Community Groups Seeking Information on Redistricting, Express Your Concerns

 

Bronx, NY – Community groups including the Bedford Mosholu Community Association, Tracey Towers Committee for Survival, Friends of the Williamsbridge Oval, the Kingsbridge Heights Neighborhood Improvement Association and Mosholu Preservation Corporation (MPC) are hosting a community forum on the redistricting process, seeking to understand more about the process and how redistricting could impact their community. This is also a forum to express concerns about how the current redistricting process could split the neighborhoods of Bedford Park and Norwood.

Where: Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, 3450 Dekalb Avenue

When:  Thursday, March 8th, at 6:00 PM

Who: Guest presenters include Susan Lerner from Common Cause as well as Lucia Gomez-Jimenez from La Fuente.

Representatives from the Bedford Mosholu Community Association, Tracey Towers Committee for Survival, Friends of Williamsbridge Oval, the Kingsbridge Heights Neighborhood Improvement Association, and Mosholu Preservation Corporation will attend.

 

Bronx Borough President's Education Summit

Follow up Event

 

 

Judge Mann's New Congressional District Lines,
and What it Means to the Bronx

  The draft Congressional Districts for New York State has been released by Judge Mann, and here is what it means for the Bronx ans state. There are two congressional districts to be eliminated which are the current CD #22 in Hudson Valley upstate currently held by Democrat Maurice Hinchey. The other district to be eliminated would be CD #9 currently held by Republican Bob Turner, who won the seat in a special election last September after Congressman Anthony Weiner resigned. 

  As for the Bronx it looks like there is little change to Congressman Jose Serrano's district which becomes CD #15. Congressman Joe Crowley would loose most if not all of Coop-City, keeping the part of the Bronx he currently has below Pelham Parkway, and parts of Queens. That district becomes CD #14. Eliot Engel's current district which runs from Bedford Park in the Bronx up into Rockland County on the west sides of the Bronx and Westchester, and the neighboring district that also runs north to south from the Bronx on up to the rest of Westchester would run east to west with I-287 being the dividing line of the two districts. The new 16th CD would start at Riverdale, go across to Coop-City then up to below White Plains covering both the east and western portions of Westchester in between. The 17th CD starts with White Plains going up to Yorktown and across the Tapan Zee Bridge into Rockland County as it currently does. 

  

  If you are wondering where the Bedford Park, Norwood, Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights, and University Heights areas of the Bronx are, they wind up in the CD # 13 which is currently Charlie Rangel's district. The 13th CD covers all of northern Manhattan from 96th Street on the East Side, and West 110th Street on the West Side, or the top of Central Park. 

  These new proposed congressional district lines are just that, as the state legislature still has about one week left to come up with their own plan for congressional district lines. Many state legislatures are saying that they are hoping to us Judge Mann's proposed lines as a guide.

  If you want to look at Judge Mann's findings, there are 34 pages in all, and  here is the link to the proposed district lines.

NEW YORK CARES SALUTES STUDENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS FOR COLLECTING THE MOST COATS DURING 23^rd ANNUAL COAT DRIVE 

Bronx Students and NYPD Precinct in the Bronx recognized for collecting largest number of coats.

New York Cares and presenting sponsor Health Plus today announced the winners of the Winter Warmth Awards which recognize individuals and organizations that made the largest donations to the 23rd Annual New York Cares Coat Drive. Learning Tree Prep School in the Bronx collected the most coats in the youth division and the 50^th Precinct in the Bronx gathered the most coats out of all the NYPD precincts. Other award winners include: St. John’s University, Vornado Realty Trust, Storage Post Self Storage, the New York Mets and Toshiba America.

“The individuals and organizations we honor in the Winter Warmth Awards helped us collect and distribute 77,000 coats, helping almost 20,000 more men, women and children than last year,” said Gary Bagley, Executive Director of New York Cares.  “We’re grateful to everyone who supported the New York Cares Coat Drive. New Yorkers dug deep to help their neighbors in need, and their generosity was a lifeline for thousands of people in our community.” 

The New York Cares Coat Drive is an annual lifeline for New York’s neediest citizens during the cold winter months. The Drive collects gently used adult and children’s coats during November and December throughout the metropolitan area, and distributes them to struggling men, women and children at homeless shelters, community organizations, and agencies for senior citizens. 

The 2011 Winter Warmth Awards Winners include:

• NYPD Awards: These awards recognize the NYC Police Department’s continued support of the New York Cares Coat Drive.  NYPD precincts collected more than 24,000 coats in 2011, 32% of the total collected citywide.
• First Place - NYPD Award: 50^th Precinct for collecting 1,375 coats (Bronx).
• Second Place - NYPD Award: 24^th Precinct for collecting 345 (Manhattan).
• Third Place - NYPD Award: 104^th Precinct for collecting 344 coats (Queens).
• Top Youth Group Coat Collection to Learning Tree Prep School in the Bronx for collecting 300 coats.
• Top Civic Coat Collection to St. John’s University for collecting 500 coats.
• Top Corporate Coat Collection to Vornado Realty Trust for collecting 1,168 coats.
• Largest New Coat Collector to Storage Post Self Storage for collecting 2,195 coats.
• Largest One Day Coat Collection to the New York Mets for collecting 1,592 in one day.
• Special Recognition Award to Toshiba America for their generous support of the Coat Drive.

New York Cares’ Youth Service Clubs, which offer volunteer opportunities to teens in the city’s public schools, collected a total of 615 coats.  The students at the Youth Service Club at Mott Hall High School (M304) won the NY Mets Warm Up Challenge by collecting 100 coats.  This spring, the teens from Mott Hall High School will have an on-field honor at a home game for giving back to their community. 

The New York Cares Coat Drive, presented by Health Plus, is one of the largest of its kind in the United States. New York Cares has collected 1.5 million winter coats for men, women and children in need throughout the city since 1989.   This year, New York Cares added twice as many public sites and started the Coat Drive two weeks earlier to meet unprecedented need.   

“Health Plus is pleased once again to sponsor The New York Cares Coat Drive,” said Ada Rodriguez, Chief Marketing Officer of Health Plus. “The mission and values of New York Cares are so similar to ours. We both offer coverage to New Yorkers in need -- we provide healthcare; they provide winter warmth. It was a privilege to partner with them on this extraordinary initiative.”

Other organizations that held special events and collected large numbers of coats during this year’s Drive included:  NYC Service, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Lincoln Square Business Improvement District’s Winter’s Eve, A Fabolous Way Foundation’s ‘3 Kings Coat Drive’, Hang it “All on the Line with Joe Zee,” Egypt’s ‘Give Back Tour’ and 107.5 WBLS-FM Radio, Macy's Fur Vault, Oz Moving and Storage, Weatherproof Garment Company, St. John’s United Methodist Church, CUNY Department of Human Resources, Leman Manhattan Prep School, Saint David's School, Jodie Jacobs, Muslim American Society Service Corps, and the National Society of Black Engineers.

For more information about New York Cares, visit www.newyorkcares.org or call (212) 228-5000.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz
32nd Senatorial District, Bronx County, New York

Manhattan County Chair Assemblyman Keith Wright is dead wrong. (And so is Bronx County Chair Carl Heastie.)
By this time I'm pretty sure you already know about the desperate struggle we’re having to maintain the strength and future of Black and Hispanic communities in New York State.

You should know that the way the lines have been drawn to define our districts is detrimental to our communities.  The proposed lines will dilute the power for our people that we have gained through hard work and strong leadership.

Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have both stepped up to the plate to call for Governor Andrew Cuomo to veto proposals that have been submitted because even they know that the proposed district lines will dilute the power of Black and Hispanic communities.
I was shocked to read in an article by Andrew Hawkins titled “Minority Fury Growing Over New Congressional Maps” that Assemblyman Keith Wright declared: “This is not a caucus issue, this is not a Shelly issue. This is a county leader issue."

As my eyes continued down the page I could not believe what I was reading: Assemblyman Wright continued by saying, “If Carl Heastie and I could come to an agreement, we’d be all good.  It’s not a caucus issue, not a Shelly issue, it’s between two county leaders. Shelly’s in the middle.”

These are by far the very worst statements that anyone representing any of our communities could possibly make.

You should know that in reality, this problem is not just the problem of two County leaders to work out, but the problem of EVERY elected person who represents Black and Hispanic communities.

This is most definitely a Black and Hispanic issue.

Is there anyone among us who actually believes that the future of our communities are in the hands of Assemblyman Keith Wright and Assemblyman Carl Heastie, and that when they get together the Black and Hispanic communities will all be okay?

What a laugh!

You should know that it is ludicrous to think that "This is not a Shelly issue" when we know perfectly well that everything in Albany ends with Speaker Sheldon Silver. It's just not possible to honestly say that there is a way to take the responsibility of this struggle away from Speaker Silver.
Of course we need to put the blame on Speaker Sheldon Silver!  We – and we includes Assemblymen Heastie and Wright – need to help Speaker Silver to realize that what he is doing is wrong.

If this is not the issue for the Black and Hispanic community, nor the issue for Speaker Silver, then whose problem is this?

Assemblyman Keith Wright should know at the core of his being that this IS a problem for the Black and Hispanic community.  He has to know that the ugly truth is that the proposed district lines are intended to try to kill the civic spirit in Black and Hispanic communities.  He has to know in his heart that a goal to alienate the growing Black and Hispanic population is sufficient so that people become apathetic and don't get involved in politics and all sort of civic matters.

We don't want our young professionals and our youth moving out of the communities because no one speaks for them in our communities.  We don’t want them to feel deprived of their youthful vigor, fresh ideas and ability to become leaders in their communities.

Every single Black and Hispanic elected official has to know that the future of our community, of our youth, of our people is in our hands.  We have no right to let this slip away.

I am Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz and this is what you should know.
  

New Low Vision Center Dedication

  Mr. Daniel Reingold ( the President & CEO of the Hebrew Home at Riverdale) welcomed those who came to view the new "Sonia Jaye and Edward Barsukov Low Vision Center". There was an amazing view of the local area that included the George Washington Bridge as you exited the elevator to the 7th floor where the new low vision center was located. This is the first ever Low Vision Center in a nursing home in the U.S.  Mr. Reingold said, and it is thanks to the generosity and hard work of Ms. Sonia Jaye. The lighting was bright, the walls were a bright light color, and everything else on the floor was specially designed to meet the needs of residents of the Hebrew Home that had vision problems.

  As Ms. Robin Dessel began the tour of the floor there was a painting done for the Low Vision Center, one that could not only look good, but also be touched by those who had problems seeing it. The new kitchen had vibrant lighting, and more space to sit then before. More 12 watt florescent bulbs replaced the old 75 watt bulbs to increase the lighting and decrease the electricity costs. On the new computers there were larger bolder keyboards that were easy to see, and larger screens to view. In the rooms there was also more and better lighting. The tour of the New Low Vision Center ended with a ribbon cutting ceremony with Ms. Sonia Jaye, Mr. Reingold, joined by State Senator Jeff Klein, and former governor David Paterson (see picture below)

  There are 870 residents currently at the Hebrew Home, and 5,400 low income New Yorkers who receive home medicaid services from the Hebrew Home. This is done at a 1/4 of the cost of in house services, and was signed into law by then Governor Paterson, which has been increased by current Governor Cuomo.

  Mr. Reingold thanked Ms. Sonia Jaye for not only her gift of the Low Vision Center, but her hard work along with others to make it happen. Ms. Jaye said that she chose the Hebrew Home because of the great reputation that the Hebrew Home has, and that she wanted to do something for residents with vision problems.

  State Senator Klein and former Governor Paterson had only words of praise for Ms. Sonia Jaye and the Hebrew Home. Senator Klein said that he had sponsored a bill that then Governor Paterson signed into law to allow the many people with life insurance to use their benefits to help pay for long term care in a place such as the Hebrew Home when it is needed.

  One interesting area of the Hebrew Home has been set aside as a Judaic museum, where there are over 200 different items on display. The theme of the museum is "Memories" so that some of the residents can remember their history as their ability to remember starts to fade away. I was touched by a surviving Torah on display that had come from a German synagogue that was burnt down during what is known as "Kristallnach, The Night of Terror against Jews in Germany" by the Nazi government.

    

You can click on a picture to enlarge, then click back to view another.

Gas Line Repairs by Amalgamated Houses

  Gouverneur Avenue was closed  Thursday, and Con Edison crews were working feverishly at the corner with Van Cortlandt Park South to replace an old rotting gas pipe. One could smell the odor of gas slightly for about a half  block radius of where the work was going on. 

  An unidentified Con Edison worker said that the old rotting metal gas pipe was being replaced by a new plastic one. You can see in the pictures below the old rotting metal pipe that was taken up by Con Edison workers, and them holding the new plastic pipe. 

Koppell Sponsored Medical Marijuana Bill

COUNCIL APPROVES KOPPELL-SPONSORED  RESOLUTION URGING STATE LEGISLATURE TO PASS LEGISLATION LEGALIZING MEDICINAL USE OF MARIJUANA

At its meeting on February 29, 2012, the Council passed a Resolution co-sponsored by Council Member Oliver Koppell, Chair of the Committee on Mental Health Mental Retardation, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse and Disability Services, urging the NYS Legislature to pass legislation, introduced by Assembly Member Richard Gottfried and Senator Thomas Duane, that would legalize the medicinal use of marijuana. If the legislature adopts the proposal, New York would be the 17^th state to legalize medical marijuana.

 

A joint hearing of the Mental Health Committee and the Subcommittee on Drug Abuse on November 11, 2011 examined the efficacy of medical marijuana, the implementation of laws that remove criminal sanctions for it use, eligibility for such use and means of access.  At the hearing, doctors, and researchers testified in favor of legalizing medical marijuana.  Among these, was Dr. Adam Karpati, Executive Commissioner of the DOHMH, who testified that “in fact there’s a lot of evidence…. that smoking marijuana is superior to the known therapeutic agents for the conditions for which it’s contemplated.”

 

The Resolution reflects these opinions stating that:

 

·        Proponents of medical marijuana point to a large body of reports and journal articles that support the therapeutic value of marijuana;

 

·        Written works address the ability of marijuana to treat a variety of disease-related problems, including relieving nausea, increasing appetite, reducing muscle spasms and spasticity, relieving chronic pain, reducing intraocular pressure and relieving anxiety;

 

·        Multiple public health and advocacy organizations support this legislation.

 

The proposed New York State medical marijuana bill would require a doctor’s recommendation and certification that the patient suffers from a debilitating or life-threatening condition.  Home cultivation would not be allowed under the act and dispensaries would be registered with, and regulated by, the State.

 

“Koppell said, “I have been a longtime proponent of legalizing medical marijuana as a humane and medically effective means of relieving the suffering of people with severe illness.  Currently, there are sixteen states that have legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes. I believe that residents of New York State should have the same access as people living in these localities.”