Three outspoken critics of a proposal to move the Zerega neighborhood from Community Boards 9 and 11 to Board 10 recently learned they will not be reappointed to their board seats.
Former Board 10 chairman Tony Cannata, and members Thomas Vecchio and Margerie Jeffreys, received their grim notices in Federal Express packages from the office of Borough President Fernando Ferrer.
At a hearing last Tuesday on the proposal, Vecchio gripped the package, pointed to the $25.50 charge at the corner and exclaimed, "This is a total waste of money -- especially during a budget crisis."
Cannata had stronger words about Councilman Michael DeMarco."I'm calling DeMarco a back-stabbing, lecherous, no-good, bad-mouthing -- put whatever you want -- I'm saying it," he said.
DeMarco responded by saying that if the three board members had been more concerned with the community and the interest of the East Bronx and not in themselves, they would have been reappointed to the board. He added, "They made this a personal issue."
The proposal has seared divisions among residents of the East Bronx since it was first put on the table last April. Every 10 years the City Council is required by charter to re-examine the boundaries of community board districts.
The council must vote on the proposal by June 10. As the deadline approaches, Council members are focusing on whether the proposal will cause two social service agencies to lose federal funding.
If the proposal passes, the East Bronx Council on Aging and Regional Aid for Interim Needs, which serves senior citizens, would fall inside Board 10's boundary lines. Once there, they could lose about 5 percent of their funding. To qualify for federal grants, an agency must operate in a district where 30 percent of the population earns below the federal poverty level.
District 10, including Throgs Neck, Pelham Bay, Castle Hill and Co-op City, does not meet this criteria. The Westchester, Parkchester, Unionport and Castle Hill neighborhoods in Board 9 have eight times more residents on public assistance than Board 10.
At the hearing, Warren Whitlock, the commissioner of the Community Development Administration, which allocates the federal grants, said he is looking into other funding formulas. "It appears very strongly that these agencies will not lose funding, but that remains to be determined," he said.
Asked if she was assured by Whitlock's testimony, City Councilwoman Lucy Cruz, who represents an area that includes District 9, fired back, "No I was not. I am not going to allow a window of opportunity to take away funding from our seniors."
This matter, as well as worries that police and sanitation services will be strained, have some Zerega residents opposed to the move.
Supporters believe the proposal would help by balancing populations among the districts and ensuring better services for the Zerega neighborhood.
But the day after the hearing, Alison Gran, the president of the Merchant's Association of Westchester Square, said: "This is not a test balloon we can send out and see how it goes. Once they decide, we'll have to live with this for 10 years -- right or wrong."