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PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER: CEO AND CO-PUBLISHER: Joshua Schneps
BRONX TIMES PUBLISHER: Laura Guerriero
YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD - YOUR NEWS
The Bronx Times On-Line
Your world is 24/7... NOW so are we.
BRONX TIMES R BTR EPORTER, MAY 8-14, 2020 13
BY COUNCILMAN MARK GJONAJ
Last week, as chair of the
New York City Council’s Small
Business Committee, I hosted
a joint hearing alongside fellow
Bronxite, Council Member
Andrew Cohen, chair of
the Committee on Consumer
Affairs and Business Licensing.
Our joint hearing examined
the multitude of ways
that our small business and
local economies have been affected
by COVID-19, and how
introduced legislation may
be useful in alleviating these
complications.
Amongst the most important
revelations to come out
of this hearing was the utter
lack of parity in SBS (Small
Business Services) emergency
loan and grant distribution
between the boroughs.
Not only has only $49 million
been set aside for small business
(despite small businesses
employing a signifi cant portion
of New Yorkers), but the
Bronx has only received as of
April 26th, 1 percent of SBS
COVID-19 loans compared to
66 percent distributed to Manhattan.
3 percent of all available
emergency grants were
given to the Bronx, compared
again to 53 percent of available
loans in Manhattan. SBS
claims that many loans were
not distributed to certain applicants
because they failed
to meet certain requirements,
but they were not able to provide
specifi cs.
Whatever their rationale
may be, this is an unacceptable
disparity. The Bronx has
every bit of need for emergency
loans and grants as
Manhattan does, especially in
considering the complete predominance
of small business
in our borough. This is an injustice
in distribution that I,
alongside my colleagues in
the Council, will fi ght to correct
— fi ghting for the mom
and pop shops that make our
local commercial corridors so
vibrant. With a city administration
that has such a demonstrated
fi nancial capacity
for extravagant parades and
other expenses, it seems ridiculous
that we cannot do more
to protect the backbone of our
communities: our local, small
business. It truly is a tale of
two cities.
For more information on
how your small business can
receive fi nancial relief in
these hard times, please contact
my offi ce at either mgjonaj@
council.nyc.gov or 718-
931-1721.
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
verifi able 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.
To the Editor,
Re: “Earth Day,” Larry
Penner, 5/1/2020
BT: If only life was as simple
as Mr.Penner makes it out
to be.
There are the elderly, the
disabled, those who work
“graveyard” shifts, and those
who live in the suburbs for
whom mass transit is simply
not an option. Mr. Penner’s
past letters reference personal
experiences, but his “Earth
Day” letter does not include
his own personal commuting
habits.
Since the middle of March,
the subway has become overrun
with the homeless. The
last time I took the subway,
about a month ago, I was dozing
off when a homeless individual
came into the car. His
dirty, nasty jacket caught me
fl ush in the face. While I recovered,
this incident made
me physically ill (it didn’t do
much for my mental health, either.)
By that time, the subway
had simply become too fi lthy
and unreliable to be considered
a viable option.
Mr. Penner states “many”
employers offer telecommuting.
Fortunately mine does,
but from what I’ve heard on
the news, the vast majority of
employers do not, or the job
itself cannot be accomplished
via telecommuting. As far
as”TransitCheks” are concerned,
the city is able to track
what trains/buses the employee
has been using. Some
people don’t like that level of
government intrusion in their
lives.
Mr. Penner states how using
mass transit will leave
us “less stressed” upon arrival.
Really? Before the
COVID-19 pandemic I was
taking the #6 express train
from Parkchester Station to
125th St., then the express
train to Boro Hall, Brooklyn.
Maybe two days every two
weeks would I get a seat on
the 6 train. I got a seat on the
express every day, but sometimes
as far south as Grand
Central, when my back felt as
if it was on fi re.The homeless
that sometimes reek of urine.
The nut who was ready to
fi ght me because I did not realize
my fl y was unzipped.
I happen to prefer taking
the subway to work. Prior to
the pandemic I had driven to
work a handful of times, and
between the pandemic and
the beginning of my telecommuting
a relative handful of
times and found driving generally
more stressful. But
I deeply resent Mr. Penner,
writing this Bronx newspaper
from his home in his
leafy suburb, telling me, the
Bronx resident, how to live
my life. Especially considering
the fact that Mr. Penner
in the past has taken decidedly
Libertarian positions
on issues, I fi nd Mr. Penner’s
“nanny state” letter quite
surreal.
Nat Weiner
Dear editor,
Last week a contributor
offered three startling
claims which need to be refuted.
First she accused
Governor Cuomo of “scaring
the people.” The people deserve
accurate information,
whether that information is
good news or bad news. If the
public is well informed, it
can prepare for whatever calamity
that might threaten
their lives or livelihoods.
Next, Cuomo is accused
of wasting tax dollars by replacing
a crumbling bridge
that was a danger to all who
had no choice but to cross it!
He is also taken to task for
naming it after his father
and not his mother, who I
am sure was a terrific lady,
but not a public figure.
Finally the writer sings
the praises of the current
White House occupant, implying
that he is the only
honest politician we have.
Wow, it’s difficult to know
where to start in dismantling
this assertion. This
man has not divested himself
of his businesses and
has created myriad opportunities
for graft for himself
and his cronies. How this
individual can be considered
an honest man strains
credulity to the breaking
point.
Pasqual Pelosi
Gjonaj on
Bronx biz
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