Saturday, October 9, 2010

STATEMENT FROM BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ  
RE: Hate Crimes Against Gay Men In the Bronx

    Bronx Borough President has made the following statement about the recent rash of hate crimes against gay men in the Bronx 
    
“The news of these hate crimes sadden us all, and I am grateful that the NYPD has moved so quickly against those responsible for these homophobic attacks. Bronxites will not tolerate any form of bigotry in our borough, and we stand together as 1.4 million residents to condemn these actions and to oppose hatred in all its forms,” said Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Friday, October 8, 2010

McLaughlin Responds to Dinowitz's Puzzling Comments About His Campaign

    We received this e-mail from the Joe Mclaughlin campaign, and we have several questions about some of the claims by the Mclaughlin campaign. We must also disclose that I (Robert Press) ran against Assemblyman Dinowitz in the 1996 general election.

    We are very concerned that the Mclaughlin campaign was for building an outdated oversized water filtration plant in Van Cortlandt Park, blaming Assemblyman Dinowitz for things that Mayor Bloomberg has done, while Assemblyman Dinowitz opposed those projects. Fails to know the name of the current State Senate Majority leader Pedro Espada Jr. calling him Jose Espada. Thinks that Ed Koch who was the only person in his administration as mayor of the City of New York that could not be bought (as per FBI tapes) is the person to end corruption in Albany. Finally while attacking Assemblyman Dinowitz for allowing New Jersey trade unions at the NYC DEP Water Filtration Plant in Van Cortlandt Park, The Mclaughlin campaign uses New Jersey as a base of operations by its 201-320-7850 phone number.

 

Yesterday, the Norwood News printed a story on Joe McLaughlin’s assembly campaign in the 81st district of the Bronx.  Joe is running a grassroots campaign throughout the district to give voters a choice for real reform this November against Jeffrey Dinowitz.

Dinowitz was also interviewed for the story and had a few puzzling statements we would like to address.

You can read the article here: http://www.norwoodnews.org/story/?id=2092

Dinowitz: "[Voters] know I work hard for the neighborhood."

His record says otherwise.
- He voted against a water filtration plant that has provided jobs in construction and plumbing.  
- Dinowitz allowed NJ trade unions to lock out Woodlawn plumbers when 80% of the jobs to build the plant were designated to be filled by neighborhood laborers and tradesmen.
- Allowed the Firehouse to close in Woodlawn
- Hit seniors on a fixed income with taxes on clothing and footwear
- Did nothing while lifeline buses the BX34 and BX 1 were put on reduced schedules while fattening pensions for MTA employees
- Siphoned money from a payroll tax designed to fund the MTA.  
- Killed student MetroCards 
- Voted to get rid of 10 of the 30 insurance companies that insure seniors in NY
- Allowed Mayor Bloomberg to shove every drug center and homeless shelter in Wakefield
- All while NYPD reduced about 100 officers from local precincts  
- Voted against giving New Yorkers temporary relief from gas taxes, at a time when gas was $4
- Voted against nearly $2 billion in property tax relief
- Voted to kill a bill that excluded Social Security income when determining eligibility for real property tax exemptions on property owned by senior citizens
- Said he wanted to "slightly increase" corporate taxes, have no cap on property tax hikes and institute even more fees and sales taxes.
- While NY went broke, Dinowitz demanded a pay raise for himself.  Last year he made $95,000
- Decided against ousting Jose Espada from the Democratic Party before the Sept 14 primary
While the people of the 81st district are looking for a leader, Dinowitz has continued to play Albany partisan politics.  Dinowitz has cast blame on anyone but himself and Speaker Silver when the Democrats have had total control of the Senate, Assembly and Governor’s mansion for 2 years.
On his statement against Mayor Koch (“Who died and made Ed Koch an expert on reform?”) 
Joe is appalled that he would attack one of the greatest Jewish Politicians of our time who is advocating for real reform against corruption.  Koch has pushed for reform as early as the 1963 when he took on party boss Carmine Desapio.  To get further information from Mayor Koch please contact Adam Riff at 212-616-5815.
Jeffrey Dinowitz: “I’m sure I’ll get at least 75 percent of the votes. I don’t want to be cocky” 
We are not shocked by this comment.  Joe has known for a long time that Jeffrey Dinowitz is out of touch with the people of the 81st district.
Joe has been through every neighborhood in the district.  He knows the people are fed up with business as usual. They are looking for common sense reform to get the Bronx and New York back on track.
Joe may be the underdog in this race but he is not alone when he says "we cannot trust those who helped create the mess in Albany to go back this November and fix it."
For more information or to speak with Joe please contact me anytime at bmurphy@joemclaughlinforassembly.com or 201-320-7850.

Thanks,

Bill Murphy

 

 BP Diaz and Others Join Local 70 Calling for More Bronx Jobs

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson and Assembly Candidate Eric Stevenson participated in a rally organized by the Laborers International Union of North America, Local 79, to demand that developers of publicly financed construction projects hire more local residents to work on their projects.    

Thursday, October 7, 2010

It's My Park Day Saturday October 23rd.

    The Bedford Mosholu Community Association is having its annual "It's My Park" cleanup and spruce up  of Mosholu Parkway on Saturday October 23rd from 10AM to 12PM. BCMA will be cleaning and planting along Mosholu Parkway starting from the meeting point of the NYC Parks Department building on Webster Avenue and Mosholu Parkway South. 
    There will be a large crowd helping out and you can be part of it. Help to beautify Mosholu Parkway on October 23rd from 10-12.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

16th Annual Tour De Bronx
Sunday October 24th


          Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and Transportation Alternatives, together with Montefiore Medical Center, St. Barnabas Hospital and Bronx Lebanon Hospital, invite all the residents to be part of New York State’s largest free cycling even.
     Over 6,000 riders from throughout the TRI-STATE area will cover over 65-miles of Bronx historic landmarks, waterfronts, new developments, new bike paths, greenways, parks and beaches, and will even ride through a portion of the Sheridan Expressway which is exclusively closed for this ride. 
       Cyclists will ride a 25-mile or 40-mile route.  Both routes include attractions like St. Ann’s, the borough’s oldest church once owned by the Morris family, Yankee Stadium, the historic Longwood section celebrated for its stately Victorian-era townhouses and various other Bronx attractions. 
      Following the ride, cyclists are invited to the Tour de Bronx Festival at Botanical Gardens featuring live entertainment and refreshments.
     For REGISTRATION:   Call 718.590.3518 or visit www.tourdebronx.org
          The registration dead line is Thursday, October 21st
       16th Annual Tour De Bronx ---- Sunday, October 24 
      The Starting Point--- The Grand Concourse and East 161st Street.
      Please note, this year there is only one starting location.
      Starting Time---  9:30 AM

 

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Senator Reverend Ruben Diaz Clarifies News Reports About Attorney General Candidate Dan Donovan Endorsement

 New York State Senator Reverend Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx) issued the following statement to clarify a statement that had been reported by Liz Benjamin in a Capital Tonight column on Monday, October 4th:

“I would like to clarify something reported by Ms. Benjamin’s in her news report that stated: “The clergy group has already endorsed one Republican statewide contender: AG hopeful Dan Donovan.”
Ms. Benjamin did not accurately report what I told her in regard to my fellow ministers and our support for Dan Donovan in his race for New York Attorney General race.
On Sunday, I told Ms. Benjamin that my ministers and I took a vote and agreed that we would endorse Dan Donovan only after if he would meet with us during one of our weekly meetings so that he could answer some questions about issues that effect our community.
As I have clarified during other public forums where candidates have attended and shared their positions, the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization does not officially endorse candidates, but the ministers themselves may endorse them.”





Monday, October 4, 2010

Will the 82nd A.D. be the Only Real Contested Race in the Bronx This November?
  
    In the 82nd Assembly District incumbent Assemblyman Michael Benedetto won the Democratic Primary with ease, but will have a much tougher challenge in the November general election from Republican, Conservative, and Independence candidate Mike Rendino. Rendino is a former NYC fire fighter who is Chair of the Economic Development Committee of Community Board #4, as well as running a local Bronx business. 
    Almost 100 people came to the Bronx County Republican Headquarters yesterday to see and hear candidate Rendino in what was called a "Meet and Greet" breakfast. Many in attendance were impressed by candidate Rendinos platform of wanting to restore fiscal responsibility, while fighting new taxes and fees. Rendino said that he had to retire fron the NYFD after he responded to 9/11 and the medical problems he has suffered since then, but he said that he wants to fight for the people of the 82nd now.
    The 82nd Assembly district goes from Throggs Neck up the east Bronx all the way to Coop-City, and is diverse as well as the neighborhoods it runs through. Throggs Neck seems to be more conservative while Coop-City tends to be more liberal. 
    To learn more or to get involved in the campaign of Mr. Mike Rendino you can go to WWW.MIKERENDINO.COM  , or call 347-538-6231 Mr. Robert Giuffre the campaign manager for Mike Rendino for 82nd Assembly.