The Headache with Insurance

3/4 Hurricane Sandy experiences from Canarsie, Brooklyn

An approximately six foot gate and short slope is the only thing that separates the homes next to the inlet of Jamaica Bay. Maria Garettt (pictured left in front of her broken central A/C unit that is now out of service) and her husband own the home closest to the water on their block.

She said “I’m going to advocate for a better barrier along our property line. This [pointing to the iron fence that got pushed down to the ground by the water] is not strong enough. Also, we need to get people organized because the insurance companies are trying to stiff everyone on the block. We all have insurance but no one gets flood coverage in Canarsie.

The fence next to Maria Garret's home

The water ruined everyone’s garage and the insurance company is still saying ‘we have to see if you can get compensated.’ I don’t want to hear that. If I had saved all the money I have faithfully paid them for the past 17 years. I wouldn’t be worried right now because I could have paid for all of this. I’m getting nothing in return. This is gonna be a fight.”

Maria filed a FEMA claim but until then she estimates about $75,000 in higher utility bills and damaged goods. Maria is using several space heaters to warm her home. Plus a central Air Condition unit that was outside of his property, furnace, a washer and dryer, freezer and refrigerator was ruined.

Lack of support from elected officials and no media coverage

4/4 Hurricane Sandy experiences from Canarsie, Brooklyn

Married couple Gloria (pictured to the right in her backyard amongst soiled furniture and belongings) and Donald Alexander has lived on East 105th Street in Canarsie for 20 years. She runs a day care and desperately wants her home and neighborhood to get cleaned up. She feels that process would be expedited if more elected officials started talking about Canarsie.

“We vote for these politicians year after year and when election time comes they’re antagonizing you everyday but now we need their help and they’re nowhere to be found. It makes me angry. Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg are not saying anything about Canarsie.  I can only say something good about [Councilman Charles] Baron. He’s seems like he is the only one talking to the media and letting them know what happened to us. 

No one else is saying anything about Canarsie. If half of Canarsie was still White, there would be more news coverage. Maybe it’s our fault we don’t complain to anyone, we just talk about it amongst ourselves.”

“Also because they [local media and politicians] don’t see houses burned down, were not getting a lot of attention. But we are hurting too. We’re not homeless but we need some assistance over here, “ added Donald

“I need help now. I run a day care and the kids can’t come into a house looking like this. So now I don’t have any income coming in,” continued Ms. Alexander whose damages are close to $10,000 including a furnace for $1,500 that was recently purchased. 

Blogger's Note: State Senator John Sampson and State Senator Eric Adams did issue a Media Advisory on October 31, 2012, which can be read here.

Also, State Senator John Sampson will holding a meeting with FEMA on Monday November 5, 2012 at the Holy Family Church School auditorium on 9719 Flatlands Avenue (cor. E 98th Street)

Black Professionals React to 2012 VP Debate

(Blogger MzCEO and Actress Lynn Whitfield)

On the eve of the second Presidential Debate for 2012, I had to take the time to mention the Vice-President Debate viewing party I attended last Thursday at Katra Lounge in New York City.

The event was hosted by The Root, Young Professionals United for Change, New York Association of Black Journalists [NYABJ], and the Tara McDowell Group. CNN commentator Roland Martin, political correspondent Keli Goff and actress Lynn Whitfield were also in attendance.

As expected the 2012 Vice President Debate moderated by Martha Raddatz covered the usual topics like the economy, the War in Afghanistan and abortion. Later in this post, you’ll read some of the crowd’s reaction.

For me the best part throughout the debate was the boyish smirk that appeared on Vice President Joe Biden’s face as Congressman Paul Ryan responded to a question. Eventually Vice President Biden began laughing and blurting out words like “malarkey” or “that’s some stuff” when Congressman Ryan’s was talking.

In my opinion the most telling part of the debate was Congressman Ryan’s lack of understanding for why 22,000 American troops were taken out of Afghanistan last month. He believes that that decision exposed the remaining troops to more harm. However, Vice President Biden responded by saying that American troops trained the Afghans so that they could protect their own country.

If a candidate for Vice President of the United States of America does not understand the necessity of the continuous withdrawal of our troops in Afghanistan after 10 years and more than 2,000 dead soldiers, he does not deserve to be in office. Besides restoring the American economy by creating new jobs in emerging industries, the safety of America and our troops is the next top priority.

Another important issue to me as a Christian woman is abortion. I was disappointed that Raddatz waited until the last fifteen minutes of the debate to ask each candidate about religion and abortion. I agreed with Vice President Biden’s stance on abortion.

He said “With regard to abortion, I accept my church's position on abortion... Life begins at conception. That's the church's judgment. I accept it in my personal life. But I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews and — I just refuse to impose that on others, unlike my friend here, the congressman.”

Truth be told, Amanda C. of Harlem who declined to give me her full name or take a picture since she works for a news organization in NYC hit the nail on the head when she told me that this very sensitive issue goes beyond moral values.

“We’re 51 percent of the population. We’re adults. We’re perfectly capable of making our decisions… Men make healthcare decisions with their doctors all the time without government interference. I think women should be granted the same thing. I think they know and their doctors know what’s best for them... For me, conservatives are always touting personal liberty. Freedom. Freedom. Freedom. What’s more invasive than you telling me what I can do with my vagina. That’s not OK.”

Here are some responses from young Black professionals that watched the debate in Katra when I asked: What was the most important topic that was discussed tonight during the debates?

Brian Benjamin/Founder of Young Professionals United for Change:

“Joe Biden was very clear that we’re going to get out in 2014. There’s a lot of money tied to this. When Republicans say they’re going to cut taxes for the wealthy by five trillion. And they’re going to increase the defense budget by 2 trillion dollars. How are we going to pay for that?

In order to pay for that we’re going to have to decimate Medicare and social security.. So we’re really going to have to make some serious decisions that are going to impact our seniors just to pay for this tax cut and keep fighting these wars overseas. So we could pound our chest and feel tough. We need to do the right thing for our country and get out of Afghanistan.”

Tamara, a Grad student living in Brooklyn:

I was really fascinated by the question about religion and abortion. I guess I saw where Paul Ryan is coming from but I agree with Joe Biden… it’s a personal decision. In terms of Paul Ryan’s response, how do you determine rape? Sometimes the Judicial System can be biased. So again you’re putting that decision into someone else’s hands. I’m not for that.

Brian Taylor/ Owner of Harlem Doggy Day Spa:

“Joe Biden talked a lot about middle class. I could still say I’m a poor person but I’m not middle class. The types of taxes I pay for myself and my business are really too high. It rarely comes back to my pocket. I need to sit down and really figure out if I’m gonna spend less with President Obama or Mitt Romney.

At the end of the day. I want to pay less [taxes} and I want to keep the one employee that I have. Joe Biden is looking to cut taxes across the board. You know Ryan is looking to cut taxes for three percent of [small business owners]. My business makes less than $250,000 a year. So I don’t fall into that three percent.”

My Favorite Signs from OWS

"GLAD MY $50,000/YEAR COLLEGE DEGREE FROM YALE GOT ME AN UNPAID INTERNSHIP."

"WEALTH: IT CONCENTRATES SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO."

"THIS MUST BE IMPORTANT IF IT GOT ME OFF THE COUCH."

"MR. OBAMA TEAR DOWN THIS WALL."

UNITED CORPORATIONS OF AMERICA

"NOW IS THE TIME FOR US TO COME TOGETHER UNDER ONE FLAG AND ONE VOICE AND TAKE BACK OUR WORLD ONCE AND FOR ALL! OUR TIME IS NOW."

"DEMOCRACY IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT."

I see Black people and Christians too in the OWS Protest…Part 2

As I told you in Part 1 of this post,I went down to the OWS Movement after church. During my train ride to the Wall Street area, I also reflected on my Christian faith and realized that these protests can very much be considered Christ focused. You see I believe Jesus Christ’s whole existence was based on fairness and empowering the oppressed. “Hmmhhh, where are the Christians in this movement?” I thought.

Before I joined the meeting held by the People of Color Working Group (POC), I saw a sign that said “Jesus is with the 99%” moving down Cedar Street while I was standing on Broadway. I began to race through the crowd to find this person holding the “Jesus” sign. Thankfully, I bumped into Rev. Jennifer Butler. She is a Presbyterian minister and Executive Director of Faith in Public Life. Rev. Butler helped organize a group of 70 people to participate in the Wall Street protests on Sunday.


I told her that I was happy to see fellow Christians protesting and asked her why she thought it was important to be there. Rev. Butler said “This society has made Wall Street an idol. We are putting wealth before the needs of the poor. We have to get our values straight.”

Then I asked why should Christians care about the protest?

“Whatever your faith is; we know that we can’t build a society where the wealth is concentrated. My Christian brothers and sisters need to wake up. We need to see that this is a moral crisis. Everything Jesus stood for justifies why were marching today. ”

As I left Rev. Butler, her group was singing the words: Don’t Let Wall Street blow it out. I’m gonna let it shine. Don’t Let Wall Street blow it out. I’m gonna let it shine. Let it Shine. Let It Shine. Let it Shine.” To the music of “This little light of mine.” By this point, they group had gathered around a gold calf that said false idol.

The golden calf has a biblical reference from the time the Israelites were living in the desert. They were frustrated that Jesus was taking so long to bring them to the Promised Land, so they began to worship a golden calf made from their jewelry.

The impact of the OWS movement is still unknown but I hope that all Americans can return to the Promised Land. Personally that means a county where the growth of the middle class is not severely hindered by the outsourcing of jobs. A country where young people have an economic ladder to climb. A country where the gap between the rich and poor is not so vast.A country where people don’t have to choose between medication and food.

Once upon a time, those were the guiding principles of America and that is how it should remain.

I see Black people and Christians too in the OWS Protest…Part 1

Before hip-hop heads like Russell Simmons and Kanye West made an appearance at the Occupy Wall Street protests earlier this week, I wondered where the Black people were in this movement. Considering that the demonstrators are fighting against corporate greed, I felt African-Americans should be there front and center since we’ve been suffering from economic injustice as whole for centuries.

So this past Sunday, after church I hopped on the #2 train to Fulton St. My agenda was to find a group of Black people and a group of Christians who are a part of the OWS (Occupy Wall Street) Protest. Luckily, after 45 minutes of walking around and reading some clever signs, I found a circle of African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, Indians, Arabs and some White people in the midst of those that have gathered in Zuccotti Park for OWS. Together they called themselves the People of Color Working Group or POC.

I began listening to the group or should I say the group began listening to each other. Every time someone said something, the group repeated what they said. I assumed this was done because of the noise in the area. Also, when someone began to speak that person would say mic check. Even though there was no microphone in sight. I thought that was kind of funny.

Anyway, I must have listened to about five people give suggestions including activist and writer Kevin Powell on how the group can make a lasting impact in our society. Powell thanked the group for coming together since he said he has been getting calls from people across the country who wanted to know where were the Black leaders in the OWS movement. He encouraged the group to stay focused and develop an agenda to avoid falling apart.

However, the most surprising and sensible comment was that people of color needed to be on the OWS General Assembly (GA). The GA is the management team so to speak for the OWS protest. According to a young man in , the GA was 95% White at that present moment.

I never found out how many people already made up the GA but I was surprised that even in a movement about solidarity, Black people and other people of color were missing from the GA. Then again if people of color were not stepping up to the plate, I should not expect White people to seek them out and apparently neither does POC.

Before I go any further, according to an e-mail I got from Kanene who is in charge of the Press subcommittee, the POC Working Group was created “in response to the lack of racial diversity and lack of racial consciousness at #OWS (demographically and culturally and ideologically dominated by whites.)…The group aims to put the needs of the most oppressed sectors of society at the forefront of this struggle.

The e-mail went on to say that the POC Working Group is open to all who identify as people of color; much of its membership is folks of color who have felt alienated and/or disenfranchised by the 'colorblind' rhetoric and structure of #ows and by the lack of racial sensitivity/consciousness of so many of its participants/leaders.

Back to the POC Working Group meeting. Once everyone had their say, the group split into the different subcommittees like Childcare, Arts & Culture, Education, Strategy and many more. Then I began speaking to Malik Rashaan who created the Twitter handle @OccupytheHood during week two of OWS in order to get more Black people involved in the demonstrations.

Rashan told me that he got 4,000 followers in a matter of days including politicians, teachers, activists and artists. Evidently people nationwide were looking for the Black faces in the movement.

We had a real straightforward conversation about why Black people and all persons of color need to get involved. Here are some excerpts from that talk:

“I want Brothers and Sisters to come out here and volunteer. I don’t want anyone to think this is anti-wall street. This is your city. This is your country. Come and be heard. Don’t just melt into the pot. I don’t like that term. It’s the dumbest term ever. We’re a gumbo, we all stand out individually. Be the shrimp or whatever it is that you are…

I’m from South Jamaica, Queens. I was born and raised in the hood. Every sign I make says 'you should be here.' I’ve had Black Panthers out here who don’t necessarily like White people. They’re out here in solidarity because the beast is right here. My son is in college. That degree ain’t nothing but a proof of purchase. Where’s he gonna work when he graduates?

I let my son (20 years old) take off from school and come up here from Atlanta. I let my daughter (17 years old) take off from high school for a week because they had to be a part of this. If we’re not a part of this, we’re gonna break apart.”

I hope Malik’s words will encourage everyone reading this to contribute in any way to the OWS protest if you agree with the cause. Whether or not you’re a person of color, America is moving toward a society that only cares for the rich.

Don’t get me wrong, being wealthy is not a problem but when a majority of people in a society are not afforded the opportunity to live comfortably even when they’re working more than 40 hours a week or when they have a degree/ relevant experience but cannot find a job or when our young people turn to guns, drugs and violence to make a living. Something has to change.

As the poster says POC Working Group meets on Sundays at 3 PM and Wednesdays at 6:30 PM near Zuccotti Park under the big red thing in lower Mannhattan.

Can the First Lady and a Queens politician end Childhood Obesity?

First Lady Michelle Obama launched
the Let's Move campaign which
encourage children to participate in
physical activity and to eat right.

I was happy to hear that McDonalds-the largest fast food chain in the world- took heed to the complaints of parents and health advocates and decided to make their happy meals healthier.

Queens Councilman Leroy Comrie introduced
legislation that forced restaurants like
McDonalds to provide healthier options.

       
As a resident of New York City, I immediately thought about the efforts of Councilman Leroy Comire who introduced legislation back in April to ban toys in kids meals over 500 calories at fast food restaurants. I also thought about First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign which encourages children to participate in physical activity and to eat right.

I credit Comrie for tackling the rising childhood obesity rates of those youngsters in his district and nationwide especially since the majority of his constituents are African-Americans. According to the Office of Minority Health, African-American children were 30 percent likely to be overweight than non Hispanic Whites in 2007 through 2008.

SAD! Considering obesity is linked to a host of other related issues like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. All of which are very prevalent in the African-American community.

I reached out to Comrie’s office for an interview or a statement about McDonald’s changes to its Happy Meals. Thankfully, a press release was sent my way and Comrie brought up two important points.

I want to take this opportunity to applaud McDonald's for taking this much-needed step forward in providing healthier choices for our children. I believe that fast-food businesses, who invest millions of dollars in marketing their products to children, have a moral responsibility to provide their customers with safer, healthier options.”

I  agree with that since it’s my belief that the diet of most children is tied to the fact that they have parents or caretakers who are too tired or too lazy — I’ll admit it —to prepare a home cooked meal. Thus children rely on restaurants in their community. Depending on the median income of your neighborhood, there is a lack of options. In other words there is an abundance of pizzerias, fast food joints and Chinese food restaurants. All of these establishments and others are a factor in childhood obesity.

Councilman Comrie went on to say:

 "As someone who knows too-well the unhealthy effects and challenges of obesity, I have committed to trying to improve access to healthy food  in my community where fast-food restaurants outnumber supermarkets and produce stores 10-1. My colleagues in the New York City Council and I passed the FRESH (Food Retail Expansion to Support Health) Initiative to provide financial and zoning incentives for grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods”

Truth be told, every individual has a choice. Plus it is up to every individual to make the best option when it comes to their well being. However, what is one to do when options do not exist in their immediate neighborhood. That’s why Comrie and his fellow politicians must continue to enact programs like FRESH.

Earlier, I noted First Lady Michelle’s Let’s Move campaign which was launched in February 2010. Since then, the initiative has sparked a lot of changes nationwide including those noted on the website:

·         
   The Healthy. Hunger-Free Kids Act, a ground breaking piece of legislation, was signed into law so all kids have healthier food in school and even more have access to a healthy lunch.

  

       Three of the largest food service providers have committed to improving the food they provided to schools to meet recommended levels of fat, sugar, and whole grains over the next five years, and to double the fruits and vegetables they serve over the next 10 years.

        A coalition of the Fruit and Vegetable Alliance, the Food, Family and Farming Foundation and the United Fresh Produce Association has committed over the next three years to put 6,000 salad bars in schools across the country.

So between Comrie’s legislation which had something to do with McDonald’s decision and the First Lady Let’s Move campaign, will African-Americans be responsible for the end of childhood obesity?