Editor’s Note: The following article is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition.

Bronx Community Board 7 board members were the target of a stream of vulgar insults during last month’s general board meeting held at Scott Towers on April 23, when Norwood resident, AJ Ramos, berated the board, using profanities, and alleging they had not addressed matters he had raised at previous meetings.

 

Addressing those gathered during his allotted slot during the public section of the meeting, Ramos described himself as “someone who has literally submitted complaints about members on the board to the board and BP [borough president],” and alleged he never saw the issues raised “at ethics meetings or follow ups.”

 

“I just wanted to formally go on the record saying this board is a f*cking joke and a complete scam,” Ramos said. “I don’t understand why they refuse to get their act together and why they continue to waste my tax dollars and city resources in their own personal interest, and not the public’s.”

 

Unlike elected officials, members of the City’s various community boards are unpaid volunteers who serve on various committees with the aim of addressing local issues, and sometimes advising the City on recommended courses of action. Those with executive or committee roles are voted into those positions by other board members but remain unpaid.

 

At one point during the April general board meeting, addressing Norwood resident, Sirio Guerino, who was also in attendance at the meeting and who represents local clean-up group, Guerinos Against Graffitti*, Ramos continued, “Mr. Sirio, like so many other residents, why do we even bother coming and wasting our time?” Ramos concluded, saying, “In closing, I just wanted to go on record as saying Caca or Corruption Board 7 can, for lack of better terms and within my rights to free speech and expression in a nonviolent, peaceful, yet educational, artistic, scientific, literary, and political way, s*ck my d*ck and eat my hairy ass. Happy Pride Y’all.”

 

There were some audible expressions of disgust and disappointment by those present following the remarks. Board member and 3rd vice chair (Budget, Personnel & Ethics), Jean Hill, responded in part, “We do not have that type of behavior.” Ramos then responded, saying, “Yes ma’am. S*ck It Up. Not in America. Free speech! Free speech! We’re allowed to be offensive. Free speech is offensive.”

 

The rules of conduct are read out at the beginning of each community board meeting, and the public are pre-advised that offensive or disruptive behavior will not be tolerated, and if deemed necessary, the authorities can be called.

 

Norwood News has reported on prior requests made over the years by Ramos to the board to consider raising a Pride flag at specific locations within Bronx Community District 7 during Pride Month. Two proposals were for over the 52nd Precinct stationhouse, located on Webster Avenue in Norwood, and at the Bronx Victory Memorial, located on Mosholu Parkway in Bedford Park. The board duly reviewed these requests at various stages and ultimately rejected those pinpointing specific locations, but did agree to consider raising the flag somewhere within the district at a location that was to be determined.

During some earlier discussions on the matter, a representative from the 52nd Precinct said initial feedback on the matter was that if the precinct were to raise a Pride flag during Pride Month, it would require raising other flags during other themed months and that this might not necessarily be possible to implement from a practical perspective. The NYPD has its own Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) who were, and possibly still are, excluded from marching in New York City’s Annual Pride Parade.

 

Meanwhile, at the time of previous discussions on the matter, Bronx Community Board 7 also assured the public of their support for LGBTQIA+ rights. Bronx CB7 chair Yajaira Arias told Norwood News previously that she was glad that Ramos had raised the matter of the Pride flag. “This is good. It’s a topic of conversation,” she said. “We’re having those conversations. We want it to happen.”

 

She added, “This is what residents should do, come to the board meetings, express things, express how they want certain things to happen, and we will go through the process of how we operate, and we put it in an agenda, we put it to committee, committee talks about it, discusses it, and we vote on it as a collective group because that’s what we do.”

 

In an interview with Norwood News after the latest April general board meeting, Ramos said he had been informed by CB7 that a Pride flag had been raised in the CB7 office last year but that no picture had been taken of it or shared with him, and therefore, he had his doubts that it actually happened.

 

Meanwhile, each year, the Office of the Bronx Borough President holds an official flag-raising ceremony at Bronx Borough Hall to mark Pride Month, as reported over the years, and to honor various members of the community for their service and commitment to LGBTQIA+ rights. In addition, other events are also held around Pride Month, involving Destination Tomorrow, the borough’s designated LGBTQIA+ center.

 

Additionally, for the first time this year, as reported, Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson also hosted a flag-raising ceremony to mark Transgender Day of Visibility, and on Friday, May 3, as preadvised by Norwood News via social media and via our regular Neighborhood Notes listing, the borough president’s office hosted an LGBTQIA+ Careers Fair at La Central YMCA [story to follow].

 

Meanwhile, NYPL also hosts Annual Bronx Anti-Prom events at different public libraries in The Bronx usually to coincide with annual high school proms, as an alternative for youth from the LGBTQIA+ community who may not feel comfortable attending traditional high school proms. The 2020 movie, “The Prom,” starring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, James Cordon, and others tells the story of one such female high school student in Indiana.

Other complaints Ramos had raised related to the recent public hearing on the Tibbetts Brook daylighting project. He said he felt his comments in relation to the constant flooding of Mosholu Parkway were relevant to the discussion but said he had been informed by CB7 that they were not, and that the public hearing was specific to Tibbetts Brook.

 

Other grievances related to his views that the public should be given more time to speak at community board meetings, given that elected officials are afforded more time than the public. The inference was that elected officials have their own platforms and staff to get the word out about their own activities.

 

Other grievances vocalized by Ramos related to certain ethical and procedural matters. He referenced a prior request by a Decatur Avenue block association who had requested an open streets application and had been informed by the board a minimum number of signatures was required for such a request. Ramos had argued that this was a DOT rather than CB7 requirement.

 

Later, also during the public section of the meeting, Guerino called on the board to move forward on the Pride flag issue. Ramos applauded him and said, “That’s what an ally looks like.”

 

Norwood News contacted Bronx Community Board 7 for comment on the remarks made by Ramos during the meeting. They had “no comments.” We also contacted the Bronx Borough President’s office for comment. We did not receive an immediate response but will share any feedback we receive.

 

Coincidentally, Mosholu Preservation Corporation, Jerome Gun Hill Business Improvement District (BID), in conjunction with the Bronx Historical Society, and partners will be hosting an inaugural “Norwood Pride” festival during Pride Month on June 23, in the Wiliamsbridge Oval park. Stay tuned for more details to follow.

 

New Yorkers are strongly encouraged to join their local community boards each year, as reported, in order to ensure there is a diverse demographic representing each community district. Norwood News previously reported on what the role entails, along with the formal swearing in of Bronx community board members last September at a ceremony at Lehman College.

 

Click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here to read some of our previous related coverage to this topic.