march 19 - march 25, 2014 Vol. 15 No. 12 NORTHERN MANHATTAN S BILINGUAL NEWSPAPER NOW EVERY WEDNESDAY TODOS LOS MIERCOLES washington Heights Inwood HARLEM EAST HARLEM EL PERIODICO BILINGUE DEL NORTE DE MANHATTAN Explosionp3 Photos by Robin Elisabeth Kilmer Explosiónp3 Ariel p4 Hacks p17 Dream p7
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Explosion rocks East Harlem Two buildings collapse, killing 8 and injuring 58 Story by Erik Cuello large gas explosion destroyed A two East Harlem apartment buildings early Wed., Mar. 12 th, killing eight and injuring nearly 60 others. Among those killed were Carmen Tanco, 67; Griselda Camacho, 44; George Amadeo, 44; Andreas Panagopoulos, 43; Mayumi Nakamura, 34; Alexis (Jordy) Salas, 22; Rosaura Barrios Vásquez, 44; and her daughter Rosaura Hernández, 21. The five-alarm fire occurred at 1644 and 1646 Park Avenue at 9:31 a.m. The five-story buildings held six and nine residential units, respectively. At the ground level of 1644 Park Avenue stood Spanish Christian Church Inc., a small, 60-member Evangelical church that has existed for nearly 80 years. Absolute Pianos was on the ground floor at 1646 Park Avenue. Elizabeth Matthews, a spokesperson for Con Edison, said that a resident of a nearby building reported a gas leak at 9:13 a.m. At 9:15 a.m., Con Edison sent a crew to investigate the report, arriving at 9:41 a.m., just after the explosion. Firefighters were on the scene at 9:33 a.m., and by early afternoon, there were over 250 firefighters at the site. Reports on Tue., Mar. 18 th from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) state that there was a leak in the 8-inch cast iron gas main adjacent to 1646 Park Avenue. The leak, found in the 125-year-old pipe near the site of the explosion, failed a pressure test. The NTSB declined to confirm at press time that the leak was the definite cause of the explosion. Fire Department Commissioner Sal Cassano said that definitive information regarding the source of the blast would take some time. Right now, they can t get anywhere near where the source of ignition was, he stated. Once we get through the debris and rubble we will get down to that basement and see where we think it was ignited. Over 250 firefighters responded to the site. Photo: E. Pagan Photo: QPHOTONYC The explosion leveled two city buildings. Photo: R. Kilmer First responders. Photo: QPHOTONYC Cassano added that first responders narrowly avoided being caught by the explosion. If we were here five minutes early, he said, we may have had some fatalities among firefighters. This past Sun., Mar. 16 th, a memorial service was held at the Bethel Gospel Assembly on East 120 th Street. Members of this congregation are one with those in the community who have been Mayor Bill de Blasio at the scene. Photo: QPHOTONYC suffering, said Mayor Bill de Blasio, who attended with First Lady Chirlane McCray. You can feel the support here. He commended the church for opening its doors shortly after the blast. The Mayor acknowledged the first responders, including firefighters, police, and emergency medical technicians. He also cited the civilians who rushed to the aid of their neighbors directly after the blast. Oscar Hernández, 15, was pulled out of the rubble by passersby who worked with police just before the buildings went up in flames. Hernandez remains in critical but stable condition at a nearby hospital. His mother and older sister died in the collapse. It made us proud and humble thinking about those men and women who felt the explosion, who ran into the fire, ran into the danger because they knew they night be able to save one more life, said the mayor. They got there without hesitation in the middle of the crisis and pulled Oscar out alive. The timing of his rescuers, who did not hesitate, said Mayor de Blasio, was the difference between life and death. They did not walk, they ran, he said. Mayor de Blasio and First Lady McCray The buildings stood on Park Avenue. Photo: Google Images Photo: E. Pagan Cars were destroyed. Photo: R. Kilmer urged New Yorkers to donate to the Mayor s Fund to Advance New York City, which has established a special East Harlem Building Collapse Relief Fund. The fund will be used to help families and small businesses recover from the disaster. Victims can also receive assistance for expenses related to housing, funerals and replacing lost possessions. Counseling services and specialized outreach to El Barrio s immigrant communities will be provided by local community-based organizations. For additional coverage and photos, please visit www.manhattantimesnews.com. To provide assistance and for more information on relief efforts, please visit http://on.nyc.gov/1ig3unx. march 19, 2014 Manhattan Times www.manhattantimesnews.com 3
She was four, but she made a difference Story and photos by Robin Elisabeth Kilmer Thomas. But what s incredibly inspirational Remembering Ariel T is the strength of her mother. his past March 10 th would The co-naming was hosted by Councilmember Mark Levine. have been Ariel Russo s fifth My heart continues to go out to Ariel s birthday. family and friends for their unspeakable loss, he said. Her mother Sofia Russo knows precisely Also in attendance on Monday were City how that celebration would have gone. Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and She would have had a ballerina-themed Councilmember Ydanis Rodríguez, Chair of birthday party at Build-a-Bear, she the City Council s transportation committee. explained. She would ve enjoyed a cup of Today we ensure that Ariel will be chocolate frozen yogurt at 16 Handles. With remembered in this community and city, said gummy bears. Councilmember Mark-Viverito. Instead of helping her daughter blow out The ceremony followed Mayor Bill de candles on Mon., Mar. 10 th, her mother, Blasio s announcement of his Vision Zero standing with Ariel s plan to eliminate pedestrian traffic deaths. father, Alan Russo, Franklin Reyes, the 17-year-old driver together with other who is alleged to have struck Ariel and family members and her grandmother, has been charged with friends, commemorated manslaughter and felony assault, the spot where her little among other counts. Police say girl had died. that the teenager was driving his On June 4 th of last parents SUV without a license at year, Ariel was killed by the time of the crash. an SUV that ran up on Moreover, a probe by the city s the sidewalk of West 97 th Department of Investigation in Street and Amsterdam December found that human Avenue as she walked error by 911 dispatchers and to preschool with her Sofia and Alan Russo, parents of Ariel, hold the street not computer flaws had caused grandmother, who suffered sign bearing the name of their daughter, killed last June. for a deadly four-minute delay by injuries. On the southwest emergency responders. corner of the intersection, She was just a really caring little Darian Thomas is a friend of the family In response, the family has vowed Ariel Russo s name will girl, energetic and confident, recalled a who attends church with them. He said he had to attend every court hearing and has also live on after a street co-naming ceremony was weeping Sofia. She took care of her twoyear-old little brother really well. It s just been a very sad occasion, said See ARIEL witnessed the family cope with Ariel s death. filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city. held on Monday. p22 The co-naming was hosted by Councilmember Mark Levine. To obtain an application visit www.newheightsacademy.org, call 212.283.5400 or stop by in person Para obtener una solicitud, visite www.newheightsacademy.org, llamé al 212-283-5400 ó visite en persona. 1818 Amsterdam Avenue New York, NY 10031 New Heights Academy Charter School provides a free college preparatory education for students in grades 5-12 who live in New York City. Our fantastic staff, small class sizes and safe environment make New Heights Academy a phenomenal choice! How to enter the lottery? The first step in applying for the 2014-2015 academic year is to fill out the application and return it no later than Tuesday, April 1, 2014. Applications received after April 1, 2014, will automatically be placed on the waitlist in the order in which they were received. Our mission is to graduate students who are prepared to succeed in college and life. We offer: Rated A on the NYC DOE Progress Report of 2012-13 Highly qualified teachers Smaller class sizes SMART Board equipped classrooms Academic & social support for students Special Education & ELL support Tutoring & Enrichment programs Art, Music and Dance After school clubs & athletics College & Career Counselors National Honor Society AP Classes/Credit recovery Regents & SAT Prep Community Service Athletics (Basketball, Volleyball, Flag Football, etc) New Heights Academy Charter School ofrece una educación preparatoria para la universidad gratis para los estudiantes en los grados 5-12 que viven en la ciudad de Nueva York. Nuestro personal fantástico, clases pequeñas y ambiente seguro a hacer de Nueva Heights Academy una opción fenomenal! Cómo participar en el sorteo? El primer paso en la aplicación para el año académico 2014-2015 es llenar la solicitud y devolverla no más tarde del martes 1 de abril. Las solicitudes recibidas después del 1 de abril de 2014 se colocarán automáticamente en la lista de espera en el orden en que fueron recibidos. Nuesta mission es graduar estudiantes que están preparados para lograr el éxito en la Universidad y en la vida. Ofrecemos: A Clasificado en el DOE Informe de Progreso NYC de 2012-13 Maestros altamente cualificados Clases más pequeñas Salas equipados con SMART Board El apoyo social y académic Apoyo de Educación Especial y de ELL Tutoría y Enriquecimiento Arte, Música y Baile Clubes y atletismo de la escuela Consejeros de Colegio y Carreras Sociedad Nacional de Honor Recuperación de Crédito/Clases de AP Regents y preparación SAT Servicio para la Comunidad Atletismo (baloncesto, voleibol, fútbol de bandera, etc) Information Sessions/ Sesión de Información Monday 3.24.14 [5-6:30pm] Wednesday 3.26.14 [6-7:30pm] Friday 3.28.14 [5-6:30pm] Saturday 3.29.14 [10-11:30am] Lottery/Lotería Thursday 4.10.14 [4:30pm] NEW HEIGHTS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL will not discriminate against any student, employee, or other person on the basis of national origin, ethnicity, gender, or disability or any other ground that would be unlawful if done by any other public school. [Ed.L. 2854(2)(a)] Admission of students to NEW HEIGHTS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL will not be limited on the basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability, disability, race, creed, gender, national origin, religion or ancestry (except in the instance of a single-sex charter school or a charter school designed to provide expanded learning opportunities for students who are at-risk of academic failure). [Ed.L. 2854(1)(a), (2)(a)] NEW HEIGHTS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL no discriminará a ningún estudiante, empleado, u otra persona sobre la base de origen nacional, pertenencia étnica, género, o invalidez o ninguna otra forma que sería ilegal de ser hecho por cualquier otra escuela pública. [Ed. L. 2854 (2) (a)]admisión de estudiantes a NEW HEIGHTS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL no será limitada sobre la base de la capacidad intelectual, las medidas de logro o aptitud, capacidad atlética, invalidez, raza, credo, género, origen nacional, religión o ascendencia (excepto en el caso de una escuela de carta de un genero o una escuela de carta diseñada para proporcionar oportunidades de aprendizaje ampliadas a estudiantes que están en peligro de fracaso académico). [Ed. L. 2854 (1) (a), (2) (a)] 4 march 19, 2014 Manhattan Times www.manhattantimesnews.com
Story, photos and video by Sherry Mazzocchi Ready. Set. Code. After 36 nearly non-stop hours of coding, developer Hannah Oppenheimer is one step closer to making a long-held dream come true. Oppenheimer and her team won the top prize this past weekend in New York-Presbyterian s first ever hackathon. The top prizes went to apps that gave patients more social interaction and information. Aurelia Boyer, the hospital s Chief Information Officer, said the hackathon s purpose was twofold. The hospital is starting to give patients Windows-based tablets. We re looking for new, innovative ideas on how to engage with our patients, she said. The second reason is that we want to open up to young developers the idea of working in health care. Boyer and a team of judges from Google, ZocDoc, Oscar and Blueprint Health picked the top three winners. The $50,000 first prize went to the team led by Oppenheimer, a programmer at the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Her app allows patients to search for other patients with similar health care issues or similar interests and communicate via a closed Google Hangout. The hospital could also use Hacking for health The $50,000 first place prize went to the team led by Hannah Oppenheimer. Hangouts to deliver information to patients such as a question-and-answer session to new mothers. Oppenheimer got the idea when she worked at a camp for children with life-threatening diseases. One child, with cystic fibrosis, could never be in the presence of others with the same disease because of a lethal risk of cross-infection. Oppenheimer told the judges that studies indicate that interactions with other children both inside and outside of the hospital improves a child s quality of life and decreases hospital time. This event was one way that we could make that idea into a reality, she said. Stanislav Bogdanov and John Kinney were the two masterminds behind Intemed, which won the $25,000 second prize. A lot of people in hospitals are just bored because they have no one talk to, said Kinney. Their app allows people to connect with their family, friends and even other patients through a variety of social media including text messaging, Facebook and video chats. The social media is integrated right into the app, making it easy for patients who ve never used it. Intermed s app featured larger buttons and bigger text for people with visual impairments. But developer Peter Newhook took accessibility a giant step further. His web-based app, Healthcare.love, reads screen text aloud. A lot of our design doesn t take accessibility into account until later, and when it s bolted on, it feels artificial, he said. Users speak questions like Can I take aspirin? and the app checks the patient s medications and responds out loud whether or not the drug would conflict with other prescriptions. The app also navigates to different pages with voice commands. Newhook also incorporated a face recognition feature that allowed users to navigate without clicking or touching the screen. If you treat accessibility as a first-class feature, you come up with a different user experience, he said. Two brothers, Shahriar and Fam Sikder, took home the $15,000 third prize. Their app allows patients to message physicians, schedule and check-in for appointments. Family members can also logon and keep tabs on their loved ones. Patients can rack up bonus points by keeping appointments and taking quizzes. It incentivizes health care, Fahm Sikder told the judges. A simple quiz on See HACKING p20 Un equipo de jueces de Google, ZocDoc, Oscar y Blueprint Health eligió a los tres primeros ganadores. Hackeando por la salud Historia, fotos y video por Sherry Mazzocchi En sus marcas. Listos. A codificar. Después de 36 horas de codificación casi sin parar, la desarrolladora Hannah Oppenheimer está un paso más cerca de hacer un sueño, de hace mucho tiempo, realidad. Oppenheimer y su equipo ganaron el premio mayor el fin de semana pasado en el primer hackathon del Hospital Presbiteriano de Nueva York. Los primeros premios fueron para las aplicaciones que dieron a los pacientes una mayor interacción social e información. Aurelia Boyer, directora de información del hospital, dijo que el propósito del hackathon fue doble. El hospital está empezando a dar a los pacientes tabletas con Windows. Estamos buscando ideas innovadoras sobre cómo comprometernos con nuestros pacientes, dijo. La segunda razón es que queremos promover en los desarrolladores jóvenes la idea de trabajar en el cuidado de la salud. Boyer y un equipo de jueces de Google, ZocDoc, Oscar y Blueprint Health eligieron a los tres ganadores. El primer premio de $50,000 dólares fue para el equipo dirigido por Oppenheimer, programadora en la Fundación Michael J. Fox. Su aplicación permite a los pacientes buscar a otros pacientes con problemas de salud o intereses similares y se comunican a través de un Google Hangout cerrado. El hospital también podría utilizar Hangouts para proporcionar información a los pacientes, tales como sesiones de preguntas y respuestas para las nuevas madres. Oppenheimer tuvo la idea cuando trabajaba Vea HACKING p20 march 19, 2014 Manhattan Times www.manhattantimesnews.com March 10 March 15 We have a winner folks! Uptown artist, Felipe Galindo, was voted the winner of NoMAA s Uptown Arts Stroll poster contest. While facing some stiff competition, Felipe s design captured the essence of the arts Uptown with a piece of work that was jovial, exuberant and nuanced. Much love also goes to NoMAA and everyone that came out for a wonderful evening at the beloved Shabazz Center. Humorist Christina Bebeau penned another incredibly witty piece about the neighborhood, the GW Bridge and the Palisades. If you have not read her stuff, prepare yourself for a left-of-center and quirky writer that will make you burst out laughing at the oddest, seemingly unfunny and inappropriate things. You have been warned. Superstar young chef and entrepreneur, Eddie Huang, took a cultural and culinary trip Uptown in the latest episode of the popular web-series Fresh Off the Boat. Eddie stops by El Malecon, El Tina as well as a bunch of local spots alongside the Bronx s own, and a star in his own right, Loopy. The tax deadline is almost upon us. With that said, we unveiled our latest column dealing with finances, Money = Power, by contributor Fabian Baez, on several ways to get your taxes done for free. Our Uptown Video selection featured a short video on the Dyckman Beer Co. and it s founder Juan Camilo. Rap artist Charlie Cruz has a new banger featuring Art, The Dark. We also posted the R.I.P. J Dilla MixTape by wordsmith Sol-Leks. The Best of the Boogie Down column, by Jenni Ruiza, highlighted the global fashion imprint headed by Bronx natives and sisters, The D.Piper Twins. New York Magazine ran a great article recently on the work of photographer Graham MacIndoe, who documents his desperate descent into heroin addiction. What makes the piece even more powerful is that it was a written by his former girlfriend who witnessed the unraveling firsthand. Luckily, Graham was able to gain back his sobriety and is using the series of pictures as a way of giving people a real and unfiltered look at addiction in America. Don t forget folks, the next installment of Sunday Movies at the Palace With Lin-Manuel Miranda will feature a screening of Ghostbusters on March 23rd. As always, surprises and special guests are part of the festivities, so see you there. Keep checking us out at www.uptowncollective.com. Led Black Editor-in-Chief The Uptown Collective The UC s mission is to become the definitive, transformative and community-based force impacting the arts, culture, business and New York City s overall perception of Upper Manhattan. Its objective is to reset, reboot and positively redefine Uptown s artistic, political, cultural and business spheres via the online space as well the collective s initiatives and functions. 5
The Price of a Poverty Stigma By Letitia James New York City Public Advocate There s simply nothing more important than the health of our children and families. Recently, I was joined by a consortium of over 120 of the city s leading food advocacy, health, and parent organizations to announce a plan that will provide universal free lunch for all New York City public school students. Today, over 75% of city public school students are eligible for free or reducedprice school lunch an estimated 780,000 students and many students from families just above the income threshold but still struggling. Unfortunately, in part because of the poverty stigma associated with school lunch and understandable fears of undocumented families filling out the significant required paperwork to qualify an estimated 250,000 income eligible city students do not participate in the school lunch program. That s a quarter million children who are allowed to access free or reduced price lunch but don t do so largely because of the poverty stigma. The problem gets worse as children get older and societal pressures increase: 81% of elementary school students eat school lunch, but that number drops to 61% by middle school, and 38% in high school. We know that universal school lunch works because we already have it in select low-income schools in New York City. We simply want to expand that accessibility. Boston, Dallas, and Chicago already have similar free lunch policies, as do New York State cities like Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Hempstead, and Poughkeepsie. The simple fact is that every child must be guaranteed access to healthy food during the school day. We know that when children are hungry, they are less likely to be attentive in class, and they are less likely to get the most out of their education. We have spoken with Mayor de Blasio and New York City Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor Carmen Fariña to secure funding for universal free lunch. In my opinion, the simplest option is a direct allocation in the Mayor s proposed budget. The federal government pays the bulk of the costs associated with school lunch in New York City. For the 2011-2012 school year, the federal government paid $298,121, 850 for schools meals and the city made up the difference of $37,564,748. If we provide every child with a free lunch in the City of New York it will only cost an additional $20 million. We will spend just $20 more per student each year. This increase will amount to less than 1/10 th of a percent of the entire DOE budget, which is nearly $25 billion. Universal free lunch doesn t require legislative action or approval from Albany. Let s work with the mayor, who can institute universal free lunch with a stroke of his pen, and help erase the stigma associated with poverty or immigration status for thousands of New York City children. The health of our children and families depends on it. Op/Ed Public Advocate Letitia James El precio del estigma de la pobreza Por Letitia James Defensora Pública de la ciudad de Nueva York Simplemente, no hay nada más importante que la salud de nuestros hijos y familias. Hace poco, conté con la participación de un consorcio de más de 120 organizaciones de padres, salud y defensa de líderes de la alimentación de la ciudad para anunciar un plan que ofrecerá almuerzo gratis universal a todos los estudiantes de escuelas públicas de la Ciudad de Nueva York. Actualmente, más del 75% de los estudiantes de escuelas públicas de la ciudad cumplen con los requisitos para recibir un almuerzo escolar gratis o a precio reducido aproximadamente, 780,000 alumnos así como muchos estudiantes de familias que se encuentran justo por encima del umbral de ingresos, pero atravesando serias dificultades. Lamentablemente, en parte debido al estigma de la pobreza asociado con el almuerzo escolar y a miedos entendibles de familias indocumentadas al tener que completar los trámites requeridos para calificar, se calcula que 250,000 estudiantes de la ciudad elegibles por su nivel de ingresos no participan en el programa de almuerzo escolar. Eso se traduce en un cuarto de millón de niños que pueden acceder al almuerzo gratis o a precio reducido, pero que no lo hacen debido al estigma de la pobreza. El problema empeora a medida que los niños crecen y las presiones sociales aumentan: el 81% de los estudiantes de escuelas de enseñanza primaria comen el almuerzo escolar, pero esa cifra desciende al 61% en la escuela media y al 38% en la escuela superior. Sabemos que el almuerzo escolar universal funciona, porque ya está implementado en escuelas seleccionadas de bajos ingresos en la Ciudad de Nueva York. Simplemente queremos ampliar esa accesibilidad. Boston, Dallas y Chicago ya cuentan con políticas similares de almuerzos gratis, al igual que las ciudades del estado de Nueva York, como Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Hempstead y Poughkeepsie. Lo cierto es que a cada niño se le debe garantizar acceso a una comida saludable durante la jornada escolar. Sabemos que cuando los niños tienen hambre, tienen menos probabilidades de prestar atención en clase y de aprovechar al máximo su educación. Hemos hablado con el Alcalde de Blasio y la Canciller Carmen Fariña, al frente del Departamento de Educación de la Ciudad de Nueva York (DOE), para garantizar la financiación del almuerzo gratis universal. En mi opinión, la opción más simple es una asignación directa en el presupuesto propuesto del Alcalde. El gobierno federal paga la mayor parte de los costos asociados con el almuerzo escolar en la Ciudad de Nueva York. En el año escolar 2011-2012, el gobierno federal pagó $298,121,850 para comidas escolares, y la ciudad compensó la diferencia de $37,564,748. Si le ofrecemos a cada niño almuerzo gratis en la Ciudad de Nueva York, solamente costará un adicional de $20 millones. Gastaremos tan solo $20 más por estudiante cada año. Este aumento ascenderá a menos de un décimo del uno por ciento de todo el presupuesto del DOE, que es de casi $25 billones. El almuerzo gratis universal no requiere de acción legislativa o aprobación de Albany. Trabajemos con el Alcalde, quien puede instaurar el almuerzo gratis universal de un plumazo, y ayudemos a eliminar el estigma asociado con la pobreza o la condición de inmigrante en miles de niños de la Ciudad de Nueva York. La salud de nuestros niños y familias depende de eso. FOUNDERS/ PUBLISHERS Luis A. Miranda Jr. David Keisman Roberto Ramirez Sr. EDITOR Debralee Santos EDITORIAL STAFF Robin Elisabeth Kilmer Adrian Cabreja editor@manhattantimesnews.com PRODUCTION Ramon Peralta Adam Samuel Chertoff TRANSLATOR Yamilla Miranda OFFICE MANAGER Jennifer Saldaña PROJECT MANAGER Erik Cuello DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Landa M. Towns www.manhattantimesnews.com 5030 Broadway, Suite 801 New York, NY 10034 T: 212-569-5800 F: 212-544-9545 MEMBER: Chamber of Commerce of Washington Heights and Inwood 6 march 19, 2014 Manhattan Times www.manhattantimesnews.com
A dream deferred? Advocates vow renewed fight Story and photos by Robin Elisabeth Kilmer Despite the abundance of four-leaf clover, it was no happy holiday for thousands of undocumented students this past St. Patrick s Day. On Mon., Mar. 17 th, the New York State Senate voted down passage of the Dream Act. The Act would allow undocumented immigrant students to apply for state tuition assistance, expand access to the State s 529 College Savings Program, and create a private scholarship fund available to undocumented students. Had it passed, New York would have been only the fifth U.S. state to offer financial aid to undocumented students. The measure had already passed last month in the Democratic-controlled State Assembly. Two Republican Senators, Senator Phil Boyle of Long Island and Senator Kemp Hannon of Nassau County, were absent for Monday s vote. But all Republican Senators present voted against the measure, as did two Democrats Simcha Felder of Brooklyn and Ted O Brien of Rochester. With 32 votes required, the final Senate vote of 30-29 on Monday represented a narrow margin of defeat along partisan lines and a stinging setback for advocates. It hit particularly close to home for many in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx who had hoped to see the Dream Act become a reality. There s no way to show the depth of disappointment we have, said Razeem Zaman, campaign organizer of the New York State Youth Leadership Conference (NYSYLC), a youth immigrant advocacy organization which has sought passage of the Dream Act for the past four years. Once again, the doors to higher education have been barred. I am deeply disappointed in my colleagues who do not view the empowerment of young people as good public policy, said State Senator Adriano Espaillat, himself an immigrant from the Dominican Republic. But those opposed to the measure have argued that the focus should be on expanding resources for documented students and their families. Many legal families are struggling with the high cost of college education, said Republican Senator Mark J. Grisanti of Buffalo. Co-Senate Leader Jeff Klein brought the vote to the floor. I am deeply disappointed, said State Senator Adriano Espaillat. It was the Bronx s Senator Jeffrey Klein, co-leader of the Senate and head of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), who brought the controversial vote on Monday night. You re either standing up for these students to get their shot, or standing in the way, said Sen. Klein in his remarks on the floor. I don t know why they voted so soon, said Washington Heights resident and Lehman College student Cesar Andrade. [He] should have waited. Andrade gave voice to the concerns of those who felt that the vote had been rushed before its passage was secured. Gov. Andrew Cuomo too has come under fire for not more actively supporting the bill, despite calling it a priority. He could have done more, that s for sure, said Andrade. Sen. Klein spokesperson Anna Durrett insisted that the frustration was shared. Sen. Klein and his colleagues in the IDC have long supported the Dream Act because they believe every high school graduate should have access to an affordable college education, she wrote in a statement. While our members are disappointed with the outcome, we believe this was an important vote to have. She noted that Monday s vote made clear who supported the bill and who did not. We now know where everyone in the Senate stands on Dream Act, including two Senate Democrats who effectively blocked the Dream Act from passing. The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) has long pressured the New York Legislature to pass the New York State Dream Act since the federal Dream Act failed in Congress in 2010. Those who voted no on the New York State Dream Act have shut the door on opportunity for our State s youth, said NYIC Executive Director Steven Choi. They have squandered an important investment in young people who can boost New York s economy, support our communities, and serve as our State s future leaders. But advocates say they will not be deterred. When it comes to education, it s not a handout, it s an investment, argued Andrade, who will graduate from Lehman this year, and hopes to further his education and work within the medical field. Zaman too believes that the Dream Act Advocates for the New York State Dream Act insist they will fight on. Photo: J. Reznick could still be revived through an allocation in the budget by Gov. Cuomo. This can still get done next week, she said. Choi agreed that the issue was not over. march 19, 2014 Manhattan Times www.manhattantimesnews.com In the coming weeks, we will ramp up the pressure and demand action, he said. Let us be clear: We will not stand idly by while our elected officials in Albany play political football with the lives of immigrant youth. Accident Specialist Attorneys 25 years of experience in representing accident victims. Call us at 1-800-400-FIRM or 1-800-400-3476 We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. FREE consultation in any legal matter. There are no attorney s fees unless we recover money for YOU! We care about you. 7