Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Wakefield News: Homeless shelter #4
Wakefield News: Homeless shelter #4: Wakefield Area News By Mary V. Lauro BRONX, NEW YORK, October 1- "The moving finger writes and having writ moves on. "Not all...
Homeless shelter #4
Wakefield Area News
By Mary V. Lauro
BRONX, NEW YORK, October 1-"The moving finger writes and having writ moves on.
"Not all your tears of piety and wit can change half a line."
Those famous words are from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, an 11th century Persian mathematician and poet. They came to mind when we first heard about the possibility of a fourth homeless shelter for Wakefield and read the very informative column in last week's NEWS by Rev. Richard Gorman, Chairman of CB 12. The column confirmed what we have been saying these past three years regarding the shelters except that when we were saying it we were treated as if we were trying to start World War III.
The fact is, if we had tried to start a war, we probably would not be dealing with three and possibly four shelters. Stop to think. These shelters are all being built or proposed for the sliver of Wakefield around White Plains Road. The section is a small slice of Senator Jeff Klein's district as it is for Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz and Councilman Oliver Koppell. So what do they care about us? Are they up in arms over what is happening in their district? Of course not. They are anxious to get rid of this pesky sliver in the new districts. What is amazing is that if they get rid of this sliver of Wakefield it will fall to the close-by districts of Senator Ruth Hassel Thompson, Assemblyman Carl Heastie and convicted councilman Larry Seabrook. We will not tell you which of these three, when informed by a constituent of the intention of Praxis Initiative to build supportive housing on White Plain Road opposite Food Town said, “The good news is, it is not in my district." With an attitude like that no wonder Mayor Bloomberg can do whatever he wants! With an attitude like that no wonder Wakefield may have to deal with four shelters. No help, not even sympathy for your neighbor?
Back in May 2009, we know that Bloomberg had slated the Muller Reserve Center for a homeless shelter even though everyone was pretending otherwise, and Councilman Koppell hoped he could get the National Guard moved into it. Naturally, when we heard Praxis wanted to build supportive housing on White Plains Road, we saw the handwriting on the wall. Our voice was dismissed as misguided and strident. When we ranted that providers of these shelters were out to make money, we were derided because they were doing God's work. When we made other discoveries, now so very evident, we encountered only insult.
The fourth possibility for a homeless shelter is 4453 White Plains Road, a new construction of 56-60 units originally intended as affordable housing. That is what we have told the many residents who called us because that is the information we had.
We understand that this fourth possibility is in its early stage. There are no plans or contracts yet with the proposer, the Acacia Network. Nonetheless, we strongly urge the Community Board to notify all our elected officials that the Board opposes such a plan and notifies all residents within a four block radius. We don't have the resources or we would do it ourselves.
It is of interest to us that when Praxis first surfaced we had suggested that it look into the lot which is now that fourth possible shelter. Praxis said it was too small. Well, here it is, not so small after all!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Bronx Clergy Teaming Up with Joel Olstein to Feed the Children
By Michael Horowitz
BRONX, NEW YORK, September 28- The Bronx Clergy Task Force, spearheaded by Bishop Angelo Rosario, is teaming up with Rev. Joel Olstein, one of the nation's most widely known ministers, to support the nationwide Feed the Children initiative.
Ray Fraticelli, a chaplain who has been working with Bishop Rosario at the Church of God's Children, said the Clergy Task Force has, in recent months, been responsible for the delivery of much-needed food to impoverished families in the west Bronx and the delivery of food and toiletries to the Town and Country Shelter for Battered Women.
“One of the Clergy Task Force's main goals is to assure that children don't go to bed hungry,” Fraticelli stressed. “I get a tremendous sense of personal satisfaction by knowing that I am doing God's work.”
In recent months, the Bronx Clergy Coalition held a coat drive in which thousands of Bronxites received much-needed clothing during the winter months.
“We have pictures of people going into the coat drive with clothing that was barely in one piece and leaving with ski jackets and other winter coats to keep them warm,” Fraticelli stressed. We are not about glorifying ourselves; we're about meeting the real needs of real people.”
Bishop Rosario, for his part, pointed with pride to the fact that the Bronx Clergy Task Force played a key role in preventing the illegal eviction of the Futa Islamic Center from its mosque at Third Avenue and 166th Street.
Fraticelli said that he will be outside of the Einstein Loop Community Center from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday as part of the city-wide Pray New York initiative.
“We will be there to offer comfort to those who need it,” Fraticelli said. “We will be there to try to address the spiritual and physical needs of those who seek us out.”
Fraticelli noted that the Bronx Clergy Task Force has an ongoing coat-collection effort. Coats are kept at the Church of God's Children in the lower level of the Dreiser Loop Shopping Center.
In recent weeks, the Dress Barn store in Pelham Manor has donated coats to the Bronx Clergy Task Force for future coat drives and for the task force's upcoming Dress for Success initiative among those seeking employment or those seeking better jobs.
To donate coats or to assist the Clergy Task Force in other ways, call (718) 790-9120.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Stop laptop thieves by marking your items
NYPD Community Affairs Bureau
Crime Prevention Section
Weekly Crime Prevention Tip
Mark it . . Register it . . Keep it!
BRONX, NEW YORK, September 27- Almost 1/3 of all laptop thefts occur during the course of a burglary. Once a thief is in your home, small portable electronic items are easily removed and often easily sold. Would you buy a second-hand laptop if it had an NYPD ID number engraved on it?
Engraving items makes it harder for criminals to dispose of valuables through dark-market channels, and may even deter theft. It can also help reunite you with your lost property.
The NYPD offers a free program – “Operation ID” - whereby a unique serial number is engraved on all portable valuable electronics and the owner’s information is registered with the Police Department. This program can be implemented by contacting your local Precinct's Crime Prevention Officer, or the Community Affairs Bureau direct at 646-610-5323
For more information on all of the programs we offer, or for additional crime prevention tips, please visit our website – www.nypdcommunityaffairs.org
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Little Leaguers Win Boro President’s Cup
BRONX, NEW YORK, September 26- Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and the New York Yankees co-hosted the second annual “Borough President’s Cup” Little League Championship. The game featured a match-up between the Little League Raiders and the Bronx Bombers Little League, who competed for the title in a game at Yankee Stadium. The Little League Raiders won the game, for the second time, defeating the Bronx Bombers Little League 6-1.
To compete for the “Borough President’s Cup,” players for each Little League had to meet a set of requirements unrelated to their performance on the field. Those included a B-average in school, 90 percent or greater school attendance and a demonstrated commitment to community service.
Wakefield News: Justice denied for home owners
Wakefield News: Justice denied for home owners: Wakefield Area News By Mary V. Lauro BRONX, NEW YORK, September 26- Her voice trembled. She was choking back tears. "Not one penny. The...
Justice denied for home owners
Wakefield Area News
By Mary V. Lauro
BRONX, NEW YORK, September 26- Her voice trembled. She was choking back tears. "Not one penny. The judge said he owed me nothing. He hasn't paid rent for five months. That's $4,500. But she said he owes me nothing. How can that be?"
“Can you get rid of him? Is he being evicted?”
“Yes, but I have to give him about two weeks to clear-out. That's another month I won't be paid. How will I pay my mortgage, the fuel bills, real estate tax and my insurance?"
She was not the landlord of an apartment building with 20 or 30 units. It was a two-family house with one tenant and his wife. Like so many seniors in the community the rent supplemented her social security check. Without that rent, she was almost penniless. Her life savings had been sunk into a down payment for the house.
Unfortunate1y, the caller was only one of a growing number of two-family home owners who are facing what a generation ago was an isolated incident: the need to evict. What else can one do? These are not usual cases where the breadwinner loses his job, or a tragedy occurs or the tenant tries to make arrangement to pay back rent. Not at all. The perpetrators have an attitude of “Who is going to make me pay the rent?" The word has spread that it is next to impossible to collect unpaid rent beginning with the judges who have lost sight of justice.
Everything seems to be geared towards the tenant. The Attorney General's office issues a booklet on Tenants Rights directed at individuals who live in rent controlled apartment houses. There is nothing similar for landlords, or for that sub species of landlord, the owner of a two family house. The Borough President recently sponsored a forum on the rights of tenants with a star studded panel of experts. Very interesting, but there was nothing on tenant’s obligations or landlord's rights or the sad plight of a two family house.
It is true that the landlord of a two or three-family house can evict a tenant for reasons other than non payment of rent if there is no lease involved and the house is not rent controlled. It is called a "Holdover Case." However the process is long and even without a lawyer becomes costly mainly because the tenant usually does not pay rent during the process. Why would a landlord want to get rid of a tenant who does pay rent? The reasons are many: loud music, too much noise, use of drugs, bad attitudes, renting out part of the apartment, paying rent in a haphazard manner, refusing to recycle garbage, keeping an unclean apartment, etc.
The first step in a holdover case is to send via a process server a form letter notifying the tenant that he has 30 days to vacate before eviction process begins. If the tenant does not vacate the apartment, then the landlord goes to housing court for a date to see a judge. By this time the tenant owes at least two months rent, but as the devastated senior cried, it could be five months.
This whole process for the two and three-family home is so obviously in need of reassessment, one wonders why our elected officials do not pay it some attention. Non-payment of rent is a form of theft. It is a crime that goes unreported and it is, for the landlord, justice denied.
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