Bloomberg Booed at MLK Event in Harlem by Ben Fractenberg and Jill Colvin - DNAInfo.com

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MLK Day Draws Black Leadership to Harlem

Leaders urged New Yorkers to continue Dr. King's work when it came to guns, education and wages.

Political and civil rights leaders descended on Harlem Monday to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day and urge New Yorkers to continue Dr. King's work by taking action on some of the toughest issues in the neighborhood — guns, schools and wages.

"Right now we are at a time of very significant turmoil," said U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who spoke passionately at an event organized at Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network.

Gillibrand cautioned that tragedies like the Arizona shooting were happening every day across New York.

"Senseless acts of gun violence happen every single day in our communities, every single day," she said.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was booed by the standing-room only crowd as he took to the podium — the only one on the long list of prominent politicians to be booed.

"This is a day when we pledge to further King's dreams," he said.

Bloomberg repeated his pledge to fight to close loopholes in gun laws and also reiterated his push to close upstate juvenile justice facilities that take kids away from their communities.

"Thank you. You should applaud. This is killing our kids," he said after some in the crowd clapped after he outlined his stance against illegal guns.

But he was booed again when he said that President Barack Obama considers the city a national model of education.

"Not true," some shouted from the packed aisles.

Earlier in the day, religious leaders and politicians welcomed new Schools Chancellor Cathie Black during the Convent Avenue Baptist Church's annual Martin Luther King Day service, urging her to improve the city’s education system.

Former mayor David Dinkins claimed there were more young African Americans in prison than attending school and urged Black to work toward keeping more students enrolled.

"Chancellor Black, it’s important we do something about that," Dinkins said.

Hazel N. Dukes, the president of the NAACP New York State Conference, urged Black to take the focus away from disciplining children at school and instead work to get better teachers.

"Chancellor Black, I’m glad that you’re here, but I don’t want you to be the disciplinarian of my children," she said. "I want some qualified teachers to teach my children."

The church was packed with several hundred congregants who clapped and called back to speakers as they connected Dr. King’s legacy to modern struggles.

"This is not a memorial service," Reverend Osagyefo Sekou, from the Lemuel Haynes Congregational Church, said to loud applause. "We came to revive the legacy of Martin Luther King."

Sekou spoke about the church’s support of a living wage law in New York.

"The City Council needs to be disabused of the notion a floor sweeper and cab driver not be able to make enough to live in this city," said Sekou.

Embattled Harlem congressman Charles Rangel was greeted with hugs and kind words before the service started.

Rangel sounded hoarse at both events as he spoke about the impact of Dr. King on his life.

"All of us have a bit of Martin Luther King in us," he said.

While speakers at both events celebrated past struggles, their focus was firmly planted on current issues.

"Things have gotten better, a whole lot better, but we’re not there yet," said Dinkins.

Mark Ruffalo Calls on Governor to Close Hydrofracking Loophole by Olivia Scheck - DNAinfo.com

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Ruffalo called on the governor to expand his recent hydrofracking ban.

Actor Mark Ruffalo was in Midtown Monday imploring the governor to expand his executive order limiting hydrofracking in New York State.

"The Kids Are All Right" star has been an ardent activist against the drilling practice, which injects chemicals into the earth to extract natural gases from irregularly shaped wells.

His efforts paid off last week, when Gov. David Paterson issued an executive order banning horizontal hydrofracking until July 1, 2011 at the earliest, so that further research could be done into the potential dangers of the drilling method.

"You don't take your daughter to the red light district just because times are tough," Ruffalo said, applauding the governor's decision to protect the long-term viability of the water supply. "You make sure what you're doing is safe and then you make money on it."

But Ruffalo and other activists also argued that Paterson's order didn't go far enough, saying it left the door open for vertical hydrofracking, which the governor's office says is a traditional drilling method that has been used safely in the state for 40 years.

Ruffalo and officials including State Sen. Liz Krueger warned Monday that either method could contaminate the water of 12 million out of 19 million New Yorkers.

"This wouldn't be a little problem, this would be a catastrophe," Krueger said.

On the same day that Paterson gave the executive order temporarily banning horizontal hydrofracking, the governor vetoed a more expansive drilling bill, which he said would have prevented any new drilling permits from being issued through May 15th, 2011.

Still, Ruffalo indicated that he was holding out hope that the governor would issue a second executive order during his last days in office to close what he called the "Paterson Loophole."

He and others said they were scheduled to meet with one of the governor's aides following the press event.

"He's got a good heart," the actor said of the outgoing governor.

Upper East Siders Push to Landmark the Marx Brothers' Childhood Home by Gabriela Resto-Montero - DNAinfo.com

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Shortly before his death in 1977, Groucho Marx surprised the family living in his childhood home at 179 East 93rd St. with a visit.

Back in the early 1900s, Groucho and brothers Chico, Harpo, Zeppo and Gummo lived on the fourth floor of the four-story walk-up with five other relatives. As the story goes, after the aging star looked around his former home, he left without saying a word.

The house remained in remarkable shape over the years since Groucho lived there — except for the floor. Shortly after his visit, crews arrived at the home to replace the worn-out floor with brand new Italian tile. Although he never took credit for the floor, the so-called "Groucho Tiles" remain today.

Now, proponents of preserving the Marx Brothers' childhood home are pushing to include the block on East 93rd Street between Lexington and Third avenues, which they call "Marx Brothers Place," in the Carnegie Hill Historical District.

The effort has the support of Harpo's son, Bill Marx.

"Marx Brothers Place shall at last become the historical site of monumental proportions it so justly deserves, and then nobody ever again will have to request that it should be anything but just that, and finally the good folks of both Manhattan and Freedonia can then get some sleep," Marx said.

The East 93rd Street Beautification Association began working on landmarking the block in 2008 after developers tore down several brownstones to make room for condos on the street, said Susan Kathryn Hefti, co-chair of the association.


"It's remarkable," Hefti said of the building's preservation preservation.

"If Groucho walked through the door today the house would look the same except for the cornices [they were removed decades ago]," Hefti said.

Before Groucho's reported tile intervention on the fourth floor, Marx brother Harpo wrote about the role of the home in his 1961 autobiography, "Harpo Speaks!"

In his memoir, Harpo said he learned to tell time time from the tower clock then in place at the Ehret Brewery on East 93rd Street.

By 1910, the talented family had moved to Chicago and was already on the road to super stardom, the New York Times reported.


Eventually, the vaudevillian family made 14 films together as the Marx Brothers including the classics, "A Night at the Opera," "Duck Soup" and "A Day at the Races."


The neighborhood association will speak before the Landmarks Committee at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 19 at the Hunter College School of Social Work.