volunteers and NCO Sector C Offi cers (Gregory Hernandez and Daisy Rivera) who participated in the Annual
Mothers Day Clean Up. Photo courtesy of the Allerton International Merchants Association
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M BTR AY 17-23, 2019 69
Action
Association
BY FRANK VERNUCCIO
Recently, a letter to the editor
from a reader who disagreed
with the research and
opinions expressed in this column
called for the exclusion of
future articles.
The sentiment represents
a growing and worrisome
trend on the part of the American
Left, where, despite the
existence of a heavy pro-Left
bias on the part of most media
outlets, the very existence of
contrary discussion by non-
Leftist thinkers is seen as a
threat. Rather than engage in
a thoughtful debate, they call
for censorship, to keep those
ideas out of the public square
altogether.
The seriousness of the
threat can be seen in the multiple
avenues of attack those
favoring limiting freedom of
speech have taken. They include:
introduced legislation
on the federal and state level
that limits free speech;
the use of violence or the
threat thereof in response to
free speech; during the Obama
Administration, the use of federal
agencies to limit the ability
of political opponents to organize;
the actions of social media
powerhouses to downplay
or censor some perspectives;
and attempts to indoctrinate
students to reject free speech.
James Bovard, writing in
The Hill points out that “Commentators
in the Washington
Post and New York Times have
called for selective censorship
of ideas and doctrines they abhor.”
A generation of American
youth are being taught
on campuses that reject free
speech. John Villasenor, writing
for Brookings notes: “what
happens on campuses often
foreshadows broader societal
trends…A surprisingly large
fraction of students believe it
is acceptable to act—including
resorting to violence—to
shut down expression they
consider offensive…Freedom
of expression is deeply
imperiled on U.S. campuses.
In fact, despite protestations
to the contrary (often with
statements like “we fully support
the First Amendment,
but…), freedom of expression
is clearly not, in practice,
available on many campuses,
including many public campuses
that have First Amendment
obligations… among
many current college students
there is a signifi cant divergence
between the actual
and perceived scope of First
Amendment freedoms. More
specifi cally, with respect to
the questions explored above,
many students have an overly
narrow view of the extent of
freedom of expression… a surprisingly
large fraction of students
believe it is acceptable to
act—including resorting to violence—
to shut down expression
they consider offensive.
And a majority of students appear
to want an environment
that shields them from being
exposed to views they might
fi nd offensive.”
The problem reaches beyond
campuses. Senator Charles
Schumer, (D-NY) who is the
U.S. Senate’s minority leader,
proposed a measure that would
limit free speech protections as
they pertain to campaign donations.
The proposed legislation,
thankfully defeated, gained 43
Senate supporters—all Democrats.
At a Senate Rules Committee
Schumer stated that
“The First Amendment is sacred,
but the First Amendment
is not absolute. By making it
absolute, you make it less sacred
to most Americans.”
From a practical perspective,
the Left’s call for censorship
is understandable. Left
wing concepts have failed. On
the national, state, and local
levels, Leftists ideas and politicians
have endangered American
security, weakened the
economy, harmed the middle
class, and failed to move the
poor our of poverty. The results
speak for themselves, and in a
free and fair debate, those advocating
for them would do and
have done poorly.
Realizing this, the Left
has chosen a different strategy.
Censorship is one part of
that. Some adopt physical violence,
such as that perpetrated
on people wearing those red
Trump MAGA hats, or rioting
in the streets following election
results they dislike. Some have
engaged in character assassination
on false charges, such as
those levelled against Bret Kavanaugh.
Rather than concentrate
on actual issues, “identity
politics” pitting racial, gender,
ethnic, and age groups against
each other is foisted on the public.
As this column has frequently
noted, The U.S. is nearing
a dangerous turning point,
in which not only is free speech
endangered, but also the very
means to generate free speech
is endangered. From academia’s
relentless drive to indoctrinate
students against the
nation’s founding principles, to
the establishment media’s actions
in warping its reporting,
to the actions by entrenched
Left-wing bureaucrats and
elected offi cials alike to regulate
and intimidate against the
exercise of First Amendment
rights, America’s most cherished
freedom has become an
endangered species.
BY GENE DEFRANCIS
We will not correct you if
in conversation you said Allerton
Merchants Association.
But in print we are Allerton
International Merchants Association.
If the name is too
long you can simply say AIM.
But at no point is it acceptable
to print Allerton ‘Avenue’ Merchants
Association.
It’s not our legal name. It is
branding infringement. We do
not want to go any further so
please if you are putting our
name in print use the actual
name to avoid confusion. If
you have our name publicized
incorrectly, please correct it
by June 1st.
Our offi cial email address
for publication is Allerton-
Merchants@gmail.com. No
other email is to be provided
without written consent. If
there are any questions regarding
this or other matters
please don’t hesitate to contact
us at that email.
If at any time someone approaches
you or your business
stating they are associated
with us, you are welcome to
contact us to verify. We have
had people going door to door
claiming they were with our
organization or vetted by our
organization or sponsored by
our organization so they can
receive a discount or collect
for their project. Please don’t
hesitate to reach out to us if
they do and we will address it.
Also if someone that does represent
us acts in appropriately
let us know.
Our reputation is important
to us and we take your
trust very seriously.
In regards to the business
improvement district I want
to be clear that it is a separate
entity. But we have met with
Richard Bassik on many occasions
to keep on top of the situation
and to make sure every
voice is heard.
That is important to us as
well. We have heard many of
your concerns and will represent
you. Not the city and not
the BID. If you decide to go
forward with a BID we will be
there to make sure it is a success.
If you decide to say no toward
a BID we will make sure
that the question is not raised
again.
But you have to attend the
meetings. I can’t be clearer. If
you ignore the conversation
you are actually supporting
it. The city works in magical
ways so I will lay it out. Allerton
has 100 property owners. If
60 property owners choose to
abstain (not vote) their votes
do not count. That allows 40
owners to determine the fate
of Allerton. If 30 vote yes and
10 vote no. Then it passes
with 75% of the vote. And vice
versa. If 30 vote no and 10 vote
yes. Then it failed with 75% of
the vote.
Bottom line in that event, 30
people of 100 decided whether
Allerton is going to be a BID or
not. The meetings are once a
month. Your attendance does
not mean your vote. You are
encouraged to ask questions
and let’s sort out the fact from
fi ction.
Many questions were
raised at the last BID meeting.
We have serious concern about
SBS infl uencing the hiring
procedures for our two neighboring
BIDs. If we smell a hint
of outside infl uence from the
city we will not support the
conversation going forward.
But we have been working
with an SBS representative
that has been respectful to our
community and our concerns.
The bottom line is we are
well organized. We will continue
to fi ght to improve Allerton
with or without a BID.
If the BID helps speed the process
and the community supports
it (ie the numbers make
sense and Allerton dictates
what happens in Allerton)
then we will explore it. AIM
will still be here.
Our organization will continue
to grow. This week we
will celebrate our 6th anniversary.
If you receive this publication
before Saturday then
send us an email if you want to
join us in the festivities. Seats
are limited.
And last we want to thank
our volunteers and our NCO
Sector C Offi cers (Gregory
Hernandez and Daisy Rivera)
for joining us for our Annual
Mothers Day Clean Up. The
weather was beautiful and
the merchants jumped in as
well to assist. Thank you John
Provetto for coming through
for us a again. Your grafi ttimobile
is magic. Thank you
Marie Dinardo from Tax Time
for housing us as we gathered
together and provided refreshments.
Thank you Vito from
Roma Pizza for providing
lunch for all our volunteers.
To stay on top of all upcoming
events join us on Facebook
and add your neighbors
- Allerton International Merchants
Association Inc.
Your community is your
business.
link
link