TIMES, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014 • 26 Board 4 Says ‘Ho, Ho, No’ To SantaCon -CONTINUED FROM PG. 3- graciously bowed out and said they are not coming to Bushwick,” Espinal said to applause. “We’re a low-key workingclass neighborhood, and what makes us so cool––and why we’re so cool in the present––is who we are now,” he stated. “Not what we are going to become 10 years from now, not what SantaCon is going to make us. We don’t need the added revenue. “I think Bushwick is doing well without it,” Espinal added. “We like Santa Claus, Not SantaCon,” Whitted said. “We still have a lot of young children here.” Whitted spoke about the teamwork that was employed: “When we come together under one accord, we can get amazing thigs done.” “And I do believe, based on some of the emails that I’ve received, some of the conversations that I have had, I don’t know of one person that spoke to me that was in agreement with this SantaCon thing coming,” she added. “So I’m so proud of our council person, and the community and the barkeepers who stood up and said ‘this is now what we want,’” Whitted continued. “Working together we can get lot of things accomplished.” Espinal had previously reached out to area pubs, asking them to not support SantaCon coming. He issued a statement last week: “What makes Bushwick so great is that it’s a low-key, diverse community––one that is not accustomed to the size and scope of and event like SantaCon. The team at SantaCon NYC agreed that our neighborhood is not the best for the 2014 event and confirmed that SantaCon would find a new location. I want to publicly thank SantaCon organizers for the quick response and respect for the community concerns, and I wish them the best of luck on a safe and successful event.” Though the event won’t be coming to Bushwick, some spirited revelers may still decide to visit local bars after they may have already consumed too much. In that case, Deputy Inspector Max Tolentino, commanding officer of the 83rd Precinct said they will have a plan in place to keep order. “Rumors are that they might be coming to the bars afterward,” he stated. Community Board 4 generally meets on the third Wednesday of the month at the Hope Gardens Senior Center in Bushwick, 195 Linden St. Meetings begin at 6 p.m. Crook Wanted For Midville Heist Pat Buchanan News & Opinion -CONTINUED FROM PG. 4- catastrophe. A second decision came in 2011, when a rebellion arose against Bashar Assad in Syria, and we supported and aided the uprising. Assad must go, said Obama. McCain and the neocons agreed. Now ISIS and al-Qaida are dominant from Aleppo to the Iraqi border with Assad barely holding the rest, while the rebels we urged to rise and overthrow the regime are routed or in retreat. Had Assad fallen, had we bombed his army last year, as Obama, Kerry and McCain wanted to do, and brought down his regime, ISIS and al-Qaida might be in Damascus today. And America might be facing a decision either to invade or tolerate a terrorist regime in the heart of the Middle East. Lest we forget, Vladimir Putin pulled our chestnuts out of the fire a year ago, with a brokered deal to rid Syria of chemical weapons. The Turks, Saudis and Gulf Arabs who aided ISIS’ rise are having second thoughts, but sending no Saudi or Turkish troops to dislodge it. So the clamor arises anew for U.S. “boots on the ground” to reunite the nations that the wars and revolutions we supported tore apart. A third decision was the U.S.- NATO war on Col. Gadhafi’s Libya. After deceiving the Russians by assuring them we wanted Security Council support for the use of air power simply to prevent a massacre in Benghazi, we bombed for half a year, and brought down Gadhafi. Now we have on the south shore of the Mediterranean a huge failed state and strategic base camp for Islamists and terrorists who are spreading their poison into sub- Sahara Africa. The great triumphs of Reagan and Bush 41 were converting Russia into a partner, and presiding over the liberation of Eastern Europe and the dissolution of the old Soviet Union into 15 independent nations. Unfulfilled by such a victory for peace and freedom, unwilling to go home when our war, the Cold War, was over, Bush 43 decided to bring the entire Warsaw Pact, three Baltic states, and Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia into NATO. For this project, Bush had the enthusiastic support of McCain, the neocons and the liberal interventionists. Since 1991, we sought to cut the Russians out of the oil and gas of the Caspian basin with a pipeline through the Caucasus to Turkey, bombed Serbia to tear off its cradle province of Kosovo, and engineered color-coded revolutions in Belgrade, Tbilisi and other capitals to pull these new nations out of Russia’s sphere of influence. Victoria Nuland of State and McCain popped up in Maidan Square in Kiev, backing demonstrations to bring down the democratically elected (if, admittedly, incompetent) regime in Ukraine. The U.S.-backed coup succeeded. President Viktor Yanukovych fled, a pro-Western regime was installed, and a pro- Western president elected. Having taken all this from his partner, Putin retrieved the Crimea and Russia’s Black Sea naval base at Sebastopol. When pro-Russia Ukrainians rose against the beneficiaries of the coup in Kiev, he backed his team, as we backed ours. Now, we are imposing sanctions, driving Russia further from the West and into a realliance with Beijing, with which Putin has completed two long-term deals for oil and gas running over $700 billion dollars. As the U.S. and NATO send planes, ships and troops to show our seriousness in the Baltic and Ukraine, Russian planes and ships test Western defenses from Finland to Sweden to Portugal to Alaska and the coast of the continental United States. Who made these decisions that created the debacle? Was it those isolationists again? Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of the new book “The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon Rose From Defeat to Create the New Majority.” State Sen. Martin Malave Dilan (left) and City Council Member Rafael Espinal (right) spoke on SantaCon not coming to Bushwick at the Community Board 4 meeting last Wednesday, Nov. 18 at the Hope Gardens Senior Center. (photo: Noah Zuss) weighing between 150 and 160 lbs. and last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, white sneakers and a hat— walked into the location and approached a teller at the counter. There, police said, the crook presented a note demanding cash; no weapons were reportedly displayed. Seconds later, the teller provided him with an undetermined amount of cash. The crook reportedly took the money and fled from the scene on foot westbound along Metropolitan Avenue. Members of the 104th Precinct responded to the scene; no injuries were reported. Various police units canvassed the surrounding area for the suspect, but no immediate arrests were made. The case was presented to the NYPD Major Case Squad for further investigation, police said. Anyone with information regarding the heist or the bandit’s whereabouts that could prove helpful is asked to contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-577- TIPS; by text message to 274637 (enter information, then the code TIP577) or online at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com. All calls and messages will be kept confidential. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 1- Glendale Pantry Receives Pre-Thanksgiving Donation tables. But the biggest donation came last Thursday, Nov. 20, when The Shops at Atlas Park and State Sen. Joseph Addabbo delivered the first half of $2,500 in donated food items just in time for Thanksgiving. Before long, the pantry area was filled with green cases containing canned goods, pasta, rice, dessert mixes and biscuits purchased from Stop and Shop supermarket. The second half of Atlas Park’s donation arrived at the pantry on Monday, Nov. 24. “At the heart of every community are its people,” said Peter DeLucia, Atlas Park’s marketing manager, who said the “center is so much more than a collection of stores and restaurants. We are a community gathering spot.” “Atlas Park is proud to be able to give back to the community in which we serve,” he added. Sr. Margaret Raibaldi, Sacred Heart’s pastoral associate who also operates the pantry, expressed her gratitude for the donation, stating the donated items will allow the pantry to provide for families through Christmas. Even so, she recognized the need will continue beyond the holidays. In preparation for Thanksgiving, Raibaldi noted, the pantry received cornucopias of donated food from other organizations including the Msgr. Sherman Knights of Columbus, which held a food drive on Nov. 15 at the Stop and Shop supermarket on the Glendale/Forest Hills border; and the Kiwanis Club of Glendale, which donated 40 frozen turkeys. Assemblyman Mike Miller provided four turkeys and food items his office collected specifically for the pantry, and local residents individually purchased and donated turkeys for families in need, she added. The food will be provided in packages to many of the 130 families from Glendale and surrounding communities that the pantry serves, Raibaldi told the Times Newsweekly. “They all have different needs,” she said, pointing out that the poverty of which these families suffer ranges from merely struggling to get by to having absolutely nothing to provide themselves. The pantry helps bridge the gap thanks, in part, to the generosity of people from around the area, Raibaldi said. Most of the assistance comes from parishioners who, upon hearing that the pantry needs donations, are quick to answer the call. “This neighborhood has always had a good vine,” she added. “You tell two people, they call six; those six will then call 10.” In addition to providing food for local hungry families, Raibaldi noted, her office also collects funds, clothing and other items for Hour Children, a Catholic charity that helps incarcerated or recently released mothers and their children rebuild their lives. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 1- THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING! Help New Yorkers Who Are In Need. Donate To Your Local Toys-For-Tots Drive. Give Non-Perishable Food Items To A Local Charity.
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