Riverdale’s ONLY Locally Owned Newspaper!
Volume XIX • Number 12 • April 5 - 11, 2012 •
FREE!
Water rates to continue upward spiral By MIAWLING LAM Homeowners could be hosed by yet another massive water rate hike. City officials have proposed an increase in water rates by 7 percent starting July 1 in order to cover escalating debt service on federally mandated infrastructure projects. If approved, the new rates are set to plunge families into deeper water and could place further strain on their monthly budgets. The increase means a typical singlefamily home that uses 80,000 gallons a year will have to pony up an extra $62 a year, or a little over $5 a month. Similarly, a multi-family home that
uses 50,000 gallons a year will be slugged an extra $39 a year. Water rates have already soared 77 percent since 2005, and the new increas comes hot on the heels of a 7.5 percent hike in 2011 and a 12.9 percent increase in 2010. Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Carter Strickland unveiled the rate during his presentation to the New York City Water Board in downtown Manhattan last Friday. Speaking in front of a modest crowd, Commissioner Strickland downplayed the proposed soaking and said it was lower than the 9.3 percent increase initially projected.
“This is the lowest rate increase in seven years and the second year that we’ve brought the rate increase to singledigits,” he said. “We know in these economic times that any increase in the rate is a burden. However, the primary driver behind recent water increases has been increased annual debt service financed by unfunded federal and state mandates.” Commissioner Strickland said the hike was necessary because debt service payments have skyrocketed by 176 percent since 2002—from $496 million to $1.37 billion—and are forecast to increase by an additional 8 percent in 2012. Infrastructure upgrades to aging sys-
tems, new filtration and UV treatment plants and the Croton Water Filtration Plant also drove up operating costs. However, the rationale didn’t fly with elected officials. During a City Council hearing earlier last week, several members labeled the rate hike as “absurd” and a “backdoor tax.” Councilman G. Oliver Koppell said he strongly opposed the rate increase and signaled that he would testify during a round of public hearings later this month. Public hearings will be held in each borough to garner community feedback. The one in The Bronx is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, April 25, at 7 p.m. Continued on Page 2
Passover preparation a major production at the Hebrew Home By PAULETTE SCHNEIDER Carlos Luna, director of food service for the Hebrew Home at Riverdale for the past 26 years, estimates that nearly 35,000 kitchen items—from forks to fryers to refrigerators--undergo the laborious cleansing procedure required each year before the holiday of Passover. Jews observe the eight-day festival in part by avoiding leavened foods and removing leavened products from their homes. The process of making things kosher, in this case, for Passover, is commonly referred to as “kashering.” It’s Rabbi Joseph Dalezman’s second year overseeing Passover preparations at the Hebrew Home. “During this period, I’m here 12 to 15 hours a day,” the rabbi said, pointing out that not just the kitchen but the entire facility gets kashered. “I have a very strict standard. So does Carlos. I see something and I say ‘We have a problem here.’ He says, ‘It’s not a problem, it’s an issue. We’ll take care of it right now. Boom—it’s done.” They feel this is the most extensive kashering operation of its kind among New York area senior facilities. After all, the Hebrew Home serves 4,000 meals every day in 24 separate dining areas to its 860 residents. In the main kitchen, Luna pointed out a “massive, massive pressure cooker” that turns out 250 pounds of brisket in an hour and a half. Beside it stand several gigantic vats—one ordinarily cooks up 800 servings of soup--now filled with boiling water for kashering whatever pans can fit inside. The biggest pots and pans are submerged in even larger specialized containers filled with boiling water. First, the vessels used for cleansing had to be properly cleansed themselves. “I personally kashered the vats—steamed them, cleaned them out completely, outside, inside. Then we put some cleaning solution in there and cleaned them again, steamed them again, and then put cool water in them. Then, we use them for the other utensils,” Dalezman said. “It’s the same process—you put in some cleaning solution, they stay in and they’re steamed, we drain that
off, steam it again, drain it off, put cold water on it so that it’s sealed. Then, it’s kosher for Passover.” Stands, carts, tables and appliances large and small are all subject to some method of kashering, depending upon the materials they’re made of. Most of the kitchen here is stainless steel. “The whole idea of the steam is that it opens up the metal to let whatever is engrained in the metal to come out,” Dalezman explained. “The cold water seals it in the sense that it now closes the pores.” Passover-ready kitchen items are labeled and tightly
covered with tablecloths or plastic sheets. So why not just keep a separate set of supplies for Passover use, as is done in many households on this holiday? “We used to do that years ago,” Luna said. “But it’s a lot more efficient to do what we’re doing now.” Prime rib with roasted potatoes and broccoli will be served at the “seder” meal on the first night of Passover this Friday, April 6. On the second night, resident will enjoy the ever-popular brisket with potato kugel and green beans.
Hebrew Home director of food services Carlos Luna, far left, and Rabbi Joseph Dalezman, center, are impressed with the work of employees like Isaac Tofa, right, engaged in “kashering” thousands of cookware items.