Statement of Principles on Private Development

In response to the wave of real estate speculation threatening the South Bronx and that will open the doors to hyper-gentrification, we present below a Statement of Principles on Private Development.  These principles have been in the making for upwards of a year by members of the Mott Haven-Port Morris Community Land Trust (in consultation with experts in each area) in response to the decades of "development" without community engagement that has caused a health epidemic and now threatens mass displacement. As some of our elected officials choose to deny the existence of gentrification, many developers have already bought land, filed plans and erected buildings "as of right", and many are not requesting any zoning changes, variances or government subsidies that would trigger wider accountability. Over the coming weeks, members of the community will be assessing adherence to these principles of each developer -  from Carnegie, Cheskel Schwimmer and Chetrit to Hornig, JCAL, Savanna and Somerset, among many others - and sharing the information publicly so that we can best direct the breadth of efforts to protect and uplift our community. I. Jobs. As a community facing one of the highest unemployment rates in the city, we call upon all real estate development construction opportunities to be given to union workers (with preference to South Bronx residents) with a significant percent to be given through apprenticeship programs to South Bronx residents of color in all building trades. Commercial enterprises developed as part of real estate development should hire a significant percent of its long-term workforce from the South Bronx and pay at a living wage or prevailing wage standard, whichever is higher. II. Housing. Guided by a history of disinvestment and displacement that caused the loss of 80% of South Bronx housing stock and where residents are now facing high rent and higher rent increases, we call upon all private developers in the South Bronx to set aside a significant percent of any new residential rental and for sale development for local residents at an affordability rate based on the current average median income of the South Bronx. We also call upon developers to provide ongoing contributions to an anti-displacement fund to develop tenants’ rights materials and outreach, to assess displacement-related impacts of development projects and to further affordable housing construction and other community needs. III. Environmental Justice. As an environmental justice community facing severe health inequities (which cause asthma rates eight times the national average) from the decades-long over-saturation of waste transfer stations, fossil fuel power plants, industrial facilities and other diesel truck-intensive business, we back the Principles of Environmental Justice and the creation of green space and public waterfront access  and call upon all real estate developers to support the community-designed and -driven Mott Haven Port Morris Waterfront Plan (before ground is broken on their own development projects) as well as the reduction of the 850 acre significant maritime industrial area in the South Bronx, the largest in New York City, which currently restricts the community’s waterfront access. IV. Empowering Local Arts, Artists, and Communities. We will enforce a new paradigm in the South Bronx that counters the cynical relationship between real estate and art, and that victimizes artists as disposable collateral. We will look critically at developers and creative clusters that more easily become mechanisms to employ our street and social credibility for dis-location and consumerist overcrowding rather than nurturing drives that weave themselves into the wider fabric and respect the character of the neighborhood in which they exist.  We insist that private developers and businesses sponsor and assist in nurturing our artistic community through anti-displacement strategies and initiatives such as: (i) community-driven projects to develop multi-use artistic venues and multi-sectoral incubators; (ii) funding for projects and entrepreneurial activities that feature artists in leadership roles and engage community members as equal partners; (iii) studio residency or work-space programs that focus on creative practice development for emerging artists; and (iv) funding for local small non-profit organizations that support artists of diverse disciplines, practices, cultural backgrounds and career stages. V. Promoting Community Cohesiveness.  To prevent a tale of two neighborhoods from developing as a result of building high end residential developments along the waterfront edges of one of the poorest economic but richest cultural districts in the country, we call upon all developers to provide meaningful contributions to the broader community to bridge inter-connectedness, including support for community gardens and urban farms and space set-asides for community groups, youth and senior programming and other needs of the community. VI. Local Economic Development.  We call upon all developers to enact a local South Bronx preference policy with respect to material purchasing, contracting, servicing, selling/leasing and all other business activities related to residential and commercial development in the South Bronx, including a significant percent favoring South Bronx businesses that are truly minority and women owned business enterprises (MWBE). VII. Health Equity. Residents of Mott Haven and Port Morris suffer from high rates of asthma, diabetes, and heart disease. Because of these and other factors, life expectancy for community residents is 10 years less than that of residents of Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Neighborhood conditions can play a key role in addressing these disparities, but without a deliberate focus on health equity in the planning and design of new developments, buildings and open spaces can unintentionally widen health inequities. Developers should analyze the health impacts of their projects, and use documents likeThe Active Design Guidelines  and Enterprise Green Communities Criteria to guide their design process to create spaces that promote health. VIII. Public Private Projects.  With respect to private development projects receiving city subsidies, zoning variances, land use changes or in any other way involving the government and thus requiring community input and/or approval, these principles should be enforced with the full weight of the government, who should also ensure timely notice and meaningful public engagement in the planning, building and maintaining of such projects. Additionally, we would like to see the city work with affordable housing developers to erect more 100% affordable housing in the South Bronx, and all publicly-owned vacant and/or available real estate should be prioritized for community-driven development initiatives, including transferring such real estate to local land trusts.

3rd Annual Allerton Tree Lighting

 

Join us on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015 for our 3rd Annual Allerton Tree Lighting!    Time: 5:00pm to 7:00pm Location: Bronxwood Tree  (Triangle of Bronxwood, Boston Road & Allerton Avenue) Special appearance from Santa Claus! Warm refreshments will be provided by Morris Perk. For more info please call :718-409-0109

MENORAH LIGHTINGS WITH SENATOR JEFF KLEIN AND ASSEMBLYMAN MARK GJONAJ

MENORAH LIGHTINGS

WITH SENATOR JEFF KLEIN AND ASSEMBLYMAN MARK GJONAJ

Monday, December 7th

3:30pm - Bronx House

990 Pelham Parkway South, Bronx, NY

4:30pm - Einstein Hospital 

Corner of Morris Park Ave. & 

Eastchester Rd., Bronx, NY

5:30pm - Pelham Parkway at White 

Plains Road, Bronx, NY

For more information, please contact 

Senator Klein’s office at (718) 822-2049.

or

 Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj at 718-409-0109

Belmont Christmas Tree Lighting to go on

Last year's Christmas tree at the Vincent Ciccrone Playground in Belmont.

   The New York Post which first reported that the Christmas Tree in Vincent Ciccrone Playground in Belmont would not be on display this tear due to the hiring of a security guard to chase away pan handlers and homeless people. It now seems that after a lot of media attention that the Belmont BID along with City Councilman Ritchie Torres have come up with the funding to have a Christmab tree in the Belmont park again this year,

  The scheduled date of the Christmas tree lighting in Vincent Ciccrone Playground in Belmont is Saturday December 12th at 3 PM.

Silver Found Guilty on All Counts

JUST IN:

 Former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was found guilty on all counts of the trial for which he was charged by the U. S. Attorney.
Sheldon Silver will now have to give up his seat in the state assembly due to his conviction.

Statement Of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara On The Conviction Of Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver

 “Today, Sheldon Silver got justice, and at long last, so did the people of New York.”

More details as they come in.

Those Who Make Money Out of the Suffering of the Poor and the Homeless

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz
District 32 Bronx County, New York

You should know that there are many people who are making a lot of money out of the suffering of the poor and the homeless.

It is important for you to know that as the homeless population in the City of New York nears 60,000 and everyone talks about ways we can help the homeless – and even though the City and State spend exorbitant amounts of taxpayer dollars on homeless families, the money doesn’t really go to the homeless. It goes to people who are taking advantage of the situation, who will go broke themselves if the homeless problem gets solved once and for all.

Some individuals who are exploiting the homeless situation are landlords, who raise the rents higher and higher until they push their tenants out onto the streets. This way, their empty apartments can be converted to “cluster sites” or shelter units.

Whereas in the past, a landlord may have been charging $1,000 per month for an apartment for a lease-holding tenant, under these new circumstances, that same landlord can get $109 per night, in some cases up to $3,400 per month to use these same apartments as municipal shelters.

Those landlords have many friends in high places, and they are protected by powerful people.

You should also know that throughout the City of New York, they are building more and more self-storage facilities than housing units. There are places where every two blocks you will find a self-storage facility being built. These storage facilities are a growth industry that feed off the homeless situation.

The owners of these storage facilities don’t have to employ too many people, pay workers insurance, health insurance and unemployment benefits, because the homeless people who use the facility have to do all of the manual labor themselves to store their furniture and belongings.

As you can see, my dear friend, the self-storage facilities not only feed off of the homeless but also use them to do work for them.

While families are being displaced from their apartments and are being thrown into the streets, the City of New York will place them in cluster site shelters and at the same time, the City will pay the storage costs for the families’ furniture and belongings.

100 PERCENT Saturday November 28, 2015

100 PERCENT

By Robert Press

Why Should We Be Thankful?

     Another Thanksgiving has passed, and one has to ask the question 'Why Should We Be Thankful This Year?' There may be a few good reasons why, but it seems that there are many more reasons why not. The two former state legislative house leaders are probably going to jail, and one has to wonder who is going to be next? The city is no better off today than it was one year ago, as the homeless situation has reared its ugly head, The public school system is in its worse shape in years, our beloved mayor is trying to push a one size fits all affordable housing plan for everywhere in the city but Manhattan above 14th and below 125th Streets to name a few reasons. Then there is the possibility of war in the Middle East region as a Russian plane was shot down by Turkey during the civil war in Syria.  

  I thought the Sheldon Silver trial would be over before Thanksgiving so we could give thanks that at least another perceived crooked elected official would be headed for jail, but we will have to wait now until the beginning of December for the verdict. As for the case against Dean Skelos it looks like an open and shut case as both the former State Senate leader and his son Adam should be joining others in Club Fed. Once the Silver and Skelos trials are over 'Which elected official is going to be Next' to be charged by the U.S. Attorney. 

   Bronx City Councilwoman Maria Del Carmen Arroyo announced recently that she will be stepping down as of the end of this year giving no explaination except for family reasons. Could it be that her mother long time Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo will not be seeking re-election next year also? This means that there will be at a special election to fill Councilwoman Arroyo's seat, and the winner of that race will be able to fill out the remainder of Arroyo's term and go for two full terms in the city council. 

   My spies are telling me that there might be another Bronx elected official leaving before his or her term is up this year, and we will have to wait to see if that is true. I could hint at the name, but I do not want to give out any information that has not been confirmed as of yet. 

   There will be a Blood Drive on Monday November 30th at 2018 Williamsbridge Road with Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj. The hours to give blood are 2:30 - 7:00 PM. 

   The North Bronx Democratic Club will be hosting its first Holiday Party with State Senator Jeff Klein and Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj on Tuesday December 1st, at Maestro's Caterers located at 1703 Bronxdale Avenue beginning at 6 PM and running through 9 PM. The Guest of Honor is Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. Honorees include Norman Seabrook (Correction Officers Union President), Beatrice Castiglia Catullo (Founder of RAIN Inc,), Joseph Kelleher (President Metro Properties and Chairman of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce), and Meisha Ross Porter (Superintendent Bronx School District 11). You can call 347-256-8719 or email northbronxdems@gmail.com to purchase tickets or for more information.

    The Committee of 100 Democrats will be hosting their first Holiday Party on Tuesday December 15th, which will also be the release date of the new Bronx County News. More on both in next weeks column. This column and its sister column the Riverdale Report will be featured in the Bronx County News. 

      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.

Blood Drive on November 30th!

Save A Life and Give Blood Blood Drive Please donate at the blood drive with Assemblymember Mark Gjonaj and the New York Blood Center! 2018 Williamsbridge Road Bronx, NY 10461 Monday, November 30, 2015 2:30 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. Mobile Bus - Walk-ins Welcome! Appointments Appreciated!