Photo by Miriam Quinoñes
It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day as the Northwest Bronx Democrats for Change got together to clean up Devoe Park on Saturday, Oct. 4, following their recent clean up of Poe Park, as reported by Norwood News. They were joined by Bronx Parks’ Commissioner Iris Rodriguez Rosa, State Senator Gustavo Rivera, Congressman Adriano Espaillat, Councilman Fernando Cabrera, among other volunteers.
Rachel Miller Bradshaw, recently elected president of Northwest Bronx Democrats for Change, said Devoe Park was featured recently on WABC as it had become notorious for the amount of trash build-up, and several groups in the densely populated area were trying their best to get on top of the trash situation.
However, it’s been a difficult challenge to mount. During the Devoe Park clean up, everything from pizza to coffee cups was seen on the ground, and there were also trays of leftover food left next to garbage cans which had signs that read, “KEEP NYC CLEAN.”
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“Northwest Bronx Democrats for Change started in regards to cleaning our parks because we know that the City is bankrupt,” Miller Bradshaw told the Norwood News. “Because of that, Bronxites, of course, are suffering even more than the other boroughs so we’ve decided to take the initiative and pick parks in Northwest Bronx to make sure that they are clean, and we’re also inviting the community to join us.”
She continued, “So, we’re here for the long haul to try to make sure that our parks are maintained in the interim as the City tries to get their funding together. We hit Poe Park first, now Devoe Park, and we’re going to continue to hit other parks so just look forward to seeing us in parks in the Northwest Bronx.”
The site, waste360.com, cites a New York City Department of Sanitation budget cut of $106 million dollars earlier this year, and with a reported $84 million budget cut from the City’s Parks’ department even as large numbers of people continue to use the parks to socialize, it has clearly stretched the City’s resources, impacting upon trash pick up and overall park maintenance.
According to the site, waste360.com, with so many residents working from home and disposing of more trash than usual, it has caused a trash build up in the outer boroughs. Meanwhile for residents in wealthier zip codes, reduced tourism and the closure of offices has allowed these neighborhoods to stay free of waste.
In a Sept. 8 Wall Street Journal article, it was reported that former New York City Sanitation Department Commissioner Kathryn Garcia had announced her resignation, saying she could no longer serve in her post because the recent budget cuts to her agency would imperil the city’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. She is now considering a run for mayor.
Photo by Miriam Quinoñes
Back at the Devoe Park clean up event, Bronx Parks’ Commissioner Iris Rodriguez Rosa said she couldn’t thank the local people and organizations enough for taking the time to volunteer. “Let me tell you something,” she said. “In the beginning, a couple of years ago, they [residents] would be concerned about what’s happening in the park and things like that and guess what? They came out, rolled up their sleeves, and made it now a wonderful institution that’s now [inaudible]. They come out just about every Saturday, to be able to do something at Devoe Park.”
Rodriguez also thanked Cabrera, making reference to a specific funding initiative he had championed for the park. “We look forward to this park continuing to grow,” she said. “For our elected officials to be able to come out, and to be able to support this effort is absolutely phenomenal. I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Meanwhile, Oswald Feliz, candidate for Bronx City Council District 15 and treasurer of North West Bronx Democrats for Change, was also present for the clean up. “You all know me. I’m running for City Council in District 15,” he said. “This is slightly outside of my district. My district is up in Grand Concourse and down but, you know, I love every single corner of the Bronx. I’m born and bred, so why not come five minutes away and clean up an additional part of the Bronx?”
Photo by Miriam Quinoñes
Feliz added, “Thank you all for joining us. Sanitation is a problem and it’s not only garbage. When garbage piles up, rats come, mice, and then we have bigger problems, so thank you all for resolving that before it happens.”
Unfortunately, according to 311 City data, rat sightings have already become more frequent across the city. Some were seen in Williamsbridge Oval Park on Aug. 22, as reported by Norwood News. Meanwhile, at the most recent Bronx CB7 Parks’ committee meeting on Oct. 14, Marilyn, a local resident, said she also recently witnessed a rat in the Oval’s children’s playground next to the recreation center, and said she was nervous to attend an upcoming outdoor yoga class in the park as a result.
From a health perspective, local Norwood resident, José Diaz, had previously shared his concerns with the Norwood News about the number of used masks and other pieces of PPE he has seen strewn around Williamsbridge Oval Park, and said he even saw them scattered outside a local nursing home as well.
Paulette is a University Heights resident who has lived in the neighborhood close to Devoe Park for over 13 years, and also volunteered during the clean up. “I got in here with my grand-daughter and son in 2007, and I’ve always loved to come to Devoe Park with my children,” she said. “When I get over here, there’s always so much garbage. People just leave their things like they don’t really care about the earth itself, and so my grand-daughter and I, we used to pick up a little this and a little that, and tell them to behave.”
She added, “I met Miss Iris [Rodriguez] and another commissioner and we clicked. Together with Community Board 7, and on Loring Place, we’re making a little garden and on Sedgwick and West Fordham, another little garden, and it’s beautiful. I have pictures of both gardens.”
Photo by Miriam Quinones
Paulette said that it was Rodriguez who told her about the community garden project on her block at 2323 Loring Place. “[There are] tomato trees, broad leaf pine and a rose bush for the mothers next year or anybody who likes to pick pink roses,” she said. “It was going good until the community decided they wanted to throw garbage, bring dogs. I felt so heartbroken. I started taking things out of there and putting them elsewhere. On Sedgwick and West Fordham – tall, tall sunflower seeds, tomato trees, nice flowers, scallion, and everybody was loving it until they started to dismantle it.”
Despite the upheaval, Paulette said she was hopeful that things would improve in the future. “Come next year, God bless, we can go and have a thing over here, over in the middle section,” she said, pointing to a particular section of Devoe Park. “We can plant cantaloupe ’cause I’m from Jamaica and I love my cantaloupe.”
Speaking in Spanish, Rafael Mato, director of communications for the Northwest Bronx Democrats for Change, said, “We feel very happy that we had this opportunity here in Devoe Park together with our Congressman Adriano Espaillat, the leader of our Hispanic American community, and with Oscar Feliz, this young lawyer and our candidate for the 15th City Council District in the Bronx, who is representing our community and working very hard as a defender of environmental justice for this initiative, together with the Northwest Bronx Democrats for Change.”
Northwest Bronx Democrats for Change intends to assist Friends of Devoe Park on Nov. 7 with the planting of Croc bulbs to beautify the park for the fall/winter season.
During the Devoe Park clean up, State Senator Gustavo Rivera kept his comments short and sweet. “Thank you for being here,” he said. “We’ll get back to work. That’s it.”
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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