Review of Taína: Una novela

Taina: Una Novela makes strong statements about how social justice, individual determination, education, and compassion can overcome urban poverty. The main character, Julio is a half Ecuadorian/half Puerto Rican teenager who was born and raised in East Harlem. He has good grades and aspires to get into Princeton University. Julio gets the support he needs for his future from his parents and a couple of good teachers from his school. Clearly, Quiñonez makes an important statement as an educator on the things that are needed to deal with issues of urban poverty. Julio ends up believing Taina, a girl marginalized by the whole neighborhood, has an immaculate pregnancy. Taina and her mother are poor, and Julio does criminal acts to support her and her mother. Quiñonez explores the effects of marginalization on mental health, as Taina and her mother become crude, hostile people in their isolation from society.

Cancer beliefs and screening across three NYC neighborhoods.

e22512 Background: Differences in breast cancer screening exist between the NYC neighborhoods of East Harlem (EH) and Central Harlem (CH), and the Upper East Side (UES). Here we assess the relationship between six cancer beliefs and breast cancer screening among women in these neighborhoods. Methods: We include women aged ≥40 who responded to the Community Cancer Needs Survey between 2018-2019 and were eligible to undergo screening mammography within 2 years (“recommended screening”). All estimates use weighted data generated using raking techniques. We compared categorical variables using Chi-square tests & estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) from logistic regression model associating beliefs and reported mammography receipt (results and covariates listed in Table). For each belief, we compared women who reported “agree” (combined strongly or somewhat agree) to those who “disagree” (combined strongly or somewhat disagree). Results: Of the weighted sample of 76,610 (41.3% CH, 34.4% EH, and 24.3% UES) women eligible to undergo screening mammography, 75.1%, 81.2%, and 90.3% of women in CH, EH, and UES, respectively reported recommended screening. There was no difference by neighborhood in prolonged (>2 years ago) screening intervals: 10.6% in CH, 7.9% in EH, and 9.8% in the UES, while never use was reported by 11.3% in CH, 7.6% in EH, and none in the UES (p=<0.0001). The table summarizes agreement between cancer beliefs and timely receipt of mammography. Conclusions: In this study, cancer beliefs are inconsistently associated with use of breast cancer screening across three NYC neighborhoods. Assessment of beliefs reveal important opportunities for breast cancer (and other cancer) prevention by promoting awareness of risk factors and screening in these communities.[Table: see text]

Mapping the Vulnerability to Flooding of Community-Development Corporations (CDCs) Affordable Housing Properties in Central and East Harlem, New York City

New York City’s affordable housing stock is vulnerable to coastal flooding under current and projected climate scenarios. Flood vulnerability in this study, was intended as a factor of the exposure of affordable housing units to current and future floodplains as well as topographical elevation. Variables of socio-economic vulnerability included median household income by census tract, expiring affordability of rent-subsidized housing, and East Harlem’s most recent rezoning . The affordable housing in question is owned by two community-development corporations (CDCs) of the Northern Manhattan Collaborative (NMC), Hope and Ascendant based in East Harlem. Using GIS software and publicly available data from NYC Open Data and Mapluto, large scale mapping was conducted at the Borough-Block-Lot (BBL) scale to understand the exposure to coastal flooding of 101 properties owned by Hope and Ascendant, as well as a Hotspot Analysis of all the remaining units included in the NMC (48 more properties). Results show that Hope properties may flood more than Ascendants’, under both current and future floodplain projections. A contributing factor is topographical elevation, where Hope Properties are at lower median elevation (13.2 feet) than Ascendants’ (29 feet) and also lower than the median elevation of both Central (22 feet) and East Harlem (15 feet). Results from the hotspot analysis shows that 20 of Hope Properties fall within Hot clusters of socioeconomic vulnerability, as well as 5 of Ascendant Properties. Overall the NMC Properties show a higher socioeconomic vulnerability than all the properties in East Harlem. This result is important considering that New York City’s stock of affordable housing hosts some of the most vulnerable populations in the city, with less ability to move elsewhere before or after a flooding event.

From East Harlem to Cape Town: Tupac Shakur’s legacy as a globalised oppositional repertoire

For marginalised people living in Cape Town, South Africa, rapper Tupac Shakur represents a globalised oppositional repertoire that people draw on for strength and esteem. The study focused on 22 purposefully sampled interviews from township communities throughout Cape Town, which were conducted within a broader multi-year research project that focused on street culture and gangs in the city. Perhaps the most obvious narrative emerging from the research was that of male gang members connecting to the defiant masculine aggression often projected through Tupac’s music. But research also found that gang girls can also draw on the oppositional power he embodies as a street soldier, leveraging it in order to push back against their physical and material insecurity through performances of street culture. There are also ways that Tupac, as the globalised ghetto prophet, serves as a cultural resource for those trying to resist the streets and participation in gangs. The continued resonance of his legacy and image among township residents in Cape Town hints at the links they find in common with disenfranchised groups in American ghettos, and the myriad of similarly segregated urban spaces around the world. Many such groups pursue common cultural strategies to counter their shared experiences with disenfranchisement and disempowerment.