Bronx Pols Want Out Of Federal Immigration Program

Local elected officials are speaking out against a program that requires law enforcement agencies to share digital fingerprint records of people who are arrested with federal immigration officials, who then check the prints for a person's green card status.

The program, known as "Secure Communities" and run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was originally intended to deport criminals who were determined to be in the country illegally and to focus on "the most dangerous and violent offenders," according to the ICE's website.

But data shows that the so far, 79 percent of the 102,000 immigrants deported under the program have never been convicted of any crime, according to the Gotham Gazette.

A group of 38 New York legislators, including 13 Bronx Senate and Assembly members, sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo last month imploring him to withdraw the state from the program.

"Our communities are far less safe because of this program," State Sen. Jose Serrano told the Gazette.

"It will only further fuel what law enforcement officials and immigrant advocacy communities have been saying for years: immigrants will be distrustful of their local law enforcement and will allow for crimes to go unreported or unsolved," State Sen. Gustavo Rivera said in a press release.

At the moment, counties in 44 percent of the state have been activated in Secure Communities--none yet in New York City.

In early May, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced that the state would stop participating, though the Department of Homeland Security has said the program is mandatory and that all U.S. counties will have to be enrolled by 2013.

Congressman Jose Serrano, representing the Bronx, also issued a letter urging Cuomo to withdraw, and along with several other member of Congress, called for President Obama to halt the policy entirely until it can be reviewed further.

5 Bronx State Senators Urge Cuomo to Maintain Income Tax for Wealthy

Twenty state senators, including five representing the Bronx, are urging Gov. Cuomo to keep an income tax surcharge for wealthy New Yorkers. In a press release, they wrote ...

Given the fact that the federal government extended the Bush-era high-income tax cuts, it’s fair to question whether we should be giving the wealthiest New Yorkers a state tax cut too. During these difficult financial times sacrifices must be shared by all. Should wealthy New Yorkers really receive two tax cuts?

The senators representing the Bronx who signed the letter are Gustavo Rivera, Jose M. Serrano, Ruth Hassell-Thompson, Adriano Espaillat and Ruben Diaz, Sr. For the full release, click here. They say keeping the tax would generate a more than $1 billion the next fiscal year, and more than $4 billion the year after.

The Partnership for New York City, a business group, believes the tax hurts the non-wealthy. In this Post article, Kathryn Wylde, head of the groups, says it's "two-income families struggling to maintain a middle class existence in a high-cost region," that will be negatively affected. The Partnership put out a report on the subject that can be found in the "Reports" section of of their website.

What do you think? Just click the comment button below.

Ed. note: A reader rightly points out in the comments section that Adriano Espaillat represents part of the Bronx. So, we've changed the post from the original to reflect that. 

Roberto Clemente's Opening Hours Could Be Slashed

Roberto Clemente State Park, pictured above, is in Morris Heights

(File photo by Rebecca Chao)

Last Friday, Governor David Paterson and State Park officials proposed closing 55 parks and historic sites across the state, and reducing services at another 24, as they look for ways to dent the state’s $8.2 billion budget deficit.

Roberto Clemente State Park, the Bronx’s only state park, wasn't among them, to the relief of Joel Marcano, the co-executive director of the non-profit New York City Metro Baseball League, a men's league that uses the park’s floodlit ball field on weekday evenings and at weekends.

But the 25-acre park, which sits on the edge of the Harlem River, could still be impacted.

If the Legislature rejects Paterson’s plan to move $5 million from the state's Environmental Protection Fund to State Parks’ operating budget, scores of additional parks, Roberto Clemente included, would be added to the governor’s list, a State Parks spokesperson said.

In fact, if the $5 million isn't reallocated, the State will propose doing exactly what Marcano had feared – close the park in the evenings. (Environmental groups have already begun lobbying legislators to make sure the money stays where it is.) 

Thousands of people would be affected if the park's hours were scaled back. Dozens of leagues, schools and colleges use the baseball field. And the picnic area, playground and basketball courts, are popular with local residents, as are the fitness classes held in the park's main building. 

In a telephone interview, State Sen. Jose M. Serrano, whose district includes Roberto Clemente, said he opposed cuts there and elsewhere.

“I’m frankly very disappointed in the governor for entertaining this,” he said. 

Earlier this month, Serrano, the chair the Senate's Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation,  sent a letter to his colleagues. He wrote:

We recognize that we are confronted by challenging fiscal realities, but even in these financially difficult times we cannot risk losing our state’s most magnificent treasure—our parks.

Marcano, for his part, has created an online petition with the aim of keeping Roberto Clemente open at night. So far, 270 people have signed it.

Paterson's recommendations, put forward in his executive budget, are just that: recommendations. The State Senate and Assembly have the final say on what receives funding and what doesn't. Legislators have until April 1st to enact the budget.

Bronx News Roundup July 7

The owner of Stella D’oro, the cookie factory in Kingsbridge, will close the plant permanently in October, after deciding it's no longer profitable. The decision comes just days after a judge ordered the company to rehire 130 striking workers, and pay them a couple of months of lost wages.

Police are hunting a man who sexually assaulted a teenage girl in Fordham last Friday.

This fall, the city plans to open a "Family Justice Center" in Concourse Village to help domestic violence victims rebuild their lives. It'll be located in the same building as the DA's office.

Liz Benjamin has the latest on the bickering and finger-pointing in Albany.

State Senator Jose M. Serrano has an op-ed in the Gotham Gazette in support of arts education, which he fears will become "the next casualty of the Albany war."

A look at what Burnside Avenue's commercial strip has to offer. If community leaders get their way, a Business Improvement District (or BID) will be created on Burnside in the not too distant future.

State Senator Serrano on "Going Through the Motions"

On politics blog Room Eight, State Senator Jose M. Serrano writes about the frustrations of being in the minority party.

"Being a Democrat dooms my legislation before it is even conceived," he says. "Once a bill of mine gets introduced, it goes to committee where it waits for a vote. And waits. And waits. And waits."

"No rule exists that requires committees to take vote on a piece of legislation. Thus, it is almost a certainty that Democratic bills will go through an entire legislative session without one minute of substantive public debate or discussion. Then they die."

More here. And here's a list of Serrano's Room Eight posts, going back to 2006.

On a side note, does anyone know of other Bronx politicians who blog?