letters & comments
To the Editor,
After the Jan. 6 insurrection,
caused and incited by
Donald Trump’s violent rhetoric
which cost the life of one
Capitol police offi cer and jeopardized
many others, U.S. Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was
on point with her rant, “I don’t
wanna hear any Republican
talking about Blue Lives Matter
ever again.”
Fellow u.s. Rep. Val Demmings,
who herself was a police
offi cer, also voiced identical
outrage toward the GOP, saying
they only call for supporting
police “when it suits their
divisive agenda, using the police
as a tool.” Many reporters
and others on social media
also called out these same GOP
Trumpers, denouncing their
despicable behavior toward
Capitol police testifying at the
current Congressional Hearing.
So much for “Support the
police”; so much for “Law and
Order.” These representatives
and others alike speaking up
are correct, 100% spot on.
Michael S. Wilbekin
To the Editor,
To all my fellow seniors,
along with everyone else we
have gone through some very
hard times this past year and
a half. Three weeks ago, as I
opened my email from Councilman
report I saw that the Senior
Center under St. Benedict’s
church was open. I felt God
telling me to “go.” They are
open Monday through Friday,
9a.m.-4 p.m.
It was so wonderful to see
so many people I already knew
and made new friends, too.
The lunch, for $2.50, is so
good. And, remember, you
don’t have to shop for it, cook
it or clean up after it.
They have a lot of activities
if you want to partake such as
walking, exercise, a crocheting/
Last week I passed into law four
bills to help save and support our city,
and our district’s small business restaurants.
Third-party food delivery
apps, an emerging form of tech in our
city, are innovative and when existing
in harmony with our restaurants, satisfy
customer demand and provided a
safe alternative to dine-in during the
crisis stages of the pandemic.
However, some business practices
and behaviors in the industry are in
need of oversight and legislative solutions.
To this end, my colleagues and I
introduced and passed two temporary
laws (and then extended them) putting
limits on how much these apps can
charge restaurants per order and prohibiting
the practice of charging restaurants
for phone orders that never
took place.
Mark Gjonaj’s weekly
Of the new set of bills just recently
passed (and are now awaiting signature
from the mayor), these include
a third extension to the commission
cap, or a limit on how much thirdparty
food apps can charge partnering
restaurants; a permanent prohibition
on false phone orders; a
requirement for apps to list the actual
telephone number of participating
restaurants and not just an appgenerated
number; and fi nally, a bill
necessitating that apps receive the
consent of restaurants that they deliver
from.
Each of the bills passed address a
particular problem presented by this
segment of the tech sector. In doing
so, they are intended to protect the
bottom line of our struggling small
business restaurants who have never
faced such hardship, and give them
the agency and autonomy to partner
with who and on what terms, which
is their right.
For questions about the legislation,
or any concerns related to life in
District 13, please contact my offi ce at
either MGjonaj@council.nyc.gov or
at (718) 931-1721. Thank you and stay
safe.
BRONX TIMES R 38 EPORTER, AUG. 6-12, 2021 BTR
knitting class, music and
dancing, Bingo (my favorite),
raffl es, birthday celebrations
and more. If you are already
signed up, come on down or if
you are not come and register;
there’s lots of good things going
on. Come by and say “hi”
to me.
Cathy Praino
To the Editor,
New York State Assemblymembers
Harry Bronson of
Rochester along with Deborah
Glick and Danny O’Donnell
of Manhattan recently sent
a letter to the New York State
Thruway Authority Executive
Director Matthew Driscoll
opposing Chick-fi l-A to open
at Thruway rest stops. They
claim to represent the interests
of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-
Sexual, Transgender and
Queer (LGBTQ) communities,
but in calling for the denial of
this free enterprise business to
open new locations is intolerant
in itself.
For years, Chick-fi l-A has
had dozens of stores in NYC,
Long Island, Buffalo, Rochester,
Albany Airport and
along the New Jersey Turnpike.
They are in the process
of opening 200 stores in NYC.
Chick-fi l-A provides gainful
employment to construction
contractors and their employees
to build each operation as
well as cooks, cashiers and
food supply deliverers. This
benefi ts many who reside in
high unemployment communities
in upstate New York.
Some who have benefi ted are
part of the LGBTQ community.
Many more open minded members
of the LGBTQ community
work or dine there. Chick-fi l-A
provides a quality product at
reasonable prices. Revenues
generated by Chick-fi l-A at
Thruway stops will help the
state Thruway Authority pay
off the $3.9 billion tab for the
Mario Cuomo Tappan Zee
Bridge.
How disappointing to see
“politically correct” Progressive
liberal members of the
LGBTQ community throwing
their lot in with political extremists
on the right who use
the threat of boycotts to impose
their moral values on others.
If you don’t like the politics
of Chick-fi l-A, don’t eat there.
Don’t deny the civil liberties of
others who might prefer Chickfi
l-A. In America, under the
free enterprise system, this is
called freedom of choice.
Chick-fi l-A owners and
employees are our neighbors.
They work long hours and pay
taxes. True tolerance means
accepting those with different
values than your own. There
are plenty of other dining options
available at New York
State Thruway stops if you
don’t want to patronize Chickfi
l-A.
Larry Penner
From Councilman Mark Gjonaj
File photo
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