oped letters & comments
Op-ed: We are a nation
at war with our soul
BY MICHELLE CARUSO
CABRERA, CANDIDATE
FOR CONGRESS NY-14
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
These past three months
New Yorkers here in Queens
and the Bronx have suffered
so much. As you are reading
this, you yourself may
have lost loved ones. Unfortunately,
we all know somebody
who has.
Little did we know that the
death and sickness from the
coronavirus would be just
the beginning of the heartbreaking
events we would
have to endure. A health crisis.
An economic crisis. A racial
justice crisis. How much
can we take?
I see modern-day breads
lines throughout our neighborhoods
made up of the
thousands in our community
who have lost their jobs.
They ask me “When will this
end?” As I give them a protective
mask, I wish I could give
them an answer too.
And today, our city and
indeed our country are still
suffering from another long
festering, and tragic disease:
racism.
Our black and brown
neighbors continue to be
the target not just of COVID,
but also of a fl awed criminal
justice system. What happened
in Minneapolis is an
unspeakable horror, but we
must speak about it.
The pain our country feels
is raw. The people of this city
and this nation are angry.
We all grieve along with the
Floyd family. We cry out in
anger with all those who say,
“How many times must this
story play out? When will
this nation fi nally say: no
more!”
Enough. We need unity.
The city needs unity. The
country needs unity. Only
by working together can we
overcome this enormous
problem and help rebuild
trust between our communities
and the police who take
an oath to protect them.
Governor Cuomo is right
to call on the New York’s
most senior African American
offi cial, Attorney General
Leticia James to investigate
the actions of the police
in the last week. And most
importantly, he has asked
that she report back in 30
days. No dragging it out so
long that people are no longer
paying attention.
Civilian oversight of policing
is one way to ensure
accountability and consequences
for offi cers who
abuse their positions with
excessive use of force.
Respect shouldn’t be just
for the powerful and empowered.
There should be
respect for all regardless of
race, color and creed.
The looting and destruction
in the last week is yet
another injustice to George
Floyd. His murder is at risk
of being overshadowed by
those who are using it as an
excuse for mayhem. We cannot
let that happen. We cannot
lose our focus.
I “attended” Corona Congregational
Church this
weekend, listening to Reverend
Reginald Brantley’s sermon
through my speakers
on Zoom. What he said was
sad but also eloquent: “We
are a nation at war with our
soul.”
New Yorkers, who know
this pandemic and its ravages
better than anyone,
are jeopardizing their lives
by joining large crowds in
peaceful protest to demand
social justice and an end to
police brutality. We want the
soul of our nation to heal. We
must come together to make
that happen.
BY CITY ISLAND RISING
The COVID-19 pandemic
has been hard on many Islanders
and our thoughts are with
them in these trying times.
We have delivered hundreds
of facemasks to City Islanders
through a generous donation
by Mayor de Blasio’s offi ce.
If you or a loved one needs
masks, please call 917-765-7968
or sign up on our web form bit.
ly/CIRisingFaceMasks.
On May 14, we hosted a
Zoom Community meeting
where approximately 50 Islanders
tuned in to share their
concerns. NYC Comptroller
Scott Stringer provided an excellent
overview of our city’s
economic situation and notifi
ed us that only 62% of the
FEMA monies given to NYC
from Hurricane Sandy have
been spent. Additionally an
expert from the Department
of Health answered members’
questions about the coronavirus
and an update was
provided on Councilmember
Gjonaj’s new private security
initiative.
On May 18, we hosted a virtual
Town Hall with our state
legislators, Senator Alessandra
Biaggi and Assembly Member
Michael Benedetto along
with our NY Renews coalition
partners to discuss climate
change, resiliency needs, and
the water quality of the Long
Island Sound. Senator Biaggi
shared that the City of Mount
Vernon has allocated $500,000
towards cleaning up the
Hutchinson River in the short
term and is undergoing an audit
so they can then borrow
money to address this problem
in the future. Assembly
Member Benedetto notifi ed us
that he will continue to push
City Hall to examine another
ferry stop closer to our area
after Throggs Neck’s station
is completed next year. Both
electeds committed to request
that Governor Cuomo examine
the Sound and Hutchinson
River for inclusion in the upcoming
“Mother Nature Bond
Act.”
An unfortunate side effect
of this crisis is the havoc it has
wreaked on the City and State
budgets. The good news is that
the Mayor’s Executive Budget
has kept its commitment to
renovating and soundproofing
Rodman’s Neck. $1.2 million
is allocated for this year
but we must remain diligent
to make sure these monies remain
in the budget, particularly
as a new Mayoral administration
comes in in 2022.
The bad news is that the MTA
Redesign, which included the
Bx29 being a City Island dedicated
route with 24/7 service,
is “on hold” like most other
initiatives in the state. Representative
Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez and our state legislators
are aware of this and will
include City Island in their
discussions with the MTA going
forward. Hopefully, this is
a temporary setback.
Rising will continue its efforts
in collaboration with the
New York Sea Grant program
to document fl ooding on and
around City Island. If you see
fl ooding of any kind, please
email us a photo at CityIslandRising@
gmail.com. An
organization outreach effort
will commence once the pandemic
has passed.
Rising continues to believe
that whether you’ve lived on
City Island for 50 years or 5
minutes, we’re all in the same
boat and it’s time we rise together.
If we can be of help to
you in any way please email
us at CityIslandRising@
gmail.com or call us at 917-
765-7968.
– John C. Doyle
Dear Letters Editor,
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s
case to President Trump for
tens of billions in additional
federal assistance was dishonest
and misleading. Albany
faces a $12 billion defi cit this
year. Cuomo’s claim of needing
$64 billion represented a
potential shortfall over four
years.
The $29 billion Gateway
Tunnel, $6.9 billion Second
Avenue Subway Phase 2 and
$2 billion LaGuardia Air
Train are not “shovel ready”
today as Cuomo said. Only the
$1.6 billion Portal Bridge portion
of Gateway Tunnel has
progressed through the environmental,
design and engineering
phases to support
advertising construction contracts
in 2020.
The LaGuardia AirTrain
will not complete the federal
NEPA environmental review
process until 2021. Another
year is needed for fi nal design
and engineering before
construction contracts can be
advertised in 2023. Second Avenue
Subway Phase 2 has completed
NEPA. It still needs one
to two more years for completion
of design, engineering,
business relocation and real
estate acquisition before being
ready for construction in
2022. Cuomo’s presentation
for all four requests had more
holes in it than a slice of Swiss
cheese.
Sincerely,
Larry Penner
Larry Penner is a transportation
advocate, historian and
writer who previously worked
31 years for the United States
Department of Transportation
Federal Transit Administration
Region 2 New York Offi ce.
This included the development,
review, approval and oversight
for billions in capital projects
and programs for the MTA,
NYC Transit, Long Island Rail
Road, Metro North Rail Road
MTA Bus along with 30 other
transit agencies in NY & NJ.
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.
Call 718.260.2555
..to sell your car in our
CLASSIFIED SECTIONS
& get...Real Results!
BTR BRONX TIMES REPORTER, JUNE 5-11, 2020 13
/gmail.com
link
link
link
/gmail.com
link