BY MARK GJONAJ
On the heels of the tragedy
our city bared witness to in
Queens, where a young boy
was struck by an unlawful
dirt bike rider, and in a year
where just the fi rst three
months saw eight deaths and
more than 350 injuries related
to dirt bikes and ATVs,
enough is enough. Unfortunately,
our Bronx is not immune
to this summer crisis
either, and as your local lawmaker,
I have an obligation to
secure the safety of my constituents.
CIVIC CENTER
Korony Post 253
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 42 ULY 30-AUG. 5, 2021 BTR
I am in the process
of drafting a set of legislation
to heighten penalties on illegal
and reckless use of dirt
bikes and ATVs, and enhance
NYPD ability to engage this
public safety issue. Chiefl y,
my legislation will seek to
increase existing penalties
for unlawful use, reckless
operation and any kinds of
street racing by 50% of their
current maximum, while
raising the minimum level
of fi ne. Additional bills will
look to leverage existent technology
and suggest modes of
training and enforcement
strategy to help our NYPD
offi cers respond to this issue
in a way that is just, safe and
balanced. We look to the mayor’s
administration and the
community for support as
we intend to move this legislation
from drafting to introduction
to voting to passage.
Any input on this legislation
will be well-received and appreciated,
especially as some
of you with fi rst-hand experience
witnessing these issues
can offer special insight.For
further information, or any
concern related or unrelated
to this issue, please contact
my offi ce at either MGjonaj@
council.nyc.gov or at (718) 931-
1721. Be well and stay safe, it
is my privilege to represent
the Bronx and the wonderful
constituents of Council District
13.
BY FRANK VERNUCCIO
Declaring opponents of a
regime “enemies of the state”
is a long tradition in authoritarian
governments. Shockingly,
the concept is being
deployed by the Biden administration.
On June 15, the White
House announced a “National
Strategy for Countering Domestic
Terrorism.” While
there is general agreement
that terrorism is, of course, a
bad thing, the use of the label
“domestic terrorist” to subdue
those who merely oppose,
ideologically and without violence,
a current administration
is an instrument of oppression.
In the opening months of
the Obama-Biden administration,
“Operation Vigilant Eagle”
was commenced, labelling
returning veterans from
the Afghanistan and Iraq wars
as potential terrorists. That
administration failed to provide
convincing evidence that
veterans were any more prone
to terrorism than any other
group. What is clear, however,
is that military personnel
were more prone to have
political views contrary to the
then-White House than others.
Despite having proven to
be a public relations disaster
in 2009, the same biased and
politically charged concept
is again being deployed as a
means to intimidate political
opponents. This time, “white
supremacy” is being used as
the excuse to label and intimidate
those who have differing
views, even if there is
no evidence of violence or racial
bias. Increased use of the
term “domestic terrorist” is
not confi ned to racial matters
by some individuals and journalistic
outlets. Those who
believe there was fraud in the
2020 election have also been
informally given the label. Additionally,
the use of phrase
has been employed to describe
those who don’t subscribe to
the environmental policies of
the left.
There is a clear lack of actual
specifi c statistics, as opposed
to anecdotal accounts
and broad statements, about
the existence of a terror threat
from those allegedly operating
under what the left labels
white supremacy, anti-climate
change regulation or other relevant
motivations, although
isolated acts of violence have
occurred and some very minor
organizations exist.
Stunningly, however,
there is a great reluctance
to treat and governmentally
respond to left-wing organizations,
more ideologically
aligned with the Biden administration,
such as Antifa
and Black Lives Matter,
as terrorists despite massive
evidence. These organizations
have frequently burned
buildings, looted stores, attacked
individuals — including
journalists covering
their activities — assaulted
federal courthouses, and occupied
police stations. They
have established “autonomous
zones” within U.S. cities.
These activities are neither
rare, commonplace or
unusual for those groups. Indeed,
they are their centralized
focus.
Mike Gonzalez, writing in
City Journal in September,
noted:
“…the leaders of the Black
Lives Matter organizations
… were trained by self-described
Marxist revolutionaries
who have long used the
plight of black Americans as
justifi cation for overthrowing
America’s constitutional
order. They frankly admit
that such “organizing” is the
key to their goal of world revolution
… These facilitators
of anti-white struggle sessions
disdain the capitalist
system and seek its replacement—
and the mainstream
media cheers them on.”
Antifa shares both BLM’s
Marxist roots and its emphasis
on violence. Seth Jones, in a
report for theCenter for Strategic
and International Studiesgives
an example: “One of the
most common symbols used by
Antifa combines the red fl ag of
the 1917 Russian Revolution
and the black fl ag of 19th century
anarchists.”
Biden’s “National Strategy”
however, essentially ignores
these very real, substantive
and continuous threats,
while concentrating on anecdotal,
infrequent and largely
disorganized examples of
what the media generally portrays
as “right-wing” violence.
This is not surprising, considering
the mind-set of the current
administration. Kamala
Harris, for example, expressed
support for a nonprofi t called
the Minnesota Freedom Fund,
which pays criminal bail and
immigration bonds, and encouraged
her supporters to donate
to it during BLM protests
last summer.
America, with its unique
First Amendment protecting
free speech, has been reluctant
to deal with domestic terrorist
organizations as groups, while
willing to prosecute individuals
from those groups that
commit acts of violence. That
may be changing, as the Biden
administration appears to
have more affi nity with other
nation’s examples than American
precedent.
Its “National Strategy”
document notes: “We can
learn from our international
partners’ challenges and successes
in disrupting plots and
responding to attacks, integrating
that expertise into our
own planning.”
CIVIC CENTER
Community Action
Civic Association
BY TONY SALIMBENE
A special ‘”Save the Date.”
Support the Troops Bingo is
back. More than 8,000 packages
of necessary items weresent
to deployed forces, and
now we’re aiming for 10,000!
Proceeds to go for the postage,
which we can’t seem to get
anyone to consider lowering.
Fortunately, we have expert
shoppers and packers.
Advanced sales only, no
door sales. Tickets go on sale
Aug. 1 and sell out fast. $10
for admission and a Bingo
card (additional cards available
for you Bingo experts).
Snacks and some fun raffl es,
too.Friday night, Sept. 10, 7
p.m.-10 p.m. (doors open at 6:30
p.m.) at Samuel Young American
Legion Post 620, 1531 Erickson
Place, by the Tremont
East Diner. Contact Colleenusmc1@
aol.com if interested.
It’s always an amazing evening
and it’s for a good cause!
Until Next Time: “Until
they all come home” In memory
of Christian P. Engeldrum
(FDNY, Army National Guard)
BY JOE MONDELLO
The summer of 1971 was
fi lled with a culture of change
that would ring out for the next
50 years. In 1971, the voting age
was dropped to 18; Jim Morrison
of the Doors died; a march
on Washington D.C., by around
500,000 anti-Vietnam war protesters
was held; and a benefi t
concert for Bangladesh was
played at Madison Square Garden.
On Aug. 1, 1971, the benefi t
concert for Bangladesh was organized
by George Harrison
and Ravi Shankar. It took place
in New York City. Performing
two concerts, one at 2:30 p.m.
and the second one at 8 p.m.
With more than 40,000 people
attending, I was lucky enough
to get a ticket that Sunday to
the 2:30 p.m. show. It happened
by chance. My high school
buddy John Mayer gave me a
call that morning at around
11 a.m. after his girlfriend decided
to bail on him at the last
minute.
For those of you who
weren’t lucky enough to attend
the benefi t concert 50 years
ago, come to the Sam Young
Post 620 on Saturday, July 31,
at 8 p.m. for a 50th anniversary
showing of the Bangladesh
Concert Documentary. It will
be an outdoor event held on our
great lawn. The concert will
be projected onto our large 15-
foot screen with concert stereo
sound ( Sorry surround sound
wasn’t invented yet).
Bring your blanket, lawn
chairs and family. Wear your
tie-dye and lets enjoy a little
summer of love together. Refreshments
and snacks will
be available to purchase at the
Post. No outside food or drinks
allowed. The concert is around
1 hour and 45 minutes long.
Hope to see you there. Peace
and love.
CIVIC CENTER
American Legion
Post 620
From Councilman Mark Gjonaj
VISIT US AT BXTIMES.COM
/too.Fr
link
/council.nyc.gov
link
/aol.com
/BXTIMES.COM