In this Op-Ed Julius Tajiddin responds to an interview of Mayor Michael Bloomberg by the Amsterdam News (located in the Village of Harlem in New York City). Tajiddin covers Charter Schools, Residency Requirements and Police Relationships in predominantly Black and minority areas of New York City. Tajiddin's reponse regarding Police Relationships is very timely given the recent news stories about Reverend Calvin Butts' experience with the local Police.

           When I read that Bloomberg stated in his interview with the Amsterdam News, “Charter schools are the private schools for the minority community,” I said to myself, “How dare he.” Who says? However, I’ll agree with him to this extent. Many people in the Black and Latino community believe that a charter school is some sort of private school. That’s because many people are uninformed of what a charter school is all about and the process for enrollment as it sometimes is, is by lottery. So people have a false perception of what a charter school is. Those who know are not convinced that a charter school is any better than a regular public school.

          My daughter went to an alternative school – something like a charter school - that had some type of selection process for enrollment and my wife was told by her friend, who had no real proof that the school was any better than a regular public school, that it was a great school. My wife passed that rumor on.

          The fact is, it was one of the worse schools I’ve seen in a long time. Since it was elementary it didn’t have the same degree of typical adolescent behavior like some middle and high schools. However, academically, it was in 200 + [260 or so] place out of 500 elementary schools. Forty Four Percent of the third grade class, during the time my daughter was in third grade, failed to achieve proficiency levels on their citywide exams. At of all the children in that percentile who took the exam no one was retained, even with having poor attendance. And most of the children were white. None of the white children were required to go to summer school either.

          On the other hand, my daughter who tested higher than 55 percent of all New York City third graders in one area and 60% in another area was demoted after a failed attempt to transfer her out of the school because I wasn’t playing the special education game that many New York City school principals/administrators want to play with Black families.

          This came to Klein and Bloomberg’s attention. When neither of them intervened after I pled with them heart and soul I filed a court action to try and force them to put my daughter back in her right grade. A weak judge under pressure succumbed and ruled that technically I was barred from bringing an Article 78 proceeding because of the statute of limitations, and that, although her grades were higher than the majority of third graders citywide, her class work, according to the people out to doom her – with nothing in proof to back it up – was poor, and she was late 22 times and absent 11 days that year, so combined her attendance was poor also. Again, except for an affidavit that was self-serving for the DOE, the proof presented showed that under the DOE’s regulations her attendance was satisfactory. This ruling could have been appealed [because I wasn’t really barred by the statute of limitations]. But I had to do what was best for my daughter and get her back in her right grade. And keeping her demoted pending an appeal would have psychologically hurt her. I still would like the Court of Appeals to address the issue for the sake of other children similarly situated.

          Besides, she attended a private summer school, which I paid for, and passed. The reason for that will only draw this opinion out and there are other points to touch on.

          But if Bloomberg really believes that “the test measured what he knew…” and that “people [shouldn’t] worry about teaching to the test…[because] the test is: can you add two numbers? Can you multiply? If that’s the test, that’s also the skill,” then why didn’t he apply that to my daughter? She demonstrated that she had the skill.

          So parents of the Black and Latino community have someone show you proof that a [particular] charter school is better than a [particular] regular public school before you go “[chasing] after legislatures with signs, screaming, following them around,” demanding that they pass this proposed legislation to lift the cap on charter schools. The way charter schools are really headed is only another way to gentrify a community. Remember charter schools can select their enrollment.

          Bloomberg also recognizes that poor performers are poor performers because they come from an environment where “we as a” society have always left them out. “When I came into office, I said I’m going to change that. We are making progress,” he said. But if he doesn’t want to shut these children out why is he pushing so hard for gentrification? That’s shutting them out. And why does he allow surprise scanning at predominantly Black and Latino populated schools, confiscating their cell phones, when predominantly white populated schools don’t get scanned and those students can bring their cell phones to school? Is he saying that white children don’t commit crimes or have drug problems? So by his actions he has alienated the Black student population.

          As for his reason for wanting the DC37 - residency requirement for New York City police officers and fire fighters – removed because allowing them live outside the city would alleviate the housing shortage in the city to some degree – how? - doesn’t fly. Is he trying to say that New York City doesn’t provide a resourceful enough pool to select New York’s Finest and Bravest? – Because that’s what it sounds like he’s really saying. However, if that can be proven so can this - Removing such residency requirement depletes job availability for City residents thus causing higher unemployment in the city. If one can’t pay his rent then he faces an eviction. So is that the result we want in exchange for minimally, at the most, alleviating the housing shortage? But let’s be clear. There’s no housing shortage for market rent apartments or home ownership. Therefore, such a result would still add to a housing shortage – an affordable housing shortage. Let’s use the people power we got here.

          But to just nail such illogical assertion in the coffin once and for all - There are always going to be people wanting to live in New York whether the city is improving or not, at least since I can remember. However, I can’t just move or work anywhere in the world - can I? - because such location may not have enough room for me. Of course if a city, state, or whatever the case may be, made special accommodations, then I could. But a government that cares about its citizens/residents isn’t going to push out one group of people to make room for another. So the fact that the city is improving [really in some areas and in some areas not] doesn’t change the fact that there is more than an adequate pool for recruits in civil employment jobs or people wanting to live in New York. What the city should be doing is grooming the talent it already has instead of worrying about giving jobs to outsiders when it hardly has jobs for its own. That would really be saying, “I’m going to change that.”

          Regarding community/police relations, there have always been problems with the Black and Latino community and white police. And although the present disposition of [white] New York City police in the Black and Latino community is not as bad as it used to be towards these groups, as it had been in the past, this is still along color lines. That’s not a good thing. White cops shouldn’t arrest people because they are Black. There should be zero tolerance. If white cops can be cordial to white citizens then they must be cordial to Black citizens. I can go in predominantly white neighborhoods and see that white cops treat white folks with respect. The same goes for Latino cops in Latino neighborhoods. This frown on the face of cops like they are natural born enemies to Black people does not work. It provokes confrontation and causes Black people in the community not to trust police. This behavior also carries over to police of the same or nonwhite ethnic group when it comes to dealing with the Black community.

          So the Mayor better come up with better answers, cause this is someone who’s been around in many arenas for a long time and is not easy to be hoodwinked.

NOTE:  Julius Tajiddin is giving workshops called "The Challenge" in Harlem about Charter Schools and Housing.   These workshops are sponsored by  The Black New Yorkers for Educational Excellence and the Comprehensive Education Plan, Inc.  Contact him about the next meeting at