http://atlantapost.com/2011/03/28/miranda-warning-revision-may-be-bad-news-for-blacks/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bossiprss+%28Bossip.com%29

To Fight Discrimination, a Long List of No-Nos
By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY

It shouldn’t take a lawyer to know that it is illegal to use phrases like “no Chicanos,” “no blacks” or “not for handicapped” in a real estate listing.

But at some real estate firms, brokers are also forewarned not to include in listings, or even mention in conversation, phrases that even the most prejudiced New York landlords would be hard pressed to think up, like “no Appalachians” or “no Hungarians.” They also are cautioned to never, under any circumstances, call a home a “fisherman’s retreat.”

All these phrases appear on “fair housing lists,” informal collections of perilous words and phrases that grew out of the 1968 federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibited discrimination against buyers and renters based on race and religion, and a 1988 amendment, which added families with children and people with disabilities. At one point, some brokerages and newspaper classified-advertising departments had become so cautious that the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a clarification memo in 1995 that said phrases like “master bedroom,” “mother-in-law suite” or “bachelor apartment” were acceptable.

Still, there are also state and city fair housing laws to account for, which is why David Schlamm, president of City Connections, includes “bachelor pad” in his brokerage’s list: with its suggestion of masculinity, it could violate the city’s law prohibiting housing discrimination based on gender, he said.

“It’s the same idea as ‘perfect for shares or families,’ ” he said, adding that the phrase had been flagged as discriminatory.

Mr. Schlamm couldn’t explain apparent inconsistencies in his own extensive list, which covers 203 terms and categorizes them as “acceptable,” “caution” and “not acceptable.” “No Appalachian” is banned, but it advises brokers only to be cautious with words prohibiting gays and lesbians.

There is no official, HUD-approved roster of good and bad words. But most brokerages and newspapers, including The New York Times, keep some kind of list, often a version that has been distributed for more than 15 years by the Oregon Newspaper Association, hence the occasional head-scratcher that would not seem to apply to 21st-century New York City.

To Fight Discrimination, a Long List of No-Nos – NYTimes.com.

If you spot some bomb shelters and hear sirens in Washington Square Park tomorrow don’t panic, but take a moment to immerse yourself in the new multi-media installation, titled The Bomb Shelter. It’s meant to connect New Yorkers to what Israelis went through last week during the bombing of a Jerusalem bus stop and repeated rocket strikes. [ more › ]

Imams’ girl next door

By ANNIE KARNI

Last Updated: 8:21 AM, March 27, 2011

Posted: 12:38 AM, March 27, 2011

They’re strange neighbors.

A museum commemorating the world’s most famous Holocaust victim is planning to move across the street from the proposed Ground Zero mosque, The Post has learned.

The nonprofit Anne Frank Center USA, a partner of the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam, offers educational programs about the Holocaust and the history of World War II. The group is poised to sign a lease in the 20-floor, glass-and-steel tower at 100 Church St., sources involved in the negotiations confirmed.

The windows of the 1 million- square-foot office tower overlook Park 51, the planned 16-story, 125,000-square-foot Muslim community center and mosque at 45 Park Place, two blocks from Ground Zero.

The museum, which currently rents loft space at 38 Crosby St. in SoHo, took out ads last year seeking a larger home in order to re-create the “secret annex” where the doomed Jewish teen wrote her famous diary while hiding from the Nazis with her family in Amsterdam between 1942 and 1944.

The move would be more evidence that lower Manhattan is becoming a Mecca for religious and cultural groups of all stripes. There are already more than 20 houses of worship below Canal Street and 13 museums south of Chambers Street, according to the Downtown Alliance. A nondenominational Christian church recently opened in 7 World Trade Center.

“It’s appropriate to have a mix of diverse organizations as a part of the lower Manhattan community,” said Julie Menin, chairwoman of Community Board 1. “We want it to reflect the melting pot that is America.”

Board members at the Anne Frank Center said they harbored no concerns about their odd juxtaposition with the mosque, whose proximity to the 9/11 site has sparked outrage.

“We’ve been working very hard to find a new location that will be more accessible to our exhibits,” said board member Hyman Enzer. “I like the idea of the new location.”

Board member Sam Fredman said, “I don’t know that the mosque was or would be a factor of any kind.”

In January, the new imam of Park 51, Abdallah Adhami, was fired after it was discovered that he preached that homosexuals were abused as children and that people who leave Islam should be jailed. The first imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf, stepped down after clashing with developer Sharif El-Gamal.

The Anne Frank Center is in negotiations with SL Green Realty Corp. to rent 2,500 square feet of ground-floor space, according to Steven Durels, SL Green’s director of leasing for the building. Asking rent is $50 a square foot, which would be $125,000 a month for the exhibition center.

“We’re in advanced negotiations with them and, hopefully, we’ll sign a deal in the next few weeks,” Durels said. “We think the Anne Frank Center is a good use for the building.”

A broker representing the Anne Frank Center declined to comment.

akarni@nypost.com

Anne Frank Center moving across street from Ground Zero mosque – NYPOST.com.

A Mass and vigil are being held tonight to remember the 87 victims of the Happy Land Social Club fire, which occurred 21 years ago in the Bronx.

Happy Land Fire Victims Remembered At Vigil
Fri, 25 Mar 2011 23:19:53 GMT

A state court ruled that landlords can impose extra charges on tenants paying under $1,000 a month rent. Landlords say it’s fair because the low rents don’t cover their costs. The Legal Aid Society had brought the suit on behalf of affected tenants and call the charges a "poor tax." For more about this from the Times, click here.
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Bronx Tenants Paying Rent Under $1,000 Dealt Blow by Court
noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Moss)
Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:18:00 GMT

A Mass and vigil will be held this evening to remember the 87 victims of the Happy Land Social Club fire, which occurred 21 years old.

Happy Land Fire Victims To Be Remembered At Vigil
Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:43:15 GMT

The "Battle for the Bronx" skate boarding competition (above is a clip from last year’s competition) returns this spring, but to a new location: the River Avenue Skate Park Plaza. The third annual BFTB will be the first of its kind at the new skate plaza, which opened in August 2010. Last year, the event was held at the skate park in Bronx Park East. Maloof Money Cup, 5Boro and Indigenous Skate Shop are hosting this year’s competition. The event, scheduled for Saturday, May 21, will…
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‘Battle for the Bronx’ Skate Event Moves to River Ave. Skate Plaza
noreply@blogger.com (Layza Garcia)
Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:09:00 GMT

Filed under: News,

They watched their friends and family die in last year’s devastating earthquake and they have survived the rigors of being an immigrant in a new land to excel in school.

Now a group of Haitian teens from Brooklyn, N.Y. who have won an invitation to a prestigious robotics competition in St. Louis need just $15,000 to make it there.

The mostly Haitian students from the It Takes a Village Academy in East Flatbush beat out kids from 63 other area high schools, including some of New York City’s most prestigious, to earn the invitation. It was something many of the kids on the team did not think was possible.

“It’s like a dream come true,” said Margely Saint-Pierre, 17, who saw 10 friends die and his high school destroyed in the devastating Haitian earthquake, told the New York Daily News.

The school is just one of two from the city to be invited to the FIRST Tech Challenge next month where they would participate in a competition to build the fastest and most precise robot.

“What their victory shows is how a little bit of money in the right place can accomplish a lot,” Marilyn Gelber, president of the Brooklyn Community Foundation, told Aol Black Voices in an interview.

The foundation, in conjunction with Polytechnic Institute of New York University, sponsors the Central Brooklyn Robotic Initiative. Graduate students from the university travel to 18 schools in Central Brooklyn to work with the kids on robotics programs. The program is working so well that it will double to 36 schools next year.

“To travel from Brooklyn to St. Louis to compete on a national level would be an extraordinary experience and show these kids that you can be written off as one who is not going to succeed but come out on the other side as champions. We want them to be champions and represent all kids in that situation,” Gelber added.

For many of these kids, participating in the robotics program has brought a world of benefits.

Closing the Gap with Robotics from NYU-Poly on Vimeo.

“They’re like brothers and sisters, sharing experiences,” Yvon Morin, a computer science teacher who serves as the team’s coach, and who’s also a Haitian immigrant, told the News.

It takes math, physics and computer programming to build these robots. And they are learning about cooperation and being creative as well. Many of the kids also see this as another opportunity to add an impressive attribute on their resume as they strive to go to college.

“We’re going to show that we’re Haitian and we’ve accomplished something really important,” said Christopher Leveille, the 17-year-old team captain who immigrated from Port-au-Prince just two years ago.

And more children of color should be involved with math and the sciences. It’s about these kids serving as role models for future generations.

In a piece a few weeks ago about Benjamin Alvin “Al” Drew Jr., the only black astronaut on the last mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery, I shared how my sister was laughed at by her own high school teachers in Brooklyn when she shared her goal of becoming a doctor.

It’s one of the reasons black children are not as involved in math and science professions as they should be. Luckily, my sister had the encouragement of my family. Today, Dr. Mays, as my mother loves calling her (She earned it, my mother says.), is rated as one of the top practitioners in her field in the region of the country where she lives.

That’s what I want for these kids and for all of our kids. This program may produce the next Benjamin Alvin “Al” Drew Jr., Bill Gates or Dr. Mays.

“Science and math education is important to the future success of students. We want to emphasize math and science but do it in a way that is engaging to young people,” Gelber told Aol. Black Voices. “Young people love math and science but too may are just consumers of technology. We want to let them know that you can be a creator and an inventor. You don’t have to be just a consumer of technology. Robotics makes that idea very real to kids.”

As this country heads toward a more technologically advanced future, we need to make sure our kids have a chance to compete at the highest levels and to be the next great inventor.