Editorial

Register by Oct. 14

If you’re not registered to vote, you can only vote in the general election on Nov. 8 if you register by Oct. 14.

You can register by calling the Board of Elections at (866) VOTE-NYC to request a voter registration form or visit http://vote.nyc.ny.us/ to print one out. But forms must be postmarked by the 14th.

If you think you’re cutting it close, you can register in person at the Bronx office of the Board of Elections at 1780 Grand Concourse, 5th floor. The phone number there is (718) 299-9017.

Regardless of who you vote for, voting matters. Politicians take notice of the number of people who show up to vote. It’s no secret that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, but you can’t squeak if you don’t register.

About Those Hex Blocks

In our Sept. 8 – 21 issue, reader Nat Solomon wrote in to inquire about the fate of hundreds of hexagonal blocks piled in a dumpster outside the northern entrance of Williamsbridge Oval Park where construction of a new entrance is under way.

Well, we asked the Parks Department and here’s what they told us:

“When we do repairs, we recycle and reset existing hex blocks throughout the Parks system that are still in good condition,” a Parks Department spokesman replied in an e-mail. “However, if they are broken we need to discard them.”

Keep those questions and letters coming.

Honor Gottesman in Bronx

Residents of the Bronx and beyond have known for years that Norwood resident Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman is a national treasure. But now it’s official.

Last month, the National Endowment for the Arts bestowed upon her the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship.

We can’t think of anyone more deserving. Scha-echter-Gottesman is a world-renowned poet, painter, singer, songwriter and teacher who is devoted to her art and making sure Yiddish language and culture is passed along to future generations.

Now that Schaechter-Gottesman has been honored in Washington, where she participated in and performed at ceremonies for the fellowship winners, we think it’s time she be recognized for her vast contributions here at home in the Bronx.

Every year in June, the Bronx Tourism Council inducts famous Bronxites into the Bronx Walk of Fame on the Grand Concourse. But the worthy inductees are usually former Bronxites.

We suggest that this year, a homegrown artist and scholar who still lives on Bainbridge Avenue, get her own Walk of Fame sign.

Anyone second the nomination?

 

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