10/30/07

Newsday Endorses Vivian Viloria-Fisher

An immigrant of Dominican heritage, Viloria-Fisher made history in 1999 by winning in Suffolk County's 5th Legislative District.

An educator by profession, Viloria-Fisher quickly established herself as the legislature's leading authority on environmental issues. She has also challenged the county executive on tone and substance.

The 5th Legislative District includes these communities in the Town of Brookhaven: Setauket, East Setauket, South Setauket, Stony Brook and parts of Port Jefferson Station, Terryville, Coram, Centereach; and the villages of Belle Terre, Old Field, Port Jefferson and Poquott.

The following is Newsday's endorsement write-up:

Viloria-Fisher was born in the Dominican Republic and immigrated to New York with her family as a child. She attended Hunter College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She later earned a Master of Arts Degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Both Democratic incumbent Vivian Viloria-Fisher and her challenger, Republican Irene D'Abramo, cite illegal immigration as a major issue in their district, but the two approach it from opposite ends of the spectrum.

Stony Brook resident D'Abramo, 51, believes illegal immigrants are getting benefits they haven't earned, like health care and education for their children, at taxpayers' expense. Setauket's Viloria-Fisher, 59, points out that since the majority of Suffolk's budget comes from the sales tax, such folks are taxpayers. She's critical of the way the county executive has tackled the issue, saying he implies he can do more about the problem than he really can. D'Abramo, for her part, favors the Levy approach.

D'Abramo, a single mother who works for the Town of Brookhaven's Accessory Apartment Review Board and for the Board of Elections' voter information program, has a compelling personal story that includes time living in a homeless shelter. She has clearly, and inspiringly, turned her life around. But when it comes to questions of governing, she doesn't have credible answers. Viloria-Fisher is an experienced legislator with a good track record.

Vote Viloria-Fisher

Mel Guadalupe is Levy's New Director of Minority Affairs

Hauppauge – Suffolk County Executive Steven Levy has named Mel Guadalupe of North Babylon as director of Minority Affairs.

Guadalupe joins Suffolk County from Bovis Lend Lease Inc., a project management and construction company, where he was manager of Community Resource Development at the firm’s New York City office. In this role he oversaw the company’s construction-based diversity program, bringing minority- and women-owned subcontractors, suppliers and vendors into the company’s projects.

Guadalupe was the chair of the L.I. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Corporate Advisory Board, chair of the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC) Major Corporate Partners Board, and chair of the NAMC Hispanic Caucus.

10/29/07

Latino entrepreneurship, buying power on the rise

CNN -- If you don't think Hispanics are a major force in the American marketplace, think again.

Hispanic business ownership is growing three times as fast as the national average and Hispanic purchasing power is expected to reach more than $1 trillion by 2011, according to the Census Bureau and other studies.

All too aware of this growing force, many companies are wooing Hispanic consumers and their spending power.
"The Hispanic consumer market here in the U.S. is actually as big or bigger than the GDP [gross domestic product] of Mexico or Canada," Michael Barrera, CEO of the
U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, told CNN. "We're the second largest economy in North America."

More

Photo: A Laguna Grille on Long Island. The "Nuevo Latino" restaurant is one of three by Frank and Elizabeth Minier.

16 U.S. Latino Facts

The Latino Coalition's 16 Latino Facts:

  1. The Latino population in the United States increased 346% between 1970 and 2004.
  2. The Latino Population is growing at a rate of over 3,000 per day and over 1,100,000 per year.
  3. 82% of the Latino population is concentrated in 10 states.
  4. Seven of the 10 states reporting the largest Latino population growth since 1990 are from the South.
  5. Latinos comprise at least 5% of the population in 30 states and are the largest minority in 20 states.
  6. Latinos are the largest minority in 41 of the nation’s 100 largest cities.
  7. Latinos and African Americans together comprise the majority of the population in 52 of the nation’s 100 largest cities.
  8. 9,308,000 Latinos were registered to vote on November 2004.
  9. Latinos currently hold office in 38 states.
  10. Three Latinos are serving in the Senate of the United States (Colorado, Florida and New Jersey).
  11. One Latino is currently serving as Governor (NM), though in the past, a total of five have been elected in three states.
  12. 27 Latinos currently serve in the congress of the United States.
  13. The Latino population in 75 congressional districts is currently between 100,000 – 300,000.
  14. There are 234 Latino state legislators.
  15. There are currently 5,205 Latino elected officials in the United States.
  16. A Latino is the Mayor of the second largest city in America (Los Angeles).

After School Program Coordinator - Hempstead

Posted 10.29.08

After School Program Coordinator

Commitment: 20 hours per week; starting ASAP and ending June 2009

Location: Hempstead High School, Hempstead, NY

Company: Circulo de la Hispanidad’s mission is to empower Long Island’s underserved populations through access to education, training and support services towards the goal of self-sufficiency and integration. Providing free direct services from two offices strategically located in Hempstead and Long Beach, Circulo serves about 15,000 people annually.

For more information go to www.cdlh.org

Job Description: The After School Program operates five days a week, from 3:00 to 7:00 pm, Monday through Friday, in accordance with the Hempstead School District calendar. The ideal candidate will command the respect of students by maintaining the organization's strict tone and high expectations.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

- Maintain a quite environment for students completing homework and studying; provide one-to-one tutoring
- Track and chart the attendance, grades and performances of students
- Assist students with planning and time management
- Set up and organize physical after-school space
- Complete required reports

Qualifications: Teaching or youth work experience; classroom management a plus; Bilingual - Spanish-English preferred.
Please email cover letter and resume to: flasso@cdlh.org

10/27/07

Dramatic Growth of Latino Businesses on Long Island

The U.S. Department of Commerce reported 73,829 Latino businesses on Long Island with combined revenues of $5.7 billion.

Unfortunately, the government's report is based on '02 data. As such, it is useless as a measure of current activity. Too bad since timely data might help Long Islanders better understand and appreciate full contributions of its growing and most dynamic population: Los Latinos.

What is most useful is the report's finding that the growth rate for Latino businesses ('97-'02) within the NYC region was a spectacular 57 per cent. In contrast, the national rate was a modest ten per cent.

Now that's important data!

Why? Because it tells us that the Latino community is investing in the future, building assets, and setting a foundation for economic, social and political power right here on Long Island.

The Future

A rapidly expanding Latino population, combined with the shrinkage of the older and nonLatino/non-immigrant population, suggests continued Latino business growth. For example, HispanTelligence estimated a national Latino business growth rate of 7.6 percent through 2015. Applying that percentage growth to Long Island nets over 175,000 by 2015 and 250,000 by 2020. Additionally, revenues grow to over $20 billion by 2020.

An urgent question for policymakers is how to ensure that new Latino entrepreneurs (as well as enterprising immigrants, African Americans and others) are not handcuffed as a result of reactionary policies.

Related:

New York Leads Nation in Growth Rate of Hispanic-Owned Businesses
Long Island Is Entering A Period of Social And Economic Crisis
Our Economic Future: Minority Businesses Taking The Lead

Photos: Chris Castro's Solar Cafe in Brentwood; Hector Delgado's The Delgado Travel Agency of Jackson Heights

10/23/07

Half of New York's Latinos Live in Long Island


Did you know that 1.5 million Latinos make New York's Long Island their home?


Surprised, right? I was--and I'm a bit of a demography buff.

Why is it such a surprise? I'll get into that and related issues in later posts. The purpose of this post is to take a look at the population numbers as they stand now, and to allow a peek at what's to come.

93.2% of NY Latinos Live Downstate

The 2006 American Community Survey put New York's Latino population at 3,139,590, or 16.3% of the state's population. That is, one of every six New Yorkers is Latino--and that's excluding most of those with a partial Latino heritage.

3,139,590 is a big number.

Actually, if NY Latinos were their own state, it would have more people than 21 U.S. states, including: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Another interesting facet of the New York Latino population is that it's heavily concentrated in the state's Downstate region. Fully 93.2% , or 2,924,923, Latino New Yorkers live in the 12 counties comprising downstate New York (i.e., lower Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island).

Downstate New York counties include: Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester.

93.2%!!!

A mere 6.8% of the Latino population (213,492 persons) is distributed across the state's remaining 50 counties.

In terms of people per square mile, Downstate New York has a 739 Latinos per square mile vs just 4.25 Latinos per square mile in the rest of the state.

4,835 Latinos per NYC square mile

Of course, Latinos are not evenly distributed--whether in Upstate or Downstate. As people tend to do--they're concentrated in certain jurisdictions within both regions.

The Downstate concentration is in the City of New York. Actually, almost three of every four New York Latinos (72%) reside in New York City.

The resulting NYC Latino density is an astounding 4,835 persons per square mile.

Long Island is an island (and it contains 39% of all New Yorkers!)
First, a geography lesson --important since people tend to confuse the physical and political make-up of the island.

Long Island is an island. It's bound by the Long Island Sound to its North and the Atlantic Ocean to its South. It's connected to the mainland via three bridges to the Bronx and three ferry routes across the Sound to Connecticut. It's also connected to the isles of Manhattan, Roosevelt and Staten Island by a web of tunnels, bridges, commuter rail lines, subways and river ferries. The Long Island Expressway cuts a path across its length, a stretch of some 100 miles from Long Island City on its western tip to Riverhead, the island's easternmost city.

Long Island is urban and suburban (and it even has a touch of rural scape in Eastern Suffolk). That is, it contains two of New York City's most dynamic counties/boroughs: Queens and Kings (aka Brooklyn), as well as the suburban counties of Nassau and Suffolk. Queens and Kings are governed by the Mayor of New York City, while Nassau and Suffolk are ruled by 100s of governing entities, including 2 county governments, 2 cities, 13 towns, 95 incorporated villages, 127 school districts, 2 reservations, etc.

(Note: The way Long Island is governed has implications for the quality and cost of life for the poor as well as the rich. It's America's non-so-subtle--yet legal--mechanisms for racial and class segregation. More on this later.)

According to the '05 U.S. Census projections, 7.5 million people live on geographic Long Island--which is an incredible 39% of the state's total population!

Over a third of all New Yorkers live on what is essentially a long thin blade of land slicing into the Atlantic Ocean.

1.5 Million Latino Long Islanders (or 46% of the State Total)

According to the 2006 American Community Survey, 1,445.646 Latinos were projected to be living on Long Island.

Queens 597,773
Kings 496,304
Suffolk 191,552
Nassau 160,017

That is a 43% increase from the 1990 U.S. Census count of 1,008,769.

Queens 381,120
Kings 462,411
Suffolk 87,852
Nassau 77,386

2,000,000 Latino Long Islanders by 2020?

Long Island's Latino population will likely grow to over 2 million by 2020--that is, if recent population growth rates continue.

Using this compound annual rate calculator and 'o6 and 1990 data, suggests an annual Long Island Latino population growth rate of 2.43%. Taking that rate and plugging it into this population calculator results in a 2020 Latino population of 2,023,216.

Here's what it looks like by year:

2006 - 1,445,646
2007 - 1,480,775
2008 - 1,516,758
2009 - 1,553,615
2010 - 1,591,368
2011 - 1,630,038
2012 - 1,669,648
2013 - 1,710,220
2014 - 1,751,779
2015 - 1,794,347
2016 - 1,837,949
2017 - 1,882,612
2018 - 1,928,359
2019 - 1,975,218
2020 - 2,023,216

Conclusion
New York's Latino population is heavily concentrated Downstate region--and its greatest density being in New York City. While geographic Long Island hosts two NYC counties (Queens and Kings) as well as Nassau and Suffolk, it's Latino population of 1.5 million represents 46% of the state's total. Assuming a continued growth rate of 2.43% per year, Long Island's Latino population will grow to over 2 million by 2020.

Two million Latinos are a lot of people, representing significant purchasing power and a potent political bloq, themes Latino Long Island will address over time.

However, the broader point is that irrespective of the tenor of the times, Latinos are a major presence on Long Island now--and the group's impact will grow and deepen over time. There are amazingly talented Latinos contributing to the growth and success of Long Island now--and many young people who'll shine in due time. Latinos are a hardy people with a hope and belief in a better tomorrow.

We should know and celebrate who we are today--as we move confidently in shaping the Long Island of tomorrow.

Data Sources:

US Census: New York County Selection Map
New York State population
Queens County population
Kings County population
Suffolk County population
Nassau County population

10/19/07

Bilingual Jobs 11/08

Immigration Lawyer - Suffolk (11/08)

Physical Therapist/Physical Therapy - Queens (11/08)

pt Receptionist - Queens (11/08)

SPEECH PATHOLOGIST - Queens (11/08)

Physician Assistant - Queens (11/08)

Legal Secretary /Paralegal - Queens (11/08)

Guidance Counselor - Queens (11/08)

Preschool Special Education Teachers - Queens (11/08)

Case Manager/Counselor - Queens (11/08)

Speech Therapist - Queens (11/08)

Computer Instructors - Queens 11/08)

ESL,GED Instructors - Queens 11/08)

DIRECTOR OF HOUSING - Queens (11/08)

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT - Queens (11/08)

Housing Counselor/Organizer - Woodside (11/08)

Mediation Specialist -Queens (11/08)

Client Advocate - Brooklyn (11/08)

Housing Specialist - Queens (11/08)

Case Coordinator - Brooklyn (11/08)

Partners in Unity Coordinator - Brentwood (11/08)

Plaintiff/Personal Injury Para Legal - Freeport (11/08)

pt Receptionist/Legal Assistant - Ronkonkoma (11/08)

Medical Assistant - Hempstead (11/08)

Office Assistant - Farmingdale (11/08)

pt Legal Secretary - Freeport (11/08)

Legal Secretary - Bayshore (11/08)

Office Assistant/Paralegal - Freeport (11/08)

Dental Assistant - Medford (11/08)

Family Physician - Bayshore/Amityville/Lake Grove (11/08)

Physician's Asst - Bayshore/Amityville/Lake Grove (11/08)

Physical Therapist - Bayshore/Amityville/Lake Grove (11/08)

Receptionist - Bayshore (11/08)

Nurse Practioner - Bayshore/Amityville/Lake Grove(11/08)

Housing Counselor - Bohemia (11/08)

Bilingual Social Workers - Copiague, Central Islip (11/08)

After School Program Coordinator - Hempstead (10/08)

Farmingville Community Organizer (10/08)

Farmingville Community Organizer: Workplace Project

POSTED OCTOBER 9, 2008

Workplace Project
Farmingville Community Organizer

The Workplace Project, a non-profit membership organization that supports immigrant workers on Long Island, is seeking a Community Organizer for the area of Farmingville and Suffolk County. This person reports to the Executive Director and works in coordination with the organizers and other staff. The responsibilities of the position include:

• Organizing: Work with local committee and members to build the power of Latino immigrant workers in Long Island, specifically targeting Suffolk County. Implement campaigns in coordination with Workplace Project staff and members, including voter registration campaigns, legislative campaigns and other campaigns as needed and determined by members.

• Education and Outreach: Conduct presentations and outreach regarding the Workplace Project to educate the community regarding their rights and to attract new members to the organization. Coordinate volunteer taught education program that provides ESL, computer and other workshop programs to members.

• External relations: Manage and build relationships with universities, government agencies and other organizations that bring increased resources to the community, including volunteers, funding and services.

• Fundraising: Support local committee in developing and implementing fundraising strategies, including special events fundraisers, member dues, and fee for services.

• Financial/ Administrative: In cooperation with the Farmingville committee, administer office tasks such as paying bills and maintaining records of income and expenses.

Hours: Full-time preferred, must be flexible for evenings and weekends. Part time would also be considered depending on hours of availability.

Salary: Competitive

Qualifications: Understanding of situation of Latino immigrants on Long Island, in particular in Suffolk County. Motivation, creativity and commitment to social justice required. Ability to read, write and speak in English and Spanish. Have access to a car. Ability to work as part of a team.

Interested candidates should send resumes to: Nadia Marin-Molina, Executive Director, Workplace Project, 91 N. Franklin St., Suite 207, Hempstead, NY 11550, by fax: 516-565-5470, by email to nadia@workplaceprojectny.org