Morris Park Community Association Meeting

September 9, 2022 11:49 PM·

Morris Park Community Association Meeting

By Robert Press

Wednesday evening was the first Morris Park Community Park Association meeting after summer. Sixty people were in attendance and it did not take long for the fireworks to go off. First up were Youth Coordinator officers Hernandez (Sector A) and Alvarez (Sector B). Officer Hernandez explained that their job is to work with the youth under eighteen, including those who may be victims of crimes in the sector which each YCO covers. They are also in charge of the 49th Precinct explorers program.

Right away the problem of youths hanging out in the parks and streets smoking Cannabis. The response from Officer Hernandez was that the precinct does not have enough officers to do everything that has been asked. Community Affairs Officer Powers was next to speak, when he finished there was a complaint of the 49th Precinct Detectives being the worse in the city because they do not exist. It was then said that there were forty arrests for fake license plates, but District Attorney Clark fails to prosecute them.

Crime Prevention Officer Mederos said things have changed in the capabilities of the entire police department. Manpower is under 30,000 citywide, the lowest since the 1970’s he said that there are booms and busts every twenty years. Every six months 2,500 officers will retire, while every six months only 500 new cadets come out of the police academy. Officer Mederos said there is a manpower depletion in the 49th Precinct while the workload has increased back to 1993 levels. It was mentioned there will be a Sector A Build A Block meeting on Thursday September 15th at the Alwaha Restaurant located at 1907 White Plains Road at 6:30 PM.

The next speaker was current Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez The Democratic candidate for the 34th State Senate district. The Democratic designee for the 80th Assembly seat had left so the assemblywoman said the office is doing their best to take care of constituent complaints, she mentioned that speed cameras allow for ten miles over the 25 MPH limit, that she has gotten speed camera tickets, but she knows where where the cameras are now stationed. She believes there was not enough EScooter education and has asked Lime to put it on their App. The jeers from the crowd came when she mentioned No Cash Bail as she supports poor people not being kept in jail because they can not afford the bail, while others could, and said it was tweaked twice by the state legislature. More jeers came when she said that she wants to move the ‘Just Home’ Jacobi Hospital proposal to Waters Place. Fernandez mentioned HHC asked in March during the budget process for another project adding that a PDF was slipped into an email. It was said from the audience that there are already 1,000 calls to the 49th precinct for Waters Place. As to a question of her choice of Female State Committeewoman Christine Culpepper’s involvement in a pro upzoning rally, Assemblywoman Fernandez said Ms. Culpepper is allowed to voice her own opinion as she is a union member.

The MPCA will be having an event at the Morris Park Performing Arts Theatre at Jacobi in the Rotunda at Jacobi. ‘A Stroll Down Memory Lane’, Sunday September 25th 1 – 5 PM.Tickets are $25.00 in advance $30.00 at the door. Make checks payable to MP Theater at MPCA 1824 Bronxdale Avenue Bronx NY 10462, checks must be received by September 18th.