Bronx News Roundup, April 19

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend, now for some Bronx news!

Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo's grandson remains chief of staff even after pleading guilty to embezzling $115,000 from a Bronx nonprofit organization. Richard Izquierdo Arroyo was president of the organization at the time and is due for sentencing in June.

MS 399, located on East184th Street, is among the list of 19 middle schools and high schools Bloomberg has plans to "phase out" due to poor performance. Many of the schools have new principals and have improved but that doesn't take them off the list and it doesn't stop new schools from coming into their buildings to replace them. (This Village Voice piece was written by former Mount Hope Monitor intern Rob Sgobbo.)

Former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, who is currently the head of the White House Office of Urban affairs is rumored to be interested in running for lieutenant governor. Liz Benjamin says Carrion is bored with his job and has more details here.

The head of the Bronx Detective Bureau has been accused of sexually harassing a detective with unwanted messages and texts.

Bronx community leader Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter has announced that she will challenge State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr. in the Democratic primary in the 33rd District. (We were at the announcement and will post more details soon.) Meanwhile, Stuart Appelbaum, head of the retail workers' union, which partnered with Hunter and the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition to defeat the city's plans to turn the Kingsbridge Armory into a mall, is poised to endorse Pilgrim-Hunter.

Two men were found shot on Friday in the Edenwald section of the Bronx. Both were rushed to Jacobi Medical Center where one was pronounced dead and the other is in critical but stable condition.

Latinos Wanted! The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has enrolled 2,000 Bronx participants and is looking for 2,000 more for its Hispanic Community Health Study. The Bronx is among the four sites chosen by the NIH.

As of last Wednesday the Bronx census mail-back rate was third in the city.