[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 9, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               A TRIBUTE IN REMEMBRANCE OF MANUEL BURGOS

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS-

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 9, 2009

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Manuel 
Burgos, a distinguished community activist of East New York.
  Manuel Burgos is a true East New Yorker and operates the small 
business Rare Arts. Growing up in East New York during the 1970s 
enabled Mr. Burgos to see first hand how disinvestments, crime, lack of 
social services and inadequate healthcare effects the neighborhood he 
is from. Mr. Burgos decided to enter community service to enhance the 
atmosphere and nature of East New York.
  Before he turned 13, Mr. Burgos had already participated in many 
vacant lot clean-ups throughout the neighborhood. By his late teens he 
worked as a youth leader in his church's efforts to provide a Friday 
night safe haven for other youth in his neighborhood. At the age of 16, 
Mr. Burgos worked on a political campaign that made him realize 
political participation was the necessary means to effecting real 
change in communities like East New York. While in college he learned 
of the community organizing work of other young Latinos around the 
country and this shaped his future in critical ways.
  Throughout his twenties, Mr. Burgos worked in his church as a youth 
mentor providing youth programming and a safe haven for teens. He 
worked in several nonprofits such as Cypress Hills LDC and the East New 
York Urban Youth Corps (ENYUYC) as a director for afterschool 
programming. While working for ENYUYC Mr. Burgos partnered with local 
police, community leaders, residents and merchants in a pilot program 
called Community Safety Initiative (CSI) to create a powerful problem 
solving consortium that was directly responsible for significant drops 
in violent crime. During this time, Mr. Burgos served as co-writer of 
the East New York Weed & Seed.
  Today Mr. Burgos continues his work as a technical assistance 
provider on the local level, giving back to community projects that he 
helped build years ago. He has authored many papers on community-based 
collaborative problem solving and he developed a training guide on the 
same subject. His business, Rare Arts, is the mold of his writing and 
designing skills.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing Manuel 
Burgos.

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