May's Mount Hope Monitor

The May edition of the Monitor is now online. This month, stories include:

In Mount Hope, a Nonprofit Collaboration
Several Bronx-based community development organizations have begun holding monthly meeting at Mount Hope Housing Company’s offices on Morris Avenue, to discuss ways they can join forces and survive the economic downturn.

'No Hitting Zone’ at St. Barnabas
At St. Barnabas Hospital’s Child Advocacy Center, the “No Hitting Zone” is not only an area where parents are asked not to swat their kids, but a larger initiative to create healthy family relationships.

Murdered Toddler Remembered
In Mott Haven, recently, 32 children lay down on a sidewalk and played dead. The “lie in,” on 141st Street at Beekman Avenue was held on April 16 to mark the second anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre in which 32 people were killed, as well as the third anniversary of a Bronx tragedy: the murder of two-year-old David Pacheco.

Roberto Clemente’s Pools Won’t Open This Summer
In summers past, when the mercury climbed to blistering highs, west Bronx residents could cool off in Roberto Clemente State Park’s Olympic-size swimming pool, beside River Park Towers at the edge of the Harlem River. From late June through Labor Day, it attracts hundreds of visitors a day. But not this year: the pool will be closed for renovations.

Opinion: Public Education at a Crossroads
Vincent Wojsnis, a Bronx middle school teacher and a UFT chapter leader, believes mayorol control of the city's public schools - which is up for review in June - has been a disaster.

Man Tried to Hire 'Hit man'
A Davidson Avenue man, languishing on Rikers Islands on a rape charge, attempted to have the woman he’s accused of raping murdered, police say.