Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Service Project: Mold Remediation in the Rockaways!


This past Saturday, a group of Steins and FLS alumni headed out to Averne to partner with Respond & Rebuild and fight some mold as part of our Stein Service Project.

The group participated in the on-going battle against mold.  Many of the residents are either unable to afford contractors (many of whom are price gouging) to successfully rid houses of mold or are in insurance limbo and in the meantime, are living in toxic environments.  (Breathing mold is pretty bad for you.)  Respond & Rebuild has employed an effective, public-health-officer-approved multistep process that fights mold for residents of the Rockaway.

Houses that have been flooded during Sandy are first stripped of all damaged, non-structural wood and dry wall.  The areas are then fully dried before the structural wood is completely scrubbed with metal brushes and all the dust is vacuumed.  After the scrubbing, the wood is then soaked in detergent to kill off the mold.  We were told that the reason that the wood is scrubbed before it is soaked in detergent is because mold has roots and the scrubbing destroys those roots and the detergent can then fully penetrate the wood and remove the mold.

Led by a Respond & Rebuild team leader, our dedicated group spent the day (9:30AM-4:30PM) scrubbing the basement of a homeowner who had damage to her first floor, which, pre-Sandy, she had rented out to a tenant.  There was lots of dust but were equipped with respirators and Ghostbuster suits.  Respond & Rebuild takes the safety of their volunteers very seriously.


We were super impressed with Respond & Rebuild's organization and quality of work.  Many of us pledged to return in the future to help them with the ongoing process of rebuilding the Rockaways.  Respond & Rebuild can be followed on Facebook and also has a registry of the supplies they need to keep up their excellent work.

Much thanks to those who volunteered at and attended the 2012 PIRC Ball, as funds raised during the ball were used to provide transportation for the volunteers.  Also thanks to the Fordham alumni who came out to help and thanks to a Stein-by-association (the husband of a Stein) who volunteered and drove half the group and many of the supplies in his truck.

Team Mold! Back row (left to right): FLS alum Jessica Limbacher '12, FLS alum Will Cooper-Daub '12, Stein Scholar Kelsey Ripper, Stein Scholar Richard Hendrix, Stein-by-marriage Andrew Chen | Front row: Stein Scholars Alex Berke, Angelica Kang, Mary Gibbons
Lots of work gloves and they always need more
Respond & Rebuild headquarters



Digging through the work gloves

Respond & Rebuild's Jeff gives the safety talk

The truck loaded up with mold fighting supplies

We're not messing around

Steins scrubbing away
Lastly, a report-back and discussion as to the legal and relief work that is left to be done will be the Stein This Week event.


Update: here's a really great article on Respond & Rebuild's efforts in the Rockaways!

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Stein this Week: Policy & Constitutional Implications of the NY Secured Ammunitions and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act

On Wednesday, February 27th at 4:30pm, the Stein Scholars had a panel discussion on the policy and constitutional implications of the NY Secured Ammunitions and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) ACT, the recent gun control measure that was passed in New York State in January in response to the shootings in Newtown, CT. The event was organized with help from Michael Huggins, Danielle May, Linda Jordan, Dan Kadish and Alex Wentworth-Ping.

The panelists included:
Dr. Saul Cornell, Author of a Well Regulated Militia
Carmine Guiga, NY City Council, Division of Governmental Affairs
Jesse Loffler & David Yiffin, Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Dr. Ankur Saraiya, NYU Bellevue Hospital Clinician
Dr. Thomas Smith,  Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia

Alex Wentworth-Ping moderated the discussion and first gave time to each of the panelists to discuss some of their views on gun control generally and the New York response. The panelists raised several issues including the limitations on "common use" taken from D.C. v. Heller; how gun control might be a step in the right direction, but that it ultimately will require more in order to stop gun violence in certain neighborhoods; whether or not it would be a taking under the Fifth Amendment if certain guns were deemed illegal and the chilling effect that mandatory disclosure provisions, such as those included in the SAFE Act, could have on psychiatric patients.

Mr. Wentworth-Ping asked several other questions regarding the timeliness of the Act as well as how to alter the marketplace so that so many guns are not in the supply chain. Most seemed happy that the Act passed so quickly and that any problems could be adjusted through amendment and additionally mentioned that reducing the guns in supply is a huge task to be dealt with over time. The rich and lively discussion was very informative.

The Stein Scholars would also like to thank its co-sponsors -- the American Constitutional Society, BarBri and the Urban Law Journal -- for their generous support. We are proud that the event was so successful and hope that it stirs future conversation and debate going forward.