New Pelham Parkway dog run
opens at Bronx Park East
plants, he said.
Additionally, Montefi ore
under his leadership has
limited hospital stays by
providing comprehensive
follow-up care, said Raske.
“I would stay, nationally,
Montefi ore is a star
institution both clinically
and in population health,”
said Raske. “(Safyer) has
recruited outstanding staff
and built a strong team. As
a manager, one of the things
you take great pride in your
legacy, and his legacy is superb.”
Raske believes that the
doctor’s successor will have
a strong platform on which
to work.
Dr. Gordon Tomaselli,
chief academic offi cer of
Montefi ore Medicine, said
that he’s known Safyer since
they were in medical school
together (both graduated in
1982) and that the outgoing
CEO is someone who’s been
a part of the fabric of Einstein
and Montefi ore for decades,
working his way up.
“He fostered the formal
integration of the Albert
Einstein College of Medicine
and Montefi ore,” said
Tomaselli. “ In the end, I
think it has been mutually
benefi cial to both organizations.”
Tomaselli said that social
justice drives Safyer,
and that he is focused on
population-based care and
disease prevention, as well
as the broadest reach of care
to as many people as possible
with peerless precision
and fi nancial sustainability.
Montefi ore, under Safyer’s
leadership, grew into a
$7 billion organization, said
Tomaselli, adding “For the
college and the health system,
he has been a transformative
leader.”
15 BRONX WEEKLY July 21, 2019 www.BXTimes.com
from Page 1
Mott Haven jail opponents
accuse CPC member of confl ict
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Combatants of the Mott Haven jail
plan at 320 Concord Avenue have found
what they describe as yet another fl aw
in the mayor’s aim to phase out Rikers
Island by 2026-27.
One member on the City Planning
Commission Board whose responsible is
to help determine how NYC goes about
building the proposed 24-story jail in
the south Bronx was also a member of
the mayor’s ‘Close Rikers’ task force.
Bronx opponents to the jail tower
criticized CPC Comissioner David Burney’s
involvement with both of these
projects, calling it a confl ict of interest
while demanding that the board member
recuse himself from the jail’s land
use proceedings.
“How can an architect of the city’s
controversial jail plan now be trusted
to objectively vote on that same plan,”
questioned Arline Parks, CEO of neighboring
Diego Beekman housing, which
would surround the housing complex
upon its completion.
The mayor personally appointed Burney
to the jail commission last March,
following approval from the City Council.
“This is just more evidence that the
de Blasio administration’s plan to burden
a low-income community of color
with a jail has been rigged from the beginning,”
she continued.
Parks and Beekman had previously
sued the city over its proceedings with
the jail plan. Their legal team is also
critical Burney’s dual infl uence.
“You cannot objectively evaluate a
project you were involved in planning,”
said attorney Adam Stein, adding, “Commissioner
Burney must recuse himself
from this vote if the city wishes to pursue
a fair process.”
That commission holds power to either
forward the proposal’s land use
proceedings to the City Council or could
reject it. A rejection would require the
city to restart the process or to change
its plans and resubmit.
Many politicians and community
leaders, including Borough President
Ruben, Diaz, Jr. have said that the plan
to phase out Rikers Island is being
pushed through for political expediency
more than for proper criminal justice
reform.
“We have another eight years before
Rikers Island is estimated to be closed.
We can afford to take another year to
do this right for the Bronx,” Diaz said to
the CPC during a hearing on Wednesday,
July 10.
“The administration still has not
explained why it needs a facility that
would allot over 1,000 square feet per detainee,
particularly when modern jails
are being built elsewhere at a third of
the size,” Diaz also said.
He also criticized the city’s readiness
to move forward with the plan, saying
Arline Parks speaks at a hearing regarding the
Mott Haven jail. Michael Carlo
that there’s no actual program or design
for this facility.
“How can we be asked to approve a
jail in our community when the administration
itself admits it doesn’t know
what it will really look like?” Diaz questioned.
As of that CPC hearing which Diaz
and Parks testifi ed at, the commission
was required to render a decision on the
borough based jails within 60 days.
“From ignoring community concerns,
to combining four separate jail
sites into one land use process, the de
Blasio administration’s willingness to
game the system in order to achieve its
own political goals is appalling,” Parks
said following the hearing.
Experts close to the situation anticipate
that CPC’s deliberations will be fi -
nalized sometime in August.
Dr. Steven Safyer, president and CEO of Montefi ore, has announced
his intention to retire and is being hailed by colleagues as a leader
who brought about “transformative” change. Photo courtesy of
Montefi ore
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