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The South Bronx: From Rags To Million Dollar Piano District .

 

The Bronx has a rich cultural history and is home to some of the most vibrant communities in the City.it went under rapid growth during the turn of the twentieth century, as it residential development boomed and subway lines extended further South in the Bronx, making travelling to and from the inner borough of Manhattan more accessible. Thousands of Irish, Italian, French, German, Polish and Jamigrants left the bronx  and either migrated further South in the Bronx or left the borough entirely, leaving behind mostly Hispanic and African Aican populations. Essentially, the South Bronx went from being two-thirds non-Hispanic in 1950, to two-thirds black or Puerto Rican in 1960. While issues of poverty, crime,  unemployment are not unique to the bronx The Mott Haven area of the Bronx has caught the eye of property developers and businessmen, with film studio springing in the waterfront warehouses, and companies specialising in loft apartments snapping up land.

 According to the 2015 BCD1  (Bronx Community District 1) Community Health profile, 72% of our community is Hispanic, 25% is Black and 2% is White. What’s more, 28% of our community is foreign born and 36% have limited English proficiency, and while some may say that the borough is not ready for major gentrification, developers argue that water front land of the mott heaven  has great potential for real estate opportunities, on the other hand  The South Bronx is, and has a history of being, one of the poorest neighborhoods in NYC. Crime, and drugs  in the borough is at a high compared to others . “We’re seeing more cameras faster — and more borough equity,” said Deputy Commissioner Phil Walzak, the NYPD’s top spokesman, and effort to ensure the public the the police is active in lowering the stats as written by The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/12/nyregion/bronx-heroin-fentanyl-opioid-overdoses.html .

According to https://datausa.io/profile/geo/bronx-county-ny the bronx has a median household income 10% of what some of the new propose apartment developments in the borough would cost. Owning one of these apartments will set you back 20-30% downpayment, not many of the renter in the bronx can become owners, I say this is the introduction to gentrification . Gentrification is a term used to describe what happens when lower-income neighborhoods receive massive levels of new investment, adding amenities, raising home values and bringing in new upper-income residents. This can lead to cultural displacement, when members of a racial or ethnic group who were longtime residents of gentrified neighborhoods are pushed out. The map shows some of the propose construction sites for the developments along the waterline, and the Group.

The Chetrit Group and Somerset Partners, the developers behind the Piano District and Port Morris waterfront development to bring thousands of market-rate luxury housing to the South Bronx, have sold their development for $165 million to Brookfield Properties according to The New York Post. This is the single most expensive transaction for a development site in Bronx history according to property records, and websites. With property values rising, a lot of the culture and bronx natives will be pushed out of the sll ready known “Lost Borough” , at least thats what some fear, and what studies have shown happens when gentrification happens.According to the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/14/realestate/the-bronx-is-great-thonx.html it is  being called the new Brooklyn, and it has many local residents fearing for their displacement, as they sit hopelessly while their borough gets auctioned off Piece By Piece.

 In my experience i was born and raised in the bronx, and i plan on getting a piece of this auction. Myself  and many local bronx residents should be invested in the borough that we call home for decades personally  I don’t  believe in displacement of locals  because they are the culture and the blueprint when listening to the narrative , and ideology of a community .  The say this is the new piano district, and i say we are the ones that hold the true keys . When you ask a bronx native if they are aware of the proposed “Piano District”, many are unaware.

 Bibliography :

CityRealty Staff. “Deegan Towers: New 25-story buildings on the South Bronx waterfront top out construction.” Future New York. October 17, 2019. https://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/market-insight/features/future-nyc/deegan-towers-new-25-story-buildings-south-bronx-waterfront-top-out-construction/16384

Small, Eddie. “This is what Brookfield’s South Bronx Megaproject Will Look Like.” TRD New York. https://therealdeal.com/2019/11/21/heres-what-brookfields-massive-south-bronx-project-will-look-like/ 

 

The Art of Graffiti

The Art Of Graffiti

Although people detest graffitis practice due to its association with themes such as vandalism, rebellion, and criminal mischief, it is most often used as a means of self-expression. When it comes to the topic of graffiti, most of us will readily agree that it is in violation of the New York City law to mark public and private-owned property without authorization. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of if voices can be heard through this form of artistic expression then why should they be silenced? Whereas some are convinced that graffiti isn’t an art form, others maintain that it is important as it marks a place in Bronx culture, its rise in mainstream culture today, as well as its influence amongst the Bronx youth.  

In their recent work Rebecca Solnit and Joshua Jelly-Shapiro authors of the book “Nonstop Metropolis A New York City Atlas” offer a lens into the South Bronx, and the issues that plagued the 1970’s as well as the connection to the uprise in South Bronx Graffiti. Graffiti has been ever present in the Bronx and it stems from the total economic collapse of the South Bronx during the 1970s that resulted in mass amounts of arson as well as elevated crime rate. This resulted in youth at the time to need an outlet of expression and “in that mess, kids found a way to achieve some measure of normalcy, remaking the landscape through a culture they would come to call hip-hop, creating beautiful, funky graffiti” (Solnit and Jelly-Shapiro Pg 119). Graffiti is one of the 4 aspects of hip-hop it was an activity that kept kids from being overwhelmed by all the unfortunate tragedy that was ensuing during that time. Just as important, it’s also stated that “kids–were going through an outburst of creative energy” (Solnit and Jelly-Shapiro Pg 130) this is important to acknowledge because with much negative influence around at that time there were positive outlets of self-expression and it kept kids away from destructive forms of expression such as the arson that was going on as well as crime. With the excess negativity that was ever-present in the 1970’s, there’s no doubt that graffiti was part of the reason that the Bronx youth were able to recuperate from the hardships that they had faced during that time, as well as solidified its importance to Bronx youth.

From legendary graffiti artist like Taki 183, Keith Haring, to even unknown street artist, every piece of art sprayed upon a surface in New York eventually culminated into what we see today in the streets of New York. In some cases, there are even stories that are told behind the art form, for example, Chalfant Henry and Cooper Martha authors of Subway Art state “Rivals Cross out each other’s names”(6). The essence of what is being said is there are usually deeper meanings to even the average graffiti art that you’d see walking around in New York. At first glance, people might say, “what if there isn’t any story to be told behind the art presented” but on closer inspection, there is still the process in which the graffiti got there which is often a tale to tell, authors Chalfant Henry and Cooper Martha iterate “The “writers” face many obstacles in pursuit of their goal”(6) this is in support of the fact that there is usually a story to be told even if it’s minor. As a result of the many untold stories that graffiti holds its significance to New Yorkers should be taken seriously, and due to graffiti’s coming of age into popularity it is doing so and sparking more discovery and interest.

The feast of street art that covers the Bronx landscape is not only vast in size, but presents an array of different experiences and stories that we’re told through the use of latex gloves, protective masks, and spray canisters, coming together to create expressive graffiti murals. There are deep connections between the Bronx and the history of graffiti and often the debate between whether or not it can be considered defacing or beautifying is traced back to sources in the Bronx. The PIX11 YouTube channel uploaded a video that goes into detail about a graffiti exhibit in The Bronx Museum of the Arts, 

https://youtu.be/XHzBU-47INA

interviewing Deborah Colin who is the executive director of the museum talked about graffiti in the 1970’s starting  “it was formed in a particular sort of space and time in the Bronx… there was a lot of frustration and economic and social concerns”, consequently this shows graffiti in a positive light where it was used as a segway from the consumption of negativity that at the time was found in abundance. Another example of graffiti being used to integrate topics of relevance to art can be seen in some of Dondi Whites works, he was a very relevant artist of the 1980’s and is also in the graffiti exhibit in The Bronx Museum of the Arts, his most notable art being the “Children of the Grave” 

pieces he would spray paint on trains which was a depiction of what was going on during the time period between 1978 – 1980, 1980 being the worst year of crime in the city. Plainly put graffiti is apart of Bronx culture because it maintained a platform in the borough to continuously be a further expression of the eventful periods in the city’s history.

Graffiti to this day is considered defacement even tho it has public approval to be considered art by some and is even displayed as such in certain museums and galleries. With its deep-seated roots in the Bronx there’s no doubt it’s practice will still continue and with its continuation hopefully, it can be seen in a more positive light.

 

Works Cited

Solnit Rebecca and Jelly-Schapiro Joshua, “Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas”, Oakland California, 2016 print

“Children of the Grave Part Three” widewalls.ch, published by Widewalls, published on April 22, 2015https://www.widewalls.ch/street-art-legends-dondi-white/dondi-children-of-the-grave-part-one/#/

“Transit graffiti is showcased at Bronx Museum.” YouTube,  uploaded by PIX11 News, published on Oct 1, 2019, https://youtu.be/XHzBU-47INA

TREAM: Trash Rules Everything Around Me.

Although trash is necessary to farmers in the form of compost. It is beneficial to people in urban develops because the smell bacteria and viruses that comes from uncontrolled trash can cause illnesses such as heart disease and environmental problems like air pollution. Recent studies like these shed new light on our environment through of department of sanitation.

Those people keeps their garbage because it can be useful or recycle. According to the New York times, through the impact of garbage to New-York city neighborhoods. By focusing on the city  New York times overlooks the deeper problem of trash. In fact, regarding the mountains of trash in New York city. We can see food animal corpses and  intolerable smell, with contribute to poor air quality. In fact that leads to cardiovascular issues and air pollution. Trash in landfills can be used for compost. Our main rationale from the thesis without because it shows us, “ how are the garbage from?”. In addition our city has rubbish around the streets, through the fast food restaurants, dunkin donuts, Starbucks coffee and the seller around the streets. We can observe the cans, plats, spoiled food and the restaurants plastic bag.

Although New York city has the waste systems to keep the city clean. I celebrate the fact that exploring urban data urges us to “ what does New York do with all its trash? One city’s waste-in numbers”2019.  Exploring urban data is surely right about the public and  private waste system because, the private waste is from business. And then The public waste from residences and government buildings. In fact everyday New York public garbage truck collected less than 7000 tones. After finishing their route, it will be deposited in New York’s waste transfer station. Then it  will be carried to a landfill.

I advocate a radical revision of the garbage and recycling in New-York. In the video, the author writes how much the population threw the trash everyday. Also, the department of sanitation and private companies struggle to keep the city clean. It shows us how the department has  norms by dividing the trash in 3categories. Those devisers are  paper, metal/ glass, plastic/ mixed solid waste. In addition the video highlighted new trash is death with step by step. How are carried the trash to the next stop. Also it will be deposited to landfill and will be used as organic compost.

But New York times would certainly take issue with the argument, that trash rules everything around me. My map shows us where the department of sanitation transported the trash. Through  two waste systems: the private and public. And then, it demonstrates the causes of the mountains of trash by cardiovascular diseases, poor air quality. Finally, it explains the types of garbage and how the waste system struggle to clean our city each day. This calls me back to my own experience. In my country, less people throw trash.  Because more of them are farmers, and they keep recycle to sold to the companies of transformation. But our department of sanitation doesn’t work everyday. In the same way, it is to keep the city clean and avoid air pollution who can be a danger for our health.

 

                      Rat and Roach Wonderland

Imagine for a moment that you are in the living room of your home. As you’re relaxing you notice something small move from the corner of your eye. That creature you noticed is none other than a rat or a roach. Pests have been an ongoing issue throughout New York City, especially in the Bronx borough. Although there have been many complaints in the Bronx about pests, rats and roaches tend to appear in the poorest areas in the Bronx. Which proves that there is a correlation between poverty and pests population.

The people in the Bronx have often complained about the rats and roaches in their apartments. The predicament with the infestation of rats and roaches is still occurring even in more recent times. This was the case with one family who lived in an apartment filled with rats as she expresses it through her complaints on the matter. According to the video it is clear that those tenants who were living in the apartments had witnessed a continuous infestation of rats in their living space. The events in this video further drive the point that infestation is an existing problem in the Bronx. What it comes down to is the lack of protection that the people of the Bronx have from getting an infestation similar to the one seen in the video. Another instance of there being a rat and roach infestation in the Bronx has occurred in recent memory too. Similar to the previous video the people living in the apartments are dealing with having rats and roaches in their homes. Their course of action was to file a complaint to the landowners of the apartment. Once again the complaint has been ignored by the landowners of the apartment leaving the tenants having to find a way to deal with the rats and roaches themselves. Generally having pests in ones apartment is never a pleasant experience. It can last for weeks or even months but the impact that it can have on people can be unforgettable. Especially since the complaints of these very people have been left unheard by the landowners. In other words it is like having an ongoing dilemma without any real solution. The pest problem in the Bronx neighborhoods is often dismissed by people who only see the best parts of New York. The parts that are being referred to are Manhattan and Brooklyn with their tourist attraction. Once more the rat and roach situation in the Bronx has to be resolved even if the complaints aren’t enough.

It should also be taken into consideration that there is a clear connection between poverty and population of rats and roaches. The Bronx has been known to be the poorest of the five boroughs in the city. Even in current times the people of the Bronx have been struggling economically over the last decade. The “Bronx has had the slowest economic growth” in the city and has “not bounced back from the recession”( Wisnieski). As a result of the economic problems that the Bronx has been facing the housing has also taken a negative impact from this economic issue. And with there being poverty in these neighborhoods in these neighborhoods in the Bronx it results in less than ideal living conditions. It is these very living conditions that lead to the attraction of rats and roaches to these apartments. and had dealt with pests at some point. The Bronx with its economic issues cannot always reach those who had to live with poor housing. It is no wonder why there have been stories of the Bronx being the borough with the most rat infestations. And yet it is not often mentioned in a public setting making it seem as if the people who had to deal with these pests felt  ashamed. But then again no one wants an uninvited guest in their household, especially if it is a rat or a roach.

Rats and Roaches have been known to spread disease through the pathogens that they carry. The people who are most prone to getting ill from roaches are actually children. The reason being due to the fact that children having “coming into contact with an allergen”(Warman). Which in this case happens to be the feces from the roach. The illness that these children of the Bronx suffer from by being exposed to that feces is usually asthma. These same children of the Bronx also happen to live in the poorer areas leading meaning that there will be more roaches. Though roaches are already a threat to the health of children in the Bronx. Rats have gotten people in the Bronx sick as well because of the pathogens that they carry. There was even a recent instance of a person in the Bronx getting sick from exposure to the pathogens that the rat  carried. Considering that it was one person who had died from that the disease the other people living in that apartment were concerned if the same would happen to them. As observed from the video the death of the one tenant from the rat disease revealed an unfortunate truth about the neighborhoods in the Bronx. That truth was of course the fact that the Bronx and the tenant who died was the first of what would seem to be even more victims from the rats in these Bronx neighborhoods. What can be understood from this event is that rats have certain bacteria that can be harmful if it comes into contact with a less than fortunate person. This is only part of a long battle between Bronx and the pests that have surrounded the neighborhoods of the Bronx. Not only should people be aware of the health issues that these rats and roaches cause but also try to consider the ways that these diseases could be prevented.

 

While some might not think that rats are not pests and can be kept as pets that may seem true but once again rats that are found near the apartments in the Bronx should not be considered as pets. The same can be applied to those who believe that roaches can be pets as they also have not been good for the people of the Bronx. There is also the argument about how exterminators are readily available for those who live in the Bronx. As positive as that may seem at first, it is actually quite costly to get an exterminator in the first place. Instead the people of the Bronx have used the typical traps to eliminate as many of the rats and roaches as possible but even with that  there are always survivors. However the map was made with a purpose of exploring how the Bronx is in terms of the rat and roach infestations faced over the years. While making the map I had to think of ways to incorporate the topic of my research in the overall design of the map. What I came up with was a hand drawn map with some illustrations on the side relating to the topic that I have been researching. Beyond the whole process of creating the map I believe that the true meaning of the map is too shed light on a problem in the Bronx that has affect everyone who has lived there including myself.Pests have been a reoccurring problem throughout my entire life even back when I lived in Manhattan I still had to deal with pests on a daily basis. In fact I believe that it what caused the asthma that I have to this very day since the apartment I used to live in was infested with rats and roaches. Of course me and my family ended up moving out of that neighborhood in Manhattan to the Bronx neighborhood that I reside in to this very day. However while at first it seemed like I wouldn’t have to deal with pests while living in the place it eventually became clear that it wasn’t actually the case. The most recent experience I had with a rat infestation actually occurred last year. The first time I recall seeing a rat in the house was when I was walking to the kitchen. I noticed the rat was near the stove but as I moved it scurried away and that’s when I told my family about it. For the next few months, me and my family would continue to notice more rats around the house. Since we couldn’t afford an exterminator, we had to resort to using steel wool to cover up the holes that the rats were creating. The steel wool has been working but scratching can still be heard inside the walls sometimes. It was these experiences from my life that served as the inspiration for my map.

 

works cited

Bradley, Ryan. “The Rat Paths of New York.” NYTimes, 23 Apr. 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/magazine/the-rat-paths-of-new-york.html.

Ashford, Grace. “Leaks, Mold and Rats: Why New York City Goes Easy on Its Worst Landlords.” NYTimes, 26 Dec. 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/26/nyregion/nyc-housing-violations-landlords-tenants.html.

Bronx residents plagued by rat infestation

Link to video :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwcS8pFPT3I

Link to source: https://abc7ny.com/politics/rats-mice-and-roaches-plague-mitchel-houses-tenants/1573304/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4157232/

https://riverdalepress.com/stories/Bronx-leads-all-boroughs-on-poverty,49286

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Rat-Disease-Death-New-York-City-Leptospirosis-Reservoir-Investigation-Bronx-I-Team-Health-Department-415486463.html

 

 

 

 

 

Yo Fuck Da Police!: New York City Crime Rate

This New York City map was currently screen shot through a app called ” The Citizen App”, this app is constantly informing you of the current crimes being committed around your area. It varies in color yellow indicates misdemeanor while red indicates either a shooting or a homicide.

 

Thesis statement: New York police department in the 1990’s had a vast impact in the rapidly decrease in crime till this day, but skeptics argue other reasons for the decrease in crime and not due to the involvement of NYPD.

The New York Police Department CompStat gives important statistics on the crime rate in the 1990 till 2019. It shows how rapidly the crime rate in N.Y.C had dropped, in 2019 our crime rate is at its lowest in a total of 83,448 compared to the crime rate in the 90’s that were 527,257 that is a total of 83 percent dropped rate, we are current at NYC lowest of all time. This CompStat will help back my argument on how NYPD had a vast impact on the decrease in crime rate till today due to the rapped arrest rate New York police department had conducted in the early 1990s. Many may not agree with the tactics or reasons why officers may arrest an individual, but because of those arrest our society crime rate has dropped as low as it did. Upholding the law and holding those accountable have made our city safer.

 

In the article What Reduced Crime in New York city hit major key points to my thesis. Author David R. Francis gives important details/date and accurate percentage on how high the crime rates in New York city around the early 90’s were. Francis goes on a explains the policies known as the “ get- tough” that were carried out by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s. Giuliani’s policies on lower-level crime also known as the broken window being an arrestable offense had a great impact on crime reduction. “Felony arrest rates (except for motor vehicle thefts) rose 50+70 percent in the 1990s. When arrests of burglars increased 10 percent, the number of burglaries full 2.7 to 3.2 percent. When the arrest rate of robbers rose 10 percent, the number of robberies full 5.7 to 5.9 percent”(Francis p1). This quote shows how affected these new policies are by raising the amount of arrests a officers must make in order to reduce that certain crime being conducted. The rise of arrests have scared those individuals who were going to commit the crime to stop in order not to be caught or due time for that specific crime, this scared tacked worked so well that the percentage of crimes being conducted drop to half that percentage then what previously were. Frances also brings in the skeptical point of view of their thoughts on crime rate in NYC has decreased drastically they believed it was the economic boom to be blamed for the dropping of the crime rate. The unemployment rate declining 25% drove the criminals in New York city to stay in the straight and narrow. This article gives me vast important information that will help me backup my thesis and also add on to what others believe why the crime rate has dropped to half the percentage then what it previously was.

 

The topic of my map will give New Yorkers visual information on how the crime rate in New York City has dropped drastically since the early 90’s, what new policies were created and enforce in order to continue seeing this immoderate drop of crime in a city that was once known to be the worst high crime rated city in the United states. When it comes to the topic involving NYPD most of us will readily agree upon the injustice system of corrupt cops and the unfair treatment of certain ethical groups. Others may argue that New York City needs to better there laws toward protecting our officer during the line of duty, while criminologists believe that due to the low social strata comes high crime rate. In my own view, yes, I agree that there are individual police officers who are unjust while conducting their job when there are better ways to have dealt with certain situations, but on the other hand I don’t believe that the unethical conduct of individual police officers should be frown upon the entire New York police department or for other officers who had nothing to due with the misconduct/mistakes for that specific incident shouldn’t receive the black lash for the mistakes of others. This matter of hate/love from the people of New York City towards the NYPD needs to change. If New Yorkers continues to disrespect NYPD officers and continue violently protesting against them instead of finding a more civil way to handle things on both ends then the decrease in officers will start to occur more rapidly. If that occurs then with the decrease in officers will come the increase in crime. NYPD needs to find a better solution in keeping the corrupt officers on check before there fellow officers are crucified / label for a crime they didn’t commit. The suicide rate for officers is already an issue for the NYPD and the rate for suicide in there department is only growing. Although NYPD may not be a fan favorite at the moment for the people of New York city, one major fact that can not be denied or argued is that even though they are not liked, New Yorkers know that they are in fact needed in order to continue keeping the rate of crime at is lowest.

In the 1990s New York city was rated one of the highest crime rated cities in the United states. From homicide, robbery , grand larceny, federal assault, rape and GLA. According to the New York city police department statistics for homicide around the 90’ was “2,262 , GLA 146,925, Rape 3,126 ,Robbery 100,280,and Gr.Larceny 146,925( NYPD CompStat Unit pg.1)”. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s set a “get tough ( Giuliani page.1)” policy that led NYPD to arrest criminals even though it was just a misdemeanor, the more arrest officers conducted the lower the crime on those specific crimes declined. NYPD rapped arrest rate during the 1990s did a vast impact for our society crime rate today, in 2019 our crime rate is at its lowest in a total of 83,448 compared to the crime rate in the 90’s that were 527,257 that is more than 83% drop in crime rate. Many may not agree with the tactics or reasons why officers may arrest an individual, but because of those arrest our society crime rate has dropped as low as it did. Upholding the law and holding those accountable have made our city safer. Who’s to say if that policy wasn’t inputted what the crime rate would had been today, just imagined constantly being on high alert not knowing if today the day we might die , get robbed, or even worst one of our love ones got raped and killed over $20. If there’s no officers to enforce the laws towards those individuals, then those individuals who have nothing to fear but to continue conducting crimes. A great example would be, as a child you are taught to respect your parents and obey their rules, if broken you were to suffer the consequences. You as a child rather follow their rules then to receive punishment, your parents enforcing those rules upon you made you the person your are today. That was your parents way of making sure you conducted yourself in a civil matter while respecting the law . Laws are enforced in order to keep us safe you may not agree on why there are enforced but the individual enforcing them risking their lives day by day are the reason why we don’t worry as much as individuals did in the 90’s, we are more in a calmer state of mind when traveling in the city then those individuals in the 1990s constantly looking over there should hoping not to be the next victim in a violent society.

Although NYPD is label as untrustworthy corrupted justice system of racial profiling a majority of the people who join the NYPD were born and raised within our community trying to make a change. The department as a whole shouldn’t be backlash for individual cop who made mistakes, us as a community are hypocrites. We fight for justice equal treatment and racial profiling. While New Yorkers are constantly disrespecting the NYPD hollering “ fuck the police!” teaching the generation before us that it’s okay to throw a bucket of water to officers while in the line of duty, with no re-precaution allowing them to continue this trend while taping it making it go viral. Without the knowledge on the amounts of damage they just caused. Any firearm that has contact with water can cause rust, which comes with jamming of the firing pinning in a Glock and may cause the officer his/her life. Everyone hates being labeled for the mistakes of certain individuals in our ethical group ,but we are no different doing it to police officers who are actually doing there job with good intentions. Who may had saved many lives while risking their own . We need to look into the facts before we start to protest for a murder or criminal just because we didn’t like the outcome of the aftermath actions. Yes! We demand respect and punishment to corrupt cops, we are going by it the wrong way taking our angry towards the ones who are trying to help us and keep us safe. Unjust treat in our country have changed but the reason for there change wasn’t because they act violently or harassed others. It changed because they went by things more civil peaceful protests, Dr. Martin Luther king and Rosa parks were arrested but not one of them fought back but left calmly till things were resolved then they were released. They are the reason why we as minorities today get to enjoy the enjoyment of what we considered back then white privilege.

New York city as a community and the New York police department should find a better method towards working together and trying to rebuild trust between each other in order to better the community, to show the community that they are there to protect and serve not to cause harm. That NYPD shouldn’t be the ones you should be afraid of that there is a still trust within the community to help NYPD when they need to get clearer statement on what just occurred instead of the law of the “don’t snitch” policy New Yorkers have deemed to be the unbreakable rule resulting inconsequential harm towards the witnesses/victims. If we don’t change our views as a community and if the NYPD continues not to get rid of the corrupt officers then how do both ends except the crime to continue dropping and animosity on both sides to end. We as a community need to show/ teach our youth to respect our officer as well as the police department re-giving course on costume/ courtesy and how to properly handle certain situations. I know many might not agree with arresting criminals what some might call small and unlawful arrest but statistic show “Felony arrest rates (except for motor vehicle thefts) rose 50+70 percent in the 1990s. When arrests of burglars increased 10 percent, the number of burglaries fell 2.7 to 3.2 percent. When the arrest rate of robbers rose 10 percent, the number of robberies fell 5.7 to 5.9 percent (Frances pg.1)”. This quote shows how affected these new policies are by raising the amount of arrests a officers must make in order to reduce that certain crime being conducted. The rise of arrests have scared those individuals who were going to commit the crime to stop in order not to be caught or due time for that specific crime, this scared tacked worked so well that the percentage of crimes being conducted drop to half that percentage then what previously were.

Many argued that the reason for the rapid decrease in crime was caused due to the increase in employment that many went to the straight and narrow in order to be employed. Many skeptics argue “The national unemployment rate declined 25 percent between 1990 and 1999, and by 39 percent in the city between 1992 and 1999. This study shows that a single percentage point decline in the jobless rate decreases burglary by 2.2 percent and motor vehicle theft by 1.8 percent. Increases in the real minimum wage also significantly reduce robberies and murders: 3.4 to 3.7 percent fewer robberies with a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage and 6.3 to 6.9 percent fewer murders (Francis pg.1)”. The increase in employment and minimum wages encouraged criminals to stop committing crimes to keep their record clean in order to be employed. Due to the rise of employment the decrease in crime came from 1992 to 1999. They argued that it wasn’t the increased in arrests that scared the criminals to not commit the crimes, but the hope of being employed is what changed there course of action. I respectfully disagree with this theory because as statistics shows in the police department diagram how due to the high arrest rate and the drugs/ guns being taken off the streets NYC has crime has drop. When 9/11 occurred and the employment rate was once again at its lowest the crime rate in the city still remained low. It shows that it wasn’t due to the employment rate for the decrease in crime it was due to the officer enforcing the law and keeping criminals off the streets. I served 4 years in a half in the United States Marine Corp and I heard many stories from my fellow brothers/sisters who served in Vietnam once coming back home from serving their country, keeping our enemies from invading our home, they came back to being spit at and protested being called “baby killer ! Murder!”. It was a horrible era being a service member serving their country with good intentions of keeping what we call home safe, they risked their lives every day being away from there families knowing the risk of never coming home. So when I see officers who are serving the state being disrespected in a way that my brothers in arms were, brings rage and disappointment. Those who protest and disrespect us who risk our lives day in and day out , not knowing the sacrifices we make each day to keep them safe. They never served a day in there life being young as 17 preparing your will making sure everything on check, so when the day comes that you don’t return home your priorities had been handle and your family grieving for your lost can just grieve without the worry of your barrel options, because it’s been handled. As a veteran I know what officers go through day in and day out the mentally one must have just to get by each day and those are the reasons why I know being an officer in New York city is very difficult and that reason is why I respect and mentally knowingly know how they feel while they serve their country.

 

Work Cite

NYPD CompStat Unit, “Police Department City of New York “,Report covering the week 10/28/2019 through 11/03/2019. Volume 26 Number 47,2019, https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs-en-us-city.pdf, November 03,2019.

Francis, David R., “What Reduced Crime Rate in New York city”, the NATIONAL BUREAU of ECONOMIC RESEARCH, January03,2019, https://www.nber.org/digest/jan03/w9061.html, October 05,2019.

Francis, David R., “What Reduced Crime Rate in New York city”, the NATIONAL BUREAU of ECONOMIC RESEARCH, January03,2019, https://www.nber.org/digest/jan03/w9061.html, October 05,2019.

NYPD CompStat Unit, “Police Department City of New York “,CompStat, 2019, https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs-en-us-city.pdf, October 25,2019.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&id=572457387035A8F7F42DCD811EB5C783B5FC6C2C&thid=OIP.-vCMxzOIkXV0fGLirrHmdgHaIZ&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fpics.me.me%2Fsay-hello-to-your-new-fbi-director-no-in-dwight-20372903.png&exph=567&expw=500&q=+meme+on+dewitt+as+a+cop+the+office&selectedindex=3&ajaxhist=0&vt=0&eim=0,1,2,3,4,6,8,10

Album: Straight Outta Compton, Artist: N.W.A, Release year: 1988, Duration: 5:46, Genre: Hip hop music

 

 

Beauty Product: The Diversity of Beauticians

      Since the year of 1950, beauty salons had populated rapidly due to grandness in women lives. Some may not notice, but many women has been involved with salons, African Americans to be exact, where there will be no diversity of beauticians. Not a lot of people will think this matters, however, this should be looked upon on because each women has the right to receive the same treatment as others. Race shouldn’t matter and hair texture shouldn’t either. Although all beauticians requires certification to own a salon, this indicates that we must have limitations of salons with beauticians who are the same race located in the same area to build a diversity. Hence, women should be able to feel comfortable while getting their hair done.

It is known for those women whose interested in cosmetology and wanting to own a salon that an cosmetology license is required. According to the beauty courses category blog it is needed to attain a license if you are indeed providing services to clients. If you decide otherwise then it’s not necessarily required. With employees it’s a different story. It states employees must be provided “… certification or licensing…that will carry out services to the clientele.” (Do I Need a Cosmetology License to Open a Salon?; 2013, Evergreen Beauty College). In other words, they will also need certification. Now I do agree that each hairdressers should have some certification of their work, however, I understand that it can be difficult for some individuals to get one. Some people aren’t able to attend cosmetology school because the cost is too pricey. There will be programs they’ll suggest for to enroll, the rooms, and textbooks you have to purchase. Another reason they are unable to attend could be they may have many responsibilities in their personal lives that they don’t have the time to do what they want. As a result, it will be overwhelming for one person to handle these tasks. Thus, if interested in the cosmetology business it is recommended to get a license.

In certain areas, there should be limited beauty salons located in the same area with the same ethnic group of hairdressers. For instance, in the Bronx there are mutual of salons owned by Latinos located near one another. On 170 Street, from Grand Concourse to Clay Avenue, there are at least four beauty salons. The video shown below shows how closely they are altogether. The Bronx is knowing of having many Latino residents. According to Zaire Cortes, she states that “54.6 percent of Bronx residents are Latino and most live in neighborhoods that are key to the development of housing and infrastructure.”(A New Bronx?; 2019, Showcasing the Best of the Community and Ethnic Media). Because much of the community are Latino residents it’s understandable why most salons are owned by them, however, it does not excuse them for not being diverse. Few investors prefer to have just a family business. That’s a great idea, although other individuals from different ethnic groups should have the opportunity to prove their skills. It’s possible very few women feels uncomfortable to obtain services from only Latinos; not because they dislike them, but because they are treated differently due to their hair texture. This can lead the salon into losing money as these women will find services somewhere else. Therefore, there should be limitations of an all Latino salons locating closely to each other.

These beauty salons needs to be culturally diverse, not only to themselves but to our community. The importance of representation is to show within the neighborhood how connected we are together. African American’s hair is one of the underrated hair there is. Not every stylist can handle our kinky, curly, textured hair. That’s why the importance of different hairstylists should be concerned to many. Black women are discriminated by their hair because it’s not as easy to simply straighten it as a style. Thompson states that “…15% of traditional stylists turns away clients who have textured hair”. ( This App Wants to Save Black Women from Stylists Ruining their Hair; 2017, Fast Company). The amount of disrespect our women are gaining is disgusting and heartbreaking. People are so cruel. Additionally, this has been happening to us for years now. We are charged more for having “challenging” hair. Do you know how upsetting it is for a black woman to be discriminated due to the texture of hair? The instant feeling we consume when we can’t achieve is the feeling of giving up. It’s exhausting to constantly be overlooked by the beauty industry, so our only two options are to wear protective hairstyles  (wigs, braids, dreadlocks, etc) or wash our own hair. Honestly, the only people who understands our hair textures is ourselves which is why majority of us does that anyway. The more we do our own hair, the more we save our money. On the Upper East Side of Manhattan, every black woman knows the most populated of hair braiding salons are located on 125th Street. As soon you’re walking along the sidewalk you will see many beautiful African American women sitting outside handing out card information of their business. In short, the community needs a diverse of hairdressers to provide services for all women with different textures of hair.

Nevertheless, many of Latino stylists will probably suggest otherwise and argue that a diversity isn’t needed because they are able to do all types of hair. The map I created shows the amount of salons on the street, but on different avenues up the block from me. When I was a freshman I attended a salon near to the one I used to go to as a child for the first time with my mom. The original price was $15 for a wash and set yet my mom had to pay $25 because my hair was so thick and I “needed” to clip my ends. After I got out the dryer, one of the beauticians told me she would do me next after she was done with a customer. Little did I know she lied and did her friend next. Thank god my mom was there to say something and got someone else to finish my hair. Now I do my own hair so I won’t have to go through that again. To conclude, the community needs to do a better job of treating others which is why we need to be culturally diverse so all of us can work with one another.

Homelessness Effects

Carla Hernandez
Prof Krystyna
English 110
12/6/19
Working Thesis:
Although the large  majority of street homeless New Yorkers are people living with mental illness or other severe health problems. Homelessness have a higher rate of serious mental illness and addiction Disorder. Homeless can contribute to mental illness when these symptoms become so severe that the person cannot function.
I will be mapping about homelessness epidemic in the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens. Also Their effect in our community and what our community should do to help them stop being in the street and get so addicted to drugs.

The effect of homelessness on society can be quite costly, not only in terms of tax dollars spent but on the strain it puts on social agencies, Individual and families. Homeless people spend more time in jail or prison than other population. On the other side part of it has a result of violating laws that specifically target homeless people. Homeless has an effect on both the individual and society. Society has to pick up the cost for homeless individual to get very basic service such as treatment for illness, places to sleep in and food to eat. Furthermore The effects on homelessness are huge on their physical and emotional health. Homelessness men and women don’t have the money get the medical care they need so they suffer from colds. Homeless people are more likely to get into drugs and alcohol and getting HIV. Also they don’t get enough vitamins to be healthy or sleep. Another thing is that homeless people are more likely to get raped and get into a physical violence because they don’t have houses to protect them. I would like to learn more about homelessness effect

The coalition for the Homeless provides up to date information on New York City’s homelessness population. In recent years. Homelessness in New York City has reached the highest levels since the great depression of the 1930s. Furthermore compared to homelessness families, homeless single adults have much higher rates of serious mental illness, addiction disorders and other several health problems. Each night thousands of unsheltered homeless people sleep on New York city street, in the subway system, and in other public spaces. There is no accurate measurement of New York City’s unsheltered homeless population. This year’s count was conducted in 24 hospital emergency rooms and waiting areas in the Bronx, Queens and Manhattan.
When we think about what causes homelessness, we often think about addiction, mental illness, domestic violence, Job loss, and disabilities. Those are all accurate demographic characteristics of the homeless population. While some people work through day labor companies or have service industry jobs, unemployment is more common. And an estimated Forty percent of the homeless population is disabled. Also homeless people are more likely to be victims of violent crimes than to commit those crimes themselves. People without housing are vulnerable and lack the safety that a home provides while it is true that homeless people often have lengthy arrest records, they’re most often arrested for non- violent crimes associated with not having a home, like public urination, or trespassing charges for camping on someone else’s land.
Conflict over the use of public and community spaces increases when there are large numbers of people without access to their own private space. These conflict can bring to the surface deeply rooted issues linked to negative perceptions about members of society who are poor, vulnerable or marginalized. The Bronx contains five of the ten communities citywide that experience the highest incidences of family homelessness. These communities are university heights, south Bronx, and Tremont. Homelessness is a growing problem that negatively impact the nation’s economic competitiveness. According to the U.S department of housing homelessness in the United States increased for the first time in seven years, and increases in the numbers of unsheltered individuals in the Fifty largest cities.

In conclusion

Studies show that the largest majority of street homeless New Yorkers are people living with mental illness or other Severed health problems. The mental health of homeless population is significantly worse than the general population, with the prevalence of mental disorders up to four times higher in the former. In my Opinion homelessness need to stop, we need to help those people by letting know their right here in the United States, They are not alone but sometimes what happens in situations like this is that those people prefer to be in the street than in a shelter because they know that in the street they have more possibility of getting money for their drugs and don’t work but in a shelter they will get help to stop dealing drugs and they also get the opportunity to be in a program for work.

 

 

 

WORKSITED

  • Loren cassady, the effect of homelessness,june26,2018
  • stephanie Watson,how homeless work, april28,16
  • Kristin harris, the cause and effect of homeless,march 1, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Obesity

Diana Marfo

Krystyna Michael

English 110-210B

10 December 2019

Childhood Obesity

Some might say that everyone is dying to be thin. I’m not sure how true that popular saying is because I always observe some level of obesity during my daily outings. The most troubling of my observation is when I see obese children. This is particularly concerning being that ailment in childhood can be carried into adulthood if it is not taken care of. Some illnesses linked to childhood obesity are type 11 diabetes, cardiac issues, respiratory issues, cholesterol and death due to coronary failure. These sicknesses in obese children stem from junk food, poor quality of foods and excessive eating. Childhood obesity is a problematic in low income areas affordability of quality   food. Although junk food is less expensive and people can afford it, it is not good to consume. Therefore, the price of healthy food should be reduced so that low- income people can have access to healthier food choices.

According to the National Center for health statistics the number of obese children ranges from ages 6-19 have tripled to 16% over twelve years. The article also points out that one in six children suffers obesity, which has impacted on child physical and emotional health and children who are overweight have greater tendency to become obese throughout their adulthood. According to the research there are many ways a child can be obese example poor diet, lack of physical activities, stress, marketing, lunch options at school and boredom are all factors contributing to childhood obesity. Some might say that the Bronx is the most extensive area in the United States. However, it is not the only place with children that are obese.

Although the city is having a lot of bodegas and fast food restaurants all over the place people are still not thinking about their health but focusing on unhealthy foods. The map reflects on how in every one supermarket there are six bodegas around.

Also, it shows how obesity in general happens in low income areas.  Also, this map is helpful because being obese leads to health problem and increase the chance of being diagnose with diabetes and it also proves that fast food is the main factor of obesity Additionally it shows how it is easier to buy fast food than prepare it. In my research what I found out was that this also contributes to childhood obesity, the presence of supermarkets and convenience stores like bodegas has a higher rate of contribution to childhood obesity which also leads to diabetes. The objects in this is to determine the awareness of food access through bodegas. That is to say that some people think is the easiest and convenient way for people to purchase food and have access to affordable and unhealthy foods products.

 

 

 

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Physician- A person who is legally qualified, Obesity – the condition of being overweight

Bariatric- relating to treatments of obesity. This article ranges from 2004- 2019. As the time period becomes more presents. The articles show how childhood obesity rate has increase drastically and how more children are having to deal with Adult like illness i.e. type 2 diabetes and heart problems early on in life. This article provides ways and solutions into the world of how doctors, parents and schools can do to help not only decrease the rate but prevent it as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Lorna E. Thorpe, Deborah G. List, Terry Marx, Linda May, Steven DHelgeson, Thomas R. Frieden “Childhood Obesity in New York City Elementary School Students” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 94, no. 9, 2004, pp. 1496–1500.

 

Alonso grocery store 20019, University Avenue Bronx. Web. Nov. 10, 2019. Castillo grocery store is one of the busiest and recognizable stores in my neighborhood that primarily sells food, they offer nonperishable foods that are packaged in bottles and boxes, which increase awareness of food access. In other words, it is easy and convenient for people to purchase food and having access to affordable and nutritious foods, which also contributes to the prevention of obesity.

 

 

Web. Nov 9, 2019

Condition of being overweight Bariatric- relating to treatments of obesity

This article ranges from 2004- 2019. As the time period becomes more presents. The articles show how childhood obesity rate has increase drastically and how more children are having to deal with Adult like illness i.e. type 2 diabetes and heart problems early on in life. This article provides ways and solutions into the world of how doctors, parents and schools can do to help not only decrease the rate but prevent it as well.

Castillo Supermarket (local bodega) is one of the busiest and recognizable stores in my neighborhood that primarily also sells food products which has a variety of food, beverages and household product which are organized into section and shelves and also household cleaners. In other words, all this store sells foods product that contributes to childhood obesity because some of the parents are so busy with their work so they don’t have time to cook for their kids and all they provide for their children is fast food and the kids get use to junk food.

Terry Mara MD, Lorna E. Thorpe, Linda May and Thomas R. The prognosis of obesity in Department of

Health and Mental hygiene web April 27, 2004.

 

Web Network Times Vole 158 Aug 16 2009.  The American journal of public” say kids are fat” In other words poor diet in children has contributed too poorer eating of fruits and vegetables and have a higher intake of saturated fats. That is to say kids don’t focused on healthy foods rather likes eating unhealthy products, but how to prevent obese in children is parents needs to prepare nutritious and healthy food, improve dietary intake, and to reduce television which can also control overweight in children. According to the article obesity has a higher rate in Hispanic children usually in boys. That is to say that mostly obese kids are mainly associated with Spanish children.

Work Cited

 

Resnick, David. “Fast-food, fat profits: Obesity in America.  “Trans-fat ban and human freedom” American Journal of bioethics 2010, 19 Nov.2010.

 

 

Robinson, TN. “Behavioral treatment of childhood and adolescent obesity.” Int J Obes. 1999

 

 

 

Robinson, TN.” Reducing children’s television viewing to prevent obesity.” JAMA 1999.

 

research eng 110

WORK CITED

How Those Who Protect Us Hurt Us

There is substantial evidence to suggest that policing is harder on black men for everything. So then, how do you police the police? The police is trusted by all of society to protect and serve its people. Yet, police officers themselves report insufficient accountability for misconduct. Police brutality is a racial issue because it more often negatively impacts people of color. Although, the opposition may argue that police have the right to defend themselves, the NYPD is supposed to protect all New Yorkers equally. There have been a lot of incidents where people of color have been racially profiled and mistreated. About 27% of all police officers acknowledge a flaw in the system and describe the actions taken upon police conduct as not nearly enough. This is evident in the Eric Garner case, where the grand jury returned a verdict of no indictment in 2014. However, the case has elicited numerous mass protests as well as a different view of the police department which has had the public questioning its effectiveness and whether or not it serves its purpose. In my map I will be pinning places in which police brutality incidents have occurred throughout the 5 boroughs of New York City.   

Prior to the Eric Garner case, stop and frisk was issued to reduce gun violence, although it made no significant difference. In fact, the number of young black males stopped in 2011 due to stop and frisk exceeded the actual number of young black males. Moreover, 90% of them were innocent. This could indicate an ingrained prejudice in the criminal justice system and terminating it would require a thorough evaluation of it. 

The method used by Officer Daniel Pantaleo after Eric Garner,  the victim in question resisted arrest was the chokehold. He did this without any illicit motive, performing an aggressive arrest which was not needed. Force is to be used under exceptional circumstances. Officers are trained to use the least amount of force. Why use violence on Eric Garner, after the man continuously simply asked the officers to leave him alone? They were supposedly going to arrest him because he was accused of selling loose cigarettes, yet there is no indication in the video of the incident between the police officers and the accused man that he was doing so. What grounds of suspicion were the officers acting on? Most importantly, why after the man repeatedly said he could not breathe, did the officers continue to shove him into the ground compressing his airway? This is a classic example of police brutality and an abuse of power. Backup was coming, as in the video sirens could be heard in the background. The man was not threatening the officers, neither did he have a weapon or did they suspect that he did. 

It is apparent how cruel the system is in its treatment of civilians . The dehumanization of subjected groups occurs through an ingrained racism in legislation made by those in power. The group of people which work to protect the well-being of all citizens actually demean them and instill fear in communities which should be turning to them for help. They are looked at and treated like animals. The importance of injustice within the criminal justice system is evident in the duration of its existence and its prevalence in society today. This type of injustice has not only happened to black people. Numerous groups have been targeted by the white supremacist society due to their differences and their threats to the system’s structure. The strange thing is that almost half of the country does not hear about these killings either because of the police patching it up or something even worse, the media does not report it. Something that we are “supposed” to believe we look at the media to stay informed of what happens in our country but even that is corrupted in today’s time. The problem is not just police officers alone; the problem is industrialized racism. Nonetheless, the use of force exists and is abused to the extent in which it passes racial, economic, and social borders. It intermingles between the three and the severity of it or how frequent it may be varies upon the civilian’s position, as well as the position of the police officer they may encounter. In Whibey’s research, statistical evidence shows use of force distributed amongst several different racial groups, concluding that African American and Latino males are more likely to receive harsher treatment: 

The federal Justice Department releases statistics on this and related issues.. It found that in 2015, among the 53.5 million U.S. residents aged 16 or older who had any contact with police, 985,300 of them — 1.8 percent — experienced threats or use of force.  Law enforcement officials were more likely to threaten or use force on black people and Hispanics than white people, according to an October 2018 report. “When police initiated the contact, blacks (5.2 percent) and Hispanics (5.1 percent) were more likely to experience the threat or use of physical force than whites (2.4 percent), and males (4.4 percent) were more likely to experience the threat or use of physical force than females (1.8 percent).” Of those who experienced a threat or use of force, 84 percent considered it to be excessive. (Wihbey)

Although 1.8  percent may seem a relatively small number, this number has statistical meaning and signifies an issue in the way the system operates. Eighty-four percent of those experienced a threat or use of force considered it to be excessive, depicting the severity which most officers handle situations with. The job of the police should be to make them feel safer rather than make them afraid of the same people who work to serve them and their safety. This indicates that a change in regulations needs to be made, where different tactics are enforced so that all officers know how to act in situations with minorities so that they may not feel threatened. 

As a police officer, there are several tactics taught to one in training to subdue an unwilling person, commencing with the voice to establish power. A chokehold should have immediately been removed from question because of the danger it presents to the individual; “More specifically, the Chokehold represents how American institutions and “social practices”treat all African American men as would-be criminals to be “contained” by the state … The Chokehold produces a world in which all Black men are presumptively viewed as threatening; none of them gets a pass; not even children” (Butler). According to Butler’s book, the chokehold becomes a metaphor that elicits fear within the black community. The goal of a police officer should always be to complete a successful arrest, without hurting the individual’s life. Other alternatives to strengthen and reinforce the system’s reliability, would be to hold more officers accountable for their actions. There should be more action taken when an officer or any person working for law enforcement is accused of anything or takes part in any alleged crime. It is imperative to realize that although extremely difficult to imagine a crooked system, it is highly evident that it does exist, and with individuals who repeatedly threaten innocent civilians, whether it be based on race, gender, or any other prejudicial circumstances, it is best to strip them of their titles or more fatalities will occur. 

Courts are often perceived as an important venue to hold police accountable for fatal use of force with criminal prosecutions. However, as the events surrounding the death of Eric Garner showed, prosecutions of officers accused of committing crimes involved in their duties are extremely rare. But low rates of prosecution and conviction do not apply when applied to other offenses committed by officers, as this section outlines. We set out to explore why prosecutions, and convictions, are so rare. (Congress) 

This study found that jurors usually tend to empathize with the police officers themselves rather than the victims of an alleged crime. This is because they consider that these officers take on life-threatening cases and are exposed to crime, violence, and danger daily. They deem these decisions as last minute life-or-death, in which an officer under immense pressure may not make the morally right, or best, decision. In the case of Pantaleo, this could have also affected the grand jury’s indictment. Pantaleo was a serving officer for seven years at the time of the incident, which may have altered the jury’s decision. They could have interpreted the length of his service as important to the justice as far more important than one occurence where he may have felt under pressure.  Yet, the public most certainly understood the dramatic effects of the abusive force used by Pantaleo. 

While police use of deadly force is a rare occurrence, its impact can be felt throughout the community and undermines public confidence in the police. Aside from the ethical and moral ramifications of taking another’s life, or leaving them perhaps permanently disabled, a police officer also faces the prospect of being held criminally liable if deadly force was improperly employed. People in today’s litigious society will frequently challenge the officer’s decision to use deadly force in a civil court as well. For all of these reasons, it is absolutely imperative that officers thoroughly understand their responsibilities, rights, and limitations regarding the use of deadly force. (Congress)

Once again, the education of all officers is imperative so that they may understand the complexity of the use of force. This will strengthen the system as well as the public’s belief in its system. With understanding comes practice, and practice yields better results. Once officers understand the complexity of the use of force, they will try to minimize it as much as possible and will always second-guess their actions, even in conflicting cases where they may be emotionally disturbed. Understanding consequences of impeding another individual’s right to live under absurd circumstances will also restrict officers from being overly aggressive, if they know they will be held accountable for not using the suggested methods. 

The case of Mr. Eric Garner manifests the reality of the criminal justice system we possess now. It raises numerous questions, all which must be thoroughly examined in order to extract a conclusion that would be effective and non-biased. Even so, the use of force can immediately be diminished, by training more officers efficiently and implementing new regulations that all officers must follow. The grand jury assigned to cases regarding violations of another individual’s rights by a police officer should not be overlooked. Officers should be placed on immediate suspension after tragedies like Garner’s occur. This way, the families would not feel as if the system is not aiding them or investigating and taking into careful consideration every iota to a case like this. Different solutions should be taught to all officers who face difficult predicaments with subjects who are unwilling to cooperate. These tactics should involve the least amount of force, to avoid any casual tragedies. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqTbX6E2fZo

The picture above, illustrating Eric Garner’s last words “I can’t breathe” symbolize how the system as a whole places its citizens in a chokehold. The discrimination and excessive use of force projected unto civilians is enough to suffocate a nation as a whole. It exposes the blemishes in the criminal justice system, along with the video which simply enforces that. Every day, bystanders are subjected to witness the tragic effects of police brutality and a system which cannot seem to be undone. 

WORKS CITED

Butler, P. (2018). Chokehold: policing Black men. New York: New Press

Butler’s book relates the method used by Daniel Pantaleo, the chokehold, as a metaphor that signifies the daily struggles of an American individual in our society. He explains how it instills fear in minority groups and subjects them to irreversible guilt in the eyes of the system. This is a perfect example of how police brutality undertakes several lens in any individual’s life. 

 

Congress, N. J. (2003, October 3). Principles of Good Policing: Avoiding Violence Between Police and Citizens. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/archive/crs/pubs/principlesofgoodpolicingfinal092003.htm.

The task force suggests that police departments clearly and publicly state values as well as proper procedures that should be followed in any given situation.. In addition, it indicates that a public knowledge of the enforcement of these regulations will minimize violence between police officers and individuals. They predict this will ensure a feeling of safety and security within the public. In my opinion, rules and regulations in regards to the use of force should definitely be made as specific and clear as possible to avoid more cases that involve police brutality.

Wihbey, J. (2018, December 21). Excessive or reasonable force by police? Research on law enforcement and racial conflict. Retrieved from https://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/criminal-justice/police-reasonable-force-brutality-race-research-review-statistics/.

The article retrieved touches thoroughly upon the background of the use of force and its effects on groups of people in society. It reveals how anxious the people are and untrusting they have become towards the justice system. With belief that little to nothing is being done to help individuals of a group, the justice system’s reliability decreases and weakens at a plummeting rate. This is exactly the data that is needed to inform all people of the injustice that is occurring and suggest alternatives to the police system’s policies. 

Social Media

 

My map is showing the location of the Bronx. I choose a map of the Bronx because people use their phones to be on social media. People do not care if they are in a specific place such as an office, school, street, etc to use social media. They do not pay attention to what is around them because they just think that social media is everything. I chose places like office, school or street because even when some people are working in an office they do not care if they are working they just check their phones to see what is going on on their social media. Some of them get in trouble for that. They think that they can hide what they are doing. But, they use their phones so much that they do know noticed when someone is watching them. Also, my map highlights accidents to demonstrate that people are having accidents because they do not pay attention to the lights when they are texting while they are driving. This map is a good option for people who overuse social media because they can see some of the big problems that people can have for overuse social media. Although social media is part of our lives, social media affects the reality of our lives, so the number of hours that we are on social media should be moderate.

 

Social media is part of our lives because we use social media all the time and we want to share everything that we do. However, we do not take the time to ponder that even though social media is part of our lives, social media has a negative effect on us. In her article, Elite Daily, Moose A maintains that “There’s no doubt that social media is a significant part of our daily lives, whether it’s someone uploading photos from his or her graduation or tweeting about an awesome new car, social media implicitly causes us to compare ourselves to others” (Moose). This demonstrates that even though we use social media as something that we need every day, social media can have a negative impact on us because the person who was comparing herself with others has self-confidence decrease. It is true that social media is part of our lives that’s why we use it constantly, but also we are always comparing ourselves with people that we see on social media because we think that they look better or they have something better than us and then we see ourselves less than them. Comparing ourselves with others is not going to help us to grow up mentally because then we are going to think that we are not capable of doing things as others, but also at the same time, we need to think that we are different and we should not compare ourselves with others. Comparing ourselves with others shows that we are not sure of who we are as a person.  

 

Social media is affecting the reality of our lives because almost everything on social media is not real, people use to lie or there is no real information. According to the article ProCon.org “ In the three months prior to the 2016 US presidential election, false news stories about the two candidates have shared a total of 37.6 million times on Facebook.” (Are social networking sites good for our society 2) This shows that social media has a lot of false information and it is affecting us because when we see any information on social media we use to believe it, and we share the same false information. Some people think that social media is enough for them that’s why they prefer to know about what is going on through social media, but they do not think that what they see on social media can be fake news. They just prefer to know what is going on on social media than what is going on in their real lives, they do not think that social media messes with the perception of reality.   

 

We should control the hours that we spend on social media because it is how we are going to manner our time and the things that we do.

student girl does homework, she took her phone

 

 

 

 

 

 

This shows a girl sitting on a chair with her notebook next to her. This image gives me the idea that she is studying or doing her homework. However, she has a phone in her hands. She is using social media while she is doing her work. The image shows how the girl prefers being on social media than do what she is supposed to do. This image is related to this topic because the girl is not limiting herself to being on social media distracts her to do her job from school. She does pay attention to what she needs to do. Also, we can see the image of the girl in another way. Maybe her parents do not know that she is spending her time on social media when she is supposed to do school’ work. And, maybe the girl is using social media as something negative.  I add another image because it is also related to my topic.

This phrase means that we need to beware of what we are going to post on our social media because depends on what we post it will have a negative or positive effect. What we post on social media it will be reflected in our future because if we are on posting negative things all the time on social media is how other people are going to see us. We should all use social media for something productive. If we use social media for a good purpose we are going to see the difference because almost everybody shares the same thing over and over. How we demonstrate ourselves to others is how they are going to see us because as the phrase says social media affects our personal lives too. This means that sometimes social media influences our lives, so we need to be careful of what we do on social media because it is going to be reflected in ourselves as negative or positive actions.

 

In conclusion, overusing social media is not good for anyone because it will affect us in many ways. On the other hand, I agree with many people that social media is good because we all need social media to be connected with our family, share what we want or even express what we feel. But on the other hand, I still insist that we all should limit the hours that we use social media because social media is not everything. We do not depend on what is on social media. Therefore, my map is showing that the Bronx is one of the big parts of the world where people have their phones on their hands all the time to check any minute their social media. Even me, I use my phone all the time. I remember one time when I was about to get in trouble because of being on social media. I was working so I took out my phone and I went to the back to see who was texting me. But, the thing that I did not know was that one of the managers comes from the other side. He told me why I am using my phone? I told him I just want to see the time. Thank God he is a good manager and he believed me. After that, I never use my phone when I’M working because I do not want to lose my job or something. Also, I promised myself not to do it again because instead of being on my phone to check my social media I can use that time to learn something new about my job or help the customers who always need help. As something that I already had the experience, we all need to pay extra attention to how we are using our social media. We all should think it is something for our benefit or not. Overall, using social media excessively is not going to be productive for us.