Bronx Week Parade, Music, and Food Festival Caps Off Bronx Week

  Sunday's Bronx Week Parade, Music, and Food Festival was the perfect ending to the 10 days of Bronx Week. The weather was perfect, and hundreds and hundreds of people marched along Mosholu Parkway in the Bronx Week Parade. After the parade they joined hundreds of others who were enjoying the food and informational tables that were set up along the other side of Mosholu Parkway. The topper to all this was the Music Festival that could be heard blocks away that rocked the streets.

  It appears the city spruced up the island between both sides of Mosholu Parkway with up to 50 newly planted trees, and the day before the parade much gardening was done to the grass. The only thing left to do was to repave the roadway, but maybe that will happen before next years Bronx Week Parade across Mosholu Parkway.

  The FDNY opened the parade, with Bronx Walk of Fame Honorees The daughter of the late businessman and philanthropist, Alfredo Thiebaud, Actor and Activist Malik Yoba; and NBA Legend and Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes arrived next to be escorted to the reviewing stand where parade co-hosts Bronx BP Ruben Diaz Jr., and Dr. Bob Lee were . Actress, Author and Television commentator Stacey Dash missed the parade as she had to catch a flight right after the induction ceremony. The photos below will tell the rest of the story.

Left - The FDNY led the parade in its 150th year of service.

Right - BP Diaz and Dr. Bob Lee were the first to arrive to the reviewing stand. 

Left - Bronx Walk of Fame Honoree Actor Malik Yoba arrives.

Right - Basketball Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes arrives.

Left - The Bronx Democratic County Committee members.

Right - The Junior National Guard Unit passes the reviewing stand. 

Left - Bronx Democratic County Leader Assemblyman Marcos Crespo with his two daughters Raquel and Graciela.

Right - one of the many schools who performed.

Left  and Right - Two more schools perform in front of the reviewing stand.

Left - These Cheerleaders are lifting one girl up.

Right - The Cheerleader is held high above with the school flag.

Left - The Cheerleader jumps down.

Right - Into the waiting arms of her fellow Cheerleaders.

Left - PS 154 asking to keep the lights on for more after school activities.

Right - One of the Success Academy Charter Schools.

Above - The Monroe College Marching Band and Dancers
Below Left - The Band
Below Right - The Dancers.

Above - The Roosevelt High School Cheerleaders

Left- The Roosevelt Cheerleaders perform in front of the Reviewing stands.

Right - Step Dancers. 

Above - The De Witt Clinton High School Cheerleaders finally arrive.

Below - The Cheerleaders ready for a maneuver. 

Above - The Cheerleaders lift up one of their members.

Right - The lift is successful.

Below - The dismount.

Left and Right - The Tanima Dancers.

Above - Bronx High School of Science was in the House.
Below - The United Healthcare Float.

 

Left  and Right - The ever growing Pakistan-American Community.

BJCC Celebrates 6th Annual Breakfast for Champions

   

The Bronx Jewish Community Council (BJCC) is celebrating its 6th Annual Breakfast for Champions on Friday, June 5, 2015 at the Riverdale Jewish Center, located at 3700 Independence Avenue, Bronx, NY 10463.

The Mission of BJCC is to provide enhanced quality of life to the residents of the Bronx, particularly older adults, by offering services, support and coordination of community resources. 

This year's honorees are Lenny Caro, President & CEO of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce (and Bronx Goodwill Ambassador), who will be receiving the Bronx Business Leader Award; Eliezer Rodriguez, Esq., Executive Officer of the Bronx-Manhattan North Association of Realtors, who will be receiving the Bronx Realty Leader Award; Andrew Golub, CPA of Livrieri & Golub, who will be receiving the Guardian of Chesed Award; Judy Uman, BJCC's Director of Social Services, who will be receiving the Lorance Hockert Labor of Love Award; and  Marlene Cintron, President of the Bronx Overall Economic Development, who will be receiving the Public Service Award.

Also being honored is the Riverdale Jewish Center with the Congregational Honor Roll, and Project HOPE Youth Volunteers with the Leaders ofTomorrow Award.

The Breakfast for Champions event is BJCC's largest annual fundraising campaign and vital in allowing the agency to continue providing uninterrupted service to its thousands of clients annually. BJCC provides life-sustaining services including emergency cash assistance, connections to benefits and entitlements, care management, mental health outreach and other essential support services.

For reservations, please visit www.bjcconline.org. For more information and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jon Henkin at 718-652-5500 x. 206 or at jhenkin@bjcconline.org. 

Audit of ESDC Finds Few Measurable Results for $211 Million State Advertising Contract

  The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) spent $211 million on an advertising contract to promote economic development and tourism in New York state with no tangible results, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

“When government spends hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to send a message that New York is a place to visit and open for business, it should have clear objectives and show the public actual results,” DiNapoli said. “ESDC’s attempts to measure the results of this advertising campaign were weak at best, leaving real questions about whether the results justify the cost.”

In December 2011, ESDC awarded a contract to BBDO USA LLC, an advertising and marketing agency, for up to $50 million. ESDC amended and increased the contract four times, bringing the total of the contract to $211.5 million. Of this, $36.5 million was targeted to promote tourism and business in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The remaining $175 million could be spent at the authority’s discretion, which ESDC allocated to promoting Start-Up NY, tourism, Taste NY and Masterbrand.

As required by law, the State Attorney General’s office and the State Comptroller’s office reviewed the contract and amendments and found the state’s procurement and legal process was followed.

The purpose of DiNapoli’s audit, which covered December 2011 to November 2014, was to determine if ESDC received the services it paid for and whether its advertising effort achieved sufficient outcomes. Although auditors found that ESDC got the advertising services it paid for, at a fair price, they found ESDC was not able to effectively quantify and assess tangible outcomes from the initiatives.

ESDC officials told auditors they do not believe that the advertising program should be formally measured against outcome targets established for the various programs, and that the advertising was not intended to directly produce positive economic benefits. Instead officials stressed that the primary expectation for the contract was to improve perception of the state as a good place to visit and to do business.

Auditors repeatedly met with ESDC officials about the objectives of the specific programs supported by the advertising contract. ESDC only provided details about Start-Up NY, a tax free incentive program for businesses affiliated with college campuses that began in October 2013. Between October 2013 and October 2014, auditors found that ESDC spent $45.1 million to advertise the Start-Up NY program to encourage businesses to apply for the program, or 40 percent of the $111.6 million available for advertising during that period.

During this time, ESDC received 18,203 applications, but only about 10 percent of the businesses that applied were eligible for the program and only 41 enrolled in the program during the time period examined by auditors. The 41 businesses plan to create 1,750 jobs over the next five years. Auditors calculated that ESDC spent more than $25,000 on advertising for each of the promised jobs.

Auditors also questioned why ESDC continued to allocate more and more money to advertise Start-Up NY – even as applications fell from a peak of 5,300 in January 2014 to about 500 in June 2014 – without any analysis of specific goals or modification of outreach efforts. Auditors also noted that spending on advertising did not produce the outcome of increasing the number of applications (see charts on page 10 and 11).

Even though ESDC did not set specific quantitative targets or benchmarks, auditors found it did make some effort to evaluate the effectiveness of the actual ads created. The efforts, however, only looked at whether a few focus groups had their perceptions changed after viewing the ads about doing business or visiting New York. When auditors pressed again for goals and results, ESDC noted that attendance increased at the five tourist destinations featured in its marketing campaign, including a 17 percent increase in attendance at the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. Auditors noted that the inductees for 2013 had all died prior to 1940 in contrast to the attention generated by well-known induction class of 2014, which included former New York Yankees Manager Joe Torre.

DiNapoli’s office recommended:

• Future strategic and marketing plans include performance measures for monitoring outcomes to determine if the cost generated a return for the investment;
• Set specific targets, goals and benchmarks for evaluating performance outcomes and use these measure to monitor performance; and
• Regularly evaluate the program outcomes associated with the marketing efforts and use this information to periodically review, and if needed, adjust program goals, strategies and resource allocations.

In ESDC’s response to the audit, the authority generally maintained that it does monitor performance and reasserted that the advertising campaign was intended to build a brand and change perceptions, not create jobs or generate economic development. The authority agreed to have its marketing agency report on performance measurements and metrics in future contracts. The authority’s response, along with documents not previously provided to auditors, are included in the audit.

DiNapoli’s office is also currently auditing the Excelsior Jobs program, which replaced the Empire Zone program in 2010.

See ESDC Marketing Service Performance Monitoring or https://www.osc.state.ny.us/audits/allaudits/093015/14s10.pdf

See ESDC contract with BBDO or https://www.osc.state.ny.us/contracts/contractnoC201101.pdf

SUNDAY--BP DIAZ HOSTS BRONX WEEK FINALE

  On Sunday, May 17, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will celebrate the grand finale of Bronx Week 2015.

The day will include a volunteer breakfast and induction ceremony at the Bronx County Building on the Grand Concourse, followed by a parade down Mosholu Parkway with hundreds of students from Bronx schools and youth organizations. 

The four new members of the Bronx Walk of Fame—actor and activist Malik Yoba; NBA Legend and Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes; actress, author and television commentator Stacey Dash; and the family of the late businessman and philanthropist, Alfredo Thiebaud—will participate in both the induction ceremony and the parade.

Following the parade, residents will enjoy the Bronx Week Food, Art & Music Festival, which features popular restaurants, arts & crafts, games and activities for kids, as well as special performances by legendary hip-hop group Brand Nubian, freestyle singers The Cover Girls and salsero Jose Alberto, “El Canario.”

Bronx Week 2015 Volunteers Breakfast   

WHEN:                      Sunday, May 17

WHERE:                   Bronx County Building

851 Grand Concourse

TIME:                        9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Bronx Week 2015 Walk of Fame Induction   

WHEN:                      Sunday, May 17

WHERE:                   Bronx County Building

East 161 Street & Grand Concourse

TIME:                        11:00 a.m.

44^th Annual Bronx Week Parade  

WHEN:                      Sunday, May 17

WHERE:                    Reviewing stand: Mosholu Parkway East at Van Cortlandt Avenue

TIME:                        12:00 p.m.

Bronx Week 2015 Food & Arts Festival

WHEN:                      Sunday, May 17

WHERE:                   Mosholu Parkway @ Bainbridge Avenue

TIME                         12:00 p.m.

Bronx Week 2015 Concert

WHEN:                      Sunday, May 17

WHERE:                   Mosholu Parkway @ Bainbridge Avenue

TIME:                        12:00 p.m.

A Fresh Look At The Bronx

  Last Night at Billy’s Sports Bar located across from the old Yankee Stadium on River Avenue City and State Magazine held their first ever "Bronx Special Issue Launch". This was a hard copy issue of City and State (48 pages in all)  titled "The Bronx" - Special Issue.  

  The Special Bronx Issue had a beaming photo of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., with an explanation of how the Bronx has improved not only economically, but also in image since BP Diaz was elected in a special election in 2009.  Then there were pages with articles such as the Top Political Hangouts in the Bronx, Former Bronx BP's, The rise of Bronx Power, The Bronx Bouncing Back, The Mall Boom, Kids From the Bronx, and even a page on Bronxtalk Host Gary Axelbank to name a few. 

  Below are a few photos from the event at Billy's  Sports Bar.

 Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., State Senate IDC Leader Jeff Klein, Bronx Democratic County leader Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, City Council members Vanessa Gibson, Andy King, Andrew Cohen, and Jimmy Vacca, State Senator Marcos Serrano, Andd Assembly members Jeffrey Dinowitz, Luis Sepulveda, and Michael Blake were some of the current Bronx elected officials in attendance. 

Above - City and State writer and former Assemblyman Michael Benjamin chats with former Bronx Democratic County Leader (and now very successful political consultant) Roberto Ramirez 

Right - Others wanted to get a word in with Ramirez.

Above - BP Diaz with State Senator Marcos Serrano and Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson.

Right - BP Diaz chats with Bronxtalk host Gary Axelbank, while a busy Bronx Democratic County Leader Marcos Crespo tries to get some food in.

Above - City and State Publisher Andrew Holt tells the audience why City and State published the special issue highlighting The Bronx.

Right - Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. is being introduced by City and State Publisher Holt.

Above - Bronx BP Diaz Jr. tells of the new jobs that have been created in the Bronx, and is proud that under his administration the Bronx is no longer the county with the highest unemployment.  

Right - State Senator Jeff Klein tells of his great success stories in the State Senate that have benefited not only the Bronx, and New York City, but the entire New York State. BP Diaz is giving Klein the "High 5" in the background. 

Below - New Bronx Democratic County Leader Marcos Crespo is right out of the Ruben Diaz Jr. mold having taken over the job as the assemblyman from the 85th Assembly District after Ruben Diaz Jr. was elected BP. Crespo has showed his ability, and was recently elected SOMOS Chair in Albany,and then Bronx Democratic County Leader.