Senator Rivera Congratulates Borough President on Third State of the Borough Address

Bronx, NY  - State Senator Gustavo Rivera (D,WF-Bronx) attended Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.’s third State of the Borough this morning and issued the following statement in response to the address:

 “I congratulate Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. on the successes of the past year for the Bronx and the many new and exciting opportunities that he outlined for our borough during today’s address. Borough President Diaz mentioned the WIN of having Fresh Direct move to the Bronx, both in terms of the jobs it will create and bring to the Bronx, but also in terms of the long-term impact their presence and partnership will have on addressing issues of access to healthy food and produce in the Bronx.

I am very excited to be working closely with Borough President Diaz on issues of health in the Bronx and will continue to partner with him and to work to ensure that Bronxites are making healthier choices when it comes to nutrition and exercise. We will be working together to launch of our 2012 Bronx CAN Health Initiative in June and to address health policy issues as a borough with a health summit in the Bronx.

I also want to commend Borough President Diaz for staying strong in his commitment to passing the strongest living wage laws in the country in New York City and to making the Kingsbridge Armory an economic engine for the Bronx that will not only benefit investors, but that will benefit the community around it in the Northwest Bronx. It was not an easy fight, and while there is still a ways to go in the process, I believe that thanks in large part to the Borough President, the development of the Kingsbridge Armory will be one of the many exciting opportunities that we see in the Bronx in 2012.

The future looks bright for the Bronx and Borough President Diaz’s leadership has been an important part of ensuring our continued success as a borough.”