Riverdale Mayoral Town Hall Meeting

  This Mayoral Town Hall Meeting was held in the 11th council district as Mayor Bill de Blasio is making the rounds in each borough as this is an election year for him. This Town Hall Meeting was held in an area where Mayor de Blasio won four years ago, and the mayor is playing into his strength by having Town Hall meetings where he has success.

   Since the 11th council district covers three community boards this Town Hall meeting was geared at the Northwest areas of Bronx Community Boards 7 and 8. Both community do have similar problems, but they may vary in different ways. CB 7 is choking on over development because two subway lines run directly through the boards area. CB 8 on the other hand has many single family homes and lower zoning that is threatened by senior facilities which want to build continuing care facilities. Other topics included parking or lack of it, The Hudson Greenway, school overcrowding, immigration and what the city can do, homelessness, and cuts to the MTA which led to a back and forth between the mayor and local Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz. The mayor said if you don't want cuts to the MTA tell the governor, adding also Assemblyman Dinowitz. That brought on a reply by Dinowitz that the legislature stopped a similar budget cut last year, and will again this year as the governor has called for. Here are some photos of the Town Hall meeting. 

Above - Mayor de Blasio goes over a few notes about Councilman Andrew Cohen's council district as the two prepare to enter the gym at In-Tech school where the Town Hall meeting was held.

Below - The mayor says - Let's get going to Councilman Cohen.

Above - Councilman Cohen welcomes the mayor to his district.

Below - The entourage of commissioners, agency and department heads who came with the mayor to answer questions.

Above - Lowell Greene of CB7 asks the mayor why is there little if any parking in new construction as parking is very tight in CB7.

Below Bob Bender of CB 8 asks the mayor to commit to the Greenway Project that CB 8 is trying to get done.

Above - The mayor answer a question about education.

Below - You can see how close the audience were to the mayor. Yes that is all the commanding officer of the Bronx Precincts and borough command seated in the background as security was very tight.

Above - Ms. Elizabeth Thompson of the Kingsbridge Heights Neighborhood Association asks the mayor a question on education.

Below - The mayor answers another question as Councilman Cohen listens to the answer.