Month: October 2016

Second Avenue Subway Line

 

Angle/News hook: While so many New Yorkers are thrilled as we anticipate the arrival of the new second avenue train line extension, that will now stop at 63 and Lex, 72 and second avenue, 85^th and 96^th, there are many businesses and families who have suffered a huge loss. Multiple local businesses have closed down over the past few years on the upper east side as a result of the construction for the second avenue subway line.

 

Our opinion: We believe that the MTA did not take into account the people who already resided on the upper east side, who’s lives it would negatively affect.

 

Supporting examples:

 

1. Nick’s restaurant on 94^th street: Danny Marquez, their ten-year manager says that their dine-in business has stayed flat or fallen since the construction has started”
2. Dorrian’s Red Hand on 84^th street: Chris Tripoulas, four-year manager, attests that their business has decreased dramatically, approximating an overall decrease of 50% – potentially even more during daytime business when construction is in full swing. “A lot of people don’t even think we’re open, because [the construction] is covering us up.”
3. Big Daddy’s on 83^rd street: a local, famous diner that has been there for 15 years is closing due to half of their business being lost during the construction

The historical conflict between the U.S government and Native Americans seems to be repeating itself. The birth of this nation was obtained with the argument of manifest destiny which was then put into action by taking Native American’s land in a violent and inhumane way. Recently, the proposition to build a 1,172-mile pipeline through North Dakota has caused a lot of conflict due to effects this will have on the Native American tribe, Standing Rock Lakota Sioux Nation. The pipe will pass through land marks, including burial ground as well as having the potential to contaminate the water this tribe uses as pivotal source of their living.

Legal agreements that protect Native American and their land have constantly been violated by the U.S government such as, the building of the Dalles Dam in 1950 amongst others. A U.S federal judge gave the order to build the North Dakota pipeline, regardless of the cultural value it holds for Native Americans because the construction of this pipeline will bring significant financial benefits for the Energy Transfer Partners, parent company Dakota Access, and it will also decrease the dependency the U.S has on crude oil. The path to a better future should be to learn from our past mistakes. Native American people should have a sovereignty over their land and their culture should be respected. Instead of investing 3.8 billion dollars in the ongoing destruction of Native American culture, Dakota Access should invest that money in finding new sources of energy. The protesters who have gathered in North Dakota to show their support for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline are being arrested en masse by police. This has brought into question citizens’ right to protest causes with which they disagree in the United States.

If 300,000 people had not participated in a March on Washington, D.C. in 1963, the United States would not have the civil rights that its citizens enjoy today. Protesting is a vital part of U.S. democracy and it is protected by the First Amendment. If citizens could not protest, they would not have this powerful opportunity to create a dialogue with the government. By arresting over 100 people, the executive branch of the U.S. government is telling its citizens that their voice and actions do not matter. Arresting innocent people sets a dangerous precedent for which the police do not want to be known. Citizens have the right to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline and should be allowed to do so without repercussion.

Written by:

Maria Markowics, Rebecca Simons, Angel Mendieta, Yesenia Barrios

 

New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, passed a new law, Bill A8704C, that will make home-sharing sites, such as AirBnB, unable to rent entire homes or apartments.

The fines will be anywhere from 1000 to 7500 dollars, and the listing will be removed.

New York City’s apartment and hotel prices are already unaffordable for many residents and tourists. Many AirBnB hosts simply use it to help pay for rent itself, not to make extra income.

Hosts often rent out their entire home or unit for a short-term stay when then they are absent, for example when they are on a business trip or studying abroad, to pay for their rent. Under this new law, these people will lose money from their empty apartment. This could make them lose their apartment.

Because tourism is a big industry in NYC, proponents of the bill believes the city loses revenue in taxes from these “illegal hotels.”

An alternative solution is to apply occupancy tax for home-sharing hosts who are renting out entire apartments or people who have multiple listings. People who are renting out only a room to supplement their income should not be taxed. In this solution, the government will generate revenue from taxes and hosts will be able to afford their rents.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/22/technology/new-york-passes-law-airbnb.html?_r=0

http://www.businessinsider.com/gov-cuomo-signed-new-york-airbnb-bill-2016-10

Assemly.state.ny.us

By Harjap Kaur, Yulia McClamrock, Katherine Ward

By Nicole, Marcello, Cole, and Joeleen

Airbnb is an online market that allows property owners to rent out their space to travelers looking for a place to stay. The company operates in 192 countries, but in New York City it has run into many issues. The website has become a great way for property owners to make extra income by renting out rooms or whole apartments while out of town. In just 2 years, it’s valued at $30 billion.

A bill has been signed by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to restrict the breaking of house regulations by prohibiting the rental of a space for under 30 days while the host of the home is not present. Fines will cost up to $7,500 for an illegal property listing.

In an attempt to regulate housing and protect full-time residents, the city of New York is taking away a significant source of income for residents who use the site to generate an extra income.

Though it is difficult to determine who’s taking over these apartment buildings to make so-called “illegal hotels”, it is insulting to take from the people and give to the government’s special interests.

The bill has not sat well with those who represent Airbnb, as many of their executives believe that the city of New York is violating their right to freedom of speech and due process. Actor Ashton Kutcher (who owns a notable stake in Airbnb) along with Facebook and Paypal co-founders have come together to urge Cuomo to veto the bill as it would impose harsh fines on Airbnb hosts.

The San Francisco-based company has always had a soft spot for New York. As one of its biggest markets in the US, the company is heavily invested in making sure it’s able to operate in the area. But beyond that, the company has shown genuine interest for the city’s culture and housing. After Hurricane Sandy, the company partnered with the city to provide free temporary housing to those affected by the storm.

Advocates for affordable housing in New York and around the globe however, are worried about the repercussions that come with the company allowing tourist to use entire apartments for short periods of time. These “illegal hotels” have taken up units that could be used for the residents of the cities instead of raising the rents of the area’s around them.

Those who back the bill believe that AirBnb’s proclamation that the new laws step over the line is bogus. “The Bill says: you can’t advertise an illegal activity” says Assembly member Deborah Glick, “I don’t know what the big confusion is.” She is not the only one who feels this way, as a group of New Yorker’s who call themselves “ShareBetter”, have urged Cuomo to sign the bill as it would prove to be a viable way to block illegal depletion of housing in New York.

Recent papers revealed “Share Better” is directly linked to the Hotel Trades Council, which has a vested interest in seeing Airbnb fail. The group has met with De Blasio 4 times. Another hotel interest group also donated $400,000 to the campaign to re-elect the mayor.

Airbnb has struck back against the possible bill by presenting a lawsuit in the Federal District Court in New York’s Southern district on October 21st. It was filed against Mayor Bill de Blasio, state attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, and the City of New York.

 

Report that anti-Airbnb campaign was funded by hotels has some residents upset

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/22/technology/new-york-passes-law-airbnb.html?_r=0

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/airbnb-new-york-illegal-lawsuit/

By Mark Garzon, Sarah Wasser, Xunqing Zheng, and Kevin Wang

The oil pipeline project in North Dakota has garnered controversy among environmentalists and advocacy groups who oppose it since it would impact drinking water and disturb tribal sites.

Since then, groups have gathered to protest at the site but have been met with significant resistance from police. This included the use of pepper spray and police dogs on protestors.

Despite this, it received low media coverage until Amy Goodman, a reporter for Democracy Now! covered what was occurring and published a video and article which raised national awareness.

By journalistic standards, Goodman had simply exercised her First Amendment right as reporter to inform audiences of the situation at the site. She committed no wrong.

However, authorities begged to differ and charged her with trespassing, which was eventually changed to rioting charges since the prosecutor believed trespassing wouldn’t stand in court.

Although the charges were dropped by a North Dakota judge last week, the fact she was charged in the first place raises concerns.

Goodman’s actions were protected by the First Amendment, which allowed her to report on anything that occurred at the site. The actions taken by North Dakota authorities violated her rights as a citizen as well as her duty as a reporter.

In this case, it’s clear Goodman did not commit any wrongdoing. The prosecutor’s actions indicate they simply found charges to place on her since they had to switch the initial ones. Instead, it comes off as a way of reprimanding Goodman for her reporting.

The idea that authorities were trying to restrict her right to report on a site that was initially receiving low media coverage is alarming.

Sources:

http://www.salon.com/2016/09/12/arrest-warrant-issued-for-journalist-amy-goodman-after-reporting-on-dakota-access-oil-pipeline-protests/

https://www.rt.com/usa/363017-reporter-riot-dakota-pipeline/

 

 

 

 

Check-ins on profiles.

In-class exercise: Op-Eds

1. Divide into groups of four.

2. Pick one of the following topics:

The Second Avenue subway (first stretch set to open in December)
De Blasio admits that the Build It Back program won’t meet its goal
Cuomo signs bill that penalizes hosts of home-sharing (like AirBnb)
New York City Council considers doubling number of food vendor permits
Police crackdown on journalists and/or protesters at Standing Rock

3. Together, find some background material and read up on the issue.

4. Pick a stance and formulate an argument.

5. Write a short op-ed and post it on the class blog.

What Makes a New York Kid?

Op-ed pitch due.

Pick a topic that has been in the news, either local or national
800 words
Must include at least one interviewed “expert” source (someone with personal experience, researcher, scholar, official)

 

Hallways at Baruch College are littered with bright flyers advertising anything from used textbooks for sale, French tutoring, and new clubs on campus. The rainbow of colors can be overwhelming with so many flyers vying for attention.

This semester, though, there is a noticeable change in the color scheme.  Two new clubs are riding a wave of political conversation happening around the presidential election. Presidents of the Right Wings (Baruch’s Republicans club), and the Baruch College Democrats vie for attention every week at Baruch in hopes of gaining new members.

———

Vincent Gangemi’s glasses hide a furrowed brow every time he listens for a question. He speaks confidently and eloquently, belying his status as a junior. A Macaulay Honors Scholar and native Staten Islander, Vincent was “born and raised right” in one of the more red districts in New York City. Growing up, he was surrounded by what he describes as RINOS (Republicans In Name Only) and “Hardcore Republicans.”

“That environment made me understand what it meant to be a Republican,” he says.

He’s well versed in conflict and testing ideas. For him, the party of “Lincoln and Reagan” is all about bringing the old ideals of their time to the new political landscape today and testing to see if they can work in the current political and cultural environment.

The Right Wings are  in their first semester of being officially chartered by Baruch. Club members’ stances are all across the Republican spectrum and meetings typically consist of 20 people. In total the club’s membership is around 50–an impressive number for a new club on campus. Vincent started out as the club’s marketing director last year when the club first  launched, and took the reins last summer when the previous president graduated.

Vincent wants to educate and inform the Baruch community about the Republican platform, inspire healthy debate, and increase political activism at Baruch. Noticing an increase in political activity at Baruch this election cycle, he wants to use it to help grow membership.

Events consist of presentations, debates, and breakdowns of political speeches. Every week, there’s a newsletter sent out to a large and growing mailing list, highlighting important events and volunteer opportunities, breaking down buzzwords, and reaching out to Baruch.

Familiar with young peoples’ political apathy towards politics, Vincent is trying to use the Right Wings to increase activism and knowledge at Baruch. Whether it’s at the local, state, or national level, everything counts. “We really just want to get people involved,” he says.

———

Mia McDonald’s first foray into politics was in 2008 in her hometown of Houston, Texas. Her parents are liberals living in a famously conservative state and canvass the neighborhood, hoping to raise support for a senator from Chicago. Mia remembers her father telling her that the cause was extremely important, and that they had to get involved. Now a senior and a Public Affairs major, her love for politics hasn’t diminished.

Originally a Bernie supporter, she’s now “all in for Hillary.” For Mia, the social issues are the main focus of the election. With so many diverse students at CUNY, and so much talk about the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and people of color this election cycle, she hopes this will be a catalyst for change in the level of activism  at Baruch.

“Especially when one of the candidates is talking about building a wall,” she says.

As a transfer student to Baruch College from St. John’s, Mia wanted to make an impact on Baruch in her last year. Shocked by the campus’ apathy for politics, she started the Baruch College Democrats (a chapter of a national organization under the DNC) around the same time The Right Wings were forming. Similarly to The Right Wings, Mia wants this club to focus around political advocacy. For her, it doesn’t make sense how apathetic students are.

“It’s important for CUNY to get involved because of the diversity of students, and because of CUNY politics,” she says.

After she graduates this spring, Mia wants to see the College Democrats flourish. At the moment, the College Democrats boast a similar membership size as The Right Wing, which she partly attributes to enthusiasm generated by the current political climate.

“People have strong opinions about this election,” she says.

She plans to harness that into a strong membership base to continue into the next few years that aren’t centered around a presidential election. Beyond that, she also wants students to realize the impact of local politics—especially for CUNY students.

“Local elections are important too,” she says. “Local politics may not be as sexy, but they have more of an impact on your life than the national elections do.”

———

Vincent and Mia speak highly—albeit carefully—of each other. The two just met this semester as presidents and hope to work together  to hold debates mirroring the presidential election. During Baruch’s Undergraduate Student Government event to register voters in September, the two clubs had tables next to each other. In October, the two clubs will faced off in a debate on campus (following the presidential debate the night before). The highlight event of the semester for both clubs, the presidents will continue to speak in a series of other events to continue the dialogue from the current political climate.

Looking at the election, it seems the two parties on campus should be at odds as polar opposites, but both are surprisingly similar in their goals. Vincent and Mia are shaping Baruch through political activism.

“Black Lives Matter”. Those are words being uttered by many individuals across the nation. Whether it be people of color, Muslims, Latinos or Caucasians, men and women alike have taken a stand against racism in America.

For a country that has made strides over the past few centuries, the last decade has set the United States back tremendously. With names like Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray and many others dominating media headlines for many of the wrong reasons, many across the African American community wonder, “Am I next?” and “When will this stop?”.

Those are questions that seem impossible to answer at this current moment, as just last month Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott headlined news outlets everywhere as the latest Africa Americans to be slain at the hands of the law. “When will enough be enough?” says Markell Waters, a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In order to understand the movement, we must understand its origin. The movement began to catch traction on the internet after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the murder of Trayvon Martin. The ruling spread like wildfire across the nation as many people were outraged that an innocent young man was gunned down and the justice system completely whiffed the trial. The Zimmerman Trial brought back memories of the Casey Anthony trial as she too was acquitted of a crime that many say she committed.

None the less, the Black Lives Matter movement was born when Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi took to the internet to discuss their frustration with the ruling in this case. These women came up with the moniker “Black Lives Matter” and to this day, the moniker is only getting stronger and stronger.

Fast Forward to the present day and the Black Lives Matter movement is everywhere. Whether online or on the news, these ladies along with millions of other people have begun to speak out. They hold many friendly protests and stand up for what they believe in.

The Black Lives Matter movement has reached out too many social media outlets, including Facebook, which has a Black Lives Matter group that represents New York.  Two prominent members that I interacted with in the group were Markell Waters, 21 and Spencer Smith, 23.

Both of these Individuals have completely different backgrounds as Mr. Waters family is from Jamaica, while Smith’s family is from Haiti. Mr. Waters is a resident of Long Island, New York, where he attends NYIT as an art major, while Smith is from Queens, New York, where he has hopes that he will be the next big rapper to come out of the area.

Though these two have completely different backgrounds, here they were in the same Facebook group, fighting for the same cause.

For Mr. Waters, he is tired of what is transpiring in this country. “Every night before I go to bed, I pray to God for a better tomorrow for those of us in the community and yet I feel like my prayer is being answered backwards” says Mr. Waters. His mother and father came to this country in the early 90’s in hopes of starting a family and having a better life. Now Mr. Waters will not deny that America has given him the opportunity to express himself freely, but he will say that being someone of color is tough. “It’s like being under a microscope. Someone is always watching you, whether you like it or not”.

People of color have always been discriminated against. As the decades go by, the criticisms of these people seems to only get worse. Take it from Mr. Smith, who for half of his life has been called a thug, criminal and even a vigilante. “When I walk into a supermarket, all eyes are on me. When I walk into Foot Locker, all eyes are on me, When I’m at work, all eyes are on me. When will there be a day where no one Is watching me?” Smith admits that he hasn’t been a saint, but, neither have people of so many other colors, so why is it that he says he is the only one that gets in trouble? “It’s because I’m black. Being born black is gods greatest gift, but also his greatest sin”.

These two men have been supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement since 2014 and don’t see themselves quitting anytime soon. “They can take everything from us, our homes, our jobs and our dignity, but they can’t take away our pride. They can kill as many of us off if they have to, even if they do, we will still find a way.” says Smith.

For these men, the movement shall never die. They don’t view it as a pastime or something to do. They have made the movement apart of who they are and try to educate the masses as best as they can. “The movement is only getting stronger. They can tell us to stay quiet as long as they can try, but soon they’ll have no chance at stopping us” said Mr. Waters.

These are tenacious young men who are fighting for what they believe in. Both of these men have traveled far and wide. Smith has attended gathering in Pennsylvania, while Waters has gone all the way to Georgia, where he has relatives who also fight for “What is right”.

“No matter where you are, you can look around and someone will always be different. The problem with our society is that people are scared of different. But, I’ve learned that in this lifetime, different is normal and that’s how I choose to live my life” said Smith.

In all ironies, Smith and Waters have actually met on several occasions at rallies throughout New York City. They have become good friends, and look forward to meeting up each time. The odds of Smith and Waters meeting would probably be between zero in a million had it not been for the movement.

Not only has the movement educated the community, it also brought them much closer together. “Everyone here is a part of my family, so if someone messes with any of the guys and gals in it, it’s on” said Mr. Smith. The movement clearly isn’t temporary, it’s here to stay.

With demonstrations across the nation, someone is bound to listen and relay the message to someone else. It’s a never ending chain-reaction that will only get stronger as the days go by. We can deny them all we want, but until something changes, they won’t stop. Mr. Smith and Mr. Waters are just two of the millions of colored citizens that have had enough with the system. They want what is right and won’t stop until they get it.

 

With such an extensive career in journalism and foreign affairs, how does one justly introduce a person such as Carla Robbins? So while this is just a feeble attempt to accomplish just that task, it may be worthwhile to state now that before she was an internationally renowned journalist, Mrs. Robbins had first earned a BA in political science from Wellesley College first. Then after, she later received her master’s and PHD in political science from Berkeley college.

Yet despite her many achievements, many people might still wonder how a person such as Carla Robbins could start out her career professionally as a reporter for Business Week first; before later becoming A deputy editor for The Times; to eventually holding her own lectures as a professor at Baruch college. So as a response to such curiosity on her professional origins then, Carla had told me that “It was just a natural progression. I covered Washington, I was a foreign correspondent, and then [having] a chance to be a senior editor at The New York Times was a fabulous opportunity”.

While in Washington Carla often had the privilege of meeting with various senators, secretary of states, presidents, congressmen, and more. So to Carla, being a journalist was a “great front row seat” as Carla puts it. In fact, often times it is this very front-row seat advantage where much of the fun of being a reporter actually exists, according to Carla. As for some of the reasons as to why this is so then, in part it is because while the public only tends to hear the on record portions of a reporting, it is a gift for journalists to know how stuff works behind the scenes so to speak. Or in the words of Carla, “it’s a good chance for someone to understand what they’re [those who are featured in stories] thinking.”

And just as it is very likely that a reporter’s employer may change over time, so too is it likely that the locations that a journalist reports from in order to perform the duties of their work, changes too. So it is this very requirement of frequent travels for many journalists, which would explain then in many ways how Carla was able to report from so many countries; such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, and even many of the beautiful countries of Latin America. With most of her thanks to having such benefits being owed to her own assorted career as both a foreign diplomat and domestic reporter.

On a more personal note however, Carla looks forward to having our nation’s first woman president, potentially sworn if Clinton snags the election from Trump next month. And when asked if she felt if there are any implications at an international level if our nation elects their first female president this election day, Carla responded that “It’s remarkable that we’re so late to the party,” especially since female presidents had been elected even “in More traditional male dominated society [all ready], than [with] our [own] alleged more progressive society.”

And as an election of many potential firsts, Carla even wonders if Hillary “will make a woman our secretary of defense.” “I mean she may very well choose Michèle Flournoy to be her secretary of defense.” Yet, just to show us how much this specific upcoming election may had lead to great perceptional shifts for many Americans as well; Carla doesn’t forget to assert either that “If you would had asked me [that question] nine months ago I would had said oh I’m not sure if she [Clinton] really would do that [appoint a woman as secretary of defense].” Carla even jokes just a little bit when she says “could a man be our [next] secretary of state?”

Today, Carla Robbins is an adjunct senior fellow for the Council of Foreign Relations. In addition, Carla is also among the staff and faculty members over at Baruch college. Interestingly enough, Carla had even shared with me that her mother graduated from Baruch College as well. And when asked if she felt that her career in journalism was better than her work involvement with academia; Carla had told me that “The hands on nature of teaching is incredibly gratifying in a way that I didn’t expect, I really love my students and Baruch is a really special place”. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything, and they’re [journalism and teaching] just different phases of my life, and one isn’t better than the other.”

In the morning of October 12th 2016, Hundreds of women, majority young was getting ready to walk up Fifth Avenue to Trump Tower in Manhattan to protest, in response to Donald Trump recent released tapes of touching women inappropriate and how he has been treating women for many years.

Yong Jung Cho 26, a campaign coordinator led the protest. Cho is a campaign coordinator for 350.org. 350.org is a building a global climate movement. She is also the organizer for allofus2016, a group of millennials, who believe America should become a real democracy, where everyone’s voice should be represented.

“Trump refuses to take responsibility for his nasty words. The GOP refuses to take responsibility for making Trump be their nominee” said Cho

Cho grew up Ridgefield, New Jersey. Her parents are from South Korea. Growing up, her parents did not have social services like healthcare. Cho thought she was going to become a doctor to take care of her family and her community, but that changed when she got to Bryn Mawr College.

In Mawr, she got into her school government, where she learned how to get her voice heard. “We need to organize and built power so that we can be shifting the system,” said Cho.

She also got into climate issues in the world. “Most people in the United States know that climate change is happening and want leaders to take action not because is a threat for the future, but because it is happening right now, it has impacted people today”

(More to come. Statistics and her election view points.)