The Riverdale Press
Aliza Appelbaum
The Bronx may not be burning anymore, but the borough still has its share of problems to face, said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. in his first state of the borough address.
Mr. Diaz highlighted different ways to implement his “One Bronx – Un Solo Bronx” initiative, meant to unite disparate and diverse communities into one cohesive borough, when he spoke March 5 in front several hundred people.
“One Bronx — Un Solo Bronx — where the good things in one community are good for us all, and the bad things in another community are equally bad for everyone,” Mr. Diaz said. “One Bronx is about standing side by side as one borough, to solve our problems and celebrate our successes together.”
Mr. Diaz mentioned several alarming Bronx statistics: most unhealthy county in the state, borough with the highest poverty and unemployment rates, and borough with a disproportionately low number of homeowners.
“Our poverty rates, combined with our unemployment rates and these other statistics, show us just how far we have to go,” he said.
He announced several jobs initiatives aimed at bringing more jobs to Bronxites, including a green jobs training program through the Consortium for Workers Education.
The speech also touched on the battle over the Kingsbridge Armory, in which community activists and the City Council united to prevent a developer from turning the armory into a shopping mall because of the developer’s refusal to guarantee jobs would pay a living wage.
“For too long, City Hall has embraced the mindset that what is good for developers is what is good for the five boroughs, with little regard for the real needs of the community,” Mr. Diaz asserted. “We cannot accept that the minimum wage is the best salary a developer can offer while they take so heavily from the taxpayers’ wallets. If you want charity, you must be charitable. If you want a public benefit, your project must benefit the public.”
He announced a new task force, to be co-chaired by Mr. Diaz and City Councilman Fernando Cabrera, who represents Fordham, Morris Heights and Kingsbridge, that will explore uses for the armory.
“The community’s voice will be heard,” promised Mr. Diaz, who had put the Armory debate at the center of his 2009 campaign.
Another idea Mr. Diaz discussed that could bring positive development to the borough is the building of a luxury hotel. While Manhattan has dozens of high-end and glamorous hotels, and Brooklyn has several, the Bronx has none — this despite being home to many tourist attractions, such as the Bronx Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, Wave Hill and Yankee Stadium.
“That is the kind of development we want to see in the Bronx,” Mr. Diaz said. “We are all tired of visitors coming to the Bronx but spending their evenings in Westchester or New Jersey, taking with them the money that could have been spent in our restaurants and shops.”
City Councilman Oliver Koppell, who in the past has been an advocate for a high-end hotel in the Bronx to draw tourist dollars and host events, said he was glad Mr. Diaz brought up the issue.
“The Bronx is almost 1.5 million people, there’s no good reason we can’t have a good hotel,” Mr. Koppell said. “He speaks for the good of the borough.”
Assemblyman Jef frey Dinowitz, who also attended the speech, said he thought mentioning new jobs initiatives, especially the various environmentally- friendly “green” jobs programs, set a good example.
“Creating good jobs in the borough is important,” Mr. Dinowitz said.
He also noted that Mr. Diaz made an effort to mention events and cite examples from all over the borough in his speech.
“One thing which I think he has shown is that he wants to include everybody from all corners of the Bronx,” Mr. Dinowitz said. “He’s dynamic and … it’s good to have someone to motivate people to make this borough work.”