BRONX TIMES REPORTER,26 SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2020 BTR
The Huntington Free
Library and Reading Room
is pleased to announce The
East Bronx History Forum
will hold its 147th meeting
on Wednesday, Sept. 16t at
8 p.m.. September is also
the start of our 17th season
and it will be a different
meeting from all our
past presentations.
This will be our fi rst
fully online meeting, limited
to the fi rst 100 members
and friends that log
onto our Zoom meeting.
On a fi rst come basis. The
East Bronx History Forum
will post the login
details on our web page at
BronxNYC.com.
The presentation will
feature Jeffrey S. Gurock,
discussing his new book
“Parkchester: A Bronx Tale
of Race and Ethnicity.” Mr.
Gurock combines his personal
experience growing
up in Parkchester with research
into the history of
this planned community
in the Bronx, and offers
an interpretation both of
Parkchester’s uniqueness
and what it reveals about
the broader city.
Jeffrey researched the
1940-1968 Met-Life archives
during the period when
they owned Parkchester.
Mr. Gurock compared
what he calls “my truth”
with “the truth” of life in
the neighborhood where
he grew up (1949-1974). He
constantly was testing
himself, looking at memoirs,
newspapers and interviews
of alumni and present
residents. Mr. Gurock
gives a fair opinion of the
problems that occurred
in Parkchester’s past history,
along with its success
in providing the largest
multifamily housing
development at that time.
We will have Jeffrey S.
Gurock’s book available
for sale, with a 30 percent
discount code available
and posted on-line from the
publisher. Remember, we
will meet on-line, 8 p.m.,
Wednesday Sept. 16.
BY FORMER JUDGE JOHN WILSON
Retired Judge John Wilson examined
Mayor de Blasio’s actions,
and is truly displeased. He provided
this analysis for COMACTA
Wherever you stand regarding
the organization known as
Black Lives Matter (BLM), there
is one clear and present fact that
cannot be ignored; it is a blatant
confl ict of interest for Mayor
Bill de Blasio to have approved
of, and then participated in, the
placement and preparation of
a series of murals which state
“Black Lives Matter” in large
yellow letters in the streets of
New York City.
Further, by refusing to allow
other organizations to use the
same platform to spread their
own messages, de Blasio is violating
the rights of these groups
under the First Amendment.
There can be little doubt that
painting the words “Black Lives
Matter” on a public street constitutes
an attempt by Mayor de Blasio
to “use his position as a public
servant to obtain any…other private
or personal advantage” (in
violation of New York City Charter
Chapter 68, Section 2604(b)(2))
and constitutes an act “in confl
ict with the proper discharge of
his…offi cial duties” (In violation
of New York City Charter Chapter
68, Section 2604(b)(3). The
placement of the fi rst mural just
outside the residence of President
Donald Trump, when DeBlasio
himself is a former candidate for
the presidency underscores the
political nature of the gesture.
Additionally, by his intimate
involvement in the actual placement
of a BLM mural at Trump
Tower, and in other locations
across the city, the Mayor is
openly courting proponents of
BLM in exchange for his visible
support of their movement.
It is no secret that BLM has
become a political powerhouse.
Donations to BLM total in the
tens of millions, and are coming
from high-powered corporations
including Amazon ($10 million to
12 groups including BLM), Microsoft
($250,000), Airbnb ($500,000
to both the NAACP and BLM)
and Nabisco ($500,000 to both the
NAACP and BLM). It is also apparent
that BLM is most closely
politically aligned with the Democratic
Party. A visitor to the website
for BLM who presses the “donate”
button is transferred to the
site for “ActBlue,” an organization
which states that their platform
is “available to Democratic
candidates and committees, progressive
organizations and nonprofi
ts that share our values.”
It is therefore undeniable that
Black Lives Matter is heavily fi -
nanced and has the resources
to support the Democratic
candidates of their choice.
De Blasio has been unstinting
in his support of BLM, calling the
movement a “seismic moment in
the country’s history” and comparing
it to the civil rights movement
of the 1950s and 1960s. In
doing so, he denies that there is
any political dimension to BLM,
stating that the movement is
“something that…transcends
all normal realities,” and that
his involvement in the BLM murals
is “because we are at a moment
of history when that had to
be said in such a public fashion.”
But despite his disingenuous denials
of the political nature of
the BLM movement, the political
advantage de Blasio can expect
to receive from his very public
support of BLM is obvious.
The mayor’s actions to bolster
BLM to the detriment of other
groups who seek equal time for
their messages is more proof that
de Blasio is acting in his own
self interest. The group “Blue
Lives Matter” asked permission
to paint their own mural outside
police headquarters, without success.
Another group, “Women for
America First,” applied in writing
to paint a mural on the street
which would read “Engaging, Inspiring
and Empowering Women
to Make a Difference!” To date,
the de Blasio Administration has
ignored this request.
The mayor’s offi ce admits
that they also disregarded their
own vague application process,
previously applicable to the
painting of murals in parks and
not city streets, to green-light
the BLM murals, while asking
groups like Blue Lives Matter
and Women for America First to
follow this ill-defi ned process. It
is no wonder, then that Women
for America First fi led a lawsuit
in Federal Court against the
de Blasio Administration.
In their lawsuit, Women for
America First assert that “Defendant
de Blasio ran in the Democratic
primary for President in
2020 and, on information and belief,
has political ambitions to run
for national or other elected offi ce
as a Democrat after the end of his
fi nal term as Mayor of New York
City or to be appointed to a prominent
position in an anticipated
Biden Administration.” Further,
“on information and belief,
de Blasio’s conduct…is intended
as a political gesture to the BLM
movement and those sympathetic
to it…in order to enhance his future
prospects as a Democratic
candidate for offi ce or appointee
and by rallying BLM support
for Democrats…”
On this basis, they assert
that Mayor de Blasio has violated
their rights under the First
Amendment to publicize their
own message, while publicizing
and supporting the message of
another group.
Thus, there are several distinct
elements to the confl ict of
interest presented by Mayor
de Blasio’s actions. First, he
caused a BLM mural to be
placed in front of the home of
his political rival, making the
gesture unmistakably political.
Second, he chose a message
that would signal his support
for a group from which
he can expect a substantial
benefi t, and third, de Blasio
continues to exclude contrary
messages which confl ict
with the message he chooses
to support.
Like any citizen, Bill de Blasio
has the right to his own beliefs,
and to hold up any cause
in which he believes, such as
when he expressed his support
for the Sandinistas in the
1980s. But as the elected Mayor
of New York City, de Blasio has
an ethical obligation to avoid
actions that would be to his fi -
nancial benefi t, whether that
benefi t be direct or indirect,
and to avoid actions that confl
ict with his offi cial duties.
This is the clear language of
Chapter 68 of the New York
City Charter and there can
be little doubt that the mayor’s
actions are in violation of
this statute.
CIVIC CENTER
COMACTA
BY AL D’ANGELO
What is a racist? The dictionary
says, it is a person who shows
or feels discrimination or prejudice
against people of other races
or who believes one race is superior
to another. What is systemic
racism? A form of racism that
is embedded as normal practice
within society or an organization.
What is prejudice? An unfavorable
opinion or feeling formed without
knowledge thought or reason.
Systemic racism showed its
ugly head in America as evidenced
in the treatment of the Indians,
Blacks, Chinese, Irish, Italians,
Hispanics and just about any culture
that came to this country for
the fi rst time. Rooted in lack of understanding,
fear of losing jobs to
the newcomers and stereotypical
beliefs. History tells us that our
early pioneers, who moved west
in Conestoga wagons, did not have
the luxury of racism (except for
the Indians) because they had to
work together to survive. We cannot
confuse pride in one’s culture
and traditions as racist, we should
all have pride in our heritage.
The reason immigrants migrate
to areas occupied by the
same ethnic group is because they
share a common language and custom.
You hear all the time — that’s
the Italian section, that’s the Korean
section, etc. Ethnic pride is
evident in the fl ags displayed from
different countries. This only becomes
a problem when a person
with a different ethnic origin
moves into the area and the entire
community discriminates against
them — that is systemic racism. If
only a few are discriminating because
of a person’s race they are
exhibiting prejudice.
A perfect example of prejudice
is when you vote for someone because
of their ethnic background
rather than their accomplishments.
The Morris Park community
is not a systemic racist community;
that’s not to say there
aren’t any racist in the community.
Racist come in all colors
and ethnicities. You can legislate
against racist behavior, but you
can’t legislate racist thinking.
The only way to stop racist thinking
is through understanding and
education not by fi gure pointing
and accusations.
People aren’t born racist it is
a learned behavior which must be
unlearned – that takes time. Using
race as a political tool is harmful
to the process. We are all Americans
and should be treated as
such. You hear politicians all the
time saying “we have to get the
Hispanic vote or we have to get the
Black vote,” those statements in
themselves are divisive because
we are being separated by race by
the very people who say we should
come together as one people.
The reason people are so upset
by the destroying of the American
fl ag is not because they are against
protests but because they are disrespecting
the one thing that
unites us. That unity was earned
by the blood of every ethnic and
religious group who were able to
rise above their prejudicial encounters.
From the Indians whose
land we stole, to Black Americans
who were kept as slaves, to the
Japanese Americans who we
put in internment camps during
WWII, they put aside the
past to fi ght for a better future.
They and many other groups
paid the ultimate price to see
that our fl ag continues to fl y.
We don’t destroy history we
learn from it and we become
a better people, ergo a better
nation, under one fl ag.
CIVIC CENTER
The Morris Park
Community
Association
CIVIC CENTER
The East Bronx
History Foum
/BronxNYC.com
