Celebrating School Safety Agents
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A BTR PR. 9-15, 2021 13
op-ed
BY COUNCILMAN
MARK GJONAJ
Following the nationwide
trend of state legalization of
recreational marijuana, it
is not a great surprise that
eventually New York State
would eventually join it.
This is a change we should,
however, remain cautious of.
Proponents of recreational
marijuana usage often point
to additional state and city
revenue accrued from newlyminted
cannabis industry
as justifying its existence,
but these numbers may be
overstated. And even so, any
additional revenue is often
outweighed by health consequences,
or more measurably,
the cost to taxpayers of
ensuring regulation, marijuana
related addiction services
and the noted uptick in
automobile accidents.
With recreational legalization,
as we have seen in
the states where it has been
legalized for several years
now, dispensaries begin to
crop up. In our neighborhoods,
near our schools and
children, the mere existence
of marijuana dispensaries,
even if they are legally precluded
from selling to youth,
create more opportunities
for teens and children to get
their hands on these drugs.
The data bears this out too. In
states where cannabis is recreationally
legal, the rate of
adolescent use in those states
exceeds those of states where
it is not legal. What’s more,
cannabis use has a deleterious
effect on the cognitive development
of youth. Negative
alterations to memory, processing
speed and more are
known to occur.
The increased accessibility
of marijuana also presents
another potential problem:
a path or gateway to
harder drugs. Marijuana,
despite what some may say,
is addictive and exacerbates
existing health problems. In
some vulnerable individuals,
the marijuana “high”
may whet their appetite for
even greater highs, seeking
out drugs that damage their
health more profoundly and
present a greater effect on
the community.
For these reasons, we as
a community must consider
the consequences of this state
legalization for our borough.
We have a duty to protect
our children and the most
vulnerable. For concerns
about state cannabis policy,
or any other related matter,
please contact my offi ce at either
MGjonaj@council.nyc.
gov or at (718) 931-1721.
BY LEONARDO COELLO, PARENT
What if I told you there
were people with superpowers
that have walked the halls
of our public schools for decades?
Yes, super (s)heroes that
put on a uniform everyday,
with nothing but the intention
of helping to save the lives of
our children.
Poor black and brown lives
being saved everyday with no
fanfare, no recognition, these
(s)heroes have worked their
super powers without anyone
in the community knowing…
and with what seems like no
appreciation.
Who are these special people
you might ask…just our
friendly neighborhood School
Safety Agents!
My name is Leonardo
Coello. Lifelong New Yorker,
and a proud product of the
New York City public school
system. It really pains me to
see how our School Safety
Agents are being used for political
gamesmanship.
The majority of these special
individuals that put on the
blue School Safety Uniform
are people of minority descent
who approach their duties and
responsibilities with the utmost
dedication and responsibility.
From checking visitor identifi
cation, to doing regular
sweeps of the building, questioning
a lost child, checking
all exits and entry ways, these
(s)heroic agents of safety are
the fi rst line of defense when it
comes to the lives of our children,
as well as the staff in every
public school building.
Possessing no weapons,
they are prepared to put their
lives on the line and in This
era of school shootings, it’s
more than most of us would
even consider doing.
Today, the biggest threat
ISN’T an active shooter or
gang related activities, it’s
falling victim to the political
rhetoric that has no true understanding
of the importance
of School Safety Agents.
Many of these (s)heroes
have survived knife attacks
but now are in jeopardy of
succumbing to budget slashing.
They go to work everyday
unarmed but can’t avoid the
shots taken at them by local
politicians in order to appease
a political agenda.
As a parent of two sons
who attend public high school
here in NYC, I can’t imagine
a school
building without a School
Safety Agent. Knowing so
many Agents during my time
as a student and as a father
of public school students, I’ve
seen the long term positive
impact agents have had.
In my 10 year career as
a member of several school
leadership teams, I’ve consistently
witnessed agents taking
on the duty of bridging the
gap between educators and
some of our most at risk children.
So many of them are pillars
in the community by
coaching after-school athletics
while personally knowing
all of the children and their
family members on a fi rst
name basis.
These invisible angels
have been there for us, unconditionally
saving our children
and now it’s time for us to
stand up for them. We cannot
allow them to fall victim to
budget cuts or calls to defund
the police, but most importantly,
not be used as pawns
in a game of who’s more politically
“woke.”
Dear Letters Editor:
I am extremely disappointed
that NYC is on its way to implementing
congestion pricing
after the Federal Highway Administration
gave the green
light to conduct the Environmental
Assessment needed.
Just on the surface, the idea
of charging people to enter the
richest part of the city is regressive
and will mostly impact
that less wealthy residents of
the outer boroughs. This plan
does not provide any guarantee
that areas like the Bronx will
see a fair share of any supposed
“benefi ts” from this. I believe
that this will mostly go to Manhattan
centric projects like expanding
the Second Avenue
subway and the Hudson Yards.
This scheme was peddled to
us via the MoveNY plan which
called for reductions in bridge
tolls for the outer boroughs to
compensate for the Manhattan
centric nature of this but all
that ceased being mentioned
once it passed in 2019. I don’t
know many people who support
congestion pricing and this includes
people on the left as well
as the right (in my circles, it’s
been a refreshing source of
common ground). I am disappointed
that our electeds didn
not support us on this and that
groups like StreetsPAC and
Transportation Alternatives
are dictating policy to them.
My upcoming votes will
be changed to disqualify anyone
that supported this and I
urge you all to do so also and
call your electeds to express
any disappointment if you are
against it as well.
This does not even touch
upon the idea of charging people
to enter a city while it recovers
from the terrible economic
impacts of the pandemic is bad.
Finally, for the record,
when not in a pandemic, I
ride the subway to work 5 days
a week from the Bronx, so I
am not coming from any real
self-interest. Rather, I am concerned
about people’s access to
our own city.
Sincerely,
Philip Papaelias
From Councilman
Mark Gjonaj
letters & comments
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