News
Bklyner: Camp Friendship Food Pantry Has Been Looking Out For Its Neighbors For a Year Now
Camp Friendship Food Pantry celebrated its one-year anniversary with what they usually do – helping those in need. The Pantry gave out at least 300 bags filled with fresh groceries to their neighbors and delivered about 100 bags to seniors on Saturday, June 5th.
Last year, on June 2, residents came together in Park Slope and planned how to help make sure their neighbors were not going hungry as the pandemic dragged on. It all started when Chris Johnson, 65, board member of Camp Friendship, a nonprofit summer program for youth, made a Facebook post asking for volunteers to help distribute and deliver food.
Streetsblog Op-Ed: When Schools Meet Streets, Good Things Happen
Good things happen — and children flourish — when school activities expand out of doors, a City Council candidate argues.
My three elementary-school daughters now have two recesses a day — and often eat lunch outdoors. This spring, all kids in their school began having a weekly gardening class. At drop-off and pick-up, a barrier blocks cars from coming down the road adjacent to the school so that parents and caregivers can spill into the street.
These innovations — some coming just in the past month — have happened because of the pandemic. The kids eat outside because there isn’t enough space inside. They have gardening because the rooms inside used for special subjects were turned into classrooms. In short, the demands for distancing have pushed P.S. 39 and schools across the city to think creatively about using outdoor space for school activities, including turning streets into extensions of the schools — even if it means prioritizing schooling over parking.
When schools meet streets, children flourish.
amNY: Report: 36% of New York City families worried about sending children back into classrooms this fall
A new study conducted by City Councilman Brad Lander and City Council candidate Justin Krebs found over a quarter of New York City public school families with children enrolled in fully remote learning are “unsure” about sending their children back into physical classrooms this fall or will “most likely” not send them back into schools.
Over 100 families with at least one child enrolled in fully remote learning across the five boroughs participated in the study, released last week, which was conducted via phone over four days by members of the candidate’s campaigns. Although the number of survey participants is small, the report provides insight on how some public school families feel about the possibility of returning to classrooms this fall.
Gotham Gazette: Op-Ed: Moving Toward a Full Reopening of New York City Schools—The Time is Now
With a school system that serves more than 965,000 traditional public school students that means that 62% of New York City students will not enter a classroom this year, the vast majority of which are students of color. It's clear that the city must do more to hear and meet the concerns of their families if we're to have a successful, equitable full-time reopening in the fall.
So we must continue to raise the alarm: without a clear vision for the fall that's prioritized and resourced now -- something I and others have been calling on the city to provide for many months -- we won't actually have full-time, in-person school for many New York City students, and that will hurt all of us.
There are many reasons families aren't yet returning -- and I’ve been talking to parents and administrators across School District 15 as well as around the city about these reasons. Some are waiting until their families or communities are fully vaccinated. Some want to see how the covid variants play out. Many chose not to opt in to this final period because they have a house-of-cards schedule of childcare that could fall at any moment and it cannot be altered. And for some students remote school removes social anxiety and distractions and is better for their learning.
NY Daily News: Survey of 100 NYC families with kids in remote learning find most want to return to school buildings in September, but many still have safety concerns
A survey of roughly 100 city parents with kids still enrolled in full-time remote learning found the majority are planning to send their children back to school buildings next fall — but many still harbor safety and logistical concerns.
Sixty-four percent of the families surveyed by the campaigns of Comptroller candidate Brad Lander and City Council candidate Justin Krebs said they’re likely to send their kids back to in-person classes next fall, while another 20% are still on the fence, and about 15% are unlikely to send their kids back to in-person classes.
CBS New York: New York City Public Schools Doing Away With ‘2-Case Rule’ For Coronavirus-Related Closures
“I’ve spoken to plenty of parents who say we can’t opt in until we know what to expect,” said parent Justin Krebs. “The fact that these decisions are being made sort of sporadically and without consistency is leaving a lot of parents confused.”
Patch: De Blasio Blasted Over Detail-Free School Closure Decision
Justin Krebs, a City Council candidate from Brooklyn and a PTA member at PS 39, said the mayor's decision lacked clarity.
"The city has had months to reexamine its arbitrary and disastrous 2-case rule and yet again parents, teachers, and administrators are awaiting actual details from the Mayor," he said in a statement.
amNY: De Blasio makes another promise to update parents ‘incoming days’ on ‘two-case’ public school closure policy
“The city has had months to reexamine its arbitrary and disastrous 2-case rule and yet again parents, teachers, and administrators are awaiting actual details from the Mayor. Real equity means giving parents, teachers and administrators clarity and confidence and that’s the only way we’ll get as many kids as possible back in school, 5-days-a-week this spring and a full reopening in the fall,” said Justin Krebs, public school parent and secretary for the District 15 President’s Council.
“Students deserve a safe school to learn in. Teachers deserve a safe school to teach in. And parents deserve to feel safe sending their kids to school. All of this is possible based on best public health practices.”
Bklyner: Budget Amnesty For Public Schools, and More Education News
“This is a huge victory for students, administrators, parents, and teachers,” says City Council candidate Justin Krebs, who is also a board member at Park Slope’s P.S. 39 Parent Association and the Secretary of District 15’s Presidents Council. “This is exactly what parents and educators across D15 and D13 were rallying for this Friday, in solidarity with schools across the city, and I’m excited that Chancellor Porter is listening and responding to parents around this issue.”
This Is Gonna Be Good: Back To School (with Justin Krebs)
Podcast hosts Carol and Quin chat about Corgi trauma, evil Math teachers, the Royals, and later National Political Organizer and City Council candidate Justin Krebs joins them to discuss the importance of having a real plan in place to reopen schools.
Gotham Gazette Op-Ed: Four “Simple” Things We Can Do to Green the 39th Council District Right Now
By Justin Krebs
From confronting our climate crisis to imagining how to reinvent our streets to be safe for my kids and all New Yorkers, the challenges can feel overwhelming. But what if we slice up this apple?
Greening our city — from livable streets to a sustainable future — can and must begin immediately. Big ideas that I strongly support such as the Green New Deal for New York City, require big, citywide policy changes, including state approvals; and areas of work close to my heart like investing in our parks and playgrounds, require citywide efforts. Yet there are plenty of actions we can start now at the neighborhood level.
Streetsblog Op-Ed: In New York, Performance Must Be Everywhere
By Justin Krebs
New Yorkers want — and need — to make noise, to be heard, to feel a connection to each other… And all of that is what the arts — both in a pandemic and in “normal” times — offers our society and our city. During a year of social distancing, the loss of most live performance is a true tragedy — and the resurrection of it spontaneously and haphazardly in the public spaces we can seize for it has been a welcome blessing.
Patch: 1,000 BK Parents, Teachers Call For Fall School Reopening Plan
By Anna Quinn, Patch
A petition calling for a five-day, in-person school reopening plan for the fall has gained more than 1,000 signatures in Brooklyn.
"Fall isn't far away—it's right around the corner," said petition organizer Justin Krebs, who serves as District 15 Parents Council secretary and is running for City Council. "The educational response to the pandemic this past year has been extremely chaotic for students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Our kids can only thrive academically in the fall if we map out a game plan right now."
Bklyner: 30 Parent Leaders Endorse Justin Krebs for Park Slope Council Seat
By Billy Richling, Bklyner
Council candidate Justin Krebs rolled out endorsements from 30 current and former PTA presidents, executive board members and other parent leaders today in his effort to become the next Council Member for District 39, which includes Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Windsor Terrace and other western Brooklyn neighborhoods.
PIX11: NYC teachers union wants plan for next school year; mayor says not yet
By Kala Rama, PIX11
…Justin Krebs, the secretary of the School District 15 Presidents’ Council, said parents don’t want to be left in the lurch; they want their input included to feel confident when heading back to school in September.
Krebs argued that putting a plan out now gives all stakeholders time to discuss resources and prioritize potential issues.