NEBA 20th Anniversary
BY MARK SAPLICKI
In August 2000 the Northeast
Bronx Association Corporation
was formed to preserve
and improve the quality of life
and promote harmony within
the community. We are a nonprofi
t, volunteer-based organization
consisting of concerned
residents. This was due to the
vision of one man, Vinny Prezioso
and the support of a handful
of dedicated volunteers.
Vinny retired from business
in 1996 whereupon he became
involved in community service.
He was appointed to Community
Board 11 in 1996 and served
as fi rst vice chairman from 2000
to 2010. He founded the Northeast
Bronx Association in 2000
and continues as its president
and executive director. He also
served as an offi cer of the 49th
Precinct Community Council
from 2001 to 2005.
As the driving force behind
the Northeast Bronx Association,
Vinny has signifi cantly improved
the quality of life in the
Pelham Gardens/Eastchester
sections of the Bronx. He developed
a good rapport with every
commanding offi cer of the
49th Precinct since 1996 and
earned their respect and admiration.
One of the reasons for
this was the establishment of
the NEBA Civilian Mobile Patrol,
which has been instrumental
in providing information to
the NYPD resulting in the arrest
of those who would violate our
neighborhood.
NEBA has been the recipient
of many awards under Vinny’s
leadership including: Awards
for Excellence (Crime Fighting)
from the NY State Attorney General;
Certifi cates of Appreciation
from three Bronx Borough Presidents;
Citations and Certifi cates
of Merit from various NY State
assembly members; Community
Service Award from the Jewish
Community Council of Pelham
Parkway; Certifi cates of Recognition
from various NY state senators;
Certifi cate of Appreciation
from the 49th Precinct Explorers;
and various commendations
from the NYPD.
Due to Vinny’s foresight and
oversight the following NEBA
programs were established and
continue to this day: food, clothing
and toy drives for the needy;
Seniors Day Out; security for
Holy Rosary street processions;
Crime Alert Program; youth programs
with the NY Yankees and
Con Edison; Corporate Neighbor
Program; support for 49th
Precinct Explorers; support for
the local Cub Scout Pack 162.
These programs could not exist
without the support of our
elected representatives, so
Vinny made it his business to
develop a good relationship with
all of them, regardless of political
affi liation, and to enlist their
support for NEBA programs to
benefi t the community.
In addition, Vinny is always
in the forefront of any issues facing
our community. Some of the
concerns he has been involved
with through NEBA include:
the disposition and security of
the Gun Hill Road Mall and the
struggle to bring a food market
to it; the disposition of the golf
range; school safety at I.S. 144;
Home Depot dumping; I.S. 144
playground protest and restoration;
MTA bus violations; Burns
Playground establishment and
security; Beachwood Homes
violations correction and storm
damage issues; blood donations
program; Shopping cart retrievals;
Gun Hill Road and subway
safety concerns; school bus violations;
911 Call center protest
and monitoring; home improvement
scams exposed.
It should be noted that you
will never hear Vinny take personal
credit for anything he accomplishes;
rather he gives the
credit to those who assist or support
him in these endeavors.
Vinny’s accomplishments
with CB 11 would warrant a
book. Just a few of the projects
he has been involved with
include: garbage dumping at
Home Depot; issues related to
the confl ict at Pelham Parkway
horse stable; rezoning to prevent
developer abuses; dirty
water problems in Pelham Gardens;
abandoned homes on
Seymour Avenue; fi ght to save
Columbus High School; water
billing protests; assisting homeowners
after sewage backups;
rally to save express buses;
Gun Hill Road Golf Center issues;
and the resurrection of
the 20-year-old Pelham Parkway
reconstruction project.
Next meeting: Monday January
27, at 7:30 p.m., Kings Harbor
MultiCare Center, East Gun
Hill Road at Stillwell Avenue
(use the main entrance).
Representatives from the
49th Precinct; Assemblywoman
Nathalia Fernandez and Councilman
Mark Gjonaj are usually
present.
Eastchester Gardens
Trailer Park
Many residents of the Eastchester
Gardens section have
complained about the volume
of tractor-trailers parked illegally
overnight, especially within the
vicinity of Eastchester and Gun
Hill roads. Here is the link to
the NYC Department of Transportation
regulations regarding
commercialvehicles:https://
www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/
motorist/parktruck.shtml.: street
storage of commercial vehicles
prohibited; when parking is not
otherwise restricted, no person
shall park a commercial vehicle
in any area, including a residential
area, in excess of three
hours; nighttime parking of commercial
vehicles prohibited; no
person shall park a commercial
vehicle on a residential street,
between the hours of 9 p.m. and
5 a.m.; and in the case when a
commercial vehicle is parked in
violation of this rule, the burden
of proof is placed on the person
who received the summons, to
prove that he or she was actively
engaged in business at the time
the summons was issued at a
premises located within three
city blocks of where the summons
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,54 JANUARY 24-30, 2020 BTR
was issued (this paragraph
shall not apply to vehicles
owned or operated by gas or oil
heat suppliers or gas or oil heat
systems maintenance companies,
the agents or employees
thereof, or any public utility).
So now the question is: What
can we do? NEBA has already
contacted Jeremy Warneke the
district manager of CB 11 and
Frano Zagreda who sits on the
Transportation Committee.
They have reached out to Vinny
Allard the district superintendent
of the NYC Department of
Sanitation, who has informed us
that his team will be stepping up
enforcement of these illegally
parked trucks. What can you
do? Report any illegally parked
commercial vehicles to 3-1-1.
Try to get a plate number and
the exact location. Remember,
the more complaints they receive
the more likely it is we will
get a response.
‘Twas the Season
NEBA Food Drive
As we have done every year,
NEBA delivered fresh turkeys
and coordinated a collection
of non-perishable foods for the
needy.
St. Lucy’s Food Pantry
As he has consistently done
in the past, our long-time friend
Joe McManus contributed to
feed the needy, by donating a
large quantity of fresh turkeys
this Thanksgiving. I would be
remiss not to mention that his
wife Debbie is the driving force
behind this. (See Debbie, Joe is
not such a turkey after all) Many
thanks to our friend Frank Restagno
who delivers the turkeys
to the food pantry. May God
bless them and their families.
Oblate Sisters of
the Blessed Trinity
We are grateful to our Assemblywoman
Fernandez for
donating fresh turkeys for distribution
to those in need by the
Oblate Sisters.
Although the AARP group
has disbanded, those who were
members continue to support
this program with generous donations
of non-perishable food
items, coordinated by Louise
Restagno and Janice Shapiro
and distributed by Oblate Sisters
of the Blessed Trinity. And how
fortunate it is that the seniors
club of Holy Rosary Church has
partnered with NEBA in this effort.
The seniors give generously
every year to this cause.
The sisters’ apostolic mission
is working with the poor and
homeless and evangelization.
NEBA is grateful and humbled
by the charity shown by all involved
in this project. May God
bless you all.
NEBA Toy Drive
The Northeast Bronx Association
and Einstein Hospital
again sponsored Toys for
Tots to benefi t the Einstein Children’s
Evaluation and Rehabilitation
Center and the Department
of Psychiatry’s Wellness
Center. We appealed to everyone
to donate unwrapped toys
for children ages infant to 12
years old, who might not otherwise
receive such gifts. NEBA
collected the gifts through our
Seniors groups. Einstein and
its young patients are grateful
for the toy donations received
from the previous members of
the AARP seniors club and the
seniors club of Holy Rosary
church. We are also thankful
for Igino (Eugene) DiPaolo who
makes signifi cant contributions
to this program every year. The
children are our future, so we
thank all who contributed.
Note: If you are a senior who
wishes to join the Seniors Club
of Holy Rosary Church, please
contact Mary Ann Piti maryapaint@
aol.com or (718) 653-4222.
Puerto Rico Relief
Our Assemblywoman Fernandez
is coordinating Earthquake
Relief for our brothers
and sisters in Puerto Rico.
Please contact Forhad Rahman
O: (718) 409-0109; F: (718) 409-
0431.
The deadline for dropping off
supplies at their offi ce 2018 Williamsbridge
Road is Friday January
24.
Please pay attention to
the specifi c supplies being requested
(feminine hygiene, diapers,
baby formula, non-perishable
canned goods, bottle
water, batteries, tents, sleeping
bags, no clothing.)
You may also wish to donate
to http://hispanicfederation.org
for earthquake relief.
May God bless and watch
over all those affected by this
tragedy and may He inspire others
to reach out to help them,
amen.
From Da Prez…
BY VINCENT PREZIOSO
We Are Grateful
For Our Supporters
On Saturda,y December 14,
the Northeast Bronx Association
held its annual volunteer
appreciation luncheon at Fratelli
Restaurant. The food and service
were wonderful, and everyone
enjoyed themselves. We
gather to give thanks to the active
members of NEBA for their
efforts. They give their time in
order to make this organization
a success, by regularly attend
our meetings and bring various
concerns to our attention in the
true spirit of ‘neighbors watching
out for neighbors’. Our members
also assist NEBA in helping the
needy, by consistently donating
food for the needy and toys for
children who might not otherwise
receive gifts at Christmas
or Chanukah.
On behalf of our entire organization
and in the spirit of the
New Year, we would once again
like to give thanks to our key fi -
nancial supporters. Thank you,
Councilman Gjonaj, and thank
you Borough President Ruben
Diaz. They are the reason we
can produce our programs and
not charge dues to our members.
Thanks to Assemblywoman
Fernandez for donating
turkeys for the poor on Thanksgiving.
We are also fortunate to have
wonderful corporate neighbors.
Kings Harbor MultiCare Center
has been a sponsor for NEBA
since our inception, thanks to
Morris Tanenbaum, and Alexander
Stern. We are also grateful
for the District Manager of
our Community Board 11, Jeremy
Warnake, and his wonderful
staff.
The quality of life in our community
is a direct result of the
constant commitment and hard
work of the men and woman
of the 49th precinct, under the
leadership of Captain Andrew
Natiw. They have maintained
our community as one of the
safest in the City. Special mention
to our Community Affairs
Offi cer Detective Jay Sturdivant;
Crime Prevention Offi cer
Tyrone Mederos; who attend
our monthly meetings. It proves
that when we all work together
to fi nd solutions to our problems,
everybody wins.
We are truly blessed to have
such wonderful supporters and
we wish all a Happy New Year.
New Year Resolution?
The Northeast Bronx Association
was formed to preserve
and improve the quality of life
and promote harmony within
the community. We are a nonprofi
t, volunteer-based organization
consisting of concerned
residents. It costs you nothing
to join, however the benefi ts can
be signifi cant. You will become
more aware concerns that affect
our quality of life and have input
on community affairs. All you
need to do is attend our monthly
meetings. Our motto is ‘neighbors
watching out for neighbors’
– shouldn’t it be your motto as
well?
NEBA Meeting Schedule
The Northeast Bronx Association
sponsors meetings open
to all residents of our community.
The meetings are scheduled
for the last Monday of each
month, (unless there is a holiday).
The location al all meetings
is Kings Harbor MultiCare
Center 2000 E. Gun Hill Road
(at Stillwell Avenue) and begin
at 7:30 p.m.
Here is the meeting schedule
for 2020: Monday, January
27; Monday, February 24; Monday
March 30; Monday, April 27;
Monday, May 18 (because the
last Monday is Memorial Day);
Monday, June 29; no meeting or
newsletter in July; no meeting or
newsletter in August; Monday,
September 28; Monday, October
26; Monday, November 30;
no meeting or newsletter in December.
Members are notifi ed
of meetings during the week
prior to the meeting by copy of
this newsletter via USPS and/
or by the email address you provide
us.
If a meeting is cancelled, we
will notify you by email or text
message or phone call (if you
provided us with that information).
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