City Island Road PPhoto courtesy Google
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D BTR EC. 10-16, 2021 53
BY JOHN DOYLE
Every day, as you leave
our community, we pass two
ghost bikes and a roadside
memorial within the Rodman’s
Neck Circle. These
monuments are to remember
the lives lost due to the unsafe
conditions that exist in
Pelham Bay Park and serve
as a constant reminder of neglect
by city agencies toward
our community. Over the
past few months, our group
has been working closely
with Transportation Alternatives
and state Sen. Alessandra
Biaggi to make Pelham
Bay Park safer for motorists,
pedestrians, bicyclists, and
of course, the deer and wildlife
that make their home
within this natural setting.
A walkthrough of all parties
with the NYC Department of
Transportation (DOT) took
place in August. It’s important
BY GEORGE HAVRANEK
Our ineffi cient ability to
promptly identify and assess
situational need disrupts societal
equilibrium. These disruptions
foster imbalance,
which leads to quality of life
effecting tipping points.
Recent upticks in nuisance
and criminal behaviors are
related to lack of foresights
and highlights the imperfections
of humankind. Broken
windows theory and implementation
of subsequent policies
serves as example. “Broken
windows” is based on a
hypothesis suggesting unaddressed
visible signs of crime,
maladaptive behaviors and
civil-social disorder foster
neighborhood decline. Decades
ago, steady streams of
uncontrollable crime brought
fi xated focus on broken windows
theory. Research analysis
implied aggressive policing
methods were needed to
reduce high levels of ungovernable
crime. Perhaps, the
need for stop-and-frisk methods
to control widespread
crime was warranted for limited
periods. However, failure
to amend aggressive police
policy at appropriate
times led to unsustainable
prolonged use of intense law
enforcement methods. The
lack of foresight to implement
timely modifi cations to stopand
frisk led to states of intolerance
and noticeable tipping
points.
Newton’s third law of motion:
“For every action in nature
there is an equal and
opposite reaction.” Law enforcement
policies and related
legislations have resulted in
continual volleys of action
and reaction. There is sequential
linkage between high
crime rates, broken windows
theory/stop-and-frisk policing,
lower crime rates, 2015
criminal justice reforms, current
bail/discovery reforms,
2020 police policy reform, and
recent spikes in nuisance and
criminal behaviors. A major
fl aw, is our continued inability
to accurately recognize
points of needed intervention.
It is clear, quality of life effecting
nuisance and criminal behaviors
are primary community
concerns. It is time for
lawmakers to institute commonsense
middle ground reforms
that promote quality of
life along with faith in law enforcement
and fairness in our
criminal justice system. Lawmakers
craft the laws which
law enforcement and society
must abide. Therefore, lawmakers
have undeniable accountabilities
for the undue
stress and strain that accompanies
ongoing neighborhood
degradations. Emotion-laden
dubious decisions turned
our communities into playgrounds
for disrespectful lawbreakers.
tipping points that
changes these dysfunctional
playgrounds into amusement
parks for respectable lawabiding
citizens is imminent.
Effective policy is fair, balanced
and sustainable. If not,
prepare for tipping points and
continuances of unsustainable
actions and reactions
synonymous with Newton’s
third law.
Our community has traditionally
exhibited a “We are
Family attitude.” Communicate,
make that phone call,
text message or email. Please
check on family, friends and
neighbors especially the elderly
and vulnerable. Any
area homeowner or renter
interested in the Spencer Estate
Civic Association attend
our next meeting Wednesday,
Dec. 15 7:30 p.m. at the Knights
of Columbus or send an email
to spencerestatecivic@gmail.
com.
R e m e m b e r :
Community=Common-Unity
and Inclusion brings Solutions
CIVIC CENTER
Spencer Estate Civic
Association
to keep in mind these
problems have been years in
the making, and will not be
solved overnight. That being
said, we have made progress
on several fronts:
NYC DOT has pledged
commitments: approving additional
speed limit signs,
wrong-way signs, deer signs,
the refurbishment of the
pavement markings throughout
the entry/exit ways of the
park and greenway, and — fi -
nally — railings to protect pedestrians
and cyclists on the
Pelham Bridge. Additionally,
the “No U-Turn” signs that
used to be off the ramp to the
Hutchinson River Parkway
have been reinstalled.
A number of requests are
still under consideration including
street light repairs,
a potential redesign of the
Hutchinson River Parkway’s
on/off ramps, installation of
kwick curbs (plastic barriers
similar to what has been installed
at the Rodman’s Neck
Circle), and actuated signals
at several pedestrian/bicycle
crossings. Finally, we have
persistently pushed for protected
bike lanes on the City
Island Bridge itself and for
the previous barriers to be
reinstalled. During our walkthrough,
one of the attendees
noted that the roadways
are in such poor condition
because the roads are in the
jurisdiction of the Parks Department
and not DOT. As
a result, our roadways are
substandard with continuously
large potholes, other
depressions, poor irrigation
and catch basins, as well as
an electrical system for lighting
that is in constant need
of repair. This may soon require
a transfer of jurisdiction
to properly address these
issues and is also currently
being examined by DOT. We
hope to see you all at our next
meeting and wish each of you
a happy holiday season, even
if you celebrate no holiday at
all. May we all use this time
to recharge our energy, refl
ect on our actions, and continue
our collective efforts to
improve the community we
all call home.
CIVIC CENTER
City Island Rising
BY TONY SALIMBENE
Hope everyone is OK during
this new pandemic variant.
Remember protections
and protocols.
As of now, we still have
our annual Family Christmas
Party at American Turners
NY, right after our third Sunday
December post meeting.
Members may bring a guest.
Nothing much to add. Keep
communicating with your
teams and activity groups.
Remember prayers and assistance
for our members not
feeling well.Until Next Time:
“You can’t go back and change
the beginning, but you start
again and change the ending.”
C.S.Lewis
CIVIC CENTER
Korony Post 253
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