This November, A Few Good (wo)Men opens up Thursday, the 20th, at John Jay’s Gerard W. Lynch Theater, directed by Professor Moller and performed by John Jay students.
Movie aficionados may recall the 1992 film directed by Rob Reiner, starring Jack Nicholson and a pre-scientology Tom Cruise. What some may not know is that it was first a play, written by the West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin and produced by David Brown on Broadway in 1989. Now the play comes to John Jay, directed by Professor Lorraine Moller of the Department of Speech, Theatre and Media Studies.
But why now?
“I wanted to do something that was appropriate for the election year. I wanted to do a play that embodied a respect for the military but at the same time challenged the reality that sometimes the military abuses its power, its power to advance the power of democracy, at the extent of the common person, or the little guy,” said Moller.
But that wasn’t all. Moller also had a message for John Jay students who are unsure of what this play means for them: “I also knew this to be a fast moving court room drama,” Moller said, “that would be compelling in a criminal justice element, and knew it had the potential to appeal to an audience that was interested in this kind of court martial thriller.”
For anyone not familiar with the play or the movie, the “play focuses on a young attorney who exposes a colonel for the unsanctioned hazing of a young marine”. The play delves into different topics, mainly what happens when the power of military authority is abused in the name of national security. Moller said that where most plays need longer scenes to truly function, this play is just as cinematic as the movie. Rather than being linear, having a beginning, middle and end, the plays scenes jump back and forth, like a film.
Something that may interest viewers is that while the original plot only had a sole female protagonist, the current production is being done almost entirely by a female cast. Many of the roles have been adapted for female characters as the director felt that women should be shown to have “the same nobility and moral fiber that men have”. Moller felt that John Jay was “better suited” for finding women to fill these roles, saying that they “have filled them out rather handsomely” and “have done a great job” in meeting the challenges of filling such big shoes.
Dedication to the atmosphere of the play was shown in just the sheer amount of preparation the cast has gone through. Actors and actresses have been trained heavily for the sake of remaining faithful not only to the original play, or the popular movie, but to military life in general.
“We had two guys from the marines come and work with them, in spanking blue uniforms, covers (hats), gloves, and I kind of expected that they were going to be over the top and arrogant. One of them turned out to be a graduate of John Jay; the two of them were so likeable,” said Moller. The marines’ presence was to teach the performers military demeanor to incorporate into the roles.
Moller laughs as she also adds a type of preparation that some of her cast may not have enjoyed. To avoid the usual tardiness performers have been known for generally, rehearsals were run like physical training. “We decided to make the rehearsal into a military environment,” she said. Performers were made to do running exercises, push-ups, and the like for the first 30 days.
The AFGW cast also received training in the handling of arms. David Routh, assistant coach of the rifle squad, trained them in marching techniques and military demeanor for eight weeks, on Tuesdays. Rubber ducks, or driller rifles, hard plastic replica rifles of the M16 assault rifle, were bored from ROTC. All in all, actors have learned to salute, march, keep posture and do the various cadence routines of marine gun holding just like any new soldier would to push authenticity as far as possible.
Moller, whose niece is a Sergeant in the marines and has been deployed to Iraq, is a pacifist who firmly protests the Iraq War. Ironically, this is what attracted her to the play. “The attack of a military authority really drew me in; the Iraq War, and my skepticism, and the necessity and nature of war. “
Deeper yet, to understand characters like Jack Nicholson’s Colonel Jessup and keep him fresh and three-dimensional, she found herself looking at the military in a slightly different light. She had to consider how fanatical military personnel similar to Jessup may have to imagine making decisions in the moment, “not just for one man, but for everyone in the corp”. She found herself more empathetic to the military, and “how it is to command a military regiment”, especially “when someone in the unit has to die to prevent the entire platoon from danger”. Despite her newfound peak at military life, she remains strong as ever in her Anti-War sentiments.
For students interested in seeing the production, the showing starts on the 20th and ends on the 25th. Tickets are $10; $5 for students, and can be purchased and reserved online at www.ticketcentral.com or by calling 212-279-4200.
A Few Good (wo)Men is not the only John Jay play being developed. Professor Tarantino, director of the wildly successful West Side Story production that ran two years ago, is directing The Last Days of Judas Iscariot under John Jay’s new APACHE project. APACHE, the Arts Partnership and Collaborative in Higher Education, is a collaborative initiative between the students at John Jay and from the colleges belonging to the Great Lakes Colleges Association. The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is a courtroom drama that takes place in an imagined world between Heaven and Hell, a modern purgatory called Hope. It re-examines the plight and fate of Judas, the New Testament’s most infamous sinner.
The production opens on Tuesday, April 21st, and run until Saturday, April 25th.
Performances:
Thursday, Nov. 20th ; 12:30 & 8:00
Friday, Nov. 21st ; 12:30 & 8:00
Saturday, Nov. 22nd; 8:00
Sunday, Nov. 23rd ; 3:00
Monday, Nov. 24th; 12:30
Tuesday, Nov. 25th; 7:00
A Few Good (wo)Men by Aaron Sorkin
Gerald W. Lynch Theater
Tickets: $10
$5 All Students
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Homework
Problems with article:
1) Author uses himself numerous times but it has no importance on the article. Using himself doesn't neccesarily illustrate any points of interests, doesn't create an imagery, etc, it just mentions himself.
2) The article is very long. Over detailed I'd say. For anyone not a doctor and not a uber-medical enthusiast I'd say this article's length and detail would frighten casual readers. I'm still shaking. To play devil's advocate against myself, I like to have the details and information available, but when you read, especially McCain's section, some of the released information could have been summarized.
3) Focus/Goal: It was clear to me that they were trying to share the importance of knowing our possible president's health, but at times it just felt like a Term Paper than an article. In addition, there wasn't much of a goal with this article, nothing the journalist was trying to achieve besides sharing information. This may seem like a tough call, but I say this mainly because, for example, the reader reaches the Obama section, the journlalist runs out of steam and talks at length about smoking, as if we haven't seen a truth commercial. Or going into needless details over things that didn't need reiteration seemed to me like the author was trying to squeeze more juice out of a dried orange. It felt more like the article was droning on.
I also felt that the journalist wanted to stop this thing and talk about why they think sharing medical history is important, but this only came in bits and a little at the end.
4)Journalist style: Again, it felt like a Term Paper. Across different possible journalism articles, it felt too much like a Thesis and not enough like an article for a paper. The lead wasn't too bad, but was over. Information wasn't varied by importance but rather whatever came next I suppose. The conclusion felt more like the conclusion of an essay or the rather bad stories where an author tries to summarize everything in a paragraph or two.
5) Bad Ending: The quote wasn't something I'd want to go out on. It didn't have punch, in my eyes, that makes you go "Wow. That was a good story" and it didn't make me think "That makes sense due to the story". I think the last quote, if you end that way, should in itself relate to or summarize the story but leave a little punch, or style, for your article. I felt neither.
6) Not enough quotes, I think, but a lot of reference.
The Good:
It tried to be fair across the board, avoiding bias, by stating simply facts. It didn't take sides.
It tried to cover each candidate, so that, even the ones that took little space at least were mentioned.
It reported what info was obtained and what couldn't be due to lack of participation.
1) Author uses himself numerous times but it has no importance on the article. Using himself doesn't neccesarily illustrate any points of interests, doesn't create an imagery, etc, it just mentions himself.
2) The article is very long. Over detailed I'd say. For anyone not a doctor and not a uber-medical enthusiast I'd say this article's length and detail would frighten casual readers. I'm still shaking. To play devil's advocate against myself, I like to have the details and information available, but when you read, especially McCain's section, some of the released information could have been summarized.
3) Focus/Goal: It was clear to me that they were trying to share the importance of knowing our possible president's health, but at times it just felt like a Term Paper than an article. In addition, there wasn't much of a goal with this article, nothing the journalist was trying to achieve besides sharing information. This may seem like a tough call, but I say this mainly because, for example, the reader reaches the Obama section, the journlalist runs out of steam and talks at length about smoking, as if we haven't seen a truth commercial. Or going into needless details over things that didn't need reiteration seemed to me like the author was trying to squeeze more juice out of a dried orange. It felt more like the article was droning on.
I also felt that the journalist wanted to stop this thing and talk about why they think sharing medical history is important, but this only came in bits and a little at the end.
4)Journalist style: Again, it felt like a Term Paper. Across different possible journalism articles, it felt too much like a Thesis and not enough like an article for a paper. The lead wasn't too bad, but was over. Information wasn't varied by importance but rather whatever came next I suppose. The conclusion felt more like the conclusion of an essay or the rather bad stories where an author tries to summarize everything in a paragraph or two.
5) Bad Ending: The quote wasn't something I'd want to go out on. It didn't have punch, in my eyes, that makes you go "Wow. That was a good story" and it didn't make me think "That makes sense due to the story". I think the last quote, if you end that way, should in itself relate to or summarize the story but leave a little punch, or style, for your article. I felt neither.
6) Not enough quotes, I think, but a lot of reference.
The Good:
It tried to be fair across the board, avoiding bias, by stating simply facts. It didn't take sides.
It tried to cover each candidate, so that, even the ones that took little space at least were mentioned.
It reported what info was obtained and what couldn't be due to lack of participation.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Writing Center Revised
“Our job is to work with the students, not to do the work for them,” said tutor Angelica Blazina.
The room is off-white; every nook and cranny of the space available is used for desks, chairs, or computers. At the front of the room, just a few feet ahead of the entrance, is the desk where I was promptly greeted. Even late at night the the room is buzzing with activity. This is the
“I’m taking it for English,” said Tracy Raysor, a sophomore who has been coming to the
The
Sitting nearby was long-time tutor and supervisor Kennesha Barnwell, surrounded by other long time tutors Angelica and Roxanne Sejarto, who’ve worked there for about seven years, among others. All of them sat close together, winding away the hours as the night reached the later hours. “We’ve had papers from science, literature, math, yes, we’ve had math papers. I don’t know why we’ve had math papers, it was rare, but we get papers from math.”
Day to day students generally walk in, either taking any tutor available.
Over time some begin to schedule appointments with those favored tutors. But during certain academic “seasons” of the year, walk-ins find there are less tutors available, and competitive reservations may begin.
During the times of the Cuny Proficiency Exam, mid-terms, and finals, the tutors find themselves with more students and appointments than they can handle. “We’ve had over a thousand students come in for individual appointments. And for the workshops we have seven workshops a day, full with 30 people, 40 people…” said Kennesha, shaking her head as she leaned back in her seat. “It’s absolutely impossible because the CPE, the exam, is happening now, but during testing time, mid-terms, and finals we’re always swamped…and we have less funding and less staff [than before].”
“Most people walk in, but some are powerhouse workshops, like the CPE, so people want to register to reserve a seat,” added Zully, finding time away from some of her front desk duties as the work day drew to a close.
But still the tutors work with great proficiency, a literary version of Spartans tackling an overwhelming workload and still making it through stronger than ever. Tutors themselves are hand-picked by and go through a long path to becoming a full tutor. “It’s based on recommendation, [then] you have to take a year course before you’re allowed to teach and tutor," Zully comments as she assists an outgoing student setting up her next appointment.
Finishing with her student, she turns and folds her legs in her chair. “There’re two courses; varying types of grammar, varying types of teaching skills, and public speech. It’s pretty, pretty intense.” These courses are not open to any student either, but reserved for the tutors through ‘independent study’, which earns credit and can work towards an English Honors.
Later, tutors receive addition training. “Everyone is training to work in every discipline; tutors in training are not allowed to teach the CPEs; very rarely will anyone see a tutor in training teaching; since they’re in training they’ll really be observing," said Zully.
But tutors aren’t just glorified students with a knack for writing and simple patience. Many are graduates, and, according to Kennesha, “more than half of the permanent staff have a Masters Degree, or is working towards one.” Some have even gone into teaching, like Angelica, who began teaching at John Jay this semester as a Professor. The transition from student to tutor is smooth, according to the tutors, and Roxanne adds “you feel good, coming full circle.”
But it also doesn’t make it any easier when dealing with troublesome students. “When I first became a tutor, I guess I was a little naïve. I was a little too nice and she started coming with big piles of research, to leave them for me to read, so I could tell her what I read and tell her what she should read," said Angelica, blushing embrassingly while in thought.
Kennesha added firmly, “Students need to know we’re not doing their work. Students come in here and they think we’re being mean and assume we’re being lazy and we don’t want to do our work and why we’re repelling them, it’s because we’re not in charge of interpretation, the process you bring to us is the final product. We can help you enhance it and make it better but it’s still up to you to interpret your assignment. It’s your work. We can’t write it for you.”
It doesn’t end there either: often, like police officers, the tutors find that they’re never off duty. “Someone hands you a paper at the store and asks you to read it,or you’re walking home to the subway and someone hands you a paper because they recognize you," Kennesha said.
“It’s
But all of the tutors gathered agree on one thing. “When you get a student in here and they want to improve, they’re the best you can get,” said Kennesha. “When you get students who come in and say ‘I don’t want to be here,’ it’s just horrible. It can make an hour session feel like forever.”
“To have a student come back and say thank you for the help, it always makes you feel good,” added Roxanne.
"I had one at graduation, who dragged me to meet her mom and dad and grandmother…and her mom said ‘you’ve helped her so much’, and I was like ‘oh my god, I feel so happy!’” said Kennesha.
At the end of the day, through the long workloads and difficult sessions, the group seems to draw it’s energy from each other. As some tutors head home, many hug or kiss cheek to cheek farewells, saying goodbye until the next day.
“I’ve met some of my best friends from this staff,” Roxanne said excitedly, beaming a grin to her friends.
“We’re all enjoying our time together because it’s a great group of people to work with,” said Kennesha. “We’re definitely family.”
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Writing Center Story
“Our job is to work with the students,” said tutor Angelica Blazina, “not to do the work for them.”
The room is off-white; every nook and cranny of the space available is used for desks, chairs, or computers. At the front of the room, just a few feet ahead of the entrance, is the desk where I was promptly greeted. Even late at night the the room is buzzing with activity. This is the
“I’m taking it for English,” said Tracy Raysor, a sophomore who has been coming to the
The
“We’ve had papers from science, literature, math,” said long-time tutor and supervisor Kennesha Barnwell, surrounded by other long time tutors Angelica and Roxanne Sejarto, who’ve worked there for about seven years, among others. “Yes, we’ve had math papers. I don’t know why we’ve had math papers, it was rare, but we get papers from math.”
Day to day students generally walk in, either taking any tutor available.
Over time some begin to schedule appointments with those favored tutors. But during certain academic “seasons” of the year, walk-ins find there are less tutors available, and competitive reservations may begin.
During the times of the Cuny Proficiency Exam, mid-terms, and finals, the tutors find themselves with more students and appointments than they can handle. “We’ve had over a thousand students come in for individual appointments. And for the workshops we have seven workshops a day, full with 30 people, 40 people…” said Kennesha, shaking her head as she leaned back in her seat. “It’s absolutely impossible because the CPE, the exam, is happening now, but during testing time, mid-terms, and finals we’re always swamped…and we have less funding and less staff [than before]…”
“Most people walk in, but some are powerhouse workshops, like the CPE, so people want to register to reserve a seat,” added Zully.
But still the tutors work with great proficiency, a literary version of Spartans tackling an overwhelming workload and still making it through stronger than ever. Tutors themselves are hand-picked by and go through a long path to becoming a full tutor. “It’s based on recommendation,” Zully comments as she assists an outgoing student setting up her next appointment, “[then] you have to take a year course before you’re allowed to teach and tutor.” Finishing with her student, she turns and folds her legs in her chair. “There’re two courses; varying types of grammar, varying types of teaching skills, and public speech. It’s pretty, pretty intense.” These courses are not open to any student either, but reserved for the tutors through ‘independent study’, which earns credit and can work towards an English Honors.
Later, tutors receive addition training. “Everyone is training to work in every discipline; tutors in training are not allowed to teach the CPEs; very rarely will anyone see a tutor in training teaching; since they’re in training they’ll really be observing.”
But tutors aren’t just glorified students with a knack for writing and simple patience. Many are graduates, and, according to Kennesha, “more than half of the permanent staff have a Masters Degree, or is working towards one.” Some have even gone into teaching, like Angelica, who began teaching at John Jay this semester as a Professor. The transition from student to tutor is smooth, according to the tutors, and Roxanne adds “you feel good, coming full circle.”
But it also doesn’t make it any easier when dealing with troublesome students. “When I first became a tutor, I guess I was a little naïve,” said Angelica, wearing an embarrassed blush while in thought of a past student. “I was a little too nice and she started coming with big piles of research, to leave them for me to read, so I could tell her what I read and tell her what she should read.”
“Students need to know we’re not doing their work,” added Kennesha firmly. “: “Students come in here and they think we’re being mean and assume we’re being lazy and we don’t want to do our work and why we’re repelling them, it’s because we’re not in charge of interpretation, the process you bring to us is the final product. We can help you enhance it and make it better but it’s still up to you to interpret your assignment. It’s your work. We can’t write it for you.”
It doesn’t end there either: often, like police officers, the tutors find that they’re never off duty. “Someone hands you a paper at the store and asks you to read it,” Kennesha said with a smile. “Or you’re walking home to the subway and someone hands you a paper because they recognize you.”
“It’s
But all of the tutors gathered agree on one thing. “When you get a student in here and they want to improve, they’re the best you can get,” said Kennesha. “When you get students who come in and say ‘I don’t want to be here,’ it’s just horrible. It can make an hour session feel like forever.”
“To have a student come back and say thank you for the help, it always makes you feel good,” added Roxanne.
“I had one at graduation,” relates Kennesha with a smile as her eyes wandered up to the ceiling, “who dragged me to meet her mom and dad and grandmother…and her mom said ‘you’ve helped her so much’, and I was like ‘oh my god, I feel so happy!’”
At the end of the day, through the long workloads and difficult sessions, the group seems to draw it’s energy from each other. As some tutors head home, many hug or kiss cheek to cheek farewells, saying goodbye until the next day.
“I’ve met some of my best friends from this staff,” Roxanne said excitedly, beaming a grin to her friends.
“We’re all enjoying our time together because it’s a great group of people to work with,” said Kennesha. “We’re definitely family.”
Thursday, October 9, 2008
3 Ideas
1) My first idea is to get a look at the tutors in John Jay, and the people who go to them. I just had an assignment in my film class on Tuesday where we filmed a trio of interviews between the head of the W building's tutor group and three of her top of tutors. It was interesting to see their views and I know there will be a short film/documentary of a sort being made, so I wouldn't mind getting to interview them myself, interview students who go to the tutors, students who don't go (and why they don't) and teachers opinions, plus information on that possible video coming out and why they chose now to film one.
2) I'd like to see how students involved with government are dealing with the upcoming elections. I know some students are making sure people are voting, some are having debates, some are making predictions, etc. I'd like to see how they're using their time, why they're supporting who they do, what are they doing on campus to get students involved, and how this year's politics are shaping what they're looking to do with their careers in politics. Sources are student government, debate club/team, the voter registration organization, etc.
3) I'd like to talk about one of the upcoming drama events. On the 15th there is the Castle being performed at John Jay, and beyond that is the A Few Good Men performance coming in a few months (I think, have to check out) being performed by an all-female cast, and Prof. Tarantino is planning a play called The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. I'd like to talk about the plays (whichever one I will do, or possible mention all three in the article, by concentrate on one), and I'd go to the Professor's hosting/directing their respective plays, the students performing, students and faculty who are going or not going, and why, and possibly the actors and actresses from without our college. I want to know why the plays are being performed, how is it revelant to the current times either in John Jay, New York, or the US, and how much impact will it have. If the play were to come during the time of the article, I'd like possibly getting people's reactions or my own.
2) I'd like to see how students involved with government are dealing with the upcoming elections. I know some students are making sure people are voting, some are having debates, some are making predictions, etc. I'd like to see how they're using their time, why they're supporting who they do, what are they doing on campus to get students involved, and how this year's politics are shaping what they're looking to do with their careers in politics. Sources are student government, debate club/team, the voter registration organization, etc.
3) I'd like to talk about one of the upcoming drama events. On the 15th there is the Castle being performed at John Jay, and beyond that is the A Few Good Men performance coming in a few months (I think, have to check out) being performed by an all-female cast, and Prof. Tarantino is planning a play called The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. I'd like to talk about the plays (whichever one I will do, or possible mention all three in the article, by concentrate on one), and I'd go to the Professor's hosting/directing their respective plays, the students performing, students and faculty who are going or not going, and why, and possibly the actors and actresses from without our college. I want to know why the plays are being performed, how is it revelant to the current times either in John Jay, New York, or the US, and how much impact will it have. If the play were to come during the time of the article, I'd like possibly getting people's reactions or my own.
Monday, October 6, 2008
The Path To Happiness-Revised
“The rents are ridiculous,” says Maureen Petersen, an officer of the Department of Homeless Services. “The high cost of rent is what a lot of people come here for.”
PATH—or the Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing—is a temporary placement connected to the EAU: an Emergency Assessment Unit, under the DHS, or Department of Homeless Services. Here DHS Officers and Employees take care of a difficult task: trying to help homeless families get homes. But it’s not easy.
With a rising cost of living—an effect of the nation-wide economic problems, many find that they don’t have enough money to keep up with rent, especially in New York. A New York University Study in 2006 even concluded that households making about $32,000, 80% of the median citywide income, would not be able to afford many of the apartments in the city. Specifically the report stated that in a span of three years there had been a drop of 205,000 apartments that would have been affordable to the median, and majority, salary of New Yorkers. Also, the median price of unsubsidized apartments made a 20% increase in this time—from $750 to $900. And it has increased since then.
“What makes it bad is that Guiliani had changed it all,” continues Petersen, referring to the state of her department. Petersen, who’s worked for the DHS for more than a decade, has seen plenty changes. “All boroughs had EAUs, but he converged them all into one, this one, and made it more hectic. That’s why a lot of kids are displaced out of school. If they had an EAU in each borough, it’d be better.”
“It’s the worst on kids,” another officer adds, who asked to keep their name anonymous. Standing next to a family of four, including a mother and her kids, the officer looks on and frowns. “The process of [the kids] going back and forth, the kids being shuffled around; they might be in the Bronx, they might be in Brooklyn, y’know? It’s hard,” the officer adds.
“It’s disgusting,” says one client, a mother standing outside. She paces back and forth, shifting side to side in frustration besides her friend. “I was just arguing with him on how f***ed up it is,” she adds. “If we didn’t have no place to go, I wouldn’t be here.” And it’s no doubt that the children hurt the most. While standing there, countless children stand by their parents and older siblings as late as eleven o’clock, and beyond. “They’re missing out on school cuz they have to be here,” says one client, “that’s an ACS case but what can you do?”
Walking into the large stone building of the EAU, the first thing a family encounters in the brightly lit building is not warm meals and blankets, but metal detectors, though some would consider it a necessity. “It’d different. Every day it’s different,” says Masullo, a DHS Officer standing ready at the metal detectors. He takes a look at the monitors and shakes his head. “Never know what you’re going to get.”
“We have to check for contraband and weapons,” says his fellow-officer Gonzalez as she also checks the screen of an incoming client’s bag. “All bags must go through—if they beep, they get checked.” And while some may think this is a trivial step, others would disagree.
“When I was at the Men’s Shelter by Bellvue Hospital, a man tried to come in with a machete,” says Petersen, a long time employee of the DHS. “Had it up the sleeve of his jacket.”
After passing the metal detectors, families reach the Processing Stage. Here they must put in their information and the reasons behind their homelessness, leading to a temporary overnight stay while an investigation is made on the client’s claims. After moving to Reception, more information is needed to prepare the family for the Family Worker, who gives the family a medical check. Employees of the Diversion Department try to see whether there are other ways for families to go without staying in the shelter system, but if things are approved the family is given a temporary housing in a ten day placement. If found eligible, the family will be guided to a Tier 2 Housing: an apartment for their family. But, if found ineligible according to varying circumstances, the family may have to start the process all over again.
In addition, guidelines and rules are constantly changing. “A lot of people mess it up for others,” says Petersen of the system at PATH. “One client can do something bad and it changes everything for everybody else.”
One officer had an example. “[A Family] can be at the end of her 10 day placement period, and it can be 11 at night, and [they] can have kids; and they have to get them out, instead of waiting till morning.” The officer shakes their head in disapproval. Unfortunately, this is not a rare story for the families at who arrive at PATH.
Naturally, the process can cause tension between employees and clients. “I don’t like working here,” says another DHS employee who’d rather stay anonymous. “These guys are assholes. They make us feel like it’s us…like it’s our fault. But it comes from up high. They’re the ones maneuvering everybody.”
Occasionally, tempers will escalate to the point of confrontation; other times the DHS officers find themselves dealing with all sorts of situations. “It’s more than just police work,” says Masullo as he keeps his eyes on the clients entering the building. He grins and adds “We’re translators, babysitters, referees…everything.” The other officers smile grimly, nodding in agreement.
Whatever the case may be, one thing is clear: the city’s cost of living is rising, and salaries aren’t following as closely. Worse, families, for various reasons that some are responsible for and others not, are getting caught in a web of problems that can’t be solved until rents are stabilized and made affordable not for the rich—but realistically for the majority of the population—the average New Yorker.
PATH—or the Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing—is a temporary placement connected to the EAU: an Emergency Assessment Unit, under the DHS, or Department of Homeless Services. Here DHS Officers and Employees take care of a difficult task: trying to help homeless families get homes. But it’s not easy.
With a rising cost of living—an effect of the nation-wide economic problems, many find that they don’t have enough money to keep up with rent, especially in New York. A New York University Study in 2006 even concluded that households making about $32,000, 80% of the median citywide income, would not be able to afford many of the apartments in the city. Specifically the report stated that in a span of three years there had been a drop of 205,000 apartments that would have been affordable to the median, and majority, salary of New Yorkers. Also, the median price of unsubsidized apartments made a 20% increase in this time—from $750 to $900. And it has increased since then.
“What makes it bad is that Guiliani had changed it all,” continues Petersen, referring to the state of her department. Petersen, who’s worked for the DHS for more than a decade, has seen plenty changes. “All boroughs had EAUs, but he converged them all into one, this one, and made it more hectic. That’s why a lot of kids are displaced out of school. If they had an EAU in each borough, it’d be better.”
“It’s the worst on kids,” another officer adds, who asked to keep their name anonymous. Standing next to a family of four, including a mother and her kids, the officer looks on and frowns. “The process of [the kids] going back and forth, the kids being shuffled around; they might be in the Bronx, they might be in Brooklyn, y’know? It’s hard,” the officer adds.
“It’s disgusting,” says one client, a mother standing outside. She paces back and forth, shifting side to side in frustration besides her friend. “I was just arguing with him on how f***ed up it is,” she adds. “If we didn’t have no place to go, I wouldn’t be here.” And it’s no doubt that the children hurt the most. While standing there, countless children stand by their parents and older siblings as late as eleven o’clock, and beyond. “They’re missing out on school cuz they have to be here,” says one client, “that’s an ACS case but what can you do?”
Walking into the large stone building of the EAU, the first thing a family encounters in the brightly lit building is not warm meals and blankets, but metal detectors, though some would consider it a necessity. “It’d different. Every day it’s different,” says Masullo, a DHS Officer standing ready at the metal detectors. He takes a look at the monitors and shakes his head. “Never know what you’re going to get.”
“We have to check for contraband and weapons,” says his fellow-officer Gonzalez as she also checks the screen of an incoming client’s bag. “All bags must go through—if they beep, they get checked.” And while some may think this is a trivial step, others would disagree.
“When I was at the Men’s Shelter by Bellvue Hospital, a man tried to come in with a machete,” says Petersen, a long time employee of the DHS. “Had it up the sleeve of his jacket.”
After passing the metal detectors, families reach the Processing Stage. Here they must put in their information and the reasons behind their homelessness, leading to a temporary overnight stay while an investigation is made on the client’s claims. After moving to Reception, more information is needed to prepare the family for the Family Worker, who gives the family a medical check. Employees of the Diversion Department try to see whether there are other ways for families to go without staying in the shelter system, but if things are approved the family is given a temporary housing in a ten day placement. If found eligible, the family will be guided to a Tier 2 Housing: an apartment for their family. But, if found ineligible according to varying circumstances, the family may have to start the process all over again.
In addition, guidelines and rules are constantly changing. “A lot of people mess it up for others,” says Petersen of the system at PATH. “One client can do something bad and it changes everything for everybody else.”
One officer had an example. “[A Family] can be at the end of her 10 day placement period, and it can be 11 at night, and [they] can have kids; and they have to get them out, instead of waiting till morning.” The officer shakes their head in disapproval. Unfortunately, this is not a rare story for the families at who arrive at PATH.
Naturally, the process can cause tension between employees and clients. “I don’t like working here,” says another DHS employee who’d rather stay anonymous. “These guys are assholes. They make us feel like it’s us…like it’s our fault. But it comes from up high. They’re the ones maneuvering everybody.”
Occasionally, tempers will escalate to the point of confrontation; other times the DHS officers find themselves dealing with all sorts of situations. “It’s more than just police work,” says Masullo as he keeps his eyes on the clients entering the building. He grins and adds “We’re translators, babysitters, referees…everything.” The other officers smile grimly, nodding in agreement.
Whatever the case may be, one thing is clear: the city’s cost of living is rising, and salaries aren’t following as closely. Worse, families, for various reasons that some are responsible for and others not, are getting caught in a web of problems that can’t be solved until rents are stabilized and made affordable not for the rich—but realistically for the majority of the population—the average New Yorker.
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