for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com august 1, 2013 • The queens CourieR 33 Funds to help Van Buren ‘transform’ BY MELIS A CHAN mchan@queenscourier.com A struggling Queens Village school will get more than $4 million in federal funds to bounce back this fall. Martin Van Buren High School and 21 others in the city were awarded $74.2 million in School Improvement Grants (SIG) to be used over three years, State Education Commissioner John King Jr. announced last week. The state’s education department doled out a total of $126 million to 34 low-performing schools throughout New York this year. It was the second round of funding in 2013, though no Queens school was awarded earlier, officials said. The dollars will go toward implementing “intervention models” in the failing schools, education officials said. “Many English language learners, students with disabilities and low-income students are in schools that need to change,” King said. “SIG grants can help give those students the opportunity to attend schools that are changing what’s happening in the classroom.” Van Buren received a C in the city Department of Education’s (DOE) most recent progress report, which is based on student progress toward graduation, performance on standardized tests, coursework and student attendance. Elected officials said morale and grades have been improving under the school’s new principal, Sam Sochet, since he took over last June. The school was also acknowledged as “developing” during last year’s DOE evaluation, a step above the failing grade “underdeveloped.” “Our strategy has always been to take action rather than sit idly by,” said city Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott, “and today’s awards validate our work. The grants will support students at schools that are phasing out, provide resources to bolster interventions in schools that are struggling, and help new schools deliver great outcomes.” Under the designated “transformation model,” Van Buren would have been forced to replace its principal, the state education department said. But since Sochet is new to the helm, that requirement is already satisfied, a city spokesperson said. However, Van Buren educators, under another condition, will have to follow the state’s approved Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) plans. “Martin Van Buren High School has made huge strides over the year,” said Councilmember Mark Weprin. “This money will go a long way to help put the school in better shape than we are already.” The DOE recently proposed adding another school inside Van Buren next year, in a move known as co-location, despite protests from Queens lawmakers. They say the move would eliminate 500 existing seats. “Hopefully, the DOE will realize we can do wonderful things at Martin Van Buren and not worry about co-locating schools in the building,” Weprin said. “It’s already on the way back.” THE COURIER/Photo by Melissa Chan Martin Van Buren High School will receive $4 million in federal funding. Boro boasts most immigrant seniors BY MELIS A CHAN mchan@queenscourier.com Queens has the largest number of immigrant seniors in the city, with Flushing leading the list of neighborhoods, according to a new report. The borough is home to about 162,000 foreignborn people over the age of 65, says a study by the Center for an Urban Future. The report shows more than 25,000 live in Flushing. “Immigrants are critical to Queens,” said Jonathan Bowles, executive director of the New York-based think tank. “They’ve driven a lot of the economic growth in the borough. They make up almost half of the population in Queens. It’s important that they can grow old in the city.” Droves of immigrants, mostly from Asia, first made their way to Flushing in the 1970s, Bowles said. Since then, many more have moved from Manhattan’s Chinatown to the northern Queens neighborhood for a more affordable way of life that is surrounded by immigrant services. In the last decade, more than 8,000 immigrant seniors have settled in Flushing, according to the report. “They want to live in Flushing because it’s more convenient for them in terms of language barriers,” said Kathy Liu, program director for the Flushing YMCA’s New Americans Welcome Center. “It’s one of the neighborhoods which allow immigrants to go to different agencies to help them in their language.” The center is a one-stop shop for non-English speakers and one of many locations where immigrants can receive for free literacy, citizen preparation, job readiness and computer classes yearround. The facility sees natives from China, Korea and even France, Liu said. The Flushing branch of the Queens Library, which offers similar services, is the most heavily used branch in the state, said Queens Library spokesperson Joanne King. Still, the report shows immigrant seniors face a number of challenges, including a higher poverty rate. They are also less likely to receive government benefits. “Many don’t qualify for retirement or housing benefits,” Liu said. “With rent so high in this area, they find it very difficult to live with the savings they brought from their own country.” According to the report, Flushing has the highest concentration of poor seniors. More than half of all Korean seniors in the city who are below the federal poverty line live in Flushing, the study found. The Rockaways had the second largest group of poor immigrant seniors, 3,154 people. “Immigrant adults have all of those traditional challenges, but then they have additional ones because of language barriers or a lack of familiarity with programs and services that are available,” Bowles said. “I don’t see this as a problem necessarily, but as a challenge that New York City policy makers have to plan for.” Some other highlights: • Bellerose, Rosedale, Forest Hills and Rego Park, trailing slightly behind Flushing, also made the list. • Howard Beach and South Ozone Park had the largest change in their immigrant senior population. They saw a 112 percent jump, which amounts to nearly 5,000 seniors. • Over the last decade, the number of immigrant seniors in Queens increased by 42,000, while the number of native-born seniors dropped by nearly 41,000. RIDERS WANT MTA FARE INCREASES TO . . . TAKE A HIKE BY CRIS TABELLE TUMOLA ctumola@queenscourier.com Riders, delighted when the MTA announced expanded service and improvements last week, were disappointed just days later with news the transit agency will again hike fares in 2015 and 2017. “I can’t believe they’re raising the fare again after just raising it this year,” said straphanger Billy Davis. The MTA discussed the hikes during a financial plan presentation at its July 24 board meeting, but did not determine how much the fares will go up. In March, the MTA raised fares and tolls across the board. They were the fourth increase in five years for subway, bus and commuter rail fares. The hikes included raising the MetroCard base fare from $2.25 to $2.50, changing the discount from 7 percent off with every $10 purchased to 5 percent off with every $5 spent and raising MetroCard unlimited fares. Rider Luke Westfall said the hikes are inevitable. “With the economy the way it is, I’m surprised the hikes won’t happen sooner.” In its 2014-2017 financial plan, the MTA said it needs to address long-term costs such as pensions, retiree health care, paratransit service and debt repayment. But Queens public transit riders, most of whom have not seen their salaries rise along with the increasing fares, have their own money concerns. “I already have a hard enough time affording my monthly MetroCard as it is,” said Travis Genetti. “If they raise the fare and I’m not in a better financial position by then, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to afford it.” Additional reporting by Johann Hamilton
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