United we can stop the invasion and destruction of our communities. Yes we can. It is the taxpaying, hardworking, middle class who will decide the future of our communities, not the slumlords and greedy developers from outside our area. Many of the Queens developers are having a difficult time getting their plans approved in Queens and are having a much easier time in the Bronx.
The Queens Congress, 125 united Queens civic associations, have been instrumental in halting many of the greedy developers. The North East Bronx Community Alliance (NEBCA) is united and determined to achieve the same results. We are encouraged by the expertise provided by Councilman Jimmy Vacca (our future Bronx borough president), Assemblyman Michael Benedetto, Senator Jeff Klein, Congressman Joseph Crowley, and district manager Ken Kearns of Community Board 10. We are demanding a halt to any further overdevelopment and the first priority given to the residents’ drastic need for municipal parking areas on Westchester, Buhre, and Middletown Rooad. We must halt these over sized developments that are destroying our once flourishing green spaces. We want to shop in our own commercial areas. We know our store owners by their first names and they know us by our first names.
The arrogance of outsiders invading our pristine neighborhoods and informing us that their shoddy-built buildings will beautify our communities. Bull crap!!! These developers are living in the past. They are living in La La Land. It’s over!! The days of astronomical inflated, profits on homes are over. Thousands of dollars to rent tiny apartments are over. They are either in denial or just brain dead. Or they are hoping for the option of the city or state bailing them out. Haven’t they been paying attention to the news? The city and the state are broke. We are in a recession. No more bailouts. When the recession is over, the taxpaying, voting residents are the ones who will be at the front of the line, demanding and getting all the necessities that our communities have been denied.
We are being saturated with newly constructed unsold buildings. We must stop the insanity of more and more approval of future unsold buildings by ancient zoning laws. We and our elected officials have to demand the removal of a zoning law that gives carte blanche approval to a builder to tear down two adjacent small homes and build an oversized building on that land because of the one existing large building perhaps built in the 1930’s and 1940’s.
It is this zoning law that is causing the over development by greedy developers. These unnecessary large buildings, like 3030 Middletown Road and over developed Ciampi Waterbury Estates are causing severe parking problems and overcrowding of our schools, Over crowding of communities breeds crime. The proof that all this new construction was never needed in our neighborhood is the blaring reality that these buildings are not being bought. This zoning law is way past its time and must be immediately abolished before too many beautiful, healthy, viable middle income communities become a thing of the past.
Join your local civic associations and unite with us to stop the invasion of our neighborhoods. Mail your 2009 dues of $10 to the Pelham Bay Taxpayers & Civic Association, P.O. Box 31, Pilgrim Station, Bronx, N. Y. 10461. Get your dues in early so you can start receiving the weekly delivery of the Bronx Times Reporter and read about our local news.
With all the snow, ice and cold weather we’ve been bombarded with, glad we decided not to hold our meetings in January and February. We will however, be holding our board meetings so we can keep abreast of so many negative problems that we are staying on top of. Together, with your help, we will be successful in over coming every negative problem. Hopefully, sooner than later. Good health and joy for all in the New Year.
