BY CHRYS NAPOLITANO
Here I am sitting in Connecticut
on a Sunday morning
waiting for Tropical Storm
Henri to pass without taking
out our power. Years of living
in Throggs Neck has taught us
to be prepared and while fl ooding
is not an issue any longer,
power outages and downed
trees defi nitely are. We have
a small generator, a chainsaw
and have a number of other
things we do to prepare, but
it’s nothing compared to having
to set up pumps and move to
higher ground. Hope that all my
friends in Throggs Neck make
it through this still developing
storm without any issues.
The timing of this storm is
coinciding with our tomatoes
ripening and I see so many people
posting photos of all their
partially ripe tomatoes that
they’ve picked and asking if
they should pick their squash
and pumpkins yet. All very
valid questions, but there’s no
correct answer. If I still lived
in Locust Point, I’d probably
be concerned about squash
plants in case the garden actually
fl ooded, but generally our
plants are more resilient than
we are.
That didn’t stop me from
picking every ripe tomato I
could fi nd yesterday and making
a batch of roasted tomato
sauce. I also prepped three
pounds of small plum tomatoes
to make a batch of tomato
jam. The tomato jam is fl avored
with lemon, cloves, cardamom,
star anise and juniper berries. I
love it in a grilled cheese sandwich,
but it’s a perfect pair with
cheese in any form. Stop by the
Market at Preston any Tuesday
from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. for lots of delicious
foods made with local produce.
After being away from the
market for a few weeks, I was so
happy to be back on Aug. 10. We
had a visit from a second year
journalism student at Lehman
College who is a part of their
Summer 2021 SYEP: Lehman
Lab for Social Analysis research
program. She was there
to observe our programming,
meet our vendors and discuss
what we do for the community.
I had hoped to spend time with
her, but we were so busy with
our customers, it was diffi cult
to do so. Luckily, Sherrill Cropper
and Fabian Wander were
able to spend time to answer her
questions, as well as those of another
student who joined her for
the site visit. Sherrill has been
a board member of the Northeast
Bronx Community Farmers
Market Project since the
beginning and Fabian recently
joined our board in April 2021.
They sat with them for more
than an hour and gave them an
overview of the programming
that we have been providing to
the community: CSA, supporting
BRONX TIMES R 36 EPORTER, SEPT. 3-9, 2021 BTR
food distribution efforts at
two sites in the Bronx, a farmers
market, supporting school
and community gardens and
providing food education.
Afterwards, Fabian commented
that he, “enjoyed speaking
with the journalism students
of Lehman College. They
seemed impressed with the
Farmer’s Market and more
specifi cally the diversity of offerings
in addition to the fresh
fruits and vegetables.”
On Aug. 17, Sherrill and
Lourdes Gamez organized a
School Supply Giveaway. The
amazing Lourdes, another
founding board member, was
able to volunteer recently for
an organization in exchange for
boxes of really cool school supplies.
Between her and Sherrill,
they coordinated a day fi lled
with activities like a crafting
table and a free yoga class for
the kids. So many people were
there for the event that we had
a line at the gate before we
opened. Families that came for
the school supplies stayed and
enjoyed the atmosphere and
shopped with our vendors. Now
that I am back from recuperation,
I have been busy harvesting
and making products while
our friends at DIG Farm are doing
the same. The fruit from our
friends at Gazy Brothers Farm
in Oxford has been delicious
and we have been selling out every
week.
My advice is to get there
early, there’s always something
going on, plus we have a nice
shade spot to sit and relax. We
have honey from City Island.
And, don’t forget to contact us
if you have vegetables or fruit
to sell. Email us at bronxfarmersmarket@
gmail.com with the
subject “I’m a Farmer.” In the
meantime, be the change you
want to see in the world.
BY FRANK VERNUCCIO
President Biden rejected
reality in his statements on
Afghanistan. In doing so, he
has followed a pattern emblematic
of the Left.
Yes, there was general
agreement about leaving
that nation, but the manner
in which it was done was incompetent,
heartless and utterly
irrational. There was
absolutely no need to abandon
American civilians, our
allies’ servicemembers and
Afghan citizens who aided
our forces, not to mention
leaving billions of dollars in
advanced weaponry to our enemies.
That’s not an opinion;
it’s fact.
That refusal to acknowledge
hard facts has become
the hallmark of the Left, not
just in foreign affairs, but
in almost all realms of discourse.
Perhaps the secondbest
example, aside from
Biden’s bizarre Afghanistan
comments, was broadcast
on TV screens last summer,
when the acts of hordes of violent
criminals burning buildings,
looting stores, invading
police stations and attacking
innocents were described as
“peaceful protests.”
There is not a single law or
regulation that permits racial
discrimination against minorities.
As the Left’s charge
of America being racist disintegrates
in the light of facts,
the Left’s response is to make
up new “facts.” A prime example:
The sheer nonsense of
the 1619 Project and Critical
Race Theory, devoid of accuracy
and thoroughly unsupported
by history, has been
rammed through the media
and educational system due
to unrelenting pressure, defi
ling the nation’s schools and
the national conversation.
There is a pattern that is
consistently followed.
Make any statement of fact
that the Left doesn’t like, and
a prompt and completely baseless
response is made alleging
that “there is no proof” or
“your facts are wrong.” When
those nonsensical allegations
fail to convince, step No. 2
is taken: censor those who
speak the truth. If that doesn’t
work, step No. 3 occurs: attack
the person, not the position.
The opposition is branded as
a warmonger, racist or other
extreme and false adjective.
If that doesn’t work, step No.
4 is taken: destroy the commentator’s
means of support,
by pressuring his employer
or sponsor to fi re or silence
the “offender” under threat of
boycott. Currently, Fox News
commentator Tucker Carlson
is the subject of this assault.
A dramatic example was
observed during the Trump
years. He bluntly exposed the
Left’s rejection of facts, and
the failures of their policies.
Rather than debate the facts
he presented, he was personally
and relentlessly attacked,
using charges that have since
been proven to be wholly false.
Why did this descent towards
demagoguery occur?
The answer lies in the very
nature of the Left’s failed beliefs,
which can very generally
be described as socialism
at home and carelessness
abroad. The two are connected.
Socialism devastates
the economy, and funds must
be found to at least delay the
inevitable bankruptcy that
follows. Those dollars, at least
for a time, are drained from
the defense budget, and the
hard-earned salaries of working
Americans.
Socialism, for more than
100 years, has failed miserably
across the globe, the latest
example being Venezuela.
The facts just don’t work
for the Left, and so they must
be silenced, denied or overlooked,
just as they deny that
their anti-middle class, antibusiness
policies are actually
socialist.
Similarly, a refusal to
stand one’s’ ground abroad,
whether by ignoring threats
or stripping assets that could
deter aggression, has failed to
stop wars or promote peace.
Appeasing Hitler in the 1930s
turned out to be a terrible
mistake, and the violence of
World War II was the result.
The Soviet Union was getting
militarily more threatening
(even as its economy
was crashing) but fortunately,
President Reagan’s “peace
through strength” initiative
prevented a third World War.
When facts are denied,
censored or ridiculed, intelligent,
civil and rational discourse
becomes impossible.
The Left’s tactics not only produce
bad policies, they divide
the nation.
CIVIC CENTER
Community Action
Civic Association
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From Councilman Mark Gjonaj
BY COUNCILMAN
MARK GJONAJ
Last week we were again
on the frontier of the city small
business legislative space in
passing a permanent commission
cap and a licensing scheme
to regulate the third-party food
delivery industry, which has
presented a challenge to the recovery
of our small business
restaurants throughout the city.
As chair of the New York City
Council’s Committee on Small
Business I am proud to stand up
to Silicon Valley and demand
fair business practices between
them and our mom-and-pop
shops.
This package of bills awaits
legislation from the mayor, and
follows on the heels of a package
also passed several weeks ago,
dictating, amongst other things,
that apps must have the consent
of restaurants they deliver
from, and provide transparency
in how they list phone numbers.
These have since been passed
into law, some becoming effective
as soon as 90 days.
On the constituent services
and community affairs side of
things, we held a town hall with
the administration, including
the Small Business Services
commissioner, to go over the
Key to NYC vaccine mandate
program in detail and fi eld any
questions from business owners,
community leaders or any
kind of stakeholder. This was a
well attended meeting and informative
not just for the community
attendees, but also for
the representatives from the administration,
who will internalize
the comments and questions
made to improve the implementation
and clarity of this program.
Throughout the week, we
will continue with services and
events in the vein of what we’ve
been providing so far this summer
— book bag giveaways, PPE
distribution and more.
For further questions or assistance
from my constituent
services staffers, please contact
me either at (718) 931-1721
or at MGjonaj@council.nyc.gov.
Thank you and continue to stay
safe.
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