Wall Street got $700 billion. Detroit got $17 billion. In December a little part of the Bronx got its own bailout, thanks to José E. Serrano.
The recession has hit the animal kingdom hard; last year Governor Paterson cut more than half of state aid to zoos, from $9 million to $4 million. The Bronx Zoo even launched a campaign with videos featuring animals getting laid off.
Bronx Park and the 265-acre zoo within it, stand out from the dense housing and rundown industrial zones in the 16th Congressional District, like an emerald in a pile of coal.
The Bronx River – which creates the Eastern boundary of Serrano’s district – feeds from the East River near the Rikers Island jail, up past the scrap metal yards of Hunts Point, under the Bruckner and Cross Bronx Expressways, until it reaches the 110 year-old zoo. A recent effort aimed at cleaning the polluted river – led by the Bronx River Alliance – has been successful thanks to Serrano’s skill at bringing money into his district. Three years ago biologists from the zoo discovered that a beaver had returned to the river after a 200-year absence, (the critters were once so abundant that they are a part of the city’s flag). The biologists saw fit to name the beaver José, after their representative in Congress.
So it should be no surprise that Serrano used his earmarking skills to get $1 million in federal funds for the Wildlife Conservation Society, who runs the zoo. The funds came in December in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill – H.R. 3288 – and are to be used for restoration on the Bronx River.
But Serrano probably didn’t just secure the funds out of a feeling of kinship towards his dam-building namesake. There are other incentives.
First of all, the zoo really is a huge job provider in his district. Unlike places like the Hunts Point Food Market, where most of the business owners and workers live in other areas, many of the zoo’s employees live in the Bronx. The Bronx Zoo and the New York Aquarium have a combined staff of 990 full-time and 600 part-time employees according to the Wildlife Conservation Society . New York State Senator José M. Serrano, (son of the Congressman), says that 38% of the zoo’s full-time staff, and 80% of its part-time staff live in the Bronx.
So that is $1 million for jobs at one of the few places that attracts visitors to the Bronx, (the other being Yankee Stadium). The jobs will go towards restoration of a river whose health is tied to the reputation of the human José and the life of the rodent José. Out of work residents, tourists, environmentalists and beavers all made happy. Seems like an easy move for Serrano.
Secondly, it probably doesn’t hurt that his son, the State Senator, is also Chair of the Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation Committee – and has been vocal for funding for the zoo.
So maybe big José was lending little José a hand to boost his political clout in the Borough. Or perhaps he was helping furry José increase his property value in the river. Or maybe he was just trying to get a little money into the poorest Congressional District in the country.