FreshDirect: A Matter of Breathing or Profit ?

 

Green Beginnings for the South Bronx Waterfront

 

http://statenisland.ny1.com/content/news/205715/south-bronx-residents-march--rally-against-freshdirect-s-proposed-move



 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SIuQ2i68_w&feature=youtu.be&t=1s

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sbxcc/

 

          For a long time organizers has fought to make life in the Bronx easier to live and for some of these organizers some outcomes have been better then others. Organizers young and old worked to end a tale of half Bronx's North vs South, pollution versus profit. It is no secret the Bronx is extremely dumped on and polluted and the lead cause is industry and has been for a very long time. Because the Bronx had always been dumped on different groups came together all over different parts of the Bronx but the main part would be what we know today as the South and South East Bronx.
 

       Waterfront access for more time than any other time has been the biggest sticking point in different parts of the South Bronx, the thought behind it being if people began to see the beauty of their communities maybe people would cherish it more and physical activity would pick up helping to find organic relief from illnesses such as Asthma which for anyone who has it can be a complete nightmare. With this thought in mind many new waterfront parks began to pop up all over the Bronx/ East River Watershed, parks such as Concrete Plant Park , Starlight Park  and Barretto Point Park  which can speak for themselves in terms of their benefits, but something still remained missing.
 

        The South Bronx Waterfront today lacks open waterfront access, anywhere you go around the waterfront you find waste water treatment plants, huge factories for things like FEDEX and the biggest one yet which sadly deals with both Bronx and Manhattan trash, Allied Waste Transfer Station .  Being that all these locations exist their was a plan to get around these issues and create a water front access point along the waterfront, it sounded like things were looking up but then came the plan for Fresh Direct.

      The plan called for moving a trucking food business into a community burdened by air pollution caused by the high volume of truck traffic which already exists, to a location known as the Harlem River Yards. Everyone who is against Fresh Direct understands that a company that doesn't pay living wage, pollutes communities bringing in more industry and does so knowing the impacts is in fact a thorn in the back and lungs, therefor being unaccepted. With this in mind there was a rally where people asked the new Mayor De Blasio to stop this plan and move it somewhere else. The rally was peaceful and interfaith, people were arrested by will because it was not permitted for the community to plant sunflowers which help to relive polluted soil in the area where Fresh Direct would be placed.

     The question remains, Breathing or Profit ? It is our task as a community to decided what we want in our communities and what we don't want in our communities. While I understand the needs for jobs and better food choices I believe that outing another factory in a community burdened by factories is bad and its not good for business. I also ask why put it here in the South Bronx and not anywhere else ? I support not having more traffic coming into my community via trucks so it is also up to us to find effective and sustainable solutions to the needs of our communities and in doing so we need to recognize that politicians who allow these choices against community input is poor and lacks representation. If you are an elected official or the leader of a community you job is to give the community what it wants and remove what it does not.  I hop in future times we can all agree to having effective and healthy waterfront access because at the end of the day that solves a lot of the oppression that currently exists.



 For further information check out/click these links below
South Bronx Unite
Occupy The Bronx
Fresh Direct
The official event page (March 22nd, 2014)
Youtube.com
News 12 The Bronx (2013 Story on Fresh Direct/South Bronx Unite)



Acrostic Poem by Andre C. Rivera

Accountable is how you would describe a 

Neat person with a 

Decisive attitude and 

Reliant is what you can expect when being 

Energetic is mixed in with being 

Chearmatic during the most hard and 

Humbling times even 

Resiliency 

Is needed when 

Suppressing 

The

Oppressed emotions of a 

Professional whose 

Heartful 

Experienced to

Respectable and

Restless human beings, can be an 

Individual who 

Varies in

Emotions stemming from 

Resiliency and

Attitude

Why Do Men And Women Cheat ?

“When making promises to be faithful, most people are serious and have every intention of keeping their word.” Why do people cheat is a great question that has many complex reasons behind, some say pain some say because they can just do it and think their getting away with it. What are the reasons, the causes and effects, the similarities and differences between each of the groups and parties. The three main questions I seek to answer are How people make the decision to cheat ? Who is likely to cheat ? and How to prevent infidelity ?

People make the decision to cheat after a situation that is tempting arises, this usually occurs with people who become attracted to one another in some shape of form. It is said that there are three reasons people cheat; the first emotion meaning that there is a sense of tension. The second being location; there is a saying “once the cat is away the mice will play” meaning that in a relationship for whatever reason you can be far from your spoce or other half and you come across someone and what occurs is more or a temptation to act out so your far and no one will catch you. The third and last reason is emotional connection. When you connect to someone who is having a tough time and it is simmular to you, you find it easier to find releaf rather than fight it away meaning emotions have a strange way of over shadowing your cognitive part of your brain.

The biggest question here is who is more likely to cheat, although not clear on which sex is likely to cheat, there are multiple factors. The multiple factors include Attractiveness which basically is character and personlity in this case it is usually the men who take the fall for this one. Opportunity, this is the main cause of infidelity because it is motivated by the option to do something when a time is presented to you. the next is risk taking, when you take risks it is illegal and some would say illegal love is the best love because it is diffident by multiple things that include desire to have fun. When you have relational problems that makes it worse because it becomes and eye for eye type of thing and no one wins regardless and the last one would be sense of entitlement as if you own someone. This cause usually is one of those break the chain type of situations.

Although there are many factors that cause infidelity there are little steps that can be taken to prevent infidelity. One of the limited options is openness, being able to sit down and discuss and talk out a problem. In some cases you might be able to detect it but cant do anything about it and that means you left with no options.

In closing the best thing you can do is be honest to yourself, if you know that something is not for you than you have the responsibility to be the one to say no and that is it.

Up From Slavery- How America Came To Be

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” - Frederick Douglass, I agree in this day and age struggle is what we are dealing with to make it through the perfect storm. In the United States, middle to working class poor folks are struggling to make ends meet because the wealthiest folks refuse to do their part. We however are making progress with how our communities interact today. The question remains what does struggle and progress have to do with how America came to be ?

Struggle in america during colonial and revolutionary and now modern times meant slavery, it was the time when people had to fight for what they believed in. The time in history had everything from abolitionists to rebellions to wars to even people being sold for profit. Slaves were used as mules, they did all the hard work and everyone else profited from it, the slaves used the cotton gin to pick cotton so it could be sold elsewhere in turn slaves from Africa would be sold to the US as slaves. The country then used slave labor to do the work regular southern farmers would do while they went to war. It was not until people like Frederick Douglass started to comprehend the seriousness of the slave situation that things would begin to change. 

        When Frederick Douglass began to write and read he then started to push the abolitionist idea that slaves should be equal, it came to a point where politicians began to agree. Overtime President Lincoln had thought to create an equal nation because at one point in time he owned two slaves. The question then arose, how would slaves be able to live among their captors and owners. Slaves had never knew a free world where they could look for jobs or an simple basic education. The debate of freedom of slaves then stretched into what would then be known as the American Civil War because Southern States refused to work alongside abolitionists in the North. A bigger issue had arisen in United States Supreme Court and that issue was whether or not a Negro would be free once her or she reached a free northern state, that debate was easily shut down when the courts ruled against the Negro. The ruling by the court then instilled more fear in already fearful fugitive slaves at the time but that did not stop people like Sojourner Truth who had freed herself before the ruling and went back countless times for others including her own family. A very notable person had mirrored what Sojourner Truth did but in a more modern way, Rosa Parks sat at the front of the bus and was beaten countless times in the process. 

Although Rosa Parks and Sojourner Truth are two very different but equally important people they both cemented a lot of equality but sadly our nation has not as of yet gotten over it. People should not have to have a law signed for equality, wages, jobs, weather and wars, we need to be a lot more conscious of what decisions our government makes in terms of human and equal rights because it would be a lot easier to turn back the clock then work forward, at least for our government.

Greaser to West Side Story-"Latinos in Film"

Latinos in Film (The Bronze Screen)

Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, and George Lopez are some of the more notable Latinos in Latin American Hollywood history, but what exactly is the history of some of the roles they played ? If I told you back in 1914 Latinos were considered greasers or lazy white women rappers how would you feel ? If I said today Latinos are portrayed in some of the worst matters what would you say ?

It all dates back to as far as 1914 when Mexicans would appear as Indians, they would be called Greasers. In these films women would be raped by Latinos because Latinos were supposed to be the bad guys meanwhile the white guys would be the good actors. The Mexicans who “raped” women in the films would be considered snakes. In order for Latinos to keep their culture and keep their positive name they would have to change their image, can you imagine that ? You have to change your name just to please an audience or an acting agency, just to bring in a few millions so that at the end of the day the guy who casts you gets to take home a majority of it?

It got worse over the years, prior to 1930 films were either black or white (Latino guy wore black and white guy wore white hats) films that did not have sound. What did that mean after the 1930’s ? It meant actors were in trouble because at this point in history you could hear what the actors voice sounded like. Latinos would then be portrayed to be emotional, reckless and disrespectful humans, but it got worse Dracula was first done as a Latino film but then was adapted for a larger english audience. During the great depression roles for Latinos became more exposed and the films had more politics in them more than any other time in history. Actors roles got even more worse for Latinos, they were shown to be violent then we went to being dumb and illiterate, it seems like all they want to show is dumb Latinos but hey if a actor Latino is dumb what does that mean for the audience because I would not be caught watching a dumb film. Going back to the political elements shown in film, did you know that Latino actors were paid to re-enact the Mexican wars but as barbaric loose headed animals but not for the heroics ?

Fast forward to 1933 where another great and well known film like Dracula was changed for the greater audience, King Kong was one of the first biggest thrillers and it was acted by a Latino named Francisco Bay Chico. Surprisingly after this film the situation over in Hollywood began to change and the reception became more positive in a sense but not entirely. The first live show was filmed by a Cuban. Jose Senger who was Puerto Rican won an Academy Award being the first Latino to do so was astonishing, the first Academy Award given to a Latina also was Puerto Rican and she stared in West Side Story, I guess you can say she loved to live in America.

Finally, while you sit down to watch a great film like TED , or Dark Knight Rises and even Fast and Furious 6 also known as Fast 6 which have Latino or Latina actors keep in mind that at one time or another all of those actors could have been enslaved by the movie industry simply because they were darker than the average white person. The actors even today are still portrayed as animals and car stealing thieves , notice how in every fast and furious movie they are in international countries that are majority minority and the people who run the streets are minorities who are in gangs or in the drug industry ? Interesting isn't it ? I guess you can say for now the hollywood industry has gone from Greasers to West Side Story.

Temple for Tomorrow, Mountains for Freedom

           

                Temple for Tomorrow, Mountains for Freedom

           “We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how and we stand on top of the mountain free within ourselves.” Langston Hughes had a great point when he wrote this quote, I agree with his thought. I agree with his quote because life is full of miss-comings but one of the best ways to be successful is to avoid it all together. My life “temple” is to do political work so that I can not only improve my community but what my community stands for.

            When I was younger I remembered my family struggling to make ends meet and its still is the same today. One thing I always wondered was why me and w\my family it bothered me because I felt like I was fighting a solo fight  to be free from pain and struggle, with this goal in my future I figured that I could use my passion to help others while helping myself. I did not like to see people suffer even if it is the path of life but more importantly I do not like to suffer so I help the community so I can help myself. My community is my mountain and my success is the river that flows through it.

            Talk is cheap that is why I get involved in the community. I go out on the Bronx river so that I can educated myself about what is going on because a temple is a very sacred place so if I really want to create a better community using my struggles I must understand the struggles that people go through and those that I have gone through myself.  I created a not for profit with my friend to get others involved and to bridge the cultural gaps because we are all in the struggle together. I was the first to graducate high school and continue onto college in my family. I value education it is a characteristic we need to be happy with what we want. To say that I want to be a leader but sit on my behind would be a tradition so I have to be about what I say

            In closing Langston Huges used his gift of words to inspire and move people, just as I do with my actions. You have to know yourself to make a difference, knowing what you want to do helps you free yourself. Langston hughes often would write about following your dreams and following what you believe which was honorable. For those who did not have a path his work moved people to do something, his work will always inspire people.

           

The Tale Of A King

                   Once upon a time there was a king and all of the village sort of knew who he was or his name or him as a person because they had saw him as a person. He was a Puerto Rican/American and was short with what people would call a beer belly/gut. He was just as human as everyone else but he was special in the sense of what he believed in, but he was an angry man. He could be described as a person who would fight and argue a lot but at one point he realized how wrong and how much trouble that would cause.  

                    

                       He was born in the large town known of New York at a Hospital called Metropolitan. He lived with his mother and his step father which in all honesty he could not stand and did not get along with. He had a sister and a few nephews and a niece. He went to the historic Lorraine Hansberry Academy, which was named after a very affluent African poet. At that time he did not get along with many people so he would always get into some altercation over something stupid and dumb until one day it became to much and he kicked a kid in the face causing him to almost be kicked out of school. The problems he had in the school were only adding to the problems at home and they weren't really problems or issues just things that messed with everything else... emotions....etc... So when time came to a pass and people started noticing there was an issue the high queen of the school named Mrs. Joy Elaine Daily and her subjects stopped everything they were doing so that the prince at the time could get his frustrations out. That part of the story never occurred, they high queen and her subjects spoke with the family of the prince and the mother or the high queen of the prince Andre family found the prince a arena for him to channel some of his emotions. He soon realized that this wasn't what he liked but that he would try it out, no challenge was to difficult for him. So he did, he started to work on little village health issues such as Asthma, which at the time we knew nothing more than it was a death sentence and that his village had the highest of it, can you imagine that the village of the king being a death sentence to others ? The prince at the time couldn't so he decided he was going to work to fix it.    

                    The young prince started working on fish studies on the Aquahung, which was the local river. He then began to work on campaigns of a new creation, usually a campaign meant to rage war against another village but for him this meant raging war again his oppressors otherwise known as the people who dirty the Aquahung. He then went onto working on a campaign known as the hip hop campaign which was to change the type of way people would drum and vocalize their voices. Hip hop wouldn't become what it is at the present day until later on after the native and fairytale life ended. He then would go onto working back on the Aquahung where he did fishing, canoeing and water quality testing, he even worked on trying to get rid of the nasty breathing giant called Jenna. Then he began a vast road to removing a pathway for cars. 

                  He believed in the community, had many jobs to. He appeared in the towns paper and in the towns TV. He loved working for the community and saw all of what was wrong with it, which motivated him to putting his anger towards something positive. He went to Herbert Lehman High School where he persevered as only being the first to graduate in his family, the family had so many issues and difficulties at the time so they were being heroes to the rest of the prince family. He then tried to get into Hofstra University where things cost too much money. 

                 Presently Prince Andre is now King Andre, he will have his own family and is going to live happily ever after as the high King of BRONXVILLE..... 

                                                           THE END.....