The election of the various officer positions to Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) for the upcoming year took place at the last general board meeting of the year on June 23. Most of the incumbent officers were re-elected, apart from one. In addition, four motions were passed on various, different matters. Most had already been reviewed at the board’s June 17 meeting, as reported.

Nominating committee chair, Sandra Erickson, gave each candidate a chance to pitch their candidacy to the board members at the beginning of the meeting before voting took place. Most positions ran uncontested, except for second vice chair and third vice chair. The board members in attendance subsequently voted, and the results were revealed later in the meeting.

Emmanuel Martinez was re-elected as CB7 chair, Barbara Stronczer was re-elected as first vice-chair, Andrew Laiosa was re-elected as second vice-chair, Chad Royer was voted in as third vice-chair, replacing Erick Ascensio, Edgar Ramos was re-elected as treasurer, and Yajaira Arias was re-elected as secretary.

The incumbent committee members and chairs remain the same since each appointed member serves for a term of two years before renewing their membership (or not) with the Bronx Borough President’s office. Some have two roles as an officer and as a committee chair.

The committee chairs are Betty Arce for Environment & Sanitation, Jhenelle Robison for Education, Youth & Libraries, Ramos for Traffic & Transportation, Alex Karman for Housing, Stronczer for Parks, Victor Saldaña for Public Safety, Michelle Avila for Health & Human Services, Royer for Veterans Affairs, Laiosa for Budget, Personnel and Ethics and Cole Hawkins for By-Laws.

The meeting took place the day after the 2021 primary elections, on June 22, and District Manager Ischia Bravo was back in attendance, having taken some time out during 2021 to run for the District 15 City Council seat. Bravo finished as first runner-up in the primary race which was ultimately won by incumbent City Councilman Oswald Feliz. The councilman first won the seat in the March 23 special election. The seat had previously been held by Congressman Ritchie Torres who was elected to Congress in November 2020.

In terms of board business, two motions were presented by Karman, as Housing and Land Use chair. The first concerned a proposed health and fitness zoning text amendment, previously discussed at the May meeting. The amendment states that health and fitness establishments may open in commercial and manufacturing districts without a special permit.

“This will make it easier for gyms and other health establishments to open up, so they no longer need to obtain a special permit first,” Karman explained. “They can simply open up like any other retail business.”

In the context of the discussion, Martinez said that overall health in the Bronx was not the best, and that it was in the borough’s best interest to make it easier for health-related establishments to open. “COVID is upon us, but at some point COVID will [sur]pass and we still have to keep healthy,” he said. “You have to continue to have the lifestyle. So, at some point, business will begin to grow, and people will begin to go out. So, I think it’s important that, in anticipation of that future step, we allow for things to run smoothly when the time comes,” Martinez added.

Board member, Myrna Calderon, said she had thought that part of the solution to the health problem was bringing in new healthy eating establishments to the neighborhood, while also being vigilant about massage parlor openings because the board had had issues in the past with unlicensed people opening massage parlors. Laiosa agreed, saying the government had to be careful with allowing such establishments to open. In some cases, massage parlors have been found to be hubs for sex trafficking.

The board eventually passed the motion to support the proposed health and fitness zoning text amendment, with a caveat that officials would remain vigilant in ensuring that only licensed massage therapists would be covered by the law, and that such health and fitness establishments should serve healthy food.

The second motion presented by Karman was to approve the “FRESH II” zoning text program. The Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (“FRESH”) program brings healthy and affordable food options to communities by lowering the costs of owning, leasing, developing, and renovating supermarket retail space. As reported, the Bedford Park development, underway at 2856 Webster Avenue, a joint initiative by Douglaston Development, New York Botanical Garden, Fordham Bedford Housing and Fordham Bedford Community Services, has availed of the FRESH program.

The program provides tax and zoning incentives to developers who bring supermarkets to areas facing shortages of healthy food. The FRESH II amendment is intended to prevent the clustering of supermarkets in certain areas, change some building requirements, including window requirements which are proving impractical in some cases, promote redevelopment projects, and modify parking rules in low density districts.

The FRESH II update provides a waiver from required parking for up to 10,000 square feet of FRESH retail area in lower density residential districts. “The housing committee believes that CB7 residents would benefit from additional supermarkets selling fresh and healthy foods,” Karman said. The motion passed to support the amendment without much discussion from the general board.

In the context of parks, recreation and cultural affairs, Stronczer then presented the “Design Build” procurement motion, which combines design and construction project bids into one contract, saving money on public construction projects and speeding up the projects. Stronczer said the program had been presented to the Parks’ committee by the Laborers’ Local 1010 union.

In the context of the discussion, Martinez said he thought the proposal would help improve the borough’s parks over time. “Especially with the new class of city council members, it will be easier to get more resources into our parks and actually see the fruits of our input,” he said.

Stronczer said the Parks’ committee supported the motion because it would end up saving time and money on public projects. The motion was voted on and passed.

Royer presented the final motion as chair of the Veterans affairs’ committee. The motion stated that CB7 should request Link NYC to dedicate advertising space on their kiosks for public announcements designed to reach out to veterans. LinkNYC is a free service as it’s funded through advertising, and according to its website, generates “millions of dollars in revenue for New York City.”

“Many veterans, citywide, may not know where to look for some resources or know what services are available,” said Royer. He explained that the Veterans’ committee discussed how current technology could be used to communicate to veterans throughout the city or through city agencies, even when veterans, themselves, did not necessarily have direct access to such technology. The motion passed with two abstentions.

Near the end of the meeting, board member, Gloria Bent, RDN and nutrition consultant, informed residents about a neighborhood farmers’ market, located at Mosholu Parkway North and Jerome Avenue, and about certain nutrition outreach vouchers which aim to encourage Bronxites to purchase and eat more fresh produce. Bent said the market is open Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Nov. 24.

Before the meeting came to a close, Karman referred to the extension, on May 11, of New York’s statewide utility shut-off moratorium, which actually expired on March 31. The law extends the moratorium on utility shut-offs, including water, heat, electric, telephone, cable and broadband services until the conclusion of the COVID-19 state of emergency or until December 31, 2021, whichever comes first.

Karman suggested that anyone affected by the moratorium contact their utility service provider and inform them that they have been financially impacted by the pandemic, ensuring further protection for 180 days.