statements BTR letters & comments
Feast disrupted
by outsiders
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J BTR UNE 28-JULY 4, 2019 13
BOROUGH PRESIDENT
RUBEN DIAZ, JR
Dear editor,
It is sad that the St. Theresa
Feast has come to this,
but at this point they seem to
be doing absolutely nothing
to stop the problem makers
that come in and cause havoc.
When you tell them about the
incidents you see online (Instagram/
Snapchat/Facebook)
they make excuses. Basically,
they say it’s not their fault.
Time to make it a neighborhood
event again or end it entirely.
Vincent Mandile
Keep tax
$$ local
Dear editor,
A report released by the
Rockefeller Institute of New
York claiming that New York
sends more money to Washington
than we get back, resulting
in our being shortchanged,
is nothing new.
The report repeats the
same old liberal Democratic
playbook continuing to blame
Washington for all of our problems
just like their political ancestors
from past decades. All
have an insatiable appetite for
more federal assistance with
no concern about increasing
the confi scatory level of taxation
to generate the revenues
along with growing long term
borrowing to pay for this or
how the billions of dollars are
spent. They believe throwing
more taxpayer dollars at problems
will solve all of society’s
ills.
Moving tax dollars from
New York to Washington redistributes
the wealth from
the haves to the have-nots.
The late Sen. Daniel Patrick
Moynihan documented how
New Yorkers sent more money
to Washington than we get
back. Other states could make
the same argument. This imbalance
also holds true in the
distribution of state aid from
Albany to the 62 counties of
New York State.
Within NYC, residents of
Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn,
Bronx and Manhattan (or
each of the fi fty-nine community
planning boards) don’t
always get back the same
amount of money sent to City
Hall, Albany and Washington.
Within any of our 62 counties,
you could take this analysis
down to every town, village
and local census tract in our
state.
You could take this analysis
down to every village and
local census tract.
Since this imbalance will
never change, we would be
better off leaving tax levies
at the most local level of government.
There will be signifi
cant savings in administrative
costs and a greater
percentage of locally generated
revenues remaining in
our communities. Generating,
keeping and spending local
funds in your communities
also allows greater accountability
and oversight by public
offi cials and citizens from the
same neighborhoods.
Larry Penner
Opposes Engel’s
hawkish stands
Dear editor,
On June 12, the Washington
Post reported that Andom
Ghebreghiorgis will challenge
Congressman Eliot Engel in
the June 23, 2020 primary. He
is quoted, “Our representatives
hawkish record is clear:
he voted for the Iraq War, voted
against withdrawing the U.S.
from Afghanistan, opposed the
Iran Nuclear Deal, supported
Trumps decision to unilaterally
move the U.S. Embassy to
Israel and supported Israels illegal
annexation of the Golan
Heights. Humanity does not
benefi t from these militaristic
policies that we typically expect
to be supported by the Republican
Party.”
As a voting constituent and
activist in Congressman Engel’s
district, who is the chair
of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, I demand that he
do all he can to stop U.S. military
aggression around the
world, whether in Iran, Venezuela,
or Yemen.
As many as 17,000 civilians
have died at the hands of attacks
fueled by Congressman
Engels contributors, and people
continue to suffer everyday
from violence, famine, and
cholera.
I look forward to seeing public
commitment from Mr. Engel
to stopping all illegal U.S.
involvement in wars.
Ben Ingraham
Local pols
are weak
Dear editor,
I’m not against immigration
amnesty. Even though we
have been down that road and
it didn’t help anything. The
number of illegals just grew.
We need to clean up this
immigration problem.
The undocumented were
not forced to break the immigration
laws. They chose to.
And despite that many Americans
are feeling sorry for them
and welcoming them in.
Despite the fact that our
city is overpopulated, that
our roads are congested, our
ER rooms fi lled and our classrooms
fi lled.
The immigrants that came
years ago followed our rules
and laws. And took the painstaking
hours to become citizens
the legal way so they
didn’t have to live in fear and
hiding. That paid the government
for their papers - not a
coyote.
Without penalties or repercussions
our lawmakers allowed
them to circumvent our
laws.
This is anarchy.
And while our lawmakers
are not properly taking care
of our parks and schools and
infrastructure they neglect
their duty as elected offi cials.
They mock our laws. They disregard
the voters and the citizens.
The state legislature has
passed a law that will soon
start charging extra for going
into Manhattan, claiming that
there are too many drivers on
the road causing congestion.
Then a few weeks later they
want to legalize thousands of
more vehicles on the road. Vehicles
that won’t have proper
insurance. Once again they
protect those breaking the
law.
My neighbors need to drive
to work. But our legislators
have done nothing to help ease
the congestion at Bronx Park
East (Pelham Parkway nor Allerton).
Where is their voice
on this matter?
Where is their voice when
our children are exposed to
drug addicts while they walk
to school. Where is their outrage?
When 95% of the ‘gun violence’
is gang related, where
is their voice opposing gang
violence?
I’m trying so hard to sustain
the respect I have left for
my legislators. I know many of
them. They are good people.
But they were cowardly and
weak on these matters. They
do what is politically ‘safe’, not
what is right.
Gene DeFrancis
More letters on page 50
This week’s As Stated continues
to address recent legislative
successes in Albany
with a variety of elected offi
cials issuing statements on
the items they are most excited
about.
Other commentaries include
Councilwoman Vanessa
Gibson’s viewpoint on
the adoption of NYC’s budget,
Michael A. Blake on the celebration
of Juneteenth and his
reaction to the hiring of the
new NYCHA commissioner
at a $400,000 annual salary,
and Assemblyman Victor M.
Picardo’s salute to a Carnegie
Medal recipient.
State Senator Alessandra
Biaggi comments on the passage
of her bill to protect New
Yorkers against sexual harassment
and discrimination.....
“With this legislation, employers
across all sectors will be
held accountable for addressing
all forms of sexual harassment
and discrimination in
the workplace and survivors
will be given the necessary
time to report complaints and
seek the justice they deserve.”
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz’s
statement on the passage
of climate change legislation.....
“Every generation
seems to have one preeminent
challenge that defi nes their
relationship with the world
around them. For this generation,
that challenge is climate
change.
“For the fourth year in a
row, I am incredibly proud to
vote in favor of taking substantial
and signifi cant action
to combat climate change and
to establish New York State
as a global leader in how we
can transform our economy to
save our planet.”
State Senator Alessandra
Biaggi praises the passage of
the Climate Leadership And
Community Protection Act.....
“For my district in the Bronx,
where asthma death rates are
three times higher than the
rest of the United States, the
passage of the Climate Leadership
and Community Protection
Act is about more than addressing
the effects of climate
change – it’s about combating
a public health crisis stemming
from decades of pollution
and poor air-quality. ”
Assembly Speaker Carl
E. Heastie’s statement regarding
the Child-Parent Security
Act..... “We must ensure
that the health and welfare of
women who enter into (surrogacy)
arrangements are
protected, and that reproductive
surrogacy does not become
commercialized. This
requires careful thought.
“While our work for this
session is nearly complete, I
look forward to continuing
this conversation in the coming
months with our members
and interested parties to develop
a solution that works for
everyone.
Statement from Borough
President Ruben Diaz, Jr.
re: Green Light NY legislation.....
“The passing of legislation
to allow undocumented
New Yorkers the ability to obtain
drivers licenses is an unqualifi
ed victory for the people
of this state.
“Not only will this legislation
help make our roads
safer, it will also help integrate
immigrant New Yorkers
more strongly within their
communities while also providing
them with increased
economic opportunities.”
Statement by Assemblyman
Michael A. Blake in
Celebration of Juneenth.....
“ Juneteenth is a day that
we celebrate freedom for enslaved
African Americans in
the United States while recognizing
that our pursuit for justice
is everlasting.
“Despite the challenges, we
have much to celebrate as we
continue to make substantial
advances towards the dream
of equity and justice for all.
Juneteenth is a time to refl ect
both on how far we’ve come as
a country, and how much work
is left to be done.”
Councilwoman Vanessa
Gibson applauds the adoption
of the city’s FY20 Budget.....
“Every year the Council aims
to negotiate and pass a comprehensive,
progressive, equitable,
and fair budget. The
City Council signifi cantly invests
in essential programs
that service the needs of all
New Yorkers and safeguard
our future. Such safety measures
include an additional
More statements on page 50