Economists say the recession is over, but with the unemployment near 10 percent, it sure doesn’t feel like it. So some New Yorkers may have to stay local this summer.
But for some poorer residents, every summer means a staycation. Many take advantage of the city’s open spaces – like the Bronx’s Soundview Park, which just got rehabilitated as part of PlaNYC.
“Life Is Precious” is Bronx-based program that helps Hispanic girls and their families counteract a shocking statistic: 14 percent of Latina teenagers attempt suicide, according a 2007 study by the Centers for Disease Control.
The program uses art therapy to help the teens express their feelings and build better communication with their parents, many of whom are recent immigrants.
“Life is Precious” recently expanded to Brooklyn, and the program’s directors hope that with more funding they’ll eventually be able to serve Latina youngsters citywide.
Laudelina Velasquez likes to be prepared for her grandchildren’s weekend visits.
“I like to have food to give them,” she said in Spanish.
To get the corn flakes and other foods her grandchildren enjoy, Velasquez, 64, travels from the Bronx to a food pantry on the upper West Side once a month.
When the world’s most famous boxer chose Joshua Clottey, a New York welterweight, for a championship bout in Texas, Manny Pacquiao wasn’t just plucking a relative unknown out of obscurity — he was elevating a Bronx gym.
Since its founding 30 years ago, John’s Gym, on Westchester Avenue in Melrose, has seen its share of quality boxers — but few have gotten a shot to become world champ.
