Emily F. Keller: Journalist

Sheri Baker Levy Slideshow

    This audio slideshow is a profile of Sheri Baker Levy, a disability rights advocate in Brooklyn, New York, produced in the spring in 2007 and published on Transportation Access in April 2009.

Watch the audio slideshow.

New York Under Water

    New York Under Water is a series of self-published videos and audio slideshows about flooding impacts on New York City's transit system, harbor water, low-income residents and low-lying neighborhoods.

    The project includes videos about the August 8, 2007 storm that flooded the subways, sewage treatment in the South Bronx, chronic flooding in Jamaica, Queens, sewer overflow in Newtown Creek and the possibility of storm surge in the city.

    It contains audio slideshows about city government's sustainability efforts and residential water reuse in Battery Park City.

View the interactive series.

Queens Public School Celebrates New Playground

    Public School 85 in Astoria, Queens celebrated the opening of a new playground on September 19, 2007. The playground was created from a barren schoolyard with help from the non-profit Trust for Public Land. City and school officials spoke at the event and children played. Video by Emily F. Keller. Produced by Emily F. Keller and Amy Goldstein.

    Click to play the video in Quicktime.

A Closer Look at Foreclosures in New York

     Jim Buckley (pictured), executive director of the University Neighborhood Housing Program, has been working to help families in the Bronx avoid foreclosure since 1989.  Buckley said there has been an escalation in foreclosures on private homes in parts of the Bronx over the last four years, with a spike in the last two-and-a-half years.  He also said there has been an increase in auction sales following notices warning homeowners they are at risk of foreclosure – called Lis Pendens – leading many homeowners to sell at below market value. 

    To help homeowners avoid foreclosure, Buckley organized an informational meeting with bank and non-profit representatives in May 2007 to educate two-dozen attendees about how to deal with financial hardships and keep their homes.  He advised homeowners to contact their bank or lender to discuss their difficulty rather than failing to make payments, or to contact non-profits like his for advice. Buckley spoke on camera before the meeting, as cameras were not allowed inside.

Click here to watch the video in Quicktime, which has a higher picure quality and takes longer to load.

Environmentalists Discuss Mayor's Sustainability Plan

    Environmentalists in New York City discuss Mayor Michael Bloomberg's launch of the Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability, an initiative to achieve sustainability in the city by 2030.

    The podcast includes interviews with Jane Hodge and Molly Norton of Just Food, an advocacy organization that promotes sustainable farming, New York City Councilmember James Gennaro (center), who chairs the council's Environmental Protection Committee, and Andrew Darrell of Environmental Defense.

Click to play podcast.