|
|
Newsletters 2007
June
Betsy Gotbaum This Week
June 18, 2007
Real People, Real Problems, Real Results
An exasperated Brooklyn woman who lives in Marcus Garvey Village, a state-supervised housing development, called my office with a true horror story of extensive leaks in her apartment. The leaks had ruined her ceilings, walls, floors, appliances, furniture and clothing, and she feared that leaks over electrical outlets and wires might cause a fire.
Her building manager referred her to the property manager, who, she said, ignored her. Multiple calls to 311 and the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development went nowhere. My staff quickly called the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), mailing its staff photos of the widespread damage. This had the desired effect: a DHCR administrator asked the appropriate parties to transfer this woman to another building forthwith, and permanently. The woman confirms that she already has paperwork that will lead to a safer, cleaner, leak-free apartment.
How Many Kids Did ACS Expose to Experimental HIV Drugs?
Three years ago, the city Administration for Children's Services (ACS) said that experimental HIV/AIDS drug trials involved only 90 foster kids. Later they quietly nudged the number to "more than 100," and later still they said 465. In the latest accounting, however, the number of possible cases has ballooned to 663 -- and it may go higher still. Not only that, it appears that in many cases the researchers didn't have parental consent. ACS is entrusted to protect some of the city's most vulnerable children. Yet ACS is unsure how many kids under its care were subjected to experimentation. What kind of protection is that? We need an independent Office of the Child Advocate with subpoena power and access to confidential child welfare documents. In that way we can discover -- and fix -- problems as they occur, not learn about them years later. Such an office would provide permanent oversight of the dysfunctional child welfare system, including ACS and its contract agencies. The state Legislature now is considering such a proposal.
Congrats to New Officers of the DC-37 Retirees Association!
It was a great pleasure last week to swear in the 22 new officers of District Council 37 Retirees Association. I always feel so comfortable at DC-37 events, so much at home, partly because I'm among so many long-time friends. But also, the main meeting room at DC-37, where I swore in those new officers, has special meaning for me. It's where, 31 years ago, I married Victor Gotbaum.
Betsy Gotbaum This Week
June 11, 2007
Family Court, Children’s Services Need More Bilingual Staff
Last week I called for the city to hire more bilingual staffers for both the family court system and the Administration for Children's Services. In 2005, Hispanic children accounted for 39 percent of substantiated child abuse and neglect cases, and 35 percent of children entering foster care were Hispanic. Yet city agencies face a serious and ongoing lack of bilingual caseworkers and family court officials. The bottom line is that Hispanic families and children are left without essential support. In making this call, I joined New York City Councilwoman Melissa Mark Viverito and the Committee for Hispanic Children and Families.
Real People, Real Problems, Real Results #1
In desperation, a battered woman contacted my office for help with her mishandled application for a rent subsidy. After duly completing the paperwork, she had been certified for the subsidy. But somehow, the city mailed three important letters to her to the wrong address. When the woman didn't respond to letters she never received, her application was returned to the city Department of Housing Applications. The woman eventually learned that her application had been deemed "inactive." To no avail, and fearing her batterer would find her, she submitted copies of her current lease, utility bills and other documents that verified her address. She begged the city Housing Authority to reconsider and reactivate her application, but they wouldn't. My staff quickly intervened by contacting the appropriate supervisor. We later learned that not only was her application reactivated, she was put on the schedule for the next rental briefing.
Real People, Real Problems, Real Results #2
A couple called my office after multiple frustrations in trying to get a large Con Ed-related hole paved outside their apartment building. Con Ed had shopped the job to a contractor, but the workers went to the wrong address and repaired a different hole two buildings away. When the couple complained about the mix-up, the city Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) passed the buck to the city Department of Transportation -- which promptly referred the matter right back to DEP. After this classic runaround, the couple called my office. My staff contacted Con Ed directly, and then the contractor -- and finally the correct hole was filled.
Puerto Rican Day Parade
Thanks to all who marched, whistled, salsa-ed, strutted and otherwise partied with me and my office entourage during the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, an exuberant New York City fixture since 1958. This fabulous event, which attracts more than 100,000 marchers and several million spirited spectators along the Fifth Avenue parade route, celebrates the Puerto Rican people and their proud place in New York City history. I simply love it. ¡Viva Puerto Rico!
Betsy Gotbaum This Week
June 4, 2007
Real People, Real Problems, Real Results
My staff did an excellent job recently when they intervened to help a desperate mother transfer her special ed daughter to an appropriate high school. One of the girl's relatives had been attacked at her school, making her afraid to attend. The mother obtained a safety transfer, but no school in her assigned region met her daughter's special needs. We made numerous phone calls on the girl's behalf, spoke with school personnel and tried to arrange for homework assignments. Finally, after several weeks of intensive work, the girl was placed in a suitable school.
Special Ed Parent Coordinators to Receive Training
It is heartening that the city Department of Education (DOE) announced last week that parent coordinators will receive training in special education policy and procedures. This is exactly what I recommended in my recent report, Waiting for Help, which details the DOE's systematic lack of response to concerns of parents of students with disabilities. With the new training, the DOE promises to respond to special ed parents "with greater speed and with high quality information." Much more needs to be done, as outlined in my report. For one thing, the DOE should contract with a telephone-based translation service to better accommodate non-English speakers. But this is a welcome start. To visit Waiting for Help, click here.
"United for Equality" at the Queens Pride Day Parade
Thanks to everyone who joined me for the Queens Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Day Parade and Festival, which celebrated its 15th anniversary with the theme "United for Equality." The event was sponsored by the Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee, and the parade reflected an important part of its mission: to promote multicultural understanding and positive community relations with all fair-minded people of Queens. Suffice it to say that, with hundreds of others, we marched ... with pride.
|
|
|
