By Sam Dolnick
New York Times (October 28, 2010)

Theirs was the first Latino group to settle in New York City in large numbers. Most speak English, and they are United States citizens, entitled to the benefits and security that new immigrants can only dream of.

But by many measures, young Puerto Ricans are faring far worse than the young Dominicans, Mexicans and other Latinos in New York, according to a report to be released on Monday by the Community Service Society of New York, a leading antipoverty group.

Puerto Ricans ages 16 to 24 have the lowest rates of school enrollment and employment, and the highest rates of poverty among Latino New Yorkers. Puerto Rican men are more than twice as likely as their Mexican peers to be out of school and out of the labor force. Puerto Rican women are more likely to be out of school and unemployed than Dominican or Mexican women.

The findings, culled from the Census Bureau’s annual surveys from 2006 to 2008, show that Puerto Rican youth are the most disadvantaged of all ethnic groups in New York, the report said.

“We are terribly concerned about the issues facing young Latinos, but particularly young Puerto Ricans,” said David R. Jones, the society’s president and chief executive. “It’s shaping the landscape of New York, and it’s happening really quickly.”

Since they began arriving in the city in large numbers in the 1940s, Puerto Ricans have made their mark in many realms, including business, culture and politics. Some of those political leaders – including Representative José E. Serrano, who has represented the South Bronx for two decades, and Fernando Ferrer, the former Bronx borough president – strongly disputed the study’s conclusions that Puerto Ricans are any worse off than other Latinos.

“When it comes to Puerto Ricans, there are so many studies that always try to paint the glass as half-empty,” Mr. Serrano said, though he acknowledged that the group faced unusual challenges. “Puerto Ricans are American citizens who are treated by a lot of people as if they are not American citizens.”

Others said the new report would come as no surprise to anyone who had tracked statistics over the years.

“We’re doing horribly as a community,” said Angelo Falcón, who was born in Puerto Rico and is the president of the National Institute for Latino Policy, an advocacy group based in New York. “It’s getting worse from the perspective that the problems are not being addressed. They’re festering, and it’s going into the second and third generation.

“The scary part is that people are not paying attention from outside the community.”

Latinos make up nearly one-third of the city’s population between ages 16 and 24, more than any other ethnic group. Puerto Ricans represent 26 percent of that group, while Dominicans make up 29 percent and Mexicans 13 percent.

While Latinos are often viewed as a single bloc, the report considered each group individually. Many of its findings were striking.

Roughly 17 percent of young Puerto Rican men were not in school, employed or looking for work, compared with 9 percent of Dominicans and 8 percent of Mexicans. Of those Latinos born in the United States, only 55 percent of Puerto Rican youth were enrolled in school, compared with 68 percent of Dominicans and 67 percent of Mexicans. Regardless of birthplace, about 33 percent of Puerto Rican families lived below the poverty line, compared with 29 percent of Dominicans and 27 percent of Mexicans.

Experts said there was no simple explanation for the Puerto Rican plight, but they pointed to longstanding discrimination, neglect from government agencies and, curiously, the population’s successes.

In recent decades, many Puerto Ricans who have prospered have moved to the suburbs. Those who have remained in poor neighborhoods, like East Harlem and much of the South Bronx, must deal with substandard schools, high unemployment, and serious ailments like diabetes and asthma.

Lazar Treschan, who wrote the report, “Latino Youth in New York City,” traced many problems to the troubled areas where many Puerto Ricans live. “This is the impact of concentrated poverty on a community,” he said.

Of course, other Latinos live in poor neighborhoods as well, but researchers said a key difference hinged on citizenship and immigration. More than 90 percent of young Puerto Ricans were born in the 50 states, and even those who came from Puerto Rico are not considered immigrants. Many young Dominicans and Mexicans were born in their home countries – 43 percent and 72 percent, respectively – and brought the enterprising spirit that is common among new arrivals, Mr. Falcón said.

“There’s this entrepreneurial motivation that you see among newer immigrants that Puerto Ricans at this point may not have anymore because they’ve been, ironically, Americanized,” he said.

Although Mexicans are the most recent Latino group to come here in large numbers, Mexican men have an employment rate more than three times that of Puerto Rican men, even if many of the jobs they hold are low-paying, according to the report.

Mr. Jones, the Community Service Society president, said his group planned to consult with policy experts and elected officials to discuss possible solutions. “We’re seeing the construct of what New York is going to look like,” he said. “If we don’t grapple with it, it’s going to have some really negative impacts.”

http://tallerboricua.wordpress.com/fact-sheet/

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (EDC) AND THE REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (RFEI)

_On September 17, 2010, EDC informed Taller Boricua that a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) would be issued for its leased multicultural space in the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center.

_EDC’s rationale for the RFEI is that the Julia de Burgos theater space should be rented together with Taller Boricua’s multicultural space because of the lack of soundproofing between spaces. No other issues were brought to Taller Boricua at that time.

_EDC issued the RFEI on September 30, 2010. The RFEI states that EDC has the authority to select any group of its choice to take over Taller Boricua’s leased space without consideration from current tenants in the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center, Taller Boricua, Community Board 11 (CB11), or the greater community of East Harlem.

_Should EDC follow through with its plan and terminate Taller Boricua’s tenancy of the multicultural space, it will potentially cripple Taller Boricua’s community arts and cultural programming, including events associated with its art exhibitions. Apart from Taller Boricua’s own programming, the multicultural space is used by the community to celebrate milestones in their lives as well as by other not-for-profits in Spanish Harlem to further their programming.

_This is not the first time EDC has taken such unilateral action without community involvement. La Marqueta faced a similar RFEI. The RFEI is just one more step towards the gentrification of Spanish Harlem and the continual dismantling of the efforts won by the Latino community.

_ Community Board 11 has requested that EDC hold off on issuing the RFEI in order to discuss how the cultural center will be utilized.

_Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito strongly supports the RFEI. Her reasons are broad and subjective such as “activation,” “limited access” and “underutilization.” These undefined statements inaccurately and unfairly group the Julia de Burgos Theater and Taller Boricua’s multicultural space together into those categories.

_Joining the theater and all its real problems with Taller Boricua’s space below confuses the actual facts. It is a calculated move that mischaracterizes the real situation.

JULIA DE BURGOS LATINO CULTURAL CENTER BUILDING, CURRENT MANAGEMENT AND ORIGINAL VISION
_The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) manages the Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center overall. Taller Boricua is a paying tenant for our multicultural space. The RFEI takes away our lease on the multicultural space within the building and joins it with the Julia de Burgos Theater.

_The Julia de Burgos Theater is NOT managed or administrated by Taller Boricua. It is City/EDC owned and managed. The THEATER is extremely underutilized and mismanaged. It has limited access and use due to its desperate need for logistical repairs and renovations.

_In addition to Taller Boricua, the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center houses the Heritage School and three Puerto Rican not-for-profits, including Los Pleneros de la 21, the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, and Taller Boricua.

_Taller Boricua was one of the founders of the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center over 15 years ago and has been an ideal tenant ever since (paying rent, insurance and upkeep). Taller Boricua provides active cultural programming to the community in accordance with the original vision for the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center.

_Heritage High School currently occupies two floors of the building. It was located in the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center as a temporary solution to maintain a steady cash flow while the not-for-profits that originally applied to be in the building (and were denied for lack of funds) were able to acquire funding.

_The original visioning plan for the Julia de Burgos was that the entire building would be available to arts and culture not-for-profits groups and programming.

_At her visioning session, many community leaders requested a halt to the RFEI to discuss the issues within the community and to give Taller Boricua due process. She ignored them. She has not approached the current tenants of Julia de Burgos Cultural Center to discuss or define clearly the issues she states have been brought to her. She has not attempted to pursue any alternatives such as relocating the Heritage School so as to make room for other local and cultural not-for-profits.

_As Founders and current occupants of the Julia de Burgos we deserve to be informed and given the chance to clearly understand and correct whatever issues were brought to Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito’s attention. We deserve inclusive dialogue and alternative solutions — not ultimatums and deadlines.

RFEI PITS EL BARRIO’S COMMUNITY AGAINST EACH OTHER
_This RFEI has caused controversy and in-fighting among East Harlem community members, dividing the Latino community rather than unifying them through positive collective development of the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center. Divide and conquer— that is how gentrification of an existing community starts.

_Members of the Cultural Affairs Committee to CB11 have officially recused themselves from handling matters concerning the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center due to a conflict of interest. Cultural Affairs Committee Board members Aurora Flores and Celia Ramirez intend to apply under the RFEI issued by EDC.

_Releasing the RFEI and then giving additional reasons are calculated moves. After-the-fact explanations of “limited access” and “under use” are subjective, broad terms that deserve to be quantified and qualified. If under use of the theater is the real issue than allocating funds to renovate it and make it usable is the answer. It is not necessary to cause this damaging controversy within the community.

TALLER BORICUA’S LEGACY OF COMMITMENT TO EL BARRIO, SPANISH HARLEM
_Taller Boricua’s mission has always been for positive change and growth for Spanish Harlem. The “issue” of soundproofing the theater is an opportunity for jobs for workers in Spanish Harlem and a revival of the theater’s use – not a cause for dividing the community.

_Starting in the 1960’s, a time when Spanish Harlem was ignored and ostracized socially, economically and politically, Taller Boricua fought for our community, dedicating the organization to the improvement of living conditions and providing arts and culture programming to El Barrio.

_The founders and current directors of Taller Boricua, Fernando Salicrup and Marcos Dimas, have always been involved in bringing basic public services as well as the arts to the neighborhood such as: working with Operation Fightback to create and keep affordable housing; being part of the original founding board of El Museo del Barrio and assisting Boys Harbor’s move to Spanish Harlem. They also helped more recent not-for-profits art groups such as Art for Change and Media Noche start-up in the community. Taller Boricua’s goal was and still is to build a “cultural corridor” from Museum Mile into Spanish Harlem.

_Apart from Taller Boricua’s own programming (Salsa Wednesdays, open poetry nights, film screenings, lectures and panels,) the multicultural space is used by the community to celebrate milestones in their lives (memorials, weddings, baptisms and birthdays) as well as by other not-for-profits in Spanish Harlem to further their programming. To name a few: New York Latinas Against Domestic Violence, Danisarte, Community Works, Los Pleneros de la 21, Harlem Community Justice Center, 100 Hispanic Women, Hope Community, Pathways to Housing, Art for Change, Friends of Claridad, Cemi-Underground, Community Planning Board, Absolutely on 2/Latin Dance with Carmen Marrero, Little Sisters of Assumption, Community Voices, The Field, The Renaissance School, Artist in the Schools, The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, ArtCrawl Harlem. Zon de Barrio, Yerba Buena.

ONGOING PATTERN OF GENTRIFICATION
An RFEI does not justify taking away Taller Boricua’s space to allow EDC and the City to avoid fixing the theater. Forcing Taller to participate in an RFEI for a space we already occupy and use is wrong. It is disrespectful and dismissive of our history and current cultural programming.

_It is also disrespectful and dismissive of all the other current tenants of the Julia de Burgos who also have active, ongoing cultural programming: Los Pleneros de la 21 and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater

_To ignore and try to undermine the history and the contributions of a community’s leaders means you have no intention of insuring that community’s future.

_If long term productivity and continued growth of arts and culture in El Barrio was the true mission, than an RFEI that gives EDC (a Development Corporation) full decision-making and selection power would not be the process (see page 6 of the RFEI application).

_EDC’s issuance of the RFEI is just one more step towards the gentrification of Spanish Harlem and the continual dismantling the efforts won by the Latino community. We have lost many important groups in the past few years such as Chica Luna and the Association for Hispanic Arts (AHA). The deliberate and unilateral action of EDC gives the impression that there is a concerted effort to erase our culture in El Barrio.

THANK YOU to everyone who came to the Community Board Office to support Taller Boricua Wednesday night. At Wednesday night’s Executive Committee meeting, a motion was approved to send another letter to the Economic Development Corporation with stronger language requesting EDC to:
01. Rescind the RFEI;
02. Communicate directly with Taller Boricua concerning any grievances; and
03. To put up the money for soundproofing the Julia de Burgos Theatre.

THIS IS NOT A FINAL ACTION, but serves as a recomendation which will be considered by CB 11 at next Tuesday’s (October 19) Full Board meeting.

We know the fight is not over yet. The RFEI is still in motion. We need your community support more than ever. Please stand with Taller Boricua at the next Full Board meeting where the entire Community Board will take a final position on EDC’s RFEI.

WHEN: Tuesday, October 19th at 6:30pm
WHERE: EHCCI Auditorium 413 East 120th Street (btwn 1st & Pleasant Avenues)

WE NEED TO KEEP SPEAKING OUT UNTIL WE ARE NOT JUST HEARD BUT LISTENED TO AND ACKNOWLEDGED.

If you have not signed already, please sign our petition:

If you would like to further support stopping the RFEI over the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center, please contact EDC and our public officials. For contact information go to “GET INVOLVED” menu tab.

Joining Taller Boricua’s multicultural space with the theater and forcing us to participate in an RFEI for a space we already occupy and use is wrong. It is disrespectful and dismissive of our history and current cultural programming.

It is also disrespective and dismissive of all the current tenants of the Julia de Burgos who also have active, ongoing cultural programming: Los Pleneros de la 21 and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater.

Activating the Julia de Burgos Theater requires funding and renovations by EDC and the City – NOT RFEI’s that put their responsibility on the community’s applicants

As Founders and current occupants of the Julia de Burgos we deserve inclusive dialogue and alternative solutions — not ultimatums and deadlines.

by Gloria Quiñones & William Gerena-Rochet

As long-time residents of El Barrio, we have been concerned for years about how the Julia de Burgos Latino Cutural Center has not fulfilled its mission: to provide the community with spaces in which we would celebrate our Puerto Rican and Latino identity through cultural and artisitic events produced by our various artists and cultural groups.

For too long the City of New York, the owner of the building, as well as prior elected officials failed in their duty to supervise the Center, creating the void that allowed el Taller Boricua, one of the tenants who control most of the spaces in the building, to take over the multipurpose space, while allowing the theatre space to remain virutally unusable and closed.

Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito brought the community’s concerns before the City’s Economic Development Corporation, and the agency has responded by issuing a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI), whcih calls on all interested groups to submit proposals for the management of these two spaces at the Center – the theatre and the multi-pupupose space, which Taller Boricua has managed.
We are pleased that the City has finally taken action and support this effort to revitalize the Center.

It is truly infortunate that the debate around this issue has engendered such unnecessary confusion due to a campaign of lies and distortions, that are being repeated despite multiple efforts at clarification. Except for the “Salsa Wednesdays”, recently suspended by El Taller Boricua, few if any cultural events are programmed in the multicultutral space on a consistent basis. More often than not it is rented by El Taller for private events at its discretion.

In order to maintain control of this income-producing space, the leadership of El Taller Boricua has resorted to a campaign of personal attacks and distortions, such as equating this effort with “gentrification” a situation which is of grave concern to the residents of El Barrio.
This campaing has to stop immediately, as it only seeks to block positive change, and to discourage interested groups from bringing their art to El Barrio.

In the long term, we favor the creation of an administrative entity, developed and directed by the community, that will oversee the operation of the Julia de Burgos Center. This would ensure that more groups and invidual artists would have access to this very important cultural resource as well as expand and diversify programs for the residents of El Barrio /East Harlem. We join this effort to insure that the future of the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center is one that will offer our community a variety of cultural programs and prevents one organization from gaining a monopoly over these spaces.

Gloria E. Quiñones geq339@gmail.com y William Gerena-Rochet gerena339@gmail.com