Dear Borough President Diaz:

Last week Bronx residents, including myself, were caught off guard by the announcement in the New York Daily News that “Fresh Direct will receive $130 million in grants, tax breaks and tax credits from the Cuomo and Bloomberg administrations and Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.” Why were we so surprised? Simply put, we were left out of the process regarding the future of our public lands (almost 100 acres on the waterfront) and $130 million of our tax dollars.  I would like to ask you why, Mr Diaz, was this done so sneakily behind our backs? Why weren’t we part of the process as is our right? Sadly, had this been 100 acres in Manhattan, Brooklyn or any other borough we would not be having these issues because it would NEVER have been done behind the residents’ back.

You recently called the opposition out (which includes myself) on your personal page on Facebook as well as the group created by your office, “Bronxites for FreshDirect“, and asked us “To those people who continue to say that they don’t want Fresh Direct here, my question to them is, ‘do we say no to the potential of 3,000 jobs?'”–Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.”  That is a poor and cheap tactic pandering to the heartstrings of Bronxites who already suffer from the highest employment rate in the city.  What potential of 3,000 jobs?  There are already almost 2,000 employed at FreshDirect and the estimates are that 1,000 jobs will be created by 2020.  That’s pretty far into the future when Bronxites need jobs NOW.  Not 8 years from now.  The first of the jobs wouldn’t even begin until 2015.  Again, that is 3 years away and 3 years too late for people who need jobs right this minute.

But it doesn’t just end there.  We also need QUALITY jobs.  You have been quite an outspoken proponent of living wage jobs for Bronx residents and even wrote an editorial for the New York Daily News.  Remember that?  I’ve taken the liberty of highlighting and boldface type the pertinent quotes from your eloquent letter as a fighter for fair wages for Bronxites.

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Kingsbridge Armory needs more than minimum wage jobs: A public-private partnership is the answer

By Ruben Diaz, Jr

What the Kingsbridge Armory needs for a successful redevelopment is a considerable public-private funding partnership, similar to those at the High Line and other city armories. The High Line got more than $100 million in taxpayer support; that kind of investment could surely help lift up my borough.

In December 2009, the City Council voted to prevent the development of a retail mall at the Kingsbridge Armory, a former military outpost with a footprint larger than two football fields, near Fordham Road. I supported that decision because the developer didn’t ensure that employees would’ve been paid a living wage.

I have approached the discussion on the future use of the armory with only one aim: to expand access to opportunity and upward mobility through a responsible, community-focused investment and development strategy that yields a much higher rate of return for the taxpayer dollar. My critics have stated that my work to defeat the proposed retail mall was irresponsible, but I know we made the right decision.

A mall would have devastated local businesses – at taxpayer expense. And we cannot say that the project would have created the number of jobs promised, anyway.

When the Related Companies constructed the Gateway Center Mall near Yankee Stadium in 2005, executives promised that the mall would employ more than 2,300 full-time workers. As of last year, the mall has created the equivalent of just 986 full-time jobs, less than half of what was proposed. We cannot accept at face value the claim that Related would have created 1,200 new retail jobs at Kingsbridge, given its disappointing track record.

The Gateway Mall is the hallmark of Mayor Bloomberg’s approach to job creation: provide developers with city land and/or public assets at deep discounts, then subsidize site conversions with millions of taxpayer dollars in cheap financing, tax breaks and far-below-market rents in order to create poverty level jobs.

The growth of the local retail industry is a driving force for these jobs. More low-wage workers in New York City are employed in retail than in any other sector of the economy. Three in five retail workers earn an hourly wage of $13 or less and 44% earn less than $10 an hour. The prevalence of low-wage jobs and the retail sector’s fast growth, make these projects poor candidates for public subsidy.

What we need is redevelopment that would not just awaken the empty hull of the armory but also create new business and social activity throughout the neighborhood. The space could be used for a sports arena, a recreation facility, a film studio or a number of other options. With the help of City Hall, we will solicit proposals that meet those requirements.

Such redevelopment will likely require a significant public-private partnership, especially given the poor shape of the building and the inability of most interested parties to finance such a large undertaking.

Other armories in the city – Park Slope, Fort Washington Ave. and Park Ave. – have seen significant taxpayer investment in their redevelopment in addition to private fund-raising. Rather than becoming malls in competition with neighborhood merchants, these armories were developed with recreational use in mind. Each has become a cornerstone of its community.

It is inconsistent to presume that a public-private partnership would be unfeasible for the armory, given the extent of public dollars invested in relatively smaller projects around the city.

The city should look at its success at the High Line, which has become a major amenity to the West Side of Manhattan largely due to considerable public investment and replicate that model at the armory, emphasizing the redevelopment of the surrounding neighborhood over direct job creation.

Taken as its own entity, the High Line has created a mere handful of jobs – not enough to justify more than $130 million in taxpayer investment in a small strip of parkland. At such spending levels, one has to wonder what, if any, was the city’s direct return on its investment.

The real benefit of the High Line is the significant investment it has spurred in the surrounding community, investment based on the draw of the High Line as an attraction to not just New Yorkers, but to visitors from across the globe.

There is no reason that a similar model could not be implemented at the Kingsbridge Armory. I am ready to work with Mayor Bloomberg to put forward a new request for proposals, one that not only focuses on the need for community-minded redevelopment but also does not shy away from significant public investment. If such investment is appropriate for the High Line, then it is appropriate for the Bronx.

Diaz is the borough president of the Bronx.

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So after reading the beautiful letter which you wrote I ask you, what is so different from the FreshDirect deal that is so deserving of our $130 million in grants and tax subsidies?  These jobs, that you are touting as if we should be grateful, are jobs that are barely above minimum wage. 38% of FreshDirect employees make less than $25,000 a year which is far below what is necessary for a single parent with one child to survive in the Bronx.  What of our waterfront? Is it not worthy of protection as Manhattan’s waterfront or any other borough? As you know from personal experience in the Bronx as you stated in the above editorial, promised jobs are just that:  Promises.

We all know too well that as the old adage goes, promises are made to be broken.

Sincerely,

Ed Garcia/A Concerned Bronx Resident

A victory for citizens in New York City, who’s First Amendment rights have been repeatedly violated by the NYPD, has been won in court.

New York’s laws prohibiting loitering, pan handling and “cruising“, a popular way that gay men hang around at various known places to meet other gay men for the purpose of sex, have once again been declared unconstitutional. Thousands of gay men have been arrested since the courts first declares the anti-loitering laws illegal almost 30 years ago in 1983. According to the New York Times, Katie Rosenfeld, one of the lawyers who filed the suit, said it had brought accountability. “All of the people who got charged under these statutes had not very much power: homeless people, gay people, marginalized people, vulnerable people,” she said.

How many times have people of color, particularly in the outer boroughs such as the Bronx have been victimized by the police for simply “hanging out”? A book review in The Economist  back in September of last year for A Plague of Prisons: The Epidemiology of Mass Incarceration in America had this to say:

“The pattern was repeated around the country. As a result, America’s prison population, like New York’s, rose fivefold from 1980 to 2009. The impact has been particularly strong in poor and minority communities: one in 11 black adults are under correctional supervision, compared with one in 45 whites. And 25% of children in much of Harlem and the South Bronx have had one of their parents imprisoned.

This does not indicate a violent-crime problem: in the South Bronx, only 3% of convictions are for felonies. The most common arrests are for loitering, vagrancy or drug use or possession. Collectively, these low-level, “quality of life” crimes account for nearly half of all arrests.”

The review of the book goes on further discussing the myriad of problems that this leads to and particularly how mothers can lose custody of their children.  (Make sure you read the review)

The laws had been repeatedly declared unconstitutional between 1983 and 1993 but the NYPD kept on with their illegal harassment of this segment of the population. What else do you expect from a police force who has a history of going after the disenfranchised or the killing of our youth?

Read more at: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/nyregion/new-york-settles-suit-on-illegal-arrests-for-loitering.xml

It seems like the cart was put before the horse.

When it was announced yesterday that FreshDirect will stay in New York City by moving from their cramped Long Island City facility to a state-of-the-art building to be constructed in the Bronx to the tune of approximately $130 million deal in city and state tax breaks, grants and subsidies as well as monies from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr’s office, some Bronx residents reacted with concern and anger.

“Why do we have to add more trucking to a neighborhood with the highest asthma in the state? Why do they get tax breaks when our residents pay the highest percentage of taxes?” said Lily, who lives in the neighborhood. She also goes on to state her concerns about FreshDirect snatching up prime Bronx waterfront property and how it will block access to the Greenway.

Her sentiments were echoed by others who feel that the administration ignores the residents of the Bronx and makes decisions without community input. How is it possible that all major media outlets trumpet this deal yet fail to analyze that a public community hearing has yet to occur?

LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT

The hearing, which is scheduled for Thursday, February 9th at 10am, furthermore exhibits how the administration of the city surreptitiously operates. This neighborhood – as is the rest of the Bronx – is a working class neighborhood where residents cannot afford the luxury of taking time off from work to attend such critical hearings concerning the ongoings that affect their daily lives. To say that it is unfair to do so is an understatement.  The administration needs to step up their game and do what they’re elected to do: To serve their constituents.

$130 million is no chump change when doling out corporate welfare and as residents and taxpayers we need more transparency in the process and say how the monies will be used.  We need the city to hold a meeting in OUR neighborhood which will be impacted by the deal at a time that is convenient for our residents.  6 or 7PM is ideal since the majority residents will already be home from work or school.

HAVE WE NOT LEARNED FROM OUR PAST?

Just last week it was reported that a recent sweetheart deal for $217 million was about to go bust – The Yankee Stadium deal for 9,000 space parking lot which hasn’t been able to make money and is on the verge of defaulting this year in what will be one of the worst financial disasters in city administration history in decades.  In light of that recent fiscal irresponsibility it is imperative that the community has more input in the FreshDirect process.  What will the deal do for our community besides place a fancy grocery delivery service –  that caters to the affluent communities – in the poorest congressional district that ignores the poor and communities of color in the Bronx and will pollute our roadways and lungs with their army of delivery trucks? Do we not already have the distinct displeasure of having the highest asthma rates in the country? As Bronx resident, Ari Feliz, Vanguard at The X Collective says, “They are asking to build but yet they still hold discriminatory practices towards where and subversively to whom they deliver to…  I can’t help but think of the Stadium deal in which the highest paid labor jobs went to contractors outside of the Bronx that employed non Bronxities, and only the low-wage jobs were reserved for our residents.” Ari makes an excellent point about the low-wage jobs which Good Jobs New York goes into more detail and states that, “nearly 40% of current Fresh Direct employees earn less than $25,000 a year”.

Good Jobs New York, an organization dedicated to empowering residents and connecting them with information on deals in the state, grass roots organizations and government agencies, wrote a good piece with 10 reasons why we should “Sour” on FreshDirect’s” mega deal which I posted below for you to read.

Will FreshDirect do good by the community it plans on becoming neighbors with? What of the much needed Bronx Greenway? Will we be able to compromise a deal that will not block the Greenway?  Only time will tell if they will take the role of good neighbor vs. a community scourge. Let your voice be heard and attend the hearing if you can and spread the word.  The Industrial Development Agency Public Hearing will be held Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 10AM at 110 William Street in Downtown Manhattan.

To read some of the readers’ opinions, check out yesterday’s article.

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From Good Jobs New York:

Why You Should Sour on Fresh Direct’s Proposed $80 Million City Subsidy for Expanding at Harlem River Yards in The Bronx

Let your voice be heard: Industrial Development Agency Public Hearing Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 10:00am 110 William Street in Lower Manhattan

1. Fresh Direct has engaged in a greedy race to the bottom policy by pitting New York and New Jersey against one another for a subsidy package. In 1999, Fresh Direct agreed to a $6 million deal with the city to operate its Queens facility through 2025. Its success and need to expand is due in part to its NYC customer base, the city’s infrastructure including access to northern suburbs and its New York City based workforce. Why is Fresh Direct holding taxpayers over a barrel?
2. The New York City Industrial Development Agency’s cost/benefit analysis is misleading because it does not take into account the existing subsidy package; Fresh Direct has used over $2.5 million in city subsidies.
3. The neighborhoods surrounding the proposed facility are dubbed “asthma alley” because they have some of the highest asthma rates in the country. Fresh Direct relies on a legion of trucks to move its merchandise and to deliver its goods. Yet, the IDA documents don’t indicate plans for the company to utilize the existing rail at the site.
4. According to the company’s application, numerous complaints have been filed with city, state and federal agencies regarding its labor practices.
5. The company’s description of wages and employment is confusing and fails to provide taxpayers with enough information to gauge the quality of jobs either by salary or how many jobs would be part-time or full-time. Unless this information is provided more clearly, how can taxpayers be sure further investment in Fresh Direct is wise?
6. The proposed site at the Harlem River Yards in The Bronx is owned by the state, but there are no details on its provisions. How can we be sure this won’t be a sweetheart lease?
7. Ironically, Fresh Direct only delivers to the northwestern Riverdale and Kingsbridge sections of the Bronx ignoring the neighborhoods surrounding the proposed site. Will neighbors and low-income employees at the company only have access to Fresh Direct food from local soup kitchens?
8. The company’s business practices of delivering exclusively to the far Northwest Bronx neighborhoods and refusing to accept Food Stamps not only ignores Bronxites who can’t afford their food, but subjects residents to a massive fleet of asthma-producing trucks driving through their neighborhoods everyday without getting a direct benefit.
9. There is no expectation that Bronx residents will be hired or will be paid enough that they won’t have to rely on a variety of taxpayer subsidized safety net programs: Medicaid, food stamps, subsidized child care, etc. According to employment reports, nearly 40% of current Fresh Direct employees earn less than $25,000 a year.
10. The company plans to only purchase 12% of it machinery and equipment for the new facility locally (New York City and New York State.)

So her Madgesty aka Esther aka Madonna is coming to the Boogie Down Bronx for her first tour in four years and performing at Yankee Stadium.  Tickets go on sale on February 13, 2012 – maybe she can fill up the $217 million dollar parking lot for 9,000 cars at Yankee Stadium.

Madonna to Play Yankee Stadium | The New York Observer.

Are you a student living in the Bronx or attending high school in the Bronx and interested journalism?  Is your child an aspiring journalist or do you know one in your neighborhood? Well Norwood News is looking for students who want to attend their FREE Spring Semester of the Bronx Youth Journalism Initiative!

The Bronx Youth Journalism Initiative is a successful and free after school program for high school students that runs for 12 weeks where students not only learn about the process and such areas like photojournalism but also get real hands on experience.  Click on the link below to find out more information about this wonderful program!

Bronx Youth Journalism Initiative–Apply Now! : Norwood News.

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The Silver Serpent begins its daily pilgrimage!

Join us this Saturday as representatives of Sustainable Communities • Bronx Metro North Study provide an interactive tour of the Melrose Metro North Station
and its pedestrian access points.

This is a very important way we, as a community, can band together and give feedback and be part of the process for the future of our neighborhood. Melrose has the best transportation access in the entire Bronx with subway access, bus routes and a Metro North station. Statistics show that 25,000 Bronxites make the reverse commute to work to Westchester and Connecticut making the Melrose Station a critical component for area residents in our transportation network.

Read more below straight from the source and don’t forget to take the community survey!!

The Department of City Planning of the City of New York (DCP) is studying areas surrounding select Metro North Stations in the Bronx. With support from the HUD Sustainable Communities program as part of a regional consortium of cities, counties and planning organizations, DCP is working with communities to plan for the Metro North corridor in the Bronx. The goals of the study are as follows:

· Connect Bronx residents to job centers in the region (25,000+ Bronxites make the reverse commute to jobs in Westchester and CT)

· Capitalize on the Metro North corridors by identifying opportunities for transit-oriented development

· Spur investment in lively, sustainable, mixed-use neighborhoods, by permitting new mixed-income housing around stations where growth is appropriate

· Improve station visibility, pedestrian access and intermodal connections around Bronx metro North stations

In order to successfully achieve these goals we need the full support of all community stakeholders. The DCP is moving forward with some important outreach initiatives described below.

Community Tours

In an effort to understand the community needs, pedestrian environment and transportation options surrounding the Melrose and University Heights Metro North Stations, DCP will be conducting interactive tours of key pedestrian access routes. While DCP staff will be onsite to guide the tours we need your help to make them a success! Please join us on Saturday, January 28 th in an effort to strengthen Bronx Communities. Bring your friends, co-workers, and neighbors. See details below and attached flyer:

Melrose Station

When: Saturday January 28th, 2012 10:00 AM—12:00 PM

Where: Meet at the Melrose Metro North Station Platform (Entrance on Park Avenue at 162nd Street )

University Heights Station:

When: Saturday January 28th, 2012 2:00 PM—4:00 PM

Where: Meet at the University Heights Metro North Station Platform (Entrance at W. Fordham Road and University Heights Bridge)

Please let us know if you will be attending or if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you there!

Community Survey

Your input is an important part of our successful planning effort. As part of our outreach program, DCP has developed a community survey which includes questions to help us understand community needs, land use, the pedestrian environment, and transportation facilities. Below is a link to take survey online and attached is an electronic copy of the survey available in both English and Spanish. Please complete the survey by the March 30 th deadline online, via email, mail, or fax to:

Online:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SCBronx

Or to:

Shawn Brede

One Fordham Plaza, 5 th Floor

Bronx, NY 10458

(718) 220 8505

F (718) 584-8628

sc_bronx_dl@planning.nyc.gov

A walk through the Bronx sometimes reveals interesting nooks and crannies. Anyone care to guess where this is?