Norwood Artist’s Work a Window Onto Self

April 7, 2005

By Jessica Glazer

Norwood artist Jose Rios has gone from the lows of homelessness to the highs of seeing his paintings showcased in Manhattan galleries, as they will be later this month during his third solo show.

That long trajectory began shortly after his father died, leading Rios to the streets and heroin addiction. “I had two passions, getting high and art,” said Rios, 51. “Getting high took over and painting died out.”

Although his passion for art faded during those troubled years, the muscular Puerto Rican still created things and worked with his hands. Rios would fix up discarded items, ranging from brass symbols to a fountain, and later resell them.

After 10 years of homelessness, Rios says he managed to leave the streets through the support of family members, especially his daughter, Jephthahlyn. “I was just surviving from day to day,” said Rios, now thriving in his Knox-Gates apartment.

Rios has maintained his entrepreneurial tendencies, stretching his paintings’ canvases and occasionally crafting their frames from plywood or salvaged items. He mixes his own paints, sometimes adding sawdust to create a textured surface.

Rios’ subject matter also employs three-dimensionality as he frequently paints building interiors seen through window frames. “People are always looking out or in to see what’s happening outside,” said Rios about the theme of his current exhibition, which includes over 35 works. “This is a chance for people to see into my windows.”

Much of his subject matter is intensely personal, ranging from scenes from the streets to pastoral views of Puerto Rico. “I wanted to be inspired from within,” said Rios, whose apartment is almost entirely devoted to his artwork.

Rios shares his stories of personal renewal at Phoenix House, a rehabilitation center where he once sought help. Leading a 10-week class for at-risk youth, Rios has students reflect on their lives through portraiture. “A lot of times kids don’t look at themselves and see what they are worth,” Rios said. “Hopefully, I can be an example of what not to do.”

While offering indelible life lessons, Rios views his personal growth as ongoing. “I hope I never [find myself] because I enjoy looking for myself [through painting],” he said, smiling. “[My paintings] are all a part of me. I am never entirely satisfied with the finished pieces. It is a process.”

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For New Moms, Group Offers Many Helping Hands

April 7, 2005

By AnnaMaria ANDRIOTIS

Three-year-old Arianna is having a hard time choosing the next game to play at Chuck E Cheeze in Co-op City. After a few minutes of walking around the store, she sticks a red ticket in the slot of a photo booth, poses for the camera, and jumps up and down as she waits for the machine to print her picture. She smiles at the photo, and then turns to her mom, Roxanne Taylor, 32, who hands her daughter another ticket.

“I can’t imagine what raising Arianna would have been like without the support of the Bronx Mommies,” said Roxanne Taylor, executive director of Bronx New Mommies Inc., a not-for-profit social support group for mothers and children.

When Taylor, who lives in Co-op City, learned she was pregnant, she felt the need for a support group of mothers and mothers-to-be who would understand and help guide each other in the first stages of motherhood. She attended mommies’ meetings in Manhattan, and after several unproductive searches for a similar group in the Bronx, Taylor decided to form the first official Bronx New Mommies Group.

“I felt like I wanted something for mothers closer to home,” Taylor said. “Just to know there are moms in the Bronx who are experiencing the same thing is very comforting.”

Taylor posted advertisements on the Internet and among small mother support groups in the Bronx, hoping her efforts would prove fruitful. They did.

Bronx New Mommies held its first meeting in 2002, when Taylor’s daughter was just 6 months old. Almost three years later, with 11 current active members from all over the borough, Taylor considers the support the group provides a necessity for raising children.

“I realized early on as a mother that making friends with other moms is very important,” she said. “We have become a small family, and we can each turn to each other when in need.”

The majority of the Bronx New Mommies members range in age from their late 20s to early 30s, with kids as young as a month old and as old as 4. In addition to its general monthly meetings, the group hosts outside events that include outreach programs in the Bronx and mommy-toddler outings to the Botanical Garden, local museums and parks. The group also hosts “Mom’s Nights Out” that allow the mothers to strengthen their relationships and share their experiences.

“I joined in search of other stay-at-home moms,” said Boston Road resident SciHonor Bey, 27, a certified childbirth educator and labor assistant, who joined the group last summer. “I wanted to provide a well-balanced lifestyle for my 4-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter between home schooling and the Bronx Mommies activities.”

At the group’s events, children convene in playgroups while many of the more experienced mothers speak with expectant or new mothers.

In addition to the reservoir of emotional support it has provided, Bronx New Mommies also helps with the very basics of new parenthood.

“If a mom cannot make it to the supermarket and urgently needs diapers or food for her child, she can call one of the other members for help,” said Taylor. “The support is here in all ways.”

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Academy Gives Teens Taste of Teaching

April 7, 2005

By Heather Haddon

J. R.Qureshi, 15, now swallows his youthful pride and gives grammar his undivided attention. J.R. may not be fascinated with the present verb tense, but he might have to explain it to a classroom of his peers in the near future — or next week.

“I don’t want them to be bored and put their heads down to sleep,” said J.R., a Bedford Park resident. “I need to keep their attention.”

J.R. and 15 of his classmates are getting some advanced lessons in English, and classroom management, through the veteran Pre-Teaching Academy. Run in conjunction with Lehman College, the program immerses students at the High School for Teaching and the Professions (TAP) in the ways of teaching, and then lets them try alongside their own instructors.

“It gives them the confidence to stand up and talk in front of others,” said Pat France, a high school teacher who has worked with the Academy since its inception. “If you can face a group of teenagers, you can do anything.”

Hundreds of participants have performed that feat since the Academy began at Walton High School in 1984. Founded by the Lehman Center for School/College Collaboratives, which runs a variety of mentoring programs, the Academy is the second oldest teaching magnet program for teens in the country. It has received top marks in state reviews and been duplicated in other municipalities nationwide.

Based on its successes, the program grew in 2002 into TAP, a small school located on Walton’s third floor. The school’s current batch of juniors hit the ground running, many of them helping their TAP teachers last fall before they received formal training. After their trial by fire, participants are now learning pedagogy basics through the Academy class, held afterschool once a week at Lehman.

“You don’t want your students to spit back stuff like robots,” emphasized Laura Tringali, the Lehman project manager, while discussing teaching techniques. “You want good answers.”

Participants construct their own lesson plans, dividing concepts into concrete chunks and then figuring out how to motivate their peers to care about them. “We learn how to ask questions that open conversations, not stop them,” said Abdul Abdullah, 17, from Sedgwick Avenue.

Abdul wasn’t so comfortable speaking in front of others before he started the program. He’s quickly adapted. “Before, I was very shy,” he said. “Now I’ve learned how to talk to people.”

While training students how to teach, the Academy builds critical life and career skills. Participants gain confidence, learn to plan ahead and think on their feet, and above all, improve their writing skills. Academy participants write four times the state average on most weeks, according to Tringali.

“I write much better now,” said Mabel Joseph, 16, who won last week’s WOW (Writing of the Week) award for her essay about teaching art.

How much Academy participants actually do in the classroom depends on their sponsoring teacher. While some instructors just have their helpers grade papers, most students also get to teach certain lessons and work with small groups.

Stumbling through that process gives participants what many high school kids lack — a deep respect for their teachers. “When the kids laugh, I want to get involved also,” J.R. admitted. “But this gives you a different point of view. It shows you why you don’t want to be disrespectful.”

About a quarter of Academy participants go on to teach, many in city schools. Others enter careers in business or law, and almost all attend college. Students who complete the program receive college credit, and get a lot of SAT preparation.

Chris Serverino, 16, credits the Academy with pushing him to do more than play video games after school. “Most of my friends don’t care about college or the future,” said Chris, a Sedgwick Avenue resident who wants to be a criminal justice lawyer. “This has developed me as a person.”

While trading the jabs and wisecracks common among teens, Academy participants generally seem to like each other, and their instructors. “Sometimes we have to kick them out at 5 [o’clock],” Tringali joked.

Academy instructors get an enormous sense of pride from watching their students develop. “It’s a treat to work with these guys and see how far they’ve come,” Tringali said. “There’s so much more going on in here than just learning to teach.”

J.R. is fully aware how far he’s progressed. “I’ve been pushing myself, and it’s worth it,” said J.R, who just won a COW (Content of the Week) award. “To think I wanted to drop this class,” he exclaimed.

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Youth Providers Nervously Await Funding Revamp

April 7, 2005

By Heather Haddon

Youth organizations are anxiously waiting to see if some of their largest and oldest programs will continue under a massive city reorganization of after-school initiatives. The revamp, consolidating three distinct programming areas for kids, sent area providers scrambling to fulfill its new mandates.

“This is a major upheaval,” said Don Bluestone, executive director of the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC), a large provider of youth programs in Norwood.

Last December, the city unveiled Out of School Time (OST), the Bloomberg administration’s latest streamlining of social services. The proposal merges youth programming managed by the city Department for Youth and Community Development (DYCD), day care for school-aged children run by the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), and some initiatives through the After-School Corporation, a public-private partnership. At least 10 nonprofits in Community District 7 receive funding via these streams, potentially affecting everything from drop-in centers to teen leadership initiatives.

DYCD will oversee the resulting conglomerate, which prioritizes neighborhoods with concentrations of young people, low-income families, and poorly performing schools. Resources as a whole will be spread out more thinly, as OST’s proposed budget operates with $15 million less than the original three programs combined.

Many programs will also expand to serve entire school regions, a far larger scope for neighborhood providers. “The breakdown by school region was to better align OST with the … mayor’s education reform initiative,” said Michael Ognibene, a DYCD spokesperson. Region 1, which includes the entire west Bronx, is slated to receive the third largest portion of the total funding pie.

OST is further tied to the Department of Education (DOE) by encouraging providers to locate their programs in public schools, sweetening the deal with free snacks, space, and security.

Tolentine Zeiser Community Life Center, which operates after-school programs in University Heights, is applying for OST, but chose not to take DOE’s bait. “We don’t want to get into the schools,” said Sister Margaret McDermott, Tolentine Zeiser’s executive director. “We do good work with a center-based approach.”

OST is heavily oriented toward younger kids. Those serving elementary and middle school students receive at least $2,000 per participant for a maximum of 15 hours of weekly programming, but high school kids are only allocated $540 for three hours a week.

“There’s not a lot you can do with that,” said Marcy May, director of the Norwood-based EARS violence prevention program, which works with high school students. “The intent [of OST] is child care, which is good, but it ends up hurting the youth organizations.”

Ognibene agreed that OST targets younger children. “High school youth desire more flexible schedules and less frequent programming,” he stated.

The overhaul is no picnic for child care providers either. Day care organizations, many which employ unionized staff with certifications, are currently allocated at least $5,000 per participant. Under OST, providers will receive a maximum of $2,800.

“If you could take [OST] and double the money for it, you’d be in better shape,” said Janet Kelley, executive director of the Partnership for After School Education, a city advocacy group. The mayor’s proposed 2006 budget did add some funding to OST, but Kelley thinks it still comes up too short.

At 174 pages long, the proposal daunted many local providers. “It’s a lot of bureaucratic nonsense for the small amount of funds you do get,” said Shepard McDaniel, executive director of the COVE, a Knox-Gates community group.

Some small organizations couldn’t handle the paperwork. “The [request for proposals] is so intense, it’s very difficult to get any city assistance,” said David Laguer, who runs a youth cadet program out of MS 206.

Ognibene denied that the city was moving away from smaller providers, and said that agencies were encouraged to form partnerships in responding to the proposal.

Advocates worry that OST is another move by the Bloomberg administration away from neighborhood-based services, echoing the controversial consolidation of the Bronx’ Meals on Wheel program last year. With the push to bigger organizations, “you don’t get the added value of community providers,” said Mary Dailey, executive director of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, whose Sistas and Brothas youth group receives DYCD funding. “Particularly in the youth service field, community providers do many things they don’t get paid for.”

Dailey, however, did think OST has its merits, and offers a more updated approach to youth services. Kelley also liked the emphasis on academics. “It’s more of a full-service approach,” she said.

But how local groups will fare under OST is uncertain. Proposals were due two months ago, and while most of the larger organizations applied, some of the smaller ones, like the COVE, had not.

Funding will be announced during the summer, and programs will begin in September for a three-year stint. Providers will be rigorously evaluated for their effectiveness.

In the meantime, the City Council is also examining OST. “It’s a scandal,” said Council Member Oliver Koppell, who was an ardent critic of the Meals overhaul and is also skeptical of OST. “It’s certainly something we have to look into as part of the overall budget.”

The city has been planning OST for over a year, and nervous local providers are crossing their fingers. “If we get it, I’ll think it’s great,” McDermott said about the funding. “If we don’t, I will be crying.”

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Lost and Found

April 7, 2005

By Jordan Moss

The case of a Chinese food delivery man who was missing for almost four days inside Tracey Towers, only to turn up unscathed in a stuck elevator, has police and local residents scratching their heads.

Ming Kuang Chen, who has been in this country for two years, went to Tracey Towers to make three deliveries, the last to an off-duty police officer. But an hour or so later, when he didn’t return, his co-workers called the police who found Chen’s delivery bike still outside the building.

A three-day search of Tracey’s 871 units ensued. A large mobile command unit truck took up residence on Mosholu Parkway South and over 80 officers pulled from precincts all over the borough conducted the search. Helicopters searched from above and dogs trained to search for cadavers were also on the scene. Police even scoured the Jerome Park Reservoir and the nearby subway yards.

Chen, 35, was out on a delivery from Happy Dragon, a Chinese takeout restaurant on Jerome Avenue, just a couple of blocks from Tracey. He works the-re six days a week, 12 hours a day to support his wife and son back in southeastern China.

The story received citywide attention as many feared that Chen might have met the same grim fate as two other deliverymen who were murdered by teenagers in recent years.

On Sunday, two days after Chen disappeared, Councilman John Liu of Queens, the first Chinese-American elected to the City Council, collaborated on a press conference at Tracey with Councilman Oliver Koppell. Joined by Chen’s co-workers, they asked that anyone in the community with information, provide it to police.

Two days passed, when finally, early Tuesday morning, the Fire Department was called to inspect a stuck elevator in the building after an alarm sounded around 5 a.m. When they got the doors open, they discovered Chen inside — standing, according to some accounts.

He was taken to Montefiore Medical Center and doctors there pronounced him in good health.

Dr. Babak Toosi, of Montefiore’s Emergency Department, said there were no signs of trauma on Chen’s body and that while he was dehydrated, he never passed out.

“He is young and his body can tolerate loss of water to a certain extent,” Toosi said.

A police source said that Chen said he had hit the alarm and intercom button in the elevator several times before Tuesday morning.

No one could explain how the stuck elevator — there are six in each of Tracey’s two buildings — could have gone unnoticed for so long, particularly by police who were scouring the building and Tracey’s own security detail. Paul Browne, deputy commissioner for public information at the NYPD, said in a telephone interview that the police were particularly perplexed that security monitors with views of the interior of the elevators did not reveal that Chen was inside during the course of the search.

“That’s not to say Mr. Chen wasn’t telling the truth,” Browne said, pointing out that it was possible for them to have missed Chen if he was crouching in one particular corner the entire time. “It would just have to be extremely bad timing all the time by three different entities [the police, Tracey security, and elevator maintenance staff] who would all have to miss him at different points throughout those days.”

RY Management, the company that runs Tracey, did not return a call for comment by press time.

But elevator problems, and structural problems in general, at Tracey are not new. The Norwood News reported just over a year ago that one of the tenants’ main gripes is the condition of the elevators.

“You have to pray every time you get in the elevator not to get caught,” said tenant Gerry Powell at the time. Many of the floor indicators didn’t function as well.

Though Chen was found alive and well, and officials praised the police while the search was under way, questions are being raised about another aspect of the Police Department’s performance.

At press time on Tuesday, Liu issued a press release praising the police for the “vigor with which the Department searched for Chen,” but he also charged that the Department violated mayoral Executive Order 41. That order directs city employees “not to take it upon themselves to enforce federal law,” Liu said, referring to some press reports quoting police stating that Chen was an illegal immigrant who had been smuggled into the country.

“The issue is that some police officers apparently made a statement that he was an undocumented immigrant. Executive Order 41 explicitly says that you don’t do that. That’s it,” Liu said in a telephone interview. “Now, [this] places Ming in jeopardy, but more importantly we’ve been undertaking a lot of efforts to get the new immigrant community to cooperate more with the police and to seek help from the police when they need it. What’s happened here is just going to turn back those efforts.”

But police officials disagreed with Liu’s assessment of the situation. “My response to that is that news media exploitation of its own sources does not equate to notification of federal authorities by the NYPD,” Browne said.

He also said he was “confident that no one in that investigation in an official capacity” [provided the information about Mr. Chen’s immigration status to reporters]. But he added, “That doesn’t mean it didn’t leak” from another source.

Browne said that the Police Department “is an advocate of Executive Order 41 because it helps us. It encourages immigrants to come forward while at the same time protecting police sources.”

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Second Act For Paradise?

April 7, 2005

By Heather Haddon

Developers are finally well on their way to flipping the stage lights back on at the Loew’s Paradise Theatre after more than a decade of vacancy. Rehabilitation work at the Grand Concourse landmark began again in earnest earlier this year to pave the way for a large-scale theater predominantly showcasing Latino cultural events.

The developer, Gerald Lieblich, is restoring the baroque interior of the facility and the 3,855-seat theater is slated to open this fall. The concert hall will include a restaurant, bar, VIP seating and a party room. Roughly six storefront spaces flanking the main theater section had been partitioned as of last week, and “for rent” signs were prominently displayed.

“We’re in the process of restoring the facility … and we’re almost there,” said Lieblich, who runs a large Manhattan development firm. Lieblich leased the theater space to Paradise Theater Productions, a company run by Richard Boter, a Manhattan attorney.

Lieblich would not give more details about the redevelopment. Boter did not return calls for comment, but an overview prepared by him and posted on the Web site for R. Paniagua, a Latino marketing agency promoting the theater’s events, stated that the project will meet “the needs of the largely Latino community surrounding this site and … the entertainment industry for a large venue for major productions.”

Big-name Latino musicians will constitute at least 65 percent of the 100 weekend shows expected annually, according to the site. The space will also be available for special events, like boxing matches, political events and TV shows.

A foreman working at the site last week agreed that the new theater should be completed by the fall. The worker described the space as “very big.”

Something big hasn’t happened at the Loew’s since it shut its doors in 1994. The 4,000-seat movie theater had provided entertainment to generations of Bronxites since it was built in 1929. The theater was subdivided in 1973, and fell into disrepair thereafter.

The much-anticipated reopening of the majestic space has stalled repeatedly since it was purchased by ABI Property Partners in 1994. ABI signed a 10-year lease with Daniel DeCesare, a Westchester developer, who sunk millions into restorations to create a sports and entertainment complex. DeCesare eventually ran out of funds, and legal wrangling began in 2000 over who controlled the facility. ABI finally won in 2003.

Lieblich purchased the 141,312-square-foot building that year for $4.5 million, according to city finance records. His company, the First Paradise Theaters Corporation, leased over 57,000 square feet to Paradise Theater Productions last January.

Since then, restoration has continued on the building’s ornate interior, which includes marble columns, Greek statues and gilded fixtures. Work has also progressed on the adjacent commercial spaces. Walls now divide the first floor stores, though nothing has been built within them. The building contains an additional 10,000 square feet of commercial space on the second floor.

Work has also been done on the main section of the facility’s façade, with a bright, new Loew’s Paradise sign hanging outside. The building’s exterior was designated a landmark by the city in 2001, but efforts to get a similar designation for the interior have dragged on for years.

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