Rooshna Javed, often argues with her daughter over dating. Photo by Mina Sohail

A Desi is how Indians, Bengalis and Pakistanis refer to themselves, but if you were raised in America, it is common to be called an ABCD or American Born Confused Desis.

The belief among many South Asians is that Desis, who were born and raised in the United States, are alienated from their roots and more susceptible to embracing the American way of life.

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Mina Sohail reports from Jackson Heights,Queens

Hoimi Bandyopadhyay, 22, of Bombay, studies filmmaking at the New York Film Academy. She has cousins who were raised in the United States and said they are culturally more active than she is.

“My cousins living here speak Hindi, watch Bollywood movies and celebrate Hindu cultural events,” she said.

Bandyopadhyay feels that addressing someone, as ABCD is a bit derogatory as it implies that one is confused about his or her roots. She prefers to believe that the confusion for those living here is about adopting a certain lifestyle, not about one’s roots.

Strolling down the streets of Jackson Heights, Queens is like walking through a mini South Asia. Indian and Pakistani restaurants dot the streets. The streets signs are in both Hindi and English. Tag Heuer Bollywood stars tote products on billboards. Mannequins in clothing stores are draped in saris.

Sultana Tahrin, a 45-year-old housewife originally from Bangladesh, likes to bring her 10-year-old daughter, Maliha, to the stores that offer traditional jewelry, and shoes so she can foster her daughter’s interest in her native land and lessen the pull of American culture.

“I speak with my daughter in Bengali at home,” Tahrin said. “This way she will grow up in America knowing her native language as well.”

Among these restaurants is a Pakistani eatery where Rooshna Javed, a Pakistani housewife, also works there as a cashier.

Javed, of Woodside, Queens moved to New York 12 years ago. She said she has a 20-year-old daughter who wants to date outside of her culture, which she forbids. In fact, she is not allowed to date at all and would be immediately sent back to Pakistan for an arranged marriage if she disobeys.

“My daughter has made it clear to me that she does not want to marry a Pakistani man,” said Javed. “She feels that a Pakistani man will not be accepting of her western clothing and lifestyle and she will find it difficult to embrace a more conservative culture after having lived in New York for so long.”

Javed feels the threats by her husband and herself have managed to keep her daughter “in control.” They get into many arguments over dating and marriage, but Javed’s husband has made the rules clear, as traditionally done so by the men of the house in a typical Pakistani household.

However, a lot of Desis living in the United States feel more American than their parents would like to think.

Mitch Thakron came to California from India when he was six-years-old and no longer feels much like an Indian. He has embraced the American Way from the food to the clothing, but deep inside there is a place that is still very much connected to India.

“It’s the spiritual part about my culture that I want to internalize,” Thakron said. “I rebelled against it earlier, but I respect it now. I don’t think ABCD (American Born Confused Desis) applies to me. If I am going to be judged by my own people for living here, I don’t care,” he said.

Culturally there exists a vast difference between America and South Asia. In the latter region, advertisements often depict women as cooking, cleaning and serving food to their husbands. “Good housewives” are mostly shown covered from head to toe. Women are rarely shown working in the corporate world.

When Desi children are raised in America, they are exposed to a different, progressive media, and this fuels the perception gap between them and their parents. Anything too “American” is inherently in conflict with something too non Desi.

Ali Nobil Ahmad, teaches modern history at Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan. He has published articles and chapters on gender, sexuality and migrant labour. Nobil said there can be a discrepancy in aspirations between generations of Pakistani or Indian Origin.

“It stems from having a different set of experiences and priorities,” said Nobil, “However, all the evidence is that generational ‘culture clash’ is a bit simplistic and assumes that the parents themselves do not evolve in the new cultural context. Most immigrant parents become more liberal over time, and their expectations are different for their first, second and third offspring.”

Ammar Khalid, 26, is an Anthropology student at Columbia University from Multan, Pakistan. After having interacted with Desis in the US, he feels the term ‘ABCD’ is irrelevant precisely because a Desi subculture exists in America now. He feels there is some truth to the fact that people who grow up in the United States mediate between conflicting values or ideals.

Ammar Khalid, a Pakistani student studying Anthropology at Columbia University. feels the term 'American Born Confused Desis is has become irrelevant. Photo Mina Sohail

“I think this idea that people who grow up here are ‘confused’ comes from the assumption that the West is modern and the East traditional, and thus people living here are exposed to conflicting values which they find difficult to reconcile,” said Khalid.

But Khalid questions how their confusion is different from one’s confusion having lived and grown up in Pakistan. He feels the distinctions between ‘modern’ and ‘traditional,’ are conflicting cultural paradigms that people are caught between.

A similar view is that of Hafsa Rahman, a 27-year-old medical student at St. George’s University in Michigan. She moved to the United States with her parents from Karachi, Pakistan when she was eight years old.

“It is more difficult to understand which culture one belongs to as that is the primary basis of confusion,” said Rahman, “I think Desi kids in general are confused in their teen and adolescent years but as they get older they learn to form their own diaspora by combining aspects of their native and present cultures.”

Rahman said she and her parents grew up in different cultures, but the difference of opinion is not merely because of a cultural gap, but more so the current times and its influences.

Players assemble a pick-up game of soccer April 22 at Pier 42 of Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex in Manhattan. More soccer fields popped up in New York as more immigrants come to the city. Photo by Frank Riolo.

Big increases in the U.S. immigrant population could correlate with soccer’s growing popularity.

According to U.S. Census data, the U.S. Latino population jumped 43 percent between 2000 and 2010—85 percent of whom are from countries such as Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela where soccer is king.

Major League Soccer also saw a 5 percent increase in average attendance in 2010, with more than 16,500 fans per game according to the Soccer America.

These stats could put soccer within striking distance of becoming a major sport in America.

“I think it definitely could become a major sport in the future,” said Paul Rolston, a former Division I soccer player for Manhattan College. “With the way the sport’s been developing in this country, I think there’s a good chance it will definitely become even more popular.”

Rolston, of Riverdale in the Bronx, said he played all types of sports as a kid, often following the lead of his older brothers. But when it came time to pick a high school sport, he chose soccer – both as a player and as a fan.

“They’re building new stadiums all over the place and selling out stadiums,” he said. “I was at a Red Bull’s game last weekend and it just seems that fans are very excited about the game now.”

Listen to what New York soccer fans have to say about the game’s popularity in America
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New York City, which is home to more than 3 million Latinos, has contributed a great deal to the national soccer fan base.

The New York Red Bulls, the metropolitan area’s MLS franchise, saw a 48 percent increase in attendance in 2010 after opening a new stadium last year in Harrison, N.J.

The addition of the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Portland Timbers also boosts the MLS franchise total to 18 teams, giving the league six more teams overall since 2000.

Soccer’s popularity among younger Americans has also increased. The non-profit organization U.S. Youth Soccer now has more than 3 million members between 5 and 19-years-old.

“I think it’s a number of factors,” said U.S. Youth Soccer president John Sutter, referring to the growth in participation. “You have soccer becoming more of a mainstream sport. The 1994 World Cup kicked (the increase) off and each of the World Cups since then have probably spread interest. And you have the message that schools are pushing down on kids – that we want you to become a little more physically fit.”

U.S. Youth Soccer represents the largest youth sports organization in the country, according to its website; its membership is higher than that of Little League baseball and dwarfs Pop Warner football.

Sutter said the number of Latinos and other immigrant participants have contributed to the increase in U.S. Youth Soccer’s membership. He said the organization does not keep exact figures on immigrant participation, but added that the group establishes programs where immigrants settle.

“We have special inner-city programs, like our Soccer Across America program, which specifically targets folks in those types of areas,” Sutter said. “Those will reach out to the more diverse cultures. Most of which have soccer in their background.”

Sutter also credited Title IX, the U.S. law that protects against discrimination from an activity based on sex, for growing interest in the game among U.S. female adolescents.

Despite soccer’s growing popularity, sports management expert and former sports agent Robert Boland said he’s not sold on the idea of it becoming a major sport in America.

“I think soccer is better served by being realistically aware of what its limitations are and what its economic model is,” he said.

While soccer has taken a tremendous leap as a participatory sport, Boland said spectator numbers do not indicate any notable achievement, adding that most recent immigrants also assimilate to the American sports scene.

“Pele’s first game in the U.S. in 1970 drew 10 million viewers on CBS,” Boland said, referring to the Brazilian soccer star Edson Arantes do Nascimento’s – better known as “Pele” – first visit to America. “Last year’s World Cup finals drew 17 million viewers 40 years later. The population has grown by 33 percent. So, based on those numbers alone, a throwaway event that was essentially a minor league involving Pele drew as many viewers as the World Cup finals.”

Boland also said he’s not sure whether MLS can replace one of the lesser of the four major U.S. sports, the NBA and NHL, based on total attendance. He said popularity should be measured in other ways.

“That’s an apples to oranges comparison,” Boland said, referring to MLS attendance versus that of the NHL or NBA. “An indoor arena that holds 20,000 at 17,000 attendance has sold most of its seats…Percentage of capacity is more important than pure number of fans…If MLS is playing in front of 17,000, but the average stadium capacity is 28,000 or 29,000 that’s not as good comparatively.”

In other words, if the NHL or NBA played in bigger arenas they would probably be outdrawing MLS by a more significant number.

Boland said MLS must keep ticket prices lower than other professional American sports in order to keep fans coming back. He added that puts MLS closer to the category of Minor League Baseball and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC.

But others like Rolston still believe the sport can have a foothold within the American public. He said if MLS can recruit more foreign superstars, such as David Beckham, and the U.S. National team continues to perform well at international tournaments, soccer may soon be considered another American pastime

“I think for young people growing up watching these great players will help them learn the game better,” he said. “I think (kids) will work harder to try to be better players if they are led by good examples.”

Papo Chinea holds a broken rim up for inspection at his repair shop in Queens Village, Queens. Chinea's business has grown steadily since the winter's heavy snow left potholes in the streets across New York. Photo by Nick DeSantis.

Bedbugs received plenty of attention last year, but this spring, a different menace is terrorizing New York. Pavement’s Nick DeSantis hit the streets to witness the damage it’s causing – up close and personal.

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A visitor to the New York University Kimmel Center in Manhattan looks at photos April 15 of the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Despite historical tensions between Japan and Korea, many U.S. Korean communities have joined fundraising campaigns to help earthquake victims. Photo by Kwanwoo Jun.

Kwanwoo Jun reports on Korean-American campaigns to fund relief efforts:

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After weeks of watching news reports on the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, Korean-American Jill Lee turned one of her social networking club gatherings into a fundraiser for survivors.

“I felt really, really wonderful,” Lee said. “It gives you such a moral lift when you have people come together for a cause.”

Lee, 40, of Sunnyside, Queens, is one of many Korean-Americans since last month’s earthquake to put historical tensions aside and launch a fundraising campaign for Japan.

“We can meet and greet but also raise money for Japan,” she wrote to club members in an email message. Thirty-three members, most of whom are Korean-Americans, gathered at a Japanese restaurant in Midtown April 2 for the fundraiser, which brought in more than $700.

Before World War II, Japan colonized Korea for 35 years, banning Koreans from speaking their native language and forcing many to work in Japanese mines and factories.

Tensions still exist today; the countries are locked in a territorial dispute over a chain of rocky islets—called Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan—and Korea often denounces Japan for approving history textbooks that gloss over the colonization.

But relations between the groups, both in the U.S. and abroad, have shown signs of improvement since the quake. Nearly 350 Korean-American associations in New York and New Jersey have raised $216,000 as of April 8, according to the South Korean Consulate General in New York. In South Korea, T.V. broadcast stations launched separate fundraising programs to lend support.

Seoul’s top diplomat in New York welcomed the Korean community’s fundraising campaign.

“This is a very good occasion to let them understand how much Koreans suffer from the past history, from the Japanese occupation and invasion,” South Korean Consul General to New York Young-mok Kim said, adding the tragedy in Japan is a good opportunity for the countries to make amends.

Charles Armstrong, a history professor at Columbia University and expert in Northeast Asian affairs, said Korea-Japan relations were moving away from hostility.

“The fact that Koreans are now doing so much to help Japan reflects, I think, how far their relations have come in the last few decades,” Armstrong said. “Even though memories of colonial occupation is still bitter and outstanding disputes remain, Koreans are willing to help their neighbor in this time of need.”

The Seoul government also sent 100 rescue workers to Japan three days after the earthquake, making South Korea the first nation to dispatch rescue teams.

“It’s the past,” Lee said. “If you look at the history of all countries, they did someone, some other countries, wrong. Japan is no exception.”

New York Yankees short stop Derek Jeter steps into the batters box at Yankee Stadium in a game against the Minnesota Twins April 5. While the Yankees have high fan attendance, other MLB teams still have trouble bringing in big crowds. Photo by Frank Riolo.

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Baseball fans may have noticed even more empty seats in major league ballparks this season.

Major League Baseball has seen a decline in overall game attendance since 2008. Television viewership is also lower compared to other sports, according to the Nielsen Ratings.

Sports marketing expert Lee Igel of New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies said steroid use among players from the late 1990s to the early 2000s may be to blame. MLB officials have enforced tighter performance enhancing drug policies over the last ten years, but Igel said fans are now just seeing the effect of steroid hearings and MLB’s 2005 and 2007 Mitchell Reports.

“Anytime that there is a significant event there’s a lag in time between that event actually occurring and the impact of it,” Igel said, referring to the rampant use of steroids and declining interest in the sport. “That means that there was something going on in prior years that by 2008 we started to see the effect.”

Little League participation has dropped 24 percent among children between ages 7 and 17 since 2000, according the National Sporting Goods Association.

Andrew Fletcher, a former public relations employee with MLB, said baseball is aware of the problem and has put programs in place to get kids back on the field.

City Councilmember Fernando Cabrera speaks with tenant advocacy groups outside City Hall last month about a new law that would require landlords to post a Tenants' Bill of Rights apartment building lobbies. The law is part of an ongoing effort to protect New York City tenants. Photo by Kathryn Kattalia

Long after everyone else went home, Mario Mazzoni put on a pot of coffee and settled in for another Tuesday night at his small office overlooking Bleecker Street.

As executive director of the Metropolitan Council on Housing, one of New York City’s oldest tenant advocacy groups, Mazzoni spends most days dishing out advice to people fending off bedbugs, noisy neighbors and the occasional crooked landlord. But lately, his nights have been dedicated to organizing tenants who are caught up in a different battle—one which few realize they are fighting until it’s too late.

The council is seeking to put an end to the so-called tenants blacklist, a term for the list of people targeted as unsuitable tenants due to a past history in housing court.

“If you’ve been to housing court as a defendant, you are on the tenants blacklist,” Mazzoni said. “You’re on the list. It’s not a question. Very few tenants who go to look for apartments know this.”

The list is created by private tenant screening companies who first pay the New York State court system for access to the housing court’s database, then sell that information to landlords who can request reports on people looking to rent apartments. The tenant screening reports—which are usually available for less than $50—have become a common tool for landlords looking to filter out potentially risky tenants.

But Mazzoni said deserving renters are too often denied housing due to inaccurate or misleading information in the reports. The council is currently searching for plaintiffs to testify in a federal civil rights suit it plans to bring against the state court system. If it prevails, the suit will block the sale of court data—a practice the group claims violates a tenant’s right to due process of law.

“There’s no inclination for landlords to look any farther than yes or no,” Mazzoni said. “Landlords don’t care why you were in housing court or whether you were in the right, they just want to know that you were in housing court and you’re off the list of potential, future apartment rentals.”

Hear what lawmakers have to say about the proposed Tenants’ Bill of Rights:
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While the blacklist is not new to New Yorkers, its presence in the city is growing. Louise Seeley, executive director of Housing Court Answers, a service of the City Wide Task Force on Housing that offers advice and information to tenants involved in housing court procedures, estimates that 125,000 defendants wind up in housing court’s database each year, which keeps records on file for seven years. Screening companies can pull up any of those cases for landlords.

“It’s getting more popular,” she said. “It’s a cheap and easy way to screen without doing much work.”

While using screening companies to do background checks may be easy, Seeley said reports are sometimes inaccurate. Most do not explain why a person was taken to court, nor do they disclose the outcome of a case. In some instances, people who go to court to demand repairs or fight overcharges end up on the list. Other times, innocent renters get mistaken for housing court defendants with matching names.

The threat of being denied housing in the future often prevents some people from confronting their landlords altogether, Seeley said, especially when it comes to standing up for their rights.

Ramon Bellido, who has lived in his Harlem apartment for almost 30 years, said his building has been without heat all winter. Bellido, 58, said he’s tried to confront his landlord with little luck; he’s afraid to push the issue.

“If you’re not rich, the feeling I get from them is they don’t want you in the apartment anyway,” Bellido said, of his landlord. “They push to get you out of there. So when things come up, I just don’t talk to them.”

He’s not alone. Sally Dunford, who works with the West Bronx Housing and Neighborhood Resource Center, an agency that helps residents in the area obtain repairs and settle rent disputes, said she regularly encounters people like Bellido who say they are afraid to stand up for their rights, fearing it will only hurt them in the long run.

“It’s an uneven playing field,” she said. “Tenants start the race way behind.”

Still, landlords argue steps must be taken to protect property owners from tenants who could prove to be costly nuisances. Mitch Posilkin, general counsel to the Rent Stabilization Association, an organization that represents New York City landlords, said the screening reports are “absolutely essential” to determining the financial fitness of a prospective tenant.

“The most important decision an owner of a rental building can make is to determine the reliability of the financial status of a prospective tenant,” he said.

Posilkin admitted there are times when screening reports can be inaccurate or incomplete, but added that those cases are rare. He said building owners are just trying to avoid difficult and time-consuming court proceedings from happening in the future.

“We have no problem with the information being more complete, if the office of the court administration or some other entity wants to make those records more thorough or informative,” Posilkin said. “Owners have no agenda here other than to make sure a prospective renter is suitable.”

Mazzoni said the council’s lawsuit will not prevent landlords from being able to access housing court data; it will just require them to seek out the information on their own rather than using a middleman.

Other measures have been taken to help combat the blacklist’s influence in New York City. Last February, City Council enacted the Tenants Fair Chance Act, a law that requires landlords to disclose which screening companies they use for background checks so that tenants have a chance to clarify false or misrepresented claims.

Yet Seeley said landlords aren’t likely wait for tenants as they try to clear up reports.

“It’s very time consuming and the apartment is usually gone,” he said. “It’s very hard. You have to accept much nastier housing because those are the only people that will take you.”

Councilmember Fernando Cabrera proposed a law in February that would require all landlords to post a Tenants’ Bill of Rights in the lobbies of apartment buildings. The signs would alert residents to what they are legally allowed to demand of their landlords.

Mazzoni said it’s a step in the right direction at helping deserving tenants feel more empowered and in control.

“(Landlords) have nothing to lose by bringing cases,” he said. “Tenants have a lot to lose defending themselves in cases.”

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Nick DeSantis reports from Coney Island.

Alexandra DiPalma reporting in Altar, Mexico (photo by Samantha Sais)

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Alexandra DiPalma reports from Altar, Mexico.

A salty hamburger and french fries. Stock photo

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Reporter Alexandra DiPalma on the salt battle.

Cigarette smokers, soda drinkers and fast-food lovers aren’t the only ones who are being affected by Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s health crusades. Now, to the outrage of many New York City restaurant owners, chefs and diners, the mayor has added another target to his list: salt.

In January, as part of his National Salt Reduction Initiative, Bloomberg called for restaurants and food manufacturers to reduce the salt content of their food by 25 percent over the next five years. The initiative has been embraced by more than 40 other U.S. cities and is being backed by several health organizations.

Within the past few days, in a major victory for advocates of the plan, Bloomberg successfully recruited 16 major food companies to voluntarily cut the amount of salt in their products. According to a report from the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, these companies include Starbucks, Kraft and Heinz.

“By working together over the past two years, we have been able to accomplish something many said was impossible; setting concrete, achievable goals for salt reduction,” said Bloomberg in a statement.

Ratha Chou, head chef at Kampuchea, a critically acclaimed restaurant in the Lower East Side, is among those who staunchly oppose the new initiative.

“I don’t understand how Bloomberg can try to regulate the amount of salt we’re using,” said Chou. “It’s a basic right. It would be like saying we can only walk on our left foot or something.”

The sodium regulations are meant to address the issue of high blood pressure, which, according to the Institute of Medicine, kills up to 23,000 New Yorkers and 800,000 Americans each year.

Currently, one quarter-pound cheeseburger or one deli sandwich can contain up to
one-third of our daily allotment of salt. Surprisingly, only 11 percent of our daily allotment of salt comes from our own saltshakers, while nearly 80 percent of sodium in American diets is added to food before it is sold. Thus, the initiative aims to protect innocent consumers who have no control over sodium levels in pre-packaged foods.

“Lowering sodium is essential to reversing the trend of more Americans developing high blood pressure — a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke,” Chief Executive Officer of the American Heart Association Nancy Brown said in a press release.

Still, many believe that Bloomberg is using a hatchet instead of a scalpel to address health issues like high blood pressure. For chefs who are trained to cook with potentially harmful ingredients like salt, the regulations threaten the ability to make food properly.

Ram Chhetri, an ice cream alchemist of sorts, says even the slightest change in his recipe can have disastrous results. His shop, Lulu and Mooky’s, also in the Lower East Side, serves liquid-nitrogen ice cream and allows visitors to choose from thousands of flavor combinations, or invent their own.

“We use Himalayan rock salt to make the ice cream, and it’s very important to use the right amount,” Chhetri said. “Just a small cut in the salt would change the chemicals and the taste of the ice cream completely.”

Some out-of-towners can already taste the difference in New York food.

Matthew Haught, 25, of St. Albans, W.V., stopped at Five Guys Burger and Fries in Manhattan during a recent visit. He frequently visits the Five Guys branch at home, and was shocked when he got his burger and fries at the Bleecker Street location.

“The stuff back home is a little saltier and a little richer. Here, I was watching and they didn’t use as much salt or grease when they cooked it,” Haught said.

Haught, like many diners, resents the mayor’s attempt to control sodium levels in restaurants. He believes that he can control his own diet without the mayor’s help.

“If you resign yourself to going to Five Guys, you know you’re going to get a ton of salt and fat in your meal,” he said. “You also know that you’re going to have to spend an extra twenty minutes at the gym that afternoon.”

But considering the country’s statistics on obesity and high blood pressure, not everyone does spend that extra time in the gym, and not everyone is able to make healthy decisions on their own. Even so, Haught says, responsible eaters shouldn’t be punished because of a few unhealthy ones.

“Bottom line: there’s what’s good and then there’s what could have been better,” Haught said of his restaurant food. “And even if it is a little unhealthier, I would rather have it be better.”

Odell Pamias, president of the Jacob Riis Tenant Association. Photo by Rachel Wise

One morning in early April, an elderly woman awoke to find her stove was no longer working. The woman, who lives in Jacob Riis public housing in the East Village, contacted the maintenance call center to report the problem.

The operator told her the earliest they could fix her stove was May 29. And when she continued to follow up on the request, the operator told her to stop calling. That’s when Odell Pamias, president of the Jacob Riis Tenant Association, stepped in.

“That is unacceptable! You know how Spanish people like their coffee,” Pamias said with a chuckle, before a stern expression swept over her face. “Seriously, though. I don’t play. I really don’t.”

Odell Pamias explains her outrage over the operator’s response.
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Odell Pamias, 67, has lived at Jacob Riis Houses for 43 years, but for the past five years, she’s served as president of the tenant association. Her job is to help tenants with any housing-related issues, on a volunteer basis.

“Basically, I’m the medium between housing and tenants. Someone has to stand up for them,” she said.

Jacob Riis is a public housing development comprising 19 buildings and 1,764 apartments. Its borders are East Sixth and East 13th streets, and Avenue D and F.D.R. Drive. And it is home to 4,305 residents.

Pamias was born and raised in Columbus, Ala., but moved to New York City when she was only 17. She worked odd jobs at factories in Long Island and Manhattan in the 1960s, and moved from place to place, usually staying with friends or family members.

“I didn’t become a prostitute or drug addict, thank God. I’m surprised. But you can’t change a person, especially from South,” Pamias said. “I was doing OK. I was never, like, homeless or anything like that.”

Odell Pamias explains her experience avoiding alcohol and drug use.
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Then in 1967, Pamias got married and had a son. When her son was only 8 months old, she applied for housing and was accepted. She moved into Jacob Riis Houses — when rent was only $68 per month. Although she got divorced in 1972, she and her son continued living at Jacob Riis. And it didn’t take long before she became involved in the community.

“I have been living here for 43 years. … I was always involved when something happened,” she said. “When there was another president … I would volunteer my service.  I could not be doing nothing — I’m not like that. I have to be doing something.”

Before she became president, Pamias served as tenant patrol supervisor — a part-time job for which she received a small stipend. For 12 years, she was responsible for the safety of tenants at Jacob Riis. Every night, she patrolled the grounds and checked on tenants. After that, she became vice president of the TA.

The outside of the offices for the Jacob Riis Tenant Association. Photo by Rachel Wise

During her time as president, Pamias said she has done “what’s expected” of her but doesn’t think she’s done anything “special.” But history, and tenants, tells a different story.

“I think she’s great. Always friendly and happy to help,” said Maria, a 12-year resident of Jacob Riis who declined to give her full name. “I know when I’ve had a problem, she really helps to work it out. And she’s got a great spirit about her, too.”

One thing Maria pointed to is Pamias’ ability to build a sense of community among residents, specifically citing her organization of Family Day.

Every summer, Pamias is responsible for putting together a Family Day celebration.

“Politicians give us money, and housing gives us money. And we buy franks and burgers and ice cream. … And we have a DJ and clowns, and sometimes (a bounce house),” Pamias said.

But Pamias takes it a step further: She also provides gifts for all the children who come to Family Day, sometimes using her own money if funds run out.

“I buy book bags for the boys and girls for when they go back to school in September. I put everything in there: the pencils, the pens, the eraser — all kinds of little stuff for them,” Pamias said. As she continued to describe the day’s events, her excitement grew and her eyes lit up. “I love to just help, you know, just buy stuff for the kids.”

Odell Pamias talks about buying toys for children at Jacob Riis during the holiday seasons.
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In addition to community building, Pamias also has made great strides to improve the security at Jacob Riis. When she became aware of safety issues in the development — such as break-ins and robberies — she immediately took action.

“I did the petition to get surveillance cameras for every building,” she said. “I got over 600 people — 700 people (to sign). It’s supposed to keep out the undesirables.”

The “undesirables,” according to Pamias, are the “drug dealers” who invade the premises and stay with friends in several of the buildings.

“I have a whole apartment of drug dealers in my building — in my building,” she said. “I told the police, I told everybody. … There ain’t nothing much else I can do.”

Sibyl Colon, manager of Jacob Riis Houses, agrees with Pamias that drug addicts and dealers are a big issue in the community.

“(Pamias is) very proactive in trying to get rid of the drugs,” Colon said. “We have constant meetings with the police … and relay the information on.”

And while these drug problems are a source of frustration for Pamias, they’re not the only thing.

“The hardest part of my job is when (maintenance) stuff does not get done fast.  … That is what is bothering me. It’s the same thing, week after week,” Pamias said.

She said the problem stems from a lack of funding to hire the proper staff who knows how to fix the issues that plague Jacob Riis — “leaky walls, broken this, broken that,” according to Pamias.

“There’s a lot of work shortage here … because of the budget,” Pamias said. “They got the people that clean the grounds (working on) infrastructure problems. They need a contractor to come in and fix the leaks inside the wall because these people don’t know how to do that.”

Odell Pamias addresses the condition of Jacob Riis Houses.
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But all of this wouldn’t be as hard to handle, she said, if it weren’t for the issues tenants have when they contact the maintenance call center.

Pamias said she has seen dozens of apartments with various problems, but no matter what the problem is, she always hears the same response.

“They’ll tell you a month from now. I swear … it doesn’t matter what you call for, they’ll tell you a month from now,” she said.

Sometimes, Pamias admits, the issues she faces seem overwhelming.

“When I first came here it was beautiful. You know, nice, quiet. But now … it’s gone to the dogs, I think,” Pamias said. “It was like the nicest development in the whole Lower East Side … but now it changed. It has changed, trust me, over the years.”

Despite the problems, Pamias is determined to help Jacob Riis become the development she knew 43 years ago.

“She cares about her community. It’s a volunteer position, so you have to really care to do it,” said Sibyl Colon, manager of Jacob Riis. “She has definite leadership qualities, and the residents respond well to her.”

For more than 20 years, Pamias has served her community. But in only one month, Pamias’ reign could be up. The election for TA leaders is set for May, and the winners will be sworn in in June.

“At first, she wasn’t going to run again,” said Epifania “Fanny” Rodriguez, 62. Rodriguez is TA vice president and Pamias’ longtime friend. “But I told her she had to. She’s done a good job — she really has.”

When tenants and friends urged Pamias to run again, she gave in. She said she’d be happy to be president again, but for a shorter term.

Odell Pamias describes her decision to run for reelection.
TAelection_OdellTamias

“Two years — I think I can deal with that, right? I don’t think I’ll drop dead in that time,” she said, erupting in laughter. “That’s all I can say. And if they still want me, they vote for me.”