HIGHER ED TODAY
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Full of optimism awakened by the
recent lifting of COVID restrictions,
Americans from coast to coast are beginning
to take cautious, but hopeful
first steps toward the promise of a postpandemic
world. It makes for an ideal
time to celebrate Pride Month and acknowledge
the rich legacy of the LGBTQ
movement, and the many dedicated activists
who aroused the conscience of a
nation during the AIDS pandemic, ultimately
helping create a freer and more
accepting society.
The integral role the City University
of New York played in this historic
movement is a point of great pride.
CUNY is the home of the nation’s first
university-based research institute dedicated
to the history, culture, politics
and struggles of the LGBTQ community.
CLAGS, now called the Center for LGBTQ
Studies and housed at the CUNY
Graduate Center, continues to serve as
a national resource for the promotion of
scholarship that fosters social change.
The same can be said for the LGBT Social
Science & Public Policy Center, created
in 2008 at Hunter College, which
supports research that informs public
policy decisions on LGBTQ issues.
CLAGS was created by Martin Duberman,
a distinguished professor of
history and a trailblazing scholar, playwright
and activist. Duberman wrote
the landmark Stonewall: The Definitive
Story of the LGBTQ Rights Uprising
that Changed America, about the 1969
Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village,
the catalyzing event that gave birth to
the gay rights movement.
CUNY scholars continue to contribute
to the literature of the movement.
Just last month Sarah Schulman, a
distinguished professor of the humanities
at the College of Staten Island, published
Let the Record Show: A Political
History of ACT UP New York 1987-1993,
the definitive story of the direct-action
activists of ACT UP who refused to be
silent during the AIDS pandemic that
gripped our nation and world.
This tradition continues as we offer
enriching and innovative programs to
benefit our LGBTQ students. Recently,
we launched the CUNY LGBTQI+ Advocacy
Academy, where some 20 students
from around the University are taking
a seminar-style course to develop their
leadership skills by learning the ins
and outs of political advocacy, policy
development, community organizing,
and civic engagement, so that they can
become the next generation of LGBTQ
leaders. I was pleased to virtually attend
the first meeting of the class, led
by former New York City Councilman
Jimmy Vacca, now a distinguished lecturer
at Queens College.
Last month we also launched the
CUNY LGBTQI+ Summer Internship
program with a virtual conference,
which I attended along with the presidents
of Baruch College, The City College
of New York and LaGuardia Community
College, as well as leaders interested in
providing career engagement opportunities
in the private, cultural and nonprofit
sectors for our LGBTQI+ students.
The recruitment process begins this fall
and the program will officially welcome
its first cohort next summer. Both programs
benefit from the generosity and
leadership of Mitch Draizin, the founder
and president of the Concordia Philanthropic
Fund, whose mission is to support
youth leadership initiatives for the
LGBTQ community.
These programs, as well as our ongoing
scholarship devoted to LGBTQ
history, are a reflection of CUNY’s
historic values of inclusivity, diversity
and the pursuit of social justice.
In that spirit we recently created a
one-stop online tool, the CUNY LGBTQI+
Hub, which collects the resources
available to our LGBTQI+
community in one centralized location,
so they know that CUNY is the
safe environment they need to thrive
and flourish.
There is hope and optimism in the
air, something that has been in short
supply in recent months. As we celebrate
this Pride Month in a safe and
responsible manner, let’s remember
all that we have to be proud of and
thankful for.
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BRONX TIMES R 14 EPORTER, MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2021 BTR
CB 9 votes bus
lane on Story
Ave. down
CB9 votes down a plan to put a bus lane on Story Ave. and White Plains Rd. Courtesy of DOT
BY JASON COHEN
While the Department of Transportation
thinks installing a bus lane on
Story Ave. between Bronx River and
White Plains Road will improve traffi c,
residents think it is a terrible plan.
On May 20, Community Board 9 discussed
the DOT’s proposal and not a single
person voted in favor of it. As the congestion
on the Bruckner and the Bronx
River is already bad, most people think
this will only add fuel to the fi re.
With slow bus speeds, double parking/
loading and long distances between
pedestrian crossings, the proposed project
aims to improve bus service on Bx5,
enhance east-west connections and support
future changes that would increase
bus frequency on the corridor.
Board member Nicholas Himidian
did not bite his tongue and questioned
how people who don’t live in the borough
can justify these changes.
“This should be tabled,” he exclaimed.
“We should not allow this to
happen. It’s not going to change anything
here.”
As alternate side parking spaces will
be repurposed during daytime bus lane
hours and preserved for overnight parking,
Himidian and other residents think
it would drastically change the neighborhood.
Parking is already a challenge in the
Bronx and it seems DOT want to make
things even more diffi cult, he said.
Furthermore, he demanded more
studies be done and in person meetings
be held.
“You (DOT) don’t know what the hell
you’re doing,” he shouted. “You don’t
live here. The MTA and the DOT are full
of it. If the Bruckner is going to take four
years, this decision should take four
years.”
According to Himidian, this would
not take a place in a wealthy community.
Fellow board member Twywana
Bush shared his sentiments.
“I think it’s a horrible idea and they
need to shelf it,” she stated. “I’m advocating
for everyone in this neighborhood
who needs to park.”
The plan calls for curbside bus lanes
on Story Ave. between Bronx River Ave.
and White Plains Rd, a northbound left
side bus lane on Bronx River Ave., updated
curb regulations on Story Ave.
between Fteley Ave and Croes Ave., and
on Story Ave. at Underhill, consolidated
bus stops between Bronx River Ave. and
White Plains Rd. and curbside bus lanes
on White Plains Rd. between Story Ave.
and Lafayette.
Assistant District Manner Shirley
Alonzo explained that DOT presented
the plan to the CB9 Public Safety and
Transportation Committee in April,
but it was tabled and the board reached
out to businesses and residents on Story
Ave. to see how they felt about it.
“We’re more or less amenable to the
proposal, but the traffi c pattern to the
Bronx River needs to be addressed before
this is approved,” she said. “It’s
kind of hard to fathom how the bus service
will increase. Once the bus service
gets down to the Bronx River they get
stockpiled.”
Alonso will be sending the DOT a letter
telling them the board disapproved
of the plan and the conditions they want
to see addressed.
However, DOT has plans to implement
this project this summer.