Gjonaj letters & comments
On Wednesday, Sept. 9, the Red Hats will hold a bus trip to Wind Creek,
Honoring Community Service
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2020 13
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
The bus departs at 8:30 a.m. from Ampere Avenue and Kenellworth Place and at 8:45 a.m.
from Williamsbridge Road and Morris Park Avenue (in front of the Lutheran Church).
Non-alcoholic drinks are free. Masks must be worn at all times and temperature will be
taken at the bus. Anyone with fever will not be able to enter the casino. Restaurants, food
court and designer outlets are on the casino fl oor.
Tickets are $35. For further information call 718-828-5073.
BY COUNCILMAN
MARK GJONAJ
Last week I was successful
in passing extensions to the
protections I had previously
afforded, legislatively, to restaurants
throughout New
York City. They just merely
await signature from the
mayor’s offi ce to be enacted.
These protections, which cap
commission fees third-party
delivery are able to charge to
partnering restaurants and
prohibit false phone order
charges, will now be in effect
until NYC restaurants are
able to operate in full capacity,
plus a full 90 days thereafter.
Once passed into law,
this emergency legislative
package will provide an essential
lifeline to our city’s
small businesses, protecting
them from unfair business
practices and continuing to
support all alternative revenue
streams they can pursue
to keep their doors open.
Restaurants, particularly
small business restaurants,
are in their darkest hour in
this city. This is no exaggeration.
Some estimates suggest
that once this pandemic is all
said and done, roughly onethird
of NYC restaurants will
be out-of-operation. Many
have already closed, particularly
bars where delivery is
not feasible. Unable to offer
dine-in service, restaurants
rely on either limited outdoor
seating (a still excellent
alternative solution nonetheless)
and various delivery/
pickup options for their revenue
streams. All the while
they still have to complete
fi xed payments like rent and
utilities, making profi t margins
slim, barely breaking
just even, or perhaps even
losing money.
My fi ght to equalize the
playing fi eld between restaurants
and third-party
food delivery platforms is
far from over. I look now to
pass permanent versions of
the emergency legislation described
above, once of course
they near expiration and the
pandemic state-of-emergency
is near over. I also will turn
my attention to the rights
and qualms of workers in the
employ of third-party delivery
platforms, especially as it
relates to just compensation.
For further information
about the legislation above,
I encourage you to visit
legistar.council.nyc.gov. For
updates on past, ongoing and
future legislative efforts, I enjoin
you to follow me on Twitter
@MarkGjonajNY. Thank
you, and continue to stay safe
and healthy.
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.
Dear editor,
I am pleased that my factbased
opinions have sparked
a revival of the formally moribund
letters and comments
section of the BTR, yet saddened
by the lack of rigor exhibited
by my critics. Conspiracy
theories and name
calling are not effective methods
to refute those who hold
contrary beliefs.
One writer was distressed
because I did not provide evidence
to support the fact that
Mr.Trump has committed a
“multitude of offenses.’ Ms.
Arnold, any moderately informed
citizen should be aware
that Mr. Trump has violated
the law on many occasions,
but space does not permit a
full listing of these transgressions,
thus one example will
have to suffi ce, namely his violation
of the Hatch Act which
forbids using government resources
or property for political
purposes. The use of the
White House grounds to accept
the Republican nomination
clearly violated this law.
Another writer is apparently
clairvoyant, citing the
contents of a letter I wrote that
was not published by the BTR.
He then resorted to name calling.
Mr. Chmieloski, name
calling is what inferior minds
must resort to when they have
no legitimate response to
opposing viewpoints.
A third writer alleged that
virtually all mainstream
news outlets are biased towards
the Democrats, a conspiracy
of epic proportions.
Mr. Summers, if these news
organizations do not support
your outlook, it does not follow
that they are biased. According
to Wikipedia, belief
in conspiracy theories “can
be psychologically harmful or
pathological.” Save yourself,
consider re-examining your
political beliefs by following
facts and evidence wherever
they may lead you. By the way,
we did land on the moon.
Finally, we come to Mr.
Vernuccio, who this week laments
the “outright lies” of the
Democratic party. Apparently
he missed the Republican convention,
a smorgasbord of
falsehoods, race baiting and
fear mongering.
– Pasqual Pelosi
Courtesy Facebook of CM Gjonaj
To the editor,
This letter is addressed
to Robert Morales, who calls
the Bronx resident who wants
Christopher Columbus’ statue
taken down an “inferior quality
human being.” Mr. Morales,
simply because you do
not agree with someone does
not make them inferior. What
gives you the right to call
them a “nobody?” Mr. Cepeda
is exercising his rights to freedom
of speech, as are you,
and the right to redress the
government with grievances.
Mr. Cepeda is attempting to
do so peacefully, unlike the
anarchists who topple statues.
And in case you haven’t
heard, Mr. Morales, there is a
method by which citizens can
get proposals put on the ballot,
although the process is quite
time consuming and onerous.
Maybe you should try checking
the laws of the city and
state before proclaiming that
only the legislature can do so?
– Nat Weiner
Protecting local restaurants
Red Hats hosts bus trip to Wind Creek
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association fund raiser scheduled in
May was canceled so a ceremony was held outside the offi ces of The Jewish Community Council on Holland
Avenue. Honored for their unwavering service to their community were David Edelstein, executive
director of The Jewish Community Council of Pelham Parkway, Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez and
Laura Guerriero, publisher of the Bronx Times. Pictured from left: PPNA board members Lance Zavin,
Christian Amato, Louis Lutnick, honorees with their awards: David Edelstein, Nathalia Fernandez, Laura
Guerriero, VP Steven Glosser, President Edith Blitzer, Elio Morales and Alex Nilaj.
link
/legistar.council.nyc.gov
link
