.......AS STATED
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D 12 ECEMBER 14-20, 2018 BTR
Founded in 1981 by
Michael Benedetto and
John Collazzi
PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER
Victoria Schneps-Yunis
CEO AND CO-PUBLISHER
Joshua Schneps
BRONX TIMES PUBLISHER
Laura Guerriero
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John Collazzi
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
MTA’s nostalgia
train on track
Dear editor,
Co-op City did not receive
the support of city offi cials regarding
its need for a youth
center over an animal shelter.
Spending $60 million, more
or less, for an animal shelter
is a disgrace and an insult to
our community. The site is
city property. We pay city and
state taxes as well.
We cannot forget this injustice
to our community. The
youth of Co-op City have not
received a youth center, a computer
lab, nor any tangible resources
from the city via its
local elected offi cial. I am so
disgusted, I dare not call this
person my councilman.
Hattie Overman
The Bronx Times receives
commentaries from Bronx
leaders that are interesting,
but do not fall within the purview
of this newspaper. This
new feature showcases these
other issues.
Congressman José E. Serrano’s
comments on a resolution
to add Loiza, Puerto Rico,
where Hall of Fame baseball
player Roberto Clemente died,
to the National Register of Historic
Places....“Roberto Clemente
was a trailblazer in baseball
and in his life of service
outside of baseball. Tragically,
he unexpectedly lost his life at
the age of 38 in a plane crash
while fl ying to deliver and
monitor relief supplies to Nicaraguan
earthquake victims.
Through his dedication, success,
and service, Roberto Clemente
served as a role model
for millions of youngsters in
the United States and Puerto
Rico. Adding the site of his untimely
death to the National
Register of Historic Places will
create a place for our nation to
honor the life of a legend for
generations to come.”
Assemblyman Michael
Blake’s statement on the passing
of President George H.W
Bush....“As a nation, we mourn
the loss of President George
H.W Bush. The epitome of a
public servant and family man,
President Bush was a tireless
leader who brought our country
out of the Cold War and reminded
us of the importance
of volunteerism. Our thoughts
are with his family at this diffi
cult time.”
Statement from Senator
Gustavo Rivera on his appointment
as chair of the Senate
Health Committee.... “I am
profoundly thankful to incoming
Senate Majority Leader
Andrea Stewart-Cousins for
appointing me as chair of the
Senate Health Committee.
I look forward to working
with my colleagues, constituents
across our state, and the
various stakeholders in the
healthcare industry to continue
to improve our health
indicators and outcomes, increase
access to coverage for
all New Yorkers, and ensure
that we maintain a fi nancially
viable healthcare system.
As the White House and Republicans
across the country
continue to relentlessly attack
our right to healthcare and attempt
to dismantle the Affordable
Care Act, it is urgent that
New York lead by example.
That is why I will not cease
in my efforts to continue
building a stronger, more effi -
cient healthcare delivery system
that treats healthcare as
a right for the 20 million New
Yorkers we serve.”
Assembly Speaker Carl
Heastie’s statement on Report
from New York State Compensation
Committee re legisative
raises....I have not yet read the
report in full. As I review it,
I will be guided by the principles
of the sanctity of independence
and respect for the
legislative branch which are
embedded in the New York
State Constitution. Above all
else, as a new legislature is
about to be seated, these principles
must be maintained.
Before I became incarcerated,
I had a well-paying job
managing a chain of restaurants:
I drove the company car,
and I wore a suit to work every
day. When I was released
from prison following a brief
sentence, I had to start all over
again – but with the stigma of a
criminal record.
After many unreturned
phone calls and rejections, my
cousin found me a job in private
waste collection. Thanks
to the industry, I’ve been able to
rebuild my life and support my
son through college. But the de
Blasio administration’s waste
zones proposal will most likely
force me to start all over again
for a third time.
Along the way, I’ve learned
that I’m not alone: New York’s
private carting industry employs
hundreds of people like
me with limited education and
a criminal record, giving us the
second-chance to work hard,
regain our dignity and support
ourselves and our families.
From Chicago to Atlanta
and Boston, cities across the
country have developed Second
Chance Programs to employ
formerly incarcerated
individuals like me in government
jobs. Chicago hires ex-offenders
to entry-level positions
in their transit and sanitation
OPED: by Kevin Flynn
NY’s private waste industry: a second chance program
departments, while Atlanta
employs ex-offenders in their
watershed department. Boston
extends paid internships in city
government to their ex-offenders
and at-risk youth, and those
opportunities often turn into
full-time employment. Boston’s
Operation Exit – a three-week
intensive training program
that prepares ex-offenders for
apprenticeships with unions –
is just another way the city provides
ex-offenders with a pathway
to a career.
Although New York also has
a transitional employment program,
its scope simply pales in
comparison. The city only gives
short-term, transitional jobs to
inmates leaving city jails after
serving a sentence of one year
or less – which applies to an incredibly
small percentage of
those who have dealt with the
criminal justice system. And if
we were to try to fi nd jobs with
the city on our own, we would
be out of luck: Even Sanitation
employees must pass a background
check, because the city
is not required to follow its own
Fair Chance Act.
For a city that claims to
have such progressive values,
the way it treats the formerly
incarcerated says otherwise.
Where the city has failed to give
men like me a second chance,
the private hauling industry
helped me – and hundreds of
other men like me across the
city – get back on my feet.
Now, the de Blasio administration’s
waste zones proposal
will jeopardize our futures: By
limiting competition, many private
waste haulers will either
merge or go out of business,
costing many men and women
our jobs, as well as our second
chances.
Waste management is a dangerous
job, and we need to raise
safety standards in both the
public and private sectors. But
the waste zones plan will do too
much harm to vulnerable families
across the city.
Council Member Robert
Cornegy introduced legislation
in June to give the Business Integrity
Commission more authority
to regulate the private
waste industry. Under his plan,
BIC could regulate the industry’s
safety standards, without
costing anyone their jobs – especially
for the hundreds of formerly
incarcerated men who
have relied on the industry for
the support they didn’t receive
from their city.
City Council should enact
Council Member Cornegy’s Intro
996 if it’s interested in really
helping formerly incarcerated
men like me. We made
good on our second chance, and
we’re not so sure we’ll be able to
get another.
(Kevin Flynn, is a sanitation
worker for Viking, who is
very concerned about the city’s
proposal to create commercial
waste zones. As someone who
was formally incarcerated, this
was one of the few industries
that would take a chance on him
and he does not want to see these
opportunities diminish.)
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