BRONX TIMES REPORTER, SEPTEMBER 2 48 7-OCTOBER 3, 2019 BTR
BRONX HOUSE’S FUN DAY
Last week, Councilman Mark Gjonaj hosted ‘Fun Day on the Parkway’,
which featured various outdoor activities, at Bronx House,
990 Pelham Parkway South.
(Above) Councilman Gjonaj with attendees during ‘Fun Day on the
Parkway’. Photo courtesy of Councilman Mark Gjonaj’s offi ce
BY STEVEN GLOSSER
The Pelham Parkway
Neighborhood Association
held its September meeting
at Bronx House on Tuesday,
September 10 before a
packed audience with its featured
speaker Bronx District
Attorney Darcel Clark.
Before DA Clark spoke
there were reports from the
elected offi cials’ representatives
from Congresswoman
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
Assemblywoman Nathalia
Fernandez, Councilman
Richie Torres and Senator
Alessandra Biaggi gave reports.
The PPNA has invited
Senator Biaggi many times to
our meetings and has never
received a response. Her predecessor,
Senator Jeff Klein,
was very involved with the
PPNA and showed much interest
in the community, appearing
many times at meetings.
PPNA’s Edith Blitzer
also wanted to know where
Biaggi’s Pelham Parkway offi
ce was? Her rep Emily said
that Biaggi’s new offi ce was
on Riverdale Avenue and that
a mobile offi ce would visit
other parts of the district.
Clark spoke about the recent
Bronx case that made
headlines regarding the high
school student that stabbed
two classmates after he
stated they were bullying
him. The young man that did
the stabbing was sentenced to
14 years in jail. She takes into
consideration community,
people and the repercussions
of the crime when making a
decision. It’s very emotional
making a decisions which effects
someone’s life and future.
She wanted the entire
community to know ‘what
concerns you concerns me’.
The DA’s offi ce is changing
the way they prosecute cases.
Each lawyer is handling the
entire case from start to fi nish,
‘from soup to nuts’.
After talking about changing
how the DA’s offi ce handles
cases she discussed case
reviews of fi ve past convictions,
that were in jail for up
to 20 years that have been exonerated.
This was realized
after closely working with
local precincts and revisiting
the cases. She needs people
to step foward and show
courage to bring out the bad
seeds in the community .
She has created a new bureau
unit to combat domestic
violence, the Domestic Violence
Complaint Unit, which
works hand in hand with the
Mayor’s offi ce. Clark brought
to everyone’s attention the
severity of the opioid crisis
has now become a public
health problem. The Bronx
has the highest rate. Clark
said that in the Bronx the
average age of an opioid addict
is 46-years-old. However
Fentanyl is is the newest addicted
drug which is stronger
than heroin. She is introducing
new overdose and
recovery programs in the
Bronx which concentrates on
where and who are doing the
most overdoses. Over 70 people
enrolled in the program
have successfully completed
it. With the goal she is looking
for them to become better
and productive citizens
of society.
The next topic touched on
by Clark was the easiness of
buying guns in our society.
With children and teenagers
shooting children. With that
in mind she is offering a gun
buyback program in many
neighborhoods.No questions
asked. She just wants unlicensed
guns returned.
She has formed safety fairs
and seminars for youngsters
to learn parenting skills,
and how to recognize signs
of child abuse. There will
now be community centers
open in the evenings for teenagers
in various neighborhoods
with basketball, dancing
with a focus on building
team and leadership among
the youth.
Clark expounded on the
new criminal justice laws in
effect and how the strength,
and the individual of the case
determines how justice is different
in every case. She is
looking to create more programs
for dropouts and for
people with mental illness
and to combat homelessness
in the borough by working
with DHS to opening more
homeless centers. The shelters
will have to be monitored
very closely .
She is in favor of closing
Riker’s but the mayor’s offi ce,
City Council and community
boards need to weigh in and
need a plan in place before
the decision is made. She is
making mental health issues
and mental illness a top priority
in her next term.
Clark also answered
many intelligent questions
from the audience. The PPNA
wishes to thank Clark for her
very informative session.
The next meeting of the
PPNA will be on Tuesday,
October 15 at 7:15 p.m. at
Bronx House. Please join us.
The PPNA works around the
clock and year round to improve
the quality of life in
Pelham Parkway. We can always
be reached by email at
pelhamparkway NA@gmail.
com.
Follow and like us on facebook
for neighborhood updates
and important information.
See you on the 15th.
Thank You to Tosca Marquee
for hosting our September
meeting. If you are having
an upcoming event, please
consider Tosca Marquee.
Their food and service is great
and the space is nicely decorated.
Another thank you to our
guest speaker, Yasmin Cruz,
the Westchester Square BID
executive director and her
valuable information regarding
the Throggs Neck Business
Improvement District.
Richard Rosario, TNMA
vice-president, of Richard Rosario
Photography offered
complimentary headshots for
all TNMA members who attended
our September meeting
so they can update their
individual online business
profi les. He also offered a
fi rst member website training
at the end of the meeting.
For TNMA members who
could not attend our September
meeting, we will be offering
more website training in
the upcoming weeks so please
check back with this column
and our Facebook page for
those dates and times.
Our annual Throggs Neck
Merchants Dinner Dance
will be on Thursday, October
24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Villa
Barone Manor. Enjoy dining
and dancing with fellow merchants,
members of the community,
friends and family
while we honor businesses,
business people and residents
for their commitment to our
local businesses and community.
his year our honorees are
Anthony Mimeli of MARCRE
Property Group for Businessman
of the Year, Melissa of
Tosca Marquee for Businesswoman
of the Year, Madeline
and Salvatore DeSieno of SDS
Electrical for Businesscouple
of the Year, David Flannery of
Flannery Hardware for Lifetime
Achievement and John
Procario of Throggs Neck
Auto Center for the Excellence
Award. Tickets are available
now. Get ten tickets and receive
a free journal ad (white
page only, $150 value). Our
journal is a great way to congratulate
our honorees and
advertise your business. We
have still have some ad space
available from $100 and up.
Call Gerri Colon at (646) 334-
0127 or email Angela Molinini
at angela.tnma@gmail.com
for more information.
Volleyball for Vets was
outstanding, good food music
and fun for all around.
I would like to thank Chip
and Pat from the Bay for all
they did to make it for what
it turned out to be. The band,
Flight Risk, was unbelievable.
We would love them to
come back again. Thanks to
all the establishments and
patrons that risked life and
limb for contributing to a
worthy cause, a few wounds,
but all good.
This is one of many events
that makes us a neighborhood.
We support each other
and that’s how we keep these
organizations alive. On Saturday,
October 5 and Sunday,
October 6 we will be
hosting the100th Centennial
of WWI and the death of our
name sake Samuel H. Young.
We will have static displays
of that time as well as movies
and letters written home
from Sam on the front line.
Samuel was killed in France
and buried there. We will be
erecting a stone in honor of
his supreme sacrifi ce to this
country.
Thanks to Post1456 for
a moving POW/MIA ceremony,
Let us never forget.
Great post and good people
there. Attend your meetings,
get involved, you are the future
of what goes on. That’s
all for now.
We are stronger as one.
Let’s work together.
God bless America.
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