Sage: Thank you, even though it was intense. We celebrate when we have consensus. I am going to celebrate even when we don’t.
Rev. Robert Brashear, Pastor Jan. 9, 2011
West Park Presbyterian Church
165 W. 86 St
New York City
Dear Rev. Brashear:
Last Wednesday evening, I was invited by an Occupy Wall Street protestor
named Heather Hamilton to accompany her to your church where she and her
twin daughters (whom I had met on new Year’s Eve at Zucotti Park) were
staying temporarily after they had stayed for several nights at the Church
of St. Paul and St. Andrew. Ms. Hamilton is from the Chicago area.
Indeed, Ms. Hamilton, who expressed explicit concern for the physical
safety of her four year old children and herself at your church, asked me
to stay there overnight with them.
It was shortly after that invitation that I was told by someone there (a
volunteer?) that I needed to speak to “Jeff.” Jeff turned about to be one
of the most evasive, devious and in fact rude individuals I have
encountered in a long time. It took some time after I introduced
myself to him, standing next to Ms. Hamilton, that he acknowledged
that he was in fact “Jeff.” From that point on, he responded to my
perfectly appropriate and politely made inquiries either was a glazed
look accompanuies by siloence or information that turned out to be
not 99%, but rather 100%, false, such as when, in response to my
request for the telephone number of the church, he said “There is
no phone number.”
In any event, Jeff became visibly nervous as he continued to
evade my questions (all having to do with security for Ms. Hamilton
and her children) and then told me that there was “no room”
for me to say there. Considering the spaciousness of WPC
premises, Jeff’s assertion was the equivalentr of claiming there
is no room to fit a Volklswagen inside the state of Texas.
There were other relativelyu minor rudenesses such as that
perpetrated by an unnnamed female sitting at an apparent
registration table who, when in all the confusion (partly generated
by Jeff’s fund of misinformation) I left a brown paper bag containing
important personal items someplace upstairs and was told by the
woman at the desk to pickm it up “tomorrow.” I ultimately
retrieved the bag.
Before I left I encountered “jason”, whom I immediately regognized
as the rather dour and supercilious guy from OWS who came to
a General Assembly some weeks ago at Occupy Staten Island
(OSI) of which I am a member and a memder of the Media/Press,
Direct Action Political Action (DA/PA) and Outreach Working
Groups. (I am a free-lance journalist anmd publisher of the quite
widely read throughout NYC and beyond UP FRONT News, “The
Paper That Can’t Be Bought and Can’t Be Sold” accessible
on the web at
www.tomsupfrontnews.blogspot.com) Shorlty
before my departure from your church, Jason, in front of a
bunch of people, with umistakeable hostility ion his facial
expression and his voice, said to me, “Don’t I recognize
you from Staten Island?” I replied that, I recognized him
also and added that his manner (as distinct from the
perhaps somewhat informative nature of his comments
at the O.S.I. meeting) weas hardly of a nature that he
woul;d be welcomed back to OSI. Jason’s farewell
comment to me was that he had nothing to say to me.
I may have replied that his stated diplomacy was fine
with me.
After I left, I realized that, thanks to the recurrently
catatonic “Jeff” I had not gotten the phone number
of WPC. I therefore returned to the 86th Street
entrance, where i easily obtained the phone # and
web information posted on the exterior walls.
As I was wriiting down the information, a fellow
came out of the building sucking weioth intensity
on the verty little was leof his marijuana cigarette,
the aroma of whicvh would have easily ben picked
by any passerby including the NYPD. He identified
himself as “Chris” but said little else evidently
because, in true drug addict-style, he needed to get
every last whiff from the joint, which, by that, time,
must have been burning his fingers. Then another
fellow em,emerged, whom I immediately recognized
as the cvharacter whom the quite naive and definitely
NYC-ignorant midweesterner Heather Hamilgton
hjad appatrently asked to carry one of her daughters
upsatirs in the church. As her was making nice by
carrying gthe sleeping child upstairs, he had
to pass me. That creep needs to learn slome manners
when asking slomeone (in this case me) to give him
more room to pass – although he has plenty to
begin with. When he emertged outside, I asked
him to say hello for me to Ms. Hamilton’s
daughters,m with whom I had alrerady spent hours
in the preceding days. His response was to enter
into a injsdult-riddled rant and to adbvance on me
in a distinctly menacing manner, probably
suffiecentr to warrant my making a harassment
complaintv to the NYPD.
Unless some action is taken to, at the very least,
to immediately diosempoweer Jeff and Jason
from their usurped authority positions, there is
every reason to believe that anyone – most
certainly incluiding children – is in potential
danger. As a retired professional social worker,
I am of course entirely prepared to contact the
child welfare authorities to investigate conditions
at WPC.
I am quite certain, however, that if you take
ther necessary steps to immediately unseat
Jeff and Jason and to take the necessary action to prohibit
them from being in or anywhere near WPC premises
(via, if necessary, an Order of Protection), conditions
should rapidly improve, staying at WPC is in potential
danger.
Since my departure there, I have received a few
text and e-mail communications from Ms. Hamilton,
who is evidentlyu easily intimidated by political thugs
such as Jeff and Jason. Her e-mails contained not
very veiled warnings as to consequences facing me
should I return to WPC. My reply to her was to
dfo whatever is necessary to get out of the
sleazy opetration at WPC and to ask her what
she may have been thinkiong to suggest that I
would want to return to a facility, which, in the
apparent absence of church staff, is being run
by criminals.
Last Saturday night I attended a General Assembly
at Zucotti. The main subjects of discussion were
Jeff and Jason. An OWS protester named Nan
reported in some detail that a woman had been
raped at WPC, and that the alleged perpetrator
had been readmitted to WPC by Jeff and Jason.
I raised a question that I raised as to what the
organizational basis is for the power positions
in OWS housing operation apparently usurped
by Jeff and Jason. No one was able to provide
any information suggesting that Jeff and Jason
had or have any legitimate authority within the
OWS Housing Group whatsoever.
There was a long and at times very emotional
discussion focusing on the prevailing view at the
Saturday evening GA at Zuccoti that Jeff and
Jason should “step down” (from positions that
they evidently seized for themselves).
As you may be aware, votes in OWS (and
related groups such as OSI) are taken with
proposals needing 90% of those prersent
to pass. As I recall the vote in favor of
urging Jeff and Jasopn to “step down” was
27 in favor and 9 opposed. anmd so, although
the proposal that they step down did not reach
the 90%^ threshhold, 75% of those present
want Jeff and Jason gone.
I proposed that a vote to urge Jeff and Jason
to step down be communicated fornally gto
you and WPC staff. Becfause the 90%
“consensus” threshhold was not reached,
the mastter of communicating a vote was
simply left unaddressed.
In am requesting a reply e-mail from you
stating, as sspecifically as possible, what
steps you are taking to clean up the mess
at WPC apparently created and exacerbated by
Jeff and Jason.
Please nopte also that I am a member of the
First Central Baptiast Church in Staten Island,
which is pastored by Rev. Dr. Demetrius S.
Carolina, Sr. Rev. Carolina and I are close
friends and I am certainly providing him with
the necessary information particularly as he
is a major advocate for the homeless and
is certainly very sympathetic to the urgent
economic message that is at the heart of
the “Occupy” movement.
I also think there is reason to believe that
at least some OWS protesters without
temporary residence in NYC may possibly
find safer temporary accomodations in Staten
Island than are currently available at WPC.
Please send yourv reply to me at both my
e-mail addresses:
tomsupfrontnews@yahoo.com and
tomfreejournalist@gmail.com Sincerely,
Tom Weiss
c.c. Occupy Staten Island
