Hundreds protest Lehman High School turnaround plan

By MIAWLING LAM

Former Bronx teacher and education activist Peter Lamphere
speaks during a rally to save Lehman High School.

THE odds are stacked against them, but more than 200 former and current students, teachers and parents have mounted a fight to keep Herbert H. Lehman High School open.

Clutching an array of posters and wearing black t-shirts emblazoned with the words “Lehman United,” the crowd packed into the school’s auditorium last night to rally against its closure.

Under Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s controversial proposal, 33 of the city’s most troubled schools will close in June before being renamed and reopened three months later with the same students.

The radical proposal, which was announced during this month’s State of the City address, will also remove more than 1,500 teachers—up to half of the faculty—from these schools.

The aggressive strategy was developed after negotiations over teacher evaluations broke down, causing the state to withhold $30 million in federal funding from the city.

Of the 33 schools under fire, 10 are located in the Bronx including M.S. 391 in Tremont, Banana Kelly High School in Longwood and Fordham Leadership Academy in Belmont.

St. Sen. Rev. Ruben Diaz tells us what we should know

Diaz loves Jesus.

St. Sen. Rev. Ruben Diaz has come out with another "What You Should Know" column, this one about the city preventing worship services in public buildings, such as schools and housing developments.

Diaz mentions an upcoming rally, in which a group of local religious and elected leaders, led by City Councilman Fernando Cabrera, will demonstrate against Mayor Bloomberg. The rally will be held on Thursday, Jan. 12, when the Mayor will present his State of the City Address.

Here is the full statement. The bold is Diaz's:

The Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, has decided to prohibit churches and religious groups from using auditoriums in public schools for worship services to our God.

You should know that this is not the first time that Mayor Bloomberg has demonstrated his rejection of everything that has to do with religion.

During the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers- where more than three thousand people died- Bloomberg forbid formal prayers and the participation of religious leaders, including the Catholic church’s Archbishop Timothy Dolan.

To counter this new decision of Mayor Bloomberg against churches, a group of religious leaders, led by Councilman Fernando Cabrera, has organized a demonstration against Mayor Bloomberg to be held on the day when the Mayor will present his State of the City Address.

This demonstration will take place this Thursday, January 12 at 12:00 noon in the atrium of Morris High School, located at 1100 Boston Road, on the corner of East  167^th  Street in the Bronx.

As a State Senator representing constituents who attend worship services in public high schools and as the President of the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization and through this column I invite all Ministers and members of the community to join us in our protest against having many of our churches and Ministers thrown into the street without a place to worship  God.

I ask all members of the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization that when you attend our weekly meeting this Thursday, please wear your White Jacket, as we will be attending this demonstration after our meeting.

I expect that all organizations, singers, evangelists, leaders and members of the Christian community will support the leaders who are coordinating this demonstration in the same way that we like others to support us when we have our meetings or events.

This Thursday, January 12^th  at 12:00 noon at Morris High School, located on Boston Road and  E. 167^th Street, as members of the rank and file, and not as leaders; we will be there to participate and support such a noble cause.

I am Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz, and this is what you should know.

Bronx High School of Science alum protest status quo

Bronx High School of Science alumni held a protest Thursday afternoon, calling for Principal Valerie Reidy to be more open and transparent, saying it will lead to a better school. "Don't rule with an iron first," one protester said. We are going to have a full story in next week's paper, but I wanted to share the events of the today earlier than that, with some photos:

Around 50 alumni and students stood across from Bronx Science.

Chants included "Enough is enough!" and "We are not a number!"

Most of the alumni present graduated in the past few years.

Cabrera arrested Thursday morning (UPDATED thrice w/photos)

Cabrera and city pastors pray in front of the law department's building.

City Council Member Fernando Cabrera and a group of around six Pastors from across the city were arrested when participating in a peaceful protest against the New York City Law Department’s stance to evict Houses of Worship from city owned or operated space today.

A spokesperson for Cabrera said they began protesting at 8 a.m., and around 9 a.m. the group was arrested for blocking the entrance.

The Prayer Protest was organized by Pastor Dimas Salaberrios of Infinity New York, which met at the NYCHA Bronx River Houses. The purpose of the rally was to protest the eviction of the Infinity New York Church from the NYCHA Bronx River Houses.

One of Cabrera's New Year's resolutions is to pass legislation that will prevent the eviction of religious groups from public spaces.

After the Supreme Court declined to hear Bronx Household of Faith vs. New York City Department of Education on Dec. 5, 2011, the New York City Department of Education announced it would ban religious worship inside public schools, as permitted by the June 2011 decision of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. Subsequently, religious groups have begun to be evicted from other public spaces, including Bronx Bible Church from Justice Sonia Sotomayor Houses, and Infinity New York Church from Bronx River Houses.

New York City is the only municipality in the nation that bans Houses of Worship from meeting in public spaces.

“Today we are seeing the first indication that the churches in New York City, and nationally, are awakening,” Cabrera said in a statement. “Together, we will fight these restrictive laws that discriminate against hundreds of thousands of Church-goers.” 

The law department is at 100 Church St., Manhattan. 

UPDATES:

A Cabrera spokesperson told us, "It began as a “prayer protest,” and then became an act of Civil Disobedience as several pastors and congregants knelt in prayer. There was significant police presence, as Infinity NY Church had a permit to be there."

PolitickerNY reports that Cabrera was released from jail and had a brief phone interview with him:

According to Sheila Stainback, a spokeswoman for NYCHA, none of the churches who have used their facilities have lease agreements, so “we have not evicted anyone. That language would be incorrect.”
Instead, she said the churches have operated for years in the common spaces –which during the rest of the week residents sign up to hold birthday parties or block association meetings or the like–and that NYCHA is attempting to systematize how those common spaces get used.
Mr. Cabrera, newly sprung from jail, said in a brief phone interview that he didn’t buy it, that instead all the Bloomberg administration and NYCHA were instead using Supreme Court’s actions as a pretext.
“This particular church has been there for six years. They have been a complete positive impact on the community. Why is this happening now,” he said.

“We are getting the perception that we have an anti-religion mayor. I have never been arrested for anything. I don’t even drink beer. This is how desperate I am.” 

City Councilman Jumaane Williams has these photos posted on his Twitter account:

 

The Twitter account reads:

"@FCabreraNYCC performed his #civildisobedience outside 100 Church Street, #protesting for #NYC's #housesofworship."