News and Events
Community Development Project Research & Policy Update
This has been an exciting year for the Community Development Project’s
Research and Policy Initiative. Along with work to help coordinate
several citywide coalitions, CDP has published eight Participatory
Action Research reports with our community partners. These reports
have spanned topics from the access to public space for Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Youth to the public health
impacts of police harassment. While the topics of the reports vary,
one critical component remains the same: the research is designed and
implemented by those most impacted by the issue being studied. This
newsletter provides brief descriptions of the reports CDP has released
in 2009 (and one in 2010) and some of the press attention our reports
have received.
"2009 Research and Policy Update,"
February 2010
Stuck in the System
In partnership with Voices of Community Advocates and Leaders (VOCAL)
and the New York City AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN), the Urban Justice
Center's Community Development Project released this report
documenting the experiences of participants in syringe access programs
who have experienced police harassment and arrests for lawful syringe
possession. Although the New York Public Health Law authorizes syringe
access programs, the New York State Penal Code was never updated to
reflect changes to the Public Health law regarding syringe possession
or residue. The inconsistency in state law has created mass confusion
among law enforcement, leading to harassment, arrests and even jail
time for drug users who lawfully possess syringes. This, in turn,
reduces participation of active users in syringe access programs, and
discourages safer injection and disposal practices. With research
support from the Urban Justice Center’s Community Development Project,
VOCAL conducted over 75 surveys, 10 in-depth interviews and additional
literature reviews. The results from these surveys and interviews
will hopefully act as an outcry to reconcile the contradictions
between the Penal Code and Public Health law, leading to more humane
practices that will benefit all of New York State.
"Stuck in the System,"
January 29, 2010
"Stuck in the System: Executive Summary,"
January 29, 2010
New York Daily News:
"Murky laws endangering New York's syringe exchange programs: study,"
January 29, 2010
Food Fight: Expanding Access to Affordable and Healthy Food
Food Fight: Expanding Access to Affordable and Healthy Food in
Downtown Brooklyn is a new report by the Urban Justice Center's
Community Development Project,
in partnership with
Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE).
The report, released on December 12, 2009, focuses on the limited
access to affordable and healthy food in Downtown Brooklyn. In the
summer of 2009, FUREE members surveyed over 150 Fort Greene/Downtown
Brooklyn residents to learn how limited access to food impacts the
community, particularly the low-income residents of the nearby
Ingersoll and Whitman public housing developments. This report, Food
Fight, outlines the major findings of the survey and includes several
policy recommendations to improve access to healthy, affordable food
in Downtown Brooklyn and across the city.
"Food Fight: Expanding Access to Affordable and Healthy Food,"
December 12, 2009
Executive summary
New York Post:
"Grocery grumbles in Downtown Brooklyn,"
December 16, 2009
Brooklyn Daily Eagle:
"Grocery Options Not Meeting needs in Downtown Brooklyn, Survey Says; Rally Planned,"
December 15, 2009
The Indypendent:
"Activists Rally Againist 'Food Desert' in Downtown Brooklyn,"
December 23, 2009
Greenpoint Star:
"Brooklyn's Food Desert,"
December 21, 2009
Thanks To All Who Attended the 25th Anniversary Celebration!
Photos are available here.
Community Development Project Contributes to We Count! Report
Detailing Lingering Health Effects of 9/11
In partnership with Beyond Ground Zero (BGZ), CDP developed a report
highlighting the city and federal government's failure to
satisfactorily care for thousands of residents of lower Manhattan in
the wake of 9/11. BGZ conducted a community health survey that showed
that after the towers fell, many residents and workers' health has
severely diminished and that the government's response has been
adequate at best. CDP and BGZ worked together to develop
recommendations for policymakers as important 9/11 health legislation
is being debated in both the U.S. House and Senate.
"We Count! Documenting the 9/11 Health Crisis 8 Years Later,"
September 2009
NBC New York:
"New Survey Shows More Illnesses Linked to 9/11,"
October 2009
NY1:
"Group Urges Action in Wake of Latest WTC Health Report NY 1 News,"
October 21, 2009
Free Speech Radio News:
"Coalition calls for expanded health care for Ground Zero resident,"
October 19, 2009
Epoch Times:
"Eight Years on and 9/11 Clean-up Workers Still Coughing,"
October 21, 2009
A People's Plan for the East River Waterfront
This report, "A People's Plan for the East River Waterfront" lays out
the results of a comprehensive community visioning process and
highlights the differences between the community’s vision for the
development of the waterfront and the plans of the NYC Economic
Development Corporation. The People's Plan contains architectural
renderings of the community's vision as well as a financial analysis,
including operating and capital budgets, that offer a blueprint for
turning the community's visioning into a reality. The People's Plan
also includes various policy recommendations for the NYC EDC, the
Mayor and the City Council to ensure that the new East River
Waterfront remains a resource for the surrounding community.
"A People's Plan for the East River Waterfront,"
October 2009
(A report by the O.U.R. Waterfront Coalition)
Executive summary
Community Development Project and Human Rights Project Release
Report and Rally with Willets Point Small Business Owners,
Queens Electeds, and Call for Industry to be Relocated Together
Off Point: The destruction of immigrant-owned small businesses and
low-wage jobs in the Willets Point section of Queens
This report details how, after decades of neglect, the city
systematically targeted code violations at Willets Point businesses
resisting the planned redevelopment, leading to the Buildings
Department shutting down 11 businesses in one day; the closures
coincided with a renewed effort by the City’s Economic Development
Corporation (EDC) to buy private land for the redevelopment.
Press Release, Sept. 22, 2009
New York Daily News:
"Small businesses at Willets Point demand to be moved en masse,"
September 23, 2009
NY1.com:
"Report slams planning process at Willets Point,"
September 22, 2009
NY1 Noticias:
"Empresarios latinos de Willets Point piden ayuda,"
September 22, 2009
El Diario:
"Willets Point pide justicia,"
September 23, 2009
NY Al Dia:
"Continua la lucha en Willets Point,"
September 23, 2009
Mental Health Project Helps Win ADA Victory for 4300 Adult Home Residents with Mental Illness
On September 8th, United States District Judge Nicholas Garaufis
issued a 210-page decision in Disability Advocates, Inc. v. Paterson
finding that New York State violated the Americans with Disabilities
Act and the Rehabilitation Act by warehousing 4,300 people with mental
illness in institutional adult homes. The court quoted one former
State official who testified that adult homes were "institutional
living at ... its worst," like "little ghettos" that "impede
community integration," with "people sitting out front [of] the adult
home, smoking, going back in ..." Now, the State will have to offer
supported housing and services to adult home residents with mental
illness in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs.
The decision followed six years of litigation and a five-week
trial. MHP assisted Disability Advocates, Inc., the Bazelon Center for
Mental Health Law, MFY, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, and
pro bono counsel Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, and Wharton & Garrison.
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New York Times Editorial:
Despair's Profiteers,
September 14, 2009
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New York Times:
"State Discriminated Against Mentally Ill, Judge Rules,"
September 9, 2009
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New York Times:
"A Cycle of Promises Not Kept,"
September 9, 2009
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New York Law Journal:
State's Homes for Mentally Ill Adults Violate ADA, Judge Rules,
September 9, 2009
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$500 Million Settlement in Class Action Filed by Mental Health Project
Gets Final Court Approval
Martinez v. Astrue Order of Final Approval
The Social Security Administration (SSA) will repay over $500 million
to 80,000 individuals whose benefits were suspended or denied since
January 1, 2007, under a nationwide class action settlement granted
final approval on September 24, 2009 by U.S. District Court Judge
Claudia Wilken. In addition, those whose benefits were suspended or
denied between 2000 and 2006 will have any overpayment balances
removed, and will receive notice and the chance to re-establish
eligibility. All told, more than 200,000 individuals will receive
relief under this settlement, which resolves a class action lawsuit
challenging SSA's arbitrary and unlawful policy of using warrant
information to suspend or deny benefits.
Urban Justice Center joined the National Senior Citizens Law Center,
Disability Rights California, Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County
and pro bono counsel Munger, Tolles & Olson to represent plaintiffs in
this lawsuit.
Court documents and relevant materials can be found on this page.
For more information, contact Emilia Sicilia at (646) 602-5668.
AARP Bulletin:
"Untangling Social Security Benefits for Mistaken Fugitives,"
December 1, 2009
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