Gray skies above couldn’t dampen the spirit of green below.

Hundreds streamed into St. Mary’s Park for the fourth annual South Bronx Earth Fest on April 16 for music, dancing and educational events, but one thing was clear: the environment was center stage.

Green-themed games abounded, such as a Butterfly Project table, where kids crawled around while learning about butterfly habitats, and Materials for the Arts, in which children created masks from recycled materials, with the help of the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs.

Members of the group GrowNYC provided recycling demonstrations and helped kids make solar ovens out of tin foil and pizza boxes. Although rainy conditions didn’t allow 12-year-olds Wasan Bonilla and Gavin Thomas from Mott Haven to make s’mores, , they were among dozens of kids busy crafting ovens.

“I think it’s great, because it’s helping people go green and help the Earth. It’s very helpful to show people how to help the Earth,” said Bonilla.

Contestants were required to get stamped by one of the many volunteers working the tables, in order to win a prize. In turn, the volunteers helped educate them about the environment.

“It’s not just a one-shot deal,” said John H. Johnson III if GrowNYC, which helped organize this year’s festival. “We want to make sure that people walk away with something other than a prize and free food, but some information and knowledge on how to make the planet a much better place.”

On the other side of the pavilion, volunteers staffed prize tables with books, frisbees and organic snacks, while two Green Carts loaded with mangos, apples and other produce added a nutritional component.

Mott Haven resident Donnie Jones Wilson came to spend the day doing something positive with his family.

“I like the fact that it’s a positive thing, and I can bring my children out here and not have to worry about any negativity going on,” he said. “It’s just a good day. Even though it’s cloudy, it’s a great day.”

He said Global Man was his favorite part of the day, and he wasn’t alone. The green-masked avenger mingled with the crowd and pointed out litter. That needed to be thrown out. And he brought green-masked young acolytes along, to help him recruit newer members.

“I think the young people that support, educate, walk around and clean-up and recycle,” said Jean Pierre LaCour who played Global Man, “it shows a lot of faith that young people really believe what we’re doing.”

His message — that everyone can be a superhero for the environment — seemed especially plausible, as volunteers at every table recommended different ways for festival attendees to green the environment.

Adam Liebowitz, director of community development for Hunts Point’s The POINT CDC, told the crowd about some of that organization’s current initiatives, including teaching urban agriculture, helping plan construction and implementation of the South Bronx Greenway project along the Bronx River, and launching a community garden in Hunts Point that will offer low-cost, locally-grown vegetables for low-income residents.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. praised the volunteers, saying, “It really shows that we can care about Mother Earth,” he said,” pointing out projects such as the vertical farming project at Discovery High School, where students grow food.

Rain forced some tables to pack up early, but a committed crowd sought shelter under a tent while watching environmentally-themed performances like a hip-hop performance by Wildlife/ATM.

Despite the damp chill and dark skies, activists for the environment were undaunted. Marta Rodriguez, who administers a green jobs training program at Sustainable South Bronx in Hunts Point, got through the afternoon just fine.

“It’s just Mother Nature telling us she’s giving back, so we have to give back to her,” said Rodriguez.

From left, Gloria Cruz, from Million Mom March, Tanisha Santiago and Yvette Montañez, Santiagos’s sister and mother, with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

The shooting occurred at the corner of 445 East 146th Street on the corner of Willis Avenue around 3 p.m while Santiago and her son were returning from the laundromat. Santiago pushed her son up the stairs of their building, but was felled by shots before she could make it up the stairs herself.

Members of the local anti-violence organization Million Mom March gathered for a vigil to honor Santiago on September 30, along with community residents and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

“Our elected officials, police department and community leaders must continue to work together in the difficult fight to control the use of illegal guns in our streets,” Diaz said.

The Million Mom March holds a rally annually to commemorate victims of violence in and around Mott Haven. Over 400 marchers attended the 2009 rally last March to draw attention to the violence that continues to claim lives, much of it at the hands of young people with illegally-owned handguns.

Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr., surrounded by supporters, announcing his candidacy for Bronx Borough President.

Diaz emphasizes spending on schools and green jobs

By Caroline Linton
caroline.linton@motthavenherald.com

The Bronx Borough President’s race was all about the numbers: 21; two; $200; $270,000; three and 149.

Twenty-one was April 21, the date of the special election to replace Adolfo Carrión, Jr., now a member of the Obama administration.

Two was the number of candidates in what was once expected to be a crowded , competitive contest, but turned out to be a one-sided match between Democratic Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, Jr., and Republican Anthony Ribustello, a Board of Elections employee.

Two hundred is the mere $200 the Ribustello campaign had in its warchest, while $270,000 was the amount Diaz raised.

Three is Third Avenue in Mott Haven, which Diaz singles out as a model for the rest of the neighborhood’s development.

And 149 is the Mott Haven connection: “I went to Clark Junior High School 149,” Diaz said. “Mott Haven has bounced back well. I think Mott Haven is going to be in pretty good shape.”

In a pre-election interview, Diaz said improved schools were his top priority. He pointed out that he was a member of the Assembly’s education committee, and said he understood how important education funding is.

As borough president, he said, he will use more of the money at his disposal for education projects.

Diaz’s emphasis on schools would mark a policy change from Carrión, who in this year’s budget had $50 million in city funds at his disposal and used half of it for housing initiatives.

“Affordable housing is important, and we will continue to do that, but we are also going to look into the school system,” Diaz said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t advocate for the city and state to do what they need for Bronx schools,” he added.

The new borough president said he wanted to increase the number of computers in schools. Diaz also said he wanted to fund what he called the little things that can make a big difference.

Showing a command of the particulars, he cited projects such as rehabilitating the auditorium at Junior High School 123 in Soundview and the cinematography lab at Fanny Lou Hamer High School in Morrisania as the sorts of projects he would like to fund in the future.

Another top priority, Diaz said, is to put more money into community centers, so they can become job opportunity centers.

“We are going to teach folks how to prepare themselves and how to be job ready,” he said. “We’re going to work with elected officials at all levels of government and where we can partner up, we will.”

Diaz said he also wants to encourage environmentally-sound development, especially in Mott Haven, which has been slated by city planners for new high-rise apartments buildings and business development.

“I want to make sure the money that we use, when we speak to developers, is used so that they want to have green buildings,” Diaz said.

He also pledged to work to retain the residential feel of Mott Haven, where city planners hope to encourage a development of a large supermarket, an influx of new retail business and construction of a convention hotel.

“Obviously we’re going to continue to push businesses, but we want to keep the character of the neighborhood,” Diaz said.

As a veteran member of the Assembly and the son of State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., Diaz said his legislative experience would be valuable for the Borough President’s office, since he has built up relationships with elected officials in Albany, including Gov. David Paterson.

Diaz announced his candidacy on the steps of Borough hall, only a few months after a bitter fight within the Democratic Party ousted longtime leader José Rivera.

Diaz played an important role in the coalition that toppled Rivera and replaced him at the helm of the Bronx Democratic Party with Assemblyman Carl Heastie. One of the consequences of the coup was to weaken Rivera’s son, Councilman Joel Rivera, who had been gearing-up to run for borough president, but chose instead to sit the race out.

In the Bronx, electoral contests between Democrats, rather than between a Democrat and a Republican, are decisive. With no Democratic opponents in this race, Diaz is all but guaranteed the seat at the April 21 special election.

He will have to run again in November for a full four-year term, and could, conceivably face a primary challenge then. But a confident Diaz said he plans to continue in office. He said he wants to guide the area through the difficult times ahead.

“Bronxites are resilient; we know how to make a dollar out of 15 cents,” he said. “This was the borough where the crack epidemic was often highlighted; this was the borough that was often stepped on in the past. We’ve had dark clouds over our heads before, and look where we are now.”

A version of this article appeared in the Spring 2009 edition of the Mott Haven Herald.

Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, surrounded by supporters, announcing his candidacy for Bronx Borough President.

The Bronx Borough President’s race is all about the numbers: 21; two; $200; $270,00; three and 149.

Twenty-one is April 21, the date of the special election to replace Adolfo Carrión, Jr., now a member of the Obama administration.

Two is the number of candidates in what was once expected to be a crowded , competitive contest, but has turned out to be a one-sided match between Democratic Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, Jr., and Republican Anthony Ribustello, a Board of Elections employee.

Two hundred is the mere $200 the Ribustello campaign had in its warchest, while $270,00 is the amount Diaz has raised.

Three is Third Avenue in Mott Haven, which Diaz singles out as a model for the rest of the neighborhood’s development.

And 149 is the Mott Haven connection: “I went to Clark Junior High School 149,” Diaz said. “Mott Haven has bounced back well. I think Mott Haven is going to be in pretty good shape.”

Diaz, a 13-year veteran of the New York State Assembly, and Ribustello, who is also know for his role as Dante Greco on “The Sopranos,” each spoke separately in interviews with the Mott Haven Herald.

Both said improved schools are a top priority for the incoming Bronx Borough President. As a member of the Assembly’s education committee, Diaz said he understands how important education funding is, and he said he will use more of the money at his disposal for education projects.

Diaz’s emphasis on schools would mark a policy change from Carrión, who in this year’s budget had $50 million at his disposal and used half of it for housing initiatives.

“Affordable housing is important, and we will continue to do that, but we are also going to look into the school system,” Diaz said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t advocate for the city and state to do what they need for Bronx schools,” he added.

Both Diaz and Ribustello said they wanted to increase the number of computers in schools, and to continue funding what they called the little things that can make a big difference. Diaz cited projects such as rehabilitating the auditorium at Junior High School 123 in Soundview and the cinematography lab at Fanny Lou Hamer High School in Morrisania as the sorts of projects he would like to fund in the future.

Another top priority, Diaz said, is to put more money into community centers, so they can become job opportunity centers.

“We are going to teach folks how to prepare themselves and how to be job ready,” he said. “We’re going to work with elected officials at all levels of government and where we can partner up, we will.”

Diaz said he also wants to encourage environmentally-sound development, especially in Mott Haven, which has been slated by city planners for new high-rise apartments buildings and business development.

“I want to make sure the money that we use, when we speak to developers, is used so that they want to have green buildings,” Diaz said.

As a veteran member of the Assembly and the son of State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., Diaz said his legislative experience would be valuable for the Borough President’s office, since he has built up relationships with elected officials in Albany, including Gov. David Paterson.

Diaz announced his candidacy on the steps of Borough hall, only a few months after a bitter fight within the Democratic Party ousted longtime leader José Rivera.

Diaz played an important role in the coalition that toppled Rivera and replaced him at the helm of the Bronx Democratic Party with Assemblyman Carl Heastie. One of the consequences of the coup was to weaken Rivera’s son, Councilman Joel Rivera, who had been gearing-up to run for borough president, but chose instead to sit the race out.

In the Bronx, electoral contests between Democrats, rather than between a Democrat and a Republican, are decisive. With no Democratic opponents in this race, Diaz is all but guaranteed the seat at the April 21 special election.

Ribustello, the Republican standard-bearer, has so few resources he did not have a campaign photo to provide. Nevertheless, he said, “I had to take a leave from my job at the Board of Elections. I was willing to do that, I didn’t care, because I believe wholeheartedly in the two-party system.”

He said fostering the artists’ community in Mott Haven—long a pet project of Carrión’s—is also an important cause for him.

“I am an artist myself,” he said. “I believe the community of artists is one of the most compassionate communities.”

Ribustello said that while he is not familiar with the specifics of the Lower Concourse rezoning proposal, he supports making the area more aesthetically pleasing. He said one his hopes for the Bronx would be to have “Westchester-type” town squares in every neighborhood.

“I believe in the Bronx,” he said. “I love the Bronx, I believe the Bronx is a great place.”

A confident Diaz, meanwhile, said he plans to run again in November for the regular four-year term. He said he wants to guide the area through the difficult times ahead.

“Bronxites are resilient; we know how to make a dollar out of 15 cents,” he said. “This was the borough where the crack epidemic was often highlighted; this was the borough that was often stepped on in the past. We’ve had dark clouds over our heads before, and look where we are now.”