Northattan

Street cleaning in Washington Heights may soon be reduced from two days a week to only one, after a vote by Community Board 12 on Nov. 24. Councilmen Robert Jackson and Ydanis Rodriguez both voiced support for the board’s resolution.

St. Nicholas Avenue in Washington Heights. Photo by Celeste Owen-Jones/Northattan.

It is the first time such a decision has been made by a community board in Manhattan. It comes after the City Council voted last April to give Community Boards with clean streets the choice to drop one day in alternate side parking in residential areas. In April, CBS quoted City Council Speaker Christine Quinn as saying,  “We’re not saying to a neighborhood you have to have less street cleaning and less alternative-side-of-the-street parking. We are saying you have that option.” And CB 12 has chosen that option.

Kathy Dawkins of the Department of Sanitation said that to be eligible, “each section of CB 12 must have a two-year street cleanliness rate of 90 percent,” which was the case for CB 12. This is measured by a scorecard from the Mayor’s Office of Operations, where inspectors rate the cleanliness of a district monthly.

The manager of Community Board 12, Ebenezer Smith, said that the board members were divided on whether to reduce street cleanings, the issue, with some even requesting “a return to street cleaning three days a week as it used to be some years ago.” But the board voted, 25-12-1, in favor of the resolution. Smith said some members argued that beyond the parking relief, it could also improve the air quality, since fewer people would be moving their cars around.

In addition to parking relief, Smith said the cleaning cutback could also save the city money. For instance, cleaning trucks will need less gasoline.

Smith himself was skeptical that the benefits would outweigh the detriments, though. He said that cutting street cleaning “might work in the area of Cabrini / 181^st Street, but might not work in other areas, like St. Nicholas and 170^th Street.” Indeed, St. Nicholas Avenue is said to be dirtier than, for instance, Broadway, due to a higher number of street vendors.

Vanessa Caballos, who lives on 173^rd Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, said that so far the streets are clean because the sanitation trucks come frequently. But she is strongly against the new resolution. “Where is the garbage going to go? There are eventually going to end up on the streets,” said Caballos. She doesn’t own a car, but said that making parking easier for residents is not a good excuse “People who own a car in the city have to expect rules and regulations to be in place,” said Caballos. “Mass transit is the way to go.”

Now that Community Board 12 has voted to reduce street cleaning by one day, the Department of Sanitation will review the mechanical broom routes in each section of District 12. Dawkins said “this process can take up 12 to 18 months.” Once all changes are approved, the Department of Transportation will have to change the alternate side parking signs. And some residents can sleep in another day.

Pinball heavyweights from across the United States flocked to Washington Heights’ first pinball championship.

ARC XVI senior center's members use the service to get to the center early in the morning. Photo by Isha Soni/Northattan.

“I am afraid of falling down the stairs and I haven’t used the subway for 20 years,” said 75-year-old Washington Heights resident Leonor Ramos. Another 73-year-old uptown resident, Flerida Custro, said, “MTA makes absolutely no effort to understand the needs of senior citizens.”

Understanding the concern of residents like these, the ARC XVI Fort Washington Senior Center has launched a new service called COASTS, for Coordinated Older Adult Senior Transportation Service. As the name suggests, it is what its organizers call a “door-through-door” transportation service for senior citizens, exclusive to northern Manhattan.

Diana Hernandez, the assistant executive director of the senior center, said that as people age, especially if they have disabilities, transportation becomes one of the biggest challenges. “It affects them psychologically and socially,” she said. “They become alienated, marginalized and invisible citizens and no one sees them except for doctors.”

COASTS runs between 110th Street and 220^th Street in Manhattan. Rides are free for people above the age of 60 and for disabled people over 50, but the riders must be aware of their destination and of their residential address. An aide can assist a member with a mental illness, and, Hernandez said, “If you have a mobility impairment, we have added a mobility facilitator who ensures a member’s safe transfer, door to door.”

On a recent morning, Chris Hernandez, 32, a mobility facilitator, escorted 10 elderly people from their apartment gates to a bus seat and fastened their seat belts. All through the journey, the bus driver and Hernandez chatted with the passengers and made them feel comfortable. Hernandez said she had three weeks of training to become a facilitator, where “I was trained in handling wheelchairs, dealing with senior citizens and how to help them get around.”

Mary Johnson, of Washington Heights, was one of the passengers. She said, “If I didn’t have this transportation today, I wouldn’t be able to use any other transportation and go anywhere.” Another passenger, Cenida Velasquez, said, “I use it for everything: To go to the doctor, to go shopping, to visit the center, and it is very good because the driver and the attendant make you feel like a king and take very good care of you.” Velasquez uses this service up to five times a week.

Currently, COASTS has nine buses, each of which can carry up to16 passengers. It is funded by a combination of public and private funds, including more than half a million dollars from the federal transit administration and local funds of more than $137,000 raised by the ARC XVI senior center with the help of New York City Council and the Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation Inc. The senior citizen center is now preparing to apply for another grant to expand the reach of the transportation service and to buy more and larger buses.

COASTS fills a need, especially acute in northern Manhattan. There are no elevators or escalators for the A, C and 1 train subways in Inwood, and in much of northern Manhattan, hills make walking especially difficult for disabled and older people.

The MTA already supplies some services similar to COASTS, like Access-a-Ride, for people who cannot use the subways or other public transport, but people have complained that those services are not enough. Edith Prentiss, 69, a member Community Board 12’s traffic and transportation committee, says, “New York city transit does not run on schedule. Whether it is Access-a-Ride, or it is the M5, when it keeps the disabled person waiting, it’s a problem.”

The Dominican community of Washington Heights was dismayed by the news that a plot to bomb post offices and other targets in New York City was being hatched in its midst. Police charges that the alleged bomber was one of their own have been equally shocking to a community so rooted in this part of northern Manhattan. Morgan Radford went to Washington Heights, to gauge reaction to Saturday’s arrest of 27-year-old Jose Pimentel.

“Parkour is just training your body to overcome obstacles,” says “Vert,” who teaches the acrobatic discipline four times a week in Fort Tryon Park.

Ydanis Rodriguez at a press conference on Wednesday. Photo by Tania Rashid/Northattan.

A day after he was arrested as part of the city’s crackdown on Occupy Wall Street, City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez demanded that New York City authorities investigate police treatment of the protesters who were cleared from Zuccotti Park early Tuesday.

Rodriguez, who represents Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill, was among some 200 people arrested as the Occupy Wall Street camp was dismantled by police, on the order of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He was released Tuesday evening but did not speak in detail about his detention until a press conference on the steps of City Hall Wednesday.

Rodriguez, sporting minor scratches above his eyes, told media and dozens of supporters who assembled for the press conference that he had been pushed to the ground by a police officer and beaten in the head with a baton just before his arrest.

While acknowledging that police need to “guarantee order in the city,” Rodriguez said police were heavy-handed in their treatment of protesters Tuesday morning.

“What happened yesterday morning didn’t have to happen,” he said. “I think participating in civil disobedience is the right of the citizens.”

Rodriguez said he went to Zuccotti Park at 1 a.m. Tuesday, after a text message alerted him that police had begun an operation to clear the park. He said that when he arrived, he saw police punching some protesters in the stomach. Protester Rhadames Rivera said he watched Rodriguez ask a police officer to act with restraint.

“Why did they run this operation like a military? This is not acceptable,” Rodriguez told the crowd outside of City Hall, in calling for an investigation of how police treated him and the protesters who were evicted from the park.

When Rodriguez himself was grabbed by police and pushed to the ground, he said he identified himself as a City Council member. Rodriguez said police ignored him and threw him in a van, where he was held for two hours before his transfer to One Police Plaza. He was one of only two city officials arrested, along with protesters who have occupied the park for three months.

Rodriguez said that despite requests he was not allowed to see a lawyer for 12 hours. “I didn’t want to be treated different, I just wanted to be treated with the rights that I know that I have,” he said, noting that though he and many others arrested were released before the end of Tuesday, some remained in police custody on Wednesday.

Rodriguez has been a strong supporter of the Occupy Wall Street protest. Last week he and other Northattan officials led union members, activists and other residents on an 11-mile march from Washington Heights to Zuccotti Park to express solidarity with the protesters. At his press conference, he called on supporters to rally behind a “Day of Action” march on Thursday, to help show that, despite the raid on Zuccotti Park, the OWS movement is still alive.

Volunteers replenished the platters of stuffed grape leaves and delicate filo dough pastries again and again at the annual Greek festival and bazaar in Washington Heights on Sunday.

Greeks and Greek-Americans line up to sample homemade food at the festival. Photo by Nadine Natour/Northattan.

Sponsored by the Ladies Philoptochos Society, a philanthropic branch of the Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church, the festival draws hundreds of Greeks and Greek-Americans, who buy the homemade food and other goods to raise money for local charities such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Children’s Medical Fund.

But one cause is not on the charity list. Greece has been one of the high-profile casualties of the euro zone debt crisis, but few attending the festival expressed a desire to reroute the funds raised to help out the economically shattered country.

“I don’t think we have any obligations at all,” said John Callimanis, who recently returned from a trip to the Greek island of Ithaca. “Of course, we feel bad for what’s going on, but I don’t think it’s up to America to bail them out,” he added. Greeks should reform laws and curb spending rather than look to the outside world for assistance. It’s bad politics, bad people running the country. They spent like drunken sailors once they got in the euro.

Judging from those who attended the festival, it seems that like Callimanis, many New Yorkers of Greek descent are nostalgic for the old country but do not feel an obligation to bail it out.

“They have to change their government. They have to change their structure and they have to change their laws so Greece becomes a place where you can do business easily,” said John Demoleas, a third-generation Greek-American who stopped to eat at the festival after morning services at Saint Spyridon.

Greeks working abroad sent almost $1.5 billion in remittances in 2009, according to the European Commission. Relative to other countries, these remittances are not a significant part of the Greek economy.

Some Greek specialties served at the festival. Photo by Nadine Natour/Northattan.

Ann Coustosbinas sold books at the bazaar in between sneaking bites of pita bread and hummus. “A lot of them are helping in any way they can, but things are tight here,” she said when asked about supporting Greece. She said she knows neighbors and family members who have sent money to Greece, but her own relatives have remained silent despite the financial strains. “They don’t ask me because they know I don’t have it.”

And if the policy of the Ladies Philoptochos Society is any guide, contributing to solve the current economic chaos in America speaks more closely to the Greeks in New York than does the European crisis. “We try to make donations for a family that is here where we can be of some consistent presence,” said Elizabeth Katsivelos, the former president of the society. The group often provides food and support to needy cases that walk in to the church and ask for help. At Sunday’s festival, two homeless people wandered in and were given dinner, dessert and boxes of food for later by Lydia Vagelos, the current president of the society.

Vagelos grew up in Washington Heights, a haven for Greek-Americans in the early 20th century. “I left for a while, you know,” said Vagelos. “But there’s a draw, there’s a pull, something pulls you back,” she said, echoing the sentiments of other Greek-Americans who come back, if not to live, then to celebrate their heritage at the annual festival.

As for the old country, Greek-American Vicky Adams, another native of Washington Heights, said she wished good luck to new Prime Minister Lucas Papademos as he wrestles with Greece’s economic turmoil. “I give that man a lot of credit for taking the job,” said Adams. “Maybe a whole new outlook and a fresh eye will help things if those wacky Greeks will give the guy a chance.”

A coalition of community organizations, elected officials and labor unions plans to lead hundreds of Uptown residents from Washington Heights to Zuccotti Park on Monday.

This is the first time communities of color from Northern Manhattan have organized to join the Occupy Wall Street movement. The march is expected to include elected officials, community activists and members from the black and Hispanic community, and is intended to show solidarity from diverse communities around New York with the Occupy Wall Street protesters in Zuccotti Park.

David Segal, press secretary for City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, who is backing the march, said it’s inaccurate to portray the Occupy Wall Street movement to be predominantly white. “It’s important to let the rest of the city to know that people of color are in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement,” he said.

Organizers from the Occupy Wall Street protest attended a press conference announcing the march on Thursday morning in front of an abandoned building on 182nd Street and St. Nicholas. Tyler Combelic, a spokesman for Occupy Wall Street, said it was important to recognize the needs and concerns of the New York City neighborhoods that have been hardest hit by the recession. “I’m marching all 11 miles,” he said.

United New York, a nonprofit that helps the working class find jobs, is one sponsor of the demonstration. “The march is a way for people of color to lend their voices to the movement and express their dissatisfaction with the lack of jobs,” said Cara Noel, who works with United New York. “It’s an opportunity for them to take care of their families.” Noel said her team has been tweeting, passing out fliers and working with partner organizations to spread the word on the walk. “I’m expecting it to be very organized and to make a statement,” she said.

Among the groups participating and expecting to march are the Transport Workers Union, Alianza Dominicana, the Service Employees International Union, and The Northern Manhattan Improvement Coalition. New York State Senator Adriano Espaillat and Councilman Member Rodriguez plan to lead the walk.

The march, called “End to End for 99%,” is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. Monday at 181^st Street and St. Nicholas, work its way South through Harlem, and end at Zuccotti Park about 3 hours later. Segal said it is one of the few times that Harlem and Washington Heights has united in a movement.

Because there is no permit for the march, staff from different community organizations will work as marshals to help guide demonstrators.

Emmanuel Abreu, a resident of Inwood who expects to participate, said he thought the march would start small. “Two people will know, more and more people will join in and by the time we reach Harlem there should be more people.”

The march will end with a final rally in solidarity with Uptown residents and members of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

This article was updated on 11/04/2010  to correct that David Segal said that it was an inaccurate portrayal of the Occupy Wall Street movement as mostly white, not that it was a betrayal.

Washington Heights Dominicans rally in support of presidential candidate Hipólito Mejía ahead of May's election. Photo by Russ Finklestein/Northattan.

Hundreds of supporters of Dominican presidential candidate Hipólito Mejía came out for a “bandereo,” or flag waving, rally on the streets of Washington Heights last Sunday.

The crowd circulated along St. Nicholas Avenue around 181st Street waving pro-Mejia flags and chanting slogans like “llegó papá!” (“Father has arrived!”) Mejía supporters also carried a purple coffin bearing a photo of incumbent party candidate Danilo Medina, symbolizing their hope that the May elections will bring an end to the Dominican Liberation Party’s 8-year hold on the presidency.

Polls suggest that Mejía, who was president of the Caribbean nation from 2000 to 2004, represents the biggest threat to Medina, whose running mate, Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, is the wife of the current president, Leonel Fernández.

But aside from bolstering local support for the Dominican Revolutionary Party’s political platform, campaign organizers in New York are also doing their best to register voters. Amid the chanting and flag waving, campaign volunteers like Argentina Lijanio comb the crowd with clipboards ready to register eligible Dominican voters before the approaching December deadline.

“I left my job in order to motivate people to vote so that we can get rid of this corrupt government we’ve got in power,” said Lijanio, who normally works as a machine operator in a garment factory.

Though the 2010 Census counted over half a million Dominicans living in New York City, only about 80,000 of them are expected to vote.

“I still haven’t figured out who I’m voting for, but I’m definitely going to vote because I feel like I should,” said Luz Maria Portéz, who is registered to vote in the May elections. “It’s my responsibility.”

Dominicans living abroad have traditionally played an important role in the national economy, though before 2004 they were required to travel home to vote in national elections. According to the World Bank, Dominican expatriates sent an estimated $3.3 billion home to friends and family members. These payments, called remittances, make up 7 1/2 percent of the country’s national economy.

U.S.-born Dominicans need to obtain a national ID in order to register and vote in the Dominican election, but many are unmotivated to do so.

“I’m so fixated on other things like work and school that I haven’t really thought about it,” said Brianna Perez, a 26-year-old student and teaching assistant at CUNY.

Perez, who was born in the U.S., says she will not vote in May because she doesn’t have the time or energy to file the necessary paperwork.

The 2012 elections will also be the first time that Dominicans abroad can vote on new legislative representation for expatriates. Seven out of the 178 members of Congress will represent Dominicans living abroad; three of them will represent constituents in the U.S.  Most of the leading candidates live in New York, the unofficial capital of the Dominican community in the U.S.

These legislative candidates are aligned with the key national political parties, including Mejía’s Dominican Revolutionary Party. Many of them have a hand in local grassroots organizing in New York, including events like Sunday’s “bandereo.”

This Saturday, local representatives of the Dominican Revolutionary Party are organizing an appearance by Mejía himself in Washington Heights. The rally will feature a speech by Mejía followed by music from prominent Dominican musical acts El Torito, Hector Acosta, Mirian Cruz and Shino Aguakate, which organizers hope will draw more potential voters who they hope to register before the December deadline. The event is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in Armory Arena and tickets start at $20.

This article has been updated to correct that the representatives of expatriates in the Dominican Congress will be elected for the first time in 2012.

Protestors have taken over Wall Street. Photo by Mayeta Clark/Northattan.

For three weeks now, protesters have filled the area around Wall Street, voicing their anger at the state of the U.S. economy. One theater troupe from Inwood and Washington Heights traveled to Wall Street to add their voices to the mix. But protest wasn’t the only thing on their minds: Their aim was to add some drama to proceedings. Nadine Natour reports