Salamanca fi nds students in the
south Bronx still lack laptops
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR NOVVEMBER 6-12, 2020 61
On Sunday, November 1, community residents came together at Ferry
Point Park in support on President Donald Trump. Several hundred cars left
Ferry Point Park in a car caravan that met other caravans in Westchester
County.
(From left) John Cummings (candidate for the 14th Congressional District) and Bronxite
Tom Guerriero
BY JASON COHEN
After recently visiting two schools in his district, Councilman Rafael Salamanca
discovered that the digital divide still exists in the south Bronx.
On Oct. 14, he went to his alma mater, C.S. 150 at 920 E. 167th St. and was impressed
with how clean the facility was and how temperatures were taken before
coming in. However, he was told that 20 percent of the kids in attendance do
not have laptops.
Instead, families come to the school each week and pick up a package of work.
The dilemma is that some of these parents are busy at their jobs while others
lack educational skills and face language barriers.
“In essence, the kids are teaching themselves,” the councilman said.
This piqued his curiosity to see how things are at other schools. On Oct. 20,
he ventured to P.S. 75 at 984 Faile St. and found that there are 123 children waiting
for devices.
Salamanca explained that this likely means the students did not have laptops
when remote learning began in March. The councilman “gave the DOE a small
pass for students not having devices from March to June” because it was such a
new process, but right now it’s unacceptable.
“They had enough time to plan for this accordingly,” he stressed. “I view this
as the Black and brown community being ignored. I’m going to try to reach out
to as many schools as possible. The ultimate goal here is to identify the problem.”
Furthermore, every child should have a device, every year, not just during a
pandemic, he said. With a $34 billion budget, he is confused why it has taken the
DOE so long to get students laptops.
Our neighbors at 241 Longstreet Ave. the Hell’s Angels gave back to the community on Halloween,
Saturday, Oct. 31. They gave out enough candy for everyone in the community.Be
on the lookout for a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway.
(Top photo) Carl Ulzheimer stands next to his Trump-decked out truck.
Councilman Rafael Salamanca learned that students at P.S. 75 and C.S. 150 still lack laptops.
Photos courtesy of Twitter of CM Salamanca
HELL’S ANGELS GIVE BACK
Trump supporters at
Ferry Point Park