BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J BTR UNE 28-JULY 4, 2019 73
BY GEORGE HAVRANEK
June 19th Meeting - the
Prelude
As meeting day drew near
the typical bevy of emotions
and concerns raced through
my ever-busy mind. The checklist
of preparations including
verifi cations of guest speakers,
elected offi cial representations
and an appropriate evening
agenda were fi nally accomplished.
It was time to sit back,
and allow my typical concern
over community participation
be the lone obstacle to relaxation.
However, as the eleventh
hour approached unexpected
events threw us a series of
curveballs. That evenings’
MTA question and answer session
related to proposed bus
route changes at P.S. 71 forced
the cancellation of keynote
speaker Community Board 10
district manager Matt Cruz.
A few hours later we were informed
that serious job-related
circumstances would prevent
our Neighborhood Community
Offi cers from being in attendance.
Thankfully, police offi
cers Singh and Trinidad are
safe and subsequently vowed
to address our community in
the future.
The last minute lineup
changes were disseminated
on social media and other
platforms. Despite these signifi
cant changes the Spencer
Estate community rose
to the occasion and approximately
ninety people fi lled the
Knights of Columbus meeting
hall. Mere words cannot adequately
express the appreciation,
pride, and endearment I
have for the dedicated caring
residents of our wonderful
community.
The Event
Our association had a full
agenda slated for this evening
event. Proposed changes
to neighborhood bus routes,
neighborhood stabilization,
quality of life issues, dubious
real estate solicitations, overdevelopments
in surrounding
areas and the nuisance behaviors
of summer were all integral
of our agenda. Circumstances
beyond our control
forced some adaptations and
adjustments; however, many
of our salient topics were properly
addressed.
Roc Anderson, representative
for the American Red
Cross started off the evening.
Anderson’s impressive presentation
covered an array of
scenarios that included fi re
safety; home escape plans,
emergency preparedness and
the Red Cross smoke alarm
installation program. Her insightful
look into the latest
technology in smoke detection
devices enthralled our membership.
Our area and neighboring
communities have recently
been beset by a series
of fi res. The severity of these
grave situations and their horrifi
c aftermaths defy adequate
descriptions. I urge area residents;
civic associations, senior
citizen groups and the
like to call the American Red
Cross at (877) 733-2767 to request
smoke alarms or schedule
a fi re safety presentation.
Remember, a scant two minutes
can be the difference in
safely escaping a fi re.
The eloquent and affable
Maryanne Joyce constituent
liaison for Senator Alessandra
Biaggi addressed our organization
with exemplary
professionalism. Her brief
presentation focused on Biaggi’s
eagerness to return to the
district in order to focus on
constituent needs. Our association
looks forward to working
with Joyce and the senator
in order to curtail ongoing dubious
real estate solicitations
and to preserve the ingredients
essential to our low-density
areas fi ne quality of life.
We applaud Biaggi’s formal
opposition to the unnecessary
and unwanted expansion
of services by Miracle City, a
controversial substance abuse
treatment business in a residential
area of Throggs Neck.
Senator Biaggi is the scheduled
keynote speaker for our
October meeting. We look forward
to hearing how her message
relates to the welfare of
our fi ne low-density community.
Farrah Rubin constituent
liaison for Councilman
Mark Gjonaj announced his
staunch opposition to Miracle
City and similar enterprises
attempting to locate in residential
areas. Rubin proudly
announced the partnership of
Gjonaj and Borough President
Ruben Diaz, Jr. that will fund
the long-standing traditional
fi rework display at Orchard
Beach on Thursday, June 27.
This event fosters community
unifi cation and reinforces the
core values of independence
and freedoms unique to our
great nation. Our heartfelt
thanks go out to Councilman
Gjonaj and Borough President
Diaz.
An anonymous writer once
penned that the surprise of
spontaneity usurps the boredom
of planning. We were delightfully
surprised when our
valued friend, Councilman
Mark Gjonaj, who made an impromptu
but welcome appearance
at our June meeting.
Gjonaj captivated the
crowd while presenting messages
of community awareness
and unity. The councilman
covered an array of
topics including the pitfalls of
nuisance homes, importance
of our low density zoning, and
neighborhood quality of life.
These community relevant
topics sparked a spirited Q
and A session between association
members and the councilman.
After the dust settled,
Councilman Gjonaj pledged to
support our community in future
endeavors and remains a
valued friend of the Spencer
Estate Civic Association.
Pat Caruso, our longtime
friend and advocate from Community
Board 10 awed our
membership with his encyclopedic
knowledge of various
programs designed to help our
middle class and elderly residents.
Caruso’s expertise in the
area of property taxes attracted
attention from all directions.
Pat has also been working with
various city agencies to enable
our association to begin a long
awaited neighborhood beautifi -
cation project at the triangular
Ampere Avenue/Middletown
Road convergence.
CB 10 is one of the largest
geographic community
board districts in the borough
of the Bronx. The board
serves the communities of Pelham
Bay, City Island, Country
Club, Throggs Neck, Coop
City, Westchester Square
and Zerega. It features one of
the most diverse housing categories
in the city. It primarily
consists of 1- to 3-family
homes. However, it is home to
the largest housing cooperative
in New York State in Coop
City and is home to a sizable
public housing stock in that of
Middletown Plaza, Throggs
Neck Houses and Randall-Balcom
Houses.
Its vast area is tethered to a
large quantity of diverse community
issues. Despite their
heavy work load CB 10 always
has time for the Spencer Estate
community.
Recently sub contactors
from Altice ran roughshod
through our neighborhood
while preforming a fi ber optic
infrastructure upgrade.
Their roguish behavior and
disrespect for our community
presented multiple safety hazards.
Cable coils were left unattended
overnight obstructing
pedestrian walkways;
during cable placements workers
did not comply with common
sense safety regulations
and placed area residents at
risk. We were unsuccessful
in attempting to directly communicate
with these rouge
workers. Thankfully, the intervention
of CB 10 put an end
to their unprofessional, disrespectful,
and hazardous behaviors.
CB 10 has been alongside
our community in our
ongoing battle against the illegal
storage of tractor-trailers
along Pelham Bay Park. They
were instrumental in getting
more than one hundred illegally
dumped tires, furniture,
and vile waste removed from
our community’s perimeter.
In addition, they serve as our
advisors and conduits to politicians
and city agencies in
affairs that affect our community.
The Spencer Estate
community is appreciative of
the services provided by this
top-notch community board.
Questions and Answers
at PS 71
The MTA question and answer
event designed to be a
fountain of information about
the proposed subway and bus
route changes was more of a
dry well. Much to our chagrin
too many pertinent questions
lacked adequate responses.
The expectation of garnering
community support for a
prolifi c alteration to our mass
transit without producing vital
information is totally unreasonable.
The following is a
partial list of unaddressed concerns
of our neighborhood residents
and civic association.
• Start and stop times of
bus routes;
• Specifi c bus stop locales,
not general vicinity;
• Affect on parking in our
parking deprived neighborhood;
• The potential need for
‘day lighting’ to create safe
sight lines and room to accommodate
the turning radius of
the large buses;• Affect on the
long awaited 4-way stop sign at
the Stadium Avenue and Spencer
Drive intersection; and
• How the two-way traffi c
fl ow of large noisy vehicles
will affect our quality of life
and home valuations?
Conclusion: after careful
analysis the Spencer Estate
Civic Association adamantly
opposes the MTA proposal to
streamline neighborhood bus
routes.
The MTA proposal to
streamline area bus routes
will profoundly affect the
Spencer Estate community.
Under this proposed plan our
neighborhood would be covered
by an extension of the
Bx24. The money saving linear
pathway presented by the
M.T.A. for our local bus service
will create two-way bus
traffi c on Stadium Avenue,
Ampere Avenue and Kenelworth
Place. These narrow
streets in our quiet residential
neighborhoods are not
equipped to handle the noisy
two-way traffi c fl ow of oversized
vehicles.
In addition, the elimination
of certain stops, most notably
the widely used hub at
Research and Ampere avenues,
will create a hardship for
many of our elderly residents
reliant on bus service. These
individuals will now be forced
to navigate the very steep Ampere
avenue incline to utilize
the newly proposed stop at Ampere
and Stadium avenues.
According to the ADA law,
sidewalks must have a slope
of less than 1:20. Simply meaning,
for every one hundred feet
of run (length) the rise (elevation)
cannot exceed fi ve feet.
The Ampere avenue incline
clearly appears to exceed ADA
standards. Our area residents,
especially those that use assistive
devices such as canes
or walkers to independently
fulfi ll their ambulatory needs
should not be confronted with
the choice to confront a hazardous
situation or forego their
independence. This insensitive
action by the MTA clearly
violates the spirit of the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
Political leaders gauge a
community’s interest and fortitude
on the attendances at
local civic association meetings.
Large turnouts by our
community show our elected
offi cials that we have the fortitude
and resolve needed to
confront adversity. It is critical
for our community to continually
build on this momentum.
July is usually reserved
for some Sun and Fun; however,
our association has a
great deal of work to be done.
The next meeting of the
Spencer Estate Civic Association
is Wednesday, July 17, 7:30
p.m. at Knights of Columbus.
Any area homeowner or
renter interested in membership
to the all inclusive Spencer
Estate Civic Association
in box George Havranek on
Facebook or send-email with
subject matter Spencer Estate
to gghh55@aol.com. If
we want to ‘keep and reap the
blessings’ of our fi ne quality
of life we must undergo the fatigue
of supporting it’.
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