Bronx News Roundup, Aug. 24

Good morning, lovely readers! Your weather forecast for today, luckily, does not include an earthquake (did you feel it?) but does call for sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70s. Enjoy.

Something else you can enjoy: the latest issue of the Norwood News , which as we speak is being delivered to its usual spots, and will be up online shortly. It's a special back-to-school edition, chock full of great local school stories (with other news in there too, of course.) Make sure to pick up your copy.

Story of the Day: Bronx Mom Killed Over Petty Bodega Line-Fight
Jeffry Ramirez, the 19-year-old whose stray bullet struck and killed 24-year-old Yaritza Pacheco on E. 174th Street early Sunday, told police that he fired his gun during an argument that started when his friend cut another man in line at the bodega.

Bronx News Roundup, July 27

Story of the Day: Jerome Avenue Flood Update

The AP reports that the floods from this morning's massive water main break on Jerome Avenue have started to recede. And though the MTA website says No. 4 train service is suspended between 167th Street and Bedford Park Blvd., there were no trains going to Mosholu Parkway or Woodlawn, either, at least not during my morning commute. An MTA service update now says there are shuttle buses running.

Some video footage:


A BxNN reader says she had no running water at her home on E. 162nd and Grand Concourse; another woman I chatted with this morning said the water was waist-deep on 176th Street, and she put plastic bags over her legs to walk up the road. 

Quick Hits:

The U.S. Postal Service could close as many as 17 post office locations in the Bronx because of funding losses (a plan many are protesting, as we reported last week.) The Bronx closures account for more than half  of the locations on the chopping block list. Another office in Crotona Park was already shuttered this spring.

Here's a full list of the USPS spots that could close.

Bronx Neighborhood Farmers Markets Return for the Summer

The farmer market at Montefiore is open Thursdays. (Photo by Justin Bodden)

The warm weather means the return of outdoor farmers markets, offering a variety of fruits, vegetables, baked goods and other farm-fresh items. Today, a new farmers market, run by Bronx high school students in conjunction with Community Board 8 and GrowNYC, is opening up near the Kingsbridge Armory. It's a new addition to our comprehensive list of Bronx markets, which you can find below. (If we missed any, fill us in with a comment.)

New York Botanical Garden Green Market
Where: The Mosholu Gate, on Southern Boulevard between Mosholu Parkway and Bedford Park Boulevard
When: Wednesdays, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Poe Park Green Market
Where: 192nd Street, between Grand Concourse and Valentine Avenue
When: Tuesdays, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Kingsbridge Heights Youth Market
Where: West Kingsbridge Road, between Reservoir and Aqueduct Avenue
When: Fridays, 1 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Bronx News Roundup, March 10

Rain, rain and more rain today in the Bronx and surrounding areas as the National Weather Service has issued a "coastal flood warning" as well as a "hazardous weather outlook" for the region. Get out your galoshes.

To the news!

Story of the Day:
A nasty five-alarm fire destroyed a Hunts Point apartment building yesterday afternoon, injuring more than a dozen people, including one person who was taken to the hospital with burns over 50 percent of their body. Eleven firefighters suffered injuries while battling the blaze, including two that were shocked by dangling wires obscured by the billowing smoke. Tenants and a deputy fire chief praised the efforts of New York's Bravest, who they say rescued at least a couple of trapped residents. "The fire was shooting out like a blow torch out of the front windows and into the side windows," said Deputy Chief Michael Falotico. Tenants from about a dozen apartments are now homeless. A cause has yet to be determined.

Quick Hits:
In January, the Bronx suffered a big spike in home foreclosures, with Williamsbridge and Baychester getting hit especially hard.

More on the South Bronx topping the list of the hungriest areas in the city. 

Following an incident over the weekend in which a cab driver allegedly refused to take a group of young men to the Bronx and then ran into them after a stop at a police station, the city says it will crack down on cabbies who decline to drive passengers to outer boroughs.Gothamist has video of the problem in action. So does the NY Post:


More on the Bronx students who are in the running for an Emmy for their work on a Bronxnet show called "Open 2.0." (I knew we'd find some good news!)

A city resident files an iReport on CNN about the Botanical Garden's new Broadway-themed Orchid Show.

An ailing red-tailed hawk found on Webster Avenue in the Bronx was saved by veterinarians.

Angry former teachers have launched a campaign to oust Bronx Science principal Valerie Reidy.

A Bronx woman was convicted of aiding a mob hitman.

And finally, Kappy calls the Bronx DA race -- the only political race in the borough this year -- a snoozer and pleads for a "kamikaze" challenge to entrenched six-term incumbent Robert Johnson. He also rips off a couple of good burns the late Bronx comedian Mike DeStefano would have been proud of.

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 24

A quick reminder that we will be Tweeting live from Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.'s State of the Borough speech today, starting at 11:30 a.m. Check back here for the Twitter feed on the right side of this page or you can follow us through my Twitter account: @norwoodnews.

This morning, in preparation for the speech,  police were already setting up security at DeWitt Clinton High School on Mosholu Parkway and aggressively ticketing and towing cars parked on Goulden Avenue, presumably for violating alternate-side parking rules. News 12 was also setting up a mobile unit. A military officer wearing a beret and camouflage gear walked into the building. Wonder if he'll have a role today.

In any case, tune in today during the brunch hours to our Twitter coverage (on @norwoodnews) and tune in later today and tomorrow for photos as well as more details and analysis.

To the news! (Abbreviated version today. Like one of the borough's congressman at the State of the Union, I need to head out early and get a good aisle seat for maximum exposure during all the broadcast coverage of toady's speech. Maybe I'll even get an autograph or two.)

A preview of today's Diaz's speech, which is expected to draw some 1,500 people, with a focus on how Diaz will call for Bloomberg's support in delivering on a plan for the Kingsbridge Armory.
 
A report from the wake of 11-year-old Russell Smith, who was killed on the Grand Concourse when he was struck by a passing Honda CRV. Family member and local officials vowed to do something about the borough's most dangerous streets and not let his death be in vain.

The Times takes an in-depth look at how police caught two of the suspects they believe robbed an Arthur Avenue jewelry store last Friday. 

The Daily News has a new Bronx Education column, featuring a story on a pair of PS 86 teachers and their ideas for how the union and city should deal with teacher layoffs. 

More and more Bronxites (and other outer borough dwellers) are commuting to work outside of Manhattan and the city's transit system is struggling to keep up.

Kappy's back this week with juice on Assembly Speaker "Godfather" Shelly Silver's decision to move Bronx Dem boss Carl Heastie into a new post for political reasons and some other stuff.

The Bronx's New York Botanical Garden is teaching teachers how to teach school gardening.

Where are all the movies with great Bronx accents?

An elevator at an apartment building in Highbridge has been out for two months.

The Bronx DA dismissed rape charges against a Haitian immigrant. They realized his accent was too thick to say the threatening words the victim said she heard.

Bronx Events: Caribbean Garden Exhibit at the NYBG

Tired of this cold, miserable winter weather? Escape to the Botanical Garden, now through Feb. 27, for its Caribbean exhibit, featuring the garden's most tropical selection of flora. A lush display of banana and mango trees and exotic plants like the butterfly orchid will help you forget, even temporarily, that you have to go home afterwards and shovel your car out of a snow bank.

Tickets are half off for a limited time only, meaning $10 for adults, $9 for students and seniors and just $4 for the little ones. The Garden will also being hosting a visitor photo contest of the exhibit starting this week; more details here.

Check out this and other events in our community calendar, below.

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

Bronx News Roundup, Nov. 13-15

A 17-year-old Bronx girl was severely injured Saturday night when she was hit by a truck on City Island Avenue. Police say the driver was drunk. 

During an undercover sting last Tuesday, 11 out of 28 Bronx bodegas visited sold the controversial drink Four Loko to a minor. The brew (aka: "black-out-in-a-can") comes in 23.5 ounce cans and has an alcohol content similar to wine. It's been blamed for several deaths and the hospitalization of dozens of college students across the country. The drink's already been banned in four states and New York is up next. Yesterday, Gov. Paterson and the State Liquor Authority announced that the Chicago-based company that makes it has agreed to stop shipments to the state. State Senator Jeff Klein has been one of Four Loko's most vocal critics.  

A 60-year-old woman died on Saturday after a fire broke out in her Throggs Neck home.

Vada Vasquez, the Bronx teen who was shot and nearly killed by a stray bullet last November, has been speaking about her experience. Now 16, Vada has staged a miraculous recovery. 

A man has been charged with attempting to murder another man in Claremont on Sept. 18. 

Police are investigating a shooting in Parkchester that left the girlfriend of a Triborough Bridge and Tunnel officer wounded by a round from his gun. 

The sister of a man who died at an East Tremont assisted-living facility says morgue workers treated his body like a "bag of trash."  She's suing the city's Medical Examiner's Office. 

Since booth clerks were laid off at the Kingbridge Road subway station (B and D Trains), fare evasion has become rampant, and straphangers say they feel unsafe.

The Bronx Museum of the Arts has been selected by the U.S. Department of State to launch an exchange program which will see 15 American visual artists travel abroad to collaborate with artists and youth in creating community-based projects.

The Wildlife Conservation Society has been awarded a $714,649 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to train future teachers how to make the most of the Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Garden. The program will become part of Lehman College's postsecondary teacher education course.

Retailers in Hunts Point are hoping to attract a big name store to the area. 

On Saturday, Manhattan College will induct eight athletes (two posthumously) into the college's Hall of Fame.

Bronx News Roundup, Oct. 22

Unhappy in the Boogie Down? A new poll says that Bronx residents are the least satisfied compared to those in the other four boroughs.

A junior high school teacher is accused of having had a yearlong affair with a 13-year-old student from IS 299 in Morris Heights, where he previously taught.

Several of the accused assailants in this month's gay bias attacks could be offered plea deals from the Bronx District Attorney next week, according to their lawyers.

A man was awarded $18.5 million by a federal jury this week after he served over 20 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Alan Newton was cleared by DNA evidence and released from jail in 2006, where he'd been wrongfully serving time for a 1984 rape and assault in the Bronx.

Some of the world's largest pumpkins are at the Botanical Garden this week, and will be on display until Halloween. The largest, a world record-holder, weighs in at a whopping 1,810 pounds.

A man has finally been convicted for the murder of a Bedford Park pizzeria owner, 18 years after the crime took place. Police finally solved the case in 2008 after linking a fingerprint found at the scene to Israel Feliciano, who faces sentencing next week.

Bronx-based filmmaker Ronald Armstrong's new short movie is a war film with an unusual all-female cast. 

The NYPD is expanding its investigation of alleged ticket-fixing, which started with the 52nd Precinct's Deputy Inspector John D'Adamo, into other precincts in Queens and Manhattan. D'Adamo has been accused of fixing tickets for friends and relatives.

New York Democrats are lending a hand to fellow Democrats across the country in the form of hefty campaign contributions. Bronx Congressman Eliot Engel, for example, has given $75,000 in donations to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this election season.

Bronx News Roundup, Oct. 19

The NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating claims that Deputy Inspector John D'Adamo, the commanding officer of the 52nd Precinct, wrote off parking tickets received by friends and family members. D'Adamo has been top cop at the Five-Two since last October. Here's a profile that appeared in the Norwood News earlier this year. 

As we mentioned yesterday, the four Newburgh men accused of trying to blow up two Riverdale synagogues have been found guilty. In a statement, Bronx BP Ruben Diaz, Jr. said:

I am happy to see that justice has been done, and that the four thugs who plotted to destroy two Riverdale synagogues will be forced to pay for their crimes. The Bronx stands against hate in all of its forms, and all 1.4 million Bronxites are gratified that this loathsome attack on religious freedom will not go unpunished.

Legal experts say the convictions vindicate the post-9/11 strategy of using informants to identify and encourage individuals considered likely to engage in terrorism activities, in order to get them off the streets.

Two pit bulls attacked and injured two adults near Crotona Park early this morning.

For one Bronx family, Nov. 1 is a special day. Mom, dad, and baby all share the same birthday.

The owners of a venerable Bronx locksmith says their company's name is being dragged through the mud by scam artists.

In his weekly column, the Daily News' Bob Kappstatter says more trouble may be brewing for Co-op City's scandal-hit board of directors.

The Yankees have made a mint selling dirt from their old ballpark.

A Bronx-based beverage company is recalling certain juice drinks because of concerns over foodborne pathogens.

State Senator Jeff Klein is taking nothing for granted in his race against Republican challenger Frank Vernuccio.

An enormous pumpkin, weighing close to 2,000 pounds, will be on display at the Botanical Garden upcoming "Halloween Hoorah" event series. For times, etc. visit our events calendar.

Bronx News Roundup, Sept. 23

Tensions are high in the ongoing Bronx synagogue bomb plot trial. According to NY1, Judge Colleen McMahon got into verbal spats yesterday with lawyers on both sides of the case.

Police arrested a 30-year-old woman yesterday in connection to a fire she allegedly started last week in the basement of an apartment building in West Farms.

There may not be alligators in New York's sewers, but a Bronx man found a 3-foot snake in his toilet earlier this week. Authorities say it was a harmless corn snake, and likely someones discarded pet.

A Bronx man is being charged with the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl Throgs Neck girl who went missing last week. She has since safely returned home.

A man from Riverdale is going to court today for leaving his dog locked in a van during 95-degree weather last July. The dog died, despite attempts by police to revive it.

Martha Stewart designed the Bronx Botanical Garden's "Edible Garden" exhibit. The homemaking maven also hosted a cocktail party at the garden on Tuesday.

Bronx-born Jenny-from-the-block Lopez will be the next new judge on American Idol. 

The City Council will announce a new plan today to deal with the city's distressed and over-leveraged buildings--like the crumbling Bronx properties owned by Milbank Real Estate.  We'll have more on this later.

The Lehman Center for the Performing Arts celebrates its 30th anniversary season this year. 

A Bronx student traveled to the White House this month to participate in a dance program.

Bronx News Roundup, Aug. 4

Due to staff vacations, we haven't done a news roundup in a while now, so this is a long one.  Here goes:

Fernando Tirado, the district manager of Community Board 7 who was looking to unseat State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr., has been kicked off the ballot.  After the validity of Tirado's petition signatures were challenged, the city Board of Elections determined he was nearly 300 short of the 1,000 required, according to the Daily News' Bob Kappstatter, whose weekly column also includes a rundown of who will face primary opponents this September and who won't. (We'll have more campaign updates later in the week.)

Espada and a group of tenant activists were involved in a nasty spat in Albany yesterday [video]. As the chair of the Senate's housing committee, Espada has long been accused of holding up tenant-friendly legislation.

As you've likely heard by now, yesterday evening state legislators finally completed the budget. Espada had been criticized in recent days for attempting to hold things up, before eventually relenting. Here's the press release he sent out late last night, and here's a full page ad he ran in El Diario recently in which he claims he's been "vilified" by the press.

Away from Espada: several community gardens in the Bronx are now home to chickens.

Faced with huge fee hikes, fruit and vegetable merchants at the Hunts Points market are threatening to move elsewhere. 

Last Saturday, a 25-year-old man was shot dead in Melrose in the courtyard of the building in which he lived. 

Police say a Bronx grandfather who was attacked by a group of men in Mott Haven on July 24, and who later died in hospital, was murdered for his cellphone.

Morrie Yohai, the 90-year-old founder of Cheez Doodles, died last week at his home on Long Island Sound.  Yohai grew up in the Bronx and created the ubiquitous snack in the 1950s after taking over the Bronx food factory his father owned.

Anthony Rotunno, the former principal of Kennedy High School who resigned after a state audit found that $90,000 in bake sale money was missing, has been fired from his new job in Westchester, after officials there learned of the probe.

A Bronx man with Down syndrome is celebrating two milestones this month: his 50th birthday and his 30th year working at the Botanical Garden. Talking of the Garden, here's a little history, courtesy of WNYC, for an ongoing series called Borough Tales.

A potential buyer has been found for 10 troubled apartment buildings owned by Milbank Real Estate, a private equity firm which defaulted on its loan and left the buildings in a terrible state.  But tenants should hold off on celebrating, says City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and others.  See here and here for some background on this issue.

In The New York Times, Steve Singer, the director of college counseling at Horace Mann School, has some advice for college applicants.

If we've missed anything important, please post a link in the comments section.

Bronx News Roundup, July 21

Veterans at the Bronx Veterans Affairs Hospital, in Kingsbridge, are learning to channel their post-war tension into music as volunteers teach them to play musical instruments.

Ruben Diaz Jr., ex-Yankees Roy White and Darryl Strawberry and Yankees scout Cesar Prescott, gathered to remember late team owner George Steinbrenner before a baseball tournament on Randall’s Island yesterday.

Don Coquí, an authentic Puerto Rican restaurant in New Rochelle, is celebrating its first anniversary this month. Its owner, Jimmy Rodríguez, is the founder of Jimmy's Bronx Cafe and the son of the founder of Marisco del Caribe in the Bronx.

The city Administration for Children's Services will fund Rosalie Hall, a center for pregnant teens, for another year. Although the number of beds must be reduced from 16 to 10, the funding may allow the center to provide birthing services and full-time residency for young mothers and their children.

Christopher Benfey, a professor at Mount Holyoke and contributor to the New York Review of Books, wrote about his experience attending “Emily Dickinson’s Garden: The Poetry of Flowers,” at the Botanical Garden on the New York Review of Books website this morning.

The Point, a community development organization in the South Bronx, which reclaimed vacant land in the city for a 400-square-foot garden, is setting an example for Detroit and other American cities. The Center for American Progress released an article about the benefits of urban farms today.

Bronx native Latisha Ryer, 35, was arrested on charges of possessing and selling crack cocaine in Port Jervis today.

The Daily News reported that teens jumped fences to swim in the Bronx River yesterday, in spite of the recent deaths in the area.

Bronx News Roundup, April 30

Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas is being sued by a Queens woman who claims the judge borrowed $500,00 from her to pay off gambling debts and keep loansharks at bay.

Congressman Jose Serrano wants the MLB All Star game moved from Phoenix to protest Arizona's new immigration law.

Also on the Serrano front: the rep praised a new bill passed in the House yesterday that gives Puerto Rico, a longtime U.S. territory, the option of becoming a state.

Three lion cubs make their debut at the Bronx Zoo today. You can help name them by submitting suggestions to the Daily News here. 

An Emily Dickinson-themed garden show opens at the Botanical Garden today, an homage to the poet's passion for horticulture.

Environmental justice group Sustainable South Bronx scored a public health award from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Police are looking for the suspect in a March robbery at E. 187th and Grand Concourse.

More on the second lawsuit filed this week against Pedro Espada by the Attorney General's office, from the Village Voice's Tom Robbins. WCBS aslo interviews a whistleblower from Espada's Soundview clinic, who said employees were regularly used to do campaign work for the senator.

A new playground in  Longwood is modeled after a rotary printing press.

Horace Mann in Riverdale made a list of the nation's top 20 prep schools, compiled by Forbe's (NYC had seven schools on the list total).

Bronx News Roundup, March 10

Another sunny day in the Bronx, another day of Bronx News:

A touch of Cuba is now in the Bronx at a new Botanical Garden exhibit.

No more snow fights for the four Bronx teenagers who are facing a year in jail for hitting a transit police officer with a snowball.

Acting New York State Police Superintendent Pedro Perez resigns as well. He was a replacement for Harry Corbitt who resigned amid allegations in the Patterson scandal.

Assemblyman Peter Rivera may be eying the position of County leader.

Turns out "The Hurt Locker"'s Oscar-winning screenwriter Mark Boal is a Bronx High School of Science alumnus.

Yankee Stadium announces that it will host the newest postseason college football game, the New Era Pinstripe Bowl in December.

Christian relief group World Vision has a storehouse in Port Morris that provides all types of supplies for those who work with the poor.

Bronx Events - January 4-7, 2009

Here is a listing of Bronx events, classes and meetings of note for the week of January 4th through the 7th:

NYPD Bronx Precinct Community Council Meetings 

Wednesday, January 6th at 6 p.m. 40th Precinct Community Council Meeting at Lincoln Hospital.

Wednesday, January 6th at 8 p.m. 43rd Precinct Community Council Meeting at 43rd Precinct Station House at 900 Fteley Avenue. 

Thursday, January 7th at 7 p.m. 41st Precinct Community Council Meeting at the 41st Precinct Station House, located at 1035 Longwood Avenue.  

Thursday, January 7th at 7 p.m. 45th Precinct Community Council Meeting at the 45th Precinct, 2877 Barkley Avenue.

Events

Wednesday, January 6th at 8 p.m.
Bedford Mosholu Community Association Meeting. 400 E. Mosholu Parkway So. Apt.# B1 (Lobby Floor).

Through Janurary 10th
The Bronx River Art Center, together with the NYC Department of Transportation, present an abstract wooden art sculpture, Aurora, 14 feet tall, 11 feet wide and 11 feet deep. Center of West Farms Square Plaza. For more information visit here.

Through April 15, 2010
The New York Botanical Garden presents Ex Libris: Treasures From the LuEsther T. Mertz Library, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Ross Gallery. For more info, visit http://www.nybg.org/library/.

Bronx News Roundup, June 25

Pedro Espada's health care business, which received a very favorable write-up in yesterday's Times, owes $347,000 in back taxes.

Still on Espada, BoogieDowner has the latest on the senator's yet-to-materialize district office. Each side - Espada's people and the Senate's staff - blames each other for the continued delay.

In a related story, CBS had this report a couple of days ago, saying Espada's desired office location - 400 E. Fordham Rd - wasn't even in the 33rd District. Certainly, if you type the address in here on the Senate's Web site, Jeff Klein's name comes up, not Espada's. Here's a map:

Map created using NYC Dept of City Planning BYTES of the BIG APPLE data

Some non-Espada news:

A Bronx detective has been found guilty of perjury, after a 17-year-old murder suspect secretly recorded an interview the detective gave him on his MP3 player. Christopher Perino, who worked out of the 44th Precinct, faces up to seven years in prison. More here on how modern technology is increasingly catching out dishonest cops.

Martha Stewart is expected at the Botanical Garden this Saturday, for the opening of a new exhibit, Edible Garden.

Last week's water main break in Kingsbridge has hit local merchants in the pocket.

Bronx News Roundup, April 27

A high school junior died after being accidentally shot in the chest by a friend playing with a gun; he was one of two fatalities in a weekend which saw 13 shootings and 1 near-fatal stabbing in the Bronx.

The Bronx teacher who was arrested after he barricaded himself inside a classroom at the New Millenium Business Academy Middle School last Friday was released without bail on Saturday.

The Daily News reports back from a poetry workshop for Bronx teens in residency programs.

A man tried to turn in a live hand grenade at the NYPD's Gun Buyback program, held in churches around the Bronx on Saturday.

The Botanical Garden will open its new tulip show, "The Glory of Dutch Bulbs" on Friday.

And Boogiedowner beat us to the punch, but these are stories worth reading: David Gonzalez, former NY Times Bronx Bureau Chief, had a story this weekend on immigrant families divided by legal status, while PBS is set to air a story tomorrow on a former communist co-op in the Bronx.

And last but not least, former BP Adolfo Carrion finally paid his bill.

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)

Bronx News Roundup Feb. 24

Pay-as-you-go restrooms, that clean themselves after use, are coming to a street near you (if you live in Riverdale or Morris Park).

Helen Foster is staying out of the borough president's race, says Daily News columnist Bob Kappstatter. Instead, with the support of the party, she'll run for a third City Council term (District 16). More here on her likely opponents.

If the BP's race sees Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr. square off against Councilman Joel Rivera, Kappstatter expects them to run "a rather gloves-on contest." (The two are, or were, good friends.) Fordham University's Prof. Bruce Berg, on the other hand, predicts a hard fought and potentially ugly campaign.

A teenager was shot and killed yesterday on Gerard Avenue near East 168th Street.

State Senator Jeff Klein and the Working Families Party have fallen out over the so-called millionaire's tax.

The Botanical Garden's annual orchid show opens this Saturday.

The Ghetto Film School in Mott Haven was featured on NPR this week. You can listen here.

Bronx News Roundup Feb. 10

Mayor Bloomberg wants to use federal stimulus funds to finish building a $55 million parking garage at the Botanical Garden. BoogieDowner has more on the 6-story project which has run into difficulties in recent months.

Jay Savino, the Bronx Republican party chairman, is unlikely to support Mayor Bloomberg for reelection, says Bob Kappstatter in his weekly column. According to Kappstatter, Bloomberg has to win over three of the city's five GOP county leaders if he wants to run on the Republican ticket.

The Daily News' Bill Egbert has more on the continued resurrection of the Grand Concourse, which is 100 years old this year. He touches on whether or not the northern section of the Concourse will also see improvements. Xavier Rodriguez, district manager of Community Board 5, hopes so. He thinks it would benefit the Fordham Road shopping area. (For the sake of clarification, the Mount Eden-Highbridge neighborhood is in CB 4, not 5, as written in the article.)

The trial of two tenants and a landlord charged with the deaths of two firefighters on Jan. 23, 2005, is coming to a close. The day became know as Black Sunday after a third firefighter died in Brooklyn that day. See here and here.

We missed this at the time, but the Gotham Gazette recently took a detailed look at some of the bills introduced by the City Council in past few months. Among them is a bill by Council member Maria Baez calling for public schools teachers to be issued with parking permits. A Streetblog blogger thinks it would be a disaster.

The owners of Mainland Media have started a social networking Web site for Bronx residents.