Danny’s bioraphy
I had a strange call last week. I say strange because in six and one half years no one has called me on behalf of Mayor Dan Rivera or his administration. Yes, it took his followers six years to figure the kind of fraud he is.
Mr. Caller asked me to stop writing about Dan Rivera and leave him alone. I was extremely surprised of the request. I paused and waited for more plead, and he continued pleading. His last plead sounded like this: “Please Dalia, stop writing about him and his lack of experience, his community development director, his flock of flunkies employees, his lack of accomplishments and his inflated resume. Please Dalia, please; we need him to get a job so we can get rid of him. Let someone else deal with him and his flunkies when he brings them to his new office”.
I thought about it, and although I have to admit that his idea was very good. I responded “HELL NO!”
Then, on Friday, January 31st, I received a press release from the governor announcing a job opening for Undersecretary of the Department of Housing and Community Development and remember that just a few days before Dan had changed his biography on the city’s website. The new version was pompous emphasizing his experience running the Stadium Courts and Market Street housing projects at the Lawrence Housing Authority as well as the real estate developments in the city. After all he considers himself an expert on affordable housing. It looked like an application for employment more than a biography.
A couple of years ago I saw his biography in Wikipedia, which was the source of jokes by lots of residents for being highly ostentatious. Now, it has been removed.
The more I dig into his statements, the more disgusted I get. I compared his new biography with the 2019 State of the City Address and I recommend that you re-read it on the city’s website to check that the items he bragged about then have not been completed even today, a year later.
For example, DPW is in the worst shape imaginable. Since Dan is the only hiring person in the city, most hires are unqualified for the positions held. His half-brother Dan Mackland Rivera was made Building and Facilities Foreman but since day one he told everyone that he was not going to do any work. The little time he spends there is doing nothing and the rest of the day nobody knows where he is or running errands for the mayor.
His other half-brother William Mackland Rivera came in telling all senior employees that he was hired by the mayor – almost like trying to bring in some kind of intimidation at the Water and Sewer Division.
There’s zero training for new hires or senior employees and taking away more benefits from a department that is already the lowest compensated in the region.
The DPW Yard is a dump. I’ve been there. The buildings are collapsing with more potholes than most streets in Lawrence.
The death of Marcos “Tony” Ruíz, a good worker due to a senseless act of violence being shot while filling pot holes was particularly difficult for the rest of them to take. There should always be a police escort when they are doing that type of street work yet there was none when that happened. DPW workers say they would like to see the same focus on their department that he is giving to other first responders.
The mayor considers himself a champion of affordable housing when the reality is that all the mill buildings converted to housing in Lawrence are market rate and low income families continue unable to pay exorbitant rents.
St. Anne’s Church meetings
It is unfortunate that the attendance to the meetings about the restoration of St. Anne’s Church was minimal. As a result of that, residents depend on misinformation from people who were not even there in some cases.
We cannot allow local politics to interfere on a privately-owned project and that’s exactly what is happening. There are rumors about the high cost of repairs and the millions that it will cost the city. There’s no truth to that.
The building is owned by Lawrence Development Group LLC and they estimate the repairs will cost approximately $17.8 million in private and public funds. For this, they have identified Federal and State Historic Tax Credits as well as New Markets Tax Credits which will provide around $10.6 million. The only request from the City is for Tax Incentive Financing, a public financing method that is used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure and other community-improvement projects in many countries, including the United States. Considering the benefits it will create cleaning up the neighborhood, upgrading property values, attracting customers to local businesses and restaurants, I believe it’s a winning proposition.
Among the concerns some people have is the homeless, prostitutes and drug addicts, I will like to point out that all the areas that have been renovated are void of those elements of society. Ever since mayor Rivera dispersed the homeless from under the bridge (to comply and satisfy one of his campaign donors who own a mill building), the north has been inundated with the homeless. People are overdosing in Burger King, McDonald’s, and other fast-food establishments. Broadway will soon fall because people will no longer want to shop due to all the issues, including level 3 sex offenders throughout the City (mostly the north).
Lawrence Redevelopment Authority
I have complained quite a bit about Evan Silverio and Alvaro Perez serving on the LRA illegally because state law and city regulations require them to be Lawrence residents and they don’t. I even spoke to District E Councilor David Abdoo who is the chairman of the Personnel Committee and he said there’s nothing he can do.
Recently, a city councilor suggested that I place it on the agenda for future discussion but I’m not going to waste my time, only to be ridiculed – again.
A few years ago, I placed on the agenda the problem we have with the television station (Lawrence Community Access Television – LCAT). I appeared before the City Council, spoke about my concerns and it was tabled. Three years later, I was at home watching the meeting when I heard them withdrawing several items that had been tabled through the years.
I heard my name mentioned and immediately thrown out. Had I known it would be brought up, I would have been there to argue about it. Do I want to do the same now with the LRA? What for?
If the city councilors don’t care about following the laws, let the abuses continue because I can see the public couldn’t care less also.
