NEW YORK (UPDATE) COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2010/12/06/2010-12-06_ehelping_hand_for_ps_35_school_thanks_donors_after_computer_thefts.html

Public School 35 in the Bronx thanks donors after computer thefts

BY ROB SGOBBO
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Monday, December 6th 2010, 4:00 AM

After a summer break-in, students at Public School 35 in the Bronx thought they'd be left behind without computers this year.

That's until some good-hearted New Yorkers opened their hearts - and wallets - to lend a helping hand.

Last week, the Morrisania elementary school threw a thank-you breakfast for their benefactors.

On hand were officials of the city's Housing Development Corp. and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, who donated 10 computer desktops. In addition Les Bluestone of Blue Sea Development, real estate firm, donated $12,500 to replace the stolen equipment.

Public School 35 also thanked the private Horace Mann School in Riverdale for donating 24 laptops.

Mary Hom, a deputy director and vice president at HDC and a PS 35 alum, said she was "moved to do something" when she learned of the theft.

"I felt bad that these students in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city had been victimized."

Hom, rallied her coworkers at the city agencies to collect donations to help replace the 36 laptops, 10 desktops and 10 digital cameras stolen from the school.

"I was amazed by the kindness of many people who wanted to help," said PS 35 Principal Graciela Navarro, who said the school now has more computers than before the theft.

The thieves, who have not been caught, broke into the school in late August - days before students arrived for the start of the semester. They escaped with an estimated $25,000 in loot, officials said.

"It hurt me to think that, in order to get an education that will mean everything to their future, these children at PS 35 would have to overcome an obstacle that meanspirited people put in their way," said Bluestone .

Navarro said PS 35 has been struggling with budget cuts this year, and didn't have the extra cash to replace the lost computers.

"The donations to our school show our students that the Bronx matters," Navarro said.

"But more importantly, that students in the Bronx have the same opportunities as students anywhere else in the world."

Hom was pleased with the results.

"It's great to see that some good has come from such a bad experience," she said.

"I felt like we made a difference in the students' lives."