1st Annual North Bronx Democratic Club Holiday Party Big Success

   The first North Bronx Democratic Club Holiday Party is sure to become an annual event with the overflow crowd of more than 300 people. The event and the journal were sold out over a week before the event took place. State Senator Jeff Klein and Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj have successfully revived the original club of the 80th Assembly District that elected Jeff Klein an assemblyman in the early 1990's. 

   The Guest of Honor was New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, with Honorees Norman Seabrook (President, NYC Correction Officers Benevolent Association), Ms. Beatrice Castiglia Catullo (Founder, RAIN Inc.), Joseph Kelleher (President, Metro Properties and Chairman, Bronx Chamber of Commerce), and Meisha Ross Porter (Superintendent, Bronx School District 11). 

    As usual the photos below will tell the rest of the story.

Above - Just some of the 300 plus attendees. 

Below - Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie was the Keynote Speaker.

Above - Councilman Andy King came over to congratulate Honoree Ms. Beatrice Castiglia Catullo. 

Below - Ms. Beatrice Castiglia Catullo received her award from Ms. Jeah Hill.

Above - Honoree Norman Seabrook Thanks Senator Klein and Assemblyman Gjonaj for their work in the state legislature.

Below - Honoree Joseph Kelleher Thanks Senator Klein for his help as a partner with the Bronx Chamber of Commerce in the BCC Bronx H.I.R.E. program.  

Above - Honoree Meisha Ross Porter thanks the club for honoring her on her outstanding career of leadership in public education.

Below - A group photo of the Honorees, elected officials, and club President and Executive Director.

Above - With Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie between State Senator Jeff Klein and Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj, the club President and Executive Director are also in the photo.

Below - While the NBDC might be the club of the 80th A.D., 81st Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and Councilman Andrew Cohen of the Riverdale section of the 34th State Senate district were on hand to give support.

Bronx District Attorney-Elect Darcel Clark Announces Transition Chairs, Sub-Committees

Bronx District Attorney-Elect
Darcel Clark Announces Transition Chairs,
Sub-Committees

     Bronx District Attorney-elect Darcel Clark announced her Chairpersons for her Transition Committee, as well as the establishment of subcommittees to further prepare for the beginning of her administration onJanuary 1st.  

Daniel E. Karson, Chairman of Kroll and former General Counsel and Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Investigation of the City of New York, and Taa Grays, Chief of Staff to MetLife’s General Counsel, were named by Clark as Co-Chairs of the 40-member transition team. Karson and Grays will lead all efforts to implement the District Attorney’s priorities of greater transparency, accountability and responsiveness throughout the office.

Along with his experience at Kroll and at the City’s Department of Investigation, Karson was born and raised in the Bronx and also worked as a Bronx Assistant District Attorney serving as Chief of Narcotics Investigations.

Prior to beginning her time at MetLife twelve years ago, Grays served as a Bronx Assistant District Attorney in its Rackets Bureau for five and a half years. She is also very active in the legal community and holds leadership positions with several organizations, including president of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association.

“In our Co-Chairs, we have two individuals who started their careers as Bronx Assistant District Attorneys,” said DA-elect Clark. “Not only do they understand the Bronx and this office, but their wealth of experience will be a tremendous asset in assisting me as I prepare to take office.”

Subcommittees

In addition to the announcement of Co-Chairs, Clark also announced the creation of subcommittees and chairs to further organize tasks and priorities throughout the transition.  They include:

• The Subcommittee on Community Affairs and Chair Wayne McKenzie, General Counsel for the NYC Department of Probation (DOP).
• The Subcommittee on Internal Review and Chair Catherine Christian, Co-Director of Legal Training and Chief of the Elder Abuse Unit in Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s Office.
• The Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Chair Marvin Ray Raskin, who also serves as Chairman of the Criminal Courts Committee of the Bronx County Bar Association.
• The Subcommittee on Recruitment and Chair Teresa Mason,  a partner with Bahn Multer LLP.
• The Subcommittee on the Inauguration and Chair Joyce Hartsfield, who also is the Executive Director of the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission.  

Additional Committee Members

Clark also announced an additional three members who Clark believes will further add to an already stellar group of experienced and distinguished attorneys and community leaders.

Rabbi Barry Dov Katz has served the Bronx community at the Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale since 1998.  Rabbi Katz has worked with members of the congregation to further the inclusion of people with special needs, in welcoming LGBT individuals and families, and in forming a social group for Jewish 20’s and 30’s in the Bronx.  Rabbi Katz served as President of the Riverdale-Kingsbridge-Spuyten Duyvil Clergy Conference and as co-chair of the Bronx Borough President's Jewish-Hispanic Task Force, and is also an Adjunct Lecturer of Professional and Pastoral Skills at the Jewish Theological Seminary.  

Chauncey Parker serves as an Executive Assistant District Attorney and Special Policy Advisor to New York County District Attorney Cy Vance, and also serves as the Director of the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program. Parker notably also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, as the Director of Criminal Justice for New York State, and as Commissioner of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services under Governor George E. Pataki.

Bishop Nancy Rosario is the co-founder of Church of God’s Children in Co-op City, and also is the founder of R&R Team Management, a Women Owned Minority Business.  She also has served as the Legal Representative at Bronx Housing Court for Riverbay Corporation for over 31 years. Bishop Rosario is a leader in advocating for HIV & Hep C testing and Domestic Violence Awareness, and also serves as the clergy liaison for for the NYPD Grandmother’s Love over Violence.   

“As with all of the transition team, I’m grateful for their willingness to serve on this committee, and look forward to their keen insight on how to make this office work best for all the people in the Bronx,” Clark added.

For a list of the full Transition Committee, please click here.  For those who are interested in being considered for a position within the Office of Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, please send resumes and cover letters totransitionbxda@gmail.com.

BDCC Upcoming Events

BDCC Holiday Party When: Tues. 12/8/15 from 6 - 10pm Where: UFT HQ - 2500 Halsey Ave. (enter through Commerce Ave.) Bronx, NY Please join us for our annual Holiday Party. Food and drinks will be served. For more information, please emailinfo@bronxdems.org or call us at 347-281-9759. Click to Enlarge

Speaker Heastie's Holiday CelebrationWhen:  Wed. 12/9/15 from 7 - 10pmWhere: Eastwood Manor - 3371 Eastchester Rd., Bronx, NY  Celebrate the Season with Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie. Let's toast to the holidays with good friends & good cheer. Join for dinner and dancing.  RSVP for the first 500 guests. Please RSVP by calling 718-654-6539 or by emailingfriendsofCheastie@gmail.com Click to Enlarge

The Annual Bronx Christmas Tree Lighting When:  Thurs. 12/10/15 from 5:30pm Where:   Bronx County Building, E. 161st St. & Grand Concourse Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. Invites you to The Annual Bronx Christmas Tree Lighting. Sing Christmas carols with Santa & Mrs. Claus Enjoy hot chocolate, cookies and a special treat from Santa! WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. RSVP by calling 718-590-3522 or emaillroldan@bronxbp.nyc.gov Click to Enlarge

Assemblyman Pichardo's Annual Holiday Party & Toy Drive When:  Thurs. 12/10/15 from 7 - 10pm Where: Grand Slam Banquet Hall - 3478 East Tremont Ave., Bronx, NY Please join Assemblyman Victor Pichardo, District Leader Yudelka Tapia,State Committeewoman Bernice Williams & The Great Alliance Democratic Club for their 8th Annual Holiday Party Toy Drive. Enjoy Music, Food and Refreshments! Please bring unwrapped toy or $20 donation Click to Enlarge

Rev. Jerome A. Greene Democratic Club Annual Holiday CelebrationWhen: Mon. 12/10/15 from 6 - 10pmWhere: The Andrew Freedman Home, Freedman on the Concourse 1125 Grand Concourse (Bet. McClellan Street & East 166th Street) Bronx, New York  The Rev. Jerome A. Greene Democratic Club, Inc., the 77th Assembly District, cordially invites you to their annual holiday celebration. Join them as they gather to celebrate the past year & enjoy the holiday season! Special Guests: Renaissance Youth Center  Food, Fun, Desserts, Musical Entertainment, Raffle Drawing  Click to Enlarge

In solidarity, Hon. Marcos A. Crespo, Chair The Bronx Democratic County Committee 1640 Eastchester Rd.

Diwali Celebration

Quote on 1-year anniversary of Pantaleo non-indictment

  "Today marks the one-year anniversary of the day that a grand jury failed to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo for the tragic and preventable killing of Eric Garner. It is with heavy hearts that we reflect on the challenges we have faced combating the prejudices and biases underlying this issue over the past year. Let us stand together as a community and honor Eric’s memory by continuing to raise our voices against injustice, both on the streets and in the courts."

Said Council Member Andy King 12^th District of the Bronx

Co-Chair of the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus of the New York City Council.

BRONX UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS AGAIN

BRONX UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS AGAIN

Unemployment Down to 6.5%; More Bronxites Employed Today Than Ever Before;

Over 100K More Bronx Residents Working Since May 2009

The Bronx continues to show progress in the areas of job creation and economic development, according to new statistics from the New York State Department of Labor.

The unemployment rate in The Bronx fell to 6.5 percent in October 2015, down from 6.6 percent in September 2015 and 8.9 percent in October 2014.

Those same statistics show that the total number of Bronxites who are employed is 571,700, up from 468,800 in May 2009 when Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. first took office. This is the highest number of Bronxites employed since the Department of Labor began keeping statistics in 1990, and means that over 100,000 more Bronx residents have jobs today than six years ago.

“The Bronx has seen tremendous growth over the past six years, and none of that would have been possible without strong partnerships between our elected officials, community boards, business community, non-profits, neighborhood leaders and our 1.4 million residents, who everyday are working to make our borough a better place to live, work and raise a family,” said Borough President Diaz. “We have cut our unemployment rate in half, and more Bronxites have jobs today than ever before. That is success that we can all be proud of.”

The Department of Labor’s complete release can be found at http://on.ny.gov/1R6npuU.

Since Borough President Diaz took office in 2009, The Bronx has seen more than $7 billion in total development, which has led to the creation of thousands of new jobs. In addition, a new partnership announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in August 2014 between the New York State Department of Labor and the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, as part of the “NY Works,” program is placing Bronx residents in these jobs, helping to ensure that new development here benefits everyone, especially Bronxites.

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