Message from Councilman Mark Gjonaj
Temple Hatikva celebrates Purim and Shabbat
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,50 FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 5, 2020 BTR
COUNCILMAN MARK GJONAJ
Temple Hatikva will be celebrating
Purim, on Sunday,
March 8, at 10 a.m., when Cantor
Kyle Cherry will chant the
traditional Reading of the Megillah.,
in place of its regularly
scheduled Adult Education session.
Purim, is one of the most
joyous holidays on the Jewish
calendar, commemorating a
time when the Jewish people
of ancient Persia were saved
from extermination through
the bravery of a young Jewess
named Esther, whose bravery
inspired The Book of Esther,
one of the books of the Old Testament.
The usual bagel breakfast,
sponsored by the Shalom Funeral
Home, will be supplemented
by hamantaschen, the
traditional triangular fruitfi
lled cookies in the shape of
Haman’s three-cornered hat,
generously donated by the
Bronx Jewish Community
Council.
At synagogues throughout
the world, congregants will
hear the Purim story through
the reading of the Megillah.
Those attending on Sunday,
March 8 are encouraged to follow
Jewish tradition by coming
in costume.
Bring an unopened box of
Kosher dry pasta to be used as
a grogger, the traditional Purim
noisemaker used to drown
out the name of Haman, the
evil villain in the Purim story,
whenever it is mentioned during
the reading. Haman’s plot
to destroy the Jews is central to
the Purim story,
Additional donations of
other Kosher non-perishable
food items, such as canned
fruit, vegetables and soup, are
welcome on both March 8, and
also at Temple Hatikva’s Friday,
March 13, Shabbat service,
as Temple Hatikva’s annual
Purim Food Drive to benefi t
the Bronx Jewish Community
Council’s food pantry, which
services the entire Pelham
Parkway community. The
BJCC’s food pantry is the largest
in the East Bronx, distributing
over 2,400 food packages
each month. Each package includes
enough food for three
meals for three days for three
people.
Hamantaschen will also be
served at the Kiddush following
the Shabbat of Consideration
service, which will begin
at 7:30 p.m. on March 13.
“Throughout our history,
Hashem has helped us to overcome
all obstacles in our path
through time,” said Cantor
Cherry. “Purim is a wonderful
example of how His plan
carries us through, even when
He seems absent from events.
There is no denying that it is
His blessing that inspires such
fi gures as Esther and Mordecai
to take action and save our
people from such evil men as
Haman. And it is upon such
blessings that we stop to give
consideration, to discover the
nature of this and bring it to
bear on our own lives and present
circumstances. We can all
be heroes and stand in the way
of evildoers! We need only accept
the blessings of the spirit
which Hashem has bestowed
upon us.”
All community residents
seeking a welcoming atmosphere
in which to learn more
about and connect to Judaism
are welcome at Temple Hatikva,
regardless of their level
of knowledge and expertise.
The modern/traditional services
are chanted in both Hebrew
and English, and Adult
Education sessions explore
various aspects of Judaic customs
and practices.
The synagogue is located
at Bronx House, 990 Pelham
Parkway South. For more information,
call (917) 819-2456,
or email TempleHatikva@aol.
com, or on the web at www.
TempleHatikva.com.
BY STEVEN GLOSSER
The Pelham Parkway
Neighborhood Association
held its monthly community
meeting at Bronx House
on Tuesday February 11. Our
special guest was Joseph Ottomanelli,
Community Affairs
Liaison for NYC Department of
Sanitation. It was very well attended.
First off there were announcements
from all our local
offi cials representatives and
chiefs of staff. Then Mr Ottomanelli
gave his presentation
to the audience. As you already
know that starting March 1 in
New York state there is a plastic
bag ban. Single use plastic
carryout bags are banned,
with limited exceptions in New
York State. Businesses will begin
collecting a fi ve cent fee on
paper carry out bags. This fee
will not apply to any customers
using SNAP or WIC.To learn
more and get a free reusable
bag please visit nyc.gov/bags.
Ottomanelli spoke about the
various rules and regulations
for residents and landlords to
follow to avoid fi nes. Please prepare
collection at the correct
time. Keep waste in heavy duty
securely tied bags or covered
bins. All trash and recycling
should be placed curbside in
front of your building between
4 p.m. and midnight the night
before your regularly scheduled
collection day. Residential
and personal trash should
never be placed in or beside
corner litter basket. Be sure to
regularly clean your sidewalk
areas extending 18 inches into
the street.
After a winter storm remove
snow and ice to create
a path that’s at least four feet
wide.Property owners must
keep their sidewalks clear.
Don’t move it into the street
.Also clear space around fi re
hydrants,catch basins and pedestrian
ramps, and sidewalk
corner ramps. Pre-snow salting
is allowed. Fully encase
mattresses and box springs
within a sealed plastic bag
when placed out for collection.
This helps reduce the spreading
of bed bugs.Make sure your
dog is on a leash no more than
six feet long. Clean up after
your dog and do not have them
relieve themselves on public
or private property to avoid
spreading of diseases. Please
be sure to recycle.All residents
in New York City are required
to recycle metal, glass, plastic,
beverage cartons paper and
cardboard.Organic materials,
soiled paper, yard waste, and
food scraps, are collected, curbside
in certain districts.
After the presentation Ottomanelli
took questions and
issues from the audience.One
of our attendees suggested placing
‘No Dumping’ signs under
the subway at Lydig and Brady
and Muliner and Matthews.
Both these sites have been a notorious
dumping ground. The
sanitation police are closely
monitoring both locations for
illegal dumping. If caught the
perpetrators will face heavy
fi nes. Another bad spot brought
up was P.S. 105 .
The PPNA thanks Ottomanelli
for his excellent and informative
presentation. There
were also free informative
handouts and reusable bags
given out to the attendees.
The PPNA works daily and
year round to improve the
quality of life and safety in Pelham
Parkway. Please follow
us and like us on Facebook for
all current happenings in the
neighborhood. We can always
be reached by email at pelhamparkwayNA@
gmail.com. The
next meeting of the PPNA will
be on Tuesday, March 10 at
Bronx House located at 990 Pelham
Parkway South. All meetings
start at 7:15 p.m.. The next
meeting we have booked representatives
from the NYC Department
of Health.
Save the date: On Thursday,
May 14 starting at 6 p.m.
the PPNA will be holding its
2020 Fund Raiser Dinner at
the Pines Restaurant located
at 1913 Bronxdale Avenue. This
year we are honoring Assemblywoman
Nathalia Fernandez,
Laura Guerriero publisher
of the Bronx Times and
the Jewish Community Council
of Pelham Parkway. Please
join us for a great evening of
celebration for the individuals
and organizations who have
made a positive impact on our
community. Further details
are on PPNA Facebook page.
Get involved in your community.
It’s time.
Small businesses are the backbone of
our communities. To protect small business,
and in particular our local restaurants,
I have drafted and introduced
legislation that will make third-party
delivery apps engage with restaurants
on more equal terms. The standard
practice for many third-party delivery
apps is to charge high commission fees
to their partnering restaurants. These
fees often cut so far into the orders that
there is hardly any profi t for small businesses
to even make, despite them feeling
compelled to participate in this service
to meet customer demand. This is
unsustainable for any small business
and local restaurant, and something
needs to be done in order to protect our
brick-and-mortar, mom-and-pop shops
and eateries. That is why I have taken it
upon myself, as chair of the NYC Council’s
Small Business Committee, to do
something about it.
These laws I am introducing to the
City Council intend to regulate their behavior
by demanding that they become
licensed with the city, and that their
commission fees to restaurants are limited,
amongst other things. Co-sponsoring
some of this legislation, alongside
myself, is Councilmember Francisco
Moya of Queens. I am encouraged by the
support of my colleagues in the Council
that are joining me in our fi ght to protect
small business under attack.
I am no enemy of technology and innovation,
but I am certainly opposed to
technology that harms our small business
and engages in unfair business
practices. I envision a realistic and attainable
business relationship wherein
these tech companies and our local restaurants
operate together in harmony. I
want New York City to continue to be an
attractive destination for the fast-growing
and exciting tech industry.
I will continue to fi ght for small businesses
here in my District in the Bronx,
and in NYC communities everywhere.
To comment on the matter, or for any
further questions, please feel free to contact
my district offi ce at (718) 931-1721 or
MGjonaj@council.nyc.gov. Thank you
for your support.
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