Taís Moraes

by Tais Moraes

Graffiti arrests in New York City have doubled in the past three years. In 2006, almost three thousand people have been arrested. But writing graffiti is not illegal everywhere. 5-Pointz building, in Queens, is the largest building legally dedicated to this urban art in the city. Watch the story.

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Not in “Lethal Weapon”

by Taís Moraes

Finally, the day I scheduled my police ride-along came. I couldn’t wait to be inside the New York Police Department (NYPD) car and watch the cops fighting crimes - just like in the movies.

My Turkish friend Gizem and I arrived at the 108 Police Precinct in Long Island City, Queens, and talked to officer Youssef – who organized the ride-along. He introduced us to officer Pomroy and officer Sorrentino.

“Ok, there is no car available, so, we are going to ride the van,” Pomroy said.

Humm… That was kind of disappointing. I felt like my grandmother going to the theater with her friends in a van. But, anyway, we had no option.
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by Tais Moraes

When Donna Matthews arrived with her two daughters for their first night in a homeless shelter in Jamaica, Queens, she thought she was going to stay there for a couple of weeks. As the days, weeks and months of 2005 went by, she realized she was wrong.

“I was scared, I was homeless, but didn’t want to see it,” she said. It’s been two years now.

Being homeless was a situation that she never thought she would go through. Matthews comes from a middle class family from Manhattan and lived with her parents before getting married in 1991 and moved to her husband’s house in Canarsie, Brooklyn.

In a daily report issued by the city’s Department of Homeless Services, 9,396 families were living in temporary homeless shelters last Nov. 21.

According to a report released in July by the advocacy group Coalition for the Homeless, in 2006 the number of homeless families that are new to the shelter system raised 24 percent.

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by Tais Moraes

New York city’s largest public swimming pool is in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, where 3,000 people can cool off at the same time. The swimming complex was opened in 1936 and is well maintained. But just beside it, is an old aquatic eyesore that many on the neighborhood would like to get rid of.

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