Samuel Schanzer, getting ready for his second party of his 104th birthday. (Rebecca Ellis / The Brooklyn Ink)

Samuel Schanzer reached a milestone that most don’t: he turned 104 years old on Wednesday, April 18. His storied life required a lot of extra pages.

“I have more wrinkles than he does,” his son, Joe Schanzer, 55, said.

But life has not always been carefree for the elder Schanzer. He said he feels lucky to be alive this long, but added, “I also lost a lot.”

Samuel Schanzer, who lives in Bensonhurst, is a Holocaust survivor. He escaped a forced-labor salt mine in Wieliczka, Poland in 1944. He lost his parents, cousins, aunts, and uncles to the Nazi genocide campaign against Jews in Europe. He hid from the Nazis until the Russians liberated the territory from Hitler’s occupation.

He carries his stocky frame well, jaunting with his walker, maneuvering with just a little help from his daughter, Sara, from the cake, which just had one 1-0-4 candle to blow out, to his easy chair. One of his helpers is getting his suit ready for his second engagement. This is a special occasion, so he has two parties to go to. Seated in his easy chair, Mr. Schanzer tackles a hefty piece of birthday cake, the rose of course.

“When you’re hungry, everything’s good!” he said.

Whether it’s genetic longevity or a certain hardiness acquired by a history of struggle, Mr. Schanzer exemplifies the journey of the day-by-day. His simple recipe for living can serve as a proverbial fountain of youth: take things one step at a time, and cherish life’s precious moments and blessings.

Schanzer has not lived an exceptionally healthy lifestyle in his youth, but says he exercises three times a day. He didn’t start taking medication until last year and waited until the age of 100 to stop smoking.

“So what’s the lesson learned here? Enjoy your life!” Sara, his daughter, said.

Mr. Schanzer seated in his easy chair talking to his son. (Rebecca Ellis / The Brooklyn Ink)

Joe and Sara Schanzer recall their father’s active lifestyle, which consisted of going dancing, to the theater, and enjoying New York City’s many cultural aspects with his late wife, Pola, who passed away at the age of 90 last year.

“But when my wife died, my health went down. She was dancing every day,” Schanzer said.

Schanzer met his wife at a displaced persons center in Frankfurt, Germany and married in 1948 in a union that lasted 61 years. Sara said that her parents’ marriage was not atypical for Holocaust survivors, and that many of the former center’s residents stayed in touch and became lifelong friends.
Sara said her mother wore a wedding gown that had been passed on from bride to bride in the camp.

“They just had one, then gave it to the next, gave it to the next. They were all size 1 because they were all just out of concentration camps and nobody was a larger size than that,” Sara said.

Her father had told her that the survivors attended and cooked for each other’s weddings, taking the place of the families they lost.

Schanzer did get to go to his daughter’s wedding though. Sara, who is 60 years old, married six years ago. Her then-98-year-old father walked her down the aisle.

“He stole the bride’s thunder!” she recalls.

While living at the camp in Frankfurt, Germany, Schanzer sold carp that he bought in Bavaria to earn a little extra income. He brought the fish to Frankfurt and sold it to residents at the camp and to people in town, but did not have the water in the bucket to transport them live as was customary at the time.

“It didn’t last long,” Schanzer said, because he did not have the means to store it. “The fish would die, but I sold it anyway, because it was cheaper than fresh fish.”

The Schanzers emigrated to the United States in 1950, boarding the boat with a total of one dollar in their possession, which was reduced to 15 cents cash in his pocket after he had splurged on an 85-cent soda en route. A collection of Rosenthal dishware was their sole asset. It survived the journey and is still on display in Schanzer’s living room in Bensonhurst, where the family finally settled in 1962.

Born in 1908, Schanzer was four years old when the Titanic sank. His grandmother, who was already in the United States, had already “signed off” for the rest of the family to come to the United States, but the Titanic tragedy had frightened the family to the point that they had decided to forego the voyage and stay in Europe. His parents perished in the Holocaust.

During that treacherous time, Schanzer credits not only fellow villagers in Poland for helping him to escape the salt mine and hide from the Nazis, but also credits the voice of his mother in his head for guiding him to safety.

“His mother said to him go or don’t go, stay hidden or don’t hide and he listened to what his mother said and she helped to keep him alive,” Sara recounted, her father nodding in his easy chair beside her.

Asked what he hopes for tomorrow and for the future, Schanzer’s response was imbued with a sense of satisfaction and completion. “Nothing else,” he said – other than looking forward to his granddaughter graduating from medical school at University of Pennsylvania.

Read more about Brooklyn Holocaust survivors and the services that help them here.

Christie and her "crew" hang out at a beach in Southern Brooklyn. (Patrick Harbron / Oxygen Media)

Drinking, cursing and fighting Italian-Americans are nothing new to television thanks to the reality show, “Jersey Shore.” Because of that program’s popularity, Bay Ridge gets its moment in the TV spotlight this month, but residents, especially Italian American ones, aren’t too happy about it.

“Brooklyn 11223,” a reality show that premieres Monday March 26 on Oxygen, focuses on a group of 20-something friends that live in Bay Ridge and the surrounding neighborhoods of Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Bensonhurst and Gravesend. Like most successful reality shows, it also centers on the group’s drama.

The show has been compared to “Jersey Shore,” and it’s negative portrayal of Italian-Americans. Except for a couple of cast members, the rest of the 18 people featured in “Brooklyn 11223” have Italian heritage.

One of the most publically vocal opponents of the show has been Councilman Vincent Gentile, who represents Bay Ridge.

“‘Brooklyn 11223’ is NOT what Bay Ridge is about, NOT what Bay Ridge wants and NOT what Bay Ridge needs,” he posted on his Facebook page about a February 24 rally held in the community to protest the show. “We refuse to stand by and let ‘Hollywood’ portray the hardworking, proud, cultured and creative residents of Bay Ridge in this disparaging light.”

At the press conference, Gentile was surrounded by local women, and said, “We’re here to present the real women of Bay Ridge,” reported the Brooklyn Eagle.

On March 15, the paper started a series called “The Real Women of Bay Ridge,” which profiles accomplished women from the community. The most recent woman featured, was one of Gentile’s aides, Sara Steinweiss, on March 22. Before joining Gentile’s staff in September 2011, she was a teacher for 12 years.

In an editor’s note, the Brooklyn Eagle said the series is in celebration of Women’s History Month, and in response to “Brooklyn 11223,” and its depiction of “women cursing, drinking and fighting in Bay Ridge and other neighborhoods.”

“Brooklyn 11223” isn’t the first reality show to cause backlash, and it’s also not the first one to take place in Brooklyn. It’s one of three reality TV programs based in the borough that are premiering within a couple months of each other.

“A Slice of Brooklyn,” about a famous tour company of the same name, premiered on March 7 on the Travel channel. On April 28, Rambug, a reality show about Rambug Pest Control, an extermination company located in Brooklyn, is premiering on A&E.

All three of the shows include Italian-American cast members, a population that Brooklyn has long been associated with.

The latest, “Brooklyn 11223,” centers around two groups of friends, or “crews,” one led by Joey Lynn Tekulve, 24, from Gravesend (the actual neighborhood with the 11223 zip code) who has Sicilian roots, and Christie Livoti, 22, also Sicilian and from Gravesend. The girls used to be close friends, but have not spoken since Christie accused Joey Lynn of sleeping with her boyfriend.

In a release, the show’s executive producer, Michael Hirschorn, said, “the inspiration for the show came from a Broadway revival of ‘West Side Story.’”

The first episode’s opening highlights the show’s location as a “hard, full-blooded Italian neighborhood,” where people look out for each other and have a “hardcore exterior.” Within about the first minute, the word drama is repeated multiple times.

A slogan Oxygen has been using with Brooklyn 11223 is “This Ain’t Jersey. It’s Brooklyn.” And that doesn’t please too many residents. Lex Steppling, who lives in Brooklyn said this claim is “kind of ironic seeing as they are going to be portraying Bay Ridge as a very similar place,” in a comment left on The Brooklyn Ink’s Facebook page.

“A Slice of Brooklyn” and “Rambug,” also highlight their Brooklyn and Italian heritage. A Slice of Brooklyn’s company motto is “Manhattan? Fuhgettaboutit!” A&E, in a press release about “Rambug,” says the show is about “a brawny group of hard-working, over-the-top Italian exterminators from Brooklyn who dress in camouflage and wage war on the city’s nastiest critters.”

But “A Slice of Brooklyn” and “Rambug” are quite different than the drama-filled, partying that takes place in “Brooklyn 11223.” Instead they center on two successful Brooklyn businesses run by Italian-Americans.

A Slice of Brooklyn, a popular tour company founded by Brooklyn native Tony Muia, gives tours of Brooklyn’s famous landmarks, movie scenes and neighborhoods. Its particular focus: the history of pizza from Italy to Brooklyn, as well as a Christmas Lights and Cannoli Tour.

Rambug is the story of Rambug Pest Control, a family-owned Brooklyn company that has been in business for over 30 years, killing bugs throughout the tristate area.

The three newest shows have a predecessor, which perhaps has an even tougher reputation for stereotyping. “Russian Dolls,” a Lifetime reality series that takes place in Brighton Beach, was criticized in 2011 for its negative portrayal of the neighborhood and the Russian community. The show, which focuses on the drama of its mostly 20-something cast members, has also been compared to the “Jersey Shore.”

In an August 2011 New York Times article following the show’s premiere, one Russian woman said, “The show only entrenched American stereotypes of hard-partying Russians.”

Another series famous for centering on young partying types, the Real World had its 21st season in Brooklyn. It premiered on MTV in January 2009 and featured eight cast members living in a house in Red Hook.

More new reality shows in Brooklyn probably won’t be far off. An A&E casting call posted on the website RealityWanted.com in November asked for “fun Brooklyn girls with big personalities to appear on a new A&E reality shooting in Brooklyn.”

According to the New York Post, former “The Real Housewives of New York” cast member Alex McCord and her husband Simon van Kempen are shopping around for a reality show about 30-something parents living in Brooklyn. During McCord’s time on “The Housewives,” many scenes were shot at the couple’s brownstone in Cobble Hill where they live with their two young sons.

“Brooklyn 11223” premieres Monday, March 26, at 11 p.m.

A crowded street in Sunset Park. The 2010 Census shows that this neighborhood is now home to the largest Chinese enclave. (Tiffany Ap / The Brooklyn Ink)

Asian-American civic groups are pushing for redistricting in Brooklyn that would give growing Asian ethnic groups a district and representation of their own.

Claiming that the Asian vote is too diluted across many districts, the groups are hoping to splice together sections of Sunset Park, Bensonhurst and Dyker Heights in a new district that would have a majority population of Chinese immigrants and their descendants.

After holding a public hearing last month, the New York State Legislative Task Force is expected to release a first draft of new district lines in January. District boundaries are remapped every decade to reflect demographic changes demonstrated by the federal census. If drawn correctly, districts should be areas of people that share some a common denominator. The law also stipulates that it must be contiguous and reasonably compact: its length should be no more than twice its width.

“We’re seeing in places like Sunset Park—and we’re seeing throughout New York—that the Asian population is currently at 20 percent or more and we think that could necessitate, or in theory you could argue for, the creation of more Asian-American districts,” says Rachael Fauss, the Policy and Research Manager for Citizens Union.

Research from the group shows that 15 assembly districts in the state have Asian-American populations of more than 20 percent and three are at 40 percent or more— not that you would ever know it by looking at the state legislature. No Asian-American has ever won an election in Brooklyn and currently, there is only one Asian-American representative, Grace Meng of Queens in a lower house made up of 212 legislators.

Meng’s district encompasses Flushing and was created during the last redistricting in 2000 to better represent the flourishing Chinatown in Queens. The new lines helped lead to Meng’s election as the first Asian-American in the state legislature.

“They drew that with kind of an eye towards empowering the Asian-American community,” says James Hong who works with the MinKwon organization and the Asian-American Community Coalition On Redistricting and Democracy (ACCORD). “I feel that everybody thinks that was well done.”

“But other than that, most of the Asian-American communities—East Asian, South Asian—were cut up. There was definitely potential for much stronger pluralities. Instead they were cut up into two, three, four, or five districts. I hope other districts will do what that district did, which is to keep a community of interest together.”

A map of the Assembly Districts that have an Asian-American population above 20 percent. (Map courtesy of Citizens Union)

The current district boundaries were drawn using the 2000 Census numbers when Asian-Americans were 5.5 percent of the state’s population. The latest 2010 Census shows that the Asian population surged by a third in New York City and is now 7.3 percent of the population, making it the fastest growing racial group in the state.

Underrepresentation is not a uniquely Asian problem. “There’s also been a growth among the Latino population,” Fauss states. “Something we’ve been pointing out is that the state legislature doesn’t currently reflect the diversity of New York state.”

The federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires that districts not be drawn to weaken or abridge minority voters.

Various civic groups say that the status quo is doing precisely that, however. In Brooklyn, the neighboring Chinese communities in Bensonhurst, Sunset Park and Bay Ridge are split into several electoral districts.

Hong says Asian-Americans are denied the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the political process as a result:  “At almost every level of government and almost every neighborhood, you see that it is split up so collectively, their voice is weakened. They can’t really come to the polls and have a unified impact through the electoral process.”

The new lines must be drawn by next summer. ACCORD officials say that many people still misunderstand the reasoning behind their push for uniting sections of Sunset Park, Bensonhurst and Dyker Heights.

“We’ve said over and over again that this is not purely an attempt to get more Asian-Americans into office,” Hong said.  “Though if the districts happen the way we want them, that may happen in the next few years.”

He makes it clear they are not lobbying for any particular candidate either. “There are—and I think there will be—some white candidates or candidates of other ethnicities that represent an Asian community well and vice versa. You don’t necessarily have to have an Asian representative to represent an Asian community. That’s never been part of our platform.”

Their focus is on seeing voters empowered and keeping them in the same district when they belong in the same community of interest. “We’re saying, hey, there’s something that looks like voter dilution that’s happening as a result of these lines, and we’re just trying to remedy that.”

In fact, the Supreme Court ruled in Shaw v. Reno that race could not be the predominant factor in setting district lines, though it could be one component.

Jerry Vattamalla, a staff attorney for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, says it’s not enough for one area to be dominated by any particular ethnic group to call for redistricting. The people need to “vote similarly and have similar interests.” Other areas the city taskforce will look at include common cultural background; shared language and language access needs; media markets; immigrant concerns; and public transportation.

Vattamalla says redistricting takes time and intense analysis because of all the competing interests. People grouped together by current districts may also have concerns about being split up in order to create this majority Asian-American district. “Nobody wants their community divided. That’s something the task force will have to decide on,” he said.

In this photo taken on Sept. 30, 2010, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi looks on at the Senate, in Rome. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

Silvio Berlusconi’s resignation as Italy’s prime minister may have sent shockwaves across Europe, but it has barely sent a ripple through Brooklyn’s Italian neighborhoods.

“I’m more concerned about my life here,” said Joe Ricci, 43, of Bay Ridge. Ricci moved to Brooklyn from Sicily in 2003. “I’m sure my cousins are very happy but I’m happy that Obama is my president here.”

Bushwick resident Vic Lombardi, 33, who moved from Naples two years ago, echoed Ricci’s sentiments. “I’m trying to start my life here, to provide for my family, and I can’t worry about those things now,” he said. “I’m an American now.”

But the news that Berlusconi’s 17 years of dominating Italian politics had come to an apparent end has resonated with Bensonhurst resident Leonardo Campanile, the founder and chief editor of L’Idea, a quarterly magazine for the Italian-American community.

“A change was needed in Italy, definitely,” says Campanile, 57. “When you have somebody in power for so long, it’s not good.” He added that Berlusconi will remain in the background, and will still be a prominent voice in Italian politics. But Campanile believes that “we will see young blood, and maybe, some new ideas.”

Campanile, who arrived in the United States in 1972 at the age of 18, explained that because immigration from Italy slowed in the 1970s, few who now live in Bensonhurst feel a connection to their homeland.

He recalled meeting Berlusconi in 2000, at a gathering of global Italian representatives in Rome.“It was only for a couple of minutes,” he said. “Someone introduced me to him as the editor of L’Idea. He shook my hand, smiled at me, said I was doing a good thing. That’s it.”

Leonardo Campanile (Courtesy: L'Idea)

He believes Berlusconi was, in many ways, a positive force for Italy. “I like the guy. I compare him to Rudy Giuliani,” he said. “I think New York was a little better when he (Giuliani) was around, because he was not really a political guy.” Similarly, Campanile feels that because Berlusconi ascended to power not from a career in politics, but from his position as the nation’s most powerful media baron, he was able to make things happen. “This guy was a businessman first,” he said. “He had lots of money. He was in charge.”

Allegations of corruption and multiple sex scandals were hallmarks of Berlusconi’s career. “Of course, Berlusconi was a well-known man. Perhaps the best known man in Italy,” Campanile said. He believes that though Berlusconi’s activities were rightfully questioned, he was attacked beyond reason in his private life. “They describe him as the Devil. What are they going to think of him in France, and outside,” Campanile said, referring to countries in Europe and beyond.

He added that it is necessary to understand Italian political culture to appreciate how things work there. “Twenty five percent of Italians are with Berlusconi’s PdL (the center-right ,  Il Popolo della Libertà) and 25 percent are with PD (the social-democratic Partito Democratico),”  he said, adding that unlike in the United States, Italians will never speak out against the leaders of the party they support. “The right will always be with what the right-sider does, and always against what the left-sider does. I got in a few arguments.”

As for the new prime minister Mario Monti, an economist and former European commissioner, he added, “He has no experience, he will probably be in power for a few months until they hold elections.”

-with additional reporting by Joey Maestas

The job allowed Gargiulo to move out of his parents’ home in Bensonhurst into an apartment with a roommate. All seemed well for Gargiulo. He worked on programs such as Teen Cribs, Top 20 Video Countdown, VH1 News, MADE, and Undateable. He also was able to travel at least twice a month to help produce shows, all at the company’s expense. He enjoyed the creativity he was able to exercise when working on a show.

“There were no worries,” Gargiulo, 30, said.

Things started to change in late 2008. Gargiulo left MTV to work for a new small production company for a year. After that company downsized, he went back to MTV, and worked on one show before being let go again in May.
Gargiulo was not worried. He had been working steadily for five years after college and he had every reason to believe his unemployment would be brief.  In fact, he enjoyed it.

“It was awesome,” Gargiulo said. “I got in really good shape, started going to the gym twice a day. For me, it was alright.”

Looking diligently on his computer, Michael Gargiulo tries to find work. (Keldy Ortiz/The Brooklyn Ink)

For a while. In August that year, he was expecting to hear back about a job with producers he had worked with before.

“Nothing came in,” Gargiulo said. “I started worrying. My emails were either not getting returned or [companies] said there were no shows going into production.”

He did freelance work, but stopped because he did not want to lose his unemployment checks and benefits, which just got him by. “That check was not really cutting it,” he said. “The toll it takes on you emotionally is catastrophic, and you don’t get a check for that every week.”

It was a new and disturbing experience. He had grown up in a middle class family. His mother works as a medical receptionist; his father held a good paying job as a post office worker for 30 years and is now retired with a pension. He expected his good education and work habits to ensure the same kind of middle class stability.

Gargiulo’s struggle is not an exception. In July, the Fiscal Policy Institute reported that college graduates have a 7.3 percent unemployment rate in New York. Those without degrees average a staggering 13 percent unemployment. That is cold comfort, however, since the recession caused unemployment among those with degrees to virtually double.

Gargiulo’s unemployment started to affect his personal life. He was dipping into his dwindling savings account to make ends meet. While hanging out with friends and girlfriend Emily Streeter, a New York City public school teacher, “all they would do is talk about work, and that was very depressing for me.”

It was an even bigger strain on Streeter, 28, as she tried to be supportive of him, but did not succeed. “I would think I would be helpful by asking how was his day, and if he found any leads, but he was upset about that,” she said. “We didn’t have full blown arguments, but we had tension.”

Though Gargiulo said times were rough between him and Emily, he still found the passion to keep looking when things are in the darkest of times. Sure, he could have decided to stop looking for work, and become what the unemployment characterizes as “discouraged” workers, it was the motivation he received from friends, and family.

“You have to give it your all,” Gargiulo said. “Use all of your talents and not be afraid.”

After a few months of sitting at home, sending countless resumes for jobs, Gargiulo developed a routine where he would wake up, and go to the gym. It was this relief that helped him. “It was less financially draining, more emotionally drained,” he said.

The next year became even more difficult for Gargiulo, as he started the year without work. Luckily, he was taking graduate classes at Brooklyn College, where he majored in television and film. His tuition was covered by MTV until he was let go. When the MTV support ended, Gargiulo took out loans to finance school, and was able to graduate. During the same time he was taking courses, with the little money that he had left, he started to see a career coach to see about a possible career change.

“My whole goal was to do something in communications and marketing, and non-profit,” he said. “I wanted to stay with what I knew, but I wanted to do something more stable.”

By September of last year, after being without work for a year, he found himself working outside of television as a job developer, helping recently released convicts find work. He was not satisfied with the work, because it was barely half of what he made with his previous job, but continued with it. While the job lasted he proposed to Emily, and they moved in together in Bay Ridge where they split the cost of a one-bedroom $1,200 apartment.

Layoffs began at that company too, and Gargiulo left his job in September, figuring he would be next. He has since picked up a temporary job in television, but that concludes in December. He said he does not know what he will do after that, as he is currently preparing for his wedding in July next year. But he’s upbeat.

“I’m done with pessimism. I tried that for a year,” Gargiulo said. “I have to be optimistic.”

This development site will soon be demolished to house the 214,000-square-foot BJs Wholesale shopping center. (Photo: Christopher Haire / The Brooklyn Ink)

After years of debate and final approval by the City Council two weeks ago, the first tentative signs emerge of the construction of BJs Wholesale Club on the Bensonhurst waterfront.

Hazardous material signs and rat boxes were attached yesterday to the dilapidated building that will soon be demolished to make way for a 214,000-square-foot shopping center. The signs — easily recognizable by their skull and crossbones — are one of the first before a major demolition.

The possible effects of the shopping center are varied and not all are positive. There will be job creation, much-needed retail options and increased opportunities for surrounding businesses. But construction will also yield two years of noise pollution and potential traffic nightmares. Regardless of its drawbacks, the community seems pleased that BJs is on its way.

“It’s an opportunity to bring shoppers and jobs as well as parkland,” Community Board 11 District Manager Marnee Elias-Pavia said. “And it’s an investment in the community.”

After a lengthy application process, the proposal finally went to the community board in May. The shopping center, known as the Brooklyn Bay Center, was recommended to the City Council with a 26-1 vote.

The Brooklyn Bay Center on 1752 Shore Parkway will comprise BJs, three more retail stores, a nearly 700-space parking garage and approximately 2.4 acres of waterfront access.

Thor Equities Chief Executive Officer Joe Sitt purchased the land in 2005. The building was originally a bus storage facility, but has been vacant for years. According to Elias-Pavia, construction should begin at the end of the year.

When the City Planning Commission finalized its environmental impact statement in March, it identified job opportunities and other community benefits of the project.

“The proposed actions would facilitate the redevelopment of a currently underutilized parcel in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn by replacing the existing bus storage facility with an active retail use,” the report said. “The proposed project would create new employment opportunities for local residents, would create fiscal benefits to the city in the form of increased tax revenues, and would provide a new shopping opportunity for area residents.”
Stan Roher — he single dissenting vote during the community board’s approval of the proposal — said the project would negatively affect existing merchants.

Many businesses immediately neighboring the new commercial center don’t seem to agree. There is currently a small commercial plot adjacent to the abandoned storage facility composed of a New York Sports Club, the Fifth Avenue Aesthetic Medicine Associates and a Nature’s Grill Cafe.

Nature’s Grill store manager Manny Kosmas is hoping the Brooklyn Bay Center will increase his business.

“It’s gonna drive a lot of traffic,” Kosmas said. “It’s kind of a dead area, so it should be good for business. We are in walking distance so I assume it will help us out.”

New York Sports Club member Tony Giovinco also said the center would benefit surrounding organizations.

“I’m not going to go to, but I think it will help the [sports club],” he said.

The new shopping center, which is expected to be complete by 2013, should spur two types of job growth — short-term via construction ones and long-term retail and management positions.

“It should bring approximately 200 jobs,” Elias-Pavia said, referring to unionized trade and construction jobs. “Everybody needs jobs right now.”

However, not everyone is convinced that the center will be successful.

“In this economy, who knows what’s gonna happen,” said Ron Zysk, an employee of Advanced Action Pest Control who put up “keep out” signs on the dilapidated storage buildings and placed rat boxes around the property yesterday. “It might take a while [to get going].”

If the shopping center does succeed, another problem might arise — parking. The only access to the Brooklyn Bay Center’s future location is a narrow, one-way street. Traffic already becomes congested when cars pull into the small parking lot of the sports club and Nature’s Grill.

“It’s really gonna fuck things up during holidays,” Giovinco said.

For now, however, that seems to be a minor concern.

“People are excited,” Elias-Pavia said.

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Early in the morning last June 4, William Giraldo stopped at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Sunset Park for a coffee. Two days later, standing next to his fiancé, the 24-year-old car-service driver saw himself on the local newscast. It was a 20-second grainy video clip of Giraldo at the cash register of Dunkin’ Donuts, wearing a white t-shirt and white earphones.

Initially, he and his fiancée Sandra Alvarado, laughed at the sight of him on television. But after realizing that the New York Police Department was looking for him as the suspect in an attempted rape near the donut shop, Giraldo began to panic. While he was the man in the surveillance video, he had not committed the crime.

Yet as the result of coming forward voluntarily, the father of two now faces deportation — not for the crime but for his status as an illegal immigrant. He is due in court next month where a judge will make the decision whether he stays with his family in Brooklyn or returns back to Colombia.

“I did not do anything wrong,” said Giraldo. “I did what any person would do to clear up their name in the situation. I went to the police station. The last thing on my mind was my immigration status. I just wanted to clear up my name.”

The events leading to Giraldo’s tenuous situation only began with the surveillance video itself. After a sleepless night and at the urging of his family, Giraldo decided to go to the nearest police precinct, in Bensonhurst, to absolve himself from any wrongdoing.

Unfortunately for Giraldo, proving his innocence turned out to be more difficult than he expected. After he told the police he was the man in the video but not the criminal they were looking for, he was sent to Brooklyn’s Special Victims Unit for further interrogation. The 28-year-old woman who was attacked was also brought in for a line-up, where she picked Giraldo as her attacker.

On June 8, which was supposed to be the day of his wedding in Florida, Giraldo was arraigned. He recalls police officers and people outside the court house in Brooklyn accosting him. The night before, the New York Post, New York Daily News, local news stations, and various other news outlets had reported his arrest in the attempted rape of a young woman in Sunset Park.

“Most of them knew who I was,” said Giraldo. “So they were calling my name. They were just looking at me like garbage. I heard people in the streets screaming names and insulting me.”

He was charged with four felonies and three misdemeanors involving rape, sex abuse, robbery, assault and sexual misconduct. Judge John Wilson posted his bail at $200,000. Giraldo spent what he called a terrifying few days in protective custody away from the regular detainees at Rikers Island.

At his next scheduled court appearance on June 10, Giraldo hoped he would be set free. He had learned from his lawyer, Heriberto Cabrera, that his accuser had told the court she had made a mistake when she picked Giraldo from the line-up.

Giraldo did not see the judge that day, but was told by his lawyer that Judge Desmond Green had released him out on custody without bail for his criminal case. Yet, because of Giraldo’s illegal immigration status, the court had turned him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. Giraldo spent a few more days at Rikers Island before being transferred to an immigration detention center in New Jersey’s Bergen County jail.

After a month, Giraldo was released on $7,500 bail. His next court appearance is set for September 8 for his criminal case and September 13 for his immigration case.

According to Lou Martinez, an immigration official based in New York, Giraldo entered the United States in 1999 on a tourist visa for a temporary period, not to exceed a year, from Colombia. “I left Colombia with my mom at the age 12 and never looked back,” Giraldo said.

He has not returned back to Colombia since moving to Borough Park, a working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn, with his mother. Giraldo does not remember much of his life in Colombia. “All I know is my life here in New York,” he said.

His mother enrolled Giraldo at John J. Pershing Middle School in Sunset Park, where he learned English. He eventually graduated from Franklin D. Roosevelt High School in Borough Park, where Giraldo first met his fiancé Sandra Alvarado, a Colombian citizen residing legally in the United States.

After a few years of what Giraldo calls “doing the whole party and club scene,” as well as a failed first marriage, he decided to settle down with his longtime girlfriend. The two moved into a small but comfortable apartment in Bensonhurst. Giraldo began working as a driver for La New Express car-service company and Alvarado waited tables at the Olive Garden in Time Square. Giraldo has a 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son from a previous marriage.

Meanwhile, Giraldo never made any effort to become a legal resident of the United States, hoping instead to avoid coming to the attention of authorities. “I thought I could just keep my head down and not get in trouble with the police, he recalled, “I’d be okay.”

But Giraldo did come into contact with police as a result of the rape case, and because of his illegal immigration status, he spent 30 days in the Bergen County jail. Giraldo’s detention at the county jail in New Jersey occurred because of a federal program, called the Secure Communities Program, which makes it easier for immigration authorities to access the fingerprints of people booked at local jails and begin the deportation proceeding for illegal immigrants. Although Governor Andrew Cuomo suspended New York’s involvement with the federal program on June 1, Giraldo was still booked by immigration authorities on June 10.

“I don’t think it is right from their part,” said Giraldo. “ It was actually illegal. It is like they said, ‘We couldn’t throw anything against you, I’m going to throw you to the lion’s cage.’”

While jailed at Rikers Island, Giraldo was interviewed by immigration officers, who determined Giraldo was in the country illegally and placed him on hold for removal proceeding.

Immigration officials have said the Secure Communities Program is aimed at criminals who have committed serious offenses. However, the majority of people held at Rikers are like Giraldo, with no criminal or minor misdemeanors. According to New York’s City Council, in 2009 about half of the immigrants flagged by federal authorities at Rikers Island had no prior conviction and 20 percent had a misdemeanor as their highest conviction.

“This is why programs like the Secure Communities and others do not work,” said Lindsey Nash, an attorney at the Immigrant Justice Clinic of Cardozo School of Law. “They cast such a huge net, use no discretion and strain the relationship between undocumented immigrants and law enforcement.”

Last week, the Obama administration said it would stop deportation proceedings against illegal immigrants who pose no threat to national security. The change in policy comes after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency shift in capturing illegal immigrants with serious offenses. Last year, half of illegals removed—more than 195,000—were convicted criminals. Nicole Navas, a spokesperson for the immigration agency, said they expect the number to decrease this year.

The new mandate from the White House is expected to lead to the review about 300,000 cases of illegal immigrants currently in the removal proceedings. Many of these cases involve people who came to the United States as young children, and have gone through American schools, sometimes continuing into college.

Critics of the plan say it is cutting corners when it comes to immigration law. “This is a slap in the face to those who are currently in the process of coming to America,” said Bob Dane, spokesperson for Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, a Washington-based organization that seeks to stop illegal immigration. “It is unfair and rewards the law-breaking.”

Giraldo sees this opportunity has a second chance but remains cautions.

“I’m happy to hear the news,” he said, “but I won’t believe it until I see it.”

William Giraldo and Sandra Alvarado on their wedding day, June 13, 2011, in Bensonhurst.

After his release last month, Giraldo is trying to rebuild his life. His first act as temporarily free man was to marry his longtime girlfriend, Sandra Alvarado. Although they were supposed to get married in Florida, they decided on a backyard wedding in their home in Bensonhurst.

Giraldo has nothing bad to say to the woman who accused him of attempted rape but disagrees with the legal system decision to turn him over to immigration. He has quit his job and wants to go back to school for graphic design in the fall. Giraldo is also seeking therapy to deal with the stress of the past couple of months.

“I just need someone to talk to about this what happened to me,” he said. “I’ve been feeling paranoid about leaving my house or being alone in public. I need to get my life back.”

Next month, Giraldo will be in court for both his criminal and immigration case. He and his lawyer expect the criminal charges to officially be dropped. Although Giraldo has been told by his lawyer that the news of the immediate change in the deportation of illegal immigrants will affect the outcome of his future, the young man remains unsure.

“I still think it is in God’s hands,” he said.

Darrell Issa (R-CA) current ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is taking over the chairmanship from Edolphus Towns (D - NY) as part of the new Republican congressional leadership. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

By Miranda Neubauer

Brooklyn’s clout in the new U.S. Congress will be greatly diminished come January. Despite easy victories in November, the borough’s three most powerful congressional representatives will be removed from leadership posts in three House committees when the new Republican majority is sworn in.

Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D), who represents Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Bushwick and Sunset Park, among other areas, will lose her chairmanship of the House Committee on Small Business that she has held since 2007.

One organization that is set to receive $750,000 in federal funding this year through Congresswoman Velazquez’s position is the Brooklyn Kings County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The money will fund a not-for-profit business incubator program.

The loss of her position on the committee “will be a detriment to the aspiring entrepreneurs and to the small business community in general, ” said its President Rick Miranda.

The organization, which has existed since 2005, also offers loans through the Small Business Administration, helps minority owned businesses obtain certification to do work for the city and hosts educational and networking forums.

“Someone like Congresswoman Velazquez, who came from a pretty poor background herself, … she realizes that the middle-class citizens that contemplate and dream about opening up a business can never take the plunge because they never have the money or the savvy or the education,” said Miranda. Miranda also pointed out that the group’s business incubator could sponsor six businesses per quarter, amounting to 24 a year. “A huge mouthful in this economy.”

Without Velazquez, said Miranda, he fears such funding for small business might dry up. The new Republican majority “should take a real hard look at what is available and continue to assist those programs that are doing well and not just say we need to cut our spending on these programs.” The new majority should not “choke us in our ability to execute services to the small business community.”

The weakening of the power of other Brooklyn congressmen will have more national effect.

Rep. Edolphus Towns (D), who represents Fort Greene, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville and East New York, among other areas, will lose his position as chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee—a position he has held since 2009.

The change in chairmanship of the committee has a national impact, Julian Phillips, Towns’ spokesperson said. “The congressman was such a strong ally for the president … now that he will more than likely be taking a lesser role, obviously the kind of power and influence he was able to wield as chairman will no longer be the case.” Over the summer, Towns held a hearing in Brooklyn to examine a case of fraud at a Brooklyn census office, after two managers were fired for fraudulently filling out census forms.

As chairman of an investigative committee with subpoena power, Towns has also investigated the BP oil spill and the Toyota recall, among other major issues. “The new chairman may have a different agenda,” Phillips said. While Towns will be able to serve the community as Congressman and as ranking minority member, “his powers will be less than what they were.”

In fall 2009, Director of the National Urban League Marc Morial testified at an Oversight Committee hearing about the impact of the economic crisis on minority communities. With the change in leadership, Morial said, “you’re not going to have as much of an examination of policies and solutions [related to] the disparities of the recession and the disparities of the subprime crisis.”  Foreclosure rates have been highest in areas with high minority populations, such as Bushwick.

Jerrold Nadler (D), representing Coney Island, Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge, will go from high ranking to minority status in the Judiciary and Transportation and Infrastructure committees.

Nadler’s spokesman Ilan Kayatsky also said it is too early to tell how the new majority will play out. “We will still be fighting for the same transportation reforms, such as seeking more funding for mass transit and high speed rail.”

Kayatsky added that “more debates and disagreement on how much and where and why” would be expected with Republicans in the majority. Democrats, he said, will no longer be “driving the house agenda” as negotiations get underway. With a new six year transportation up for reauthorization, Kayatsky said that for Nadler, “it’s really about funding mass transit as much as possible.” The congressman’s priority, he went on to say, was increasing sustainable transportation options and expanding rail freight with “less focus on cars and roads.”

Last July, Nadler helped to secure $ 450,000 for a Brooklyn Waterfront Transportation Study, which will explore the transportation improvements necessary to develop a container port at South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park. According to the congressman’s summer press release, “the development of deep water port facilities in New York Harbor will create tens of thousands of jobs in New York City and the region, and will protect New York’s position as the East Coast’s major gateway to global trade.”

This mother came to Reaching Out for a few extra items, picking out a box of cereal, dog food, meat, vegetables and juice. (Alysia Santo/The Brooklyn Ink)

Thomas Neve’s storefront is almost always full of people, yet being busy is not enough to keep him open. Neve is the founder of Reaching Out Community Services in Bensonhurst, the only client choice food pantry or “supermarket style” operation in southwest Brooklyn, and one of only four client choice pantries in New York City.

Neve says that he has been on a shoestring budget since he started the pantry 18 years ago, but now he is coming close to running out of money. “We have about two months of funding left,” Neve says, “We could have all the food in the world but we’ll still close because we can’t come up with the rent.”

Food pantries around the country are reporting a large increase in the number of people who come to their sites. The Hunger in America study from 2010, which is done by Feed America, found that 74 percent of food pantries reported an increase in service demand since 2006. Stability of these operations has trended down with 67 percent of pantries reporting that the continuation of their programs is threatened. Half of these pantries cited funding as the main issue in continuing their operations.

Thomas Neve leads a walk to raise money for his Bensonhurst food pantry. (Photo courtesy of Thomas Neve)

Neve recently held the second annual Walk for Hunger around the perimeter of Dyker Beach Park in Dyker Heights. Neve says that he turns to neighboring leaders from Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights for help because he serves 3400 families from 16 different communities, and about 1200 families are from this part of Southwest Brooklyn.  Councilmember Gentile and Community Board 10 President Joanne Seminara attended, along with Borough president Marty Markowitz. About 300 people participated in the walk, raising $12,000.

Neve sys he needs a minimum of $150,000 a year to run the pantry. The walk provided him with about another month of funding. This has led Reaching Out to start a waiting list for the first time. It has also started turning regular clients away. “I have to cut off the single people first because I just can’t do it to people with children,” says Neve.

In a report from the New York City Coalition Against Hunger from 2009, the number of families with children who requested food in Brooklyn increased by almost 60 percent over one year. In the past three years, says Neve, the majority has become middle aged and under. Most of the clients from Bay Ridge who seek help from Reaching Out fall into this group. Over 80 percent of the 3000 people who are registered from the Bay Ridge area are 65 and younger.

While there are four food pantries located in Bay Ridge, they are all pantry bag style. This is where a person either waits in line or makes an appointment to come and pick up a bundle of cans and dry food assembled from a posted list. It is a helping hand to those who need food, yet the loss of choice and control over what one consumes, especially those with particular dietary needs, can add to the already stressful situation of needing emergency food.

After a brief screening process at Reaching Out, clients can come monthly or bimonthly to push a cart down the aisles of what looks like a mini grocery store, picking out canned goods, frozen meat, cheese, fresh fruit and vegetables, even dog food. “You can choose what you want, its not just a bag passed off to you. I appreciate that opportunity,” says Audley Maxwell, 36, a resident of Bay Ridge. Maxwell came in to Reaching Out to pick up a few items to make it through to his next paycheck from his job at a phone survey company in Long Island City.

Neve moved his pantry to a larger location in early 2008 when he realized that the number of people needing help was growing. His monthly costs tripled to $8,500, but by increasing the number served, he thought he could rally more funds. This year grants from the city and the state fell through. “I’m learning to digest the fact that I’m only responsible for the effort, not the outcome,” says Neve, who is currently writing an emergency funding request to the Brooklyn Community Foundation.

Reaching Out cut Fridays from the schedule to save money this summer, and Mondays could go after Christmas, though Neve says he would rather borrow money than cut his service down to three days a week. He compares his efforts to fishing, saying that he hooks some small stuff but he’s always waiting for that big catch. “When you keep bringing up seaweed it gets harder to sit out there with your bait in the water everyday.”

Read more about community efforts in Brooklyn:

Multicultural groups protest budget cuts

Brownsville Task Force Combats Infant Mortality

Jewish Patrol Still Controversial in Crown Heights