Abolitionist groups advocate for freedom of the incarcerated during COVID-19 pandemic

After the death of nine inmates, four parolees and two correction officers in New York, mass liberation activists initiated a series of protests in March, leading to their latest on April 21, for the release of all inmates in the state due to overcrowding and insufficient personal protective equipment supply. 

Some groups are focused on the release of specific inmate populations such as aging inmates, those who are close to parole, or women. Correctional facilities are considered a hot spot for infection due to the close quarters inside them. The first death in a New York Department of Corrections facility was reported on April 6, at Rikers Island. 

“There is no social distancing in the mess halls [the cafeterias],” Anthony Dixon, Director of Community Engagement of Parole Prep NY, said. Parole Prep is an organization that provides support to former and current inmates facing life sentences. They prepare inmates for parole interviews and make care packages through a network of volunteers. The organization’s concern is that there is insufficient protective equipment for inmates, and they have demanded for more transparency regarding the care of prisoners.

Older inmates are likely to be immunocompromised and, without social distancing, they are more at risk if they stay in prison, Dixon said.

The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Services (NYDOCCS) has implemented some safety guidelines and protocols, some of which included releasing low-level parole violators from local jails, requiring officers to wear masks, and allowing a state-issued handkerchief for inmates.  As of April 10, more than 1,500 inmates were released. Statewide, as of April 1, there are 42,784 inmates and 35,905 parolees in New York State alone. 

“I have mixed reactions to that,” Lisa Brown, a senior parole officer for NYDOCCS said. Brown has been a supervisor for the last three years and for the past twenty years, she has been a field parole officer. “My first reaction is that I believe that it’s necessary to help lower the curve. What’s happening is, those who are in the correctional facility are those who are most likely to come into contact with coronavirus because of their lifestyle,” Brown said. 

“As a result of that, you have staff who become infected and affected with coronavirus– correctional officers who died, parole officers who have been out for two weeks at a time due to coronavirus. I think it’s important to give public health reasons to release stuff, but in times of public safety, it becomes a problem, cause, because many of them are on things such as parole violations, drugs, etc.”

Brown, who works at the 40th Street Field Office in Manhattan,  is concerned for her safety because she has been exposed to the virus despite being given protective gear and state-issued hand sanitizer. However, according to reports, this hand sanitizer is rebottled sanitizer from other brands, and not being made by inmates like Governor Cuomo said. 

“It has been a very trying time for the last, I would say, four to six weeks, Brown said. “I have had several officers out, I myself have been out, because I have been exposed. I have not tested positive but I’ve been exposed. I’m an ashmatic and as a result of that, I was very fearful for my for my life.”

Though there have been some releases, activists in New York, and even in Chicago, who have been working to free inmates in Cook County Jail and other facilities, say that this is not enough. 

“So folks have asked, I do want to acknowledge that there has been some work done to release people from lockup…. the State’s Attorney’s Office, even our district attorneys’, our public defender’s office have been working day and night,” April Friendly, a mass liberation organizer with The People’s Lobby, said. “Literally going case by case in reviewing the specific scenarios and have been releasing people case by case. And so this week actually we were down to like 4,200- about just over 4,200 folks in Cook County.. that number is down from about 5,600 at the start of this Coronavirus crisis. I can’t say how many have been released because of our push, but definitely there has been an increase of, you know, case by case reviews to release people.” 

Despite these numbers, the group is not aware of what actions are being taken to ensure social distancing for those still in the facility. 

“It does concern me a bit about the safety of those individuals that are in prison, whether they are adults or minors,” Kathy Moore,  a member of The People’s Lobby, said.“We know that they’re sharing a room and shared spaces is not practicing social distancing…We don’t know if they have masks. We don’t know if they have gloves. We don’t know if they have all the PP [personal protective] equipment inside the jails.”

In addition to concerns about protective equipment for inmates and correctional officers, organizers with The People’s Lobby are concerned about inmates’ access to hygiene products.

The Osprey also contacted other New York-based abolition groups, but New Hour LI, a group that focuses on supporting women and children impacted by the justice system, and COVID Bail Out NYC, who is working on posting the bail of medically at-risk people in New York City Jails. Unfortunately, both organizations were unavailable for an interview before publication. 

Local libraries in Nassau County adjust to COVID-19 changes

Uniondale Public Library closed its doors until further notice on March 15, making it one of many local institutions to do so in the wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic. 

The libraries of Uniondale, and Roosevelt all have been fundamentally changed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Both are members of the Nassau Library System, which is an association of 54 member libraries across the county. Uniondale Public Library closed its physical building on the evening of March 15.

On March 9, the library began planning its response to COVID-19, at a time when there was only one confirmed case of COVID-19 in Nassau County. “So we had we can in between on Monday on March 9, the library Board of Trustees called for a special meeting,” Mara Marin, Associate Director of Uniondale Public Library,  said. “And on that meeting, we wanted to do you know, it was a novel situation for every one of us there. And I think our government officials as well. So we decided we are going to sanitize every three hours. So what we did was, we said we’re going to sanitize all the public surfaces and equipment, meaning computers that people use tables where they sit…And we did it on three hour increments, we would start at noon.”

This cleaning schedule remained until the library made the decision on March 13th to cancel all programs, and restrict library services to ‘essential services only,’ meaning that patrons could only check out or return items. On the evening of March 15, the library closed. According to Marin, all librarians have since moved their work online and are still being paid. 

Roosevelt Public Library closed their doors two weeks ago, and only three staff members remain present in order to answer calls and use the closure as a time to prepare collections for patrons in the future. However, library director Dr. Landon Shell is concerned about the closure’s impact on the community. 

“I guess it’s welcoming to know that we’re doing our best interest to you know go along with Nassau County, to the state,  but it’s not welcome because many people rely on the library for library services, general information, and in some cases, for people just to gather, Dr. Landon Shell, director of Roosevelt Public Library.  “So, in terms of the impact of the community, its probably hurt the community a lot, and we have an afterschool place for kids, in the afternoons help with homework. We have a program place for seniors during the day…I’m pretty sure it’ll impact the community a great deal because we’re probably their main source of entertainment, in Roosevelt, along with all the other things that they do and not to have this facility here to provide those community resources, probably impact the community a great deal.”

But, despite the current situation, Marin’s goal is to remain positive.  “But I feel that with this pandemic, maybe we will realize who real heroes in our communities are,” she said. 

“And these are not just the neighbors of our communities, these are nurses and doctors and sanitation workers and truck drivers and ladies who work in a supermarket. Those are the heroes for us now…. It’s just we have to be here for each other as a community- as a community of employees, as human beings. That’s all there is, you know, this crisis is real. And, you know, as they say, they bring best and worst in people. But I think if we all reach inside ourselves, we will find something good to give to others.”

Community leaders discuss issues facing 2020 census

By Niki Nassiri and Sarah Beckford

Over 50 people, including six community leaders, attended a panel at Temple Beth El on Feb. 25 to discuss participation strategies in anticipation of the 2020 census. 

Topics discussed included the census’ data security, transparency about information privacy and how attendees can stop misinformation in undercounted neighborhoods. The community leader panel also addressed rumors about the addition of a citizenship question that had raised fear in immigrant groups. The Trump Administration declined to proceed with the question last July.  

“It’s important because we want to make sure that people are included [in the census],” Marianela Casas, a member of the HWCLI  board of directors and the assistant commissioner of community engagement for the Nassau County Police Department, said. “I always say diversity is not about having a rainbow at the table, it’s about having people actually being included in the process and the decision making process.”

Suffolk and Nassau counties are the fourth and fifth “hardest-to-count” counties in New York State respectively, according to Hard To Count 2020. Twenty-three percent of people in Nassau County live in what are called “hard-to-count” neighborhoods.

The Long Island Network for Change (LINC), who hosted the event, urged participants at its Every Person Counts: Census 2020 event to promote and educate people across historically undercounted communities in Long Island about the census’ impact. These groups include immigrant communities, people of color, senior citizens, renters and young children. Around 18% of Long Islanders are immigrants, according to the Office of the New York State Comptroller.

“For my Latino immigrant community I see a lot of fear,” Victoria Hernandez, chapter coordinator of SEPA Mujer said. “They don’t want to do the census because they think they’re going to share the information with ICE.”

Undercounting immigrants deprives their communities and surrounding cities of access to social support, stripping away financial availability of Medicaid, grants to bolster underperforming schools and even highway planning and construction, according to a resource article by Salud America.

“We need to remind people we all use the same roads, the same hospitals and the same schools,” Rebecca Sanin, President of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island (HWCLI) and speaker at the event, said.  “If you want to make sure your corner of the world gets what it deserves you have to make sure every corner of our region is counted.”

Under U.S. Code Title 13, all census information is protected and never published. The bureaus of Economic Analysis and Labor Statistics use the data for statistical purposes only, and violation of this code lands the offender in either up to five years in prison, 250,000 dollars in fines or both. This means that information regarding  citizenship will not be shared.

The Long Island Network for Change, in partnership with  HWCLI and the Chai Club at the Temple Beth El of Huntington, hosted the community event. 

The federal census is taken every 10 years to track population changes.  Based on census statistics, federal and state financing is portioned to social services like schools, hospitals and transportation. 

The census will be available starting April 1 and end on an unannounced date in August. 

As vinyl sales increase, jazz popularity remains flat

Ellis B. Holmes lightly tapped and scratched his sticks against his maroon drum set, keeping the fast paced beat for the rest of the band who alternatively looked at him and at the conductor. It was Thursday, March 5 at the Jazz Loft in Stony Brook, N.Y, during The Jazz Loft’s monthly Big Band show. 

A flickering purple neon sign that displayed the venue’s name hung above the 17 band members. Each man sat behind a backlit booth decorated with a caricature of jazz legends like Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington.

“[Jazz is] a true American art form,” Holmes said during intermission. “ [The younger generations] should at least try to listen to it, try to understand it, and realize that it’s out there. You may not like it, but should be able to at least appreciate it and respect it.” The longtime drummer has been playing with the Big Band since The Jazz Loft was founded in 2015 by Thomas Manuel. 

https://play.soundslides.com/Cns9Pwl9

Record stores across Long Island are gearing up for Record Store Day, a semi-annual event taking place on April 18. The revival of vinyl is partly in thanks to the event, Joseph Ostermeier, President and CEO of Infinity Records in Massapequa Park, N.Y. said. The event has helped local record stores bring in customers, increase revenue and promote special sales and performances. 

There will be no live jazz music performances at any record store on Long Island on on Record Store Day, however there will be five limited edition special release jazz records for sale. 

“We specialize in everything in our store, but when we opened in 1990 we were one of the premier jazz stores on Long Island because we stocked all the CDs and vinyl that we could,” Ostermeier said. “I employed managers that actually knew the music very well and the history of it.” 

During last year’s Record Store Day, Infinity Records raised money for many local charities and sold 90 percent of their RSD exclusive items, a press release on their website reads. 

The Jazz Loft is one of the few jazz venues left on Long Island. It doubles as a museum and performance space, dedicated to all things jazz. From floor to ceiling, and in every hidden room, there is memorabilia for any music fan to appreciate. The entire building is dedicated to keeping jazz music alive, and to educate its visitors on the genre’s history, as well as how jazz influences popular music today.

 “A lot of things we carry are all types of genres,” Joshua Goldberg, owner and CEO of Mr. Cheapo Records and CDs in Mineola, N.Y. said. “People line up at five o’clock in the morning sometimes to get records that you’d never think would sell. It could be jazz, it could be blues and it could be rock.” 

Outside of the Jazz Loft, the genre is not as popular. Vinyl record sales have been on a steady 14 year rise, according to the Recording Industry Association of America’s 2019 yearly report. Vinyl records nearly outsold CDs for the first time since 1986. Despite this spike in sales, only one percent of music consumed in America was classified as jazz. For comparison, in 2010,  2.5 percent of albums sold in the U.S. were jazz, according to the Nielson and Billboard end of year report. In 2019, 39.5 percent of album sales were rock, 12.6 percent were R&B/hip-hop and 11.2 percent were pop. Album consumption is based on physical sales and on demand audio streams. The resurgence of vinyl has renewed interest in records, but much of those sales are attributed to popular music, not jazz. 

“There is a long history of jazz’s dismal sales figures,” Kevin Fellezs, Associate Professor of Music at Columbia University, said. “Historically, the low numbers for jazz recordings really begins in the post-WWII period when jazz was no longer the popular music of the day. As early rock and roll and mainstream pop music superseded jazz in terms of sales, jazz increasingly shed its connection to popular culture.”

The audience at the Jazz Loft consisted of nearly five dozen adults who appeared to be 60 or older. There were no teenagers or younger adults in attendance.

Many people are indirectly exposed to jazz music through other genres such as hip hop and R&B, according to Jazz Loft employee Gabriel Nekrutman. A lot of popular genres implement elements of jazz.

“[The] disconnect between jazz and young people has seemingly grown larger,” Michael Titlebaum, Associate Professor of Music Performance and Director of Jazz Studies at Ithaca College, said. “I think one reason jazz may sell less well is that jazz is really not a product that can be sold– it’s a process. Jazz is a unique method for making music.”

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