Constantine for City Council
I'm running for City Council to stop corruption and put an end to the Diaz dynasty. I think it's time for some fresh blood, and for someone who understands the Bronx and not just politics! I always come home to the Bronx. I am always filled with a deep appreciation and fondness for the realness of my neighborhood. I am motivated by the work ethic. People here don't waste time. They work hard, play hard.
FOR WORKING IMMIGRANT FAMILIES. People in my neighborhood work hard. They work the hardest of anybody of all, and they deserve a break when it comes to paying up to the government! They're hard working families from all over the world, trying to be left in peace. I will make sure that residents go unmolested by anyone who abuses his authority, especially Donald Trump and his deportation goons!
FOR POLICE REFORM. Something is going on in our community, and I ain't talking about Marvin Gaye. People trust their police less than ever. I'm going to make sure there's strict oversight of police activities and some blunt truth about what's happening between community members and the police! We are good people up in the Block. The law should be on our side.
FOR EDUCATION. Let's be honest here. Schools could use some work! Bronx kids are some of the most mentally developed, creative youth in America. There needs to be diversity, not of something superficial like race, but a diversity of personality, so that kids can learn to appreciate and cooperate with people of other types! Most of us aren't even ready for college when we hit 18. I am going to go down there and scare them into some basic common sense. Kids are curious about the world, they're just distracted. We need to restructure the learning environment.
BIOGRAPHY
I'm Eisley Constantine, and I am running the be your Member of the City Council representing District 18, in The Bronx!
As a Member of the New York City Council I will make decisions on the basis of what I know will make Parkchester a safe, fun and livable community hub, and keep Soundview, Clason Point, Harding Park and Castle Hill safe, affordable and family friendly, so we can go on with the rest of out lives and continue to shine out as a diamond example of honesty and diversity that the rest of the country can witness!
The Bronx is famous. Famous for its attitude and for sticking up for itself. I won't let Ruben Diaz Senior and Junior, the mafioso Godfathers of the Bronx, turn this place into a gentrified mini-Brooklyn!
See what they're trying to do!
Boro Prez Ruben Diaz Jr Denies Gentrification in The Bronx; Here’s Our List Proving Him Wrong
I moved to the Bronx when I was twenty. A loving Dominican immigrant family on Castle Hill took me in. My first career was as a photographer. After that, I worked as an activist for human rights. I also went to a lot of revolutions and reported on them as a video journalist. It taught me a lot about the world, and about people. Insights that could be useful as a City Council Member.
I will attract companies to District 18 and help grow the next generation of small businesses while investing in the infrastructure, public transportation alternatives, open space and cultural attractions (including a movie theatre) that make Parkchester, Soundview and Castle Hill an even more fabulous place to live, work, and play. Together with the city I will work hard to ensure our government is more effective, can deliver better services to all at better prices, and is more open and observant of the will of the public.
By adding 200 hours to the school day and year, I’ll be taking the Bronx’s school districts from having the least educational contact time in the city to being on par with its peers. I will support Bill DeBlasio’s plans to roll out full-day kindergarten and Pre-K for every New York City child, and I will fight for and win new measures to ensure every teacher and principal has the necessary resources to succeed.
My comprehensive public safety strategy will focus on expanding prevention programs for at-risk youth, smarter policing strategies with greater transparency, and empowering parents and communities to reduce violence in their vicinities.
By focusing on living quality, education, and public safety, I intend you will personally witness a transformation over the course of my tenure as a City Council Member.
Before running for City Council I served as legislative assistant to Senator David Haley of Wyandotte County, Kansas, helping to protect communities from hate crimes and tackling such delicate challenges as repairing frayed relations between communities and their police departments. I worked for some of the nation's leading media outlets, and I have no mistaken conceptions about the want of thorough information they leave many Americans, and yet the extent to which these large institutions shape our views and daily lives. My global perspective comes from my experience searching for understandings throughout in the wider world, in places such as China and post-revolution Ukraine. I graduated from Regent’s American College London and received a Bachelor's Degree in Communication and International Affairs, with subsequent studies in economics at Johns Hopkins University. I am in a happy young relationship, and I live with a Dominican family here on Castle Hill.
PROPOSALS
★Diversity of Education Options
I'm open to a variety of options in education, so every child can learn in a way that suits them. I believe in making public schools perform better by working smarter. Teaching professionals should be trusting their innate feelings more as educators, not following instructions designed to make it look like they're doing it right! Sometimes government regulators just have no common sense.
Bringing vocational schools and curriculum option into full effect is the number-one thing on my to-do list! High school-aged kids in public schools should get the opportunity to learn construction, programming, and other real world vocational skills before adulthood. Everything I've ever been paid to do I learned during my teen years. So did Benjamin Franklin, the American founding father; Roberto Clemente, the legendary marine and baseball all-star; Lin-Manuel Miranda, the historic playwright!
I'm willing to have a word with Bill De Blasio about charter schools. For now I'm open to them. I think they're not such a bad thing. I wouldn't want to take them away from the people who like them. And I wouldn't take them away because someone else can't afford to use them, that would be against the law. You see this tie that I'm wearing? I got it at 33 and Lex for seven dollars. Just because you don't have a tie this good doesn't mean somebody can come in and take my tie away!
What matters at the end of the day is that all of our kids get to learn in a way that works, and gives them enormous confidence to succeed anywhere else in the entire world. That lets them know they can learn to do anything that can be learned by anyone else, and that puts the best chance of success within the reach of every one of them!
★Protecting mom and pop shops
I love local businesses. They're what give the Bronx its public face, it's no-fuss attitude, and its one of a kind personality!
Parkchester is losing 38 mom and pop shops to developments: Mom and pop shops that have been there for decades and some for almost 60 years like Harmony Records, have been evicted to make way for a new commercial development when the buildings were sold in a $15 million deal.
And the worst part is, the businesses that are replacing them are rubbish!
That's why I'm going to slam a 15% franchise tax on major commercial chains that want to do business in our borough without community support! That will either drive the big fish out or have them carry the weight of the little guys who need to meet those tax thresholds to keep their doors open.
Ruben Diaz won't do that! He's about putting you tiny guys away to move over for the brandname with a big pocket book! This guy.
★ MTA Alternatives
81% of the Bronx commutes every day. Local authorities have little power over the MTA's train or bus services, which are operated by a private company based in Albany, New York.
But the community can do something to take transportation options into its own hands.
For non-drivers, the six train is the essential way most commuters get in and out of the city. It has a habit of being out of service for repairs though, which is a shame because many, many of us count on it! The six train runs 750 services and ferries 12,000 passengers between midnight and midnight each day. It is the only train servicing our district, and is considered the gateway to Manhattan.
Many commercial and small businesses make their home along the wake of this vital artery.
Additionally, The City Council has the power to assign budget funds for road improvement and companies responsible for these improvements. Under previous administrations, parts of our district were neglected. Repairs were carried out on a viciously frugal budget, leading to unsatisfactory maintenance and disappointing a lot of residents.
Having heard my constituency's complaints, there is a lot I can do to fix this, and get our road improvements back on schedule.
The most common six train closures occur north of Parkchester. To restore service to the most injusticed commuters, we will construct bicycle lanes to provide a convenient and time-saving alternative, as well as funding private, automobile replacement services for times of repair.
WHY
Frequent train delays hang up on everyone's days, personal lives and careers.
Potholes are a blight on the community, which residents deserve to see fixed at a bare minimum, as they harm the community aesthetic and discourage further investment in the area.
EFFECT
A more connected, smoother commute for you and I, and a better value for our daily life in Parkchester, Soundview, Clason Point, Harding Park, and Castle Hill.
★ Police Officer Body Cameras
Crime is declining. However, the harmony between communities and law enforcement has recently been sorely tested. Media scandal and public trials of Bronx police officers charged with acting unsuitably in the line of duty effect our attitudes.
We need to restore trust by any means. Encouraging positive cooperation between the community and law enforcement will enable us to confront the unique risks of terrorism that arise from our nearness to some of the nation's most prolific terror targets.
Police Body Cameras are an increasingly popular law enforcement implementation designed to hold law enforcement officers accountable to their strict training in dealing with the public. Body Cameras also provide reliable testimony in the case of a criminal trial concerning the events of an uncertain interaction between citizens and police. On video.
More transparency, more law enforcement accountability, and absolute accuracy of the record, for law enforcement and communities interested in reducing crime. I am positive that police body cameras can be a cost effective and disproportionately helpful addition to modern policing and a way to restore trust between communities and the police.
WHY
Expensive trials.
Stop the Media frenzy!
Repair Citizen Cooperation with Law Enforcement against against the backdrop of terrorism.
HOW
Allocate safety funds for units' purchase and enforce officer body camera legislation.
EFFECT
A better and more transparent relationship between community members and the precincts that serve them.
★Inviting the World In
As a satellite to the most powerful city in the modern world, there is enormous potential for the Bronx to make its education system into a pathway to a lifetime of success and career achievement. Efforts must be undertaken to enhance the Bronx’s cultural value and raise its intellectual profile, so it will attract conferences, lectures and workshops that will spark the vitality of a future-oriented community, where 21st century people and their families can thrive.
We must raise the stakes and make a daring bid to attract high value events and talent to our district, so that we may share in the benefits of a reputation earned for excellence and progress, and the Bronx will be viewed as a serious launchpad for new companies and their investment and trust.
We will have more school success, better programs, more education options, better roads, a happier community, more vibrant businesses, and an overall climb in living standards which will improve property value and the financial standing of residents in our district wholesale.
★Public Security Cameras
Public Security Cameras Improve Public Safety. When we install a home security camera, we gain increased house safety - Just like that. The main benefit of surveillance cameras in public spaces is likewise an increase in public safety. Public surveillance cameras help you stay safe while clubbing, shopping, doing chores, and travelling. Cameras can be used as a way to keep an eye out for any crimes that are being committed. Panoramic fisheye security cameras put in public spaces, like a crossroad, a retail store, parking lots, museums, concert halls, do an excellent job in providing 360° seamless surveillance solutions. Additionally, crimes can be deterred before they even begin in some cases. If a suspicious individual or individuals or items are seen in an area, the appropriate authorities can be contacted to move into the area before any damage is done or any crime is committed. Additionally, any people in the area can be cleared as a precaution. Since public safety is guaranteed, people’s fear of crime can also be reduced, thus a sense of security is enabled.
CONCLUSION
Don't just read about it, do something about it! We don't have a lot of time! 200 signatures are needed by July 13th to get on the ballot. A majority of the vote will be necessary to take our council seat and make a change for the better. I firmly believe that it is time to open up more opportunities for those whose interests have long gone unrepresented, and that the best ideas deserve to be heard and championed over the most powerful voices. Let's work together and build a better block!
