op ed BTR letters & comments
Why I oppose the S. Will grocers be left holding the plastic bag ban?
Boulevard rezoning
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR JANUARY 24-30, 2020 13
BY RAPHAEL SALAMANCA
Last month, Churches
United for Fair Housing released
a bombshell report
corroborating what many
in New York City have long
thought: Neighborhood rezonings
are directly responsible
for displacing thousands
of residents of color in
primarily low-income communities.
The report analyzes some
of the signifi cant impacts
of the 2004 Greenpoint/Williamsburg
waterfront rezoning
and the 2003 Park
Slope/4th Avenue rezoning,
noting, for example, a decrease
in 15,000 Latino residents
in Greenpoint and Williamsburg
from 2000 to 2015
despite an actual population
increase of more than 20,000
during this time frame. Hundreds
of rent-stabilized units
were lost in these neighborhoods
as well. And while
these may have been unintended
consequences of the
rezoning, this report brings
to light a serious fl aw in our
land use process.
The lessons of this report
should not go unanswered:
The city needs to fervently
acknowledge the racial impact
that rezonings have on a
neighborhood.
That’s why I’m cosponsoring
legislation alongside
Public Advocate Jumaane
Williams, which would require
a racial impact analysis
in connection with neighborhood
rezonings.
It’s also why I’m opposing
the Southern Boulevard rezoning!
When the Southern Boulevard
rezoning study was fi rst
announced two years ago, I
participated in several community
deep-dive forums
and held numerous meetings
with City Planning to understand
the city’s intentions for
the neighborhood. In each
meeting, I went in with an
open mind in the hopes that
I would hear something that
would convince me that this
action would protect and
benefi t my constituents. I
made my position very clear
from the beginning: I could
not support a rezoning that
would displace the very people
who make my district
what it is. As I spoke with
my constituents, a very real
fear – now confi rmed by the
CUFFH report – kept coming
up: A neighborhood rezoning
would accelerate rising
rents, price out residents and
displace them from the very
community they’ve helped
build, the community that I
am proud to come from.
As discussions about the
rezoning with the mayor’s
offi ce continued over time,
it was evident our goals did
not align. While I prioritized
downzoning large swaths of
my district in order to preserve
the neighborhood context
of areas that included
two and three family homes,
the city was intent on upzoning
major transportation
corridors, of which there are
many in the south Bronx.
This would allow for taller
buildings and greater density.
With this upzoning, I
fear that the city could trigger
a rush of developers looking
to purchase land and
build thousands of unregulated
units along Southern
Boulevard, Westchester Avenue
and the Bronx River.
While City Planning touts
the signifi cance of mandatory
inclusionary housing
creating permanent affordable
housing in rezonings,
the truth is that MIH affordability
only applies to a small
fraction of the new units created,
with the rest of the units
being market-rate.
Since my time on the
Council, I have approved
more than 6,700 residential
units of affordable housing,
with just under 5,000 of those
being newly constructed. I
am pro-growth, but for logical
local improvements created
by reasonable development.
Unfortunately, I have seen
the negative aspect of how irresponsible
development can
lead to the gentrifi cation of
entire communities, displacing
thousands of low-income
Black and Latino families
and seniors who make up the
very bedrock of that which
makes New York City who we
are. We cannot let that continue
to happen, and we certainly
cannot let it happen in
the south Bronx.
(The following letter was
sent to NY State’s legislative
leaders re the pending platic
grocery bag ban.)
Dear Commissioner Seggos,
Majority Leader Stewart
Cousins and Speaker
Heastie,
I am the co-owner of two
union-affi liated grocery stores
in the Bronx, and I have serious
concerns about how the
coming ban on most plastic
grocery bags will negatively
impact our customers and
businesses like mine across
the city and state alike.
We cannot support New
York’s plastic bag ban as written
because its fl awed approach
will harm our working
class customers and small
stores like ours that provide a
good wage and union benefi ts –
the same small businesses that
lawmakers say are the backbone
of the state’s economy and
have pledged to protect.
To that end, I urge you to
consider a compromise approach,
the blueprint for
which already exists right
here in New York. In January
2018, Suffolk County banned
thin plastic grocery bags and
instituted a 5-cent fee on both
reusable plastic and paper
bags., Permitting these reusable
bags – including those
made from durable plastic
that is at least 2.25 mils thick,
allowed for a smooth transition
but still achieved the desired
results.
We know the Suffolk
County ban works. A March
2019 report found 1.1 billion
fewer single-use plastic bags
were used in the county during
its fi rst 12 months of its existence
and paper bag use was
down almost 79 percent.
New York’s law does have
the optional fi ve-cent fee on
paper bags that a handful of
communities have adopted.
But none of the money generated
will go to me, the retailer,
to offset costs of administering
the plastic ban. My bag
costs will dramically increase
as a result of this ban, but the
negative impacts are not limited
to me. Plastic bags are almost
never single use in low to
moderate income communities,
they are far too valuable
to use just once.
Paper bags are ineffi cient,
and it is going to cost me more
to purchase them than plastic.
After March 1, if shoppers
show up without their own reusable
bag and we have no paper
to offer them, either they
will have to purchase a much
more costly reusable bag from
me, or worse, they will have
to hand carry their groceries
home, piece by piece.
The fi ve-cent paper bag fee
does not apply to food stamp
or WIC recipients, and retailers
must ensure they are not
charged. That process will undoubtedly
add to wait times at
our registers, inconveniencing
our customers. In other
words, it is small grocers and
other retailers who will be left
holding the bag.
I have no hope that my family
owned business – and others
like it – will be protected
once the ban is implemented
on March 1.
If state offi cials and lawmakers
truly care about working
with small business owners to
make this new policy work for
everyone, I believe you should
consider our feedback and act
accordingly. Thank you for
your consideration.
Salvatore M. Bonavita
Pres., Belmonte Markets
and Management, Inc.
as stated
This week As Stated offers
statements on preserving express
bus service, WHEDco’s
support for after-school program
seat guarantee, Assemblyman
Victor Pichardo’s reaction
to an appointment and
Transportation Alternatives
reaction to the passage of new
E-bike/E-scooter legislation.
District Leader Eric Dinowitz
issues statement on
MTA preserving express bus
service..... “Express bus service
is a vital lifeline for
northwest Bronx residents,
and I am encouraged that the
MTA has removed consideration
of cuts for a year. We organized,
worked together, and
showed the power of our community
and we will continue
to organize to make our voices
heard.”
Davon Russell, president
of Women’s Housing and Economic
Development Corporation
(WHEDco), issued the
following statement about afterschool
programs.....“WHEDco
wholeheartedly supports the
New York City Council proposal
to guarantee a spot in an
after-school program to every
student who wants one. We see
the transformational power of
quality after-school programs
in the lives of the hundreds
of South Bronx students we
serve every day, after the fi nal
bell, in our school-based programs.
“The incredible initiatives
that take place during these
post-school hours give students
the opportunity to tap
into their creativity, discover
new interests, create meaningful
connections with their
peers and mentors, and explore
their full potential through
opportunities that they would
otherwise not have been able
to access. After-school programs
bolster students’ academic
achievements, inspire
enthusiasm for learning, and
ignite their passions for enriching
activities like art,
music, chess, physical fi tness
and community service. It’s
no surprise that young people
involved in after-school learning
have better educational
and behavioral outcomes.
“After-school programs
also make it possible for parents
to maintain full-day
work, which is a game-changing
benefi t for many of the lowincome
families we serve in
the South Bronx.
“For all of these reasons,
universal after-school is a
worthwhile investment for the
city, and we applaud the council
members who are leading
this effort.”
Assemblyman Victor
Pichardo said the following
after receiving the honor to
serve as vice chair of NHCSL’s
Quad Caucus Delegation.....
“I’m honored to be appointed
vice chair of the National Hispanic
Caucus of State Legislators’
Quad Caucus Delegation
for the 2020-21 term. Whether
condemning the inhumane
practice of separating children
from parents seeking
asylum at our nation’s southern
border or fi ghting back
against attempts to end the
Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals program, the
Quad Caucus has stood as a
unifi ed voice and strengthened
our resolve to end these
injustices. I look forward to
continuing NHCSL’s efforts
to build diverse coalitions
and work together to address
the barriers that hold communities
of color back.”