THIS IS NOT 385 Great Plains Road!

In case some of you may have missed it, yesterday the 'Ice Skating fans can now head over to the Bronx and glide through the brand new Van Cortlandt Park Ice Skating Rink." So we ask the Bronx Borough President, State Senator Gustavo Rivera and NYS Assemblyman Jose Rivera: WHY ARE YOU SUPPORTING THE PROJECT FOR ANOTHER ice skating rink at the Kingsbridge Armory? In case they have forgotten, Van Cortlandt Park is 1.9 miles away from the Armory. 

BP Diaz argues that the proposal - Kingsbridge National Ice Center (or KNIC) - to create NINE ice skating rinks is "the perfect project for the Bronx." Oh really? Which Borough do you represent Mr. BP? The Bronx has a median income of $34,264 and has New York's highest unemployment rates. How can our Borough President expect a sport which he knows Latinos and African-Americans youth DO NOT PLAY because IT IS  A VERY EXPENSIVE sport (skates alone range between $30 to over $200 a pair) and let's be honest, it is a not a sport that appeals to our community. Just look at the number of Latinos and African-Americans playing professional hockey. How many Mr. Borough President? Is the Borough President going to provide EACH CHILD with a FREE pair of skates for them to use? We did not think so. 

The Borough President stated that "one day we could see the next Mark Messier or Sarah Hughes coming from right here in the Bronx." This is great BUT can you ask ANYONE in our community if the know who is Mark Messier and/or Sarah Hughes? I can guarantee you that 10 out of 10 will have no idea who they are. 

The project BP Diaz supports is WRONG FOR THE COMMUNITY, plain and simple. And let us not forget who is the REALLY BEHIND the proposal Mr. Diaz is supporting. It's not Mark Messier or Sarah Hughes. The person behind the proposal is Kevin Parker, former Executive at Deutsche Bank, which by the way has not ONE woman serving on its Group Executive Committee. Parker, who has never, to our knowledge, invested a dime into our  borough, all of a sudden wants to 'invest' in the Bronx? This group, KNIC, are led by an all-white team and they want to 'invest' in our community? Has anyone seen how comfortable Mr. Parker lives in the Hamptons? Look at his 10-BEDROOM worth, oh just a mere $30 MILLION. 

Our Borough President has sold himself to the highest, or should we say, richest?) bidder. This is a shame given his potential as possibly the first Latino Mayor of New York City. CBP would have hoped to see the community up in arms with this proposal but unfortunately, Mr. Diaz and his team have done a great job at promoting the project as they see it best. He never really weighed the two projects as he should have done. He came out in support of KNIC even before community meetings took place. In other words, he did not care about what the community had to say. He did what HE wanted to do with no regard for the community's wishes. 

This is a perfect example of why Changing Bronx Politics (CBP) was founded: to call out those elected officials who think they are Gods and could run over the community however and whenever they feel like it. CBP hopes that other media outlets, specifically the major outlets like NY Daily News, NY Times, NY Post, and the television stations pick up on this and go out to the community so they can see that the community WILL NEVER SUPPORT KNIC. 

There is a little hope for the community: his name is FERNANDO CABRERA, the Councilman who represents the district where the Armory is located. Cabrera has yet to make his position public and we hope that he does not give in to the pressures of the Borough President and the two other elected officials who are supporting KNIC: Senator Gustavo Rivera and Assemblyman Jose Rivera (no relation). 

The Borough President must be reminded that the Armory 

IS NOT 385 Great Plains Road!

CBP will continue to lead the effort AGAINST KNIC and we hope that others have the courage to fight as well.