With his 100th day in office having just passed, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. announced today that he has allocated more than $21 million in critical funding to organizations across The Bronx as part of his FY 2010 budget requests.“There are a number of great organizations across The Bronx that are deserving of funding, I am proud that my office can play a major role in providing crucial funding to many of these wonderful institutions,” said Borough President Diaz.
In total, Diaz has committed $21,177,000 in funding to a variety of projects across the borough, including schools, park renovations, senior citizens’ services and cultural organizations, among others.
Highlights of this year’s budget allocations include $1.5 million to fund the development of the long-awaited Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club West Bronx Center, $1.2 million to upgrade the security system at the Edenwald Houses, $750,000 to purchase lab computers and cameras for the newly formed Ghetto Film School and $500,000 to renovate the library at the Grace Dodge Memorial High School.Borough President Diaz also allocated $800,000 to Out2Play, a non-profit group with a mission of delivering playgrounds to economically disadvantaged NYC public schools, for the development and renovation of playgrounds across The Bronx.
“Though I’ve only been in office for a few months, in that short time I have done everything I can to listen to Bronxites’ concerns to help communities reach their goals. We chose which organizations to fund based on those conversations, and I am happy that we were able to reach out to so many Bronxites, speak to them about the needs of their communities, and act to make these projects a reality,” said Borough President Diaz.
Saturday, August 8, was the 100th day in office for Borough President Diaz. To mark that occasion, the borough president reflected on his accomplishments as the 13th Chief Executive of the Bronx.
In just a matter of weeks, Borough President Diaz has participated in hundreds of meetings and events with Bronxites from all corners of the borough to discuss the needs of his constituents. In addition, Borough President Diaz has been hard at work helping to craft a community benefits agreement for the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory. The borough president held a successful hearing on June 24, during which he heard from more than fifty interested parties representing all sides of the development issue.
Borough President Diaz has also committed time and resources to education in The Bronx. In addition to allocating funding to schools in every corner of The Bronx, the borough president has fought for reforms to the City’s school governance law, commonly referred to as “mayoral control,” and has issued a comprehensive policy paper on the issue. And, when the State Senate failed to pass a school governance law by the July 1 deadline, Borough President Diaz wasted no time in appointing Dr. Dolores Fernandez, a highly respected and qualified educator, the Bronx representative to the newly reestablished Board of Education.
Borough President Diaz has also been planning his upcoming business summit, a priority he mentioned in his inaugural address, and has been highlighting numerous issues across the borough, such as crime, healthcare, development and the current economy, during the early part of his tenure.
In an effort to increase awareness of the services provided by the Borough President’s Office, a Public Information Desk (open daily, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) was set up in the main floor of the Bronx County Court House. Borough President Diaz wants to encourage residents to use this resource to find out about services provided by his office and to obtain referrals concerning community programs. Also, Diaz Jr increased the hours of his Constituent Appointment Office, which was formerly open to public for non-emergency related cases, Monday through Thursday. Now, the hours have been extended to Monday through Friday, from 9:00am to 5:30pm, and 6pm on Thursdays.
Borough President Diaz said that he has be thrilled by his first 100 days in his new position and that he plans to continue to reach out to Bronxites from all communities to discuss their issues and develop solutions to problems large and small.
“In my inaugural speech, I put forward an agenda of ‘One Bronx,’ meaning that the problems of one neighborhood affect all neighborhoods, and that we would all work together to solve them. I am proud that Bronxites everywhere are embracing this message, and I will continue to work hard for every Bronx resident to realize the full potential of our wonderful hometown,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.