Wakefield Area News

The peoples’ work

By Mary V. Laura

BRONX, NEW YORK, April 4- If men were angels," wrote James Madison in Federalist Paper No. 51 back in 1788, "No government would be necessary," Well and good. But does that mean they are devils?

It certainly seems so. Almost on a daily basis, through the news media, we learn of another elected official being accused of or indicted on criminal behavior. Wakefield has already suffered the conviction of State Senator Guy Velella. And for which we thank God, the conviction of Councilman Larry Seabrook.

The list of elected officials who are being investigated, or who leave much to be desired is long, but we concentrate on those closest to us keeping in mind that an accusation or an investigation does not mean guilt. We repeat that. An accusation does not mean guilt. On the other hand, where there is smoke, there usually is fire. We mention Pedro Espada because we had one of his clinics right here in Wakefield. He has been convicted on at least one count.

Sadly, earlier this year The New York Post ran a news story insinuating foul play by Senator Jeffrey Klein. Nothing further has been heard which is good news, more for him than for the electorate. And now, we have Congressman Engel being criticized for taking a mortgage from one of his highest donors. Not illegal, but not right. Even so and above all, let's not forget the Spitzer debacle.

When one considers that this nation was forged by men who pledged their "sacred honor," one wonders how that honor was lost in so short a time. Consider that at the urging of former Mayor Ed Koch, the majority in both houses of our state legislature pledged to reject any gerrymandering made on a partisan basis. Seventy five of those lawmakers broke their promise, four of them from New York City and one of them none other than our own Senator Klein!

The prevalence of all sorts of hanky-panky in our government led to the formation of the Center for Public Integrity which has been around for some time. This year it ranked our state government 15th from the bottom of the 50 states. Can you imagine? That is worse than getting a D. It is almost an F.

Well, it should be no surprise. We know that we have some sterling legislators working for us whether it be in the City Council, the Assembly or the Senate, but we also know we have some duds who do very little else but work on getting re-elected usually by spreading our tax dollars to reward favorite persons or causes and taking advantage of every photo opportunity. The sad thing is that, we, the voters permit this to go on. But that is another story.

In any case, we are asking all our legislators to look into three problems that the average citizen is dealing with. They should not be difficult to solve if they put their heads together. First is the parking problem. Left unchecked, road rage will take second place to parking rage. Lives will be lost. By the same token, Muni meters should be brought to the attention of the Supreme Court as a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Second, adjustment is needed in rental laws for two and three-family houses. Eviction of problematic and non-paying tenants is entirely too long, too cumbersome and costly.

And third, how about bringing some order to our zoning ordinances and our building regulations? The City is harboring hundreds of fire traps in illegal conversions.

Are these three items really so difficult to accomplish?

Wakefield News: The latest rules for precinct councils

Wakefield News: The latest rules for precinct councils: Wakefield Area News By Mary V. Lauro We don't know why, but every 10 or 15 years the NYPD decides to change the format (By-laws of...

The latest rules for precinct councils

Wakefield Area News

By Mary V. Lauro

We don't know why, but every 10 or 15 years the NYPD decides to change the format (By-laws of its Precinct Councils). We don't know whether it is because all organizations have a tendency to break down, becoming more and more deliberate and less and less structured as they age or whether money finds its way to the wrong places. We thought of that possibility when we realized that Chief Phillip Banks III, Commander of NYPD Community Affairs Unit does not want Precinct Councils to fund raise more than $50,000 each year.

Fifty thousand is a nice sum. One would like to know which Precinct in this City can collect all that money in one year. In the Bronx it would take at least 10 years. It hardly seems fair.

Membership in the Council is free so long as one is over 18 years of age, crime free, lives or works in that particular precinct and applies by filling out the Personal Data Sheet. In order to have voting privileges, one must have attended 4 meetings prior to the vote. This is decidedly different. It used to be 3 meetings. Attendance is marked by one's signature on a special NYPD hard cover book which is kept at the Precinct.

Interestingly, we note that the new By-laws are being repaired especially where they were last time. This time, instead of seven executive members, Councils will have a choice of five or seven. They are President, Vice President, Treasurer, Recording Secretary, Sergeant-at-Arms, (Corresponding and Assistant Secretary are not required for executive boards having less than seven members).

Now here is a nice touch and different. We have term limits. The president and other board members can only be chosen for consecutive two year terms. Even so, after a hiatus of a year, should that person want to run again and the members wish to re-elect him, that individual may run again.

Another interesting twist is the role envisioned for the Sergeant-at-Arms should partner with the president to keep order during the meeting and enforce any rules that seem to be going astray. The Sergeant-at-Arms will also be the bearer of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised 11^th edition.

Much in fact, most of the previous adjustments to the Precinct Council By-laws remain central in the newly revised By-laws. We understand that currently there are 85. Precinct Councils in the City. We have come a long way since 40', 50's and 60's. At that time it seemed rude to criticize the police and besides we didn't have as much crime then.

The entire set of new rules is available from the internet or by calling, the Community Affairs Unit.

The sieve

Wakefield Area News

By Mary V. Lauro

BRONX, NEW YORK, March 22- If we had our way, we would forbid the City Council and the State Legislature to enact new laws until all the current ones are enforced. 

To begin, enforcing our current ones would assist us in our current financial difficulties. It is not something which can not be done. Con Edison did it for years. If one did not pay one's bill in a timely manner, one's gas and electricity would be shut off. While in some cases it was sad, in most cases, it was just.

We have always noted that when there is an NYPD Patrol Car close by, other cars do not double park or park near a hydrant or slip though a red light. In fact, whenever we inadvertently drive through a red light, most of us automatically look behind us to ensure that a patrol car is not in our wake. Why are we so nervous?

It is not that we are ashamed of the summons. Not at all. We have witnessed entirely too many traffic infractions to think we have done something shameful. It is the fine we do not want to pay; which is interesting since we pay so many other fines without a struggle, probably because we call them something else. Think of auto license, drivers license, tax of all kinds, etc. . The difference between the fee for a driver's license and a red light summons is that one's (driver's license) is universally applied while the other is not.

It is the, haphazardness of our law enforcement that leads to an escalation of disrespect, for our regulations. (Crime is another story.) Last month, The Daily News ran a story on one of our favorite topics: Illegal conversions. The story praised John Liu, our current controller and contender for Mayor for excoriating the Buildings Department (DOB) on its poor showing after the city had vowed, years before to crack down on illegal landlords that chopped up apartments creating firetraps.

While the Daily News seems to think that Queens has the most illegal conversions, we disagree. If it is so, the Bronx is a close second. But it really does not matter. The Bronx has had its share of lost lives due to the fact that its buildings also burn. In any case the trend to illegally convert is growing city wide. In the article, John Liu is quoted as saying, "The Buildings Department is just dysfunctional and incapable of improving itself.”

In April 2011, here in the Bronx, a fire in a converted house took the life of a 12-year-old boy and his parents. It turned out that DOB inspectors had gone to the building twice but was not let in, so they dropped the case. We know that story. In response to Liu's investigation, DOB responded that landlords had become more vigilant about letting inspectors enter their houses. An audit showed that from July 2010 to June 2011 the failure rate of inspectors to gain access to buildings rose to 80 percent. We all know that Inspectors can and should get judicial clearance to force access. Lots of Luck! Consider that in 2008, DOB requested and received 13 judicial permissions to enter illegal conversions. In 2011 it rose to 80, but in view of the 5,577 conversions to which the inspectors could not gain access, that increase amounted to nothing or more that 1.4 percent!

Meanwhile during World War II when all one and two-family houses were asked to convert so as to house returning soldiers and moving families, a house on Bronx Boulevard converted the basement. That was 60 years ago. With the war and the emergency behind them, they rented the little apartment to a relative. That was 50 years ago. When a DOB inspector knocked on their door, they thought they had nothing to hide. Little did they know. According to the law the owners must now return the basement to its original condition! Go figure.

Register Gun Offenders-BP says

BRONX, NEW YORK, February 21- In his annual “State of the Borough” address, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. called on the New York State Legislature to create a new “gun crime registry,” with reporting requirements similar to New York State’s sex offender registry.

“We must also ensure that those who engage in gun violence are not allowed to escape the spotlight,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “Law-abiding citizens ought to know who among us is responsible for gun violence, and this initiative will do just that.”

Diaz’s proposed registry would be available online, and would require perpetrators convicted of crimes involving a gun to keep updated records with the police regarding their living and employment arrangements. Gun crime offenders, under the proposal, would be required to remain on the registry for at least ten years, and could be removed from the registry for good behavior following that initial time period.

Among other requirements, those convicted of gun crimes would have to:

• Report annually where they live by signing and returning an annual verification form within ten (10) days after receiving it.
• Notify law enforcement officials in writing of a new address no later than 10 days after moving.
• Report in person to a local police agency to have a current photograph taken every three years.
• Personally verify their addresses every 90 days with law enforcement for a period of three consecutive years after the conviction. After three years without any further arrests, the individual will eligible for a modified reporting schedule. Law enforcement may at that time photograph an offender if that offender’s appearance has changed.

Under Borough President Diaz’s proposal, failure to perform any of the registration obligations would be considered a felony level crime. A first conviction would be punishable as a Class E felony; a second or subsequent conviction is punishable as a Class D felony.

Individuals unable to secure employment would be assigned a case worker to identify career counseling services, training opportunities and other available social services.

Borough President Diaz stated that, in the coming weeks and months, he would engage in conversations with members of the New York State Legislature to begin the process of crafting legislation and building support for this unique initiative.

“A safer New York State, and a safer nation, demands that we shine a light on those individuals who would commit gun crimes in our neighborhoods. An easily-accessible gun crime registry will serve as an excellent tool not only to keep neighborhoods informed about crime, but to serve as a deterrent from such acts. I look forward to working with the New York State Legislature to pass this important piece of legislation,” said Borough President Diaz.

During his annual “State of the Borough” address, Borough President Diaz also praised the New York State Legislature for passing the NY SAFE Act in January. He also called for new laws requiring ammunition micro stamping, limiting the number of guns and amount of ammunition an individual can purchase at any given time, and requiring a drug test to get a gun license.

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Wakefield News: Another One Bites the Dust?

Wakefield News: Another One Bites the Dust?: --> COMMUNITY BOARD NEWS N’ VIEWS By Father Richard F. Gorman Chairman Community Board #12 (The Bronx) BRONX, NEW Y...

Another One Bites the Dust?

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COMMUNITY BOARD

NEWS N’ VIEWS

By Father Richard F. Gorman

Chairman

Community Board #12 (The Bronx)

BRONX, NEW YORK, February 14- Amidst all of the bad news as of late concerning the passing of the great, three-term, one hundred fifth Mayor of the City of New York, Edward Irving Koch; the wrath of an epic snowstorm and the dire conditions that remained in its wake; and this morning’s news from the Vatican that Pope Benedict XVI has decided to become the first Pope to resign from office in nearly six (6) centuries, it is somewhat understandable that perhaps a bit of very important good news would appear to have gone unnoticed and by the boards.  Overlooked and disregarded as it might have been, though, this information was as profound in its effect as its announcement was greeted with enthusiasm.  In a decisive action that rapped the knuckles of the Bloomberg Administration and encouraged the residents of Community Board #12 (The Bronx), the Comptroller of the City of New York, The Honorable John C. Liu, announced on Thursday morning, 7 February 2013 that his office was rejecting a contract in the amount of some ninety-one million dollars ($91,000,000.00) to operate a homeless shelter for two (200) hundred men in the now shuttered SARGEANT JOSEPH E. MULLER UNITED STATES ARMY RESERVE CENTER (M.U.S.A.R.C.) located at 555 East 238TH Street/Nereid Avenue in Bronx Community District #12.  The homeless facility was slated to be operated by THE DOE FUND, INCORPORATED, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization headquartered in Manhattan, whose Founder and President, Mr. George A. McDonald, is a candidate in the upcoming Republican Primary for Mayor.

In refusing to certify the contract between the New York City Department of Homeless Services (N.Y.C.D.H.S.) and Mr. McDonald’s outfit, Comptroller Liu cited as his rationale for so acting the failure of the City of New York to adhere to the process delineated in Federal Law governing the transfer of closing United States military bases to local jurisdictions for projects designed to assist homeless persons.  In other words, the Comptroller was upholding and agreeing with the longstanding assertion of The Honorable Ruben Diaz, Jr., Borough President of The Bronx, that no properly and legitimately convoked meeting of the Local Redevelopment Authority (L.R.A.), the body constituted and empowered by Federal legislation to determine the future use of decommissioned bases, ever took place.  Borough President Diaz, along with Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda I. Gibbs and Mr. Tokumbo Shobowale, the Chief of Staff to Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel, comprised the L.R.A., whose meetings required a quorum of all three (3) aforesaid members in order to meet and to take action.  The Bloomberg Administration’s two (2) L.R.A. appointees maintained that a duly-constituted meeting did take place at which it was voted to turn the Muller Center over to THE DOE FUND.  Borough President Diaz vehemently denied this, having specifically stated that any gathering with Deputy Mayor Gibbs and Mr. Shobowale was informal in nature only and solely for the purpose of airing differences on the disposition of the M.U.S.A.R.C. Indeed, no agenda was formulated for this gathering and no minutes were either recorded or printed.  Moreover, it was months after the three (3) public officials unofficially met off the record that the Bloomberg folks curiously and abruptly came up with the claim that a bona fide meeting and decision had taken place.  Comptroller Liu’s investigation of this matter failed to produce any solid evidence to support the City’s contention.

Community Board #12 (The Bronx) and its Wakefield neighborhood specifically have been threatened in the past year with a homeless colony consisting of four (4) facilities in close proximity to each other.  If all four (4) facilities were to be opened, Wakefield would be burdened with several hundred homeless individuals, many of whom are afflicted with alcohol and chemical dependencies and/or mental health issues.  Fortunately, a few months ago, after negotiation with Community Board #12, Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond announced that he would not open a shelter on White Plains Road at East 240TH Street in an apartment complex constructed and owned by developer Mark Stagg and his STAGG GROUP.  Comptroller Liu’s action, taken at the behest and in support of the Borough President of The Bronx, holds open the prospect, even if at least temporarily, that only two (2) facilities housing the homeless will be opened in Wakefield.  The Comptroller’s refusal to certify the contract with THE DOE FUND can, and will most probably, be brought by Mayor Bloomberg and his Corporation Counsel to court, where Mr. Liu’s can either be upheld in his determination or ordered by the Judiciary to certify the contract.  Let us hope that the Judge who hears the case is as forthright as our Borough President in standing for the truth and as courageous as Comptroller Liu in standing up to the Bloomberg Administration for its perfidious and fraudulent manner of undertaking what is supposed to be the PEOPLE’S business.

Our accolades and appreciation go wholeheartedly to Messrs. Diaz and Liu for coming together as an effective and valiant tag-team for the hard-working, honest taxpayers of Community Board #12 (The Bronx).  If legal action is to be initiated at this juncture, perhaps it should be to uncover whether or not any Federal statutes were violated by the knowingly bogus and patently counterfeit claims made by officials of the Bloomberg Administration in order to secure possession of the Muller Center for the City of New York in breach of a process required by Federal law.  Such would be a much more pertinent and apropos recourse to the courts on this topic.  Perhaps prior to leaving office at the conclusion of this year, Mayor Bloomberg and friends need to learn that not telling the truth is not only disreputable and dishonest, but also unlawful and illegal.

Until next time, that is it for this time!

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