— is tearing our country
bias. If you have a political
point to make, make it in the
editorial section of your paper.
It is not the job of the media
or educators to shape our
opinion, their job is to present
the facts so we can make our
own informed decisions.
The latest move to enhance
a political agenda in New
York City is the City Council’s
who migrated to
the United States and became
part of the American fabric by
becoming citizens, view the
right to vote as precious and
a privilege. Allowing non-citizens
the right to vote diminishes
the pride that new citizens
have worked so hard to
achieve. Any council member
who votes for this bill should
be removed from offi ce because
they are approving this
bill strictly for political gain,
which will further divide our
nation.
NYC City Hall building with lights at night in Lower Manhattan, New York
City. Photo courtesy Getty
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D BTR EC. 17-23, 2021 51
BY AL D’ANGELO
The United States is a
house divided. We have allowed
media and political
pundits to shape our thinking.
Why is it we never hear the
name Martin Luther King Jr.
anymore? Was he not radical
enough? Was he not divisive
enough?
President Biden ran as the
great uniter, yet his rush to
judgment in racially charged
cases has done the complete
opposite. Offi cials must lead
by example; you can’t say a
man is innocent until proven
guilty and then use the political
stage and social media
to do the exact opposite. The
Jussie Smollett case is a perfect
BY MARY JANE MUSANO
Our community has something
big to celebrate! Due to
the generosity of the members
of our community we were
able to retain one of the best
attorneys in the country. Richard
J. Lippes and his associates
will now be representing
us in our effort to defeat the
proposed Bruckner upzoning.
Mr. Lippes has more than 50
years of experience in land
example. Both the president
and vice president took
to the airwaves along with the
Hollywood elites and many
in the news media praising
Smollett. Many went so far as
to tie Trump supporters to the
attack. This is one of many
instances where a political
party and a complicit media
rush to judgment, further dividing
our country.
Racism is abhorrent to
most of the people in this nation
and using it for political
gain is criminal. The Kyle
Rittenhouse case is another
example of political and media
bias. The young man was
excoriated by political leaders
and the media for weeks
before the facts were known.
Once the verdict came in
there was very little coverage.
Their rush to judgment is going
to make this young man
very wealthy when he sues
for defamation of character as
did Nicholas Sandman. The
double standard in this country
— mostly by the news media
use and zoning and he has
worked on cases in 22 states.
He is particularly well suited
apart. Report the news without
attempt to allow non-citizens
voting rights. Many immigrants,
to work on our issue as he is
an environmentalist that has
worked on world renowned
cases, such as the Love Canal.
With the guidance of Mr. Lippes,
we are in a much greater
position to win. Everyone
working on this issue would
like to extend their sincere
gratitude to every person that
donated money or time as this
could not have been done without
you.
There is more good news.
Recently, we met with City
Councilwoman-elect Marjorie
Velázquez. She was gracious
as she reiterated her support
on this issue. I believe that
she is very aware of that fact
that our community does not
have the services to support
this upzoning and for that
reason I believe that we can
count on her continued support.
We have many other issues
to work on with her and
she is interested in hearing
our concerns. We are working
to have her as a guest speaker
at an upcoming Waterbury La-
Salle Community Association
meeting.
Our next civic meeting will
be on Dec. 28 at 7:30 p.m. at
the Lutheran Church on Hollywood
and Baisley avenues.
We have asked Capt. Isaac Soberal
of the 45th Precinct to attend
our meeting along with
some of his staff. There is also
the possibility that Councilwoman
elect Velázquez will
stop by. It should be a very informative
meeting. Because
this meeting falls between
Christmas and New Year’s,
we have much to celebrate so
please be sure to attend.
If you have not sent in your
dues, please do so today. Also,
if you have not donated to the
GoFundMe page that has been
set up to defeat the Bruckner
upzoning please consider doing
so. We are now a 501c3, so
your donations are tax deductible.
You can send your dues
to 1145 Hobart Ave. If you are
sending a check to defeat the
upzoning, please make it out
to Bronx Coalition Against
Upzoning and send it to the
same address. If you cannot
donate but still want to help,
we ask that you volunteer to
get signatures on our petition.
A huge showing of signatures
goes a long way to convincing
local elected offi cials to
support us. We need as many
signatures as we can get and
we need your help to get this
done. You can call me for petitions
718 792-6385 or you can
stop by John Cerini’s offi ce
(Bronx Tax Man) on Tremont
Avenue for petitions.
Protestors rally against a proposal that would create multi-family units along Bruckner Boulevard.
Photo Adrian Childress
You have a problem with
the bail reform laws, we voted
for the people who passed
those laws. You have a problem
with non-citizens voting,
we voted for those members
of the City Council who
passed that law. You don’t
like what our elected offi -
cials are doing, well the only
way to remove them is to vote.
Party shouldn’t matter; you
should vote for the person
who is most closely aligned
with your thinking. Sitting
home complaining will never
change a thing, only your vote
can make a difference.
CIVIC CENTER
Morris Park Civic
Association
CIVIC CENTER
Waterbury-LaSalle
Association
CIVIC CENTER
Pelham Parkway
Neighborhood
Association
BY STEVEN GLOSSER
The Pelham Parkway
Neighborhood Association
in partnership with Pelham
Parkway Vision are cosponsoring
a Holiday Toy
Giveaway to the children in
the Pelham Parkway community
on Saturday, Dec.
18 starting at 1 p.m., at 731
Lydig Ave. The giveaway is
while supplies last. Children
must be accompanied by an
adult or guardian. Happy
Holidays.