letters & comments
Legalization of marijuana needs a workable framework
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, NOVEMBER 1 BTR 5-21, 2019 13
as stated
BTR
Put mentally
ill on Rikers Is.
Dear editor,
The governor and mayor
of New York make no sense
in closing Rikers Island and
building four smaller jails
throughout the boroughs. Rikers
prison is situated in the
safest place.
Supposedly it will cost millions
of dollars to close and
move these prisoners to the
four boroughs; renovating the
jails would be a wiser move.
We have a large number of
homeless people on the streets
of New York who are mentally
ill and deserve to be hospitalized.
The extra land on the island
should be used for a hospital.
MLK’s message
disregarded
Dear editor,
It was disappointing to read
that the Bronx Times Reporter
espouses identity politics and
race-based appointments in
regard to Dermot Shea’s ascendancy
to the position of
Police Commissioner. No longer
do we look for the best and
brightest - now it’s necessary
to have a person who “looks
like us.” What does that even
mean?
Whom is he supposed to
look like - black, Latino, Dominican,
Albanian, Greek - or
any of the other hundreds of
ethnic immigrant groups in
this city.
Should the population of
every precinct refl ect the exact
demographics of the precincts?
That would be virtually
impossible, but I am sure
some people would think it’s a
great idea. As a matter of fact,
Dermot Shea isn’t from the
county in Ireland where my
ancestors came from. Should
I be miffed?
We celebrate Dr. Martin
Luther King every year
for his profound words - that
people be judged by the content
of their character and not
the color of their skin. I often
wonder when we decided to
discard that message.
Marion M. Cronin
Hopefully, common sense
will win out and the taxpayer
will be happy knowing
their tax dollars will be spent
wisely.
Dorothy Jennings
op ed
BY RAYBBLIN VARGAS,
ADVOCACY COORDINATOR,
GREEN WORKER COOPERATIVES
Borough President Ruben
Diaz, Jr. recently outlined
recommendations to coincide
with New York’s eventual legalization
of recreational
marijuana through the framework
of the MRTA. His action
showed powerful leadership
by focusing in on the multiple
layers of reform needed to
center equity and justice once
marijuana is legalized.
By following his proposal,
New York can be a leader in
disrupting enforcement practices
that have selectively
targeted low-income communities
of color. Communities
that have been disproportionately
affected by past marijuana
criminalization should
be the fi rst to see the benefi ts
of legalization.
Growing up in Washington
Heights during the height
of the crack epidemic, I saw
fi rsthand the impact of broken
windows policing. My
fi ve-block neighborhood was
ground zero for arrests. Many
of the men I grew up with still
don’t have jobs, disempowered
by a judicial and economic
system that penalized them
for the entirety of their lives.
The consequences of dealing
with substance use and
crime reverberate through
lifetimes and even generations.
Legalizing marijuana
offers us a platform to do right
by communities like Washington
Heights, the south Bronx,
Brownsville, East Harlem and
others targeted by the war on
drugs, with policies like Diaz’s
included to ensure they aren’t
left out economically.
Diaz’s plan includes community
reinvestment, with
a signifi cant portion of the
revenue from legalization returned
to impacted communities
in the form of grants or set
aside for credit unions so that
they can fi nance small business
loans. This is important
to ensure fair access to banking
services when many large
banks will not work with marijuana
based businesses. Diaz
also proposes that the state
should enact a licensing system
so that small businesses
and those owned by directly
impacted people are able to
participate in the industry
and are not boxed out by large,
out-of-state companies.
These policy ideas can all
strengthen the growth of cooperative
businesses, which
have been largely successful
in New York City and are excellent
economic engines to
create jobs and keep those jobs
local.
Co-ops provide a way for
many of those affected by the
war on drugs, including lowincome
individuals without
formal education or those
with criminal records, to enter
the industry and fi nd success.
Worker-owners of a co-op
can pool resources, train each
other and grow their business
together, and that growth can
be tremendous. Look at the
1,700 worker-owners of Cooperative
Home Care Associates
in the Bronx, which began
with only a handful of people
in the 1980s. Today it is one
of the largest worker-owned
cooperatives in the nation,
training over 600 low-income
women annually to provide
home care to elderly or disabled
New Yorkers.
Moreover, co-op dollars
stay in the community, rather
than being taken out of state
or being infl uenced by shareholders.
While marijuana legalization
is vastly popular, we
must be able to look past just
legalization. Diaz has numerous
ideas of how New York
can make legalization work to
the benefi t of the communities
harmed by its war on drugs in
the past. These policies will
enable solutions like co-ops,
proven models to lift communities
out of poverty, to grow.
Before the bill is reconsidered
in Albany at the beginning
of 2020, our legislators
must take a long, hard look at
these provisions that promote
equity, access and economic
well-being for all New Yorkers
as necessary components of legalization.
On behalf of all the men
I grew up with who’ve been
stripped of their ability to gain
meaningful employment because
of harassment from the
criminal legal system, I want
restitution for my community.
Ensuring that Albany moves
forward with legalization that
contains the important provisions
in the MRTA and those
that Diaz proposed can simultaneously
make marijuana reform
a platform for economic
empowerment and community
investment.
This week’s As Stated addresses
the mayor’s support of
a mandatory bike helmet requirement,
the recent shooting
of an innocent 14-year-old and
a salute to our veterans on the
100th anniversary of Veterans
Day.
Statement by Transportation
Alternatives executive director
Danny Harris on Mayor
de Blasio’s comments in support
of a mandatory bike helmet requirement
in New York City .....
“We are concerned that Mayor
de Blasio has — once again —
given airtime to the false and
counterproductive idea that
mandatory helmet laws help
make streets safer. The mayor
said .... the National Transportation
Safety Board was ‘pushing
us in the right direction’
by recommending that all 50
states make bike helmet use
mandatory.
“The mayor has made Vision
Zero a priority and, in so
doing, has increased the number
of New Yorkers who ride
bikes to 1.6 million and elevated
Citi Bike trips to 10 million
a year.
“Transportation Alternatives
encourages helmet use on
a voluntary basis, but we stand
fi rmly against mandating their
use by adults under force of
law. If the mayor insists on taking
cues from a federal agency,
he should heed the NTSB’s call
to improve roadway infrastructure
for bicyclists.”
Councilman Fernando
Cabrera’s statement on the
shooting of a14-year-old On Jerome
Avenue..... “I’m dismayed
and saddened by the shooting
that wounded a 14 year-old
child on Jerome Avenue yesterday.
This incident just reminds
us that the job of ending gun
violence continues. However,
we must be inspired by the
tremendous progress we have
been made in reducing gun violence
and other crimes in District
14.
“Since I took offi ce in 2010,
crime in my district has substantially
– by more than 50%.
The Cure Violence Program
just recently expanded into
the Kingsbridge Road area and
given this program’s track record
of success nationally and
in other parts of District 14, we
can expect good results.
“Since taking offi ce I have
provided $7.6 million dollars
in capital, discretionary and
initiative funding, including
police cameras, Cure Violence
and other programs. I pray
for a complete recovery for the
child who was needlessly injured
and remain committed to
ending gun violence.”
Assemblyman Michael A
Blake’s statement for Veterans
Day...... “On the 100th anniversary
of Veterans Day, I would
like to express my gratitude for
our veterans and for the sacrifi
ces that they have made in
service of our nation.
“As the brother of a veteran
and as a member of the Assembly’s
Veterans Affairs Committee,
I believe, on a deeply personal
level, that we all must
take time during this important
day to contemplate and to
appreciate the sacrifi ces that
our service members and their
families have made and continue
to make in defense of our
country and its ideals. Whether
you served during the Vietnam
War or recently returned from
a deployment, we are grateful
for you putting the country
fi rst. When returning from
service, we need to continually
work for our veterans to have
quality jobs, access to fast, affordable
and excellent medical
care, and access to homes and
transitional support.
“This holiday also serves as
a reminder to continue working
every day to improve the
democracy that our military
members dedicate themselves
to protecting. I hope that we
may all fi nd the inspiration to
keep building a society worthy
of these sacrifi ces.”