LAST DAY FOR HOUSES OF WORSHIP IN SCHOOLS, UPDATES

Even though thousands of ordinary citizens protested in support of schools renting to houses of worship, it looks as if their eviction is imminent due to the wishes of Bloomberg and DOE Chancellor Walcott. Despotism is alive and well in NYC. Does anyone needs any additional proof that Chancellor Walcott’s hand on prayer session on Palm Sunday, after his appointed as Chancellor, was nothing more than a public relation stunt to fool the natives?

Have any incidents been reported were houses of worships abused their option to rent space in public schools? Do any of these houses of worship conduct social services that the fat cats at the DOE want to take over and profit from? Should we expect to see Walcott or maybe even Eve Moskowitz on the ballot for Mayor to continue the privatization of the NYC school system for the profit of large corporations after Bloomberg is gone?

I personally consider this decision against the voices of the community and elected officials representing the communities most affected by this decision, an insult to our democratic system.

At the very least we are throwing our at risk youth into the hands of gangs. Once the gangs are done praying on them, will hand them over to our shelter or prison system for a new round of fat contracts to make sure society is further weighed down with more taxes and more debt. Let our youth hear the Ten Commandments. Let them have positive role models. We should be helping them make the right decision when confronted with the opportunity to make the wrong one.

I hope the public remembers next election day!

Gregory

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Mayor Bloomberg Education Policy will Evict Houses of Worship this Sunday, February 12, 2012

WHO: Council Member Fernando Cabrera

WHAT: Update on the eviction of houses of worship wishing to rent empty spaces in public schools

WHEN: February 10, 2012

WHERE: New York, NY

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NEW YORK, NY — Following a June decision by the 2^nd Circuit Federal Court of Appeals to grant the New York City Department of Education (DOE) discretion in excluding houses of worship from renting empty spaces in New York City school buildings, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Dennis Walcott have decided to enforce a policy that will evict houses of worship tomorrow.

After the announcement of the eviction, Council Member Cabrera and religious leaders from across the City began to mobilize. Numerous protests and demonstrations have taken place, including some where City Council Member Cabrera along with pastors and congregants have been arrested. Proponents of the City’s policy, including the New York Civil Liberties Union, have argued that renting to houses of worship violates the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution, and that the 2^nd Circuit’s ruling mandates the New York City eviction. Religious leaders and congregants battling the policy argue that enforcement of this policy is discriminatory and that only a misreading of the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution would lead one to believe that renting spaces in public schools is in violation of the Establishment Clause.

“The writers of our Constitution wrote the Establishment Clause into the First Amendment for a reason,” said Council Member Cabrera. “I respect that. We all respect that. But allowing houses of worship to meet and conduct activities central to their purpose, is not establishing religion.” He continued, “Accommodation is not establishment, and the 2^nd Circuit’s ruling last June also didn’t say this eviction was necessary. The 2^nd Circuit simply said the DOE could use its discretion in renting to religious groups.” He continued, “If the City allowed a Catholic Pope to host prayer in Central Park, would the City be accused of establishing religion? Of course not.”

Moreover, this policy primarily hurts low-income, minority communities. “It is claimed these small houses of worship are recruiting and evangelizing impressionable children. Yet, the schools are rented only when they are empty. The houses of worship use the spaces when classes are not in session. But even so, what more recruitment and evangelization than what gangs do in the neighborhoods these small houses of worship serve? ” Council Member Cabrera said referring to those houses of worship that meet in high-crime areas. “These small houses of worship have changed crime trends in entire communities.”

Resolution 1155, which urges the State Legislature and Governor Cuomo to sign legislation that would disallow New York City’s ban on worship, has been introduced by Council Member Cabrera and heard in the City Council. However, despite having overwhelming support the resolution has not moved. Resolution 1155 refers to New York State Assembly bill A8800-A introduced by Assemblyman Nelson Castro (D-Bronx) and New York State Senate bill S6087-A introduced by Senator Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn). New York State Senate bill S6087-A passed on Monday (Feb. 6) with a bi-partisan vote of 55-7.

The fight to allow these 60 or so fledgling houses of worship to continue to rent from schools is reaching a critical stage.Reverend Pastor William Devlin, senior minister at Iglesia Biblica de Manhattan/Manhattan Bible Church, is on the 25^th day of a water-only fast. He began the fast at midnight January 17, 2012 and states that he will continue his hunger strike until Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Walcott reverse their decision on evicting houses of worship from education buildings this Sunday. The eviction of churches in New York City has made international news and has been called "religious intolerance" and discrimination, because it strikes down equal access to those who help the poor communities the most.

Devlin stated, "The purpose of this water-only 40 day fast is to bring attention to the hard-heartedness of our Mayor and Chancellor. My fast is to ask God to soften the hearts of Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Walcott. The churches that these men are making homeless are the salt and light of the poor communities they serve.”

Many have publically supported the cause, including,

Elected Officials:

· Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

· New York City Comptroller John C. Liu

· 35 City Council Members who are signed-on to Resolution 1155

· 70 Co-Sponsors in the New York State Assembly who are signed-on to A8800-A

· 55 New York State Senators who voted in favor of S6087-A

Unions:

· Teamsters Joint Council No. 16 (Union)

Media Outlets:

· MSNBC’s Martin Bashir

· WMCA 570AM in New York City

Religious groups:

· International Center for Conservative Judaism

· New York Council of Churches

· Christ Tabernacle of Queens

· The Korean Council of Churches

“We are reaching a critical point,” said Council Member Cabrera “but the battle will go on far beyond February 12 if it needs to, court action included.”

PRAYER RALLY DURING MAYOR BLOOMBERG'S STATE OF THE CITY"S ADDRESS, OPPOSING THE CITY’S DECISION TO EVICT HOUSES OF WORSHIP FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

For more on the battle brewing on the issue related to "Houses of Worship" renting space from public schools, please see the information posted below.

Gregory
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WHO: New York City Councilman Fernando Cabrera and Religious Leaders including Alliance
Defense Fund Senior Counsel

WHAT: Prayer Rally Opposing Mayor’s Decision to Evict Houses of Worship from Public Schools.
Faith leaders to Bloomberg: “Don’t leave churches homeless; stand for equal access, religious
liberty.” Discriminatory policies will eject churches from communities citywide by Feb. 12,
growing coalition continues protests.

WHEN: Thursday January 12, 2012 12:00PM EST

WHERE: Morris High School, 1100 Boston Rd. (at corner of 167th St.), Bronx, New York

NEW YORK — New York City Council Member Fernando Cabrera and Religious Leaders including Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence will be available for media interviews Thursday following a rally organized to protest Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s decision to evict houses of worship from public schools. The rally is open to the public.

“Houses of worship throughout the city consider this policy to be nothing short of discrimination, and we will make that known on Thursday,” said Cabrera. “I applaud the New York City Housing Authority’s efforts to work with religious groups that meet in their spaces, but the Department of Education needs to follow suit.”

Cabrera explained that the city is in perilous economic times and that houses of worship provide social services that take the burden off the city and its taxpayers.

“Treating houses of worship equally with other community groups helps our communities,” said Cabrera. “Evicting them hurts people and neighborhoods by denying them the social and spiritual services they desperately need, which in my district includes tutoring services, soup kitchens, and more. Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Walcott need to listen to what the citizens of this city want.”

The rally comes on the heels of the first big victory for equal access in New York City this year. Following a series of rallies and demonstrations organized by Pastor Dimas Salaberrios and other religious leaders (including a rally on Thursday January 5^th where Council Member Fernando Cabrera, Pastor Dimas Salaberrios, Pastor Bill Devlin and Pastor Michael Carrion were arrested along with three congregants): the New York City Housing Authority relented from its efforts to evict at least five churches meeting for worship services in the community centers of the city’s public housing properties. Pastor Joe Fletcher of Bronx Bible Church and Pastor DimasSalaberrios of Infinity New York Church received calls from Housing Authority officials who told the pastors that the city is willing to sign long-term agreements so the churches can continue conducting their services in the projects.

“Churches and other religious groups should be able to meet in public buildings on the same terms as other community groups,” said Lorence. “These churches offer the people in hurting communities hope and help for their daily needs. To drive out the churches based on a discredited, extreme notion of ‘separation of church and state’ benefits no one and harms people who need help most.”

In December, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied review in the Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York case, the Housing Authority sought to expand the ban on worship services from the city’s public schools to include the community centers at public housing developments. ADF attorneys explained the relevant constitutional law to the Housing Authority and warned of legal action if it did not allow the churches to keep meeting.

Councilman Fernando Cabrera has served the 14th Council District of the Bronx since January 2010, and he has served as senior pastor of New Life Outreach International since 1988.

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.

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NYC Public Advocate Writes an Open Letter on Behalf of Public School Parents to Chancellor Derrick Walcott

Here is an open letter to our new Chancellor written and circulated by our Public Advocate Bill De Blasio. The issue of who Mayor Bloomberg appoints as NYC Chancellor, just keeps coming back. For more on our Public Advocates opinion please see below.

Gregory
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To Chancellor Walcott:
For the past nine years our schools have been run by a top-down bureaucracy that too often alienates public school parents. To your great credit, you have said that you want to engage parents and communities more than in the past. But you have also said that you plan to stay the course on the Bloomberg administration's education policies and practices. I believe you have the background and experience to finally bring parents into our school system, but I know you will not be able to do it by maintaining the status quo.
I am a public school parent and I have talked with parents all over our city who are tired of the Department of Education treating them like problems instead of partners. They are looking for a chancellor who has the independence to bring real change to our school system. To accomplish this goal, I believe you must immediately take on three pressing issues facing our schools today: reforming the DOE's closed off, bureaucratic process for closing and co-locating schools; fully supporting the parents of students with disabilities; and most importantly, saving the over 4,600 teachers who will be fired under Mayor Bloomberg's budget.
As our growing student population has required more and more schools to share space through co-locations, the DOE has resisted listening to parents' concerns and suggestions at every turn. Last year my office produced a report exposing how the DOE's top-down policies completely left parents out of the process, an approach that can result in critical school spaces being lost and students being squeezed into disjointed schedules. The DOE initially agreed to adopt several of our recommended reforms, including engaging more thoroughly with parents and community members when a school is being considered for co-location or closure, but so far they have not fully followed through. The Brandeis complex on the Upper West Side houses four schools, including the Frank McCourt high school, which was brought in by the community this past September. Now the DOE is threatening this progress by forcing a new school into the building, a decision that could cost Frank McCourt students their science labs, classroom space and music programs. Going forward, you should be willing to adjust the DOE plans based on legitimate concerns on the ground, including finding alternate locations when a co-location simply does not work.
Every year the DOE closes and co-locates dozens of schools, upending educational environments for thousands of students. Far too often these major decisions are conducted in a vacuum, where the views of parents are treated as an obstacle to implementing policy decisions, instead of important feedback worth serious consideration. The DOE nearly shut down P.S. 114 in Brooklyn after failing to remove its principal, Maria Peñaherrera, who had driven the school into debt and reduced its academic performance. Led by PTA President Crystal King, the parents fought back, joining local elected officials and my office, which produced a report tracing the DOE's history of ignoring concerns from parents about Principal Peñaherrera for years. At the eleventh hour the school was saved, but this last-minute reversal would never have been necessary if the DOE had just been willing to listen to the P.S. 114 community from the start. Continuing a policy of closing schools first and asking questions later will only widen the gap between your agency and parents. Instead, I urge you as chancellor to use closure as a last resort, following a real effort to give struggling schools support, including teacher training.
There are over 165,000 students with disabilities in public schools. Their parents face greater challenges than many others, but instead of being helped by the DOE they too are often forced to fight against its bureaucracy. Elisa Gravitch from Staten Island has a ten year-old son named Kyle who is on the autism spectrum. At his elementary school, Kyle was in an Autism Spectrum Disorder NEST program, which creates a balanced and supportive learning environment. As his elementary education came to an end, Elisa wanted the DOE to put Kyle in a middle school that would provide the same educational and social supports. But for over a year the DOE repeatedly ignored or dismissed requests from Elisa and other parents with children in the program. It took public intervention by local officials and my office for the DOE to finally hear these parents out and put their children in the school that best fit their needs. With everything parents of students with disabilities already have to deal with, it should not take a year-long lobbying campaign for their voices to be heard. Under your leadership, the DOE will be implementing an important reform effort to make all community schools more inclusive to students with disabilities. In order to make these reforms work, you must be more supportive than your predecessor of parents of students with disabilities and willing to take their input.
Finally, the most immediate issue facing our school system today is the mayor's proposal to fire over 4,600 teachers. This threat is not a new one; this is the second budget cycle that the mayor has threatened to eliminate thousands of teachers, and then changed his mind seconds before the clock ran out. But while this year's budget dynamics make the prospect of serious layoffs far more real, the mayor has made it abundantly clear that his agenda puts the repeal of Last In/First Out before everything else. I believe we need a new system for evaluating teachers that accounts for student performance, but prioritizing this political fight over keeping teachers in the classroom is too great a risk to take. You need to show independence from City Hall by working first to stop thousands of teachers from being laid off instead of pursuing the mayor's political agenda.
You will most likely be the last DOE Chancellor of this administration. This is a real opportunity to improve upon Mayor Bloomberg's education legacy and to finally end the history of tension between parents and our school system. Giving parents a real voice in policy decisions, providing them with the support they need and asking them to contribute to their children's education will make our schools better. I hope you will join me in working with parents and all education stakeholders to make this vision a reality.
Bill de Blasio is Public Advocate for the City of New York.