jspot.org: home of the Jewish netroots - Recent Comments

living in bed-sty

Mik Moore — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:59:07 GMT

i considered it a while back, and i considered harlem too. not only because of the prices and subway access, but the history.

but... the issue is tricky. part of the history is Harlem as the center of black culture. it is also the Jewish neighborhood of my great grandparents.

i can't say i'd be seduced by the lure of living in biggie's hood. his childhood was... less than ideal. bedsty was (and still can be) a challenging place to live. the center of the harlem reinassance! well, that feels a little different - or maybe it's just in the older, more romanticized past.

Good weighs in

Mik Moore — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:41:18 GMT

on Cash for Caulkers here.

Too little, too late

Suzanne Reisman — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:46:05 GMT

I agree with Mae - great work, Rachel. These are important questions. What drives me nuts about this is how many units of affordable housing were lost in the past five to ten years as Bloomberg allowed greedy landlords and "investors" to opt out of affordable housing programs. Now he decides that we can't just rebuild what we lost? It's way too late for that. By preserving what was already there, we could have saved a lot of money and a lot of grief.

Wish I could take a vacation.

skillgore — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:32:35 GMT

Those guys in Europe sure have the right idea.

Frakkin funny

Jeremy Burton — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:47:27 GMT

This is hysterical. TX Mae!

Bacon!

workforce housing

Mae Singerman — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:24:27 GMT

Great post, Rachel! In Miami, the buzz term is "workforce housing" which is being prioritized above or often mislabeled as "affordable housing". Workforce housing is for people like teachers, nurses and cops. So, groups that are advocating and organizing for the more historical understanding of affordable housing- housing for low and no income people-are having to engage in these nuanced conversations with changed definitions. Once again, fighting for crumbs against blue collar workers while real estate developers find new ways to make money and be government subsidized on their investments.

nice graph. but...

Mik Moore — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:53:20 GMT

it shows trends nicely, but doesn't provide much insight into how far and for how long we need to be on the plus side of the line before people can feel the difference. and job losses are still job losses.

the graph could be be drawn differently... and show cumulative job losses, which would look like a line going up sharply under Bush and Obama, then continuing to rise but much less dramatically.

Re: Just for the record

Mae Singerman — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:52:03 GMT

BORING!!

Just for the record:

Philip Bump — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:06:08 GMT

One can also support unionism while wearing pants and sober. Don't let the snow dissuade you.

John Mayer and Judaism??

sgelman — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:37:23 GMT

Although we certainly cannot determine if John Mayer would be less gross if he were Jewish (btw if you read that article in Playboy, Mayer also claims to have a a "hood" pass among black people...don't even get me started on that racist comment), I, too, have often thought about the issue of determining Jewish connections through the mother. As a religion that is facing higher rates of assimilation and intermarriage than ever before...continuity is the buzzword that is heard over and over again. How can we as Jews conscionably turn people away from the religion simply on the basis that their father was Jewish rather than their mother? Is it time that we take a harder look at what makes a Jew a Jew? Or will the chosen people continue to remain choosy, and lose a constituency in the process....

Oh great....

Abby Peck — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:48:18 GMT

....now we have to claim him as one of the Tribe? That's sure to get tons of screaming teenage girls through the temple doors.

Very well said.

Philip Bump — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:43:32 GMT

I was particularly struck by the comment of the team owner, while holding the trophy, who said that "New Orleans was back!" His is, certainly, a narrow perspective, likely not shared by the entire city.

so i checked out the closest banks.

Mae Singerman — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:42:11 GMT

yeah, all of the closest "local" banks named on the list are actually korean banks. and they weren't very close. its hard, too because they close at 4pm on week days.

i know the lower east side credit union, but i don't live anywhere near there or work near there, which makes it a pain to even deposit a check and im sure they close early on weekdays too. am i spoiled brat? my money remains unmoved at that evil bank i mentioned in the post, if it's even there. they're probably just giving it to their executives for bonuse. :(

There is a problem with the bank finder

Daniel Millstone — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:46:33 GMT

No credit unions come up on its list. The first bank it suggests to me is the same as to you: Woori. It's not even near me. I have a better suggestion.

I've moved my money to my local community development credit union the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union. Our credit union supports non-profit affordable housing developers, local business people. It helps lower income New Yorkers do their taxes for free and it helps get eligible people food stamps. Find them here: https://lespeoples.org/

People's History

Philip Bump — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:30:52 GMT

After reading "People's History", I bought a copy for my little sister so that she might have the benefit of the perspective it provides. Upon opening the gift, she told me she'd read it - in the history class at her public arts school in upstate New York.

Moral of the story: Zinn's activism reached a level of pervasiveness that was remarkable, and much needed - extending even into the sorts of institutions that might also have drawn his critique.