24 The QUeeNS CoUrier •JANUARY 10, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com New campaign Beating the DRUM for tolerance pushes for . . . [email protected] ‘One Percent are not terrorists,” said Khalid“We are ordinary people. We for Culture’ for civil rights and religious toler-Rehman, a physician and memberof the American Society for MuslimAdvancement (ASMA), at a rally bY aLeXa aLtMan ance in Jackson Heights. He left his [email protected] Manhattan practice early to attend the assembly, to join the rest of the The infamous moniker of “one percent” gained community and stand up for peace. an innovative, positive meaning among the arts “We need to speak up and that’s community. what we’re doing now,” said At MoMA PS1 on Tuesday, January 8, Rehman. “Otherwise, our agen- Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer announced his da is being hijacked. Moderate support for the One Percent for Culture campaign, Christians, moderate Jews, moder- a citywide initiative aimed at increasing funding ate Muslims, we need to speak up towards art institutions and impressing upon the because all those on the extreme city the value of cultural nonprofits. The coalition, fringes are taking the agenda and containing 245 members thus far, seeks to ensure they’re creating more hatred.” that nonprofit cultural establishments, responsible Members of Desis Rising Up and THE COURIER/PHOTO BY ALEXA ALTMAN for assisting the city to generate billions in annual Moving (DRUM) and the Council Civil rights leaders gathered in Jackson Heights to call for accountability after a revenue, are granted one percent of the city’s on American-Islamic Relations series of racially-charged incidents. annual budget. (CAIR) gathered at the Jackson Currently, arts and culture organizations receive Heights Plaza on Tuesday, January based on the comments that Erika said Ahmed. “Government institu- a quarter of one percent of the city’s yearly budget. 8 to call for accountability from the Menendez made and the series of tions such as the MTA and the “We know that that number and the billions in MTA and the NYPD following sev- events that have happened in New NYPD need to be a lot more careful revenue that get spun off because of that could not eral attacks on Middle Eastern and York City just within a few months about their policies, about what they happen without culture and the arts,” said Van South Asian immigrants. is there’s a growing sense of hostili- do and what they say because all Bramer. “The economy of the city of New York The most recent attack occurred ty towards Muslim and South Asian these things have a cumulative effect could not stand without culture and the arts. It on December 27 at the No. 7 sta- communities,” said DRUM leader on the public, especially those who simply could not.” tion in Sunnyside when a woman Fahd Ahmed. are mentally ill and are more easily Arts and culture bring in $7.6 billion for the pushed Indian immigrant Sunando Other recent attacks against immi- affected.” city of New York every year and provide jobs for Sen in front of the train. The per- grants of Indian and Middle Eastern Councilmembers Daniel Dromm roughly 100,000 New Yorkers. According to Van petrator, Erika Menendez, claimed decent, including the stabbing of a and Jimmy Van Bramer, both active Bramer, the tourism boom, recently announced by she committed the crime because man outside a mosque in Flushing, in human rights issues, addressed Mayor Bloomberg, is in thanks to art institutions she hated Muslims and Hindus, a Muslim man who was beaten in the crowd. Dromm, who had recent- that entice visitors from all over the world, adding whom she believed to be respon- Corona and a serial murderer in ly spoken out against wanton sur- that culture and the arts is one of the few areas of sible for the attacks on September Brooklyn who targeted four Middle veillance of Muslims by the NYPD the city budget that generates revenue. 11, 2001. Eastern men have Ahmed and other to the US Department of Justice, said Cultural leaders from across the city joined Van A week prior to the attack, ads DRUM activists recognizing a pat- that acts of suspicion allow others Bramer to announce the initiave and speak on portraying Muslims and Middle tern of hatred. to believe committing hate crimes is its behalf, including Klaus Biesenbach, director Easterners as associated with the “To solve this situation we really acceptable. of MoMA PS1 and Eric Pryor, executive director attack on the World Trade Center need to get at the root causes of “Our Muslin communities, our of the Center for Arts Education. Charles Rice- were plastered throughout subway the problem which is government Sikh communities, our South Asian Gonzalez, executive director of Bronx Academy for stations by the MTA, paid for by policies that portray communities communities have every right to Arts & Dance (BAAD!) said increased funding for outspoken anti-Islamic activist as suspect — hateful subway ads choose the way they want to identify arts organizations creates a symbiotic relationship Pamela Geller. which make communities seem sus- as Muslims as Sikhs as South Asians between culture and community, which serve to “The question that it raises for us picious and paint them wholesale,” in this community,” said Dromm. nourish and inspire each other. segment, the arts of our city, a chance to come up QUEENS SCHOOLS FACE THE AX“One Percent for Culture is about giving this vital to speed with the rest of the industry,” said Rice- Gonzalez. “We have managed to make a great bY Maggie HaYes impact with modest amounts. Imagine what could [email protected] give their students the best education possible, but the city be done if one percent of the city’s budget is given makes their jobs much harder by not allocating the proper to culture?” For months, the Department of Education (DOE) had resources and ignoring community input.” Sheila Lewandowski, executive director of Long been evaluating city schools’ progress reports, noting those Sternberg countered this claim, saying that the DOE has Island City playhouse The Chocolate Factory, said that were in danger of closing. The process is continuing, listened to the community and provided support services that with extra funding, she could afford to increase and now several Queens schools could possibly be phased to the low-performing schools based on their needs, but it wages for the 100 artists on her payroll, purchase out. is time to take action. better equipment and decrease ticket prices. This process, which eliminates one grade at a time However, Comrie said the city standards used to mea- “If we don’t value art, we might lose it,” said from the troubled schools, will be finalized after a vote sure schools are “confusing, arbitrary, and hindering, Lewandowski. “One Percent for Culture is very this coming March. Public School 140 in Jamaica; Law, rather than helping, to improve the education system.” valuable to my organization, a small very experi- Government and Community Service High School in The Law, Government and Community Service High mental organization, because it says we’re valuable. Jamaica; and the Business, Computer Applications & School in particular was one school with a good reputa- It’s the city saying ‘we see what you give back to Entrepreneurship High School in St. Albans are all on tion, and according to Comrie, was asked by the DOE to the economy, to the quality of life, to everything.’ ” the chopping block. P.S. 156 in Laurelton faces a possible take in more students. However, while they took in the While Van Bramer called the announcement “a truncation, which will eliminate its middle school. additional students, they were not given the extra resources very exciting time,” the councilmember added that “We expect success,” said DOE Deputy Chancellor needed to accommodate them. it was imperative to secure “the expense funding to Marc Sternberg. “Ultimately, we know we can better serve Citywide, 22 schools are facing phase outs, two are look- follow the capital funding.” our students and families with new options and a new ing at possible closure, and two more could be truncated. “We have to be aggressive as a community. We start.” Previously, J.H.S. 008, I.S. 059 and Flushing High have to know our value to the city of New York However, the community is not taking the news lying School faced closure, but have since passed the DOE stan- and make sure others know it too. Not everyone down. dards and will remain open. knows that we are keeping the city running. No one “I will continue to press the administration to keep “We expect every school to deliver for our students, and should ever doubt the power of art and the power these schools open,” said Councilmember Leroy Comrie. are working hard to offer families more high performing of artists.” “Many people at these schools work extremely hard to choices,” said Sternberg.
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