8 JUNE 20, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Lawmakers spar over school diversity
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Aft er a fi ery letter signed by nine
city and state lawmakers was
misinterpreted as a call for city
Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza’s
resignation, Queens Councilman Robert
Holden, who penned the letter, is now
clarifying his stance.
In the letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio,
Holden claims that Carranza’s attempt
to create a more equitable education
experience for black and brown
students has instead been turned
against other students through
comments made by the chancellor.
“While there is an obvious need for
improvements in the schools that serve
minority communities throughout
the city, it is divisive to place blame
upon the students and parents from
other backgrounds who are merely
pursuing the best education possible
for themselves and their children,”
the letter read. “Furthermore, putting
department staff in a position where
they are made to feel uncomfortable
because of their ethnicity is
reprehensible.”
Holden concluded with demanding
that Carranza “cease the contentious
rhetoric,” with one bullet point in the
letter indicating “Cronyism in the
hiring process.”
Carranza responded at a press
conference to the claims that recent
intakes of employees from California
and Texas were based on the candidate’s
Hispanic background.
“There are forces in this city that
want me to be quiet,” Carranza said on
June 10, as reported by the New York
Post. “There are forces in this city that
want me to be the good minority and be
quiet and don’t say a word. Don’t bring
the race issue up … you go back through
the last seven chancellors and you do
the math … Who was hired, who was
not hired — what was their process?
How did they get chosen? Who did
they know? Is it any wonder that those
individuals who have been criticized
are men and women of color?”
Holden’s offi ce issues a clarifi cation
on the letter receiving feedback, much
of it in support of the letter, spokesman
Daniel Kurzyna said in a June 16 email.
“It’s important to note that the
undersigned are not outright calling
for the resignation of the chancellor,”
Kurzyna said. “The letter outlines
some of the concerns that these electeds
who have signed on, and the numerous
electeds who agree but were unable to
sign on, have on the way the chancellor
and his administration operate.”
Another Holden spokesman said
Carranza was quick to rebut criticism
with claims of racism saying, “We
support having diversity in our schools
but it’s not really a process that can be
forced.”
Four Queens City Council members
joined Holden in signing the letter:
Paul Vallone, Peter Koo, Eric Ulrich
and Karen Koslowitz. Chaim Deutsch
Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza Photo via Twitter/@DOEChancellor
of Brooklyn and Joe Borelli of Staten
Island also put their signatures to the
letter head.
Meanwhile, other lawmakers are
coming to Carranza’s defense.
Councilman Antonio Reynoso, who
represents part of Ridgewood, issued a
response to the letter calling it an attack
on Carranza’s eff orts to challenge the
status quo and integrate the school
system.
“Chancellor Carranza inherited a
public school system with glaring
racial disparities,” Reynoso said.
“These inequities have implications
for every aspect of a child’s education,
from the school admissions process
to educational quality to resource
allocation to the severity of disciplinary
measures. Inequity in our schools is not
a new phenomenon, but rather one with
complex origins and systemic roots.”
Reynoso went on to say that providing
education equity is not a “zero sum game”
and that providing opportunity to some
does not put others at a disadvantage.
A recent lawsuit against the
Department of Education claims that
three white women were demoted from
their posts based on race.
“What I was looking to do was to
create a management team that was
capable of leading the kind of work
that we needed to lead. It’s more about
the mindset that I was looking for, and
I’m glad to say that that mindset comes
in all kinds of colors,” Carranza said as
reported by NY1.
According to the DOE, the claim of
“reverse racism” has no basis in reality.
Kew Gardens jail plan gets borough hall hearing
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Concerned Queens residents and
activists spoke their minds at yet
another hearing on the Mayor’s
office’s proposal to close Rikers
Island in exchange for four smaller
borough-based jails located adjacent
to courthouses.
Borough President Melinda Katz
heard viewpoints on the topic on June
13 as prominent activists in the fi ght
for justice reform advocated for the
closure of Rikers for the dangerous
conditions it promotes with many
opposing any new jails.
Stanley Richards, executive vice
president of the Fortune Society,
was incarcerated himself and spoke
at the hearing off ering his written
testimony.
“When I was younger, I spent about
ten years behind bars for the harms I
caused, including two years on Rikers
Island. When I came home from prison,
I dedicated myself to helping people
like me succeed on a diff erent path,”
Richards said. “I also serve on New
York City’s Board of Correction as the
Vice-Chair, which sets the minimum
standards and provides oversight and
accountability to the Department of
Correction… I know the hell of Rikers
and I know it has to be closed as soon
as possible. Every day it stays open is
a day our loved ones and neighbors
are harmed. The neglect, lack of
accountability, and logistical problems
caused by Rikers Island’s isolation
cannot be solved. The City’s plan is not
perfect, but it is our best shot to close
Rikers, and the pressure created by
the plan is helping drive down levels
of incarceration. We cannot lose that
momentum.”
As representatives of the Mayor’s
Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ)
announced at the hearing, the
previously proposed 1.2 million square
foot structure has been reduced in
capacity from 5,000 detainees down
4,000. The agency attributed this
change to bail reform which was
recently passed in Albany.
Katz criticized the mayor’s approach
to the initiative having issued a request
in January to rehash the plan by the
MOCJ and the Lippman Commission,
which built a set of recommendations
for proceeding with edging Rikers
out.
The borough president called on
Mayor Bill de Blasio to start the land
use process from the beginning with
more public input as residents argued
that there was not enough inclusion on
their end.
“Any plan by the City – especially
the siting and design of any new jails –
must include meaningful community
engagement and input. I am deeply
disturbed by the lack of opportunity
thereof for the proposal to erect a 1.9-
million square-foot facility on 82nd
Avenue. And that’s from a supporter
of closing Rikers. The City needs to
start anew,” Katz said. “There’s still
time and opportunity to do it the right
way: careful planning in collaboration
with aff ected communities – who are
treated as partners in, not irrelevant
to, reform – while employing smart
criminal justice strategies to reduce
the jail population.”
De Blasio later said that the plan’s
inexorable crawl toward completion,
via a ULURP application, would not be
slowed toward its 20127.
“From a public safety, a criminal
justice, and a moral perspective, this
proposal is the right approach. The
nine jails on Rikers Island make New
York City less safe,” Robert Fiske, U.S.
Attorney for the Southern District of
New York also said in written testimony
presented at Thursday’s hearing. “In
many respects, they leave people
worse off than when they enter. We
can and must do better, starting with
eff orts to hold fewer people in jail. I am
encouraged by the progress that has
been made over the past few years in
that regard, and expect this progress
to continue. For the smaller number of
people who will remain incarcerated,
properly-designed jails in the boroughs
that are closer to courthouses, family
members, lawyers and other service
providers provide an opportunity to
break with the terrible legacy of Rikers
Island.”
Katz has not yet released her decision
regarding her recommendation toward
the jail, with a July 3 deadline, before it
makes its way to City Council and the
Planning Commission.
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