On Thursday, May 7, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. attended the first public event of the Greater Riverdale Chamber of Commerce, a networking mixer at North Riverdale restaurant Madison’s.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., addresses the Greater Riverdale Chamber of Commerce at the organization’s first public event on May 7, 2009. Andrew Wolf, co-founder of the Greater Riverdale Chamber of Commerce and publisher of the Riverdale Review/Bronx Press Review, and City Councilman G. Oliver Koppell look on.

Borough President Diaz spoke during the event to roughly 60 Riverdale business leaders, touching on a variety of concerns such as rising property taxes and increased parking meter fares. The borough president also spoke about his own vision for the future of business in Riverdale and across The Bronx, as well as securing partnerships between government and private enterprise to strengthen the business climate of the entire borough.

Joining Borough President Diaz at the event were City Councilman G. Oliver Koppell, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, former City Councilwoman June M. Eisland, Andrew Wolf, co-founder of the Greater Riverdale Chamber of Commerce and publisher of the Riverdale Review/Bronx Press Review; and Stu Eber, the chamber’s executive director.

“A struggling economy cannot be an excuse to let our business districts fail,” said Borough President Diaz. “Economic development will be a high priority of my administration, and I look forward to working with the Greater Riverdale Chamber of Commerce, and similar organizations across the borough, to make The Bronx an even more attractive place to do business.”