BY GEORGE HAVRANEK HAYES BRINGS ‘THE WIZ’ TO THE BRONX
The bright lights of Broadway shined on Cardinal Hayes High School on Friday, April
5 during the student-led production of the 1978 classic ‘The Wiz.’
(Above) Students from Cardinal Hayes and Aquinas High School brought the legendary
movie to life! Photo courtesy of Cardinal Hayes High School
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A BTR PRIL 19-25, 2019 67
As our April meeting date drew
near multiple incidents in and near
our neighborhood resulted in reflection.
A short glance into the rear
view mirror of time brought me
back to the Public Safety meeting of
October 18, 2018. The purpose of this
event was to address the decline in
quality of life throughout multiple
Bronx communities.
The outcome of that meeting, in
conjunction with recent events, elicited
an examination.
‘Where We Were and Where
We Are’
The following is a reprint of an article
written shortly after the Public
Safety Meeting on October 18, 2018:
The October 18 2018 public safety
meeting, on the campus of Einstein
Hospital, exposed stark perceptual
differences between members of
the Bronx community and those in
authority. An esteemed panel consisting
of Assemblywoman Nathalia
Fernandez; Bronx District Attorney
Darcel Clarke; Supreme Court
Judge Bronx County, Robert E. Torres;
45th Precinct Commanding Officer,
Captain Carlos Ghonz, and
49th Precinct Commanding Officer,
and Deputy Inspector Thomas Alps
listened to observations, complaints
and fielded an array of questions
from Bronx business and civic representatives.
Community concerns and questions
focused on the negative affects
of decriminalization on quality of
life within many Bronx communities.
A majority of individuals addressing
the panel cited recidivism
as an overt relationship to other factors
leading to neighborhood degradations.
Police Department responses
strongly suggested that legislative
change has hindered law enforcement.
Deputy Inspector Alps, example
of the Jamie Martinez case,
displayed the need for law enforcement
to utilize complex strategies
to resolve previously simple issues.
(Martinez had been arrested and released
over sixty times).
District Attorney Clark exhibited
a strong desire to properly prosecute
every case. However, the DA
adequately demonstrated how legislative
obstacles are causal to an
overwhelming number of plea deals
and ultimately a revolving door
criminal justice system.
Judge Torres blamed an undermanned
judiciary for case overloads
and plea-bargains that foster a bevy
of lenient outcomes. Judge Torres
believes political pressure from organized
citizen groups could help
offset outcomes unfavorable to the
community. Assemblywoman Fernandez
agreed that legislative reforms
are required to enable all of
the aforementioned to perform services
tailored toward quality of life
improvements in the Bronx. Fernandez
assured those in attendance that
potential legislative reforms needed
to restore an acceptable quality of
life to the Bronx community would
be adequately addressed.
The explanations and excuses
from the well-intentioned panel did
not satisfy the solution seeking audience.
A blanket of frustration replaced
any hopes for problem solving
measures from this knowledgeable
panel of public servants. Although
cued by numerous commentaries
from those in attendance, the panel’s
reluctance to point their fingers
directly at City Hall and Albany are
indictments of those powerful political
machines that unwittingly have
put honorable, law abiding citizens
under undue stresses and strains.
The late Spanish revolutionary
Jose Garcia Oliver stated, “Justice
is so subtle a thing, to interpret it
one only has need of a heart.” This
begs he question: Does compassion
for the criminal need to be detrimental
to the quality of life within a
community?
Six Months Later - We Remain
In A State Of Stuck
Our March 20th civic association
meeting raised concerns regarding
the illegal overnight storage of tractor
trailers along our Bruckner Boulevard
perimeter, the need for 4-way
stop signage at the intersection of
Spencer Drive and Stadium Avenue
and a lack of police presence in our
community.
Information released at a recent
45th Precinct council meeting revealed
our local precinct is losing
six police officers through the attrition
process. The 45th Precinct covers
a vast, diverse territory including
the high-density areas of Co-op
City, Throggs Neck Houses and the
low-density residential areas such as
Spencer Estate, Country Club, and
Locust Point. In addition, their responsibilities
in busy commercial/
residential areas of Pelham Bay, Waterbury
LaSalle, Throggs Neck, and
Ferry Point place additional strains
on an undermanned police force.
In recent months, our community
has seen an increase in illegal
dumping, petty thefts and nuisance
issues. Unfortunately, in recent days
the severity of crimes very close to
our neighborhood has dramatically
escalated.
On April 9th a teenage boy was
severely stabbed in the vicinity of
Key Food (Pelham Bay). On April
10th, during the light of day, a young
neighborhood resident was the robbery
victim of thugs, allegedly brandishing
a concealed weapon, near
the Spencer Estate/Country Club
border, at Stadium Avenue and
Country Club Road.
We were informed by NYPD that a
community’s level of police presence
is based on a metric tied to their volume
of 911 calls.
In essence, in order to qualify for
increased police presence neighborhoods
must have an overwhelming
numbers of documented 911 incidents.
We have been taught that only
true, real time emergencies warrant
911 calls.
However, this new dynamic that
includes decriminalization is tethered
to the unprecedented allowances
of abhorrent behaviors creating
“quality of life issues” that
trouble area residents and hamstrings
law enforcement. This is a
clear path for the degradation of respectable
communities. It is plausible
to suggest the honorable, respectable
citizens are now at a distinct
disadvantage. Meanwhile, our fine
men and woman of NYPD remain
handcuffed in frustration by selfserving
authoritarianisms in City
Hall and Albany.
The next meeting of the Spencer
Estate Civic Association will be held
Wednesday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m. in
the Knights of Columbus (corner of
Ampere and Research avenues)
Assemblyman Michael Benedetto
is the scheduled guest speaker. Assemblyman
Benedetto is the driving
force behind the upcoming I-95 project
and the newly appointed chairman
of the Assembly’s Standing
Committee on Education. Assemblyman
Benedetto is a proven asset to
our community and we look forward
to hearing his message.
Any area homeowner or renter
interested in membership to the all
inclusive Spencer Estate Civic Association
in box George Havranek on
Facebook or send-email with subject
matter Spencer Estate to gghh55@
aol.com. If we want to ‘keep and reap
the blessings’ of our fine quality of
life ‘we must undergo the fatigue of
supporting it’.
Remember: ‘Inclusion brings solutions’
THE BRONX TIMES REPORTER
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
IS CURRENTLY HIRING COLLEGE INTERNS,
WHO WILL RECEIVE SCHOOL
CREDIT AS COMPENSATION.
IF INTERESTED,
CALL (718) 260-4593
/aol.com