Little Yemen cultural district draws objections from a Van Nest group; Assembly Member Zaccaro responds

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation on Oct. 18 allowing the Little Yemen neighborhood in the Bronx to be designated a cultural district, her office announced. The bill is A7033D/S6487C. According to the governor's office, cultural organizations in the district may be eligible for state grant assistance, and the district will run from White Plains Road on the west to Bronxdale Avenue on the east and north, and Van Nest Avenue on the south.

News 12 reported that not everyone in the neighborhood supports the designation. It said members of the Van Nest Neighborhood Alliance had spoken against the move for weeks. Alliance vice president Sharlene Jackson Mendez asked why millions of taxpayer dollars needed to go to nonprofits, saying, "That wasn't done for the Italians, the Germans, the Jewish, the Blacks, the Puerto Ricans who sustained Van Nest over 134 years." Alliance president Bernadette Ferrara said, "We were kept in the dark so this could be fast-tracked and get signed." Jackson Mendez called the process "a civil rights violation because we were not treated equitably." News 12 said the group plans to explore legal action.

In a statement to News 12, Assembly Member John Zaccaro Jr., who sponsored the bill, said his office met the group, gave written answers to outstanding questions, and offered several chances to meet with senior staff in August that the group declined. He said his office also discussed the legislation at Van Nest Neighborhood Association and Community Board 11 meetings, and that the group "waited until the legislation had passed both houses to voice its objections."

The Bronx Times reported on Oct. 20 that some community members used Bronx Community Board 11 meetings to oppose the bill, claiming the Yemeni American community has not contributed culturally to the area. The paper said further comments "veered off into Islamophobic rhetoric," with some members linking the Bronx Yemeni community to terrorist organizations and the Sept. 11 attacks. The Bronx Times also reported that Zaccaro denied the group's claim of exclusion at a Sept. 25 Community Board 11 meeting, saying he met with the group in the summer and had a follow-up meeting.

The Bronx Times reported that the alliance said Zaccaro briefly mentioned the legislation at its community meeting earlier this year, and that, according to Facebook posts, the alliance called the bill's passage a "betrayal." Yahay Obeid, president of the Little Yemen Neighborhood Council, told News 12 the funding could support culture and the arts and "will bring tourism. It'll expand the businesses. It'll bring more jobs."