Bronx educator hailed for work with immigrant students
BY GEORGE HAVRANEK
The relaxation and joy of
the extended Valentine’s Day-
President’s Day weekend
have passed. Direct mail outs
to all existing members and
neighborhood fl yer distributions
complete phase one of
the Spencer Estate Civic Association’s
2020 membership
drive. Community unity, and
quality of life are focal points
behind our quest to build
an effi cient, inclusive civic
model that will strengthen
our charming neighborhood.
In a small community, communication
is the quintessential
tool to unify residents
and raise awareness for Quality
of Life issues. Throughout
the years, this altruistic association
has tirelessly worked
to stave off the unwanted and
procure the needed. We live
in a dynamic environment of
continual change that warrants
civic vigilance. I urge
all area residents to actively
and/or fi nancially support
their local civic groups.
The 2020 agenda for the
Spencer Estate Civic Association
includes:
*Attaining Cease and Desist
status throughout our
entire footprint. We anticipate
multiple community
resonations will spread this
ideology throughout the CB
10 footprint.
*Identifying and combating
negligent absentee landlordism
*Preventing personnel
and funding cutbacks to our
local 45th precinct
*Stopping nuisance behaviors
including the seasonal
unwanted “Sounds of
Summer” which emanate
from our off shore waters and
nearby industrial areas.
*Battling the low-level
criminal activities that foster
patterns of maladaptive
behaviors throughout our
footprint.
*Finalizing non-profi t status
for our association. We
give heartfelt thanks to John
Cerini, “The Benevolent
Bronx Taxman”, for his unwavering
support and dedication
in this important matter.
*Inspection and analysis
of the fi nal M.T.A. Bus
redesign. Past experiences
strongly suggest “The Most
Troubled Agency” (NYCHA
aside) has not earned unbridled
trust.
* Supporting our friends
and neighbors in nearby
communities during times of
need.
COMMUNITY FOOTNOTES:
The street signage at Stadium
and Ampere avenues,
paying homage to the highly
esteemed late community
leader Al Ranieri, was removed
during mandated
A.D.A. pedestrian corner
ramp construction. Thanks
to the efforts of our civic association,
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,38 FEBRUARY 21-27, 2020 BTR
Matt Cruz, Pat
Caruso, and the top-notch
team at Bronx Community
Board 10 this mistake will
be corrected shortly. Thank
you to the entire CB10 team.
Once again, we called and
they promptly delivered.
The drab utility triangle
at the Middletown Road-Ampere
Avenue convergence remains
on our agenda. The
surrounding area is allegedly
slated for additional infrastructure
trenching in
late spring. Potential continuance
of future work prevents
needed aesthetic improvements
to this location.
Our association with the aid
of Councilman Mark Gjonaj
and Bronx CB 10 has the situation
monitored.
The I-95 project, adjacent
to our neighborhood, is slated
to begin this year. Assemblyman
Mike Benedetto, a central
fi gure behind this project,
is scheduled to address
our community May 20th.
Realtor related Cease and
Desist issues are handled by
New York State’s Department
of State. Our association has
been consistently working
with the offi ce of Senator
Biaggi to remedy what many
believe to be an egregious
oversight. We must work
hard to change the dubious
“Klein Line” into the inclusive
“Biaggi Boundary”. It is
imperative for area residents
to bring all real estate solicitations
to our March 18th
meeting.
Complaints about lackluster
postal service have
increased throughout our
community. The old postal
mantra, “neither rain nor
sleet nor snow” has become
you just never know. This
federal matter was recently
brought to the attention of
Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s’
offi ce. Our association
has a line of communication
with her Chief of Staff, Naureen
Akhker. We anticipate
representation from the congresswoman’s
offi ce at our
monthly meetings.
The serenity and stability
in many communities can be
disrupted by legislative uncertainties.
Now, more than
ever, community involvements
are needed to ensure
and maintain the charm and
quality of life in a neighborhood.
Recent events have inspired
community responses.
Whether by happenstance or
design, the recent actions of
investors, lobbyists, activists,
and politicians often under
the guise of aiding the
less fortunate have created
divergent pathways of confusion.
Residents of Spencer
Estates and other communities
take a moment to ponder
how recent legislations and
other modifi cations can affect
the long-term emotional
and fi nancial commitments
placed in your stable neighborhoods.
A message to all:
Please support your local
civic organizations.
Political leaders to gauge
a community’s strength
use the attendances at local
civic association meetings.
Large turnouts by community
residents show elected
offi cials that we have the
fortitude and resolve needed
to confront adversity. The
initial 2020 meeting of the
Spencer Estate Civic Association
is Wednesday, March
18, 7:30pm, @Knights of Columbus
(corner of Ampere
and Research Avenues) Our
scheduled keynote speaker
is valued friend, Councilman
Mark Gjonaj. Any area homeowner
or renter interested
in membership to the all inclusive
Spencer Estate Civic
Association in box George
Havranek on Facebook or
send-email to spencerestatecivic@
gmail.com If we want
to “keep and reap the blessings”
of our fi ne quality of
life “we must undergo the
fatigue of supporting it.” Remember:
“Inclusion brings
solutions.”
BY KYLE VUILLE
A national award winning
12th grade social studies
teacher uses his tale of being
an immigrant to inspire his
students 20 years later.
Alhassan Susso arrived
in New York from Gambia in
2000 with nothing but a set of
clothes and $20 to his name. He
joined his brother who had immigrated
four years prior.
Coming from a tight-knit
community in Gambia, Susso’s
fi rst impression of America
was one of isolation.
That all changed after he developed
a life-long relationship
with his English teacher Miss
Felter at Poughkeepsie High
School.
“I came with very little and
she became more of a motherly
fi gure to me than a teacher,”
Susso said. “She bought me
clothes, would feed me. I
wouldn’t have graduated high
school without her.”
Susso with the help of his
teachers and his own persever-
ance was accepted and attended
the University of Vermont to
pursue a degree in business. He
later attended Ward College for
his graduate degree.
During his freshman year
of college, his sister, still living
in Gambia, was diagnosed with
hepatitis B.
Facing uncertain medical
care, she applied for a U.S.
visa in hopes she could receive
treatment in the United States.
Her application was denied and
four months later, she passed.
Her death initially encouraged
Susso to consider a career
path as an immigration attorney.
But a college advisor, building
on Susso’s desire to affect
more lives, suggested he enter
the fi eld of education to fulfi ll
his life goal of helping immigrants.
Years later Susso, fi nds himself
commuting from Poughkeepsie
at fi ve in the morning
to teach and inspire his students
at the Bronx International
High School, 1110 Boston
Road.
“I not only want my students
to succeed, but to understand
where they came from,
where they are and where they
are going,” Susso said.
He said his teaching method
encourages his students to
build their self-esteem.
Susso has found the importance
of valuing the students
and empowering them to reach
their full potential.
“You might not reach every
student, but you can love and
care for every student and once
they realize they are cared for,
they are more willing to do
more for you,” Susso said.
Despite the daily noise of
heavy construction right outside
his classroom window,
Susso reaches his students the
best way he can, through story
telling.
He says to his students at
the beginning of every school
year, “there is always a story
behind a story.”
Susso comes from a long
line of storytellers/historians
or ‘griots’ as they called in
Gambia.
Recently, Susso and two
other Bronx educators were
nominated by the National Education
Asssocation Foundation
as three of the fi ve Horace
Mann award winners.
However, only Susso was selected
for the NEA Foundation’s
Members Benefi ts award.
“I have a deep sense of gratitude
for the south Bronx, this
is a win for the entire community,”
Susso said. “I could
not get where I am today without
my students and my colleagues.”
Alhassan Susso was the recipient of the NEA Foundation Member Benefi
ts Award for Excellent Teaching. Susso is a 12th grade social science
teacher at the Bronx Internation High School in the South Bronx.
Photo courtesy of Alhassan Susso
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