The Week in Rewind spotlights some of the editorial work of the Bronx Times for the week of June 12-16.
Bronx GOP protests Republican challenger George Havranek as CD-13 primary heats up
Tensions heightened for the 13th City Council Republican primary race this week when the Bronx GOP protested outside candidate George Havranek’s fundraiser.
After Phyllis “Tiz” Nastasio and Grace Marrero were knocked off the ballot, three candidates — Kristy Marmorato, Hasime “Samantha” Zherka and Havranek — are left fighting in the June primary in hopes of challenging incumbent Democrat Marjorie Velázquez in the November general election.
After all five candidates presented to the Bronx GOP committee earlier this year to earn the establishment’s endorsement, the group overwhelmingly chose Marmorato, who also happens to be the sister of the Bronx GOP Chair Michael Rendino and the wife of the NYC Board of Elections (BOE) GOP Commissioner Gino Marmorato.
Though Rendino told the Bronx Times his sister was simply the best candidate, Marmorato’s opponents have criticized the move as an act of nepotism and cronyism. But Marmorato said those accusations undermine her own achievements and criticized the other candidates for “mud-slinging.”
A mailer put out by Havranek’s campaign, for example, checks off various boxes under his name such as “community board experience,” “civic leader” and “youth leader,” and only checks off one box for Marmorato: “cronyism.”
And while Marmorato told the Bronx Times she had no involvement with the Tuesday night protest, her brother had enough, and led protestors outside Havranek’s fundraising event at Patricia’s Pizza of Tremont in Throggs Neck.
The Bronx’s largest solar panel installation project takes shape in its poorest environmental corridor
In the 1970s, Roy Ayres soulfully crooned that “everybody loves the sunshine.” And that tenet remains true for the rooftop of the 115-year-old grocery business Krasdale Foods in Hunts Point, after it announced the completion of the Bronx’s largest community solar project Tuesday.
A key distribution site within the South Bronx corridor, family-owned Krasdale Foods installed 6,690 solar panels at their facility, which translates to roughly 3.4 million kilowatt-hours and the equivalency of 300 single-family homes’ energy usage.
The longtime distributor said that installation efforts — which began in September 2021 — will not only power the 400 Food Center Drive site, but reduce electric bills for roughly 300 Bronx residents and alleviate environmental harms that have plagued the borough’s Asthma Alley for decades.
South Bronx residents will be able to take advantage of Krasdale’s solar infrastructure and receive credits on their electric bill, according to Lucie Dupas, chief delivery officer of Powerflex, the company that designed and built the solar panels.
“On Sept. 30, 2021, many of us here today gathered to witness the groundbreaking of Krasdale’s solar installation project. It’s hard to believe that almost two years have passed since that day. We are thrilled and excited to be back for the completion of this incredible undertaking — the largest solar installation project in the borough of The Bronx,” said Gus Lebiak, Krasdale Foods president. “This project cements our commitment to remain in the Bronx for years to come. This is our home. We are Krasdale.”
Each solar panel is 7 feet tall and 3 feet wide, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) helped provide funds for the project through its New York Sun program.
Audit identifies unsafe conditions, financial mismanagement at two Bronx Mitchell-Lama complexes
Two Mitchell-Lama housing complexes in the Bronx — the Findlay House in Morrisania and Jamie Towers in Castle Hill — were among four buildings flagged for unsanitary living conditions in a four-year audit by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released on Thursday.
The two other Mitchell-Lama developments included in the audit were Cathedral Parkway Towers in Upper Manhattan and 753 Classon Avenue Housing Company in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights section.
The comptroller’s report uncovered an undercurrent of poor and underreported living conditions, such as mold and years-long deteriorating infrastructure, throughout all four developments.
Jamie Towers had stairwell doors and garbage chutes that did not close on their own, which poses a fire risk to tenants, as well as cracked walkways and an out-of-service elevator that has been flagged since 2020. At Findlay, a self-closing door at the building’s main entrance fails to close properly, which was a major factor in the tragic fire that killed 17 at the Twin Parks North West apartment complex in January 2022.
“Our auditors found that tenants are subjected to unsanitary, unacceptable conditions and that water leaks, collapsing ceilings, mold and other problems were left unaddressed sometimes for years,” said DiNapoli. “Homes and Community Renewal needs to improve its oversight of conditions at Mitchell-Lama buildings and monitor spending more closely. Tenants deserve nothing less.”
And instead of those conditions being fixed or addressed by private owners of these developments, the comptroller’s audit found that funds were used to instead secure bonuses and pay for parties, all while owners of the developments requested rent increases.
Borough President Gibson launches Bronx Youth Council to serve as advisory body
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson announced the launch of her new Bronx Youth Council advisory body this spring, a program she’s saying is the first of its kind.
The council — which will be made up of ninth through 12th grade students from across the Bronx — is expected to fully mobilize by the fall. Gibson told the Bronx Times in an interview this week that her goal in creating the council is to bring kids together from across the borough to advise her office on an array of issues that matter to youth. Those include topics surrounding education, public safety and youth gun violence, employment and social media, among others, she said.
“We want to be a part of opening these doors for young people,” Gibson said. “I am very adamant about amplifying the voices of our young people.”
She said she’s made an effort to recognize and honor youth at various community celebrations throughout her tenure as borough president, and that the council will be the next step toward creating positive change in the Bronx.
“We should not talk about what affects youth without including youth,” Gibson said. “We should be having young people in those spaces.”
According to an announcement from the Bronx Borough President’s office earlier this month, Gibson met with a group of kids in her first civic engagement summit of the youth council on May 30. A former intern herself, she spoke about wanting to expand career readiness education and opportunities for kids in the Bronx.
The formation of the council is Gibson’s latest push to engage youth in the borough.
Earlier this year, the borough president encouraged youth ages 16 and older to apply to their local community boards to serve in advisory positions and as voices of their neighborhoods.
According to data published by the Bronx Borough President’s office, there were three 16- and 17-year-olds, as well as seven people in between the ages of 18-24, serving on community boards in 2021. That’s 10 people aged 16-24 who served on community boards that year out of 427 total board members.
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