Sentenced to 17 years in prison
OCFS seeks young policy makers for NYS Youth Council
BY GEORGE HAVRANEK
The year 2019 was a growth
and maturation period for our
civic association. The ‘100
for 100’ campaign, commemorating
one hundred years of
civic activity in the Spencer
Estate community, brought a
marked increase in membership.
Attendances at monthly
meetings escalated and were
consistently robust. There is
suffi cient evidence to emphatically
declare that the residents
of Spencer Estate care
for their community. However,
we recognize considerable
work needs to be done to
achieve difference making
long-term goals. Community
outreach for the Spencer Estate
Civic Association 2020
membership drive will begin
in February. We look to 2020
as a year of vision as we work
together to improve Quality of
Life in our fi ne community.
A quote to ponder: “Practical
Politics consists in ignoring
facts.”
On occasions elected offi -
cials have addressed our communities;
listened to concerns,
adeptly parsed verbiage, and
created anticipation for perspective
helpful actions. However,
any attempts to shift
the accountability for consequences
due their actions or
inactions onto the shoulders
of community residents are
unjustifi able. The statements,
‘Crime is down’ and ‘more
911 calls’ mean more police
presence minus the explanation
of meaningful variables
including decriminalization
and disposition of call is disingenuous.
This troublesome
practice brings forth an illusory
component that curtails
the dire need for community
actions that can inspire increased
police presence and
textbook enforcements of current
laws.
The rank and fi le members
of NYPD, the district attorney’s
offi ce and most importantly
our communities are
profoundly affected by recent
criminal, bail and discovery
reforms. The hard working,
dedicated members of our
NYPD, including our local 45th
Precinct, have been besieged
by attrition based personnel
cutbacks and policy changes.
The catch and release dynamic
tethered to new bail reforms
in conjunction with past overt
acts of disrespect in multiple
NYC communities fosters a
dysfunctional environment for
the NYPD. It is unreasonable
to expect the proud members of
law enforcement to adequately
serve and protect our communities
under these challenging
conditions.
The case loaded and severely
overburdened Bronx
District Attorney’s offi ce must
cope with more adversity. According
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,40 JANUARY 17-23, 2020 BTR
to the NY Law Journal,
the 15-day deadline for the
district attorney to retrieve,
review, and pass evidence to
defense attorneys creates additional
hardships for every
D.A.’s offi ce. It is reasonable
to surmise this mandate will
put additional pressures on an
over-stressed agency whose
effi ciency and effi cacy is integral
to our criminal justice
system and public safety.
Our communities are facing
changing times. The permissiveness
emanating from
the political machines in City
Hall and Albany is dramatically
slanting the playing fi eld
away from law-abiding citizens.
We must unite and diligently
work to maintain the
fi ne quality of life that was
once tightly woven into our
community fabric. Thankfully,
our community is not inundated
with violent crimes;
however, that is not license to
permit unchallenged low-level
crimes, nuisance issues, and
maladaptive behaviors.
In recent months there
has been an uptick in ‘porch
piracy’ and car vandalisms.
In addition, the unseasonable
warmth of the past weekend
brought a spring preview
as late night/early morning
‘bass like noise’ resonated
throughout many neighborhoods.
Despite anticipated
inconveniences, every crime
or nuisance incident must be
documented and reported. It
is essential that we act as proactive
stewards of our community
by supporting local civic
associations, attending local
precinct sponsored ‘Build the
Block’ events and Precinct
Community Council meetings.
Large numbers garner
attention…the united voices
of a community choir resonate…
in many circumstances
initiating change requires a
bottom –up approach. Large
attendances at these events
will show our willingness to
put forth the efforts required
to restore and maintain our
quality of life.
Community Footnotes:
Save the dates: Thursday,
January 30, 7 p.m. - 45th Precinct
Sector B Build the Block
Event at Greek American Institute,
3573 Bruckner Boulevard;
and Thursday, February
6, 7 p.m. - 45th Precinct
Community Council Meeting
at 45th Precinct, 2877 Barkley
Avenue.
Happy retirement wishes
to the knowledgeable and affable
Elaine Florio; the longtime
‘go to’ staffer to Assemblyman
Mike Benedetto. Busy as a bee,
she performed an array of duties
but always found time for
the Spencer Estate community.
Good luck, good health,
and much happiness to Elaine
Florio in her well deserved retirement.
Her presence will be
missed, her shoes hard to fi ll.
Need to discard electronics?
The NYC Department of
Sanitation has expanded their
curbside electronics collection
to include the entirety of Community
Board 10. Curbside
electronics collection takes
place Monday –Friday. Please
call 311 to schedule pickups.
Political leaders to gauge
a community’s interest and
fortitude use attendances at
local civic association meetings.
Large turnouts show our
elected offi cials that we possess
the resolve to confront adversity.
Any area homeowner
or renter interested in membership
to the all inclusive
Spencer Estate Civic Association
in box George Havranek
on Facebook or send-email
with subject matter Spencer
Estate to gghh55@aol.com.
Remember: “Inclusion
brings solutions.”
Just a couple of weeks into
the New Year and the NYS Offi
ce of Children and Family
Services is reaching out to
New York state youth for a very
important mission – serving
on the New York State Youth
Council. Governor Cuomo is
looking for 62 young people –
one from each New York state
county – to lend advice on key
issues facing young people
today. That includes how to
look at things, how they affect
young people and how to get
the message out.
The Youth Council will
provide policy recommendations
on education, youth violence,
the opioid crisis, juvenile
justice, environmental
justice, cyberbullying and
civic engagement. It will address
issues that are of particular
relevance to young
women and girls, including
sexual assault and harassment,
female empowerment,
economic opportunity and
wage parity.
The Youth Council will
be run by youth, ages 13 to
21, who will develop its organizational
structure and
prioritize key issues, and its
members will gain hands-on
experience in the democratic
process. The members will
serve two-year terms. Once
selected, the Youth Council
will convene in Albany for
orientation and training and
will then be divided into regional
teams to focus on specifi
c policy issues.
Interested youth must submit
an application that includes
an essay and a video
demonstrating their interest
in one of the council’s focus
areas – maybe how it affected
you; an idea to help; a
solution. Candidates will be
selected based on character,
leadership, academic achievement,
civic engagement and
community service.
You may apply at https://
nysylc. secure -plat form.
com/a/solicitations/home/1.
District Attorney Darcel D. Clark
announced that a Bronx man has been
sentenced to 17 years in prison after
pleading guilty to Manslaughter for
stabbing his estranged wife near a
middle school in Morrisania.
Clark said, “The defendant stabbed
his estranged wife, with whom he
shared two children, a dozen times
near a middle school as students on
their way to class watched in horror.
He attacked her two weeks after she
decided to leave him after enduring
years of abuse.”
Clark said the defendant, Victor
Garo, 48, of 1585 Townsend Avenue,
was sentenced to 17 years in prison
and fi ve years’ post-release supervision
by Bronx Supreme Court Justice
Bahaati Pitt. The defendant pleaded
guilty to fi rst-degree Manslaughter on
November 20, 2019.
According to the investigation, on
the morning of September 25, 2017, the
victim, Adalgisa Garo, 44, walked her
son to school and as she returned home
alone Garo jumped out of a car and
yelled at her. The victim ran and the
defendant chased her and stabbed her
12 times. The attack happened near a
school as 12 and 13-year-old children
were passing by. The defendant fl ed
the scene and was arrested later that
day in Hunts Point. The victim was
stabbed in the chest and abdomen. She
also had defensive wounds. The victim
was taken to Lincoln Hospital where
she was pronounced dead on arrival.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant
District Attorney Kathryn
Falasca, Supervisor in the Domestic
Violence Bureau, under the supervision
of Adrienne Giunta, Chief of the
Domestic Violence Bureau, and under
the overall supervision of Joseph
Muroff, Chief of the Special Victims
Division. District Attorney Clark
thanked NYPD Detective Allan Offl ey
of the 42nd Precinct, and NYPD Detective
Patrick Flatley of Bronx Homicide
for their assistance in the investigation.
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