Halloween in Norwood, the Bronx

A school night with homework deadline did not deter hundreds of children from coming out for Halloween trick-or-treating on Monday. I took these photos on Bainbridge Avenue and East 204th Street. Click here for a slide show .
The pirate's expression in the image below is exactly how I felt while making photographs on Halloween.



Rawlat.com/adi
aditalwar.blogspot.com

Bronx Events: Summer Streets Celebration on E. 204th

This Sunday, and two others this summer, a stretch of E. 204th Street will become a car-less pedestrian plaza as part of the Department of Transportation's "Weekend Walks" program.

The event is designed to highlight local shops and merchants and to bring the community together for an outdoor good time. This one will run from 12 to 5 p.m. on E. 204th Street between Bainbridge and Hull Avenues, and will feature face painting, cooking demonstrations, giveaways and more.

More events our listed in our community calendar, below.

Editor's note: What did we miss? Send details to bronxnewsnetwork[at]gmail.com.

Car Crash at Fordham Road and Bainbridge Ave [Updated]

A livery cab crashed into a department store on East Fordham Road near Bainbridge Avenue this afternoon, killing one woman and injuring approximately seven others, according to reporter David Greene, who was on the scene and took these photos.

The car smashed into Cee & Cee Department Store, at 331 E. Fordham Road, pinning one woman underneath the vehicle. She was pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital, Greene said.

Bronx Crime Watch: Police Seek Shooting Suspects

Police are still searching for two suspects involved in the post-Christmas shooting of a 16-year-old boy.

The unnamed victim, a Hispanic male, was shot once in the upper leg during a dispute with two other young men at the corner of Bainbridge Avenue and E. 212th Street, in the early morning hours of Dec. 26. The injured boy was removed to Montefiore Medical Center in stable condition, according to a spokesman for the NYPD.

Police released video surveillance stills (above) of the two suspects, who fled the scene after the shooting. Both are described as black, thinly built males between the ages of 16 and 18. One suspect was wearing a blue "varsity" jacket with beige sleeves, while the other wore a black puffy coat and was carrying a firearm.

There have been no leads and no arrests, according to police.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1 800 577 TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.

[Editor's Note:] Just a reminder to our readers that the Bronx News Network is in the middle of our annual fundraising appeal. If you value quality local journalism, please consider donating so we can continue to bring you news, and features like our daily roundup or our borough events calendar. More details on how to contribute can be found here. 

BxNN Story of the Day: Year After Halloween Fire, Still No Word on Plans for Rebuilding

The scene at the corner of Bainbridge Ave. and East 204th St. in Norwood a year after a 

devastating blaze last Halloween. (Photo by Adi Talwar)

In the early morning hours of Halloween last year, a devastating blaze leveled 10 stores -- and severely damaged 4 more -- on Bainbridge Avenue in Norwood, a lively northwest Bronx commercial corridor. While a few stores have relocated, there is still no word a year later on what the landlord has planned for the site. She hasn't returned repeated calls from the Norwood News or Community Board 7. Click here for the whole story in the Norwood News.

Meanwhile, to add insult to injury, the landlord of the adjacent stores, that were left without essential services for months, is suing the merchants for not paying rent for the time they were out of commission. More on that here.

Bainbridge Bakery to Re-open on Williamsbridge Road

The Bainbridge Bakery, which was destroyed along with nine other businesses on Bainbridge Road last Halloween, is re-opening on Saturday morning with a new a name and a new location.

The bakery, which suffered two devastating fires last year (the other happened in April) and is owned and operated by mother-son team Anna and Jon Mirdita, is reinventing itself as Anna's Bakery and Cafe. It will fill two storefronts and feature a bakery as well as a an area to enjoy sit-down dining for breakfast and lunch.

The new shop is located at 2125 Williamsbridge Road, between Pelham Parkway and Lydig Avenue.

They officially open their doors on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. Through the early morning hours, they will be offering free coffee and perhaps other goodies.

For more information, call (914) 400-4505.

Assessing The Bronx's 'Most Dangerous Road'

 

 In a recent study, Gun Hill Road, especially the section between Bainbridge and Webster Avenues in Norwood, was named the Bronx’s most dangerous street for pedestrians and drivers. (Photo by Adi Talwar)

By Alexander Gibbons

In 2006, Ellen McHugh, 66, was struck by a city bus while crossing the intersection at Bainbridge Avenue and Gun Hill Road. She died soon after. Six weeks before that, another senior, Kenneth Filacchione, was killed in a hit-and-run accident at the same intersection. A total of five pedestrians were killed on Gun Hill Road in 2006 and 2007.

Because of this cluster of deaths and a total of 57 serious accidents between 2006 and 2008, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign (TSTC) named Gun Hill the most dangerous street in the Bronx, with the intersection at Bainbridge Avenue being particularly perilous.

The Grand Concourse and Broadway (where two women were struck by a vehicle last Friday) were named the Bronx’s second and third most dangerous roads, respectively.

While acknowledging the inherent dangers associated with Gun Hill Road, some local observers contend the traffic safety issues are compounded by impatient drivers and pedestrians putting themselves and others in harms way.

The Gun Hill Road corridor snakes, east to west, through the north Bronx for 3.5 miles, ending just short of Mosholu Parkway. Along this route are several schools, a Metro North stop, a hospital, a nursing home, and over 250 businesses.

Cars, trucks and buses jockey for position on the busy 4-lane road while hurried pedestrians cross during lulls in traffic, regardless of whether or not they see a “walk” sign.

Maribele Gonzales, a crossing guard with the 52nd Police Precinct who overlooks the corner of Kings College Place and Gun Hill Road, sees the congestion every day. “There’s too much traffic, in the morning and in the afternoon,” says Gonzales.

What Did You Do for St. Patrick's Day?

Tell us your St. Patrick's Day stories, especially if you spent it in the Bronx.
I just came home from An Beal Bocht in Riverdale, where Mary Courtney and John Redmond were holding court, playing some awesome Irish jigs and reels and other tunes. I first saw Mary Courtney play around 1992 at the Village Pub on Bainbridge Avenue (later became DOD's) when there were probably 25 Irish bars on Bainbridge Ave./204th St. That whole scene moved up to McLean Avenue in Woodlawn on the Bronx/Yonkers border. Alex Kratz of the Norwood News looked back on the Irish influence in Norwood and Bedford Park in this article from a couple of years ago.
Happy St. Patrick's Day. Let us know how you spent it ...

Double Trouble and Still a Mess

Hello? Anyone out there working for the DOT?
Two weeks ago, the Norwood News ran this picture of dangerous makeshift base of a traffic pole at the corner of East 206th Street and Bainbridge Avenue as its Mess of the Month.



And though we got action -- the action made it worse.


Someone actually added another box to the previous box and put some pylons and police tape around it!
This might seem like not a big deal, but it's indicative of the way our neighborhoods are often ignored by city agencies.
We're hoping we don't have to blog about this again next week.