Happy Thanksgiving 2010

Watch live video from king_heis on Justin.tv

Looking for serious funding for next M&A reunion concert

Looking for serious funding, sponsors,product and $$ investors for the Next
reunion concert, we need to secure our choir directors, music director,marketing, admin fees,musicians, rehearsal space,rental of venue space,insurance liability bond and or one day certificate. Call (917) 651-3803

GO OUT LIKE A MAN,BOW OUT GRACEFULLY!!

WATCH ADAM CLAYTON POWELL IV DISCUSSES CHARLIE RANGEL'S ETHICS VIOLATIONS

As the New York City mosque controversy continues to brew, Harlem congressional candidate Adam Clayton Powell IV makes his position firm in this MSNBC appearance. He believes disallowing the mosque is the equivalent of racial profiling.

Powell IV says, "Controversy assumes that there is something wrong with the Muslim religion or something tainted about the Muslim religion. We have terrorists in every religion," he continues.

He believes a more pressing matter for the Democratic party is the Charlie Rangel ethics scandal.

When asked if he believes that Rangel (his Democratic primary opponent) is doing a disservice to New Yorkers, by refusing to step aside, Powell IV responds by calling Rangel's actions "selfish" and alludes to the fact that the entire congressional district is being dragged through Charlie Rangel's issues.

"We fear that we may lose in November, the house, we may lose the Senate, and partly as a result of all these ethical violations that are swirling around Congressman Rangel. So we are asking him to do the right thing--to step down and leave with some dignity."

*

Michael Jordan’s Father’s Murder Prosecution Tainted By Flaws

The government-ordered inquest by two former FBI officials found that agents of the State Bureau of Investigation repeatedly aided prosecutors in obtaining convictions over a 16-year period, mostly by misrepresenting blood evidence and keeping critical notes from defense attorneys. The Associated Press obtained the review of blood evidence in cases from 1987 to 2003 in advance of the report’s release.

It calls for a thorough examination of 190 criminal cases, stating that, at times, “information that may have been material and even favorable to the defense of an accused defendant was withheld or misrepresented.”

The report does not conclude that any innocent people were convicted, noting the evidence wasn’t always used at trials and defendants may have admitted to crimes. But it states prosecutors and defense lawyers need to check whether tainted lab reports helped lead to confessions or pleas.

Attorney General Roy Cooper ordered the review in March after an SBI agent testified the crime lab once had a policy of excluding complete blood test results from reports offered to defense lawyers before trials. The existence of the policy was later confirmed by a former SBI director. Agent Duane Deaver’s testimony led to the exoneration of a murder convict imprisoned nearly 17 years.

The review by Chris Swecker and Mike Wolf, two former assistant directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, found 230 cases in which eight SBI analysts filed reports that, at best, were incomplete. Of those, 190 resulted in criminal charges and should be reviewed.

DEATH THREATS FOR CLEF WE MUST PRAY!!!!

Singer Wyclef Jean says he is in "hiding" after receiving death threats since announcing his plans to run for president of Haiti.

Jean told The Associated Press he had received a series of warnings, including a phone call telling him to "get out of Haiti".

The singer's plans have stirred controversy in the Caribbean country with his ex-bandmate Pras Michel and actor Sean Penn among those criticising his bid.

Haiti's electoral commission has also postponed its ruling on who will be allowed to run for president until 20 August.
Delayed announcement

The commission have said they need more time to consider the applications of those who want to run.

There is a question mark over whether Jean qualifies to run for president under Haitian laws which stipulate a candidate must have lived in the country for five consecutive years. Jean has not.

Before the deadline on 8 August, more than 30 people had filed to run for president of the country.

Haiti is still struggling to recover from January's earthquake which left over 250,000 dead.

Since officially announcing his intentions Wyclef's bid has been criticised by his ex-Fugees bandmate Pras Michel.

He said: "I want to make it unequivocally clear I love Wyclef to def [sic] but he's not [qualified] to be the leader of the new Haiti.

"Wyclef's patriotism for Haiti is unwavering but still isn't suited to prez [sic] of new Haiti!"

Haiti's presidential elections are due to take place on 28 November.

2ND CHANCE EL DEBARGE

Lil Momma Spoof This video received over 1 million hits, go Dominique!!!

The Official Brakdown!!!Clap your hand NYC if your with me!!!

I love this video and Alicia Keys congrats on your marriage and new baby!!!

This is the first time in 30 yrs that we performed this song, an Ode to Desi, Delphia Shipman killed this now this is talent for you!!!! M&A for life!

Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) 1996 Interview part 2 of 5

Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) 1996 Interview part 1 of 5

I simply love these 2 ladies,self explanitory!!

First Lady’s Popularity Plummets After Spain Trip???Please if she was Nancy Reagan No one would care!!!

Michelle Obama probably won’t be vacationing in Spain again anytime soon.

The First Lady’s approval rating has plummeted following her highly-criticized, luxurious Mediterranean vacation with her 9-year-old daughter, a new poll finds.

According to the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, just 50% have a positive impression of her — compared to 64% who answered favorably in a similar April 2009 poll.

Michelle Obama returned from the shopping and sightseeing trip on Sunday with daughter Sasha and a few close friends. She has been disparaged by critics and pundits for staying in the ritzy Costa del Sol in a hotel that has rooms costing up to $2,500 per night.

Even though White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the Obamas paid for their personal expenses, Obama has been described as a “modern-day Marie Antoinette” for taking such an expensive trip while so many Americans are pinching pennies.

****The Editors personal Note: That is a dayum shame!!! If Michelle was Nancy or Hillary or any other first lady NO ONE WOULD CARE!!!****

Ronald “Boobie” McIntyre jumped from a third-story window to elude an arrest warrant for unpaid child support

A Chicago man broke both his legs after he jumped from a third-story window to elude an arrest warrant for unpaid child support, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office.

Ronald “Boobie” McIntyre, 35, of the 1300 block of North Hudson Avenue was wanted for failing to pay $5,979.66 in court-ordered support for his children. Court records show he has been arrested 14 times and has 80 criminal convictions unrelated to his warrant, according to the sheriff’s office.

Blagojevich Found Guilty Of Corruption; Faces 1 To 5 Years

Blagojevich guilty.

Jurors in the corruption trial against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich reached a verdict on Tuesday, the court’s clerk said, two weeks after they began deliberating.

It was not immediately known what the verdict said, and attorneys and defendants were gathering in the courtroom.

Blagojevich adjusted his tie and held his wife, Patti’s hand as he arrived at the courthouse. Stepping off the elevator, he asked spectators to “say a prayer for us.” His brother, Robert, arrived a few minutes later, as did U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

Earlier Tuesday, the jurors asked Judge James B. Zagel how they should mark the verdict form if they can’t reach a decision on a count. In the first part of the note, they also asked for a copy of the oath they took before deliberating.

Denzel Washington Wins Best Performance At Tony Awards

Denzel Washington, the star of “The Book of Eli” won Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his performance in “Fences”.

All of the winners at this year’s Tony Awards have been named with “Red” as the big winner on the biggest night for Broadway. Stealing the spotlight, however, was Hollywood star Denzel Washington. The two-time Academy Award winner took home his first Tony award after the Sunday night, June 13 ceremony (His Fences co-star, Viola Davis, also won).

R.I.P Robert Wilson of The Gap Band

Robert Wilson the legendary bassist from The Gap Band, died on Sunday August 15th in his Palmdale, California home at the age of 53.

Robert Wilson was the youngest of the of the Wilson trio and joined his brothers, Charlie Wilson and Ronnie Wilson in a band after the original bass player quit.
The Wilson brothers originally began under the name The Greenwood, Archer and Pine Street Band before becoming the chart topping The Gap Band.

In a statement Charlie Wilson described his brother as “A bad boy on the bass,” and said “We shared a bond as brothers, musicians and friends. I loved him and losing him is difficult for both Ronnie and I. The music world has lost a very talented man.”

Method Man Injured at the Same Festival Tila Tequila Was Attacked

Tila Tequila isn't the only star nursing injuries from a music festival in Illinois over the weekend - Method Man is sporting cuts on his face after he was allegedly hit by a beer can onstage. The reality TV star, real name Tila Nguyen, is preparing to launch legal action after she was injured during a prolonged attack when she appeared at the Gathering of the Juggalos event, which began on Thursday, August 12.

And rapper Method Man was allegedly also a victim of violence at the same event. TMZ.com has obtained photos and video footage showing the star, real name Clifford Smith, with a bloodied face and bruised eye after a can of beer was thrown at him during his performance with Redman on Sunday, August 15.

Embarrassed Laurence Fishburne Cuts Ties With His Porn Star Daughter

Laurence Fishburne has told his daughter she is no longer welcome in his life following her "embarrassing" step into the adult movie market. Montana Fishburne recently moved out of the actor's Los Angeles home as she hatched plans to launch herself as a porn star, and did not speak to her famous father for several weeks after clips from her X-rated film debut hit the Internet.

The 19 year old finally contacted "The Matrix" star on Monday, August 16, and the pair endured a heated telephone conversation. The teenager revealed to TMZ.com that her dad told her, "I'm not going to speak with you 'till you turn your life around... You embarrassed me."

LOS ANGELES — Doctors have found a tumor in the throat of Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas

LOS ANGELES — Doctors have found a tumor in the throat of Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas and plan to treat the "Wall Street" star with radiation and chemotherapy over eight weeks.

Doctors expect Douglas, 65, to make a full recovery, the actor's spokesman told People magazine on Monday.

A representative for Douglas confirmed the report to Reuters but declined comment on any further details.

"I am very optimistic," Douglas said in a statement to People.

Douglas, who is married to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, has enjoyed a long career in Hollywood spanning some five decades, and he is the son of film legend Kirk Douglas.

He made his first major mark as a producer on 1975 drama "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," which earned him an Oscar, and got his big break as an actor in 1970s television series "The Streets of San Francisco."

In the 1970s and 1980s, he saw his star rise in movies such as "The China Syndrome" and "Romancing the Stone," and he won his second Oscar — this time for acting — playing corporate raider Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street."

Notable Jazz Photographer Herman Leonard Dies At 87

Murder Charges Dropped For Harlem Man Involved In Police Shootout

The man who was shot 23 times in a Harlem shootout with police last week was arraigned Monday on charges of criminal possession of a weapon, but is no longer facing a charge of attempted murder.

Angel Alvarez faces two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and one count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Alvarez was shot when police say he and 21-year-old Luis Soto were struggling with a gun at a block party on 144th Street and Lenox Avenue on August 8.

Soto was shot six times and died.

Alvarez was hit 23 times and was released from the hospital two days ago.

Two police officers and three bystanders were also shot. At least one of the officers was hit by friendly fire and was saved by his bulletproof vest.

Police say Alvarez had a 38-caliber gun in his hand, but his lawyer says the gun belonged to Soto.

“He was acting in self defense,” said Alvarez’s attorney Matthew Galuzzo. “He was attacked by Mr. Soto and he wrestled the gun away from him, but he did not shoot at any cops. There was no reason to shoot at any cops.”

Originally police charged Alvarez with attempted murder, but those charges are on hold. Prosecutors say their investigation is still open, but Galuzzo insists the murder charges were dropped because police do not have a strong case.

“If they had the evidence, they would charge him now with the attempted murder,” said Galuzzo. "But they clearly don't have the evidence now. I don't think they are ever going to have it."

Meanwhile, Alvarez's attorney claims his client was assaulted by police after he was shot.

"Kicked him in the face and taunted him saying, ‘you're going to die,’” charged Alvarez’s attorney. “Angel remembers vividly responding, ‘No I'm not going to die.’ Obviously he's been proven correct. He didn't die, remarkably. He's going to get justice for what happened."

The New York City Police Department says police have no evidence of Galuzzo's claim.

Alvarez is still in police custody on a prior gun charge from 2005, and is being held in jail without bail or bond. He is due back in court on August 19th.

Bloomberg Defends President's Pro-Mosque Position

The mayor Monday defended President Barack Obama's comments about a proposed mosque near the World Trade Center site, in which the commander-in-chief said that U.S. Muslims have a right to build their house of worship.

Judge: Same-Sex Marriages Still on Hold

A federal judge Thursday refused to permanently stay his ruling overturning Proposition 8 but extended a temporary hold to give supporters time to appeal the historic ruling.U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who overturned the measure on Aug. 4, agreed to give its sponsors until Aug. 18 to appeal his ruling to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. No new marriages can take place until then.

Walker’s decision came after supporters of the same-sex marriage ban warned that they would take their case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary to ensure that his ruling did not take effect. Walker’s decision came after supporters of the same-sex marriage ban warned that they would take their case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary to ensure that his ruling did not take effect.

The victim, Tashawn Bromfield, 16,killed mistaken identity

A Connecticut teenager who was visiting his dad in The Bronx so they could go shopping for school was the victim of a random drive-by shooting early today, possibly involving a gruesome gang initiation, a police source said.

The victim, Tashawn Bromfield, 16, was hanging out in the courtyard of his dad’s house at 3482 Fenton Av. in Eastchester Heights drinking a slurpee with his friend, Daijon Powell, 16, and one other teen when two shots rang out from the passenger side of a four door sedan cruising by.

A bullet fatally pierced Tashawn in the chest and the high school junior stumbled away screaming before collapsing behind a tree. Daijon ran to his side and helplessly watched as his friend died.Tashawn Bromfield and his mom, Dionne Johnson-Russell Officers at the scene of the tragic murder.


Tashawn, who was set to try out for the Spartan football team at Francis T. Maloney HS in Meriden where he lived with his mom , was pronounced dead at Jacobi shortly after the 12:40 a.m. shooting.

“He [Tashawn] came to visit and I let my son stay out because he was such a good kid. I told them they could hang out in the courtyard for a little while,” said Daijon’s mom Winifred Powell, 46, a nurse’s assistant.

“My neighbor called me and said there were shots on Fenton. I ran downstairs and heard my son yelling, ‘mom come quick!’ My son saw his friend take his last breath.

“He is really shaken up. My son couldn’t sleep all night he laid in bed crying ad shaking. He was an innocent kid. This is crazy this what happened to him.

Tashawn lived with his remarried mom Dionne Johnson-Russell in the suburbs.

Reached at home the overwrought mom told The Post, “I am in his room and I am sitting in his chair where he used to play video games. I am touching his pillow.”

Tragically she had moved her two daughters and Tashawn to the safety of the suburbs and away from the crime.

“We moved when he was six. He wasn’t a city kid,” she said.

His dad Basil, who worked for Coca-Cola but was laid off last year, said his son had worked hard all summer to get in shape for the football tryouts. Joining the team “That was his dream,” his dad said.

The pair planned to go shopping for school supplies, get Tashawn a haircut and visit relatives before the teenager headed back to the suburbs tomorrow.

““I saw him 20 minutes before he was shot. The only reason I left him was because he was such a good kid and he was with two other good kids.

“When I found out he was shot I told the police, ‘this can’t be possible. He wasn’t a kid who even knew people who did drugs or had guns.’ We were supposed to spend today together getting a haircut, shopping and visiting family and all I have is this.”

Police are viewing grainy surveillance video that captured the shooting.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/teen_gunned_down_in_mistaken_identity_7lE0OzQCLS4m9k2MjyRqOL#ixzz3CWLAECiO

K ROD SORRY!!!

Hours after the fireballing Met hurler's possessions were removed from the Long Island house he shared with girlfriend Daian Peña, K-Rod issued a groveling apology to Met management yesterday afternoon.

But the combustible closer pointedly avoided mentioning Peña or her dad -- the man he allegedly pummeled Wednesday night at Citi Field.

"First of all, I'm extremely sorry. I want to apologize to [team owners] Fred Wilpon, Jeff Wilpon and [team president] Mr. [Saul] Katz for the incident . . . I want to apologize also to Mets fans, to my teammates," a blank-faced Rodriguez said before last night's home game.

SPLITTER: Met closer Francisco Rodriguez (linset) apologizes yesterday, even as a van (above) arrives to pick up his things at the Long Island home he shared with Daian Peña, whose dad he is charged with assaulting.Paul J. Bereswill

SPLITTER: Met closer Francisco Rodriguez (linset) apologizes yesterday, even as a van (above) arrives to pick up his things at the Long Island home he shared with Daian Peña, whose dad he is charged with assaulting.

"I want to apologize, of course, to the front office for the embarrassment that I caused. And I'm looking forward to being a better person.

PANAMA CITY, Florida — US President Barack Obama and his daughter have taken a dip in the Gulf of Mexico

PANAMA CITY, Florida — US President Barack Obama and his daughter have taken a dip in the Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to reassure Americans that, despite a massive oil spill, its waters remain safe for tourists.

The president, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their younger daughter, Sasha, traveled to this Florida panhandle city to talk to local officials and business leaders, and highlight the region's tourist attractions.

"Oil is no longer flowing into the Gulf," said Obama, speaking at a regional US Coast Guard headquarters.

"But I'm here to tell you that our job is not finished, and we are not going anywhere until it is."

Obama said that he wanted to deliver the message directly to residents of the Gulf Coast, which he has visited four times since an April explosion on a BP-leased oil rig triggered the disaster.

"I made a commitment in my visits here that I was going to stand with you... until you have fully recovered from the damage that has been done. And that is a commitment my administration is going to keep," he said.

And Obama also demanded that BP speed up processing of compensation claims, saying that "any delays -- by BP or by those managing the new fund -- are unacceptable."

Earlier this week BP made its first deposit into the 20-billion-dollar Gulf of Mexico oil disaster fund intended to compensate thousands of residents and businesses hit by the largest maritime oil spill of all time.

During the height of the spill Obama urged his fellow Americans to continue taking vacations in the region, famous for its sugar-white beaches, and heavily dependent on tourism.

Obama later went for a swim with Sasha at Panama City Beach, away from the public and press cameras, with only an official photo of the pair -- heads bobbing just above the water line -- issued by the White House.

While the image might go far to reassure Americans that Gulf waters are safe, Obama had stressed he would take a presidential plunge in private.

The last time Obama, who is physically fit, was photographed swimming without a shirt was in December 2008, shortly before he took office. The pictures were broadly circulated and used on the cover of news magazines.

When a reporter covering the Obamas' Florida vacation joked that this publicity was a good thing, Michelle Obama shook her head and said, "No, it's not."

The president and his family are scheduled to return to Washington on Sunday.

The trip comes after US officials announced that energy giant BP's runaway well had been sealed, and that they were moving ahead with plans to make sure it is truly "killed" by pumping cement in through a relief well under the Gulf of Mexico.

Harlem Week 2010 - Sounds of Philadelphia

Harlem Week 2010 Fashion Show Teaser

BRAIN WORMS & PORK

TUSKEGEE EXPERIMENT ON BLACK MEN

Faltering Harlem Housing Deal Won City Cash

n the early 1990s, with New York City eager to find creative ways of rehabilitating its troubled neighborhoods, it struck a multimillion-dollar deal with the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce: The city sold the chamber a collection of dilapidated Harlem apartment buildings for a nominal amount, and arranged for close to $10 million in low-cost loans to help fix and restore the buildings.
Enlarge This Image
Ruby Washington/The New York Times

Lloyd Williams, the Harlem chamber’s president, left, and Councilwoman Inez Dickens.

The deal could hardly have gone worse — in almost every way, and over many, many years.

The chamber’s development arm twice faced foreclosure on the collection of properties; utility bills went unpaid, and renovations were never done.

Nonetheless, in 2008, after years of failed promises to run the buildings effectively, the Bloomberg administration chose to invest additional millions with the chamber’s development arm, known formally as Greater Harlem Housing Development Corporation. It awarded the group a $2.55 million forgivable loan, essentially a grant, to take care of long-neglected rehabilitation work. Now, two years later, there is evidence this investment has proved as troubled and disappointing as the first one.

A review of the public record makes clear the decision to award the money came just as the administration was in the final push to gain City Council approval for one of its largest and most controversial neighborhood rezoning initiatives, a plan to change the rules for development in an area that straddles 125th Street, Harlem’s main thoroughfare.

Such things do not move forward without the approval of the local council member. And in Harlem, that person was Inez E. Dickens, a woman with a lifetime’s worth of connections to the Harlem chamber and its president, Lloyd A. Williams. Ms. Dickens’s father had been president of the chamber before Mr. Williams; she had served on its board; and Mr. Williams had been among her few fund-raisers.

Ms. Dickens had initially spoken against Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s rezoning plan for Harlem. The plan — which involved things like initiatives for housing and rules on the heights of new buildings — had provoked fierce neighborhood opposition from those who feared that remaking the neighborhood’s signature thoroughfare would price out longtime residents and businesses.

But on April 30, 2008, Ms. Dickens threw her support behind the plan, and directed her colleagues on the City Council to approve it, a decision that provoked jeers and taunting from dozens of Harlem residents who had turned up at City Hall. The same day, the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development notified Mr. Williams that it was finalizing the $2.55 million grant.

Ms. Dickens declined a request for an interview.

Eric Bederman, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, said there was no connection between the approval of the loan and Ms. Dickens’s support for the rezoning plan.

The new loan has yet to yield much beyond additional problems. Repair work that was supposed to be done to the more than dozen buildings along 135th Street in the heart of Harlem has not been completed; building code violations that were to be corrected are still unresolved. And in court filings this year, Mr. Williams conceded that Greater Harlem Housing was “unable to manage and fund the operation of the properties on its own.”

Multiplying Problems

The Harlem Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1896 to advocate for and assist uptown businesses. In recent decades, it has taken on more sweeping pursuits. In 1993, for instance, the group formed an arm devoted to developing low-income housing, the Greater Harlem Housing Development Corporation.

The next year, a special committee formed by the chamber personally urged Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani to let the chamber take over distressed city-owned properties. Two members of that committee were Mr. Williams and Ms. Dickens. “This needs to happen quickly,” Mr. Williams wrote in a March 1994 letter to Mr. Giuliani.

Three months later, the city and Mr. Williams signed a deal to sell nine city-owned properties to Greater Harlem Housing for $38,000. The group bought four additional properties from private sellers for about $350,000. The properties, on or near 135th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, held 117 rent-stabilized apartments and 11 commercial spaces.

Problems soon emerged.

In 1997, Greater Harlem Housing faced foreclosure. One of the lenders involved in the deal between the city and the chamber charged the group with having defaulted on $5.7 million in principal and interest and accused it of “misappropriating” $50,000 a month in collected rents.

Greater Harlem defended its performance, and ultimately a resolution was reached with the lender.

But the troubles were multiplying. By 2000, Greater Harlem Housing owed the city more than $320,000 in overdue property taxes. It was eligible for a program that would have helped it limit its liabilities, but had never filed the paperwork.

In 2005, the lender again moved to foreclose on the chamber’s holdings. Mr. Williams wrote in a court affidavit that Greater Harlem Housing was trying “to restore itself to fiscal viability.” He acknowledged “the need for capital improvements and repairs” but blamed rent-stabilization laws and delinquent tenants for the group’s financial distress.

A tenants’ group saw things differently. It wrote to the judge complaining about “years of mismanagement” and “the neglect and deplorable conditions” of the buildings.

“Additionally, past history has proven” the organization “incapable of properly owning and managing these properties,” the group said.

In spring 2006 the city intervened to give Greater Harlem Housing another reprieve.
Mr. Williams has long been at the center of the Harlem Chamber of Commerce’s expanding interests. He is president of the three nonprofit organizations run from the chamber’s headquarters and an active player in Harlem politics.
The New York Times

The location of Harlem Housing Development properties.
Enlarge This Image
Marcus Yam/The New York Times

The offices of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce.

He runs a for-profit company, LMR Productions, which is based in the same offices as the chamber and shares key staff members. LMR bills the chamber’s nonprofits for “production” and “solicitation” fees. Mr. Williams also had a brief experience as a partner in a for-profit enterprise to rehabilitate affordable apartments.

It did not, though, go any better than the Greater Harlem Housing project.

In 1992, the city sold eight buildings to Uptown Housing Partnership for a dollar each. Mr. Williams was an officer of the partnership, and problems emerged quickly there as well.

In 1996, a lender sued the partnership for having defaulted on $3.7 million in mortgages, and Mr. Williams and his partners lost the buildings in a 1999 foreclosure auction.

State and city investigators who began looking into Mr. Williams’s dealings determined that he had used his oversight of another charity to misdirect public money into Greater Harlem Housing.

A federal investigation of Uptown Housing followed. No one was ever charged with a crime, but at the insistence of the city’s Department of Investigation, Mr. Williams was removed from the board of the charity at the center of the inquiry.

Calls to Mr. Williams were referred to Joseph Fleming, the lawyer for Greater Harlem Housing, who said that the difficulties with the apartments in the 13 buildings bought back in 1994 are only part of the picture, and cited the chamber’s work bringing in new businesses and services to revive the area.

“There are a number of things that we’ve helped bring into the area that have really added some significant quality to the lifestyles that people live in the area,” Mr. Fleming said. He mentioned a Quizno’s, a Caribbean restaurant and a bank branch, among others.

Crucial Endorsement

Ms. Dickens, 61, joined the Council in 2006. She quickly gained the ear of Speaker Christine C. Quinn, who appointed Ms. Dickens to the leadership position of majority whip. Ms. Dickens took center stage when the Bloomberg administration’s ambitious ideas for rezoning Harlem neared the final stages of the approval process.

The administration, which had successfully rezoned vast parts of Brooklyn and Queens in its efforts to promote development, sought to create a new blueprint for a 24-block corridor on and around 125th Street that would revitalize the area with development.

Such rezoning plans need the approval of the City Council, and so hearings were scheduled and held. The Council has historically deferred to the decision of the local member in such matters.

At a Council subcommittee hearing on the rezoning on April 1, 2008, all eyes turned to Ms. Dickens. Her voice rose as she described herself as inspired by civil rights leaders in her “fight” with the city.

“Over all, I’ve felt that the mayor’s rezoning plan favored the developers and did encourage overdevelopment,” she said. “I said no. After long hours of discussion, they understand that I do mean no. And if I do not get the protections and community benefits that my community must have, there will be no rezoning plan signed into law.”

Ms. Dickens, it turns out, had already been asking the Bloomberg administration for help with the Harlem chamber’s various efforts. She was hardly unfamiliar with its principals and its work.

Her father, Lloyd E. Dickens, was a real estate developer and a state assemblyman who had served as the chamber’s president before Mr. Williams. After she and her sister, Delores Richards, took over their father’s real estate company, Ms. Dickens was listed as a member of the chamber’s executive board, including after she joined the Council.

In 2004, the Dickens real estate firm served as a broker on a nearby project, Strivers Gardens, sponsored by the chamber, according to an article in New York Construction, a trade journal. And Mr. Williams was one of two registered fund-raisers for Ms. Dickens’s successful 2005 City Council campaign and, according to a newspaper report, was the master of ceremonies at her inauguration in 2006.

Since joining the Council, Ms. Dickens has sent several pieces of city business to the chamber, including $75,000 to help minority- and women-owned businesses register for city contracts.

Her initial and public opposition to the administration’s rezoning plan led to weeks of negotiations between Ms. Dickens and city officials. They proved successful, with the city agreeing to some of Ms. Dickens’s demands.

On April 30, 2008, Ms. Dickens endorsed the rezoning, and cleared the way for the full City Council to pass it. As she spoke, people who opposed the plan jeered her from the balconies, shouting “sellout!” and “liar!”

“I need no one to document my commitment to my community,” Ms. Dickens said over shouts from the balcony. That day, the city housing agency gave Mr. Williams the news that it was finishing work on the $2.55 million forgivable loan the chamber had sought.

As part of the deal, the city once again modified Greater Harlem Housing’s mortgage to let it catch up on nearly two years of payments totaling $110,860.62. The group had to pay $22,930.03 in cash; the rest of the arrears were added to the mortgage balance.

In May 2008, five days after the Council vote on the rezoning, Mr. Williams attended a fund-raiser for Ms. Dickens at Melba’s restaurant in Harlem. The event yielded about $20,000, Ms. Dickens’s biggest fund-raising day. Protesters gathered outside the restaurant yelled out again at Ms. Dickens as she left.

“People felt so aggrieved that she was so transparently selling out their interests,” said Michael Henry Adams, a Harlem historian, shortly after the fund-raiser.

Change of Heart

Ms. Dickens has previously cited numerous reasons for supporting the rezoning, including that it would offer new affordable housing, safeguards against overdevelopment and protections for “indigenous” businesses and cultural institutions.

Mr. Bederman, the spokesman for the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, said the agency was aware of the earlier performance problems before the 2008 grant was approved, but noted the forgivable loan program had enough checks and balances that “it works regardless of the prior history of the owner, which shouldn’t be a barrier to the future of these tenants.”

“We were aware of the issues,” Mr. Bederman said. “We do recognize that these are serious concerns, and as such we have followed the necessary procedures for the project during this process and sought to ensure that the organization adhered to the structure of the program.”

Providing the grant, he added, helped prevent a long and uncertain foreclosure process that would have likely caused the repairs to have gone undone even longer.

In the two years since that contentious vote in City Hall, Greater Harlem Housing has continued to founder.

In March, it filed a petition in State Supreme Court seeking permission to sell a large percentage of its interest in the properties to a private real estate developer, the Friedman Organization, for $1.5 million, a fraction of their appraised value.

In the petition, Mr. Williams said that Greater Harlem Housing had been “unable to maintain the infrastructure and staff to provide property management.”

The group owed $100,000 to Consolidated Edison and more than $800,000 to people who lent the group money to help it avoid losing the properties in the 2005 foreclosure.

The petition also shows that a property appraiser hired by the group had determined that the properties should produce $700,000 in annual profit after expenses, something Greater Harlem Housing had not accomplished.

The terms of the 2008 grant from the city required that the repairs be completed and all outstanding code violations be resolved by June 3, 2010.

Neither condition has been met. Mr. Bederman, the city housing spokesman, blamed unforeseen delays. He said that the work was 70 percent completed, and that all the violations would be taken care of upon completion.

Ms. Dickens has since allocated an additional $2 million of city funding for a second phase of rehabilitation, but that money has not yet been released.

Sorry it has been a while but Sista J is back!!!

Sorry it has been a while but Sista J is back!!!

Lindsay Lohan is scheduled to go to jail today.

Lindsay Lohan is scheduled to go to jail today.

While it may not sound like a big deal -- yet another train-wreck celeb in trouble -- it may actually have a cumulative effect on fans, especially young people. Social experts suggest that being pelted with image after image of celebrity after celebrity in trouble does have societal implications.

"Things like reality TV and other things have almost glorified going to jail," said Arthur Robin, head of psychology at Children's Hospital of Michigan. "Yes, it's still something young people view very negatively, but probably not as negatively as 50 years ago."

The accelerated news media obsession with locked-up celebrities, politicians and sports stars may be desensitizing young people to jail, experts have said. Rather than a stiff penalty, jail has become a simple inconvenience.

Published reports suggest Lohan's first post-jail interview will be worth more than $500,000. Lil Wayne plans to drop his next album from Rikers Island.

And in urban areas like Detroit, the jailings of those in the public eye could be leading youths down the wrong path.

Punishment for non-celebrities is often more harsh. "Celebrities get away with stuff that non-celebrities don't get away with," Robin said.

Bone Marrow Donors Line Up for 'Lion King' Star Battling Leukemia

Please give blood today!!!

Something Outrageous July 24 · 7:30pm - 9:30pm

The 45th Street Theatre
354 West 45th Street (between 8th and 9th Aves)
New York, NY

Directed by: Roberto Angelini & Jake Krug
Sat. July 24th and Sat. July 31th
Starring Dominique Andriese and many others!!!
7:30 pm
8:15pm
9:00pm
9:30pm

Tickets are $25: Includes complimentary drinks
Available online at: www.smarttix.com (212-868-4444).
Available at the theater box office, CASH only.

http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showCode=SOM15


LEAVE YOUR CELL PHONES ON AND PARTY WITH THE CAST AND CREW AT ZUNI'S AFTER THE SHOW!!!

Dengue Fever Hits the Caribbean

As you pack for that fabulous Caribbean destination this summer, you might want to keep tabs on what's going on with regards to recent warnings about the spread of dengue fever. The near epidemic proportions of this disease are being blamed on the unusually warm weather and constant rains.

The disease-carrying mosquitos explode during rainy seasons and can breed in water-filled flower pots, plastic bags, and cans year-round. It only takes one mosquito bite to infect someone with the disease. The virus is not contagious and cannot be spread directly from person to person. There must be a person-to-mosquito-to-another-person pathway.

So far, there have been an alarming number of dengue-related deaths reported throughout the Caribbean and unfortunately, health officials worry, that more are expected as the rainy season advances.

Puerto Rico, a popular tourist destination particularly during the summer months is experiencing the worst dengue outbreak in more than a decade. Thus far, about five people have died and another estimated 6,300 cases of the virus is suspected. "We are having a really large epidemic," said Kay Tomashek, epidemiology section chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's dengue branch in Puerto Rico. In 1998, the island's worst dengue outbreak, by the end of that year, it had sickened 17,000 and killed 19.

In the Dominican Republic, 27 degue deaths have been reported thus far, four of them children. Senen Caba, the president of the Dominican Medical Association, reported more than 7,000 cases of dengue fever in his country to date. Caba tells the Associated Press, "Hospitals are flooded with fever cases. Emergency rooms are overflowing."

Trinidad health officials report one death so far and hospitals are running out of bed space for its dengue victims. Jamaica's Ministry of Health is keeping on top of the dengue incidences and states, that there is no cause for concern at this point in time. French Guiana, Guadeloupe and St. Maarten have also disclosed an alarming number of dengue cases.


According to the Pan American Health Organization there are nearly 17,000 cases of dengue cases across the Caribbean this year alone.

On these shores, health officials are on high level alert and concerned, that the virus which causes a rash, high fever, severe leg and joint pain, headache, low heart rate and blood pressure, which once disappeared from the U.S., may make a comeback in a big way.

In Miami, the city where over fifty percent of its residents are of Caribbean descent, someone was tested last week for dengue fever but the results came back negative.

...And so we wait....

MUSIC & ART LAG LADIES NIGHT SUMMER ALL WHITE PARTY.WED JULY 28TH 2010. Come celebrate your birthday!!!!

Greetings Alumni,

I hope you all are doing well & enjoying your summer. Juliette Fickling(M&A Alumni) is having an event and is seeking talent. Alumni Men: We want it to be extra sexy for the ladies. If you can SING,RAP,Play an instrument - Saxophone is a bonus, or perform POETRY please contact Juliette Fickling. She has a face book page. This event is for a great cause. All the info regarding this event is posted below. Ladies this night is for you. Spread the word. Fellas you are so welcome to join!!! Passion treats for sale by Michelle.

Thank you,

Big Norm


Music and Art LAG Rocks Gran Piatto D’Oro
1429 5th Avenue 116 and 117th , New York New York
Wed July 28th 2010

Great News! We are having our FIRST SUMMER FUNDRAISER for THE REAL KIDS BEHIND FAME REUNION CONCERT II SLATED TO TAKE PLACE NOVEMBER 6TH 2010 AT THE CASTLE ON THE HILL.
ON WEDNESDAY JULY 28TH 2010 We are having M&A LAG LADIES NIGHT, SEXY SUMMER ALL WHITE, ALL MEN MUSICAL JOURNEY!! @ Gran Piatto,

COME CELEBRATE YOUR BIRTHDAY WITH US, WE WILL HAVE A CAKE FOR YOU!!! FLY SINGERS,WITH A TASTE OR EXOTIC PASSION TREATS!!!DO NOT FORGET TO WEAR ALL WHITE!!!

Please contact me as soon as possible if you are available, there is no compensation, BUT IF YOU HAVE A CD OF YOUR MUSIC YOU CAN SELL IT THE NIGHT OF THE SHOW.

All Proceeds will be going towards paying for rehearsal space that starts for the choir in August 2010. We also need to secure our musicians the venue, so I really need you. If you spit poetry and or rap and if you can make it sexy you are welcome as well.

Music & Art LAG ROCKS Grand Piatto Sexy Summer ALL WHITE Ladies Night ALL MALE Revue!!!This is a fundraiser for THE REAL KIDS BEHIND FAME II CONCERT!

Chris Brown's Michael Jackson Tribute @ the 2010 BET Awards

Rapper Nicki Minaj attended LAG baby!!!Class of 2000

Last Nights fashions at THE BET awards and A Keys and Swizzy's 1st diplay of public emotion, she looks very happy!!!

NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE

ALL I DO IS THINK OF YOU!!!!

RIP to the Greatest Entertainer the music love of my life!!!

This was our first rehearsal after 30 YEARS!!!!

The Real Kids Behiind FAME Trailer to DVD

I am Proud to announce....

JLF Productions (Juliette Lynn Fickling to be referred as JLF) was founded and has been operating under the radar in Harlem and Stamford CT, since 1991 by Juliette Lynn Fickling, CEO/President. Most of Juliette’s closest friends were all original cast members in the MGM production of FAME, all of us are alumni from the famous Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music and Art. FAME was written about "US"

Since the summer of 1980, Juliette wanted the world to know that the movie, “FAME” was not about Gene Anthony Ray, Irene Cara, and or Debbie Allen. FAME was actually written about my HS class. FAME became a POP sensation, but the people, the characters behind the film were us. Many of the reunion Gospel Choir members sang on the original soundtrack and we won a Grammy award for the song entitled ”Never alone” under the direction of Anthony Evans. For some after Music and art life was not so kind, thus the creation of JLF. JLF Productions continues to support various programs in the Harlem area; partial proceeds from fundraising events benefit women and teenagers whom have been abused, by family members.

JLF has produced VIP receptions, comedy, poetry, make up seminars, product launches, cabaret nights and gospel events at: the world famous Apollo Theatre; Victoria 5; Stamford Town Mall, Alhambra Ballroom; the Puck Building; Common Ground, known as the Prince George Ballroom; The World Yacht; and the original Home of Music and Art High School, that prestigious “castle on the hill”, which is part of the historic City College campus. JLF Productions is extremely proud to have created M&A history in being the only alumni to come back to the old school and produce a reunion concert.

The most difficult yet demanding task was that JLF Productions produced this concert with no operating budget, JLF used face book and other media social websites to market promote and sell tickets. On a rainy afternoon on Saturday June 20th there were close to 400 alumni friends and family that came to celebrate the last 30 years, rejuvenate their spirit and reclaim their lives.

Through the years, JLF Productions has also donated to the already existing non-profit program, SBI at A. Phillip Randolph HS, (now located at the original home of M&A) through fundraising and proceeds from last year’s concert

We are proud to announce that in November 2010, JLF will be producing a second reunion concert. Why this hits close to home is many of the choir members from the years of 1972 till 2006 have been effected by all forms of abuse, from family members, husbands, grandfathers and even fathers, last year’s Reunion concert gave some, NO ALL of the courage to leave their abusive situations and start a new chapter in their lives.

This year once again JLF is going to need your help. After speaking today with U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development John R. Fernandez @ Operation Hope, I was inspirited by a quote he made, “America is going to change because of small business owners like us” so I am asking you all for your help, donations, sponsors to assist us with this year’s concert. Donations will be used to secure the venue, certificate of liability, advertising campaign, securing musicians and directors, light, sound IT techs for live feed, camera men. And once again partial proceeds will benefit women men children and family members that are dealing with all forms of abuse in the community.

http://jlfproductionz.blogspot.com/

My First Fathers Day without the physical!!

This is my FIRST fathers day without my father, REAL TALK I feel like my pops just passed, all these fathers day stories an announcements have me in tears, no balling.

God knows I am Very thankful for having that wonderful man in my life, but going to a cemetery to bring him flowers and a card BREAKS ME DOWN..Give your pops some love if you can I would never want anyone to feel this sadness!!!!

Where do I send my fathers day card, this year, does he really know I cared, where do I go to visit my father,is he in a better place, what do I tell me daughter when I am crying this weekend will she understand? God thank you for sending me such a wonderful man that LOVED me unconditionally,Daddy I miss u man, I hope I am making you proud!!

RIP CHRISTOPHER FICKLING JR AUGUST 12TH 1933 NOV3 2009

Bah Humbug LAKERS please you stole the title!!!!Rondo still kicked your opps!!!

I have to be honest with you,if you are a true basketball fan, like me,since the seventies one will know NOT to get your hope up high over sport and play , everything is POL-I-TRICKS. Did you not see when David Stern was at game 6, I knew Boston was not going to win!!!!!Anytime he is around it is a bad sign, suitcase, zombies come on....

Although the fan in me was rooting HARD. With Boston UP MOST of the GAME the refs were paid off, period, I still don't understand why everyone sweats Kobe. Can he not get professional hairstylist to hook up his daughters hair and those hideous dresses please, C'Mon Son, God forgive me the girls had more hair on their upper lip than me, WAX, and I am going through menopause HA!!!! It is the salt in Juliette

BOSTON ONE GAME AWAY FROM WINNING NBA CHAMPIONSHIP I TOLD YOU!!!!

RONDO, THE TRUTH DAVIS GARNETT DOC, RASHID,RAY ALLEN YALL ARE GOING TO WIN!!!

Voices the Series

Yes that is my lovely daughter Dominique Andriese playing the character Bree!!!

Here’s something really exciting – a nationally broadcast endorsement of our work! On Sunday, June 6, National Public Radio’s All Things Considered featured an interview with Dr. Michael Carrera in a fabulous segment about The Children’s Aid Society Carrera Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program.

The broadcast explores how Michael Carrera developed his philosophy of linking messages about sexuality to all of the other concerns that young people have (including education, jobs, sports, creativity and their health and well being), approaching teens holistically instead of just about sex. When this happens, he has said, teens develop hope – a very powerful contraceptive. They see that they can have a productive future that they won’t want to risk with early pregnancies.

Our program has been independently evaluated and shown to be effective at greatly reducing teen pregnancies and births. The All Things Considered segment jumped off from the Obama administration’s decision to fund an evidence-based approach to reducing teen pregnancy and noted that the Children’s Aid Carrera model is one of 28 approved under the federal Replication of Evidence-based Programs .

Atlanta Housewives