Tish James: Hill Advocate in City Politics
Posted on 25. Aug, 2010 by Thaddaeus Pera in All Politics is Local
Tish James
City Councilwoman Letitia James has served Fort Greene and Clinton Hill with tremendous popular support since 2003, winning the most recent election with 92% of the popular vote. In that time she has been a fierce advocate for the common citizen and the progressive agenda in the council chambers. Recently The Hill caught up with the Councilwoman to discuss her current efforts to save municipal jobs, improve local access to fresh and health foods, protect our youth from crime and police profiling, and guide the community impact of the Atlantic Yards project.
Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to talk. I know you are very busy finalizing the city budget. Since it’s probably foremost on your mind, what are your priorities in the ongoing city budget negotiations?
The city is proposing to cut 50 senior centers, 16 day care facilities, 20 fire houses; as well as 1,100 municipal jobs including teachers. We need to prevent these cuts. The focus in this district, one of the most independent in the city, needs to be to increase our advocacy and restore these cuts which represent the safety net in the city of New York. Fort Greene and Clinton Hill are a very diverse neighborhoods and very prosperous but any given day you can see signs of poverty. In the Presidential election of 2008 we voted for change. But we need to continue the revolution. Why has the momentum dissipated? Change needs to start locally, in your city district, and continue to the state and national level.
I also want to address the feminization of poverty where black and Hispanic single mothers are struggling to a greater extent in their efforts to support their families.
We are also working to preserve and create affordable housing in the neighborhood which, in turn, allows us to preserve the wonderful diversity of our community. And I want to continue to coordinate with local business organizations such as the Fulton Area Businesses in order to bring more economic growth to the area, specifically the stretch along Fulton between Vanderbilt and Classon which continues to see its challenges.
What do you want to achieve for the community of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill through your current work with the food justice movement?
We want to expand food cooperatives and green markets in the area. Soon there will be a youth-run market outside the Lafayette Avenue public housing facilities where young people will have the chance to take part in the health food revolution. Also, in working with local CSA’s (community supported agriculture coops) we want to subsidize and expand fresh, organic markets in food deserts with tax incentives.
As chair of the Sanitation Committee I want to eliminate confusion in the recycling program and establish more composting sites. Recently the city has expanded recycling capabilities to include glass, textile, and paint. We are also working in coordination with local schools in the district and NYCHA to improve the collection of food waste. The topography of New York doesn’t allow for easy disposal of food waste but we need to do better.
Aside from more conscientious consumerism, how can the community take part in this struggle for food justice?
Education. We need to talk with our neighbors about the food revolution and expand the debate in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, including in that debate bodega and small convenience store owners, and utilize the power of our purse strings. The government needs to tie the success of the health food revolution to community health indicators. We need to see improvement especially in African-American communities where lack of good food and exercise has contributed to growing rates of diabetes.
Many people have pointed out, most notably Will Allen (Chicago based urban-farmer and leading food justice advocate), that these inequities in food distribution are symptomatic of the more fundamental problem of the growing economic, geographic, and political gulf between low and high-income communities, in that working parents have less time and fewer resources to provide healthy meals for their families. What can be done to unite the public around this issue and address the systemic causes of unequal access to healthy and affordable food?
Join churches with think tanks and other interested parties about the food revolution. As in all things, the most underserved communities tend to be of color and their problems go unseen and unheard. We can combat this by facilitating greater discussion and education.
As a vociferous opponent of the Atlantic Yards project from the very beginning, what are your concerns for the community now that the project is poised to go through?
I am concerned with the traffic; we’ve had multiple deaths on Flatbush over the last few months. And I want Forest City Ratner (developer of the project) to stay true to his promise to create affordable housing. Right now all plans for affordable housing are up in the air. Also, the Borough President (Marty Markowitz) and I will be establishing a task force to address the quality of life issues that may arise over the next several years. Finally, in terms of economic growth, I want to increase opportunities for minority- and women-owned small businesses.
Can you tell us a little bit about your current community safety initiatives?
Crime in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill is down. Constituent concern prompted the creation of many different community groups whose goal has been to engage our youth in more productive activities. In the past, school children who were outdoors after 3 pm were being mugged and robbed of their portable electronic devices. Right now my office is coordinating with these groups to establish more productive outlets for our youth. We want to engage them in activities like roller-skating, bowling, gym, basketball and track by converting more public places to sports facilities.
You seem to be very committed to community organizing and outreach. This has also been the political strength of the Working Families Party which has succeeded in mobilizing middle and low income voters across ideological divides. As a WFP politician do your political strategies differ from your colleagues?
I am a member of the progressive caucus along with council-members like Brad Lander, Jumaane Williams and Debi Rose, people who have experience in community organizing before coming to office. Working Families has been successful at electing progressive candidates, but not all issues have been sufficiently addressed, such as paid sick leave. Still, the WFP has been very supportive on affordable housing, pay equity, and the fight to prevent cuts to municipal jobs. WFP is a powerful force in city politics but as such they will continue to be a target for their political enemies.
Last year police stop and frisks reached a record high and 90% of the 575,000 cases targeted young black and Hispanic men (NY Times). What is your office doing to protect these individuals and restore trust between the police and the communities they serve?
As former Assistant to Attorney General Elliot Spitzer I will be urging the next Att. Gen. to issue more reports, hold more hearings, and shed more light on this issue.
The increase in stop and frisks has not resulted in any significant reduction of crime. 90% of the individuals stopped were innocent. These tactics should not be used as a means to engage in racial profiling. Stop and frisks should only be employed when an officer can clearly articulate a reason for suspicion beforehand. I understand that our police force is under a lot of pressure from city hall to fill quotas, but the racial overtones of the issue are very disturbing to me. The police force claims the ends justify the means, but it has been proven that these tactics do not yield any more guns, terrorists, or criminals. More and more innocent, young men and women of color are being harassed and their information entered into databases. These are young people in college, coming home from church, coming home from a party, or just going to the store who are being stopped. Many individuals have come into my office, 100% innocent, who have been traumatized by their experiences.
This practice needs to be stopped. I am working with the Center for Constitutional Rights on legislation which will end this practice and give victims greater legal rights in such cases.
