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Volume XVIII • Number 48 • November 24 - 30, 2011 •
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Angry crowd protests postal closings By MIAWLING LAM Armed with American flags, colorful homemade posters and catchy chants, more than 30 passionate residents rallied to protest the planned closure of two Riverdale post offices. The vocal crowd braved near-freezing conditions and picketed outside the Fieldston station last Friday to express their concerns over the proposed shrinkage strategy. The Fieldston Station at 444 West 238th Street and the Spuyten Duyvil station at 562 Kappock Street are two of up to 3,700 branches nationwide that the United States Postal Service has flagged for closure. Of the 29 branches in New York City currently being studied, 17 are located in The Bronx. Riverdale resident Robert S. Gratz said he was compelled to arrange the “senior power rally” because the community was being stripped of an essential service. Waving a small American flag and standing on a soapbox, Gratz led the crowd with chants of “Postmaster General USA, here’s what Riverdale has to say. We rock. We rock. Keep our post office on the block.” The war veteran and community activist said the closure of either station would cut seniors off from postal services and force those without cars to rely on unpredictable public transportation. “We feel that the postal service is looking in the wrong place to make these cuts,” he said. “Senior citizens have arrived at a place in their lives where they deserve a break and not have to go down to Broadway on a bus in the middle of winter. It is
Community activist Robert Gratz leads a crowd demanding that the United States Postal Service keeps the Fieldston Post Office, on West 238th Street, open. It is one of 17 Bronx offices that are being studied for possible closure. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz also attended the rally. a stupid decision and we need to make more noise.” During the hour-long rally, Gratz encouraged attendees to write to the postmaster in Washington and express their dissatisfaction, prompting Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz to suggest emailing their concerns as well, “in case they can’t get it delivered on time.”
Repeating the testimony he delivered at both public hearings, Dinowitz said the cost-savings plan would disproportionately affect seniors and disabled residents in the community. He also said it was unreasonable for USPS officials to nominate the Kingsbridge branch, located on Broadway and West 230th Street, as an alternate access point.
“I avoid that place like the plague,” he said. “They have terribly long lines, they never have enough windows open.... I can only imagine how much more crowded that place would be if they add the people who use this post office and the one on Kappock Street.” Andrew Sandler of Councilman G. Continued on Page 18
P.S. 24 teachers vow: ‘We will not be pressured into silence by parent group’
By MIAWLING LAM The parent association leadership at P.S. 24 have ordered their children’s teachers to stop leaking information to the press, insisting that any differences can be solved internally. The school’s parents association fired off a terse letter to staff members earlier this month pleading them to cease and desist from blowing the whistle on questionable school operations. However, in an ironic twist, it was the Riverdale Review that last week received multiple copies of the letter after outraged staff members interpreted the memo as a veiled threat. The one-page correspondence, dated November 7, was dispatched a couple of days after the Review revealed that an uncertified teacher was illegally assigned to a class with special education students and had been replaced on orders of the Department of Education.
The teacher was removed prior to any story appearing in the newspaper. A number of teachers felt compelled to notify the media about the issue only because principal Donna Connelly refuses to address their concerns. However, the school’s elected PA officers implored staff to maintain a code of secrecy. “On behalf of the parents of P.S. 24, who hold our school’s administration, and its staff, in the highest regard, we ask that whoever is responsible for these leaks, to cease and desist immediately,” the letter states. Members then make mention of Boo Bash, one of the school’s most profitable fundraising campaigns, and note that monies raised helped teachers do their job. “Over 100 parents volunteered. They gave up their valuable time so that additional funds could go into the classroom for enrichment,” the letter continues. “This gives us the right and the responsibility to
request that whatever differences we have—with each other, or with the administration—that they stay within our school walls, and be dealt with via the appropriate channels.” A person at P.S. 24, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said the letter garnered a hostile response among staff. “It was insulting—just the nerve of the PA to raise anything like this,” the source said. “Many of the teachers were quite upset about the letter. If you read between the lines, it’s sort of a veiled threat in there about the money.” It is understood that several staff members have deposited the letters into the PA’s mailbox as a silent protest. Another whistleblower at the school, who anonymously sent in an annotated version of the letter, also Continued on Page 19