Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) held their final board meeting of 2022 on Dec. 13, following a successful annual tree-lighting event in Bedford Park on Dec. 8. The meeting was attended by around two dozen people, updates were shared by the different CB7 committee chairs and concerns of some community members were also heard.

 

The meeting was the first to be presided over by recently elected Bronx CB7 chair, Yajaira Arias, following her election to the position on Nov. 15. As reported, Arias, the incumbent CB7 secretary, succeeds Emmanuel Martinez, who stepped down as chair in the summer of 2022. Martinez, as reported, was a candidate for the Assembly District 78 seat in last year’s Democratic primary election.

 

As also reported, CB7 Parks’ committee chair, Barbara Stronczer, served as acting chair until the election of Arias in November. The new chairwoman continued to act as secretary during the December meeting since the latter position has not yet been filled. Nominations for secretary were accepted during the meeting, and those nominated were Helene Redd and Ruth Caraballo. The board are currently reviewing the nominations.

 

After attendance was taken, the meeting began with elected officials sharing updates on various bills they are currently working on. District 11 City Council Member Eric Dinowitz discussed a bill he is sponsoring which would establish a program aimed at assisting students with disabilities who are entering higher education.

 

The bill would allow such students to, for example, transfer certain accommodations they currently avail of, such as extended test-taking time, from high school or middle school through to college.

 

“What’s really important about some of these bills is that they come from you [constituents] when you call my office,” Dinowitz, a former special education teacher, said. A motion was later tabled requesting Bronx CB7 to write a letter of support for the Individualized Education Program (IEP) bill. The motion passed, with three members abstaining from the vote.

 

The councilman also mentioned that, as reported, the MTA are moving forward with the installation of a long-awaited elevator at Mosholu Parkway subway station. The station serves the 4 train and is located close to two Bronx hospitals, NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx and Montefiore Medical Center.

 

“That is happening,” Dinowitz said of the new elevator. “It is happening very soon. I don’t have the exact date, but the MTA is moving forward on that, and I am very pleased because I think we started this process in 2018,” he said, in reference to a petition calling for the installation of a station elevator. The move was supported by many in the local community, including president of Tracey Towers Tenants Organization, Jean Hill, and transit advocate for the disabled community and board member of Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY), Dustin Jones.

 

The two high-rise, Tracey Towers buildings which make up the Mitchell-Lama housing complex, housing 871 units, are located adjacent to the subway station, while another large residential housing complex, Scott Towers, is also located a short distance away. The Mitchell-Lama program provides affordable rental and cooperative housing to moderate- and middle-income families.

 

Norwood News contacted the MTA on a few occasions to obtain a timeline regarding the Mosholu Parkway elevator installation. We were informed that no specific timeline was available as the installation is part of a wider project bundle of ADA upgrades. We asked for details of the wider project timeframe and will update this story upon receipt of a response.

 

As also reported, the MTA announced that replacement elevators are also set to be installed at three existing, accessible Bronx subway stations: 161st Street-Yankee Stadium station, serving the B and D lines, 161st Street-Yankee Stadium Station, serving the 4 line, and 3rd Avenue-149th Street station, serving the 2 and 5 lines, as part of two new, public-private partnerships.

 

A first in MTA history, officials said the new model requires the developer to finance a portion of the project with equity, which will only be repaid if the project is built and maintained to MTA standards.

 

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) also attended the CB7 meeting and mentioned he was the sponsor of the Climate Change Superfund Act, the aim of which is to charge oil companies and their shareholders $30 billion over the next decade in efforts to reverse the climate crisis.

 

“We’re also working on creating a utility consumer advocate’s office,” the assemblyman said. Dinowitz, a Democrat, also used the occasion to thank voters who helped re-elect him to office in the November general election. As also reported, the assemblyman also recently announced that a bill he sponsored with Hudson Valley State Sen. James Skoufis (S.D. 39) was been signed into law, and would prohibit the misuse by political candidates in State party names of the term “independence” on their ballots, in future elections.

 

Meanwhile, Rachel Ferrari, deputy chief of staff for State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33), mentioned some of the bills Rivera had sponsored and which, Ferrari said, were being delivered for signature to Gov. Kathy Hochul, who recently delivered her State of the State address, amid mixed reaction. One such bill aims to prohibit hospitals from seeking liens over patient’s homes or wage garnishment in order to collect medical debts.

We're going to make New York more affordable, more livable, and safer.

Join me as I share the path forward in the 2023 State of the State Address: https://t.co/MCVHF6E2AV

— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) January 10, 2023

“This would also prohibit any predatory debt collectors from trying to take away folks’ homes or wages simply to collect medical debt for care that they needed,” said Ferrari.

 

Meanwhile, as also reported, Rivera, Dinowitz and a number of other local elected officials had supported the nurses and the New York State Nurses Association in their recent successful strike action against both Montefiore Health System and Mount Sinai Health System, which ended on Thursday, Jan. 12.

 

Later, Pam Cora of the Bronx Library Center notified residents that the library is offering free English classes. Class registration began on Jan. 9. Residents can join an English class at noon, 3 p.m. or 6 p.m. The library is also offering a free, tax preparation service which is available on Sundays.

 

It was also announced during the December meeting that Karla Cabrera Carrera, Bronx CB7 deputy district manager, was elected as one of 20 Bronxites to the Bronx Borough Assembly Committee, a committee which will vote on those community projects which will most benefit the borough. Norwood News readers recently shared their views on how “The People’s Money” should be spent.

 

The next general board meeting for Bronx CB7 will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 6.30 p.m. Bronx CB7 serves the neighborhoods of Bedford Park, Norwood, Fordham, Jerome Park, Kingsbridge Heights, Mosholu Parkway, and University Heights.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.