Bronx News Roundup, Dec. 1

Police arrested Tyrone Hunter, of the Bronx, yesterday in connection with a string of robberies that took place last week on the Upper East Side.

The body of a man killed in an apartment fire in Mount Eden over the weekend has been identified as 48-year-old Juan Marte, a local barber and father of three. Police are still looking for a group of teens spotted in the lobby before the blaze began.

A Bronx man has started his own theatre group, Local Celebrity Theatre. Proceeds from many of the groups' plays and performances are donated to charity; this month's original production, "Telethon for Santa,"will run at Lehman High School and will raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Police are beefing up patrols around local Catholic schools and churches after a number of them were burglarized over the last month or so.

To add to their worries: 15 Bronx Catholic schools are still in the lurch after the Archdiocese of New York announced that they may cut funding for them. A decision is expected over the next month.

Speculation over Yankees superstar Derek Jeter's future: will he leave the Bronx in search of more millions? It's unlikely, according to the Times.

Bronx Councilman James Vacca's new bill is looking to put a stop to bad landlords and shady developers. The legislation would require any developer with violation fines or debts to the city to pay up before they are allowed permits for any new projects.

Despite an economic uptick this year, stalled building sites increased across the city. There are 30 suspended projects in the Bronx.

A Bronx landscaper believed to have caused a fatal car crash on Long Island this Sunday had a bottle of vodka in his truck, according to prosecutors. Everado Nieto's blood alcohol level was within legal limits at the time of arrrest. The crash left another man dead and his wife critically injured.

Police are looking for witnesses to a fatal hit-and-run crash on the Upper West Side Friday night in order to prosecute 24-year-old Bronx resident Jessica Altruz. She's been accused of leaving the scene of a crime and who could face manslaughter charges for the accident, which killed 67-year-old Margaret Fisher.

Dave Levitt, a lifelong klezmer musician--music of Eastern European Jews--is delighting seniors at Jewish Home Lifecare on Kingsbridge Road, where he works as a "music specialist."

City Harvest, and Food Network star Ellie Krieger, gave out 20,000 pounds of fresh produce to Bronx residents on Thanksgiving.