Hector Ramirez Requests Federal Monitor in AD 86 Primary Election

FROM:

HECTOR R. RAMIREZ
Friends of Ramirez
157 East 181st Street
Bronx, NY 10453
929-259-9032 

ramirezbronx@gmail.com

September 4, 2014

TO:

By Electronic Mail & U.S. Mail
Honorable Preet Bharara
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
One St. Andrews Plaza
New York, NY 10007

Honorable Sara L. Shudofsky
Chief, Civil Division
U.S. Attorney's Office
Southern District of New York
Attn: Chief, Civil Rights Unit
86 Chambers Street, 3rd Floor
New York, New York 10007
Fax: (212) 637-2750

Civil Rights Bureau
New York State Attorney General's Office

(212) 416-8250 or civil.rights@ag.ny.gov

City of New York Department of Investigation
80 Maiden Lane, New York, N.Y. 10038
(212) 825-2870
Fax: (212) 825-0125

Re: Monitoring of Assembly District 86 Democratic Primary

This letter is to formally request the monitoring of the election process for New York State Assembly's 86th district, to guarantee that all voters are allowed to exercise their right to vote and that all votes are properly counted. (http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/machine-politics-fraud-filled-bronx-race-article-1.1454279)

During the Special Election to elect the assembly person last year, the voters of this district faced gross incidents of voter suppression and voter intimidation that cast enormous doubts on the legitimacy and fairness of the election results certified by the Board of Elections in which Victor Pichardo was declared the winner by a very small and questionable margin.

We are urging the Federal, State and City government, to be vigilant in preventing these events from happening again in Tuesday’s Democratic Primary.

These events included, but are not limited to:

• Machines that only had levers for the party machine candidate Victor Pichardo, preventing voters from voting for any other candidate;

• The use of hundreds of inspectors, paid by the Board of Elections, as campaign workers for the machine candidate inside the polling sites, including the mother of the candidate and another staffer of a State Senator;

• Delegates of different candidates bullied around by County appointed inspectors and by elected officials and county party officials inside the polling site, which is illegal;

• Voters and other candidates testimonies, point to these "board workers" as telling voters how to vote, often pointing at Mr. Pichardo as the way to do so;

• Polling Centers at P.S 306 did not have candidate Hector Ramirez's name on the ballot;

• Polling site at P.S 206, of Aqueduct Ave, in which the trigger to vote for Ramirez was continually stuck;

• P.S 85 at 2400 Marion Avenue, where machines were mysteriously shutdown;

• Polling site at JBH senior center, at 230 E 179 street, where voters were turned away because supposedly the machines did not work;

• BOE executive, a close relative of a party official, coming to the Bronx offices in the middle of the night, on election night, sending everyone home and staying with a few selected people;

• The Board of Election abruptly decided to stop counting the votes, after counting only 88% without taking the necessary precaution to give all the candidates transparent and fair assurances that those "broken" machines would not be tampered with further. Later, news reports appeared that they counted 100% (see http://www.nytimes.com/projects/elections/2013/nyc-primary/other_races/results.html) with, obviously, Mr. Pichardo on top by a few votes.

Many of these and other problems are documented and others were reported by frustrated voters.

For the upcoming Primary election on Tuesday, September 9th, we are asking our State, City and Federal government to step in to prevent and stop this madness and follow up with any necessary investigation. Our district deserves a fair, transparent and democratic election.

On behalf of the people of the 86th Assembly District,

Very Truly Yours,

Hector Ramirez

Hector Ramirez 

Democratic Candidate for State Assembly 

86th District

Tonight's Movie is CANCELLED

KRVC September 6, 2014

Tonight's Movie Is Cancelled!! Please be advised that, due to the inclement  weather forecast of thunderstorms and high  winds, in the interest of safety,we are  cancelling the movie scheduled for this  evening at Vinmont Park.

Tracy McCabe
Executive Director KRVC

Sunday, September 21, 2014, Johnson Avenue Block Festival, 12-4pm, featuring live music, clowns, children's activities, food, shopping discounts, business exhibits and more!!  

Sunday, November, 2, 2014, North Riverdale Block Festival, 12-4pm, featuring live music, bouncy castle, trolley service for bus riders, clowns, children's activities, shopping discounts, business exhibits and more!!

Senator Klein Election Rally

  Friday night hundreds of people from the 34th state senate district came to a rally in support of State Senator Jeff Klein. Also on hand were Assembly members Mark Gjonaj (80th), Luis Sepulveda (87th), Marcos Crespo (85th), and Mike Benedetto (82nd). As he arrived Senator Klein was mobbed by supporters many who wanted to be photographed with him. Next came the speeches by the elected officials, and Senator Klein. Everyone speaking had only praise for Senator Klein. Senator Klein then thanked all who were at the rally, went on, and what seemed to be on about the many accomplishments he was able to get done in Albany.

Klein didn't mention his opponent by name, but denounced the negative campaign his opponent was running.  Also everyone at the rally were remonded that Tuesday September 9th is Primary day, and to vote for Senator Jeff Klein. This way Senator Klein can continue his hard work not only for the 34th Senate District, but New Yoek City and New York State.

The photos below tell the story.

 Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj warms up the crowd before Senator Jeff Klein arrived.

Hugs and greetings were given to Senator Klein as he arrived.

 

Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj tells the crowd why they should be voting to re=elect Senator Jeff Klein.

 Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda also telling the crowd why they should be voting to re-elect Senator Jeff Klein.

State Senator Jeff Klein addresses the crowd, telling of his many many many accomplishments in the State Senate, and why he should be re-elected.

Another photo of Senator Klein with the other elected officials that were on hand, and the crowd in the background who are holding Jeff Klein posters.

Bronx River Alliance Event

  Join the Bronx River Alliance for its annual benefit An Upstream Soirée on Wednesday, September 17^th, 6:30 – 9:00 PM at the Bronx Zoo, through which the Bronx River flows.

Support for this event will help the Bronx River Alliance continue to revitalize the river, allowing all New Yorkers access to this beautiful natural resource. Since 2001, the Bronx River Alliance has helped recapture the  Bronx River from decades of neglect. The Alliance has become a national model for urban open space development by engaging the community in cleaning up the polluted river, restoring wildlife and habitats, creating miles of greenway and parks and drawing thousands of people to paddle the river each year.

An Upstream Soirée is a festive and social event that will draw 200+ prominent guests from the business, nonprofit, and government sectors and environmental community.  This year the Alliance will honor three outstanding supporters: Nancy Mann, Principal, Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School; Tim Tompkins, President, Times Square Alliance & Founder, Partnerships for Parks; and Sims Metal Management, business leaders in sustainable practices to minimize impact on neighboring communities and local waterways.

The event will include a cocktail reception, buffet supper, silent auction, and  live Mambo/Salsa music from  Bronx native Orlando Marin "The Last Mambo King" and his band.   To purchase a ticket or donate, visit www.bronxriver.org/soiree. For sponsorship, contact Saudy Tejada at 718-430-4602 or stejada@bronxriver.org.

SENATOR KLEIN & BRONX CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HOST FIRST BRONX H.I.R.E JOB FAIR

   Senator Jeff Klein, along with the Bronx Chamber of Commerce and local elected officials, hosted the first Bronx H.I.R.E. job fair at Hutchinson Metro Center Wednesday night, drawing more than 400 job seekers. Attendees were given an opportunity to connect with Bronx-based employers - big and small - that are currently hiring.

Bronx H.I.R.E (Help Identify Real Employment) is a unique jobs program aimed at connecting Bronx workers with real jobs through a comprehensive, direct approach developed by Senator Klein’s office and the Bronx Chamber of Commerce. The Bronx H.I.R.E. program, announced in July, is made possible through a $200,000 grant secured by Senator Klein in this year's state budget.

State Senator Jeff Klein said, “For too long, the Bronx has had the dubious distinction of having the highest unemployment rate in the state. However, there are real signs that business is investing in the Bronx and with our new H.I.R.E. program, we are investing in the Bronx worker. We had an amazing turnout at our first job fair and a handful of on-site immediate hires - which only proves that this program has the potential to really make a difference in getting Bronxites working again.”

The program consist of two parts - one that will make sure that the new and existing Bronx businesses and institutions are employing Bronx residents and the other that will establish a hands- on worker development program. The second part of this program, known as the “Opening Doors Initiative” will give Bronx workers an opportunity to receive support for additional certifications, help with resumes, interviews, applications and assistance with follow-up for positions to which H.I.R.E. participants have applied. The program will be facilitated by the Bronx Chamber of Commerce.

 

Michelle Dolgow Cristofaro, Bronx Chamber of Commerce Chief-of-Staff and H.I.R.E. administrator said: “The Bronx Chamber of Commerce was thrilled with the response to our first Bronx H.I.R.E job fair where the enthusiasm and excitement was felt both by job seekers and potential employers. We are so grateful for Senator Jeff Klein’s support to launch this program, which is off to a running start. We look forward to continuing to connect employers looking to hire with these great candidates.”

For more information and to enroll in the Bronx H.I.R.E program visit: http://www.bronxchamber.org

Senator Klein, Assemblyman Luis Supulveda, Assemblyman Michael Benedetto and Bronx Chamber of Commerce Board

April Horton (Verizon), Joseph Kelleher (Bronx Chamber of Commerce),  Kevin Cacho (new employee) Peter Martinez (Master Fire), Nancy Santiago (MasterFire) Michelle Dolgow Cristofaro (Bronx Chamber of Commerce)

ALDI Markets Opens Up On Broadway

In the unfinished Broadway Mall (left) at West 230th Street Aldi Markets (right) opened up this morning. There were plenty of Aldi corporate help on hand and many free samples given out to the customers. Everything was new and fresh, and many customers filled their baskets with groceries. I asked several shoppers about the limited variety of merchandise that Aldi stocks, and the answers ranged from yes, I don't see the brands I usually buy, to who cares what brand it is, it's much cheaper than other stores. This store was crowded with anxious shoppers looking for values. The store is smaller than regular size supermarkets because there are no Deli, Meat, or Bakery departments, many displays are just boxes cut open and stacked on top of each other. Below are some photos of the displays in the new Aldi Broadway Store. Going around the corner to the Pioneer supermarket I was told that this store expects to see a drop in business with the opening of the new Aldi Market.  Click on a photo to make it larger.

 Bread is all private label.

 Ice Cream is also private label

 Fruits and vegetables are often pre packaged

 Milk is sold by the gallon.

 The limited paper section.

 However there are still some national brand that are carried in the store.

Statement From Council Member Andrew Cohen

RE: Grand Opening of ALDI

“I was happy to welcome shoppers at the opening of ALDI on West 230th and Broadway with Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz this morning. With ALDI already having opened two other stores in other areas of The Bronx, it is terrific to see that the third has opened right here in the North West Bronx. What was once an unused parking lot has now been developed into a shopping center that I am confident will be utilized by everyone in the neighborhood, as well as bring in shoppers from other areas of the borough.

Community Goard 7 meetings

COMMUNITY BOARD 7

229 A East 204th Street Bronx N.Y. 


PUBLIC SAFETY & QUALITY OF LIFE  COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA

Thursday, September 4, 2014 @ 6:30 pm

I. Attendance / Call to order:

A. Roll call of members present

II. Reading of last meeting’s minutes

IV. Regular Business

V. New Business

A. Introduction of the new committee members

B. Guest speakers and topics for the upcoming months

VI. Announcements

VII. Adjournment

*************************************************************

HEALTH & HOSPITALS COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA

New Date
Monday, September 15, 2014 @ 6:30 PM

I. Welcome

II. Meet and Greet

III. Old Business:

A. NCB Update

IV. New Business:

A. Member ideas / vision / suggestions

B. FY 16 Budget Priorities & Requests

C. Potential Sponsored Activities:

1. Health Fair

2. Food Drive

3. Thanksgiving

4. Christmas

5. Soup Kitchen

6. Coat Drive

V. Adjournment

For more information call Community Board 7 at     
718-933-5650.