BRUCKNER DETOX
CENTER OPPOSED
cents
New owner:
I’m developing wellness center
A sense of concern and outrage
is brewing in Throggs
Neck about a possible conversion
of an offi ce building into
an unwanted use.
Commercial tenants at
2800 Bruckner Boulevard received
letters to vacate the
property, and community
leaders have formed a coalition
to fi ght a possible alcohol
Westchester Square reels over vagrants
ulder during a confrontation
Continued on Page 67
Continued on Page 67
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 12 ANUARY 4-10, 2019 BTR
Founded in 1981 by
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BRONX TIMES PUBLISHER
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Bipartisan
gridlock
Dear editor,
The ongoing federal government
shut down reminds
me of ‘Stuck In The Middle
With You’ by the band Stealers
Wheel. The words “Clowns
to the left of me, jokers to the
right, here I am stuck in the
middle with you” from the
song. It perfectly sums up the
chaos and gridlock in Washington.
Both the President and
Congress need to work together,
if we are ever going to
put our fi scal house in order
and end future threats of furloughs.
We need to return to
the time when Congress held
budget hearings for each department
during the summer.
A real balanced budget agency
by agency was adopted during
an open process. Members of
Congress, federal employees,
public, watchdog groups and
media were afforded suffi cient
time to understand the contents
prior to adoption. Full
federal budgets were adopted
on time prior to the start of
any new Federal Fiscal year
on October 1. This was a
time when there were no furloughs.
Let’s make a deal. Democrats
should give Trump $5
billion for the wall. Republicans
should give Schumer and
Democrats $5 billion toward
the $29 billion Gateway Tunnel.
Both sides will come away
happy.
Why not end bipartisan
gridlock? Instead of another
in a series of stop gap continuing
resolutions to keep the
government open, pass a clean
spending bill with no attached
amendments for the balance
of Fiscal Year 2019 ending on
September 30th using Fiscal
Year 2018 numbers.
Larry Penner
At an
impasse
Dear editor,
Regarding your front page
article about Borough President
Ruben Diaz, Jr. wanting
Amtrak to get on board
building the new train stations
in the Bronx and getting
that new commuter service
up and runnin - it comes
to my mind that as a member
of the Pelham Bay Taxpayers
& Civic Association I
traveled up 177 Dreiser Loop
one evening a few years ago
to a meeting between Metro
North and the residents of
Co-op City.
At the tail end of this meeting,
Metro North announced
that there would be no parking
lots built at any one of the
Bronx commuter stations.
Arguments soon broke out
between the Co-op City residents
and Metro North offi -
cials about the parking lots.
The whole project is at an impasse.
Joseph P. Wall
The mayor is
misguided
Dear editor,
I have a huge problem with
this city even thinking about
using my tax dollars to help
marijuana businesses get
started.
My friend is suffering every
day in a Throggs Neck NYCHA
apartment and no one is doing a
damned thing to help her or the
tens of thousands like her. How
does the mayor think helping
a marijuana business is more
worthy than human beings?
There’s a sickness in Gracie
Mansion. It’s not being spread
by germs, rather by ignorance
and uber-liberal politics.
Whoever voted DeBlasio
into offi ce can stay and suffer
from his ignorant decisions.
Linda Mayer
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.......AS STATED
The following items
were provided by Assembly
Speaker Carl Heastie on matters
of interest.
Speaker Carl Heastie’s
praised New York’s 2019 minimum
wage increase.... “The
Assembly Majority believes
that every hardworking New
Yorker deserves the opportunity
to climb the economic
ladder. We know that putting
families fi rst means putting
them on a path towards
fi nancial independence. No
one working a full-time job
should live in poverty.
That is why we fought tirelessly
to establish a meaningful
plan for sustainable wage
growth in New York. In 2016,
we successfully enacted legislation
that scheduled annual
wage increases for workers
all across the state.
With the new year, wages
will rise to: $15 an hour for
workers employed by large
businesses in New York
City; $13.50 an hour for workers
employed by small businesses
in New York City; $12
an hour for workers in Nassau,
Suffolk and Westchester
Counties; and $11.10 for workers
across the rest of the
state.
This increase would not
have been possible without
the tireless efforts of my Assembly
Majority colleagues.
In the upcoming legislative
session, we will continue to
put families fi rst and will remain
committed to fi nding
new ways to make a difference
in the lives of New Yorkers.
Speaker Carl Heastie offered
the following sentiment
on the swearing in of Attorney
General Tish James....
“I would like to extend my
sincerest congratulations to
Tish James on being sworn
into the Offi ce of Attorney
General. As the fi rst African
American woman to hold
statewide offi ce, she is helping
to reshape the face of
leadership in New York and
beyond.
As the People’s Lawyer,
I am confi dent that she will
be a champion for progress
and equality, and will defend
the constitutional rights of
all New Yorkers. I look forward
to serving New Yorkers
alongside her.
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While Bronxites prepared
to take a ‘bite out of crime’
at the annual August 1 Night
Out Against Crime, one crook
turned that around and took
a bite out of a local merchant
who tried to interrupt his
thievery.
A.M.A.F. Fashion business
owner Abdul Sol felt more
than an impact to his quality
of life on the morning of Sunday,
July 9, when a shoplifter
tried to leave his store with
a bag of clothing and Sol sufered
a severe bite on his left
rearm and a dislocated right
with the man.
At his 25 Westchester
Square store, Sol recalled how
the shoplifter had on previous
customer.
occasions
been a paying “He spent money here,
it’s not like I never saw him
before,” Sol said. “He came
around two or three months
ago and bought a pair of
shoes.”
But the Sunday of the assault,
the suspect asked for a
shopping bag, grabbed stuff,
and tried to leave, according
to Sol.
“I told him, ‘No, you can’t
take my stuff.’”
A fi ght ensued and Sol said
he “went to the ground with
him. I hurt my shoulder. He
took a big bite in my arm. I was
at the hospital until 6 o’clock. I
still have pain in my shoulder.
I still can’t lift my left arm.”
Sol said he had seen the
shoplifter associate with patients
from the Bronx Psychiatric
Center, so he fi gured he
was a client.
As Bronx Psychiatric Center,
on Waters Place, continues
to release its patients on
the street during the day, they
interact with homeless people
and drug rehab program.
Complaints have been
fi led with the city about beds
being moved into the building
or illegally converting it
into a residential building,
with some folks planning to
take legal action against the
landlord because they have
leases, according to multiple
sources.
Homeowners and renters
are also circulating petitions
to protest what appears to be
“a substance-abuse rehabilitation
program recruiting
staff” to work in the building
and lack of community notice
or engagement on what
may be sited at 2800 Bruckner
Boulevard.
“The community is defi -
nitely mobilized,” said Steven
Kaufman, an attorney who
is leading the Throggs Neck
Strong coalition looking into
the matter, adding “I believe
with mobilization, we might
be able to stop what they want
to do.”
Tenants in the building
say they got letters over the
last two weeks telling them
to vacate the building by
September, said Bobby Jaen,
Throggs Neck Merchants Association
president and coalition
member.
So far, at least 20 complaints
have been logged with
the NYC Department of Buildings,
including those concerning
“commercial space that is
being turned into residential
space” and those saying tenants
see “beds, dressers, mirrors
and chairs,” being moved
in.
As of press time, a meeting
of the Throggs Neck Strong
coalition has been planned
for the Crosstown Diner on
Thursday, August 3, with Jaen
expecting around 125 people,
following a lot of community
organizing and petitioning
that led to a forceful showing
at an earlier impromptu meeting
on Friday, July 28.
Anthony Mameli, Charles
Ruttenberg Realty’s Bronx
commercial real estate manager,
said the company was
planning a grand opening for
its new offi ce at the building
Bronx Times Reporter
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