oped letters & comments
oped letters & comments
In response to “The Bronx
deserves a progressive leader
in Congress”, Jacquelyn Marrero,
op-ed.
There is one thing that
has been proven over time,
and that is when the Democratic
Party, and in particular
its progressive wing, is in
control of the reins of government,
the municipality involved
is usually headed for
disaster; economically, culturally
and socially.
One has only to look
across the country and you
will fi nd most, if not all, cities
or major urban areas that
are under Democratic leadership
are failing. The socialist
and secular agenda of progressive
Democrats are antithetical
to the Judeo-Christian
ethic and the values,
principles and institutions
that have made this nation
great and exceptional. Their
callous disregard and disrespect
for the sanctity of life
and support of unrestricted
abortion rights, up util birth,
and in some cases after birth
are barbaric and ungodly.
Planned Parenthood averages
over 300,000 abortions
a year, and much of it funded
by the taxpayer.
As for LGBTQ rights, this
is a movement that has been
transformed into a radical
mob-like entity that has
caused great hardship and
pain for decent, hard working
small business owners. Most
of their targets have been
Christian. LGBTQ advocates,
in what I believe are calculated
and concerted efforts,
will approach a business and
request that it accommodate
their lifestyle proclivities,
such as a wedding cake for a
same sex marriage. When the
owner refuses on the grounds
of conscience and religious
beliefs, the customer sues the
owner and fi les a complaint
with the Civil Rights agency
of the locality.
In a 2018 decision, the Supreme
Court ruled in favor
of Jack Phillip, the owner of
Masterpiece Bake Shop in
Colorado, one of many business
owners whose livelihood
was threatened, and in some
cases business destroyed by
LGBTQ radicals
– Bob Pascarella
THIRD AVE. BID VISITS LINCOLN HOSPITAL
Visit at Lincoln Hospital with lunch for the Emergency Department doctors, nurses and technicians. They
were “lovin’ it” and were so very thankful. Words cannot express how grateful we are for all that you do for
the Bronx community every day. Special thanks to Mike Brady and Javier Medrano from the Third Avenue
BID and Tiffany and Arathi from Lincoln Hospital for coordinating this. Kudos to Tony Rodriguez’s team at
the 599 Grand Concourse McDonald’s for preparing the food that fed over 100 doctors and nurses.
Photo courtesy of Third Avenue BID
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR MAY 29-JUNE 4, 2020 13
BY COUNCILMAN
MARK GJONAJ
In gracious cooperation
with the New York Legal Assistance
Group (NYLAG,) the
New York Women’s Chamber
of Commerce, the Violence
Intervention Program, and
the Mayor’s Offi ce to End
Domestic and Gender-Based
Violence, I was able to hold a
tele-town hall focused on domestic
violence resources.
Amongst the most useful
information to come out of
this town hall was the affi rmation
that, while physical
offi ces were closed, telephone
resources from NYC’s Domestic
Violence Hotline, which
can be reached at 1-800-621-
HOPE, remain open. This
hotline can provide those experiencing
domestic violence
with assistance, safety planning,
shelter acquisition assistance,
and access to various
community resources,
which have been optimized
as the city directs NYPD and
the District Attorney’s offi ce
to ensure issues of domestic
violence are seeing maximal
attention.
Also, organizations like
the Violence Intervention
Program, another resource
for domestic violence, offers
cultural translators for those
who would otherwise be deterred
from seeking assistance
by perceived language
barriers.
In addition to outlining
the various resources domestic
violence victims can access,
I was able to provide an
overview of my offi ce’s legislative
and budgetary efforts
to address domestic violence.
On the legislative end, I have
introduced a bill that would
allow victims of violent
crimes to request that NYPD
withhold their names from
public disclosure, which of
course includes victims of
domestic violence.
I have also signed onto domestic
violence-related legislation
introduced by other
NYC Council Members, including
a bill to establish an
investigatory task force with
an emphasis on a particular
kind of domestic violence. In
fi scal year 2020, my offi ce allocated
funding, through the
DOVE initiative, to NYLAG,
the NY Women’s Chamber of
Commerce, the Urban Justice
Center and the Violence
Intervention Program. It was
a budgetary effort our offi ce
was and remains proud of.
If you or someone you
know is a victim of domestic
violence, please, again, call
1-800-621-HOPE to receive assistance.
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.
I would like to shed light on
my child, Marcelo Feliz’s Pre-
K teacher, Mr. Aramis Soler.
Since the beginning of
the school year, he has been
completely driven and motivated
to have the children in
his class learning and gaining
basic morals to help them
succeed in all areas such as
social, emotional and cognitively.
In the beginning of this
pandemic, many of us parents
walked into the unknown,
however, Mr. Soler promised
to have everything in place
within 3 days of NYC’s quarantine,
and that he did.
He decorated his Google
Classroom website in Disney
theme just like their classroom
and uses his “Bitmoji
Emoji” to conduct lessons
or present Google Meetings.
This has kept my child learning,
enthusiastic and not feeling
to far from his teacher and
friends during this time.
Mr. Soler has kept the class
on a daily routine, which has
helped me as a parent, stay
guided in remote learning as
well as he conducts morning
meetings where the children
are all able to interact with
him and each other. His enthusiasm
to continue to teach our
children through this crisis is
something that has touched
my heart and makes me feel
very lucky to have
him as my child’s teacher.
For this, he should be recognized!
Thank you for all you
do, all you have done to make
sure our babies are right they
should be!
WE MISS YOU, MR.
SOLER!
– Marissa Foruria
Gjonaj Updates: Tele-town
hall on domestic violence
link
link