Neighborhood-level ethnic tensions are a funny thing. They’re usually stressful, frustrating and embarrassing – even to observers. But in America, they’re also incredibly dependable.
So predictable are they that I can write a template article to be used for the clash between established residents and immigrant newcomers in any neighborhood during any point in history. It would go something like this:
This really has very little to do with neighborhood news, but sometimes these things irk me. And I have a soapbox. So I’ll abuse it.
On Monday, we told you about Lance Stephenson, the former Lincoln High School basketball star and Indiana Pacers rookie that tossed his girlfriend down some stairs. At the end of the article, we had to ask, “Do you think the New York Post would’ve repeatedly referred to Jasmine Williams as Stephenson’s ‘baby mama’ if he were not black?” Well, our question fell on deaf ears, as they published at least four more reports using the arguably racist term.
Now we’ve got more eyebrow-raising reporting, as the fawning sportswriters over at the Daily News forget just who it is that’s the victim. They questioned Sebastian Telfair, another Lincoln H.S. basketball alum, about advice for Stephenson to overcome the apparent hurdles of his abusive, shithead nature.
Telfair says the Indiana Pacers rookie can bounce back as long as he owns up to his actions.
“He has to understand that it’s a mistake he made, and the quicker he gets over it, the better off he’ll be in life,” Telfair told the Daily News Wednesday evening at the Most Precious Blood community center in Gravesend, Brooklyn, where he treated nearly 150 kids and coaches from his 3T Family basketball tournament to trophies, food and refreshments. “Sometimes we go through things, we make mistakes and we dwell on it for too long. I hope he knows (Sunday’s incident) doesn’t make who he is as a person. He’s going to show his character as a good person, which I know he is. He’ll be all right.”
…
“It’s an unfortunate situation, but this isn’t the first obstacle he’s had to jump over,” Telfair said. “I’m sure he’ll get through it and come out strong. He has a lot of talent and with the opportunity, he’ll be able to do great things for himself.”
Wouldn’t “Stop beating your girlfriend” be better advice? This isn’t just one mistake Stephenson made. It’s just the one he got caught on. Family friends said Williams has been the victim of his temper before.
Daily News’ reporting almost left me feeling bad – sympathetic even – for this douchebag. How will he ever bounce back from this cosmic tragedy baring down on his life and career? How?!
Oh, then I remembered this maggot is the one that caused his own problems, and he physically hurt someone else in doing it. And he still gets to walk away with his $1.5 million contract.
Boo. F’ing. Hoo.
You know how in South Park, when adults argue, it always breaks down to “rabble-rabble-rabble”? If not, just check out the video above to see what I mean before you continue reading.
This is a lot like what the mosque debate sounds like these days. A bunch of adults shouting back and forth, repeating the same things and making no headway. An aggressive venting of dissatisfaction. “Rabble rabble rabble!”
It’s one of my favorite recurring jokes in South Park, because it so succinctly captures the relentless immaturity of feuding adults, which stands in stark comparison to the show’s children. The kids’ simple logic and reliable calm usually prove an able foil to the grown-up bologna of prejudice, jealousy and over-excitement.
All of this prologue, of course, is not to say adults are always silly while the world through kids’ eyes is often the purist and… er… truthiest. But the show makes a good point: a child’s insight shouldn’t be ignored; it’s worth consideration.
So I was mighty impressed when Daily News hit the streets of Sheepshead Bay to talk to some of the area’s Muslim youths about the controversy surrounding our local mosque. After all, during my own interviews with Muslim neighbors, they rarely said, “I want a mosque so I can travel less to pray.” Instead, it was nearly always, “My children need a place nearby to understand the religion, and to be taught under proper guidance. They need a place to go after school. My family wants a say in the organization that will help instruct my child.”
And, let’s not forget, too, that a large part of the mosque is being dedicated to use for children: classrooms, computers and a recreation room for youth programs.
Keep reading to see what Sheepshead Bay’s Muslim youths said about the controversy.
Is the landmarked Lundy’s building better off as a grocery store? That’s the way Crain’s New York makes it sound.
An article published over the weekend takes a look at Cherry Hill Gourmet Market nearly a year after its grand opening. What they found is a thriving business that they say locals need more than another restaurant. And maybe they’re right, which could have powerful implications on the Sheepshead Bay Special Zoning District, the law that determines what kind of businesses can operate on the Emmons Avenue waterfront.
It’s been just two days since this garbage can appeared on Avenue Z and East 14th Street, and it’s already overflowing. Residential pickup for East 14th Street is Tuesdays and Fridays, so this can should have been emptied yesterday. It wasn’t.
But beyond the Sanitation Department’s failure to deliver service, we’re getting to witness a very interesting phenomenon with this newly placed trash bin. This corner was previously garbage free. Sure, you had the occasional drifting plastic bag or paper cup, but compared to the sidewalk around the train station, it was positively speckless.
As you can already see in the photo above, that’s changing. Trash from the packed can is falling onto the sidewalk, soon to be taken for a ride by a gust of wind.
No can, no garbage in the streets. Give a can, it’s trash city.
At their June 27 rally, Bay People made their case against zoning issues. But attendees had a different message.
In a pair of Brooklyn Paper Op-Eds opponents to the Sheepshead Bay mosque reassert their criticism of zoning issues, while advocates fight for their right to religious freedom.
But the bigots, with their sensational quotes, still provide the focus for the mainstream media’s reports, and no legitimate conversation can emerge until they’ve been addressed.
Keep reading for our take on the Op-Eds and the state of the mosque debate.
The following op-ed is by Allan Rosen, a Manhattan Beach resident and former Director of MTA/NYC Transit Bus Planning (1981).
I got my first glimpse on Thursday of what Department of Transportation intends to do about bus stops no longer needed as a result of the MTA bus service cuts. There has been much speculation about this. Will they increase the number of free parking spaces? Will they install meters? Will they leave the potential parking spaces as “No Standing” zones? Some yuppies have even suggested that former bus stops be used solely for bicycle parking, which, of course, is ridiculous.
After watching DOT in action regarding this and other issues, I have come to the conclusion – and how do I say this politely – DOT is run by a bunch of idiots. I’ve said this before – they make the MTA appear competent by comparison. Let me explain.
Keep reading Rosen’s take on the DOT’s mishandling of bus stop eliminations.
Vince Martell has headlined every BayFest in recent memory. It's time for a change.
Last night’s BayFest 2011 planning meeting kicked off without a hitch, but with only four people in attendance the group’s challenges for the “biggest BayFest ever” were clear.
Most of the evening was spent discussing how to rival their 10th anniversary bash. In 2001, the group had hundreds of members and more than 50 volunteers cobbled together to throw the biggest event Sheepshead Bay had seen in generations, with the entire waterfront down to Ocean Avenue shut off to traffic as tens of thousands of attendees flooded the streets. Fifteen bands played along the piers and the main stage, and entire blocks were dedicated to vendors, street performances and live demonstrations.
“Standing on the stage and looking all the way down to Lundy’s and seeing a sea of people” was an extraordinary feeling incomparable to recent events, said Bay Improvement Group President Steve Barrison.
Keep reading about the challenges BIG faces, and why you should help.
Courtesy of NYS Senate
From the New York Post:
Embattled Brooklyn state Sen. Carl Kruger last year tapped his campaign fund for $10,500 in payments to an obscure New Jersey company that operates out of a private home and communicates via post-office box, The Post has learned.
The payments went to Reliable Repair Inc., a Fair Lawn, NJ, firm the Democratic lawmaker said was hired to install air conditioning and heating systems at his district office.
But campaign records on four 2009 payments to Reliable gave conflicting addresses for the business, including three that list a nonexistent address in New Jersey.
The fourth address was for a New Jersey post office, where a worker said Reliable pays for a box but operates from a home a half-mile away. Neighbors were unfamiliar with any business there.
Kruger, who’s being probed by the FBI in an alleged pay-to-play scheme, said the firm came “highly recommended” by Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay constituents.
Reached by phone to answer questions about work done for Kruger, Mark Yanishevsky, named as Reliable Repair’s vice president, asked: “Why are you trying to blackmail me? How did you find me?”
Here at Sheepshead Bites, we’ve got a lot of Kruger’s Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay constituents as readers. So does anyone recommend Reliable Repair Inc.?
Keep reading to find out how much Kruger spent on possibly illegal uses, and what he has to say.
Photo by Arthur Borko
Sheepshead Bites’ accidental mass transit expert Allan Rosen pointed out an interesting Brooklyn Eagle op-ed, in which former NYC Parks Commissioner Henry Stern argues that livery cabs and private enterprise should fill the void left by MTA bus service cuts.
Stern predicts that service cuts are here to stay as the MTA embarks on the long road to financial recovery, leaving many Brooklynites smothered by inefficient service, made worse by spiteful regulations that bar a private-sector alternative.
Blame for the agency’s malfeasance is targeted at its insulation from elected officials, and its financial situation has given way to a change in priorities, Stern argues. Where mass transit was once considered a vital public service, it’s too frequently seen now as a money-making enterprise. And like any business, deficits mean cuts and not the double down in commitment from the city and state that is required.
