Ballfields at $120 Million Randalls Island Largely Unused, Not Attracting Neighborhood Kids by Daniel Beekman - NY Daily News

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If you build it, they will come - but not to Randalls Island.

Dozens of new ballfields in the sprawling park beneath the RFK-Triborough Bridge went unused last summer by the kids who need them most, the city parks boss admits.

And with school almost out for summer, advocates are complaining the $120 million revamp of Randalls Island Park in early 2010 created a playground for the rich and took crucial dollars from neighborhood ballfields.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe cited the low traffic earlier this year to justify plans for a private sports camp.

"Fields on Randalls Island have gone largely unused during weekday daytime hours in July and August, and thus availability should not be an issue," he wrote City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito in January.

The deal called for Florida-based IMG Academies to operate the camp on Randalls Island after donating $200,000 to the Randalls Island Sports Foundation. But plans for the $895-a-week camp fell through in April, with IMG citing low enrollment.

Mark-Viverito (D-East Harlem/Bronx) slammed the pricey park rehab, claiming thousands of trees were cut down to make way for the artificial turf fields.

"Why would you build so many fields and then have a problem in terms of utilization?" she asked. "It was shortsighted and now we're paying the price."

"From day one, we were concerned there was no need to build so many" new fields, said Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates. "Now that has come to fruition. The result is the fields are empty."

The park boasts fancy golf and tennis centers, but no basketball courts, he added.

During the rehab, the city took heat for a $2.2 million-per-year pay-to-play scheme involving Manhattan private schools. It was struck down in court after East Harlem and Bronx community groups sued.

"The fields were built mostly to accommodate the private schools," Croft said. And Marina Ortiz, of East Harlem Preservation, called the park "a private playground ... designed to bring in revenue."

There's a move afoot now to try and spread the word about what's in the park. Randalls Island fields go unused partly because they are isolated and more people need to be made aware of the space, said Frances Masrota of Manhattan Community Board 11.

A renovated E. 103rd St. pedestrian bridge is set to reopen soon, while the M35 bus runs between the park and E. 125th St. - but few youngsters make the trip.

The Parks Department has assigned a representative to attend Board 11 meetings and share info related to Randalls Island to try to spread the word on what's there.

The fields are "generally permitted to capacity" in the evenings and on weekends, Parks spokesman Zachary Feder said. The park foundation also offers a free summer program, he noted, and softball leagues.

NY City Council Hearing on the Living Wage Bill - May 12th, 2011

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Over 400 people turned out to the high-energy rally. Kimberly Ortiz, a member of the Retail Action Project, testified about working at a concession stand at the Statue of Liberty for $9.00 an hour. "Does that sound like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to you?" she asked. Council Member Darlene Mealy, who hosted the hearing as Chair of the Contracts Committee said "Our rents keep going up, food keep[s] going up, gas keep[s] going up, but our salaries don't go up." The rally culminated in a powerful moment of prayer during which the clergy marched across to 250 Broadway and the crowd turned to face the building. We raised up our hands and shouted for the walls of oppression to come tumbling down like the walls of Jericho, while the Shofar sounded seven times.

An extraordinary number both supportive and undecided council members participated in the hearing, a testament to the importance of this issue. For two and a half hours they went toe to toe with Bloomberg's representative Tukombo Shobowale. Citing the bogus million dollar study, he painted a doomsday scenario of tremendous job loss and stalled development in the outer boroughs. Council members did not buy it. Brad Lander called the study a “$1 million whitewash.” Charles Barron said "Wall Street profits, while we suffer. The study is a lie. You can alter a study to say anything." And Robert Jackson asked the Economic Development Corporation to try living on a salary of $20,000 a year.

Our team provided powerful testimony. Linda Archer, a McDonald's worker who was only given a 20 cent raise and a "rising star" t-shirt for her stellar job performance at the fast-food chain told the council they would be "rising stars" if they passed the bill. We also heard from Caitlin Kelly, author of the book "Malled: My Unintentional Career in Retail," Rev. Stephen Phelps of the Riverside Church, Dr. Ray Rivera of the Latino Pastoral Action Center and our excellent team of policy experts, including an expert from LA, testified that this law will help lift people out of poverty without all the negative consequences Bloomberg claims. Scroll down for links to media coverage.

Upcoming Event in Queens:

Town Hall about the Queens Center Mall: 

Mall Workers Speak Out for a Living Wage!

This Saturday May 21st, 3-5pm

St. Paul The Apostle Church

98-16 55th Ave., Corona

M/R train to Woodhaven Blvd

Media Coverage:

NY Daily News: Poll Finds NY Voters Support Living Wage

Bronx BP on Huffington Post: Why New York City Needs a "Living Wage" Law

NY1: Controversy Heats Up Over Living Wage Bill

"Inside City Hall" on NY1: Living Wage Debate

NY Times: Bloomberg Administration is Criticized on Wages

Politicker: Living Wage Fight Comes to City Hall

Crains: 'Living Wage' Backers Storm City Hall

Gotham Gazette: Living Wage Gets its Hearing

Hearing on the Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP) Program - News from Melissa Mark-Viverito

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TALE OF TWO CITIES: Geoffrey Croft, president of New York City Park Advocates, called the distribution of Park Enforcement Patrol officers a "tale of two cities," as he went through different parks on the map and illustrated a disparate allotment of officers to each at a City Council hearing on Wednesday. (Tara MacIsaac)

Melissa chaired a hearing on the City Council’s Parks & Recreation Committee on Wednesday regarding the Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP) program.  The hearing focused on the disparities in the allocation of PEP officers among different parks and communities as well as workplace issues faced by the officers.

PEP officers are unarmed peace officers, who enforce the rules of our parks and are empowered to issue summonses for quality of life offenses, as well as disorderly conduct and unlawful possession of weapons. They also review park facilities for health and safety issues. There are currently 92 PEP officers to cover over 28,000 acres of parkland, with an additional 83 officers that are contracted by conservancies and other private entities to work in specific parks. There are often just a few at-large officers on duty at any given time for the entire borough of the Bronx, whereas in a single park in communities of greater means, there might be a dozen.

Melissa and other members of the committee stressed the need for more resources for the PEP program so that these officers can cover more parks, particularly at a time when the City is seeing an increase in crimes committed on parkland. Melissa also highlighted that the practice of contracting with private entities that are able to purchase increased security from the department while the majority of other parks go unsupervised sets up a two-tiered system in our public parks.

The hearing also focused on the issues that PEP officers face as a workforce. Several officers came to testify about the difficult and dangerous jobs they do, including doing car stops and removing homeless individuals from parks, without the help of the NYPD or the Department of Homeless Services. They asked for greater numbers of PEP officers and more support to help make our parks safer.

In the coming months, the Committee plans to hold another hearing jointly with the Public Safety Committee on crime in parks, which will continue to examine these issues.

Coverage of Wednesday’s hearing:

• NY1: Parks Enforcement Force Stretched Too Thin, Some Say
• NY1 Noticias: Pocos uniformados patrullan vecindarios pobres de la ciudad, según informe
• New York Times: City Council Questions Distribution of Park Officers
• WNYC: Parks’ Safety Resources Aren’t Distributed Equally, Council Members Say
• DNA Info: Uptown Parks Short on Security Officers, Advocates Say
• Epoch Times: NYC Council Hearing Reveals Park Patrol Disparity
• Metro: Crime: Hidden dangers lurk in New York’s parks
• Daily News: City Council to address usage of Parks Department officers

Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito Stands with Central Park Boathouse Workers - News from Melissa Mark-Viverito

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Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, Chair of the Parks & Recreation Committee, speaks at a rally in support of the workers of the Central Park Boathouse, who have filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging unfair labor practices and union busting. She is joined by Speaker Christine Quinn, Council Member Gale Brewer and Council Member Elizabeth Crowley.

Melissa spoke at a rally last Thursday for the workers of the Central Park Boathouse, who have filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging unfair labor practices and union busting. As Chair of the Parks & Recreation Committee and the Council Member representing Central Park, Melissa has made clear that any union busting efforts will not be tolerated, particularly within our city-owned public parks.

Speaker Christine Quinn, and Council Members Gale Brewer and Elizabeth Crowley also spoke at the rally. You can watch video of Melissa’s speech above.

Melissa was quoted in a Crain’s New York Business article about the event:

City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, who represents the district the Boathouse is located in and also chairs the City Council Parks and Recreation Committee, called on the Parks Department to do more to pressure Mr. Poll to comply with his contract. She said she “wasn’t really pleased with the response of the [Parks Department Commissioner Adrian Benepe] so far.”

“I interpreted his response as a little dismissive,” she said. “I would hope that we’d have a strong partnership with the Parks Department and this administration on these concessions.”

Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito of East Harlem is 1 of Just 2 Politicians in Upper Manhattan by Frank Lombardi - NY Daily News

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Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito is one of just two uptown politicians

Women are scarce in uptown elected offices. The list begins and ends with Democratic City Council members Inez Dickens of Harlem and Melissa Mark-Viverito of East Harlem, both Democrats.

That's just two out of 11 uptown legislators on the city, state or federal levels, or 18%. The city's population is 52.3% female and 47.7% male.

"It's a shame - that's embarrassing," said Mark-Viverito. "It's an indication that we haven't done enough to open doors to women to be in those positions."

Mark-Viverito and Dickens took contrasting paths to win their Council seats in 2005.

Dickens, 61, is an insider who was was invited to the party. She's a protegé of Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel and his co-leader in the potent Martin Luther King Jr. Democratic Club. Her late father, Lloyd Dickens, was a prominent Harlem insider.

Dickens was elected her first time out in the 9th District (Central Harlem and parts of Morningside Heights, the upper West Side and East Harlem). Then-incumbent Bill Perkins was blocked from seeking reelection by term limits, and is now a state senator.

Mark-Viverito, 41, is an outsider who had to crash the party to win her seat in the 8th District (East Harlem, parts of Manhattan Valley and a piece of Mott Haven in the Bronx).

Born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, she came to New York at 18 to attend college, earning a BA from Columbia and a master's from Baruch College. She then worked for several nonprofit agencies, including the Hispanic Education and Legal Fund (HELF) and ASPIRA of New York, and was a strategist for 1199 SEIU, New York's health-care union.

She said she was involved in East Harlem issues and causes through her work, but got more involved after moving into the district in 1998. She made her first Council bid in 2003, getting crushed in a crowded primary against incumbent Philip Reed.

Two years later, with Reed term-limited, she won a six-candidate primary by 167 votes - becoming the first Puerto Rican woman to represent the East Harlem Council district.

Single and guarded about her private life, she explained that her hyphenated name comes from the last name of her late father, Anthony Mark, and the maiden name of her mother, Elizabeth Viverito (whose father was of Italian-American heritage). Her father was a doctor and a founder of San Pablo Hospital in Bayamón, where her mother still lives.

Mark-Viverito has a reputation for being outspoken and for embracing controversial issues - sometimes to the consternation of fellow Council members.

"Maybe that's why I won't be able to look at any other position, because I don't play well with others sometimes," she joked.

One recent example is her call for a pardon for Oscar Lopez Rivera, a Puerto Rican independence activist serving a 70-year sentence for "seditious conspiracy" involving the FALN paramilitary group.

Mark-Viverito insists Rivera, now 68, was never linked to FALN violence and bombings. She said his pardon after 29 years in prison would be "a matter of justice." The U.S. Parole Commission rejected a pardon last month, and Rivera remains in prison.

Her trail of controversies could also hurt her chances of moving up to Council speaker in 2013, when current Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Chelsea) is forced out by term limits. Dickens also has been mentioned, among others. The new speaker will be chosen by a vote of the 51 Council members.

"I'm very flattered that people think that I may have the capacity and the ability to be in that position," Mark-Viverito said. "I mean people talk to me about it ... so I don't exclude it. I definitely want to be involved in that process."

Backyards Not Bonuses - New York Communities for Change

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New York Communities for Change

Not the Way Forward: Jumaane Williams from New York Communities for Change on Vimeo.

Despite the fact the only a fraction of homeowners who sought help received a permanent mortgage modification from JP Morgan Chase, the bank's CEO, Jamie Dimon, just received a $17 million dollar bonus.
Clearly, Chase is out of touch with the consequences the financial industry's reckless practices continue to have in our communities.


Yesterday, NYC Council Member Jumaane Williams kicked off a campaign by New York Communities for Change in rockstar fashion!


Cheered on by fellow Council Members and dozens of NYCC protesters, Williams stormed JP Morgan Chase’s Park Avenue branch. Protesting the bank's awful record on helping families who are facing foreclosure and haven't received assistance with their mortgages, Williams closed his Chase account.

Can you continue our fight against Chase and pitch in $17? That's just 1/1,000,000 of Jamie Dimon's bonus.

In the coming weeks, many other elected officials, clergy members and unions will follow suit, drawing attention to Chase’s terrible record on modifying mortgages of distressed homeowners in New York.

Council Members Williams, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Mathieu Eugene and James Sanders were the first on the scene, but this is only the beginning.

Just 6 percent of NY homeowners who sought help have received a permanent mortgage modification from JP Morgan Chase - the other 94 percent have been denied or are in limbo. 


That’s a shocking number when their CEO just received a $17 million bonus!
Please help us take this campaign to the next level by contributing $17 dollars.


It might seem like a small amount (just 1/1,000,000th of Jamie Dimon’s bonus!), but it will go a long way in helping us make sure that everyone who googles Chase will see the truth about their lending practices.

Click here to chip in.

Today in Desperate Tactics by Wal-mart: Trying to Shut Down a Website That Encourages Questions of Wal-mart

Things That Walmart Has Been Sued For: Wage and Sex Discrimination, Lack of Bathroom Breaks, Overtime, Trampling

Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito, on behalf of Walmart Free NYC, issued the following statement today upon receiving the news that Walmart is asking that a website for grassroots organizing against the job killing and small business closing mega-store be shut down:

“Since they’ve been sued so many times for wage and sex discrimination, lack of bathroom breaks, overtime and a trampling death I guess Wal-mart’s lawyers decided they wanted to file their own lawsuit for once.” said Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito. “Instead of ignoring Council hearings and trying to shut down websites that only seek to expose the truth and the facts of how they do business, Wal-mart should be welcoming the opportunity to actually engage with New Yorkers rather than bombard them with ads and slick mailpieces.”

Yesterday, Wal-mart sent a letter to the company that issued the domain name alleging copyright infringement.

Wage/Sex Discrimination: Click here 

Bathroom Breaks: Click here

Overtime: Click here

Trampling: Click here