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Assemblywoman Barbara M. Clark reports to the people Summer 2005 |
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Invest 2 Hours a Month in Your Local Parents Association. The Return on Your Investment is a Better Education for Our Children. |
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Dear Friends, With the growing need for affordable, accessible housing, few New York City neighborhoods are free from major alterations to the housing stock. This growth has some positive effects. Areas that were the epitome of urban blight now appear attractive and hospitable. Commercial strips are coming to life again, pushing out illegal drug operations and adding revenue to the city’s tax rolls. Unfortunately, there is a downside. This development mania has gotten out of control, fueled by regulatory laxity. Immediate economic benefit seems to trump zoning laws meant to control and guide a community’s growth. Our underlying infrastructure cannot support this pace of development. Critical elements such as the number and quality of schools, health-care facilities, recreation areas and mass transportation assets must be considered if our community is to thrive. School overcrowding as the result of this uncontrolled development is one of my most serious concerns. I have regularly visited schools in my district since becoming a legislator eighteen years ago. The current disparity between arriving students and available space exceeds any I’ve ever seen. This can be directly traced to the failure to properly regulate both residential construction and illegal rental conversions. Over the past year, a broad coalition of elected representatives, community boards, civic groups and city officials have come together to address the serious issue of overdevelopment. The result of this joint effort is a zoning proposal that would effectively downsize the permissible parameters of certain building projects in the Cambria Heights Community. I have written to the NYC Council Speaker and the Chair of the Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises urging them to act quickly on this plan to stop uncontrolled growth. Thankfully, they did. On July 25, 2005, the Council approved the proposal and it took effect immediately. So, if you see any questionable construction, call 311 to report it. Then call my office if you need help following up on your complaint.
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This four-family house being shoe-horned into what was the side yard of an existing one-family home is an example of the overdevelopment occurring in our neighborhoods. | ||
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VaSean’s Law Toughens Penalties
The legislation strengthens the penalties for vehicular assault and vehicular manslaughter when serious physical injury or death is caused by a person driving drunk or impaired by drugs. Prior to enactment of this new law, drunk drivers could only be charged with a misdemeanor unless it could be proven that they were speeding or driving recklessly. Known as VaSean’s Law, this new measure was named for 11-year-old VaSean Phillip Alleyne of Queens, who was killed in an accident last year by a motorist charged with drunk driving. The driver in that incident faced only one year in prison for his actions, despite the fact that he had killed one child and severely injured another. VaSean’s mother led a courageous effort to change the law in order to ensure that drunk drivers who use an automobile as a loaded weapon would be punished more appropriately. More than one-third of New York’s nearly 1,500 traffic deaths in 2003 involved alcohol-impaired drivers, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Nationally in 2002, 17,419 people died in alcohol-related traffic accidents – an average of one death every 30 minutes. |
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Assemblywoman Clark Brings Together Education Officials and Elected Officials to Boost Achievement of Southeast Queens Students Roundtable meeting seen as first step in revamping schools
The meeting was hosted by the four principals of the Andrew Jackson Magnet Schools, and was designed to serve as the first step towards creating more successful schools in Southeast Queens. The focus of the roundtable discussion was on middle schools, since poor performance by students in middle school leads to a lack of preparedness for high school, which in turn leads to low student achievement and dropouts. Roundtable participants discussed numerous ideas for improving student achievement, including: smaller class size, better communication between stakeholders, and partnering with corporations and foundations as a way to harness resources and enhance students’ educational experience.
Chancellor Klein discussed Department of Education initiatives to boost middle and high school student achievement. He also voiced his commitment to creating more K-8 schools in the city, including three schools that are being converted from K-5 into K-8 this September in Southeastern Queens. The Chancellor also pledged to promote better communication between the Department of Education and the Community Education Councils, something long sought by area parents. Participants also discussed the need to establish more technical and vocational opportunities for over-age, low-credit students who are at high risk of dropping out. Every effort must be made to help these students graduate from high school and obtain the skills necessary to land a job or go into business for themselves. By teaching marketable skills, schools can engage high-risk students and equip them to lead productive lives. I intend to hold further discussions periodically to evaluate the progress being made to uplift students and schools in Southeastern Queens. I am very hopeful that bringing this group together with a shared commitment to work on behalf of area children will make a tremendous difference in the future success of these students.
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| Assembly Approves Assemblywoman Clark’s Legislation to Establish an Independent Office of the Child Advocate |
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The Assembly has approved legislation which I sponsored to establish an independent Office of the Child Advocate. This measure would give some of New York’s most vulnerable children a much needed advocate in their corner. Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey and numerous other states have all effectively established an Office of the Child Advocate in recent years. Each of these offices has been very successful in introducing systemic changes that have enhanced the legal representation, protection, and well being of children in these states. Oversight from the Child Advocate has also helped to eliminate wasteful spending and streamlined operations so that the system works more efficiently on behalf of children. Unfortunately, New York is not immune to the crisis of children becoming the victims of further abuse or neglect once they are removed from their homes and taken into the state’s care. Too often, children fall through the cracks of an overburdened system. An independent office of the Child Advocate would provide our state’s most vulnerable children with the care they need, since its exclusive purpose would be to protect the well-being of children. In acting as an independent advocate for children and in offering a means through which both children and adults could report abuses in the system, the Office of the Child Advocate would provide oversight and consistency, enhancing the efforts and aims of the current system’s goal to protect New York’s children. I am hopeful that the Senate and the Governor will act to pass this proposal into law next year. |
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The Barbara Clark Dentistry Scholarship Awarded
A graduate of York College and Jamaica High School, Rashida plans to combine her majors in psychology and pre-dental sciences to help her patients overcome the fear associated with visits to the dentist. |
Queens Village Civic Association erects Welcome to Queens Village sign in Veteran’s Park,
funded by Assemblywoman Clark. Assemblywoman Clark is shown here with civic association
members (l-r) Rose Olson, Amelia Kent and Nagassar Ramgarib, president.
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Reduce Unwanted The Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service (MPS) is designed to assist consumers in decreasing the amount of unsolicited mail they receive at their home addresses from companies that market nationwide. You can register with MPS by mailing a free written request including your name, home address and signature to: Mail Preference Service/Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 643, Carmel, New York 10512-0643, or by visiting the Direct Marketing Association’s Consumer Assistance website. You may also wish to use the DMA’s website to register to stop unsolicited e-mail. You can register your e-mail address online for free and your name will remain on the list for two years. |
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Booster Seats Now Required A new state law requires that children under 7 sit in booster seats when riding in a car. Previously, New York State required that children under age 4 be in booster seats. This law follows research by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), finding that 3,300 children between the ages of 4 and 7 died in vehicle accidents between 1994 and 2002. The NHTSA also recommends that children under 4’9” tall and 80 pounds sit in a booster seat. I am pleased that the Assembly has responded to the NHTSA’s research and decided to take it a step further by requiring booster seats to be used only with combination lap and shoulder belts. Over 47 percent of child fatalities ages 4 to 7 are due to completely unrestrained seating conditions. Booster seats are a simple and effective way to keep children safe. For more information, please visit:
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Do You Want to Know More About Your Doctor? The NYS Physician Profile website was created to provide the public with profiles for doctors registered to practice medicine in New York State. This information can assist you in choosing a new doctor and help you find out more about your current doctor. To access the web site, go to: http://www.nydoctorprofile.com Through the website, you can find out about a doctor’s medical education, see what hospitals the doctor is affiliated with, and get information about any legal actions taken against the doctor. Doctors may also provide additional information in their profile, including the name, address and phone number of their practice, the doctor’s publications and professional affiliations, and a list of health plans the doctor accepts. You can also use the website to help find a new doctor by entering a field of medicine or a county or city in which you are looking for a doctor. |
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New Law Protects College Students Upon graduation, many college students have to begin paying off student loans which alone are a financial burden. Heavy credit card debt on top of those loans can be a financial nightmare for young people. This law will help college students think twice about spending money they do not have. Credit card companies are aggressively targeting college students and the results have been less than positive. The average balance due on a college student’s credit card has gone up dramatically, forcing many college students to file for bankruptcy. This new law will help alleviate the danger of a student taking on too much debt. The law prohibits marketing credit cards on college campuses unless the college adopts an official credit card marketing policy that includes:
Teaching students about the benefits of establishing good credit will help them develop into responsible adults. They will learn early on how to establish good credit, become financially secure and, one day, be able to successfully apply for a loan on a house, car, or business. |
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Assemblywoman Clark kicks off the 33rd Assembly District’s 13th Annual Spring Clean-up by welcoming community volunteers to Veteran’s Park in Queens Village. | ||
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Questionnaire Brings Issues Into Focus Concern over the subdivision of properties and additions to existing dwellings elicited one of the highest rates of response in my most recent constituent survey. Not only did 87 percent of respondents express concern over these issues, but many felt so strongly that they wrote comments directly onto the questionnaire. As a legislator, this tells me that in tandem with the pleasing cosmetics attending the current boom in housing development and renovation, there is also a mushrooming degree of social discontent. Because I have worked so hard for so long on education issues, some of the other findings in the questionnaire were tremendously encouraging. For me, the best of the good news was that even though 82 percent of respondents had no children in public schools, when given a choice of 8 issues, 31 percent chose education as the area deserving the government’s highest priority. This shows admirable foresight and unselfishness on the part of respondents, most of whom had no direct stake in the improvement of our schools.
In terms of overall consensus, health care got the second highest number of responses as the area deserving the government’s highest priority, with 18 percent. Homeland security came in third at 16 percent, jobs fourth at 14 percent, crime and the economy tied for fifth at 8 percent, housing came in sixth at 4 percent, and the environment seventh at 1 percent. Crime’s relatively low ranking was reflected in the fact that 72 percent of respondents felt safe in their neighborhoods. Given the high degree of felt security, it was somewhat jarring to find that 59 percent of respondents felt that their neighborhoods are worse now than they were 10 years ago. Apparently, as a quality of life determinant, crime has been dethroned by the pressing issue of overdevelopment. I promise to continue to do my part in addressing this looming problem, and encourage you to do the same. In an era of competing political interests, the best defense against overdevelopment may, in fact, be galvanized homeowners! My thanks go out to all of you who took the time to respond to my last questionnaire. I was overwhelmed by the volume of responses and by your thoughtful comments. Your efforts are deeply appreciated and provide me with invaluable insight into the issues that are most important to my constituency. |
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Community Opportunities Available
Free Computer Classes!
Programs for Senior Citizens |
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(l-r) NYC School Chancellor Joel Klein; Jean Desravines, Senior Counselor to
Chancellor Klein; and conference host Assemblywoman Barbara M. Clark listen
as education roundtable participants discuss ways to improve area school
performance.
(l-r) Mercedes Qualls, Principal of Campus Magnet’s School of Humanity and Arts;
Carol Kelly, Principal of Campus Magnet’s School of Law and Government; Security
Representative; Andrea Holt, Principal of Campus Magnet’s School of Math and
Science; and Congressman Gregory Meeks, 6th CD.
Pictured, left to right: Novella L. Jones, B.S., Assistant Dean of Student Affairs & Admission;
Richard I. Vogel, D.M.D., Executive Associate Dean for Academic Programs; Dr. Marcia Keizs,
President, York College/CUNY; Rashida Cheatham, Barbara M. Clark Scholarship winner;
Assemblywoman Barbara Clark; and Francis V. Panno, D.D.S., Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs.
