JUDGE ROBERT E. TORRES SPEAKS AT PPNA
Bronx Supreme Court Judge Robert E. Torres was the guest speaker at the Pelham
Parkway Neighborhood Association’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 12 at
Bronx House.
(Above) Judge Robert E. Torres (front, c) with the PPNA’s (front, l-r) Louis Lutnik,
Debbie Kawalick, vice president Steve Glosser, president Edith Blitzer, (back, l-r)
Lance Zaron, Ruth Mirenberg, Oscar Ruiz and Andrea Siegel. Photo by Silvio Pacifi co
Community Board 10 and the NYC Department of Finanace Tax Info Seminar
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M BTR ARCH 22-28, 2019 81
Community Board 10 and the New
York City Department of Finance are
sponsoring a Tax Information Seminar
at Fort Schuyler House, 3077
Cross Bronx Expressway, on Tuesday,
March 26, from noon to 2 p.m.
One part of the seminar will comprise
of an Information Session: How
Property Taxes Are Computed, Market
Value vs. Effective Market Value,
and Maximum Tax Increase Per
Year, and other tax related topics.
There will also be a general explanation
on assessments: How Assessments
Are Calculated, How To
Challenge Them, And What Forms
To Use.
The second part of the seminar
will enable the attendees the opportunity
to speak one-on-one with a New
York City Department of Finance
representative on issues pertinent to
your property and if you would like
to enroll for Tax Exemptions or SCRIE
for the 2020-21 Tax Year.
Bring your Notice of Property
Value sent to you in January. Call
CB 10 at (718) 892-1161 to RSVP.
The Pelham Parkway
Neighborhood
Association held its
monthly meeting at
Bronx House on Tuesday
March 12 before a
packed room of over 50
community residents.
The featured guest speaker was The
Honorable Robert E.Torres. Administrative
Judge Criminal Term NYS Supreme
Court Bronx County.
Before the judge spoke there were
announcements from the representatives
of Comptroller Stringer’s offi ce
as well as Assemblywoman Fernandez
and Councilman Mark Gjonaj and
Councilman Richie Torre’s offi ce. Sector
B NCO police offi cers Mcdowell
and Grossett also answered questions
and gave out their contact info to the
audience.
Judge Torres presentation was extremely
informative and educated the
crowd on a multitude of topics.He spoke
on the progress of criminal cases in
Bronx County. In the last three years
the back log has been cut down by 46%.
There is a special initiative pilot program
program to clear old cases. To
date they have cleared 200 old cases.
As of October 2018 there is a new law in
effect called Raise The Age Legislation
that allows 16-year-olds to be charged
as adults only in major crimes, if the
crimes cause signifi cant injury or is a
sex crime or if weapons are used then
the same parameters as an adult will
be used and they will will still be tried
in the criminal court system and they
will also face the same jail sentence
as an adult. Violent career criminals
face substantial jail time.
All non violent who are arrested
are being directed to family court.
Reason being to keep them out of the
the criminal justice system. Which
is a cause for controversy.
The judge was
questioned about how
repeat offenders are released
again and again
he said that people can
not be kept in jail for
low level crimes. He
said that the system is not perfect and
must be done on an individual case by
case trial. The court system is defi ning
just which crimes are to be sent
to other areas of the court system and
that judges need to learn from that. He
also said that judges are human,and
there are many great judges ,but there
are some who need retraining. The felony
cases in Bronx County is down so
far this year.
The question of bail came up. In
general, the laws give a judge a great
amount of leeway and freedom in setting
bail. Judges are allowed to consider
any other factors that may seem
relevant to the case, above and beyond
the factors. There is no real set rule
or guideline, though judges sometimes
follow precedent (what judges before
them have done in similar cases) to set
bail.
The judge spoke about the much
lower population of inmates at Riker’s
Island .The population is 30% of what
it was six years ago. He said it costs
$300,000 per year to house an inmate
in prison for one year and that four
to six people can be put in programs
for that cost. Upon completion of these
programs they may become more productive
members of society. The judge
stressed the programs work only if
the individual wants it to work.
The judges are not sensitive to the
community and its problems. When
setting bail for instance there is much
to take into consideration ,the case is
analyzed very carefully by the judge,
for instance the defendants past history.
If its a fi rst offense or if the defendant
is a habitual offender. He must
use sound judgement during sentencing.
There are parameters and sentencing
framework to follo. It’s a very
diffi cult balancing act for the judge
and sometimes judges take risks.
Judge Torres impressed upon us that
all judges care very much about their
community.
The highest concentration of gang
cases are in Bronx county and that the
recruitment of gang member s are becoming
younger. Some are as young as
11 or 12 years old. The gangs upper echelon
recruit these youngster. Most of
them are from broken homes and lack
guidance and the gang leaders realize
this and target them specifi cally.
The Pelham Parkway Neighborhood
Association appreciates and
thanks Judge Torres for his appearance
and he is always welcome to
speak at our meetings and to our community.
The PPNA works around the
clock and year round to improve the
quality of life in our community. We
can always be reached by email at pelhamparkwayNA@
gmail.com. Please
follow us on face book for all current
happening in our community. The
next meeting of the PPNA will be on
Tuesday, April 9 at Bronx House. Get
involved in your community. It’s time.
BY GEORGE HAVRANEK
The Spencer Estate Civic
Associations’ 2019 ‘One hundred
for one hundred’ membership
drive has reached
the quarter-way point. We
excitedly await our initial
2019 meeting on Wednesday,
March 20 to assess the progress
of our mission to civically
engage our community
and increase our enrollment.
The Spencer Estate Civic Association
looks forward to
building bridges of friendships
that tightly links the
community with our elected
offi cials and public servants.
Political leaders to gauge a
community’s interest and fortitude
use the attendances at
local civic association meetings.
The number of occupied
seats at our upcoming meetings
could ultimately infl uence
our neighborhoods’ future.
Community footnotes:
Mark your calendar. Please
join, Bronx Community Board
10, at Zoodohos Peghe Church/
Greek American Institute,
and the NYC Department of
Environmental Protection for
a Free Shredding/Rain Barrel
Event on Saturday, March 30,
10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 3573 Bruckner
Boulevard, the parking lot
of Zoodohos Peghe Church/
Greek American Institute.
Registration is required
at CB 10, 3165 E. Tremont Avenue,
Bronx or call (718) 892-
1161
The Lower Eastside Ecological
Center is sponsoring
an E-Recycle event on Saturday,
March 23 from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. at I.S. 192 (Randall Avenue
and Throgs Neck Expressway).
This event is well organized
and an oopportunity to
properly dispose of unwanted
electronics.
Tuesday, March 26, noon to
2 p.m. at Fort Schuyler House,
3077 Cross Bronx Expressway,
CB 10 and NYC Department of
Finance will hold a Property
Tax Information Session and
Exemption Enrollment event.
Call (718) 892-1161 for more information.
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 fi ne quality
of life ‘we must undergo the fatigue
of supporting it’.
Remember: ‘Inclusion
Brings Solutions.”
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