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Jessie and her dog, Max |
After
a week of disruption due to Hurricane Sandy, NYC public schools are due to restart
on Monday. Yet according to
Schoolbook, forty-four school buildings were severely damaged, and students
at those schools will likely be relocated to other buildings. The DOE
is supposed to announce which schools will NOT re-open and the re-location sites,
hopefully soon. Check back here or go schools.nyc.gov for further updates.
Meanwhile, many
families across NYC have suffered due to the storm. One of the worst tragedies were the deaths of
Jessie Streich-Kest and her friend Jacob Vogelman, who were struck by a falling
tree while walking Jessie’s dog on Monday night in Ditmas Park. Jessie was a teaching fellow at Bushwick
School for Social Justice; Jacob a theater design student at Brooklyn
College. Many of us know and love Jessie's mom, Fran Streich, who has done terrific
work organizing and providing support to public school parents in Brooklyn and
Manhattan. Her dad, Jon Kest, is the
highly respected head of NY Communities for Change, formerly ACORN, an
organization that has spent years fighting for quality public schools.
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Jacob |
Below
is information about the funerals and memorials for Jessie and Jacob, today through Tuesday. The Streich-Kest family has
asked that in remembrance of Jessie, people donate to the Jessie Streich-Kest fund, with tax-deductible contributions going to the Sean
Casey Animal Rescue Center, a cause that she cared deeply about. For Jacob, please give to Learning Ally: Making Reading Accessible
for All, an organization that provides recorded books for the blind and
dyslexic.
Congregation Beth Elohim at 274 Garfield Place, Brooklyn, NY 11215 (corner of 8th Avenue in Park Slope).will be hosting the funeral service for Jacob Vogelman on Friday, November 2 at 9:30am. Burial will follow at Mount Lebanon Cemetery. The family will sit Shiva at the home of Marcia Sikowitz, 443 1st Street, 3R, Brooklyn. Shiva hours are Friday 2-5 pm; Saturday 6-9 pm; Sunday, Monday and Tuesday 10am-2 pm and 5pm-8pm.
Jessie Streich-Kest’s service will be held on Sunday at 1pm at Congregation Beth Elohim as well. The family will sit Shiva at the home of Jon Kest and Fran Streich, 99 Argyle Road, Brooklyn, NY 11226 (between Church Avenue and Albermarle Road). Shiva hours are Sunday November 7-9 PM; and Monday 6-9 PM. The Shiva will be offered with support from members of Kolot Chayeinu: Voices of Our Lives.
Congregation Beth Elohim at 274 Garfield Place, Brooklyn, NY 11215 (corner of 8th Avenue in Park Slope).will be hosting the funeral service for Jacob Vogelman on Friday, November 2 at 9:30am. Burial will follow at Mount Lebanon Cemetery. The family will sit Shiva at the home of Marcia Sikowitz, 443 1st Street, 3R, Brooklyn. Shiva hours are Friday 2-5 pm; Saturday 6-9 pm; Sunday, Monday and Tuesday 10am-2 pm and 5pm-8pm.
Jessie Streich-Kest’s service will be held on Sunday at 1pm at Congregation Beth Elohim as well. The family will sit Shiva at the home of Jon Kest and Fran Streich, 99 Argyle Road, Brooklyn, NY 11226 (between Church Avenue and Albermarle Road). Shiva hours are Sunday November 7-9 PM; and Monday 6-9 PM. The Shiva will be offered with support from members of Kolot Chayeinu: Voices of Our Lives.
More on Jacob and
Jessie and their too-short lives here: Brad Lander on the Huffington
Post, Ditmas
Park Corner, NY
Communities, Daily
News, DNA
Info, NY
Times, FaceBookpage in honor of Jessie
1 comment:
Very sad to lose so many young people in this disaster.
I was going through the comments on the UFT FB page since their web page was down, and I have to wonder if the DoE is making plans without any real thought.
First, displaced teachers will NOT be traveling with their own students. Instead they are being told they will be day-to-day subs (don't we have ATRs for that???)
These teachers are upset that their students will be separated from them.
Then there are the teachers who will be getting these students. These teachers are saying their schools are heavily overcrowded and no plan is in place as of yet for these new students.
The high schools on Staten Island will also be in a bind. Many are being used as shelters, and last night on CBS news, the evacuees were complaining about the horrible and unsanitary conditions they are experiencing. Camera were not allowed in. Yet students are returning to these sites on Monday. The local city councilwoman does not think the students should return.
I am sure the city could find spaces where these teachers and students can meet--in a building with office space, or something. And what about any displaced charters? Are those teachers and students also being treated like this.
I hope when these schools are restored, those parents opt-out of testing.
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