Co-op City Residents Offset Animal Shelter Advocates At CPC Hearing Wednesday
Vol. 53 No. 32
Two Arrested By Public Safety For Setting Fires In Buildings 3 And 9
In response to a troubling series of small, but potentially dangerous, fires being set in the upper floor stairwells of Buildings 3B and 9B over a span of a few weeks, the Department of Public Safety assigned plainclothes detectives to survey the areas and gather evidence, leading to the arrests of two Co-op City residents for arson on July 28th. According to Public Safety’s commanding officer, Acting Chief David Perez, evidence was gathered through video surveillance of the buildings in question and by onsite detective work. The chief said that before Public Safety moved in to arrest the suspects, they consulted with prosecutors from the Bronx District Attorney’s office who then advised them to make the arrest based on the evidence presented. (Continued on page 4) BY BILL STUTTIG
Lightning strikes the city during a sudden downpour last Tuesday evening, which halted National Night Out celebrations. Photo by Stuart Basem
City Set Aside $7.5M For Youth Center On Bartow Avenue In Early 2000's Refuting claims that no money was ever set aside for a youth center on Bartow Avenue made by the proponents of the Bronx Animal Care Center proposed for Bartow Avenue, two major players in Co-op City politics and youth funding from the early 2000s both stated independently earlier this week that $7.5 million in capital funding from the City of New York was set aside for the development of a youth center on Bartow Avenue. The funding dates back to the early and mid-2000s. Charlie Rosen, the former executive director of the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club, which was the major youth program serving Co-op City for close to three decades through 2005, said that City Councilman Larry Seabrook, working with the Gloria Wise program at the time, set aside $7.5 million in capital funding expressly for the construction of a youth center at 2050 Bartow (Continued on page 4) BY BILL STUTTIG
Saturday, August 11, 2018
$1.25
With little or no notice about a City Planning Commission (CPC) public hearing regarding the Bronx animal shelter proposed for Bartow Avenue, more than a dozen Co-op City residents rushed to the hearing site at 2120 Broadway in Manhattan on Wednesday morning and helped offset much of the testimony of the shelter proponents. News of the hearing surprised Co-op City residents with less than 24-hours-notice. Also seemingly not aware that the hearing was scheduled was Community Board 10, the office of City Councilman Andy King, the office of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., and the office of State Assemblyman Mike Benedetto, all key players in the community’s efforts to combat the city-proposed animal shelter. Had they known, each office would have sent a representative to give testimony at the hearing, but none did, likely due to the lack of adequate notice. Riverbay President Linda Berk heard about the hearing early Tuesday afternoon and quickly asked Riverbay staff to send out a robo call to all Co-op City residents. Approximately 12 to 15 answered the call and heroically trekked from Co-op City to the lower Manhattan hearing room before the 10 a.m. start. Those residents included Board Directors Leslie Peterson and Mary Pearson, and other residents, namely Nelson Sweeting, Yolanda Grant, Marlene Smith, Michelle Marbury and Lee Rivers, to mention a few. The result of their actions and words was to have the voice of Co-op City and its (Continued on page 2)
BY BILL STUTTIG
Submitting Comments To City Planning Commission On Proposed Animal Shelter
Co-op City residents who could not attend the City Planning Commission hearing on the Bartow Avenue Animal Shelter can still submit their comments on the project online or by mail. Rachel Raynoff, a spokesman for the City Planning Commission, said that comments will be taken for the next few weeks, but it is best to submit the comments sooner, rather than later. A comment form is available online and can be submitted directly to the commission. Residents can go to NYC.gov and click on “City Planning” or go to www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/index.page. On that page under “City Planning Commission,” click on “agenda and videos.” On the next page that comes up, scroll down to “Comment on Active Land Use Application” and click on the highlighted words “CPC Comments.” A comment form will appear. Click on “select borough,” and select the Bronx. Then click on “select project,” and select “Bartow Avenue Animal Shelter.” Fill out the rest of the form which includes space for 500 words of comments. Then hit “submit” to file your comment with the commission. Comments can also be mailed to City Planning Commission, 120 Broadway, 31st Floor, New York, NY 10271.
‘I Challenge You To Challenge Yourselves,’ Smith Tells Riverbay Summer Intern Class
Riverbay Assistant Executive General Manager Cary Smith III shared words of wisdom learned during his younger days of working his way up in the world when he spoke with this year’s class of Riverbay’s Summer intern program. “I was in an awesome outreach program when I was younger for boys at risk,” Smith told the group who gathered in the Bartow Center on August 3 during the Riverbay Learning Institute Internship 2018 Midpoint Review feedback session. “We took trips to suburban areas out to the suburbs and we learned all about grounds keeping. I didn’t want to do it – I hated it. But it helped me to learn the importance of the hustle and maximizing (Continued on page 9) BY JIM ROBERTS
Riverbay Assistant Executive General Manager Cary Smith III related his experiences starting out in the work place for the Riverbay Learning Institute’s Internship class on Aug. 3. Photo by Bill Stuttig