statements BTR letters & comments
More crazy
bus changes
Dear editor,
Very recently there was
a question and answer event
over at P.S 71 over some bus
route changes as well as their
schedules that they are going
to have. Not everybody
there was to pleased with the
changes in bus service in our
neighborhoods that are to
take place.
If you remember, a few
years ago, the MTA made
some changes in all of our bus
routes and we wound up with
new bus routes, some of which
did not make too much sense
at all. We might very well be
on the fi nal days of bus service
as we know it, now.
Joseph P. Wall
Rep. Serrano
saves whales
passed a federal appropriations
Dear editor,
In regard to the article
written about the loitering and
Dear editor,
I would like to send my
thanks to U.S. Representative
Jos Serrano, chairman of the
U.S. House Appropriations
Subcommittee on Commerce,
Justice, Science, and Related
Agencies. Under chairman
Serrano’ leadership, the House
WE’LL FETCH IT FOR YOU
...and deliver to your home
BRUCKNER DETOX
CENTER OPPOSED
A sense of concern and outrage
is brewing in Throggs
Neck about a possible conversion
of an offi ce building into
an unwanted use.
Commercial tenants at
2800 Bruckner Boulevard received
letters to vacate the
property, and community
leaders have formed a coalition
to fi ght a possible alcohol
Westchester Square reels over vagrants
ulder during a confrontation
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J BTR ULY 5-11, 2019 13
cents
New owner: I’m developing wellness center
Continued on Page 67
Continued on Page 67
While Bronxites prepared
to take a ‘bite out of crime’
at the annual August 1 Night
Out Against Crime, one crook
turned that around and took
a bite out of a local merchant
who tried to interrupt his
thievery.
A.M.A.F. Fashion business
owner Abdul Sol felt more
than an impact to his quality
of life on the morning of Sunday,
July 9, when a shoplifter
tried to leave his store with
a bag of clothing and Sol sufered
a severe bite on his left
rearm and a dislocated right
with the man.
At his 25 Westchester
Square store, Sol recalled how
the shoplifter had on previous
customer.
occasions
been a paying “He spent money here,
it’s not like I never saw him
before,” Sol said. “He came
around two or three months
ago and bought a pair of
shoes.”
But the Sunday of the assault,
the suspect asked for a
shopping bag, grabbed stuff,
and tried to leave, according
to Sol.
“I told him, ‘No, you can’t
take my stuff.’”
A fi ght ensued and Sol said
he “went to the ground with
him. I hurt my shoulder. He
took a big bite in my arm. I was
at the hospital until 6 o’clock. I
still have pain in my shoulder.
I still can’t lift my left arm.”
Sol said he had seen the
shoplifter associate with patients
from the Bronx Psychiatric
Center, so he fi gured he
was a client.
As Bronx Psychiatric Center,
on Waters Place, continues
to release its patients on
the street during the day, they
interact with homeless people
and drug rehab program.
Complaints have been
fi led with the city about beds
being moved into the building
or illegally converting it
into a residential building,
with some folks planning to
take legal action against the
landlord because they have
leases, according to multiple
sources.
Homeowners and renters
are also circulating petitions
to protest what appears to be
“a substance-abuse rehabilitation
program recruiting
staff” to work in the building
and lack of community notice
or engagement on what
may be sited at 2800 Bruckner
Boulevard.
“The community is defi -
nitely mobilized,” said Steven
Kaufman, an attorney who
is leading the Throggs Neck
Strong coalition looking into
the matter, adding “I believe
with mobilization, we might
be able to stop what they want
to do.”
Tenants in the building
say they got letters over the
last two weeks telling them
to vacate the building by
September, said Bobby Jaen,
Throggs Neck Merchants Association
president and coalition
member.
So far, at least 20 complaints
have been logged with
the NYC Department of Buildings,
including those concerning
“commercial space that is
being turned into residential
space” and those saying tenants
see “beds, dressers, mirrors
and chairs,” being moved
in.
As of press time, a meeting
of the Throggs Neck Strong
coalition has been planned
for the Crosstown Diner on
Thursday, August 3, with Jaen
expecting around 125 people,
following a lot of community
organizing and petitioning
that led to a forceful showing
at an earlier impromptu meeting
on Friday, July 28.
Anthony Mameli, Charles
Ruttenberg Realty’s Bronx
commercial real estate manager,
said the company was
planning a grand opening for
its new offi ce at the building
Bronx Times Reporter
Name:
Bayside, NY 11361
package on June 25 that
includes a boost in funding for
conservation of critically endangered
North Atlantic right
whales.
Although abundant at one
time, fewer than 420 of these
majestic creatures remain on
Earth. Previously brought to
near-extinction by whaling,
the species recovery has been
halted again by fatal entanglements
in commercial fi shing
gear and collisions with ships.
The bill, by way of an amendment
proposed by Rep. Seth
Moulton, seeks to fund collaborative
projects among states,
scientists, commercial fi sheries
and shippers to reverse
this trend.
Rep. Serrano has consistently
acted as a champion for
animals, and this legislation
is yet another demonstration
of it. We greatly appreciate his
leadership.
Sara Amundson, president,
Humane Society
Legislative Fund
Seawall loitering
will get worse
disturbances by young adults
on Pennyfi eld Avenue, I completely
understand the situation.
Something similar happened
20 years ago when the
old boatyard was being torn
down and the building of these
condos were in progress.
A few of my buddies and
I used to fi sh by the wall, as
we did for years. After all the
buildings were completed and
sold, the new owners would
constantly call the police on
us.
Eventually we departed,
never to return, even though
we were quiet and never made
a disturbance.
I completely understand
this new situation because
these young adults have no
respect or regard for the families
who live there. Some of
them are from the Maritime
College, and the issues should
be brought to the attention of
the school’s senior council.
Another solution would be
to set up cameras in the area
to catch and document any
wrongdoings. The fi nal solution
would be to have an unmarked
police car assigned to
the location.
Summer has just begun.
The problem will get worse before
it gets better.
James DeGaetano
As Stated contains several
commentaries by our state
and borough electeds on federal
matters: the Supreme
Court 2020 Census ruling
and HUD’s recently proposed
policy announcement on undocumented
immigrants living
in public housing.
State Senator Gustavo
Rivera on Supreme Court
decision to block citizenship
question from next year’s Census....
“(The) decision by the
U.S. Supreme Court to block
the citizenship question represents
a clear rebuttal to the
worst anti-immigrant sentiments
shown by the Trump
administration. By attempting
to politicize a non-partisan
process, which should
serve to properly count every
person residing in our country,
this administration once
again demonstrated its total
disregard for the values and
institutions that most Americans
hold dear.
“For now, we must continue
to organize and educate
our communities about
the Census, its importance,
and why it is necessary for
all of us to participate and be
counted.”
Assembly Speaker Carl
Heastie’s statement on Supreme
Court Census Question
ruling.... “The Census is
an essential tool the United
States uses to determine
the allocation of seats in the
House of Representatives and
the distribution of billions of
dollars in federal funding for
our schools, health care facilities,
housing and other critical
services.
“The Supreme Court’s
ruling to block the addition
of a citizenship question to
the census will ensure that
the census cannot be used as
a weapon to undercount, underrepresent
or underfund
our communities. Every New
Yorker must be counted.”
Statement from Borough
President Ruben Diaz, Jr.
on the Supreme Court Ruling
on the 2020 Census..... “The Supreme
Court has thankfully
rejected President Trump’s
odious attempt to weaponize
the 2020 Census against immigrant
communities and
communities of color. This
is a welcome ruling, but we
must still ensure that everyone
is counted next year. The
Census should be inclusive
so that all our communities
are counted and heard. Since
becoming president, President
Trump has done nothing
but fi nd ways to divide
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.
File Photo
this country, literally building
walls between the realities
of the contributions that
immigrants have made.
“Thanks to this ruling,
our system of checks-andbalance
came through to protect
all of our communities.”
State Senator Gustavo
Rivera on the Trump Administration’s
HUD proposed
rule change..... “Last month,
the U.S Department of Housing
Development proposed
a cruel and inhumane rule
change prohibiting ‘mixedstatus
families’ from living
in public and other forms of
federally subsidized housing.
Mixed-status families
have at least one undocumented
family member in
their household composition,
while other members of the
household are either citizens
or legal residents.
“I strongly reject this malicious,
dehumanizing proposal.
This is further proof
that this soulless administration
will stop at nothing
to punish our country’s immigrant
communities and restrict
their ability to access
basic needs, such as housing.
By HUD’s own admission,
this proposal would have a
devastating impact on some
of our country’s most vulnerable
families.
“We must forcefully oppose
this proposed rule
change by submitting a public
comment to the Federal
Registry by July 9, 2019.”