Riverdale Review, January 31, 2013 by Andrew Wolf

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Legislature extends co-op tax abatement By MIAWLING LAM Local co-op and condo owners can finally breathe a sigh of relief after lawmakers in Albany voted overwhelmingly to extend the $430 million property tax abatement plan. The New York State Senate voted to renew the popular Cooperative and Condominium Tax Abatement during its session on January 23. The New York State Assembly is set to cast its own vote this week on the abatement, which is expected to pass there as well. Tenant advocates are likely to oppose passage because the provision for co-ops and condos is one component of a package that also includes tax breaks for landlords. But Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz said he would support the bill because the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The scheme, which gives apartment owners and shareholders significant property tax breaks for a primary residence co-op or condo, has been in limbo since it expired on June 30, 2012. Jeffrey Klein, who represents all of Riverdale and is the new co-leader of the state Senate, said that the bill’s passage now meant homeowners’ property taxes would not balloon overnight. “It provides nothing less than essential financial stabil-

ity to these property owners,” he said in a statement. “This renewal is long overdue, but I’m pleased to see that this critical measure for Riverdale residents is now on its way to the governor’s desk. “Failure to renew this tax credit would have resulted in drastic and unnecessary tax increases for New York families and seniors.” News of the bill’s passage comes two months after the Riverdale Review reported that city ofﬁcials retroactively applied the popular Cooperative and Condominium Tax Abatement in its last round of tax bills in the hope that an accord would be struck. Homeowners feared they would be slugged with higher property taxes if lawmakers failed to renew the hugely popular provision, in effect since 1996. Under the abatement program, owners and shareholders whose units are valued in excess of $15,000 are currently given a 17.5 percent rebate, while those with properties valued at less than $15,000 are given a 25 percent rebate. If the program had not been renewed, owners whose units are worth more than $15,000 would have seen their tax bills spike by 21 percent, while those whose properties are valued at less than $15,000 would have seen their assessments skyrocket by 33 percent. Stephen Budihas, president of the Association of

Riverdale Cooperatives and Condominiums, welcomed news of the extension and said it had a signiﬁcant bearing on those who live in the neighborhood. “This tax credit is essential for many of the young families and seniors that own co-ops and condominiums here in Riverdale, and I am happy that this period of limbo has come to an end,” he said. “I am also thankful that this bill, which affects thousands of New Yorkers, was given top priority so that we can plan for the future.” The abatement program was originally designed to reduce the tax burden on co-op and condo owners, who pay higher property taxes than owners of one-, two-, and three-family homes. The disparity is widely attributed to the tax class they are assigned to—co-ops and condos are assessed in the same group as apartment buildings. A study conducted in 2011 by the Real Estate Board of New York shows that although one-, two-, and threefamily homes account for 50 percent of the market value of properties citywide, their owners pay just 15 percent of the overall tax tab. According to the Independent Budget Ofﬁce, the abatement program costs New York City taxpayers nearly $430 million annually.

Cohen gets endorsement from old friend and possible mayoral candidate

By TESS McRAE City Council Speaker Christine Quinn visited Kingsbridge last Friday to officially endorse Andrew Cohen in the City Council District 11 race. Cohen and Quinn sat next to one another in Louie’s Dale Diner on West 237th Street at a table covered with Cohen’s campaign palm cards. The two chatted for a bit and caught up briefly before Quinn jumped right in and praised Cohen as the best possible candidate to succeed current Councilman G. Oliver Koppell. Koppell is serving his third term and must vacate the City Council office due to term limit rules. There are currently two other registered Democratic candidates in the race: Fieldston School track coach and businesswoman Cheryl “Shelley” Keeling and the leader of a boycott against the Riverdale Review, Cliff Stanton. “I just really think Andy is the perfect fit,” Quinn said, citing Cohen’s experience as both a small-claims attorney and a Community Board 8 member. “The best experience is to have community board experience, and you want someone who understands law in an actual sense. And small-claims gives you that sense.” Quinn went on to add that

Cohen’s work with the Friends of Van Cortlandt Park group was another great credential. However, it was her enduring friendship with Cohen that

Quinn frequently brought up as a main factor in her endorsement. The two know each other primarily through mutual friend Christine McLaughlin.

“We go way back. He’s one of my longtime friends,” she said. When Cohen’s rivals, Stanton and Keeling, were mentioned, Quinn didn’t have much

to say. “I’m not really familiar with them,” she admitted but then clarified that her unfamiliarity was a non-issue. “Sometimes you go shopping and the first dress you see, that’s it. Then there are other times when you have to look and look and look but once you see the best, you stop looking,” she said. After taking questions from the press, Quinn mingled with diners and employees at the restaurant. She listened to their concerns and noted their comments. Cohen followed Quinn’s initiative, shaking hands with customers and introducing himself. “I have a lot of respect for Christine Quinn, and the fact that she appreciates what I could bring to the Council is very gratifying,” Cohen said after the press conference. “As a speaker, she would know who is qualified to be in the Council, and if she thinks that I have what it takes, I think it means something.” Cohen has already picked up the endorsement of Koppell, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, Congressman Elliot Engel, state Senator Jeffrey Klein and most recently, the entire Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club.

Thursday, January 31, 2013 • The RIVERDALE REVIEW

For once, MTA holds public hearing to discuss service increases By TESS McRAE Although Metro-North service is set to increase at the Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil stations in April, local residents still have a bone to pick with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. At a January 23 public hearing at the Riverdale YM-YWHA on service increases for the Hudson Line, almost every speaker was pleased about additional scheduled trains. But an increase in the number of Raillink shuttle buses had most speakers concerned.

“I support the increase, but I am concerned of the environmental conditions with the increase in buses,” Palisade Avenue resident Penelope Wilson said. The Metro-North Raillink is a bus service that transports commuters to and from train stations in coordination with the train schedule. “The buses and increased service are great,” said Stephen Hammer, who lives two blocks from the Riverdale station and commutes to MIT, where he is a professor. “But I have to echo the concerns those

Quinn wafﬂes on FreshDirect By TESS McRAE After keeping silent for more than a year, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has ﬁnally publicly commented on the online grocer FreshDirect’s move to The Bronx. “I think it’s a complicated issue,” Quinn said at an unrelated press conference last Friday. “While there are tons of people who love it, there are also people who are strongly against it.” Quinn went on to say that having such a large company in The Bronx had potential for bringing thousands of new jobs to the community, but she stopped short of supporting the relocation wholeheartedly. “I’d want to resolve any issues that residents are having so as not to overwhelm the neighborhood,” she said. Although she refused to delve into the issue any further, she assured Bronxites that she was on their side. “I am of course happy to be helpful in any way that I can,” she said. FreshDirect was lured into moving its headquarters from Long Island City to The

Bronx after state and city officials promised to provide $127 million in tax subsidies. The company had been considering a move to New Jersey. Instead, they will build a new $112.6 million state-of-the-art facility in the South Bronx, scheduled to open in 2015. But South Bronx Unite, a group representing residents of the community, filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the online grocer’s relocation. South Bronx Unite alleges FreshDirect’s plan represents a misuse of taxpayer funds and breaches land use regulations for the area along the Harlem River. City officials have been polarized on the issue. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. both support the move, while the city comptroller and possible mayoral candidate John Liu and Councilwoman Melissa Mark Viverito have come out against the plan. Quinn’s comments were made during an appearance in Kingsbridge where she endorsed City Council District 11 candidate Andrew Cohen in the three-way Democratic race.

MOSHOLU DAY CAMP On Beautiful Lake Cohasset in Harriman State Park

who have spoken before me have said. If I choose to walk home, I’m sucking in diesel fuel, so maybe we can pursue lower-emission buses.” Under the MTA proposal, the Hudson Line will run 11 more trains on weekdays, 12 more on Saturdays and six more on Sundays. According to the plan posted on the MTA’s website, two trains an hour will stop at the Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil stations on weekdays between 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. inbound and between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. outbound. The changes are scheduled to take effect on Sunday, April 7. With the off-peak train services increasing from every hour to every 30 minutes, the Raillink bus service will also increase. According to Community Board 8 trafﬁc and transportation committee chair

Daniel Padernacht, buses not only emit toxins but also cause congestion. “I support the proposal and I think it will be welcomed here, but I am concerned about the buses and the issues regarding traffic,” he said. “I think using smaller buses should be considered.” Raillink buses are about the length of a standard-sized city bus, so having those buses driving around in residential areas could cause traffic jams and disturb pedestrians, locals claimed. In addition, many said the underutilization of Raillink buses is reason enough to switch to smaller, environmentally friendly buses. “I rarely see buses filled to capacity,” Wilson said. In addition to the Raillink buses, publicity was another concern raised by speakers. Continued on Page 8

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By MIAWLING LAM and KIMBERLEY HYATT The network team leader who provides support to all three Riverdale public schools has been fined $7,500 by the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board. Department of Education official Robert Cohen was found guilty last week of violating ethics law after he solicited business for a private firm where he planned to work. Cohen is the network team leader for P.S. 24, P.S. 81 and M.S./H.S. 141. According to the ruling released by the Conflicts of Interest Board, Cohen breached conflicts of interest law after he encouraged nearly three dozen school principals to switch from the city-run Children’s First Network 104 support organization to a privately operated group, Center for Educational Innovation—Public Education Association, during a meeting last March. Following the initial meeting last year,

all principals in the CFN 104 network applied to switch cluster groups but DOE ofﬁcials rejected 18 of the 31 applications. Cohen had originally planned to retire from his city position because he received a substantial job offer from CEI-PEA. He has since retracted his retirement. “In March 2012, when I met with principals whose schools were supported by CFN 104 and informed them that I would be retiring from CFN 104 in order to take a position at CEI-PEA, I deliberately ignored the subtext of my remarks to those principals, with its purport that they elect CEI-PEA instead of CFN 104 to be their school support organization,” the public disposition for Cohen states. In an attempt to rectify the situation for the 18 denied schools, Cohen emailed Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott with a request to change their nominated support organization back to the CFN 104 network. However, Cohen’s actions did not

absolve him from the violations. “While I was unaware of this at the time, I now acknowledge that, because I deliberately ignored the subtext of my remarks to the principals in March 2012…my presentation at that meeting constituted an attempt to obtain an advantage for CEI-PEA.” According to the city’s conflicts of interest law, public servants are not allowed to use their positions to obtain financial gain, contracts, licenses or any other private or personal advantage. Rules also prohibit public employees from representing private interests before a city agency for compensation. The Conflicts of Interest Board does not comment on dispositions, but a spokeswoman confirmed that Cohen has already paid the fine. As of press time, Cohen had not re-

Trial date scheduled for alleged nursing home sex assault

By TESS McRAE The man accused of sexually assaulting an 81-year-old resident at a Riverdale nursing home is set to stand trial in March. Ofﬁcials said Jorge Sarmiento, 56, of Washington Heights, would stand trial on March 15—just two and a half months after he was slapped with the charges. Police allege Sarmiento, formerly a janitor at Hudson Pointe at Riverdale Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, sexually assaulted Gertrudis Munoz in the third-ﬂoor dementia care unit on November 29, 2012. According to the criminal complaint, another employee at the nursing home raised the alarm after allegedly observing the defendant “on one knee with his

face within inches of Gertrudis Munoz’ vaginal area.” The trial date was set after the case was brieﬂy mentioned in Bronx Supreme Court on January 18. The court also ordered all evidence and materials to be used by the prosecution during the trial to be turned over to the defense. Experienced attorney Cheryl R. Eisberg Moin, who has been enlisted by the victim’s family, did not appear in court for the hearing, but gave an update on her client. “She has since been moved to another facility,” she told the Riverdale Review last week, without specifying which new facility. Continued on Page 15

Riverdale Rehab

turned calls for comment. News of the ruling comes seven months after the Riverdale Review first reported that P.S. 24 and M.S./H.S. 141 were planning to break away from their network cluster and join a new splinter group after Cohen indicated he planned to retire. Network team leaders typically work closely with school principals in their clusters, acting as coaches and mentors for administrators. They support schools during their annual quality review site visits, serve as resources for information and experience and hold accountability for the success of their schools. The Conflicts of Interest Board is the city’s ethics board and is charged with interpreting and enforcing city laws pertaining to conflicts of interest, financial disclosure and lobbyist gifts.

3 The RIVERDALE REVIEW • Thursday, January 31, 2013

Top local education official fined $7,500 for network conflicts

Thursday, January 31, 2013 • The RIVERDALE REVIEW

Around the schools... P.S. 24

Permission slips for the spring semester “Enrichment Lunch Clubs” are due no later than Friday, February 1. Students in grades K through 5 will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of experiences, all facilitated by faculty. The clubs being offered this year include: glee, library, band, ﬁtness, wordplay, kickball, running, gardening, art and graduation committee. Clubs are strictly voluntary, and those who do not wish to participate will have free playtime as usual. Parents are asked to select up to two clubs in their child’s grade category.

P.S. 81

Kindergarten pre-registration for September 2013 will run through Friday, March 1. Parents of children zoned for P.S. 81 will be given an opportunity to complete the paperwork if they bring all of the following: the child to be registered, a parent’s photo ID, the child’s original birth certificate or passport, the child’s immunization records, the child’s individual education program (IEP) and/or 504 accommodation plan, two proofs of residence (utility or property tax bill dated within the past 60 days; original lease, deed or mortgage statement; documentation on official government letterhead dated within the past 60 days indicating resident name and address; or an employer’s official payroll documentation dated within the past 60 days.) For more information, call the school at 718-796-8965.

Horace Mann School

The Middle Division’s production of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” will open Thursday, January 31, at 3:30 p.m. Additional performances will be on Saturday, February 2, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 3, at 2 p.m. The play, adapted by Timothy Mason, is based on the novel by Mark Twain. Emma Laurence directed the production, and all performances take place in the Alfred P. Gross Theater at Horace Mann. The Upper Division’s Eastwind/Westwind Club is hosting their annual Asia Night, an evening ﬁlled with activities and delicious food celebrating the Asian culture and heritage. The event will take place on Friday, February 1, in the Recital Hall and in Cohen Dining Commons. Mami Fujisaki and Dr. Elisa Milkes are faculty co-advisors.

Manhattan College

The college’s Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center, in partnership with the college library, was recently selected by the National Endowment for the Humanities to receive the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf collection. The college is among 842 libraries and state humanities councils in the United States and one of only eight in New York City to receive the award. The collection of 25 books, three ﬁlms and other resources was created help familiarize the American public with the history and culture of Muslims. The subjects of the materials include Islamic art, history, literature, poetry cartoons, women’s rights, American Muslims, fundamentalism and secularism. The HGI Center along with the library will soon apply for the second stage of the award, which is a grant that would bring authors from the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf collection to campus. The School of Education and Health was recently approved by New York State to offer graduate students the opportunity

to take courses toward superintendent certiﬁcation through a master’s degree or professional diploma. The Master of Science and Professional Diploma in Advanced Leadership Studies are part of the School of Education and Health’s graduate program. The college is currently accepting applications from graduate students for the fall semester. Both the master’s and professional diploma curriculum incorporate key skills and knowledge for School Building Leaders, School District Leaders and School District Business Leaders in New York state.

Local Scholars

Keene State College has named Gabrielle Gentilella to the dean’s list. The Dean’s list designation is bestowed to undergraduates enrolled in a degree program who have completed a minimum of six credit hours in the semester, receiving no failing or incomplete grades. A 3.5 or higher is also required for the honor. Keene State College, located in Keene, New Hampshire, is a public liberal arts college that ensures student access to world-class academic programs, integrating academics with real-world application and active community and civic engagement. Approximately 5,400 students attend Keene State, where almost 40 majors are offered. Samantha Diaz and Laura Urena have been named to the Siena College dean’s list for the fall 2012 semester. To be named to the dean’s list, a student’s grade point average for the semester must fall between 3.5 and 3.89. A total of 733 were named to the list for the fall 2012 semester. Siena College is located in Loudonville, New York, two miles north of the state capital. The 176-acre suburban campus is home to 3,000 undergraduates and offers over 1,200 program combinations from 27 majors and 48 minors and certiﬁcate programs. Siena College is a learning community advancing the ideals of a liberal arts education, rooted in its identity as a Franciscan and Catholic college. Tracey Keane, a sophomore biology major and Jessica Lavery, a freshman biology major, have been named to the dean’s list for the fall 2012 semester at the University of Scranton, located in northeastern Pennsylvania. To qualify, students must have a grade point average of at least 3.5 with a minimum number of credit hours. The Jesuit university includes the College of Arts and Sciences, the Kania School of Management, the Panuska College of Professional Studies and the College of Graduate and Continuing Education. A total of 1,300 students were named to the dean’s list this fall.

�� • Proven success for over 60 years • Superlative education • Nursery through 8th grade • Diverse Jewish backgrounds welcome

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Monday, February 4 Spuyten Duyvil

KNITTING & CROCHET 11 a.m. Spuyten Duyvil Branch Library 650 West 235th Street A get-together for knitters & crocheters at all skill levels to work on a current project, learn new techniques and exchange information. All skill levels are welcomed. Registration not required. For more information, call 718-796-1202.

Thursday, January 31

Friday, February 1

TODDLER STORY TIME 10:30 a.m. Spuyten Duyvil Branch Library 650 West 235th Street Toddler story time for ages 18 months to 39 months in the company of a parent and or caregiver. Program includes music, dance, books, rhymes and movement exercises. The program is 30 minutes in length. This is a ticketing program ﬁrst come ﬁrst served. For more information, call 718-796-1202.

GENTLE YOGA 10 a.m. Riverdale Branch Library 5540 Mosholu Avenue Gentle Yoga is designed for students who have special needs and/or limitations. This class is a variation of basic level I yoga format, moving more slowly and includes attention to the special needs of the individual. For more information, call 718-549-1212.

Riverdale

Kingsbridge

Spuyten Duyvil

Riverdale

OPEN COMPUTER LAB 11 a.m. Riverdale Branch Library 5540 Mosholu Avenue Attention new computer users: Do you want to learn how to open a FREE e-mail account? Do you need help in mastering the computer mouse or learning how to ﬁnd information on the Web? Come to the Riverdale Library and get assistance on the computers. Practice your new skills at your own pace. Ask questions and learn from doing. For more information, call 718-549-1212.

STAY WELL EXERCISE 10 a.m. Kingsbridge Branch Library 291 West 231st Street Stay Well volunteers certiﬁed by the NYC’s Department for the Aging will lead participants in a well-balanced series of exercises for seniors of all ability levels. Please wear loose comfortable clothing. Exercise equipment will be provided. Those participating in the exercises must sign an activity release form. For more information, call 718-548-5656.

Riverdale

FUN SCIENCE 3:30 p.m. Riverdale Branch Library 5540 Mosholu Avenue Children are welcome to come to the Riverdale Branch and learn more about the scientiﬁc process. They will conduct experiments and have fun while learning how the world around them operates. For ages 5 to 12 years. For info, call 718-549-1212.

TEEN CAFE 4 p.m. Riverdale Branch Library 5540 Mosholu Avenue Come hang out with your friends in a cool, casual environment and watch videos, play games, & more!. We will provide a light snack,but you are welcome bring your own snacks to enjoy. Ages 13 -18 only. For more information, call 718-549-1212.

Riverdale

LECTURE 8 p.m. Riverdale YM-YWHA 5625 Arlington Avenue Riverdale I-House, the Israeli House at the Riverdale YMYWHA, will present a lecture “ Shooting Under Fire” by Gil Cohen-Magen, an Israeli photographer. He will discuss the economic and cultural challenges he faced while working for the multinational news agency Reuters. For more information call Hadas Oded at 917-435-0362 or email hoded@riverdaley. org.

Riverdale

Kingsbridge

TEEN ADVISORY GROUP 4 p.m. Kingsbridge Branch Library 291 West 231st Street Let your voice be heard in the Kingsbridge Library’s Teen Advisory Group! TAG meetings will be held on Friday afternoons from 4-5 pm. If you are a 7th -12th grade student, you are eligible to join. For more information, call 718-548-5656.

Saturday, February 2 Kingsbridge

MOVIE TIME 1 p.m. Kingsbridge Branch Library

KNITTING CIRCLE 2 p.m. Riverdale Branch Library 5540 Mosholu Avenue Gather with other knitters, and perhaps pick up a few tips and tricks as you work on your own creations. For more information, call 718-549-1212. RETRO GAMES 2 p.m. Kingsbridge Branch Library 291 West 231st Street It’s back to the good old days: join your friends and roll the dice instead of clicking a mouse! Come by for some old fashioned board game fun. We’ve got scrabble, chess, checkers, and more! For more information, call 718-548-5656.

Riverdale

READING ALOUD 4 p.m. Riverdale Branch Library 5540 Mosholu Avenue A librarian will share favorite picture books, providing children with the wonder of books and the joy of reading. For ages 3 to 12 years. For more information, call 718-549-1212.

Kingsbridge

MICROSOFT POWERPOINT 5:30 p.m. Kingsbridge Branch Library 291 West 231st Street Learn how to create a slideshow presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint 2003. Topics include creating and editing slides, inserting images and clipart, and running your slideshow. Space is limited, registration is required. Please sign up by phone or in person. For more information, call 718-548-5656.

Riverdale

CB8 MEETING 7:30 p.m. Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel 475 West 250th Street Meeting of the Land Use Committee of Community Board 8. For more information, call 718-884-3959.

Tuesday, February 5 Riverdale

e-READER HELP 11 a.m. Riverdale Branch Library 5540 Mosholu Avenue Learn how to download free e-books from the New York Public Library. Get help on using your iPad, Kindle or other ereader. First come, ﬁrst served. For info, call 718-549-1212.

Riverdale

SCRABBLE 2 p.m. Riverdale Branch Library 5540 Mosholu Avenue If words work you up and crossword puzzles keep you going, come to Riverdale and share your passion with friends every Tuesday afternoon for a lively game of Scrabble. Pre-registration required. For more information, call 718-549-1212.

Wednesday, February 6 Kingsbridge

MEDITATION 6 p.m. Kingsbridge Branch Library 291 West 231st Street If you’re having trouble juggling the challenges in your life, Sahaja Meditation can help you manage stress, master your emotions and ﬁnd solutions to your problems. For more information, call 718-548-5656.

Thursday, February 7 Riverdale

ROTARY CLUB MEETING 6:45 p.m. Greentree Restaurant 5693 Riverdale Avenue Lorrin Johnson will be a guest speaker at the next meeting of the Rotary Club of Riverdale. She will describe a new AAUW program at College of Mount St. Vincent this spring for 7th and 8th grade girls, encouraging them to enter the ﬁelds of science and math. For further info, please call 914 319-0002.

Riverdale

CB8 MEETING 7:30 p.m. Schervier Apartments 2975 Independence Avenue Meeting of the Health, Hospitals & Social Services Committee of Community Board 8. Visitor parking available. For more information, call 718-884-3959.

Sunday, February 10 Riverdale

CARD PARTY 1 p.m. Riverdale Temple 4545 Independence Avenue Riverdale Temple Women of Reform Judaism invites men and women to come and enjoy the afternoon. Admission for the afternoon is $15. In order that we can reserve a table for you, RSVP by calling Terry at 718-548-3800, ext.1 or emailing Rivtemple@aol.com.

A Healthy Heart Starts with You Throughout the month of February, Montefiore Einstein Center for Heart & Vascular Care will offer free educational lectures and screenings to check your blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Protect your heart from disease, and learn how to take better care of yourself.

Heart Month Kickoff Event Friday, February 1 | 10:00 am Wakefield Hospital 600 East 233rd Street, Bronx, New York 10466

Heart Healthy Food Demonstration Friday, February 1 | 10:00 am Wakefield Hospital If you are interested in attending a heart month event, simply show up to the event site on the date and time of the event.

www.montefiore.org/heartmonth

Montefiore Einstein Center for Heart & Vascular Care

5 The RIVERDALE REVIEW • Thursday, January 31, 2013

291 West 231st Street Come watch some classic movies, old favorites, and new releases on the little silver screen. This month we will be showing To Kill A Mockingbird. For more info, call 718-548-5656.

Thursday, January 31, 2013 • The RIVERDALE REVIEW

Israeli photographer to speak at Riverdale Y

Riverdale I-House, the Israeli House at the Riverdale YM-YWHA, will present a lecture ‘ Shooting Under Fire’ by Gil Cohen-Magen, an Israeli photographer on Thursday, January 31 at 8:00pm. Mr. Cohen-Magen is a photojournalist whose work has graced the front pages of some of the world’s leading newspapers and magazines. A graduate of the Hadassah College of Jerusalem’s Photography program, he spent 10 years working with the Reuters news agency. His portfolio ranges from the most violent scenes of the Israeli Palestinian conﬂict, to the closed world of the ultra-Orthodox Hassidim. Mr. Cohen-Magen will discuss the economic and cultural challenges he faced while working for the multinational news agency Reuters. He will also discuss journalistic reporting and ethics- what sells pictures and how it all affects his photographic decisions. Wine and light refreshments will be served prior to the lecture. The cost of admission to the lecture is $5. The Riverdale YM-YWHA is located at 5625 Arlington Avenue. For more information call Hadas Oded at 917-4350362 or email hoded@riverdaley.org.

Neumann-Goldman Post 69 & Ladies Auxiliary

Jewish War Veterans: All veterans are welcome to participate in the only active Jewish War Veterans post in the Kingsbridge/ Riverdale area. Neumann - Goldman Post 69 & Ladies Auxiliary regularly meets on the third Sunday of each month at the James J. Peters V A Medical Center located at 130 Kingsbridge Road at 10 a.m., in room 3D22, on the third ﬂoor of the medical center. The next meeting will be held on Sunday, February 17. Registration is not required and members of other posts are welcome or if your original post no longer exists. With advance notice, transportation can be arranged. Services are held in a 100-year old chapel on the medical center’s grounds. For additional information, call Mel Saks, Post Commander at 914-337-0277 (email: whitebeard311@aol.com), or Herb Barrett at 718-548-6832 (email: countryman326@aol.com). Neumann-Goldman Post 69 & Ladies Auxiliary is the main supporter of the Memorial Grove Restoration Group’s move to restore the War Memorial located in Van Cortlandt Park at West 246th Street - facebook.com/memorial grove.

Judy Farrell named VP of GuildNet

Bronx native Judy A. Farrell, MPA, recently joined Jewish Guild Healthcare (the Guild) as Vice President, Government Affairs, for GuildNet. Before she joined the Guild, Ms. Farrell was Director of Government Affairs for Visiting Nurse Service of New York, where she worked from 2002 to 2013. Previously, she held positions in public service in the City of New York as the Director of Health and Human Services and Director of Policy/Budget for the former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer. In her Government Affairs role at GuildNet, which has three health plans (GuildNet Managed Long Term Care, GuildNet Gold and GuildNet Health Advantage), Ms. Farrell will represent the plans with elected ofﬁcials, government agencies, and community-based organizations. She will work with GuildNet’s senior management to develop legislative

priorities and strategic policy goals, and enhance GuildNet’s visibility with elected leaders and community organizations across New York State. Ms. Farrell received her Master of Public Policy and Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, with a concentration in health policy and coursework at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. She received her BA in political science from Lehman College, City University of New York.

Lorrin Johnson to speak at Rotary meeting

Lorrin Johnson, member of the American Association of University Women, will be a guest speaker at the next meeting of the Rotary Club of Riverdale on Thursday, February 7 at 6:45 pm, describing a new AAUW program at College of Mount St. Vincent this spring for 7th and 8th grade girls, encouraging them to enter the ﬁelds of science and math. The Rotary Club of Riverdale, a community service organization committed to the betterment of the Riverdale/Kingsbridge areas, meets the ﬁrst and third Thursdays of the month at Greentree Restaurant, 5693 Riverdale Avenue at 259th Street. Comprising business and professional persons who provide humanitarian service while encouraging high ethical standards, Rotarians develop friendships as a basis for voluntary humanitarian service projects in such areas as literacy, support of the aged and at-risk youth, maintenance of a clean environment, community improvement and promoting international friendship. Notable speakers address the club on a variety of local, state and national issues. The public is invited to learn more about the Riverdale Club and the work of Rotary International. Cost of the dinner meeting is $28. For further information, please call 914 319-0002.

Music luncheon at JASA Senior Center

Seniors are invited to enjoy a sumptuous kosher Chinese lunch followed by a concert at JASA Van Cortlandt Senior Center on Sunday, February 10, at 12:15 p.m. The menu includes egg drop soup, chicken chow mein, brown rice and vegetables, egg rolls and dessert. At 1 p.m., Singer Sigal Chen and guitarist Michael Tugetman will offer a program of oldies and classic hits from the ‘50s to the ‘70s. Seniors are asked to contribute $3 for the meal and $2 for the concert. Non-senior fees are $5 for the meal and $3 for the concert. To reserve, please call the center office by Wednesday, February 6, at 718-549-4700. The JASA Van Cortlandt Senior Center is located on the first floor at 3880 Sedgwick Avenue. Save the date for other February events: On Wednesday, February 13, Eric Nelsen, historic interpreter for Palisades Interstate Park, will present a talk on The Unknown Palisades: A Slideshow through Time at 1 p.m. Through images and narrative, the Palisades is brought to life. Topics include the palatial estates that rose on the summit, the struggle of the New Jersey women’s clubs to preserve the cliffs from defacement, the bathing beaches and other recreational facilities that ran full-tilt during the early decades of the 20th century and the work of the New Deal agencies in the park during the Depression. Also on Wednesday, February 13, Bronx Aids Services will present a talk on substance abuse medical adherence at 11:15 a.m.

On Wednesday, February 27, celebrate Purim with keyboardist Isaac ben Ayala at 1 p.m. following a delicious kosher meal at 12:15 p.m. The senior contribution is $2.50 for the meal and $2 for the concert. Please reserve by Friday, February 22, by calling the center ofﬁce at 718-549-4700.

Schervier hosts memorial service to honor residents

Bon Secours New York Health System, Schervier Nursing Care Center, located in the Riverdale section of The Bronx, hosted a memorial service on January 12, 2013,to honor the lives of 90 residents who passed away at the care center within the past six months. Held in the Sacred Heart Chapel, Schervier’s on-campus chapel, the memorial service attracted more than 120 friends and family members of the deceased, to celebrate memories, come together as a community, and to show support for one another. As loved ones entered the chapel, they were given a rose to place in a vase in the sanctuary when the name of their deceased loved one was called. The beautiful service, prepared and led by Chaplain Charles Ignatius, also featured a slideshow tribute, which displayed pictures and names of the deceased, accompanied by a musical arrangement. Family members were also encouraged to share stories of their loved ones and to reﬂect on shared memories during the service. Refreshments were served to those in attendance following the service providing attendees with an opportunity to meet others dealing with the same emotions. ‘Closure is something that is healing

for all those in mourning,’ said Chaplain Charles Ignatius, Director of Pastoral Care at Schervier Nursing Care Center. ‘By creating an opportunity for family members to return to Schervier, where many visited weekly and even daily, the service facilitated families to reconnect with the caregivers and other staff they had come to know and rely on for support. Schervier expresses its sympathy to families and friends who have recently lost a loved one, and extend its gratitude to the staff members who helped arrange the memorial service, including the social work department and the pastoral care team.’ Schervier hosts many services, religious ceremonies, activities and events, all customized and designed to adequately meet the speciﬁc needs of its residents and their family members. For more information on Schervier’s calendar of events visit www. scherviercares.org, or its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SchervierNursingCareCenter.

Daniel Hauben, noted artist and Bronx native, will share his experience and work with an illustrated presentation and lecture, ‘A Retrospect of Bronx Imagery.’ This free public lecture will be held at The Bronx Archives Building located at 3313 Bainbridge Avenue, on Saturday, Feb. 9, 11 a.m. For directions, call (718) 881- 8900. The lecture is sponsored by The Bronx County Historical Society. For more information, visit www.bronxhistoricalsociety.org The Bronx County Historical Society, founded in 1955, is a private, non-proﬁt educational and cultural institution chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. The Society is dedicated to the collection, preservation, documentation and interpretation of the history and heritage of The Bronx and its people from its earliest historical references in the 17th century to the present.

Rotary Club to sponsor reading hour

Youngsters 2-12 years old are invited to participate in the Reading Program on Saturday, February 2, at the Kingsbridge Library, 291 West 231st Street, from 1 to 1:45 p.m. Readers will be grouped by skill level and encouraged to read, helped with pronunciation and word understanding, and for those without reading skills, interpret pictures. There is no charge for participation. The Rotary Club of Riverdale is part of Rotary International and sponsors the library reading project as a local community service. Adult volunteers who are interested in participating are asked to contact Karen Pesce, Secretary: (718) 549-4469.

Engel slams ConEd for rate increases request

Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-16) ripped Con Edison’s request for rate increases after their abysmal performance in restoring power in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Close to a million customers in Westchester County and New York City lost power during that storm, and tens of thousands of them were without power for close to two weeks. Con Edison requested the raise, it said, to help pay for improvements and upgrades in their storm protection procedures. ‘Con Edison has some nerve asking New Yorkers to help them foot the bill for their incompetent preparation and inexcusable response time. It was a disgrace for the company to be unable to respond properly, especially after Hurricane Irene exposed

their inadequacies a mere 12 months earlier. Now, instead of digging deep into their own proﬁts - or exploring the options presented by the federal government in the Sandy relief bill - they fall back on their old operating methodology of making the victim pay, in this case Con Edison customers. ‘New Yorkers already pay some of the highest rates in the country and have little to show for those exorbitant rates in the form of service dependability. When they have been in the most need, Con Edison has failed them and now adds insult to injury by asking for more money. The responsibility for Con Edison’s repeated failures lies with Con Edison, and should be handled by no

Registration open for Riverdale Rising Stars

Riverdale Rising Stars Performing Arts Conservatory (RPAC), the educational arm of the Riverdale Rising Stars, the resident performing arts company at the Riverdale YM-YWHA, is now taking registrations for its spring semester of performing arts

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7 The RIVERDALE REVIEW • Thursday, January 31, 2013

Art lecture at Bronx Archives Building

classes. The Fall/Winter 2012 Semester runs February 3 - May 10 (with breaks for the holidays). Children’s classes will be held weekly on Sundays and after school on weekday afternoons, while adult classes will be held on Sunday evenings. Classes cover acting, music, on-camera technique, improvisation, and even participating in a full-scale musical production onstage at the Y! The cost for the 12-session classes ranges from $240 to $350 for members of the Riverdale YM-YWHA, or $275 to $395 for non-members. All classes will be held at the Riverdale Y, located at 5625 Arlington Avenue (just off of Riverdale Avenue and West 256th Street), in Riverdale, Bronx, NY. To register, call 718.538.8200 ext. 201. For detailed course descriptions and class schedules, visit http://riverdalerisingstars. com/rpac/rpac-schedule-winterspring2013/

Thursday, January 31, 2013 • The RIVERDALE REVIEW

Issues emerge in Hebrew Home expansion By MIAWLING LAM The proposed height of a new 300unit senior residence complex, increased vehicular traffic and required zoning variances have emerged as the key issues surrounding the Hebrew Home at Riverdale’s ambitious $200 million-plus plan to construct a new independent living residence. The community’s concerns were aired on Monday night during the first of two community meetings, called charrettes, sponsored by the Hebrew Home in partnership with the Riverdale Nature Preservancy. At the meeting, more than 50 people made their way around the Hebrew Home’s Great Room and visited any of four issue-specific tables—traffic, zoning, environmental and site design issues and architecture—and presented their ideas and concerns to experts at each station. Under the home’s controversial plan, the new complex will be built on the 14-acre plot that officials acquired from the Passionist Fathers of Riverdale for $16 million in November 2011. The units will be a combination of one- and two-bedroom apartments and be divided into four mid-rise towers ranging from four to eight stories, according to plans. Hebrew Home president and CEO Daniel Reingold told the crowd that the project was far from being finalized. He said that the charrettes were designed to facilitate discussion with affected residents and that no plans have been submitted for official approval. “This is not a land grab. We have

no intention to manipulate the zoning law,” he said. “We are not developers. Our goal is to build a beautiful green independent living senior residence.” The proposed facility would be supplemented with common areas and amenities, including ﬁtness and wellness centers, spiritual enrichment areas, dining areas, concierge services and cultural opportunities. Once built, it will be the ﬁrst continuing care retirement community in New York City, offering residents guaranteed lifelong care. However, one of the major hurdles would be getting the zoning designation changed on the sprawling 14-acre site. The property is currently zoned as R1-1, allowing 50 single-family homes to be

built as-of-right. Although ofﬁcials are able to seek a waiver to allow the project to proceed under the existing R1-1 designation, they will likely request an R4 zoning variance to accommodate the proposed multibuilding project with 500 underground parking spaces. But local resident and vocal critic Robert Kandel feared any zoning variances would set a dangerous precedent. The prominent lawyer, who has lived in Riverdale since 1965, said the home was bucking the trend, as the city has traditionally down-zoned the area. “This is the most serious challenge facing North Riverdale. You’re setting an example that scares the hell out of us,” he said. “You’re changing the meaning of

R1-1. Everyone will follow your lead. This is not what we want in this community.” The plan is required to go through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), which requires months of public review and community involvement. Due to the lengthy and complicated ULURP process, experts believe construction won’t begin until 2016 and that it will be another ﬁve to seven years before residents begin moving in. The Hebrew Home hired international architecture ﬁrm Perkins Eastman after analyzing at least 20 different options. Perkins Eastman principal Bradford Perkins said that once completed, it was likely the entire project would cost at least $200 million. “We’re working on the budget now, but it won’t be less than that,” he said.

MTA holds public hearing to discuss service increases Continued from Page 2 “I was surprised that there was not more publicity,” said Jennifer Klein, president of the Riverdale Community Coalition. “I found out about this a few hours before.” But prior to the hearing, MTA’s government community relations director Mark Mannik said the hearing was advertised in citywide and local newspapers as well as on a number of television stations. Otherwise, the hearing went off without a hitch. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. even praised the MTA, citing their plan to expand Metro-North service to the East Bronx, including Hunts Point, Parkchester, Morris Park and Co-op City.

“While we believe that adding these new stations will leverage new economic opportunities in the East Bronx and improve quality of life indicators such as air quality and trafﬁc congestion, we are cognizant of the need for increased services on our western borders as well,” his statement read.

“This proposal to increase service at both the Spuyten Duyvil and the Riverdale stations will further support and improve the quality of life indicators mentioned above.” Only 11 people signed up to speak, and many of the speakers barely made a dent in their three-minute time limit.

Artists invited to join art exhibition

Focal Point Gallery, located at 321 City Island Avenue, is calling on artists to be part of the February 2013 Show, February 1-28, with an opening reception Friday, February 1st. 7pm-10pm. If you are an artist and would like to take part in any or all of the above exhibition, call 718-885-1403

to make an appointment to bring in your work. All work has to be framed ready to hang. There is a $20 hanging fee for each framed piece and a 30% commission taken from the asking price. For more information, call 718-8851403.

Stanton conflict draws more criticism When asked what Stanton should do to address the impropriety allegations, Keeling simply said, “Whatever it takes to avoid that appearance is what he should do.” Fellow candidate and Community Board 8 member Andrew Cohen agreed. Cohen, who is the perceived frontrunner in the City Council District 11 race, hinted that what was legally right in this situation might not be what is ethically sound. “I’m not in a position to judge, but you have to do what you think is right,” he said. “I can’t say what’s right, but I think she’ll figure out what the right thing is to do.” According to documents filed with the Campaign Finance Board, Firestone collected $1,000 from Stanton’s campaign committee on each of four separate occasions. P.S. 24 PA co-president Farrah Rubin dismissed claims that Firestone was giving Stanton favorable editorial coverage in the bulletins. “She is very unbiased and only talks about the great things that the school does,” Rubin said in a brief phone interview on Monday. “I don’t see how it’s a conflict of interest because she has other interests outside of the school.” “We are very fortunate that Jennifer has done an exemplary job in performing this role for the past three years and hope that she will continue for as long as she is willing and able.” Stanton is hoping to succeed incumbent District 11 Councilman G. Oliver Koppell in this year’s elections for City Council seats. Koppell is currently serving his third and final term and must vacate the office due to term limit rules.

9 The RIVERDALE REVIEW • Thursday, January 31, 2013

By MIAWLING LAM City Council candidate Cliff Stanton is facing mounting pressure from his political opponents to resolve a possible conflict of interest in his campaign. As the Riverdale Review reported last week, his paid political consultant Jennifer Firestone serves as editor of the P.S. 24 parents association bulletin and has included publicity for Stanton in the publication. Firestone, who receives $1,000 a month from the Stanton campaign, edits the PA publication The Sounding Board as a volunteer, but the opportunity for her to use the bulletin for campaign publicity presents a possible conflict of interest. No taxpayer funds are used to print The Sounding Board—the school relies on advertisements from community organizations and businesses—but Firestone does not disclose her ties to the Stanton campaign when publicity is included. In an issue released this past fall, Stanton is featured in three photographs and his activities are detailed in multiple articles. Last spring’s issue included fewer editorial mentions and no photographs. When asked to comment, Stanton’s political opponents said their rival should rectify the situation. But both stopped short of specifying the course of action that Stanton should take. Ethical Culture Fieldston School track coach Cheryl Keeling, who jumped into the Council race earlier this month, gave Stanton the benefit of the doubt and believed the matter was just overlooked. However, she said the potential ethical breach was not helping Stanton’s cause. “The potential conflict may have evaded him,” she said. “He is an honorable person, so I know that he will do the right thing. I think that even the appearance of a conflict needs to be avoided.”

Thursday, January 31, 2013 • The RIVERDALE REVIEW 10

The RIVERDALE REVIEW • Thursday, January 31, 2013

Thursday, January 31, 2013 • The RIVERDALE REVIEW 12

Jerry Klein, a local Riverdalian will be exhibiting his first public photography display at Gallery 18 at the Riverdale Y for the month of February. Mr. Klein had a love for the art of photography at a very young age. His cousin, who was a professional photographer and traveled most of the time encouraged Jerry as much as possible. They never discussed equipment or technique only about his pictures and visualizing. After college at NYU, Mr. Klein worked for Dun & Bradstreet and American Express for most of his professional life, only taking pictures on vacation or when on world wide travel assignments working for American Express. Mr. Klein’s interest was rekindled in 2000 when he began reading about the lightweight 35mm style digital cameras with built in zoom lenses. At 60, he purchased a digital zoom camera and hasn’t stopped shooting. Jerry still can not break the film camera habit of conserving the 36 shot roll and usually takes one shot per subject. He believes the image you see lasts only an instant and is gone forever. Now at 72, with unsteady hands and one good eye he says ‘God bless autofocus, zoom lenses and image stabilization. My eye and heart are still there and I’m making up for lost time’. His favorite subject matter depends on where he is and what he visualizes. His first public display an exhibit called ‘China View’ will be at the Riverdale Y during the month of February. A recep-

tion with refreshments will be held on February 17 at 1:00 pm. All of his work is on the web search ‘Smugmug lovelife’ or ‘Photo by lovelife’. The entire community is invited to the reception and the showing. The Y is located at 5625 Arlington Avenue.

February art exhibit at Ethical Society

February 2013 exhibit will feature works by Bob Robinson & Brian Allan Skinner. Bob Robinson, a longtime member of the Riverdale Art Association, has studied at NYU, Pratt Institute and Parsons School of Design. He worked for 30 years as creative director/art director in the advertising world, and has won many awards for his oil/acrylic paintings, etchings, and watercolors. He enjoys experimenting with different art media, and is currently exploring ceramic/sculpture. Brian Allan Skinner began his career in the ﬁne arts in the traditional media of oil-on-canvas and watercolor, and spent many years in publishing as a production artist. He now works almost exclusively in digital media, particularly in photo illustration. Recent explorations include cliché verre, a technique of etching and painting on glass photographic plates, in which he ﬁrst dabbled over forty years ago. Art critic Laura Gabby has called his work ‘moody and mysterious.’ The artists’ reception will be held on Sunday, February 10th, from 2:00 to 3:30

pm at the Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture, 4450 Fieldston Road, Bronx, NY 10471, 718-548-4445. The Riverdale Art Association is a group of local artists which welcomes the community and new members to its meetings. They meet the second Tuesday of the month at 7 pm in the Community Room at Riverdale Atria, Henry Hudson Parkway East, just south of the Monument. www.riverdaleartassociation.org

Contemporary cartographies exhibit at Lehman Gallery

Contemporary Cartographies by Kevin Van Aelst, Isabel Barbuzza, Doug Beube, Gail Biederman, Margaret Cusack, Sage Dawson, Lisa Corinne Davis, Dalia Elsayed, Charley Friedman, Wopo Holup, Meridith McNeal, Steven Millar, Simonetta Moro, Paula Scher, Karen Shaw, and Dannielle Tegeder will be on exhibit at Lehman Gallery, February 5 - May 11, 2013. Reception: Monday, March 18, 2013, 6 - 8pm The exhibition will include a group of contemporary artists who uses the language and imagery of maps to communicate an array of ideas. Artists in this exhibition work in various styles, adapting, manipulating, and inventing maps to giving them new meanings. Some of them use ﬁctional narratives and create imaginary cartographies; others conceive a work that updates the new geopolitical orders. Still others approach the map aesthetically or as material in itself. Humor too plays an important role in deﬁning

these borders. Curated by Susan Hoeltzel and Yuneikys Villalonga. Lehman College Art Gallery is located at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West. For more information, call 718-960-8731 or visit www.lehman.edu/gallery. Gallery hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm.

CSAIR to present the ﬁlm ‘Foreign Letters’

The Sisterhood of the Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Israel (CSAIR) will present the film ‘Foreign Letters’ on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2 p.m., in the Synagogue’s Social Hall. Set in the pre email world of the 1980s, ‘Foreign Letters’ is a love letter to the unshakable bond between friends. Ellie, newly arrived to the U.S. from Israel, anxiously waits for letters from her best friend back home. Suffering from homesickness, language difficulties and rejection at school, lie brightens when she meets Thuy, a Vietnamese refugee her age. As the two bond and become inseparable, they eventually hurt each other, and Ellie must find a way to restore theri trust. Based on director Ela Thier’s personal immigration experience, ‘Foreign Letters’ is a film about poverty, prejudice, shame, and the healing power of friendship. This presentation is open to all. There will be a nominal charge for refreshments. For more information, call the CSAIR office at 718-543-8400. CSAIR is located at 475 West 250th Street at the Henry Hudson Parkway.

The RIVERDALE REVIEW • Thursday, January 31, 2013

Jerry Klein to exhibit photos at the Y

Thursday, January 31, 2013 • The RIVERDALE REVIEW

Parent or Politico?

It should now be crystal clear to parents at P.S. 24 exactly what is going on. Their parents association has been hijacked by a political organization that is running a candidate in this year’s City Council election. For years now, this cabal has diverted resources and energy from the real mission of the parents association—to support the school and protect the interests of the children. Now it is apparent that to a small but influential group of parents, the purpose of the PA seems to be to promote the candidacy of a two-bit politician, Clifford Stanton. If Stanton should sneeze, it becomes a headline in the Sounding Board, the parents association newsletter. In the latest issue, candidate Stanton rates no fewer than nine mentions including photographs. Is this an accident? The revelation came out over the past two weeks that the editor of the Sounding Board is a paid employee, a $1,000 per month consultant to City Council candidate Clifford Stanton. This only confirms what we have been saying for years. Rather than innocent “parent volunteers,” many of these folks have another agenda that has nothing to do with the school and everything to do with political power and patronage. This is a real conflict of interest, grounds for discipline by the chancellor’s office. Using the name of the school and its supposed problems to further their ends, Stanton and company created a sense of panic over supposed traffic problems for years now, despite the fact that the area surrounding the school has a totally unblemished record of safety. This is not to say that children and parents shouldn’t be careful. But they needn’t be any more careful than we should teach all children to be when crossing any street, anywhere. What deserved a bit more panic last summer was the attempt by principal Donna Connelly to gut the school’s beloved music program. Connelly was dead wrong, and we think that this newspaper proved pretty conclusively that her cuts, some of which are still in place, were totally unnecessary. While the Stanton crowd was wringing their hands over the phantom traffic problems, they were silent over what turned out to be the real victim, the academic and cultural opportunities afforded to the school’s children. For the past three years there has been an open war between Connelly and the teachers in the school. This is reflected in the failing grades that the school has consistently gotten in the “school environment” portion of the school report card. And to our lights, whatever great reputation the school enjoys has always come from the superb faculty of P.S. 24. Will the parents association intercede on behalf of the school’s beleaguered teachers, or is partisan politics in the way? At a time when the parent leadership should be supporting the exceptional teaching staff, Stanton is now engaged in more fear mongering. As a result of the awful random and very specific shootings at the Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut, Stanton now is making a crisis out of security at P.S. 24. He proposes using tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to provide an electronic security system, issuing parents at the school encoded cards that they will need to gain access to the building. There is already a system in place to preclude strangers from gaining access to the building. They’re called security guards. This system has worked for many years. We fail to see how an armed person will be dissuaded from entering a school building simply because they lack an electronic I.D. Let’s use a little common sense here. Nor do we see that an armed person would even need to physically get into the school to wreak the sort of havoc Adam Lanza did on Newtown. A shooter could do as much damage shooting from his car window or even from the grassy knoll across the street during dismissal. You cannot protect against every possible unpredictable event. But the tens of thousands of dollars, if indeed those funds even exist, would be better spent restoring the lost music instruction, maybe even making it better than it was. What we don’t need is a Ministry of Bad Ideas wasting precious taxpayer dollars. What we do need is recognition of the many ways that school and parent association resources are being wasted for partisan political purposes, ridding the school of these despicable conflicts of interest once and for all.

Violation of our First Amendment rights To The Editor: I went to throw my garbage out and I found the new edition (Jan 24-30) of the Riverdale Review papers in the garbage. I was surprised because it was nice to have it right in the building instead of going outside to pick it up. It had being in the building for some times now (the same as the Riverdale Press when they were offering it for free). I don’t know why it was thrown in the garbage and who ordered it, I can only guess it was because my article was in it or perhaps because of the article raising the question about of conﬂict of interest because Cliff Stanton (candidate for city council) for paying Jennifer Firestone with campaign money. According to the article Firestone is editor of the PS 24 PA’s Sounding Board. As editor she has the opportunity to include publicity for the city council candidate in the public school newsletter; which according to the paper she did in favor of Cliff Stanton. If the paper was not allowed to be in the building why it was allowed for a few months, just like was the Riverdale Press. I think throwing the paper is the garbage is a violation of the

ﬁrst amendments rights. The concierge should had told the person delivering the paper it was not allowed anymore and he would had put it outside so we can pick it up instead of denying us the chance to have the paper by placing it in the garbage. Luckily, I was the one who found the bunch of papers. I picked it up and will protect our ﬁrst amendment by placing the paper outside the building in

Two local environment issues

To the Editor: First: that a toxic substance deluge we Riverdalians had Sunday morning. Is there a City Hall rule that rock salt and chemical salt must be heaped upon the sidewalks and roadways at the first sign of a snowflake or NYC will get its confiscation machinery in motion? Seems to me that the amount of toxic sale poured upon the streets was greater than the amount of snowfall and not at all beneficial to cars, shoes and clothing, sidewalk and roadways themselves and, particularly, dogs’ feet. I guess we haven’t yet had a study whether the fumes from chemical and rock

ANDREW WOLF, Editor and Publisher

Note our new address: 5752 Fieldston Road Bronx, New York 10471 (718) 543-5200 FAX: (718) 543-4206

JOEL PAL Production Manager ROBERT NILVA Marketing Director

one of those metal stand designated for the Riverdale Review; unless the Riverdale Review ordered me otherwise. If the paper or any other paper is not allowed in the building, I suggest to inform the concierge so people are not denied the right to get the paper since it is thrown in the garbage instead of placing it in the designated place outside. Rosa Nazar

CECILIA McNALLY Office Manager MIAWLING LAM Associate Editor

STAFF: Robert Lebowitz, Richard Reay, Paulette Schneider, Lloyd Ultan, Daniel R. Wolf

salt might be harmful to the health of seniors and other living souls. Maybe we could get a study if, somehow, our streets were considered on par with restaurants. Fortunately, we had some rain Monday morning to wash much of the toxic stuff away -- but not before, that morning, at the sign of a few more snowﬂakes, the sidewalks were hurriedly being strewn, anew, with the nasty white stuff (chemical salt). Second: There is an old tree on Riverdale Avenue, at 238th Street, in front of a new building on the site of a former residence. It is an old tree, but still alive, as far as I can tell. Recently I noticed that a “No Parking” sign is on this tree. More precisely, the sign has been screwed into the tree., I believe it is a sin to screw metal into living things, ﬂora as well as fauna. If it is also a violation of city rules, I urge immediate action. NYC, please spare this tree further torture and torment. David R. Zukerman

By PAULETTE SCHNEIDER A new collection of books by contemporary Muslim scholars is now available at Manhattan College’s Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center in the college library. The 25-volume Muslim Journeys Bookshelf, along with three ﬁlms and access to Oxford Islamic Studies Online, was acquired through a grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities. O’Malley Library was one of eight in New York City and 842 in the nation to be selected for the award. The Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center collection, with nearly 500 books, is open to the community for research. “That’s part of why we’re here,” said Dr. Mehnaz Afridi, director of the HGI center and assistant professor of religious

studies. “All the books that we have as a collection are open to the community and the public.” She said that quite a few people have been doing research at the center, with its rich concentration of books on the Nuremburg trials, the concentration camps, child survivors, and Jewish-Christian relations. The Muslim Journeys Bookshelf was compiled by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association to “address both the need and desire of the American public for trustworthy and accessible resources about Muslim beliefs and practices and the cultural heritage associated with Islamic civilizations,” according to the NEH release. It is the ﬁrst in a planned series of Bridging Cultures Bookshelf collections.

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“I wanted to get the award because I wanted the community to be aware of contemporary people who are moderate, speaking out against fundamentalism, giving a good history of Islam,” Afridi said. The authors, most still living, are “the people who are talking about the real inner meaning, the inner reﬂection of Islam, rather than just the terrorism and the terrible things,” she said. “But there are struggles within the books. They’re very honest authors, very self-critical. And I think that’s what we need in this community—to have that presence from Muslims.” The volumes contain diverse content—literature, art, cartoons, memoirs, surveys, history, and writing on women’s rights, American Muslims, fundamentalism and secularism. “So you have all the major topics that have been going on in terms of the Arab Muslim world covered in these 25 books,” Afridi said. She will now pursue the next part of the grant opportunity—funding for book talks by visiting authors like Eboo Patel, founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, and Leila Ahmed, the ﬁrst women’s studies professor at Harvard Divinity School.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz congratulated the college on the award. “Receiving this collection provides the school with an opportunity to promote community discussion and build bridges among diverse cultures and faiths,” he said. Dr. Afridi was invited by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., to be part of a 20member panel of consultants who will gather in March to share ideas on how to teach the Nazi Holocaust to members of different faiths. “What we want to build, ideally for the nation, is a curriculum which other universities and people can use to teach students about the Holocaust,” she said, “whether they’re Christians, whether they’re Hindus, whether they’re Muslims.” She was also invited to present on Muslim rescuers in the Holocaust at Saint Leo University in Florida and to discuss her forthcoming book, “The Shoah Through Muslim Eyes,” at Tampa’s Franciscan Center. The HGI Center is housed in room 315 in O’Malley Library at Manhattan College. To use the collection, contact Dr. Afridi at 718-862-7284 or Mehnaz. Afridi@manhattan.edu.

Trial set for alleged nursing home sex assault

Continued from Page 3 The victim, who had been a resident at Hudson Pointe for four years, suffers from advanced Alzheimer’s and severe dementia. At the time of Sarmiento’s arrest, commanding ofﬁcer of the 50th Precinct Deputy Inspector Kevin Burke said the victim did not communicate well. “She can’t articulate what happened, so the burden of proof might make it a challenging case from a prosecution standpoint,” he said. Sarmiento has been charged with

endangering the welfare of an incompetent person and attempted sexual abuse. He entered a plea of not guilty and has strenuously denied the allegations. He has an otherwise clean record and is currently out on bail. According to published reports, Sarmiento worked at the facility for 12 years and passed a criminal background check prior to employment. Meanwhile, the New York State Health Department is continuing its own probe into the incident.

Property tax abatement for Co-ops

To the Editor: The Association of Riverdale Cooperatives & Condominiums (ARC) is extremely proud of the efforts of our New York State legislators, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and Senator Jeffrey Klein, for the roles they played in getting the property tax abatement measure renewed in Albany. Last week the legislation passed in the Senate (S2320-2013) and yesterday the good news was duplicated in the Assembly (A3354-2013). This measure, when signed by the governor will allow every co-op to recoup tens of thousands of dollars in tax charges, dependent on the size of the building, and relieve individual

shareholders of the inequitable burden otherwise borne as the result of a tax code that stubbornly resists the permanent change that is so appropriate and needed in the light of the ever-expanding co-op community of residents in the City. The current measure extends the program retroactively to 2012 for three years. The efforts of Messrs. Dinowitz and Klein are laudable, and show their true representation of this community and all of its individual residents. In their behalf, ARC extends thanks and gratitude. Stephen Budihas, President Association of Riverdale Cooperatives & Condominiums

15 The RIVERDALE REVIEW • Thursday, January 31, 2013

Muslim Journeys Bookshelf a new resource at Manhattan College

Thursday, January 31, 2013 • The RIVERDALE REVIEW

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