Bedford Park Rallies to Nix Nuisances

By HANNAN ADELY

"Cleaner sidewalks, safer streets. Bedford Park just can't be beat!" chanted Bedford Park residents at a Quality of Life Rally on Aug. 12. The event was organized by the Bedford Park Neighborhood Alliance (BPNA), an affiliate of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, to fight for remedies to nettlesome neighborhood problems like rats, traffic, and dog droppings.

The outdoor rally on Briggs Avenue and East 202nd Street was a medley of entertainment, activism and information. Kicking off the evening, women from the Korean Senior Group, dressed in traditional garb, sang songs of their homeland. Young women from the Bronx Dance Theatre followed with a vibrant Latin dance performance.

But then residents got down to business, with BPNA members airing their complaints about a number of issues, including rats, dogs, noise pollution, and traffic.

James Kilkenny of the Bronx Department of Transportation (DOT), the only borough commissioner in attendance, was asked for help with the high-volume intersections of Jerome and 205th Street and Briggs Avenue and 201st Street which have no traffic lights. Kilkenny responded that the DOT is currently studying the two areas to determine what can be done to make the intersections safer.

BPNA has been combating quality-of-life disturbances by meeting regularly with the community to assess concerns and then bringing complaints to the appropriate city agencies. But sometimes agencies pass the buck to each other, BPNA members say. The purpose of the rally was to get everyone in the same place at the same time, and some of the group's issues were addressed by the officials who attended the rally. In addition to Kilkenny's pledge, Bernie Smyth of the Department of Sanitation (DOS), agreed to step up his agency's enforcement of dog litter and leash laws in Bedford Park, particularly on Mosholu Parkway and in Harris Park. Along with DOS, the Parks Department and the Department of Health (DOH), which sent representatives to the rally, have also agreed to enforce laws that punish people who fail to clean up after their dogs, or to keep them on leashes, according to BPNA organizer Michelle Andrews.

Bedford Park residents are also exercised about an ongoing rat epidemic, and BPNA has successfully enlisted the assistance of DOH, Parks, and the contractors working on two Bedford Park bridges in the effort to eliminate the rodents from the neighborhood, according to Andrews.

When it comes to quality of life, there is no shortage of concerns that residents raise. Even a seemingly exhaustive list of neighborhood issues prepared by BPNA does not include one that is tops on the list of resident Isaac Kutnowsky, who said he is concerned about auto theft in the area.

But public safety and crime issues are also on BPNA's agenda. Gina Wolmart told those who came to the rally about her traffic worries. "It's a shame that I can't send my kids across the street to the ice cream truck because of speeding cars," she said. BPNA wants the 52nd Precinct, which did not send a representative to the event, to crack down on speeding on specific problem streets. Wolmart also complained that, as she left to go to the rally, she saw kids smoking marijuana and drinking in front of her building. She stressed that it was a common occurrence and she called for heavier police patrolling in the area.

Residents at the rally also urged community members to take responsibility for their own neighborhood by keeping it clean and by reporting quality of life crimes to the police. People were also urged to keep pressure on the city by making phone calls and writing letters. And those who attended the rally were asked to sign a quality of life pledge to keep Bedford Park a safe place to live and work.

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