op ed BTR letters & comments
Do as I say,
not as I do
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, JANUARY 3 BTR 1-FEBRUARY 6, 2020 13
Blocking
hydrants What can make a
Bronx boom go bust Dear editor,
Anarchy rules. The residents
of the Bronx are experiencing
the rising tide of anarchy
as motorists use cones to
reserve parking spaces on our
residential streets.
Taylor Avenue between
Westchester Avenue and Watson
Avenue is a particular
neighborhood where transient
drivers bully their way by
placing cones to reserve parking
space while we the homeowners
suffer the indignity of
these motorists who brazenly
block our driveways by parking
in plain sight of our legally
parked cars.
Even when we telephone the
43rd Precinct it never comes
out to issue tickets to these
brazen scoffl aw drivers who
deliberately block our driveways
overnight then drive off
with mocking disdain when
we publicly shame them .
Their curt reply says it all:
“Go ahead call the cops, they
won’t show up anyhow!” They
drive off only to repeat their
abusive behavior again the following
night.
Blocking fi re hydrants is
the new normal.
Last September, 2019, I had
a telephone conversation in
which Bronx DOT Commissioner.
We discussed my deep
concerns about the anarchy
pervading our neighborhoods,
especially how motorists
block fi re hydrants by parking
at them for the day and even
overnight, with impunity.
The commissioner listened,
we had a conversation that
lasted over 20 minutes, and
still nothing resulted from the
telephone call.
Franck LaBoy
BY LIZ NEUMARK
GREAT PERFORMANCES
Critics have demonized the
city and state’s investment
in commercial tax incentive
programs with Amazon as
their sole example. However,
these programs have created
a climate where investing
in relocation, rehabilitation,
and expansion in every
borough can help small businesses
take root. The boom
that neighborhoods across
the city have benefi tted from
could quickly become a bust
if commercial incentive programs
fall by the wayside.
The reality is that these
tax incentive programs have
been a critical piece of New
York City and State’s economic
development strategy
to incredible results. They
have enabled hundreds of
businesses of all sizes to relocate,
expand, and create new
jobs. These investments have
made New York more attractive
for businesses and residents
alike.
I would know — my business
is one of them. I never
would have been able to expand
without the help of commercial
incentives and that
expansion has enabled many
other additional benefi ts to
the community at large as
well.
Based in the Bronx, I
founded Great Performances
as a waitress staffi ng agency
with the goal of offering a
fl exible source of income for
women in the arts. Progressive
from the start, we consistently
set the pace for industry
best practices. Our
success allowed us to also
establish Katchkie Farm in
2006, becoming the nation’s
fi rst caterer to own and operate
an organic farm; and
create The Sylvia Center in
2007 to inspire young people
and their families to establish
independent healthy eating
habits — so that they may
lead healthy and productive
lives. Katchkie Farm CSAs
nourish families across the
fi ve boroughs with organic
produce. We’re dedicated to
our clients, our employees,
and our community.
Most recently, we’ve expanded
from 25,000 square
foot space, to 45,000 square
feet. We’re on track for tremendous
growth, including
the projected addition of 200
new jobs over the next fi ve
years. This recent expansion
wouldn’t have been possible
without The Relocation
and Employment Assistance
Program (REAP) or the Industrial
and Commercial
Abatement Program — key
commercial tax incentive
programs opponents want to
end.
These incentives promotes
job growth and hiring
in areas outside of Manhattan’s
traditional central
business districts. Based on
the most recent data available,
it has helped to create
or retain 11,000 jobs. Great
Performances is one of approximately
200 businesses
utilizing REAP.
In 2019, my business was
one of 1,200 across New York
City that used ICAP to build
or rehabilitate commercial,
industrial, or mixed-use
structures. 88% of recipients
expanded to spaces under
50,000 square feet.
Letting these vital programs
expire could dismantle
the years of investment
made by the City and State
(and many businesses) in
growing the NYC economy.
Local business owners like
me want to continue bringing
good jobs to this city — to ensure
we can, these programs
must be renewed.
I chose the Bronx because
of its accessibility, promise
for growth and workforce capacity,
and welcoming community.
I wanted Great Performances
to be part of the
awakening that’s taking
place here.
Without REAP or ICAP,
the step to expand would have
been an enormous reach. It’s
the sort of investment small
businesses in New York need
to grow. Thankfully, we are
able to take this step and be
part of the Bronx’s boom.
Maintaining the commercial
tax incentives that our
elected offi cials have created
will help us ensure the continued
success of the Bronx
and other areas outside of
midtown Manhattan. Strong
neighborhoods that can survive
economic headwinds are
essential to creating a stronger,
better city.
Federal term
limits needed
Dear editor,
U.S. Senators and members
of Congress are fearful of
taking principled stands that
might be politically costly;
they are afraid to take positions
that might threaten
their reelection prospects,
they hope to remain in offi ce
indefi nitely. The result is a
failure to lead, a dereliction of
duty, a betrayal of their oath of
offi ce.
This attitude is a serious
impediment to the ‘people’s
business’ actually getting
done. Federal term limits are
an overdue remedy that would
signifi cantly reduce much of
the rot that currently infects
the Legislative branch. If a
President can only serve two
terms why can members of
Congress serve for decades?
Why not limit Senators to two
terms in offi ce and Representatives
to fi ve terms in offi ce,
twelve years and ten years respectively?
Pasqual Pelosi
Dear editor,
NYC Comptroller and
2021 mayoral wanna-be Scott
Stringer’s recent letter to NYC
Transit President Andy Byford,
inquiring about the large
number of closed entrances
and passageways, including
what the MTA’s plan is to reopen
them, reveals nothing we
did not already know.
With record NYC Transit
subway ridership, everyone
acknowledges it is time to revisit
the closed entrances and
passageways to numerous stations
over past decades. According
to a past 2015 NYC
Citizens Budget Commission
report, it will take until 2067
for all 471 NYC Transit Subway
Stations to reach a state
of good repair. It has always
been a question of fi nding
funding to reopen many of the
119 subway station entrances
and passageways closed during
the late 1970’s. This decision
was based on a combination
of declining ridership,
along with security and safety
concerns. There is insuffi -
cient funding under the NYC
Transit Capital Stations Program
contained within the $51
billion MTA 2015 - 2019 Five
Year Capital Program to support
this work. Mayor Bill de
Blasio is withholding $3.5 billion
from the MTA that would
help fi nance the new $51 billion
plan. Does Stringer agree
with de Blasio? Will he do the
same if elected Mayor in 2021?
Some of these funds would be
needed to pay for reopening
the very same entrances and
passageways that Stringer
mentions in his letter.
Why not ask any major
business, business improvement
district, college or hospital
who benefi t from subway
stations adjacent to their
facility to sponsor reopening
entrances and passageways?
How about also installing elevators
to bring more stations
into compliance with
the Americans with Disabilities
Act? Let them split the
cost 50% with the MTA NYC
Transit in exchange for naming
rights to the reopened entrances,
passageways or installation
of new elevators.
Never shy around a camera
or microphone, Stringer
will continue issuing a series
of useless audits and reports,
including those critical of the
MTA and various municipal
agencies. What he will not tell
you is that he travels around
town by car with driver and
police security detail rather
than a bus or subway. Unlike
the millions of New Yorkers,
he doesn’t own a Metro Card
or use public transportation
on a daily basis. Do as I say, not
as I do is his motto. With term
limits, Stringer is just another
term limited career politician
using the perks of his current
position while seeking another
public offi ce.
Larry Penner
Letters to the editor are welcome from all
readers. They should be addressed care of this
newspaper to Laura Guerriero, Publisher, the
Bronx Times Reporter, 3604 E. Tremont Ave.,
Bronx, NY 10465, or e-mail to bronxtimes@cnglocal.
com.
All letters, including those submitted via email,
MUST be signed and with a verifi able address
and telephone number included.
Note that the address and telephone number
will NOT be published and the name will be
published or withheld upon request.
No unsigned letters can be accepted for publication.
The editor reserves the right to edit all submissions.
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