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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 22

Breaking news alert: It's cold! Don't put away your long johns, Bronxites, it's still very much winter here in the northern borough. Cheer up, though, tomorrow it could get up to a balmy 38 degrees.

Story of the Day:
Sidney Flores, the self-appointed guardian and watchdog of his Mt. Eden neighborhood, could be the closest thing the Bronx has to a super hero. The 52-year-old handyman who won the lottery a few years ago, spends his free time showing up at the scenes of crimes and fires and other disasters and does his best to help out. If he sees a fight or a possible drug deal or a broken street lamp, he makes a call to the proper authorities. He was instrumental in getting the Morris Mesa playground next to his apartment fixed up and cleared of drugs and prostitution. And here's the kicker: he doesn't have any political ambitions or want any adulation for his work. “I believe that when you give of yourself,” he told the Times, “it comes back to you somehow, some way.” Is this guy for real?

Quick Hits:
Police are investigating whether NYPD officers used excessive force in arresting a 19-year-old Bronxite who was held in custody for 24 hours and then released with a citation for riding his bike on the sidewalk.

NY1's Dean "the Dream" Meminger profiles the new Black History Month exhibit at the Bronx Museum. It features the work of legendary 95-year-old artist Elizabeth Catlett as well as other artists. In April, Catlett is scheduled to visit the exhibit and speak with some of the other contributing artists.  

Surprise! People aren't happy with the closing of two 6 train line stations -- Elder Ave. and St. Lawrence Ave. -- for the next eight months. 

Didn't get to this last week or yesterday, but here's a story on Bronx Councilman Fernando Cabrera's simple yet hugely helpful new piece of legislation that would require landlords to post a tenant's bill of rights in the lobbies of apartment buildings and attach it to new leases and renewals. Big news for tenants. More on this soon. 

Weather resistant birders descend on Van Cortlandt Park every Saturday morning.

On Fox's network news station in Washington, DC, "Ask Allison" answers a viewer's question about why our lovely borough is called "The Bronx"? This is a good question. Allison says it's for two reasons: because the borough's main inhabitant and land owner was Jonas Bronck, so people would say, "we're going to the Bronck's farm." It's also, because people called the river running through the borough, "the Bronx River." I believe Allison is correct, although I've always been told that it's important to note that the borough is named after the river, not Jonas Bronck. Although, if the river is named after Jonas Bronck, isn't that pretty much the same as naming the borough after the person? Where's Lloyd Ultan when you need him? Here's the video:


2 comments:

  1. Sidney was a frequent caller when we had the morning show and he is very much for real. (I wish he'd call again on the evening show!) Great guy and really cares about the Bronx.

    As for the "the"... Professor Ultan has told me many times it's because of "the" river.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I remember reading that it was officially called "The Borough of the Bronx" (after the Bronx River), but people shortened it to just "the Bronx."

    ReplyDelete

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