Ben Franklin Club Endorsements

   Last night the Ben Franklin Democratic Club of the 81st A.D. held a meeting to discuss endorsements in the upcoming Bronx Borough Presidents race and 11th city council race covered mostly by the 81st A.D. Also on the meeting agenda was the report of the club nominating committee as to the slate of officers and executive board members for the upcoming year 2013. 

   Bronx BP Ruben Diaz Jr. was on hand to talk about all that he has done, why he did not run for higher office, what he hopes to do in his upcoming term of office (if re-elected), and took questions from members of the club that has supported him in the past. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz of the 81st A.D. gave his endorsement of Diaz for BP saying that Diaz has done an excellent job of bringing the people of the Bronx together, and that Diaz is a person who can work with others in government using himself as an example. 

   A question of why the club was to endorse so early for the 11th City Council district by longtime Ben Franklin member Alvin Gordon was answered by 81 A.D. district Leader Bruce Feld. Feld said that the endorsement process was being put forth, because of the uncertainly of just when the primary would occur in September or be moved up to June. He added that there is time to wait in citywide races as the club has a greater influence in local races that are in the Bronx. The club overwhelmingly voted to endorse in the 11th city council district.

  

Left- Andrew Cohen waits next to BP Diaz and Diaz's Communication Director John Desio.

Right - Cliff Stanton waits next to Assemblyman Dinowitz, Bruce Feld, and Mike Heller of the club.

   Andrew Cohen was the first of the three candidates to speak. Candidate Cohen mentioned that he is an man of integrity, is honest, and that the club has a long history of electing honest candidates. Cohen went through his qualifications for office, his community involvement, and some of his views on a few of the issues. Cohen added when questioned that the public school system is drowning in standardized testing, that the mayor should negotiate with the UFT on teacher evaluations, and better parent involvement is needed. 

   Shelly Keeling was next to address the club. Keeling is relatively unknown, as she went through her bio in which  she said that she has been a resident for more than 25 years, Sued coop management for overcharges claiming victory, was a businesswoman for 34 years, law clerk, a substitute teacher, and involved in local schools such as Fieldston and InTech. Candidate Keeling in answering a question about Broadway and 231st Street by saying that the area does not have the most attractive businesses, and it is hard to get rid of them with their sidewalk displays and peddlers in front of them.

   Cliff Stanton was the third and last candidate to address the club. Candidate Stanton opened up with "Now I know how Jonah must have felt in the belly of the whale". Stanton said to Assemblyman Dinowitz about the matter of Mr. Gordon's verbal attack on the assemblyman earlier that he (Stanton) would have the assemblyman's back. Stanton spoke of going to Bronx Science High School, and mentioned that is where his child currently attends. He gave a brief bio of himself, and said "I get things done". He mentioned the charter school that he said he helped open, because parents were moving away when their children reached age 10. When questioned about the Citizens United Super Pac pushing candidates who want more charter schools, Stanton ducked the question by saying that his charter school does not pick or choose its students. He defended his boycott of the Riverdale Review, and said "If the government was coming after Andy Wolf I would come to his defense". Stanton ended his speech by defending his part in the renmoval of the previous PS 24 principal, attacking MS 141 (to which his children are not zoned for) as being a poor choice for parents, and said that is why he started the charter school.  

    

Left- Current 11th Councilman G. Oliver Koppell pitches his choice to replace him Andrew Cohen.

Right - Assemblyman Dinowitz explaining why the club should overwhelmingly endorse BP Diaz. 

Current term limited 11th Councilman was one of the many speakers to endorse the candidacy of Andrew Cohen. Koppell said that Mr. Cohen is very concerned about the community that he lives in, is a member of Community Board # 8, a man of integrity (like himself), and that Mr. Cohen is not seeking the office for personal gain. During his endorsement of Mr. Cohen Assemblyman Dinowitz in naming the elected officials who have already supported Mr. Cohen's candidacy included Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., and then retracted BP Diaz's name. I spoke to BP Diaz over the weekend and asked why he has not already endorsed Mr. Cohen in the 11th council district. Diaz told me much like he must have told Assemblyman Dinowitz that he would be endorsing Mr. Cohen for the 11th council seat soon.

     The members of  the Ben Franklin club voted, and here is the results of the vote for the endorsement in the 11th city council district.

     Andrew Cohen-------84 votes       
     No Endorsement-------6 votes
     Shelly Keeling----------5 votes
     Cliff Stanton------------3 votes
     Write in Bob Press ------1 vote
     Total vote cast --------99 votes.

Right - The vote count in progress.

Traffic Agents at Bx. Schools During School Bus Strike

    New York City Traffic Enforcement Agents (TEA) have been posted at all Bronx schools to help with any traffic problems that may occur during the school bus strike by union school bus drivers. The TEA's are being posted to let drivers who are dropping children off that they must move on after the drop off. The TEA's are also on hand to prevent the double or triple parking of cars that blocks other cars from going through streets around schools. 

In both photos Traffic Enforcement Agents are being placed by public schools during the school bus strike at arrival and dismissal times to help keep traffic from coming to a stand still around schools.

Councilman Andy King "Open For Business"

   City Councilman Andy King opened up his new district office on Gun Hill Road in the 12th council district he serves. As you will see in the photos below the district office is small (just 1,000 square feet) with no frills, but large enough according to Councilman King to service his constituents. The new office is located at 940 Gun Hill Road at the corner of Colden Ave., and is easily accessible by the Bx 28, 30, and 38 buses. I ask a few of the many who packed the new office how they fell about their new councilman, and the answer everyone said was that feel good having Andy represent them in City Hall.

Above Left - Workers have removed the old sign from the previous store.

Above right - New sign is placed in front of office.

Right - New city council sign is put up. 

Left - You can see how crowded the office was for the opening.

Right - Councilman Andy King sits behind a small desk in a room where the walls are bare except for an Obama poster.

Left - Councilman King is welcomed by the Commanding and the Community  officers of the 47th Precinct.

Right - Councilman King with many of the people who came to help him open his new district office.

Left - Councilman King holding scissors is not looking to cut hair, but the ribbon as he does in the photo on the right.

 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service at St. Mary's Park

 

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is a part of United We Serve, the President's national call to service initiative. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems. In April 2009, Mayor Bloomberg launched NYC Service, the citywide initiative tasked with setting a new standard for how cities can tap the power of their people to tackle their most pressing challenges. This year, on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the Mayor’s Office and City Agencies will be coordinating service projects in the communities affected by Hurricane Sandy.

NYC Parks will be participating in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service by offering volunteer projects around the five boroughs. Volunteers in parks have made a marked impact in the agency’s progress towards storm recovery. Since the storm, 7,000 volunteers have removed nearly 23,000 bags of debris from 53 sites. Yet, there is more to do. We invite you to take part in these projects for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service projects, which are taking place on Saturday, January 19 and Monday, January 21. 

Please register now and pledge a day of service.  Must be at least 18 years of age.

Monday, January 21
9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

St. Mary’s Recreation Center and Park, Bronx (Located at 150th Street and St. Ann’s Avenue)

Project Details:

Painting perimeter fences

Spreading mulch, sprucing up the planters

Cleaning inside the center/painting inside stairs

  

Anthony Martinez | tel: 718.430.1861 | anthony martinez@parks.nyc.gov Love your park? Join a growing network of  active New Yorkers caring for their neighborhood  parks year-round. Get connected to resources  and volunteer groups in yourcommunity by  visiting www.partnershipsforparks.org   or follow us on facebook

SENATE CO-LEADER JEFF KLEIN CELEBRATES PASSAGE OF LANDMARK GUN CONTROL LEGISLATION

IN THE WAKE OF GUN VIOLENCE TRAGEDIES, NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE PASSES 

NATION’S MOST EXPANSIVE GUN CONTROL PACKAGE

SENATE CO-LEADER JEFF KLEIN LEADS BIPARTISAN PASSAGE IN SENATE

ALBANY – In the opening days of the 2013-2014 legislative session, the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly overwhelmingly passed a bold and bipartisan legislative package that enacts new comprehensive gun control measures statewide. Passage of this legislation, known as the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act (NY SAFE Act) marks the New York State Senate’s bipartisan Majority Coalition’s first major legislative success. Senate Co-Leader Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester) praised the deal as a smart, thorough, and balanced approach towards addressing gun violence.

Senator Klein said, “New Yorkers send us to Albany to deliver big results—and today, we’ve done exactly that. By working across the aisle, we produced a comprehensive package that an overwhelming number of legislators could support. This package preserves the constitutional rights of legal gun owners, while also recognizing that those rights are not absolute and must come with reasonable, common sense restrictions. We’ve taken major steps in the right direction by passing this bill. We’ve passed a full-throated ban on assault weapons. We’ve taken high capacity magazines off of store shelves. We’ve gotten serious about treating illegal gun owners as criminals. We’ve closed loopholes in the gun sales laws. And we’ve taken truly historic steps towards keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. More than anything else, that’s something that I am truly proud of.”

Included in the gun control package is the ban of all new assault weapons, a reduction of rounds permissible in a magazine from 10 to 7, a closure of loopholes in background checks in private gun transactions, an establishment of a School Safety Task Force responsible for assessing school safety plans, the standardization of pistol permit applications and the increase in state penalties for illegal gun possession.

Also contained in the NY SAFE Act are critical measures addressing mental illness and its role in gun violence. Senator Klein advocated strongly for a provision that will not require mental health professionals to report individuals deemed a serious threat to themselves or others to county health departments, who will then immediately transmit the verified information to law enforcement. If that person holds a firearm license, law enforcement will immediately suspend the individual’s license for a period of at least six months. Law enforcement will also be empowered to confiscate that person’s firearms for the period of the suspension.

Additionally, there is a critical expansion in Kendra’s Law, a law mandating that the maximum treatment for individuals who have not sought treatment for mental illness and who are a threat to themselves or others, is increased from six months to 1 year. Kendra’s law is also extended from 2015 to 2017.

This comprehensive gun package seeks to protect New Yorkers from senseless gun violence while recognizing and protecting every citizen's Second Amendment right. Governor Cuomo is expected to sign this legislation into law later this afternoon.

 

 

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

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

Games People Play

You should know that there are people playing Lieutenant Columbo games in the New York State Senate, and in the process, they have turned the Senate Democratic Conference into a mere rubber stamp for the political gains and purposes of others.

We all remember the television program, Columbo, where Police Detective Lieutenant Frank Columbo used to let people believe they were so smart and intelligent that they were capable of getting away with murder.

You, dear reader, should see how Senator Dean Skelos and the Republican Senate Conference play dumb and allow pieces of legislation such as gun control (just as they did with gay marriage) come to the Senate Floor knowing that every Democrat will vote for it, pass it and approve it – and later, Senator Skelos turned on his Columbo-like dumb-act saying that it was not the Republicans but the Democrats who did it.

You should also know that in the near future, Senator Dean Skelos will be allowing the Minimum Wage Bill and the so-called Reproductive Health Bill to come to the Senate Floor, knowing that the Democrats will be voting for both, and in the process, bringing legalized late-term abortion to New York State.

All of those bills are being allowed by the Republican-controlled Senate – against the will of the Republican voters in the State – but Senator Skelos will reap many benefits from those votes without being blamed for them and without being held accountable.  In the process of using the Democratic Conference as their rubber stamp, you should know that Senator Skelos and the Republicans are keeping the benefits that come with being the Senate Majority.

It was so very interesting to watch, observe and see Senator Greg Ball, a Republican, accomplishing his agenda by including exactly what he wanted into the gun legislation bill, and then – oh, how he played Columbo like a real master, using the Democratic Conference as a rubber stamp! Senator Greg Ball stood up on the Senate Floor, attacked the Governor, spoke and voted against the bill – all so he could make his Republican constituents believe that he was no part of it.

Then, there is Governor Andrew Cuomo, covering himself behind the pretense that he has ended the use of Member Items and Capital Funds.  As you all know, Member Items and Capital Funds were the only way that a State Legislator used to be able to help those struggling groups such as little leagues, senior centers, schools, and not-for profit organizations in their districts.  The Governor got the Senate Democratic Conference and the Democratic Assembly Members to vote against their own community interests and against themselves, while on the other hand, the Governor created his own, private, HUGE Member Items - or should I say, Governor Items and Governor Capital Funds for his disposal, making everyone believe that he did away with the system – and in the process, using the Democrats as rubber stamps.

And finally, there are those “geniuses” and "smart" Senators who were dead set on not accepting Senator Jeff Klein back into our Conference and making him the Majority Leader.  “We're better being in the Minority,” they used to go around bragging.  You should know that those same Senators are the ones now responsible for our own Democratic Conference being used as a tool by Jeff Klein and the Independence Democratic Conference to bring to the Senate Floor and approve a Democratic agenda that gives all the credit and recognition to Senator Klein and the IDC.

The IDC are the ones who get the credit and all the benefits from the Governor while our Democratic Conference – who provide the votes – gets zero, nada, nothing.  We are the ones being used to approve all those pieces of legislation and they all know that without our votes, nothing will get done – and again, we get bupkis, and we get no respect.

Perhaps it would have been better if we had not listened to the “geniuses” in our conference.

Jeff Klein is the one getting all of the credit, using our Democratic Conference and our votes while we are being left out of every negotiation, not being consulted, and being taken for granted by one and all.

Ladies and gentlemen, these are games that people play, and if you don't know how to play them, you’re out of luck because others will play you and make believe they are Lieutenant Columbo, using you however they can and making you just a rubber stamp.

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

Sen. Jeff Klein Statement on Pelham Parkway South Reconstruction

News from Senator Jeffrey D. Klein

Serving Bronx/Westchester

   “I continue to be very concerned by the reconstruction of Pelham Parkway South that has left the street dangerously narrow and nearly inaccessible to emergency vehicles. This is an ongoing threat to the safety and well-being of the community and I support continued negotiations to return Pelham Parkway South to a safe and reasonable condition. Any failure of Department of Design and Construction (DDC) and other agencies to address the concerns of our community is unacceptable and I stand with the Concerned Citizens of Pelham Parkway South in their effort to resolve this issue.“

Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj Swearing In Ceremony

    It was a proud day for Albanian Americans as this was the day for Mark Gjonaj to be sworn in as the first Albanian American elected member of the New York State Assembly from the 80th A.D. in the Bronx. Speaker after speaker said that this was a historic day for the Albanian people, just like it was for the Italians, Jews, Puerto Ricans, Afro Americans and others when the first one was elected to the same position. Mark Gjonaj entered with his family who sat in the first row as Assemblyman Gjonaj took his seat on the stage between Bronx Democratic County Leader Carl E. Heastie, and Judge Douglas E. McKeon who was to administer the oath of office to assemblyman Gjonaj.

   Senator Jeff Klein was the first of many to speak that afternoon, and said that 18 years ago when he won the 80th Assembly seat that Judge McKeon administered the oath of office to him. Klein added that Mark Gjonaj doesn't have to go up to Albany, be away from his family, work endless days, But that he wants to for the people of the 80th A.D. Congressman Eliot Engel was next, and he said that he wanted everyone to know that it was an honor to be here for his good friend Mark Gjonaj. Engel added that Mark Gjonaj won a race very few people gave him a chance to win, and that Mark is smart, hardworking, and knows how to get things done. Engel also praised Assemblyman Gjonaj for his placement of a Chanukah menorah on Pelham Parkway at White Plains Road, a first. 

   U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer said that he did not ride his bike here, as was the case in yesterday's swearing in of 87th A. D. Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda. Schumer added that Mark Gjonaj got here the old fashioned way "He earned it". Bronx Democratic County Leader Carl Heastie (who supported Gjonaj's opponent until the last vote was counted) could only say that he was jealous of Assemblyman Gjonaj, because there was no ambassador at his inauguration like Mark has at his. BP Diaz said that Assemblyman Gjonaj has exhibited the work ethic to help improve his district, and the Bronx in a way to bring people together. There were more elected officials that spoke on Assemblyman Gjonaj's behalf, but an interesting note was that City Council Speaker Christene Quinn who was scheduled as a speaker on the program left early as you will see in one of the photos below. In total there were over 1,000 people in attendance, and even though the event lasted over three hours a good 75 percent remained until the end of the program.   

 

Left - The Explorer Post 2436 Color Guard.

Right - The Gjonaj family stands during the pledge of both the American and Albanian national anthems. 

 

Left - Congressman Engel congratulates Assemblyman Gjonaj.

Right - Are some of the elected officials on stage at the time.

Left - BP Diaz speaks highly of Assemblyman Gjonaj.

Right New York City Comptroller John Liu congratulated Assemblyman Gjonaj as one immigrant to another, as he said while he was not born in Albania that he (Liu) was made in Taiwan. Liu added that he knows first hand the struggles of an immigrant family in America.

Left - There was a dance performance by the Columbus Sharks Triple Threat, Cheer Step and Dance Team.

Right - Mark's mother Rosa Gjonaj speaking in Albanian to the audience as Marks brother Paul with his daughter next to him. Barley visible on the other side of his mother is Marks sister Elsa Lulaj.

Left - Assemblyman Gjonaj being sworn in by Judge McKeon with Marks wife and two sons on stage with him.

Right - After the swearing in Assemblyman Gjonaj finally gets to speak, and he thanked just about everybody who helped him get elected. He asked the 200 campaign volunteers to stand up for a round of applause.