By Harold DeRienzo Poverty and inequality are back on the national radar screen. That is a good thing, but what is even better is that this nascent debate is gaining resonance with the general public and seems to have gotten beyond pejorative characterizations of the poor as “welfare queens,” trading Read more
By Brian Sahd I think we can all agree that on one level the War on Poverty has been lost, no need to sugar coat this assessment. According to official government data, today, in 2014, 15% to 16% of the American population lives in poverty – that is the same Read more
By Harry DeRienzo January 8, 2014 marks the 50th Anniversary of the “War on Poverty.” This milestone provides an opportunity to review and assess our accomplishments as well as our failures. As declared by the President later that year (1964), this war was designed to lead to a Great Society, Read more
By Harold DeRienzo Gentrification is not a term that is seen as being value neutral. It is a term that has negative connotations – a formerly undesirable area becomes desirable, people with financial means move in, and poor people are forced out. But I think that what is important is Read more
1st Annual Bronx Gentrification Conference Saturday December 7, 2013 — 3-6 Panel Discussion; 7:30 Film Screening Bronx Documentary Center 614 Courtlandt Avenue, Bronx 10451 Harry DeRienzo, President, Banana Kelly, is a member of the panel discussing gentrification http://bronxdoc.org/post/67662846354/1st-annual-bronx-gentrification-conference
By Harry DeRienzo My friend, Dr. Brian Sahd, says I am becoming more conservative over time. He goes so far to say that “Glen Beck would be proud.” It may be true that I am becoming more conservative, if conservatism is defined through peopled-centered, accessible, and equitable economic systems that, Read more
By Brian Sahd I have come to the belief that DeRienzo is more conservative as time goes by. In his latest musings DeRienzo suggests that the prognosis for the United States is not bright; America is in a state of decline. He paraphrases Rousseau to argue that the state is Read more
By Eric Goldfischer At the Urban Convergences conference this past weekend (sponsored by the Rosa Luxembourg NYC office and hosted by the New School), a group of academics, thinkers, activists, and students got together under the banner of “Where Theory Meets the Street.” The concept was that we would all Read more
By Harold DeRienzo In my last blog, “National Health” Care, I posed the question of whether or not our country was in the state of decline. This question was based on the philosophical analogy of government as a “body politic,” one that functions as a whole only as well as Read more
By Jefrey Velasquez It has been a week since Eric and I had attended our first Organizing Academy Session. At first, we were all broken into groups and were asked to answer several questions on the whiteboard. Share your experience of the first time you experienced injustice in your life. Read more