Oppose Gas-Fired Facility
Less than 50 miles north of our Norwood-Bedford Park community, residents of Newburgh, NY and nearby towns and cities are fighting a plan by Danskammer Energy LLC to turn a little used power plant on the shore of the Hudson River into a year-round, 24/7 fracked gas facility. The proposed gas-fired plant would generate air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, which can cause serious respiratory problems, and carbon dioxide and methane, which trap heat in the atmosphere and are the key culprits in the warming of our planet.

Because air pollutants travel, residents of the Bronx (well known as the least healthy county in New York City) are likely to suffer significant adverse health effects if the project is approved. The toxic emissions generated by gas-fired power plants, problematic in themselves, also contribute to the formation of ozone, which the American Lung Association (ALA) identifies as a “lethal pollutant” that causes immediate respiratory harm and is likely to cause heart attacks, strokes, heart disease, and early death. The ozone level in our borough is already so high that it was graded “F” in the ALA’s 2019 “State of the Air” report.

In addition to its impact on our health, the proposed Danskammer fracked gas power plant will undermine New York’s recently enacted Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which commits the state to generating 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2040.  If allowed to go forward, fossil fuel infrastructure projects like Danskammer (and the Williams fracked gas pipeline proposed for New York City’s harbor) will lock us into the production and use of fossil fuels for decades to come. For the sake of all New Yorkers, we should demand that the Cuomo Administration stop all such projects.
Joanne Koslofsky
Bedford Park

 

Remembering Fare Boxes
This past Aug. 31 represented the 50th anniversary of New York City Transit bus drivers no longer having to use a coin collector to make change for riders.  Aug. 31, 1969 was the first day that bus riders either had to deposit a subway token or the exact amount in coins directly into the fare box. Drivers would no longer be required to make change. They could concentrate on driving instead of multi-tasking.  It became the passenger’s responsibility to deposit the exact fare in cash or subway token directly into the fare box when boarding the bus.

All the driver had to do was look through the upper portion of the fare box and make sure that the fare was paid.  Previously, drivers had to deal with potential robbery while in service due to carrying cash.

Safety increased for drivers, passengers, and buses. There were fewer traffic accidents involving buses. Bus operators spent more time concentrating on driving and less making change for riders.  On‐time performance improved as passenger boarding time sped up.

Drivers no longer had to deal with money when returning to the bus garage.  Other transit employees known as “Vault pullers” would unlock the bottom of the fare box and empty the contents. Coins and subway token revenue would be sorted, counted, and wrapped within the safe confines of a secure money room within the garage.

Larry Penner
Larry Penner is a transportation historian, advocate and writer who previously worked 31 years for the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration Region 2 NY Office.

Backing Andrew Yang
I’d like your readers to be made aware of a Democratic candidate for president who wants to give $1,000 in cash per month, every month, to every adult American as a right of citizenship. That candidate is a fellow New Yorker named Andrew Yang.

A $1,000 monthly “Freedom Dividend” would improve the lives of every Bronxite in Norwood.

Currently, a majority of Americans living in the Bronx could not afford an unexpected $500 expense if one arose. That’s alarming!

The Freedom Dividend would ease that economic distress for hundreds of thousands of parents in our borough and would yield immediate benefits. Students would do better in school; parents would have more time to read to their kids; churches, volunteer groups and community organizations would thrive, and the pooling effect of additional money in our pockets to spend on Bainbridge Avenue alone would rejuvenate the small business economy and clean up our community.

If your readers are interested I would urge them to check out yang2020.com. This is an idea whose time has come and I am excited we are close to implementing it.
Edgar Cisneros
Bedford Park

 

Public Option Criticism
As reported by David Cruz in the Aug. 29-Sept. 11 Norwood News’ News Briefs, New York State Attorney General Letitia James is right to sue the Trump Administration to stop them from denying green cards or visas to immigrants who have received SNAP assistance (formerly known as food stamps). What President Donald Trump ignores is that the poverty wages received by these workers are what entitles them to such assistance. Trump certainly knows this. His companies are among the employers who pay immigrants (some who are “illegal”) these miserly wages.

SNAP recipients could be reduced tremendously if every employer was forced to pay only livable wages. Nowadays, that would start at $30 an hour. But in New York State, it took great effort to get the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Nationwide, it’s still $7.25 an hour.

Immigrants pick our fruits and vegetables and sometimes get poisoned by pesticides, as well as caring for elderly people. They also do numerous other jobs requiring tough physical labor for
employers such as Trump. For this, they get poverty wages. They are not takers just because they get assistance that allows them to eat.

Some who hire immigrants to take care of elderly relatives that need help cannot afford to pay better wages. But every wealthy employer, like Trump, who does not adequately pay for the hard labor
done for them is a true taker.
Richard Warren
Van Cortlandt Village