It's official: Boycotter leader just another politician

Another story from this week's Riverdale Review.

By Brendan McHugh 

Stanton is running for City Council.

Cliff Stanton, a Van Cortlandt Village resident who is involved in the boycott of the Riverdale Review, has opened a campaign committee with the Board of Elections to run for City Councilman G. Oliver Koppell’s seat in 2013. 

Koppell is term limited, forcing him to vacate the seat. 

Stanton also runs United Snacks, which has a relationship with the Nuts4Nuts street vendors. Locally, he is involved with the parents associations of P.S. 24 and Bronx High School of Science and is the treasurer of the Kingsbridge Riverdale Van Cortlandt Development Corporation. 

During a brief phone interview, Stanton said he is not inclined to speak with this newspaper. 

"This is not the best time to have the conversation. Frankly, I'm not going to have a whole lot to say," he said. 

When asked if he would continue to boycott our newspaper, he would not say. "Listen, we have nothing to say to each other. I have nothing against you personally, OK?" he replied. 

And when pressed further, he stuck to his guns. "I have nothing to say to you." 

After trying to change topics, asking what he would bring to office, he abruptly hung up. 

Stanton did speak with the Observer, blaming the Bronx Democratic Party for spreading political cynicism. “I’m certain that it is responsible. I’m not opposing individuals here, but I’m opposing this culture, and I’m holding them responsible for perpetuating this culture,” he said. 

Hebrew Home explores options for expansion on Palisade Ave.

Here's a story from this week's edition of the Riverdale Review.

By Brendan McHugh

Reingold (right) and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn
listen to constituent complaints at the Hebrew Home.

The Hebrew Home is planning to add new buildings for more senior services on the adjacent 14-acre plot, recently sold to them by the Passionist Fathers of Riverdale. 

A meditation center, possibly an underground garage and a consolidated entrance are also preliminary ideas Hebrew Home president and CEO Daniel Reingold said he has for the future. 

The land was bought for $16 million about two months ago from the Passionists, who could no longer afford the land with increased expenses, fewer retreat guests and fewer new recruits. 

“We are excited about this opportunity,” Reingold said Friday. “We think it will be something the community will be proud of. We hope to involve the community early on in discussions about what we’re going to try and do.” 

He added that the Hebrew Home will go through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), which requires months of public review and community involvement. 

“The Hebrew Home is considered among the best, if not the best nursing institution in the country,” Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz said. “Increasing their ability to provide services to seniors is a good thing.” 

Reingold said he was excited to work with the community, noting that the Hebrew Home was the first institution in the area to submit a ‘master plan’ to the community board. 

“This is very premature, but our plan would be to demolish the existing structures and replace them with an environmentally sound green building,” he said, calling the larger building an “eyesore.” 

Council district 11 gets its first entry in Cliff Stanton (UPDATE)

Stanton is running for City Council.

Cliff Stanton, a Van Cortlandt Village resident who runs United Snacks (which partly owns those Nuts4Nuts street vendors), has opened a campaign committee with the Board of Elections to run for District 11. The seat will be vacated by City Councilman G. Oliver Koppell, who is term limited.

Stanton is involved with the parents associations of PS 24 and Bronx High School of Science.

He's also leading the boycott of the Riverdale Review.

Ari Hoffnung, a deputy comptroller for John Liu, has a committee from races years ago (that has $76,000), but when we last spoke to him in December, he wouldn't say whether or not he will run for the seat in 2013.

Maybe ironically, Hoffnung's campaign received $180 from Stanton in 2008 that Hoffnung could use for this race.

We have been able to speak with Koppell, and he said he is unsure how involved he will be in the race, only saying that he will be retiring from public service.

We'll have updates soon, so make sure to come back for more information.

UPDATE: We spoke to Stanton over the phone, but he said he wasn't going to speak with the Riverdale Review. 

"This is not the best time to have the conversation. Frankly, I'm not going to have a whole lot to say," he said.

When asked if he would continue to boycott our newspaper, he would not say. "Listen, we have nothing to say to each other. I have nothing against you personally, OK?" he replied.

And when pressed further, he stuck to his guns. "I have nothing to say to you."

We tried to change the question, asking him what he would bring to office, but he hung up on us.

Quinn on running for mayor, gambling and the living wage

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was on, what we're going to start calling, the 'pre-campaign' trail today. She brought her father along to the Hebrew Home for the Aged, and according to this 2008 Times article, when Papa Quinn is around, it's for the campaign.

Her and City Councilman G. Oliver Koppell spoke to around 150 residents of the Home, mostly about the power of seniors to fight budget cuts and the vitality that the senior community has (though we counted at least 10 seniors fast asleep during the event).

Quinn and Koppell speak to the crowd at the Home.
That's Papa Lawrence Quinn in the background, in brown.

This is the second visit Quinn's made to Riverdale in the last two months, and we couldn't remember the last time she was up here before that. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer was also up here twice in the last month on his own pre-campaign trail.

One member of the Home, while they were waiting for her to arrive, was overheard saying, "She's going to lose a lot of votes; it's not very nice making us wait." 

While they were waiting, Quinn and Koppell were touring the Hebrew Home's newest technology, the nations first low-vision living area, developed by Rensselaer Institute of Technology (RIT).

But Quinn seemed to win over most of the audience once she did arrive, taking questions from the audience until no one had anymore. They ranged from the hyperlocal, requesting W. 261st Street be paved, to the citywide, on whether or not she will run for mayor, to the statewide, on gambling.

As for running for mayor, "I won’t let my father have the microphone because he’ll tell you the answer to that question," she said. "You know, it’s something that I’m thinking about. I haven’t declared yet but it’s certainly something I’m thinking about.”

A member of the audience also questioned her about legalizing gambling (because whose grandparents don't like to gamble!? Stereotypes!). She ducked the question, but we caught up with her afterwards and got a decent answer, though still no commitment from her for either side of the issue.

Quinn speaking to Home residents.
The Home's CEO Daniel Reingold is to her left.

"I'm not a huge fan of gambling, its generally a regressive way to raise money," she said. "That said, if it's going to exist in New York, then I want it to exist in the whole state and then we can decide what we want to do on the city. I wouldn't want the city excluded from it. I'm sympatheic to Governor Cuomo's situation of having to generate revenues."

We also asked her about the living wage and whether or not she thinks it could become broader with a mayor who is more favorable to it (Bloomberg may veto the bill). “I think the key thing for creating more jobs at a living wage in the retail sector is for the Economic Development Corporation to do what L.A. and San Francisco's have done," she said. Both city's have adopted an aggressive policy "where they’re always negotiating towards [a living wage] and with that, you need a mayor who believes in it," she said.

Dinowitz, leading Obama reelection campaign locally, named delegate for national convention

Here's a story from this week's Riverdale Review.

By Brendan McHugh 

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, leading the local charge to reelect the president of the United States, has been selected by the Obama for President Campaign as a candidate for delegate to the Democratic National Convention. 

Dinowitz, who has been selected five times before, would be the only Bronxite representing the 17th Congressional district. 

In 1980, Dinowitz was one of the youngest delegates in the convention held in New York City. He was elected as a Ted Kennedy delegate. He was a Bill Clinton delegate in 1996, an Al Gore delegate in 2000, a John Kerry delegate in 2004 and a Hillary Clinton delegate in 2008. 

Both President Obama and the candidates for delegates to the DNC are running in the April 24 New York presidential primary. It would appear that they are unopposed. The 17th CD elects eight convention delegates; the other candidates on the slate include Mario Cilento, the President of the NYS AFL-CIO, State Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson and several local legislators and party officials from Westchester and Rockland counties. 

The convention is Labor Day weekend in Charlotte, N.C. 

Living Wage deal struck

Koppell speaks on the living wage as Diaz (right) and Quinn (left) look on.

After multiple compromises, a living wage deal has apparently been struck in the City Council.

Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the second-to-last major barricade in passing the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, announced her support of a new living wage bill. The last barricade is Mayor Bloomberg, who still does not support the bill, renewed his vow to veto the bill.

However, with Quinn's support, the City Council should be able to garner the 34 votes needed to override the Mayor's veto.

"There is nothing more important for government right now than the work of creating and retaining the best jobs we can," Quinn said in prepared remarks delivered today (full remarks below the jump).

"As Speaker, one of my jobs is to do all that I can to keep and create jobs in New York and to make sure those jobs provide people with the resources they need to support their families."

As everyone already knew, "I could not support the original living wage bill as it was introduced," she said. "The requirement that tenants in subsidized projects pay more when the city has no financial connection with them is a provision that I believe would have cost us future retail jobs. Placing this requirement on businesses that don’t receive a direct benefit is simply unfair."

That being said, Quinn said it was necessary to have the businesses that directly take money to pass the benefit along to their employees.

"I believe it is fair and appropriate for government to place requirements on a business that has voluntarily entered into an economic development agreement with the City. At the end of the day, they have a choice as to whether or not they want both the money offered to them and the wage requirements."

A living wage would require certain developers of direct, significant city subsidies to pay their employees at least $10 an hour with benefits or $11.50 without.

Local leaders around the city have applauded the compromise, the second Bronx-related compromise with the city this week. The first, which elevated the living wage debate into the spotlight, was the issuing of the request for proposals for the Kingsbridge Armory.

“I am extremely happy that we have reached an agreement on the ‘Fair Wages for New Yorkers’ Act, and that this important bill will finally see a vote in the City Council," Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said. "The deal we have reached today creates the strongest ‘living wage’ legislation in the nation, one that will demand that direct recipients of significant taxpayer subsidies do better by their employees."

Diaz had City Council members G. Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma introduce the bill on his behalf.

“This bill will ensure that taxpayer subsidies are used to improve the quality of life of New Yorkers. Today’s announcement is a victory for the people of this City, and I look forward to this legislation becoming law,” Diaz said.

Palma not only applauded the compromise, but also noted that there is now a fight going on for a minimum wage increase at the state level and that it should elevate to the federal level.

“This hard-wrought agreement will help a number of New Yorkers secure jobs that pay a living wage and I am grateful for the support of my colleagues and all of those who have been vocal advocates of this bill," Palma said.

"Additionally, it is encouraging that Speaker [Sheldon] Silver is carrying the fight against income inequality in Albany," she said. "I commend him for highlighting the need for a State-wide minimum wage increase tied to the cost of living. I am further encouraged that this idea is picking up steam on both sides of the aisle, with Mayor Bloomberg’s strong endorsement in yesterday’s State of the City address.

"I also urge our Federal representatives to engage in the conversation on economic inequality that is occurring across the country. People throughout our nation are struggling to survive by working low wage jobs, yet it has been over a decade since Washington increased the federal minimum wage. It’s time for our leaders in Washington to get serious about the challenges ahead and the reforms that will be necessary to fix an economy that too often fails our working people.” 

City Comptroller John Liu also released a statement, saying, “This living wage agreement will ensure

better use of public subsidies for private business and help reverse the widening wealth gap in our City. The City Council and the Living Wage Coalition are to be commended for their tenacious effort in getting this accomplished.”

Diaz Jr calls for Living Wage vote

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. first had the Fair Wages for New Yorkers bill introduced to the City Council in 2010, and in 2012 is now calling for the Council to vote on the bill.



A December Quinnipiac poll on the living wage--$10/hr. with benefits or $11.50/hr. without--found that New Yorkers overwhelmingly support a living wage. However, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has so far sided with Mayor Michael Bloomberg strong opposition and not allowed it to come to a vote in the Council. Rumors among the city-wide media say the bill once had enough supporters to override a Bloomberg veto, but more recently the bill appears to be losing steam, even as City Council Members G. Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma, the two main sponsors, scaled the bill back to appease opponents. 

In the video, Diaz says, "This is simply a matter of fairness, and to the mayor and the City Council: it is time for you to be fair to the people of New York City. We can no longer wait. The time to vote is now."

Koppell met with Quinn recently, trying to convince her to support for the bill. He said the meeting didn't convince her to take a stand, and didn't want to speak for her.

"She hasn’t made up her mind yet." Koppell said in a phone interview. "I’m hoping she makes up her mind."

A comment from Quinn's office is forthcoming.

Koppell grateful for new taxi accessibility law

As Chair of the Council Committee that deals with disability services and a longtime advocate for full taxi accessibility, City Council Member G. Oliver Koppell said he is particularly pleased that the legislation creating changes in NYC taxi service will provide for wheelchair accessibility and has praised Gov. Andrew Cuomo as being instrumental in making this happen.

In a letter to the governor, Koppell said, “Your leadership with respect to this legislation was crucial in moving the city toward the goal of full accessibility. Without your insistence that there be greater taxi accessibility for disabled people this would not have happened.” (Jump below for the full letter)

In addition to giving credit to the governor for the success of this historic legislation, Koppell also credited the disabled community and their advocates saying in a statement, “A victory of this magnitude does not happen in a vacuum. It can be attributed in large measure to those who have been forcefully calling for “taxis for all” for more than a decade."

As the prime sponsor of a bill in the City Council to make all new yellow cabs in New York City wheelchair accessible, Koppell has been a strong spokesman for equal transportation. It should be noted that a member of his staff is in a wheelchair.

The legislation provides for 2,000 more wheelchair accessible yellow cabs, whose medallion auction is expected to raise at least $1 billion for the city. It also creates a new class of livery cabs with metered fares, credit card readers and roof lights. Of the 18,000 new permits that the Taxi and Limousine Commission is expected to issue for these cabs, one fifth will be wheelchair accessible. The city will also provide up to $54 million in subsidies and loans to encourage livery drivers to buy vehicles that accommodate disabled riders. 

Head over to our post to see other Bronx politicians' reactions, and jump here to see how Assemblyman Carl Heastie celebrated.

As part of the deal, within a year, the city must create a long-term plan to convert the entire yellow cab fleet to disability access. The State Department of Transportation, which is overseen by the governor, will have to approve that plan before the city can auction all 2,000 new medallions. 

Koppell also said how grateful he is that people in northern Manhattan and the outer-boroughs will have vastly expanded access to taxi service, something his constituents have wanted for a long time.

“As the representative of an outer-borough district, I am delighted that my Bronx constituents will no longer be disadvantaged with respect to taxi service. I am equally gratified that, after a long fight, members of the disabled community will have equal access to taxi service,” Koppell said. 

Jump below for the letter.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio pushes living wage bill (UPDATE)

The center of the Living Wage battle: The Kingsbridge Armory

In a letter sent yesterday to Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has announced his support for a living wage bill.

The bill, which is currently in limbo in the City Council, would require certain companies receiving city subsidies to pay employees $10 an hour with benefits or $11.50 without. De Blasio is expected to face Quinn in the Democratic primary for mayor, and the debate over a living wage will be a hot topic.

This is going to be a difficult issue for Quinn; she receives major contributions from the business community, which is firmly opposed to it. Bloomberg is also strongly against the bill.

In his letter (below), de Blasio says the prolonged economic crisis has battered the middle class. "Underlying these problems is a rising income inequality that threatens our social fabric and economic future," he writes. 

But de Blasio is calling for one change to the bill, which is to protect smaller businesses by increasing the amount of annual revenue that a business must earn to require offering a living wage to $5 million.

The bill, introduced by City Council members G. Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma on the behest of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., has been sitting in the City Council for months now, and has gone through much debate, both in public and in the Council. Quinn has yet to decide whether or not she will bring it to a vote.

De Blasio goes after the bill's detractors, defending the stoppage of the Kingsbridge Armory shopping center.

"Some have claimed that a Living Wage bill would inhibit future development, citing the City's experience with the Kingsbridge Armory as an example," he wrote. "I am the first to say that it was a tragedy negotiations were not able to yield a project at the Kingsbridge Armory. I do not subscribe to the notion that no projects are better than imperfect projects. But what killed the Kingsbridge Armory project was brinksmanship in the negotiating process—not the principle of a Living Wage."

UPDATE: Here is a statement from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. It should be noted that de Blasio was at the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club's holiday party last week, where Diaz spoke about the living wage. The BFRDC is also home to Koppell.

“As a leader in the fight to bring a ‘living wage’ law to New York City, I enthusiastically welcome Public Advocate Bill de Blasio’s support for the ‘Fair Wages for New Yorkers’ Act," Diaz said. "Public Advocate de Blasio has displayed a strong record of fighting for the rights of those underserved and often ignored residents of this City, and his support for this historic legislation is another great example of his commitment to justice and fairness for New Yorkers.

“For months, the public advocate met with individuals and organizations on all sides of this legislation as he engaged in a thoughtful, deliberative examination of the merits of this bill. After meeting with me personally last week, I am thrilled that he has joined the majority of our City in support of the ‘Fair Wages for New Yorkers’ Act. This further demonstrates that we are gaining momentum in our efforts to pass this important legislation.

“The ‘Fair Wages for New Yorkers’ Act will ensure that our taxpayer dollars are spent not only to enrich major developers, but also to provide a way forward out of poverty for their employees. Bill de Blasio understands that, and I welcome his support for this bill and look forward to working with him on making it law."

Living Wage

Koppell launches toy drive for children in need

Koppell with students of PS 8.

City Councilman G. Oliver Koppell launched his toy drive this holiday season by distributing over 100 toys on Dec. 8, 2011 to children at the Little Angels Head Start Program on Hull Avenue in the Bedford Park/Norwood section of his district. These toys were among the 300 donated to Koppell by the Bronx Chamber of Commerce and Bronx Toys, a toy manufacturer, to give to children in need in his district.

Koppell also selected Mosholu-Montefiore, Marble Hill and Kingsbridge Heights Community Centers to be the recipient of toys because many of the families the centers serve are suffering during these harsh economic times and cannot afford to give their children a holiday present.

A number of children who attend PS 8 live in the nearby homeless shelter and Koppell provided the school with toys to give to these children, who are among the neediest in his district.

 

“I am grateful to the Bronx Chamber of Commerce and Bronx Toys for their generous donation of toys to brighten the holiday season for children in my district, many of whom would go without gifts because of the economic hardship their families are experiencing," Koppell said.

 

You can contribute to Koppell’s toy drive by dropping off a new, unwrapped toy at his Riverdale district office, 3636 Waldo Avenue.

Skateboarders seek park here

Here's a story from this week's Riverdale Review.

By Brendan McHugh 

In an attempt to get themselves off the streets, four skateboarders came to the parks committee of Community Board 8 last week asking for the area’s first skateboarding park. 

“We’d have a place to skate and we’d be out of your way,” said Michael Roberts, a Riverdale-Kingsbridge Academy graduate. 

They offered the committee pictures of themselves skating at public places as evidence. One was outside Bronx County Courthouse, another in front of RKA, yet another down the block from two of the community board members, and even one right outside the board office. 

They managed to win over support from the board fairly easily. The four skaters discussed skate park aesthetics, safety concerns and revenue for the community. 

“Skaters need to eat,” Michael Alfano, an eleventh grader at KRA, chimed in, saying putting in a park in the neighborhood will help out the local businesses. 

Jump below for the full story.

Koppell gets an 'A' for human rights

City Councilman G. Oliver Koppell is one of nine Council Members who received an 'A' grade on the “2011 New York City Council Human Rights Report Card,” which was released by the Human Rights Project at the Urban Justice Center on Nov. 14.

 

The goal of the annual Human Rights Report Card is to provide reliable and accessible information on the performance of City Council representatives in protecting and advancing the human rights of New Yorkers in 2011. Council Members were graded based on their sponsorship of, and votes on, legislation  to advance human rights, as well as their responses to the Human Rights Questionnaire sent to each Council Member in June.

 

The Human Rights Project highlighted Koppell’s legislative priorities including the “Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act,” the “Accessible Taxi Mandate” and improving Department of Buildings access to illegal residential housing conversions as the basis for its rating. The project also noted Koppell’s advocacy on behalf of these measures, as well as his budget priorities, which included the "Children Under Five Mental Health Initiative," the “Geriatric Mental Health Initiative” and helping ensure that teachers were not laid off.

 

“I am very proud to have received an A grade on the NYC Council Human Rights Report Card based on my legislative record at the City Council, and I look forward to continuing to advocate on behalf of this vital issue,”  Koppell said.

Electeds wait until December to kick off Christmas in the Bronx

While businesses around the country began kicking off the winter holidays pretty much the day after Halloween, the Bronx's elected officials managed to hold off until December actually started.

On Saturday, Dec. 3, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. (far right) welcomed Santa Claus to the Bronx as he joined City Council Member G. Oliver Koppell (far left), Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz (third from left) and members of the board of directors of the Woodlawn Heights Taxpayer & Civic Association at the organization’s annual Christmas tree lighting event.

Will new heating oil rules bankrupt co-ops?

Here's a story from this week's Riverdale Review.

By Brendan McHugh 

The metal sleeve runs all the way
down to the boiler in the basement.
It cost $90,000.

It started as an environmental issue and it’s now become an affordable housing problem. 

A new city-mandated rule requires all residential buildings to switch from No. 6 heating oil to at least No. 4—a cleaner, more expensive oil—by 2015, but then to No. 2 or natural gas by 2030.

Environmental activists across the city celebrated the mandate, but for Riverdale, the mandate will end up costing thousands. 

“You hear about a boiler conversion, but for the rest of the building, it’s a big expense,” said Community Board 8 housing committee chairman Thomas Durham. 

His building, at the corner of Waldo Avenue and Manhattan College Parkway, is one of hundreds in Riverdale that burns No. 6. At least it did, until this summer when the building underwent a conversion from No. 6 to a duel system of natural gas and No. 2 oil. If Con Edison shuts down the gas line, Durham’s building still wanted to have a heat source, hence the backup No. 2.

Jump below for the full story.

New answer for school traffic woes?

A story from this week's Riverdale Review. There is a similar story in a separate post that fully explains the 'slow zone' practice that debuted in Claremont this week.

By Brendan McHugh 

Last month, elected officials requested slower speed limits, new signage and speed bumps for the area around PS 24 and MS/HS 141. 

Turns out, the City has a new program that can do just that. 

On Monday, the Department of Transportation announced its first-ever Neighborhood Slow Zone in Claremont. The slow zone reduces the speed limit in the quarter-square mile neighborhood from 30 mph to 20 mph, adds nine new speed bumps and over 50 new signs—both on poles and stenciled onto the street—to the area alerting drivers of the speed limit. 

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, one of three legislators who wrote to DOT in October, says Independence Avenue is a model candidate for the new traffic safety program. 

“Given the area’s proximity to several schools, a public library, and houses of worship, I believe this stretch of Independence Avenue would be an ideal location for a Neighborhood Slow Zone,” he wrote in a letter to DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan earlier this week. 

Jump below for the full story.

Will this be the last Veterans Day that our heroes are made to wait for memorial?

Here's a story from this week's Riverdale Review and Bronx Press.

By Brendan McHugh

ROTC students from several Bronx colleges
participated in the ceremonies to mark Veterans Day
in Van Cortlandt Park.

This past Sunday, about 100 people showed up on a brisk November afternoon to honor Riverdale’s veterans at the Van Cortlandt Park Memorial Grove. 

Herb Barret and Don Tannen, the leaders of the Memorial Grove Restoration Group and two veterans themselves, have held the ceremony for the past five years, not only for the veterans in the area, but also to highlight the need to restore the war memorial. 

“We were hoping that a good part of the grove would be completed,” Barret said at the ceremony. “We’d just like to see it finished.” 

The grove is set for completion this January, though Barret and Tannen have had to be relentless in getting the Department of Parks and Recreation in moving quickly. The grove is suppose to honor 37 deceased war heroes—including two Medal of Honor recipients—with 37 trees and plaques, but a handful of trees weren’t there and many of the plaques disappeared over the years. Many of those honored in the grove are from World War II, though a small number honor those who fought in World War I and the Korean War. 

Jump below for the full story.

Living wage advocates prepping for City Council hearing

Here's a video from Living Wage NYC, the advocates for the living wage. They're holding a rally Monday, Nov. 21 at the Riverside Church in Manhattan, and then going to the City Council hearing on the bill the following day (details of the meetings are at the end of the video).



The bill would require companies that receive over $1 million in city subsidies to provide a living wage to their employees. A living wage is $10/hr with benefits or $11.50 without. The living wage battle hit the spotlight when the City Council nixed a deal that would have put a shopping center in the Kingsbridge Armory. The developer refused to agree to the living wage mandate, which would have also required their tenants (the stores) to pay a living wage as well.

The main sponsors of the bill are Bronx City Council members G. Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma. They have drastically changed the bill over the last year to appease opponents of the living wage but there is still much debate over the bill. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has yet to take a position on the bill and put off holding a hearing about the issue for months. She has, in the past, held hearings about controversial issues and then refused to bring them to a vote.

Pols back permits for local parking

Here's a piece from this week's Riverdale Review.

By Brendan McHugh 

For many Bronx residents, using the car after sunset means one thing: parking is going to be very difficult when they return home. 

It’s possible that help is on the way, however. Last week, the City Council approved a Home Rule Resolution, requesting the New York State Legislature to pass a bill authorizing New York City to adopt a residential parking permit system. 

A public hearing on the bill, held by the Council Committee on State and Federal Legislation on Wednesday, Nov. 2, generated enormous support for the plan, according to City Councilman G. Oliver Koppell, who supported the bill. 

Jump below for the full story.

$1 million slated to fix Seton Park

Another story from this week's Riverdale Review. Check out old coverage of this issue here.

By Brendan McHugh 

City Councilman G. Oliver Koppell is set to allocate nearly $1 million to the restoration of Seton Park, and based off a recent community meeting, it will go towards repairing the natural grass, the ball fields and the tennis courts.

“[T]he consensus was to do various repairs to the ball field, tennis courts, etc., rather than use the money for artificial turf,” Community Board 8 parks committee chairman Bob Bender said. “We are sending our minutes to Councilman Koppell so he can learn what happened.”

Ultimately, the park users decided for renovation of the worst parts of the ball fields’ surfaces, including restoration of a field that has essentially disappeared to the naked eye, resurfacing the tennis courts, and brining in new infrastructure such as benches, backstops and dugouts. 

Koppell spoke briefly at the Oct. 27 meeting, held in the Schervier Apartments, to a group of Seton Park users that included tennis players, a Riverdale-Kingsbridge Academy representative, little league parents and other concerned residents before he had to run off to another meeting. 

Jump below for the full story.

Three local pols discuss environment issues at town hall meeting

Here's a story that didn't make this week's Riverdale Review.

By Brendan McHugh 

Dinowitz (center) speaks to constituents as
Espaillat (left) listens and Koppell (right) takes notes.

In a special environmentally focused town hall meeting, Riverdale residents had the chance to quiz elected officials about hydrofracking, Indian Point, tree safety and other issues.

Around 50 people showed up to the Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale for the third of four recent town hall meetings in the area, this one including Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, state Senator Adriano Espaillat and City Councilman G. Oliver Koppell. 

“We wanted to have a meeting with the community…to hear what issues you’re concerned about, get input and give people an opportunity to speak out,” Dinowitz said as he opened the meeting. 

Dinowitz and Espaillat, both who scored at the top of the legislature with their voting record by the EPL/Environmental Advocates’ scorecard, said Democrats and Republicans are on opposite sides of many topics and it’s up to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to be a decisive factor when dealing with certain issues.

Jump below for the full story.