cent per ounce excise tax would be added to sugary soft-drinks, bottled coffee and tea drinks with added sugar, powders and other sugary beverages, but my revised and improved plan will also eliminate the sales tax for bottled water and low-calorie drinks that have 10 or fewer calories per 8 oz.
New Yorkers spend an estimated $7.6 billion annually to treat obesity related health care costs. This initiative will help lower those costs over time, and improve the health and quality of life for all New Yorkers. Now is the time for us to take bold actions, and I again urge the Legislature to help me encourage healthy eating by approving this new tax on sugar sweetened beverages.
For more information about the modified sugar sweetened beverage tax package, please click here. Also, please share your views on this issue on Straight Talk from the Taxpayer.
Best,


David A. Paterson
Governor of New York State



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NYS Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries Presents State of the District at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn

by Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Brooklyn has been blessed with Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, of the most dynamic, well thought out, action-oriented elected officials to have held that office over the past decade. And that does not take away from the other members of Brooklyn's assembly district -- notably, Annette Robinson, Karim Camara, Darryl Towns, among others. Nor does it take away from the State Senators either.

Mr. Jeffries, however, has rolled up his sleeves and tackled issues head on, thinking outside the box, and coming up with innovative solutions that have benefitted his constituents in ways they may or may not yet be aware. He's working regardless of whether or not there are cameras rolling, regardless of controversy or popularity. He's sincere, and he's thorough. He's assembled a hard working supportive staff that are likewise diligent and dedicated.

That said, it would behoove you to take the time to attend this event. It's for and about you. It's an attempt to keep you in the loop, so you can't say "no one told me", or "I didn't know that." Not a dog and pony show filled with empty promises. Jeffries is in and of the community, and communicates personally and through his staff with constituents, assessing their concerns. Once compiled, he goes into action finding solutions, and working with others who have already rolled up their sleeves to help, as well.

No ego trip here. He's there to make a difference, and it appears to be working.

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ASSEMBLYMAN HAKEEM JEFFRIES (57AD) TO DELIVER STATE OF THE DISTRICT ADDRESS Wednesday, January 27 at 6:30 p.m. at Pratt Institute. Jeffries will update community on Project Reclaim and introduce new initiatives

This will be Hakeem Jeffries' third State of the District address since taking office in 2007. In addition to Project Reclaim, the initiative introduced at last year’s address which seeks to transform market-rate condominiums that have failed into desperately needed affordable housing, he will also talk about the Section 3 Campaign for HUD, and legislative initiatives for alleged police misconduct and shootings.

WHERE: Pratt Institute – Higgins Hall
61 St. James Place(at Lafayette Ave.)
G train to Classon; C train to Clinton/Washington
38 Bus to St. James Stop

Going forward into the next decade, starting with 2010, we owe it to ourselves and each other to be a proactive part of what happens in our community. Fortunately we have elected officials like Hakeem Jeffries that make this possibility a reality.

And make sure you watch President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address. They both have direct impact on where we are, where we need to go, and how to get there.

For those of you who cannot attend the State of the District Address, an online telecast called ON THE SPOT will cover the event, and present it online from Thursday forward.

Stay blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK

Gloria Dulan-Wilson