WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

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

Let's Hope This is The First of Many

You should know that Christmas came a little early this year as New York State's Republican leaders descended upon the South Bronx like Santa Claus at a very special event held on December 16, 2013, where close to 2,000 children received over 2,000 free Christmas toys. Everyone in the auditorium of I.S. 216, the Rafael Hernandez School, had a great time. The smiles on the faces of the boys and girls grew into cheering and even standing ovations!

You should know that this event was co-hosted by yours truly, Senator Reverend Rubén Díaz, along with the New York State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox, Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, and Mr. Rafael Salamanca, District Manager of Community Planning Board #2. We were impressed that Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and New York State's Senate Republican Majority Leader Senator Dean Skelos joined us to celebrate Christmas in the Bronx. Even a die-hard Democrat like Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz, Jr. attended this activity!

I would like to extend my deepest thanks to everyone who participated, especially Assemblyman Marcos Crespo; Mr. Rafael Salamanca District Manager of Community Planning Board #2; the United States Marine Corps Toys for Tots; the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization; and New York Republican Party leaders. This was a great blessing to many families in the South Bronx who are suffering during these critical economic times.

You should know that for many years, I have hosted a Three Kings Day Event on the South Bronx with music and games and free toys for children in an effort to allow families to gather and celebrate our cultural pride with friends and neighbors. The 2014 Three Kings Day celebration will be held on Saturday, January 4, 2014 at 12:00 noon at PS 5 which is located at 564 Jackson Avenue, on the corner of 149th Street in the Bronx.

Ladies and gentlemen, even though nothing like the 2013 Christmas in the Bronx event has ever happened here before, I am hopeful that this will not be the last time for us to witness elected officials from the Democratic and Republican parties coming together for the benefit the poor and needy children here in the South Bronx.

I hope and pray that on Saturday January 4, 2014, the leadership of the Republican Party will be there to help us - along with any other elected officials and organizations and people of good will who want to make the Christmas season brighter for our children.

My dear friend, this was bipartisanship at its best. This is an example of what a concerned leader can do when he or she puts the community first and brings together Republicans and Democrats to bring benefit to a disadvantaged, forgotten, underprivileged and under-served minority community. It was great, it was marvelous - let's do it again!

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

 

Paris Elections & Bronx Stereotypes

 

STATEMENT FROM BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ

RE: Paris Elections & Bronx Stereotypes

“The tired, ancient stereotypes about the Bronx continue to unfairly cloud the minds of people as far away as Paris, France. We in the Bronx have had enough.

“Crime has steadily dropped in the Bronx. Last year, the Bronx had the lowest rate of crime it has seen since the early 1960’s, and this year our borough is on pace to be even safer.

“And we’re not just leading the way in crime reduction. Tens of thousands of new housing units have been constructed here, new businesses are coming to our borough and the existing businesses are growing. We are leading the way in ‘green’ construction, with projects like Via Verde. We have major new projects such as the PGA caliber golf course at Ferry Point Park and the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, which will add to the list of reasons, like the new Yankee Stadium, and the New York Botanical Garden, as to why the Bronx remains an international destination. 

“Yet here we are, once again, forced to defend our hometown from the slanders and libels of politicians thousands of miles away, in Paris no less, who are using the Bronx to score cheap political points. Enough already.  While we may not be home to the Eiffel Tower, we are the home to 1.4 million hardworking people who are proud of their hometown and how far the Bronx has come.

“The elected officials of Paris would do well to remember that and focus on the issues Paris faces today, rather than the issues the Bronx faced decades ago,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

The original English-language article from Quartz Daily, titled “Surreal: French politicians are debating whether Paris now resembles the Bronx,” can be found at http://qz.com/156444. Up-to-date crime statistics for the Bronx can be found at http://on.nyc.gov/198ruvr.

 

 

Velocity Track Club

 

  Can you say NATIONAL MEDALS!!!!  On Saturday, December 7^th, Velocity Track Club New York took 5 athletes to the AAU XC National Championship in Fort Gordon, GA and 3 athletes finish in the top 25, Jacqueline Kendall (18th), Giovanna Tolbert (21st) and Dontea Lindo (10^th).  Adrian Swift-Henry injured his knee and this was Jaysiah Moore’s 1^st National meet, which made him nervous. If not, I believe they would have been in the top 25 also.  AAU t-shirts and bags were giving to all athletes.  Medals were awarded to the top 25 athletes and participation medals were given to the rest.  To finish in the top 25 among the best in the country is an outstanding accomplishment, which they will cherish for the rest of the lives.  Go VTC!!!!

On Sunday, December 15^th, we traveled to New Jersey City to compete in the NJ AAU Youth Indoor Track & Field Meet. Over 600 athletes from New York and New Jersey were registered.  This is officially our 1^st In-door meet.  Most coaches will use meet to evaluate athletes.  VTC athletes’ performance showed why we are among the best in the tri-state area.  Awards were giving to the top 3 athletes.  The following VTC athletes received awards.  Julian Caldwell, Jordan Ingram, Jaysiah Moore and Dontea Lindo took 1^st Place in the 1600 meter sprint medley relay.  Joseph Webster-Rutledge took 3^rd in the 200 meter race.  Jordan Samuels took 3^rd in the 55 meter race. Dominique Jackson was the top award winner; she won the 200 meter race and took 3^rd in the 400 meter race.  Plus, we had several athletes that finish in 4^th and 5^th place, which is a great accomplishment considering the level of competition at this meet.  Great Job 

Anyone interested in joining Velocity Track Club New York, please Contact Coach Dinkins at 914-441-6196 or you email me at WATCLT@AOL.COM.   

 

 

 

E. 233rd St. & White Plains Rd Merch. Assoc. Announces the 1st Ann. Meet Santa Holiday Event

  The East 233^rd Street & White Plains Road Merchants Association invites you to their 1^st Annual Meet Santa Holiday event on Thursday, December 19^th from 5 to 7pm at Bronx Community Board 12 Town Hall located at 4101 White Plains Road, Bronx, NY.

The purpose of this FREE community event is to promote the East 233rd Street and White Plains Road commercial corridor and to help make this Holiday Season a special one for children and families by bringing them toys and a chance to meet Santa Claus.

This event is presented by the East 233rd Street and White Plains Road Merchants Association and made possible through the support of the New York City Department of Small Business Services and Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a support corporation of Montefiore Medical Center.

The East 233rd Street and White Plains Road Merchants Association looks forward to welcoming you to the 1st Annual Meet Santa Holiday Event and to the community's continued support for the improvement of this Bronx business corridor.

LIU ISSUES ANNUAL ECONOMIC FORECAST; WARNS OF SEVERE RISKS HIDDEN IN CITY BUDGET

  In his annual report on the State of the City’s Economy and Finances, City Comptroller John C. Liu warns that the unresolved contracts with every one of the City’s municipal unions pose a great financial risk to the City in the coming years.

Currently all of the City’s municipal unions are working under expired contracts. If the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA) alone are awarded retroactive pay raises, it could cost the City $3.495 billion in FY 2014.

“The City’s budget is not truly balanced until this issue is resolved,” said Comptroller Liu. “This is a problem that will not go away simply by ignoring it, as the outgoing administration has done.”

On the positive side, the comptroller anticipates robust growth with tax revenues in the current fiscal year, exceeding the mayor’s forecast by $724 million.  The estimate for personal income tax (PIT) receipts exceeds the mayor’s forecast by $528 million.

The report shows that more than 300,000 jobs have been added in New York City since the worst of the recession, with strong growth in the health, technology, and education sectors. The City’s total private-sector employment now stands above its pre-recession peak.  At the same time, even with record levels of employment, the City’s unemployment rate remains unacceptably high at a seasonally adjusted 8.7 percent and wages have not kept up with inflation. Many fully-employed families are less well off than they were five years ago.

This annual report on the State of the City’s Economy and Finances is due from the comptroller each Dec. 15, as mandated by the City Charter. Comptroller Liu will publicly present his State of the City address on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 10 a.m. at the Emigrant Bank Building, 49-51 Chambers Street.

Christmas Tree Lightings With Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj

Please Join Us!


Tuesday, December 17   5:00pm 
 
Christmas Tree Lighting on Allerton Ave

Bronxwood Ave, Boston Road & Allerton Ave

Warm Refreshments, caroling & small gifts




Christmas Tree Lighting 
with Senator Jeff Klein

Wednesday, December 18,    
 3:00pm


Peace Memorial Plaza

Warm refreshments, caroling

 
4:00pm

Pelham Parkway South & White Plains Rd

Warm refreshments, caroling & small gifts

Special Appearance by Santa Clause

Horse & Carriage Rides



Thursday December 19,  5:00 PM

Warm Refreshments, small gifts, caroling by the students of the New York Institute of

Christmas Tree Lighting by the Christmas House

Westervelt Ave & Pelham Parkway North

Special Education and a special appearance by Santa Clause

For more information: (718) 409-0109

District office of Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj

1126 Pelham Parkway South

Bronx, New York 10461

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

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

LILLIAM BARRIOS-PAOLI HAS A MESS TO CLEAN UP

You should know that I applaud Mayor-elect Bill DeBlasio's selection of Lilliam Barrios-Paoli as his Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. I especially applaud him for taking time during that announcement to talk about the 11-year old girl, Dasani, who has been highlighted in recent New York Times series about homeless families in New York City's shelters. These families include more than 20,000 children.

The New York Times' December 2013 series of articles, Invisible Child, Dasani's Homeless Life, written by Andrea Elliot, focus on many aspects of the incredibly disturbing legacy left by outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The series details the shameful lack of compassion that Mayor Bloomberg had for desperate families in New York's shelter system. At Brooklyn's Auburn Family Residence, where Dasani lives, these injustices include: "[i]nadequate food, inadequate medical attention, a leaky roof, moldy rooms and bathrooms with broken sinks and doors ... insufficient security and fire safety protections, fetid odors, and leaks from waste containers."

While there is nothing in these articles that can be ignored, I cannot help but ask myself how, under Mayor Bloomberg's fiscal stewardship, millions of New York City taxpayer dollars were allegedly being spent annually to operate just one family shelter building - where Dasani and so many other children languish in filth and trauma.

I have to ask how, in 2009-2010, New York City's Department of Homeless Services spent $8 million dollars in a capitol renovation project to replace all exterior windows in this one homeless shelter with new energy efficient windows.

Yes, my dear reader: as part of Mayor Bloomberg's legacy, $8 million dollars was spent to replace windows in the Auburn Family Residence’s 10-story building. These were not stained glass windows, and the families who live in that building after the repairs still sleep in layers of clothing and prop mattresses against the new windows to keep out the cold. Another example of Bloomberg’s fiscal irresponsibility.

You should know that during the very same time that $8 million dollars of our public resources were spent to replace 10 stories of windows, the Empire State Building spent about half of that - $4.6 million dollars - to refurbish its 6,514 windows.

With this in mind, it is even sadder to re-read the part of the Times article that describes how Dasani would sit at her window and "see all the way across Brooklyn to the Empire State Building, the first New York skyscraper to reach 100 floors. Her gaze always stops at that iconic temple of stone, its tip pointed celestially, its facade lit with promise."

Is there anyone who thinks that if I had allocated $8 million dollars to replace the windows in any single building that there would not be a full blown investigation about what was really going on with that money? Is there anyone who thinks this isn't the tip of the iceberg of how the Bloomberg Administration grossly mismanaged New York's tax dollars on the backs of the poor and needy?

As the Bloomberg era finally comes to an end, I am hopeful that there will be an outcry for justice for all involved in this $8 million dollar window debacle, and the millions allegedly spent by the Department of Health and Human Services on improving a deteriorated system. I hope this outcry will take place not only in the court of public opinion, but in the courts of law as well. I am hopeful that reporters and editors will investigate this incident and many more that remain ignored or have fallen through the cracks.

As the Christmas Season draws closer, I ask for everyone to keep Dasani and her family and all homeless New Yorkers in their prayers.

And ladies and gentlemen, I also ask you to keep Deputy Mayor Lilliam Barrios-Paoli and Mayor-elect Bill DeBlasio in your prayers because they have a very big mess to clean up.

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

 

Bronx Democrat Board of Elections Commissioner Naomi Barrera Stepping Down

  In what has been a turbulent year at the New York City Board of Elections Bronx Democratic Commissioner Naomi Barrera will be stepping down as of December 17th. Barrera is only one of the BOE Commissioners that has left this year. JC Polonco the colorful Republican Bronx Commissioner was replaced early in the year with Mike Rendino after Bronx Republican Leader Jay Savino was replaced by John Greaney after a scandal. Also Staten Island Republican Commissioner JP Sipp left the BOE also earlier this year.

  Barrera had been mentioned as a candidate to fill the vacant executive director's seat of the BOE, but that went to Staten Island Democratic Commissioner Mike Ryan. Naomi Barrera was the choice of newly elected Bronx Democratic County Leader Carl Heasie five years ago, and while Heastie praised Barrera for her stint as Bronx Democratic Commissioner he said that the selection of her replacement has not begun.

  There should be a lot of potential candidates to replace Naomi Barrera as Bronx Democratic Elections Commissioner including a few term limited council members. The job however will go to a county loyalist such as Barrera had been, and will be up to Bronx Democratic County Leader Carl Heastie to choose her replacement.