East Bronx History Forum upcoming highlights
Flea Market, March 7th
The Bedford Mosholu
Community Association is
sponsoring its annual Flea
Market.
The Flea Market will be
held on Saturday, March 7,
from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St.
Mary’s Orthodox Church,
Bedford Park Boulevard
and Decatur Avenue.
Admission is free.
The Flea Market is open
to all.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,62 FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 5, 2020 BTR
Image of books: South Bronx Battles and Through My Laughter and Tears.
Photo courtesy of East Bronx History Forum
BY GEORGE HAVRANEK
It is time to bring the ‘M’
word into community conversations.
The M’word is absent
of vitriol; however, it relays
strong messages to nefarious
investors that prey upon our
communities. The M word is
moratorium, the legal temporary
prohibition of certain
activities. It is evident that
moratoriums on As-of-Right
buildings must be enacted to
improve our quality of life in
our community.
Real estate developments
through As-of-Right regulations
are critical components
in the quality of life equation.
As-of-Right developments are
not subjected to reviews by
community boards or City
Planning Commissions or
City Council. As-of-Right development,
absent of public
hearings, allows investors/developers
in compliance with
all applicable zonings codes
to forge ahead with projects
in an expeditious fashion. The
concept of As-of-Right is to
speed up the legal processes
to relieve the burdens of the
supposed NYC housing crisis.
However, massive over-developments
continue in our communities
without a ‘ready-now
clientele’ and common sense
increases to essential services.
Developer friendly, As-of-
Right building regulations
have created unsightly mushroom
fi elds of vertical buildings.
These substantial increases
to environmental
density and population have
been greeted with unwarranted
cuts to essential services
including the losses of
police personnel in local precincts.
As-of-Right development
has negatively affected
our education system. A rash
of new housing developments
have occurred in severely over
crowded school districts without
plans to accommodate the
anticipated deluge of new students.
It is no surprise the current
four-year graduation rate for
Bronx public high school students
remains sub-standard.
The abuse of As-of-Right
builds by greedy investors
and inaction by our city offi -
cials has severely burdened
every aspect of our community’s
infrastructure and essential
services. The spirit of
the As-of Right development
is well intentioned. However,
when continuously utilized
in stressed communities the
intentions become at best
questionable and at worst unethical.
The time has come
to place a moratorium on unimpeded
As-of Right developments.
This pause is needed
to properly analyze and assess
the state of our community
with the hope of elevating our
quality of life.
Cease and desist is a regulation
designed to protect homeowners
from unwanted
real estate solicitations. Technological
advancements have
created new pathways for unscrupulous
investors to prey
upon our communities. The
old method of wallpapering
a neighborhood with cash offers
to buy homes has been
replaced by computer generated
phone calls, text messages,
and encrypted e-mails.
This new dynamic makes it
impossible for individuals to
properly document, detail,
and report all unwanted solicitations.
Due to this dramatic
change, the option to enroll in
a Cease and Desist program
should be available to homeowners
of 1- to 4-family dwellings.
The stroke of a pen can
turn a warehouse into high
rises or service homes; that
same pen can easily make a
cease and desist option available
to every homeowner. We
ask area residents to bring
all unwanted real estate solicitations
to our Wednesday,
March 18 meeting. In this circumstance
inclusion is the
proper solution.
Political leaders to gauge a
community’s strength use the
attendances at local civic association
meetings. Large turnouts
by community residents
show elected offi cials that we
have the fortitude and resolve
needed to confront adversity.
The initial 2020 meeting of
the Spencer Estate Civic Association
is Wednesday, March
18, 7:30 p.m., at the Knights of
Columbus (corner of Ampere
and Research avenues) Our
scheduled keynote speaker is
valued friend, Councilman
Mark Gjonaj. Any area homeowner
or renter interested
in membership to the all inclusive
Spencer Estate Civic
Association in box George
Havranek on Facebook or
send-email to spencerestatecivic@
gmail.com
Remember: ‘Inclusion
brings solutions.’
All Bronx residents are invited
to attend a community
conversation to learn about the
potential impact of legalized
marijuana in NYS. Come hear
from experts in the fi eld who
will share the latest research
and from a local medical addiction
physician who will share
his experiences. The event is
sponsored by several Bronx
community coalitions. A special
thank you to our elected
offi cials who will be attending
this town hall and participating
in the conversation. All
are welcome: Friday, February
28, Hunts Point Library,
877 Southern Boulevard, 3:30 - 5
p.m. RSVP https://adapp.org/
event/town-hall-bx-community
prevention-coalitions!
BY THOMAS X. CASEY
The Huntington Free Library and
Reading Room announces the East
Bronx History Forum will hold its
146th meeting on Wednesday, March
4 at 7:30 p.m. at the City Island Historical
Society and Museum. All meetings
are free and open to the public.
We will meet at 190 Fordham Street.
Call (718) 885-0008 for additional information.
This meeting has been set during
Women’s History Month and two
Bronx authors, Carolyn McLaughlin
and Annette Stanzione, will be featured.
Since 1968, McLaughlin has used
her vast, diverse experience living
and working in the Bronx to write:
‘South Bronx Battles: Stories of Resistance,
Resilience and Renewal’. As
its executive director, she was instrumental
in expanding the two-person
Bronx Works non-profi t organization
during her three decades of service.
From a storefront on the Grand Concourse
to 23 locations, a staff of 600,
helping 35,000 people a year is a part
of the story where the community
members had a huge role in bringing
the south Bronx back to where it is today.
The ‘South Bronx Battles’ is told
by the voices of more than 100 people
and takes the reader on a journey
from the once burned-out neighborhoods
to today and explains how its
residents fought to retake their community.
Stanzione authored ‘Through My
Laughter and Tears’, a book about
humor and gravitas as she wends her
way through triumphs and diffi culties.
Stanzione reveals that you do
not have to be a movie star or famous,
just being born into a Catholic-Italian
family in Throggs Neck, in the 1950s
gives you the tools and insights to
overcome anything that comes your
way. Annette relays anecdotes from
her childhood to her fi rst job working
for the FBI, getting married, divorced
and raising two daughters, and returning
home to the Bronx, still looking
for love. McLaughlin and Stanzione
will have books available for sale
and signing.
FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION CALL (718) 260-4593
/
link
link
/gmail.com
/
