JOSEPH MARION HERNANDEZ - Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822

http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/congress/hernandezj.html

JOSEPH MARION HERNANDEZ
Delegate
Whig of the Territory of Florida

Seventeenth Congress
September 30, 1822 - March 3, 1823

Joseph Marion [José Maria] Hernandez was the first Hispanic to serve in Congress and the first Delegate from the territory of Florida. He was born in St. Augustine, Florida on August 4, 1793, when it was still a Spanish colony. When the territory of Florida was established in 1822, Hernandez transferred his allegiance to the United States and was elected Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served until March 3, 1823.

Hernandez later became a member and the presiding officer of the Territorial House of Representatives. He was appointed brigadier general of volunteers in the war against the Florida Indians. From 1835 to 1838 he served in the U.S. Army. In 1837 he commanded the expedition that captured the Indian Chief Oceola, and was appointed brigadier general of the Mounted Volunteers.

In 1845 Hernandez ran for the United States Senate as a Whig candidate, but was defeated. He then moved to Cuba where he managed his family's sugar estate in the district of Coliseo, near Matanzas. He died on June 8, 1857.

Celts descended from Spanish fishermen, study finds - Hispanic Heritage Month

Click here: Godlike Productions -- Celts descended from Spanish fishermen, study finds
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/bbs/message.php?messageid=292987&mpage=1&showdate=9/22/06

Celts descended from Spanish fishermen, study finds

Quote
Celts descended from Spanish fishermen, study findsBy Guy AdamsPublished: 20 September 2006Don't tell the locals, but the hordes of British holidaymakers who visited Spain this summer were, in fact, returning to their ancestral home.

A team from Oxford University has discovered that the Celts, Britain's indigenous people, are descended from a tribe of Iberian fishermen who crossed the Bay of Biscay 6,000 years ago. DNA analysis reveals they have an almost identical genetic "fingerprint" to the inhabitants of coastal regions of Spain, whose own ancestors migrated north between 4,000 and 5,000BC.

The discovery, by Bryan Sykes, professor of human genetics at Oxford University, will herald a change in scientific understanding of Britishness.

People of Celtic ancestry were thought to have descended from tribes of central Europe. Professor Sykes, who is soon to publish the first DNA map of the British Isles, said: "About 6,000 years ago Iberians developed ocean-going boats that enabled them to push up the Channel. Before they arrived, there were some human inhabitants of Britain but only a few thousand in number. These people were later subsumed into a larger Celtic tribe... The majority of people in the British Isles are actually descended from the Spanish."

Professor Sykes spent five years taking DNA samples from 10,000 volunteers in Britain and Ireland, in an effort to produce a map of our genetic roots.Research on their "Y" chromosome, which subjects inherit from their fathers, revealed that all but a tiny percentage of the volunteers were originally descended from one of six clans who arrived in the UK in several waves of immigration prior to the Norman conquest.

The most common genetic fingerprint belongs to the Celtic clan, which Professor Sykes has called "Oisin". After that, the next most widespread originally belonged to tribes of Danish and Norse Vikings. Small numbers of today's Britons are also descended from north African, Middle Eastern and Roman clans.

These DNA "fingerprints" have enabled Professor Sykes to create the first genetic maps of the British Isles, which are analysed in Blood of the Isles, a book published this week. The maps show that Celts are most dominant in areas of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. But, contrary to popular myth, the Celtic clan is also strongly represented elsewhere in the British Isles.

"Although Celtic countries have previously thought of themselves as being genetically different from the English, this is emphatically not the case," Professor Sykes said."

This is significant, because the idea of a separate Celtic race is deeply ingrained in our political structure, and has historically been very divisive. Culturally, the view of a separate race holds water. But from a genetic point of view, Britain is emphatically not a divided nation."

Origins of Britons
Oisin
Descended from Iberian fishermen who migrated to Britain between 4,000 and 5,000BC and now considered the UK's indigenous inhabitants.

Wodan
Second most common clan arrived from Denmark during Viking invasions in the 9th century.

Sigurd
Descended from Viking invaders who settled in the British Isles from AD 793. One of the most common clans in the Shetland Isles, and areas of north and west Scotland.

Eshu
The wave of Oisin immigration was joined by the Eshu clan, which has roots in Africa. Eshu descendants are primarily found in coastal areas.

Re
A second wave of arrivals which came from the Middle East. The Re were farmers who spread westwards across Europe.

Roman
Although the Romans ruled from AD 43 until 410, they left a tiny genetic footprint. For the first 200 years occupying forces were forbidden from marrying locally.

[ link to news.independent.co.uk]

House of Representatives passed Congressman Rangel's bill to rename the Triboro Post Office to Tito Puente - Hispanic Heritage Month

Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2006 12:29:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Johnny Cecilio Rivera"
Subject: TITO PUENTE POST OFFICE
To: Reysmont@yahoo.com

September 28, 2006 1:40 PM


HIGH PRIORITY

Dear East Harlem Neighbors and Friends:

Last night the House of Representatives passed Congressman Rangel's bill to rename the Triboro Post Office to Tito Puente.

Congressman Rangel is urging you to call Senator Clinton or Schumer to urge them to sponsor the bill in the Senate, which could be voted on as early as today.

Senator Clinton (212) 688-6262 or Senator Schumer (212) 486-4430

Together we can make history!

Johnny C. Rivera

Walter South Statement at the West Harlem LDC Community Forum 30Sept06

Statement on the Proposed
Community Benefits Agreement
with Columbia

My name is Walter South

I live near Tiemann Place

For the record I would like to state my credentials:

In terms of education: I have an MA in Sociology from the New School.

I have completed all the work on a PhD in Sociology from the New School, except for a dissertation.

I have a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from Hunter College.

I am at present working on a Masters Degree in Historic Preservation at Pratt University.

In terms of experience: I am the former Housing Director of the National Urban League.

Formerly Director of a non-profit housing development corporation. Built primarily under 236 and federal tax credit programs.

Formerly a Housing Consultant and built primarily under the Federal 202 program.

Formerly an Adjunct Professor and taught Housing at both Rutgers Law School and New York University.

At present: I am a member of CB9M

Vice Chair of the 197-a Committee and one of the key authors of the 197-a at CB9M.

Co-Chair of the Housing and Land Use Committee at CB9M.

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I am going into this detail for two reasons.

I want to make it clear. What I say does not reflect in any way a policy statement for CB#9.

I am speaking only as concerned citizen of this community. But, as a concerned citizen who has had both the education and the experience to, I hope, make a reasoned and rational analysis of the task at hand, namely benefits within the CBA within the scope of work by the LPC. Matter of fact both of these concepts grew out of term papers I did as a graduate student in the Planning Program at Hunter College.

I want, first of all, to make an unambiguous statement. I for one, and I think this is generally endorsed my most people in the community WELCOME, that is to say, WELCOME Columbia into our community. I do not object TO their coming but I do object to HOW they are coming.

Objecting as to how your child acts is not to be misunderstood as not wanting your child.

First, and foremost, in regard to the CBA, Eminent Domain must be taken off the table.

Eminent Domain is an unethical and unwarranted abuse of the police power of the State. In particular in this case where Eminent Domain is being used by a private entity entirely for only one reason to usurp the power of the public for their own private abuse and private profit.

Not with standing all of the fancy talk from both the City and Columbia about the need to expand academically and the need of fulfillment of their “mission”, what is actually happening is quite simple. President Bollinger himself stated on 24 Sept 06 in his beginning a new $4 billion Fund drive for Columbia, that Columbia’s present $5.9 billion endowment ranks only eight largest among U.S. universities. Columbia’s endowment is barely one-fifth of Harvard University’s $25.5 billion, and one-third of Yale’s $15.2 billion, and that Princeton, which has been ranked first by U.S. News has the nations

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fifth largest endowment at $12.7 billion. Bollinger stated that his goal is to take Columbia which now ranks ninth by U.S. News and World Report into the ranks of Harvard and Yale.

As usual because of incompetent management, Columbia is far behind the other Ivy League Schools. While Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, in terms of Capitalization and Endowment Funding have over the past ten years geometrically expanded, Columbia has remained stagnant. Columbia is not only lagging, but their position has in the past few years been seriously eroded.

In order to leap frog over the other better ranked colleges and make up for their bad management, they have decided to jump ahead by suckling at the government tit.

Columbia’s scheme is quite simple. They plan to make a land grab.

Under Eminent Domain they can get land zoned for two story buildings at two story prices and then can build eighteen story or higher buildings. The land under an eighteen store building is, of course, much greater in value but Columbia gets the upside profit; the unwilling “seller” gets next to nothing for his real loss. Columbia pays only for existing market value, not for future value. This is not a free market transaction. This is a mugging for property.

By using Eminent Domain they get off real cheap; they not get to they buy at condemnation prices which is existing market value and not future value, but, in addition, under Eminent Domain the term “just compensation” actually means “merely compensate”. No future value can be paid, no loss of business expense can be paid, no moving expenses can be paid, and no loss of business good will can be paid.

You may think that this alone is a shrewd deal, but wait there is even more milk coming down for Columbia to nurse on.

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The rest of their State Socialist support system is: They plan to get all of the land under all the streets and sidewalks for FREE (this is normally 40% of the space in the area) which of course they expect the City (you and me) to pay to maintain. And they expect to pay no real estate taxes, ever, on the entire area.

WAIT ! There is even more substance flowing in those mammary tubes of the government. They expect to use tax exempt State Dormitory Bonding Funds to build these buildings and Federal grant money to operate programs in these buildings which will pay off the cheap Dormitory mortgages.

Columbia has not given any real evidence for their need to expand academically, they only say they have a need, matter of fact, they have not even explained the use of many of their proposed new buildings. Only the new Brain Institute and the new high school have proposed funding. The Art School is looking for a new Dean and has not the necessary funding to complete its building. The majority of the area is either without program or funding, or they are not being truthful. Hence the only conclusion is a land grab using the power of the government and the money of the government.

Columbia has entered into an agreement with the Empire State Development Corporation for condemnation using Eminent Domain which has established provisions which Columbia has agreed to. This agreement with Empire State, the General Project Plan or GPP must be made public.

Why should your tax dollars support a Columbia land gab to support their “mission” i.e. which is actually to build their endowment. This makes no sense to me.

The ESDC GPP must be made public and Eminent Domain must be taken off the table.

Page 4

Columbia must agree to a level playing field. Not only must eminent domain be taken off the table but they must agree to be transparent in their purchases, shop harassing owners who do not want to sell, and be responsible in property maintenance on sites they which they buy.
At present Columbia and their lackeys are calling owners to sell, and threaten Eminent Domain if they refuse.

At present Columbia is allowing what they do own to deteriorate and become a self-generated slum in our community.

At present Columbia is showing Powerpoint presentations with buildings they do not own as “Their new business park”.

At present Columbia is leaving “For Rent” signs on property which is not really for rent.

At present Columbia operates properties which are denigrated with graffiti or have broken windows, or signs of businesses long gone. They leave up old awnings and sign fixtures without ads in an effort to show an area which has deteriorated. Of course it has deteriorated by their actions.

This purposeful lack of property maintenance has to end.

And. They have to this an endless parade of consultants, real estate agents, and various surveyors, and tours for alums showing buildings they do not own as theirs. This petty intimation must stop.

At present Columbia is acquiring property in collusion with various State Agencies and not even entering into conversations with the actual owners.

And at present Columbia’s most underhanded actions are with gag orders on the sellers. These gag orders prevent the sellers from even talking with anyone in the community. Terms, sales prices, and conditions of sales are not posted publicly. There is no free market. There is Eminent Domain and a gag order and intimidation. This has to end.

The CBA must stipulate if they want to buy, they must fully publish sales,

Page 5

prices, conditions, and terms, and they must maintain what they do buy.

They have to stop the harassment of owners who do not want to sell, and they must become responsible and transparent in what they do.

A basic element of the 197-a is historic preservation. I think this is a fact since during the writing of the Plan, I insisted that it become a key component of the plan. This necessitates a commitment to preservation and to an infill approach to development.
In the CBA Columbia must agree to these terms and provisions.

(The LDC at present fails to even have a seat for preservation. That is only ONE of the reasons the present LDC is so limp).

Historic preservation retains those fragments of our past which highlights the evolution of our urban space and reminds us of the efforts and the lives of those who came and went before. These buildings are important as earmarks in a book which we have read. They remind us of images important to keep present.

The 197-a has a list of buildings worthy of Landmarking such as the Studebaker Building and the Dispatch Warehouse building, and of structures which should be on the State and National Registry such as the 12th Avenue Riverside viaduct and the diner on 12th Avenue at 130th Street , and Historical Districts such as Morningside Heights and Old Manhattanville.

Columbia claims they need no such intervention because they are such thoughtful owners. Since Columbia only speaks to God, they need no responsibility to the City. Of course, one only needs to look at Lerner Hall or their Stern Chinese Pavilion Building to understand what God told them to do.

It may well be that God sees no value in the old airplane diner on 12th Avenue and 130th Street, but the fact remains this is one of the last surviving airplane diners left in the City. It reminds us that when the meat packing

Page 6

business was big on 12th, this diner served meals all night and closed early

after noon. It needs be restored and once again a part of the community.

And the old Tavern on Broadway needs to remain part of our fabric.

Columbia in the CBA must agree that all State eligible buildings in their new business park should be protected as City Landmarks and, listed on both the State and National Register. And as a part of the CBA agree to pay for this effort.

In addition, they must agree in the CBA to new Historical Districts for Manhattanville around Tiemann Place, for a Historical District on Convent Avenue above 125th Street, for a Historical District on 122nd Street east an above off of Broadway, for a Historical District in Morningside Heights east of Riverside Drive, and for the expansion of Hamilton Heights west of Broadway to Riverside Drive. And they should provide the funds and expertise to finalize this process. And they must agree to in-fill development.

An important aspect of the 197-a was the building of Leeds Certified Green Buildings and a zero waste management plan. Our Pratt consultants brought this to the table. The CBA must make this part of its agreement. If Columbia wants real property tax exemption, low interest State bond financing, and Federal Grants for programs why should they pollute our community? Why can they not build green buildings? And why not zero waste? This should be a part of any CBA.
Furthermore in my opinion, the proposed FAR by both The Columbia 197-c and the CB#9 197-a is far too low.

If the FAR was raised to 8 we could have affordable housing and Columbia could have what they need.

There are many people in our community who have a knee-jerk reaction to height but height is not the real issue. Urban means density, a greater density gives the community amenities which creates an environment which we all

Page 7

desire. The real problem is lack adequate public transportation.

What needs to be focused on are improvements on 125th Street, improvements on our subways, opening of an Intermodal Center on 12th Avenue, opening Ferry Service on both ends of 125th Street and opening of a Metro-North Station.

At present MTA is at present considering building a Bus Rapid Transit System on 125th Street beginning at 12th Avenue and going to Second Avenue and down to the Bowery. If this system were tied to LaGuardia and new ferry service this alone would create the infrastructure to handle the increased density which would lay the groundwork for the affordable housing which we need.

The CBA needs to do two things:(a) Call on Columbia to support the new BRT System and the Intermodal Center and (b) Increase the FAR to 8 from the present 6.2.

Columbia needs to basically give up Broadway. Sites on Broadway which Columbia has acquired needs to be given back to the Community for affordable housing, The church on Broadway, in an old historic, structure needs be saved. And the businesses along Broadway that want to remain should stay. At present there is a campaign to harass these owners, to intimidate them, to stampede them to sell. This must stop. If owner want to sell, so be it. If they do not want to sell, Hands Off. Columbia is acting like a spoiled brat. “If we cannot make the rules to win in our naked grab for land we are going to not play. Has our national religion become Columbia’s creed: We must fulfill “Our mission”.

Columbia must address our needs for public parking space for automobiles. They are taking hundreds of spaces off of the public sector and transforming these spaces into exclusive private spaces. Don’t have any dreams of parking in Columbia spaces if they can fill these spaces with their people with special access cards. After all they will say it is a question of “National Security”.

Page 8

Columbia needs to pay for mechanical co-op fixed priced parking garages.

Any offer of letting us park in their space is not acceptable. We need space owned and operated by the Community and reserved for the Community.

Then there is Columbia’s double-speak about “Privately Owned, Publicly Accessible Space”.
All of the land designated as “Privately Owned Publicly Accessible Space”

should be given to City Parks and should belong to the Public. Why should Columbia set the rules for the use of public space. Is this some find of fiefdom where when the king wants to walk the surfs must stay at home? I guess that is why Columbia is nicknamed “King’s College”.

There is hardly a single word that Columbia uses which wouldn’t put Aldous Huxley turning in his grave like a gyroscopic top. For example, they call their plan a mixed use plan. Where is the mix? I mean when you go into a cow barn everything on the floor is the same stuff. And when you have one tenant only where is the mix? And when you limit access there is no public.

The solution is to put these sites in Public control.

The CBA needs to address this outrage and have these sites deeded to the public.

Education. The schools in CB9M are in a meltdown. I would suspect that an analysis of data would show. as it often does that the longer children are in the public schools in our community the dumber they become. In other words, their test scores actually drop the longer they attend public schools. This is called dumbing down.

Columbia is proposing building a new high school for “bright” children. They mistakenly think that all of their faculty and staff children will automatically fall into this category. Of course, if you have ever taken classes at Columbia you would know this may or may not be true. But the point is what about Public education? Why doesn’t Columbia take over all of the Public Schools in CB9M? They are known as one of the leading

educational institutions in the world. I am sure they consult all over the

Page 9

world on education. Why isn’t this expertise practiced right here in their own community?

Secondly, there is a great need for an education program for children who do not fit into an academic track. For example, the City has an increasing demand for skilled craftsmen in stone work, in stained glass, in restorative brick and marble work, in fancy plaster. Why not a High School in the skilled building trades? This is only one suggestion, but if we need a High School for the nerds, we also need a school for the common Joe’s who make up the real backbone of a diverse community.

The CBA needs to call Columbia to do two things (a) take over all of CB#9 Public Grade and Intermediate Schools within the next ten years. And (b) build and operate a trade school for our children who do not want to pursue an academic track but still need to earn a decent paying job.

Columbia needs to share its resources with the Community. Have you ever tried to use their Libraries? At Avery you can hardly even get in the door unless you can prove you paid $35,000 to be a student! This is unreasonable. Can you park in any Columbia garage? Can you swim in any Columbia Pool? Can you take a course for credit and transfer out your credit to another school for a reasonable fee if you are a community resident?

Columbia has to open their facilities to the Community. There is no reason that the Community cannot use these facilities also. I am sure the demand would not overwhelm the College and they could improve their image as community friendly institution. Of course, this would mean a complete change in the way they operate and may even require a new President at the University.

These are but a few suggestions for the LDC. I am sure if the LDC had been more transparent in its formation and had included a broader range of community interests at their select table, then there would be no necessity for this lengthy discussion but alas this has not been so. In closing I would say that if the LDC does not make significant revisions in their leadership, and their modus operandi and if this process does not result in meaningful concessions, then Columbia will see the LDC as just another poor suppliant on their knees asking for some cake crumbs before the throne of King Bollinger.

Blacks in Queens Make More Than Whites

10/01: AOL News: Blacks in Queens Make More Than Whites

Blacks in Queens Make More Than Whites

.c The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - Queens is the only large county in the nation where the median income of black residents has surpassed that of white residents, a newspaper analysis found.

The picture is quite different across the river in Manhattan, where the gap between whites and blacks is wider than in any other large county in the country, according to a New York Times analysis of Census data.

The report, published Sunday, examined Census Bureau data from all U.S. counties with more than 65,000 residents.

In Manhattan, the annual median income of whites was $86,494 - greatly outpacing the $28,116 reported by blacks.

In Queens, home to about 2 million people, black households reported a median income of $51,836 - higher than the $50,960 reported for non-Hispanic whites. Asians in the borough reported a median income of nearly $53,000, while Hispanics reported incomes of about $44,000.

Some residents pointed to the success of immigrants from the West Indies and elsewhere as one reason for the shift in the borough. The earnings of foreign-born blacks outpaced the income of blacks born in the United States.

An economist at New York University, Professor Edward Wolff, said the wealthiest whites may have left the city for the suburbs, shifting the income balance.



10/01/06 09:01 EDT


Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

CUNY Forum: Panel Discussion on Mega Developments in New York City

CUNY Forum

Panel Discussion on Mega Developments in New York City

Participants:
Hon. Melinda Katz, Chair Land Use Committee New York City Council
Ron Shiffman, Professor Emeritus, Urban Planner former City Planning Commisioner
James Gill, Chairman Battery City Authority
Jordi Reyes-Montblanc, Chairman Community Board 9 Manhattan

Taped on September 26 before live audience of CUNY students, will be shown on
CUNY Cable Channel 75
Monday October 2nd, 2006 at 10am 4pm and 10pm
Saturday October 7th, 2006 at 5pm

Here's what's going on in Harlem this weekend.

Here's what's going on in Harlem this weekend.
Harlem One Stop's Restaurant Pick of the Week: Baton Rouge!

Baton Rouge Restaurant (New Orleans Style)
458 West 145th Street (bet. Convent & Amsterdam)
New York, NY 10031 Every Wednesday night is special at Baton Rouge: Mardi Gras after work every Wednesday Live music Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Sunday Dinner & Gospel Brunch.
The First Annual International Book Festival Up South Book Festival @Harlem Stage
Presented by Up South, Inc.
Friday, September 29 @ 11 am

Aaron Davis Hall / Harlem Stage
138 Convent Avenue
(West 135th Street and Convent Avenue)
New York, NY 10031 Three days and nights celebrating world culture. Native American, Asian American, African American writers, artists and thinkers presenting their best from the page on the stage. Confirmed guests include Guillermo Arriaga, Olu Dara, Ruby Dee, Toure, Jewell Parker Rhodes, Leela James, Greg Tate & Burnt Sugar, and more..

Visit official website for schedule.

King Lear, Marat Sade, Sophocles' Elektra
Use code ''1STOP'' for 20% off the Classical Theatre of Harlem's 2006-07 Season!
Presented by Classical Theatre of Harlem
Friday, September 29 through Wednesday, May 30, 2007
$60.00-$SPECIALOFFER
Harlem School of the Arts
645 St. Nicholas Avenue
New York, NY 10030 The Classical Theatre of Harlem kicks off it's 8th season with three ground-breaking plays: Shakespeare's timeless classic, KING LEAR; the Tony Award Winning, MARAT SADE; and an Afro-Caribbean dance adaptation of Sophocles' ELEKTRA.

Classical Theatre of Harlem was recently named ''1 of 8 theatres to watch in America'' by The Drama League. Take part of Harlem's professional theater movement for 20% off purchase of Season Tickets. SPECIAL OFFER.

Feast of St. Francis: Blessing of the Animals @Cathederal of St John the Divine
Saturday, September 30 @ 10 am
Sunday, October 1 @ 11 am

Cathedral of St John the Divine, The
1047 Amsterdam Avenue at W. 112th Street
New York, NY 10025 Two days of festivities for families and kids. On Saturday, St. Francis Day Mask Making workshop. $5 per child, with adult. On Sunday, there is a fair on Cathedral grounds.

All That Jazz and More...
Presented by Harlem One Stop Tours
Friday, September 29 @ 6 pm
$65.00
Meeting Location/Start of Tour:
EZ Woodshed, 2236 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. (7th Ave) , Between 131st and 132nd Streets New York, NY 10027
212-283-5299 phone Join us for a tour of the Harlem jazz district that boasts an ongoing legacy of jazz sites dating back to the dawn of the Harlem Renaissance. Your jazz guide will point out the original ''Swing Street'' where Billie Holliday was discovered, the site of the legendary Tree of Hope, The Hoofers Club, and all the spots where everyone from Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong to Charlie Parker and Joe Williams used to hang out and play. Dinner and Live Jazz will cap the evening!


Algernon Miller: Legacies Artist's Central Park Walk and Talk
Presented by New York Historical Society
Saturday, September 30 @ 2 pm
$15
Charles A. Dana Discovery Center
Inside the Park at 110th Street
Bet. Fifth and Lenox Avenues
New York, NY Legacies Artist’s Central Park Walk and Talk Speaker: Algernon Miller - Site Design Artist for Frederick Douglass Circle
Series: New-York Historical Society Walking Tour: Rain or Shine
Date & Time: Saturday, September 30, 2006 2:00PM
For Resrevations Contact:(212) 873-3400

ATOMIC JUNCTION: Two Views Of West Africa
Through Monday, October 30
$10
Museum of Art and Origins
430 West 162nd Street
New York, NY 10032 by Frank Stewart & Carolyn Appel

Opening Reception: September 23rd from 4-6pm

This exhibition of photographs by Frank Stewart, Senior Photographer for Jazz at Lincoln Center and colleague, Carolyn Appel, examines the interaction of photographer and subject in the life of markets and villages in Ghana and Mali.


--George Nelson Preston, Ph.D.
Author: Kevin Powell, Someday We'll all Be Free
Tuesday, October 3 @ 6:30 pm

Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe
2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd
Between 124th and 125th Streets
New York, NY 10027 The most blistering book yet from an author equally recognized for intellectual rigor and scalding rhetoric, ''Someday We'll All Be Free'' firmly establishes why Powell is widely considered one of America's brightest leaders and thinkers.
Harlem International Film Festival
Thursday, October 5 through Sunday, October 8

HIFF - Harlem International Film Festival
New York, NY Committed to exhibiting, and encouraging the production of thought-provoking, entertaining films, the Festival offers features, documentaries, shorts, youth films, animated works, panel discussions and the Renaissance Awards.

In addition to showcasing some of the best films from around the world, the Festival also features the Harlem Spotlight, which highlights films produced or directed by Harlem residents, films shot in Harlem, or films about Harlem and its history.

Afro Cuban & Brazilian Jazz
Through Thursday, September 27, 2007
$15, $10 before 7:00
Tribal Spears Gallery & Cafe
2167 Frederick Douglas Blvd. (8th Avenue)
bet. W. 117th & W 116th
New York, NY 10026 Jazz Jazz Le Jazz Hot!! AFRO CUBAN & BRAZILIAN JAZZ featuring Hector Martignon's Foreign Affair Quintet Every Wednesday doors open at 6:30, Music begins at 7:15 pm Admission: $15, $3 discount with Evite or flyer. (Print Harlem One Stop web page and use as flyer)

Earlybird Special: Arrive before 7:00 pm $10


This message is sent to subscribers of the Uptown mailing list at HarlemOneStop.com. If you do not wish to receive further mailings, please follow this link to unsubscribe and you will be promptly removed.

CB9 Shows Unease Over Statement - Most Requests for Broader Study Rejected

Columbia Spectator
Home > News

CB9 Shows Unease Over Statement
Most Requests for Broader Study Rejected
By Erin Durkin
Issue date: 9/27/06 Section: News

As consultants work around the clock to prepare a document detailing the environmental impact of Columbia's proposed Manhattanville expansion, some members of Community Board 9 are concerned that the ground rules for the study will prevent it from reflecting the true effects of the project.

Columbia is required to produce an environmental impact statement and have it approved by the city before the University can seek to rezone the area from 125th Street to 133rd Street between Broadway and 12th Avenue, where it plans to build its new campus. The University hopes the EIS will be certified by mid-fall.

The city has dismissed most of CB9's requests to broaden the scope of the study, a move that many attendees at a meeting Monday night interpreted as a slap in the face."There are 55 comments that were raised by the board. Of those, maybe five were answered in a way that gave any legitimacy to the comment. The other 50 were dismissed out of hand," anti-expansion activist Tom Kappner said. "Am I overreacting?"

"I think you're under-reacting," responded Ron Shiffman, an urban planner from the Pratt Institute, which is consulting with CB9.According to a document issued by the Department of City Planning, many of CB9's requests fell outside the guidelines of the City Environmental Quality Review Technical Manual, which governs environmental impact studies.

CB9 asked that the EIS consider an alternative plan without the use of eminent domain, but City Planning's document said that "the appropriateness of eminent domain as a tool for assemblage of property is not a subject for the EIS."

The EIS will compare the current situation on topics such as socioeconomic conditions with the "reasonable worst case scenario" that may be created by the expansion. CB9 recommended that Columbia use an earlier year-2000 rather than 2005-as its "existing conditions baseline," noting that "Columbia aggressively started purchasing property in this area around the year 2000, which could have been a direct cause for residential and business displacement."

City Planning rejected this request, saying that, in accordance with the CEQR manual, existing conditions would be examined for 2005, but all of Columbia's property acquisitions since 2000 would be documented.

The agency also rejected a request that the study area be expanded to cover Columbia's campuses in Morningside Heights and Washington Heights. "The EIS will measure the impacts of the Proposed Project, not those of all of Columbia University's operations," the document states.CB9 members and consultants objected to what they saw as City Planning's acceptance of Columbia's rationale for the expansion. The document states that, "The purpose of the Proposed Actions is to meet Columbia University's critical need for additional academic research and academic teaching facilities to support its mission and maintain its status as one of the world's leading universities."

"This is so slanted against us it's sick," said CB9 member and Manhattanville business owner Anne Whitman.Whitman, who has refused to sell her property to Columbia and has been a harsh critic of the expansion, also said that the conduct of agents from AKRF-the firm that has been contracted to conduct the EIS for Columbia-had been overbearing and amounted to "extreme harassment."

"They're standing in front of my building photographing me and my employees," she said. "My employees are terrified."

Columbia spokeswoman La-Verna Fountain said of the AKRF agents, "We're very confident that they've conducted themselves appropriately."

"They have a great reputation," she said. "They know how to work in the community." She added that no one had contacted the University with complaints about the behavior of the consultants conducting the study.

CCNY Dorm Receives Mediocre Welcome

iieydiColumbia Spectator
Home > News

CCNY Dorm Receives Mediocre Welcome
By Rosane, Oliva
Issue date: 9/27/06 Section: News

The City College of New York has opened its first dorm on campus, where less than half of its residents actually attend CCNY.

Located on the corner of St. Nicholas Terrace and 130th Street, The Towers residence is one of the college's several major development projects, which include new architectural and science facilities. The constructions are intended to change life at the historically commuter-oriented college.

While the long-term impact of The Towers remains to be seen, the dorm has received a lukewarm welcome from CCNY affiliates who say that the high cost of living in the building keeps students from moving in.

CCNY psychology professor William Crain said that the monthly rental cost, which ranges from $775 to $1075, depending on the apartment, may be the driving force keeping CCNY students out of The Towers.

"Our mission is to educate low-income students," he said. "We should be focusing on that, not on building dorms that are too pricey for low-income students."

Crain is one of a group of concerned faculty members who feel that both CCNY and the City University of New York are making decisions, such as focusing on raising the graduation rate and instituting an Honors College, that could turn them into "middle-class institutions."
"Price is probably everything," he said.

According to Bin Love, assistant director of residential life for Capstone Management, the company CCNY hired to oversee The Towers, 45 percent of the dorm's residents attend CCNY, while another 40 percent attend one of the other schools within the City University of New York system.

But CCNY Director of Public Relations Ellis Simon said that this is a result of the continuing students' tendency to stick with their prior living arrangements when a new dorm is opened.

"They [CCNY students] will, over time, become most, if not all, of the students in the residence hall," he said.

And while the dorm was open to all full-time CUNY students this year, beginning in 2007, CCNY students will be given preference.

Simons said that part of the reason that the dorm was built was to attract city students who wanted a residential experience but couldn't afford to attend Columbia University or New York University and, until now, would have opted for a state school.

"Now we can appeal to students ... who are looking for the residential experience at a public college and also be able to offer them that experience in a locale that's just minutes from midtown Manhattan," he said. He added that the college also wanted to offer students an alternative to commuting." A lot of these kids are putting in really long hours," he said.

And if you're studying until past 9 p.m., "you don't want to look forward to that subway ride home to Brooklyn or Queens."

CCNY sophomore and The Towers resident, who requested to be identified by her first name, Theresa said she thinks that the new dorm has not greatly changed life on campus.

"It's still the same," she said. "A lot of The Tower students don't even go to CCNY."

Heather Kerchusky, a Borough of Manhattan Community College sophomore, is one such student. Kerchusky said that she came late to the housing game and that The Towers was her only option for a place of residence. But Kerchusky says that she likes the mix of schools and students that make up the dorm. "There's even more variety," she said.

Diane Teske, a senior studying abroad though the Ringling School of Art and Design, said The Towers felt more like many different New York City students living in one place than did a CCNY dorm. She was happy enough to forgo the typical dorm experience in order to live in The Towers. "I was so scared that I was going to end up with a Laguna Beach roommate," she said.



NB - What this article fails to illustrate is that CUNY and CCNY completely ignored the City Charter mandate for all City of New York Departments and entitites to CONSULT the local Community Board. In fact CB9M found out about the dormitory when District residents began to inquire from CB9M what was CCNY building. When we inquired CCNY sent a delegation to tell CB9M what they had decided to do and were already doing. One does not have to be a Columbia Graduate or even a CCNY graduate to realize that informing CB9M of what ahd been decided and was being done is not the same as CONSULTATION. But then again maybe CCNY and CUNY graduates have a comprehension deficit in their education.

Columbia University at least makes a great pretense of consulting while the City entity required to consult CB9M doesnpt even bother to pretend. How can anyone accuse Columbia of arrogance in the face of the actions of CCNY and CUNY? !!! - JRM 27Sep06

CB9 Shows Unease Over Statement

Columbia Spectator
Home > News

CB9 Shows Unease Over Statement
Most Requests for Broader Study Rejected
By Erin Durkin
Issue date: 9/27/06 Section: News

City Planning rejected this request, saying that, in accordance with the CEQR manual, existing conditions would be examined for 2005, but all of Columbia's property acquisitions since 2000 would be documented.

The agency also rejected a request that the study area be expanded to cover Columbia's campuses in Morningside Heights and Washington Heights. "The EIS will measure the impacts of the Proposed Project, not those of all of Columbia University's operations," the document states.

CB9 members and consultants objected to what they saw as City Planning's acceptance of Columbia's rationale for the expansion. The document states that, "The purpose of the Proposed Actions is to meet Columbia University's critical need for additional academic research and academic teaching facilities to support its mission and maintain its status as one of the world's leading universities."

"This is so slanted against us it's sick," said CB9 member and Manhattanville business owner Anne Whitman.Whitman, who has refused to sell her property to Columbia and has been a harsh critic of the expansion, also said that the conduct of agents from AKRF-the firm that has been contracted to conduct the EIS for Columbia-had been overbearing and amounted to "extreme harassment."

"They're standing in front of my building photographing me and my employees," she said. "My employees are terrified."Columbia spokeswoman La-Verna Fountain said of the AKRF agents, "We're very confident that they've conducted themselves appropriately."

"They have a great reputation," she said. "They know how to work in the community." She added that no one had contacted the University with complaints about the behavior of the consultants conducting the study.

City Planning rejected this request, saying that, in accordance with the CEQR manual, existing conditions would be examined for 2005, but all of Columbia's property acquisitions since 2000 would be documented.

The agency also rejected a request that the study area be expanded to cover Columbia's campuses in Morningside Heights and Washington Heights. "The EIS will measure the impacts of the Proposed Project, not those of all of Columbia University's operations," the document states.CB9 members and consultants objected to what they saw as City Planning's acceptance of Columbia's rationale for the expansion. The document states that, "The purpose of the Proposed Actions is to meet Columbia University's critical need for additional academic research and academic teaching facilities to support its mission and maintain its status as one of the world's leading universities."

"This is so slanted against us it's sick," said CB9 member and Manhattanville business owner Anne Whitman.

Whitman, who has refused to sell her property to Columbia and has been a harsh critic of the expansion, also said that the conduct of agents from AKRF-the firm that has been contracted to conduct the EIS for Columbia-had been overbearing and amounted to "extreme harassment."

"They're standing in front of my building photographing me and my employees," she said. "My employees are terrified."

Columbia spokeswoman La-Verna Fountain said of the AKRF agents, "We're very confident that they've conducted themselves appropriately."

"They have a great reputation," she said. "They know how to work in the community." She added that no one had contacted the University with complaints about the behavior of the consultants conducting the study.

TOWN HALL MEETING ABOUT VOTING RIGHTS

-NOTICE-

Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright
chairman of the state assembly committee on election law

TO HOLD A
TOWN HALL MEETING
ABOUT
VOTING RIGHTS

TOPICS WILL INCLUDE:
· HISTORY AND UPDATE OF VOTING RIGHTS IN OUR COMMUNITY
· WHAT MAKES SOMEONE INELIGIBLE OR ELIGIBLE TO VOTE
· VOTER REGISTRATION PROCEDURES
· VOTING RIGHTS FOR PERSONS WHO HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN CONVICTED OF A FELONY

INVITEES INCLUDE REPRESENTATIVES FROM:
N.A.A.C.P., NATIONAL H.I.R.E. NETWORK, FORTUNE SOCIETY, N.Y.C.L.U.,

100 BLACKS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT WHO CARE, UNLOCK THE BLOCK,

NYC BOARD OF ELECTIONS

WHERE: HARLEM STATE OFFICE BUILDING, 8TH FLOOR
163 WEST 125TH STREET (AT 7TH AVENUE)
WHEN: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28th, 2006 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM

-QUESTIONS? CALL 212-866-5809 FOR MORE INFORMATION-

The Best for Your Health!

Check this out...

Expansion At Columbia Causes Biohazard Fears

Expansion At Columbia Causes Biohazard Fears

Submitted by nyresident on September 26, 2006 - 1:26pm.--

September 26, 2006 - 1:26pm News
By Mike McPhate

As Columbia moves forward with a plan to expand its campus into the west Harlem neighborhood of Manhattanville, school officials are speaking out to try to allay concerns about the safety of the site.

By 2030 the university hopes to occupy the 17-acre area parallel to the waterfront from West 125th Street to 133rd Street and between Broadway and 12th Avenue. Included in the $7 billion plan are six academic buildings, seven research buildings, one retail building, and two residential buildings.

Community leaders have criticized the university’s plan to operate hazardous-material laboratories at the site. The university has not provided specifics of what will be housed in the labs, but the proposed safety designation for at least one lab, biosafety level 3, would allow research on deadly substances like anthrax and the West Nile virus.

The university has tried to reassure locals that it has improved its safety protocols since 2002 when it was fined nearly $800,000 by the Environmental Protection Agency for improperly handling hazardous chemicals at its Morningside Heights campus.

“Those EPA citations had nothing to do with placing anybody in harm in any way whatsoever,” said La-Verna Fountain, a spokesperson for the university.Some have called upon the university to simply house the labs in a less populated area. Fountain said though that such a standard would require the city to banish its many hospitals, which also handle hazardous materials.

She added, “Because of this research that we’re talking about I hope that we do not ignore the good that it’s designed to do. What we’re talking about is finding ways to improve the lives of people whether we’re talking about diabetes, Alzheimer’s.”

Nellie Hester Bailey, director of the Harlem Tenants Council, said many are worried about the plan for 1.5-million-square feet of underground construction. She said a flood or other disaster could be ruinous, flushing toxins into the neighborhood. “These things are clearly not hard to imagine,” she said.

Jordi Reyes-Montblanc, chairman of Community Board 9, said much of the distrust has been sown by the university’s failure to communicate openly about its plans, including details about the materials to be handled in the bio-labs.

Fountain said that the university’s attention has been focused on acquiring the land. (It now controls 65 percent of the 17-acre site.) Plans for the labs’ research, “is way ahead of us,” said Fountain.

Good will toward the university has long been scant in West Harlem, where memories still resonate of the confrontation in 1968 when the university drew accusations of racism for creating a separate entrance for mostly black residents to its gymnasium.

Residents often site as an example of the university’s lack of good faith the revelation in the press that it had applied to the state to invoke eminent domain, or forced eviction, against businesses that refuse to leave the expansion area. “If you want a partner, it has to be equal,” said Reyes-Montblanc. “We’re not going a silent partner, and we’re not going to be a minor partner.”

Fountain dismissed the accusation that the university has not been forthright. School officials have held over 100 meetings with local leaders, she said. “We’ve already been very, very open.”

http://70.47.124.114/node/236

Expansion At Columbia Causes Biohazard Fears

RESIDENT.COM

Expansion At Columbia Causes Biohazard Fears
Submitted by nyresident on September 26, 2006 - 1:26pm.-->
September 26, 2006 - 1:26pm
News
By Mike McPhate

As Columbia moves forward with a plan to expand its campus into the west Harlem neighborhood of Manhattanville, school officials are speaking out to try to allay concerns about the safety of the site.

By 2030 the university hopes to occupy the 17-acre area parallel to the waterfront from West 125th Street to 133rd Street and between Broadway and 12th Avenue. Included in the $7 billion plan are six academic buildings, seven research buildings, one retail building, and two residential buildings.

Community leaders have criticized the university’s plan to operate hazardous-material laboratories at the site. The university has not provided specifics of what will be housed in the labs, but the proposed safety designation for at least one lab, biosafety level 3, would allow research on deadly substances like anthrax and the West Nile virus.

The university has tried to reassure locals that it has improved its safety protocols since 2002 when it was fined nearly $800,000 by the Environmental Protection Agency for improperly handling hazardous chemicals at its Morningside Heights campus.

“Those EPA citations had nothing to do with placing anybody in harm in any way whatsoever,” said La-Verna Fountain, a spokesperson for the university.Some have called upon the university to simply house the labs in a less populated area. Fountain said though that such a standard would require the city to banish its many hospitals, which also handle hazardous materials.

She added, “Because of this research that we’re talking about I hope that we do not ignore the good that it’s designed to do. What we’re talking about is finding ways to improve the lives of people whether we’re talking about diabetes, Alzheimer’s.”

Nellie Hester Bailey, director of the Harlem Tenants Council, said many are worried about the plan for 1.5-million-square feet of underground construction. She said a flood or other disaster could be ruinous, flushing toxins into the neighborhood. “These things are clearly not hard to imagine,” she said.

Jordi Reyes-Montblanc, chairman of Community Board 9, said much of the distrust has been sown by the university’s failure to communicate openly about its plans, including details about the materials to be handled in the bio-labs.

Fountain said that the university’s attention has been focused on acquiring the land. (It now controls 65 percent of the 17-acre site.) Plans for the labs’ research, “is way ahead of us,” said Fountain.

Good will toward the university has long been scant in West Harlem, where memories still resonate of the confrontation in 1968 when the university drew accusations of racism for creating a separate entrance for mostly black residents to its gymnasium.

Residents often site as an example of the university’s lack of good faith the revelation in the press that it had applied to the state to invoke eminent domain, or forced eviction, against businesses that refuse to leave the expansion area. “If you want a partner, it has to be equal,” said Reyes-Montblanc. “We’re not going to be a silent partner, and we’re not going to be a minor partner.”

Fountain dismissed the accusation that the university has not been forthright. School officials have held over 100 meetings with local leaders, she said. “We’ve already been very, very open.”

West Harlem Local Development Corporation Community Forum

West Harlem Local Development Corporation

Community Forum

Columbia’s Proposed Manhattanville Expansion

What is a Community Benefits Agreement?

What does it mean to West Harlem?

Have a Voice in the Future of your Community!

Date: Saturday Sept.30th
Time: 10am-3pm
Place: Manhattan Pentecostal Church
541 West 125th Street

Sponsors:
West Harlem LDC
Hon. Charles B. Rangel
Hon. David Paterson
Hon. Eric Schneiderman
Hon. Herman D. Farrel
Hon. Keith Wright
Hon. Danny O’Donnell
Hon. Scott Stringer
Hon. Rober t Jackson
Hon. Inez Dickens

light refreshments ser ved--spanish translation provided

West Harlem Local Development Corporation

¡Foro Comunitario!

La Propuesta Expansión de Columbia a Manhattanville

¿Que es un Acuerdo de Beneficios de la Comunidad?

¿Qué significa esto para West Harlem?

Tenga una voz en el futuro de su comunidad


Fecha: Sábado 30 de Sept.
Hora: 10am-3pm
Lugar : Manhattan Pentecostal Church
541 West 125th Street

Auspiciado por :
West Harlem LDC
Hon. Charles B. Rangel
Hon. David Paterson
Hon. Eric Schneiderman
Hon. Herman D. Farrel
Hon. Keith Wright
Hon. Danny O’Donnell
Hon. Scott Stringer
Hon. Rober t Jackson
Hon. Inez Dickens

Serviremos Refrescos --- Traducción en Español disponible

Bollinger Starts Columbia $4 Billion Drive With Lenfest, Kravis

Bloomberg.com
Updated: New York, Sep 23 23:58 London, Sep 24 04:58 Tokyo, Sep 24 12:58

Bollinger Starts Columbia $4 Billion Drive With Lenfest, Kravis
By Patrick Cole

Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Columbia University President Lee Bollinger says he needs more alumni like trustee H.F. ``Gerry'' Lenfest. The former cable company owner today is giving $48 million to the school, bringing donations to his alma mater to more than $100 million.

The gift is large yet accounts for less than 10 percent of what the university wants to raise each year until 2012. ``We have to bring in more and more gifts of this magnitude,'' Bollinger says.

Bollinger, 60, is enlisting wealthy alumni such as Lenfest, financier Henry Kravis and Pequot Capital Management Inc.'s Arthur Samberg to give money and recruit donors for a $4 billion, seven-year fund-raising campaign, the largest ever attempted by a U.S. educational institution. His goal is to take the school -- now rated the ninth best college by U.S. News & World Report -- into the ranks of Harvard and Yale. To achieve the goal, Bollinger will have to overcome a history of stingy graduates and neighborhood opposition to expanding its New York City campus.

``I think there will be six or seven universities that will legitimately claim to have a level of distinction different from other institutions, and I want Columbia to be one of those,'' Bollinger says.

Columbia's $5.9 billion endowment is the eighth-largest among U.S. universities -- barely one-fifth of Harvard University's $25.5 billion and one-third of Yale University's $15.2 billion. Ivy League competitor Princeton University, ranked first in the U.S. News ranking, has the nation's fifth-largest endowment at $12.7 billion.

``We have a ways to go relative to other institutions,'' Bollinger says.

Kravis, Chavkin
One major focus of the university's campaign, which will officially debut Sept. 29, is Columbia's graduates in financial services and on Wall Street, including Kravis, a founding partner of New York-based Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., a private equity firm; Arnold Chavkin, chief investment officer at JP Morgan Partners/Vail; and Mark Gallogly, founder of Centerbridge Partners, a private-equity firm in New York and the former buyout chief at Blackstone Group LP.

In May, Kravis joined Samberg and private investor Russell Carson to give a combined $45 million to Columbia's business school, where they earned MBA degrees.

Carson is a 1967 Columbia Business School graduate. His New York venture capital firm, Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe, has put together more than $16 billion in buyout and debt funds since its founding in 1979.

``The business school has done a lot for me, and I like the idea of doing something for the school in return,'' Carson says, adding that he's helping raise $300 million for the business school, which will be counted as part of the capital campaign.

`At the Forefront'
``The things I focus on are individual gifts from major donors,'' Carson says. ``I am a major donor, and it's always easier for a major donor to talk to another potential major donor.''

Jerome Chazen, a 1950 business school graduate and chairman of the New York private equity firm Chazen Capital Partners, says he has agreed to serve as an adviser to the Columbia campaign to keep the school ``at the forefront.''

``We have to make sure that we have sufficient funds to do what's necessary,'' says Chazen, a former Columbia trustee and a founding partner of the apparel maker Liz Claiborne Inc.
Commuter School

Improving the giving rate of Columbia's 250,000 living alumni is difficult, Bollinger says. Last year, about 36 percent of Columbia's undergraduate alumni made donations, Vice President of Development Susan Feagin says.

By comparison, about 59 percent of Princeton alumni donated in the 2004-2005 school year, according to the school's vice president for development, Brian McDonald. Yale University's alumni giving in 2004-2005 was about 48 percent, Yale spokesman Thomas Conroy says.
Many Columbia graduates haven't given because it was primarily a commuter school until the 1960s, making it difficult for students to feel connected, says Robert McCaughey, professor of history at Columbia's Barnard College and author of ``Stand, Columbia: A History of Columbia University'' (Columbia University Press, 2003).

To counter the trend, Bollinger, a former Dartmouth College provost who became Columbia's president in 2002, is emphasizing fund raising more than his predecessors. The university has received more $5 million and $10 million donations from its trustees in the past two years than in previous capital campaigns, Bollinger says. Six trustees have given gifts of $10 million or more to the current drive, Feagin says.

Hedge Fund Events
R. Glenn Hubbard, dean of Columbia's business school, says he has hosted fund-raising events at hedge funds, private equity firms and banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley.

``There's not a single day that goes by that I'm not working on fund raising,'' says Hubbard, a former economic adviser to President George W. Bush.

Bollinger says he's traveled in the past seven months to India, Japan, China, Israel, Turkey and Jordan to meet with alumni and encourage donations. Last year, he created a single campus-wide alumni organization instead of having separate units for each university division.

Highest Costs
``I want to draw alumni into the whole university, not just the parts they went to,'' Bollinger says.

Columbia received $377.2 million in cash donations during the 2005-2006 school year, up from about $281.5 million in the 2002-2003 school year, Feagin says.

Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, led all colleges in fund raising last year with $603.6 million in donations.

Columbia's undergraduate tuition is currently $33,664. With room, board and fees, students pay $47,229 -- the highest of any Ivy League institution. Tuition at Harvard, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is $30,275, and the total cost to students is $43,655, including room, board and fees.

In March, Columbia received a $200 million grant from The Greene Foundation, the largest gift ever received by a U.S. university. The money will be used to create the Jerome L. Greene Science Center to study the human mind and brain diseases. Greene, who died in 1999, was a graduate of Columbia Law School and founding member of the New York City-based law firm of Marshall, Bratter, Greene, Allison & Tucker.

Today's gift from Lenfest, chairman of Cherry Hill, New Jersey-based Telvue Corp., a cable-services company, will be used to create a matching fund to endow professorships at the schools of law and arts and sciences. Lenfest, 76, is a 1958 graduate of the law school.

The university also was set to announce today that incoming undergraduates from families with incomes below $50,000 won't be charged for their education, an aid program similar to ones instituted at Harvard and Yale.

Obstacles to Expansion
Columbia enrolls about 7,200 undergraduates and 14,000 graduate students. A larger endowment will also be used to increase the faculty and enlarge the campus.

To add more classrooms and laboratory space, Bollinger wants to expand north of the main campus in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan into a part of West Harlem known as Manhattanville. The plan is to add about 5 million square feet (465,000 square meters) for research labs, classrooms, faculty and student housing, as well as stores and office space, according the Columbia's Web site.

The $7 billion plan has angered some neighborhood residents, because it would force out small businesses and knock down apartment buildings.

Columbia has already purchased about two-thirds of the land. Some property owners have refused to sell, and the university might ask the state to exercise eminent domain to acquire the remaining land, says Columbia Executive Vice President Robert Kasdin.

`Unique' Location
``Taking private property and giving it away is unconscionable and anti-American,'' says Jordi Reyes-Montblanc, chairman of Community Board 9, the neighborhood's representative to elected city officials.

Bollinger says he's determined to see Columbia catch up with Harvard, Princeton and Yale in the size of its endowment and the quality of its faculty and students.

``I love this institution. I feel it has a very unique place in American society probably because of its location in New York City,'' he says.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Cole in New York at pcole3@Bloomberg.net . Last Updated: September 19, 2006 00:07 EDT

CB9 Lashes Out Against City College

Columbia Spectator
Home > News

CB9 Lashes Out Against City College
By Anna Phillips
Issue date: 9/22/06 Section: News


For many members of Community Board 9, Columbia is the villain by default. But it was the City College of New York that bore the hostility at Thursday night's general board meeting.

CCNY, like Columbia, has plans to build a biotech center, but the site it has chosen to build on is a playing field owned by the city. The college has promised to hold off on construction until December, but this assurance did little to pacify CB9 members incensed that the community may lose green space and that the college had not approached the board to seek approval.

CCNY "is required by law to consult CB9," CB9 Chair Jordi Reyes-Montblanc said. "They are criminals."

"It's really an issue of insult to this community," Dr. Vicky Gholson, a CB9 board member, said. "City College should not be duplicating the behavior of Columbia."

On the heels of the biotech center debate came a presentation by Bin Love, an assistant director of residence life and operations from Capstone Management, the company that runs a CCNY residence hall on 130th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. At the mention of CCNY, the conversation quickly switched from students to parking spaces. CB9 members alleged that CCNY was reserving additional spaces on Morningside Drive for faculty and students.

"Those of us who live in the community can't find a place to park anymore," Georgette Morgan-Thomas, a CB9 board member, said."I think we're starting to understand that there are some misunderstandings between this board and City College," Love said, backing away from the podium.

A proposal by Monica Abate of The Gabarron Foundation, a non-profit group dedicated to promoting Hispanic, Latino and American ties, generated still more criticism. Abate asked the board's approval of an outdoor sculpture installation the foundation plans to display in early November, including a sculpture located on 117th Street near Columbia.

CB9 Secretary Ted Kovaleff took particular offense at this. "I oppose the whole project unless you put in another one between 135th and 155th," he said, citing the density of the Latino and Hispanic community in that area.

Toward the end of the meeting, discussion shifted to more general concerns. L. Ann Rocker, chairperson of the North River Community Environment Review Board, decried the sorry state of Harlem's sidewalks and how youths' gum-chewing habits had left them scarred."You would think that someone had painted [the streets] polka dot," Rocker said.

What followed was a lively discussion on the abundance of liquor advertisements and billboards in West Harlem and a general admonishment of young men selling cigarettes and illegal, pornographic DVDs on 125th Street.At the meeting's close, the board unanimously approved a resolution to support Councilwoman Inez Dickens, D-Harlem, in her plan to build a new playground in Morningside Park.

CB9 Lashes Out Against City College

Columbia Spectator
Home > News

CB9 Lashes Out Against City College
By Anna Phillips
Issue date: 9/22/06 Section: News

For many members of Community Board 9, Columbia is the villain by default.

But it was the City College of New York that bore the hostility at Thursday night's general board meeting.CCNY, like Columbia, has plans to build a biotech center, but the site it has chosen to build on is a playing field owned by the city. The college has promised to hold off on construction until December, but this assurance did little to pacify CB9 members incensed that the community may lose green space and that the college had not approached the board to seek approval.

CCNY "is required by law to consult CB9," CB9 Chair Jordi Reyes-Montblanc said. "They are criminals."

"It's really an issue of insult to this community," Dr. Vicky Gholson, a CB9 board member, said. "City College should not be duplicating the behavior of Columbia."

On the heels of the biotech center debate came a presentation by Bin Love, an assistant director of residence life and operations from Capstone Management, the company that runs a CCNY residence hall on 130th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. At the mention of CCNY, the conversation quickly switched from students to parking spaces. CB9 members alleged that CCNY was reserving additional spaces on Morningside Drive for faculty and students.

"Those of us who live in the community can't find a place to park anymore," Georgette Morgan-Thomas, a CB9 board member, said.

"I think we're starting to understand that there are some misunderstandings between this board and City College," Love said, backing away from the podium.

A proposal by Monica Abate of The Gabarron Foundation, a non-profit group dedicated to promoting Hispanic, Latino and American ties, generated still more criticism. Abate asked the board's approval of an outdoor sculpture installation the foundation plans to display in early November, including a sculpture located on 117th Street near Columbia.

CB9 Secretary Ted Kovaleff took particular offense at this. "I oppose the whole project unless you put in another one between 135th and 155th," he said, citing the density of the Latino and Hispanic community in that area.

Toward the end of the meeting, discussion shifted to more general concerns.

L. Ann Rocker, chairperson of the North River Community Environment Review Board, decried the sorry state of Harlem's sidewalks and how youths' gum-chewing habits had left them scarred.

"You would think that someone had painted [the streets] polka dot," Rocker said.What followed was a lively discussion on the abundance of liquor advertisements and billboards in West Harlem and a general admonishment of young men selling cigarettes and illegal, pornographic DVDs on 125th Street.

At the meeting's close, the board unanimously approved a resolution to support Councilwoman Inez Dickens, D-Harlem, in her plan to build a new playground in Morningside Park.





NB - What this article fails to fully consider is that CUNY and CCNY completely ignored the City Charter mandate for all City of New York Departments and entitites to CONSULT the local Community Board.

In fact CB9M found out about the dormitory only when District residents began to inquire from CB9M about what was CCNY building.

When we inquired, CCNY sent a delegation to tell CB9M what they had decided to do and were already doing.

One does not have to be a Columbia Graduate or even a CCNY graduate to realize that informing CB9M of what had been decided and was being done is not the same as CONSULTATION. But then again maybe CCNY and CUNY graduates have a comprehension deficit in their education.

Columbia University at least makes a great pretense of consulting CB9M while the City entity required to consult CB9M doesnpt even bother to pretend. How can anyone accuse Columbia of arrogance in the face of the actions of CCNY and CUNY? !!! - JRM 22Sep06

Moynihan Station Being Derailed - 4 articles PLUS Hevesi's letter

To: reysmont@yahoo.com
Subject: Moynihan Station Being Derailed - 4 articles PLUS Hevesi's letter
From: "TenantNet"
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:42:26 -0400 (EDT)


Four articles, plus Hevesi's letter at the bottom

BRAKES ON RAIL STATION
NY PostBy FREDRIC U. DICKER
September 21, 2006

-- ALBANY - Gov. Pataki yesterday abruptly delayed a state board's vote on the proposed $900 million Moynihan Station project for at least a week after new objections were raised by state Comptroller Alan Hevesi. Hevesi's objections led Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) to threaten to block the project if it was brought to a vote before the Public Authorities Control Board. Hevesi, a Democrat, in a letter to Pataki, said, "At this time, I do not believe that members of the PACB have been provided with the necessary information to determine whether 'there are commitments of funds sufficient to finance the acquisition and construction' of the project," as required by state law.

No rail progress on Farley plan

BY PAUL D. COLFORD
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

The plan to convert the landmark James A. Farley General Post Office into the Daniel Moynihan Train Station stalled yet again yesterday.

A final vote on the nearly $900 million project was pulled from the agenda of the Public Authorities Control Board - this time by Gov. Pataki, who's pushing the plan - amid lingering questions about financing and other details.

The questions were flagged for the second straight month by State Controller Alan Hevesi, after his office was briefed by the Moynihan Station Development Corp., a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corp.

Hevesi told Pataki, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, who control the public authorities board, that it was too soon to vote because "the information provided as a result of those briefings has not alleviated my concerns and, in fact, has raised additional questions."
He told Moynihan Station Development Corp. President Robin Stout that "questions remain about the impact that the possible inclusion of Madison Square Garden could have on the state's future financial obligations."

Steven Roth and Stephen Ross, the developers chosen for the Farley overhaul, also want to tack a new Garden on the Ninth Ave. end of the postal complex and build three towers and a new Penn Station where the Garden now stands. So far, however, only the Farley conversion has been submitted for PACB approval.As Silver, who supports the Farley redevelopment, put it, "I think the plan being presented isn't the plan that everyone says is the plan."

Originally published on September 21, 2006

September 21, 2006

Pataki Again Dodges a Vote on Moynihan Station Plans
NY Times
By CHARLES V. BAGLI

Locked in a standoff with the State Assembly over financing for a $900 million plan to convert the city's main post office to a grand transit hub, the Pataki administration took the proposal off the table again yesterday rather than risk a vote against it.

State officials have been pushing to get the long-awaited project, called Moynihan Station, approved by the Public Authorities Control Board so that construction can begin before Gov. George E. Pataki leaves office in January. But a vote was delayed last month when Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker, who controls the state board together with Governor Pataki and Joseph L. Bruno, the Senate majority leader, raised questions about the project's financing.

After delaying the start of the control board meeting for more than two hours yesterday, the Pataki administration pulled Moynihan Station off the board's agenda. Charles A. Gargano, the state's top economic development official, told Assembly leaders in recent days that any further delay could jeopardize or possibly kill the project, which proponents say would be a gateway to New York City and a necessary expansion of the nation's busiest transit center. State officials insist that financing for Moynihan Station has long been in place.

But Alan G. Hevesi, the state comptroller, issued a letter Tuesday night saying he did not believe that state officials had provided the necessary information to determine whether "there are commitments of funds sufficient to finance the acquisition and construction" of Moynihan Station. He then raised questions about the state's deal with the project's developers, Stephen M. Ross of the Related Companies and Steven Roth of Vornado Realty Trust. Mr. Hevesi said the state had sold one million square feet of development rights to the developers without having obtained an independent appraisal.

At yesterday's meeting, state officials initially sought to force a vote anyway, but Mr. Hevesi and Mr. Silver refused to budge.

"We have provided answers to those questions, and continue to be available to answer any questions at any time, as we have for the past several months," Mr. Gargano said yesterday. "We are confident that the answers provided to the comptroller will resolve any remaining concerns, and that the P.A.C.B. will vote to move forward on the Moynihan Station project in the coming days."But it is unclear whether the gap between the two sides can quickly be bridged

"Instead of answering our questions," Mr. Silver said, "we get, `You're going to kill the project.' ""This has to do with the fact that the project was not properly presented to us," Mr. Silver added. " If they'd go forward and try to answer the questions we could try and move this project forward."

All sides maintain that they support the Moynihan Station project, which was first proposed by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan 13 years ago. State officials obtained most of the funds for the project in 2001, and it has been wending its way through the public approval process for two years.

But the issue has become mired in politics and complicated by a nascent $7 billion proposal by the developers, Mr. Roth and Mr. Ross, to modernize and expand Pennsylvania Station to both sides of Eighth Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets, by moving Madison Square Garden a block west to the back of the post office building. The larger proposal, which has not been unveiled publicly, is referred to as Plan B.

Democrats have complained recently that the Pataki administration is trying to rush through projects and appointments in a last-minute bid to establish a legacy without scrutiny from legislators.

"These guys are trying to close out every major real estate deal in the state before they leave office," said Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat. "They want approval of a bunch of half-baked deals. It's nonsense."

Mr. Silver is also asking why the control board is being asked to approve the smaller Moynihan Station project when the larger proposal is what the developers want to build. "They're saying, `Approve Plan A and we'll give you Plan B' later," Mr. Silver said of the Pataki administration.

"We can change it. I'm suggesting that the thing presented to me personally, and I assume to Senator Bruno, is Plan B. I'm suggesting, put forth Plan B with a financial plan and, subject to evaluation, I think we can be very supportive."

But Mr. Gargano said the state had not yet presented the larger proposal, whose fate is still uncertain. He said it would take 18 months to get approval and require $1 billion in public funds for the renovation of Penn Station.

"We're only asking for approval of the Moynihan Station project and development within the post office," Mr. Gargano said. "No other plan has been presented."

The leading candidate to succeed Mr. Pataki, the Democrat Eliot Spitzer, the attorney general, has said that Mr. Hevesi has raised legitimate questions about the financial viability of the current proposal, although he insists that he supports both plans for Moynihan Station.

Christine Anderson, a spokeswoman for Mr. Spitzer, said yesterday, "If elected, Eliot will immediately seek to resolve these issues so that the Moynihan project can move forward."

September 21, 2006 Edition > Section: New York >

Pataki's Hopes For Moynihan Being Derailed
BY DAVID LOMBINO - Staff Reporter of the Sun
September 21, 2006
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/40114

Governor Pataki's hopes of breaking ground on Moynihan Station before he leaves office are being derailed by Albany Democrats.

The $900 million project to remake the Farley Post Office building on Eighth Avenue between 31st and 33rd streets into a Grand Central-like transit hub took another blow yesterday when the governor pulled it from the agenda of the Public Authorities Control Board in the final moments before a vote, a signal that he was not confident it would pass.

Although the project has been in the works for about eight years, yesterday state comptroller Alan Hevesi and the speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, said there are several outstanding financial questions and information gaps in Mr. Pataki's plan. As a member of the Public Authorities Control Board, Mr. Silver must give his approval for the project to move forward.

Mr. Silver said yesterday that his objection is related to the project details and not the concept.

"I am hopeful that in the coming weeks the administration will acknowledge and address the many areas of concern expressed by the Assembly and the comptroller and put together a plan that is sound, thorough and deserving of support," Mr. Silver said in a statement.

Last month, Mr. Hevesi sent the state's development agency a list of concerns about the project, which led to a postponement of an August vote by the PACB. Ahead of yesterday's scheduled vote, Mr. Hevesi publicized another letter that said the state's recent explanations raised more questions than they answered.

Among the questions raised in Mr. Hevesi's letter are the operational costs of the completed facility, the conveyance of the development rights over the Farley Post Office building, outstanding federal approvals, and the potential for the developer to change the design after final approval.

A statement yesterday from the state's leading development official, Charles Gargano, said he expects the project to be approved in the "coming days." Mr. Gargano appeared to take aim at Mr. Hevesi for waiting until the last moment to publicize his concerns.

"We have provided answers to those questions (text attached), and continue to be available to answer any questions at any time, as we have for the past several months," he said.

The Moynihan Station project seemed to be sailing towards approval until the state's selected developers, the Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust, introduced a more ambitious plan to move Madison Square Garden from its current location over Penn Station into the west side of the Farley complex.

The move would allow the existing Penn Station, the busiest transit hub in the United States, to be expanded and opened up to daylight, a superior option, according to several elected officials and civic organizations.

The bigger plan created a divide in the development community between those who want to move ahead with Moynihan Station as soon as possible, and those who want to wait for a more comprehensive plan that includes the Garden move.

Development sources say that the final approval of Moynihan Station is also caught up in partisan politics. The Pataki administration has been candid about its desire to complete the project forward before the governor leaves office at the end of the year. Democrats, some sources say, could be stalling with the hope that the front-runner to be the next governor, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, will soon take control over the plan.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a Democrat and an outspoken critic of the Pataki administration's development team, said that the latest plan "isn't close" to final approval. He compared Moynihan Station to the state's plan to expand the Javits Convention Center. Both projects, he said, have suffered from neglect because of Mr. Pataki's desire for groundbreakings before leaving office in January."

In their attempt to jam these projects through before the end of the year, they are endangering them," Mr. Brodsky said. "They came up with half-baked proposal for a good idea, and they expect of people to go on board."

A spokesman for the Regional Plan Association, a planning group that has advocated for a Moynihan Station, Jeremy Soffin, said that yesterday's nonvote was likely driven by legitimate questions about the project, and not a sign of dwindling support or political jockeying. He said that several important aspects of the project plan, as put together by the Pataki administration, were not resolved."I don't know why it hasn't been dealt with already," Mr. Soffin said.

The president of the Municipal Art Society, Kent Barwick, said that the real choice facing elected officials was whether to wait a year or more for a wider plan that would include the Garden move, or to move ahead with the Moynihan Station part of the plan, which, he said, was bound to be part of the larger plan.

"What I don't know is what level of documentation that the PACB typically requires in a project that it approves," Mr. Barwick said. "Is this good government diligence, or it there something else going on here?"

September 21, 2006 Edition > Section: New York >

STATE OF NEW YORKOFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER
September 19, 2006

Mr. Robin Stout
President
Moynihan Station Development Corporation
633 Third Avenue, 36th Floor
New York, NY 10017

Dear Mr. Stout:

On August 17, 2006, I sent a letter to the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) raising a number of questions about the Moynihan Station project as described in the Empire State Development Corporation's General Project Plan (GPP) that was submitted to my office.

On August 28th, I received a letter from the Moynihan Station Development Corporation that purported to respond to my questions; however, many answers were not directly responsive and in some cases raised additional questions. In addition, in most instances supporting documentation was not provided to substantiate or illuminate the answers.

Subsequent briefings were held on September 14th and 19th, ostensibly to address the issues raised by me and members of the PACB. Unfortunately, the information provided as a result of those briefings has not alleviated my concerns. Consequently, my staff has many substantive questions and I continue to have fundamental concerns about the proposed project, including:

o As part of this project, 1 million sq. ft. of development rights over the Farley Complex are being sold to a private developer to be used for a separate development project adjacent to Moynihan Station. My staff was told that the sale price of this asset was the result of negotiations, not an independent appraisal and/or an open bid.

o ESDC has not disclosed its plans for an additional 1 million sq. ft. of development rights over the Farley Complex, nor has it committed to base any subsequent sale of this asset on an independent appraisal or a competitive bidding process in order to ensure fair market value.

o There are no assurances that the ultimate project will provide the public benefits currently being promised to the PACB. Rather than receiving a commitment for the developer to design and construct the project as approved by the PACB, the developer has been "allowed to propose design modifications" to the project to offset rising construction costs and to stay within the original cost estimate developed in 2004. It is unclear what role, if any, the PACB will play in approving future design modifications.

o Many elements of the project, including the Loan Concept, City approval of the proposed PILOTS for Moynihan Station and the adjacent development project, the attainment of federal Historic Preservation tax credits (which are considered a "critical" component of the project), and leases with New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority are still in draft form and have not been executed.

o The United States Postal Service, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the Federal Highway Administration, each of which must approve of the sale of the Farley Complex in order for the project to move forward, have not completed their reviews.o

The State's obligations for ongoing maintenance and operational costs associated with the common areas within the station have not yet been determined. While ESDC staff has assured my staff that the State's obligations for maintenance and operational costs would be supported by project revenues, documents have not been presented to support this claim.o

ESDC "expects," but does not guarantee, that "operational surpluses will be dedicated to Moynihan expenses and improvements."

In addition to these issues, I am disturbed that several key documents were not submitted to my office along with the GPP or in response to my letter to the PACB. Only in the course of subsequent briefings and as the date of the PACB meeting approached, did ESDC begin to turn over these documents. While we are still reviewing documents received as recently as yesterday, my staff has found that many of the documents are in draft form (some dating back as far as 2003), and thus are likely to be changed. In addition, these documents are missing pertinent information, including entire sections needed to fully evaluate the project.

I am also troubled that the documents made available by ESDC were given to my office and other members of the PACB "contingent upon the understanding that they are not public and should be kept confidential." All development projects benefit from a thorough and open debate in which the public is provided with all available information.Confidentiality should be invoked only when proprietary information or details which may influence markets is at stake.

Moreover, questions remain about the impact that the possible inclusion of Madison Square Garden could have on the State's future financial obligations, including costs associated with modernizing and renovating Penn Station, and the coordination of efforts to build two additional transit hubs in proximity to Moynihan Station (a renovated Penn Station and the terminus of New Jersey Transit's Access to the Regional Core project at 34th Street and 7th Avenue).

Moynihan Station is an exciting project with many potential public benefits; however, at this time I do not believe that the members of PACB have been provided with the necessary information to determine whether "there are commitments of funds sufficient to finance the acquisition and construction" of the project (as required by Section 50 of the NYS Public Authorities Law). While we share a common goal in ensuring that the transformation of the Farley Complex is a fitting testament to the actual vision of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, for the reasons outlined above, I believe that it is premature for the PACB to consider a vote on this project and have informed the members of my concerns.

Sincerely,
Alan G. Hevesi

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