In This Issue

April
2009
Vol.17 No.4
In This Issue
2
- Hellos and Goodbyes
- OSARC’s “Gossip Girl”
3
- Exercise For Older Adults
4
- COMRO Report
- Help Prevent Tier Five
5
- Restaurant Review
- Welcome, MEBA Retirees
6
- Spector of the Green
Party Haunts New Jersey
7
8
9
- Apollo, Avery & Barbie
- NYCARA Report
- OSARC To Examine 2009
Elections in May
- Drug Rider
Reimbursements Coming
10 - Taxing Health Benefits?
OSARC newsletter
OSARC’s Prospects For Gold
At The Federal Reserve
A bad pun is always worth repeating. Well, maybe not. But, either way,
you’re seeing one again in the headline on this story about OSARC’s annual
trip, which takes the place of the April membership meeting. Members will be
visiting the Federal Reserve Bank of New York at 33 Liberty Street on
Wednesday, April 8, 2009.
A guided tour awaits, including a
lecture with information about the
Federal Reserve system and banking in
America.
OSARCers will gather at 2pm,
leaving time to deal with the heightened
security at the bank before the group
attends the 2:30pm lecture. At 3:30pm,
OSARCers will descend to view the
gold vault, which is located 50 feet
below sea level and contains billions of
dollars worth of gold. Free samples will
not be available. Coordinating the group
is Renée Bash, who can be reached at
212-362-1202 or renbas@ verizon.net.
Space on the group tour is limited
to 30 and to those who have signed up
in advance. In the event of a “sell-out,”
priority will be given to OSARC
members. Your status will be
reconfirmed by telephone a day or two
in advance of the trip.
Federal Reserve Gold Vault
A reminder: visitors to the Fed must
show an officially issued photo ID, such as a driver's license or passport.
Cameras or camera phones may not be used. Cameras, briefcases and other
packages must be left in locked closets in the bank's lobby, so we recommend
you travel light. You will pass through a metal detector, so keep that in mind.
ÈÈÈÈÈÈÈ
Next Organization of Staff Analysts’
Retirees Club Event
OSARC
Wednesday • April 8, 2009 • Assembling @ 2pm
220 East 23 rd Street
Suite 707
New York NY 10010
(212) 686-1229
(212) 686-1231 Fax
(212) 330-8833 Hotline
www.osaunion.org
Trip to the Federal Reserve Bank of NY
33 Liberty Street New York NY
For Info, Contact Renee Bash at 212-362-1202 or [email protected]
Note: The trip is in lieu of the regular monthly OSARC meeting.
OSARC Officers 2008-2009
Co-Chairs.........................................................................Regina Berry, Fred Ranzoni
Co-Vice-Chairs................................................................Al Gundersheimer, Ana Vives
Treasurer...............................................................................................Dan Morgan
Secretary..........................................................................................JoAnn Ambrogi
COMRO Representatives............................................Jim McKeon, John Ost, Edna Riley
ÉÉÉÉ
Newsletter Editor/Photos............Rob Spencer
Editorial Assistant.........Gail Weiss
We’ll Be Seeing You In All The Old Familiar Places
Forty-nine (49) OSARCers and their friends attended the
March OSARC meeting:
Tidbits
OSARC Co-Chair Fred Ranzoni has returned to the fold
after being “forced” to spend a week in the Caribbean.
OSARCer Winnifred Mayo-Pena wonders if it is possible to
have the city issue IDs for its retirees. OSARC Co-Chair
Regina Berry suggests an easier method – go to your local
Department of Motor Vehicles office to obtain a non-driver's
ID. Some people, she said, prefer to carry it even though they
already have a valid driver's license because it contains less
information about the holder, which might prove important if
the card falls into the wrong hands. Of course, don’t get caught
driving without your actual license. OSARCer Nilsa MangualRios recently attended a financial seminar given by the city’s
deferred compensation plan (DCP) at 40 Rector Street in
downtown Manhattan. Nilsa found the seminar helpful and
asked whether a speaker could address one of OSARC’s
monthly meetings. As a result, the officers are trying to arrange
a DCP speaker for the 2009-10 club year. If you absolutely,
positively, can not wait, call (212) 306-5050 for a monthly
schedule of topics. There are courses on “Money and Credit,”
“Retirement Planning” and “Social Security and Medicare,” as
well as newly added topics such as “Tax Planning” and “Estate
Planning.” Courses are approximately two hours in length and
are held mid-day or in the early evening. A new service DCP
provides enables you to spend 90 minutes in a one-on-one
session with a certified financial planner on the DCP staff to
discuss your particular financial situation at a cost of $179.
– JoAnn Ambrogi
•••••
Leslie Allen, Hakimah Al-Zahra,
JoAnn Ambrogi, Gilberte Ambroise,
Jean Anmuth, Renee Bash, Marilyn
Bernard, Regina Berry, Elizabeth
Borden, Renee Boyce, Gloria Colon,
William Douglas, Bea Eisenberg,
Pauline Feingold, Manny Friedman,
Jeanne Gorbatcheff, Al Gundersheimer,
Gussie Harris, Paul Henry, Mary
Hillman, Roslyn Jones, Richard Kucera,
Kaye Lee, Rosanne
Levitt, Hank
Mandel, Winnifred Mayo-Pena, Dan
Morgan, John Ost, Fred Ranzoni, Claus
Reinisch, Edna Riley, Nilsa Mangual
Rios, Nancy Russell, Waguih Sabongui,
Michael Schady, Tomi Smith, Michael
Gloria Colon
Spector, Joe Sperling, Louis Starkey,
OSARCer Marilyn Bernard, who
Sallie Stroman, John Sullivan, Madeline Taylor, Mary Taylor,
Kristen Telemaque, Hattie Thomas, Sarah Vilar, Richard retired from the Fire Department, has
Walters, Gail Weiss, and Margaret Williams.
managed to cobble together a successful
OSARC’s Own “Gossip Girl”
Winnifred Mayo-Pena, who retired from the Department
of Housing Preservation and Development in 2008, and Gloria
Colon, who retired from the Health and Hospitals Corporation,
were attending their first OSARC meeting. Welcome Gloria and
Winnifred. We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting
and, hopefully, volunteering in the work of running OSARC.
•••••
In Memoriam
The Newsletter recently learned of the deaths of three OSA
retirees: Thomas Seelye, who retired as an Associate Staff
Analyst in 1998 at the NYC Police Department, Renee Francis
who retired as a Staff Analyst in 2004 from the same agency,
and Michael SeJan, who retired in 1990 as a Staff Analyst at
HRA We extend our condolences to the families and friends of
our departed brothers and sister.
•••••
Sunshine Wishes
OSARC extends best wishes to OSARC representative to
COMRO Jim McKeon, who recently underwent a significant
operation and is now in rehabilitation, and to Jane Kronholtz
We hope Jim and Jane enjoy speedy recoveries.
•••••
second career as an actor. She has graced
the New York stage and you now have
the opportunity to see her on the small
screen.
On April 20, 2009, at 8pm, Marilyn
will be appearing on the CW's highly
successful Gossip Girl series, broadcast Marilyn Bernard
on channel 11 in New York City.
(Consult your local listings for the schedule and channel in
your area.) Marilyn will be playing the character of “Ida Rose,”
mother of “Cyrus Rose” played by Wallace Shawn, who is
perhaps best known for his leading role in the indie art film My
Dinner With Andre.
Since you’re probably not a teenaged girl and therefore
Gossip Girl may have escaped your notice, the show is a soap
opera/drama about teen angst. So gather your granddaughters,
grandnieces and their friends and have a party at the appointed
time or fire up your vcr or dvr. You can brag about how you
know one of the cast members.
Marilyn tells us that the series is filmed locally at the
Silvercup Studios in Queens and that she had great fun with the
role. If you enjoy Marilyn's performance, and we're sure you
will, contact the network with your positive feedback via
e-mail. Who knows, this might turn into a recurring gig for
Marilyn, and that would be a good thing.
OSARC Newsletter • April 2009 • Page 2
Exercise: The Magic Bullet
Michelle Fenton, Healthy Lifestyles Coordinator at the
West Side YMCA, joined us for our March OSARC meeting,
delivering a well-crafted presentation on the value and
importance of fitness for older adults.
The Y is located at Central
Park West and 63rd Street. Ms.
Fenton is an ISSA-certified fitness
trainer, currently working on her
master's degree in the field. She
supervises other trainers and
masseuses at the Y, in addition to
heading up youth sports and older
adults programs. The West Side Y
runs specific sessions for older
adults and also has craft courses
that OSARCers might be interested
in.
We started with a “How Fit
Are You?” questionnaire which
provided a baseline assessment of
West Side YMCA Healthy mobility and independence in the
Lifestyles Coordinator performance of daily tasks. As an
Michelle Fenton
individual proceeds through an
exercise regime over a year, they should experience
improvement in task performance and elevation of mood.
Ms. Fenton dispelled some common myths about exercise.
You are never too old to exercise. She has clients that are over
90 years old and still active. Exercise does not have to happen
only in a gym. While you should aim for 30 minutes of activity
five days a week, you can break that 30 minutes into three ten
minute sessions in a day, if you don't have the stamina or the
time to do the full half hour at one time.
The first thing you need to do before beginning an exercise routine or ratcheting up an existing routine is to see your
doctor to get the OK. As you speed past 40 years old, the
adages of “No pain, no gain” and “Feel the burn” no longer
apply. Listen to your body and proceed at a slow, steady pace.
If you are in pain, stop and seek advice. You need to find
activities that you enjoy to help ensure that you will continue to
do them and take pleasure in doing them. Do not make exercise
one more dreaded item on your "to-do" list, Ms. Fenton observed.
Exercise can help those with diseases such as arthritis and
high blood pressure. Even those who suffer from chronic
illnesses can benefit from exercise.
Make sure that you wear the proper attire. Wear loose,
comfortable clothing and good shoes that are able to absorb
shock and give appropriate support. You can find stylish outfits
these days that will still allow you to be dressed appropriately.
Jeans are not for exercising, she noted.
Ms. Fenton particularly recommends “New Balance”
sneakers and suggests that the first time you buy, you visit one
of the brand’s own stores. There, she said, knowledgeable
salespeople will ask about your activities and measure your
feet. Our feet lengthen and widen as we age, so it is important
to get the right fit. After you are sure you like the sneaker and
it serves your lifestyle, you can go to a discount store to
purchase future pairs at a reduced price.
You should replace your
sneakers at least once a year. If you
are very active and pursue high impact
activities, you may have to buy new
sneakers every three months. OSARC
member Jean Anmuth seconded Ms.
Fenton's choice of “New Balance” as
a brand recommended by her doctor.
Start your exercise routine
slowly and ease into increments.
Walking is a great place to start.
OSARCer Renee Bash, who organized the program and invited Ms.
Fenton, distributed handouts on New
York City Department for the Aging’s Winnifred Mayo-Pena
health promotion services including
“Big Apple Senior Strollers” walking clubs. Call (212) 4420954 for more information. The New York City Department of
Parks and Recreation also has recreational and fitness centers
available at very low annual cost for older adults. You can visit
www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/recreationcenters for more information on these facilities.
The benefits of exercise include increasing strength and
bone density, improved balance and weight maintenance. You
will begin to feel better about yourself and increase your
confidence. Ms. Fenton guided us through a series of exercises
that can be done in the home, many of which simulate the
movements of gym machines.
A few general rules for strength exercises are: have a wall
or chair handy if you need support; do not lock or hyperextend
your joints, and have a clear area with no clutter where you can
exercise.
Ms. Fenton noted that an effective exercise program is
composed of three parts – cardio, muscle and balance
training.
For seniors, balance training
may be the most important. The
leading cause of injury for older
adults is falls. A person who falls
once is likely to fall again. Numerous falls can lead to fractures.
Balance training can make you
steadier on your feet and reduce the
likelihood of falls.
Simple balance exercises include standing on one leg, starting
with the raised leg slightly off the
floor. Hold the position for ten
seconds. You can increase the time
you are holding one leg up and
Claus Reinisch
increase the distance you hold the
leg from the floor as you gain
confidence.
Another simple exercise involves placing mats on the floor
and practicing stepping on them and off them for balance
training. This can be done in a straight line or on the side.
You do not have to go out and buy weights for strength
training. You can use soup cans or water bottles. With water
bottles, you can control the amount of water you put in them,
thereby creating an adjustable weight. Exercise balls can be
OSARC Newsletter • April 2009 • Page 3
purchased for around $25 at sporting goods stores, come with
pumps, can be deflated, and usually have instructional booklets
with sample exercises.
Ms. Fenton spoke of “core
training,” which involves increasing
the strength of the muscles in your
mid-section, including your abdomen, hip flexors and back muscles,
Core training is both a strength
exercise and a balance enhancer, a
concept invented by Joseph Pilates
in 1945 for soldiers injured in World
War II. He designed the “reformer
machine” for patients confined to
bed. These exercises have now been
adapted to mat use.
There are many resources available as you begin your exercise
Michelle Fenton
routine or modify it. If you go to a
gym or recreation center and have
been inactive for a while, always start with a beginner's course.
Some internet sites to help you in your quest are the
National Institute on Aging (www.nihseniorhealth.gov), the
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (www.aaos.org),
the Westside YMCA (www.ymcanyc.org/westside – you can
find a Y in your neighborhood at www.ymcanyc.org.), and
AARP (www.aarp.org). Ms. Fenton suggested searching
“balance training for older adults” on www.google.com.
Some gyms offer services tailored for older adults, such as
New York Sports Club's Silver Sneakers program.
Finally, you can purchase Fitness Pass books for $75 from
the American Health and Fitness Alliance that are good for
each calendar year and provide you with free visits to health
and fitness clubs in the five boroughs. Go to www.healthfitness.org for the full scoop.
– JoAnn Ambrogi
•••••
COMRO Report
associations/groups to which they belong to garner more
signatures. OSARC co-chair Regina Berry observed that Social
Security is not an “entitlement.” Retirees have paid for these
benefits throughout their working lives and now are getting
what is due.
•••••
Help Stop Pension Tier 5!
Governor Paterson, largely at the
behest of Mayor Bloomberg, has been
floating the idea of a new, weakened
pension tier 5 in Albany. Leading the
opposition has been State Senator
Diane Savino who, rightly, points out
that the governor and mayor and the
corporate/business interests they represent are simply attempting to take
advantage of the present fiscal crisis to
enact long term reductions in public
sector benefits.
Sen. Savino has noted that there
will be absolutely no cost savings to
the state or city for the first ten years Jeanne Gorbatcheff
of any reduced tier five benefit. Hopefully, the state and city
will no longer suffer from the same fiscal constraints a decade
from now. Therefore, there is no need to adopt a new pension
tier to help “solve the crisis.”
She has been having notable success in convincing her
fellow State Senators to vote against a new tier 5. However, six
State Senators have indicated they are not yet on board and
might vote for a new pension tier.
At the heart of the labor movement is a little concept called
solidarity. Therefore, we’re asking retirees, who have all
enjoyed the existing pension tiers to help ensure that future
members of our union do not face decreased, inferior pensions.
If you live in the districts of any of these State Senators,
please call or email their offices. Tell them you are a
constituent and let them know that you are a city retiree and
that you strongly oppose the creation of a fifth pension tier for
future employees. Remind them that the creation of such a tier
will do nothing to solve our present fiscal problems and that
reducing the benefits of public sector workers is not the answer.
It will make public service less attractive to prospective
employees. Civil servants did not create our fiscal meltdown
and should not be asked to bear the brunt of its correction.
Here are the six to contact–
Edna Riley, OSARC representative to COMRO (Council of
Municipal Retiree Organizations)
presented a petition, ready for signature, which called upon President
Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid to forestall any decrease in
Social Security and/or Medicare •
benefits. The petition seeks the
protection of Social Security from
efforts to privatize it and seeks the
amendment (or repeal) of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 •
including the following steps:
Edna Riley
negotiation of drug prices by the
government, permission to re-import safe drugs, elimination of
the infamous “donut hole,” repeal of means testing for
Medicare Part B, and the elimination of subsidies for Medicare •
Advantage plans.
Extra copies were available for members to bring to other
Sen. Daniel Squadron (lower Manhattan below Houston
Street on the west side plus the lower east side below 14th
Street, and Brooklyn Heights) [email protected]
250 Broadway, Suite 2011, New York, New York
10007-2356 Tel: 212-298-5565, Fax: 212-298-5574
Sen. Eric Schneiderman (the west side of Manhattan
including Inwood and Washington Heights; Riverdale)
[email protected] n 80 Bennett Avenue, Ground
Floor New York, NY 10033 Tel: (212) 928-5578 Fax:
(212) 928-0396
Sen. Velmanette Montgomery (Sunset Park, Boerum Hill,
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Ocean Hill in Brooklyn)
[email protected] 30 Third Avenue, Room
OSARC Newsletter • April 2009 • Page 4
•
•
•
1100, 11th Fl. Brooklyn, NY 11217 Tel: (718) 643-6140
Fax: (718) 237-4137
Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson (North Bronx, Westchester)
[email protected] 959 E.233rd Street, Bronx, NY
10466 Tel: (718) 547-8854 Fax: (718) 515-2718
Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer (Westchester, White Plains,
including Ossining, Rye, New Rochelle, Scarsdale)
[email protected] 222 Grace Church St., 3rd
Floor, Port Chester, NY 10573, Tel: (914) 934-5250, Fax:
(914) 934-5256
Sen.
Dav id Valesky (Syracuse area)
[email protected] 805 State Office Building 333
East Washington Street, Syracuse, New York 13202,
Phone: (315) 478-8745, Fax: (315) 474-3804
•••••
JoAnn’s Restaurant Review: Ponty Bistro Café
Recently, fellow OSARCian Antoinette Matijevich and I
hosted a “celebration of life” luncheon for former HRA
Associate Staff Analyst Irma Grossman and her husband,
Michael Schlesinger, music producer par excellence. This
luncheon honored Sid Grossman, who left us after four score,
ten and a bit more. Peace be with Sid, a caring, kind gentleman
of the old school.
We gathered at Ponty Bistro at 218 Third Avenue, between
18th and 19th Streets, a mere stone's throw from the union
headquarters on East 23rd Street. Opened in the fall of 2008,
Ponty features Chef Cisse at the helm. Cisse worked under such
cuisine “etoiles” as Boulud and Jean-Georges. He brings fifteen
years of experience as a chef to the new establishment.
The cuisine is described as French, African and Mediterranean. Emphasis is placed on dishes made with ingredients
from local, organic farms and under “green” guidelines. Open
seven days a week, Ponty serves breakfast, lunch and dinner,
with Happy Hour after 11pm for
night owls. They have their liquor
license and make special cocktails.
A three course luncheon special
is available for $19 with drinks and
coffee additional and a three course
dinner special for $25. The day of
our delicious feast, we dined on
“Soup de Calabash,” a butternut
squash soup with a coconut milk
base and Thai chicken spring rolls
with dipping sauces. A salad
completed the first course choices.
We purchased an extra appetizer of
“Moules Africana” (that's mussels,
folks) served in the shell with a
Pauline Feingold
fragrant broth replete with African
spices and lemon grass. A side of pommes frites and plenty of
bread for dipping accompanied the dish.
Main course choices included grilled hanger steak with
“pommes maison” (home fries), which was tender and
flavorful, stuffed flounder with crab meat on a bed of roasted
potatoes and baby bok choy, which hit the spot, as well as a
chicken and a pasta dish. All servings were generous.
Dessert was tiramisu, homemade by Chef Cisse. There are
choices of hot beverages, including
“Grand Moka,” which is café au lait
with valrhona chocolate.
Ponty’s staff is very friendly. Chef
Cisse is in constant attendance and you
can see him performing his “magic” in
the glass-enclosed kitchen at the back.
The restaurant gets high marks for
cleanliness and a crisp décor. For more
information, visit www.pontybistro.com
or call (212) 777-1616.
We toasted Sid, who loved good
company, good food and good conversation, one last time and went out to face Waguih Sabongui
the day, a little tipsy and well satisfied with the marvelous food
and the dining experience. – JoAnn Ambrogi
•••••
Welcome Aboard, MEBA Retirees
In the case of some of the newest members of our union’s
welfare fund, the headline above is literally apt. These retirees
were employed as marine engineers and related titles working
for the city’s Department of Transportation on the ferryboats
and for the Fire Department on the fireboats. As of April 1,
these members of the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association
are part of the OSA Welfare Fund. We extend a warm welcome
to all of them and invite them to join us at our monthly
meetings. And, we urge them to get a group together and join
us at our June luncheon at SPQR – see the sign up form for the
June luncheon enclosed with this Newsletter.
•••••
Welcome, New OSA Retirees
If you’re a recent OSA retiree, we
want to take a moment to say hello.
We hope you’ll join OSARC, if you
haven’t already done so. And, we hope
to see you at our upcoming meetings
and, certainly, at the end-of-year
luncheon at SPQR in Little Italy on
June 10, 2009. The annual luncheon is
a chance to catch up with your fellow
retirees, reconnect with former colleagues and make new friends. A flyer
for the luncheon is enclosed with this
issue of the Newsletter.
•••••
Mary Taylor
Officers Needed
With this issue of the Newsletter is a nominations form for
OSARC officers for the 2009-10 club year.
If you’d like to help your club run well, or you know
someone else who would, please submit your nominations prior
to the end of April. Nominations close at the May meeting. We
are especially looking for a secretary. If you’d like more
information on what is entailed, please contact co-chair Regina
Berry at 212-807-9488 or Fred Ranzoni at 718-965-3129.
OSARC Newsletter • April 2009 • Page 5
Michael Spector: Staying Active, Thinking Green
by Gail Weiss
Like many OSARC members, Mike Spector saw his found in the diplomatic arena. Perhaps the delegates in Geneva
retirement from city service in 2002 as a beginning rather than [who were attempting to hammer out a nuclear arms pact] have
an ending. He immediately became a volunteer organizer for something to learn from the young athletes who met at Palo
OSA, arranging union chapter meetings, distributing literature, Alto."
and even serving pizza to attending OSA members.
After leaving the Times, Mike worked as an editorial
A longtime political activist, he ran for mayor of assistant for several trade magazines, including Corset &
Parsippany, New Jersey on the Green Party ticket in 2005 and, Brassiere and Greeting Card, before putting his career on hold
in 2007, was a Green Party candidate for the New Jersey State and heading for Europe. He spent a year hitchhiking, riding on
Assembly. Neither candidacy was successful, but both times a tent-bearing bus (which took him and other travelers from
Mike vigorously aired his anti-Iraq war views, and pushed for one campground to another), and seeing much of Sweden,
property tax reform, support of locally owned businesses, and Norway, Denmark, Austria, France, Italy, Germany (East and
environmental protection initiatives.
West), the Soviet Union, and other countries. Periodically, he
Mike's pre-city-worker life was both
would hop over to England to replenish his
varied and eventful.
coffers by doing temporary jobs.
Soon after he graduated from Hofstra
In 1968, Mike was back in the United
University in 1961, he hitchhiked to
States and working as a caseworker in
Mississippi to participate in the freedom
Brooklyn. There, during his first day on the
rides. Organized by the Congress of Racial
job, he met Wendy Stevenson. They were
Equality (CORE), freedom rides were a
married in February 1969. Now the parents
lynchpin of the emerging civil rights
of three, they recently celebrated their 40th
movement. Black and white riders traveled
wedding anniversary. Professionally, howto Atlanta and other cities in the Deep South
ever, they went their separate ways long
to test the Supreme Court's ruling in Boyntago.
on v. Virginia (1960), which had declared
Wendy earned a masters degree in
segregation in interstate bus and rail stations
divinity studies from Drew University, and
unconstitutional. Several freedom riders
is now a hospice and hospital chaplain.
endured beatings and other threats to life
After working for NY City as a housing
and limb, but Mike says he hedged his bets
assistant and then a continuity writer for
by bringing along a 6'11" traveling
radio station WNYC, Mike became a staff
companion.
analyst and then an associate staff analyst at
Later in the 1960's, as the war in Vietnthe Human Resources Administration. On
am heated up, Mike did a stint in the Army
September, 11, 2001, he was stationed at
Reserve, primarily as a way to avoid the
HRA’s 250 Church St. location and had just
draft and keep his distance from Vietnam.
emerged from the PATH train station at the
True to his convictions, however, he helped
World Trade Center after the first plane hit.
Mike Spector
organize a group called Veterans and
“The area was filled with smoke and people
Reservists to End the War in Vietnam, and
were running from the building, losing their
he was on the front lines of several anti-war demonstrations.
shoes,” he recalls. After he retired, he wrote about the attack
An English and journalism major during his Hofstra years, for this Newsletter, noting presciently that reconstruction of
Mike entered the working world as a copyboy for the New the Ground Zero area would take at least ten years.
York Times. Unlike most copyboys, though, he did some
According to Mike, his decision to retire in 2002 was
writing for the paper. His first piece, a Times Topics column motivated by two factors: 1) His irritation that increasing
published in March 1962, was about Antonio Lopez Santa numbers of people were using cell phones on trains, something
Anna, the Mexican general best known for leading the charge that he still considers “An invasion of my privacy and the
that wiped out the defenders of the Alamo in 1836. “For nearly privacy of others”; and 2) a tempting buyout package that the
thirty-five years, he held the center of Mexico's political city offered and he accepted.
stage,” Mike wrote, “and for that period Mexico was not to
In fact, Mike has yet to purchase a mobile phone, but was
know one moment of true peace.”
glad to find one on 9/11 to inform his family that he was okay.
In an editorial he wrote in July 1962, Mike used a United He hasn't eschewed all electronic communication, however:
States-Soviet Union track meet in California as an object he's computer literate, and happy to correspond via e-mail.
lesson in Cold War diplomacy. Here's an excerpt: “While the Recently, he sent a letter to the Morris County, NJ-based Daily
events were exciting and two world records were broken, the Record excoriating Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) for
most dramatic event took place at the conclusion of the meet voting against the federal spending package.
when athletes from both countries walked arm in arm around
Still a devout union man, Mike laments the fact that the
the stadium to the accompaniment of their national anthems labor movement has been struggling in recent years, and he
and a tremendous ovation from the large audience. The teams hopes that, with a new administration in Washington, unions
apparently met in a true spirit of brotherhood, too seldom will regain some of their lost strength.
OSARC Newsletter • April 2009 • Page 6
Dispatches From The Cultural Front
Sallie Stroman, OSARC's cultural •
connoisseur, provides updates on three,
very diverse exhibits and venues this
month:
Apollo Celebrates 75 Years
Since its founding in 1934, the
Apollo Theater on West 125th Street has
seen a parade of stars, from Billie
Holliday and Lena Horne to Sam Cooke,
the Jackson Five, James Brown, Bill
Sallie Stroman
Cosby, Mariah Carey, and Lauryn Hill.
This year, the fabled theater's 75th
anniversary is being celebrated with lectures, concerts, the
opening of a national tour of Dreamgirls (the musical about the
rise of a Supremes-like singing group), and free open houses
during the early and late months of 2009.
On March 1st, I attended the last winter open house. We saw
a film about the many stars who launched and furthered their
careers at the Apollo. Billy Mitchell, the Apollo's resident
historian and tour director, talked about the history of the
theater.
The four-story building, which was erected in 1914 and
designed by the architect George Keister, was originally
operated by burlesque producers Jules Hurtig and Harry
Seamon and called Hurtig and Seamon's New Burlesque
Theater. Despite its location in the heart of Harlem, which was
fast becoming the largest urban black community in the United
States, the theater was restricted to white audiences and
entertainers.
In the early 1930's, with the decline of burlesque (thanks, in
part, to an anti-burlesque initiative spearheaded by Mayor
Fiorello LaGuardia), the Apollo underwent several ownership
changes. Noted owners during this period included Bill Minsky
and Sidney S. Cohen.
Renamed the Apollo, the building was opened to AfricanAmericans for the first time in January 1934. That same year,
the Apollo began presenting musical revues, as well as an
increasingly popular Wednesday-night talent competition called
Amateur Night at the Apollo.
The brainchild of radio personality Ralph Cooper, Amateur
Night (which became the model for most talent contests,
including American Idol) was a career-starter for numerous
performers. One of the first winners, on November 21, 1934,
was then 17-year-old Ella Fitzgerald. Among the other
performers to grace the Apollo's stage:
•
•
•
•
The 1930's: Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Jackie “Moms”
Mabley, tap dancers Fayard and Harold Nicholas (better
known as the Nicholas Brothers), and Bill “Bojangles”
Robinson.
The 1940's: Lionel Hampton, Dinah Washington, Sammy
Davis Jr., Sarah Vaughn, and Ruth Brown.
The 1950's: Tito Puente, the Mambo Aces, Miles Davis,
and John Coltrane.
The 1960's: Gladys Knight and the Pips, Jimi Hendrix, the
Jewel Box Revue (a company of female impersonators,
featuring 25 men and one woman), Wilson Pickett, Otis
Redding, and Aretha Franklin.
The 1970's: B.B. King, the Delfonics, and the rhythm and
blues group, the O'Jays. In September 1971, John Lennon
and Yoko Ono performed at a benefit concert to aid the
families of prisoners shot during the uprising at Attica State
Prison earlier that month.
The Apollo was converted into a movie theater in the
mid-1970's. It became a live performance venue again in the
1980's when it was purchased by Inner City Broadcasting, a
private firm owned by former Manhattan borough president
Percy Sutton. The theater was granted landmark status and
reopened in 1985.
During the 1990's, Tony Bennett performed in a sold-out
concert honoring Billie Holiday.
Harlem Song, written and directed by George C. Wolfe
(who also was responsible for the Broadway shows Bring in
Da' Noise/Bring in Da' Funk and Jelly's Last Jam), played at
the Apollo from July through December 2002. The historical
revue used song, dance,
dialogue, and multimedia to
celebrate the famous
neighborhood.
Recently, the Apollo was
extensively renovated. It now
has 1,500 new seats, a new
façade, and a light-emitting
diode (LED) marquee.
During our tour we saw the
“Tree of Hope.” This tree
(actually, it's now a tree stump
that stands on the Apollo's
stage), stood in front of the
Lafayette Theater during the
1920's. Performers hoping to
find work would rub it for luck.
The Apollo is located at
253 West 125 Street. Tours are
The Apollo Theater
conducted every Monday,
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 11 am and 1 and 3pm; and
Saturday and Sunday at 11am and 1 pm. Admission is $16
weekdays and $18 on weekends. Free weekend events resume
in October.
Placing Avery
From now until May 1, the USB Art Gallery in Manhattan
is offering a new perspective on the career of American artist
Milton Avery (1885-1985). Placing Avery, which features
paintings and prints from the collection of the Neuberger
Museum of Art (located at the State University of New York's
Purchase campus), showcases some 30 examples of Avery's
abstract expressionism.
The exhibition also features works by Avery's colleagues
Mark Rothko, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, and Adolph
Gottlieb, as well as works by artists influential to Avery,
including Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Henri Matisse.
As an art student in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1911, Avery
OSARC Newsletter • April 2009 • Page 7
Mackie, M.C. Hammer, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Lucy
and Ricky Ricardo (from television’s I Love Lucy), and Diana
Ross.
Unfortunately, the exhibit ended on March 17th, but you can
still see (at least for now) Barbie in many guises–from a hospital candy striper to the character played by Tippi Hedren in
Alfred Hitchcock's thriller The Birds–on the web at www.
focusonstyle.com/blog/2009/03/barbies-birthday-photoextravanganza.
•••••
NYCARA Report
Milton Avery: Still Life With Derby (1944)
studied the work of American impressionists and tonalists,
adapting their techniques and compositional methods, including
fluid brush strokes and chromatic tension. In addition to
Rothko, Hartley, Marin, and Gottlieb, he befriended and built
professional relationships with Karl Knaths, Byron Browne,
Barnett Newman, and William Baziotes.
During the early years of Avery's career, Sally Michael, his
longtime love and a professional illustrator, supported him
financially and championed his work. Their daughter March,
born in 1932, was the subject of many of Avery's paintings; his
works show her reading, sketching, entertaining friends, and
turned inward in reverie. The portrait March with Green Hat
(1948) is featured in this exhibition.
During his 53-year-long career, Avery endured many years
of economic hardship, all the while hoping that his art would
strike a universal chord and inspire optimism in others. The
exhibition features watercolors, oil paintings, etchings, and
lithographs, and explores the transition from representational art
to abstract expressionism.
The gallery is located in the
USB Building at 1285 Avenue
of the Americas (between 51st
and 52nd Streets) on the ground
floor of the building. Exhibition
hours are Monday through
Friday, 8am to 6pm. Admission
is free.
Barbies, Barbies
and More Barbies
In celebration of that iconic
American doll Barbie's 50th
birthday, Bloomingdales, on
Lexington Avenue and 59th
Street, had 120 “celebrity”
Barbie dolls on display. Among
my favorites were Barbies
dressed in outfits that evoked
Cher, the fashion designer Bob
This Barbie’s for The Birdsone of hundreds of dolls on
display at Bloomingdales to
celebrate Barbie’s 50th.
At the New York City Alliance
for Retired Americans' (NYCARA)
monthly meeting, held on March 25, a
recurring theme was the need to block
legislators' efforts to close budget
gaps via union givebacks and taxing
health benefits workers receive from
their employers.
NYCARA chairperson Stuart
Leibowitz opened the meeting by
Bill Douglas
characterizing calls for Social
Security reform as thinly disguised
efforts to reduce benefits to seniors, many of whom have no
other source of income. Social Security isn't broken, he added,
so there's no need to fix it. The program makes a healthy profit
and will continue to do so until at least the middle of this
century. What is in trouble, Leibowitz acknowledged, is
Medicare. Unlike Social Security,
Medicare's financial outlook has
deteriorated dramatically with rising
medical costs and the addition of a
prescription drug benefit in 2003.
Turning to local issues, Leibowitz
talked about New York governor
David Paterson's announcement that
the state would lay off some 9,000
employees because unions would not
agree to cost-cutting contract changes.
“During the last fiscal crisis, 30 years
ago, elected officials worked with
unions to restore solvency,” Leibowitz
said. “This time around, legislators are
acting like unions are the enemy. Kirsten Telemaque
Albany is dysfunctional, and we're the
ones who are expected to pay.”
In illustrating how middle-income workers are expected to
pay more than their fair share, several speakers focused on
recent initiatives to tax health benefits. Under current law,
employers may take tax deductions for health benefits they
provide to their workers, but none if it is counted as taxable
income for the employees. Taxing workers, NYCARA cochairperson George Altomare noted, could result in some
individuals giving up some or all of their health benefits.
Leibowitz said, “We have an obligation to dissuade elected
officials from cutting benefits, because we simply cannot afford
it. Retirees, especially, have to be very assertive in protecting
the benefits they worked so hard to achieve.”
– Gail Weiss
OSARC Newsletter • April 2009 • Page 8
OSARC In May:
The 2009 Elections, According to the Experts
Hank Sheinkopf, an often-quoted political, public affairs
and governmental relations consultant who has roots in the
labor movement, will discuss this fall's municipal elections with
OSARC members at the May 13 meeting. This is an opportunity
to hear an analysis of the upcoming election from a
professional with 30 years electoral experience who will be
playing a role in how the November elections turn out.
As this issue of the Newsletter went to press, we are trying
to confirm the participation of a second speaker, one of the NY
City Central Labor Council's legislative consultants.
Sheinkopf was legislative director for Teamsters Local 237
and now consults with the DC 37 Retirees Association. He has
worked on political campaigns and issue campaigns on four
continents and in ten foreign nations, in addition to over six
hundred domestic campaigns in forty-six American states.
Sheinkopf was a member of President Clinton's re-election
media team (1995-1996). He has been a strategic advisor to
scores of campaigns at every level in New York, including
campaigns for Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Comptroller
William C. Thompson, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and
Bronx DA Robert Johnson.
He has been involved in electing nearly half of the New
York City congressional delegation. This year, he has two
horses in city-wide races – Mayor Bloomberg and City Council
member David Weprin, who is running for the Democratic
nomination for Comptroller.
– Bob Pfefferman
•••••
ARA Sets Legislative Conference For June 15-18
The Alliance for Retired Americans, the AFL-CIOaffiliated advocacy group for retirees has announced its annual
legislative conference will be held this year from June 15-18 in
Washington DC at the Hilton Washington and Towers. The
conference features seminars, training sessions and workshops
on issues of retiree concern, as well as a day of lobbying with
one-on-one meetings with legislators. The focus of this year’s
conference is working with the new Congress and the new
administration on retiree priorities. The deadline for registration
at the “early bird” rate of $80 is May 1, 2009. After that date
registration is $95. To obtain a registration form, call 1-888373-6497 or email [email protected].
The Check Is In The Mail
In April, Medicare-eligible OSA retirees will be receiving
lump sum checks from the OSA Welfare Fund for partial
reimbursement of drug rider premiums paid in 2008. The
payments will reimburse up to $50 per month for Medicareeligible retirees and their covered spouse or domestic partner.
If you are eligible to receive a drug rider reimbursement and
you do not receive it by the end of April, please contact Vojna
Stanic-Geraghty at the union office at 212-686-1229.
For 2009, most Medicare-eligibles paying for a drug rider will no
longer have to submit proof of drug
rider payments. Starting in January
of 2009, Medicare-eligibles on GHI
enrolled in a drug rider have had
their pension deduction for the drug
rider premium reduced by $50/month
for themselves and $50/month for
their covered spouse or domestic
partner. OSA is paying the drug rider
reimbursement of $600/year/person
directly to the City's Health Benefits
Program.
Medicare-eligibles in any health
plan other than GHI will still see the Nilsa Mangual Rios
full pension deduction for the drug
rider this year. In early 2010, the Welfare Fund will
automatically send these non-GHI Medicare-eligibles a lump
sum check of up to $600/year per person. They will no longer
have to submit proof of enrollment. The one exception – if you
are Medicare-eligible and on a family plan, you will still have
to submit proof of coverage. We recommend you call Vojna to
clarify what she will need to process your reimbursement.
•••••
Employee Free Choice Act Suffers Senate Setback
One of the central legislative objectives of the labor
movement suffered a serious setback in late March when
Pennsylvania Republican Senator Arlen Specter announced he
would not vote for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) in
this session of the Congress. Specter had previously voted in
2007 in favor of a procedural move that would have advanced
the bill to a vote by the full Senate. That effort fell one vote
short of the 60 needed. There was speculation that Specter’s
opposition came because he will face a tough primary fight in
2010 against a more conservative opponent.
EFCA would make it easier for workers to form unions by
placing the choice in the hands of the workers as to whether a
move to form a union happens by vote or by signature of a
majority of workers on union designation cards. Under current
law the employer can force an election even if the workers elect
to support the union via “card check.” The bill would also
increase penalties for the sort of violations companies typically
engage in during organizing drives and first contract fights.
Recognizing the importance of the legislation, the business
community has been gearing up since the fall election to mount
a campaign to scuttle it. It’s unclear whether Specter’s move
ends any chance for the bill’s passage in the current session.
Edna Riley and Gilberte Ambroise
OSARC Newsletter • April 2009 • Page 9
Health Benefit Taxation Under Consideration
Hunting for Work?
In a move that has drawn extensive criticism from
organized labor, the Obama administration indicated in midMarch that it is willing to consider the
idea of taxing employee health benefits.
Under current law, workers and retirees
provided health benefits by their
employers and former employers are not
taxed on those benefits by income or
payroll taxes.
According to an article in the New
York Times, “in television advertisements last fall, Mr. Obama criticized his
Republican rival for the presidency,
Senator John McCain of Arizona, for
proposing to tax all employer-provided
health benefits...Now that Mr. Obama
Mary Hillman
has begun the health debate, several
advisers say that while he will not propose changing the tax-free
status of employee health benefits, neither will he oppose it if
Congress does so.”
The Economic Policy Institute, a progressive Washington
policy group, noted among many drawbacks to benefit taxation,
“when large groups of workers and their families sign-up for
health insurance through employers, “risk pools” are formed.
The key to these risk pools is that people are not grouped
according to their health, creating a viable and stable insurance
pool. Taxing health insurance benefits would encourage the
young and healthy to opt out of these pools; upon their exit,
premiums would likely rise for those remaining.”
According to the AFL-CIO-affiliated Alliance for Retired
Americans, “eliminating ‘employer exclusion’ would represent a tax increase
for working families and retirees with
employer provided insurance, and many
policy analysts believe that this proposal
would hurt efforts to expand access to
quality affordable health care for all
Americans. The proposal would also
undermine health coverage by causing
employers to discontinue the higher cost
employee and retiree health care plans,
disrupting health insurance for those
who have coverage they like.”
The financial meltdown has led
more older adults to consider re-entry
into the workforce. Ten years ago 12%
of those 65 and older were in the labor
force. Last year, the number had
grown to 17.3%. A number of bills
have been introduced in Congress that
would provide employer tax incentives
for those hiring older workers. In the
meantime, if you are dipping your toe
into the employment pool, experts tell
Fred Ranzoni
older job-seekers: try to connect with
the interviewer, emphasize your capacities rather than the
length of your experience, gain basic computer skills and
demonstrate technological competency, avoid the placement of
graduation dates on resumes, practice for interviews by
planning answers to questions such as “do you believe you are
overqualified for this job?,” seek age-friendly employers, and
use networking tools such as www.linkedin.com.
•••••
Madeline Taylor
When to Start Collecting Social Security
The Social Security Administration has updated its website
with a wealth of new information and tools. Among the latest
additions is an audio podcast entitled “Deciding When to Start
Receiving Retirement Benefits.” The presentation outlines
“some of the things you need to consider before making one of
the most important decisions of your life.” The podcast is
available at www.socialsecurity.gov/podcasts. Another tool on
the site is the Retirement Estimator at www.socialsecurity.gov/
estimator. The estimator allows you to play out various
scenarios, altering variables. If you haven’t started drawing
Social Security, this may help you decide when you should.
•••••
Single Payer Advocates Force Their Way In
In early March, the Obama administration scheduled a
summit on health care reform. Invitations were extended to 120
guests, among them lobbyists for a variety of interest groups,
including the private for-profit insurance industry. Notably
absent were advocates for “Medicare-For-All” single payer
health care, which would replace the myriad private insurance
plans with a single payer–the government–as in Medicare.
The furor was immediate, with grass roots advocates
threatening to demonstrate outside the White House gates. As
a result, Rep. John Conyers, who has introduced HR676, which
would provide enhanced Medicare for all, was invited at the last
minute, along with Dr. Oliver Fein of single-payer advocacy
group Physicians for a National Health Program.
In a report from the summit, Fein noted that “the summit
was carefully choreographed.” He adds that Obama “avoided
most of the truly contentious issues, such as an individual
mandate to carry health insurance either for children and/or
adults; an employer mandate to pay for coverage; a public plan
to compete with the private plans...or permitting Medicare to
negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for drug prices.”
In the meantime, a new group coalesced in early January
to fight for Medicare for All. Labor for Single-Payer Healthcare
drew 150 delegates from 31 states to a national meeting to map
out a strategy for pushing single-payer in the Congress and
nationally. Thus far some 39 state AFL-CIO federations, 100
central labor councils and more than 400 local unions,
including OSA, have endorsed the concept. (Both the AFL-CIO
and the Change to Win labor federations have endorsed
compromise plans.)
According to Rose Ann DeMoro of the California Nurses
Association, “single payer is the only reform in heatlh care that
has a constituency. We have to light the fire that builds the
movement to get single payer.” For more information, visit,
www.pnhp.org and www.laborforsinglepayer.org.
OSARC Newsletter • April 2009 • Page 10
Happy Birthday to OSA Retirees Born in April!
Gerardo Afable, Anthony Aguiar, Susan Allison, Joseph Alvarez, Florence Appelstein, James Arangio, Martin Bachner, Jewel Bachrach,
Roger Bachrach, Robert Backes, Gwendolyn Barnes, Beatrice Barr, Ruth Bell, Aquila Blyden, Benedict Bonino, James Breininger,
Thomas Breslin, Irving Brickman, Everett Lawrence Brogdon, Priscilla Budden, Joseph Buster, Eugenia Carrington, Belinda Carroll,
Stephen Clifton, Linda Coleman, Peter Costa, Henrietta Council, Charles Covella, Joseph Cruz, Emilio Cruz, Mary Ann D'ulisse, Vera
DeGazon, Rose Del Gaudio, Ralph DeMattia, Clive DePass, Karamoko Diabi, Philip Dinanzio, Jr, Jack Dobrow, Steven Dubin, Walter
Dugan, Dorothy Louise Dye, Donald Eichin, Gloria Erardy, Frank Farkas, Pauline Feingold, Mildred Feinstein, Richard Fink, Kenneth
Finnerty, Vivian Fletcher, Carmen Flores, Gerald Flynn, Judy Flynn, Karen Frederick, Lorraine Gewirtz, Mildred Gil, Edward Gilligan,
Pedro Gonzalez, Julius Gorin, Donald Greco, Henrietta Haffenden-Myles, Brenda Hamilton, Annette Heim, Ben Heller, Jacquelyn Henderson, Michael
Hnatowicz, Andrew Hollander, Jacqueline Holmes-Boyd, Lena Holt, Marion House, Clark Hudson, Janice James, Susan Jessen, Gloria Jimenez, Amy Kahn,
Lorraine Kelly, Margaret Kelly, Daniel Kerbawy, Arnold Kingston, Roberta Kolin, Lawrence Lamanna, Jeannette Lee, Lillie Lockhart, Emil Loreaux, Mary
Ludvigsen, Theresa Mancuso, Beverly Mandel., John Maniscalco, Peter Mastropolo, Carolyn McCray, Thomas McGann, James Meyer, Joseph Mickens, Paula
Miller, Richard Mitchell, John Mobyed, Barbara Mont, Felice Morris, Hope Morris, Kathleen Neary-Burns, Robert Noble, John O'Brien, Andrew Omo-Abu,
Jeronimo Paredes, Richard Pearlmutter, Helen Peets-Phillip, Julia Quagliano-Lynn, Bernard Quinlan, Isidore Resnick, Reinert Roaldsen, Horace Robinson,
Jane Robinson, Gloria Rosenzweig, Lorraine Russo, Therese Sbano, Michael Schady, Jack Schulstein, Annie Selvyn, Janice Shaheen, Deborah Sherol, Jenny
Siff, Aristotle Simpri, Sharon Snell, Stanley Spector, William Spong, Edmund Squire, Joseph Stark, Fred Steinberg, Cele Stolzenberg, Brenda Stoute, David
Sussman, Ruben Sutton, Edward B. Tennant, Gilda Thomas, Irene Toler, Barbara Toussant, Pedro Velazquez, Florence Wagener, Victoria Washington, Wendy
Weekes-Jones, James Welby, Peter Wood, Noel Worrell, Alice Yap, Joseph Zaccone, and Leoila Zeigler.
„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„
ACTIVE OSARC MEMBERS [Continued from page 12]
Wendell Mason
Shirley Mason
Dorothy Mason
Jeffrey Massey
Denis Massey
Peter Mastropolo
Eric Matusewitch
Constance G Maxey
Letitia Maxwell
Morris Mayo
Winnifred Mayo-Pena
John Mazzarella
Weltha McCant
Carolyn J. McCray
Kathleen McDonough
John J. McElroy
Thomas McEnery
Mary Katherine McEwen
Joyce McFarlane
Thomas McGann
Stephen McGarry
Jannie M. McGill
John Dennis McGreen
Charles McHugh
James McKeon
Kathie Mclain
Velma McLaughlin
Amelia McNeil JEFFERSON
James J McQuade
Bruce Mednick
Ronald Meekins
David Mei
Neil Mendelsohn
Runie Mensche
Margarita Mercado
Samuel Merson
Michael Meyer
James Meyer
Carol Michaels
Joseph Mickens
John Milat
Joseph F Miller
Natalie Millner
Ruth Mingoia
Alice Mitchell
Geraldine Mitchell-Jones
Michael J Molinari
Ralph Mondella
Barbara Mont
Charles Montalbano
Barbara Montgomery
Helen D Moody
Cordelia Moore
Daniel Morgan
Annie Morgan
Perla Morris
Hope Morris
Felice Morris
Donna Mulgrave
Susan Mullgrav
Anita Mullin
Margaret Munnelly
Patricianne Murnane
Alfred Murphy
Michael Murphy
J.J. Murphy
Joseph Murphy
Mary H Murphy
Irene Murray
Elizabeth A Myers
Leslie P. Myers
John F Nash
Madeline Nazario
Gabriel Neama
Kathleen Neary-Burns
Melba Neely
Annie Newell
Erwin F Nied
Anita Nilsen (Shleifstein)
Elizabeth Nobile
Robert Noble
Kathryn Nocerino
Theresa Norris
Iris M. Nowes-Hecht
Procesion Obra
Stephen M O'Brien
David O'Brien
Josephine O'Connell
Catherine O'Connell
Thomas Ogden
Sheldon Oliff
Sadye Olivieri
Patricia Ollison
Murray Olson
Andrew K Omo-Abu
Henry Opad
Daniel Orlando
Haydee Ortiz
John Ost
Nancy Paganucci
Amorita Pakilit
John Pape
James Pappalardo
Larry Pappert
Jeronimo Paredes
Olivia Parker
Carolyn Parker
Eugene Parker
Lucille Parris
Melvin Pascoo
Bertdella Patterson
Carol Ann Payne
Anita O. Payne
Elba Pelaez
Richard Pellecchia
Ralph Sr. Pellizzi
Delores A.W. Peloso
Anthony Penel
Eileen Pentel
Jack F. Perin
Millicent Perry
Sara D. B. Perry
Diane Peskin
Robert Pfefferman
William Pfister
Mary Ellen Phifer
Theodore Phillips
Susan Piccirillo
James Pickens
Jack Pilchman
John Pinto
Manuel Pires
Peter Piroso
Arlene Pitt
Lee Pleva
Vincent R. Polimeni
Phyllis Pomerantz
Pauline Pon
William Pope
Peter A. Prestia
Joan B Preston
Helene Price
Evelyn Marie Pridgen
John Prior
Carl Prisco
Martin Prokup
Lon Protzel
Milton Pulakos
Risa Puld
Morton Pupko
Julia Quagliano-Lynn
Catherine Quere
Michael Quinn
Miriam Quintero
Harris Rachlin
Nilda Ramirez
Frederick Ranzoni
Ambati Rao
Sharon Rashada
Patricia Rashkin
Edward Rasquin
Diana Recor
Thomas Reed
Marylin Reed-Borquaye
Peter Reese
Joseph Reeves
Theodore Reich
Charles A. Reiche
Jeanette Reid
Deborah L. Reid
Claus Reinisch
Fred Reinowitz
Ruth Reiser
Dolores Rice
Jeannette Richardson
Jeffrey Rickin
Shirley Ricks
Edna Riley
Gwendolyn Riley-Roberts
Stacey Rindler
Raymond Riordan
Rudolph K. Ripp
Iraida Rivera
Horace Robinson
Jane Robinson
Gilbert Rodriguez
Ophelia Rodriguez
John F Rohde
Richard Ronde
Allan H Rose
John Rose
Barry Rosenberg
Lewis Rosenblatt
Philip Roth
Lloyd Rotker
Miriam Rubman
Anna Rudbarg
Ed Ruettiger
Nancy Russell
Lorraine Russo
Linda Ryan
Waguih Sabongui
Robert Sacharski
Joyce Saffir
Cheryl Samuels
Helen Samuels
Gerald Sanchez
Joseph Sanchez
Ana Sanchez
Sylvia Sands
Anahid A. Sarkissian
Ora Savoy
Marc Sawyer
Sheila Sawyer
Therese Sbano
Michael Schady
David Schapiro
Minna Scharff
Joseph Schatz
John Schild
Elaine Schirmer
Larry Schonfeld
Linda Schwab
Barbara J. Schwartz
Ina Schwartz
Linda Schwartz
Peter Schweitzer
Mary Seabrooks
Thomas Seelye
Tarlochan S Sehmi
John Sellers
Myra Seltzer
Ida Sessa
Hedvah Shuchman
Elaine Silver
Sheila Silver
Ann B Silver
Dorothy Siminski
Ruth Simmons
Ina Sinclair
Milton Sirota
Edward Sisenwein
Othello Skeete
Robert Sklar
Catherine Slade
Edward Smith
Elaine Smith
Karen A Smith
Saundra Smith
Thomas Smith
Sharon S Snell
Gaye Snyder-Inkeles
Stewart Solomon
Michael Spector
Stanley Spector
Christine Spencer
Joseph Sperling
Charlotte Spiegel
William H. Spong
Nikki B. Springer
Janette Springle
Adrianne Staley
Louis C. Starkey
Roschel Holland Stearns
Darryl Steckler
Fred Steinberg
Linda Steinhart
Betty Stewart
Cele Stolzenberg
Trumilla Stone
Jo Ann Stone
James Story
Phyllis Stothers
Sallie Stroman
Penelope Stubbs
Chun-Hwai Su
Frances Suddreth-Hart
Margaret Suite
John Sullivan
Mortimer Sullivan
David Sussman
Elaine Suva-Bongiovi
Michael P. Swann
Thomas V. Tallarico
Alfredo L. Tan
Tuly Tanenbaum
Madeline Taylor
Mary D Taylor
Jean Taylor
Marian Taylor
Kirsten Telemaque
Edward B. Tennant
Stuart Tepper
Hattie Thomas
Elizabeth Thomas
Cindy K Thomas
Willie Mae Timothy
Nicholas Titakis
Joel Tolchinsky
John M. Toman
OSARC Newsletter • April 2009 • Page 11
Lorraine Toto
Luzviminda A Tuazon
Michael Tuccio
Bernard Tuchman
James Tumia
Elaine Turkel
Josephine Valentin
Marjorie A Valleau
Roberta Van Laven
Cheryl Y Vaughn
Annie Vento
Edelmira Ventura
Doreen Vialet
Sarah R. Vilar
Michael J. Vincent
Ana T. Vives
Nona Volk
Florence Wagener
Vida Wagner
Christine Walcott
Jay Walia
Perry Walker
Michael Walsh
Richard W. Walters
Joy M. Walton
Yih-Lu Charlie Wang
Maggie Ward
Joseph Warfield
Victoria Washington
Barbara Washington-Griles
Herbert Wasserman
Frances Watson
Jacquelyn Watson
Charles Waxman
Joanne Webb
Albert Webster Jr.
Donald Weinberg
Olga R. Weiss
Rose Weiss-Fischler
James Welby
Candice Wellman
David Welsh
Erich Werner
Shirley Wertheimer
Joyce White
Alyce White
Grace White
Shirley A. Wiggins
Charles T. Wilbert
Hazel Williams
Yvonne C Williams
Herbert Williams
Laraine Williams
Margaret Williams
Isza Williams-Darlington
Aaron Wilner
Ronald T. Wilson
Bettye Wilson
Diana M. Wilson
Kay Wilson
Marva Wilson Garnes
Bassanio Wong
Spencer Wong
Peter Wood
Jessica Woodcock
Geraldine A. Wooden
Chester Wooten
Noel Worrell
Peggy Wright
Simeon Wright
Benjamin Wright, Jr.
Alice Yap
Leoila Zeigler
Margie Zinzi
Phyllis Zito
ACTIVE MEMBERS OF
THE ORGANIZATION OF STAFF ANALYSTS’ RETIREES CLUB
Dena C Abrams
Gerardo V Afable
Prakash Ailawadi
Michaela C Albanese
Frederick Alexander
Tristan Allas
Alice Allen
Leslie Allen
Joseph Alvarez
Hakimah Al-Zahra
Jo-Ann Ambrogi
Gilberte Ambroise
Marsha Ambrose
Michael Ambrosia
Beverly Anderson
Paul Anderson
Aspacia Andros
Jean Anmuth
Florence Appelstein
Arthur D. Aptowitz
James Arangio
William A. Archipoli
Henry Armendinger
Robert Armstrong
Jimmy Arnold
Kwame Asante
Hanacho Atako
Steven August
Neil Awalt
Jacqueline Ayer
Roger Bachrach
Robert Backes
Mary Bacote-Norkhird
Malkit Bains
Steven Balicer
Rafiu Balogun
Yvette Banks
Norma Banks
Theodore Barbal
Mary Bardy
Mary Barlow
Gwendolyn Barnes
Charles F. Baroo
Ted Barra
Frances Guttilla Barris
Edward Barry
Richard Barth
Eileen Bartky
Joseph Bartolomeo
Renee Bash
Earl Batts
Barbara Batts
Marjorie Baum
James Beavan
Yolanda Womack Beckett
Charles Beckinella
Rose Beer
Judith Beiss
Richard Bell
Ruth Bell
Joanna Belt
Lynn Bender
Diana Benitez
Carolyn Bennett
Maureen Benson
Elaine Silodor Berk
Herman Berkowitz
Ira Berman
Margarita Bermudez
Marilyn Bernard
George Bernett
Carolyn Berry
Regina Berry
John L Besignano
Earlene Bethel
Vidyadhar Bhide
Joyce Bialik
Saul Bick
Haripal Bisnath
Adona Blake
Helen Blecher
Robert Bleiberg
Phyllis Blonder
Andrea Bloom
Timothy Bohen
Shirley Bonadie
Elizabeth Borden
William Borock
Carmine Borzelli
Paul Bowen
Carol Bowers
Renee Boyce
Earlene Toni Brabham
Helen Brandt
Edward Braverman
Carmen Bray
Connie Bray
Maureen Brennan
Eddie Marie Brodie
Everett Lawrence Brogdon
Joyce Bronstorph
Yvonne Broughton
Rosemary O. Brown
Carol Brown
Gloria Brown
Jean Dertinger Brown
Richard Brown
Diane Brown
Angella Brown
Herbert Brown
Shirley Brugman
James Bucchino
Joseph Burden
Joe Burgess
Theresa Burke
Patricia Burton
Kenneth Burton
Evelyn Burwell
Joseph Bushe
Joseph O. Buster
Dorothy Byrd
Gladys Caballery
James Cacopardo
Diana Calvert
Eugene G. Calvert
Vijya Campagne
Denise Campbell
Milton Campbell
John Campobasso
Barbara Canning
Joan Capel
Joseph Cappiello
Burton Carlin
Francisco Carlos
Joseph Caron
Henrietta Carpentier
Phyllis Carr
Eugenia Carrington
Annette J Carrington
Belinda L Carroll
Maxine Carter
Patricia Caruso
Donald Casiere
Gerard Castagna
Immaculate Castaldo
Louis Celi
Janice Cerra
Jean Claude Ceus
Suzanne Chait-Magen
Ereica Chambers
Peter Chan
Johnsie Cheatham
Stephen Chenenky
Kuttikattu Cherian
Arthur Chigas
Dolores Choate
Estelle Chodosh
Himangshu Chowdhury
William Ciporen
Marilyn Cirrone
Judith Clark
John P. Clark
Joyce Cleary
Joyce Cleveland
Harry Cliadakis
Martin Cohen
George Cohen
Glynton Coleman
Patricia Coleman
Linda Coleman
Judith Collazzi
Patrick Collins
Gloria Colon
Marlene Connor
James Conolly
William Considine
Anthony M Cook
Mildred Cordero
James Corleto
Hannibal Coscia
Henrietta Council
Ted L. Cox
Esther Crayton
Ellen Creightney
Maria L. Crisci
Robert Croghan
Stanley Cutchins
Gerald Czermendy
Joseph D'Aiello
Carol J Dailey
Marilyn Daitsman
Richard M Dalrymple
Maureen D'Amato
Dolores Daniels
Prabhat Das
Elizabeth D'Aversa
Frances David
Noreen Davidsen
Christine DeCell
Rufina DeGuzman
Edwin P Dei
Rose Del Gaudio
Una Delaney
Mavis Delgado
John Dellecave
Ralph DeMattia
Chiquita Denny
Cynthia DePalma
John DePrima
Constance Desanti
Theodore DeSantis
Sybil DeVeaux
Mary Diaz
Richard W. DiBari
Rochelle DiCristofalo
Vincent DiGesu
James DiMarco
Munir Din
Philip Dinanzio, Jr
Sheila Dipolo-Donohue
Gloria Djaha
Jack M. Dobrow
Audrey N Doman
Joseph Donatuto
Barbara Donovan
Nancy Dorn
William A. Douglas
George M Drakos
Carla A. Drije
Christine Dudley
James Duffield
Vincent Dufour
Walter J. Dugan
Mary Ann D'ulisse
Deborah Duvdevani
Dorothy Louise Dye
Martha Easparro
James Egan
William Eglinton
Philip Eisman
Martina Elam
Terrence J Ellison
Barbara Elstein
Laura Engler
May Engler
Gloria Erardy
Linda Erickson
Rollie Eubanks
Tillie A Evans
Joyce Eversley
Frank Farkas
John Farley
Elizabeth Farrell
Camille Fatto
Pauline Feingold
Mildred Feinstein
William Fellows
Diana Ferebee
Sandra Fernandez
Carol Fernandez
Alice Fichtelberg
Mercedes Fieulleteau
Betty Figueroa
Joan Fillot
Barbara Fimmano
Georgia Finch
Joel Fishelson
Mary Flannelly
Philip Flaum
Gerald Flynn
Daniel Flynn
Judy Flynn
Constance Ford
Arlene Forman
Flora Foster
Henry Foster
Allen Foster
Harold Fowler
James Freaney
Alan Freilicher
Manuel Friedman
Sebelee Fye-Banks
Armand Gabriele
Grace Gabrielsen
Arthur M. Gaines
Ella Gales
Renee Galkin
Kenneth Gallo
Araleli Gamboa
DeJares Gantt
Carol Garbarino
Sonia E Garrastegui
Daphney Garrison
Antoine Gautier
Boushra Ghaly
Marguerite Ghartey
Marie Gill
Shirley Gilliam
Mary Giraldi
Edwina Glasco
Nicholas Gleason
Carol Glover
Irwin Goldberg
Myrna Gonzalez
Manuel Gonzalez
Pedro Gonzalez
Myra R. Goralski
Jeanne N Gorbatcheff
Joan Gordon
Marjorie Gordon
Bernice Gordon
Minette Gorelik
Tom Gorse
Sheila Gorsky
Eli Gottlieb
Sybil Gowdy
Titasha Graddick
Stanley Granat
Mary Elaine Grant-Tepper
Alonzo Graves
Eleanor Gray
Donald Greco
Audrey Green
Richard M Greene
Bruce Greengart
Susan Greenhouse
Lewis Greenstein
Stephen Gregor
Ira Greinsky
Thomas J. Griffin
Linda Griffin
Joel Grill
Mary Gropp
Marcia Grossberg
Martin Grower
Frank Gulino
Josefino Gumpeng
Albert Gundersheimer
Tilak R. Gupta
Horacio Gutierrez
Estelle Guttbinder
Henry Haegele
Henrietta Haffenden-Myles
Myra Hailey
Phyllis Hailstock
Arthur Haimo
Marguerite Hajduk
Claire Hall
Edmund Hall
Sandra Halstuch
Alicia Hamill
Brenda A Hamilton
John Hannigan
Robert Hansen
Frances Nadine Hapaz
Geraldine Hardiman
Sandra Hardison
Gussie Harris
John M. Hastey
Chandra Hauptman
Stanley Hauptman
Mildred Hawkins
Charles Healy
Annette Heim
Nancy Hellman
Marjorie Helms
Jacquelyn Henderson
Elizabeth Henderson
Robert Henke Jr
Saundra Henry
Paul Henry
Barbara Herman
Lisa Hernandez
John Heron
Mary Hillman
David Hochstein
Sylvia Hodge
Joseph Holdampf
Andrew Hollander
Jacqueline Holmes-Boyd
Lena Holt
Rita Honekman
Sherry House
Marion House
Carolyn Hubbard
Clark Hudson
Barbara Hunt
Azeeza Hurston
Nadine Hurwitz
Maria Ibanez
Haydee Inclan
Margaret Ingram
Thomas Ippolito
Ana Irizarry
Morton Israel
Evelyn Jackson
Valerie Jackson
Brenda Ann Jackson
Daniel Jacobson
Janice James
Calvin James
Anna James-Bowers
Ina Jenkins
Gloria Jimenez
Brenda Johnson
Cladie Johnson
James L Johnson
Ingrid Johnson
Lorraine Johnson
Marilyn Johnson
Roslyn Jones
Flora Jones
Wilhelmena Jones
Brenda Jordan
Emma Jordan
Eileen V Jordan
Karol Joswick
Amy Kahn
Melvin Kalmanowitz
Herschel Kaminsky
Arnold Kaplan
Jeffrey Keller
Randall C. Kelly
John Kelly
Lorraine Kelly
Margaret Kelly
Jeannie Kempson
Betty Kenner
Carol A. Keyser
Eleanor Kinard
Anita King Yurman
Arnold Kingston
Kathleen Kinney
Elizabeth Klaber
Laura Kleeman
Alfred Klein
Marie-Ann Koegler
Jules Kohn
Roberta Kolin
Marian Konstan
Henry Korobelnik
Jean Krampner
Jerome Kraus
Irving Kreindler
Sandra Krentcil
Jane Kronholtz
Richard Kucera
Robert Kuhl
Adele Kwaw
Frances Kyle
Edward S Lakner
Diane Lalondriz
Wing Lam
Lawrence Lamanna
Saundra Lamb
George Lang
Rita Langer
Dolores Lapin-Curley
Judith Layzer
Kaye Lee
Jeannette Lee
Barbara LeGoff
Stu Leibowitz
Joel Leichter
Nicholas Lesanti
Mary Leung
Gloria Levan
Howard Levin
Morton Levine
Stephen Levine
Rosanne Levitt
Lewis Levy
Martin Lewis
Fred Lieber
Joyce Liechenstein
Michael Light
Jayne Lindberg
Barbara Linder
William Linhart
Marilyn Liveric
Lillie R Lockhart
Leopold Loher
Brenda Lomax
Marlene Lorraine
Michel Louis
Rosa Lovejoy
Eileen Lovett
Hattie Lucas
Grace Lucas
Joseph Lucas
Flora Lucchese
Mary Ludvigsen
Paul Lurie
Marvin Lutenberg
Rose Maconi
Dominick Madeo
Leo Maher
Janet M Mahoney
Lauren Malone
Theresa Mancuso
Henry Mandel
Nilsa Mangual-Rios
Michael Manzolillo
William Marchuk
Angela Marino
Carol Marker
John Maroney
Claire Maroney
Roberta Martell
Claire N Martes
Ralph Martinez
Marylou Martucci
Edna Silas Marungo
Martha Masnyj
[continued on page 11]