12 “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on[b] its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a human being. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel! Joshua
Walking into the promise land was no small process for Joshua. It was a well fought journey – a journey with many obstacles, hindrances and battles. Yet, GOD remained faithful. He promised Joshua that he would bring His people into the promise land. However, He never told Joshua that it was going to be an easy task. Just like the wilderness experience, GOD gave many signs of wonders elevating His people’s faith in Joshua as he did with Moses encouraging and steering the hearts of His soldiers to fight a good fight for the army of GOD. God is still in the miracle business and His signs are still present. They may not be as grand as splitting a sea or making the moon stand still. However, they are in our everyday existence. As believers we have to seek them out.

TALENTED TEENS & TOP PERFORMERS ULIMINATE HARLEM STAGE FOR
35th Annual Harlem Tree Lighting Ceremony
By Keith L. Forest

On Monday, December 12, 2011, the holiday season in Harlem came to life as Harlem’s own Grammy and Oscar nominated music group Impact Repertory Theatre; youth groups Vy Higgins Gospel for Teens and the Urban Assembly School for the Performing Arts’ Voices of Excellence choir took center stage for the 35th Annual Harlem Tree Lighting Ceremony.

Hosted by NY1 News leading anchorwoman Cheryl Wills, the festive, outdoor, family-affair also featured a soulful holiday greeting from balladeer Alyson Williams who moved the crowed with her own personal rendition of “This Christmas.” Three-time Tony Awards winner Hinton Battle was also on hand. Broadway community’s most respected musical stars debut his first inspirational single, “When I Walk,” and later introduced cast members from his latest off Broadway production Sistas. NY Assemblyman Keith Wright, the legendary Roxanne Shante, radio personalities DJ Marley Marl and WBLS own Dr. Bob Lee and other luminaries were also in attendance.

The event, which was sponsored by the New York State Office of General Services, Melba’s Restaurant, Harlem Community Development Corporation, American Express, Harlem Arts Alliance, Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, Healthfirst, Chez Lucienne and City College of New York, highlights Harlem’s profound legacy and majestic future. As in the past, organizers will once again use this affair as an opportunity to give back to those less fortunate. “This is the community’s tree,” stated Willie Walker, committee member of Holidays in Harlem. “During these difficult economic times, many families in our community are unable to put food on their tables. This ceremony and this tree is our gift to them.”

The history of the Harlem Tree Lighting Ceremony dates back to 1976 when a group of prominent Harlemites decided to celebrate their beloved neighborhood with a ceremonial festival similar to the annual Rockefeller Plaza event. In 1978, with the assistance of New York State office of General Services, Con Edison and the 369th Army National Guard, the first tree was placed in front of Adam Clayton State Office Building. 35 years later, with corporate and community support, the tradition lives on.

The Holidays In Harlem Committee is comprised of concerned citizens from both the public and private sector, in concert with NYS Office of General Services. Each year a committed body of good spirited citizens’ come together to create this amazing tree lighting event in hopes that the affair captures the spirit of all who visit the historic village while reflecting the true essence of Harlem. The main event is the tree lighting ceremony, which will feature a magnificent 30 foot balsam fir tree adorned with an array of cool LED lights, followed by an after party in the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building sponsored by Melba’s Restaurant.

Pictures by Hubert Williams of Images of Us

Pix 1: Cheryl Wills (centered Right); Vy Higginson (centered Left) and the Vy Higginson Gospel for Teens take a bow before the Harlem community’s illuminated 35 ft. balsam fir tree.
Pix 2: Harlem’s own Impact Repertory Theatre delivered yet another energetic performance
Pix 3: Soul singer Alyson Williams raised the frigid temperature with her stylized version of “This Christmas”

Deputy Chief Michael Marino threatens cops at 79th Precinct who want to go on summons strike
By Rocco Parascandola - New York Daily News

A top NYPD supervisor drew a line in the sand, daring Brooklyn cops to carry out a threat to stop writing summonses for a day, police sources said Tuesday.

The Daily News reported Sunday that officers assigned to the 79th Precinct were so angry over alleged ticket quotas that they talked about not writing summonses for 24 hours in protest.
The sources said Deputy Chief Michael Marino marched into the Bedford-Stuyvesant precinct at roll call Monday with a deputy inspector and read cops the riot act.

"Just try it," a police source quoted Marino as saying. "I'll come down here and make sure you write them."

Another source said Marino vowed to transfer people, like he did when he was the commanding officer of the 75th Precinct in East New York.

In 2006, an arbitrator ruled that Marino broke state labor laws by punishing cops who did not meet ticket and arrest quotas.

"A lot of guys were really [angry] by the time he left," said a 79th Precinct police source, referring to the Monday tirade. "The younger guys, they're scared. They'll listen. The older guys are not going to stand for this."

Marino - second in command in Brooklyn North - didn't respond to requests for comment.
Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne said Marino never threatened anyone with a transfer. Instead, he came to roll call to remind officers that issuing summonses was about "protecting people, not numbers."

The 31-year NYPD vet was named in a $50 million lawsuit filed by Officer Adrian Schoolcraft, who accused cops of forcing him into a psych ward for blowing the whistle on quotas in the 81st Precinct in Brooklyn.

Audio tapes showed that Marino was one of the cops who pulled Schoolcraft from his Queens home.

Lt. Robert Gonzalez, president of the NYPD chapter of the National Latino Officers Association, was outraged that Marino attended Monday's roll call. He wants Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly to investigate Marino's conduct.

Irate cops at 79th Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant threaten boycott over quotas

By Rocco Parascandola - NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Tensions over tickets have reached a boiling point at a Brooklyn precinct where officers are considering a day-long summons boycott.

"We've talked about it," said one police source familiar with the possible slowdown in the 79th Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant. "Nobody feels this is right, asking us to write summonses just to meet a quota."

A second source said that about six weeks ago, some officers did not write summonses for one shift to protest shift changes targeted at low-performing cops.
The changes were later scuttled.

Cops at the precinct, like those in other commands, insist their supervisors impose quotas, which are illegal, to churn out revenue for the city and impress higher-ups. The bosses have a different perspective.

Sources said supervisors have grown frustrated that too many cops ignore quality-of-life problems - such as public boozing - that could be quashed with so-called "C" summonses.
A longtime flashpoint, quotas have come into the spotlight recently as officers in at least three precincts have griped publicly about having to meet quotas or be punished.

In the 79th Precinct, the number of C summonses issued this year compared to the same period last year has dropped 22.5%, to 15,906 from 20,521. Parking tickets are down 11%, while moving violations are up 3%.

Two recent internal papers from the precinct obtained by the Daily News illustrate the clash between cops and brass.

Deputy Inspector Peter Bartoszek, the precinct's commanding officer, recently complained in a note to a sergeant about three cops on the midnight shift.

"In 4 months, and after 70 tours on patrol, P.O. Denis has not written any C summons?" Bartoszek wrote about one of the officers. "How is that possible?"

Bartoszek ends by writing he'll "stop here before my blood pressure gets raised higher than it already is."

Officer Jeanmarc Denis said he was well aware of the note. "I guess he's feeling the pressure from Compstat," he said. "He feels the pressure and it goes down" to the officers.

Denis would not comment on the number of summons he has written. Bartoszek didn't respond to requests for comment. The NYPD has denied using quotas and said Bartoszek was doing his job.

"With virtually no arrests or criminal summonses from three officers in a busy precinct for over four months, it's no wonder the sergeant received a note and the [commanding officer] has to keep his blood pressure down," said NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne.
The second document is a mocked-up monthly performance report that Lt. Maureen Donohue gave officers on the day shift, sources said.

Cops saw it as a push to meet a monthly quota, including 11 arrests, four for felonies, plus 22 tickets for parking, 26 for moving violations and 2 C summonses.

"We've been doing activity reports for years, and now she decides she needs to describe it to us," the first source said. "She tells us, 'This is how you fill it out and this is how it should look at the end of the month.' She spoke very carefully because of everything that's being written about quotas, but it was so obvious she was trying to get us to get more numbers."

A second source said officers believed the lieutenant was "suggesting" certain numbers be met.
Donohue did not respond to a request for comment.

New Bakeries and Cafes in Bed Stuy Face Uncertain Prospect
By La Toya Tooles - BROOKLYN INK

The outside of Ms. Dahlia’s Café on the 440th block of Norstrand Ave in Brooklyn is a sign of changing times. There are wicker and metal benches nestled in the nook of bay windows with colorful cushions placed around. It’s an unusual sight on the otherwise bustling but often grimy street.
“There’s curb appeal with the pillows on the bench,” said Margo Lewis, co-owner of the one-year-old café. “Nobody is doing that around here.”

Tenants at city housing project apartment in Bed-Stuy wonder who'll stop rain?

BY Jake Pearson - NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

When Joseph Jones looks at his ceiling in his city housing project apartment, he can see the sky.
That's because there is a gaping, 3-by-4-foot hole in his top-floor apartment in the Weeksville Gardens Houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

"It makes me go crazy at times," said Jones, 30, a security guard who lives in the three-bedroom apartment with two siblings. "I can't believe this; I know we need to get out of here."
Jones is one of at least a dozen tenants who live in fourth-floor Weeksville apartments with leaky ceilings at the 256-unit public housing project on Dean St. between Troy and Schenectady Aves.
The tenants said they have repeatedly complained for years as the cracks have grown larger, but it took until October before the city Housing Authority sent workers who put tarps up to cover the holes.

Tenants said the tarps don't catch all the rain water, which has damaged floors, beds and other furniture.

"It's dangerous, all that water, because you never know if one day the ceiling will just come down," said Mildred Ponder, 62, who said she complained 20 times before workers came.
After the Daily News asked about the holes in Weeksville's roofs, NYCHA spokeswoman Heidi Morales said that despite its tight budget the agency is looking to find the $3.5 million to repair the roof.

Morales also said Friday that inspectors were sent out to Weeksville to offer temporary transfers to residents who need them.

But resident Phelisa Benjamin said there's no way she would move her family - especially during the holidays.

"They should've fixed this years ago .... I don't think I need to move around at all," said Benjamin, who lives in a top-floor apartment where NYCHA workers plastered a piece of cardboard over a hole in her bedroom in October - a hole that continues to leaks.

"The plasterer who came was upset and he said, 'Why are they sending a plasterer when you need to send a contractor here to fix the roof?'" Benjamin said.

For Jones, the white tarp NYCHA workers put over the hole hasn't done much good. He said on days when it rains heavily he has filled a 30-gallon jug full of rain water at least three times.
"This is really wild," he said. "It wakes me up in the morning: The sound, the water splashing on my face, the debris."

"It's horrible," added Ponder, who said she's getting sick of repeatedly calling about her cracked ceiling. "They always say, 'Somebody will come and take care of it,' but they never do."
The tenants use pots and garbage cans to catch the dripping water.

Tenant advocate Reginald Bowman said a lack of funding was no excuse to let dangerous conditions continue at Weeksville.

"I think the Housing Authority needs to find the money to fix the problem immediately," said Bowman.

"In a situation like this where there's actually life-threatening damage to the building itself," said Bowman, "the Housing Authority should immediately find a way to get permanent repairs."

After-School program in Bedford Stuyvesant provides care and counseling to kids whose parents are in prison

By Josie Raymond - Tonic

Almost 2.5 million kids in the US have a parent who is in prison. So who steps in to fill the void? With any luck, it's you.

"For children who experience other kinds of separation from their parents, there's some level of sympathy. The children of incarcerated parents don't get that. They're also serving time," said Sharon Content, the founder of Children of Promise, NYC, a three-year-old organization committed to doing everything it can to make sure that the children of incarcerated parents don't end up behind bars themselves.

An after-school program and summer day camp in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn are focused on developing the children's social, academic and leadership skills to ensure that they've got opportunities for success. It's the first program of its kind in New York City and it currently serves 135 kids from ages 6 to 18, including the cute ones in the photo above.

Group of Bed-Stuy men, We Make Us Better, escorts pedestrians in wake of robberies

BY Jake Pearson - THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

They're not part of a political club, they don't come from any one church and they've never been particularly active in the community - until now.

After a spate of recent muggings and robberies, a group of 20 Bedford-Stuyvesant men started escorting people home as they got off the train and are walking through the neighborhood reaching out to young men.

More Officers Getting Sick Of Quotas, Threaten Boycott

It’s the end of the year and for those of us who live in Bedford Stuyvesant and other large minority populated communities, we are quite aware that the end of the year means police quota season. Every year police take to the street taxing the poor by writing up bogus summons in an effort to meet their annual quota. Although law suits have been filed and police officers have come forward, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg continually deny that such a system exists. A recent article in Gothamlist.com quotes police in the 79th Precinct planning a possible boycott.

MODERN DAY MATCHMAKER BRINGS DATING TOUR TO THE BIG APPLE
Top Relationship Experts to Share Dating Advise!
By Keith L. Forest

What better place to fall in love than New York City! As the media capital of the world it is the setting where many romantic movies were made which makes it the most spectacular backdrop for two hearts to join as one. However, since the majority of New Yorkers live such fast-paced, complex lives, finding that special someone can be daunting. Although many have turned to modern technology as a tool to schedule love in their lives, a few hopeless romantics are holding out for that knight in shining armor.

Life coach and modern day matchmaker Paul Carrick Brunson, the visionary behind One Degree From (dot) Me - a relationship and lifestyle coaching firm for upscale, urban professionals who are looking for like-minded individuals - is aware of the many challenges people in big cities face. “When you look at the number of singles in major cities, it appears it would be a gold mine for people looking to get hitched,” Paul says. However, according to Paul, marriage rates are much higher in suburban areas. That, Paul says, is because most people move to big cities searching for something other than a romantic relationship which places many urban dwellers on the “single but not available” list.

For those singles who seek the perfect spouse to compliment their career, Paul suggests you alter your priorities. ”When working with clients, I love using the analogy of securing a job,” Paul says. “What would you do to get a great job? Would you work day and night for it? Would you hone your skills?” He muses. “So if having a committed relationship now has priority over career and education, ask yourself what are you (willing to do to) secure a great Relationship?”

For those living in New York who are struggling in the dating arena, Paul Carrick and his intellectually astute crew beckons you to join them at “The Modern Day Matchmaker: Real Relationship Talk” tour. The seven city tour, which kicked off in DC, will touch down in the Big Apple Thursday, June 3 at Providence, 311 West 57th Street. “When we originally planned the tour earlier this year, we asked the viewers of our web series where they wanted us to stop,” says Paul, who is also hosts the popular “The Modern Day MatchMaker” series on You Tube. “New York was a fan favorite.” Upcoming touring cities include Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles and London, England.

The evening will include live entertainment, a panel discussion from top relationship experts and a VIP after party immediately following the forum. Panelists lined up for New York are: writer, relationship blogger Anslem Samuel of Naked with Socks On; columnist, author and blogger Demetria Luca of A Belle In Brooklyn; motivational speaker, writer and blogger Kenya Stevens; writer, blogger Damon “The Champ” Young of “Very Smart Brothas”; writer and blogger Lola ADesioye; and writer, blogger Jozen Cummings of “Until I Get Married.” For additional information and to register for the event, log onto onedegreefrom.me.

Keith L. Forest is a freelance publicist, writer and proud Bedford-Stuyvesant home owner who lives and works in the beloved community. His current blog space mybedstuy.blogspot.com seeks to celebrate the people and places that make up this great community while addressing issues such as gentrification, predatory lending and other ill norms that seek to exploit, discredit and harm the area and its people.

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Starring Kerrie Washington; David Allen Greer; James Spader & Richard Thomas


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The creator of Glengarry Glen Ross, The Verdict and Speed-The-Plow returns to Broadway with a new play that proves nothing is a simple as black & white.
 
Three-time Emmy® Award winner JAMES SPADER (Boston Legal), DAVID ALAN GRIER (In Living Color), KERRY WASHINGTON (Ray) and Emmy® Award winner RICHARD THOMAS (Democracy) star in this incendiary story about the perceptions and realities that color our world – and the subtle shades between being a victim and being victimized.


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"Two Brooklyn school co-workers share one dream to adopt in Haiti,"
By Ben Chapman - NEW YORK DAILY NEWS



For five years they've shared an office at a Brooklyn school - and now they share a dream.

Assistant Principals Henry Renelus and Regina Tottenham only recently learned they are both adopting young children victimized by the Haiti earthquake.

The two, administrators at P368K Star Academy in Bedford-Stuyvesant, have already traveled to Haiti together with their spouses and are working toward adopting kids they met.

"I guess we're more alike than we thought," said Renelus, 36, who was born in Haiti and lives in Nassau County with his wife and their three kids. "We're both blessed to be able to help."

As colleagues, the two worked just a few feet apart at the K-12 school for children with autism and other issues.

They were friendly but never spent time together outside work, until they left for a week-long trip to Haiti last month.

When Renelus told Tottenham of his plan to adopt a Haitian child during a school meeting on Feb. 22, she was shocked.

"You're flippin' kidding me," recounted Tottenham, 43, who lives in Williamsburg with her 3-year-old son and husband. "I was thinking the same thing."

The couples' trip to Haiti was tough to take.

"What we saw there broke our hearts," said Renelus, who moved to Brooklyn when he was 12. "The destruction is unbelievable."

The couples visited Bon Samaritan, an orphanage where 55 kids sleep in tents about 20 miles north of Port-au-Prince.

Tottenham plans to return in six months to adopt an 8-month-old girl, Charlinde, who was left in a basket by her mother after the quake.

Right now, the docile baby with braided hair gets only one small meal of rice each day - and has no diapers.

Renelus visited his cousin, Fitzner Renelus, 46, who lives with his wife and six kids in Croix-des-Bouquets, about eight miles outside the capital.

The family's house was flattened by the earthquake, and they now live in tents made of bedsheets, with little water and food.

After a tearful reunion, the family decided Renelus will adopt two boys, Obedson, 5, and John Peterson, 16, chosen because the younger is Renelus' godson and the older boy can look out for his younger brother in America.

"I'd send all of my children away if I could," their father Fitzner told The News in a phone call. "Only God knows when life in Haiti will return to normal."