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Thank you for checking out our website and engaging with us. For the next couple of months, the Northattan team will be posting only occasional multimedia updates and stories. We will then return in earnest this fall. We hope you will continue to check back with us to “see what’s up” in Northattan for our periodic coverage and for full coverage in fall.

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“Hit by a fist or something hard, beaten, or slammed against something” was the language used to describe what nearly a quarter of American women experienced by the hand of an “intimate partner” last year.

That’s according to a new government report, released Dec. 14, based on a random sample of 9,000 female respondents. The 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also found that nearly one in five women had experienced rape or attempted rape.

In New York City, a network of organizations works to assist women in these troubling situations. One of them, the Violence Intervention Program (VIP), is based in East Harlem – and its employees understand that domestic violence is a problem afflicting all levels of society.

“I’ll tell you a story,” says Cecilia Gaston, the VIP’s executive director. “A 20-year marriage to a multinational businessman, college degree, very sophisticated, domestic violence – that’s me. I’m a survivor myself, although I’ve never been poor, I’m privileged, I speak five languages, I’m a U.S. citizen. Domestic violence happens across the board.”

The Violence Intervention Program is headquartered in East Harlem. Photo by Frederick Bernas/Northattan.

Gaston is sitting in a small kitchen at VIP headquarters in El Barrio, where the organization was founded in 1984. The building is deliberately inconspicuous, and its address is kept secret so “clients can stay safe” when they visit for counseling or information sessions.

One of several small rooms is decorated colorfully and scattered with toys. Supporting children whose parents are in abusive relationships is an important part of the VIP mission: “I work with them to try and express feelings, to verbalize the trauma,” explains youth counselor Lidia Flores. “We recently started mixed groups with mothers and children, which is very helpful. Sometimes the mother cannot see from the child’s view, or they have trouble expressing feelings at home and being able to spend time together. The mother might be dealing with many different things and feeling guilty she can’t provide.”

For the most needy victims, VIP offers a way out. Secret accommodation facilities in Manhattan, the Bronx and Queens provide emergency shelter for up to 135 days, or a transitional apartment for as long as two years. “When a woman chooses shelter, it’s usually a last resort,” says Gaston. “You have to give up your job, and you cannot not tell anyone where you are – not even your family.” This is to ensure that abusive partners have no way of tracking women down.

At a time when the demand for support services is rising, the fact that so much of the organization’s work is hidden means that reaching out is a very delicate task. Word of mouth is key. “A lot of people don’t know about us – especially recent immigrants who live in their enclave with friends and family,” says Valerie Leon, the community education and outreach coordinator. Gaston adds, “They come from countries where these services do not exist, so they don’t in any way assume that help is available.”

On a wider cultural level, Leon says her promotional efforts often hit a wall of social taboos about domestic violence in Latino communities. “There’s a lot of victim-blaming: People think she must like it, she deserved it, that kind of thing,” she explains. “A lot of folks make light of it like a joke – saying men get abused, and all that. Our presence might not change someone’s relationship, but at least we’re raising awareness, which is the first part of prevention.”

VIP representatives regularly visit local hotspots where women gather, such as Head Start Centers, to deliver presentations. “One of the best tools we have is other survivors,” says Leon, who is assisted by four “promotoras,” or promoters, who themselves came through the organization’s rehabilitation program. Gaston adds: “In Latin America, the community health educator is a model that works very well. It’s not me coming with my college degree and my suit to tell somebody what to do – it’s a neighbor, and they’re very successful.”

Guadalupe Perez is one of the volunteer “promotoras.” She endured an abusive relationship for 12 years before VIP helped her get out by providing therapy, legal support and shelter. Today, the memories live on: “For a long time I carried a lot of pain and anger,” Perez recalls.

“When I started talking to my therapist, I fell down. I felt without energy, and someone had to help me go outside because I wasn’t able to walk. I remember they gave me cold water, they put me on a couch to rest, because I felt terrible. I compare myself in the past to a zombie.”

Perez says her children implored her to end the relationship, and she now takes pride in using her personal experience to help others. “If I touch a lady with my history, I know this lady will change her life if she takes therapy and decides to leave an abusive relationship and start a new life,” she says. “It could save a family – the lady and her children too. And the children will not repeat the same cycle in the future.”

The “promotoras” distribute pamphlets and specially designed nail files that advertise the VIP’s 24/7 hotline, which receives some 14,000 calls every year. “It’s something a woman can keep in her purse that doesn’t raise a lot of attention – a card or brochure is obvious, you see,” says Gaston.

The VIP website provides another pathway to the organization's variety of help services. Photo by Frederick Bernas/Northattan.

The phone number acts as a vital point of first contact: Around 1,000 women per year are then provided with further services. VIP is staffed by 38 full-time employees, assisted by part-timers and volunteers. The organization supplements federal funding with grants from the New York Women’s Foundation and other partners, and recently made $31,000 with a private fundraising event.

Gaston has worked with authorities at state and national level on the issue of domestic violence, which she says is linked closely to immigration and deportation. She says the federal Secure Communities program, first piloted by the Bush administration in 2008, is a “deadly” threat to Hispanics in New York. Under the policy, police officers submit fingerprints of all arrestees to a national database that is shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). If a violation is suspected, ICE can issue its own detention orders that lead to federal custody – and potential deportation.

“Police are acting as immigration officers,” says Gaston. “That means no one is going to call the police if it brings them into a community where there are people at risk of being picked up by immigration.” In domestic violence cases, she says this could lead to a fear of reporting perpetrators for the sake of avoiding any contact with the law.

“It’s a major undermining of community policing and the relationship between the community and the people supposed to be protecting them,” Gaston continues. She’s met with NYPD officials to discuss the issue: “We concluded that officers require an enormous amount of training,” she says. “In theory there are policies and protocols, but they’re not being followed – like something as simple as conducting a proper investigation at the site where the incident occurs and arresting the right person.”

On the other hand, domestic violence advocates have had their own policy “czar” at the White House since June 2009, when Lynn Rosenthal was appointed as special adviser on violence against women. And vice president Joe Biden was one of the original proponents of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, which Gaston cites as “a critical piece of legislation” because it provides a legal framework and a funding stream for non-governmental organizations. An updated version of VAWA was tabled for a third congressional reauthorization in November this year.

“I want this to be the best place in the country,” said the former No. 1 tennis player in the world, John McEnroe, standing on a courtside balcony at his academy on Randall’s Island. “My aim is to bring tennis back to the forefront, to bring the buzz back. I’d like someone to make it and be the best player in the world, like I was.”

John McEnroe teaching a student at his academy on Randall's Island. Photo by Frederick Bernas/Northattan.

Opened in 2009, the facility boasts 20 courts -– 15 of which lie under temporary “bubble” roof structures that can be removed for outdoor play in the summer. The Sportime Corp. invested $18 million in the project before McEnroe became a partner and opened the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. But now trouble could be brewing as the company plans to expand into a nearby parking lot, building nine additional courts at an estimated cost of $7 million.

On Dec. 5, a small but noisy group of protesters accused McEnroe of “stealing public land” outside a fundraiser for “The Nation” magazine, where the sporting legend was a keynote speaker. They cited concerns about high prices and the resulting difficulties for community access, as well as a perceived lack of outreach by McEnroe’s academy into local schools.

“The parking lot is an open space that’s used by the public,” said Marina Ortiz, a community organizer who took part in the demonstration. “First and foremost, it’s city land and it should not be turned over to a private enterprise with rates that are not affordable to children and people in East Harlem and the South Bronx.”

Hourly prices for court rental vary from $40 to $105 depending on time of day and level of membership, which starts at $71 per month, with a joining fee of $500. Ben Schlansky, the chief legal officer for Sportime, said these rates are competitive by city standards and added that “50 percent of courts are reserved for parks permit holders from May 1 until Columbus Day.” That means anyone who holds a New York City public tennis permit can use the facilities at no extra cost.

Schlansky said a lack of transportation makes it hard for many public permit holders and locals to reach the island, and that Sportime and the McEnroe Academy were committed to widening outreach. “We already work with public schools to offer free community programs through the Randall’s Island Sport Foundation,” he said. “We’ve also discussed designating one of our employees to act as a liaison with the community, so we can branch out and establish more contacts.”

Mark McEnroe, a younger brother of John who is the academy’s general manager, described two such partnerships, with the DREAM Charter School in East Harlem and the Hyde Leadership Charter School in the South Bronx. “We also met Geoffrey Canada from the Harlem Children’s Zone and basically offered to take kids from schools in his purview and train them,” McEnroe said. “We haven’t been successful in making that happen, but not really because of lack of effort -– you’d be surprised how difficult it is to get schools to give you their kids to train for free.”

Sportime wants to convert this parking lot into nine new tennis courts. Photo by Frederick Bernas/Northattan

Sportime will submit its formal expansion bid to the city’s land use review procedure in the new year. Informational meetings have already been held with subgroups of Community Board 11, including the Parks and Recreation Committee. “We went there to listen, gather all the questions together, and get the board members the information they need to make an informed decision,” Schlansky said.

Frances Mastrota, who chairs the Parks and Recreation group, is taking a cautious approach. “I want to improve the land that right now is not worthy of a parking lot,” she said, “but I have to be sure that I get full value for what I’m giving.

“We hope to have a rain garden and we’re asking for lighting,” Mastrota continued. She added that the board would like to see greater equality in the way tennis scholarships are allocated: “We’d like to see scholarships that aren’t openly competitive, so children who have never held a racket in their hand can compete and then perhaps be offered one.”

Mastrota, who moved to East Harlem in 1959, says the community “felt robbed” when the tennis center originally opened without going through city land review procedures. “Parks activists were livid and frustrated by the inability to fight back,” she said. “We have been burned and the scars remain. There is a lack of trust in their word.”

Sportime’s current expansion plan includes a garden in an adjacent parking lot, as well as 45 new trees, but it recently drew criticism from elected officials that led to the postponement of a city hearing. On Dec. 15, DNAInfo.com reported that Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Comptroller John Liu and East Harlem Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito all aired concerns about the tennis center pricing out locals.

“Based on what I’ve heard so far, it seems that Sportime’s current facility at Randall’s Island has not fully engaged with the local community,” DNAInfo quoted Mark-Viverito as saying. A spokesman for Scott Stringer said the borough president was concerned that Sportime had not been “sufficiently transparent with information about the existing 20 tennis courts and the extent to which they can be made more accessible to the surrounding community and general public.”

John McEnroe was adamant that part of his personal mission is promoting broader access to the sport he loves, and the expansion would aid that: “It’s an expensive game, and I’d like to make tennis available to every kid,” he said. “It would be nice to make it more affordable to as many people as possible – that would be my goal.

“Hopefully they’ll see the expansion is something that will be good for the city and good for kids, and if they decide not to do it, that’s just bad luck.”

Five years ago, when she conceived the idea of opening La Casa Azul bookstore in East Harlem, Aurora Anaya-Cerda knew it would be no easy task. Despite the area’s rich cultural heritage, similar ventures have struggled in recent times.

Aurora Anaya-Cerda has raised $72,000 to open a new bookstore in East Harlem. Photo by Johnny Ramos.

The advent of new technology – think kindles, iPads, e-books – has played a major role, along with rising Internet sales. “The industry has already changed so much,” says Anaya-Cerda. “I still have each draft of my business plan – I’ve seen how it goes from 20 to 35 to 46 pages. And there’s no denying bookstores have closed in New York City. I’m very aware of that because I visited them before it happened.”

But Anaya-Cerda is in an ebullient mood. In early October, her campaign to raise $40,000 in 40 days closed with around $36,000 in private and online donations. An interest-free matching loan from an unnamed benefactor makes a grand total of $72,000 – and Anaya-Cerda says “every penny” is accounted for. “The next phase is looking for a commercial space,” she continues. “I’m aiming to open in a year, because I know it takes time with negotiations, landlords, permits and all of that.”

Her mission is simple: “To promote Latino writers, writers from Latin America, literature in Spanish, literature for teens and bilingual books for kids.” Another key goal is helping people get in touch with their Hispanic identity through reading. With a résumé that includes starting an online store, organizing a children’s book festival and hosting dozens of smaller events during the last three years, Anaya-Cerda is confident she can overcome harsh economic realities and find a sustainable business model that serves the needs of its community.

On Nov. 8, the elders of that community were out in force at the Nuyorican Poets Café, a downtown venue that helped foster cultural identity for many Puerto Rican immigrants in the 1970s. The news about Anaya-Cerda’s fruitful fundraising is cautiously received. “I’ve been teaching Shakespeare for more than 30 years, and nobody reads anymore,” says writer and educator Miguel Algarín. As co-founder of the iconic café and a professor emeritus at Rutgers University, Algarín has experience behind his words.

Sery Colón performs outside the Nuyorican Poets Café, Nov. 8. Photo by Frederick Bernas / Northattan.

Sery Colón, whose own Latino bookstore, Agueybana, closed in 1998 after five years in business, agrees. “Seventy thousand dollars alone might just go into taking care of the location,” says Colón. Amid escalating gentrification on the Lower East Side, Colón says the rent on his space spiraled out of control – and when Amazon came along, he “just couldn’t compete.”

Colón tried again in 2007, when he co-founded Cemi Underground with Luis Cordero. Despite offering a broader choice – art, clothes and other merchandise, as well as books – and occupying a prime East Harlem location on Lexington Avenue, the venture was shuttered after just two years. “We did a lot there, but people were not supporting books,” says Colón.

Ed Morales, a journalist who also teaches at Columbia University’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, says the Amazon effect should be a big cause for concern at La Casa Azul. “The distribution model is similar to music,” he says. “There are no record stores – people want to buy online and get those deep discounts. Right now, it’s very difficult for any bookstore to get off the ground.”

In late 2007, two established Spanish-language outlets on West 14th Street, Librería Lectorum and Librería Macondo, closed within weeks of each other.

Anaya-Cerda’s online donation drive was widely reported in New York media, and even made it to the Huffington Post “Latino Voices” homepage. But it was an article in the “Daily News” on Oct. 27 that caused one El Barrio business owner to react with frustrated surprise.

“A friend of mine told me there was a woman doing a fundraiser based on trying to open up the very first bookstore here in Spanish Harlem,” says author Deborah Cardona, sitting behind her front desk at the Deja Vu Book Lounge on East 116th Street. After five years selling street literature in the local area, Cardona opened this physical space in July.

“So I found her number, called it and told her, ‘Maybe you were trying to open up a different type of bookstore, and that’s fine,’” Cardona says. “‘But don’t tell people there isn’t a bookstore.’”

Anaya-Cerda says she only learned about the Deja Vu Lounge during that call. And Cardona is clear that she is in no way against La Casa Azul: “The idea is wonderful. I want my community to get back to reading. I don’t have a problem working with her, and I am open to collaboration.”

Jesús Papoleto Meléndez believes the new bookstore will raise awareness of Latino identity. Photo by Frederick Bernas / Northattan.

Nourishing awareness of cultural history among the local population is a call that resonates with Jesús Papoleto Meléndez, another elder statesmen of Nuyorican poetry. “When I was a kid, there were no Latino authors – we became those authors,” he says. Meléndez has worked with students of all ages in El Barrio and beyond, and he believes the new bookstore can become a valuable resource.

“My generation spent its time breaking through walls,” Meléndez continues. “We created a whole legitimate literary movement. Our quest was to identify ourselves in the context of this culture, which was a big unknown. The people who came from Puerto Rico at least had memories, but I was born here – I had a different reality, so I was really displaced from our own cultural identity.”

Meléndez believes the Nuyorican literary legacy holds wider significance in today’s changing America, and for other Hispanic communities. “We made a collective identity for ourselves and gave it a voice, so anyone else could attach to it, which is what they’ve done – even Latino immigrants,” he explains.

Aurora Anaya-Cerda is an example of this trend: Her parents arrived in the United States from Mexico when she was 5 years old. In addition to her literary pursuits, she works at El Museo del Barrio organizing family programs. “I believe a big part of educating children is teaching them about their identity, or at least making them comfortable in knowing their stories,” she says. “Celebrations and traditions are very important for children finding out who they are, so that’s what the bookstore will provide.”

Meléndez thinks the adult market will be tougher to crack. “You always have to focus on kids when it’s about books, because big people are into their customs or habits,” he explains. “The only opportunity to change their behavior is at child level – and it’s like a shark feeding frenzy when kids see book fairs at school. So, let this bookstore be a new candy store for children in East Harlem!”

At the heart of Spanish Harlem, artists and activists recently repainted a 12-year-old portrait of Che Guevara and Don Pedro Albizu Campos, the father of Puerto Rico’s independence movement.

Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/AP Photo.

In February 2007, the Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in East Harlem was closed against the protests of many parishioners. Back then, six women were arrested for staging a sit-in. But that didn’t stop them: Now, nearly five years later, a hardcore group continues to hold weekly Mass on the sidewalk – come rain or shine. Frederick Bernas reports.

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