SALAMANCA HONORS ST. VINCENT DE PAUL NURSES
Councilman Rafael Salamanca visited St. Vincent de Paul and distributed roses to all the registered
nurses in honor of their hard work and dedication to those who need it most.
(Above) Councilman Salamanca (c) presented roses to the nurses as a sign of everyone’s gratitude.
Photo courtesy of Councilman Rafael Salamanca’s Offi ce
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M BTR AY 31-JUNE 6, 2019 61
Bronx Jewish Center’s
upcoming Shabbat dinner
BY AL D’ANGELO
I want to thank the elected offi cials
and news media for letting me know
I am privileged because I’m white.
Correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t it
Martin Luther King who said “a man
should not be judged by the color of
their skin”?
I don’t remember him calling me
privileged. Were my grandparents privileged
when they came from Italy and
couldn’t fi nd work because they were
Italian; schools did not accommodate
non-English speakers, and there wasn’t
any welfare system. Was I privileged
when I grew up in the south Bronx and
a Christmas gift was a football or a new
pair of sneakers? How about all the immigrants
who came here from war-torn
Europe, survivors of genocide and oppression,
where they privileged?
When immigrants come to a new
land they tended to live in areas where
people of the same ethnicity lived, because
they share a common language
and culture and they were all fi ghting
for survival in a new land. This is not
a bad thing. Each ethnicity has contributed
to the fabric of this country.
Our diversity has made us the greatest
country in the world. The dictionary
meaning of privilege, ‘is a special
right, advantage, or immunity granted
to a particular person or group’.
Are people who avail themselves
of affi rmative action privileged, that
fi ts the defi nition; how about the use of
quota systems - are those people privileged?
New York City school teachers
have now been mandated to attend two
days of training because of their ‘white
privilege’.
Mr. Chancellor, we spend almost
$26,000 per year per student in public
school and you can’t seem to get it
done. The specialized schools have too
many Asians, so you want to dumb
down the exam to allow more minorities
access. Last time I looked, Asians
were a minority in this country. Could
this be Asian privilege?
Once you dumb down the entrance
exams, now you have to change the
curriculum, or you will have an unacceptable
drop out rate and in no time,
you’ll have another one of your failing
schools.
Politicians do not want to fi x the
education problem, if they did, they
would support a system where families
could choose the schools they wish
their children to attend whether it be
public or private. Good schools will
fl ourish, and poor school would eventually
fall by the way side and the children
would be better served.
Lobbyist’s and political interest
groups will not allow this because it is
not in their best political interest, so
they blame race, and prejudice to further
divide us and keep our focus away
from the real problem.
“Man should not be judged by the
color of their skin, but the content of
their character”. The vast majority of
this country agrees with that statement;
for those who don’t, all the legislation
in the world will not change
their hearts, it only gives them more
cause to hate.
BY MICHELE TORRIONI
At our meeting on May 21,
representatives of our elected
offi cials were present. Elaine
Fiorio-Ricciardi of Assemblyman
Michael Benedetto’s
offi ce (benedettom@nyassembly.
gov) advised us the assemblyman
is working on having
the MetroCard van in visit
our community soon.
Farrah Rubin, director of
Constituent Affairs (frubin@
council.nyc.gov) of Councilman
Mark Gjonaj’s offi ce listened
to concerns about improper
trash removal and
was asked to petition for more
trash bins for our community.
The councilman will have his
mobile offi ce at Pelham Bay
Station (between Westchester
Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard)
on Thursday, June 6
from 3 to 6 p.m.
Senator Alessandra Biaggi’s
offi ce (biaggi@nysenate.
gov) was represented by Christian
Amato, the Senator’s
chief of staff. Senator Biaggi
will have a ‘meet and greet’ for
civic associations on Monday,
June 10, at Bronx House from
1 to 3 p.m.
We’d like to inform you that
additional stop signs have been
put up on the corners of E. 196th
Street and St. Paul Avenue.
We are enormously proud
that our Annie Boller has
been chosen as one of the most
25 infl uential Bronx Women
for 2019. Congratulations and
best wishes Annie on this
most deserved recognition
and honor.
Due to scheduling confl
icts, the Pelham Bay Taxpayers
& Civic Association will
not meet in June. Meetings
are always suspended during
the summer months of July
and August and will resume
in September. However, there
will be an NCO in July at the
Greek Church, please look for
the details and come out to
meet the community NCO’s.
The exact date and time details
will be forthcoming.
As always, membership
dues are due. Please send to
1720 Mayfl ower Avenue, #9H,
Bronx, NY 10461. We will also
be canvassing the Pelham
Bay area during the summer
months and distributing our
membership fl yers. If you can
join in and help out, please contact
us. If you would like a fl yer
emailed to you, please contact
us at pbta1965@gmail.com
Please join us for our next
community Shabbat dinner
at the Bronx Jewish Center,
1969 Haight Avenue to be held
on Friday, June 7 starting at
7 p.m. The special theme for
that evening will be Shabbat
in Thailand.
All of your favorite Thaistyle
dishes will take center
stage. We look forward to seeing
you. Enjoy a delicious
4-course dinner with your
fellow neighbors.
Turn your Friday night
Shabbat into an evening of
spiritual awakening, inspiration,
Jewish songs and culinary
delight.
Please RSVP to (718) 812-
1701 to reserve a seat. Community
Shabbat dinners are
held the fi rst Friday of every
month.
Then on Sunday, June 9 at
11 a.m. there will be a reading
of the Ten Commandments
followed by a dairy
Brunch celebrating the holiday
of Shavout at the B J C.
The word Shavout means
‘weeks’. Shavout celebrates
the completion of the seven
week counting period between
Passover and Shavout.
The Torah was given by G-d
to the Jewish people on Mount
Sinai on Shavout more than
3,300 years ago. Every year
on the holiday of Shavout we
renew our acceptance of Gd’s
gift and G-d’s re-gives the
Torah. The giving of the Torah
was a far -reaching spiritual
event, one that touched
the essence of the Jewish
soul for all time.
Please joins us for these
two beautiful events. Please
RSVP to the number above.
Community Shabbat dinners
are held the fi rst Friday of every
month.
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/WheelsForWishes.org
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