With his eyes on the 2009 city comptroller bid, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr. used his annual state-of-the-borough address to tout his administration’s accomplishments and outline his plans for the remaining 600-plus days of his term.

Carrión said that during his six-year tenure, billions of dollars were invested in development, unemployment dropped, and crime rates reached historic lows. “It’s been our task to take the Bronx, that had just recently been set back by bad policy, bad politics, and bad publicity,” said Carrión, “and restore a sense of optimism and an environment of opportunity.”

Nearly 1,000 invited guests— a mix of local business representatives, educators, and elected officials— attended the address, held Feb. 8 at Fordham University.
Carrión summarized his administration’s development projects, which include nearly 35,000 new housing units, new schools and businesses, and hospital and university expansions—not to mention the Gateway Center Mall and new Yankee Stadium. Carrión said that the stadium development, which has met with criticism from some area residents, funneled over $125 million into local businesses and drew more than 25 percent of the building workforce from the Bronx.

Frank Garcia, chairman of the Bronx Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said that he was still disappointed with Carrión’s work with small business owners. “I didn’t hear what I wanted to hear,” Garcia said after the address. He hopes for greater investment in local, Hispanic-owned businesses.

Carrión also announced that the Yankee Community Foundation, the panel responsible for distributing funds from the stadium project’s community benefits agreement, would begin releasing funds this spring. “Not a cent will be lost due to start- up delays,” pledged Carrión. The agreement calls for roughly $1.2 million to be distributed annually to Bronx community groups to offset the inconvenience of the stadium construction, which began more than 17 months ago.

For the remainder of his term, Carrión said he intends to focus on four key areas: improving opportunities for youth, expanding health care employment programs, making the Bronx a leader in green development, and conducting a borough-wide quality-of-life and beautification campaign.

“Let’s get rid of the graffiti, let’s clean up the roadways, railways, and make beautiful every corner of our borough,” said Carrión. Carrión emphasized that development projects would be mixed- use, mixed- income, and “green.” Carrión also said that developers seeking funding from his office would be required to meet energy -efficiency standards. “We must do everything we can to make our city less energy-dependent and [more] clean,” he said.

Geoffrey Croft, a vocal opponent of the Yankee Stadium project and president of NYC Parks Advocates—a group that advocates for preservation of city parkland— attended the state-of-the borough address and said he was glad to hear of Carrión’s emerging emphasis on green technology. But he pointed to the removal of a large, tree-covered open space for the construction of Yankee Stadium as contradicting that emphasis. “If you want to be called green, you have to be green in all aspects, not just some,” said Croft in a phone interview.

Croft also questioned Carrión’s efforts in the Bronx park system. He said that the money spent on parks is insufficient to cover park maintenance and leads to disrepair. “Parks are important because a lot of people in the Bronx are lower-income, and parks really are their backyards,” said Croft.

During his address, Carrión said that his administration had spent $480 million on the Bronx’s parks and green areas, including planting 12,000 trees.
Walter Houston, founder and CEO of the West Bronx Local Development Corporation, pointed out that the Bronx is in a unique position for development. “It’s the last frontier in terms of development in the city,” Houston said in a phone interview. He commended

Carrión and other legislators for their efforts. Houston is involved in the Bronx’s green-collar initiative, which focuses on generating employment through environmental-friendly development.

In his address, Carrión mentioned a variety of other ventures, including a new domestic violence facility on 161st Street, providing commuter rail service to Coop City, Parkchester, and Hunts Point, and working with senior centers as they meet new reorganization requirements from the mayor’s office.

Carrión also announced plans to develop the Lower Concourse for residential and commercial purposes. Carrión said that the location, known as LOCO, should yield thousands of new housing units.

A number of Carrión’s projects involved education programs. The Bronx Haven School, —a “second chance” school that aims to provide high-school dropouts or potential dropouts with another opportunity to graduate— will open in September. Other efforts to combat the dropout rate are ongoing. Carrión said that, in 2007, his administration invested $3 million in K–12 schools and $3 million in the county’s public colleges. He said that he plans to invest $550,000 in portable science labs for Bronx middle schools.

Highbridge residents are currently working to establish a middle school in the neighborhood. “The Bronx BP has been actively involved in the Highbridge school issue,” said Anne Fenton, a spokesperson for Carrión. Fenton said her office had repeatedly made it clear to the press, the city education department, and Highbridge education advocates —through both verbal and written declarations—that Carrión supports the proposed middle school. Fenton said representatives for the borough president had met with deputy education chancellor Kathleen Grimm to express this support, and that a representative for Carrión will join Grimm for a tour of the Highbridge community on March 4.

In his address, the borough president said that his upcoming projects, which include graffiti cleanup, landmarking historic buildings, and even installing an ice skating rink at Orchard Beach, are focused on instilling pride in the Bronx. “We must take care to build the physical city,” said Carrión, “but we must also be a city that addresses the needs of the whole person.”