Dropout Rates Could Cost Billions

New York State has one of the four highest school dropout rates in the country, and that could cost the state billions of dollars, according to a study released by Bronx Assemblyman Peter Rivera in May.  

The report, "An Economic Doomsday Awaits New York State: The High Cost of the Inadequate Education of Hispanic Youth," says the nearly 50 percent dropout rate in the city and 33 percent statewide leads to low wages, costing the state billions of dollars in taxable income. The report also emphasizes the increased spending on health care, crime and social services for New Yorkers earning low wages.

Rivera is calling for government intervention and new vocational training, apprenticeship programs and other workplace development measures to prevent "large-scale economic troubles" for the state.

State and Federal Brownfields Proposals

State Senate Democrats plan to introduce legislation to improve and streamline a state program designed to clean up brownfields – contaminated and abandoned industrial and commercial sites.  

Under the state legislation, the Empire State Development Corporation would be given the power to purchase contaminated properties, clean them to meet state environmental standards using local, state and federal grants, and sell the properties to businesses for $1.

In exchange, manufacturers would agree to build quality structures and create new jobs paying at least $9.50 an hour, plus benefits. At least 70 percent of those jobs would be required to go to local residents.

State Senator Efrain Gonzalez announced his support for the legislation, which could affect large areas along the Harlem River designated as brownfields, as well as other parts of the Bronx.

At the federal level, Congressman Eliot Engel is calling for continued funding of the Brownfields Economic Development Initiative, which offers competitive grants to stimulate development on formerly contaminated vacant land. The program was cut in President Bush’s budget for fiscal year 2008.

Dinowitz: DEP Admitting Mistakes

As far as Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz is concerned, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Emily Lloyd’s latest remarks on the Croton Water Treatment Plant constitute admission of negligence and inefficiency.

The DEP is admitting that the project was approved despite the fact that they didn’t really know what it would cost to blast a hole 11 acres and 50 feet down," said Dinowitz in a statement.

The Bronx lawmaker referred to Lloyd’s comments in a recent WNYC radio news brief, which paraphrased Lloyd as saying that skyrocketing construction costs since the initial cost estimate in 2003 have led to budget increases. Lloyd has also said that there were unanticipated costs related to a more detailed design of the facility.

"This is an unacceptable level of irresponsibility by a city agency," said Dinowitz, who is also suggesting that something more sinister may have weighed into the decision to put the filtration plant in the Bronx.

"In particular when the potential for conflict of interest clearly exists with the former DEP commissioner landing a lucrative job with the project’s chief advocate, there absolutely must be an independent investigation launched," Dinowitz said, referring to former DEP chief Chris Ward’s new job as head of the General Contractors Association, which lobbied for the Bronx site.

The plant being built in Van Cortlandt Park, scheduled for completion by 2012, was spearheaded by union reps promising jobs and city officials who reasoned that construction at the Bronx location would be less costly than at a city-owned industrial site in Westchester.

City Council Passes Bill Forcing Negligent Landlords to Make Repairs

Under the Safe Housing Act, passed by the City Council on May 30, the Department of Housing and Preservation (HPD) will be required to identify 200 buildings each year with the worst code violations and force the landlords to make repairs, or the city will make the repairs itself and bill the landlord.  

Councilman Oliver Koppell, who cosponsored the legislation, said, "This bill goes further than current regulations in making buildings safe and habitable, by not only forcing the owner to make emergency repairs, but also to address the underlying physical conditions related to housing code violations in order to halt the serious physical deterioration of these buildings."

Tenant organizations started lobbying the Council for similar legislation in 2004.

Council members expect the program to bring up to 1,000 buildings into compliance over the next four years. The mayor is expected to sign the bill into law this month.

Relief for Hungry New Yorkers

The thousands of Bronx residents who are struggling to make ends meet might soon find it easier to qualify for food stamps. Governor Spitzer announced that the state would take several steps to make it easier for all eligible New Yorkers to access federal food stamp benefits.

The state plans to eliminate the assets cap that prevents families from receiving food stamps if they have more than $2,000 in savings. Other changes to the program include allowing applications by phone or Internet, and waiving state fingerprinting requirements. The state expects to add 215,000 individuals to the program by 2008.

In the Bronx, 144,000 people participated in the food stamp program as of January 2007, according to the organization Food Change. Based on 2000 Census figures, 53 percent of eligible Bronxites may not be receiving food stamps benefits.

Crowley and Engel Vote to Expand Stem Cell Research

Local congressmen Eliot Engel and Joseph Crowley voted on June 6 to pass the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, and the House approved the bill by a vote of 247 to 176. The Senate had already passed the bill, and the measure now goes to the president.

The bill would lift restrictions on the embryonic stem cell lines that can be used for federally-funded research – restrictions imposed by President Bush in 2001. Engel and Crowley urged the president not to veto the bill, arguing that stem cell research holds great promise in finding treatments for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, spinal cord injuries and other serious medical conditions.

Public and Community Meetings

• Community Board 7 will meet on Tuesday, June 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the board offices, 229A E. 204th St. Officer elections will be held. For more information, call (718) 933-5650.

• Community Education Council 10 will meet Thursday, June 21 at 6:15 p.m. at PS 94, located at 3530 Kings College Place. On the agenda are the recently-released English language arts results, the number of students mandated to attend summer school and an explanation of the new school breakdown that will come into effect as of Sep. 1. For more information, call the office at (718) 741-5836.

• 52nd Precinct Community Council will meet Thursday, June 21 at St. Ann’s Church, at 3519 Bainbridge Ave. at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call (718) 220-5824.

• Croton Facility Monitoring Committee will meet Thursday, June 21 at 7 p.m. at the DEP community office, 3660 Jerome Ave. Rising costs of the project and jobs will be discussed. For more information, call the office at (718) 231-8470.