Bronx News Roundup, Nov. 12

The NYPD detective who struck and killed a 67-year-old woman on Kingsbridge Avenue on Oct. 30, and then failed a sobriety test, has a history of alcohol abuse.

The Bronx Democratic machine demonstrated its power on Nov. 3, by helping mayoral candidate Bill Thompson secure 61 percent of the borough's vote.

Start Strong Bronx, a new youth program sponsored by Bronx Lebanon Hospital, is teaching teenagers how to form healthy relationships. (We'll have more about Start Strong Bronx in the next issue of Bronx Youth Heard, the BxNN's youth-written newspaper.)

In an editorial, The Times examines New York's electoral districts, and blames gerrymandering politicians - including the disgraced Guy Velella, a former Bronx state senator - for creating something that resembles a highly confusing jigsaw puzzle.

An elderly Riverdale man of Jewish and German origin recalls how he escaped Germany for the United States on the eve of World War II, only to return to Europe in 1943 to help the Allies win the war.

Note to Mayor Bloomberg: Bronx is Still Looking for a Change

Last week, Mayor Bloomberg narrowly secured his third term in office, no thanks to Bronx voters.

Unofficial election results show the majority of Bronx electoral districts voted overwhelmingly in favor of Bloomberg’s Democratic challenger, Bill Thompson. Now, as Bloomberg begins his third term as mayor, he faces a divided city and a discontented Bronx.

“I am totally, totally disappointed that he won,” said Kevin, a Norwood resident who refused to give his last name. “He should step down.”

“I am upset Bloomberg won,” said a Norwood resident who didn't want to be named. “We wanted someone new.”

Despite voter disappointment, few Bronx residents were surprised that Bloomberg won the election. “He has money and money can buy anything,” said Dorothy, a Norwood resident.

Kimley Jones, a Fordham resident, agreed. “Bloomberg is Bloomberg," she said. "No matter who ran against him, it wouldn’t matter.”

Residents said Thompson could have done even better if more people knew about him and his plans for office. “People know Bloomberg. They don’t know Thompson,” said Deneice Allen, a Tremont resident.

The borough's vote seemed split between income levels. Thompson enjoyed tremendous support in poorer areas such as Wakefield and University Heights, while Bloomberg won in the more affluent neighborhoods of the Bronx, including Riverdale and Morris Park.

Most Bloomberg supporters cited the mayor’s positive record in office as a reason for his successful election run. A Bedford Park resident said, “I think generally he has done a great job keeping crime low and developing abandoned properties."

“We know what to expect from Bloomberg,” said Joanna Soto, a Fordham resident.

Bloomberg voters expect a change for the better in the Bronx, and for that matter, so do Thompson supporters.

Multiple Bronx residents cited unemployment as a major issue in need of improvement. “Now, the challenge is to create jobs,” said one Bedford Park resident.

Other residents around the Bronx said they are looking for the mayor to improve education, potholes, reducing crime and monitoring the city’s police.

“If he’s going to be there another four years, he needs to do something,” said Kimley Jones.

Election Day Open Thread

[Editor's note: Here's a little snapshot from election day at a couple of poll sites in Norwood that we attached to the open thread we started earlier in the day. Reporting by Molly Ryan and Megan Taylor. The above photo is by Molly Ryan.]

Norwood Polls are Slow and Steady, But Who Will Win the Race?

On this sunny election day, in the Norwood section of the Bronx, voters are steadily trickling into polling sites.

Although neither Bloomberg, Thompson nor any other mayoral candidate coerced campaign workers to campaign in this area of the Bronx today, Norwood residents are still making their way to the polls--most with strong opinions on who should win the election.

"This is more fluid," said Sara Pierce, the poll coordinator at the St. Brendan School on 207th Street, in terms of the number of voters. "The [Democratic] primary [in September] was slow."

Sandra Robins, the poll coordinator at P.S. 94 on Kingsbridge College Place, said her poll site was considerably slower than last year during the presidential election. "It all depends on who is running," said Robins. "If they don't like who is running, they stay away from the polls."

Bill Friedheim did not appear to like the mayoral candidates, but he still came out to vote. "I'll vote for Thompson--not enthusiastically, but I'll do it," he said. "It is obscene how much the mayor spent on his campaign and overturning term limits."

Another Norwood voter, Tom Karas, said, "Bloomberg did some good things, but some bad things too. I don't think he deserves a third term."

Despite these residents' views on Bloomberg, many other Norwood residents support the current mayor in his reelection campaign.

"I feel that I should vote for the guy who is doing good," said Margaret Matos, who brought her young granddaughter, Asia Harris, to watch her vote at the polls. Matos did not mind that Bloomberg overturned term limits. "He has a lot of money, he doesn't need to be doing it," she said. "He keeps doing a good job."

Some residents voted for Bloomberg simply because they were unfamiliar with other mayoral candidates.

"I really don't know much about the other candidate, " said Louise Carrington, who cast her vote for Bloomberg.

According to Marist poll released on October 30, Bloomberg has a slight lead over Thompson in the Bronx.

Maria Almo, a grandmother who was manning the voting booths at the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, said that while the polls had been busiest in the morning, with people lining up before 6 a.m., she had seen a steady stream of voters all day.

"I've been kept very busy," she said. "But most people seem to know their districts and where they need to go. If they didn't, I would have a long line today."

***

Who are you voting for today? Why?
What are you seeing at the polls? Any problems?
Comment away.

Bronx News Roundup, November 4

Just in case you have not heard, Michael Bloomberg won yesterday's mayoral election and secured his third term in office. The Associated Press reports that districts with large Hispanic populations in the Bronx voted primarily for Bloomberg's Democratic challenger, Bill Thompson. Bloomberg defeated Thompson by a margin of 51% to 46%.

Septeto Nacional Ignacio Pineiro, a tradional Cuban music enemble will perform at the Hostos Center for Arts and Culture on Saturday. The ensemble, which has been in existence for 83 years, last performed in the United States in 1933.

A South Bronx-based Puerto Rican theater company, Teatro Pregones, will present their most recent musical, "Aloha Boricua," tomorrow in celebration of their 30-year anniversary. The musical, performed in English and Spanish, tells the story of Puerto Ricans who traveled to Hawaii in 1900 to work on sugarcane farms.

Tonight is Game 6 of the 27th World Series. Yankees pitcher Andy Petite will face off against Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez at Yankee Stadium.

Despite the Yankees' baseball success this year, Yankee merchandise stores surrounding the new Yankee Stadium are not faring well in the bad economy. Merchants believe that fans prefer to buy their Yankee merchandise at the Stadium itself.

Riverdale is home to a large number of Ugandan Jews. Read more here.

Yesterday, police arrested a 40-year old Bronx man and charged him with the murder of his 22 year-old live-in female companion, Margarita Feliciano.

Police found human bones in Seton Falls Park on Monday.

Baez in Bloomberg's Camp

We've been hearing rumors all week that Maria Baez - the soon to be out of a job councilwoman - has decided to pull an Oliver Koppell, and support Mayor Bloomberg for reelection, instead of fellow Democrat Bill Thompson.

Well, the rumors are true.

"She's definitely with the mayor," said a Baez staffer I spoke with this morning, who asked that his name not be used. He said the councilwoman wants her constituents to know about all the good things Bloomberg has done for the 14th District.

It wasn't always this way. During the primary, Baez listed Thompson as one of her supporters, and plastered his face all over her campaign literature. And, until a few weeks ago, her name appeared on Thompson's list of official endorsers. (Today, she's nowhere to be found.)

I wonder what caused the change of heart? Or, to be cynical, what might be in it for her?

Several other Bronx pols also appear reluctant to back Thompson. On his campaign Web site, the following are conspicuous by their absence: Congressman Eliot Engel, Assemblyman Nelson Castro, State Senator Pedro Espada, Assemblymember Carmen E. Arroyo, and Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo.

I should add that - as with Baez - none of the above appear on Bloomberg's list of endorsers, either.

Just Asking ...

Have any of you received a stitch of campaign mail from Bill Thompson? Let us know.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the election a week from Tuesday? Are we going to get an avalanche the last few days of the campaign when Bloomberg is sure to continue his inundation of New Yorkers' mailboxes with literature assailing his challenger, and when it will surely be harder for Thompson to get voters to form a positive impression of him?

Mayoral Campaign Hits Bronx Streets: Bikers for Billy Roll Down Concourse; Bloomberg Heckled in Morris Park

This past Saturday afternoon, a group of Bronx bikers, mostly young people, worked the Grand Concourse for Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson like it was their own personal campaign trail.

Yorman Nunez, a former City Council candidate in the 14th District who is now working on the Thompson campaign team, organized the outreach, calling it "Bikers for Billy."

The Thompson campaigners wore t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Eight is Enough," a dig at Mayor Bloomberg, who pushed an unpopular term-limits extension bill through the City Council last fall so he would be eligible for re-election.

Nunez said his bikers travelled south on the Grand Concourse, from Van Courtlandt Avenue (nearly Moholu Parkway) to 138th Street. In addition to wearing Thompson t-shirts and handing out campaign literature, the bikers chanted: "What do we want? Bill Thompson! When do we want him? Now!" and also, "Eight is Enough! Bastante Ya Con Bloomberg!" (literal english translation: "Enough with Bloomberg Already!")

Bronxites Mad at Bloomberg

Meanwhile, on Sunday afternoon, Bloomberg parachuted (not literally) into Morris Park for a brief march in the annual Columbus Day Parade. Thompson didn't make it.

Before the mayor jumped back into his black SUV, Bloomberg was heckled by about a dozen protesters (and one dog) upset with the city's opening (without community notification) of several new homeless shelters in the borough, according to reporter David Greene.

-Photos by David Greene

John Bonizio, of the Westchester Square Merchants Association, called Bloomberg a "traitor," adding, "His coming up to this middle class neighborhood to march in a parade for votes is disrespecting us, with what he's getting ready to do to this neighborhood."

Bloomberg walked with Bronx GOP head Jay Savino, just ahead of a crew of Bronx Democrats, including Councilman Joel Rivera, State Senator Jeff Klein, Assemblyman Michael Benadetto, Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., and State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

Filter Plant Cost Overruns: Either Incompetence or Lies, Comptroller says

Yesterday, at a lunchtime press conference downtown, Comptroller Bill Thompson re-confirmed long-held suspicions by local watchdogs and activists that, from the beginning, the Croton Water Filtration Plant project has been, and continues to be, a huge, money-eating distaster.

Thompson's office completed two separate audits on the project, one concerning the pace of the project and another concerning the cost of the project.

"What we found was an embarassment," Thompson said, calling out the succession of commissioners at the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Mayor Mike Bloomberg for their roles in mismanaging the project.

Thompson, a Democrat who is running for mayor, said the cost of the plant's construction will exceed $2 billion, more than double the original estimate included in the DEP's final Environmental Impact Staement (FEIS). If you include all the other costs associated with the project, the total pricetage is nearly $3 billion.

This isn't exactly news. We've been reporting this fact for two years. But what is interesting is how wildly innaccurate and vague the FEIS was in the first place. When asked about some of the numbers included in the cost estimates, DEP officials simply could not explain how they came up with them, said Deputy Comptroller John Brown.

Brown said the estimates in the FEIS were "deeply flawed."

The agency also changed its story as it attempted to defend some of the audits findings. For example, Brown said that when the Comptroller's office first asked DEP officials about how they came up with the cost of the plant and why its so much higher than the estimate, they said the estimate was based on just 30 percent of the completed design, which is a low percentage. Then, when the auditors went back to them to say that explanation still didn't make up for all the extra costs, the DEP responded by saying, actually, the estimate was based on just 10 percent of the design.

Even given this explanation, Brown said there are still hundreds of millions of dollars in rising costs that the DEP couldn't expalin.

Bronx Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz, a long-time and vocal critic of the filtration plant, went a step further, saying at the press conference that the DEP deliberately "low-balled the estimate at Van Cortlandt Park" and inflated the cost of building it elsewhere in order to sell the project to the public.

Thompson let Dinowitz do the accusing, but said it was the result of "either incompetence or lies," adding that he believed that, in either case, the DEP "misled the public." Dinowitz said it was probably "incompetence plus lies."

"This is the biggest boondoggle in the history of New York City, and we've had plenty of boondoogles in New York City," Dinowitz said.

The DEP has blamed the cost overruns on inflation and escalating construction costs, which were not figured into the agency's calculations. They've also said the original design estimates for the plant were conceptual so they could compare the costs of building at different sites.

But the DEP should have included inflation in its estimates, as well as a range of cost estimates based on design changes that may occur. Brown said all city projects normally include inflation and re-design cost estimates and that the filtration plant should not have been any different.

Thompson said the city might face up to $10 million in addition fines because the project won't be completed by the federally-mandated deadline of October 2011. The audit said the project wouldn't be completed until April 2012.

His office offered 16 recommendations as to how the DEP could remedy the situation, including seeking a waiver for any potential penalties due to delays, immediately completing any outstanding designs and awarding contracts for reamainign off-site work, incorporating a construction schedule to meet certain deadlines and overseeing the work of consultants who do any future cost estimates.

Armory Alliance Puts Living Wage Issue On a Bigger Stage

Last night, the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) held a rowsingly star-studded rally to promote its push for living wage jobs ($10 and hour, plus benefits) at the Armory.

As we said yesterday, Community Board 7 voted to conditionally approve of the Related Companies' plan to turn the Armory into a shopping mall, but they did not include any language about requiring the developer, in a binding Community Benefits Agreement (CBA), to provide living wage jobs at the Armory once its up and running.

A couple of months ago, the Norwood News ran an unpopular (and perhaps misleading) headline that essentially said hopes for living wages at the Armory were dead. But based on last night's rally, where more than 500 local residents and activists showed up to voice their support for living wage jobs, I'd say hope is definitely still alive.

Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson made a brief cameo to voice his support for KARA and living wage jobs at the Armory, criticizing his opponent Mayor Bloomberg in the process. Given Bloomberg's staunch opposition to benefits agreements and friendly ties to Related and other developers, the living wage requirement could become an issue with legs that plays out as the campaign unfolds this summer.

Stuart Applebaum, the head of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which has endorsed Thompson (despite heavy lobbying from Bloomberg's camp), also offered its support for KARA.

Enjoy the slideshow. All photos by Adi Talwar.

NY Dems to Senate: Confirm Sotomayor (and quickly)

Don’t even think about blocking her.

That was the message Rev. Al Sharpton, Bronx BP Ruben Diaz, Jr. and others, wanted Republicans to hear loud and clear yesterday morning.

They had gathered for a press conference at Bronxdale Community Center in Soundview to urge the Senate to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor – who grew up in a nearby housing project – and to do so swiftly, before the August recess.

“We’re here today to say ‘put politics aside, put the politics of destruction aside,’” said City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Bill Thompson. “We’ve already started seeing people like Rush Limbaugh and others start to come out and say no. What we say to them is stop and stop now… let us [confirm] somebody who truly embodies the American dream.”

Sharpton touted Sotomayor’s experience as a judge and said there “should be no questions on either side” about her capabilities. Republicans shouldn’t have any complaints, he said, because Sotomayor was first appointed to the federal bench by one of their own, President George H.W. Bush.

Sharpton said he would lead a delegation to Washington D.C. to ensure her confirmation goes smoothly.

Here’s a news roundup we posted earlier today on all things Sotomayor.



TOP PHOTO: Ruben Diaz Jr. is at the mic. Second from left is Thompson and second from right is Sharpton. On the right is Annabel Palma, a Bronx council member whose district includes Soundview.
BOTTOM PHOTO: Bronxdale Houses, where Sotomayor lived as a child, is made up of 28 seven-story apartment buildings.

Confusion over Koppell's endorsement of Thompson

At the Bronx Puerto Rican parade on Sunday, several Bronx politicians endorsed City Comptroller Bill Thompson for mayor, according to a press release fired out by his office later than day.

“I want to thank Assemblymember Carl Heastie, Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz, Councilmember Oliver Koppell, Councilmember Annabel Palma and Councilmember Maria Baez for their endorsement," Thompson said in the release. "With their help and the support of 1.4 million New Yorkers who live in the Bronx we can take back New York City.”

The following day we posted a blurb and a couple of quotes, and that should have been that. But Thompson (or his spokeswoman, Anne Fenton, who used to work for Adolfo Carrion) may have been a little presumptuous. Last night we received an e-mail from Koppell that read, in part, "... your report of my endorsement of Thompson and other citywide candidates is not accurate. I have made no endorsements in City wide contests at stake in the Democratic primary."

Koppell was alerted to our original post by Maura Keaney, head of field operations for Bloomberg's re-election campaign. Keaney, of course, would like Koppell to support her boss, the incumbent.

Bronx pols endorse Thompson for mayor

At yesterday's Puerto Rican parade on the Grand Concourse, a handful of Bronx politicans endorsed fellow Democrat, City Comptroller Bill Thompson, for mayor, according to a press release from Thompson's office.

Assemblyman Carl Heastie, the Bronx party chairman, said:

The Bronx wants a mayor who understands that there are families, hard working people, businesses, schools and strong, proud communities outside of Manhattan. Bill Thompson will be a mayor for the Bronx because he knows this borough and he understands the challenges that hardworking Bronx residents are facing. Bill will fight for The Bronx and for all New Yorkers.

Added Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz:

Bill is going to represent working New Yorkers, middle class New Yorkers in all 5 boroughs and that’s what we need. He will improve schools and we will see real results in our education and not just the same half baked statistics that we are used too. I am proud to endorse Bill Thompson for Mayor of New York.

Councilmembers Oliver Koppell, Annabel Palma, and Maria Baez also gave Thompson their backing.

UPDATE: Koppell says he yet to make any endorsements. More here.

Mayor To Set Up Bronx Campaign Office

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has given every indication he will spend whatever it takes to retain his job for another term, is setting up a Bronx campaign office, as well as one in each of the other four boroughs on Saturday afternoon. [Here's his new Web site, which features a short video showing a handful of people (apparently New Yorkers) telling you why you should vote for him.]

According to a press release, the first we've received from his campaign office, the Bronx office will open at 1 p.m. at 2542A White Plains Road, which is between Mace and Allerton avenues.

Bloomberg is being challenged by Comptroller Bill Thompson and Councilman Tony Avella ("The Revolition starts...now"), both Democrats. Republican supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis is also contemplating a bid, while Anthony Weiner, a Democratic Brooklyn congressman who was once thought of as a serious contender, has yet to formally announce his candidacy.

Reception for BP Candidate Ruben Diaz, Jr. a Bronx Political Pow-wow

A reception for BP candidate Ruben Diaz, Jr. on Thursday, March 12 was a who's who in Bronx politics, as the borough's power brokers, elected officials, and aspiring candidates for city-wide office gathered together to express their support. The gathering, organized by City Comptroller Bill Thompson's chief of staff Ismael Malave, Jr., began at 6pm and included live salsa music and a buffet of pernil and arroz con gandules. But the real excitement didn't begin until minutes before Ruben arrived, when other elected officials began to trickle in to the room.

Ruben was announced upon his arrival with his wife and two sons and worked the room for over 30 minutes before being introduced by a cadre of local electeds. Council members G. Oliver Koppel and Annabel Palma offered their excitement about the likelihood of Diaz, Jr. becoming the next leader of the borough. State Assembly members Adriano Espillat and Jeffery Dinowitz talked about the many years Ruben has represented the Hunts Point community in Albany. And Bronx County Democratic Party Chair, leader of the Rainbow Rebels, and long-time Assembly colleague Carl Heastie told the crowd Ruben would be missed in the Assembly (especially by him as they sit next to each other on the floor), but that Albany's loss is the Bronx's gain. Also present at the event were council members Bill de Blasio (likely candidate for public advocate), John Liu (candidate for City Comptroller), and Eric Gioia. Comptroller Bill Thompson, an almost certain Mayoral candidate, addressed the crowd briefly after Ruben spoke.

Notably absent from the gathering was the Rivera clan (Assembly members Jose and Naomi, as well as Council member Joel). While present, State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. did his best to stay out of the lime light, going so far as to turn down a request that he say a few words about his son's BP candidacy. Equally surprising was the absence of Diaz, Sr.'s fellow Three Amigo Senator Pedro Espada and the presence of his son Pedro G. Espada (or perhaps not so shocking considering rumors Pedro G. is eying Ruben's Assembly seat).

While Ruben's brief address was not full of details on his plans as BP, he expressed a desire to continue to improve upon the image of the Bronx, addressing unemployment issues and ensuring that people who fought to hold communities together during the borough's years of arson and abandonment can afford to remain in those neighborhoods and enjoy their rebirth.

The evening even had some star power, with Bronx hip hop icon Fat Joe flying in from Miami to throw his support behind Ruben (kudos to my date Ms. Speller for spotting him first). The two shared an amusing anecdote on how they met. Ruben was walking across the street on the way home from a Bronx community meeting when an SUV almost hit him. Ruben turned to see Fat Joe in the passenger seat and said, "Hey, you're Fat Joe," to which Fat Joe replied, "Hey, you're Ruben Diaz!" Since meeting, the two have collaborated in giving back to the community, with Fat Joe funding the renovation of a Bronx public school library in Diaz's district and playing Santa Claus to give presents to local children during the winter holidays.

Live Blogging From Armory IDA Hearing: Motion to Postpone

As we mentioned last night, the city's Industrial Development Agency (IDA), a wing of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC), is voting today on whether to give Kingsbridge Armory developer The Related Companies an estimated $17.8 million in tax breaks.

Norwood News reporter Ivonne Salazar is attending the hearing and reports that a representative for Comptroller Bill Thompson has made a motion to have the vote postponed. It was seconded by another board member.

If it is postponed, it would mark a major victory for the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance which demanded the vote be postponed until Related sits down with them to negotiate a community benefits agreement (CBA). Related has been reluctant to do so leading up to the IDA's meeting.

Stay tuned...

Diaz, Jr.'s B.P. Run Supported By Bronx Pols Past and Present

As you can see from the above photo, Ruben Diaz, Jr. (center left), who, for all intents and purposes, will be running unopposed in a special election for borough president, was being swarmed by supporters at a campaign kickoff (coronation ceremony?) yesterday at Borough Hall.

At the event, former B.P. Freddy Ferrer (right, pink tie) and new County Democratic Party Chairman Carl Heastie (speaking into the mic) stumped for the 35-year-old assemblyman. Comptroller and mayoral hopeful Bill Thompson (far left) also assured the media that he has Diaz, Jr.'s back. Manhattan B.P. Scott Stringer (wedged between Ferrer and Diaz, Jr.) was also there to support him.

Ferrer basically congratulated him on taking over the post he once held. "I've seen Ruben Diaz, Jr. grow in his public service over the years [he became an assemblyman at the age of 23]. I'm happy for him. I'm happy for the people of the Bronx. I think the Bronx would be in very, very good hands."

For a while, this looked like it might be a race, but with Councilman Joel Rivera dropping out last week (and Councilman Larry Seabrook reportedly dropping out yesterday), it appears the outcome of the April 21 election is a foregone conclusion. Ladies and gentleman, say hello to your next borough president.

-Photos and Reporting by David Greene

Bronx News Roundup, March 6

Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, jr. filed his petitions with the Board of Elections yesterday, making him the first candidate to ask to be included on the ballot for Bronx Borough President. Liz Benjamin reports that the ballot line will read "Bronx Unity Party," but the muscle behind him is Carl Heastie's new democratic machine, which claims to have collected 16,500 signatures for Diaz in just three days.
Diaz is set to formally announce his candidacy on Monday.

The so-called "gang of three" is back. Bronx State Senators Pedro Espada, jr. and Ruben Diaz, sr., as well as Brooklyn's Carl Kruger, are refusing to support the Ravitch plan, which would avoid huge MTA fare hikes and service cuts in part by imposing tolls on the Harlem and East River bridges.

The New York Observer notes that city comptroller Bill Thompson has become a much louder voice on the board of the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) since he began eying a run for mayor. The IDA is the city agency charged with arranging tax incentives for big development projects - like the new Yankee Stadium or the Kingsbridge Armory. Thompson participated in a rally this week demanding a serious community benefits agreement from the Armory developer (see below). More on that in this week's Norwood News.

Two former NYPD officers are facing a civil trial fourteen years after allegedly shooting two young robbery suspects over twenty times while they lay face-down on the sidewalk. The shooting was one of several which enraged citizens during Rudy Giuliani's tenure as mayor.

"Brazilian Modern," this year's orchid show at the Botanical Garden, is getting good reviews.

A Bronx woman has been named McDonald's Crew Person of the Year.

The Australian news media has developed a special interest in Bronx schools lately: this is the second Australian story this month to feature a Bronx school, this time the Bronx Lab School. (Last week's story, in another Australian paper, can be found here)

In the News

The Daily News has a 2-page story on increased school bus breakdowns and smoke/fire incidents aboard NYC school buses. Incidents have more than doubled since 2002.

The News also reports that State Senator Jeff Klein has proposed legislation calling for New York State to divest $12 million of the state's pension funds from companies that do business with countries known to fund terrorism.

The Gotham Gazette reports on the latest round in the garbage wars, describing a protest by Bronx and Brooklyn residents last week at the office of Assemblywoman Deborah Glick over her opposition to the proposed waste transfer station on Manhattan's West side. The protesters say the west-side side would ease the burden on South Bronx waterfront communities.

More Bronx elected officials have endorsed PlaNYC, the Mayor's sustainability plan for the city, but there may be problems with securing federal funding for the congestion pricing initiative, according to WNYC.

News 12 reports the number of weapons confiscated in Bronx and city public schools is down 18 percent from the same time last year.

The Korean Times, via Voices That Must be Heard, reveals that Bronx Koreans are concerned about rising crime. A Norwood News story from a few years back took an in-depth look at the Bedford Park Korean community.

And Comptroller Bill Thompson wrote a letter to Bloomberg and the Rent Guidelines Board calling for a rent freeze, an issue that Bronx residents will be watching closely.