BX biz leaders jeer de Blasio over crime, quality of life ahead of tour

Mayor Bill de Blasio is in for an old-fashioned Bronx cheer when he tours the borough this week, with many business owners and residents demanding he do more to combat rising crime and declining quality of life.

As part of the “City Hall in Your Borough” initiative, the lame-duck mayor on Tuesday will visit the Boogie Down, where locals say prostitution, illegal vending, homelessness and drug-dealing have gotten out of control, while extortionist gangs run the streets.

“Let the NYPD do its job,” Michael Brady, head of the Third Avenue Business Improvement District, fumed to The Post ahead of Hizzoner’s visit.

“A lot of our property owners feel as if [the] NYPD’s [been] neutered over recent City Council legislation and also the whim of the mayor,” he said, citing a new law that removed police from street-vendor enforcement and de Blasio telling cops to stop making marijuana arrests.

The area, known as “The Hub” and the “Broadway of The Bronx,” is one of the largest commercial strips in the borough.

The BID — which includes dozens of representatives from both national corporations such as Bank of America and local mom-and-pop shops including Yvette Jewelers — wrote the mayor and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson last week begging for “a tangible, action-driven plan to assist us in addressing these damning concerns immediately.”

The business leaders cited three to five drug overdoses daily in the district, prostitution at a local hotel, unlicensed street hawkers and street toughs trying to extort small businesses.

“Gang members harass and control streets and public places, with many attempting to exercise influence over small businesses,” they wrote.

NYPD at the scene of a shooting in the Bronx on July 15, 2021.
NYPD at the scene of a shooting in the Bronx on July 15, 2021.
Christopher Sadowski

Drug use is also said to be widespread.

“We have a lot of people nodding off and overdosing in a public plaza,” Brady said, alleging that dealers camp outside methadone clinics to sell users pot, K2 and fentanyl-laced drugs.

“If you’re a shopper or visitor taking the train and you see people lying on the sidewalk overdosing, that’s problematic,” he said.

Major crime is up across the board in the borough so far this year, with the lone exception of burglaries.

Murders have jumped by 40 percent, grand larceny auto has increased by 54 percent, and robbery is up by 10 percent, according to year-to-date NYPD statistics current through July 18.

“The city needs to address quality of life,” said Brady. “I really don’t think we can move on to anything else until people feel safe to walk the streets.

“To compound matters, you have illegal vendors which are running rampant because the City Council and City Hall have let progressive soundbites lead the charge here,” he continued.

Street vendors on the sidewalk along East Fordham Road near Grand Concourse in The Bronx on July 20, 2021.
Street vendors on the sidewalk along East Fordham Road near Grand Concourse in The Bronx on July 20, 2021.
Stephen Yang

The city’s Department of Consumer Affairs and Worker Protection took over the responsibility of enforcing street-vendor rules from the NYPD after the arrest of a churro seller sparked outrage on Twitter last year.

Raymond Cuaya, owner of the Coffee Delight diner near the Hub, lamented of the area’s issues, “All this impacts my business because it’s a lot of crime going on around here.

“I cannot bring tables right outside because there they shoot up in the street. They run and sit down over there, so the people are afraid to come over and eat.”

Cuaya, 51, said that the trouble has worsened amid strained relations between de Blasio and the police — whose visits to his diner to collect surveillance footage of nearby crimes have become commonplace.

“Everybody knows what’s going on. They see what happened when [de Blasio] turned his back on the police,” he said. “It’s getting worse, it’s getting worse. The police are coming here to ask for the footage from the camera right outside because too many things happen outside.”

Raymond Cuaya, owner of the Coffee Delight in the Bronx, complained about crime hurting his business.
Raymond Cuaya, owner of the Coffee Delight in the Bronx, complained about crime hurting his business.
KEVIN C DOWNS

Everyday Bronxites agreed with the business owners’ assessments.

Sawne Maria Pair, who lives just a few blocks from the Hub in Mott Haven, said crime in the area has become “terrible, horrible, horrible.

“For me as a mother, as a female, I’m literally scared to even come outside, to even go to the store right now,” Pair, 50, told The Post. “That’s how bad it is.”

She said the buck stops at City Hall.

“It starts with him,” said Pair, referring to de Blasio. “He can help by doing what he’s supposed to do as mayor, for the people.

“It bugs my soul to know that this man is in office and he’s not doing what he’s supposed to do. Enough is enough.”

A spokeswoman for Council Speaker Johnson, a Manhattan Democrat, vowed action.

“The situation at the Hub is unacceptable,” she said in a statement. “No one should be subjected to harassment, gang activity and crime.

“The Speaker supports Council Members [Rafael] Salamanca and [Diane] Ayala in their efforts to address these issues and their call for a comprehensive plan to address the concerns detailed in this letter. The plan needs to be targeted to the area and involve multiple city agencies,” she continued.

“It should set clear and transparent targets that should be communicated publicly so that these businesses and residents can see what’s working and what isn’t. These problems aren’t new but have been exacerbated by the pandemic. They need to be addressed immediately and transparently.”

Mayoral spokesman Mitch Schwartz said City Hall was “in touch with the group to better understand their concerns and take action.

“Building a recovery for all of us means leaving no community behind, and we’re committed to addressing quality of life concerns across the neighborhood and borough,” he added.

Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy

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