CIVIC CENTER
Throggs Neck Home
Owners Association
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M BTR MAR. 11-17, 2022 37
BY MARY JANE MUSANO
Spring is almost here. And
that means we will be resuming
our civic association meetings.
We have been working
very hard over the winter and
now it’s time for you to join us
in trying to keep our community
viable, low density and
safe. It’s an election year and
very often that means we have
a greater chance of actually
getting something done.
As you know, casting an
educated vote has always been
critical, but now it is even
more important. To that end,
we have invited state Assemblyman
Michael Benedetto
and state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi,
who are campaigning
for offi ce to join us at one of
our meetings before the June
primary. We will let you know
their response, hopefully, by
the next column.
Our new Councilmember
Marjorie Velázquez will be
joining us for our May meeting.
It will be interesting to
hear her plans to keep our
community low density, safe
and clean. We have a lot of
work to do.
Our next meeting will be
on March 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the
First Lutheran Church on Hollywood
and Baisley avenues.
Please stay tuned to learn who
our guest speaker will be.
BRUCKNER
UPZONING UPDATE
Bruckner Associates, LLC,
will soon be applying for precertifi
cation for the huge project
they are proposing for our
community. In short, they propose
to upzone the area from
Foodtown on Bruckner Boulevard
and Crosby Avenue down
to Gifford Avenue and into a
portion of Tremont Avenue. If
they succeed, they will be able
to build 34 huge buildings,
which are out of character and
out of the current zoning for
our community. Their plans
begin with four big buildings
that, if built, will decimate
our community, injecting
more than 1,000 new residents
and an untold amount of cars.
It will affect our fi re and police
departments, as they are
already overburdened with
increasing overdevelopment.
Our schools will be negatively
affected, as we already have
large classes and overcrowded
schools. Parking will become
worse, and so will the environmental
stress. Our infrastructure
cannot handle what
we have now as evidenced by
the severe fl ooding during
storms. Hospitals are at the
breaking point. They cannot
even care for the patients they
have now. Adding thousands
more creates a very dangerous
healthcare situation for
all of us. In short, we do not
have the services to support
an upzoning. It will change
our community and our quality
of life forever.
We must fi ght this with everything
we have and get every
person that has a vote in
this on board and committed
to supporting us.
HERE’S WHAT YOU
CAN DO:
1. Attend our civic meetings
for updates and news on
ways you can help.
2. Write or call the offi ce
of Councilmember Marjorie
Velázquez and ask her to vote
no on the Bruckner upzoning
proposal. Ask her to garner
the support of her colleagues
on the City Council. You can
reach her at 718 931-1721 or district13@
council.nyc.gov0
.3. Write or call the offi ce
of Borough President Vanessa
Gibson. She can be reached
at 718 590-3500 or webmail@
bronxbp.nyc.gov. Ask our new
borough president to vote no
on the proposed Bruckner upzoning.
4. Write to Mayor Eric
Adams. He can be reached by
postal mail at City Hall, New
York, NY 10007. If you go to his
website there is a form for an
online message. Ask that he
vote no on the Bruckner upzoning.
5. Write to Daniel Garodnick,
chair of City Planning.
He can be reached at the
Department of City Planning,
120 Broadway, 31st fl oor, New
York, NY 10271. Ask him to
preserve our downzoning by
voting no on the Bruckner upzoning
proposal.
The pre-certifi cation of
this proposal will take place
sometime after March 14.
When that takes place, the
ULURP procedure clock
starts. The next step will be
for Communiy Board 10 to
hold a public hearing. They
have 60 days to do this. That
meeting must be very well attended
as the board will hear
the community and then render
a vote. This is the most
important time to have your
voice heard. When the date for
the meeting is set it will be announced
publicly so that every
person in our community has
a chance to voice their opinion.
We must come out in huge
numbers so that everyone involved
knows that we want
our low-density status to remain.
Our safety and quality
of life depends on defeating
the Bruckner upzoning.
Please make a special effort
to come to our next meeting.
Bring a neighbor with
you.
CIVIC CENTER
Waterbury-LaSalle
Association
BY GEORGE HAVRANEK
Thanks to the benevolence
of Pastor Dave and Living
Manna Church, the Spencer
Estate Civic Association
has found a new home. Living
Manna Church is located on Research
Avenue, mere steps away
from former longtime meeting
spot the Knights of Columbus.
To avoid confl ict with church
activity, the traditional third
Wednesday meeting slot will
change to the fourth Tuesday of
the month. The inaugural 2022
Spencer Estate Civic meeting
will occur Tuesday, March 22 at
7:30 p.m. With sincere gratitude,
we are pleased to announce our
confi rmed keynote speaker is
NYPD Capt. Isaac Soberal and
the 45th Precinct team. Deep appreciation
and thanks to Pastor
Dave for his unwavering commitment
to our community.
Heartfelt thanks to the Guiding
Star Council-Knights of Columbus
for their past years of dedication
to Spencer Estate Civic
Association; may they have the
best of luck in future endeavors.
Civic associations: A community
need
The political climate indicates
unifi ed civic organizations
are integral for community success.
Unwanted and unnecessary
occurrences throughout
many communities are harsh reminders
that former problems,
those seemingly resolved issues,
often resurrect. Our communities
rely upon local elected
offi cials to procure the needed
and stave off the unwanted. In
the past, their staunch support
was a product of strong relationships
built on trust and their
eagerness to recognize community
needs. Now, political climate
change places our once
lush relationship landscapes in
dire need of cultivation. Our intentions
are to develop healthy
productive relationships with
every local offi cial and agency
head. However, it takes a robust
community and unifi ed civic associations
to garner political attention
and support. Political
support is essential for developing
community enhancing relationships.
Bear in mind, political
support does not guarantee
victory; however, a lack of political
support ensures defeat. “To
the victor belongs the spoils”
is the axiom of countless politicians
standing tall in the winners’
circle. People must unite,
political spoils should never soil
our communities. If we want to
keep and reap the blessings of
our fi ne quality of life, we must
endure the fatigue of supporting
it. Remember: Community
= common-unity and inclusion
brings solutions.
Did you know?
Bronx County remains the
only NYC borough without a
dedicated NYPD harbor unit.
The sounds of summer, unimpeded
low frequency thumps
of bass from irksome rouge waterway
nightclubs can travel 1
mile in under 6 seconds. Noises
emanating from our waters
and increased ferry commuting
strengthens Bronx County’s
case for a dedicated harbor unit.
The 1954 Johnson Amendment
prohibits 501c-3 organizations
from “directly or indirectly
participating in, or
intervening in, any political
campaign on behalf of or in opposition
to any candidate for
public offi ce.” In accordance
with both law and tradition,
Spencer Estate Civic Association
will perform civic obligations
through unbiased, intracommunity
education on policy
positions. While refraining
from candidate endorsements
our association will examine
candidate policies and assess
their community effects.
Spencer Estate’s R3A Low
Density Zoning designation is
the community’s best defense
against rampant, uncontrolled
overdevelopment. The NYC political
machine continues to attack
our low-density enclaves
through upzonings and virulent
as of right development. Our
nearby Schuylerville neighbors
are in a fi ght to preserve their
Low Density Growth Management
Area along Bruckner Boulevard.
The Bruckner upzone,
aka Food Town project, will
soon go before City Planning
and the ever-vigilant Bronx
Community Board 10. Contact
Bronx CB10 at 718-892-1161 for
updates. A simple, factual statement:
Lose your zoning, lose
your community.
Our community has traditionally
exhibited a “We are
Family attitude.” Now is the
time to let it shine. Communicate;
make that phone call, text
message or e-mail. Please check
on family, friends and neighbors,
especially the elderly and
vulnerable. Any area homeowner
or renter interested in
the Spencer Estate Civic Association
attend our March 22 meeting
or send an email to spencerestatecivic@
gmail.com.
CIVIC CENTER
Spencer Estate Civic
Association
BY LYNN GERBINO
Hello all! It’s fi nally time
to remove the cobwebs and
get ready for another season
of Throggs Neck Homeowners
meeting.
Our next meeting will be
held on Tuesday, March 29,
at 7 p.m. at the beautiful Villa
Barone Manor. We are lucky
to have a wonderful guest
speaker, Jill Cornell, from the
offi ce of NYC Emergency Management.
Cornell gave a great
presentation at the Throggs
Neck Merchants Association,
and she will give a repeat performance
at our meeting.In
light of what is happening in
this world, it is important for
us to get involved and work
together for a common cause.
Our board hopes you will save
the date and join us. Coffee
will be brewing!Dues are due
… new members are most welcome.
To join or renew your
membership, please send a
check for $15 to: Throggs Neck
Homeowners Association, PO
Box 25, Throggs Neck Station,
Bronx, New York, 10465.I did
receive word that the MTA is
removing certain bus stops
around the community and
we are trying to see what
can be done about it. Hang
tight!Message us on Facebook
at Throggs Neck Homeowners
Association or leave a message
at 718-823-0327.
VISIT US AT BXTIMES.COM
/council.nyc.gov
link
link
link
link
/bronxbp.nyc.gov
/gmail.com
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