by David Cruz

Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. continued his promotional campaign of transforming the Bronx, touting some critical projects and offering his take on city policies during his State of the Borough Address.

The tone was virtually optimistic, though issues of nagging unemployment and the influx of supportive housing remained untouched.

In his 41-minute speech that resulted in 52 moments of rounds of applause, Diaz highlighted some gains in the Bronx that included a drop in crime, the rise of economic development and visions for other lofty transportation projects.  Overall, Diaz appeared to set a tone of a more grandeur borough, reiterating the phrase “New Bronx” that emphasizes the bygone days when the borough was deemed forsaken.

“…We have to re-write our outdated narratives,” said Diaz, addressing elected officials, community leaders and other stakeholders at a dimly lit Hostos Community College.

He also announced plans to re-ignite efforts to introduce a gun registry law akin to the sex offender registry, which publicly lists names of those convicted of gun-related crimes.  Despite Diaz announcing the plan at his last State of the Borough Address last year, the law has been delayed.  He ensured the audience that “we will pass this law” with help from several elected officials.

He also touted some accomplishments throughout his tenure so far, more notably the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, serving as a marquee focal point of his administration’s achievement.

“The world’s largest ice sports center is one example of what can happen when we think differently,” said Diaz.

In one of his more daring lines, Diaz took an indirect jab at Congressman Jose Serrano for his attempts at preventing the Bronx General Post Office from being sold by the United States Postal Service.

“Legislative efforts in Congress to protect this facility were useless,” said Diaz, drawing applause.  “And we are now faced with a daunting task.  We cannot allow Washington bureaucrats to simply sell one of our most cherished assets to the highest bidder.”

Serrano, whose district falls within the GPO, was absent at the speech along with the rest of the Bronx congressional delegation.  Several developers have pitched some ideas to convert the landmark building, though they remain undisclosed.

Supporting De Blasio’s Policies
Turning to city policies, Diaz praised the de Blasio Administration for dropping the city’s appeal of stop-and-frisk.  “I’m ready to work with Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton to reshape stop-and-frisk in a way that keeps neighborhoods safe but does so with respect.”

Diaz was also thrilled to see some changes set to happen within the city Department of Education, which he said has been dictating policies “from the penthouse rather than engaged on the ground floor.”

He urged an expansion of the universal pre-K program, leaving himself out of the burgeoning political feud between de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo, who differ over how to fund the expansion.

“It’s time to take politics out of this proposal, it’s time for Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo to compromise on universal pre-K,” said Diaz.

Master Plan
Upping the ante on his so-called “master plan,” Diaz also touted some ambitious plans for the Bronx, including a new recreation waterfront that would run between 138^th Street and 149^th Street.   A few blocks up, Diaz is pushing for an enormous soccer stadium.

When it came to matters of transportation projects, Diaz also highlighted the state’s intentions to install four Metro-North stations to the east Bronx.  “This plan would create 5,400 new jobs and increase property values to $140,000 per home, and increase business activity in the Bronx by $1 billion.”

Diaz, partnering with Councilwoman Annabel Palma, intends to promote Soundview Park as the next hub for east ferry service from the Bronx to Manhattan.

Lagging Problems
Still, even as Diaz’s vision is praised universally, nagging issues persist in the borough, most notably the stubborn, double-digit jobless rate.  For the 1.4 million people living in the Bronx, there are currently 10.6 percent out of work, according to the latest state unemployment figures.

“Over the next couple of years you’re going to see those projects come to their completion and we’re going to start putting a dent on the unemployment rate,” said Diaz, addressing reporters shortly after his speech.

In matters of supportive housing, the Bronx is seeing an influx in the number of supportive housing buildings that have squeezed the affordable housing market.  Within Community Board 7, those numbers have been seeing an uptick lately, a major concern for folks in the community who want to see more thriving areas.  Diaz pegged the Bronx a martyr for taking in troubled folks, but blamed the influx of supportive on the former Bloomberg Administration.

“We look forward to working with [the de Blasio] administration, letting them know that we’re willing to do our fair share if the rest of the city does their faire share.  And we should take into consideration what’s happening in the immediate area, our immediate surroundings so that we don’t oversaturate certain communities,” said Diaz.

Diaz’s high marks as a visionary appears to have earned him some level of recognition that could pave the way for future prospects.  At the news conference shortly after his speech a reporter asked whether he has mayoral prospects in mind.  Diaz smirked, responding, “Borough President today sounds a whole lot better.”
Additional reporting by Paolo Mossetti