100 PERCENT
By Robert Press
Halloween Goblins and Goodies
We start out this Halloween column with some of the old ghoulish ideas that have haunted the city for years now. 'Congestion Pricing' once proposed by former Mayor Michael 'Moneybags' Bloomberg, which was buried in Albany is rearing its ugly head again. This time around Congestion Pricing is being called the 'MOVE NY Fair Plan' to toll East River Bridges, and charge vehicles traveling below 60th Street. This is being done to help mass transit as most of the revenue generated would go to the MTA in the form of aid to the mass transit system. To win votes in the outer boroughs there would be a lowering of tolls on the major NYC bridges that connect the outer boroughs, that is if you read the fine print 'At non peak use time'. In fact one could even see toll increases during peak use time on the same bridges.
Currently 13 City Council members back the MOVE NY Fair Plan including council Traffic and Transportation Committee Chair Ydanis Rodriguez. Rodriguez claims that the Move NY Fair Plan is the most widely accepted plan for easing congestion and funding mass transit projects. Queens Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (Sunnyside) has joined the chorus of those in favor of the MOVE NY Fair Plan saying that he is tired of seeing massive congestion problems on the platforms and subway cars of the number Seven line from Queens to Midtown Manhattan. He adds that there is gridlock at times leading to the Ed Koch bridge that spans to Midtown Manhattan from Sunnyside Queens. However other elected officials in Queens see the real problem that the MOVE NY Fair Plan will bring to Queens and other areas of the city, and are opposed to the new Congestion Pricing. It is about time for our Bronx Elected officials to join those who oppose this new Congestion Pricing Plan.
Two more City Council members Brad Lander of Brooklyn and Margaret Chin of Manhattan put on their 'Grim Reaper' costumes as they have proposed to reintroduce a fee for plastic bags usage in stores. Instead of ten cents, this time these two ghoulish council members want to lower the fee charged for a plastic bag to five cents. They say that cutting the fee in half will be more palatable to the consumer who will be paying for the plastic bag. By the way all four of the city council members mentioned in these two items are of the Dumbocratic Party. that is the so called Democratic Party with a big D for Dumb.
As for local Bronx events, On Friday there was a rally and clean up at the D'auria Murphy Triangle Park. This was done after the statue of Christopher Columbus in the triangle was found to have paint on it this past Columbus Day. Local merchants and residents wanted to make a statement that this kind of action will not be tolerated in this or any park. You can go to this blog archive to see photos of Community Board Six District Manager Ivine Galarza, Jerome Raguso 'The Canoli King' of Arthur Avenue, Radame Perez, Jose Padilla, and many others who came out to show support for the D'auria Murphy Triangle Park. There was a clean up of the rest of the park afterwards.
Bronx Borough President was in the house at the kickoff of 'Savor The Bronx', that was held at Patricia's of Morris Park. There was plenty of fine food and even Bronx Beer in its newly designed can to be had by the attendees. Check this blog archive of October for more on this event and photos of BP Diaz and the delicious food. Over 40 Bronx restaurants are participating in this years 'Savor The Bronx' event, you can visit www.ilovethebronx.com or follow @SavorTheBronx on Twitter for more information.
Also check the October archive section in this blog to see the many photos of the Third Annual Pelham Parkway White Plains Road Halloween Parade and Party sponsored by State Senator Jeff Klein and Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj. It was a parade that stretched for blocks, and included over 200 children and their parents. The party was at PS 105 on Brady Avenue, and the children were treated to many different activities and even an authentic hayride in the school yard.
Lastly, the Bronx Chamber of Commerce will be hosting their 'Salute Our Veteran Heroes' on Wednesday November 19th at Maestro's located at 1703 Bronxdale Avenue (just south of Morris Park Avenue). Brunch starts at 10 AM, with a Job and Resource Fair starting at Noon.
If you have any political information that you want to share or have checked out, any comments about this column, or would like to have an event listed or covered in this column or on my blog you can e-mail us at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press.
