You should know that Alexandria Ocasio Cortes (AOC) and Jamaal Bowman are two (2), out of the six (6), Democrats, who voted AGAINST the “Infrastructure Bill”, which allocates much needed funds to “Penn Station”, that will enable the construction of four (4) new Metro North train stations in the Bronx.
This “NO” vote stands as a betrayal to the residents and the constituents, who elected them to be their voice in Congress and serve the communities of Co-op City, Morris Park, Soundview, and Parkchester.
It is important for you to know that the development of these four (4) Metro North train stations will be a huge blessing for the County of the Bronx, its residents, and the city of New York as a whole.
These four (4) Metro North train stations, and the vision of bringing them to fruition, are the end result of the negotiations, conducted when I was serving as a member of the New York State Senate. It took much work, persuasion, and influence from the Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., who convinced Governor Andrew Cuomo to approve this infrastructure project and include $1.7 billion into the State’s Budget for the construction of these four (4) Metro North train stations.
The $1.7 billion assigned by Governor Cuomo for this transportation project in the Bronx, originally only included the funding for the development of these (4) Metro North stations. However, for this project to be realized, federal dollars would be needed to redevelop “Penn Station”. Only then the Bronx Metro North Project can move forward making it a reality.
It is important for you to know, that the vision of these four (4) Metro North train stations was revealed on Wednesday, January 21, 2015, during Governor Andrew Cuomo’s “State of the State Address.”
Before more than 3,000 people, among them many dignitaries, and legislators, the Governor, while announcing his plans for developing the transportation infrastructure for the Bronx, said “We want to build four (4) MTA stations in the Bronx, to open up that side of the Bronx.” Upon hearing the governor say this, I immediately shouted out “Hoo-rah!”. Obviously, I shouted loud enough to be heard by him, at which point he replied to my outburst pointing toward me, saying jokingly “I have a name for one of these stations, the “Diaz Station”, we are going to call it “Ruben Diaz Station”.”
Mr. Duncan Osborne referred to the Governor’s joke when he referred to the “Diaz Station” remark in an article, appearing in “The Gay City News”, dated Thursday, January 22, 2015. Also, Laura Nahmias from Capital News, and Mona Salama from ANM News, both tweeted about the Governor’s “joke” regarding the name of one of these stations.
Now, my dear reader, after seven (7) years of the Bronx Borough President’s office attempts to help bring this vision for the Bronx to fruition, thanks to Senator Chuck Schumer’s efforts, the “Infrastructure Bill” was recently passed, against the will of Congressmembers Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, both representatives in the area, targeted for the construction of these four (4) Metro North train stations.
I am Councilmember Rev. Rubén Díaz, Sr. and this is what you should know.
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Note: The parties named above are welcome to respond by e-mailing us at info@bronx.com.
