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askthebkbp2926bblockCM_2026-02-09-19-31-20

Great to be back with you here for Ask the borough president with Brooklyn BP Antonio Reynoso. I promised we were getting to calls before the commercial break, so you ready? I'm ready. All right, let's get to those callers right now. We'll kick things off with Carl who's dialed in from Brownsville. Carl, thank you for the call and what's your question? President tonight. Hello, how are you doing, Mr. Bell? President? I'm doing good, Carl. Nice to hear from you. OK, yes, I just want to ask, can you suggest to the MTA chairman, like before the snowstorm. You know, the bus drivers don't pull up to the curb or drop the hydraulic system to let people get on with the cane. So can you just please suggest that he have the drivers pull up to the curb and let people get off to make it more easy for them? Carl, can I, before you go, can I ask, is this in cases where like maybe there's double parking, or do you just feel in like very clear locations where they should be pulling up to the curb? They're just not doing it like, uh, or is it that they're just not doing it, OK, they're just not doing it because there wasn't no snow at the time and they just wasn't doing it. All right, so yeah, so I, I can actually directly call Johnno Libra and just let him know that we're hearing in and around Brownsville, but I'll say in Brooklyn that, uh, they're just not doing the, the curb getting off at the curb. And the hydraulic system getting low is deeply important. We've seen so many, uh, dangerous things happen when that's not the case. So I'll just ask, uh, uh, the chairman John Lieber and whoever at the MTA that would listen. Um, that we should be making sure that's not happening. We, we could do that absolutely good to hear that for Carl. It seems like a minor inconvenience, but it really comes down to accessibility at the end of the day too. It does, and we've seen like major injuries of folks who had twisted ankles and uh broken ankles and legs over, over one, the hydraulic system not coming down, but also as you get closer to the curb, there is a bump that allows for more seamless, uh, move. But if you have to get down to get back up, it could be problematic. So, uh, yeah, we, we can solve for that. That is important. The, the hydraulics exist for a reason, um, and we're supposed to pull up to the curb for a reason. So we'll, we'll follow up with that. All right, I'm sure Carl is very happy to hear that. Let's get to our next caller. We have Ala who's on the line. She has called in from Midwood tonight. Ala, thank you for the call. And what's your question for the BP? I, I, I would like to ask my. Directly to this Mr. Antonio. Yes, he's here. Absolutely. I'm here. Antonio, yes, I'm here. OK, I live in Brooklyn in Ocean Avenue, and I would like to ask you a simple question. When, uh, the government is going to be picking, I mean, the sun sanitation is gonna pick up the garbage? OK, so because we have, we have, excuse me, I'm not finished yet. We, we start to have rats. Not just in the basement because, uh, you know, we, we should make it laundry in the basement. We have laundry room. We can get through that because the rats jump on us, OK, the rats, because the garbage was inside. Now it's outside and inside. Listen, it's not, I would live here 40. 5 years never was discussing like that, never. All right, Ala, thank you for bringing that concern to our attention and a lot of similar issues with trash in the aftermath of the snowstorm, especially, I think we've been seeing. Yes, the trash is out of control. The city said that by Thursday, I believe, of last week. That all trash should have been picked up and that we will start our regular schedule so I'm surprised to hear that this is happening in Midwood, but I hope Ala stays on the line. I want her exact address because we will be calling the department of sanitation tomorrow and we'll make sure that they go down that block and they pick up trash, uh, but all trash pickups are now supposed to be scheduled, uh, during regular hours, so that's it as of Monday today. Tuesday, tomorrow, Wednesday, um, and so forth, the regular trash schedule is in order is what the city is telling us. So, uh, one, I'll address your issue individually but want the public to know that trash pickup should be done regularly. I do wanna say if you get your pick your trash picked up late, you might have to wait a little longer during the day as they get through, uh, this very difficult time with all the snow, but you should not be with the same trash you had since the beginning of the, the win the. A snowstorm so now it should have already been picked up at least once and definitely done by Thursday. So we'll be looking into your, your case specifically, but want everyone to know that regular schedule, the trash should be in regular schedule and a good reminder that if you are keeping it inside because you don't think it's getting picked up, put it outside when it's supposed to be collected. You will not be receiving fines from the city of New York for putting your trash outside, so it shouldn't be in your basement. You should be putting it outside. Uh, we have the containers at this point. I think everyone and my container was overflowing. Like there's nothing we can do there, but you should be able to put your trash outside. Do not keep it in your home and attract rats. I'm so sorry that that's happening to you and the city should do better. So we'll, we'll follow up, Ala. All right, BP, I want to get to one more caller on the line. I believe Terrence has dialed in from East Flatbush. Terrence, what's your question for the BP when you're ready? My question for the BP is that. This is a New York State problem. We had the worst snowstorm in Since 18, I am the president of, I, I am the owner of a business. We are the lifeblood of Brooklyn of the United States of Brooklyn. They have suspended alternate sides suspended, all right, but they have the parking meters. In effect, you're unable to park cars unable to park. Shouldn't we know the city needs money, but shouldn't they suspend all the parking meters also? Terrence, I appreciate the question. I don't mean to cut you off, but I do want to give the VP enough time to respond. It seems like, yes, maybe if one is suspended, the other should be too. Your thoughts? Yes, it doesn't outside of. In areas where they have parking meters, uh, there is an ability to clear snow in a way that there isn't an alternate side of the street parking. Parking meters traditionally are in business districts and larger avenues, and in those cases if they're one lane, 22 or 3 lanes, sometimes they want the cars to not be in place overnight so that they can, they can. Uh, clear the snow out, uh, up to the curb versus everywhere else in the residential neighborhoods where the snow is, uh, the parking lane, uh, so that could be one reason why they're doing it, but I agree during this time they shouldn't be charging anyone anything and if they want. to do the snow clean up they could have done it 234 days, have the the paid parking meters, but then after that suspended them again so I understand the frustration. It's very difficult. This, this is hard to manage and I really do feel like uh we're learning a lot and I hope that we do better next time. A lot of lessons to be learned from this last snowstorm. Stay with us. More ask the borough president right after this.

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askthebkbp2926cblockCM_2026-02-09-19-29-36

Welcome back to Ask the borough president here on News 12 Brooklyn with Brooklyn BP Antonio Reynoso Super Bowl last night, the Benito Bowl for many here in the city who are looking forward to Bad Bunny and Brooklyn represented in a big way on one of the biggest stages of the world. Tonita was featured as part of the performance. What does that mean to have Brooklyn represented on the world's biggest stage. And Her specifically in this moment in time, yeah, a lot of people don't know that Tonita was the first place, uh, the, the Caribbean club that she has was the the social club that she has was the first place that many Puerto Ricans came to when they got here off the island, and she helped them get jobs. She helped them assimilate. They were learning how to speak English, do everything she can to make their lives as seamless as possible, but also. Home away from home, if you go there, you feel Puerto Rico when they're there. So all this work that she's done feeding not only the homeless, if you're hungry every Sunday she used to cook and she cooks the food, and it's just like she did all this work, uh, before it was cool to get recognition for it and for Bad Bunny to find her, not now but find her before and recognize her. It's like, it was, it was about time and then to have her in the Super Bowl now everybody knows what Brooklyn looks like what. Brooklyn is about, uh, Antonita being the face of Brooklyn for Puerto Rico couldn't have happened to a better person. We're so proud, very proud. Have you spoken to her since her big moment? I don't, I don't know if she's gonna pick up my phone call anymore. Uh, she's big time now. No, she's, she's amazing. She's still humble. You meet her, she'll take everyone should go visit her, um, and, and support the great work that she's doing. But, uh, no, she's amazing. She's like auntie. Uh, she takes care of everyone, and we're very proud of her. So it's, it's amazing, so beautiful to hear and so beautiful. To hear that she has the recognition that she deserves in this big moment. I hate to kind of turn the conversation in this direction, but obviously this was a performance that was very much based in trying to unify people and based in love. And then we heard from President Trump a little while later calling it one of the worst Super Bowl performances that he's ever seen. You're running for Congress, which means you'd be down in DC with our federal lawmakers. What's your take on that response? I think it's very clear that Uh, Donald Trump, Donald Trump's objection to this is, uh, he, he dislikes the other, he hates the other. Anything that he can't connect to or relate to, he hates, and I think what Bad Bunny was trying to show is that Ame America is diverse. America has so many, um, pieces of all over the world coming together into one place that makes it amazing. You don't come to the United States anything that's one thing specific you come to New York because you wanna go to Chinatown because you wanna go to Koreatown, because you wanna go to Little Italy like that's what makes it amazing that in a couple of stops in New York City you could come to somewhere in the world and I think he did a great job of representing America. I think it's a beautiful note to end on. Thank you so much for your time, BP, and thank you all for watching. We'll see you here next time.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/858771ea-dc25-4257-a34a-37e50c7441af/858771ea-dc25-4257-a34a-37e50c7441af.transcribe

News 12's Amanda Bossard sits down with Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso to answer YOUR pressing questions in this month's edition of Ask the Borough President.

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