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When it comes to tracking how poverty impacts American families, and especially children, estimates for 2021 reveal something noteworthy.

Pandemic-era benefits may have helped drive poverty in 2021 lower than in 2020, according to researchers at Columbia University's Center on Poverty & Social Policy and at the nonprofit Urban Institute. By one measure, last year was already a notable low, with the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 supplemental poverty rate - which factors in families' expenses, as well as government assistance like stimulus checks - falling to its lowest since the estimate was first published, in 2009.

FRONTLINE has been documenting how poverty impacts families - and especially children - for several years, including in the documentaries (2017) and Growing Up Poor in America (2020).

The Census Bureau's annual poverty figures for 2021 won't be available until well into next year. While researchers estimated that poverty declined in 2021, they cautioned that the trend could be temporary, with many pandemic-era benefits ending. So where does that leave American families now?

Did Pandemic-Era Policies Affect Poverty in 2021?

Zachary Parolin has been leading the Columbia researchers' monthly estimates of U.S. poverty since the start of the pandemic. According to the team's data, the poverty rate in December 2020 - when many pandemic-related benefits had expired - was 16.1%. But when some benefits were renewed or extended in January 2021, the monthly poverty estimate declined to 13.2%.

"In fact, throughout the entire year of 2021, the poverty rate has been lower than that 16.1% that we saw in December 2020," Parolin said. The Columbia team estimated that poverty in 2021 rose to a high of 14.3% in February and declined to 9.3% - its lowest level of the year - in March, when families received economic impact payments, as well as income tax and child tax credits.

"The last two years taken together have probably shown us more clearly than any time in recent history how much policy matters," Megan Curran, a Columbia researcher said. The team's research found that without the early pandemic aid provided by the March 2020 CARES Act, poverty rates could potentially have rivaled those during the Great Recession. She cited federal actions - economic impact payments (also known as stimulus checks), expanded unemployment insurance, increased food assistance and other measures - in averting a worst-case scenario.

The researchers also looked closely at the expanded child tax credit, put in place by Congress' March 2021 American Rescue Plan. When the expanded credit went into effect in July, it raised benefits from $2,000 to $3,600 for children under 6 and to $3,000 for children ages 6 to 17. It reached families that didn't earn enough income to owe taxes, and it was paid in monthly installments from July to December 2021, instead of all at once in 2022.

The Columbia researchers found that measure alone kept roughly 3.5 million children out of poverty in each month for which data is available.

"We haven't seen these types of reductions in a long time," Parolin said of the credit's effect on childhood poverty, noting the persistently low poverty rates among children during the months the credit was available. (December 2021 is the last month eligible families will receive the payment, unless a version of the credit is renewed in the Build Back Better legislation currently facing hurdles in the Senate. With no Republican support, the legislation's passage would rely on Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who in the past has expressed reservations that the expanded child tax credit has no work requirement.)
Read more: How COVID Has Impacted Poverty in America
Researchers at the Urban Institute also examined the impacts of pandemic-era benefits and stimulus measures. Looking at 2021 as a whole, they projected government-assistance programs - both those that existed pre-COVID and those created in response to the pandemic - would reduce the 2021 poverty rate by 67%, compared to what it would have been with no government assistance, and would keep nearly 50 million Americans out of poverty over the course of the year.

"What we observed were some of the largest short-term reductions in poverty that we've seen," said Ilham Dehry, a co-author of the Urban Institute report. Their projections showed stimulus checks having the largest antipoverty impact, keeping 12.4 million people from falling into poverty in 2021. That echoes the Census Bureau's findings for 2020, when stimulus checks kept 11.7 million people out of poverty.

The Urban Institute projected that benefits - both pre-COVID and pandemic-era - would reduce poverty among children by 81% in 2021, compared to without benefits. Their projections showed a lower poverty rate for children than for all adults and those over 65 - a seeming reversal of a trend over the last decade, when the poverty rate for children has been higher than for other age groups. Dehry said the 2021 reductions in child poverty "might reflect the targeted nature of some of the aid," such as the expanded child tax credit and per-child stimulus payments for families.

Some economists have argued that extending the expanded child tax credit "will serve as a disincentive to work" and, with parents leaving the workforce, that it would blunt the poverty-reduction effects of the credit.

Gregory Acs, vice president for income and benefits policy at the Urban Institute, said extending the expanded child tax credit would allow researchers to learn more about how it shapes people's behavior, including whether it leads adults to work less or to spend more time with their children.

"Reducing child poverty has the potential to have profound intergenerational benefits," Acs said. "If kids are not poor, if households are not stressed by poverty, then they're more likely to ... do better in school, get more education and be on a better path forward as adults."

What Happened to Food Hardship?

In December 2020, Joseph Llobrera, director of research on food assistance at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, described food hardship - or families not getting enough to eat - as "off the charts": 18.3% among households with children, according to data he analyzed from the Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture also showed food hardship increasing in 2020 for families with children, and for Black and Hispanic families, although the percent of food insecure households in 2020 remained the same as in 2019: 10.5%. Data from a survey sponsored by the USDA also showed that 2.3% more households reported using food pantries in 2020 as compared to a year earlier.
Read more: "I Don't Want to Live Like This Forever": A 14-Year-Old's Story of "Hidden Homelessness" Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic
To counteract the pandemic's impact, the federal government expanded food assistance in several ways. Families eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) could receive supplemental emergency allotments. An EBT program launched in March 2020 allowed the families of kids who usually would get free or reduced-price lunches at school to receive temporary benefits to purchase food. SNAP benefits increased 15% from January through September 2021. Then a long-planned modernization of SNAP benefits kicked in in October, raising benefits 27% compared to without pandemic-era increases.

Llobrera found that overall food hardship, as measured by the Household Pulse Survey, dropped between December 2020 and January 2021 then dropped again in mid-March 2021 and once again in mid-July - the latter coinciding with the rollout of the expanded child tax credit. At the same time, Llobrera said food hardship among households without children stayed flat or worsened.

After dropping to a low of 9.5% during the summer of 2021, the percent of households with children who didn't get enough to eat crept back up to 11.8% by October, the most recent month for which data was available.

While Llobrera is still trying to understand the full impact of these programs, he said, "Even with the data that we have, it's shown ... overall poverty rates, food insecurity rates, those would be so much higher, and hardship would have been so much worse, had those resources not been made available to households that were impacted by the pandemic."

What's Happening Now - and What's Next?

In recent months, the U.S. has seen rising inflation, as well as consumer prices in November reaching their largest 12-month increase since 1982.

Unless the benefits people receive are adjusted for inflation, their "antipoverty effects are going to be eroded," said Acs of the Urban Institute.

Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, director of Northwestern University's Institute for Policy Research, has observed food-hardship rates creeping back up and said it could be partially attributed to rising food prices.

"Of course, low-income families have less slack in their budget. They spend a higher share of their total income on necessities," she said. "So then, of course, when there are increases in prices of necessities, that harms them disproportionately."
Read more: Catching Up With 2 of the Kids From 'Poor Kids'
In addition, several of the pandemic-era measures that helped keep people out of poverty over the last two years were either finite (like the stimulus checks), have since expired (like expanded unemployment benefits and the 15% increase in SNAP benefits) or have no guarantee they will continue (like the expanded child tax credit).

"We basically see the fortunes of families sort of rise and fall with the timeline of when policies are in place and when they expire," Columbia's Curran said. "All of these income supports have just been so critical to keeping families afloat."

The Columbia researchers predicted that, unless the expanded child tax credit is renewed, signs of increasing child poverty could start to show up in January 2022.

Acs said several factors could impact poverty overall in 2022. If employment goes up, poverty could go down. Or the end of pandemic-era programs could mean higher poverty, and if inflation continues to rise, poverty could be higher still.

"The crisis made us put all these things in place that many people have been calling for for a long time," Curran said. "But I think it also showed us that when they were in place, they really worked. And so, I think the lesson that policymakers can take away from this is that we have the tools to keep poverty much lower than it has been for the past half a century," she said.

"It's just actually a question of: Are we willing to make this commitment on a more permanent basis?"

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What Happened to Poverty in America in 2021

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When it comes to tracking how poverty impacts American families, and especially children, estimates for 2021 reveal something noteworthy. Pandemic-era benefits may have helped drive poverty in 2021 lower than in 2020, according to researchers at Columbia University's Center on Poverty & Social Policy and at the nonprofit Urban Institute.

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Racism - people discriminating each other because they're different 

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Racism - people discriminating each other because they're different 

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Immigrants can sometimes have less income. In the article it states "The jobs that many immigrants without documentation hold are less stable and less likely to pay at
least minimum wage."

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christopher m

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"It's pretty much shoot on sight when they see the opposition."
- Sgt. Jeffrey Liu
FOX 5 NY's Lisa Evers was embedded with an elite group of NYPD detectives as they took down two violent warring gangs accused of murders and violent shootings.

The long-term investigation began with the murder of a promising team basketball player. Now, nearly four years later, NYPD detectives say they have dismantled two rival gangs who terrorized South Jamaica, Queens residents with reckless gunfire, using drill music videos and social media to fuel the beef.

We got an exclusive look at their focused methods, very different from the wide-net gang sweeps of the past.

Some of the more than 30 suspects were already behind bars in state prison and on Rikers Island for other crimes.

They were brought into the 111th Precinct in New York City to be charged in the major gang conspiracy case. One suspect even cursed at our camera.

So serious were the safety concerns about the explosive rivalry between the crews - known as Money World and their opposition, or ops, the Local Trap Stars - that police booked them at separate precincts to keep their family members and associates separated when they showed up.

"It's pretty much shoot on sight when they see the opposition, and a lot of times, innocent people are caught in the middle of it," said Sgt. Jeffrey Liu, case supervisor of the NYPD's Gun Violence Suppression Division (GVSD).

It all began with one teen's murder

"This started in the Baisley Houses when Amir Griffin got shot and killed," explained Lt. Sean Finnegan, commanding officer of the 113th Precinct Detective Squad.

In October 2019, the 14-year-old Griffin, a Cardozo High School student athlete, was the unintended target of a shooting.

"That could've been my cousin, my nephews, and it's sad that it had to happen."
- Sgt. Calvin Fergus
He was killed on the basketball courts near his home. Sean Brown, 18, was arrested for the murder and is part of the case.

"That could have been me. That could've been my cousin, my nephews, and it's sad that it had to happen," said Sgt. Calvin Fergus, of the NYPD GVSD. "But today, we have justice for the family."

As detectives investigated, they found a connection to other shootings that were happening in South Jamaica. Some were in broad daylight, one even outside a high school.

Police say an escalating rivalry between the Money World and Local Trapstar gangs was responsible.

"When the shooting occurs, and there's a retaliation for that shooting, it goes back and forth," said Cpt. Ryan Gillis, of the NYPD GVSD. "It seems like they're never satisfied with the amount of violence they commit, and they're always trying to get one up on their opposition."

Gillis said the rivalry is over territory, not money or drugs. The hatred heated up through social media taunts and drill music videos, where they allegedly bragged about the shootings, the actual locations and even the calibers of guns used in incidents under investigation.

"The drill rap is always a motivator, and the drill rap is so specific that they mention people that have been killed in the past, and disrespect those people that have been killed in the past, and it creates a residual effect," Gillis continued.

The day of the takedown

Deputy Chief Jerry O'Sullivan explained the operation would involve members of the NYPD Detective Bureau, and two units in particular - Queens South Violent Crime Squad (VCS) and the Gun Violence Suppression Division (GVSD).

"We're going to move in there, tactically, we're going to take our time when we get into the location, and communicate, that's very important."
- Sgt. Mark Lewis
That day, the teams prepare by getting their assignments along with orders from the supervisors about how they're going to do this right and take the suspects into custody. Detectives from local precincts, as well as the Warrants, Homicide and Narcotics Unit, provide backup and are involved in the tactical - or "tac" - meeting to review strategy.

"Most of you guys know what your position is going to be on the team. We're going to move in there, tactically, we're going to take our time when we get into the location, and communicate, that's very important," says Sgt. Mark Lewis of the Queens Violent Crime Squad (VCS).

Before we head out, they ask me and my cameraman to take precautions too - providing bulletproof vests because many of the suspects they're going after have been pre-indicted on very serious gun charges. Some are actually accused of murder.

We head out onto the highway toward South Jamaica. We're part of an NYPD caravan, going to the various locations where detectives will apprehend in the suspects in this case.

At the raid scene, detectives are able to find the person they were looking for and take the suspect in custody. They were in the house, they came out; no shots were fired. The suspect was wanted for murder and is brought in to be booked. Another team returns with a suspect who wasn't part of the original case.

Police say he panicked and threw a gun out the window while the officers were looking for someone else.

The suspect even spit at our camera and cursed.

The NYPD says this case, like others in recent years, shows that when they do sharply focused investigations and take the most violent offenders off the streets, the surrounding communities experience a drop in gun violence.

"I'm happy we were able to deliver a clear message today that this won't be tolerated."
- Lt. Sean Finnegan
"These guys did horrific violence out on the streets of South Jamaica, so it's a victory for the community today that these guys are apprehended," said Fergus.

"Countless acts of violence, several homicides, non-fatal shootings, incidents of gunfire throughout the community, took its toll, and I'm happy we were able to deliver a clear message today that this won't be tolerated," agreed Finnegan.

All the suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty, but the NYPD said they have more than enough evidence to support the charges so that they will not be able to shoot anyone again for a very long time.

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Inside NYPD's dismantling and takedown of 2 violent Queens gangs

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"It's pretty much shoot on sight when they see the opposition." - Sgt. Jeffrey Liu FOX 5 NY's Lisa Evers was embedded with an elite group of NYPD detectives as they took down two violent warring gangs accused of murders and violent shootings. The long-term investigation began with the murder of a promising team basketball player.

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Aliyah Boston calls out 'racist comments' after South Carolina loss

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The Gamecocks' star senior addressed "hateful" comments about her team's physicality, including those that came online after the game.

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Racism Is Declared a Public Health Crisis in New York City

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Racism Is Declared a Public Health Crisis in New York City

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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/19/nyregion/nyc-racism-healthcare-system.html

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The Board of Health passed a resolution directing the Health Department to work toward a “racially just recovery” from the coronavirus pandemic.

Credit...Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times

Oct. 19, 2021

The New York City Board of Health declared racism a public health crisis on Monday, passing a resolution that directed the Health Department to take steps to ensure a “racially just recovery” from the coronavirus pandemic.

The resolution called on the department to work with other agencies to root out systemic racism within policies, plans and budgets on a wide range of matters that affect health, including land use, transportation and education. It also directed the department to improve data-collection practices and examine both the health code and its own history for structural bias.

Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, the department’s commissioner, is also one of the 11 medical experts who sit on its board. At the meeting on Monday, he noted that the board was founded amid epidemics of yellow fever, cholera and smallpox in the early 1800s. Advances in sanitation and understanding the links between environmental factors and health helped curb those diseases.

He drew a parallel to the current pandemic, and its outsize toll on communities of color.

“Why do some nonwhite populations develop severe disease and die from Covid-19 at higher rates than whites?” he said. “Underlying health conditions undoubtedly play a role. But why are there higher rates of hypertension, diabetes and obesity in communities of color? The answer does not lie in biology. Structural and environmental factors such as disinvestment, discrimination, and disinformation underlie a greater burden of these diseases in communities of color.”

He added, “The Covid-19 pandemic must render unacceptable that which has been condoned for generations.”

The department is one of the largest public health agencies in the world, and one of the oldest in the country. The members of its board, who are appointed by the mayor with the consent of the City Council, serve without pay and oversee the health code.

More than 200 similar declarations have been made by municipalities, health agencies and elected officials across the country, according to a database maintained by the American Public Health Association. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also called attention to how racism affects illness rates and life expectancy.

But the New York Health Department said its resolution was one of the first that was tied to specific directives. Those include making recommendations to the mayor’s Racial Justice Commission and establishing a Data for Equity working group, designed to ensure the department applies an “equity lens” to public health data and educates other agencies on how to do the same.

The resolution also called on the department to investigate its own role in “divesting and underinvesting in critical community-led health programs.”

Dr. Michelle Morse, chief medical officer and a deputy commissioner at the Health Department, called the resolution’s passage “a hopeful milestone,” but added that it was only one piece of a much larger puzzle.

She said that strategies like updating the city’s health code and investing in disadvantaged areas were key.

“One of the ways that racism is expressed at a policy level is inaction in the face of need,” she said.

The resolution builds on a statement the department released in June 2020, amid widespread protests after the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. The statement vowed to address racism “as a social determinant of health as part of our mission to protect the health of New Yorkers.”

Dr. Kitaw Demissie, dean of the School of Public Health at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, welcomed the resolution as a good start.

“I like the idea, that they’re focusing on this issue,” he said. “Now the most important thing is to see its implementation, to see the investment, and to see the changes that are going to come.”

He said the stark differences in disease and death rates seen during the pandemic brought attention to longstanding inequities.

“Covid-19 was like a magnifying glass for us to see what has already been in existence for a long time,” he said. “Racial/ethnic disparities in health have been a pandemic.”

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Racism Is Declared a Public Health Crisis in New York City

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The Board of Health passed a resolution directing the Health Department to work toward a “racially just recovery” from the coronavirus pandemic.

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Although gun violence has decreased to historically low levels in recent years, it remains a pervasive issue in small pockets of neighborhoods around New York City. The data shows that a limited number of communities have accounted for roughly 50% of NYC's shooting incidents.

Traditionally, public safety within predominantly Black and Latino communities has been viewed solely as the responsibility of law enforcement partners. However, this strategy fails to address the continued social and economic disparities faced by members of these communities that are significant contributors to the violence they experience. Under the de Blasio administration, there has been an acknowledgment of these facts that have resulted in a shift to include and value more community-based and led approaches to the co-production of public safety efforts.

Research has shown that when individuals closest to the issues are an integral part of the development and implementation of solutions, legitimacy and sustained norm change is possible. Through the de Blasio administration's investment in the data-driven, community-based strategies, these facts continue to be affirmed through the Office to Prevent Gun Violence (OPGV).
OPGV's goals include:

coordinating the City's various anti-gun violence initiatives,

amplifying community-based intervention and prevention services, and

introducing technological solutions to prevent gun violence to create safe, empowered, and interconnected communities in New York City

OPGV's mission is to transform the government's approach to justice by supporting vibrant communities where residents are empowered to co-create public safety. OPGV accomplishes this using a multitude of different strategies, some of which include the following.

OPGV serves as a coordinating office, linking City initiatives, community-based non-profit organizations, and everyday New Yorkers in partnership to creating When compared to traditional municipal government, OPGV's operation is unique as the office redefines community engagement and prioritizes true partnership with the people and organizations most affected by gun violence remains at the center of OPGV's approach.

In 2014, the NYC Council and the de Blasio administration launched the NYC Crisis Management System (CMS). This initiative simultaneously operates across 22 communities citywide in neighborhoods significantly impacted by gun violence and provides violence intervention and support systems. CMS consists of more than 50 community-based organizations providing various services to support those at the highest risk.

OPGV ensures community-developed and led solutions and amplifies the voice, strength, and power that lies within. The programs and initiatives that highlight these efforts include:

Public Safety Coalitions (PSCs) operate in both East Flatbush and Bushwick, serving as liaisons between the police and community residents by increasing the number of voices promoting healthy neighborhoods while minimizing crime and reviving activism within the community. The coalitions are currently being used as a model to promote safety and address issues within other communities across the City.

Safe in the City Grants offer funding opportunities designed to support community-based actions and activities to make neighborhoods safer. In addition to funding, applicants receive best practices and strategies from the OPGV Public Safety Toolkit, further empowering them to employ prevention, intervention, and trauma response methods while amplifying the voice of the community to stand against violence and promote healthy, vibrant neighborhoods.

OPGV's six Mobile Trauma Units (MTU) provide immediate trauma responses and connections to resources in real-time across the City. The objective is to reduce and prevent shooting incidents and other acts of violence through swift, coordinated responses to immediate crisis incidents. Just as importantly, the MTU's are a source of positive and peaceful energy while providing essential resources to the communities they serve.

The Gun Violence Survivors Advisory Council is an integral component of enhancing the city's response for gun violence survivors and their families. The council, which partners with OPGV, is comprised of gun violence survivors and advocates. Council members assist fellow survivors during the most challenging moments of their lives, providing recommendations to government agencies and community-based organization to ensure access and quality services for those most impacted by acts of gun violence.

OPGV currently focuses its programs and initiatives in the following communities:
Visit the OPGV website to access more resources and information on its various initiatives.

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Although gun violence has decreased to historically low levels in recent years, it remains a pervasive issue in small pockets of neighborhoods around New York City. The data shows that a limited number of communities have accounted for roughly 50% of NYC's shooting incidents.

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Not too long ago, my family's food order was delivered to the wrong address. Same numbers - but a different street. My 12-year-old son volunteered to go around the corner to pick up the food from our neighbor's porch. As soon as he walked out of the door, I stopped breathing. After I didn't see him coming around the corner after being gone for less than a minute my heart started racing. With sweaty palms, I grabbed my keys and got in the car to go find him. I didn't exhale until I saw him walking down the street with two boxes of pizza without a care in the world. He was so confused as to why I was in the car.

"Mom ... I just went around the corner, what's wrong?"

I stared at my son, looking at the locs in his hair and the skin that was darker than any of his friends' in the neighborhood and I lied and said, "Nothing's wrong. I was just really hungry." We started laughing and went back to the house. Yesterday he learned about Ralph Yarl. Now he knows the truth.

On April 16, a 16-year-old boy was shot and wounded by a homeowner after he went to the wrong home to pick up his siblings in Kansas City, Missouri, police said. Ralph Yarl was "shot twice and struck in the head and arm," his family's attorney said in a statement. Protestors took to the streets in Missouri following the incident, chanting "justice for Ralph" and "Black lives matter." They carried signs reading, "Ringing a doorbell is not a crime" and "The shooter should do the time."

The homeowner was taken into custody and placed on a 24-hour hold. They were later released while police work to get a victim statement and gather more forensic evidence.

Additionally this week, an Ohio grand jury declined to indict eight police officers who fired multiple rounds in the 2022 shooting death of Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Black man, the state's attorney general announced April 17. The Attorney General's office said the officers were under threat because Walker had fired a gunshot at them during a car and foot chase.

Walker's death last June sparked protests in Akron, Ohio after police released body camera footage showing him dying in a slew of gunfire. Police said Walker refused to stop when they tried to pull him over for minor equipment and traffic violations and fired a shot from his car 40 seconds into the pursuit.

Walker's death received attention from activists, including from the family of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The NAACP and Walker's family attorney called on the Justice Department to open a federal civil rights investigation.

Earlier this year, three men who were sentenced to life in prison for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery were also found guilty of federal hate crimes. The father and son who armed themselves and initiated the pursuit were denied any chance of parole. The life sentences were announced after Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty in the fatal shooting of two men during protests in Kenosha in 2020.

George Floyd's dying under Derek Chauvin's knee led to the biggest outcry against racial injustice in the U.S. in generations. People across the country continue to call for justice in the killings of Daunte Wright, Rayshard Brooks, Daniel Prude, Breonna Taylor and many others. The case of the three white men accused of killing Arbery while he was jogging last year in Georgia drew national attention as well. Some states have been actively updating their policing protocols over the past year but the growing list of deaths is evident that, as a country, we still have a long way to go.

We're continuing our commitment to highlight content that will continue the conversation, add historical context to these issues and enable change. Below you will find programs that profile police departments, specials that detail conversations parents of color have with their children, documentaries that cover the treatment of African Americans since slavery and films that shed light on both past and current civil rights activism.

These offerings are resources for everyone, regardless of race, to educate themselves on all of the ways inequality in America shows up in everyday life. We will update this page as programs become available for streaming online and on the PBS Video App. Check local listings for broadcast times.

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Explore films and new specials focused on race.

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Jadiel-What New York’s Trash Reveals About Life Under Lockdown

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Jadiel-What New York’s Trash Reveals About Life Under Lockdown

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What New York’s Trash Reveals About Life Under Lockdown (Published 2020)

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New Yorkers seem to be drinking more at home. But they’re also being productive, decluttering and gardening during the pandemic.

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 Comunidad de Queens se queja de basura acumulada en las calles

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 Comunidad de Queens se queja de basura acumulada en las calles

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Noticias Univision 41 realizó un recorrido por las calles del condado, donde vendedores ambulantes y miembros de la comunidad se culpan mutuamente del problema de la basura y la suciedad en sus vecindarios.

10 Nov 2020 - 08:47 PM EST

CORONA, Queens. -- Durante los meses de pandemia Noticias Univision 41 ha estado cubriendo una queja recurrente en varios vecindarios hispanos de la Gran Manzana: la acumulación de basura y la suciedad en las calles, así como los problemas de recolección por parte de las autoridades.

"¡La gente hace lo que le parezca!" dijo un residente de Queens sobre la acumulación de basura en su vecindario.

Noticias Univision 41 habló con los vendedores ambulantes de la zona, quienes dicen que la basura que se acumula en las esquinas no es de ellos.

"¿Qué estás haciendo con los desechos? Nosotros los llevamos para nuestras casas para votar ahí en el basurero de nosotros mismos", dijo Janeth Zamora, una vendedora de Queens.

Sin embargo, un líder comunitario de la zona duda de los vendedores ambulantes.

"Ellos lo que hacen es agarrar la basura y ponerla en la esquina mira y cómo está ahí de basura", aseguró Mauricio Zamora.

Los residentes de Corona Plaza en especial se quejan por el desorden y la basura, que permea en cada esquina.

"Todo es un desorden dejan su basura por donde quiera está tirado sucio ya no respetan", dijo Marlene Velasco, una residente de Corona.

Por otra parte, la señora Rosa Peralta, comenta que la basura viene de todos lados: de vecinos, negocios, vendedores y transeúntes.

"Es una realidad que nadie coopera, todos botamos [basura], entonces si todos cooperamos estuviera un poquito mejor pero como no hay cooperación de parte de todos", dijo Peralta.

Para los residentes de la zona, este es un problema más profundo que involucra también a las autoridades.

"Aquí se sabe cuál político llegó y le dijo a la gente que podían vender. Yo estoy de acuerdo en ayudarle a una persona, está bien, pero no que se domina la acera y aparte que tienen toda la basura aquí en el área", dijo Zamora.

Otro de los problemas en este sector es la proliferación de ratas, según dicen, por qué se vierten grandes cantidades de aceite utilizado para cocinar, llenando los sistemas de aguas de las lluvias de grasa.

Algunos vecinos han tomado la iniciativa y han comenzado adoptar a limpiar zonas diariamente.

"Adoptamos este tarro de basura. Nos dieron las bolsas nos dieron todo para mantener esto aquí para que nadie traiga basura de otro lado sino sólo la basura de aquí", dice Zamora, quien invita a otros vecinos a replicar la iniciativa. q

"Aquí vamos a estar 24/7 con las bolsas dando mantenimiento. La idea es que toda la comunidad se ponga de acuerdo para que esto sea una limpieza entre todos", dijo Zamora.

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Basura acumulada en las calles de Queens, una queja recurrente de la comunidad

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Noticias Univision 41 realizó un recorrido por las calles del condado, donde vendedores ambulantes y miembros de la comunidad se culpan mutuamente del problema de la basura y la suciedad en sus vecindarios. 10 Nov 2020 - 08:47 PM EST CORONA, Queens.

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Times Square Killing Tests New York’s Push to Curb Gun Violence

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The fatal shooting was the first since the area was designated a “gun-free zone” in response to a Supreme Court ruling striking down the state’s firearms law.

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https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2022/03/22/trash-city-new-york-is-filthy-and-the-fault-is-government-inertia/ trash city

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TRASH CITY: Here’s Why New York is So Filthy

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The city has been talking about garbage for decades, yet we still send far too much to landfills and leave far too many garbage bags on the sidewalk every afternoon.

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More Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2021 than in any other year on record, according to the latest available statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That included record numbers of both gun murders and gun suicides. Despite the increase in such fatalities, the rate of gun deaths - a statistic that accounts for the nation's growing population - remained below the levels of earlier decades.

Here's a closer look at gun deaths in the United States, based on a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the CDC, the FBI and other sources. You can also read key public opinion findings about U.S. gun violence and gun policy.

In 2021, the most recent year for which complete data is available, 48,830 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S., according to the CDC. That figure includes gun murders and gun suicides, along with three less common types of gun-related deaths tracked by the CDC: those that were accidental, those that involved law enforcement and those whose circumstances could not be determined. The total excludes deaths in which gunshot injuries played a contributing, but not principal, role. (CDC fatality statistics are based on information contained in official death certificates, which identify a single cause of death.)

Though they tend to get less public attention than gun-related murders, suicides have long accounted for the majority of U.S. gun deaths. In 2021, 54% of all gun-related deaths in the U.S. were suicides (26,328), while 43% were murders (20,958), according to the CDC. The remaining gun deaths that year were accidental (549), involved law enforcement (537) or had undetermined circumstances (458).

About eight-in-ten U.S. murders in 2021 - 20,958 out of 26,031, or 81% - involved a firearm. That marked the highest percentage since at least 1968, the earliest year for which the CDC has online records. More than half of all suicides in 2021 - 26,328 out of 48,183, or 55% - also involved a gun, the highest percentage since 2001.

How has the number of U.S. gun deaths changed over time?

The record 48,830 total gun deaths in 2021 reflect a 23% increase since 2019, before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Gun murders, in particular, have climbed sharply during the pandemic, increasing 45% between 2019 and 2021, while the number of gun suicides rose 10% during that span.

The overall increase in U.S. gun deaths since the beginning of the pandemic includes an especially stark rise in such fatalities among children and teens under the age of 18. Gun deaths among children and teens rose 50% in just two years, from 1,732 in 2019 to 2,590 in 2021.

How has the rate of U.S. gun deaths changed over time?

While 2021 saw the highest total number of gun deaths in the U.S., this statistic does not take into account the nation's growing population. On a per capita basis, there were 14.6 gun deaths per 100,000 people in 2021 - the highest rate since the early 1990s, but still well below the peak of 16.3 gun deaths per 100,000 people in 1974.

The gun murder rate in the U.S. remains below its peak level despite rising sharply during the pandemic. There were 6.7 gun murders per 100,000 people in 2021, below the 7.2 recorded in 1974.

The gun suicide rate, on the other hand, is now on par with its historical peak. There were 7.5 gun suicides per 100,000 people in 2021, statistically similar to the 7.7 measured in 1977. (One caveat when considering the 1970s figures: In the CDC's database, gun murders and gun suicides between 1968 and 1978 are classified as those caused by firearms and explosives. In subsequent years, they are classified as deaths involving firearms only.)

Which states have the highest and lowest gun death rates in the U.S.?

The rate of gun fatalities varies widely from state to state. In 2021, the states with the highest total rates of gun-related deaths - counting murders, suicides and all other categories tracked by the CDC - included Mississippi (33.9 per 100,000 people), Louisiana (29.1), New Mexico (27.8), Alabama (26.4) and Wyoming (26.1). The states with the lowest total rates included Massachusetts (3.4), Hawaii (4.8), New Jersey (5.2), New York (5.4) and Rhode Island (5.6).

The results are somewhat different when looking at gun murder and gun suicide rates separately. The places with the highest gun murder rates in 2021 included the District of Columbia (22.3 per 100,000 people), Mississippi (21.2), Louisiana (18.4), Alabama (13.9) and New Mexico (11.7). Those with the lowest gun murder rates included Massachusetts (1.5), Idaho (1.5), Hawaii (1.6), Utah (2.1) and Iowa (2.2). Rate estimates are not available for Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont or Wyoming.

The states with the highest gun suicide rates in 2021 included Wyoming (22.8 per 100,000 people), Montana (21.1), Alaska (19.9), New Mexico (13.9) and Oklahoma (13.7). The states with the lowest gun suicide rates were Massachusetts (1.7), New Jersey (1.9), New York (2.0), Hawaii (2.8) and Connecticut (2.9). Rate estimates are not available for the District of Columbia.

How does the gun death rate in the U.S. compare with other countries?

The gun death rate in the U.S. is much higher than in most other nations, particularly developed nations. But it is still far below the rates in several Latin American countries, according to a 2018 study of 195 countries and territories by researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

The U.S. gun death rate was 10.6 per 100,000 people in 2016, the most recent year in the study, which used a somewhat different methodology from the CDC. That was far higher than in countries such as Canada (2.1 per 100,000) and Australia (1.0), as well as European nations such as France (2.7), Germany (0.9) and Spain (0.6). But the rate in the U.S. was much lower than in El Salvador (39.2 per 100,000 people), Venezuela (38.7), Guatemala (32.3), Colombia (25.9) and Honduras (22.5), the study found. Overall, the U.S. ranked 20th in its gun fatality rate that year.

How many people are killed in mass shootings in the U.S. every year?

This is a difficult question to answer because there is no single, agreed-upon definition of the term "mass shooting." Definitions can vary depending on factors including the number of victims and the circumstances of the shooting.

The FBI collects data on "active shooter incidents," which it defines as "one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area." Using the FBI's definition, 103 people - excluding the shooters - died in such incidents in 2021.

The Gun Violence Archive, an online database of gun violence incidents in the U.S., defines mass shootings as incidents in which four or more people are shot, even if no one was killed (again excluding the shooters). Using this definition, 706 people died in these incidents in 2021.

Regardless of the definition being used, fatalities in mass shooting incidents in the U.S. account for a small fraction of all gun murders that occur nationwide each year.

How has the number of mass shootings in the U.S. changed over time?

The same definitional issue that makes it challenging to calculate mass shooting fatalities comes into play when trying to determine the frequency of U.S. mass shootings over time. The unpredictability of these incidents also complicates matters: As Rand Corp. noted in a research brief, "Chance variability in the annual number of mass shooting incidents makes it challenging to discern a clear trend, and trend estimates will be sensitive to outliers and to the time frame chosen for analysis."

The FBI found an increase in active shooter incidents between 2000 and 2021. There were three such incidents in 2000. By 2021, that figure had increased to 61.

Which types of firearms are most commonly used in gun murders in the U.S.?

In 2020, the most recent year for which the FBI has published data, handguns were involved in 59% of the 13,620 U.S. gun murders and non-negligent manslaughters for which data is available. Rifles - the category that includes guns sometimes referred to as "assault weapons" - were involved in 3% of firearm murders. Shotguns were involved in 1%. The remainder of gun homicides and non-negligent manslaughters (36%) involved other kinds of firearms or those classified as "type not stated."

It's important to note that the FBI's statistics do not capture the details on all gun murders in the U.S. each year. The FBI's data is based on information voluntarily submitted by police departments around the country, and not all agencies participate or provide complete information each year.
Note: This is an update of a post originally published on Aug. 16, 2019.

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What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S.

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More Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2021 than in any other year on record, according to the latest available statistics from the CDC.

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What New York’s Trash Reveals About Life Under Lockdown

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What New York’s Trash Reveals About Life Under Lockdown

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What New York’s Trash Reveals About Life Under Lockdown (Published 2020)

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New Yorkers seem to be drinking more at home. But they’re also being productive, decluttering and gardening during the pandemic.

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The Board of Health passed a resolution directing the Health Department to work toward a “racially just recovery” from the coronavirus pandemic.

Credit...Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times

Oct. 19, 2021

The New York City Board of Health declared racism a public health crisis on Monday, passing a resolution that directed the Health Department to take steps to ensure a “racially just recovery” from the coronavirus pandemic.

The resolution called on the department to work with other agencies to root out systemic racism within policies, plans and budgets on a wide range of matters that affect health, including land use, transportation and education. It also directed the department to improve data-collection practices and examine both the health code and its own history for structural bias.

Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, the department’s commissioner, is also one of the 11 medical experts who sit on its board. At the meeting on Monday, he noted that the board was founded amid epidemics of yellow fever, cholera and smallpox in the early 1800s. Advances in sanitation and understanding the links between environmental factors and health helped curb those diseases.

He drew a parallel to the current pandemic, and its outsize toll on communities of color.

“Why do some nonwhite populations develop severe disease and die from Covid-19 at higher rates than whites?” he said. “Underlying health conditions undoubtedly play a role. But why are there higher rates of hypertension, diabetes and obesity in communities of color? The answer does not lie in biology. Structural and environmental factors such as disinvestment, discrimination, and disinformation underlie a greater burden of these diseases in communities of color.”

He added, “The Covid-19 pandemic must render unacceptable that which has been condoned for generations.”

The department is one of the largest public health agencies in the world, and one of the oldest in the country. The members of its board, who are appointed by the mayor with the consent of the City Council, serve without pay and oversee the health code.

More than 200 similar declarations have been made by municipalities, health agencies and elected officials across the country, according to a database maintained by the American Public Health Association. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also called attention to how racism affects illness rates and life expectancy.

But the New York Health Department said its resolution was one of the first that was tied to specific directives. Those include making recommendations to the mayor’s Racial Justice Commission and establishing a Data for Equity working group, designed to ensure the department applies an “equity lens” to public health data and educates other agencies on how to do the same.

The resolution also called on the department to investigate its own role in “divesting and underinvesting in critical community-led health programs.”

Dr. Michelle Morse, chief medical officer and a deputy commissioner at the Health Department, called the resolution’s passage “a hopeful milestone,” but added that it was only one piece of a much larger puzzle.

She said that strategies like updating the city’s health code and investing in disadvantaged areas were key.

“One of the ways that racism is expressed at a policy level is inaction in the face of need,” she said.

The resolution builds on a statement the department released in June 2020, amid widespread protests after the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. The statement vowed to address racism “as a social determinant of health as part of our mission to protect the health of New Yorkers.”

Dr. Kitaw Demissie, dean of the School of Public Health at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, welcomed the resolution as a good start.

“I like the idea, that they’re focusing on this issue,” he said. “Now the most important thing is to see its implementation, to see the investment, and to see the changes that are going to come.”

He said the stark differences in disease and death rates seen during the pandemic brought attention to longstanding inequities.

“Covid-19 was like a magnifying glass for us to see what has already been in existence for a long time,” he said. “Racial/ethnic disparities in health have been a pandemic.”

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Racism Is Declared a Public Health Crisis in New York City

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The Board of Health passed a resolution directing the Health Department to work toward a “racially just recovery” from the coronavirus pandemic.

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We're holding people accountable for carrying guns. Gun violence spiked across the country during the pandemic, including here in Manhattan, and we're meeting the moment by zeroing in on drivers of violence with our gun prosecutions. We also meet daily with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies through the Gun Violence Strategic Partnership to share information and focus resources on the most prolific drivers of violence.
Notable cases:

May 2022: We indicted a man for fatally shooting 48-year-old Daniel Enriquez inside a Manhattan-bound Q train in an unprovoked flash of violence that shocked our city.

August 2022: We charged ten members of the Own Every Dollar ("OED") criminal enterprise connected to a murder, attempted murder, and a string of violent armed robberies and shootings from Spring 2021 to Spring 2022 in Washington Heights, Midtown, the Lower East Side, and the Bronx.

October 2022: We later indicted an additional seven OED associates for orchestrating a string of gunpoint robberies in Upper Manhattan. In a parallel investigation, the Southern District of New York also unsealed federal RICO charges.

Almost every gun used in violent crime in Manhattan was trafficked here illegally from a state with weak gun laws. D.A. Bragg increased resources for gun trafficking enforcement, working closely with the NYPD and our federal partners. We'll continue to target those who flood our neighborhoods with deadly weapons.
Notable cases:

June 2022: In just one week, we indicted two separate, unrelated gun traffickers for trafficking guns from North Carolina to New York City. Combined, the men trafficked 52 guns into Manhattan and sold them to undercover NYPD officers.

D.A. Bragg is leading the fight against the new plague of "ghost guns," firearms that are assembled from untraceable parts that can be ordered online. In partnership with the NYPD, we are increasing enforcement efforts, using wiretaps and undercover operations to make our city safe.

Notable cases:

May 2022: Francisco Martinez was sentenced to 5 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree for manufacturing eight operable, untraceable ghost guns in his Hamilton Heights apartment using component parts ordered online.

May 2022: Alongside the Brooklyn D.A.'s Office, we indicted a man who illegally purchased and possessed a $20,000 arsenal of ghost gun parts, including more than 30 frames and receivers, nearly 300 high-capacity magazines, and related gear from online retailers.

October 2022: We indicted a man who manufactured multiple ghost guns - including assault weapons - in his Lower East Side apartment. In total, he is charged with purchasing at least 55 ghost gun parts worth more than $7,000, including a fully automated machine that can manufacture ghost guns with the touch of a button.

Our ultimate goal is to prevent gun violence from happening in the first place by supporting and investing in community-based organizations doing the boots-on-the-ground work. Our Community Partnerships Unit also offers Gun Violence Prevention presentations to reduce gun violence and strengthen community bonds.

New York State received a setback in getting guns off our streets when, in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, the United States Supreme Court overturned an important aspect of our gun licensing law which had been on the books for over 100 years. In response to this decision, we worked closely with the New York State legislature to draft a new gun licensing law, which took effect September 1, 2022. D.A. Bragg has taken the lead in educating New Yorkers about what the decision and the new law means for them, and crucially, fighting to uphold our existing gun laws in our courts.

In early 2023, we filed two amicus briefs in support of essential gun violence prevention laws. The first, NSSF v James, was filed in support of Senator Zellnor Myrie's legislation to hold members of the gun industry accountable for business practices that drive the trafficking of illegal guns. The second, Antonyuk v Nigrell - which was joined by the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens District Attorneys - was submitted in ongoing litigation over the Concealed Carry Improvement Act. "We prosecute gun cases in court every day, and litigation is another important avenue we are utilizing to protect our state's tough gun laws," said D.A. Bragg.

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Prosecuting Drivers of Violence We're holding people accountable for carrying guns. Gun violence spiked across the country during the pandemic, including here in Manhattan, and we're meeting the moment by zeroing in on drivers of violence with our gun prosecutions. We also meet daily with local, st

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Jadiel-Queens BP announces new trash initiative at Corona Plaza to help make vendor space more appealing to visitors

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Jadiel-Queens BP announces new trash initiative at Corona Plaza to help make vendor space more appealing to visitors

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Queens BP announces new trash initiative at Corona Plaza to help make vendor space more appealing to visitors - Jackson Heights Post

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March 29, 2023 By Bill Parry As the number of street vendors using Corona Plaza to earn a living has exploded since the neighborhood was devastated during

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 la bazura puede afecta mucho a los inmigrantes porque a puede generar afectar la salud de la población debido a la proliferación de roedores, mosca ratones y otras cosas mas. WERLIN R.

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 la bazura puede afecta mucho a los inmigrantes porque a puede generar afectar la salud de la población debido a la proliferación de roedores, mosca ratones y otras cosas mas. WERLIN R.

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An overflowing trash can in New York Stock Photo - Alamy

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Download this stock image: An overflowing trash can in New York - B47N4A from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors.

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You can use this site just like you would use google. However, it helps filter out all the spam. Reliability - 5

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SweetSearch - A Search Engine for Students

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A search engine for students that emphasizes high quality resources evaluated and approved by educators, librarians and research experts.

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¿POR QUÉ está sucediendo nuestro problema? ¿Por qué es esto un problema?

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¿POR QUÉ está sucediendo nuestro problema? ¿Por qué es esto un problema?

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¿CÓMO se podría ayudar o resolver nuestro problema? ¿Dónde está ocurriendo este problema?

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¿CÓMO se podría ayudar o resolver nuestro problema? ¿Dónde está ocurriendo este problema?

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¿QUÉ está pasando con nuestro problema? ¿Cuál es el problema en el que nos estamos enfocando?

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¿QUIÉN está involucrado en este tema? ¿Sobre quién están investigando?

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¿QUIÉN está involucrado en este tema? ¿Sobre quién están investigando?