Ordie
07-02-2008, 11:53 AM
Lower East Side Rezoning, in Translation
By Jennifer 8. Lee (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/author/jlee/)
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/06/30/nyregion/zoning_proposed-190.jpg
The proposed zoning map for the Lower East Side. (Map courtesy of New York City Department of City Planning) Enlarge this Image (http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/06/30/nyregion/30zone.cityroom.ready.html)
Should Community Boards offer interpreters for their public hearings?
That became a topic of contention (http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0821,border-war-in-chinatown,446668,2.html) when a wonky zoning meeting on May 12 about the Lower East Side rezoning erupted into screaming, accusations of racism and an arrest (http://thevillager.com/villager_258/whataboutus.html). (Watch some subtitled footage (http://mnncommunitymedia.blip.tv/file/930207/) of the raucous conflict, as well as an NY1 segment on the meeting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqXmI4QYncI).)
The demonstrators demanded Chinese and Spanish translators for the Community Board 3 (http://www.nyc.gov/html/mancb3/html/home/home.shtml) meeting, but their protests were really pointing to a deeper anxiety about the rezoning process — the exclusion of minorities.
The protesters argued that a 111-block rezoning plan pushed by the Department of City Planning for the Lower East Side (http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/evles/evles3.shtml) protects the more affluent and white areas, while excluding the poorer, predominantly Asian-American and Latino neighborhoods.
Using 2000 Census data, the Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side, which was recently formed, points out that while Community Board 3 is 28 percent white, almost three-quarters (73 percent) of that population sits in the rezoned area.
In contrast, Asian-Americans are a greater percentage of Community Board 3, at 35 percent of the population, but fewer than a quarter of that (23 percent) are in the rezoned area. And only 37 percent of Latinos live in the protected area, even though they are roughly the same percentage as the population as whites for the Community Board as a whole.
The area to be rezoned (http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/evles/evles3.shtml) is bounded by East 13th Street to the north, Avenue D to the east, Grand and Delancey Streets to the south, and Third Avenue and the Bowery to the west. The protesters claimed that the rezoning would simply shift the high-rise development pressures from inside the protected area into the neighboring areas which are predominantly Latino and Asian-American.
But at the meeting, David McWater, the chairperson of Community Board 3 at the time, denied the zoning plan was anti-minority (http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_262/cb3feels.html) and argued that the rezoning plans to protect Chinatown and other areas could come later. However, give the investment that has already gone into this process it is wiser to move forward.
In May, the full Community Board passed the rezoning plan. In July, it is scheduled to go to the Manhattan borough president’s office for approval. Then, it would go to the City Council.
So what is the city’s policy on translators and public hearings?
Local Law 73 (http://www.nyc.gov/html/imm/html/executive/ll73.shtml) mandates that four city social services agencies — Administration for Children’s Services, Human Resources Administration (which handles and food stamps and other public assistance), the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department for Homeless Services — offered fairly extensive translation services, including translating documents into six languages and having bilingual staff on hand. These agencies also have a contract with Language Line Services, a 24-hour phone translation service. (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904E3D9173AF931A15757C0A9629C8B63)
In addition, the mayor’s office said its Office of Immigrant Services has worked with 31 other city agencies to help provide translation services — by setting up a shared translation contract that agencies can opt into.
As a result, the city does offer translators for public hearings and meetings by held city agencies (like the Department of the Aging and Department of Education), according to the mayor’s office.
“Given the city’s large limited-English proficient population, city agencies offer interpreter services,” said Yvonne Erskine, a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office. The most popular languages offered include Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Haitian Creole and Korean.
However, the community boards (http://www.nyc.gov/html/cau/html/cb/place_in_gov.shtml) are not run by the city’s central administration. They fall under the jurisdiction of the City Council and borough presidents’ offices, which together make all the appointments and provide the financing.
Thus, they do not fall into the network of translation services offered by the central administration.
“We don’t have a specific policy,” said Susan Stetzer, the district manager for Community Board 3. “The city has no resources for us. It’s a very difficult problem.”
Each community board this year will get a $189,000 budget, which includes salaries, supplies, repairs but not rent. Ms. Stetzer added: “In our budget request, we have asked for resources to be able to translate. But as you know, the budget is pretty poor shape.”
To cope, she said, sometimes the board members translate and sometimes organized groups will bring their own translators. She said she always asks for city handouts in three written languages: English, Spanish and Chinese. When the city offered automatic translation for Web sites, she asked for a link on the Community Board 3 Web site, and got it immediately.
Ms. Stetzer said: “We try. We don’t have resources. We absolutely try the best we can. We very much understand it’s a problem. We recognize this is a diverse community that speaks many languages. We try very hard to work with our constituents and serve our constituents.”
Source:http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/lower-east-side-rezoning-in-translation/
By Jennifer 8. Lee (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/author/jlee/)
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/06/30/nyregion/zoning_proposed-190.jpg
The proposed zoning map for the Lower East Side. (Map courtesy of New York City Department of City Planning) Enlarge this Image (http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/06/30/nyregion/30zone.cityroom.ready.html)
Should Community Boards offer interpreters for their public hearings?
That became a topic of contention (http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0821,border-war-in-chinatown,446668,2.html) when a wonky zoning meeting on May 12 about the Lower East Side rezoning erupted into screaming, accusations of racism and an arrest (http://thevillager.com/villager_258/whataboutus.html). (Watch some subtitled footage (http://mnncommunitymedia.blip.tv/file/930207/) of the raucous conflict, as well as an NY1 segment on the meeting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqXmI4QYncI).)
The demonstrators demanded Chinese and Spanish translators for the Community Board 3 (http://www.nyc.gov/html/mancb3/html/home/home.shtml) meeting, but their protests were really pointing to a deeper anxiety about the rezoning process — the exclusion of minorities.
The protesters argued that a 111-block rezoning plan pushed by the Department of City Planning for the Lower East Side (http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/evles/evles3.shtml) protects the more affluent and white areas, while excluding the poorer, predominantly Asian-American and Latino neighborhoods.
Using 2000 Census data, the Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side, which was recently formed, points out that while Community Board 3 is 28 percent white, almost three-quarters (73 percent) of that population sits in the rezoned area.
In contrast, Asian-Americans are a greater percentage of Community Board 3, at 35 percent of the population, but fewer than a quarter of that (23 percent) are in the rezoned area. And only 37 percent of Latinos live in the protected area, even though they are roughly the same percentage as the population as whites for the Community Board as a whole.
The area to be rezoned (http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/evles/evles3.shtml) is bounded by East 13th Street to the north, Avenue D to the east, Grand and Delancey Streets to the south, and Third Avenue and the Bowery to the west. The protesters claimed that the rezoning would simply shift the high-rise development pressures from inside the protected area into the neighboring areas which are predominantly Latino and Asian-American.
But at the meeting, David McWater, the chairperson of Community Board 3 at the time, denied the zoning plan was anti-minority (http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_262/cb3feels.html) and argued that the rezoning plans to protect Chinatown and other areas could come later. However, give the investment that has already gone into this process it is wiser to move forward.
In May, the full Community Board passed the rezoning plan. In July, it is scheduled to go to the Manhattan borough president’s office for approval. Then, it would go to the City Council.
So what is the city’s policy on translators and public hearings?
Local Law 73 (http://www.nyc.gov/html/imm/html/executive/ll73.shtml) mandates that four city social services agencies — Administration for Children’s Services, Human Resources Administration (which handles and food stamps and other public assistance), the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department for Homeless Services — offered fairly extensive translation services, including translating documents into six languages and having bilingual staff on hand. These agencies also have a contract with Language Line Services, a 24-hour phone translation service. (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904E3D9173AF931A15757C0A9629C8B63)
In addition, the mayor’s office said its Office of Immigrant Services has worked with 31 other city agencies to help provide translation services — by setting up a shared translation contract that agencies can opt into.
As a result, the city does offer translators for public hearings and meetings by held city agencies (like the Department of the Aging and Department of Education), according to the mayor’s office.
“Given the city’s large limited-English proficient population, city agencies offer interpreter services,” said Yvonne Erskine, a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office. The most popular languages offered include Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Haitian Creole and Korean.
However, the community boards (http://www.nyc.gov/html/cau/html/cb/place_in_gov.shtml) are not run by the city’s central administration. They fall under the jurisdiction of the City Council and borough presidents’ offices, which together make all the appointments and provide the financing.
Thus, they do not fall into the network of translation services offered by the central administration.
“We don’t have a specific policy,” said Susan Stetzer, the district manager for Community Board 3. “The city has no resources for us. It’s a very difficult problem.”
Each community board this year will get a $189,000 budget, which includes salaries, supplies, repairs but not rent. Ms. Stetzer added: “In our budget request, we have asked for resources to be able to translate. But as you know, the budget is pretty poor shape.”
To cope, she said, sometimes the board members translate and sometimes organized groups will bring their own translators. She said she always asks for city handouts in three written languages: English, Spanish and Chinese. When the city offered automatic translation for Web sites, she asked for a link on the Community Board 3 Web site, and got it immediately.
Ms. Stetzer said: “We try. We don’t have resources. We absolutely try the best we can. We very much understand it’s a problem. We recognize this is a diverse community that speaks many languages. We try very hard to work with our constituents and serve our constituents.”
Source:http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/lower-east-side-rezoning-in-translation/