Happy Everything from KRVC!

 All of us at KRVC wish every member of the community we serve a happy holiday season.  Enjoy friends and family and have fun!

Save the Dates!

Looking ahead to 2016, please save the dates of our events:

Thursday, March 31 - Community Jazz Concert, 7-9:30pm at Kelly Ryan's, 5790 Mosholu Avenue, Bronx, NY 10471

Sunday, April 17 - Greenway Day, 1-3pm at Riverdale Station Park, West 254th Street and the Hudson River, Bronx, NY 10471

Sunday, May 1 - South Riverdale Avenue Festival, 1-5pm, Riverdale Avenue, 236th-238th Street, Bronx, NY 10463  

Saturday, June 4 - Boat Rides, Schedule TBA & Movie on the River, 8pmat the College of Mount Saint Vincent

Sunday, June 5 - Riverdale RiverFest, 12-6pm at the College of Mount Saint Vincent

Saturday, July 23 - Movie in Seton Park, 7-10 pm, 232nd Street and Riverdale Avenue, Bronx, NY 10463

Saturday, September 10 - Movie in Vinmont Park, 7-10pm, 255th Street and Mosholu Avenue, Bronx, NY 10471

Sunday, September 18 - Johnson Avenue Festival, 1-5pm, Johnson Avenue, 235th-236th Street, Bronx, NY 10463  

Please note that we plan to add more events to this calendar in the Kingsbridge, Van Cortlandt Village and Marble Hill communities as part of our new Broadway in the Bronx Initiative.  We also hope to work again in Woodlawn in 2016

Another NYCNeglect

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

You should know that while New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio talks about helping the Syrian immigrants who are innocent victims of a humanitarian crisis, and bringing them here to live because we are humanitarians, the New York City Housing Authority continues to subject our own senior citizens to barbaric living conditions. 

Ms. Carmen Rivera is an 82-year old grandmother who resides in disgusting and deplorable conditions in the New York City Housing Authority’s Betances Houses located at 460 East 147th Street in Bronx County. She is completely traumatized and cannot even sleep at night because of the years of neglect by the New York City Housing Authority. 

According to her family, Ms. Rivera has filed more than 100 complaints (tickets) with the New York City Housing Authority, whose receipts were confirmed. Her list of complaints includes: rats the size of cats on her furniture, leaks, toilet and bathtub backups, floods, holes in the walls, mold, etc.  See https://youtu.be/8B1fIVTfW98 and https://youtu.be/6wFG_sVy3Ik. 

The toilet in her apartment overflows from time to time, and her bathtub has backed up numerous times with dirty, filthy water that includes human feces and who knows what else is in that water. 

Ms. Rivera tries to keep her apartment neat and clean.  Then, when she least expects it, her toilet or tub overflow and once again, she has to go through the entire cleaning process to try to make her home livable, until the nightmare returns. 

Ms. Rivera’s grandson, William Garay has provided me with two videos to document the trauma that his grandmother is going through. One of the videos was recorded on December 10, 2015, and the other video was filmed earlier that week. 

After all of this serious trauma Ms. Rivera has experienced, and after filing more than 100 complaints. Ms. Rivera’s desperate calls for help continue. She is suffering from serious psychological trauma to the point that she cannot sleep at night nor find peace in her home during the day. 

Ms. Rivera has been asking to be transferred because she cannot get these visions out of her mind.  She gets up many times at night with real concerns such as those shown in the videos: if there are rats on her furniture, if her bathtub or toilet are overflowing, and how she can clean it all and sanitize her apartment. 

No matter how hard she tries to put her home back to normal, and no matter how many supposed repairs are made to her apartment, throughout the years, when she least expects it, the filthy flooding comes back, as do the rats. 

You should know that even though we live in one of the wealthiest cities in the world, we have senior citizens like Ms. Rivera living in unspeakable conditions in New York City’s Housing Authority apartments. 

Ms. Rivera, and any 82 year-old person most certainly deserves to live with some minimal dignity, and to go to bed without fear of her toilet and tub overflowing, or that rats are going to come out of the walls. 

The very least the City of New York can is to transfer Ms. Rivera to appropriate, sanitary and safe housing, someplace she can call home.  It is time to take all of this mental anguish away from Ms. Rivera. 

I am Senator Reverend Rubén Díaz, and this is what you should know.

Holiday Message From The Bronx Chamber of Commerce

Dear Friends and Friends:

 

The Holiday Season is a special time of year to recognize and remember those that have made a significant impact on our business success. Your support and membership in the Bronx Chamber of Commerce is greatly appreciated.

 

The Bronx Chamber of Commerce will be expanding its programs, services and networking events in 2016 including publishing an Annual Membership & Business Referral Directory to enhance benefits for current members and attract new members.

 

Members of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce will request companies that they do business with to join the Bronx Chamber of Commerce. We are witnessing a renaissance in our great borough that is unprecedented. Together, we can grow the Chamber, enhance its influence and further improve the image of The Bronx.

 

The Bronx Chamber of Commerce sponsors a wide range of programs and services to businesses ranging from large corporations, Cultural Institutions, Universities and Colleges, Hospitals and Medical Centers, and mid-sized to small companies. Patronize local Bronx businesses and strengthen our community! Companies do not need an office in the Bronx to be active members of the association. To join or for more information: call (718) 828-3900.

 

I look forward to working with you for mutual benefit in 2016 and beyond!

 

Best Wishes for a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year!

 

Sincerely,

 

Nunzio

 

Nunzio Del Greco

President and CEO

Bronx Chamber of Commerce

"The Network for Business Success"
1200 Waters Place, Suite 106

Bronx, NY 10461

718-828-3900

Nunzio@bronxchamber.org

 

 

For More Information Please Email:

EVENTS@BRONXCHAMBER.ORG

Upcoming Cultural Events at JASA Van Cortlandt Senior Center

1. JASA Van Cortlandt Senior Center will host a musical program by Yanni, an outstanding pianist, on Tues. Dec. 29th after lunch.  Kosher BBQ chicken breast, brown rice pilaf, kale w/garlic sauce and dessert will be served at 12:15 PM.  Yanni will perform international, jazz and pop music at 1:00 PM. Recommended senior voluntary contribution for lunch is $2.25 and $1.00 for the event. Non-seniors are welcome to attend for a meal fee of $5.00 and event fee of $2.00. Please call the senior center office:at 718-549-4700 for meal reservations by Thurs. Dec. 24th.

2. JASA Van Cortlandt Senior Center will host a dinner and New Year's celebration on Wed. Dec. 30th. A kosher festive meal of vegetable soup, choice of beef brisket or sole fillet, spinach noodle pudding,carrots and dessert will be served at 4:30 PM. Sigal Chen, soprano, accompanied by Jonathan Dzik will perform classical, Broadway and popular music at 5:30 PM. Recommended senior voluntary contribution for dinner is $3.50 and $2.00 for the event. Non-seniors are welcome to attend for a meal fee of $5.00 and event fee of $3.00. Please call the senior center office 718-549-4700 for meal reservations by Mon. Dec. 28th.

 

For more information about JASA Van Cortlandt Senior Center's classes, activities and meals, 

JASA Van Cortlandt Senior Center

3880 Sedgwick Ave., First Floor 

Bronx, NY 10463

Phone: 718-549-4700

Fax: 718-884-6063

Assemblyman Dinowitz Demands Falsely-Issued Parking Tickets Be Dismissed

 a photo of a ticketed vehicle with the new signage taken on 12/21/15.

   After receiving complaints from several constituents, all of whom received parking tickets after parking in spaces with newly installed parking signs, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz is calling for the tickets to be dismissed.

Recently, angled parking lines were painted on the southbound side of Fieldston Road on the overpass of the Henry Hudson Parkway, with no corresponding signage regarding the direction a motorist must pull in to a vacant space. Since then two parking signs have been installed requiring motorists to back in, resulting in many parking tickets being issued. Drivers have been pulling into parking spaces front end first and presumably over the weekend two new ‘Back-In 60° Parking Only’ signs were installed, resulting in almost every car parked there receiving a ticket. Moreover, because this parking area is not beholden to the city’s alternate side street parking regulations, many residents leave their vehicles for extended periods of time, meaning their vehicles may be subject to several days’ worth of fines before they go back to move them.

“The problem is that the Department Of Transportation failed to notify residents of the pending signage. My office has received several calls from residents who were ticketed, saying that the signs were installed after they had parked in the spots over the weekend,” said Assemblyman Dinowitz.  After visiting the location I found that there were indeed several cars parked front side first, all of which had parking tickets. While I am always supportive of creating more parking and making our streets safer, it is unacceptable that the DOT did not notify the community appropriately, nor was the Traffic Enforcement Officer on duty aware. I am demanding that these tickets be dismissed, and that in the future DOT takes the appropriate steps to notify the community of changing traffic and parking rules. Moreover, this is yet another example of the predatory traffic enforcement practices; there is no excuse for Traffic Enforcement Officers not being aware of recent and un-promulgated changes in local parking rules. I sincerely hope these tickets are dismissed and that these agencies are able to work better together in the future for the community.”After receiving complaints from several constituents, all of whom received parking tickets after parking in spaces with newly installed parking signs, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz is calling for the tickets to be dismissed.

Recently, angled parking lines were painted on the southbound side of Fieldston Road on the overpass of the Henry Hudson Parkway, with no corresponding signage regarding the direction a motorist must pull in to a vacant space. Since then two parking signs have been installed requiring motorists to back in, resulting in many parking tickets being issued. Drivers have been pulling into parking spaces front end first and presumably over the weekend two new ‘Back-In 60° Parking Only’ signs were installed, resulting in almost every car parked there receiving a ticket. Moreover, because this parking area is not beholden to the city’s alternate side street parking regulations, many residents leave their vehicles for extended periods of time, meaning their vehicles may be subject to several days’ worth of fines before they go back to move them.

“The problem is that the Department Of Transportation failed to notify residents of the pending signage. My office has received several calls from residents who were ticketed, saying that the signs were installed after they had parked in the spots over the weekend,” said Assemblyman Dinowitz.  After visiting the location I found that there were indeed several cars parked front side first, all of which had parking tickets. While I am always supportive of creating more parking and making our streets safer, it is unacceptable that the DOT did not notify the community appropriately, nor was the Traffic Enforcement Officer on duty aware. I am demanding that these tickets be dismissed, and that in the future DOT takes the appropriate steps to notify the community of changing traffic and parking rules. Moreover, this is yet another example of the predatory traffic enforcement practices; there is no excuse for Traffic Enforcement Officers not being aware of recent and un-promulgated changes in local parking rules. I sincerely hope these tickets are dismissed and that these agencies are able to work better together in the future for the community.”

2016: "unhappy" New Year

  An "unhappy" New Year looms ahead for Puerto Rico.  The Caribbean island is going through its worst fiscal crisis.  As a result, last year 85,000 people left the Island for places like Florida and New York.  The population has dropped from 3.9 million to 3.5 million in the last few years.  For me the issue is personal.  I was born and raised on the Island.  My mother lives in Puerto Rico as do most of my relatives and many close friends.  I was there last week and noticed that the Christmas spirit the Island is known for was just not all there.  People are worried about the future and rightfully so.

 

After months of lobbying efforts, the White House put together a package of solutions and sent it to Congress.  Many of us lobbied Congress to approve it.  But yesterday Republican leaders rejected that package and other last-minute attempts to allow Puerto Rico to tackle its $72 billion debt through bankrupcy restructuring which would not have cost a penny.  The next payment of $957 million is due January 1st and there's simply no way to pay it.  The choices on January 1st are clear:  Puerto Rico can either a) close schools, hospitals, shut down government services and bring chaos to the Island, or b) default on that payment due to hedge funds and Wall Street investors.  The Island's Governor said:  "If they make me choose between Puerto Ricans and creditors. I will choose Puerto Ricans."  I agree with the Governor and applaud his resiliency.

 

This will be the largest municipal bond default in U.S. history.  But Congress was more persuaded by the hedge funds and other vulture fund investors who lobbied fiercely to stop any restructuring of the debt.  Congressional leaders apparently believe that these investors are more important than the well-being of the 3.5 million American citizens living in Puerto Rico who have shed blood, sweat and tears in every war this Nation has fought over the last 117 years since the Island became a colony of the U.S.  Call and write the Speaker of the House, the Majority Leader of the Senate and other Congressional leaders.  And help me go to Congress to stop this second-class treatment of Puerto Ricans both living in the Island as well as those of us on the mainland.

 

Keeping the Faith,

 

Adam Clayton Powell

Candidate for Congress

NY - 13th C.D.

SENATOR JEFF KLEIN HOSTS 2ND ANNUAL BREAKFAST WITH SANTA

  In celebration of Christmas, State Senator Jeff Klein, hosted his second annual Breakfast with Santa on Saturday. Nearly 300 participants enjoyed a continental breakfast, danced to holiday music, and took family portraits with Santa. Children created holiday crafts and were given gifts during their visit with Kris Kringle.

  “I am thrilled to host my annual breakfast with Santa, which has become a tradition for our Bronx families.  Today, we celebrate the season with family and friends, creating priceless memories as we enjoy these festivities,” said Senator Klein.  “I wish everyone a safe and memorable holiday, and a new year filled with good health and prosperity.”

  This Christmas extravaganza was held at St. Clare’s of Assisi School.  “In this festive season it is my pleasure  to have Senator Klein host  breakfast  with Santa here at St. Clare’s School. He is such a wonderful asset to this community. We are so lucky to have him,” said Principal Bivona of St. Clare’s of Assisi School.

Toy Guns, Internet Speeds & More

Keeping Communities Safe From The Dangers Of Toy Guns

When toy guns are mistaken for real guns, there can be tragic consequences. That is why the Attorney General reached settlements with 30 online retailers that sold over 5,000 illegal toy guns to consumers in New York State. These online retailers have agreed to voluntarily meet New York City’s standard of selling toy guns which requires them to be completely brightly colored. The announcement this week follows agreements with major retailers K-Mart, Walmart, Amazon.com and Sears over the summer, who paid over $300,000 following an earlier investigation into the illegal sale of toy guns. The Attorney General will continue to enforce the laws on imitation weapons so that we can avoid putting both children and law enforcement officials at risk. 

Putting Internet Speeds To The Test

Think your Internet speed is slower than advertised? Then check out the Attorney General’s new online form where New Yorkers can test and submit data on home Internet speeds. In October, the Attorney General sent letters to Time Warner Cable, Cablevision and Verizon asking for documents related to whether the Internet speeds they advertise are actually what households are receiving. Too many New Yorkers may be paying for one thing, and getting another, and by conducting these tests, consumers can uncover whether they are receiving the Internet speeds they have paid for. Go tohttps://ag.ny.gov/internet-speed to take the test for and see how fast your Internet speed is.  

Dismantling The School To Prison Pipeline

In February, the Attorney General began an investigation into the disciplinary policies of the City School District of Albany. The investigation revealed that black students were far more likely to be suspended in the District than their white peers, and students with disabilities were more likely to receive a suspension than their counterparts without. Harsh disciplinary practices undermine student development and increase the likelihood of incarceration in the future, and the Attorney General’s agreement institutes disciplinary reforms to ensure the District will not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin or disability status. This agreement is a step towards ending the school to prison pipeline, which disadvantages some of the most vulnerable children in our schools. The Attorney General believes it is critical that we protect equal educational opportunities for all students and commit ourselves to fostering a safe and effective school climate.

Holding Nursing Homes Accountable

The Attorney General has reached a $600,000 settlement with a Hudson Valley area nursing home chain which resolves claims that it delayed the discharges of short-term residents at its facilities. Between 2008 and 2011, it was alleged that Elant postponed discharges of short-term residents who were clinically ready to leave its facilities against the wishes or without the informed consent of the residents or their families. Internal emails revealed that administrators and staff openly discussed efforts to delay discharges and thereby keep daily resident counts for each home as high as possible in order to receive additional Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements. Elant also admitted that it prolonged short-term stays by giving residents additional services that were not clinically necessary, avoiding residents who were actively seeking discharge, and delaying the completion of discharge paperwork. This settlement makes it clear that those who seek to profit at the expense of vulnerable New Yorkers will be held accountable. 

Building A Greener, Healthier Greenpoint

The Attorney General announced the final round of grants from the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund, a competitive grant program created out of a 2011 settlement with Exxon Mobil over its Greenpoint Oil Spill. Nearly $55 million has now been dedicated to environmental improvement projects in Greenpoint, and this last round of funding will go towards initiatives such as park restorations, a new living shoreline and new community spaces. Through the GCEF, New York State and Greenpoint residents have been able to work together to ensure that the settlement funds are directed to high-quality, locally-led projects that serve the community’s environmental improvement priorities. 

Partnering To Stop Public Corruption

Former Town of Halfmoon Supervisor Mindy Wormuth has been sentenced to ten months incarceration for stealing campaign contributions donated to her campaign fund. An investigation in conjunction with State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office found that Wormuth cashed seven contribution checks, totaling $6,250, between July 2009 and July 2013. She then pocketed the proceeds without reporting the contributions to the committee’s treasurer, or on the Financial Disclosure Reports that were filed with the State Board of Elections. Wormuth’s sentence will run concurrent with a term of incarceration in a federal penitentiary stemming from related charges in federal court.  

Stopping Fraudulent Home Contractors

The Attorney General announced the sentencing of scam artist George Anna to 360 days in jail, who has continued to falsely hold himself out as a home improvement contractor. Time and time again, Anna offered home improvement services to Western New York residents, yet pocketed up-front payments from New Yorkers without providing the services promised. After being sentenced to 90 days in prison for violating a 2012 court ordering barring him from the home improvement business in May, the Attorney General found Anna to be in contempt of court this August as he continued to rip-off consumers. This sentencing shows that those who scam consumers and fail to provide promised services will be held accountable.