Northattan

Dear Northattan readers, viewers and listeners:

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.

Thank you, Northattan

The unusual decision to charge a 20-year-old Dominican immigrant with the crime of “self-abortion” has sent shock waves through Washington Heights, where a dead fetus was found discarded in an alleyway just after Thanksgiving.

Some, like Washington Heights resident Miguel Antonio Vasquez, support the decision. “They should throw her in jail, or worse. The baby was practically fully formed,” he said.

But others are more reluctant to judge. “We don’t know what sort of situation she might have been in,” said fruit vendor Rafael Piñero. “The only one that can judge her and that knows why she did what she did is God.”

The fetus, about six inches long with its umbilical cord still attached, was found in a bucket wrapped in a plastic bag on the 600 block of 191st Street on November 29th. Emergency responders pronounced the unborn baby girl dead on the scene, and New York City police arrested Aribely Almonte on the rarely-used charge of “self-abortion in the first degree,” a misdemeanor under New York state law for which Almonte could serve up to a year in jail if convicted.

San Miguel Alcancel is one of more than a dozen "Botanicas" in Washington Heights that carries teas capable of inducing abortion. Photo by Russ Finkelstein/Northattan.

According to The New York Times, New York State’s Division of Criminal Justice Services said Almonte’s case is only the fifth time since 1980 that self-abortion charges have been brought in the state, where abortion is illegal after the 24th week of pregnancy, unless a doctor certifies that the mother’s life is at risk.

Though the charge is rare, some in the largely Dominican neighborhood of Washington Heights say cases of self-induced abortion are probably more common than is publicly acknowledged.

New York City police have confirmed that they are trying to determine whether Almonte terminated her pregnancy by drinking an herbal tea said to induce abortion, though they couldn’t release more specific information due to the pending investigation.

Teas like the one police suspect Almonte may have used are sold over the counter at more than a dozen Dominican “botanicas” or Santeria shops in Washington Heights. One is roble, which is the Spanish word for oak. In traditional Dominican medicine a tea is made from the bark and is prescribed as a digestive aid. When taken in high enough doses, it is also capable of causing an abortion, according to Al Guervaz, a Dominican nutritionist and herbalist practicing in New York City.

“Herbal-induced abortions are not very common in New York,” said Guervaz, who said they are more common in the Dominican Republic, “where there’s a high incidence of very young women becoming pregnant.”

But women in the neighborhood do share information about which herbal medicines are capable of causing abortions, and in what doses, according to Katerine Lopez, who works at Liberty Nutrition, a natural food supplement store catering to the Dominican community in Washington Heights.

Botanicas don’t sell roble or another herb, called tua tua, as abortion agents. But they are available at $3 an ounce for other uses (tua tau is an anti-parasitic that may cause an abortion at high enough doses), so a female customer can “ask for something specific that will work, but say that you need it for another ailment,” said Lopez. “Someone I know who was thinking of having an abortion recently found information on a Mexican website that told her which herbs she would have to take,” she said.

The use of such products for clandestine, potentially dangerous home abortions might seem an anomaly in a city like New York, which has a range of resources for women seeking to have a legal abortion. But Guervaz said women who use the teas for that purpose may be unaware of other options, or unable to use them because their families would object if they knew they had gone to an abortion clinic.

“People might not know about places like Planned Parenthood if they are recent immigrants that are unfamiliar with the laws and resources available to them,” he said.

Almonte is currently staying with her father away from Washington Heights, to avoid the scrutiny of neighbors and the media. Her family has said that she will return for her Jan. 3 court appearance, when she will likely be thrust once again into the spotlight.

Street cleaning in Washington Heights may soon be reduced from two days a week to only one, after a vote by Community Board 12 on Nov. 24. Councilmen Robert Jackson and Ydanis Rodriguez both voiced support for the board’s resolution.

St. Nicholas Avenue in Washington Heights. Photo by Celeste Owen-Jones/Northattan.

It is the first time such a decision has been made by a community board in Manhattan. It comes after the City Council voted last April to give Community Boards with clean streets the choice to drop one day in alternate side parking in residential areas. In April, CBS quoted City Council Speaker Christine Quinn as saying,  “We’re not saying to a neighborhood you have to have less street cleaning and less alternative-side-of-the-street parking. We are saying you have that option.” And CB 12 has chosen that option.

Kathy Dawkins of the Department of Sanitation said that to be eligible, “each section of CB 12 must have a two-year street cleanliness rate of 90 percent,” which was the case for CB 12. This is measured by a scorecard from the Mayor’s Office of Operations, where inspectors rate the cleanliness of a district monthly.

The manager of Community Board 12, Ebenezer Smith, said that the board members were divided on whether to reduce street cleanings, the issue, with some even requesting “a return to street cleaning three days a week as it used to be some years ago.” But the board voted, 25-12-1, in favor of the resolution. Smith said some members argued that beyond the parking relief, it could also improve the air quality, since fewer people would be moving their cars around.

In addition to parking relief, Smith said the cleaning cutback could also save the city money. For instance, cleaning trucks will need less gasoline.

Smith himself was skeptical that the benefits would outweigh the detriments, though. He said that cutting street cleaning “might work in the area of Cabrini / 181^st Street, but might not work in other areas, like St. Nicholas and 170^th Street.” Indeed, St. Nicholas Avenue is said to be dirtier than, for instance, Broadway, due to a higher number of street vendors.

Vanessa Caballos, who lives on 173^rd Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, said that so far the streets are clean because the sanitation trucks come frequently. But she is strongly against the new resolution. “Where is the garbage going to go? There are eventually going to end up on the streets,” said Caballos. She doesn’t own a car, but said that making parking easier for residents is not a good excuse “People who own a car in the city have to expect rules and regulations to be in place,” said Caballos. “Mass transit is the way to go.”

Now that Community Board 12 has voted to reduce street cleaning by one day, the Department of Sanitation will review the mechanical broom routes in each section of District 12. Dawkins said “this process can take up 12 to 18 months.” Once all changes are approved, the Department of Transportation will have to change the alternate side parking signs. And some residents can sleep in another day.

Pinball heavyweights from across the United States flocked to Washington Heights’ first pinball championship.

NAACP members support residents and protest against any voter ID requirements. Photo by Xian Bu/Northattan.

“I’m here today simply because there’s an expiration date on my rights,” said Lionel Richards, choking back tears. Standing in a sea of people about 500 strong holding signs that read “Voter Suppression is Unamerican” and “My Vote, Our Rights, Our Fight,” he used his one day off from work to protest in the Stand for Freedom march against proposed state election laws requiring photo identification at the polls.

After a slow moving march 10 blocks, from midtown Manhattan to Dag Hammarskjold Plaza across First Avenue from the United Nations, Richards, a 57-year-old customer service representative from Harlem, found a bench to rest on as the event’s sponsor, leaders from the NAACP and elected officials took to a stage to rally the crowd that had gathered.

This year, 34 states introduced legislation requiring government issued photo identification to vote. Seven of those states passed the proposals into law, adding to Georgia and Indiana, where voter ID was already required. Republicans, the lead sponsors of voter ID laws, say the measures are aimed at preventing voter fraud. Democrats say those laws suppress the votes of the poor, legal immigrants, minorities and young people. And even though such laws are unlikely to pass in New York, those attending the Stand for Freedom march wanted to add their voices in solidarity with those states where ID requirements have been passed or are being considered.

For many at the march, the situation evoked the voting rights movement of the 1960s. “I came out to continue to protect my civil rights that I protested for 40 years ago,” said Richards. “I’ve been telling people for years that any day now, black folks can be back picking cotton, so you better get aware of that.” An African-American, he’s not the only one who some say could be disenfranchised by legislation mandating photo ID.

For Belinda Martinez, the 2012 presidential election will be the first time she gets to vote. Yet, the 19-year-old said she’s already wondering if she will have a problem when she signs in with the poll workers. That’s why she came to the rally. “It’s like I get hit twice,” said the Washington Heights resident and City College of New York student. “I was born in the Dominican Republic; my parents don’t even know where my birth certificate is. I live in New York City. I don’t drive, I don’t have a license. The only thing I have with my face on it is my school ID. And, trust me, I don’t have any extra cash money on me to go pickup another ID in some office somewhere.”

As long as she stays in New York, Martinez may never need to seek that extra ID anyway. In April, New York State Assemblyman Steve Katz, a Westchester County Republican, sponsored a bill that would “require a government issued photo identification card to be presented when casting a ballot” and was referred to the Committee on Election Law, where it is expected to die.

Northattan residents march against voter identification. Photo by Xian Bu/Northattan.

Jonathan Brater, counsel with the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, said that in a heavily Democratic state like New York, there isn’t much hope that voter ID laws will pass. “Legislation has been introduced in the majority of states,” he said. “I don’t think it’s necessarily surprising it’s been introduced in New York, but I don’t know that it reflects any popular support for it. It just takes one legislator to support a policy and a bill.”

Though census data shows New York City does have higher numbers of racial and language minorities and other people without appropriate photo identification, Brater said the larger area of concern is probably in the so-called swing states. A report issued by the Brennan Center found that both new and proposed voter ID laws “could make it significantly harder for more than five million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012.”

Even though New York may not be at risk, the Rev. Al Sharpton of Harlem-based National Action Network says those five million votes are worth fighting for. “Didn’t nobody donate us the right to vote. Didn’t nobody just throw the vote at us. We’ve fought to get it and we gonna’ fight to keep it!” Sharpton shouted at the march.

As one of New York City’s largest immigrant populations, Latinos traditionally vote Democratic. Lillian Rodriguez Lopez of the Hispanic Federation said that because of their voting history, her people are targets too. With 54 million Latinos in the country and another half million who will turn 18 years old every year for the next 20 years, Lopez said it’s no surprise that Republican lawmakers are hiding behind voter ID laws. “All of these bills around the country, we hear that it’s voter fraud, that they’re trying to protect us against crime,” she told the marchers. “There is a crime. It’s a crime against our community that they would believe they could stop us from voting.”

With a stiff wind whipping across the plaza and the chilling bite of winter in the air, U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, a Democrat representing upper Manhattan and part of the Bronx, acknowledged that New Yorkers could have an impact on the national stage: “We thought it was over, marching, civil rights, voting rights. But the evil people in this world, they never go away. Thank God people who are united today are prepared to take our country back.”

No matter the politics, the states or the influences involved, Moretta Negawi, a self-described warrior of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, says today is not the day for the generation of her 14 grandchildren  to start moving backwards. “To vote, I don’t want us to lose that right. We’ve paid too much for it.”

ARC XVI senior center's members use the service to get to the center early in the morning. Photo by Isha Soni/Northattan.

“I am afraid of falling down the stairs and I haven’t used the subway for 20 years,” said 75-year-old Washington Heights resident Leonor Ramos. Another 73-year-old uptown resident, Flerida Custro, said, “MTA makes absolutely no effort to understand the needs of senior citizens.”

Understanding the concern of residents like these, the ARC XVI Fort Washington Senior Center has launched a new service called COASTS, for Coordinated Older Adult Senior Transportation Service. As the name suggests, it is what its organizers call a “door-through-door” transportation service for senior citizens, exclusive to northern Manhattan.

Diana Hernandez, the assistant executive director of the senior center, said that as people age, especially if they have disabilities, transportation becomes one of the biggest challenges. “It affects them psychologically and socially,” she said. “They become alienated, marginalized and invisible citizens and no one sees them except for doctors.”

COASTS runs between 110th Street and 220^th Street in Manhattan. Rides are free for people above the age of 60 and for disabled people over 50, but the riders must be aware of their destination and of their residential address. An aide can assist a member with a mental illness, and, Hernandez said, “If you have a mobility impairment, we have added a mobility facilitator who ensures a member’s safe transfer, door to door.”

On a recent morning, Chris Hernandez, 32, a mobility facilitator, escorted 10 elderly people from their apartment gates to a bus seat and fastened their seat belts. All through the journey, the bus driver and Hernandez chatted with the passengers and made them feel comfortable. Hernandez said she had three weeks of training to become a facilitator, where “I was trained in handling wheelchairs, dealing with senior citizens and how to help them get around.”

Mary Johnson, of Washington Heights, was one of the passengers. She said, “If I didn’t have this transportation today, I wouldn’t be able to use any other transportation and go anywhere.” Another passenger, Cenida Velasquez, said, “I use it for everything: To go to the doctor, to go shopping, to visit the center, and it is very good because the driver and the attendant make you feel like a king and take very good care of you.” Velasquez uses this service up to five times a week.

Currently, COASTS has nine buses, each of which can carry up to16 passengers. It is funded by a combination of public and private funds, including more than half a million dollars from the federal transit administration and local funds of more than $137,000 raised by the ARC XVI senior center with the help of New York City Council and the Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation Inc. The senior citizen center is now preparing to apply for another grant to expand the reach of the transportation service and to buy more and larger buses.

COASTS fills a need, especially acute in northern Manhattan. There are no elevators or escalators for the A, C and 1 train subways in Inwood, and in much of northern Manhattan, hills make walking especially difficult for disabled and older people.

The MTA already supplies some services similar to COASTS, like Access-a-Ride, for people who cannot use the subways or other public transport, but people have complained that those services are not enough. Edith Prentiss, 69, a member Community Board 12’s traffic and transportation committee, says, “New York city transit does not run on schedule. Whether it is Access-a-Ride, or it is the M5, when it keeps the disabled person waiting, it’s a problem.”

How to live the good life, the freegan way.

Word Up, a community-run pop-up bookstore that has served Washington Heights for nearly six months, has spent most of its short life running on borrowed time. The store’s most recent shutdown date was Nov. 30, but nearly a week after that deadline, it’s still open. For how long, though, is a question of great uncertainty.

Browsing the bookshelves at Word Up bookstore. Photo by Tania Rashid/Northattan.

Word Up opened last June 17 as a one-month novelty — a rare bookstore for the neighborhood and a venue for evening poetry slams and other performances. The building’s landlord, Vantage Residential, a New York realty company, initially renewed its agreement with community organizers to keep the store open, rent-free, through November. As that deadline approached and passed, organizers opened new negotiations, asking Vantage to let them keep operating through December, and into next year.

“So many people have asked for it to continue,” said Veronica Liu, an editor for Seven Stories Press and the driving force behind the bookshop deal. “We have a whole set of daily volunteers. Everyone has been happy to do something because they are just so happy that this place is bringing people together in a way that we haven’t been able to.”

The sign outside the store on 176th Street in Washington Heights reads “pharmacy,” but on the inside, wooden shelves are stacked to the ceiling with used books. Writings by local authors in both Spanish and English are displayed in the window.

While the store’s used books draw some shoppers, it’s the performances — ranging from spoken word poetry to live music -– that attract a broad audience of supporters, said Liu.

According to the Word Up website, about 300 events were organized since the store’s inception. Among the most popular events are the open mic nights every Wednesday and Friday, when dozens of local artists line up to share their poetry about politics, social issues, or even their love of Word Up.

But it’s not certain whether Vantage, the landlord for the building, will continue offering the space rent-free to the community. Some of the store’s volunteers speculate that current negotiations may center on a new agreement that involves paying rent for the storefront. But volunteers asked not to be quoted by name, and Vantage did not respond to requests to comment on the negotiations.

Others in the community believe that Vantage wants to sell the space. Katarina Rivera, a regular at the weekly open mic, said closing the store would be a loss for the neighborhood. “This space is bringing something nobody else is bringing, especially with the space for self expression, and inspiration, not just through books, but the performances, and events,” she said.

For now the store remains open daily. But its future remains in limbo.

The Dominican community of Washington Heights was dismayed by the news that a plot to bomb post offices and other targets in New York City was being hatched in its midst. Police charges that the alleged bomber was one of their own have been equally shocking to a community so rooted in this part of northern Manhattan. Morgan Radford went to Washington Heights, to gauge reaction to Saturday’s arrest of 27-year-old Jose Pimentel.

Jose Pimentel, accused of plotting to bomb New York City, in court. Photo by Jefferson Siegel/AP

While downtown officials revealed more details today about the investigation that led to Saturday’s arrest of a Dominican Northattan resident on terrorism charges, uptowners worried about how the arrest might affect two of the city’s large minority populations: Dominicans and Muslims.

“I’m his mother, how do you think I’m feeling right now?” sobbed Carmen Sosa, the distressed mother of Jose Pimentel, whom police have charged with plotting to bomb city post offices and police stations, as well as soldiers returning from war.

Sosa was addressing the media circus camped in front of her son’s apartment in Hamilton Heights early Monday morning. “I would like to apologize to the city,” said Sosa.  “I love New York, I’ve been here, since 1987. I’m very disappointed with what my son’s doing. I did not raise my son that way.

Pimentel, originally from Dominican Republic, is a naturalized U.S. citizen who recently converted to Islam, according to police. Officials in Northattan today praised the police investigation that led to his arrest. Among them was State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who commended the actions of the New York Police Department for “their swift and rapid response” to Pimentel’s alleged bombing plans that threatened the lives of city residents.

Ebenzer Smith, district manager of Community Board 12, joined in the praise, suggesting that the Pimentel case might help the community overcome some of its longstanding hostility toward police.

“We need to be vigilant in our neighborhood and work with the police department and give them any tips,” said Smith. “Not only terrorist but any criminal action cannot be tolerated in this community.”

Police allege that Pimentel planned to build bombs that can be easily made at home, with simple ingredients such as powder, Christmas lights and flashlights. The powder was made from scraped material off of match heads and used Christmas lights as the detonator. Pimentel bought the ingredients from a Home Depot on Exterior Street in the Bronx according to The New York Times.  Amelia Belucci, an employee at the store, said today that the allegations against Pimentel made her nervous.

“Nothing in the world is safe,” said Belucci. “What happened on 9/11 can happen anywhere. He’s not there in his head. Maybe he wants to hurt somebody,” she said.

Simon Islam, a software engineer who just moved to New York from Texas, lives a floor below Pimentel’s uncle’s apartment on 137^th Street in Hamilton Heights.  According to police, Pimentel was living with his uncle at the time of his arrest.

“We always saw him in the corner smoking all the time, like maybe late nights, at 1 or 2 in the morning,” said Islam, who – like police – described Pimentel as a loner. “He’s always standing and smoking,” he said.

Pimentel’s mother said that after his conversion to Islam, her son worshipped at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, the city’s largest mosque at 96^th Street and Third Avenue.

The imam there, Omar S. Abu Namous, worried today that Pimentel’s actions could raise a new wave of  “Islamophobia.”

“People don’t understand Islam,” said Namous. “We should not judge a person from their religion. You could be anything: Religion is one thing, and your character is another thing,“ he said.

Simon Islam, a fellow Muslim, said he also worried that the allegations against Pimentel could hurt Muslims.

“Islam is not about all of this. Definitely not,” he said. “Nowhere is Islam telling people to go do jihad on people who are innocent and not involved with anything.”

Equally distressed today were many Dominicans, who make up the majority in Washington Heights, and who wonder if now they will be objects of suspicion, as Muslims were after the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington.

While there was no real evidence of an anti-Dominican backlash, there was plenty of bewilderment among the Dominicans of Washington Heights.

“I never heard of a Dominican bomber before,” said 15-year-old Ariel Sanchez.

“That guy is crazy,” said Johnny de Jesus. “I don’t think any Hispanic does something like that.”

Pimentel is being held without bail, and his lawyer was not available for comment.