The guest for Tuesday’s Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association meeting was Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark. The action started before the meeting as the group Bronx Animal Rights Electors set up a protest for DA Clark about a no jail deal for a dog abuser in the, ‘Justice For Cleo’ case.
As the meeting began DA Clark was intrduced by PPNA President Edith Blitzer. DA Clark spoke of an earlier case winding up in the sentencing of a high school student to fourteen years in jail. Her voice seemed a little rattled after that as she went into her history as a judge for sixteen years. After talking about changing how the DA’s office handles cases, doing case reviews of past convictions, five people in jail for up to twenty-five years have been exonerated, working with local police precincts, DA Clark said the newest priority is the opioid crisis. DA Clark said that in the Bronx the average age of an opioid addict is forty-six years old. However Fentanyl is is the newest addicted drug.
DA Clark then took questions, with PPNA President Edith Blitzer asking how the protesters outside know what the outcome of the trial of the dog abuser is. DA Clark said that the sentencing is up to the judge in the case, justice is different in every case, and that because the case is still open she could not comment.
In the elected officials reports representatives of Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, Assemblywoman Fernandez, Councilman Torres, and State Senator Biaggi gave reports. PPNA President Blitzer gave State Senator Biaggi’s rep a hard time, saying that former Senator Klein was very involved with the PPNA appearing many times at meetings. She said that she had invited Senator Biaggi several times, but Senator Biaggi has not responded. Ms. Blitzer also wanted to know where the local Bronx office off Pelham Parkway was. The answer by the senator’s rep Emily was that Senator Biaggi has a new office on Riverdale Avenue, with a mobile office visiting other parts of the district.
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