No words ever written can better explain the life and times of being a Puerto Rican.

Many of you have been egging me on to write a piece on statehood through blog call-outs, emails, and phone calls. Not to worry, it's here. As for why I took so long, all I can say is "Calmate piojo que el peine llega".

Statehood has been a hot issue for all Puerto Ricans, on the island and throughout our entire Diaspora. I make no secret as to my standing on this issue, as has been expressed on this blog and pretty much anyone that gives me five minutes of time. I am a statehooder. I make no apologies for it, and here today I'll begin to lay out my reasons why. It will take me 2 or 3 takes, and I fully plan to take my sweet time in writing them. Mañanismo is one of our traits, so expect the posts when you see them. I promise it won't be a case of "del dicho al hecho hay un gran trecho".

Before I get into specifics, tenemos que limpiar la casa un poco--a bit of housekeeping is in order. Fellow blogger, Rock Hackshaw, has written on the subject of Puerto Rican statehood twice now, as he often reminds me. Over this and the next few posts, let's take a look at some of the statements, accusations, and what appears at a quick glance is an informed opinion, many of which can be summed up with the two words often used by my mom when I tried to give that day's explanation for breaking one of her ceramic animals, destroying a new pair of Catholic school uniform pants, or stealing a dozen slices of freshly-fried sweet plantains before my family could eat them: "disparates y tonterias". A good way to think of Rock's essays is "aparecer hasta en la sopa".

First, Rock makes a stunning accusation that deserves highlighting: "Puerto Ricans need to stand up and demand independence. Only then can they make full decisions over their lives and livelihoods. Only then would they be fully respected by other Caribbean peoples."

Says who? Los XXI Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe (the XXI Central American and Caribbean Games, coincidentally held in Puerto Rico) just wrapped up yesterday, and los XVI Juegos Panamericanos 2011 (the 16th Pan American Games 2011) both feature the best of the Americas. The annual West Indian Day Parade features Puerto Rican marches each year. Many Caribbean folk call Puerto Rico home, enjoying the benefits of living in the United States without giving up their year-round summer weather. Since when are we not respected? I've searched for some kind of statistic to support Rock's remarkable claim and for the life of me, I come up dry. Perhaps someone did un "mal de ojo" on me, preventing me from finding out some kind of reference that goes beyond the word on the street, where often these cited references actually come from.

As for Rock's clarion call that we Puerto Ricans stand up and demand our independence, I say "tranquilo, cojelo con take it easy". Are all Caribbean nations truly independent ? Not at all. There are some, yes. But many others are still part of other nations, for example, a quick trip to Wikipedia shows that under the British Protectorate are Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. These nations are autonomous--to an extent. Here's what Wikipedia says about this:

Unlike some of their continental European counterparts, the Monarch and her Governors-General in the Commonwealth Realms hold significant "reserve" or "prerogative" powers, to be wielded in times of extreme emergency or constitutional crises usually to uphold parliamentary government. An instance of a Governor General exercising his power was during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, when the Australian Prime Minister of the time, Gough Whitlam, was effectively fired from his position. This led to much speculation as to whether this use of the Governor General's reserve powers was appropriate, and whether Australia should become a republic.

Luckily Wikipedia had a good reference to put this in context. Back in 1975 there was the "Constitutional Crisis in Australia". Short story: the Queen's Governor-General stepped in to prevent a melt-down of government.

Great Britain also has territories that don't fall into the above category, like the British Virgin Islands. Other European nations still have some hold over the Caribbean, for example, the Netherlands with Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire, and France with Saint Martin. Besides Puerto Rico, the United States also has St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John. There are others still, but you get the idea: Independence as a definition in the Caribbean is not a simple thing.

My point: PLEASE someone tell me when you have ever read in some kind of academically-collected reference that any of these places was less respected than the other? The West Indian Day Parade is a good example that shows the exact opposite, as all these entities, plus their Spanish-speaking neighbors like Puerto Rico, all enjoy a great and powerful Pan Americanism that is a testament to how much we share in common versus our differences.

But enough of eviscerating Rock's essay. That could take another three essays of my own and ultimately digresses from the point. He meant well, and that's really all that's important. Besides, I gotta save some for the next post.

On to statehood then--in a roundabout way.

I was born in 1965, in an East New York hospital no longer standing today, to two parents who met here in la gran manzana. I was what was known, both affectionately and derogatorily, as a Nuyorican. First generation Boricuas of that era can fill endless pages of what that life was like: here in New York City, we were the spics to the whites, and the porto rocks to the blacks. Many whole or partial summers were spent on la isla del encanto, where we were called gringos, yanquis, or nuyoriqueños. We lived one foot in each world, never fully a part of either, and the butt of many jokes and taunts. In short, we were fodder for Rodney Dangerfield because "we get no respect".

This was a confusing world that I and my generation grew up in. In Puerto Rico you went to the local colmado, here to the bodega. There you worked in a fabrica, here la factoria. You ate your almuerzo at noon there, and here you lonchaste. And of course, today's event in Puerto Rico was el desfile, here la parada. Besides that, we had a long list of words unique to New York City that you didn't hear on the islands. You went downstairs to el beihmen in the winter to make sure el estin was on. You took your clothes to wash at el londri.

Fast forward 45 years later. We Puerto Ricans have enriched this city that sometimes scorned us and treated us as second class citizens, the "Puerto Rican Problem" as the New York Times once wrote. We've helped shape city, state, and federal policy, and also helped pave the way for other Latino groups to enter our city. We gave you your beloved corner Bodega. We continually give you exciting culture, music, and food. And for African-Americans, a Puerto Rican gave you a source of pride and heritage in The Arthur Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, named after Arturo Schomburg, one of our many great historians, writers, and activists. We've fought in numerous wars for the US, with great honor and courage. Many of them were members of my family. Take all these together and no one can ever accuse of not making significant contributions to our society and way of life.

It flies in contrast to the stereotypes of that era, that we were freeloaders of society.

This point plays out in a different way in current times, as current politics of the state; we (on this blog), the newspapers, TV news channels, etc. will focus on single entities of Latino descent as though that person is the best we can do or produce amongst ourselves. It's a double insult because it also attacks us, like "en el país de los ciegos, el tuerto es rey".  

On a broader scale, things are very different now in the United States since the mid-60's when I was born. The demographic shift is pronounced, and experts far and wide have predicted Hispanics to be in the majority within the next few decades. I haven't studied those predictions closely, I admit, so I am not sure if they factor in things like draconian measures being considered, like those circulating in some southwestern portions of the USA, declaring children born here of illegal immigrants as not US citizens. For now, I'll take the predictions at face value. And that's my primary point regarding Puerto Rican Statehood.

A new argument for Statehood has emerged, one that didn't exist during the statehood debate of the 60s-90s:

If Puerto Rico became a state, it would be the first Latino state of the union. Wouldn't that put it at the forefront of Hispanic issues nationally? Wouldn't that set the stage for the demographic predictions of this country? And finally, wouldn't that be the ultimate irony, that Puerto Ricans, once the disrespected colony passed from Spain to the US "como una bolsa de papas" was now setting the leadership stage of this country?

It's a deep and complex thought that requires some thinking through, and should give pause especially to the English-First whackos of this country. Those of you that believe in this, be very careful: In a few decades that can easily change to "Español Primero", or better put, "A cada puerco le llega su sábado". 

Puerto Rico has a freely elected governor. We also have a freely elected legislative body and together handle insular affairs. On the federal side, federal programs and initiatives operate like any state of the union in terms of application, oversight, and administration. "si parece un pato y grazna como un pato..." In other words, Puerto Rico already operates very much like a state.

The economic impact of each scenario needs to be weighed out. Puerto Rico's economy needs to be developed properly no matter what the scenario. It has to be something more than manufacturing, putting millions of people a notch above poverty. Dozens of brownfields exist all over the island, abandoned, rusted relics of the sugar industry. Can agriculture be better developed to improve the local economy, if for no other reason than to feed the island's residents, who currently have about 80% of their food imported from elsewhere? Tourism is about 8% of the island's economy right now. It's unlikely that it can be grown much more than that, but even if it did, to what extent? There's 4 million people there, and they can't all be working for the service industry. One answer to these economic questions is to try to grow local businesses, maybe through "Main Streets" types of initiatives. The economy is the key issue in addressing status, I think. I would like to hear from economists on this issue.

As a state, Puerto Rico would put a huge strain on the federal government because of the EITC. Let's not even get into the "serves the United States right" argument and focus solely on the practicality of so many million dollars now depleting the tax coffers. What gets done with that money on the island? Most will spend it of course, which will enrich the local economy, but for how long?

I think the easy answer is to leave things alone. Commonwealth has been working so far, why not leave it? Take a look at the unemployment numbers, the suffering in the large cities, the rampant violent crime and drugs, and you have all the answers you need for why things need to change. Statehood would be the easiest transition of the different options. It would give a solid congressional delegation real voting power. It would give the island a position of leadership as Hispanics continue to grow in population. The claim that it would somehow lesson Puerto Rico's respect amongst other Caribbean nations has no basis other than casual conversations presented as evidence when in fact it's conjecture. When I write again on the status issue, I will focus more on the economic impact of statehood to the island, New York, and the country.

But that's for another time.

For now, I have no doubt that my fellow Puerto Ricans will figure out what's best for them whether it be now or beyond my lifetime. We are a people of great surprises and resourcefulness.

Let's use a bit of recent history to illustrate this point: On August 17, 2004, during the Summer Olympics, Puerto Rico soundly defeated the United States "Dream Team" in Men's Basketball, delivering a stunning upset that continues to be referenced in sports today.

The lesson here: Never underestimate the Puerto Ricans.

Manny Burgos,
Brooklyn, New York
"Más vale morir luchando, que vivir muriendo."

I have to say the article really bothered me a lot because it singles out the 75 Precinct and East New York. I live in the area covered by the 75th Precinct for 40+ years, and I've seen similar articles like this over the years, so while not surprising, it still bothers me all the same.

First some background info:

• The area covered by the 75th Precinct is huge compared to others around the borough and the city. If you want a graphical representation of this, click here.
• It's 5.4 sq. miles, and the little that is undeveloped is quickly getting new homes (I am referring to the Gateway project, near the Gateway Center strip mall).
• Large parts of the area have a serious vertical landscape, from Starrett City to several NYCHA developments, Lincoln Plaza, and others.
• The 75 Precinct and Brooklyn Community District 5 are near identical in boundaries. For wanna-be statisticians like me, this helps a lot.
• We have several major entry/egress points from outside the community--The Jackie Robinson Parkway, the Belt Parkway, Conduit Avenue, Atlantic Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue and Linden Blvd.
• Since 1990, the area covered by this precinct has seen a huge increase in population. By the mid 80s, East NY had lost 20% of its housing stock. You could walk for several blocks with not a single home obstructing your view in some cases. Fast forward to 2010 and you'll see that vacant land is scarce and there are thousands of new homes all under 20 years old.

The above points only tell part of the story however. Perhaps the most important untold story is a continuation of the last bullet point. Now that the vacant land has been reclaimed for housing, there are as many as 25,000 new residents in the neighborhood. So, with a substantial population increase, the precinct has shown an overall drop in crime of 75% in 20 years.

You simply can't base crime by precinct when their populations vary so greatly. When you make that adjustment, you will see that the 75 Precinct comes in around 4th or 5th place in Brooklyn. So much for being "a world apart from the borough and the rest of the city" as the article states. But I digress...The population numbers are based on Census data, sampling, etc. East NY is a severely undercounted neighborhood in any census, so it's possible that the true rank is even lower once you make even conservative adjustments for this.

It's important to remember that although I know much of the above by heart, I also went online and timed my fact-checking, not just to make sure I knew what I am writing about, but also to see just how long it would have taken a reporter to find the same info. It took me all of 35 minutes, using a variety of websites (Google, nyc.gov, and some others).

A year and a half ago New York Magazine did a good job with a graphical representation of the above point on crime relative to precinct populations. Click here to view it and be sure to go to the PDF version, page 2, which shows the 75 Precinct. What's  important to consider is that New York Magazine used Census 2000 data, so keep in mind that although it used 2007 crime stats, the population in 2000 is way lower than it was in 2007. 

It is so easy to paint my neighborhood's precinct with a wide brush as the wild west of East Brooklyn. And believe me, I don't kid myself that we still have very serious crime issues here in ENY. BUT...Reporters need to stop being lazy when they write articles about ENY. We have our challenges, but there's so much more to ENY than just a set of crime stats:

• We are a community with two Weed & Seed initiatives, one new and one 15 years old, both working to fight crime, solve problems, and partner with law enforcement, prosecutors, residents, merchants, clergy, and neighborhood groups. 
• ENY laid the groundwork for the Community Safety Initiative, a collaboration between the precinct and community that had a significant impact on violent crime. This program, pioneered and tested in ENY, now exists in over a dozen cities, and has influenced Weed & Seed programs all over the country. What's most important to remember is that it happened here first. 
• We have a commanding officer at our precinct that makes it a point to personally attend community meetings in the area, and also comes out to public events of all kinds. It is not unusual to see Inspector Maddrey working 7 days a week, morning, afternoon, and night. He is responsive to the community, courteous, respectful, and compassionate. He truly cares about our well-being.
• The Brooklyn DA has a long list of programs serving ENY that focus on preventing the creation of a new offender, or giving a 2nd chance to someone who may have made a misstep (this is not to say they are unwilling to prosecute those that are a danger to our community). DA Hynes' representatives also attend and participate in every meeting and event.

Back in 1996, 1998, and 2000, we did a lot of "quality of life" and "perceptions of fear and crime" surveying in ENY, in partnership with the 75 Precinct. In 2009, I worked on similar surveying in the area at the behest of Assemblyman Darryl Towns (FYI: I now work for him full-time as his communications director). In 1996, 33% of respondents said they feel safe walking around the neighborhood. In 2009, 47% said they feel safe. Even when you factor in margin of error, etc. this is still a pretty steep increase (even more when you add in the numbers for "somewhat safe"). Some of the other questions don't match up exactly but the overall results are the same: people are starting to feel better about living in the area covered by the 75 Precinct.

One of ENY's greatest challenges has been addressing negative perceptions of crime. The greatest contributor to those negative perceptions is the media. As long as reporters (tv and newspaper) continue to report only negative news about our area or worse, distort facts (like the Daily News did this week), we will continue to be perceived as the Wild West of the city.

The reporter in the Daily News article quotes a few residents whose concerns are to be taken seriously and not undervalued in any way. But the reporter takes those soundbites and presents them as though this was the feeling of the whole neighborhood, because his title ("...residents still afraid of crime") can mean 2 or 20,000 people. How did he go about asking the question? How many people did he ask? Was he fair and balanced or did he provide lead-ins? The article doesn't say anything about his method for making the blanket determination.

So here's a special 6-point message directed to the residents of ENY, Cypress Hills, Spring Creek, City Line and Starrett City:

COMPLAIN. When a newspaper runs a puff piece like the Daily News did this week, write to the editors but more importantly, page through the paper and see who is advertising inside. If any of the local businesses or chain stores with locations in ENY have ads, call them. Let the advertisers know that the very paper they are giving their money to is writing articles that are keeping its readers away from their stores. Believe me, you'll get their attention, and they will get the attention of their sales rep at the newspaper.

SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY WITH YOUR DOLLARS. We may not have Starbucks like many corners of Manhattan, but I can still get a great cup of coffee on Fulton Street (much better if you ask me). Our pizza shops can go one-on-one with the best shops in the Zagat guides, as most local residents will tell you. I can buy some great clothes in City Line sparing myself the headache of going to over to Macys. And I'm always hunting for home goods at the shops along New Lots Avenue. This point is important because more people shopping our community's stores helps people feel safer because of the crowds. It gives jobs to local residents, especially to young adults, and keeps dollars in the community.

GET INVOLVED. If you're a reader of this blog, then chances are you're already involved, but if not, get to a community meeting. We need you. For newbies and those already involved in community gatherings, try this at your next meeting: Don't just bring up what's going wrong in the area, bring up what's going right. It can impact how other attendees feel about the area if they hear about what went right.

SPREAD THE WORD. Good community-based communications is essential to fighting negative media. It's very important to let your neighbors know about the successes that go on here every day. For example, the block association that works closely with the police to chase out a drug dealer is worth talking about at the laundromat, beauty parlor, and barber shop. We also have a few community newspapers--call or email them and give them positive stories to write about. Community newspapers do a better job of reporting positive news, so be sure to support their advertisers--and when you do, tell the store owner why you gave them your money. Sometimes just a single comment is enough to keep that business adverising in a publication.

ATTRACT VISITORS. lots of East New Yorkers are online now, over 70% of households. There are many websites that report on leisure activities, like local restaurants. Write reviews on these establishments so people outside the community can give us business and see for themselves that they don't need to rent Kevlar vests before visiting. But there's more you can do online. There are websites and blogs about life in ENY, such as the ENY farms and arts in ENY, amongst others. Visit them and support them. We need to take charge of how people write about us online in every way possible if we are going to fight negative media and lingering perceptions of ENY.

BE PROUD. If you grew up here, went to school here, and lived through the tough times and good times, be proud. When people ask you about how it's possible that you turned out like you did despite everything you lived through, (politely) tell that person to go to hell. You can only be who you are because of your experiences here, not in spite of.

As I stated above, we still have a long way to go, and I am not implying that we don't have some serious problems to work on here in ENY. If that's what you're thinking then you're missing the point. Many of us--police, residents, businesses, clergy, community groups, elected officials, service providers--have fought and won many victories. We should be proud of what we've accomplished in a short amount of time.

1990 through 2010: As someone that lived and worked through the worst years, the differences between then and now are dramatic. However, as long as the media continues to be lazy and irresponsible in its reporting of ENY, we have to remain vigilant and correct their errors because no matter how much the area's crime stats show that crime is down, unless people feel things are safer and better, nothing really changes.

Spread the word.

Manny Burgos,
PROUD EAST NEW YORKER
"Más vale morir luchando, que vivir muriendo."

S/he was concerned that s/he would lose because the opponent was well-known for an annual turkey giveaway in the community, and other social service related activities. My advice was to not run for the "Community Social Worker" but to educate the masses about what a district leader does, and make sure they remember who helped them understand what exactly they were voting for. (and by the way, that's not a pot shot at social workers; I love them and they do much-needed work)

Fast forward a few years and as I read literature and speak to candidates running for district leader, it seems that a lot hasn't changed. So as my first non-comment blog post on Room 8, I thought I would share some of my thoughts about how to pick a district leader, and hope others will contribute to my list and share it with others. FULL DISCLOSURE: I originally compiled a version of this list for the Democratic Club of North Brooklyn. I altered it to be non-party specific so it can have broader use.

WHAT IS A DISTRICT LEADER?

The District Leader is an un-paid elected official who performs a valuable set of duties on behalf of his or her political party.  Each district gets to elect two district leaders, one male and one female, with the same responsibilities. The district leader serves a two-year term.

WHAT ARE THE DUTIES OF THE DISTRICT LEADER?

• Hires poll workers and election inspectors for the primary elections every September and the general elections in November.
• Attends party meetings and events on behalf of the district
• Listens to the registered party members of the district to learn what issues are affecting their quality of life, such as housing, employment, education, environment, and crime
• Organizes meetings and events in the district to give registered party members a strong, unified voice
• Works closely with the district’s city, state, and federal elected officials from the party to insure that the voices of the district’s party members are heard
• Provides support to elect party members to public
  office in the district
• Is an information resource to the district’s voters in numerous ways including poll site locations, election results, and general information about candidates representing the party

WHAT QUALITIES AND RESOURCES DOES A DISTRICT LEADER NEED?

A district leader knows his or her district, including, but not limited to:

• Boundaries of the district
• Polling sites for election day
• Voter turnouts from past elections
• Current elected officials serving the district, regardless of party affiliation
  
• Government resources such as police, fire, EMS, and sanitation
• Social service, community and economic development resources
• Neighborhood associations; community boards
• Schools, from Pre-K to colleges or satellite college sites and other educational programs

• Enjoys working with people and has excellent organizational skills
• Knows how to listen to the concerns of the district and takes the information to elected officials on the city, state, and federal level
• Brings back information from city, state, and federal elected officials to let the party members of the district know their concerns are being listened to and being acted on
• Believes in the party’s principals and is committed to electing party candidates in each election
• Attends meetings in the district and on behalf of the district
• Is visible in the community and easy to reach by the average voter in the district
• Can raise money for the party especially to support GOTV activities
• Knows how to spread the ideals of the party and conduct activities to recruit new members

• How well known are you in the district?
• Are you accessible to answer my questions?
• What is your relationship with current party members elected to city, state, and federal positions here in the district?
• Do you have any endorsements from these elected officials?
• Do you have experience in hiring and training poll workers?
• What do you know about the district’s registered voters? Its polling sites? Past election results?
• Do you have the time, energy, and know-how to organize the party members of the district? What experience do you have doing this?
• How would you go about gathering information from district party members and delivering the info to current elected officials serving the district?
• What do you know about accessing the district’s social services? Schools and PTAs? Police, Fire, EMS and Sanitation supervisors? Community Boards? Neighborhood associations?
• Are you familiar with the party’s principals, and how they relate to party members here in the district?
• Can you raise money for the party and what is your past experience in doing so?

WHY DON'T I SEE "DISTRICT LEADER" ON THE BALLOT IN THE PRIMARY OR GENERAL ELECTION?

For starters, the term district leader is a nickname. You have to look for “Candidate for (Male/Female) Member of the (party name) State Committee” on the ballot when you vote in September.

You won’t see it in November’s general election—you’ll only see it on the ballot every other year (the even years) in the September primary election.

Thanks for reading!

Manny Burgos,
Brooklyn, New York
"Más vale morir luchando, que vivir muriendo."