On August 6 you might have seen an odd group of kids with spiked hair, chains and strange piercings walking through our neighborhood with paint cans and paint brushes. Bet you thought they were up to no good! Were you thinking “Oh my God, are they going to paint graffiti right here and in broad daylight?” Well, it just goes to show you that as the old saying goes, “You can’t judge a book by its cover!”
Sometimes we are frightened by kids that look different, especially as we get older. We have to make a special effort to remember what was in fashion when we were young and how we felt when we were judged by our clothes alone. Growing up these days is not easy. We must pull our kids into the community not push them away!
I remember that my parents were not too fond of my bellbottoms and even less fond of my boyfriend’s long hair! And I can tell you that I absolutely cannot understand how someone would want to wear their pants so low that their underwear shows. It makes me so nervous! I keep thinking that their pants are going to fall off any second! How in heavens name can that be comfortable? Comfortable or not, pretty or not, it is fashion and we must realize that what a kid wears is not their whole story.
We must draw kids into the community no matter what they wear. And on August 6 Dave Rose and Frankie Rivera from the Bronx Underground did just that! They gathered a group of “Underground” kids together that were interested in painting over graffiti and like a tornado they whirled through our community making everything in sight beautiful again. They painted 26 mailboxes, fire alarm boxes, traffic light boxes, security gates and even the doors to the Lutheran Church.
They not only helped to make our community better by cleaning up graffiti but they taught other kids that graffiti is not cool! And if you think something is not cool, you have the power to change it! By taking action to remove graffiti they have opened the doors for other kids to follow their lead. Maybe the Bronx Underground has helped to start a new movement for our youth. They have shown that they think graffiti is not cool. They have shown that kids can make a difference!
The Waterbury LaSalle Community Association would like to thank Rickie Adorno, Rosangel Dagnesses, Sinei Merlin, Alexandra Santos, Kaylee LaCroix, Cheyenne Carillo, Dillon Asencio, Christopher Vinales, Andrew Vinales and their coordinators Dave Rose and Frankie Rivera for a job well done!
Group Home
The Community Action For Human Services, Inc. is proposing that a group home for 6 developmentally disabled adults be placed at 3404 Bruckner Boulevard in Waterbury Estates. The Padavan Law states that the sponsor of a group home must notify the community of their plans before placing the home in any given area. Community Board 10 was notified on August 4. We then have 40 days to comment which would bring us to September 13. Being that our community board does not meet in the summer, our district manager has asked for an extension of time so that we may prepare a response and set up a date for a public hearing.
We will keep you informed of the progress of this project. There are many questions to be answered and much research to be done.
