MLK Day

Today, millions of Americans from coast to coast will gather to commemorate the life, legacy, and work of the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We do so because America, as we know it, would not exist if not for the road that Dr. King paved for us - a road paved by the blood, sweat, and tears of civil rights martyrs. He broke down walls and shattered obstacles for so many of us, so that we could live in a more fair and just world. But unfortunately, we are still from achieving the perfect union we envision. In this country, there are still people mistreated because of the color of their skin, the person they choose to love, or the place they choose to pray.  Let us use not just today, but every single day, to carry on Dr. King's legacy of justice to get closer to that equal society. We must all work together to stand up against injustice and intolerance wherever we see it in the world. We must all do our part to make our neighborhoods, communities, and our country better places to live.

Sincerely, Letitia James New York City Public Advocate

Sepúlveda Calls for Community to Rally Tuesday Morning Against Hate Crimes After Vicious Anti-Muslim Attack in Parkchester

Assemblyman lauds NYPD and local precinct response

   Assemblyman Luis Sepúlveda is calling for the community to turn out at a Tuesday morning rally to protest the vicious Friday evening anti-Muslim attack in Parkchester by two assailants against a Bengali man dressed in traditional Muslim garb. The attackers reportedly yelled “ISIS! ISIS!” during the assault.

 Sepúlveda will be joined by State Senator and Reverend Ruben Diaz Sr., Community Board 9 member Mohammed Mujumder, and other community and religious leaders at 9 a.m. in front of PS 119 at 1075 Pugsley Avenue.

  Mujibur Rahman, 43, was picking up his nine-year-old niece from the school about 5:30 p.m. Friday when the two assailants punched him in the head and knocked him to the ground where they kicked him several times, while reportedly yelling the anti-Muslim slurs.

  “I am appalled by this latest hate crime in the heart of our community,” said the Assemblyman, who praised 43rd Precinct commanding officer, Inspector Fausto Pichardo, for his “professionalism, compassion, and quick response” to the incident. “An attack on one member of our community is an attack on us all,” added Sepúlveda.

  “I will work closely with the NYPD, the 43rd Precinct, the community board, local officials, and the NYPD's Hate Crimes Unit to bolster protections for our hard-working Muslim families who unfortunately, because of the problems in the Mideast, are facing a higher than ever incidence of hate crimes,” Sepúlveda said. He asked anyone with information about the attack to contact the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477).

STATEMENT FROM BP DIAZ RE: Anti-Muslim Bias Incident in The Bronx

  “The Bronx is one of the most diverse places in the world, and we celebrate that diversity every single day.Friday’s hateful attack on a Muslim individual in Parkchester is in no way representative of the shared values of the people of this borough.

“An attack on one of us over race, religion, gender or sexual orientation is an attack on us all. The people of The Bronx are united in their condemnation of this abhorrent incident. My office will continue to work with the New York City Police Department and community leaders to bring the perpetrators to justice. We wish the victim of this attack a speedy recovery, and our thoughts are with him and his family during this difficult time,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Anyone with information about this attack can contact the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-577-TIPS.

100 PERCENT SATURDAY JAN. 16,2016

100 PERCENT

By Robert Press

IT'S OFFICIAL 

    The headline refers to New Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark who had her Inauguration this afternoon at the Lehman College Lovinger Theatre. The moderate size Lovinger Theatre holds close to 600 people, and there was not an empty seat in the house. In fact there had to be an overflow room set up in one of the Faculty Dining Room to accommodate the almost 400 extra people who came to see new Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark sworn in.   

  There is more on the Inauguration in the previous posting, complete with many photos of the city and state elected officials, as well as a photo of His Eminence Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan who gave the Invocation. Those who spoke included all three citywide elected officials, Mayor Bill de Blasio, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, and Public Advocate Letitia James. Also on had to congratulate new Bronx DA Clark were U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, New York State Comptroller Tom Dinapoli, New York Assembly Speaker Bronx Assemblyman carl Heastie, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Bronx Democratic County Leader Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and Justice Darcel Clark's former boss now retired Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division First Department Hon. Luis Gonzalez. Bronx DA Clark was sworn in by Associate Judge of the NYS Court of Appeals Hon. Shelia Abdus-Salaam. 

   In other political news the 17th City Council Special Election there seems to be definition as to just how many candidates that may submit petitions as Tuesday January 19th is the deadline to file petitions. As of now there are nine candidates that have filed petitions, and I expect to see two or three more candidates file petitions before the deadline. Then the Board of Election and court challenges start, or should I say have started already. Let's see if we get to see King Stanley, that is Stanley K. Schlein Esq. who rewrote the book on Election Law. 

   It looks like the Bronx Democratic County organization has invested heavily in the candidacy of their candidate Rafael Salamanca the current District Manager of Community Board #2 who may have some road blocks in his attempt to replace former 17th Council District Councilwoman Maria Del Carmen Arroyo. More on candidate Salamanca in upcoming columns, however there are some areas where Community Board District Managers have conflict of interests in, and we may just have to see how many Community Board #2 District Manager Rafael Salamanca may have. As I said more in upcoming columns, and if you may know some that I don't send me an e-mail at the address at the end of this column. 

    If you have any political information (especially about the 17th City Council special election) 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 this blog, you can e-mail us at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press.  

With Swearing-In of Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, A New Era Officially Begins in the Bronx

   Among dignitaries, community leaders, family and neighbors from across the Bronx, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark was officially sworn into office today.

Bronx DA Darcel Clark was joined by a number of prominent elected officials, including Senator Charles Schumer, Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, Public Advocate Letitia James, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., New York Speaker Carl Heastie, City Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito, Bronx Democratic Committee Chairman Marcos Crespo, Alphonso David Counsel to Governor Andrew Cuomo, and the Hon. Luis Gonzalez, Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, First Judicial Department, Retired. Also in attendance was Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, who gave the Invocation. 

Taking the oath of office from the Honorable Sheila Abdus-Salaam, who serves on the New York Court of Appeals, District Attorney Clark is the first woman to serve as Bronx District Attorney and the first woman of color to serve as a District Attorney in New York State history.

In her inaugural speech, District Attorney Clark spoke of how she hopes her story can serve as an example of how along with perseverance, hard work and the grace of God, having an appreciation for your community can lead any ordinary person to extraordinary opportunities.

“Growing up and seeing the violence and crime in the Bronx of the seventies and eighties fueled a fire in me to do something with my life that could allow me to be bigger than myself, and that’s why I decided to further my education, become a lawyer, and eventually return to this community to start giving back,” she said.  

She also highlighted some of the challenges she hopes to address while in office, including improving the office’s responsiveness and transparency, weeding out public corruption, eliminating gun and gang violence in the borough, collaborating to fix the problems plaguing Rikers Island and working with the NYPD to continue to improve police and community relations. For each, she emphasized the need for collaboration.

“These should be our priorities and they are attainable, but only if we work together beyond race, beyond precincts and beyond politics to get things done for each other,” she said.   

In the end, she issued a challenge to those listening.

“I would like to challenge you each today - to not only understand The Bronx and the issues we face, but to appreciate this borough for all that makes it beautiful and to serve as the catalyst to make it better,” she stated.  

“Once again, while many of us may come from ordinary means - we are all capable of extraordinary things.” 

Above - His Eminence Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan gives the Invocation.

Below - Mayor Bill de Blasio had only words of praise for the Bronx, and for new Bronx DA Darcel Clark. Bronx DA Darcel Clark's husband NYPD Detective Eaton "Ray" Davis is now seated next to her. 

Above - U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer spoke for over five minutes.

Below - City Comptroller Scott Stringer (a 'Bronx Boy' once) speaks.

Above - Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. tells how proud he is of the new Bronx DA Darcel Clark, and the expected fine job that she will do as Bronx District Attorney.

Below - After the ceremony everyone wanted to have their picture taken with new Bronx DA Darcel Clark.

New Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark must have taken a photo with almost everyone of the near 1,000 attendees. 

Substance Abuse Forum Held By City Councilman Andrew Cohen and CB 8

   It was billed as a 'Forum on Drug Use and Dependence to Inform the Community on how to Reduce the Risks Associated With Drug Use and How to Best Treat Drug Dependency'. 

  The Forum was being jointly sponsored by Councilman Andrew Cohen, and Community Board 8 through its Health, Hospitals, and Social Services Committee. The forum was held on Thursday January 14th, and seemed to be a hit in the community, as the room where the forum was held in the Riverdale Neighborhood House was packed. There were several speakers who took questions,and the forum included a power point presentation on drug use and dependence. 

   Below - Captain O'Toole commanding officer of the 50th Precinct was the first speaker who went over statistics that seemed to startle many in the audience.

 

A Deal Is A Deal -- What You Should Know

By Senator Rev Rubén Díaz 
32nd Senatorial District 

You should know that in this, my first What You Should Know column of 2016, I would like to talk to you about a donation and a deal made by Donald Trump with the State of New York.

It is important for you to know that back in 2006, Mr. Donald Trump donated a 435-acre park that is located in Westchester County, to the State of New York. This donation was made with the knowledge and agreement that the park would bear Donald Trump's name. It was a free gift from Donald Trump to the State of New York, which the State of New York accepted with the conditions already stated.

You should also know that there is a group of elected officials here in New York State who now are calling for Donald Trump’s name to be removed from the State Park that he donated, simply because they don’t like Donald Trump.

One of those elected officials is my colleague, Senator Daniel Squadron, who says that he will submit legislation to remove Donald Trump’s name from that State Park.  Senator Squadron decreed: “Mr. Trump has shown that he is unworthy of having a New York State Park named in his honor.”

Ha ha ha!! Another elected official asking for Donald Trump's name to be removed is Canadian-born Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney, who lost his bid in 2006 for New York Attorney General.  He has started an online petition in favor of renaming the park.

It is important for you to also know that when Donald Trump gave the parkland to the State of New York, the terms and conditions of his donation was that the park would always carry Donald Trump’s name, and the State accepted these terms. All politics aside, to me it seems highly immoral to take a gift of 435 acres of land - that costs a fortune - and then want to keep it without abiding by what was agreed originally upon by both the person who gave it and the recipient.

Even though I never attended law school, I believe that the terms of the contract between Donald Trump and the State of New York cannot be overlooked by any of New York’s elected officials.

My dear reader, I would like to suggest that if my colleagues Senator Daniel Squadron, Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney and all those who don't want to see Donald Trump's name on that park, they should start an effort to give back the parkland, and just return those 435 acres to Donald Trump.

I don't think it is moral to accept land from Donald Trump - or from anyone - with an agreed upon deal for the donor's name to remain on the 435 acres of parkland that he gave, and then to reject and erase the name of the person who gave it.  

Ladies and gentlemen: A deal is a deal, and deals should be read carefully, knowing the consequences - good or bad - because once you sign onto one, it's a deal.

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

EDITOR'S NOTE:

  I wonder what Senator Diaz's protege 17th City Council District candidate Rafael Salamanca thinks about this? Then again it sure looks like Senator Diaz will be trying to get some of those Donald Trump dollars in return for supporting Republican candidate Donald Trump. Will Senator Diaz's protege candidate Salamanca also be supporting Donald Trump then? After all Senator Diaz was one of the 'Four Amigos' with former State Senators Pedro Espada, Carl Kruger, and Hiram Monserrate. Espada and Kruger wound up in jail, and Monserratee was expelled from the State Senate after being convicted of a misdemeanor assault.  Kind of makes you wonder about Senator Diaz and Rafael Salamanca - 'Two Peas in a Pod', or is it 'Two Amigos This Time'? 

RELEASE--BP DIAZ CRITICIZES ‘BAG FEE’ LEGISLATION

  Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. has issued a letter expressing his strong concerns about Intro 0209-2014, more commonly known as the “bag fee” legislation. While the legislation seeks to protect the environment, Borough President Diaz is concerned that it places that burden on low-income New Yorkers and seniors that are struggling to pay bills, and represents a regressive tax.

“The bill operates like a regressive tax, and will not yield the environmental goals the legislation hopes to achieve,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “Higher-income New Yorkers will not be motivated to change their behaviors through this proposed fee, and lower income New Yorkers will bear the brunt of this proposal. While the environmental goals of this legislation are laudable, the methods are flawed.”

The complete letter can be read here: http://on.nyc.gov/1ORLHrH.

Borough President Diaz noted that there are multiple alternatives to achieving environmentally-friendly ends without negatively impacting low-income individuals and families. He added that the City should explore public education campaigns, a free bag distribution program for low-income New Yorkers, better bag recycling programs and bans on some types of bags, among other proposals.

“More creative and less punitive options should be explored that would actually achieve the intended purpose as opposed to encumbering low-income people whose demanding lives make it challenging to bring cloth bags to run every errand, exposing them to this regressive, backdoor tax,” wrote Borough President Diaz in his letter to Council Member Brad Lander, the chief sponsor of the legislation.