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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, MARCH 25-31, 2022
BXR
A Bronx blueprint for recovery
In early March, Mayor Eric Adams and
Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer announced
their blueprint for the future of
New York City’s economic development at
the Hunts Point Produce Market. I was ecstatic
to have this historic announcement
be made here in The Bronx. Our presence
there not only pushed against the history
of divestment in our borough, but also put
The Bronx at the forefront of our city’s
plans of recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.
At its highest point, unemployment in
the Bronx peaked at nearly 25% in May
2020, the highest rate among all the boroughs.
This was because more than 70%
of Bronx residents were working in essential
industries that required in-person
work. We not only need more jobs, but jobs
that have protections in place and provide
sustainable growth for our communities.
As the chair of the Committee on Economic
Development, I have made it clear
that our city’s recovery relies on the recovery
of allour outer-boroughs, and for
me, especially The Bronx. So far, as chair,
my committee has had two hearings. The
first was on the preliminary budget of the
city Economic Development Corporation
(EDC), a pseudo-agency that my committee
oversees. Myself and other council
members’ main questions were around
job growth as it relates to our recovery
from COVID-19.
EDC President Andrew Kimball
pointed us to the new projects that the
mayor has invested in so far. The exact
numbers on these projects are as follows:
Life Sciences: $10 million invested in
building accessible internships in the industry.
Hunts Point: $140 million invested to
better the markets infrastructure ($100
million) and for the surrounding area ($40
million).
South Brooklyn Marine Terminal: $57
million invested to support construction
and the creation of 13,000 local jobs over
time.
We cannot afford to have Band-Aid solutions
for our plans for economic recovery.
We have to think long-term, proactively
and most importantly, sustainably.
The three investments mentioned do exactly
that, but they are not the only ones.
The city has committed a total of $191 million
to offshore wind projects, which will
remove more than 34 million tons of CO2
from the city – the equivalent of removing
around 500,000 cars for 15 years. We
are creating jobs, reducing our carbon
footprint, and generating income for our
city – these are the intersectional ideas I
as chair will make sure there are plenty
more of.
Our second hearing was in conjunction
with the Committee on Oversight and
Investigation, chaired by Council Member
Gale Brewer, to provide oversight on
the past and present plans for NYC’s workforce
development by the Mayor’s Office
on Workforce Development, the Economic
Development Corporation and Small Business
Services. During the hearing, we discussed
how agencies reevaluate and prioritize
which programs need funding. I also
asked how they fill in the gaps for industry
inequity. For example, what are we doing
to get more women in construction? We
then heard from more than 45 organization’s
testimony on what work they have
been doing to support the development
of our collective workforce and how city
agencies can better support their goals
and initiatives.
There has never been a more important
time for New York City. How our local
leaders show up for our workers will serve
as an example for the rest of the nation on
what a true equitable recovery looks like.
Community Celebrations
Bangladesh Independence Day takes
place on March 26 to commemorate the
country’s declaration of independence
from Pakistan in 1971. You can celebrate
the holiday by visiting Starling Avenue in
Parkchester to support Bangladeshi small
businesses that have supported our working
class community like Neerob Restaurant
and Starling Daily & Grocery.
Amanda Farías is the councilmember
for the 18th District, representing parts of
Castle Hill, Clason Point, Harding Park,
Parkchester, Shorehaven and Soundview.
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this month that the first 100 retail cannabis licenses will go
to people who have served prison sentences for cannabis convictions. Getty Images
NY’s first 100 retail cannabis licenses
to those with prior weed convictions
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BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
One of the major focuses
of New York’s burgeoning
legal cannabis industry is
reversing the harm that
over-policing and systemic
incarceration for marijuana
crimes had on the
state’s most marginalized
communities during the
infamous war on drugs.
The state is now being
hailed by cannabis advocates
for taking a major
step toward marijuana justice,
as Gov. Kathy Hochul
announced that the first
100 retail cannabis licenses
will go to people who have
served prison sentences for
cannabis convictions.
One of the boroughs
most impacted by cannabis
enforcement through
disproportionate over-policing
and over-sentencing
of cannabis-related crimes
for Black and brown residents
is the Bronx, cannabis
advocates and studies
say. Marijuana Regulation
and Taxation Act (MRTA)
, which was signed into
law by then-Gov. Andrew
Cuomo last March, came to
fruition after years of stopstart
legislative efforts.
According to Chris Alexander,
the executive director
of the state’s Office
of Cannabis Management,
more than 100 licenses are
expected to be awarded to
these retailers with some
of their businesses opening
as early as the end of
this year.
While advocates unequivocally
applaud the
move, Steve DeAngelo, a
longtime cannabis justice
activist, said that big questions
still remain such as
finding a viable source of
marijuana supply for those
retailers.
“A license to operate a
shop that can’t stock any
products that consumers
actually want isn’t an opportunity
— it is a recipe
for failure,” DeAngelo told
the Bronx Times. “As one
of the founders of the Last
Prisoner Project, which is
dedicated to winning freedom
for people convicted of
cannabis crimes, I applaud
the action.”
In addition to creating
the regulatory ecosystem
of an industry expected to
create 30,000-60,000 jobs
and collect $350 million in
annual tax revenue, MRTA
also operates under the
lens of a social equity initiative,
with a goal of having
50% of all licenses going
to applicants such as
minorities, women and veterans,
as laid out by the initial
legislation.
Hochul will soon lay out
additional guidelines to becoming
a licensed seller,
according to sources. Advocates
have noted the
governor’s expediency in
addressing the state’s rollout
of its cannabis industry
regulation and retail
framework compared to
her predecessor, as she
was responsible for the appointments
of Alexander
and former Brooklyn Assemblymember
Tremaine
Wright as chair of the
state’s regulatory board in
August.
Additionally, Hochul
is proposing the creation
of a $200 million fund that
“provide direct capital and
startup financing” to cannabis
business applicants
from the state’s most marginalized
communities
with part of the money for
the fund coming directly
from tax revenue and licensing
fees.
According to a decadelong
study of marijuana
arrests by NYC police precincts,
the Bronx’s 46th,
41st, 52nd and 44th precincts
accounted for some
of the city’s highest marijuana
arrest rates over the
last 10 years.
In NYC, there were 437
marijuana possession arrests
in 2020, with 109 arrests
occurring in the
Bronx, the most out of the
five boroughs. Advocates
note that the communities
with the highest level
of marijuana enforcement
also had the highest share
of Black and Hispanic residents.
The state also announced
that the first cannabis
delivery license will
go to Verio, a large multistate
operator that currently
holds New York
medical cannabis licenses.