The Issues
JOBS & BUSINESS
WHAT WALT WILL DO:
- Bring good jobs with fair wages to the district
- Introduce “green” industries that promote green jobs in the district
- Work on creating development programs for locally-owned businesses
- Advocate for the creation of local business improvement districts (BIDs)
- Work with major companies to have support staff offices located in the district
WHY THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE:
District 18 needs more good jobs at fair wages. The district already has a solid and skilled workforce. But small business owners need help in dealing with the city bureaucracy to untangle the red tape and try to stay competitive. These two issues are almost intertwined.
As a City Council Member, I would work hard towards creating development programs for locally owned businesses, particularly in the outer boroughs, where they can create jobs and be a part of the local fabric of the community. I will also assist with the creation of local business improvement districts (BIDs) in areas that may need them. The southeast Bronx is also an ideal area for the development of support staff offices (known as back-office development sites), where good, stable jobs can be filled by Bronxites in a place that is close to home and much easier to commute to.
EDUCATION
WHAT WALT WILL DO:
- Make the Department of Education aware of the needs of District 18
- Work with the Department of Education on a plan for school construction in the district
- Advocate for new schools in the district to alleviate overcrowding
- Demand that temporary trailer classrooms be replaced with permanent buildings
- Introduce and expand multi-lingual programs, potentially with pilot programs in this district
WHY THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE:
School construction in District 18 has not kept pace with all of the new residential development the resulting increase in population. As a result schools are very overcrowded and “temporary” classroom trailers are serving as permanent additions to schools. This problem could be made far worse if parochial schools are forced to close their doors due to economic conditions, since parochial school children would then be added to our already overcrowded schools. All of us know, that the more crowded a school gets, the more difficult it is for students to learn and achieve at their maximum potential.
I will fight for expanded classroom space for our kids through the construction of more classrooms and expanded school facilities. District 18 has a sizeable proportion of immigrant students, and I believe that bilingual education should be expanded and enhanced to help immigrant children so they can learn and enjoy a more fulfilling education experience. This will help them be more competitive in the workforce when these children become adults.
I also support more community-based decision making in our public schools, rather than the current system where the mayor has absolute control of the Department of Education. But it is also very important to get parents more involved in schools. We have good support from parents now, but I want to help build and even greater level or parental support in the future.
HOUSING
WHAT WALT WILL DO:
- Preserve existing affordable housing
- Work to create a Foreclosure Abatement Program
- Advocate for the expansion of rent stabilization laws
- Advocate a neighborhood program for city workers, teachers, cops and firefighters to ensure that they can afford to live where they work
- Support programs that would provide financial housing assistance for veterans
- Insure that new housing developments are up to the standards of the neighborhood and are part of, not separate from, the neighborhood
- Introduce “green” housing initiatives
WHY THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE:
The availability of housing in the Bronx continues to be a major problem. Foreclosures are threatening our neighborhoods, while City Hall has continued reducing funds for the NYC Housing Authority, and hampering its ability to provide safe, low-cost housing to those who need it.
As a Council Member I will make the preservation of existing affordable housing developments, such as Mitchell-Lama buildings, a top priority. I will also work to establish and continue a foreclosure abatement programs and fight for the continuation and expansion of rent stabilization laws.
New developments in the district should include homes for a range of incomes, particularly for seniors. I also support first time home buyer assistance programs, particularly for public employees like teachers, cops and firefighters who serve the city, so that they can afford to live in the city. New developments, such as Harbour Pointe, must include an affordable component.
HEALTH CARE
WHAT WALT WILL DO:
- Establish a Community Health Council to help with prevention and health screening within our neighborhoods
- Forge genuine alliances with academic medical centers to develop programs in the community (or at their nearby medical centers) to advance the goal of screening and prevention.
- Establish community gardens and food cooperatives, run and managed by people within the district. This also advances the commitment of community organization, volunteerism, healthy diet and active lifestyle that President Obama is encouraging many of us to do.
- Encourage the learning and experience of yoga, acupuncture, tai chi and other non-traditional methods of treatment as viable options to prescriptions or over-the-counter medications.
WHY THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE:
The health care needs of the community are very complex and often in conflict. It boils down to a person’s physical, economic and social/cultural situation. This community has one of the highest asthma and childhood obesity rates in both the city and the nation. What District 18 needs, and what will be one of my top priorities, is a wellness screening initiative, especially as it relates to illnesses with significant risk of mortality. This personal health screening would help identify new cases early enough that might help save lives. Screening should be done for asthma, depression, HIV, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. We should also push to reduce disease risk factors such as smoking, nicotine dependence and hypertension.
I am also concerned about access to emergency care and inpatient care. Pelham Bay Hospital had been forced to shut its doors some time ago, and Westchester Square Medical Center seems to be struggling to keep its doors open. Emergency departments at Einstein Hospital (Montefiore Weiler Division) and Jacobi Medical Center are at full capacity. What will happen when one of our elderly relatives wakes up in the night with a medical emergency? We should not have to shuttle our loved ones or ourselves to the west Bronx, southern Westchester or northern Manhattan for acute emergency or inpatient care. There is no easy or immediate solution but I will make access of emergency care a top priority.
ENVIRONMENT
WHAT WALT WILL DO:
- Push for initiatives to clean up all of District 18 through the remediation of all contaminated areas.
- Introduce programs that would clean up all of our 8 miles of our waterfront including a thorough clean up the Bronx River, East River, Westchester Creek and Pugsley Creek
- Be a forceful advocate of responsible waterfront development for residential and other uses, as well as open space and recreational areas
- Advocate for “green” building initiatives to promote sustainable building practices
- Push for water and air quality improvement initiatives
- Work with the Department of Transportation on traffic and congestion remediation initiatives
- Create a Zerega Avenue commercial zone
WHY THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE:
The southeast Bronx and its waterfront have been the dumping grounds for environmentally hazardous wastes for far too long. While City Hall has lavished attention on improving waterfronts in Manhattan and Brooklyn, we continue to encounter serious environmental problems on our waterfront, which continues to be neglected. We must see that the waterfront and all of our waterways are clean, free of pollution and toxic wastes and not allowed to be an illegal dumping ground.
SOCIAL SERVICES
WHAT WALT WILL DO:
- Pursue appropriate funding to keep Senior Centers open and keep Meals-on Wheels serving hot meals
- Establish a neighborhood Mediation & Arbitration Center to deal with conflict
WHY THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE:
As City services are cut back in any recession, social services are always the first to go. While City Hall has lavished tax breaks on real estate developers and the wealthy over the past 8 years, now they are asking those who have the least to give up the most. Senior centers are being closed and consolidated; homeless and substance abuse programs are being cut. Even meals-on-wheels recipients are being asked to heat their own food instead of receiving a hot meal from a delivery person. These programs must continue to be funded – the City budget must not be balanced on the backs of the needy!
I also support the creation of a neighborhood mediation and arbitration center to deal with community and family conflicts, such as domestic abuse, bias-related incidents, and disputes between uniformed services and community residents, etc. As part of the establishment of this center, I would sponsor a neighborhood outreach forum to discuss these issues, identify problems and establish an agenda that is developed by the community through consensus.
TRANSPORTATION
WHAT WALT WILL DO:
- Push the MTA to have an elevator as part of the Parkchester station renovation and upgrade
- Work to keep bus service at current levels, and find ways to expand bus service in the district
- Pursue ferry service from the district to La Guardia Airport and destinations in Manhattan
- Insure that our streets and major thoroughfares are kept in the best condition
- Pursue a long-range plan of transportation needs throughout the district
WHY THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE:
The MTA is looking at serious cutbacks in service and maintenance while asking riders to pay more for this reduced service. While this is mostly the fault of MTA mismanagement and Albany’s inaction, your City Council Member should fight for service and improvements in your district – even with diminished resources. A current example of this is the renovation of stations along the #6 Line. The Parkchester station is in its final stage of design and will be bid shortly for construction. The station design is deficient in that it does not have an elevator to provide access for all people. In this day and age this should not be happening. Regardless of funding issues, cutting corners on crucial station accessibility elements – such as elevators – should never happen.
But transportation funding crises will hopefully not always be the norm. We should be planning now for future transportation system expansions to accommodate the real travel needs of this district, so that when funding becomes available in the future, we will have a vision that we can implement. For example, most transit expansion projects (such as the 2nd Avenue subway and the #7 line extension) are Manhattan-only projects. We have transportation needs in this district that will not be met by those projects. Instead we should advocate for improvements city-wide, including an expansion of the 2nd Avenue subway project into the Bronx.
For example, there are many who live here in District 18 and commute to Manhattan to work in hospitals, the financial district, etc. Many of these work destinations are often adjacent to our waterways and can be served by ferries that could also serve this district. Many people here live far from the #6 train, but close to the water. This could not only serve to give people a better commute, but could also get them out of their cars and improve our air. A simple two-mile (or less) ferry run to LaGuardia Airport could take a lot of cars off the road, since there is no transit available to this major hub that is so close, yet so far.
PARKS & RECREATION
WHAT WALT WILL DO:
- Get previously earmarked money for Parks rehabilitation and put it to work in the district
- Create a plan for cleaning up all park lands in District 18, and work to see that the NYC Parks Department implements the plan
- Pursue funds for Parks Programs including Little League baseball, football and soccer
- Identify the types of water activities we could have along our rivers and waterfront and set up a community dialogue to determine which activities are most important to our neighborhood
- Establish marine facilities to serve the needs of all green collar and blue collar boaters
WHY THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE:
Healthy parks are vital in promoting a healthy community. We have parkland we cannot use because for years the land was used as a dumping ground. We need dedicated parks funding to clean up and rehabilitate this park land, and for maintenance of the parks we already have.
City Hall has spent lots and lots of money on waterfront areas in Manhattan and Brooklyn to create healthy environments for the wealthy, but our waterfront here in District 18 has been neglected for decades, and has been polluted to the point that parts of it have become what are called “brownfields”. Community Board 9 fought hard to get substantial funds from the Croton Filtration Project fund, but as of yet, few parks projects have materialized. If we do nothing, our community could lose this money.
As a ranking member of the Community Board 9 Parks Committee, I have personally dealt with issues of contamination and remediation and the sensible development of recreational facilities needed by the community. I know what is at stake with City funding and know how to fight to keep these important projects viable in the face of a shrinking city budget.
Funding for Little League, football and soccer programs are also vital. I will pursue funding to keep these leagues going and to expand them so that more kids can get involved. Funding is available for this from many sources – including the $800,000 per year fund set up by the New York Yankees for use exclusively within the Bronx. While many elected officials seem to be unaware of this fund, I will pursue this funding.
I am also a very strong proponent of increasing water-related recreational activities along all eight miles of waterfront in this district including the Bronx River, the East River, Pugsley Creek and Westchester Creek. When you visit the Bronx Zoo and walk along the Bronx River there, you see how beautiful it is and what a great natural environment can be created with a clean river. We are very fortunate that District 18 has so much waterfront, and it is very important to clean up and reclaim all of this waterfront so that this significant asset can be enjoyed by everyone in the district and those who visit us.
ZONING AND LAND USE
WHAT WALT WILL DO:
- Establish a comprehensive district-wide land use plan
- Develop “green” building standards for the district
- Advocate tax breaks for “green” building or “green” industry
WHY THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE:
District 18 needs a comprehensive land use plan to create a vision for how this district can develop sustainability and responsibly over the next several decades. The Bronx is notorious for not having any community-based planning initiatives sponsored by City Hall. And when local activists attempt to do one, it is usually squashed.
As a landscape architect, I understand greatly the importance of community planning, and I will make it a priority effort as your City Councilman. I will work with Community Board 9, helping them to establish a comprehensive plan for our district. Some of the issues to focus on should include:
• more mixed use zoning districts (residential and commercial) so that people can live within
close proximity to shopping, schools, employment and transportation
• establishment of Maritime Zones
• sensible and sustainable park planning
• Building Department violations and enforcement
• “green” and environmental initiatives
We need District 18 to be a clean and beautiful neighborhood for all our citizens to enjoy.
SANITATION
WHAT WALT WILL DO:
- Require a stepped up enforcement of illegal dumping by having dump sites monitored
- Pursue a pilot program of a Bulk Disposal Recycling Facility in the district
- Work with the Parks Department to find another Composting Site out of the district, and reduce the size of the Composting Site in the district
- Fund new acres of park land to make up for the loss of park land taken by the existing Composting Site – These 12 acres of parkland were promised under the original compost facility agreement with the neighborhood!!!
- Require the City Department of Sanitation to have a Zerega Avenue road salt facility that keeps the salt enclosed and not open to the elements.
- Institute a hazardous waste dropoff facility
WHY THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE:
Illegal dumping is a huge problem for this district, particularly near parkland, undeveloped lands and in manufacturing/industrial zones. That is why I will advocate for the establishment of a Bulk Disposal Site at the existing Department of Sanitation facility on Zerega Avenue. Such a facility would be used only by Bronx residents to responsibly dispose of unwanted bulk items instead of dumping them. With the opening of such a facility, patrolling should also be expanded to enforce “no dumping” laws.
This Bulk Disposal facility should also include a walk-in recycling center (i.e. for household electronics, batteries, etc.) as well as a walk-in hazardous waste disposal center (i.e. for paints, solvents, cleaners, used oil, etc.). This will also help to alleviate hazardous illegal dumping, and help us to clean up our creeks and rivers.
The Department of Sanitation should also stop their own form of illegal dumping with the unprotected road-salt depot on Zerega Avenue. This salt pile is not protected from the elements, and therefore salt washes directly into Westchester Creek with every rain, polluting those waters even further.
It is also unfair that this neighborhood hosts one of only two city-wide composting facilities in the middle of a park adjacent to a densely populated public housing project. Other communities should share in this burden to continue this important composting program – the burden should not fall exclusively on us. Promises regarding the composting program have also not been kept – such as the funding of 12 new acres of parkland in Soundview Park to mitigate the loss of parkland from the composting facility. Furthermore not one shovel of this compost has been used in any city park project so far. I will advocate the New York City Department of Parks issue an annual plan on the composting program, and I will find other ways to keep it accountable.
LANDMARK AND PRESERVATION INITIATIVES
WHAT WALT WILL DO:
- Have Landmark status granted to historic and unique structures and institutions for protection
- Identify all potential neighborhoods, houses, buildings, structures and land for their historical, cultural or architectural significance throughout the district
WHY THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE:
The struggle of the Clason Point Volunteer Fire Company No. 3 to remain as a vital service to the community, highlights the need for preservation in this community. Clason Point Yacht Club is another example: this century-old institution provides the boating public access to the water, and it is under threat of extinction by a City Parks Department.
There are also quality of life preservation opportunities in this district, such as the neighborhoods of Harding Park and Parkchester, which must be preserved and recognized for their unique character. We would all lose if either of those neighborhoods were to be torn down and new, bland housing developments were to be built.