The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, and its approach to families, is a major issue. Think about how fast this is moving forward. Why is this being pushed? Did they steal into Pearl Harbor and have an amusement park there right away? It doesn't seem right to me that it's happening so quickly
The reason the memorial process is moving so quickly is because they're not getting input from everybody. They're getting input from a few select people who are going along with what those in charge want, playing their game. They don't want to hear from families that are unhappy.
They don't want to hear that families don't want a PATH train pulling into the World Trade Center, on top of maybe tiny remains. They don't want to hear that fire families want their brothers listed together, and police families want their brother and sisters listed together. They want to hear what they want to hear, and that's why they shut out the families that don't agree with what they want.
Plain and simply, I want that my brother Sean Tallon be listed with his fellow firemen, that the policemen be listed together, and that each group -- the EMTs, the court officers, the civilians - be given recognition. I really would like to see my brother listed with the firemen he was with that day, because that's the only consolation I got, that Sean was with his fellow firefighters, and I knew he didn't feel alone as he was scared climbing up those stairs. I don't think it's too much to ask, considering all that they gave and all my family gave that day.
If this doesn't happen, I will remove Sean's name from that memorial, or at least fight to have it removed. I would rather stand down at Ground Zero with a piece of oak tag every September 11, with my brother's name and what he did, and tell my little girl in the future 'we didn't let his name up there, because the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation didn't do the right thing.
Rosalen Tallon's brother was a firefighter who died on 9/11. This essay was adapted from an interview.
######
• The Eight 9/11 Memorial Designs
• Rethink The Type Of Memorial We Want - by Max Page
• Let The Memorial Jury Do Its Work - by Charles G. Wolf
• We're Being Shut Out Of The Process - by Rosalen Tallon
• Votives in Suspension (Norman Lee and Michael Lewis)
• Inversion of Light (Toshio Sasaki)
• Garden of Lights (Pierre David, Sean Corriel, Jessica Kmetovic)
• Suspending Memory (Joseph Karadin, Hsin-Yi Wu)
• Lower Waters (Bradley Campbell, Matthias Neumann)
• Dual Memory (Brian Stawn, Karla Sierralta)
• Passages of Light: The Memorial Cloud (bbc art + architecture)
• Reflecting Absence: A Memorial at the World Trade Center Site (Michael Arad)
One morning in 1983, I was in front of my house sitting in my mother's car. Suddenly, I was approached by two white police officers who accused me of stealing the car. The officers dragged me from the car at gunpoint, slammed my head and body repeatedly against the car and pointed their guns inches away from my head. I was handcuffed and taken to the police station. No charges were ever filed, but that day, I suffered not only bruises, but also the humiliation of false arrest.
Since that day, I have tried to turn that experience into something positive. I became a correction officer and worked at Rikers Island for two years. A few years later I became a New York City police officer and an instructor at the police academy where I trained officers on proper arrest procedures and how to interact with people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. In 1991, I started a not-for-profit organization called 'LOVE YOURSELF" Stop the Violence to address the growing urban violence. As a part of my campaign, I stopped Toys R Us from selling lookalike toy guns, I denounced violent music lyrics on the radio and images on television during the hours when children are watching and I aggressively protested incidents of police brutality. Now as a City Council member, I bring all my experiences together to help reduce crime and improve policing in the 35th Councilmanic District in Brooklyn and around the city.
I believe a successful police department is one that not only addresses crime, but is also responsive to the concerns of the community. The first step in accomplishing this is making the local precinct a welcoming place. As an African-American I do not always feel welcome when walking into a police precinct. This is true even though I am a former police officer. I compare this feeling to being in a restaurant and receiving poor service. It does not matter how good the food is, if the waiter does not greet you properly and has a bad attitude, you don't want to eat there. On the other hand, if you are greeted with courtesy and respect, it goes a long way towards your feelings about the restaurant. A police precinct is no different. Local residents should be able to go into a precinct and have their needs addressed in a courteous and professional manner. In the academy, police officers are trained that when dealing with crime victims, they should strive to leave them feeling better than when they found them. I take that goal very seriously.
In my City Council district in Brooklyn, there are four precincts: the 71st, 77th, 84th and 88th. That means my district has four different commanding officers with four different styles of policing. Some precincts are more focused on issuing tickets, some are more community friendly, and others are more aggressive in their tactics. My job as the City Council member is to communicate with all these commanders. I also have to help the community learn to embrace good police officers. To just speak out against bad cops is unfair. The community has to acknowledge the good cops also, so that when speaking out against bad cops, there is more credibility to it and the complaint is taken more seriously.
After September 11th, the police department added concerns about terrorism to their local policing responsibilities. I sit on the City Council's public safety committee and recently we met with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence David Cohen. One of the things I asked about was NYPD's cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Before September 11th, the FBI and NYPD worked more independently. Now we need to make sure that there is more of a joint effort so that local police have all the necessary resources to provide maximum security for our communities at large.
As the chairman of the committee on juvenile justice, I am also committed to improving the way New York City handles youth crime. Currently, the juvenile detention centers act as their own school system with a track from one detention center to the next. Too many youths graduate from juvenile detention centers, go on to jail, then go to prison upstate. We have to stop that cycle. Something is wrong when a detention center fails to rehabilitate but instead leads a youth into a permanent life of crime.
Mayor Bloomberg has put $64.5 million in the budget to expand detention centers. I feel the money should not go into detention, but into prevention. We need to reduce the ratio of youths per caseworker, so we can get kids the help they need. We need to continually reassess our youth crime prevention and detention strategies. Education is the best form of crime prevention. If a person is educated, he or she will be less likely to commit a crime. Class sizes have to be reduced and disruptive kids in our schools need to be properly addressed.
The 35th City Council district in Brooklyn is a diverse community. There are African-Americans, Caribbean-Americans, white Americans and Hassidic Jews all living together in the same neighborhood. When you walk down the street you see lawyers and doctors as well as sanitation employees and firefighters. We have great educational institutions like Pratt Institute, St. Joseph's College and Long Island University. We have a vibrant arts community and powerful churches and religious institutions. I represent all of these people. One of the biggest challenges I face is getting all the elected officials -- the community boards, the other City Council members, the Bor ough President, the State Senators and Assembly members -- who represent the area to be on the same page. It is our job to make sure that the whole community prospers.
Sometimes, like police officers, politicians forget that the people pay our salaries with their taxes. We have to remember that we are here to serve the people.
Posted March 25, 2002.
New York City Council Stated Meeting Report
Every two weeks the New York City Council meets for its Stated Meeting to introduce and pass legislation. As a regular feature, Searchlight covers these meetings and posts a summary of the bills passed.
STATED MEETING - November 19, 2003
Quote of the Day:
"We all witnessed the loss of a warrior, the late Councilman James Davis, whose shoes I cannot fill, but whose legacy, vision and spirit I will keep alive." - Councilmember Letitia James, being sworn in after winning the vacant seat of slain Councilmember James E. Davis.
Meeting Summary:
With much fanfare, Letitia James was officially sworn in as the new City Council member for the 35th district in Brooklyn. She fills the vacant seat of slain Councilmember James E. Davis, who was shot in City Hall on July 23, 2003.
James, who ran on the Working Families Party line in the November election, won by a wide margin and defeated three other candidates, including Democrat Geoffrey Davis, the brother of the deceased council member.
"We recognize that this victory was born out of tragedy," said James. "It is difficult for me to celebrate. But it is essential that we bring about unity. Unity is the greatest need this hour."(Read her full speech)
James's entrance into the City Council chambers was carefully choreographed for photographers, and Speaker Gifford Miller escorted James onto the council floor where she took her oath of office. A crowd of supporters and family members attended the meeting and they cheered when James cast her first "yea" vote on a series of landuse items.
While new to the council, James has a long resume of political experience. She served as an aide to Assemblyman Roger Green, worked in the office of the state attorney general, and established the Urban Network, a coalition of African-American professional organizations that promote education. James narrowly lost the 2001 election to James Davis.
James promised to work on issues like affordable housing, health care, and education and to create employment opportunities in the district. (Read about development issues in the district.)
After the ceremony, the council had a light legislative agenda.
The members unanimously voted for a measure that adjusts the property tax rates for one, two, and three-family homes. The measure was a required response to a state law passed in August. While the action actually shifts some of overall property tax burden from homeowners to utilities and commercial real estate owners, most homeowners will still see an increase because their property values have risen considerably in the last year. The average homeowner will see a $48 increase in their November property tax bill.
"None of us will be able to explain that to our constituents because I can barely explain it myself," said Brooklyn Councilmember Lewis Fidler, who called for a reform of the property tax laws.
The council also approved a business improvement district (Intro 564) on Sutphin Boulevard in the Jamaica Center area of Queens.
The most hotly debated measure of the day concerned a resolution (Res 1133) denouncing former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for his anti-Semitic remarks. At a recent conference, Mohamad said that "Jews rule this world by proxy; they get others to fight and die for them."
Brooklyn Councilmember Charles Barron voted against the resolution because he said he was tired of the City Council's "pro-Israel agenda." Speaker Miller defended the measure. "This has to do with bigoted, hateful, and offensive remarks," said Miller.
The next Stated Meeting is scheduled for December 3.
For an archive of past meetings and council votes, visit Gotham Gazette's Searchlight.