Distributing PPE in the BX
On Aug. 7, Borough President Ruben Diaz and elected offi cials hosted an event to distribute
food and personal protective equipment at River Park Towers at 55 Richman
Plaza. Courtesy Offi ce of the BP
oped
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR AUGUST 14-20, 2020 13
letters & comments
Dear editor,
It was encouraging to
see Mr. Pelosi’s letter of
two weeks ago published,
such that it inspired me
to submit a letter yet
again, as I had given up,
having the same impression
of political bias in
the letters section as he
had expressed. Although
the feature articles do
give fair representation.
I had never fully appreciated
the importance
of states’ rights, as
guaranteed in the Constitution,
until recent
years and even more so
now, through the continuing
COVID-19 pandemic.
I consider myself
quite fortunate to be living
in the state of New
York, and the City of New
York, under the leadership
of Governor Cuomo
and Mayor DeBlasio,
who have succeeded in
turning around the full
onslaught of this pandemic
as it hit our state
initially, into something
that is now well tamed.
The governor has
acted out of reason, science
and a genuine concern
for the citizenry in
contrast to the brazen
disregard of medical evidence,
reckless bravado
and outright contempt
for those on the front
lines, by the man at the
head of the Trump Administration.
The governor exhibited
strength of character
and commitment
to community health
by refusing to cave into
all the threats levied at
him and at our state and
city, holding fast to hard
facts, statistics based in
reality and an openness
to changing plans based
on new data coming in.
In short, he and others
met this immense challenge
head on and saved
us from descending into
worsening disaster.
No doubt there are
some people at the federal
level, Dr. Fauci in
particular, who exhibit
the same dedication to
serving the best interests
of the population healthwise
and in general, and
I value them all greatly.
Had the constitution
been written differently
and our government
evolved in such a way
as to allow centralized
power to the exclusion
of federalism, so as to
effectively deny or seriously
limit states’ rights,
one could only imagine
how that would have projected
into today’s political
climate and compromised
every aspect of
our lives, leaving us bare
to the reckless decisions
of one administration,
one man.
My assumption had
always been that the
federal government was
there to protect us as a
nation, as one people, regardless
of the party in
power. That belief can
no longer be entertained
as every manner of undermining
our system
of democratic government,
including our very
health system is now being
carried by those who
are entrusted to promote
the general health, welfare
and security of our
nation.
– George Zulch
Dear editor,
In your July 17-23 issue,
the article “The Hub
faces challenging future”
was welcome coverage
of The Hub/149th Street
and Third Avenue.
I have lived here all
my life, and this busy and
vibrant neighborhood is
one of the Bronx’s oldest
communities. We have
many schools (grammar,
high school and colleges),
along with day care centers
and senior housing.
We have over 15 NYCHA
housing units in a twomile
radius. We have
wonderful people and
struggling families.
But now for the bad
news. The Hub has become
the Hub of Heroin.
Our group, “Take Back
The Hub” has been sounding
the alarm since 2018.
The Hub is on life support.
You can buy heroin
on 149th Street and Melrose
Avenue and on 148th
Street and Third Avenue,
any day of the week from
7 a.m. to 11 p.m. You can
also buy pot, pills, methadone
and K-2. We have
over 15 drug-related programs
that are not providing
rehabilitation,
but drug maintenance in
a 20 block radius.
You can fi nd used needles
all over the streets
and the entrances to
many of our schools and
churches are used as
sleeping areas and toilets
by people who live on the
streets of the HUB. We
do not demonize people
with addiction problems,
we have been calling on
our elected offi cials since
2018 for services and real
help. The mayor is invisible,
BP Diaz’s staff told us
the BP “drives through”
the area often. The City
Council and assembly
members have been impotent
to turn the tide of
the drug industry which
controls a large part of
the economy of the area.
Please keep telling
the story of the HUB. The
Take Back The Hub Committee
is not going away.
During the pandemic,
when food lines formed
and shortages occurred,
you could always procure
heroin in the Hub
and there was never a
shortage of needles on
our streets. The future
of the Hub depends on
the city’s will and effort
to improve the quality of
life for the children, families
and seniors who call
the Hub our home. Grass
roots organizations
like ours will continue
to work for the good of
our community with all
members of the community.
God help us.
– Marty Rogers
Take Back the Hub
Dear editor,
By permitting the
continued publication
of the COMACTA manifesto,
it appears that the
BTR has no journalistic
standards whatsoever.
In his latest screed, Mr.
Vernuccio has reached
a new low, not even attempting
to justify his
outrageous claims by
quoting extreme right
wing propaganda outfi
ts.
Consider the following
assertion made
in last week’s edition,
“John Kerry continues
to advise Iran on how
to evade U.S. policy.” No
evidence or sourcing is
offered to support the
slander of this veteran
and former Secretary of
State. Just take Vernuccio’s
word for it.
In an almost comical
fashion the author
falsely maintains that
former offi cials in the
Obama Administration,
“have violated laws with
impunity,” while ignoring
the multitude of offenses
committed, without
any consequences,
by Trump and his enablers.
Other examples of
subterfuge in his article
include blaming
progressives for the
“wave of arson against
churches” and “resurrecting
racial disputes…
largely abolished ” long
ago; scurrilous claims
made with no factual
basis. But hey, just take
Vernuccio’s word for it.
Sadly, the “nonpartisan”
BTR seems to take
his word for it by continuing
to publish his
vitriol week after week.
– Pasqual Pelosi
Dear editor,
I almost choked when
I read the article in a recent
issue of the Bronx
Times Reporter regarding
Montefi ore receiving
a $4 million substance
abuse grant. Now
they decide they need to
increase the number of
physicians equipped to
treat substance use disorder?
From 2009 to 2014, I
worked at Montefi ore-
Wakefi eld on an “Oasis”
regulated detox unit.
This unit was run by a
psychiatrist who specialized
in addiction
treatment. We had several
wonderful addiction
“fellows” over the
years.
In July 2014 the director
of nursing came
to our unit to tell us the
unit would be closed,
and isn’t it wonderful
for Montefi ore to decide
to go in a new direction
with this unit? I knew I
was retiring, and I let
her know just how I felt
about their new direction,
that it seemed to me
that the addicted population
was always given
the short end of the stick,
which was obvious with
the sudden closure of
their unit. Management
showed no concern for
our patients.
Now six years later,
management decides,
“hey, we can get $4 million
to treat them.” Now
they matter. What a
joke!
– Laurie Rothstein
In the August 7 Bronx
Times letter to the editor,
Michael Wilbekin
says of the president “He
has, and continues to
commit the utmost unlawful,
disorderly and
unconstitutional acts.”
Mr. Wilbekin, could
you please expand on
your contention and
name the acts?
– Bob Pascarella
Letters to the editor are welcome from all readers. They should be addressed care of this newspaper to Laura Guerriero, Publisher, the Bronx Times Reporter, 3604 E. Tremont Ave., Bronx, NY 10465, or e-mail to
bronxtimes@cnglocal.com.
All letters, including those submitted via e-mail, MUST be signed and with a verifi able address and telephone number included.
Note that the address and telephone number will NOT be published and the name will be published or withheld upon request.
No unsigned letters can be accepted for publication. The editor reserves the right to edit all submissions.
link
link