Tineisha L. Sulker: November 2012

Monday, November 26, 2012

New Yorkers Come Through In Numbers

TALLAHASSEE, FL. - Sometimes New Yorkers may be perceived as not so kind people but, that didn’t seem the case on Sunday. Hundreds of New Yorkers raced to the areas hit the hardest by hurricane Sandy to volunteer and help those that were affected by the super storm.

Toting everything from batteries, toilet paper, blankets, and food, volunteers flocked to the various relief centers.

“It feels like we all had the same impulse: This is my city and I want to do something to help it,” said Esther Pan Sloan, of Roosevelt Island. “It’s just such a huge disaster and you know there are so many people in need.”

Hurricane Sandy Volunteers, The Kitchn.com

With so many people wanting to help, the shelters soon became overwhelmed with bundles of supplies. Some shelters had to begin turning away some donations. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg suggested they begin to donate money instead.

“At this point these centers have more than they can really realistically distribute,” said the mayor. “If we need more, we can certainly put out another call for help, but what would be the most helpful is donations to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York, and then we’ll be able to use that money to help people get back on their feet.”

There are many different organizations such as New York Cares that have volunteers going to the different neighborhoods to inform residents about the various locations where they can receive help.

“It was amazing to see so many people wanting to help those in need,” said Samantha Sylvester, a resident in Brooklyn, New York. “It’s sad to say but, you don’t really see that too often here.”

Adding to the list of volunteers, some major corporations such as Walmart, PepsiCo, and a pizza company also offered assistance. They delivered food and drinks among other necessities to parts of the storm struck areas.

Roy Niederhoffer, a hedge fund manager from the Upper West Side said, “I really don’t think it’s the government’s job to take care of all of this. I wanted to see if it was possible for individuals to rally the way they used to. You know, in the 19^th century when we had natural disasters there was no FEMA, but people still sent money and food to help.”

Volunteers continue to offer their help by driving to resident’s homes to offer food and supplies. As the traffic became too overwhelming the police had to start blocking cars unless volunteers were heading straight to the relief centers that were still accepting donations.

By Tineisha Sulker

With contributions from The New York Times

Photo, The Kitchn.com

Video, FEMA

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Monday, November 5, 2012

No One Wants To Leave: Overcrowded New York Schools

TALLAHASSEE, FL. – Have you ever heard of a school where no one wants to leave? Well that is the case with Public School 321 in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The Education Department in New York is planning to down size the zone in which P.S. 321 falls because the school has become overcrowded. That means if students don’t fall into the new zoning plan they will have to relocate. The new plan could be decided on in the next few weeks and if approved it will be effective for the next school year.

“Parents want their child to go there because it has a good reputation,” said Maxine Robinson, a teacher at Trey Whitfield private school in Brooklyn, New York. “The parents feel that it’s unfair, but unfortunately that’s how the system works.”

Over Crowded New York Classroom, Class Size Matters.org

The Education Department’s plan is to build another school so the overcrowding won’t have to be an issue. But, some parents initially moved to the area just so their child would be in the zone for this particular school.

“They’re safe,” said Leslie Uretsky, a parent of two students who are being zoned out of P.S. 321. “My daughters would be an experiment.”

The regulation in New York was that if a student had already been enrolled into a certain school they can remain there until they graduate. This rule still applied if the student moved out of the school zone after they enrolled. That rule will no longer stand if the plan goes through.

“Switching schools disrupts education,” said Carrie Marlin, a planning official at the Education Department. “We think all students deserve continuity.”

Some parents, who live in the zone, blame the over-population of students on those parents that move into the area long enough to enroll their child, then leave. Although that may have been the case for some parents, it’s not for all.

“It was not our intention to zip in and zip out,” said Stefan Fredrick, who moved from an apartment near Park Slope to another apartment in the zone, so their daughter could attend P.S. 321. “It cost a fortune,” he said, “and to spend that and having mice running around wasn’t great.”

Elizabeth Phillips, the principal of the school said that some parents lie about their addresses to get their child in, but the school does its best to weed those parents out. While that alone won’t solve the issue of over-population, it’s still a step that has to be taken. After all, some people just can’t afford to stay in the area where the great schools are.

“You can’t really fault a parent for trying to get their kid the best situation they can,” said Katie Keating a P.S. 321 parent.