BY FRANK VERNUCCIO
A clear-eyed look at the totality
of what our nation is becoming
should make Americans
very, very frightened.
In a media environment
dominated by coverage of what
has happened in just the last
ten minutes, it’s easy to ignore
the big picture. But some have
consistently worked towards
creating a paradigm that
would render America utterly
unrecognizable and deeply
vulnerable. It would leave both
individual citizens and the nation
itself in dire peril.
We have been told that our
borders should be open and
uncontrolled, and that denying
entry to those illegally crossing
is racist and xenophobic.
This has caused great expense,
and substantial increases in
violent crime. Those favoring
ending most border controls
apparently don’t care.
China has increased its rate
of spending faster than either
the Soviet Union or the USA
at the height of the Cold War,
and has become a full-fl edged
military superpower that has
no intention of abiding by international
arms treaties. It
has already moved to occupy
territory not its own. Russia,
thanks to an Obama/Clinton
treaty, now has the planet’s
most powerful nuclear force.
Iran’s leadership continues
to strive for “death to America.”
These things occurred
at a time when the U.S., under
Obama, was slashing its military
spending, when the nation’s
nuclear arsenal was deteriorating,
and when it was
withdrawing heavy equipment
from Europe. Despite this blatant
and rapidly growing danger,
some continue to advocate
dramatically cutting the Pentagon
budget.
It’s worse than just nonchalance
in the face of mounting
danger. John Kerry has advised
Iran on how to deal with
American foreign policy. Hillary
Clinton has fi nancially
gained from the sale of the
basic ingredient of nuclear
weapons to Russia. Joe Biden,
through his son, has made
a fortune from deals with
China.
BRONX TIMES R 28 EPORTER, JULY 24-30, 2020 BTR
Too many in our major
centers of education, information
and entertainment disdain
America. Our students
are given a false perspective
of history which ignores all
of the nation’s extraordinary
achievements and advances
in freedom, and are instead
force-fed a false narrative that
only dwells on past imperfections.
Some social media personnel
have been more comfortable
working with Beijing
than Washington.
Intense disrespect for our
traditions and our fl ag is
clearly advocated by too many.
It’s fair to criticize a particular
practice or policy; demeaning
the very symbol of American
nationhood is wrong. Colin
Kaepernick is free to express
any opinion he desires; disrespecting
the fl ag is unconscionable,
as are the actions of
those who kowtow to him.
America, like all other nations,
engaged in some past
practices which are unacceptable,
but it fought its most
bloody war to end them. Segregation
was outlawed a half
century ago, but the political
left continues to portray it as
a current reality. Every incident
of malice by an individual
against a minority member
is portrayed as evidence
of “systemic racism,” despite
the fact that severe punishment
generally is meted out
to these corrupt individuals.
This falsehood is being used
to advocate for the defunding
of police, leaving individual
Americans as vulnerable as
the nation as a whole is from
those nations seeking to harm
the U.S.A.
The assault on the Bill of
Rights continues to intensify.
Senator Schumer introduced
legislation to weaken the
First Amendment. Universities
and social media barons
claim that anything they disagree
with is “hate speech”
and claim the right to censor
differing opinions. Municipalities
act as though the Second
Amendment doesn’t exist. The
Fourth Amendment Right to
Privacy has become virtually
just a historical memory.
The Ninth and Tenth Amendments,
which mandates that
powers not specifi cally given
to the federal government belong
to the states and to individuals,
are ignored by an increasingly
unresponsive and
dominating “deep state” of unelected,
unaccountable federal
bureaucrats.
A new picture of America
is emerging: a nation weakened
and endangered abroad,
with individuals whose rights
are increasingly trampled
upon at home. A citizenry
that sees itself as members
of clashing political or racial
groups rather than as brothers
and sisters united in their
devotion to a nation that was
once considered humanity’s
best hope for the future. That’s
the new America some seek to
develop.
BY GEORGE HAVRANEK
The charm of low-density
community has price tags
that hinder quality of life.
Overdevelopments in our
communities have substantially
increased population;
however, low-density communities
continue to face
cutbacks and neglect in areas
of need. Law enforcement,
schools, essential services
and infrastructure are
affl icted with undue stress.
Calls to 311 or 911 provide little
relief for residents in lowdensity
community. This dilemma
is strongly related to
the inability of the low-density
community to meet standards
set by the political hierarchies
and policymakers in
City Hall and Albany.
The metric based criteria
for police presence in specifi c
areas is inaccessible public
information. This information
is shrouded in secrecy.
In the current reactive before
proactive dynamic increased
police presence in low-density
communities must be tethered
to an unwanted surge in
violent crime.
Although an inadequate
reason for overt neglect residents
of low-density communities
are grateful their
streets are largely absent of
violent, serious criminal behaviors.
Problematic and
frustrating nuisance issues
rightfully take back seats to
serious criminal activity. It
must be recognized, these unwanted
behaviors will evolve
into problems that denigrate
communities and bring quality
of life in low-density communities
from endangerment
to extinction.
“More people, more police
“ is a proper response to
the tiresome rhetorical statement
“More 911 and 311 calls
means more police.” This response
is based on evidence
contained in a February 2018,
study conducted by Princeton
University. The United States
Department of Justice and National
Organization of Black
Law Enforcement support
these fi ndings. The study concludes
that overall reductions
to crime and nuisance behaviors
are strongly related to increased
police presence, not
aggressive policing.
In addition, increased police
presence in one area is
likely to reduce crime in surrounding
areas. According
to researcher Steven Mello,
“The results highlight that
fi scal support to local governments
for crime prevention
can bring large returns
during bad macroeconomic
times.” This strongly suggests
federal and state subsidies
for local law enforcement
are pragmatic investments
that if utilized to increase
police presence will reduce
crime and enhance quality of
life.
KEEP THIS PILOT
GROUNDED:
Legislation 1004 that
overwhelmingly and quietly
passed the City Council
was enacted in March 2019.
The legislation established
a “pilot program” legalizing
certain basement and cellar
apartments in portions of
Brooklyn. According to City
Council member Brad Ladner
(Brooklyn District 39), “Converting
basement units into
safe and legal housing is an
important way to address the
NYC affordable housing crisis…
it will also enable us…to
smartly expand the program
to neighborhoods around the
city.”
All eligible homes must
be owner occupied; however,
the screening and inspection
procedure are fl awed. In
Bronx County access refusals
leaves a large number of illegal
tenancy and certifi cates
of occupancy complaints unresolved.
New York City’s
unreliable and ineffective
method of monitoring this assertive
housing plan is an enticement
to absentee landlord
investors.
A scan through the NYC
ACRIS system revealed much
property ownerships in lowdensity
segments of the CB
10 footprint with LLP or LLC
status. This fi nding is congruent
with marked increases in
absentee landlordism. Recent
studies by the National Institute
for Health revealed a
strong relationship between
absentee landlords and a negative
quality of life. The studies
logically concluded that
homes with absentee landlords
are more likely to be neglected
and become points of
neighborhood nuisances than
those with an owner living on
premise. Area residents must
take a proactive stance and
make it abundantly clear that
this “pilot program” will not
be granted permission to land
in our community.
CIVIC CENTER
Spencer Estate Civic
Association
CIVIC CENTER
COMACTA
Diaz, Fat Joe donate food
BP Diaz and Fat Joe distribute FreshDirect produce boxes to R.A.I.N.
Gunhill Neighborhood Senior Center. Courtesy Offi ce of BP Diaz