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66
2
3
1
CITIZENS
COMMITTEE FOR NEW YORK CITY, INC.
file
NY
Chairman
Osbom Elliott
July 30, 1993
Honorary Chairman
Senator Daniel P. Moynihan
Founder
Jacob K. Javits
Gloria Johnson
Directors
Dennis Allee
Special Assistant to the President
Richard R. Aurelio
and Director of Public Liaison
Richard Berman
Office of National Service
Edgar M. Bronfman
Betty Chapin
Room 145
Richard M. Clurman
OEOB
Donald J. Cogsville
Evelyn Cunningham
Washington D.C. 20500
Henry P. Davison, II
Peter Duchin
Dear Gloria:
Victor Gotbaum
Thomas Guinzburg
Susan Gutfreund
I thought you might find this of interest. Best regards, and keep up the good
John G. Heimann
Carole Hochman
work.
Richard C. Holbrooke
Shirley Strum Kenny
Robert R. Kiley
Harriet R. Michel
Sincerely,
Joel Motley
Gordon B. Pattee
Theodore I. Pincus
Ostime 45
Marcella Rosen
Lewis Rudin
Sandra Silverman
Osborn Elliott
Joan Sutton Straus
Carol F. Sulzberger
John Trubin
Stephen H. Weiss
Executive Director
Michael E. Clark
305 SEVENTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10001
PHONE: (212) 989-0909 FAX: (212) 989-0983
Summer 1993
Volume 17, Number 1
CITIZENS REPORT
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE CITIZENS COMMITTEE FOR NEW YORK CITY
An Open
Dear Mr. President:
Neighborhood volunteers provide
Letter to
the "community" in community
At a time when your Administra-
policing, working with cops and
tion seeks to create a new wave of
President
prosecutors to find workable solu-
volunteer service on a national basis,
tions to crime problems thought
we invite you to become acquainted
Clinton
only a few years ago to be hopeless
with over 10,000 volunteer neigh-
disasters. Realizing that much of
borhood organizations in New York City.
our crime stems from drug abuse, thousands
Working through these block, neighborhood,
of these neighborhood residents have launched
tenant, youth, church and civic associations
volunteer education and prevention projects,
are over one million neighborhood volunteers.
set up local networks to refer drug abusers to
treatment, and created new alternatives for
These citizens and their groups can be the
young people in the hardest-hit neighborhoods.
building blocks of urban revitalization pro-
As government and nonprofit service providers
grams. Their efforts translate not only into
have been overmatched by fast-spreading urban
neighborhood strength, but into social progress
ills, thousands of new volunteer groups have
and national development as well. They tutor
sprung to the defense of the homeless, the
and provide job training for young people to
hungry and those stricken with HIV/AIDS.
fill tomorrow's jobs and mentor them to help
overcome barriers and find productive
Come to New York, Mr. President. We can
futures.
show you models of neighborhood cooperation
that the world as a whole could use. As a
They are in the vanguard of the urban envi-
nation of immigrants, America's economic and
ronmental movement, screening out lead
human development are threatened when
paint hazards, testing water quality, planting
race, religion, ethnic background, language or
trees, recycling and collecting litter. (Half-a-
national identity tear us apart. Since more
million people, by conservative estimate, will
than one out of three New Yorkers were born
volunteer in programs to clean streets and
overseas, we deal with these differences every
sidewalks this year in New York City.)
(please turn to next page)
1) put on mailing list
2) write a letter Manking him for
hisletter + me info are describing
The pass CS. prisen project.
include fact sheet on bill,
tell luin we've put him
on mailing list
2) fil NY, higher ed
We need these citizen
problem-solvers to help
government target
day. Although some of our fail-
delivery of services,
Mr. President, we think you
ures to resolve tensions are well
known, you will be surprised to
to help shape the content
will be encouraged to find that
person-to-person democracy is
find how often projects like
of these services, and to
alive and well in New York. At
neighborhood gardens, block
hold service providers
every level - the block, the
clean-ups, soup kitchens, and
accountable.
building and the neighbor-
youth leadership projects
hood shopping area - people
throughout our city are bringing New Yorkers
meet on a regular basis to discuss the problems
of amazingly diverse backgrounds together.
that touch on their daily lives and work to-
We'll show you neighborhood festivals and
gether on practical solutions. This is just the
block parties that unite New Yorkers of African,
kind of invaluable experience we need to
Latino, Pakistani, Russian and Vietnamese
inform the workings of government at all lev-
heritage. We'll show you anti-crime patrol
els. We need these citizen problem-solvers to
councils in which Orthodox Jews, African-
help government target delivery of services, to
Americans, Muslims and Koreans work
help shape the content of these services, and
together, sharing experiences and pooling
to hold service providers accountable.
resources.
So when you say, "It's time for millions of us
Don't get me wrong: hundreds of thousands
to change our country block by block, neigh-
of neighborhood volunteers can't replace vital
borhood by neighborhood," New York's
government services. In fact, most work regu-
neighborhood leaders couldn't agree more.
larly with government agencies - local, state
We've already begun, and we look forward to
and federal. These people became active
working with you.
because they care about their neighborhoods
and their city and because they thought they
could find better ways of doing things. They
are willing to fight City Hall if necessary, and
many look at government operations with
practiced, critical eyes. But they would rather
Michal E Clau
work in partnership with government than
against it. Government needs, and should
Michael E. Clark
utilize, their knowledge and abilities.
Executive Director
On the following pages are examples of New York City's neighborhood groups in action.
2
Model
Projects
A
little bit of understanding of cultural
If an urban
the Merchant Marine. His knowledge
differences can go a long way toward
again came in handy when tenants became
easing racial tensions.
problem emerges,
suspicious of an African family because of
Members of the 131st Street Neighbor-
a neighborhood
strange smells coming from their apart-
hood Block Association in Harlem, for
group will find a
ment. "I recognized it as a special kind of
instance, didn't like getting the runaround
West African dish," he recalls, "which I
from Korean store managers when they
way to deal with it.
think is very tasty. After I explained this,
asked for donations.
Here are some
everyone relaxed."
"I had to explain that usually the man-
The 131st Street Neighborhood Block
agers are women and their husbands are
reports from the
Association, located between Lenox and
the owners," says Kevin Harden, a member
front lines.
Fifth, is a good example of New York's
of the block association's executive com-
multi-purpose block associations. Their
mittee. "The women weren't handing us a
organization began in 1989, working with
line - they actually didn't have authoriza-
an ambitious CPOP officer from the 32nd
tion to spend money. We made appoint-
Precinct to clear drug-dealing from the
ments to speak to the owners, and things
block. After safety improved, residents
worked out fine. We ran into a similar mis-
came out for massive street clean-ups and
understanding when our leaders, mostly
now there is an annual block party that
African-American women, went to speak to
draws hundreds of young people. "We
Middle Eastern men who run shops. I hap-
Dorothy Cooper, president of the 131st
don't have any fights, any drinking, any
pened to know that in their culture, men
Street Neighborhood Block Association,
confusion," says association president
with Hosik Yang, owner of Lenox
generally don't speak about business to
Beauty Supply, in front of Mr. Yang's
Dorothy Cooper. A computer training pro-
women."
Lenox Avenue shop. In the back row
gram for students is in the planning stage.
are Felix Kumi (left) and Alex Pipim,
Harden picked up an appreciation for
store employees who are from West
Block association members pay dues,
international cultures during a stint with
Africa. (Photo: Tim Wall)
and the hard-working, all-volunteer execu-
tive committee meets as often as three
nights a week.
The group is serious about following
through on its Good Neighbor Policy. At its
next block party, storekeepers and residents
of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Middle
Eastern, West Indian, African and Latino
descent are invited to set up tables display-
ing their own cultures and cuisines. As
Dorothy Cooper might put it, as far as cul-
tural differences are concerned, there won't
be any more confusion.
The 131st Street Neighborhood
Association received a cash grant as a winner
of the Citizens Committee for New York
City's 1992-1993 Building Blocks
Awards.
3
"Non-profit and volunteer groups are tremendous untapped resources.
Now is the time for the government to utilize them."
W
hen they're not helping plant trees
Santana co-directs the anti-crime patrol
in the rainforest or campaigning for
with Juan Griffith and Nelson Valle and
the koala, the Student Activist Volunteers
heads the Community Watch board of 13
for the Environment (SAVE) cleans up its
members. The youngest member of Com-
own front yard: the Staten Island waterfront.
munity Board 7, he is quoted like clock-
A recent effort by this group of Staten Island
work in local newspapers.
Technical High School students, "The First
The patrol negotiated with the City for
Annual Island-Wide Earth Day Cleanup at
authorization to monitor the area from
South and Midland Beaches," took place on
Central Park West to Riverside Drive,
April 17, 1993.
between 65th and 72nd Streets. They put
Volunteers aided the Center for Marine
well trained foot patrol members on the
Conservation in its lobbying by reporting
streets three days a week, working closely
on data cards the type of materials collect-
with 20th Precinct CPOP officers. Last
Volunteers of Stoten Island's Midland
ed. Says Jen McCave, spokesperson for
year, co-director Griffith implemented a
Beach have it all wrapped up on
SAVE: "The event promoted a spirit of
SAVE's "First Annual Island-wide
new type of safety patrol - on bicycles - to
cooperation and self-satisfaction in the
Earth Day Cleanup." (Photo: Rick Miller)
expand coverage. Now they're raising funds
community, and made people aware of just
to put their own car patrol on the streets.
how harmful littering can be, especially at
The anti-crime patrol is so effective that
the beach."
demand for their watchful presence is in-
SAVE won a 1992-1993 Building
creasing. The group is discussing expansion
Blocks Award cash grant.
of the patrol with the Broadway Mall Asso-
ciation, a neighborhood organization en-
"A
few years ago, we didn't know any-
compassing the large commercial avenue.
thing about nothing," laughs Hector
"Non-profit and volunteer groups are
Santana, president of Community Watch.
tremendous untapped resources," Santana
He and other West Side residents, however,
says. "The government should take advan-
knew that they didn't like the drug and
tage of these groups to make the city better.
crime activity in their neighborhood.
This is the time to utilize them."
"We joked about going out and getting
Community Watch was a cash grant recip-
armed, but then a lot of good ideas started
ient as a winner of a 1992 Drug
coming up." Learning by trial and error,
Prevention Award from the Citizens
the group formed the Manhattan North
Committee for New York City.
Anti-Crime Patrol/Neighborhood Watch.
Today, people might say they know
plenty. Community Watch has about 800
Y
ou cannot walk around the corner in
Manhattan's East Village-Loisaida area
member supporters, most of them high
without passing two or three community
school and college students. In addition to
gardens, each with a brightly colored wall
their patrol, they promote environmental
mural. At the center of all this urban green-
action and tenants rights. "We want to do
Hector Santana (left) and Juan Griffith
ing activity is the Lower East Side Ecology
things that have never been done before -
of Community Watch are making o
Center, which operates a recycling station
try things that have never been tried
stand on Broadway, in the Lincoln
and a compost service for neighborhood
Center area their group patrols.
before," comments Santana.
(Photo: Tim Woll)
gardens (see article page 10). Early this
"I always thought old people didn't know anything.
But you can learn a lot from them."
Aileen is one of eight teens who partici-
pate in the Helping Hand Program, an
intergenerational chore service run by the
youth group of Church of the Nativity. A
small cash grant was supposed to pay mod-
est stipends to the participants. But Sister
Eileen Burns and Maribel Torres, 20, the
volunteer director of the youth group,
report that the young people voted to use
the money for a retreat at which they will
evaluate their program.
The program provides a low-cost, high-
impact way of meeting the needs of older
people and keeping them in touch with the
neighborhood. Secondino Amadeo, for
instance, says he looks forward to talking
spring, before the weather had turned
John Ameroso (center), urban horticul-
with someone "who's younger than Pancho
warm, volunteers turned out for the center's
ture specialist of the Cornell Coopera-
tive Extension, teaches tree core to
Villa." But the young people are just as
newest project - tending and pruning the
Lower East Side Ecology Center volun-
enthusiastic.
neighborhood's street trees.
teers. (Phota: Tim Woll)
"She's traveled a lot," says Benito
The Lower East Side Ecology Center
Santiago, 25, about Dolores Ramos, a talk-
(formerly Outstanding Renewal Enterprises)
ative 95-year old. "She knows songs and
received Neighborhood Environmental
stories. I thought my job was to cheer her
Action Award cash grants in 1987, 1991
up, but what amazes me is that she's the
and 1992.
one who makes me feel full of life."
The Helping Hands Program received a
"I
always thought old people didn't
1992 Project One City cash grant from the
know anything," says Aileen Batista,
The Helping Hand Program's Aileen
Batista (center) visiting with Secondino
Citizens Committee for New York City.
a 14-year-old resident of the Lower East
ond Zoila Amadeo. (Phota: Fronk Capri)
Side. "And that they were, you know, old-
T
he Erasmus Neighborhood
fashioned. But you can learn a lot from
Federation is a non-profit serving its
them."
corner of East Flatbush, Brooklyn, with
Aileen regularly visits Secondino
tenant advocacy, tenant organizing and aid
Amadeo, 76, and his 66-year-old wife
to homeowners. Their latest project is a
Zoila at their Sutton Street apartment. She
network of civilian safety patrols organized
runs errands down the street that are hard
among the tenants of eight apartment
for the couple to do for themselves, but
buildings and linked to the 67th Precinct
mostly they talk. The conversation often
by two-way radio. The "vertical patrols"
turns to what it's like in the Amadeos'
have stabilized building security and
native country of Ecuador, as well as what
brought tenants together for projects like
changes are occurring over the years on the
street cleanups. Volunteers are happy to
Lower East Side.
share the credit with Patrolman Kirk
5
"I had an idea for a grassroots volunteer group. I consulted with teachers and.
Citizens Committee tipsheets and based the program on that model."
Herrera, their dedicated CPOP officer, and
with teachers and also found the Citizens
Esther Anderson, who handles radio calls
Committee tipsheets helpful, and based the
from their patrols and 70 others within the
program on that model."
precinct.
The free Latino Youth League tutoring
The Erasmus Neighborhood Federation,
sessions are held on Saturday mornings in
with the help of a 1981 Citizens Committee
Spanish and English. "We won't turn any-
SNAP grant, was able to attract more fund-
one away," Sosa promises. Each of the reg-
ing and become a staffed organization. In
ular pupils, ranging from 9 to 12 years old,
1993, the group received a Drug
gets the attention of a volunteer tutor
Prevention Award.
trained by the New York City School
Volunteer Program.
"W
e were a group of college students
Although she hopes to draw more chil-
who saw the need to roll up our
dren, Liriano is encouraged. "I feel we've
sleeves in the Latino community and make
Yves Vilus, executive director of the
been successful in helping these kids with
a difference," says Ruben Sosa, executive
Erasmus Neighborhood Federation, on
their homework and test scores and devel-
director of the Latino Youth League.
patrol at the 270 Lenox Road apart-
oping strong friendships and mentorships
ment building. (Photo: Tim Wall)
Since 1989 the League has involved the
between the volunteers and the students.
Latino youth of Sunset Park,
Everyone looks forward to Saturdays now."
Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bushwick
The Latino Youth League has received a
in cultural, educational, and recreational
1990 Drug Prevention Award, 1990 and
activities. Their latest effort, started in
1992 Project One City Awards, and a
January, is a tutoring program for the chil-
1993 Neighborhood Environmental
dren of P.S. 1.
Action Award.
"I had an idea for a grassroots volunteer
Lorraine Liriano and students at the
group," explains Lorraine Liriano, coordi-
Latino Youth League's weekend
nator of the tutoring program. "I consulted
A
Ithough it might look like a rubble-
tutoring sessions. (Photo: Lindell Sapp)
strewn lot, the West Bronx-based
Taqwa Neighborhood Community
Association sees a recreation area for their
kids and a way to cut their grocery bills in
half by growing their own vegetables.
The future "Taqwa Community
Garden" is already cleared of much of the
debris and is the site of gardening lessons
for area schoolchildren. Organizers expect
that food grown on the extensive lot will
reduce the need for food purchases by local
families and improve the environment at
the same time.
Less than a year old, the Association has
JDEY
already thrown a block party, secured the
vacant lot, published a bi-monthly newslet-
ter, and conducted an educational
"I kept telling them, 'Y'all going to get killed.'
I kept talking to them."
Abu Talib, assistant chairman of the
The pair walked in the door in dramatic
Toqwa Neighborhood Community
fashion at the second rehearsal. Now,
Association, and members Kabrina
Harden and Stanley Harden work at
according to Juanita, they're staying away
transforming on empty lot into the
from drugs and working at jobs she helped
Taqwa Community Gardens.
(Photo: Rick Miller)
them find. "They're not making the money
they used to make, but I keep talking to
them," she says. They also do art work and
handle sound equipment for the tenants
association. Juanita's skit has developed
into a play to be staged for the school sys-
tem and other housing projects. And her
two young friends are in it - they play
campaign and regular clean-ups to vanquish
he area foe: rats.
hard-core gang members called "Pecos" and
"Pittsburgh Joe"; but after the one who
The Taqwa Neighborhood Community
Association received a cash grant as a winner
plays Joe is killed, he comes back on stage
in a new role as an angel-returned-to-earth
of the 1992-1993 Building Blocks Awards.
called "Brother Malcolm."
The Fiorentino Plaza Tenants Association
J
uanita Fisher knew how to take care of
received a 1991 Drug Prevention Award
two young toughs dealing drugs outside
and a Citizens Committee Communities Can
the building where she lives. She gave them
Stop AIDS grant for an AIDS-awareness
parts in her play.
program in 1992.
Juanita is president of the Fiorentino
Plaza Tenants Association, organized in a
Fiorentino Plaza Tenants Association
housing project in Brooklyn's East New
volunteers run arts-and-crafts days for
Compiled and written by:
York. The group has been working with the
children in the Fiorentino Plaza apart-
police since 1982 against a rising tide of
ments. (Photo: Lindell Sapp)
Olga Herrera Moya and Tim Wall
crack cocaine and crime. They consider
work with the neighborhood youth to be as
important as quality arrests in solving the
crime problem. "What we're really doing is
gathering young people," Juanita says.
A skit written by Juanita called "East NY
Revisited" became one of the group's activi-
ties. There were parts for people of all ages,
but she especially wanted to recruit two
young dealers who grew up locally.
"They were dealing hard core," she says
with a North Carolina accent. "One of the
yola
boys had been shot up. They were the two
AYONS
most hated guys in the neighborhood. I
kept telling them, 'Y'all going to get killed
out here.' I kept talking to them."
7
The Power of
a Newsletter
Pick up a copy of your neighborhood newsletter and you
submit their own articles and reach each
might find gardening tips, a hotline to call or a "Name
other that way."
If your neighborhood doesn't have a
That Landmark" contest. More than just a bulletin
newsletter, you can start by calling the
Citizens Committee Public Information
board, neighborhood newsletters bring communities
Department at 212-989-0909 for a free tip
together by providing useful information, ways to get
sheet on newsletter publishing.
Here's how some newsletters transform
needed resources and an outlet for different
ordinary pieces of paper into action:
The
CHILDCARE BULLETIN
neighborhood voices.
Taking its name from a small native
"Within the pages of your neighborhood
Puerto Rican bird who fights back when
publication are the molecules of grassroots
attacked, El Pitirre publishes in English
activity. Even if you never take action
and Spanish. Its essays stir up responses to
beyond reading the news, you are a partici-
the political, social and cultural issues
pating member of that community because
important to the Sunset Park Latino com-
you are informed," writes Kathy Vadnais in
munity.
her upcoming book, The Neighborhood Press.
The Communiqué, published by the
"The neighborhood press is the critical
Lower East Side/Lower Manhattan Inter-
link that can be counted on to give news of
Agency Council for the Aging, is written fo
issues around your home, tell you which
seniors by seniors. Three senior reporters
neighbors are involved, keep you current
receive a stipend in exchange for articles on
The
about your areas of interest, and give you
local events, commentary, original poetry
Communique
phone numbers to call," according to
and drawings.
Vadnais.
The bilingual El Mensajero inspires all
Tony Giordano also sees it that way. The
members of a culturally diverse community
Sunset Park Restoration newsletter he edits
to learn the language more foreign to them
reaches about 1,000 residents and organiza-
- English or Spanish. The newsletter is an
tions. "Through our newsletter, our readers
extension of the Our Lady of Good Counsel
become a culture. We begin speaking the
Outreach Program in East Harlem, which
same langugage because we know the same
offers English as a Second Language (ESL)
facts. It's the glue that binds us together,
classes and, in turn, teaches Spanish to
giving us a oneness of purpose."
English-speakers.
A newsletter should represent all mem-
Published by the Excellence & Accounta-
Community newsletters fill the gap left
bers of a group, not just those who are writ-
bility Community-Based Organizations
by newspapers with local issues,
ing it. If you don't think that your area pub-
Team, The Ocean School Handbook
updates and anecdotes.
lications are meeting your needs, give the
informs the P.S. 197 community of services
editor a call. Feedback is an important step
for children and parents available from
toward making sure that the entire commu-
independent agencies, including job train-
nity benefits from a newsletter.
ing and student counseling.
"It's great when we hear from our read-
The Kew/Forest Child Care Bulletin
ers," says Renée Giordano, also of Sunset
matches Queens parents with baby-sitters or
Park Restoration. "They communicate what
childcare providers. It also gives helpful
Written by: Olga Herrera
they'd like to see in our paper. They also
child care advice.
Moya
8
The Cornell Reporter, published by the
The Echo, distributed door-to-door by
Cornell Bronx Chapter No. 4737, is an
the members of Wynwoode Gardens
EL PITIRRE
advocate for housing legislation for seniors
Homeowners Association in Woodside,
EDITORIAL PITIRRE FIRST
and a source of health information. The
Queens, publishes original poetry in addi-
organization is the only chapter of the
tion to news about upcoming meetings and
American Association of Retired Persons in
neighborhood events.
the East Bronx.
Sloop Sounds, published by the Staten
The Citizens Committe can help pay for
-
Island Friends of Clearwater, reports on
the costs of publishing a neighborhood
endangered marine species and waterfront
newsletter. Communication awards, ranging
and waterway pollution and opposes plans
from $100 to $300, are available through
to build on Staten Island marshes.
the Citizens Committee's Building Blocks
Renacer-Rebirth is a bilingual monthly
program to neighborhood groups with pro-
One of the little voices that has a big
about mental health targeted to Latinos
posed or successful information projects,
impact on its community.
citywide. It gives readers information and
including newsletters. For more informa-
referrals concerning the prevention of men-
tion, call Neighborhood Resources at (212)
cal illness, rehabilitation and reintegration.
989-0909.
If you'd like to support the Citizens
Committee's Work
31
Yes, I want to help. Enclosed is my
contribution of:
$100
$75
$50
$25
$10
Other ($
)
⑆021000021⑆ 016 140009⑈ 4059
Name
Organization/Business
Address
City
State
Zip
Day Phone
The Citizens Committee is a private, nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the full
extent of the law. Please make checks payable to the Citizens Committee for New York City, Inc., and mail to
Neighborhoods, Citizens Committee for New York City, 305 Seventh Avenue, New York. NY 10001
Community-based Recycling
in New York: The Next Generation
Last year, the City's curbside recycling program finally
cleanups and recycle the materials collect-
got started in the Bronx and Manhattan. More good news
ed. (WHEACT's Shelley Shepard advises
block, tenant and merchants associations
is on the way, as Brooklyn is gearing up to recycle in
that organized collections of bottles and
June and Queens will receive complete recycling services
cans are not hard to do and can raise hun-
dreds of dollars. The key, she says, is to
on every street this fall.
establish good relations with one or more
supermarket managers, so you know in
With every borough recycling, we can
advance your collected bottles and cans
hope to prolong the life of the last remain-
will be redeemed for cash.)
ing landfill on Staten Island. The challenge
The Upper West Side Recycling Center
ahead of us is to make recycling a success
is collecting and recycling white office paper
story and to eliminate the need for the
and computer paper from nonprofit orga-
planned Brooklyn Navy Yard Incinerator,
nizations in their area.
scheduled for construction in 1997.
Downtown, the Lower East Side
The materials currently collected under
Ecology Center is proud of its composting
the curbside program are: newspaper, cata-
program, which began two years ago.
logues and magazines, brown cardboard
Banana peels, egg shells, coffee grounds
and telephone books, glass bottles and jars,
and leftover cooked grains and vegetables
metal cans and aluminum foil, and plastic
are dropped off by local residents at a recy-
Christina Datz of the Lower East Side
bottles and jugs.
cling center occupying a formerly vacant
Ecology Center in the cab of the
Center's recycling truck.
But this is not where recycling stops, at
lot on 7th Street. After it is composted, the
(Photo: Tim Wall)
least not for community-based recycling
material is distributed among community
groups. There are a lot of things citizens
gardens or used to mulch street trees.
groups can do to (1) make curbside recy-
Last fall, the Ecology Center added bat-
cling work, and (2) extend the range of
teries, high-grade office paper and scrap
materials being recycled beyond what is
metal to its recycling list. The next item
now handled at curbside.
targeted is textiles. The purchase of a full-
Just to name a few examples I'd like to
size truck, with the assistance of our local
mention the following:
credit union, allows us to transport materi-
West Harlem Environmental Action
als to recycling processors quickly and
(WHEACT), in association with the
cheaply.
Center for Biology of Natural Systems, is
The focus of community based recycling
beginning a campaign to make curbside
programs might have changed with the
recycling in West Harlem as effective as
event of a city-run recycling program, but
possible. One committee of volunteer resi-
their role as heralds of recycling and tools
dents is looking into using videos, public
to bring the message home to the commu-
service announcements and posters to
nity will never change.
Written by: Christina
motivate people to recycle hard; another is
Datz, Assistant Director
made up of tenants who design campaigns
of the Lower East Side
tailored to their own apartment buildings;
Ecology Center
a third works with merchants to run street
10
New Study Shows that Recycling Pays
Excerpt from The Economic Benefits of Recycling, by Brenda
Platt and David Morris, Institute for Local Self-Reliance
A
flurry of articles criticizing recycling as
national average of $26 a ton can save its
To order complete study, call (202)
a high-cost way of handling our solid
government, businesses, and households $7
232-4108 or write to:
waste has been sweeping the country since
million a year by aggressively expanding its
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Attn: Publications
mid-1991. This adverse publicity, coming
materials recovery and re-use efforts. Where
2425 18th Street N.W.
at a time when an economic recession is
landfill costs are high, such a city can save
Washington D.C., 20009-2096
forcing cities to reduce their spending,
as much as $30 million a year.
encourages local policy makers to view
Yet the benefits of recycling go beyond
"high-cost" recycling programs as attractive
reducing waste management costs.
candidates for cutbacks.
Recycling, on a per-ton or per-dollar invest-
In fact, recycling and composting are
ed basis, creates more jobs than incineration
often cheaper than conventional garbage
or landfilling. And, if the community is
collection and disposal. Where they are
large enough, it can recover sufficient dis-
expensive, the reason has more to do with
carded materials to attract new scrap-based
startup costs, low levels of materials recov-
manufacturing enterprises.
ered in a program's initial phases, system
Thus, recycling wins three ways: it lowers
design, or temporarily low costs of landfills
operating costs, employs more people, and
What To Recycle:
than with the inherent costs of recycling.
offers the potential for high-wage manufac-
PLASTIC BOTTLES & JUGS
For many communities, expanding recy-
turing employment.
(detergent, soda, juice, milk,
cling and composting programs can reduce
water, etc.)
municipal budgets and cut business and
GLASS BOTTLES
household operating expenses. A city of one
(juice, wine, milk, etc.)
million whose landfill costs equal the
GLASS JARS
Recycling
(mayonnaise, jam, jelly, etc.)
METAL CANS
Program
(tuna, soup, pet food, etc.)
ALUMINUM FOIL TRAYS
(pie pans, take-out tins)
All bottles, glass, jars & cans must be
rinsed clean.
Recyclin
ecycling
NEWSPAPERS
Program
Regiam
MAGAZINES
CATALOGS
TELEPHONE BOOKS
CORRUGATED CARDBOARD
(flattened boxes)
The above items must be placed in
the "recycling" container next to the
other garbage.
11
Resources
Grants For
Community-based groups with advocacy or intergenerational projects benefiting the
Programs Helping
elderly can apply for grants from the New York Foundation. Proposals are reviewed
The Elderly
three times yearly, and must be received by July 1st, November 1st, or March 1st. To
apply, submit a simple letter outlining your project, your budget needs and the
amount you are requesting. Send to Madeline Lee, Executive Director, The New
York Foundation, 350 Fifth Avenue, #2901, New York, NY 10118. For more infor
mation, call (212) 594-8009.
Help For Youth
Youth, parents, teachers and service providers, take note! The toll-free NYC YOUTH
Hotline
LINE, created by New York City's Department of Youth Services, provides crisis
intervention services and information. Trained high school and college students,
under continuous supervision by experienced professionals, are available 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. Call (800) 246-4646.
NYC Department
Older New Yorkers can find out about benefits and entitlements, as well as program
For The Aging Gets
and services of the NYC Department for the Aging, by calling (212) 442-1000; or
New Number
DFTA's new Spanish-language helpline at (212) 442-3010. For a complete listing C
Department for the Aging programs and numbers, send a self-addressed, stamped
envelope to Public Affairs Office, NYC Department for the Aging, 2 Lafayette
Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10007.
Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's Disease: Where to Go for Help in New York City, a 75-page resource direc
Resource Guide
tory for family caregivers and professionals in the field, is now available from the
Available
NYC Department for the Aging Alzheimer's Resource Center. It also provides infor
mation on diagnosis, legal and financial considerations and family support groups.
Send a check for $3.50 and your name and address to the Public Affairs Office,
NYC Department for the Aging, 2 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10007.
Protect Your Kids
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection offers a free pamphle
From Lead
Protecting Your Kids from Lead in Drinking Water, that contains helpful informatio
about lead in building plumbing systems and simple rules for avoiding lead at the
tap. The brochure is available in English, Spanish, Creole, Chinese, Russian and
Korean. For your copy, send your name, address, telephone number and language
preference to the Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Education
and Information Programs, 59-17 Junction Blvd., Corona, NY 11368.
12
Cash Flow Loans
Has your organization received a government contract or grant, but needed to pay
For Nonprofits
expenses while you waited for the money to come through? The Fund for the City of
New York makes low-cost cash flow loans of up to $50,000 against approved govern-
ment contracts, and occasionally foundation or corporate grants. If approved, the loan
will usually be made available five working days from the time the official request is
received. All 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in New York City are eligible. For
more information, call Gloria Vaz or Asa Bright at the Fund at (212) 925-6675.
Fight PCP!
One of the major killers of HIV-positive people is a kind of pneumonia called PCP.
Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), a nonprofit AIDS service organization, is launch-
ing a new citywide public health campaign to let people know 1) that free or low-
cost medicines to prevent PCP are available, and 2) where to get them. You can help
spread the word in your neighborhood by putting up posters and distributing easy-
to-read fact sheets about PCP and the preventive medicines. To receive free copies of
the poster or fact sheets, call Myrtle Graham of GMHC at (212) 337-1950.
Materials are available in both Spanish and English.
Need Some
When "We Can," an organization that helps New York's homeless and poor cash in
Managerial
redeemable cans and bottles, ran into management and financial problems, the
Know-How?
National Executive Service Corps was asked to help. When the Community League
of West 159th Street needed long-range planning, the NESC developed a strategy
taking into account organizational struc-
ture, fundraising, public relations and
board development. The NESC provides
low-cost consulting to New York City
nonprofits through volunteers who are
retirees from business and the profes-
sions. For more information, call or
write to Arthur McCully, President,
NESC, 257 Park Avenue South, New
York, NY 10010; (212) 529-6660.
NESC Consultant Gerald Smith (left) with Guy Polhemus of
We Can. (Photo courtesy of NESC)
CITIZENS
Citizens Committee Briefs
COMMITTEE FOR NEW YORK CITY, INC.
305 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001
(continued from previous page)
Founder
Jacob K. Javits
Chairman
Osborn Elliott
Honorary Chairman
group for the Citizens Committee's Project
Daniel P. Moynihan
One City, which aids neighborhood groups
Executive Director
combating poverty and bias and helping
Michael E. Clark
those with AIDS. More than 800 young
Directors:
Sharon King Hoge
New Yorkers attended the dance party, and
Dennis Allee
Richard C. Holbrooke
most of the food and materials were donat-
Richard R. Aurelio
Shirley Strum Kenny
Richard Berman
Robert R. Kiley
ed by a battery of supportive corporations.
Edgar M. Bronfman
Harriet Michel
The event raised $33,000 for Project One
Richard Clurman
Joel Motley
City and is considered a highlight of the
Donald J. Cogsville
Gordon Pattee
spring social season.
Evelyn Cunningham
Theodore I. Pincus
Henry P. Davison, II
Marcella Rosen
Peter Duchin
Lewis Rudin
AWARDS: Citizens Committee chairman
Victor Gotbaum
Sandra Silverman
Osborn Elliott received the prestigious
Thomas Guinzburg
Joan Sutton Straus
Frederick Douglass Award "for outstanding
Osborn Elliott, chairman of the Citizens
Susan Gutfreund
Carol F. Sulzberger
John G. Heimann
contributions toward the cause of equal
Committee, honored by the New York
John Trubin
Urban League. (Photo: Claire Holt)
Carole Hochman
Stephen H. Weiss
opportunity" from the New York Urban
League on May 6; sharing the honors were
Citizens Report is published by the Citizens
Committee for New York City, Inc.
New York City Health and Hospitals Corpo-
305 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001.
ration chair James Dumpson and Judith
Telephone: 212-989-0909
Jamison, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey
Editor
Design &
American Dance Theater.
Tim Wall
Production
Rationale, NYC
Kim McGillicuddy and Youth Force were
Assistant Editor
Olga Herrera Moya
Printing
cited on April 19 for volunteer service by
Ragged Edge Press
the Mayor's Voluntary Action Center.
Production
Coordinator
Drawings
Executive Director Michael Clark was
Joyce Braunhut
Jean-Robert Cadet
honored by the Caribbean-American Sports
and Youth Movement, Inc., at the organiza-
Subscription Information
tion's Tenth Anniversary Gala Awards
Citizens Report (ISSN 1052-0155). published two
Dinner, held on June 5.
to four times a year. is available free of charge to
people from community organizations or com-
munity planning boards within the five boroughs
PUBLIC SERVANTS TAKE A BOW: This
of New York City.
February, the Citizens Committee's Neigh-
For others, subscription rates are as follows:
borhood Anti-Crime Center again handed
Institutional: $7.50 per year
out Drug Prevention Awards to outstanding
Individual/Library: $5.00 per year
volunteer neighborhood groups fighting drug
Orders must be prepaid and will be renewable
annually in September. To order your subscrip-
abuse and crime. Also presented were cita-
tion, send a check or money order to:
tions for law and service agency professionals
Citizens Committee for New York City, Inc.
who have made extraordinary contributions
Office of Public Information
to neighborhood volunteer efforts - a com-
305 Seventh Avenue
pletely new category.
New York, New York 10001
Among the award presenters at the cere-
Copyright © 1993 Citizens Committe for New
mony held in the offices of The Chase Man-
York City. All Rights Reserved.
hattan Bank were New York State Lieutenant
15
Citizens Committee
Briefs
NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
develops," Frillmann says, "we will expand
OPENS DOORS IN SEPTEMBER: Training
the curriculum and open sites in other bor-
workshops run by the Citizens Committee
oughs." There is no charge for taking classes.
for years will graduate this fall into a full-
To obtain a course schedule, call the Citizens
fledged Neighborhood Leadership Institute.
Committee's Neighborhood Resources
This long-term goal of the Citizens Commit-
Department at (212) 989-0909.
tee is being realized thanks to grants from
the Joyce Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the
"KNOWLEDGE FOR THE NINETIES": Young
Environmental Protection Agency, and related
people all over New York who were involved
support from the Mary Flagler Cary Charita-
in the planning of this year's Youth Force
ble Trust and Brooklyn Union Gas. The
citywide youth conference were pretty much
pilot site for the Institute will be based at New
all of one mind as far as a major theme for
York Technical College of CUNY, located in
the conference was concerned. They wanted
downtown Brooklyn, and classes will be
to talk about what kind of education young
offered through the Continuing Education
people will need to survive and move for-
Department. Students will receive certifi-
ward in the 1990s. Manhattan Borough
cates of completion. A local resource center
President Ruth Messinger, educators and
for participants will also be developed in
City officials participated in a discussion of
collaboration with a Brooklyn community
what students think a model school should
organization. According to Neighborhood
have and what it should do. Held - where
Resources director Steve Frillmann, better
else? - in a high school on the Lower East
than two hundred students are expected to
Side on Saturday, January 16, the day-long
enroll in evening and Saturday courses in
event drew over 1,600 young people to plan
Friends of Project One City members at
Basic Organizing, Advanced Organizing
for "school like it oughta be" and to partici-
April 30th fundraising event.
(Photo: Frank Capri)
and Environmental Issues. "As the Institute
pate in 39 other workshops on diverse topics.
"Knowledge for the Nineties - School or the
Streets?" is the fifth annual citywide confer-
ence run by youth for youth organized by
the Citizens Committee's Youth Force.
Funding came from the New York City De-
partment of Youth Services, the New York
State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Services (OASAS), the New Land Founda-
tion, the Aaron Diamond Foundation,
AT&T and the Starr Foundation.
FUNDRAISING FOR THE HUNGRY AND
HOMELESS: An organization of young corpo-
rate leaders who want upward mobility for
all New Yorkers held a fundraising party on
the night of April 30 at the Puck Building,
in the heart of Manhattan's downtown scene.
"Friends of Project One City" is a support
4
Citizens
Governor Stan Lundine and New York City
Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau's office:
Police Chief of Department David Scott.
Committee
Mary Spink, Regional Director, Substance
Those recognized were Sergeant Chris
Abuse Ministry, Archdiocese of New York:
Briefs
Bargellini, Field Training Officer, 67th
and Sergeant Frank Vélez, Coordination &
Precinct; Sally Canty, Community Affairs
Review Section, Chief of Patrols Office.
(continued from
Unit of Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau's
NYC Police Department.
office; Patrol Officer Sophine Charles,
previous page)
Instructor, Community Policing Unit, Police
WE'VE MOVED!
Academy of the NYC Police Department;
The Citizens Committee for New York City
Kathleen Coughlin, Deputy Director for
moved its office in March.
Substance Abuse Prevention, NYS Office of
The new address is 305 Seventh Avenue,
Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services;
15th floor, New York, NY 10001. The new
Lieutenant Michael DiTrani, Operations
phone number is (212) 989-0909 and the
Coordinator, Chief of Detectives Office,
fax is (212) 989-0983. Make a note of these
NYC Police Department; Donna G. Ellaby,
changes - and keep in touch!
Director, Good Old Lower East Side
(GOLES); Detective Pete Mulroy, 9th Pre-
As this issue goes to press, we receive the
cinct Community Policing Unit, NYC Police
sad news of the June 17 death of Elizabeth
Department; Susan Powers, Deputy DA for
Steinway Chapin, civic and cultural leader
Programs and Planning in Brooklyn; Calvin
and a founding board member of the
Solomon, Community Affairs Unit of
Citizens Committee. We will miss her.
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ST.LAWRENCE
UNIVERSITY
Canton, New York 13617
2 March 1993
President Bill Clinton
The White House
Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington D.C.
Dear Mr. President:
I strongly support your National Service program (which is one
reason I campaigned for you), and I hope that St. Lawrence
University can play a part in this national adventure. We are a
small liberal arts college in rural upstate New York with a long
tradition of community service. Our students are mostly white
and middle-class, yet our county is the poorest in rural New
York, with a high rate of illiteracy. Our students work as
volunteer tutors in local schools, and on the nearby Native
American reservation, to reduce the county's high rate of
literacy. They also work with hundreds of temporary residents of
St. Lawrence county who are here against their will.
Within a half hour's drive from our lovely campus there are three
medium security prisons, populated largely by socially deprived
blacks and Latinos from New York City. The high rate of
recidicism among these inmates is at the heart of our urban
social crisis, since many of them have left behind women on
welfare and young children growing up without adequate guidance.
I enclose a description of our prison program, which centers
around a history course called "Society, Crime, and Justice". So
far as we can determine, the course is unique, at least in New
York State, in its premise that inmates have something to teach
our students as well as to learn from them. Inmates and students
are roughly the same age; they have been divided by huge
disparities of fortune, and by mutual suspicions based on race,
class, and culture. We believe that by tutoring, counselling,
and simply listening to these inmates students can help them re-
enter society as productive citizens and responsible parents. At
the same time our students acquire a more mature and humane
understanding of the problems that ravage our inner cities.
Department of History-(315) 379-5222
Page 2
We are now working to co-ordinate and expand our community
service activities, somewhat on the model of the Rutgers Civic
Education program which you praised on March 1. It would be
enormously helpful to us in this effort to have one or more of
our students participate in the Summer of Service Program. (Any
of the sixty students from our prison course would bring a
valuable and fairly unusual perspective to the Service Summit.)
At the same time, we could easily place and supervise several
volunteers this summer in either our prison or literacy programs.
I look forward to hearing from you how St. Lawrence University
can contribute to the success of National Service.
With best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
William A. Hunt
Chair, Department of History
[enclosed: "Sending College Kids to Jail"]
SENDING COLLEGE KIDS TO JAIL:
THE ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY FREEDOM PROJECT
(Canton, New York, 10 January 1993.)
Up here on the Canadian border, students from St. Lawrence
University are taking a history course in the hope of reducing
crime in New York City. The course enables the students (mostly
white and middle class) to earn credit while tutoring and
learning from the inmates (mostly minorities from the City) of
three nearby correctional facilities.
We can't yet claim dramatic, or even measurable, results.
But every little bit will count: helping one released inmate to
stay out of jail for a single year would save society $30,000 in
legal and prison costs alone, not to mention the boon to
potential victims. And whatever its impact on the crime rate,
our program costs the state nothing. Above all, it has enabled
students and inmates to learn something about each other's world,
usually for the first time.
The course, the centerpiece of the St. Lawrence University
Freedom Project, is entitled "Society, Crime, and Justice in
Modern America." Students combine traditional academic study--
books, lectures, essays and exams on the recent history of the
"underclass" with practical volunteer work behind bars.
Students and inmates together discuss the causes of poverty,
crime, and drug addiction. They explore possible social and
political solutions; they elaborate individual strategies for
self-development. As a final project, students assist the
inmates in composing personal narratives and preparing job
resumes. Students receive academic credit; inmates receive a
Hunt
page 2
letter from the Chair of the History Department testifying to
their voluntary participation and perseverance in the program.
The course is still evolving, but it has already proven
popular with inmates as well as students. Inmates commonly
remark that our white students are the first white people they
have ever learned to trust, and that our Black and Latino
students have given them their first truly positive role models.
Most of our students describe the course as a high point of their
college education.
Americans do not agree about the root causes of this
country's appalling crime rate. Some would blame racism and de-
industrialization; others, the Great Society and Original Sin.
As for fundamental solutions-- assuming any exist-- the only
consensus is that they would be frighteningly expensive.
Yet there is ample evidence that many inmates already long
to be free of drugs and violence, to acquire meaningful skills,
and to live honest and productive lives. Certainly the demand
for education, drug treatment, and occupational counseling far
exceeds the present capabilities of most prison staffs.
Here is where the colleges and universities of this country
could make a real contribution. As individual teachers and
students we can do little, directly, to eliminate the root causes
of crime. But by exercising our various skills as corrections
volunteers, we can do much to encourage and empower those inmates
who have already shown some serious commitment to self-
reformation. And each inmate who turns his life around sets a
heartening example for those who would follow.
Hunt
page 3
An alliance between colleges and correctional facilities
could tap a vast reservoir of youthful energy, and thereby
generate-- at a low financial cost and with a high educational
dividend-- powerful new resources in the struggle against despair
and violence.
-William Hunt
Chairman, Department of History
St. Lawrence University
Canton, New York 13617
tel. (315) 386-3812
fax. (315) 379-5803
home: 55 East Main St.
Canton, New York 13617
MAKING HISTORY
(A Message from the Department of Same)
Public response will be crucial to the success or failure of President
Clinton's economic proposals. Your action (or inaction) will therefore have
profound consequence for America's future. To play your part:
1.
Inform yourself about the issues.
2.
Discuss them with your friends.
3.
Make up your mind.
4.
Make your voice heard by telephoning and/or writing the
President, your Senators, Congressperson, and other key
power-brokers. (There are plenty of other, more engrossing
forms of political activism, but this is something everyone
can do, and it does matter.)
SOME RELEVANT ADDRESSES
President Clinton:
The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,
Washington, DC 20500
White House Citizen Comment Line: (202) 456-1111
Senate:
The U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-3121 (for all Senators)
Our Senators:
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Alfonse D'Amato
Other Important Senators:
George Mitchell (Majority Leader)
Robert Dole (Minority Leader)
House of Representatives:
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-3121
(for all Representatives)
Our Representative:
John McHugh
Other Important Representatives:
Tom Foley (Speaker of the House)
Richard Gephardt (Majority Leader)
Robert Michel (Minority Leader)
Dan Rostenkowski (Chair, House
Ways and Means Subcommittee.
Your future's at stake: GET BUSY!
For further information, contact the Department of History, 114 Piskor Hall, 379-5222.
Hunt
ST.LAWRENCE
CANTONAL
UNIVERSITY
U.S. POSTAGE
Department of History
FIRST
CLASS
US MAR PS
≡ 0.52
Canton, New York 13617
NY
P.B METER
3362590
President Bill Clinton
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Re: National Service
ST.LAWRENCE
UNIVERSITY
Canton, New York 13617
2 March 1993
President Bill Clinton
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
I strongly support your National Service program (which is
one reason I campaigned for you), and I hope that St.
Lawrence University can play a part in this national
adventure. We are a small liberal arts college in rural
upstate New York with a long tradition of community service.
Our students are mostly white and middle-class, yet our
county is the poorest in rural New York, with a high rate of
illiteracy. Our students work as volunteer tutors in local
schools, and on the nearby Native American reservation, to
reduce the county's high rate of literacy. They also work
with hundreds of temporary residents of St. Lawrence county
who are here against their will.
Within a half hour's drive from our lovely campus there are
three medium security prisons, populated largely by socially
deprived blacks and Latinos from New York City. The high
rate of recidivism among these inmates is at the heart of
our urban social crisis, since many of them have left behind
women on welfare and young children growing up without
adequate guidance.
I enclose a description of our prison program, which centers
around a history course called "Society, Crime, and
Justice". So far as we can determine, the course is unique,
at least in New York State, in its premise that inmates have
something to teach our students as well as to learn from
them. Inmates and students are roughly the same age; they
have been divided by huge disparities of fortune, and by
mutual suspicions based on race, class, and culture. We
believe that by tutoring, counselling, and simply listening
to these inmates students can help them re-enter society as
productive citizens and responsible parents. At the same
time our students acquire a more mature and humane
understanding of the problems that ravage our inner cities.
We are now working to co-ordinate and expand our community
service activities, somewhat on the model of the Rutgers
Civic Education program which you praised on March 1. It
Department of History-(315) 379-5222
Page 2
would be enormously helpful to us in this effort to have one
or more of our students participate in the Summer of Service
Program. (Any of the sixty students from our prison course
would bring a valuable and fairly unusual perspective to the
Service Summit.) At the same time, we could easily place
and supervise several volunteers this summer in either our
prison or literacy programs.
I look forward to hearing from you how St. Lawrence
University can contribute to the success of National
Service.
With best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
1+0-
William A. Hunt
Chair, Department of History
[enclosed: "Sending College Kids to Jail"]
SENDING COLLEGE KIDS TO JAIL:
THE ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY FREEDOM PROJECT
(Canton, New York, 10 January 1993.)
Up here on the Canadian border, students from St. Lawrence
University are taking a history course in the hope of reducing
crime in New York City. The course enables the students (mostly
white and middle class) to earn credit while tutoring and
learning from the inmates (mostly minorities from the City) of
three nearby correctional facilities.
We can't yet claim dramatic, or even measurable, results.
But every little bit will count: helping one released inmate to
stay out of jail for a single year would save society $30,000 in
legal and prison costs alone, not to mention the boon to
potential victims. And whatever its impact on the crime rate,
our program costs the state nothing. Above all, it has enabled
students and inmates to learn something about each other's world,
usually for the first time.
The course, the centerpiece of the St. Lawrence University
Freedom Project, is entitled "Society, Crime, and Justice in
Modern America." Students combine traditional academic study--
books, lectures, essays and exams on the recent history of the
"underclass" with practical volunteer work behind bars.
Students and inmates together discuss the causes of poverty,
crime, and drug addiction. They explore possible social and
political solutions; they elaborate individual strategies for
self-development. As a final project, students assist the
inmates in composing personal narratives and preparing job
resumes. Students receive academic credit; inmates receive a
Hunt
page 2
letter from the Chair of the History Department testifying to
their voluntary participation and perseverance in the program.
The course is still evolving, but it has already proven
popular with inmates as well as students. Inmates commonly
remark that our white students are the first white people they
have ever learned to trust, and that our Black and Latino
students have given them their first truly positive role models.
Most of our students describe the course as a high point of their
college education.
Americans do not agree about the root causes of this
country's appalling crime rate. Some would blame racism and de-
industrialization; others, the Great Society and Original Sin.
As for fundamental solutions-- assuming any exist-- the only
consensus is that they would be frighteningly expensive.
Yet there is ample evidence that many inmates already long
to be free of drugs and violence, to acquire meaningful skills,
and to live honest and productive lives. Certainly the demand
for education, drug treatment, and occupational counseling far
exceeds the present capabilities of most prison staffs.
Here is where the colleges and universities of this country
could make a real contribution. As individual teachers and
students we can do little, directly, to eliminate the root causes
of crime. But by exercising our various skills as corrections
volunteers, we can do much to encourage and empower those inmates
who have already shown some serious commitment to self-
reformation. And each inmate who turns his life around sets a
heartening example for those who would follow.
Hunt
page 3
An alliance between colleges and correctional facilities
could tap a vast reservoir of youthful energy, and thereby
generate-- at a low financial cost and with a high educational
dividend- powerful new resources in the struggle against despair
and violence.
--William Hunt
Chairman, Department of History
St. Lawrence University
Canton, New York 13617
tel. (315) 386-3812
fax. (315) 379-5803
home: 55 East Main St.
Canton, New York 13617
Hunt
ST.LAWRENCE
UNIVERSITY
WATERTOWN. à NY 136
2 MAR
Department of History
333
Canton, New York 13617
AMA
MAR
1
2
President Bill Clinton
The White House
1993
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
USPS
Washington, D.C. 20500
RECEP from & SECURITY
Re: National Service
MAR is 1993
Procession ay: 2
THE WHITE HOUSE
SISAN
WASHINGTON
/
POINTS OF LIGHT ISVETING FOR
->
POLY GRAM
GOLDMAN SACHS
CHASE MANHATTAN
SHEARSON LEHMAN - EDUCATE
one YOUTH PROGRAM
MCKENZIE & Co.
JW THOMPSON -tr HIGH Scriool
FOR NYCITY CARES.
Z
CHICK SAYS WED IS FINE. IT IS
OPEN FOR ME AS WELL. -JINA
Rick
please make
recommendation
April 14, 1993
The
New York Cares®
K
Mr. Eli Segal
Innovations in
The Office of National Service
Community
The White House
Washington, DC 20500-0001
Service
Dear Mr. Segal,
Each year, New York Cares develops new ways for civic-minded companies to help
our city. In 1989, we introduced the New York Cares Coat Drive. In 1990, our
Corporate Volunteer Program brought hands-on volunteer activities directly to the
workplace. We launched New York Shares in 1991 to provide companies with a way to
donate goods to needy organizations. And 1992's New York Cares Day united over 30
companies in a unique marathon of volunteer service.
Not an
appearance-
This year, New York Cares is proud to announce the Hands On New York Awards --
to honor companies with exemplary volunteer programs that involve their employees in
hands-on community service. The awards will recognize the volunteer work being
ust selection.
carried out by New York's leading "corporate citizens." "
We would be honored if you would serve on our Panel of Judges for the awards.
please ask to
Please select six of the nominated companies on the enclosed ballot. A description of
each volunteer program is attached. To thank you for your participation, we will list
your name on our event program as one of our Judges.
Susan select (or
proxy)
The awards will be presented at a gala banquet on Thursday, May 13th at The Holiday
Inn/Crowne Plaza. Kenneth I. Chenault, President of American Express Consumer
\ Elis Eli send ,
RA ASAP
Card Group will serve as Honorary Chair. Proceeds from this event will enable us to
expand our hands-on volunteer programs in 1993. Some of the companies who have
already reserved corporate tables for the dinner include:
Pfizer Inc.
5.5
AMBAC Indemnity Corp.
IBM Corporation
Brooklyn Union Gas
J. Walter Thompson
Shearson Lehman Brothers
Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.
Lehman Brothers
SIG
Chase Manhattan Bank
McKinsey & Company
Sumitomo Bank Capital Markets
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
NBC
Please support New York Cares by participating as a Judge for our first annual Hands
On New York Awards. If you have any questions, please contact Mary Kuechler at
212-228-5000. Thank you for assisting us.
Kims Sincerely, Alen
Kenneth Adams
Executive Director
116 East 16th Street
New York, NY 10003
A Hoge with you this can lend by lending hapirscapate a atitens hand v1 select Thanks volunteer
Tel: (212) 228-5000
New
Yorh's
Fax: (212) 228-6414
KA
New York Cares has asked the following individuals
to serve on the
New York Cares®
HANDS ON NEW YORK AWARDS
Innovations in
JUDGING PANEL
Community
Service
(List in formation)
Mr. Mark Aaron
Tiffany & Company
Mr. Norman Atkins
The Robin Hood Foundation
Ms. Pamela Bayless
Crain's New York Business
Mr. Martin Barreto
WCBS Newsradio 88
Mr. Larry Bortoluzzi
Mayor's Office of Partnership Programs
Ms. Winnie Brown
Mayor's Voluntary Action Center
Brother William Casey
Rice High School
Mr. Alan Chambers
City Cares of America
Ms. Christine Chambers
MCJ Foundation
Mr. Kenneth I. Chenault
American Express Consumer Card Group
Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton
The White House
Mr. Joe Cruickshank
The Clark Foundation
Mayor David Dinkins
New York City
Ms. Rozella Floranz
New York One News
Mr. John Gardner
Stanford University
Mr. Rul Hanley
Rosie & Harry's Place
Ms. Westina Matthews
Merrill Lynch
Mr. Luis Miranda
Hispanic Federation of New York City
Mr. Dick Munro
Time Warner Inc.
Ms. Julie Post
The Fresh Air Fund
Mr. Al Roker
WNBC/Channel 4
Mr. Lew Rudin
Association For a Better New York
Mr. Eli Segal
The Office of National Service
Mr. Dick Shubert
Points of Light Foundation
Ms. Kim Strother-Pryor
The Equitable
Mr. Barry Sullivan
NYC Commission on Finance and
Economic Development
Ms. Elsie Vance
New York City Partnership, Inc.
Ms. Fran Weisenfeld
Society for an Ethical Culture/PS 133
Mr. John Wyatt
United Neighbors of East Midtown
Thank you for your consideration.
116 East 16th Street
New York, NY 10003
Tel: (212) 228-5000
Fax: (212) 228-6414
74470 12074
$1.25
42
NEWSPAPER
CRAIN'S NEW BUSINESS YORK
OCTOBER 19-25, 1992
Entire contents copyright 1992,
by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
VOL. VIII, NO. 42
What
see
to
change
to
MAIN
the you things
Business tapping
complain
about
other
364
volunteer impulse
YORK
Low-cost way to fulfill obligations
BY PAMELA BAYLESS
tough economic times-a way to look good
CRAIN'S NEW YORK BUSINESS
for less. It's also a cost-effective means to
GIVE
SOMEONE A
improve esprit de corps even as cutbacks,
WINTER COAT.
Seemingly overnight, volunteerism in
layoffs and shrunken monetary rewards
New York has become a sophisticated
have left many employees demoralized.
YOU'LL
FEEL
growth industry. And the new suppliers are
"A great deal is being laid at the doorstep
ARMERTOO.
local businesses.
of the business world," observes Winifred
In the mid-1980s to late 1980s, execu-
Brown, executive director of the Mayor's
tives, dismayed by New York's desperate
Voluntary Action Center. A volunteer pro-
social ills, were hard pressed to find ways
gram, she notes, "is a way of meeting a citi-
to volunteer available time and skills.
zen obligation" without solely> giving
Rarely did this vast, untapped reservoir
money.
NEW YORK CARES
find opportunities, let alone encourage-
Growth is evident in the city's most
ment, in the workplace.
prominent umbrella groups that facilitate
Welcome to the recessionary 1990s. Com-
volunteerism:
panies-including some of New York's most
In December the 25-year-old Mayor's
prominent names-are now clamoring to
Voluntary Action Center will unveil a new
back employee volunteer efforts. It's a low-
consulting arm for companies wishing to
cost contribution to the community in
set up volunteer programs. The Corporate
Community Initiative, as it's called, charges
scaled fees up to $10,000 for the service.
SHERRIE NICKOL
New York Cares Executive Director Ken-
CCI's first customer: Chase Manhattan
neth Adams, with Tysha H. Scott, director of
Bank.
corporate programs, says there are many
At the same time, the center will launch a
companies looking for a volunteer outlet.
(Continued on Page 55)
Business taps volunteers
From Page 3
"We're breaking down obstacles
want the connection," says Kerry
to doing good," says Kenneth
Yeager, volunteer coordinator at
year-long campaign, chaired by
Adams, executive director of New
Chase. "It's one of the best win-
Salomon Brothers Inc. Chief Ex-
York Cares.
win-win situations I can
ecutive Deryck C. Maughan, to
The team approach lets co-
imagine."
promote volunteerism in local bu-
workers pitch in together on
sinesses. Up to 80 blue-chip com-
projects that jibe well with work
Training super volunteers
panies-a veritable who's who in
schedules. Top management is
CCI screens organizations,
the city-will affiliate with the
now more inclined to allow volun-
trains and places volunteers. As
effort.
teering on company time and
well, it will train "meta-volun-
New York Cares, spun off from
premises, such as popular tutor-
teers" for consulting with com-
the New York City Partnership
ing or mentoring programs that
panies in developing and running
Inc., started in 1987 with 10 team
bring students to the workplace.
a volunteer program.
projects that volunteers could
On Saturday, Oct. 24, New York
"We're building on changing
join. Now it places 1,000 young
Cares will stage a first-ever vol-
patterns of affiliation of individu-
professionals each month in
unteer marathon. At least 2,500
als," notes Carl Rush, director of
projects with 200 community
New Yorkers will devote the day
corporate programs at CCI.
groups. Participation has doubled
to painting schools, rehabbing
"There used to be a greater at-
each year, as has New York Cares'
low-income housing, helping the
tachment to neighborhood or reli-
budget. to $1.4 million. Since
elderly and planting gardens in
gious-based groups A lot more
1990, the nonprofit has designed
175 projects.
now is workplace-based."
62 programs for businesses with
Service days are "a big hit" at
CCI itself was started by a frus-
as few as eight employees.
local companies, says Tysha H.
trated volunteer. As a senior ac-
Membership in Corporate Vol-
Scott, director of corporate pro-
count executive in a small mar-
unteers of New York, a 20-year-
grams for New York Cares.
keting and advertising company,
'old group of the city's largest cor-
"When they could be making
Mr. Rossides had looked for an
porations, now totals more than
money, they can show a commit-
opportunity to teach adults to
50, up from 35 in 1989. The in-
crease has come equally from Jap-
anese and U.S. businesses.
Some companies have been in-
spired primarily by compliance
Alexander Rossides of CCI says few
needs: Japanese banks with the
Community Reinvestment Act and
firms have thriving volunteer programs
law firms with pro bono require-
ments. Also, some programs that
leverage employee resources to
sidestep cash grants may be more
ment to the community."
read, but struck out with three or
cosmetic than committed.
J. Walter Thompson New York
four programs.
"Only two or three companies
sparked the trend of full-day vol-
"I couldn't believe it was that
have formal, thriving volunteer
unteering in 1990. The advertising
hard to volunteer," he recalls. As
programs," says Alexander Ros-
agency closed shop for an entire
Mr. Rossides discovered, there
sides, founder and director of
day in December so that employ-
was no effective pipeline to funnel
CCI. "They may have a marquee
ees could staff volunteer projects.
volunteers to agencies.
program, such as adopt-a-school,
Various other local companies
To change that, he volunteered
where out of 5,000 employees, 200
have followed suit.
for a year with the Mayor's Vol-
are in the program."
"With the economy not great,
untary Action Center. developing
5 Meeting Mr. Rossides' exacting
we felt that Christmas parties
the hands-on support mechanism
criteria are Chase, Metropolitan
were not appropriate anymore,"
to help companies market volun-
Life Co. and International Busi-
says Marty Rose, director of ad-
teer opportunities internally. His
ness Machines Corp. At IBM, up
ministration in JWT's New York
first-year goal for CCI is to start
to 50% of employees volunteer.
office. "Community service is the
10 to 20 full-fledged company
More typically, employers may
way of the Nineties."
programs.
encourage workers to give of their
Other organizations are focus-
As for the future? "We want to
time while providing little in-
ing on untapped employee re-
increase employee volunteering
house support.
sources. Chase Manhattan has
by 50% of those not already vol-
Weighing requirements
custom-tailored a new program to
unteering, in four to five years,"
its retired employees, with CCI
says Mr. Rossides.
That's why New York Cares'
screening and selecting appropri-
Indeed, the city's volunteer
team formula has worked well for
ate nonprofits. Several hundred
gurus see unlimited horizons. "If
many companies. The nonprofit
Chase retirees, some as young as
60 companies are looking for an
weighs a business' requirements,
50, have indicated interest. Some
outlet in the community, it tells
locates appropriate community
of the younger ones view volun-
me there are 6,000 more we
groups and handles scheduling of
teering as a second career.
haven't found yet," says an ebul-
employee volunteers.
"They have time, skills and
lient Mr. Adams.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
FAX COVER SHEET
Office of National Service
Room 145 - OEOB
Washington, D.C. 20500
(202) 456-6444 Phone
TO: NEW YORK CARES
ORGANIZATION:
FAX #: ( 212 ) 228-6414
PHONE #: (
)
FROM:
ELI SEGAL
DATE:
NUMBER OF PAGES (including cover sheet) 4
COMMENTS:
(If you have any problem with the fax transmission, please call
(202) 456-6444.
The document accompanying this facsimile transmittal sheet is
intended only for the use of the individual or entity to whom it
is addressed. This message contains information which may be
privileged, confidential or exempt from disclosure under
applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the
intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for
delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are hereby
notified that any disclosure, dissemination, copying or
distribution, or the taking of any action in reliance on the
contents of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you
have received this information in error, please notify us
immediately at (202) 456-6444.
The New York Cares
Hands On New York Awards
Official Ballot
Thank you for helping us to select the six winners of the first annual Hands On New York Awards. Please
vote by placing a check in the box next to your six selections.
AMBAC INDEMNITY CORPORATION
CAPITAL CITIES/ABC, INC.
Employee Volunteer Program
Volunteer Initiatives Program (VIP)
Project Coordinator: Elizabeth Tower
Project Coordinator: Paul Dolan
This program has nearly doubled in employee
This innovative program, created by Cap Cities
participation each month since its creation in
to empower their employees in making
December 1992. Employees participate in a
community service choices, has been modeled
wide range of activities from leading children
by many corporations. Staff from each company
from local homeless shelters on recreational and
division serve on a volunteer steering committee
educational outings, to sprucing up parks and
and represent specific volunteer options for
gardens, and more.
maximum employee participation.
AMERICAN LAWYER MEDIA, L.P.
CHASE MANHATTAN BANK, N.A.
Volunteer Program Partnership (VPP)
Employee Volunteer Program
Project Coordinator: Kerry Dubler
Project Coordinator: Kerry Yeager
In addition to weekly in-house tutoring for
This comprehensive program utilizes a
students from Manhattan's Junior High School
computerized database to involve Chase
131, employees assist in the production of a
employees in a wide variety of volunteer
National Dance Institute-sponsored performance
opportunities. In addition to 30-40 annual team
by 1,000 homeless and disadvantaged youth.
projects, over 100 employees participate in
Junior Achievement, while 200 retirees also
BANK OF AMERICA
serve in volunteer positions.
(Security Pacific Bank)
Team America
CHEMICAL BANK
Project Coordinator: Anthony Caggiano
Join-a-School Program
In 1992, Security Pacific employees volunteered
Project Coordinator: Martha Graham
in programs serving seniors at several Manhattan
Chemical has adopted 3 public schools, in which
nursing homes. Activities included organizing a
55 employees tutor bi-weekly. The volunteers
"Dance Night" and other socials at the Jewish
also facilitate a tutoring program with 47 teenage
Home & Hospital for the Aged.
Outward Bound students from George
Washington High School, who have been trained
BANK OF TOKYO
to tutor elementary school children at PS 189.
Employee Volunteer Program
Project Coordinator: Beth Gilroy
EMPIRE BLUE CROSS / BLUE SHIELD
Over 100 employees are involved annually, with
Read-to-Me Public School Partnership
over one-half assisting in the company's in-
Project Coordinator: Anna Doyno
house career shadowing program, which exposes
For the past two years, more than 30 employees
6th-8th graders to the financial world and helps
have dedicated their lunch hour once a week to
them prepare resumes. In addition, their annual
reading one on one with 4th graders at PS 116.
holiday toy drive collects hundreds of toys for
homeless children.
ESTEE LAUDER/ORIGINS
LIZ CLAIBORNE, INC.
Employee Volunteer Program
Volunteer Support for MVAC Clothing Bank
Project Coordinator: Sue Grundfest
Project Coordinator: Rob Bernard
These volunteers are committed to working with
In addition to a monthly corporate donation of
children living in shelters for homeless families.
over 2,000 pieces of clothing to the bank,
Their programs have included an environmental
employees have volunteered their own time to
program, projects exposing children to the arts,
assess and improve the bank's internal systems,
and recreational outings likes trips to the circus
and helped in redesigning the facilities.
and more.
McKINSEY & COMPANY
THE FUJI BANK AND TRUST COMPANY
"World of Work" Tutoring Program
Employee Volunteer Program
(Boy's Choir of Harlem)
Project Coordinators: Akiko Mitsui and
Project Coordinator: Karen Barth
Duval Slingluff
For the third year, fifty volunteers and fifty 4th-
Fuji volunteers have dedicated their time to
8th graders team up weekly to learn about
renovating low income housing. These
various professions. Follow-up field trips are
"homesteading" projects have assisted Habitat
organized to meet successful African-Americans
for Humanity and Catholic Charities on the
in diverse industries, from health care to law,
Lower East Side.
and more.
GOLDMAN SACHS & CO.
MTV NETWORKS INC.
Community Services Group
Employee Volunteer Program
Project Coordinator: Janice Moore
Project Coordinator: Michele Vonfeld
Goldman Sachs is committed to providing
While participating in a variety of community
employee-volunteers in NYC and ten other US
service programs, MTV volunteers have placed
regional offices with a central resource to make
a great focus on assisting people with AIDS.
getting involved easy. By maintaining a
They provide companionship to adults during
database of over 100 nonprofits to match
brunch programs, and also organize recreational
employees' interests and time with volunteer
activities for children at Bellevue Hospital,
opportunities, over 700 employees actively
Harlem Hospital and the Children's Hope
participated in community service programs in
Foundation.
1992, a 315% increase in one year.
J. WALTER THOMPSON
PFIZER INC.
Jr. High School Tutoring Program
Employee/Volunteer Resources
Project Coordinator: Janine Smith Prestegaard
Project Coordinator: Valerie Vetere
Employees tutor up to twenty-eight 7th & 8th
By her own motivation, Valerie has become the
graders from the Hudson River Middle School in
focal point and volunteer recruiter/coordinator
English and Math for one hour each week at
for Pfizer's long-term programs including:
Thompson's headquarters, improving grades and
National Council on Corporate Volunteerism,
academic performance, and exposing the
Corporate Volunteers of New York, Corporate
students to careers in advertising.
Outreach, and Habitat for Humanity.
J. WALTER THOMPSON
POLYGRAM HOLDING CO., INC.
Annual Volunteer Day (JWT Cares Day)
Minority Foundation Committee
Project Coordinator: Marty Rose
Project Coordinator: Gloria Feliciano
Since 1990, during the holiday season, the JWT
Started in 1992 by a team of minority senior
staff of nearly 300 devotes one entire work day
executives, this year-round job training program
to community service, hosting 20 projects
recruits needy high school and college students.
including holiday parties for children with
50 interns are trained in multiple departments,
AIDS, working in soup kitchens, renovating day
and are supported by mentoring "Business
care centers, delivering and packing care
Teachers." Five scholarships will also be
packages.
offered in 1993.
JOSEPH E. SEAGRAM & SONS, INC.
The Seagram / P.S. 198 Partnership
Project Coordinators: Nancy Morgan and
Susan Pollack
Seagram's employees volunteered over 4,300
hours of company time to provide tutoring,
career shadowing, and to help with recreational
programs at PS 198. Volunteers also offer a
lecture series, career day and help with practice
interviews. They also helped develop an art
studio and computer lab, donating nearly 40
computers and course time.
SHEARSON LEHMAN BROTHERS
Educate Our Youth Program
Project Coordinator: Heidi Walker
As New York Cares' largest corporate tutoring
effort, this program involves 120 employee
volunteers who rotate weekly to tutor and
provide career awareness programs at the
company offices to students from Junior High
School 131.
Please fax your ballot to New York Cares, c/o
Hands On New York Awards at 212-228-6414 or
SHEARSON LEHMAN BROTHERS
return in the enclosed envelope by Friday April 23,
Employee Volunteer Program
1993 at 5:00 pm. Thank you again for helping us
Project Coordinator: Edward Breitenbach
to select the winners.
This team is building a new terrace for the
patients at the Terance Cardinal Cooke Health
Care Center, a nonprofit hospital serving the
poor. The volunteers raised the money for
materials themselves, and are now doing the
construction work on weekends.
SUMITOMO BANK CAPITAL MARKETS
Volunteer Projects For Children
Project Coordinator: Joyce Frost
Volunteers have coordinated and hosted holiday
parties at Metropolitan Hospital and Children's
Art Carnival. They also organized the Convent
Family Living Center "Back-to-School" party,
outfitting sixty children with complete school
supplies.
TIGER MANAGEMENT
Volunteers for Children
Project Coordinators: John Griffin and
Barbara Guiffre
Tiger coordinates and underwrites this monthly
recreational and cultural program for foster
children at St. Agatha's Home. Typical projects
include day trips to museums, parks and other
outdoor oriented activities.
New York Cares®
116 East 16th Street
New York, NY 10003
New York Cares
Attn: Hands On New York Awards
116 East 16th Street
New York, NY 10003
Innovations in Community Service
3
CITY VOLUNTEER CORPS
thanks you letter
838 BROADWAY
Acut 13/11/93
NEW YORK, NY 10003
(212) 475-6444
Herbert Sturz
Fax (212) 475-9457
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
Fred Wilpon
February 11, 1993
file NYCVC
VICE CHAIRMAN
BOARD MEMBERS
Ann Biczo
Donald A. Cole
William A. Diaz
Ms. Susan Stroud
Gregory Farrell
Daniel G. Fisher
Consultant
Solomon Goodrich
White House Office of National Service
Curtis Harris
Mary Holloway
The White House
Martha V. Johns
Washington, D.C. 20500
Randolph S. Kinder
Reverend John Lazar
Larry Lee
Dear Ms. Stroud:
Stanley Litow
Barbara A. Margolis
LaMar P. Miller
Congratulations on your new position as a Consultant for
Frank A. Moretti
Lisette Nieves
the White House Office of National Service. Because of
Sonia Ospina
President Clinton's commitment to national service, we
Charlotte V.M. Ottley
Orlando Rodriguez
are sending you a City Volunteer Corps (CVC) T-shirt.
Holly Russell
Edward L. Sadowsky
Robert Steingut
As you know, CVC is New York City's national service
Most Rev. Joseph M. Sullivan
corps, and the largest urban corps in the United States.
Toni D. Schmiegelow
CVC was the pioneer in involving youth in human service
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
work, and the model for younger corps that have followed,
such as Boston's City Year.
We hope that you will wear this CVC T-shirt as we enter
a new era of excellence in government and as a sign of
the extraordinary energy that youth are giving to their
country through national service.
Sincerely,
for
Toni Schmiegelow
Executive Director
NH:WP/STROUDTS.HRT
A DEMONSTRATION OF NATIONAL SERVICE
PRATT COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INTERNSHIP
Program Description
January 1993
For further information contact:
Ron Shiffman, Director
Rudy Bryant, Associate Director for Training
Leslie Hewlett, Manager of Training
Pratt Institute Center for Community
and Environmental Development
379 DeKalb Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11205
(718) 636-3486
Pratt Community Economic Development Internship
Program Description
Page 1
BACKGROUND
The Pratt Institute Center for Community and Environmental Development (PICCED) is the
oldest university-based community development planning, training and technical assistance
organization in the country. Founded in 1963 with a grant from the Rockefeller Brothers
Fund, PICCED's original goal was to create a partnership between Pratt's planning department
and local organizations struggling to address issues of urban deterioration and poverty.
Working closely with community-based organizations and their constituencies, PICCED offers
an array of education, training and technical assistance services. These programs emphasize
coalition building and the empowerment of residents through ownership of the community
development process -- from planning and decision-making to development and eventual
management of completed projects.
The Pratt Community Economic Development Internship grew out of PICCED's concern in the
early 1980s about the ability of nonprofit community-based organizations (CBOs) to survive
and grow in an era of rapidly changing federal policies and sources of funding. With the
onslaught of "New Federalism," the main responsibility for social and economic problems was
being passed from the federal government to local governments and nonprofit organizations
without a commensurate shift in funds. Many of our client groups were facing a great
challenge to their survival because they were being forced to take on new roles in dealing with
the complex problems of urban, low-income neighborhoods. Their roots were in advocacy
around such issues as neighborhood displacement and the need for open space, education,
housing and health care, and they had built their skills in tenant organizing, community
planning, and lobbying their elected representatives on issues and programs affecting tenants,
homeowners and merchants. In New York City, many CBOs were gaining ground in their well
organized efforts to pressure the City to respond to the growing number of abandoned
buildings that were being held in public ownership. Yet, as the housing and economic crisis
deepened, those involved in community development efforts came to see that something
beyond the traditional advocate/service deliverer role was required if community organizations
were to have a real impact, not just on housing, but on the overall economic and social well-
being of their neighborhoods.
Pratt Community Economic Development Internship
Program Description
Page 2
In this context, the director of the Center and several other community development experts
were brought together by Public/Private Ventures to determine what skills and expertise CBOs
needed to undertake development and function more effectively in the current economic
climate. This planning effort led to the formation of the National Community Economic
Development Internship Program, which is run by the Development Training Institute in
Baltimore, Maryland.
In designing the National Internship, it was determined that there were some regions of the
country where the need for this human resource initiative was large enough to support an
intensive training program serving twenty to twenty-five participants in any given year. New
York City, because of its rich history of community development activity and the presence of
the Pratt Center, then a twenty-year-old technical assistance provider, seemed the logical
place to test this notion. With initial three-year funding support from the Charles H. Revson
Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Pratt Community Economic Development
Internship was launched.
Over 170 community development practitioners have participated in the program in the seven
training cycles that have been completed since the program first began. The organizations
that have sent their staff through the program have demonstrated remarkable success in their
housing and economic development initiatives. Through the strengthened technical skills and
management capacities of their senior staff, these local community development organizations
have undertaken an impressive array of efforts to produce low-income and special needs
housing and to create locally-based economic development enterprises.
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PROGRAM METHODOLOGY
Since the program's inception, we have placed a special emphasis on the recruitment of
minority and women participants who have had a wide range of prior experience in working
for community-based organizations and related public agencies. This focus is based on the
belief that the success of community economic development initiatives hinges on the
leadership of individuals who have a base in the low-income neighborhoods they serve. While
many participants have great proficiency in organizing and service delivery, they may not have
much experience in formal training and education. The following are the key assumptions that
underlie the design of the program:
Training and technical assistance activities must be flexible enough to respond
to the varied strengths and weaknesses inherent in the participants (both on the
part of organizations and individuals with differing skills and educational
backgrounds).
Many participants in training and technical assistance programs are working
adults who may be reluctant to engage in these types of activities unless
tangible benefits are readily apparent to them and their organizations.
Training and resource development programs must be sensitive to the fact that
some participants may have been out of school for many years, and may have
fears about immersing themselves in a formal learning environment.
In response to these parameters, PICCED bases its training and technical assistance
activities on the following educational philosophies:
Training and human resource development is most effective when it is
grounded in hands-on experience. Therefore we link training activities to the
actual ongoing work of the program participants. As much as possible,
"classroom" work is followed with "practicum" assignments that help to
elucidate and amplify the training and further the participant's work in a
practical way.
Learning is synergistic. That is, in a dynamic learning environment, program
participants learn best from each other. Therefore, whenever possible, training
is designed for and delivered in small groups that allow people to benefit from
each other's career experiences and areas of expertise.
The learning community itself can become the basis for professional referrals,
linkages and networks among practitioners and community development
organizations that broaden and strengthen their long-term organizational
capacity. Therefore our programs are designed to maximize opportunities for
participants to build working relationships.
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PROGRAM FORMAT AND CONTENT
The Internship is conducted by PICCED through five residential retreat sessions held in upstate
New York. This unique format helps to strengthen the cohesiveness of the group and enables
Interns to benefit from each other's experiences and particular strengths. The agenda during
these sessions includes immersion in coursework material, small group tasks and problems,
and discussions among participants about their personal, professional and organizational
backgrounds and pursuits. Each workshop combines skill building exercises with hands-on
technical assistance on both project and organizational issues. By making extensive use of
case studies, simulation exercises and "practicum" assignments, the program strengthens the
participant's management, financial packaging and negotiating skills. Over the nine-month
period, interns design and package a housing or commercial development initiative for their
sponsoring organizations, enabling them to apply what they have learned in the classroom to
actual projects.
The instructional material delivered during the workshop sessions is divided into the following
five core components:
Accounting: covers the principles and practices of accounting and financial
analysis for business ventures and nonprofit sponsors. Interns learn the skills
needed to interpret financial statements, prepare for audits and manage
financial accounting matters.
Commercial and Business Development: focuses on the concepts and
techniques of selecting a business development strategy and identifying,
packaging and managing business development ventures. Interns are equipped
with the tools to identify and screen venture opportunities, structure private
sector financial participation, package projects for investment and establish and
manage business development ventures.
Real Estate Development: provides interns with a comprehensive overview of
the real estate development process for housing and commercial properties.
This component covers financial analysis, financing techniques, analysis of the
legal, tax, economic and market constraints on various types of development,
the preparation of development packages, and the formation and management
of the development team.
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Organizational Effectiveness: builds the capacity of participants to diagnose
management issues and utilize appropriate intervention strategies within their
organizations. Each intern completes a management assessment which helps
them to evaluate their organization's community development strategies in the
context of their management needs.
The Integrative Workshop: is designed to encourage participants to put what
they learn in their "hard" courses -- business development, housing and real
estate development -- into a physical, social, political and organizational
context. It places a special emphasis on ways that diverse community
development strategies can address issues of poverty and bring about
qualitative changes in the lives of residents of low-income communities. A
historical and policy perspective on community economic development and the
current state of the field is followed by an intensive focus on the practical skills
of planning, designing and implementing an economic development strategy.
As an open forum, it fosters networking and information sharing about the
practical application of various community development strategies to the
current environment of the intern's neighborhood.
In addition to the five workshop sessions held in upstate New York, the Internship includes
a Mid-Year Seminar which takes place on Pratt Institute's Brooklyn campus. During this
seminar, past graduates and other experts in the field are invited to make formal presentations
and engage in small group discussions with program participants. Topics have included:
worker-owned cooperatives, ownership transfer programs, housing cooperatives, and strategic
financial planning.
During the interval between workshops, interns work on "practicum" assignments that require
them to go through a step-by-step process in which they design and plan an actual project for
their sponsoring organization. Readings, written assignments, technical assistance and study
groups help to reinforce the intensive material presented in the workshops.
Throughout the year, interns are assisted by faculty and staff to achieve clearly stated goals
and objectives. During the first workshop, interns create their own learning plans, which are
reviewed at each subsequent workshop to enable them to assess their accomplishments in
the context of their individual goals.
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In the fourth workshop, interns specialize in one of two advanced courses of their choosing:
Housing Development
Commercial and Industrial Development
These courses culminate with the Simulation Exercise, which is a three-day case study in
which interns structure a housing or commercial deal by negotiating with key players in the
development process. These players are acted by actual bankers, representatives from public
agencies, community development practitioners and social service providers who come to the
workshop site for the exercise. This segment serves as the capstone of the program,
requiring the interns to use the skills developed in all their coursework in a true-to-life
situation.
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PROGRAM STAFF
The administration of the program is carried out through the strong leadership of Rudy Bryant,
PICCED's associate director for training. Rudy's 25 years of experience at PICCED, coupled
with his study of real estate development as a Revson Fellow at Columbia University, has
been particularly useful in developing the program and providing support to the interns. In
addition to his extensive experience in community economic development, Rudy has had wide
exposure to organizational development issues through his technical assistance and volunteer
experience on various nonprofit boards of directors. This on-the-ground experience has been
complemented by his study at Columbia's Institute for Not-for-Profit Management. Rudy
provides overall direction for the academic and administrative aspects of the program,
develops and teaches parts of the Integrative Workshop, and provides technical assistance
and support to interns and their organizations.
Since 1989, Rudy has been assisted by Leslie Hewlett who serves as the manager of training.
Leslie is a 1991 graduate of the Development Training Institute's National Internship Program
and has prior experience in coordinating training programs in the private sector. Her
participation in the national program has enhanced her capacity to provide tutorial support to
participants in the program.
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FACULTY
PICCED has a strong track record in attracting and retaining skilled and dedicated faculty for
the Internship. Several of the core course have been taught by long-term faculty members.
Bill Hoffman, of ETC Network, has taught the Organizational Effectiveness component of the
program since 1983. He has also developed, refined and run the negotiation and simulation
exercises. Charles Rial of Shorebank Advisory Services, a subsidiary of South Shore Bank in
Chicago, has been teaching business development in the program over the past several years.
Greg Ptucha, also of Shorebank, teaches a portion of the Business and Commercial
Development component of the program. Robert Ream, a program manager at the Low
Income Housing Fund with extensive experience in the housing development field, teaches the
Real Estate and Housing course. Joe McNeely of the Development Training Institute teaches
the Nonprofit Law and Tax curriculum. Joan Byron, director of the Pratt Planning and
Architectural Collaborative, teaches a segment on managing the development process. Ron
Shiffman, director of PICCED, has taught the History and Philosophy of Community Economic
Development over the entire course of the program.
In addition to these full-time faculty members, two assistants provide additional academic
support to the interns. These staff members are available for telephone consultation and one-
on-one tutorial sessions. Dean Zias, associate planner at PICCED, instructs interns on how
to solve real estate equations on the calculator and serves as a teaching assistant for basic
math skills, business development and accounting. Joe Weisbord, a housing planner at
PICCED and a graduate of the 1990 Internship class, serves as a teaching assistant in the
Housing and Real Estate course.
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PARTICIPANT PROFILE
Through our active recruiting efforts, we have maintained a high level of diversity --
geographically, racially and in gender -- among the Internship participants. The total number
of participants who have either completed or are currently enrolled in the Internship program
is 194. Of this number, 129 are from New York City, 35 from other areas in New York State,
7 are from New Jersey and 16 are from Connecticut. A few others have been from other
parts of the country and abroad.
Over the long-run, our efforts to recruit women, African-Americans, Latinos and other
minorities have been very successful. To date, 65% of the participants have been minorities
and 53% have been women. The diversity that has characterized the Internship is one of the
great strengths of the program. Individuals with strong racial, ethnic, religious and community
identities not only work together as an integrated group, but develop personal friendships and
professional associations which extend well beyond the limits of the program itself.
In recent years we have begun to include participants from abroad. Through its South African
Career Development Fellowship Program, the Institute for International Education has provided
full scholarships for four South Africans to participate in the Internship. Other international
students from South Africa, India, and Senegal have been able to participate with the support
of various private sources. This broadening of the geographic diversity of the participants is
linked to PICCED's efforts to promote the mutual exchange of information and ideas among
community economic development practitioners working at the grassroots level throughout
the world. We believe that this exchange is beneficial not only to practitioners from abroad,
but enriches the learning experience of participants from the local New York region.
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PRACTITIONER NETWORKS
One of the primary benefits of the Internship to the community development field is the
formation of practitioner networks that have a life beyond the Internship itself. A formal
network of alumni from the Pratt Internship -- the Association for Community Empowerment
(ACE) -- has been functioning for close to four years. Another formal network -- the
Development Leadership Network (DLN), a national organization -- is composed of graduates
of Pratt's Internship and the Development Training Institute's National Internship in
Community Economic Development. Both networks have helped to facilitate peer-to-peer
consultation and support. They have helped many interns to overcome the problems of
isolation, and have encouraged them to participate in policy and program development within
their organizations and on a local, regional and national level.
In the fall of 1993, ACE and the DLN will be co-sponsoring a national conference in New York
City that will focus on the state of community development and its future direction. It will
be held in a retreat setting so that participants have the opportunity to meet informally and
share information. A variety of formats, including panel discussions, policy roundtables, case
studies, practitioner interchanges, peer-to-peer counseling, regional forums and continuing
education workshops are being planned. The conference will coincide with the celebration
of PICCED's thirtieth year of operation.
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OPPORTUNITY FOR GRADUATE LEVEL STUDY
Unlike many other technical assistance providers and intermediaries, the Center is affiliated
with an institution of higher education and is therefore able to award credit and grant degrees
to community-based practitioners. Through its close working relationship with the Pratt
Institute's Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment (GCPE), PICCED is able to
provide these practitioners with a matrix of educational opportunities. In 1991, a major new
opportunity for graduates of the Internship to obtain their master's degrees was created
through the Pratt Graduate Fellowship. This program, which is conducted jointly with the
GCPE, is open to graduates of either Pratt's or DTI's Internship programs. Those who choose
to continue with their studies are awarded up to thirty credits of advanced standing,
depending on the prior academic preparation and achievement of the candidates.
The Fellowship is run in a special intensive trimester format, in which each semester consists
of a week at Pratt Institute's Brooklyn campus, followed by four to five weekends over a four
month period. This format is especially helpful in enabling participants from outside of New
York City to complete their course work for the master's degree within a year after completing
the Internship, while continuing to work for community-based organizations and other related
entities. To date, thirty graduates from the first seven classes of the Internship are currently
enrolled in Pratt's Graduate Fellowship Program. An additional twelve former interns have
successfully completed the graduate program.
One major objective of this initiative has been to enable students without bachelor's degrees
to pursue credit equivalency and to earn their graduate and bachelor's degrees simultaneously.
The program greatly expands opportunities for community advocates and practitioners in low-
income communities to build their professional careers in community development and
planning. It has also had a beneficial impact on the community-based organizations for whom
they work by providing them with a highly trained cadre of practitioners with roots and
contacts in the field and in the local community.