BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR SEPT. 24-30, 2021 13
letters & comments
To the Editor,
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber
proudly proclaiming that
subway riders have returned
in record numbers is a glass
still half full. Will 60,000-plus
new Long Island Railroad riders
utilize the future $11.2 billion
East Side Access Grand
Central Terminal upon opening
in December 2022? How
many years will it will take
before 5 million-plus pre-COVID
19 commuters return to
the nation’s largest subway
system? How many years will
it take before returning to
pre-COVID-19 ridership numbers
for NYC Transit (bus),
Staten Island Railway, Long
Island and Metro-North railroads?
How many more years
will pass, before ridership increases
beyond pre-COVID-19
numbers? More people are
Photo Adrian Childress
A Metro-North train at Grand Central station. File photo
going to continue telecommuting
from home part or
full time. There will be fewer
face-to-face meetings and conferences,
with increased use
of Zoom and other teleconference
technologies. Many Manhattan
based corporations
are downsizing existing offi ce
space. Others are relocating
employees to suburban offi ces
closer to home.
The MTA should invest fi -
nancial resources on state of
good repair and safety projects
rather than initiating
new system expansion projects
such as the $6.9 billion
Second Avenue Subway Phase
2 or the $1.6 billion Metro-
North Bronx East Penn Station
Access. There is still
much to be done in dealing
with fare evasion, homeless
people, crime, frequent service
disruptions due to fl ooding,
signal or other operational
problems along with a
backlog worth of tens of billions
in long overdue state of
good repair projects.
Larry Penner
To the Editor,
On Saturday morning I
received a phone call from
one of our civic association
members. She is 93 years
old and patronizes Super
Foodtown on Bruckner and
Crosby avenues. Although
she would prefer to shop
elsewhere because she feels
that the Bruckner upzoning
would decimate our community,
she cannot as she does
not drive.
She was quite upset as she
told me how she was treated
at Foodtown. She is known
there as she has been a customer
since they opened their
doors in our community.She
told me that the manager
with the bald head came over
to her and said, “You were at
the protests.” He pointed to
the bag of water bottles she
brought with her to return
for deposit and proceeded to
tell her that the bottles were
dirty and he would not accept
them. He did not look in
the bag so he could not have
known if they were clean or
dirty. Then he proceeded to
lead her to the door and said,
“You can leave.”
In a burst of bravery she
told him she was not ready to
leave. She walked around the
store trying to get her composure,
and hold back the anger
and tears. Then she left when
she was ready.
I wanted to let our community
know that a manager/
share owner who would
prey on a 93-year-old woman
would also prey on a community
— our community. That
is exactly what the principals
of this upzoning proposal are
doing. They are not trying
to improve our community.
They are trying to line their
pockets.
Please let this awful incident
shed light on who we are
dealing with. Fight back. Do
not let them prey on our wonderful
community.
Mary Jane Musano
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
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.
To the Editor,
The outrage of the last
column “Biden caving to
small, radical minority” is
directed against federal efforts
to counteract the avalanche
of voter suppression
legislation sponsored by Republican
lawmakers in their
effort to maintain minority
rule. The angry author used
phrases like “authoritarian
impulses” to denigrate politicians
seeking to ensure that
American citizens do not
lose their most sacred right
— the right to vote. Unmentioned
was the reason for this
federal action, the blatant
attempt by Republican-led
state legislatures to limit access
to the ballot box by those
more likely to favor the opposition.
The author referenced
a poll where, he alleges, 71%
of the respondents were concerned
about voting by mail,
but he failed to identify the organization
which conducted
this phantom poll, if it actually
exists. A cursory internet
search reveals a University
of Maryland and Washington
Post poll where 73% of respondents
favored mail in voting.
Another example of the intellectual
dishonesty of the hardright
columnist.
As if the above were not
enough to reveal the extreme
bias of the author, he also mischaracterizes
the motivation
behind the Green New Deal
program. The science-denying
columnist portrays this
initiative as a “power grab”
rather than an action necessary
to prevent further environmental
damage and enable
humanity to survive on planet
Earth.
Pasqual Pelosi
From Councilman Mark Gjonaj
BY MARK GJONJ
On Monday, the city administration initiated the
FAIRER (Fines and Interest Reduction Enabling Recovery)
Program, as mandated by the law I had passed earlier in
the summer to protect small businesses.
From Sept. 20-Dec. 20, eligible persons who had a judgment
entered and incurred no default penalty after March
7, 2020, and June 20, 2021, can see as much as 75% of fi nes
levied by the Environmental Control Board (ECB) reduced.
If a person did not receive a default penalty but the judgment
was entered before March 7, 2020, they are eligible for
a 25% reduction. And fi nally, persons that did not attend
the hearing and received a default penalty, must pay the default
penalty and interest. To assess your reduction eligibility
and if deemed eligible, apply for a reduction by visiting
https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-03455.
The FAIRER Program will go a long way to reducing
the fi nancial burden on our small businesses, who have
suffered tremendously during the pandemic due to operational
limitations and falls in customer traffi c. As chair of
the council’s Committee on Small Business, I look for any
way to make sure petty burdens from city agencies that can
accumulate and effectively nickel-and-dime small businesses
into closure, are reduced to the greatest extent possible.
Following the conclusion of this fi ne amnesty program,
a long-term bill, of which I was also a proud co-prime
sponsor, will become effective law: completely overhauling
hundreds of city fi nes and regulations to be more business
friendly, serving more as guidance than undue punishment.
For questions, comments or assistance with the FAIRER
Program, please contact my district offi ce at either MGjonaj@
council.nyc.gov or at (718) 931-1721. Thank you and
stay safe. It is my pleasure to serve the members of Council
District 13.
/?kanumber=KA-03455
/council.nyc.gov
link
