City Council Member Justin Sanchez celebrated the grand opening of his new permanent office with a Back to School Carnival, complete with a community talent show, free food and even a ferris wheel.
Amidst rain and shine, the Back to School Carnival on Aug. 1 saw Bronxites of all ages perform some of their favorite songs and wait patiently in long lines for classic carnival attractions and delights. Over a thousand attendees enjoyed the festivities and over 700 meals were distributed.
“Today felt like something the community hasn’t experienced in what feels like generations. There was so much community joy, community spirit,” Council Member Sanchez said.
When Sanchez came into office this January, he and his team were not able to follow standard practice of taking over the office of the council member that preceded him, as Rafael Salamanca Jr.’s office was being bulldozed at the end of his term.
“There were seven of us all working out of a two-room office downtown when we first started, it was crazy. Then, we secured a pop up office in March,” Matt Rego, Communications Director for Justin Sanchez said.
The temporary office in Grand Concourse was serviceable, but smaller than ideal and on the edge of the district. Rego considers the new office at 1307 Southern Blvd a necessary improvement.
“We have a full basement where we’re gonna be able to host people. We have multiple office spaces where we’ll be able to have one-on-one constituent services with people as well,” Rego said.
For the day, however, Bronxites seemed much more enamored with the amusement park-style attractions and the free community talent show. With varying levels of confidence and nervousness, many children performed their favorite songs – tracks from KATSEYE and “KPop Demon Hunters” were particularly popular.
One bold dancer, Melissa Lee, enjoyed taking the stage ahead of starting the upcoming semester at a performing arts school.
“I had so much fun, especially on the ferris wheel. It was so entertaining and how everybody was interacting with people. And it really involves you so much, so there’s never going to be a time where you’re going to be bored here,” Lee said.
RosAnne Hernandez, who helped staff the inflatable kid-friendly rides, enjoyed contributing to a memorable event for the children.
“It’s a lot of work but it’s fun. It’s very fun with the kids. You get all types of ages; small, to medium, to large. It’s good, it’s nice for the kids,” Hernandez said.
Council Member Sanchez thanked the young members of the South Bronx Youth Council for their help in advising him on the interests and needs of the youngest Bronxites, and helping to curate his office’s summer calendar.
“That’s why you see so many of the high school students out here, so many of the middle school students out here, because their friends are working at the office, and now the Justin Sanchez internship is the hottest commodity in the 17th Council district,” Councilmember Sanchez said. “We hope to continue to be able to expand that and show that there’s new community partnership here. We can’t wait to grow together.”
