Text and Videos By JORDAN MOSS
Untitled from Bronx News Network on Vimeo.
The campaign that would require developers of retail projects receiving taxpayer subsidies to pay a living wage -- $10 with benefits and $11.50 without -- is heating up as advocates press for an April City Council hearing. Council Speaker Christine Quinn has said she would allow hearings on the bill, which has 29 supporters, including every Bronx member of the City Council except for James Vacca of the east Bronx. Vacca was very much on the minds and tongues of numerous speakers at a Living Wage NYC rally last week at the Bronx Pentecostal Deliverance Center on the anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death.
The legislation was introduced by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., (see the video above) who led the effort to defeat the city’s effort to build a mall at the Armory, mainly because the developer would not guarantee that retail workers be paid a living wage. Council Members Oliver Koppell (speaking in the video below) and Annabel Palma are leading the charge in the Council.
Oliver Koppell Speaks At Living Wage Rally from Bronx News Network on Vimeo.
Mayor Bloomberg is on record opposing the bill, but with five more backers, the Council would have enough votes to override his veto.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Bronx Living Wage Campaign Heats Up
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Bronx Events: Community Board 6 Youth Talent Show
Tomorrow night, Community Board 6 will have its second annual youth talent show, this year inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr., and his message of peace. Here are some more details:
"The theme of the event is 'We Have a Dream.” One youth group will perform a skit on the topic of teenage dating and the hardships many youth of our time silently suffer. Along from the singing, dancing and poetry that will be showcased, we will have the five (5) youths that will receive this year’s Yankee Council Award read an excerpt of the 'I Have a Dream' speech as this conference is in honor and remembrance of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream for peace and equality."
The show is tomorrow night, at CS 211 at 1919 Prospect Avenue, from 6 to 9 p.m. Call Community Board 6 for more information: (718) 579-6990.
More events are below, in our community calendar.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Bronxites Mark MLK Day With Grand Concourse March and Memorial Service
Yesterday morning, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., about 200 people took part in a "Walk for Peace" along the Grand Concourse.
The crowd, which included State Sen. Pedro Espada, Assemblyman Nelson Castro, community leaders and clergy, met in front of the Loews Paradise Theater, before walking south, several blocks, to First Union Baptist Church for a memorial service.
Inside the church, Espada, whose office helped organize the rally (and who walked behind a massive banner with his and King's faces on), took the mic to praise the civil rights leader and ask that youngsters there sign a "Resolution for Peace and Nonviolence."
Espada also spoke about how happy he was to be the first Latino majority leader in the state Senate. And he alluded to Andrew Cuomo's ongoing investigation into his healthcare network, and some of the bad press (here's an example) he's been receiving.
"People forget that Martin Luther King, at age 39 [when he died], was not heralded by the press," Espada said. "He was not deemed to be a man of the people. We must recall that as we read our daily papers and study the news of the day."
Hit play on the podcast to hear Espada's speech.
