Message from
Councilman Mark Gjonaj
COUNCILMAN MARK GJONAJ
The holiday season in District 13
has been fi lled with many family-oriented
festivities. It is my most sincere
hope that every family was able to participate.
It was my honor to sponsor all
of these holiday events throughout the
district for my community members.
We kicked off the holiday season
with our Christmas Tree Lighting
Ceremonies and our Holiday Trolley
of Fun. I was able to allocate funding
to the Kingsbridge Riverdale Van
Cortland Development Corporation
(KRVC) to sponsor the Holiday Trolley
of Fun. This trolley went around different
areas in the district, specifi cally
City Island, Pelham Bay, and Throggs
Neck.
Additionally, I was able to closely
work with our elected offi cials New
York State Assemblywoman Nathalia
Fernandez and New York Senator
Alessandra Biaggi, along with nonprofi
t organizations like Bronx House,
Montefi ore, Jewish Community Council
of Pehlham Bay, Pelham Parkway
Neighborhood Association, and Morris
Park Community Association to
coordinate Christmas Tree and Menorah
Lighting Ceremonies. These Ceremonies
were done throughout the district
and included light refreshments
and fun holiday music.
I also took the opportunity to host a
toy Drive for 60 students of P.S. 14 to ensure
that children were able to receive
a gift during this holiday season. My
team and I put together small baskets
that included a toy and book.
The holiday season concluded with
my annual Holiday Party at Marina
Del Ray. This event is particularly important
to me because I was able to
share the holiday spirit with my beloved
community.
Happy holidays and prosperous
New Year.
Bronx Brewery, Perico Limited announce streetwear partnership
BY TONY SALIMBENE
What a nice Christmas gathering
after our meeting. Good
luck to Chef Michael aka Max
as he leaves the kitchen for new
adventures.
Monday, December 16 was
the anniversary of the Battle
of The Buldge, stopping a Nazi
counter attack at a weak point
(the buldge in the line), a defi ning
but the most deadly encounter
of WW2 Europe.
Our next meeting is the
usual 3rd Sunday of January at
ATNY. The commander has designed
some committees based
on our four operating principles
to keep us going in the
right direction. We also need
to fi nalize plans for Mid Winter
Conference at Albany, January
24 to 26. The Bronx had an
extremely successful ‘Bronx
Bombers’ Yankee theme hospitality
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,36 DECEMBER 27-JANUARY 2, 2020 BTR
suite. Look out Queens
County, we will be back with
‘The Bronx, Home of Do-Wop.’
We’ll be harmonizing with DJ
Pandora and a special appearance
by The 4 iPads.
Another nice get together at
Post 620 for the Bronx County
Annual Holiday Party. As for
the usual annual singing of
The 12 Days of Christmas, don’t
give up your day gigs. Thanks
Sam Young crew for hosting.
Remember, even George
Washington warned us to beware
of those claiming to be patriots...
Taps: for members Hector
Alonzo and Fred Espisito. RIP
brothers. *Hand Salute*
Until next time: The commander
and staff wish everyone
a Merry Christmas and a
fun fi lled but safe holiday season
and prosperous New Year.
See you in 2020.
NYC Parks announced
changes to its annual Mulchfest.
During the 2020 recycling
program, New Yorkers
will now have two consecutive
Saturdays when they
can actively mulch their holiday
trees—Saturday, January
4 and 11. This new schedule
makes it easier than ever
for all to say goodbye to their
trees in an ecofriendly way,
and take a bag of nutrient
rich mulch home in the process.
Mulchfest, part of the
New York City’s holiday tradition,
encourages New Yorkers
to make greening a family
activity—turning holiday
trees into mulch which can
be used for gardening and to
increase soil fertility.
Mulchfest 2020 runs from
December 26 through January
11. With 67 total dropoff
sites—32 are chipping
sites— across the fi ve boroughs,
including parks and
GreenThumb gardens, New
Yorkers will be able drop off
holiday trees which are then
chipped and recycled. The
mulch is used to nourish
city trees and plants making
make NYC even greener.
Weather permitting, DSNY
will also collect and compost
clean trees left at curbs from
Monday, January 6 through
Friday, January 17.
For more than 20 years,
Parks and DSNY have collected
and mulched trees to
help planting beds and community
gardens around the
city grow. Mulch maintains
the health of our trees and
plants citywide by deterring
weeds, retaining moisture,
preventing compaction, adding
nutrients to the soil, and
keeping roots warm. In recent
years, Parks has mulched between
25,000 and 30,000 trees
on average annually.
The Bronx Brewery and
Bronx-based streetwear
brand Perico Limited announced
a new partnership
to make PLT the offi cial designer
and provider for the
Brewery’s merchandise.
One of the city’s hottest
up and coming streetwear
brands, with recent collaborations
with Foot Locker,
Reebok, NikePlus and adidas
Originals, PLTD has executed
numerous pop-up shops
across the city with themed
installations to give their local
supporters a singular,
unique shopping experience.
In this partnership, Perico
Limited will use its signature
style to elevate the Brewery’s
gear and take it in a new direction
– debuted on Saturday,
December 14 at the Bronx
Brewery’s ‘Blockbuster Night
In The Bronx’ release event.
“The Bronx Brewery is
our second home. Essentially
what we’re doing is moving in
– bringing our clothes over,
hanging up pictures, and
leaving their fridge empty,”
said Perico Limited partner
Jose Ruiz. “This partnership
couldn’t make any more
sense for us. From music,
to art, food and fashion, the
Bronx Brewery is a hub for
some of the best creatives in
the Bronx. It keeps its doors
open for everyone that wants
a taste and a glimpse of the
culture here and we want to
be there to help welcome you
in.”
After Perico Limited
popped-up at a number of
Bronx Brewery events, the
partnership soft-launched in
Sweden at the end of October.
During that trip, PLTD’s
Ruiz and Francis Montoya
joined the Bronx Brewery,
Bronx-based food lab Empanology
and native-son rapper
Denzil Porter in Malmö to
bring the Bronx to the opening
of the brand-new Bronx
Burgers restaurant. The
team’s journey was covered
in the most recent issue of
GO BRONX, the Bronx Tourism
Council’s quarterly.
“We are looking forward to
this partnership, as it’s at the
core of who we are as a brand,
which is building inclusivity
and community,” said Bronx
Brewery general manager
of Venue & Events Brandon
Espinosa. “We could not be
more thrilled to partner with
one the hottest brands coming
out of the Bronx and look
forward to the growth of both
of our brands via this partnership.”
Saturday’s event will reunite
the Sweden traveling
party. Built around the release
of a new ‘crosscountry
IPA’ called Blockbuster – the
latest offering in the Brewery’s
Up and Comers series
– the night will also see Empanology
add special items
to its existing pop-up in the
Brewery’s Backyard, a live
hip hop performance from
Porter and a set from BXB fi xture
DJ JFuse.
New Perico Limited x
Bronx Brewery collab merchandise
will be available in
the Bronx Brewery Taproom
and Online Store (thebronxbrewery.
com/shop), along
with existing Bronx Brewery
classics. The PLTD online
store will also display a portal
to purchase the new gear.
The two brands plan to
host a variety pop-ups during
events throughout 2020,
showcasing both BXB/PLTD
collab items and Perico Limited’s
own designs, including
its now-famous YERRR
T-shirt and ‘Stay Out of Uptown’
design.
Mulchfest chipping now 2 consecutive Saturdays in January