Weekend Street Festivals

  There were many competing street festivals around the Bronx today, and I visited two of them in the Northwest Bronx. The Kingsbridge Heights Neighborhood Association had a Health Fair on Reservoir Avenue, while the Jerome Gun Hill BID had Jerome Avenue closed from Gun Hill Road to East 208th Street. Below are a few photos of each event.

Left - Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and soon to be Councilman Andrew Cohen stopped by the Kingsbridge Heights Health Fair being held on Reservoir.

Right - Cohen, Dinowitz, and KHNIA members pose for this photo in front of the giant inflatable exercise ball used at the Health Fair. 

It was a different story on Jerome Avenue as you see in both photos. Vendors lined both sides of Jerome Avenue with almost anything you wanted.

 

  

Left - There was a roving clown who made animals out of balloons for the kids.

Right - Roberto Garcia (far left) of Montefiore Hospital stands next to outgoing 15th Councilman Joel Rivera, 80th Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj, 81st Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, soon to be 11th City Councilman Andrew Cohen, 14th Councilman Fernando Cabrera as they pose in front of a Montefiore Hospital ambulance. Montefiore Hospital was a main sponsor of the event.

Mark Gjonaj 80 A.D.

   

    On Sunday May 27th Mr. Mark Gjonaj announced candidate for the 80th Assembly seat held a Memorial Day barbecue for veterans and the community at his campaign headquarters on Lydig Avenue. I stopped by briefly to chat with Mr. Gjonaj, some of those who attended, and took a few photos while I was there. I also asked many people about their current representative in the assembly from the 80th A.D., and got many different answers. The answers ranged from "I don't know who my representative is", "Jeff Klein", "Naomi Rivera", "Kenny Agosto", and "Jimmy Vacca". 

     When I said that Assemblywoman Rivera wants to run on her record the answers ranged from "What Record", to "I guess that means we may see her more now because she is up for reelection". Below are a few photos of the event.

   

Some 80th A.D. voters enjoying the barbecue by 80th A.D. candidate Mark Gjonaj.

 
    Some more 80th A.D. voters, who look like Mark Gjonaj fans, with one holding up a "VICTORY" sign for the election.

80th A.D. candidate Mark Gjonaj with Committee of 100 Democrats Chairman Ricky Martinez (a past candidate in the 80th A.D.).

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Mark Gjonaj Announces Candidacy For 80th A.D.

  Sunday afternoon in the pouring rain hundreds of loyal supporters gathered at 2134 Barnes Avenue (corner Lydig Ave.) to hear Mr. Mark Gjonaj announce that he would be running for the 80th Assembly District seat. While most first time candidates say that they are not politicians, Mr. Gjonaj was quick to say that he is a politician, and that he will be the next representative in Albany from the 80th A.D. 

  Candidate Gjonaj said that he has come from humble beginnings, his immigrant grandparents (together for 70 years) were with him at the announcement, as were several other family members. His wife Roberta said that she supports her husband in his quest to become the assemblyman from the 80th  A.D. Candidate Gjonaj said that he will be the voice of the people in Albany, raising the quality of life in the district, that the Bronx has the highest unemployment rate in the state at 14.1%, and that government regulations are choking small businesses that provide the needed jobs to cut the unemployment rate. Candidate Gjonaj said that all children should have an equal education, and that he wants to keep schools open more hours for after school programs, child care, and adult education. He added that we are in debt to the elderly, and where it is now policy to cut elderly programs and threaten to close centers that he will fight to keep said programs and centers open. “I'm only as good as the people around me, and here I have the best”, and Gjonaj ending by saying “God bless you all”. The campaign slogan of Mark Gjonaj for the 80th A.D. is “YOUR CHOICE FOR PROGRESS 2012”, and the campaign headquarters for Mr. Mark Gjonaj is located at 2134 Barnes Avenue at the corner of Lydig Avenue, with 718-791-0512 as the phone number.  

Gjonaj HQ is located at the corners of Barnes and Lydig Avenues

In the pouring rain there was still a large crowd

Mark Gjonaj speaking to the crowd of supporters.

You can see the pouring rain in this photo.

Here past 80th A.D. candidate Joe Thompson poses with good friend and 80th A.D. candidate Mark Gjonaj.

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