WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

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

For Your Information

  You should know that recently, I sent an invitation to friends and colleagues to join me at my 2013 Christmas Party, which will be held on Friday, December 20th from 7pm - 1am at Maestro's Restaurant located at 1703 Bronxdale Avenue in the Bronx.

Once again, it will be my honor to gather in a great spirit of unity to celebrate the Christmas season with so many of my neighbors, constituents, community leaders, elected officials, and dignitaries. I am proud to say that my annual Christmas Party is one of the biggest and best parties in the City of New York.

Each year, the number of guests who attend my Christmas Party continues to grow. I have been told by many that it is the social event of the season - and it is!

This year, I have made arrangements for 400 seats to be available for my party guests who would like to sit and socialize so that we have enough room for everyone who attends to enjoy the night. In previous years we have been faced with situations where some people who join me at my party don't find seats because of the very large crowd. To many, the size of the crowd is great because they get to see how many friends and colleagues come to join me for the night, but it is worrisome to me that I may be unable to provide enough seats for everyone.

It is my prayer and my wish that during this year's Christmas Party, there will be a seat available for everyone who wants one, but please bear in mind that there is a possibility that there may not be enough seats for everyone to sit, and like me, some people will be standing.

You should know that this party is for adults and not children. This year I will be hosting two very special Christmas events for children. My first Christmas celebration for children will be held on December 16 at 4pm where I will be distributing free toys to the first 1,000 children who attend. This event will be held at IS 216 which is located at 977 Tiffany Street in the Bronx. Then, on January 4, I will host my annual Three Kings Day event at PS 5 which is located at 564 Jackson Avenue in the Bronx, where the first 1,000 children who attend will receive free toys.

Ladies and gentlemen, I look forward to seeing you on December 20th, where there will be plenty of music and good food and holiday cheer. I look forward to seeing many children during my Christmas and my Three Kings Day celebrations on December 16th and on January 4th.

I wish all of you and your families a very Merry Christmas.

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

"Hit The Ice" at the Kingsbridge Armory

  In a 48 - 1 vote the full City Council voted to approve the Kingsbridge National Ice Center proposal for the Kingsbridge Armory. Only Charles Barrons cast the lone dissenting vote against the KNIC proposal. Councilman Fernando Cabrera left his Mr. Hyde character at home as he was all smiles when he voted yes for the KNIC proposal after doing one about face after another leaving Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. puzzled as to what Councilman Cabrera was doing during the waning days before the final city council vote. 

  Diaz had the following statement about today's City Council Vote to approve the KNIC proposal for the Kingsbridge Armory.

 

  “After years of hard work and advocacy by elected officials, community organizations, our community board and the people of the Bronx, I am thrilled to see that the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory will finally become a reality.

“Today’s vote of the City Council represents the final hurdle cleared for the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC), a transformative project that will make the Bronx home to the nation’s largest ice sports center. KNIC will bring tens of thousands of new visitors to the borough, helping to stimulate our economy, while also creating hundreds of living wage jobs for Bronx residents.

“I am especially thankful for the support of our City Council and the entire Bronx City Council delegation, who understood the merits of the project and showed their strong support for it during today’s vote. The KNIC project will be good not just for the Northwest Bronx but for the entire borough, and the strong support of the entire Bronx delegation shows that to be true. I would also like to thank the developer, KNIC Partners, as well as Mark Messier and Sarah Hughes for their tireless advocacy on behalf of this wonderful project.

“This project is a victory for everyone involved, and represents the type of development we can see when everyone works together for the greater good. I look forward to this project’s completion, and the day when the Bronx can officially declare itself to be the premier ice sports destination in the United States, if not the nation,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

The Kingsbridge National Ice Center project was announced as the City’s official choice for the Kingsbridge Armory at a press conference in April 2013, which was attended by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Borough President Diaz, Council Member Fernando Cabrera, KNIC Partners LLC Founder Kevin Parker, New York Rangers hockey legend Mark Messier, Olympic Figure Skating Gold Medalist Sarah Hughes, then New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky and then Community Board #7 Chairman Paul Foster.

The original press release announcing the project can be read here: http://on.nyc.gov/ZGheD1. Full video of that event can be watched here: http://on.nyc.gov/18pwSTg.

Also in April, Kingsbridge National Ice Center Partners (KNIC) and the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) signed a historic community benefits agreement (CBA) to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory into a facility committed to serving Bronx residents. That CBA represents a multi-million dollar benefit package for the local community.  

For the first time in the history of New York City, a developer has agreed to wall-to-wall living wage jobs for local workers, more than 50,000 square feet of community space, targeted local hiring, opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses, free ice time for local schools, local procurement, sustainable green development and operation, and a business incubator to facilitate wealth creation for local residents. KNIC also plans to create a foundation to establish free after-school ice sports and academic tutoring programs for disadvantaged youth. The program will be modeled after the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation in Philadelphia, which has seen considerable academic and athletic success with those students who participate.

Will Carmen Farina be the Next Schools Chancellor?

  It being reported that former Deputy Chancellor Carmen Farina is now the leading candidate to become the next schools chancellor for Mayor Elect Bill deBlasio. The 70 year old Farina goes far back with deBlasio to when he was a member of School Board 15 which hired Farina as their Superintendent. Farina was also said to have been an unofficial advisor to candidate deBlasio, but has said that she was not interested in taking the position of schools chancellor. Her position seems to be changing however with the ever shrinking list of other possible contenders for the position of schools chancellor, and most of those others favoring the school closure model of the Bloomberg administration deBlasio has said he is against. 

  Farina comes with some baggage however. She is thought to have retired in 2006 from the DOE amid controversy that she had allowed a New York City Principal who lived in New Jersey have his child placed in PS 29 (where Farina had once been principal of) before an investigation was completed by the office of the Special Schools Investigator in a story here. The principal was forced to pay the city $19,441,00 for four years of tuition and resigned. Many other stories have been found about Carmen Farina and her rise to power from teacher to principal to District 15 superintendent to Deputy Chancellor of the NYC DOE.

  As a former member of the Chancellor's Parent Advisory Panel When Ms. Farina was appointed to the position of Deputy Chancellor I found Ms. Farina to be harsh, and not a person that was friendly to parents. She may continue the "My Way or the Highway" attitude of her former boss Michael Bloomberg, and it would be a mistake for Mayor Elect Bill deBlasio to appoint her as Schools Chancellor.

 

    

Christmas in the Bronx

VERIZON TO PAY ADDITIONAL $1.4M IN FEES; AUDIT UNCOVERED UNREPORTED REVENUES

  Comptroller John C. Liu today announced the results of a new audit which found that Verizon had significantly under reported revenue as required by its cable franchise agreement with the City and underpaid fees owed to the City.  Verizon has agreed to pay the City $1.41 million in additional franchise fees.

“Franchise agreements with the City must be enforced both to deliver quality service to our residents and to ensure that City taxpayers are getting their fair share of revenues from these franchises,” Comptroller Liu said. “Our audit spells out why Verizon owes the City $1.41 million in franchise fees, and I’m pleased that Verizon has agreed to pay up.”

Verizon is required to pay New York City a franchise fee of 5 percent of gross revenue as part of its agreement to deliver cable service throughout the City. The 12-year non-exclusive agreement, via the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT), began in 2008.

This audit by the Comptroller’s office found that from July 2008 to June 2013, Verizon understated advertising revenue on the quarterly reports that it submits to the City by approximately $28.2 million, resulting in underpayment of $1.41 million in franchise fees owed to the City.

Specifically, the audit found that Verizon understated $17.1 million in advertising commissions that should have been included in gross revenue and did not report $11.1 million in foregone revenue from the value of advertising retained for its own use.

The audit called on Verizon to immediately pay the $1.41 million it owes the City, report all revenue as required by its franchise agreement, track the value of its own advertising, and provide DoITT with access to all necessary records. DoITT agreed with the audit’s findings and said it would ensure that Verizon accurately reports its revenue and complies with its franchise agreement.

Verizon disagreed with the audit’s findings, yet has agreed to pay the City the full $1.41 million.  This payment is in addition to the recent $60 million settlement between Verizon and the City for cost overruns caused by the company’s delays on the Emergency Communications Transformation Program project.

Comptroller Liu credited Deputy Comptroller for Audit Tina Kim and the Audit Bureau staff for presenting the findings.

Background:

Mayor Bloomberg, Comptroller Liu Announce $60 Million Settlement Agreement With Verizon, Nov. 14, 2013: http://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/bloomberg-liu-announce-60-million-settlement-agreement-with-verizon/

The Bronx LGBTQ Center Celebrates The Holidays

  The Bronx LGBTQ Center will hold its Family Holigays program in celebration of Christmas and Kwanzaa on Thursday, December 26 from 2-6pm at the First Lutheran Church of Throggs Neck (3075 Baisley Avenue , Bronx, NY). Family Holigays is a program of the center featuring pot-luck gatherings to celebrate the major holidays throughout the year.

 

   Unfortunately, many within the LGBTQ community are still ostracized by their families and friends because of who they are. These pot luck gatherings offer a welcoming celebration of the major holidays throughout the year to provide support to everyone in our communities, especially the marginalized and ostracized. It is hoped that the feelings of loneliness such community members often face will be lessened in what otherwise would be a celebratory and joyous time.

 

   While there is no cost to attend the Family Holigays celebration for Christmas and Kwanza on December 26^th, registration is requested to help coordinate the food for this pot-luck event. Donations are always appreciated and welcomed. For more information about the event, including the unwanted gifts Secret Santa, and to register, visit https://familyholigayskwanzmas.eventbrite.com.

   The Bronx LGBTQ Center is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization building a new community services center for LGBTQ and supportive individuals in the Bronx, lower Westchester, and upper Manhattan. It offers supportive services such as a free legal clinic, youth and women's groups, and social and recreational events. The Center is partnering with other community-based organizations to provide clinical and health-related services to the community. For more information, email info@bronxlgbtqcenter.org, call 347-LGBT-BX1, or visit us online at http://bronxlgbtqcenter.org, on Facebook at http://facebook.com/bronxlgbtqcenter, on Google+ at http://google.com/+BronxlgbtqcenterOrg and on Twitter at @BxLGBTQcenter.

Contact Peter C. Frank at secretary@bronxlgbtqcenter.org or call 914-417-9579 for more information.

 

 

MONDAY, DEC 9th SEMINAR ON THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT WITH CONGRESSMAN CROWLEY

 

The Bronx Chamber of Commerce

hosts a  

* Complimentary Workshop * 

 with  

Congressman Joseph Crowley

on the

Affordable Care Act

Monday, December 9th

12PM - 2PM

Hutch Metro Center Conference Room

Hear all about the Health Exchange!

Have your questions answered!

A great opportunity not to be missed!

To RSVP, email Alexandra@bronxchamber.org

or call 718-828-3900.

*Lunch will be provided*

  

DINOWITZ CALLS ON CABRERA, COUNCIL TO APPROVE ICE CENTER AT KINGSBRIDGE ARMORY

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz

                                                                3107 Kingsbridge Avenue

                                         Bronx, New York 10463

                                                (718) 796-5345

                                                dinowitzj@assembly.state.ny.us

  Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz has called upon the New York City Council to approve the Kingsbridge National Ice Center proposed for the Kingsbridge Armory and urged Councilman Fernando Cabrera to vote for it.

“We have a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to bring an amazing and positive project into our community,” Dinowitz said. “KNIC will be a unique facility that will provide recreational and educational opportunities for thousands and thousands of people from the Bronx and beyond. It can spawn new businesses along Kingsbridge Road. It will provide hundreds of living wage jobs. And the community benefits agreement is a major plus as well.

‘While the armory is actually across the street from my district, the people who are most directly affected by the facility are in the Kingsbridge Heights section of my district. I look forward to this project becoming a reality and to the positive impact it will have on the surrounding community.”