Community News & Notes from Assembly Member Mike Miller (District 38)

Assemblyman Miller Honors Richmond Hill Peer Tutors

Pictured are (from left): Arunan Naahanathan, Assemblyman Miller, Mr. Robert Whalen, Natasha Moses, Chante Sherwood, Janagan Naahanathan, Daisy Tenecela, and Ivan Gamba

Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Queens) met with students from Richmond Hill High School who serve as peer tutors for their fellow students struggling in Mathematics. The Assemblyman presented the students with Certificates of Merit for their service to their community.

Assemblyman Miller Announces Collegiate Scholarship Program

Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Queens) announced today that the New York Conference of Italian-America Legislators is now accepting applications for four $1,500 scholarships to be awarded in June at their Annual Conference Weekend. Scholarship winners must be present to receive their awards.

“Given the high costs of college, every opportunity must be given to local students and their working families to meet their required expenses.” Assemblyman Miller said. “I highly recommend that students from Assembly District 38 apply to the Conference for these scholarships so that they may hopefully secure as much extra help with their expenses as possible.”

This year the Italian-American State Legislators Conference will be awarding four $1,500 scholarships to four current or future college students from New York State. Eligibility will be based upon the student’s grade point average, athletic involvement, interest in pursuing a higher education, involvement in the local community as well as individual financial need. The applicants must live in the 38^thAssembly District, which includes parts of Glendale, Ridgewood, Woodhaven, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, and Richmond Hill. 


Applicants must have demonstrated a grade point average of 85 and over, have good conduct and demonstrate the dedication to pursue and complete a higher education degree, have demonstrated community service and involvement in extracurricular activities, and can demonstrate financial aid. All requests must be submitted to Assemblyman Miller no later than April 19^th, 2011.

For more information regarding the scholarship, please contact Assemblyman Mike Miller’s District Office at 718-805-0950.

Miller: Assembly Passes Pay Equity Legislative Package - Measures Would End Unfair Wage Gaps

Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Queens) announced the Assembly passed a package of bills designed to end wage discrimination throughout the state. The legislation is accompanied by a resolution proclaiming April 12, 2011, as Equal Pay Day in New York State (K.365).

“In this day and age, it’s unacceptable that some New Yorkers still aren’t earning equal pay for equal work,” Miller said. “That’s why the Assembly passed a package of bills – and has done so for over a decade – that aims to rid our state of this shameful problem.”

The legislative package passed by the Assembly would make it easier to enforce equal-pay policies and create a statewide comparable-salary policy. The bills would:

• Make it a discriminatory practice to compensate employees of different sexes differently for work that is of comparable worth (A.3690);
• Enact the New York State Fair Pay Act to address and enforce pay equity, including broadening equivalent job definitions, specifying methods to determine equivalent skill, making it unlawful for an employer to discriminate between employees on the basis of sex, race or national origin and ensuring traditional and minority jobs are not undervalued (A.6130);
• Make it a discriminatory practice for public employers to compensate employees of different sexes differently for work that is of comparable worth (A.6448); and
• Establish a statewide policy of equal pay for both sexes and comparability of value of work and ensure corrective action (A.1780).

“It’s inexcusable for New York – a state that historically has set the standards in equality leadership – to not have policies in place that grant equal pay for equal work,” Miller said. “It’s plain and simple: Wages should be based on skill, effort and experience. Ending the antiquated and unreasonable wage gap is a responsibility New York must take seriously.”

Robberies Up in 102nd Precinct by Stephen J. Bronner- Queens Courier

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People need to watch their belongings, warned Captain Charles McEvoy of the 102nd Precinct, as there has been an upswing in robberies in the area.

The officer, who addressed the crowd at the most recent meeting of the Richmond Hill Block Association (RHBA), said that there was an increase in youth-on-youth robberies, not necessarily involving Richmond Hill High School.

Grand theft auto went down, and the precinct is doing well with burglaries, McEvoy reported, but cautioned, “Grand larceny is plaguing the 102nd Precinct.”

Residents especially need to watch their possessions in cars, McEvoy said, because of a string of car break-ins. The officer gave the example of a woman going to the supermarket. If she needs to go back into the store for one more thing, she should take her pocketbook with her. Leaving it in the car would up the risk of a robber smashing the window and running off with the bag. “Don’t leave it in your car,” he said.

Identity theft has also become a big concern. “It’s the crime of the time,” McEvoy said. “Never ever give your Social Security number to anyone.”

The poor economy also leads people to steal, he warned. Robbers would snatch a credit card just to fill up their gas tanks, the Captain said. “You’ve got to be extra careful of your cards.”

Uniting Against Local Hate Crime by Albor Ruiz - NY Daily News

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City Councilman James Gennaro (c.), Harpreet Toor (2nd from l.) and others listen as Hillcrest Jewish Center Rabbi Moti Fuchs (r.) speaks at meeting on hate crime in Fresh Meadows.

Zero tolerance for hate crimes. That's what elected officials and religious leaders asked for on Monday in the Fresh Meadows office of City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Queens).

"Vandalism and violence are terrible crimes under any circumstances, but there's a deeper cause for alarm when they're perpetrated out of ethnic or religious hate," Gennaro said.

Indeed, several hate crimes against religious and ethnic groups have taken place recently in Gennaro's Council District 24. Concern about the long-term consequences - and a desire to unite his constituents against such despicable acts - prompted the councilman to call the meeting in his office.

"In the past two months we've been going through a rough patch with some episodes which are much unlike our community," Gennaro said. "And I thought it was a great opportunity to bring different communities together in a special way to support each other against hatred, stupidity and intolerance. The meeting was a real cathartic experience."

If something can be said for the vandals, it is that they did not discriminate. Their victims were Sikhs, Catholics and Jews.

On May 5, a statue of San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, the first Filipino Catholic martyr and saint, was chopped off at the ankles and stolen from a spiritual center in Jamaica Hills ("the most peaceful place you can think of," Gennaro said).

The councilman was told by the Police Department that the hate crimes unit was investigating the robbery, but more than two months have gone by and the thieves have not been caught.

"We call on whoever did this to return our statue, and we call on the police to put as many resources as they can towards solving this crime," said Nick Libramonte, executive director of the San Lorenzo Ruiz Center.

A swastika was drawn on the rear passenger door of a car parked at the corner of Jewel Ave. and 161st St. in Fresh Meadows, according to what the 107th Precinct told Gennaro's office. It was found the morning of July 3. The hate crimes unit also is investigating this incident.

"We strongly protest all attempts to foment hatred between people," said Rabbi Shlomo Hochberg, spiritual leader of Young Israel of Jamaica Estates and president of the Rabbinical Council of America, who spoke passionately in defense of Catholics and Sikhs.

As we have written before, on June 9, the religiously mandated long hair of a 12-year-old Sikh girl was cut against her will by another student at PS 219 in Flushing. On June 6 at Richmond Hill High School, a Sikh boy, Jagmohan Singh Premi, 18, was punched in the face by a classmate who tried to remove his turban.

"The Sikh community is a peace-loving community, and stands united with others in denouncing violence against anyone, especially for religious or cultural reasons," Harpreet Singh Toor, president of the Sikh Educational Foundation, said on Monday.

GENNARO SAID he was satisfied with the results of the meeting, during which strong bonds were formed between the attending leaders.

"Queens, as the most diverse county in the nation, has a special obligation to show the rest of the country how it is done, how we can all live together," Gennaro said. "Everybody was concerned about one another, and everyone agreed that in Queens, a hate crime against one community is a crime against us all.

"In that sense, we are all Jewish and Catholic and Sikh."

aruiz@nydailynews.com

Robberies Up in 102nd Precinct by Stephen J. Bronner - Queens Courier

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People need to watch their belongings, warned Captain Charles McEvoy of the 102nd Precinct, as there has been an upswing in robberies in the area.

The officer, who addressed the crowd at the most recent meeting of the Richmond Hill Block Association (RHBA), said that there was an increase in youth-on-youth robberies, not necessarily involving Richmond Hill High School.

Grand theft auto went down, and the precinct is doing well with burglaries, McEvoy reported, but cautioned, “Grand larceny is plaguing the 102nd Precinct.”

Residents especially need to watch their possessions in cars, McEvoy said, because of a string of car break-ins. The officer gave the example of a woman going to the supermarket. If she needs to go back into the store for one more thing, she should take her pocketbook with her. Leaving it in the car would up the risk of a robber smashing the window and running off with the bag. “Don’t leave it in your car,” he said.

Identity theft has also become a big concern. “It’s the crime of the time,” McEvoy said. “Never ever give your Social Security number to anyone.”

The poor economy also leads people to steal, he warned. Robbers would snatch a credit card just to fill up their gas tanks, the Captain said. “You’ve got to be extra careful of your cards.”

Sikh Community Rallies In Queens Against Alleged Bias Incidents - NY1: Education

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Hundreds of Sikh community members marched in Queens Monday against the harassment they say Sikh kids suffer inside city schools.

The Sikh Coalition says 65 percent of Sikh students in Queens report being harassed because of the turbans they wear to protect their uncut hair.

"We think of [our hair] as God's gift," said student Arshdeep Singh. "We wouldn't cut off one of our organs, would we? That's how we keep our hair."

On June 9th, a 12-year-old female student at P.S. 219 cut a Sikh girl's hair and threatened to rip her brother's turban off.

The attack followed an earlier incident at Richmond Hill High School in which Sikh freshman Jagmohan Singh Premi was punched in the face with a fist full of keys. The alleged offender has been suspended and faces criminal hate charges.

"This is absolutely unconscionable," said City Councilmember John Liu. "In the year 2008 when kids in New York City public schools have to endure the bullying, the harassment, the racist taunting by other kids."

Sikh leaders say that since 9/11 anti-Sikh incidents have increased.

"People think either we are Arabs or we are followers of Osama bin Laden," said Swaranjit Singh of World Sikh Peace Foundation. "I've been called Osama more than a hundred times. There's a lot of need for education. We need to educate our fellow New Yorkers."

That's what Premi says he was trying to do when he was attacked.

"The kid called him a terrorist and he clearly explained to him, 'no, we're Sikhs,'" recalled Premi of the attack, through a translator.

A Sikh organizer says the school system needs to do more.

"These things happen in the schoolhouse, sometimes in front of the teachers and the teachers don't understand that calling a Sikh a terrorist is like calling an African-American the 'N' word," said Sikh Coalition executive director Amardeep Singh. "The DOE can implement and track as much as they want, but until they have a plan to protect Sikh kids in particular, we're not going to make any progress."

Chancellor Joel Klein says the education department is working with the Sikh community to implement new anti-bias regulations.

"We're in the process of promulgating a regulation on this, but let me be unequivocal: any intolerance is unacceptable," said Klein.

But one Sikh high school student who spoke to NY1 says he took off his turban and no longer wears it because it brought him so much taunting that he feared for his safety.

"I don't feel safe," said the student. "I don't want to be harassed, you know. I have feelings too."

When school resumes in September students will get a brochure that lays out the new anti-bias regulation.

NYC Sikhs Protest Attacks on Students -- Newsday.com

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The Sikh community is protesting an attack on a 12-year-old girl who had her long hair cut off by a fellow student.

The June 9 incident at Public School 219 in Flushing is the third incident in two months targeting a Sikh student in Queens. The hair cutting violates Sikh religious beliefs. School officials say the accused student was immediately suspended.

Sikhs and elected officials are marching through Richmond Hill, Queens, on Monday, then holding a rally at Richmond Hill High School.

On June 3, a student tried to remove a Sikh's turban and punched him in the face at Richmond Hill High School. In May, a student at another Queens school had his turban removed and his hair cut off.

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has previously met with the Sikh community and said new bias regulations were being implemented.

Sikh Student Assaulted At Richmond Hill H.S.by Lee Landor - Queens Chronicle

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Following a bias-based assault on a Sikh student at Richmond Hill High School last week, the Sikh community is demanding that the Department of Education take action to protect Sikh students from hate crimes.

“Fed up. That is the only way I can describe how we feel,” said Amardeep Singh, executive director of the Sikh Coalition, which identified Richmond Hill High School a “problem” school for Sikh children last year.

Jagmohan Singh Premi, an 18-year-old ninth grader at the high school, was allegedly punched in the face last Tuesday, June 4, by a student who attempted to forcibly remove his patka (a small turban worn by Sikh youths).

This is the second such incident in a year. In May 2007 at Newtown High School, 19-year-old Umair Ahmed dragged Harpal Vacher, 16, into a school bathroom, ripped off his turban and cut off his waist-length hair — a violation of Sikh religion.

Ahmed was convicted last Thursday, but did not receive jail time. Instead, he will perform community service for one year and write an essay for the judge.

“I am sad this is happening in America,” said Premi, who moved to the United States two years ago and speaks very little English, at a press conference last week. “I want to go to school to learn.”

Premi suffered an orbital fracture and facial contusion as a result of the attack, which took place in the classroom with the teacher present, according to Singh.

Premi’s tormentor, who has a history of harassing him by pulling on his beard and squeezing his jurdha (the knot of hair covered by the patka), is said to have untied Premi’s patka and, as Premi attempted to secure it, punched him in the face with a key between his knuckles.

Although this behavior was frequently reported to teachers, no corrective action was taken, according to Singh. The student was suspended earlier this year after attempting to remove Premi’s patka, but the harassment continued when he returned to school.

Since July 2007, the Sikh Coalition has been meeting with Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and his staff every two months to discuss the problems facing Sikhs at Richmond Hill High School and other schools throughout the city, Singh said. So far, “there wasn’t enough movement on the ground to stop this from happening.”

At their most recent meeting last month, the Department of Education said it offered diversity training — part of its “Respect For All” initiative — to Richmond Hill High School’s administration, which declined it, saying it had already had enough such training.

The Sikh Coalition has offered such training, free of charge, to a number of schools throughout the city, none of which has accepted so far. “It’s extremely frustrating” for the Sikh community, Singh said.

The real problem is systemic, he added. The DOE doesn’t specify any crime or offense within the disciplinary code for bias-related bullying or harassment. This means the DOE cannot track how many of these offenses are taking place in each school, which means it cannot identify problem schools, which in turn means nothing is being done to address ongoing issues.

Officials from the DOE said the agency does track bias-related incidents, but is currently enhancing its data systems to track these incidents with greater accuracy. By September, it expects to track these issues comprehensively regardless of the nature of the incident.

The Sikh Coalition took it upon itself to conduct a study, which found that more than 60 percent of Sikh students suffered bias-related harassment or violence in city schools. It also worked with a number of advocacy organizations and presented the chancellor with a model regulation that would create a system for defining, tracking and addressing biased-based harassment and problem schools.

Things are slowly reaching a boiling point for the Sikh community, which believes there are only so many times it can keep raising the issue before taking action on its own.

“We’re doing what the DOE should be doing itself,” Singh said. “It’s ludicrous. ... Our community is frustrated enough that if something like this happens again, we’re not gonna be doing press conferences anymore, we’re gonna be protesting and were gonna be out on the streets.”

Advocates are skeptical about Klein’s promise, which Singh said was made under “duress” at Friday’s press conference, to employ a regulation such as that the Sikh Coalition presented before him. “I won’t tolerate any harassment based on race, religion or gender in our schools,” Klein said during the conference.

“(A)ddressing and preventing bias crimes in school is a priority,” he added, which is why the DOE is drafting the new chancellor’s regulation that incorporates the Sikh Coalition recommendations.

Additionally, the department will distribute to all middle and high school students an anti-bias brochure defining harassment, advising students of their rights and outlining appropriate actions in response to harassment.

“While we’re happy the DOE is saying that they’re moving on the issues that we’ve raised with them ... they haven’t shared with us any drafts of the regulation,” Singh said. “It’s a shame that there’s no transparency to the process at all.”