Tenant Empowerment Meets the Arts : FOCUS 2012

FOCUS 2012 Tenant Empowerment meets

The Arts

Friday, February 24, 2012 Harlem, New York

423 West 127 Street NY, NY 10027 :: www.palanteharlem.org

www.palanteharlem.org

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Agenda Welcome Remarks & Acknowledgements Music/Piñero Poetry Players Keynote Speech Open Letter to the Landlord Latin Night at the Pawn Shop Awards Ceremony Thieves of Light Imagine the Angels of Bread Unveiling of P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Harlem Wings of Justice El Concilio Taino GuatuMacu A Boriken Closing Remarks

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Honorees Timothy Collins A partner at Collins, Dobkin and Miller, LLP, Mr. Collins represents tenants and tenant groups. He worked at the New York State Attorney General. In 1985, he served as the Executive Director of the Rent Guideline Board (RGB) who are responsible for establishing rent adjustments for the approximately one million dwelling units subject to the Rent Stabilization Law in New York City. The Board holds annual series of public meetings and hearings to consider research from staff, and testimony from owners, tenants, advocacy groups and industry experts. Mr. Collins was also an Assistant Counsel at the New York City Housing Preservation & Development (HPD), office of Rent and Housing Maintenance.

Collins has been a Guest Lecturer at several noteworthy institutions including the New York Law School, the City University of New York Graduate Center and at The Yeshiva University/Benjamin School of Law. Collins is a true tenant advocate who focuses on assisting low and middle income residents with their housing issues. Most recently, he assisted the P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Harlem’s grassroots tenants in a Housing Court and Supreme Court case that started in 2006. Both cases were settled under the tenant’s terms and their tenancy rights are fully protected.

Collins has published several publications including the Rent Regulation in New York: Myths & Facts (Second Edition 2009) and Forced Subsidies under Rent Regulation Finding a Regulatory Taking where Legal Fictions Collide.

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Honorees Antone Pagan Times Square Independent Producer and Actors Studio lifetime member Antone Pagan is currently the Artistic Director of SILENT WARRIOR Productions The New FAMILY Theater, LLC. He is proud to announce his alliance with Elsia Vasquez (founder of P.A.‘L.A.N.T.E.) who recently supported his Piñero Poetry Theater production effort in The Times Square Theater Festival. His New FAMILY Theater is inspired by the original Family/La Familia Group and Marvin “Pancho” Camillo (director of the 1st production of SHORT EYES)who also discovered Miguel Piñero’s writing talents). Antone is privileged to have performed the works of and with La Familia’s two Pulitzer Prize Nominated writers Juan Alam and Miguel Piñero in several landmark institutions such as El Museo Del Barrio, Ellen Stewart’s La MaMa, Woody King’s New Federal Theater at The Henry Street Settlement and The Actors Studio under the guidance of Frank Corsaro, Arthur Penn, Harvey Keitel, Al Pacino and Estelle Parsons. Antone has continued in the Family’s tradition by donating perform-­ ances (but with no funding) for decades in numerous hospitals, rehab/correctional facilities, community theaters, etc. throughout 5 boroughs and Tri-State area for decades. He has maintained a honorable relation for many years with the Piñero Family Estate & presented other Piñero 1 and 2 acts works as well as his poetry and signature “Lower East Side Poem”; as demonstrated recently in Jan. 2012’s staged reading of “A Times Square Piñero”. Antone is pleased to honor the Piñero Estate Name & Family and freshly re-introduce Piñero’s Poetry & other works back to the stage with honor and ethical producing associates. It is a true blessing to work with Piñero's material and the guiding support of his Piñero Family Estate to ensure the Piñero legacy is revitalized, respected & resurged with the honor it deserves.

Multiple Theater credits include: Bernardo in West Side Story & Paco and Juan in Piñero’s award winning classic, SHORT EYES among many others. Some of Antone’s film appearances include: STRIPES, Dirty Dancing, Mulberry Street, RX’Mas, El Cantante & The Warriors. Some TV includes: all Law & Order shows, NY Undercover, The Sopranos, all NYC Soaps among others and Miami Vice, as Miguel Piñero’s nephew, Xavier Calderone co-starring with John Leguizamo. Current Indy films on Netflix & Showtime are George Romero presents DEADTIME STORIES & Here & There with Cyndi Lauper which also won an award in Japan’s Skip City HD Film Festival as a special entry by Pagan’s film teacher and mentor Mevlut Akkaya (Akayya Films). An award winning producer with featured artist/filmmaker Myztico in the HBO NY Latino Film Festival. Antone was featured last year in the Premiere of Nightlife in the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, the 1st annual East Harlem Int’l Film Festival and then in the HBO NY Latino Int’l Film Festival. Upcoming film/book/TV projects with co-producer Mr. Tony Saladino include an original Piñero 3 character play adapted to film with possible direction by cutting edge filmmaker Abel Ferrara (“King of New York”) and dedicated to his dear friend, the late film/TV/Broadway actor Victor Argo.

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Honorees Scott Metzner Scott is the founder and President of The Janus Property Company. Based in West Harlem, Janus has specialized in the creative re-development of upperManhattan’s neighborhoods for over 20 years, often working with not-for-profit organizations in various capacities. In addition to its early participation in numerous multi-family affordable rental programs as developer/manager, Janus also formed and manages the first institutional equity fund to directly revitalize New York’s low income communi-­ ties without government subsidies or tax credits.

Janus is also leading a unique neighborhood revitalization in the Old Grid District of Manhattanville at West 126th and 127th Streets and Amsterdam Avenue in West Harlem. Following the community’s planning initiative, Janus has completed the adaptive re-use of several of the old manufacturing buildings and has taken a leading role in the rezoning of the neighborhood in order to allow for new construction that will provide the widest range of economic development and job creation possibilities.

Mr. Metzner is proud of Janus’ long-term friendship with P.A.‘L.A.N.T.E. Harlem and honored to be singled out for their work together.

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Keynote Speaker Keith L.T. Wright Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright has earned a reputation as a dedicated and thoughtful public servant who gets results for his constituents. Active in his Harlem community, Wright has helped grow small businesses, create affordable housing, and increase opportunities for youth.

Wright is proud to have been with P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. when it ‘s founder was a tenant leader in a tenant association seeking help from her elected officials. Throughout the years, he has seen it’s growth from a small group of tenants to a fully operational, results-oriented community based tenant advocacy organization.

Wright was elected to the Assembly in 1992, and appointed Assistant Majority Whip in 1998. As chair of the Social Services Committee, Wright is currently charged with the important task of leading the fight for financial, medical and other support services for lower income households throughout New York State. These services include welfare, energy assistance programs, and medicaid, and Assemblyman Wright has historically been a vocal supporter for the expansion of such programs in Harlem, New York City and New York State at-large. Wright was elected chairman of the Manhattan Democratic Party, succeeding Mr. Farrell, his fellow Harlem Assemblyman, who had held the post since 1981.

Among other legislative accomplishments, Wright, as a member of the Housing Committee, was a co-sponsor of the critical legislation that protected rent controls. Wright also chairs the Subcommittee on Public Housing, where he champions the rights of tenants through extensive hearings and legislation.

As chair of the Harlem Community Development Corporation (CDC), Wright leveraged limited resources to make a substantial, tangible impact on economic development in Harlem, developing and renovating properties to create hundreds of units of affordable housing, grow small businesses, increase services for children and seniors and expand cultural venues.

Wright is also responsible for bringing to Harlem its first High School football team in decades – the 369th Harlem Hellfighters of the Thurgood Marshall Academy. Keith Wright lives in Harlem with his wife, Susan, and children, Jared and Jordan. He is a board member of Tufts University.

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Keynote Speaker Robert Jackson Robert Jackson proudly represents parts of Morningside Heights, Hamilton Heights, West Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood. A native New Yorker who was born and raised in Manhattan, Robert attended New York City public schools and later graduated from State University of New York at New Paltz.

Robert is married and is the dedicated father of three daughters.

He and his family have been part of the Washington Heights community since 1975.

Robert's involvement as a leader in the fight to improve our schools began in 1980 when he enrolled his eldest daughter at P.S./I.S. 187. He became an active member and then president of the Parents' Association. His activism led to his 1986 election to Community School Board 6 (CSB6).

In 1991, as CSB6 President, Robert and CSB6 Attorney Michael Rebell founded the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE). With Robert as lead plaintiff, CFE sued the State of New York for failing to properly fund NYC's public schools. CFE asserted that each year NYC's 1.1 million students were being cheated out of billions of dollar and denied the right to a sound, basic education. The trial court agreed with CFE, finding the State's funding formula unconstitutional. The suit and the decision have been hailed as a landmark. Challenged on appeal, the initial findings were upheld in 2003. Prior to that trial Robert walked 150 miles from New York City to Albany to dramatize the case. As a result, Robert and CFE were honored as NY1's "New Yorker of the Year".

Prior to his election in 2001, Robert was Director of Field Services for the New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF), a union representing over 55,000 professional, scientific and technical employees of New York State. Robert dedicated over 20 years to ensuring that union members' contractual rights and benefits were protected.

In the Council, Robert serves as Chair of the Education Committee and as a member of the Contracts; Finance; Housing & Buildings; Land use - Zoning & Franchises; Rules, Privileges & Elections; Sanitation & Solid Waste Management and Standards & Ethics Committees. He also is Co-Chair of the Council's Black, Latino & Asian Caucus. Robert describes his highest priority as the safety and well being of his constituents.

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About P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Harlem A Series of Unfortunate Events Rats. Toxic mold. Bedbugs. Collapsed ceilings. Peeling lead paint. Leaking pipes and backed-up sewers. More than 2,500 health and building code violations in all. That was the reality facing the 70+ families living in three buildings on 225 and 235 W. 146th Street and 301 W 141st Street a little more than three years ago. It’s become an old story in this city—greedy slumlords letting their buildings fall apart so that discouraged rentstabilized tenants give up and leave. When the building empties out, the landlord renovates and then charges sky-high market rates to the new tenants.

Not this time! In September of 2006, the tenants of those three buildings banded together to fight back against their landlord and assert their rights to live in safe, functional, and affordable housing. They called their tenants’ association P.A.’L.A.N.T.E., which stands for People Against Landlord Abuse and Tenant Exploitation.

In It For The Long Haul What the tenants didn’t know at the time was they had a long fight on their hands. They took their landlord to court for both immediate repairs and to fight for inclusion in the City’s 7A Administrative program. This program, which had been granted to only 37 other buildings citywide, removes the landlord from management control and sets up a system where the landlord is billed for costs of repairing and managing the property. After countless days in court and numerous delaying tactics, the landlord was stripped of his management rights, a 7A Administrator was installed and all three building were rehabilitated.

What’s Next?

As uplifting as this story is, the sad fact is landlords usually win these battles. Our community residents need to continue to fight and send a strong message to unresponsive landlords to ultimately force them to change their poor business practices.

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CONT’D As we continue our struggle and collaborate with key community representatives, elected officials, and activists, news of our success has resulted in our becoming a recognized community support system in New York City. This has led to increasing demands to broaden the scope of our activities to other New York City buildings whose tenants are faced with similar unsafe living conditions and unresponsive landlords. It’s a challenge we want to meet and our first step was to become a community-based organization: P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Harlem!

A Plan of Action P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Harlem has developed a growing reputation for supporting the rights of low-income residents and improving their quality of life by addressing the consequences of abusive landlord behavior. We remain committed to helping our community residents. We educate and represent a significant number of residents in their fight for tenancy rights. Our expertise has been effectively applied in coaching tenants and representing them in Housing Court.

P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Harlem is committed to supporting otherwise powerless, under-represented tenants in fighting for their rights—and to reject surrender as an option!

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Thieves of Light We all knew about Gus: the locksmith, the Edison man, and me.

We heard about the welfare hotel, where he stacked clothes on the sidewalk for the garbage truck if no rent was paid by Wednesday morning.

We heard about the triple deckers, where he heaved someone else’s chair or television from the third floor, and raged like a drunk blaming his woman till the pleading tenant agreed to leave.

There was word he even shot a cop twenty years ago, but the jury knew Gus, too, studying cuticles or the courtroom clock as the foreman said not guilty.

The only constable in Chelsea wore his gun in a shoulder holster, drooped his cigarette at a dangerous angle, yet claimed that Gus could not be found on Broadway to serve a summons in his hand.

This is how we knew Gus: Luisa saw the sludge plop from the faucet, the mice dropping from the ceiling,

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shook her head and said no rent, still said no after his fist buckled the bolted door.

In the basement, Gus hit switches.

The electric arteries in the walls stopped pumping, stove cold, heat off, light bulbs grey.

She lived three months in darkness, the wax from her candle spreading over the kitchen table like a calendar of the constant night, sleeping in her coat, a beggar in the underworld kingdom of rodents.

When Luisa came to me, a lawyer who knew Spanish, she kept coughing into her fist, apologizing with every cough.

So three strangers gathered in the hallway.

The locksmith kneeled before the knob on the basement door, because I asked him to be a burglar today.

The Edison man swallowed dryly, because I asked him to smuggle electricity today, forget Gus’s promise of crushed fingers.

And me: the lawyer, tightly rolling a court order in my hand like a newspaper to swing at flies,

CONT’D

so far from the leather bound books of law school, the treatises on the constitution of some other country.

We worked quickly, thieves of light.

The door propped open, as in a dream of welcome, swaying with the locksmith’s fingers.

The Edison man pressed his palms against the fuses boxes and awakened the sleeping wires in the walls. I kept watch by the door, then crept upstairs, past Gus’s office where shadows and voices drove the blood in my wrist still faster. I tapped on Luisa’s door.

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I had to see if the light was on.

She stared at me as if the rosary had brought me here with the sudden glow from the ceiling, a stove where rice and beans could simmer, sleep without a coat.

I know there were no angels swimming in that dim yellow globe, but there was a light louder than Gus, so much light I had to close my eyes.

By Martin Espada Poet & former Tenant Attorney

Upcoming Events

SUMMER 2012

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900 RSD Tenants Association

Congratulations to P.A’L.A.N.T.E. Harlem on this important milestone and to the honorees of FOCUS 2012.

Let’s keep on moving forward!

900 RSD Tenants Association

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Empowerment Players

Amadi Ageomah (Voice of the Youth)

A.J. (Music & Vocals)

Antone Pagan (Piñero & Espada Poetry & Vocals)

Jacqueline Ramos (Piñero Poetry & Vocals)

Rick Reid (Piñero Poetry & Vocals)

Rick “MusicMan” Rivera (Music & Vocals)

Julian Rosado (Slumlord Rap)

Ryss (Piñero Poetry & Vocals)

Shakeed K. Woods (Piñero & Espada Poetry)

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SPONSOR 18

About PA’LANTE’s Founder Elsia Vasquez Elsia founded P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Harlem out of necessity.

She witnessed firsthand her landlord’s neglect and blatant breach of the New York State Real Property Law 235-b, the warrant of habitability which remains an important protection for residential tenants.

The building in which she lived simply was not fit for human habitation and the owner failed to provide the essential services like heat and hot water.

She strategized; researched and inspected all of the buildings owned by her landlord and successfully organized the 65 families living in three buildings in Harlem to address the substandard living condition. The group, under her leadership as President, created a tenant’s association, deposited their monthly rents in Escrow accounts, hired attorneys and took the landlord to housing Court to force him to make repairs. The monies held in Escrow were later given to the New York City Department of Housing, Preservation & Development when the Court enrolled the building’s in the 7A Program in accordance with the New York State Law Article 7A. She also initiated a $5 million dollar lawsuit in the State Supreme Court for illegal rent registrations, missing security deposits and rent overcharges for the tenants. Today, the buildings are completely rehabilitated; the legal rents established, and the tenants received a generous settlement in the State Supreme Court.

Elsia’s organization and strong communication skills which she acquired in the financial services industry brought the tenants the unwavering support of the local elected officials who advocated to the New York City agencies to take a more active role in addressing the hazardous conditions that existed in the building such as the cascading leaks, black mold, lead and lack of heat and hot water.

As the Director of Product and Strategic Marketing at Prudential and as Vice President and Director of The Advisor Institute at AllianceBernstein, she trained the sales team and high-net worth financial advisors from top tier financial firms on how to maximize their business, deliver effective client seminars and developed turnkey tools to ensure that advisors met their fiduciary responsibilities and created capacity for growth for their business.

These skills are key to the staff that works at P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Harlem.

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We Congratulate P.A.’L.A.N.T.E Harlem For All Their Work In Our Community

Affordable Apartments Management Corp.

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Occupy the Future

Ancient wisdom in a present third eye mind state asks of us what type of world do we each envision for a collective energy of peace, well being, love and abundance, we are the change we've been waiting for. Break free from ALL tyranny and dogma of the mind, body and spirit!

Art by Myztico Campo.

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Congratulations tim collins, esq.

The Renaissance Man of Housing

Thank you for sticking by us and protecting our rights during the most turbulent times of our Court litigation!

P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Grassroots 225 West 146 Street Tenants Association 235 West 146 Street Tenants Association

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NYC Sidestreet Stroll

The son of a banker take a stroll down on a NYC side street with his well fed diamond collared dog with all sorts of chatter going on in his mind as two homeless people sit hungry begging for some change. Their worlds are very different as pencil legged fraud creating accountant steals the livelihood of many and forecloses on homes all at the stroke of a computer keystroke.

Art by Myztico Campo.

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Neighborhood Association for Inter-Cultural Affairs, Inc.

We proudly support P.A.L.A.N.T.E. Harlem, Inc. Congratulations on your FOCUS 2012 – Open House Working together to improve the quality of life by providing vital housing services to those in need.

Legal Representation at Bronx Housing Court Tenant/Landlord Mediation Services Family Eviction Prevention Supplement Processing Tenants’ Rights Advocacy Homelessness Prevention Services

Congratulations P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. We are proud to be a helping hand to a wonderful housing advocacy group in our community.

550 West 126 Street , New York, NY 10027 24

(212) 222-2028

Congratulations to P.A.’L.A.N.T.E Harlem and to the honorees at the FOCUS 2012.

We are proud to support you.

Let’s move it forward!

4015 Broadway New York, NY 10032 (212) 928-1234

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Congratulates P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Harlem & the honorees of the FOCUS 2012: Tenant Empowerment Meets the Arts We are proud to be a helping hand during the focus 2012 process PLATINUM 26

Congratulates P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Harlem & the honorees of the FOCUS 2012: Tenant Empowerment Meets the Arts We are proud to be a helping hand during the focus 2012 process

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In Tribute To

Elsia Vasquez And The

P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Team! for setting a real example of dedication to our community

And our best wishes to Tim Collins, Esq. on this great occasion.

Vintage Ventures, LLC PLATINUM 28

Imagine The Angels of Bread This is the year that squatters evict landlords, gazing like admirals from the rail of the roof deck or levitating hands in praise of steam in the shower; this is the year that shawled refugees deport judges who stare at the floor and their swollen feet as files are stamped with their destination; this is the year that police revolvers, stove-hot, blister the fingers of raging cops, and nightsticks splinter in their palms; this is the year that dark skinned men lynched a century ago return to sip coffee quietly with the apologizing descendants of their executioners.

awaken at last to the sight of a rooster-loud hillside, pilgrimage of immigrant birth; this is the year that cockroaches become extinct, that no doctor finds a roach embedded in the ear of an infant; this is the year that the food stamps of adolescent mothers are auctioned like gold doubloons, and no coin is given to buy machetes for the next bouquet of severed heads in coffee plantation country.

If the abolition of slave-manacles began as a vision of hands without manacles, then this is the year; if the shutdown of extermination This is the year camps that those who swim the border's began as imagination of a land undertow and shiver in boxcars are without barbed wire or the cremagreeted with trumpets and drums torium, at the first railroad crossing on the then this is the year; other side; if every rebellion begins with the this is the year that the hands idea that conquerors on horseback pulling tomatoes from the vine are not many-legged gods, that uproot the deed to the earth that they too drown sprouts the vine, the hands canif plunged in the river, ning tomatoes then this is the year. are named in the will that owns the bedlam of the cannery; So may every humiliated mouth, this is the year that the eyes teeth like desecrated headstones, stinging from the poison that puri- fill with the angels of bread. fies toilets

By Martin Espada

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Stands Proudly in Solidarity with P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Harlem Putting our accounting expertise to the service of our community.

GC BROKERAGE CORP 110-01 JAMAICA AVENUE RICHMOND HILL, NY 11418 PHONE 718-847-7900 FAX 718-441-9408 WWW.GC-BROKER.COM

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Concilio GuatuMacu A Boriken

With our foundations in Puerto Rico, Concilio Taino Guatu Ma-cu A Boriken de New York; our goal is to reach out to the Taino community in the Tri -State area. We are laying down the foundation and building a Pueblo where we can educate and increase the public awareness of the Taino people. Through areytos (ceremonial dances), reenactments, and hands-on seminars; we teach the history, way of life, songs, and craftwork of our ancestors.

El ConcilioTaino Guatu Ma cu A Boriken, Inc. -

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Email: conciliotainopr@hotmail.com Website: http://conciliotainopr.org Online Forum: guacahu.ning.com Amigos del Concilio: guacahu-

guaytiao.ning.com

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MOVING IT FORWARD WITH P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. HARLEM

Congratulations to the FOCUS 2012 Honorees TIM COLLINS, ESQ., SCOTT METZNER, & ANTONE PAGAN

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Event Planning Committee

Juana Baez Taney Bowers Carlos Cruz Antone Pagan Carmen Perez Evelyn Perez Jerry Smalls Nairee Taveras Rosa Williams 33

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423 West 127 Street NY, NY 10027 :: www.palanteharlem.org 36