Diaz calls out NYCHA for mistreatment of ailing senior
BY ROBERT WIRSING
Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.
held a press conference on Thursday,
April 11 to highlight a specifi c case of
tenant neglect allegedly carried out
by NYCHA.
Diaz discussed the case of Beinvenido
Martinez, a 72-year old former
resident of NYCHA’s Union Avenue
Consolidation who was evicted late
last year from his apartment while he
recovered from an emergency abovethe
knee leg amputation in Beth
Abraham Center after he didn’t pay
over $800 in past due rent while being
hospitalized.
Adding insult to injury, NYCHA
allegedly disposed of his belongings
in the garbage, rather than putting
them in storage as is required by law.
NYCHA also allegedly disposed of
his state identifi cation, birth certifi -
cate, Social Security and other diffi -
cult-to-replace documents.
A Centers Health Care spokesman
confi rmed that Beth Abraham Center
and its social workers attempted to return
Martinez to his apartment, but
Beth Abraham Center is allowing
Martinez to reside at its facility while
Borough President Diaz (r) held up a copy of the letter her wrote to NYCHA on Bienvenido Martinez’s behalf. Photo by Silvio Pacifi co
his housing situation is rectifi ed.
Diaz has been working on Martinez’s
case for several months.
In March, the borough president
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A 46 PRIL 19-25, 2019 BTR
sent a letter to Kathryn Garcia, interim
NYCHA chairwoman and CEO,
regarding the case, to which the
agency has not yet replied.
Diaz closed the press conference
by demanding that NYCHA provide
Martinez with a new apartment and
compensate him for his lost posses-
Temple Hatikva announces Passover Shabbat services
Temple Hatikva will hold its next
Shabbat service on Friday, April
26, at 7:30 p.m., continuing its regular
monthly schedule. This year’s
April service falls during the holiday
of Passover, during which Jews
throughout the world recount the
story of Moses leading the ancient Israelites’
escape from centuries of enslavement
in Egypt, and their miraculous
exodus to the Promised Land.
Temple Hatikva welcomes all
those of the Jewish faith for our traditional,
yet modern services in Hebrew
and English, offering a meaningful
experience to all, even those
with no synagogue background.
As always at Temple Hatikva,
worship will be followed by a free
Kiddush. This month’s Passover
Kiddush will feature ‘Kosher for
Passover’ matzoh and an array of
delicious macaroons and other traditional
holiday sweets and treats,
keeping with the constraints of Passover
dietary laws.
“The Passover holiday is possibly
the most iconic holiday in the Hebrew
calendar,” said the synagogue’s
Cantor Kyle Cherry. “While the secular
world knows the story of Exodus
through great movies like ‘The Ten
Commandments’ and we revisit the
story through our daily prayers, we
also acknowledge one of the basic tenets
of Judaism: teach. As it is commanded:
‘And thou shalt tell thy son
in that day saying: it is because of
that which the lord did for me when
I came forth out of Egypt’ (Exodus
13:8). Thus we are directed at the
Seder to tell our children the story
of how we came to be here, why we
do what we do. This reminds us that
the Torah is meant to be shared; our
history is meant to be shared and we
will perpetuate this throughout the
generations!”
The entire community is invited
to join in this joyous evening, which
is, of course, free of charge.
The next session of the synagogue’s
monthly Adult Education series
will meet at 10 a.m. on Sunday,
April 28. Passover having concluded,
we will be serving the regular Bagel
Breakfast at 10 a.m., followed by
Cantor Cherry’s presentation. Continuing
our series of examinations
of Jewish rite and traditions of major
life cycle events, this month’s theme
will cover the rites and traditions of
marriage and divorce in Judaism.
Adult Education breakfasts, featuring
bagels and cream cheese, soda,
coffee and cake are sponsored by
Shalom Jewish Funeral Home. This
month the breakfast will be supplemented
with Passover treats as well.
The next Shabbat service will take
place on May 17. The concluding Adult
Ed session and Bagel Breakfast of this
year will be held on Sunday, May 19 at
10 a.m. At that time we will be exploring
Jewish end-of-life practices and
traditions. Our guest speaker will be
George Farr, funeral director of Shalom
Jewish Funeral Home. Temple
Hatikva will be honoring Mr. Farr,
who has generously sponsored our
Bagel Breakfasts since the inception
of our Adult Ed program.
Shabbat services are held once
a month, year round. Adult Ed sessions
will resume after the Jewish
New Year.
Temple Hatikva is located at
Bronx House, 990 Pelham Parkway
South. The synagogue can be reached
at (718) 892-5766, by email at Temple-
Hatikva@aol.com, or on the web at
www.TempleHatikva.com.
THE BRONX TIMES REPORTER
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
IS CURRENTLY HIRING COLLEGE INTERNS,
WHO WILL RECEIVE SCHOOL
CREDIT AS COMPENSATION.
IF INTERESTED,
CALL (718) 260-4593
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/www.TempleHatikva.com
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