BY FRANK VERNUCCIO
The United States Supreme
Court ruling temporarily
blocking enforcement of New
York Governor Cuomo’s Executive
Order restricting attendance
at houses of worship
was an appropriate recognition
of the primacy of the First
Amendment.
SCOTUS Blog reports
that “The Supreme Court …
granted requests from the
Roman Catholic Diocese of
Brooklyn and two Orthodox
Jewish synagogues to block
enforcement of a New York
executive order restricting
attendance at houses of worship.
Both the diocese and
the synagogues claimed that
the executive order violated
the right to the free exercise
of religion guaranteed by the
First Amendment, particularly
when secular businesses
in the area are allowed to remain
open….the Catholic
plaintiffs told the Supreme
Court that as a practical matter,
the order ‘effectively bars
in-person worship at affected
churches – a ‘devastating’ and
‘spiritually harmful’ burden
on the Catholic community.’
The synagogues followed on
Nov. 16. They stressed that
although they have complied
with previous COVID-19 rules,
the restrictions imposed by
Cuomo’s order preclude them
from conducting services for
all of their congregants, and
they argued that Cuomo’s order
targeted Orthodox Jewish
communities because other
Orthodox Jews had not complied
with the rules.”
Despite the fact that it was
a fi ve-to-four decision, the result
was to be expected. What
remains shocking is Governor
Cuomo’s cavalier and disdainful
attitude towards personal
freedom in general.
Andrew Cuomo has come
under intense scrutiny for the
extremity of his restrictions,
the fact that he imposed them
without benefi t of either legislative
approval or a legally
recognized authority to suspend
basic freedoms, as well
as the devastatingly bad results
of his COVID strategy.
According to the New York
Long Term Care Community
Coalition, 6,908 people died in
nursing homes from COVID.
This was primarily as a result
BRONX TIMES R 66 EPORTER, DECEMBER 18-24, 2020 BTR
of Cuomo’s bizarre and
politically-motivated decision
to place COVID patients
in those facilities housing the
most vulnerable New Yorkers.
The governor cannot claim
that this was due to hospital
overcrowding, since he failed
to take advantage of both the
U.S.S. Comfort, a medical
ship docked in NY Harbor
and the Javits Convention
Center facility. Both were set
up by the Trump administration
to house non-COVID patients
during the pandemic.
Cuomo apparently believed
that utilizing them would be
a credit to the Trump White
House, and decided to put his
partisanship above the safety
and health of his own constituents.
The governor also has
failed to acknowledge the
hysteria he helped create by
claiming the state would run
out of ventilators. As it turned
out, the Trump administration
spearheaded a drive that
produced enough ventilators
to meet all American needs,
and enough also to became
the world’s major supplier.
Rather than learn from his
tragic errors, Cuomo has doubled
down on his authoritarian
actions and has imposed a
wholly new set of restrictions
that may lead to equally terrible
results. In anticipation of
holiday travel, the Democrat
governor declared (again,
without benefi t of legislation
or a formally recognized authority)
that travelers must
obtain a COVID test within
three days of departure from
non-contiguous states. He apparently
failed to think the
concept through. The result
has been massive lines at testing
locations, where individuals
have been left to stand,
frequently for hours, close
to others who may or may
not have COVID, and may be
waiting to be tested for reasons
other than travel, including
the belief that they have
been exposed to the disease.
The threat of widespread contamination
from that process
clearly exceeds the dangers
resulting from travelling.
Cuomo’s lack of tolerance
for due process and individual
rights is matched by his
overt partisanship.
He has vowed to delay distribution
of FDA-approved
vaccines until his own committee
reviewed, and stunningly
called announcement
of the inoculation’s availability
“bad news,” because he
didn’t want it to occur until
Biden became president.
Cuomo has added another
bad decision to his already
poor record. His mandate
that out-of-state travelers receive
a COVID test upon their
return has sent thousands
of New York City residents
on long lines, out in the cold
and rain, next to individuals
who may be seeking testing
because they actually have
COVID symptoms, thereby
needlessly endangering vast
numbers.
Editor’s note: All views in
this column refl ect the author’s
opinion and should be verifi ed
by outside sources.
CIVIC CENTER
COMACTA
BY GEORGE HAVRANEK
Spencer Estate’s boundaries
of I-95, Pelham Bay Park,
Eastchester Bay and our
friendly neighbors in Country
Club are coincidental perimeters
of protection from many
problems related to high-density
development. Low-density
zoning regulations further
shield our quaint neighborhood
from direct effects of
rampant outlier vertical overdevelopment.
Our limited
commercial corridor lowers
the probability of dubious
businesses that alter a neighborhood’s
charm and character.
The Spencer Estate footprint
is logistically conducive
to fostering a fi ne quality of
life. Despite many favorable
components, our low-density
community is not immune
from the virulent pitfalls of
increased density, overpopulation
and negligent absentee
landlords.
The “As of Right” winds
have blown their disruptive
seeds into low -density enclaves
of our community. Parcels
where modest stand-alone
one or two family dwellings
once proudly stood have fallen
to investors and become sites
of higher density dwellings.
This dynamic has paved a road
for marked increases in population
and absentee landlord
investors. Many “negligent”
absentee landlords monetize
every square inch of investment
properties in low-density
areas. Illegal occupancies are
a primary money making tool
for the jackal like “negligent”
absentee landlord. The “investor
greed before community
need” attitude of the negligent
absentee landlord exacerbates
community frustrations and
increases the likelihoods of
nuisance behaviors.
Substantial increases to
environmental density and
population are being met with
severe “pandemic related”
budget cuts. These cost cutting
measures will severely
hinder city agencies, essential
services and be detrimental
to quality of life. Homeowners
already confronted with
pandemic-related fi nancial
burdens are likely to be battered
with tax increases. The
untrustworthy power brokers
of City Hall will cease this
opportunity to entice homeowners
with suspect opportunistic
gifts, which in the longterm
will be “Trojan Horses.”
One such action, “Legislation
1004”, with short-term benefi ts
and negative long-term consequences
creates a path for the
eventual demise of the lowdensity
community. Savvy
motivated power brokers will
use all their tools to increase
neighborhood density, challenge
our coveted zoning
regulations to clear the fi eld
for their mushroom fi elds of
higher density builds, a cash
crop that already plagues
many communities. Their
playbook is known; let us not
fall victim to these jackal-like
leaning allegories of greed.
Rent or own, we all have the
right to a serene, secure and
safe place to call home.
KEEP THIS PILOT
GROUNDED
Legislation 1004 that overwhelmingly
and quietly passed
the City Council was enacted
in March 2019. The legislation
established a “pilot program”
legalizing certain basement
and cellar apartments in portions
of Brooklyn. According
to City Council member
Brad Ladner (Brooklyn District
39), “Converting basement
units into safe and legal
housing is an important way
to address the NYC affordable
housing crisis…it will also enable
us…to smartly expand
the program to neighborhoods
around the city.”
All eligible homes must
be owner occupied; however,
the screening and inspection
procedure are fl awed. In
Bronx County access refusals
leaves a large number of
illegal tenancy/certifi cates of
occupancy complaints unresolved.
New York City’s unreliable
and ineffective method
of monitoring this assertive
housing plan is an enticement
to absentee landlord investors.
A scan through the NYC
ACRIS system revealed much
property ownerships in lowdensity
segments of the CB10
footprint with LLP or LLC
status. This fi nding is congruent
with marked increases in
absentee landlordism. Recent
studies by the National Institute
for Health revealed a
strong relationship between
absentee landlords and a negative
quality of life. The studies
logically concluded that
homes with absentee landlords
are more likely to be neglected
and become points of
neighborhood nuisances than
those with an owner living on
premise. Area residents must
take a proactive stance and
make it abundantly clear that
this “pilot program” will not
be granted permission to land
in our community. A unifi ed
community is a demon to the
political machine. “If we want
to keep and reap the blessings
of our fi ne quality of life we
must undergo the fatigue of
supporting it.”
Our community has traditionally
exhibited a “we are
family” attitude. Now, is the
time to let it shine through
any fog of uncertainty. 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 membership to the
inclusive Spencer Estate Civic
Association, inbox George
Havranek on Facebook or
send email to spencerestatecivic@
gmail.com. Remember:
“Inclusion brings solutions.”
Community = Common-Unity.
CIVIC CENTER
Spencer Estate Civic
Association
VISIT US AT BXTIMES.COM
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