CB11 did the
right thing with
its handling of
White Plains
Road shelter
proposal
To the Editor,
On Feb. 3, when Bronx Community
Board 11 held its inperson
public hearing on the
2028 White Plains Road single,
adult male-only homeless shelter,
members of the public complained
about the timing of the
hearing; they complained about
a lack of notification. In other
words, the community was upset
that they weren’t notified about
the shelter immediately after
CB11 was in October 2021.
When CB11 Chairman Albert
D’Angelo told the angry crowd of
120 members of the public, “You
think this would have made anymore
difference if we met in October?”
one gentleman, who was
against the shelter, immediately
responded: “Yes, with petitions
being signed.”
Petitions mean nothing to an
administration unwilling to listen.
In the fall of 2002, for example,
I — along with thousands of
others — signed a petition called
“No attack Iraq.” Then, in February
2003, millions of people
around the world combined in
the largest example of collective
action in history to protest
against the impending U.S.-led
war on Iraq.
Did it matter? As an active
member of the Army National
Guard, I found myself in the unenviable
position of celebrating
my birthday by crossing over
the Kuwaiti border in the turret
of a U.S. military Humvee at
dusk into what would become a
14-month-long deployment to an
unforgiving land. All because of
intransigent leadership.
Toward the end of CB11’s February
2022 public hearing, Mr.
D’Angelo said, “The reason we
made the decision to delay a
meeting and thereby notification
regarding the White Plains Road
homeless shelter — and I told
you this earlier — … is we felt
that the new mayor coming into
office would be more amenable
to stopping the shelter. We knew
that the former mayor would not
have done it. … If this thing
dies, then you’re going to turn
around and say, ‘Okay, you guys
made the right decision,’ right?”
“No, we won’t,” said a woman
who was against the shelter.
OK, she may not say CB11
made the right decision now that
the city has pulled the plug on
White Plains Road, but based on
my experience with the George
W. Bush administration (and de
Blasio’s), I know that CB11 did
the right thing. This is not to
deny the determined efforts of
countless individuals and CB11’s
elected officials — most notably
the borough president, Assemblymember
Nathalia Fernandez,
Councilmember Oswald Feliz,
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio
Cortez, and present and past
City Council members of the 13th
District.
Jeremy Warneke,
Community Board 11
district manager
13
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, MARCH 25-31, 2022
BXR
Our Lady of the Assumption
Senior Bingo Group will be celebrating
spring on Tuesday, April
13, from 12:30 p.m.-3 p.m. in the
Church Hall. After two years of
the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s time
to celebrate. We will be having
food, wine, beer, sodas, lemonade,
Easter desserts, cookies and much
more. There will also be raffles,
50/50’s and prizes. Tickets for OLA
members are $10; non-members
$12. Tickets must be purchased by
Tuesday, April 6. No payment will
be accepted at the door. Call Fran
Arico at 718-828-5073. There are
also just nine more seats available
for the April 20 bus rise to Wind
Creek Casino, in Pennsylvania.
To the Editor,
Child care. It’s an absolute
necessity for families and it
should be high quality, affordable
and accessible to all. I’m a
mom of two boys under the age
of 5, and I can say from personal
experience that what should be
and what is are far, far apart.
The lack of quality, affordable
child care in my neighborhood
is a major challenge for my
family and so many others.
I feel lucky to have found a
spot for my oldest in a pre-K
program that’s relatively affordable,
but the costs still add
up. Finding child care for my
youngest has been incredibly
difficult. Most programs are
way outside our budget. But
even if we could pay, finding an
open spot at a quality program
is a huge challenge. There
aren’t many options in the
10469 area of the Bronx where
I live, and the majority of child
care programs don’t align with
my working hours. That makes
it nearly impossible for me to
get to work or pick up my kids
on time.
And with many programs
closing due to the challenges
created by the pandemic, the
child care shortage is only getting
worse.
I finally enrolled my youngest
in a day care that works
well for us, but it has a tuition
rate of $340 per week to $1,360
per month. We are just above
the income limit to qualify
for child care vouchers, so we
have no choice but to pay out of
pocket; after all, we need child
care to keep our jobs. But the
high cost makes it hard for us
to keep up with other bills and
impossible to save for emergencies.
At the same time, most
child care providers aren’t
paid living wages.
Our child care system is
broken and has been for a
long time. I’m proud to fight
for change and as a member of
MomsRising, I’m urging Gov.
Kathy Hochul and our New
York state lawmakers to invest
at least $5 billion needed to finally
Photo courtesy Getty Images
get our state on the path
to the universal child care we
need. Working families are
counting on all our elected
leaders to stand up for us and
invest in child care, so children,
families and businesses
can thrive.
Stephanie Blake
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
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 e-mail, MUST be signed and with a
verifiable 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.
letters & comments
On Friday, March 18, the city announced it was not moving forward with its plan
to construct a 200-bed shelter at the corner of White Plains Road and Bronxdale
Avenue. Photo | Adrian Childress
It’s time to fix
our broken child
care system in
this state
OLA seniors to celebrate
return of spring
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