BRONX W www.BXTimes.com EEKLY February 16, 2020 8
NYPD to stream Pct. Community Council meetings
BY JASON COHEN
In an effort to be more transparent
with the public, the
NYPD announced it will begin
live streaming its precinct council
meetings.
Residents, council members,
as well as community board
members weighed in on the new
initiative.
Steve Swieciki of City Island
explained that when he
taped City Island Civic Association
meetings, he was eventually
told to stop because it is a
private organization. Swieciki
feels streaming precinct council
meetings is a step in the right direction
and hopes other groups
follow suit.
“I think it’s defi nitely a good
thing and it’s long overdue,”
Swieciki said. “It’s benefi cial to
community relations because
it’s provides more accountability
and transparency.”
Annie Boller, who’s on the
45th Precinct Council, normally
streams Community Board 10
meetings. She was not allowed
to fi lm at the precinct council,
but is glad the NYPD is changing
its tune.
Community board district
managers in the borough want
their meetings live streamed
as well. Matt Cruz of CB10 and
Ischia Bravo of CB7 agree it
comes down to funding.
Bravo explained that while CB
12 is televised due to its contract
with Bronxnet, it is the only one
that does so. If there were more
money available from the city,
then maybe things would be different,
she stated.
This is a working class community
where far too often people
can’t attend meetings, so
having them streamed would be
a huge advantage, she said.
“I think streaming all committee
meetings is also important,”
Bravo said. “It’s defi nitely
something we need.”
Bravo said she recently met
with the NYC Civic Engagement
Commission about fi nding funding
to stream their meetings,
but nothing has come to fruition
yet.
The commission was formed
in 2018 and runs a citywide participatory
budgeting program
with guidance from a participatory
budgeting advisory committee
and partners with community
based organizations and
civic leaders, to increase awareness
of city services, and assist
New York City agencies in developing
civic engagement initiatives;
According to Cruz, it’s 2020
and it’s about time community
boards caught up to the digital
age.
“For the precinct council and
the community boards, it’s a
wonderful opportunity to view
meetings,” Cruz said. “Unfortunately,
we don’t always have the
resources to do it.”
However, Cruz explained that
live streaming could be a double
edged sword. If they receive
funding for streaming one year,
they could lose it the following.
“It’s a commitment every
year because of our budget it
could be taken away or cut,” he
remarked.
George Torres, district manager
for CB12, said while they
stream their meetings, it isn’t
cheap.
He has tried to get Bronxnet
to offer the service free of charge
to all the community boards
similar to what they do with the
borough president’s offi ce.
“If you are serious about good
governance and transparency
I do not see how this is not the
natural evolution of these meetings,”
Torres said. “I am pushing
my board to start streaming
our committee meetings so everyone
has an opportunity to see
what’s happening on the local
level. Community boards and
police precinct council meetings
are the most basic of local government
meetings.”
CB7 district manager, Ischia Bravo who is for livestreaming meetings, but realizes
it comes down to money. File Photo
Bronx students grow produce for surrounding nabes
BY KYLE VUILLE
For many, the Bronx is largely
a food desert with many residents
limiting their grocery selections
to the goods sold at their
local bodega. But a non-profi t organization
and local high school
are looking to change that.
Non-profi t organization
Teens for Food Justice in partnership
with DeWitt Clinton
High School has students growing
a plethora of fruits, vegetables
and herbs for the school’s
cafeteria and surrounding communities
and in turn, students
are learning the aspects of farming.
Clare Hyre discovered the
Teens for Food Justice program
after receiving a graduate degree
from New York University
in food studies.
“It stood out as a great opportunity
and really a great way to
address food insecurity,” Hyre
said.
Hyre, for the past two and a
half years, has been the program
manager at Clinton and leads
students through the entire
planting, growing, transplanting
and harvesting process.
She said being a part of the
program has been rewarding
in so many different ways. She
said she can see the transformation
of students who participate
in the program.
Students who pass through
the program see signifi cant
changes in their academics and
confi dence all while receiving
hands-on work experience.
According to Hyre, of the
1,700 students at Clinton, around
100 students spend time in the
greenhouse, whether they are
involved in the program as a
regular part of their curriculum,
part of the workforce development
program, or part of
the after-school farming program.
She said Teens for Food Justice’s
two main purposes are
growing produce and providing
a hands-on learning component
for the young farmers.
One Clinton student, junior
Miguel Graham, is an advocate
for the Teens for Food Justice
and also holds cooking demonstrations
during the school’s
fresh food box sales market.
Graham was introduced to
the program as a freshman and
has since been awarded ‘Advocate
of the Year’ by Teens for
Food Justice.
He addressed a crowd of 250
people at a gala event upon receiving
the award.
“I’m so glad I was introduced
to the program and started
learning about healthy food,”
Graham said. “The things we
are actually growing are important
to a healthy lifestyle.”
Graham said the area around
his home and school are basically
food deserts, fi lled with
unhealthy fast food options and
bodegas.
In response to the surrounding
food desert, every Thursday
from 4 to 6 p.m., 14 pound boxes
containing fresh vegetables,
fruits and herbs are sold at De-
Witt Clinton High School.
Every box contains from
seven to nine items, in quantities
large enough to feed two
people for a week, according to
the program’s brochure. The
boxes are sold for $14 a piece.
Graham’s advice for everyone
reading this was “Eat more
vegetables.”
Two Dewitt Clinton High School students show off their freshly grown herbs in the
hydroponics lab at the school. Teens for Food Justice has been a huge success
for the school and has provided the school’s cafeteria and surrounding community
with fresh produce and herbs.
Photo courtesy of Teens For Food Justice/Dewitt Clinton High School
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