(The Above photo: courtesy of Mainzer Postcards, inc.)

On one of the coldest days of the year, Valentine's Day last February, I met a man from the other-side-of-the world. He was a musician, who was visiting New York City, the city of my birth.

That day, many of you may recall, was also the day that thousands of people were stranded and trapped on the Tarmac of the local airports due to terrible weather.... There was snow, high wind, and ice that day on the East Coast. I was there to meet the lady in my life, Carole Shaw, who had flown-in from Sydney, Australia that day.

Like many at JFK airport, she had been left sitting on her plane for an agonizing 3-hours plus, after a 21-hour journey! On the way, we met this man from New Zealand, who was on the same flight and, was heading into town. It was his first time to the U.S.A. and, also to New York City.

The BIG Apple gets hard knocks from folks across the U.S.A. who do not understand that the big city matters to them as well. First impressions are often lasting. The man in question, Bryan Pukepuke, was heading to Manhattan and didn't know how to get there.

He rode with us, on the famous 'A' Train into town. We were headed to New Jersey. He was headed to Mid-town to a hotel room. Under-dressed for the cold, tired from his long journey, we told him what to do and, where to go. I even handed over my copy of the Village Voice, so he would know where to find things in town.

We had made plans to meet-up that weekend, once he got settled. Turns out, we never met again. Yet, thanks to the Internet we have been in touch. Here's a note I received that he had sent to The New York Times after his visit. It is unclear whether the 'Times' published his note to the Editorial board. However, I now share it with you......

(The Above photo: courtesy of Mainzer Postcards, inc.)

Dear Eric,

I just wanted to write a short letter expressing my love for the city and people of New York. I am a New Zealander who has just finished a trip to New York.

New York is electric, its everything you dream of - big skyline and lots of people. Its easy to lose yourself in all that atmosphere.

Eye contact and smiling is a normal part of culture in New Zealand so it was a shock to not encounter it on the trains - but looking past all the tired faces, I empathise with the locals. New York is a tough place to live and when things get tough, the survival instinct kicks in.

But even when faced with survival, its great to know people don't forget they're still people.

It wasn't even fifteen minutes after leaving JFK that some locals helped me find my way out of the airport and onto the train, they travelled past their train stop to make sure I got off at the correct station, and then provided me with maps so I was sure to make it to my accommodation.

My travel bag got stuck in the turnstile and a random passerby helped me get untangled and then the train staff went that extra mile to make sure I was where I needed to be.

Another set of people walked me to my accomodation to make sure I arrived safely.

Shop owners and locals told me where the best places to eat, where the best places to shop and whether something was a hustle.

They were always more than helpful in finding my way around the trains and streets.

I thought I had a good idea of people here but I wanted to know whether my assumptions about New Yorkers were correct so I played the dumb tourist.

I counted my money on my train openly, I then dropped my cellphone and passport and sure enough - locals clamboured over each other to return my belongings, even advising me to make sure I close the zipper to my bag and not open my wallet in public.

Though I wouldn't recommend this course of action, even if you're in my neck of the woods, it gives me confidence that even if the survival instinct kicks in, human decency is alive and well in the big apple.

God I love New York!!!


Bryan,

Like I say to my own countrymen who visit the city of my birth, when they tell me, "Hey, you've got a great city here." I tell them, "It is YOUR CITY, too."

Thanks for the kind words, buddy! See you down-under!

Eric K. Williams, Executive Director
International Access Networks

Youth centre demolished

(Copenhagen-March 6, 2007)

Tearful teens looked on as demolition of the Ungdomshuset youth centre began yesterday

As the rubble of the building that until last week housed Copenhagen's Ungdomshuset youth centre fell to the earth, so too did the tears of the teens who for the past quarter century have occupied the four-storey building.

At precisely 8 am, a wrecking machine, painted silver to conceal the name of the company that owns it to prevent retaliation, began demolishing the building the teens have been occupying since 1982.

Before serving as a denizen of alternative culture for the city, the building, originally built in 1897, was known as Folketshus (The People's House), and had witnessed important events in the labour and women's movements. Neglect and concern that the building had become a fire hazard led to the decision to evict the young people.

The demolition yesterday came after the building's new owner, the Faderhuset Christian congregation, concluded that the building was so deteriorated that it could not be renovated.

As the demolition progressed, throngs of supporters and ordinary citizens gathered to watch. Many of the young people likened the destruction to the death of a friend.

Police had deployed extra officers in case the demolition would reignite violent protests after a day of relative calm, but by afternoon the atmosphere in the Nørrebro district was being describe as 'festive', with many of the young people choosing to hold a lively wake for their departed friend - complete with banners and music.

Many felt the violence of the past few days had taken the focus away from the house that is at the centre of the conflict.

'I don't support people throwing cobblestones and setting cars on fire,' a dancing Leon Burvil, 17, told Politiken newspaper. 'And I don't think many of the Ungdomshuset users do either.'

A court had ordered the young people out by 14 December, 2006, but the eviction was postponed as the city council sought to work with the group to find a new building. City politicians said that after the young people refused the options put to them, eviction and demolition was the only option.

'The young people said no to an offer on a silver platter,' said Social Democratic group chair Jesper Christiansen. 'Now the best we can do is to try to prevent more unrest.'

Faderhuset has announced plans to build a Christian centre on the site of the former Ungdomshuset.

From the Copenhagen Post

Danish Riots Grab World Attention: Is Something Rotten In Denmark?

I write this bit here because Denmark and, the city of Copenhagen is one European sector I used to call home back in the mid-1980's. I still possess a soft spot in my heart for the people, the places and the country I had come to know, and love. Like everywhere else, settings change over time. The government of Denmark has taken drastic action in recent years with a crack down on youth and, a crackdown on the very elements that have made the Scandinavian country different from most of the rest of Europe.

I have been saddened by the news of recent years with the shut-down of Christiana, Denmark's answer to that California icon known as, People's Park, a parcel of land that became a playground for children of all ages back in the 1960's. Then Governor, Ronald Reagan, had sent in the National Guard, with bullets blazing and tear gas flowing, to shut down an un-used public space local residents of Berkeley had made into something beautiful.

I have also been saddened by the rise of racial tension, and a growing intolerance on the part of both Danes and those recent immigrants from largely Muslim nations in search of a better life. The reasons for this are complex as many of the new immigrants who have arrived have found themselves thrust into modernity on many levels, at rapid fire speed. Denmark for better or worse, is of course, NOT America, and not the nation of immigrants the U.S. has been for over the past 150 years.

What has happened there, although not related to the social tensions of immigration, is a social explosion among a growing and, dis-satisfied youth portion of the population that is dis-connected. Chrisitiana provided a setting for youth of all backgrounds to run free, grow and, to also get a start in life along the road of the alternative life-style some call Hippiedom.

Denmark remains one of the most tolerant of nations in social experiments that have largely worked over the past 40 years. I should know, having lived there for three years in the 1980's. It was a breath of fresh air and Denmark allowed this American person to find both professional and personal growth, and grounding, unavailable in my own country.

Also, as pointed out in the article that follows, there is a shrinking availability of housing and settings for young people in Denmark. It remains unclear whether that nation's elected officials are able to deal effectively and fairly with a nation under-going change in ways unrecognizable to outsiders, and the Danes themselves, just a few short years ago.

Read the bit below, and decide for yourself.

Eric K. Williams, Executive Director

Internatinal Access Networks

(Photo: Like the French riots of late 2005, scores of cars had been set a-blaze in the Danish Capital city of Copenhagen during three days of civil Unrest.)

Mayor loses patience with protestors

Communication between city officials and young people is strained after a weekend of continued violent protests in the wake of the closing down of an illegal youth centre.

Under the banner, 'Flowers not bricks', over 1000 demonstrators made their way on bicycle to City Hall Square Sunday in a peaceful show of support for a youth centre closed down by police late last week.

(Photo: Police extinguishing a fire that was set in Copehagen during the 3-days of riots.)

The demonstration marked one of the few peaceful episodes during a weekend of violent clashes between police and protestors after residents of the Ungdomshuset youth collective were evicted Thursday.

Nearly 700 people have been arrested and dozens of cars and a school have been torched in one of the largest demonstrations of social unrest ever seen in the capital.

(Photo: Youth attempting to keep the police out from arresting scores of people holding out in one of the buildings where dozens of people had lived.)

Rioters were expressing their dissatisfaction that the Faderhuset Christian congregation was now the rightful owner of the youth centre that had served as a gathering place, concert hall and halfway home for alternative youths since 1982.

(Photo: One of the more than 700 arrested by Danish Cops in Copenhagen in a weekend of riots in the capital city.)

Their aggressive tactics had alienated much of the Nørrebro district where the collective was located, however. Residents had grown weary of smashed car windows and store windows, as well as burnt bicycles and rubbish bins.

Lord Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard admitted that she had had enough, too. She said the protests, which caused DKK 14 million (EUR 1.87 million) in damages, had drained her patience.

'I think they are completely out of line with what we can accept,' she told Politiken newspaper. 'Violence isn't a viable means in a society like ours.'

(Photo: Police and demonstrators in the center of Copenhagen on Sunday.)

Although Bjerregaard stated she would not spend any more time trying to find a new building for the displaced young people, supporters are urging the council to keep the lines of communications open. They point out that the sheer size of the protests demand political action.

'Even though there were 500 people sitting in jail after two days of fighting in the streets, 2000 people took part in peaceful demonstration,' said Tommy Hansen, a representative for the group More Youth Centres. 'That's proof that we are no small group.'

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:

February 28, 2007 Gwendolyn Quinn/Robyn Ryland-Sanders
GQ Media & Public Relations, Inc.
212-765-7910/917-769-7808
gwendolynquinn@aol.com


KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR, AS WELL AS OTHER NBA LEGENDS AND CURRENT PLAYERS TO SUPPORT EVENT FOR HARLEM MEN’S CANCER SCREENING CAMPAIGN IN HARLEM ON MONDAY, MARCH 5


Who: NBA Legends and Current Players
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Walt Frazier, Channing Frye, Allan Houston, Earl Monroe, Kenny Smith, Herb Williams among others.
Dr. Harold Freeman/President, Founder and Medical Director
(The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention)

What: The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention, the National Basketball Association NBA Cares Program and AMC Theatres® Will Host The Harlem men All-Star Evening With NBA Hall of Famer, best-selling author and

Harlem resident Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as its spokes person, the Harlem Men’s Cancer Screening Campaign was launched in September 2006 with the goal of screening 500-1000 men in Harlem and the surrounding communities for prostate and colon cancer. Each man that completes a prostate or colon cancer screening at the Ralph Lauren Center received a special invitation to the Harlem Men All-Star Evening.


The goal of the campaign is to encourage men to learn more about cancer prevention and get screened at the state-of-the-art cancer facility. The tests are low cost, and for a limited time, patients who don’t have insurance may qualify for free screenings. The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention is an innovative partnership between Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and North General Hospital.

The Ralph Lauren Center provides cancer prevention education and screening for colon, prostate, cervical, and breast cancer, in addition to outpatient treatment services. For more information about the campaign, or to sign up for a prostate or colon cancer screening call 212-987-1777 or visit www.ralphlaurencenter.org.

The Ralph Lauren Center is located in Harlem at 1919 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y 10035.

When: Monday, March 5, 2:00 – 5:30 p.m. (press check-in)

Where: AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9 theatre
2309 Frederick Douglass Blvd., New York, New York 10027

Press: TV crews and photographers are invited to shoot b-roll during the reception. Interviews with the NBA Legends and others can be arranged.