BY GEORGE HAVRANEK
IMPORTANT LESSON,
UNLIKELY PLACE:
Sanitation bulk pickup is
among the many services readily
available to NYC residents.
In the mid1960’s it was common
for Spencer Estate residents
to haul their bulk items
to the dump. The Pelham bay
landfi ll was designated by
New York City as the dumping
ground for our community.
The dump would later become
known as “Mount Trashmore”
a mountain of toxicity related
heartache, loss, and irreparable
damages. I diverge from the
hellacious effects of this indelible
stain of pain and suffering
for it was atop this pile of hurt
and anguish where a valuable
lesson was learned.
Circa 1967, disposal of our
bulky cabinet enclosed television
required a trip to the
dump. The heavy cumbersome
unit was precariously transported
in the trunk of the family
car. Spider webs of rope
and twine haphazardly woven
through the open trunk held
the over-sized item in place.
My role on this slow sojourn
was backseat lookout. Vigilant
eye contact through the rear
window was maintained as the
oversized load rhythmically
bounced, swayed, and shifted
on bumpy roads. We arrived
at the dump, followed protocol,
drove up the garbage-laden
hilly road and off loaded the
unit in a designated spot. My
grandmother, the supervisor
of this family operation, looked
around and put forth a seemingly
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odd question. Grandma
simply asked, “What do you
see?” My simple age appropriate
response was, “I see a pile
of garbage.” She replied, “Yes,
what can you tell me about this
pile of garbage.” In child like
fashion I replied, “It’s dirty
and smells.” The lesson began:
Grandma explained, the garbage
heap was comprised of
many different things. Items
of various shapes, colors, sizes,
and functions created this unsightly
smelly mountain. We
reentered the car for our trip
home. Grandma further explained
that bad and good,
throughout all walks of life,
comes in a variety of shapes,
colors, sizes, and functions.
She emphatically stressed that
we should never judge anything
or anyone solely on appearances.
This life lesson intensely
resonated as I aged and
matured.
Today, no longer typical melting
pots of the past, our communities
have stew-like diversity. A
blend of a wide variety of quality
ingredients that when properly
put together creates something
wonderful. It is essential to remember
the key ingredients of
quality communities are quality
people. Quality, the good, also
comes in many shapes, sizes, colors,
and functions. At its core, a
good community is a blend of
quality people with common desires
that unify. Forging a common
unity tailored to providing
us all with a fi ne quality of life is
the agenda of the Spencer Estate
Civic Association. “If we want
to keep and reap the blessings of
our fi ne quality of life… we must
undergo the fatigue of supporting
it.”
Any area homeowner or
renter interested in membership
to the all inclusive Spencer
Estate Civic Association
should inbox George Havranek
on Facebook or send an email to
spencerestatecivic@gmail.com
Remember: “Inclusion Brings
Solutions.”
BY ANDREW CHIRICO
Some people seem to
be making Gov. Cuomo
the man of the month
but don’t be fooled, just
remember a few things.
Under Gov. Cuomo NY
is now a sanctuary
state, criminals are being
released from jails
making every neighborhood
dangerous, big
jails will be closing in
NY and opening in a
town near you, criminals
are being arrested
and then released without
bail or consequence.
Information
about people
pressing charges
is being released
to the defense attorneys
within 15
days, Drivers licenses
are being
given to illegal aliens,
no identification is required
when you go to
vote, our taxes are being
raised and Cuomo
just gave himself a pay
raise on our backs, he
was responsible for
closing Westchester
Square Hospital, he
couldn’t secure the deal
with Amazon in LIC because
of a freshman
congresswoman, this
killed the creation of
thousands of jobs, NY
is now broke. I’m sure
I’ve missed many of his
other negative accomplishments.
Thanks to President
Trump, supermarkets,
pharmacies and gas
stations are open all
across the country. The
Post Office is open and
delivering mail, the Department
of Sanitation
is making regular pickups.
President Trump
is giving every American
who pays taxes a
check for $1,200 to help
us all get through this
emergency. Our President
has also moved
income tax day from
April 15th to July
15,2020. The Treasury
Department and the Internal
Revenue Service
are providing special
payment relief to individuals
and businesses
in response to the
COVID-19 outbreak.
Your mayor is NOT giving
any relief when it
comes to your property
taxes, it is still due in
full and on time.
This week we lost
two neighbors to this
virus. Each were in
different hospitals and
both went in for other
health reasons (not the
virus). Both contracted
the disease in the hospitals
and then due to
complications passed
way. I am sure there
were many others.
Things are bad enough
at home shopping locally
just for food and
basic supplies but the
hospitals are not safe at
all. You can’t blame the
hospital staff because
they are over worked.
This tells us how important
it to keep surfaces
clean things like
door handles, elevator
buttons, ATM key
boards, gas station
equipment. There are
so many places that
we touch in our daily
routine that we now
must be conscious of
and take the time to be
more careful about our
surroundings. Please
use gloves and protective
masks as required.
Don’t forget social distancing.
As you know we had
to cancel our March
meeting and we will
probably cancel our
April meeting. Keep
reading our column in
this paper for neighborhood
news. Many
people are trying to
log on to the NY State
unemployment system,
we hear the system
keeps crashing but
don’t panic it will clear
up. Stay well, Stay safe,
we will get through
this stressful time.
CIVIC CENTER
Spencer Estate
Civic Association
CIVIC CENTER
Waterbury LaSalle
Community
Association
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