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Former convicts face many challenges after being released from prison. Click here to see Ana Toro’s multi-media report, which tells the stories of some former prisoners and profiles a transitional program aimed at bringing down high recidivism rates.
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New Yorkers depend on immigrant businesses for many of the services they need and the goods they consume. But these entrepreneurs face many challenges – including language barriers, limited access to financing and a lack of understanding of the rules of doing business in the city.
Click here for Tanzina’s Vega’s multi-media report, and hear some immigrant entrepreneurs’ stories and listen to what the experts have to say about what can be done to help such businesses thrive.
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The battle to redevelop Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal has been going on since the 1960’s. By then, the canal, once one of the state’s busiest waterways, had fallen largely into disuse. Many of the warehouses, factories and other industrial sites that lined the canal’s shores were abandoned.
Now, with residential real estate booming and the city’s population expanding, the area is on the verge of a new era of residential development. But as development plans go forward, every step requires a delicate balance of the city’s enormous need for housing, the environmental cleanup required on a century-old industrial waterway, and the ongoing needs of the businesses that remain in the area.
Click here for Matthew Sollars’ multi-media report.
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Poet William Blake once said, “The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way.”
Williamsburg and Greenpoint residents gave fresh meaning to Blake’s words last week at a Community Board 1 meeting as they voiced concerns about trees that get planted by the city and aren’t maintained.
And trees whose roots grow under sidewalks and buckle them.
And trees whose branches fall, creating potential hazards for senior citizens.
These concerns, and more, were among the chorus of complaints residents voiced in reaction a city official’s presentation of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s MillionTreesNYC initiative, under which 5,400 new trees would be planted in Brooklyn by next spring.
Not so fast, residents said.
“I understand that they want to put the trees in, but they have to maintain them,” said Marie Leanza, 65, who has waited two years for the city to remove the stump in front of her house.
The trees the city planted in front of Leanza’s home four years ago have lifted the sidewalk.
But CB 1, which has the fifth lowest number of trees planted among Brooklyn’s 18 districts – at 9,351, that’s only 54 percent of the available tree pits – needs more trees, said Eric Peterson, the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation manager.
Peterson presented to CB 1 the initiative to plant one million trees across the city’s five boroughs over the next decade. This is particularly important for Brooklyn, which has which has less than the 10 percent of the city’s current 5.2 million trees.
Peterson emphasized how trees lower air temperatures, reduce air pollution, capture and store carbon emissions, save energy and help prevent storm water runoff. That’s on top of improved human health, increased property values and better quality of life. Peterson even put a price on how much a tree saves in costs to the city: $14.94.
The residents had more immediate concerns.
When Leanza called 311 to get the stump outside her home at 198 Powers Street removed, she was told the city didn’t have any money and she would have to wait.
“We have people on a seven-year list waiting for their tree to be pruned. You need to deal with tree pruning and stump removal before planting trees,” another resident told Peterson.
“Trees are a trip hazard,” said board member Del Teague.
Peterson acknowledged some problems with tree maintenance. Amonth ago there were 22 stumps still to be removed in the neighborhood, he said.
The city has 21.5 maintenance crews. But by 2010, it hopes to have 30 more.
There were those who responded positively to the mayor’s initiative at the meeting.
“Trees are good for the environment and make the area look a lot nicer. We need more trees in Brooklyn,” said board member Yenfiri Gomez.
“This city doesn’t have the best track record of thinking things through properly, but it’s doing OK with this,” said Heather Roslund, another board member.
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Barbara Darby stopped her shopping cart and stared at the price for a gallon of milk.
$4.79
“Milk is almost $5?” Ms. Darby, a senior citizen from Riverdale, asked incredulously.
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In January 2007, the city reopened the waiting list for Section 8 rental subsidy vouchers for the first time in 13 years, giving many low-income New Yorkers new hopes of finding a place of their own. But, some prospective tenants are finding that having a Section 8 voucher is no guarantee of getting an apartment.
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Victory Memorial Hospital appears to be on its deathbed: The 107-year-old Bay Ridge institution announced sweeping layoffs last week and could be shuttered by Feb. 1.
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The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission sent architects for the Battery Maritime Building project back to the drafting table on Oct. 23. The commission did not vote on the proposed plan to renovate and expand the ferry terminal but recommended that the architects incorporate elements that reference the building’s original architecture.
“The building feels segmented,” said Pablo E. Vengoechea, the commission’s vice chairperson. “It feels like there is something happening at the bottom and something else happening on top.”
