Kieran K. Meadows

Dannelle Johnson sits in Coffey Park in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

At a community meeting held a few months ago in a local elementary school auditorium, a woman wearing solid purple sneakers addressed the seated crowd. Residents from the Red Hook Houses, a public housing development, were gathered there to discuss issues affecting them. Dannelle Johnson, serving as facilitator, invited attendees to the stage to voice their concerns. It is notoriously hard to hear in these naturally reverberating rooms, especially without a microphone, so Johnson had to project her energetic voice as she spoke.

“Give it up, people, give it up!” she said, enthusiastically leading the applause to encourage those brave enough to come up to the front.

At one point, she made an announcement about her own start-up production company, People’s Urban Films. Members of her staff joined her onstage.

“We need to tell our own stories,” said Ian Volito, who grew up in Red Hook and is now working with Johnson.

And that is exactly what Johnson is attempting to do.

Deeply engaged in her community, Johnson, 36, wears many hats: tenants’ association leader, member of the community board, small business entrepreneur, filmmaker, feminist, and girls’ leadership counselor. Her current project envisions finding 100 aspiring filmmakers who live in public housing, giving them the resources to make their films, and in addition, teaching them entrepreneurial skills.

She approached local politicians and said, “I bet I can find you some talent right here in the ‘hood, some diamonds in the rough,” people who have the talent but not the resources or opportunity for exposure.

“If I can bring that to you, would you invest in these communities?” she said.

While some might say she dreams too big for the people in her neighborhood, those who know her say, if there is anyone who can achieve hard-to-reach goals, it’s Johnson.

“I’ve known Dannelle since she was a child,” says Lillie Marshall, the president of the Red Hook West Tenants’ Association, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1966. “She’s very honest and a hard worker. Whatever she decides to do, whatever she puts her mind to, she does.”

Johnson gets her constant drive from her parents. Her father, Holman, who died of cancer when she was 16 years old, used to tell her, “if someone don’t open the door for you, then you build a door.” He would know. He was a self-made carpenter and entrepreneur who had also served in World War II on a kitchen staff that was segregated.

Johnson’s mother, Catherine, 75, raised eight children—Dannelle the youngest—and also helped Johnson raise her first son, Gary Jr., now 17, born just before her senior year in high school. Johnson has two other sons: Shawndell, 16, and Ishmael, 12.

She was born and raised in the Red Hook Houses, Brooklyn’s largest project—30 old red brick buildings, home to over 8,000 people (over 70 percent of the neighborhood’s population), according to the 2000 census.

When Johnson was growing up in the 1980s, Red Hook was suffering through the crack epidemic, high crime rates, soaring unemployment, and a bad reputation. Johnson says there was some truth to the stigma, but the media greatly exaggerated it. This was especially true, she says, after Patrick Daly, the beloved principal of P.S. 15, was shot and killed in crossfire in 1992 when attempting to find a 9-year-old student who had left his school that day. (Listen to Johnson talk about the mentoring role Daly played in her life in the sidebar to the left.)

Since then, the neighborhood has turned its reputation around with crime rates at an all-time low. Still, unemployment in the Houses is over 20 percent. Johnson wants to be a major part of moving the community forward in terms of creating jobs and being a positive role-model for youth.

By day, she drives a mini school bus filled with 3 to 5-year-olds for Happy Child Transportation. On Saturdays, she works at the Red Hook Initiative, a local community organization, leading a group of five girls, ages 9 to 11. She says she doesn’t do it for the money, but simply because “they was me, and I was them.” In her spare time, she works on her own film project.

Johnson received help getting her production company off the ground from New York City Business Solutions, a part of the Small Business Services agency. She has applied for a training grant to fund the company, but admits she hasn’t gotten it yet.

Nevertheless, last week, she and her 27-member crew began filming her first documentary, called “The Making of the Emerging Urban Independent Filmmakers and New York City Artists.” That night, Johnson said she couldn’t fall asleep because she felt so blessed she was crying. She was proud of her crew, who are all public housing residents, many recently unemployed, and most working on deferred payment.

“These are people from New York City Housing Authority who let the world tell us we can’t do, we’re not entitled to have, we’re underprivileged, lack resources, we lack education,” she said. “But we came together as workers, not only to do a project, but to make opportunity for other people who are going to come after us.”

On Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009, the New York County Lawyers’ Association sponsored a public forum called “Protecting Journalists and Their Confidential Sources: A Matter of Privilege.” The event brought together lawyers and journalists, both on the panel and in the audience, to discuss the legal risks reporters face when dealing with sources that wish to remain anonymous. To get a basic understanding of what reporter’s privilege is, you can watch this video from Media Law Resource Center attorney Maherin Gangat.

L-R: Ann B. Lesk (NYCLA president), John Zucker, Judith Miller, Eve Burton, George Freeman, Joshua Kors, Carl Unegbu, Olivera Medenica (NYCHA Entertainment, Media, IP, Sport Law Section program chair)

Speakers:

Judith Miller, The Manhattan Institute (formerly of The New York Times)
Eve Burton, vice president and general counsel, The Hearst Corporation
George Freeman, assistant general counsel, The New York Times
Joshua Kors, investigative reporter, The Nation magazine
John Zucker, vice president, Law and Regulation, ABC, Inc.

Moderator:

Carl Unegbu, freelance journalist and NYCLA committee member

Sponsor: NYCLA’s Entertainment, Media, Intellectual Property and Sports Law Section
Co-Sponsors: NYCLA’s Civil Rights and Liberties Committee and Criminal Justice Section

—————————————

8:15 p.m.: WRAP – The forum is over and people are milling around talking to each other. General consensus: this area of media law is still very unclear and there are disagreements about what is necessary in terms of privilege. But the room is filled with the buzz of conversation, so at the very least, the discussion is continuing; and with the introduction of a federal shield law in Congress next week, I’m sure that discussion will continue.

8:11 p.m.: A questioner in the back row with an extremely cutting (and loud) voice (I admire his projection abilities) asks about how the discussion of reporter’s privilege could relate to the idea of executive privilege. Burton, in her response, says that from a legal standpoint, both privileges relate to the broad power grab by the powers vested in Article II of the Constitution (the Executive Branch) in the last eight years.

8:06 p.m.: In response to a question about timeliness of this issue, Zucker brings up a current case of a Detroit Free Press reporter who will not divulge his sources.

8:00 p.m.: Miller says that if a source lies to you, then you don’t publish it. Some murmurs in the room. She then qualifies it by saying when they “knowingly lie” to you and whether or not you’re able to know that they did.

7:56 p.m.: The question of qualified promises to sources comes up – as in “I’ll give you confidentiality until I get in trouble with the law.” Miller and Kors agree that sources will dry up unless the promise is a full promise of confidentiality. The questioner wonders out loud, then, what’s the point of the federal shield law?

7:52 p.m.: The radiator to stage right, keeps moaning slightly, on and off. I wonder if it might get worse and become a real nuisance.

7:48 p.m.: In response to the first question asked, George Freeman speaks about differences in the versions of the law in Congress. The last Senate version of the shield law only protects reporters and sources when it comes to confidential sources. However, the last House version protected any communications between reporter and source, confidential or not.

7:45 p.m.: The moderator opens the floor for questions from the audience. First one goes to a criminal defense lawyer sitting in the front row.

7:41 p.m.: First mention of the new Obama Administration by:…. *drumroll* John Zucker. He hopes that the new administration won’t go after journalists the way the Bush Administration did.

7:40 p.m.: As journalists, we need to consider whether or not we are being mouthpieces for an anonymous source who wants to disseminate false info, Kors says. But, he continues, it’s our job to make sure the information is true.

7:36 p.m.: Federal Shield Law actually adds something to state laws with regard to a leak investigation.

7:30 p.m.: Eve Burton says that Sen. Dianne Feinstein is worried that terrorists will try to claim this privilege. Miller interrupts her and says twice, “she’s afraid of Al-Jazeera.” Burton thinks that the question of who qualifies as a journalist is really not as a big part of this issue as people make it out to be. She thinks there are other more interesting parts of the issue. But she doesn’t say what. I’d like to know what she’s thinking.

7:25 p.m.: Who qualifies as a journalist? It was like hot potato with this question – first directed to Kors, then passed to Miller, now to Freeman.

7:21 p.m.: Zucker ties his point into a little historical context. Nixon really wanted to go after the press in the late 1960s. Despite the Supreme Court Branzburg decision against the press, state courts in the ‘70s were generally supportive, but now the pendulum has swung back against journalists.

7:18 p.m.: Zucker gets his first shot – he’s speaking about national security and a federal shield law. He makes a very good point that most information re: national security is classified. And since it would be illegal for anyone to give reporters this information, this is one area where we definitely need a federal shield law.

7:15 p.m.: Judith Miller would make the same decision (to not reveal that Scooter Libby was her anonymous source, and go to jail as a consequence) that she made a few years ago if she had to do it again.

LISTEN to Judith Miller after the forum talk about why she would make the same decision today:

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7:12 p.m.: We’re getting toward an hour into the forum and I’m starting to wonder if John Zucker is getting a little annoyed that he hasn’t been given an opportunity to speak yet. He’s all the way that the end of the panel. Literally and figuratively.

7:08 p.m.: First question from the moderator: Who is the privilege given to? Judith Miller thinks that “it is the source’s privilege.” Miller says that she never wrote anything with the information she had gotten from her confidential source (now known it was Scooter Libby). She wishes she had. After some of the discredited WMD reporting, I’m sure some in the audience were thinking they were glad she didn’t.

7:06 p.m.: Reporters are saying “it’s just not worth it” to publish stories when you have no protection. It stops the free flow of information.

7:04 p.m.: The purpose of the federal shield law is meant to “mesh” with the state shield laws. And it’s not an absolute privilege. It’s a balancing act. It’s the judge’s job to balance. What’s the interest of the government? Versus what’s the interest of the people?” says Eve Burton.

6:55 p.m.: The press are the government’s watchdogs, “not their lapdogs,” says George Freeman. He’s talking now about the Branzburg decision as precedent and talks about the three-part test.

6:52 p.m.: A Federal Shield Law will be introduced in Congress next week, says George Freeman. This privilege doesn’t only protect one person; it protects all of us. It enables all of us to get more information. If sources are afraid to talk to reporters, we’re just going to get news and information from the powerful in society. One could argue that this privilege is more important than a doctor-patient privilege.

VIDEO: Watch George Freeman after the forum talk about a federal shield law

6:46 p.m.: (How do you corroborate a confidential source? ) How do decide when to grant anonymity to a source? “First you have to question his motives,” Kors says.

6:40 p.m.: Joshua Kors sets up a presentation related to his reporting on veterans’ issues; it’s a Bob Woodruff package on ABC’s World News Tonight with Charlie Gibson. (Warning: The clip loads very slowly.)

6:37 p.m.: Tonight’s forum is about “We the People,” says moderator Carl Unegbu. Tonight we are discussing the question “why should journalists have a privilege not available to any other citizen?”

6:32 p.m.: The introductions continue. Olivera Medenica, Esq. asks how many in the audience are lawyers – about half the people in the room raise their hands. She also asks how many journalists there are – a number of people raise their hands, but they are outnumbered by the lawyers.

6:28 p.m.: The public forum begins with introductions of the panelists.

George Freeman (R) talks to a criminal defense attorney before the forum.

6:12 p.m.: The public forum is running a little late. The beautiful room (with three crystal chandeliers!) is filling up slowly and Judith Miller just arrived. The weather here in downtown Manhattan is atrocious this evening: Huge wet snowflakes that are not sticking.

In November, I reported and produced (along with H’Rina DeTroy) this broadcast TV package for the NYCity News Service: Bike Riders Vie to Join the Work Cycle

City streets are more bike friendly these days, thanks to new lanes — but many would-be two-wheel commuters complain there are too few safe places to park during work hours. Now the City Council wants to make building owners open their doors to bicycles.

The week before the historic 2008 presidential election dozens of reporters from the NYCity News Service fanned out all across the city to ask registered voters one question: Where do you want this country to be four years from now?

The resulting interactive map project, NY Snapshots, included short audio soundbites from a diverse group of New Yorkers from every community district in New York City (NY Snapshots was a small part of our comprehensive Election 2008 coverage). I spent the afternoon/early evening on Thursday, October 30, in Red Hook, Brooklyn (in Brooklyn CD 6) and contributed the following voices to NY Snapshots:

• Judy Ross, 50
• Angela Gentilcore, 49
• Irv Abelman, 67
• Erroll Footman, 40
• Isaac Ravi Shankara, 23
• Patty Carpenter, 55
• Eugene Lovet, 37

On most weekends these days the Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook sees a steady stream of cars going to and from the big-box Ikea furniture store or the Fairway supermarket; but many who visited on Saturday, October 18th, headed instead to the urban farm directly across the street from Ikea. Over a thousand people gathered at the all-day Red Hook Harvest Festival on a brisk autumn Saturday to celebrate urban agriculture and sustainability.

The fourth annual festival at the Red Hook Community Farm demonstrated that there is much more to an urban farm than the farming itself; the farm, which is run by the nonprofit organization Added Value, serves as a neighborhood hub where education, access to local organic food, youth empowerment and community building exist together as key elements of sustainable living.

Icehouse Apartments

With rising fuel costs and gas prices, more people are interested in green building and conversion methods and sustainable living. We are starting to see more green buildings, projects, and developments being constructed in Brooklyn. On Saturday October 4, 2008, seventeen participants boarded a hybrid-electric bus to go on a GreenHomeNYC-sponsored tour of green buildings in Brooklyn. GreenHomeNYC Founding Director Bomee Jung announced the five stops on the tour:

• The Icehouse Apartments/Monti Building in Crown Heights
• The Greenbelt condo development and artist space in Williamsburg (not pictured in slideshow)
• The small condo development 439 Metropolitan Ave. in Williamsburg
• Building supply store Green Depot in Williamsburg
• Eco-eatery Habana Outpost in Fort Greene

Some of the green features of these buildings included: green design, engineering, materials, efficiency systems (solar power, boilers, heat, water, ventilation, windows), and green roofs.

Click here to see a slideshow of some of the day’s highlights. (***For more info on the photos, be sure to select “Info On” at the top of the slideshow.)

An Independent Musician’s Perspective on the Digital Era

Not only does Tavi Fields step into the studio to rhyme -- she's also the recording engineer for the session.

Over the last 10 years, the music business has experienced a digital revolution. Advances in audio recording technology have drastically lowered the cost of the equipment needed to produce music and the advent of the Internet has undercut the commercial record industry. Major record labels are losing millions of dollars in CD album sales as people download and share music.

More and more musicians and bands have realized that a major record deal is not necessary to produce and distribute music. Because it is affordable to build a decent recording studio at home, many artists now play all the roles in the recording process themselves. That way, they can now control their own music and careers. Today is the ideal environment for the independent musician.

One such artist, Tavi Fields, is taking advantage of the new musical landscape.

How The Game Has Changed

The time for the independent artist has arrived: Tavi Fields is a one-woman record label.

Access to the Tools of Production

Tavi Fields takes us inside her home studio for a taste of how she’s able to make her music.

Once It’s Made, Then What?

While the Internet has opened up new avenues for promotion and marketing music, Tavi Fields explains why that by itself doesn’t make it easy.

The Future of the Music Business

In this decentralized industry, how will artists make themselves stand out among so many others? Tavi Fields shares some of her ideas.