Newsmakers  

Winter 2007

OUR GRANTEES ARE MAKING NEWS

Mirabal Sisters Cultural and Community Center comment on the deal reached between then State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, and Pinnacle Group LLC who had illegally overcharged many rent-regulated tenants for apartment renovations.

        New York Daily News, Dec.18, 2006 
        News Probe Helps Put Hit On Pinnacle

Nah We Yone was featured in an article about a young girl and her family that the organization worked with over the past year. 

        New York Times, Oct. 26, 2006
        Young Woman Fears Deportation

Child Welfare Organizing Project and Picture the Homeless respond to the Mayor’s State of the City address.

        City Limits, Jan. 22, 2007
        The State Of  Whose City?

Housing Here and Now comment on the overhaul of the most popular tax break for apartment building developers.

        New York Times, Dec. 21, 2006    
       In Overhaul City Seeks To Expand Lower Cost Units

Peter Gillespie, executive director Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (formerly Neighbors Against Garbage) is quoted in an article about the Commissioner of the Department of City Planning, Amanda Burden.

        New York Times, Jan. 15, 2007
        Reshaping The City’s Landscape

Picture the Homeless campaign to remember those buried in Potter’s Field is featured in these two publications.

        New York Times, Nov.  12, 2006
        A Chance To Be Mourned

        Greenwich Village Gazette, Oct. 25, 2006
        Picture The Homeless Address Alumni At Union Theological Seminary

ROC NY is working with seven current and former employees of the Café Bouolud that filed a suit in Federal District Court in Manhattan accusing owner and chef, Mr. Boulud of discrimination, similar charges are before the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

        New York Times, Jan. 17, 2007
        A Top Chef’s Kitchen is Far Too Hot

United Community Center’s community garden will supply food for the new East New York Food Co-op, which opened in November of 2006.

        New York Times, Nov. 19, 2006
        A Food Co-op Brings Together The Flavors,  And The People of East New York

Majora Carter, executive director of Sustainable South Bronx was named as one of the top Americans to watch in 2007.  She was also featured on PBS. 

        Newsweek Magazine, Dec. 25, 2006
        Bringing Cleaner Air And A Bit of Nature Where It’s Really Needed
 
        PBS- NOW Series, Jan. 26, 2007

Omar Mohammedi, president of the Council on American Islamic Relations New York, was a guest speaker on the Montel Williams show on Oct. 12, 2006.  The show focused on racism and race relations in the United States.

Reverend Troia, executive director of Project Hospitality and former Foundation grantee is featured in this article.

        New York Daily News, Nov. 28, 2006
        Woman On A Mission

Former grantee, Working Today founded the Freelancers Union which offers freelance web designers, video editors, writers, dancers and graphic artists lower-cost health coverage and other benefits.

        New York Times, Jan. 27, 2007
        Labor Union, Redefined, For Freelance Workers

Grantee Reports

The NYC Coalition for Educational Justice recently released “New York City's Middle Grade Schools: Platforms for Success or Pathways to Failure?” that highlights how New York City’s middle-grade schools are failing to prepare students for high school.

        To read the report click here:

The report was featured in several newspapers.

        New York Post, Jan. 16, 2007
        Shortchanged: Kids Hurt By Neglected Middle Schools

        New York Times, Jan.16, 2007
        Panel Urges 'Marshall Plan' to Improve Middle Schools

Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP) issued “Predatory Tax Time Loans Strip $324 Million from New York City’s Poorest Communities: An Analysis of Tax Refund Lending in NYC”. Analyzing IRS data, NEDAP found that refund anticipation loans were overwhelmingly concentrated in neighborhoods in the South Bronx, Central and Northeast Brooklyn, Central and East Harlem, and Southeast Queens.

        To read the report click here:

The report was featured in several newspapers.

        Washington Post, Jan. 10, 2007
        Refund Loans Can Cut Into Tax Refunds

        am New York , Jan. 29, 2007
        Loans ‘Taxing’ On The Poor

Former grantee, the Center for an Urban Future released a study revealing that immigrant entrepreneurs have become an increasingly powerful economic engine for New York City. The report, titled "A World of Opportunity: Understanding & Tapping the Economic Potential of Immigrant Entrepreneurs,” documents that immigrant entrepreneurs are starting a greater share of new businesses than native-born residents, stimulating growth in sectors from food manufacturing to health care, creating loads of new jobs and transforming once-sleepy neighborhoods into thriving commercial centers.

        To read the report click here:

The report made the front page of the New York Times.
                
        New York Times, Feb. 6, 2007
        Immigrant Entrepreneurs Shape A New Economy

Trustees Making News

Keith Hefner, executive director of Youth Communications was featured a profile of the organization’s work.

        Daily News, Dec. 18, 2006
        Teen Authors

Our chairwoman, Gladys Carrion was named the Commissioner of the Office of Children and Family Services by Governor Elliot Spitzer and will oversee the State’s youth development, child care, foster care, adoption, child protective services, preventive services, and protective programs for adults.