Fernando Ferrer Appointed to MTA Board



File photo

 Former Bronx Borough President and two-time mayoral candidate Freddy Ferrer has been appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the MTA Board, the governing body that oversees the agency (and, most notably, approves all of those fare hikes and service changes).

Ferrer served as Borough President of the Bronx for 14 years, from 1987 to 2001, before making a run for Mayor. His most current gig is with public affairs firm Mercury.


Poe in the Bronx, and Other Events This Week

This week, the anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe's death, the Borough President's Office and the Bronx Historical Society will host a screening premiere of Edgar Allan Poe in The Bronx: His Life & Times at Poe Cottage, a documentary look at how the Bronx influenced the renowned writer's life and work.

The video, created by Emmy-award winning Derek Woods of BronxNet Television, will be part of a temporary Poe exhibit at the Bronx County Historical Society’s Valentine-Varian House Museum. Poe spent the end of his life at his cottage in the Bronx, now located at Kingsbridge Road and the Grand Concourse and currently undergoing renovations.

“The Bronx is an important part of the personal history of Edgar Allan Poe, one of America’s greatest literary masters,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., in a press release.

A  reception debuting the video will take place tonight at the Valentine-Varian House, 3266 Bainbridge Avenue at East 208 Street, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. This and more Bronx events this week can be found below, or anytime in our What's Going On? section on the right side of this page.

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

Former BP Ferrer Endorses Gustavo Rivera

As we mentioned in the news roundup yesterday, former Bronx Borough President Freddy Ferrer is endorsing candidate Gustavo Rivera in the 33rd Senate District race, as Rivera fights to unseat State Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr.

Ferrer and Rivera held a brief press conference on the steps of Bronx Borough Hall yesterday afternoon. Flanked by a modest showing of Rivera supporters holding signs, Ferrer praised Rivera and then said he was "embarrassed" by Espada's "scofflaw attitude."

"If there is a moral test in politics this year, it is this race," he told the crowd. Watch the video below to hear the rest of Ferrer's statement.


Freddy Ferrar Edorses Gustavo Rivera from Jeanmarie Evelly on Vimeo.

The two men are no strangers--Rivera worked for Ferrer on his failed campaign for Mayor.

"It's been almost ten years since I first knocked on doors throughout the Bronx for Freddy, and its an incredible honor to receive his backing today," he said.

The current Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. was spotted entering Bronx Borough Hall yesterday as well--his office is on the building's third floor--though he didn't make an appearance at Rivera's press conference.

Diaz has yet to endorse a candidate in the 33rd District race, though he said he wants to see Espada defeated. The Borough President had a lunch meeting last week with Rivera at a Kingsbridge restaurant, and is also supposed to meet with the remaining candidate, lawyer Daniel Padernacht, at some point in the future (their original meeting, scheduled for this past Tuesday, had to be postponed, Padernacht said.)

Bronx News Roundup, June 2

Hope everyone enjoys the beautiful day! Here's your daily dose of Bronx news:

The Bronx may have the honor of holding New York's first public alternative fuel station that will provide natural gas, ethanol and biodiesel. The station will be located near Hunt Point's Food Distribution center and is said to be at least five times the size of a regular gas station.

City budget cuts are affecting everyone, everywhere. Due to an expected budget cut between $2 -$3 million, the Bronx district attorney's office may have to lay off nearly 45 assistant prosecutors by the end of this month.

St. Barnabas Hospital had to place an emergency court order when the family of a patient experiencing internal bleeding, refused to allow doctors to give her a blood transfusion because it was against their religious beliefs. Read more here.

From some unknown place, oil is spilling into the Bronx River. Westchester County officials are cleaning up the oil spill, causing the closure of a northbound lane on the Bronx River Parkway. Read here also.

As we all know, the Bronx is considered the poorest county in the state. Many blame it on the poor wages Bronxites receive, that is why council members and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.,  are proposing the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act. The act would guarantee that when public subsidies are awarded to businesses for development projects, the jobs created will pay at least a living wage. While the mayor and other business interests appear to be skeptical about the plan, El Diario says the bill is a step in the right direction. Here's our story on the living wage bill from last week. (We have a bigger story on this in the latest edition of the Norwood News, which is on streets now. Pick up a copy today.)

Bloomberg announced that planned raises for all public school teachers will be eliminated for the next two years. According to Bloomberg, it would save the jobs of more than 4,000 teachers.

Bronx News Roundup, May 24

It's Monday and it's cloudy... not a great combo but here's some Bronx news to help awaken your senses!

Two 19-year-old men were killed early yesterday at East Burnside and Walton, in what police say was a gang-related attack. Irving Cruzwas pronounced dead at the scene and Raffy Taveras, who was shot in the neck, was pronounced dead at Bronx Lebanon hospital. No arrests have been made.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr and local health advocates, are taking a stand against Big Tobacco, announcing the formation of the Bronx Smoke-Free Partnership, a group aimed at stopping tobacco marketing towards children in the borough, as well as creating more smoke-free outdoor spaces.

The New York State Health Department released an online map of areas in the Bronx that are at high risk for cancer.

Hundreds of Bronx residents showed up for the bone marrow donor drive this weekend in effort to find a match for the 6 -month old baby girl who has a rare blood disorder.

City Council members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma may cause an uproar in City Hall, when they propose a bill that guarantees a wage of at least $10 for workers of development projects that have received more than $100,000 in public subsidies.

Bruckner's Bronxdale Houses will be renamed in honor of former resident, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Bronx BP: Don't Renew Teaching Fellows Contract

On Monday, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. joined a group of teachers at a union rally and denounced the pending renewal of a $5 million city contract to fund NYC Teaching Fellows, a program that recruits and trains new teachers from other fields.

Diaz said the contract, which was up for a vote this week by the Panel For Education Policy, is illogical in the face of a bare-bones DOE budget.

If budget cuts go through, as many as 8,500 teachers could be laid off, including 20 percent of teachers in the South Bronx, according to schools chancellor Joel Klein.

"It’s the equivalent of the Yankees not paying to resign Derek Jeter, and putting out millions of dollars on a want ad for a new shortstop for the Yankees," Diaz said. "It makes absolutely no sense."

We're still waiting on word from the DOE on the status of the contract, which was up for a vote last night (check back for updates.) Diaz was urging that the vote be postponed; watch the video below for his whole statement, or click here to read a press release. 

The First Bronx Food Summit

How much sugar are you drinking? A display at the Bronx Food Summit shows the surprisingly high sugar content of many popular drinks. (Photo by Alex Green)

Saturday, May 1st marked the first ever Bronx Food Summit, a day of workshops and discussions organized by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., and a number of organizations and volunteers, that aimed to put food and nutrition at the top of the borough's agenda.

"We have poor eating habits, and we need to have better food options," Diaz said to the crowd of attendees at Hostos Community College.

He then rattled off a number of disturbing Bronx health statistics: the borough's been named the unhealthiest place to live in New York; one in every four children is obese, yet the South Bronx still has a hunger rate--37 percent--that's twice the national average.

"I don't know about you," Diaz said. "But I'm tired of being number one at everything that's bad and last place at everything that's good."

Hearing on Historic District Designation for the Grand Concourse

If you are wondering what it means when they say the Grand Concourse is up for historic district designation, then you should attend the community meeting tomorrow, April 20, at 7 p.m. at the Bronx Museum of the Arts.

The event will be hosted by the office of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and will teach people just what a historic district designation means, how it is determined and the effects it might have on the Grand Concourse and the surrounding community.

Members of the Landmarks Preservation Commission will be present to answer any questions or concerns people may have. The Bronx Museum of the Arts is located at 1040 Grand Concourse on East 165th Street.

State of Borough Address Rescheduled for Friday

The Borough President's Office just released a statement saying Ruben Diaz, Jr.'s first "State of the Borough" speech had been rescheduled for Friday, March 5, at 11:30 a.m. at Evander Childs High School. It was originally scheduled  for the same time and place last Friday, but was canceled due to the weather.

The Daily News' Bob Kapstatter gives a little preview of the speech, which focuses heavily on jobs and generating a new plan to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory, which remains vacant after the City Council rejected the mayor's proposal to turn the massive Armory into a giant shopping mall.

Any mention of an alternative plan at the Armory is reportedly falling on deaf ears inside the mayor's office and at the Economic Development Corporation (EDC). 

Celebrating the Lunar New Year in the Bronx

Asian-American dancers and singers, along with Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and Comptroller John Liu, helped ring in the Bronx’s Lunar New Year Celebration at DeWitt Clinton High School on Saturday, Feb. 20.
(Photo by Adi Talwar)

Bronx Celebrates Dominican Heritage Month

Last week, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., and La Gran Parada Dominicana de El Bronx, Inc., hosted the the Bronx's Dominican Heritage Celebration.

This Saturday, Feb. 27, will mark 166 years since the Dominican Republic gained its independence from Haiti. (Here's some more background on Dominican history.)

Dominican leaders Angela Cooper (educator), Adalberto Dominiguez (journalist/photogrpaher), Julio Gaspar Isidor, general manager of Cibao Meat Products and restaurant owner Chelo Ramirez were honored by Diaz.
There was also a special tribute to the New York Yankees who displayed the World Series trophy as part of the event.

The celebration also featured a performance by El Maestro Will Lapache, along with traditional food and Dominican Folkloric dancing.

Bronx Events Through Thursday, Dec. 17

A piece of photograhy from the 'Childhood in the Bronx' website.

Lehman College recently created an artistic website exploring, 'Childhood in the Bronx.' The online project was funded by a grant from the Metropolitan New York Library Council and exhibits photographs of Bronx children in schools, playgrounds and community centers that date back to the first decades of the twentieth century. View the work at www.lehman.edu/library/childhood-bronx.

Check out the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music's final two Winter concert series performances on Wednesday, Dec. 16th, and Thursday, Dec. 17th. Both performances feature different choirs and orchestras and are held at 7 p.m. at the Lovinger Theatre at Lehman College, 250 Bedford Park Blvd. Tickets are a suggested $5 donation. For more information, please call (718) 329-8550.

The University Neighborhood Housing Program is hosting a Homeowner Resource Fair on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at the Concourse House, 2751 Grand Concourse, from 6 to 8 p.m. Topics to be discussed include how to lower your energy costs and how to modify your mortgage. The fair will also give away free weatherization kits and free food. Supplies are limited. For more information or to RSVP, call (718) 933-2539.

Community Board 5’s next general board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 16, at South Bronx Jobs Corps, 1771 Andrews Ave. All are welcome. For more information, call CB5 at (718) 364-2030 or e-mail brxcb5@optonline.net.

The 46th Precinct’s next Community Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 15, at the precinct station house, at 2120 Ryer Ave., at 7 p.m. Community council meetings fall on the on the third Tuesday of every month. They give residents the chance to meet local police officers and air their concerns. For more information, call (718) 220-5234.

The Office of the Bronx Borough President is holding a briefing on overcrowding in Bronx schools and the new 5-year capital plan, on Dec. 14 at 6 p.m., at the Bronx County Courthouse at 850 Grand Concourse. Leonie Haimson of “Class Size Matters” will give a presentation. A discussion will follow. All are invited to this free event. For more information, call (718) 590-3500.

Diaz Jr. Makes It Official, Wins B.P. Race

Ruben Diaz Jr., a 35-year-old career politician from Soundview, is the new Bronx Borough President.

He easily defeated his lone opponent, Anthony J. Ribustello, 42, a Republican district leader from the east Bronx known more for his role as Tony Sopranos driver in the HBO series "The Sopranos," by a wide margin. Diaz garnered 87 percent of the vote, for an unofficial total of 28,301 votes. Ribustello pulled in 4,081votes.

(On the plus side for Republicans, it could be argued that Ribustello got more bang for his buck. He spent about $1 a vote, compared to Diaz who spent about $10 a vote.)

This news comes as no surprise to those who have followed this race since last fall when Diaz emerged as the loudest and most enthusiastic candidate to replace Adolfo Carrion. At that time, it appeared Diaz would be in for a tough race with City Council majority leader Joel Rivera.

But much has changed since then. Term limits were extended through a controversial vote in the City Council. Later in the fall, the Rainbow Rebel coalition, which Diaz backed, wrested control of the Bronx Democratic party from Joel's father, Assemblyman Jose Rivera, changing the power dynamics in the borough. Then, earlier this year, Carrion took a job in Washington as Obama's urban affairs director.

In early March, Bronx Democrats united behind Diaz and Joel officially dropped out of the race, leaving Ribustello as the only challenger. In the weeks leading up to the election, Diaz was so confident, he declined more than $200,000 in public financing and announced he would tap veteran Bronx politician Aurelia Greene to be his deputy B.P.

And the rest is history. We'll have more on the race and more from our exclusive interview with Ruben Diaz Jr. later this week. Feel free to chime in with any thoughts about our new borough president.

Here's the NY Times story. Here's the Daily News story. Here's the AP story via the Post.

Final thought: Both the Times and Daily News stories mention Diaz's controversial father, Bronx State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr., a Pentecostal Minister who strongly opposes gay marriage. The younger Diaz has gone to great lengths to distance himself from his father and it will be interesting to see how he treats the issue as B.P.

BP Debate Tonight in the East Bronx

Meant to post this earlier, but there is going to be a candidate forum for the two borough president candidates, Ruben Diaz Jr. and Anthony Ribustello, tonight at 7 p.m. at the Hutchinson-Metro Center, 1200 Waters Place, between Eastchester Road and Westchester Avenue, in the east Bronx.

The forum is being sponsored by the Bronx Merchants Coalition, which is an offshoot of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce and is comprised of 12 merchant's associations in the east Bronx. The forum will be moderated by Bob Brieder, who's plumbing supplies business has been operating in the Bronx for 85 years.

If you care about Bronx business issues or just want to see the two candidates in action, head on over.

South Bronx news

"Hunts Point's house of horrors" is the lead headline on the new issue of The Hunts Point Express, published last week. A Manida Street apartment complex has racked-up more that 2,000 violations, and tenants are living in squalor, as junkies, thieves and prostitutes invade and trash vacant apartments.
Less drastic, but more surprising, are conditions in an apartment building on E. 162 St. that led to a tenant protest against one of the city's biggest developers and managers of affordable housing.
The Express also tells readers what the next Bronx Borough President plans for their neighborhood and profiles the South Bronx Food Co-op. It's available free throughout Hunts Point and Longwood, as well as on-line at www.huntspointexpress.com.
And The Express now has a sibling. The Mott Haven Herald, staffed by students at the CUNY Graduate School of journalism and covering Mott Haven, Melrose and Port Morris, is on-line at www.motthavenherald.com and will publish its first newspaper soon.

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

Earl Brown, Professional

My friend and esteemed colleague David Gonzalez at the Times has a little fun this morning with the Brooklyn residency of our interim borough president, Earl Brown.

Lest anyone take away from this gentle gibing that Mr. Brown is not suited to the job -- which will only last about 6 weeks until the special election on April 21 -- I thought I'd just offer my two cents since I've known Earl since the mid-1990s when he was spokesman for the School Construction Authority.

Anyone who was around then and reading the Norwood News around 1996 or so, remembers the relentless reporting we did on the SCA's disastrous performance in building PS 20 and then PS 15 and also PS 54. They just couldn't do anything right and the years-long delays had terrible consequences for local schoolkids, like at PS 8 where the crowding was so bad they had double-sessions .

Earl and I tangled occasionally, like all reporters and city agency spokespeople do. But Earl was a straight-shooter and a professional and did his best in what was one of the city's most thankless jobs at that time. (This wasn't so true of his predecessors there.) He recognized the role of the press and he never took any disagreements personally, which will certainly serve him well in his new job.

Since then Earl has worked in government relations at the New York Botanical Garden and has always been helpful whenever I talked to him when he was deputy borough president. He may live in Brooklyn but, as he told Gonzalez, he spends most of his waking hours in the Bronx.

As David points out in his piece, many Bronx pols are rumored to live not just outside the borough, but outside the city, which unlike Earl's situation is flat-out illegal.

After the new borough president takes office, I hope Earl will have a place in the new administration or at least a job where he can continue serving the people of the Bronx.

Good luck, Earl.

Count Foster in for BP Race

Councilmember Helen Diane Foster told the Highbridge Horizon Friday that she will run for Bronx Borough President.

"I officially decided that I am running for Bronx Borough President," Foster said. "We haven't officially announced it yet, meaning [haven't] done the announcement press conference."

Foster said she expected to hold this press conference within the next 2 or 3 months.

Other topics the councilmember addressed during a nearly hour-long interview today included: police brutality against African-Americans, and the ongoing trial of the NYPD officers who killed Sean Bell; her thoughts on Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion; reactions to recent press that slammed her for missing the congestion pricing vote; and the need for greater public transporation in the Bronx.

Look for the Q+A of today's interview in the April issue of the Highbridge Horizon, which hits the streets April 24.

Mitchell-Lama Task Force to Meet Tomorrow at Fordham University

The Bronx Borough President's Office, Tenants and Neighbors, and the Mitchell-Lama Residents Coalition will host an educational session for Mitchell-Lama residents tomorrow (Saturday Septmber 29) at Fordham University. The event will be held in the McGinley Center from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

According to the Bill Egbert's article in the Daily News, "The talks will center on how to organize building residents, how to stop a buyout and how residents can make their voices heard in the legislative process now surrounding the Mitchell-Lama Housing crisis."

A similar event was held back in May.


UPDATE:

Crain's is reporting that the New York State Housing Financing Agency (HFA) will

"offer low-cost financing to owners of Mitchell Lama developments, in an effort to keep them in the affordable-housing program. HFA also said it plans to offer up to $15 million of zero-interest repair loans to Mitchell Lama developments in need of immediate improvement."

This move by Spitzer may keep some buildings in the program and improve conditions in others, both of which are good things.

More on the Early Start to the BP's Race

As the Times reported in July, City Council Majority Leader, Joel Rivera, 28, is planning to run for borough president in 2009, a decision that’s likely to put him on a collision course with close friend Assemblyman Ruben Diaz.

When asked for an update, Rivera, who attended a press conference this afternoon to mark the beginnings of a new health center on Burnside Avenue, said he’s getting close to formally announcing his campaign, adding that he’s already raised $200,000.

“At the moment I have 140,000 bosses,” he quipped, in reference the population of the District 15. “In 2010 I hope to have 1.4 million.”

Rivera (pictured) will be trying to do what his father, Bronx Democratic boss Jose Rivera, never managed. (Rivera Sr. stepped aside for Adolfo Carrion in 2001.)

So far, no one’s officially said they’re running, and with the election two years away anything can happen, but other possibles include State Senator Jose Marco Serrano and Council Member Helen Foster. (Photo by James Fergusson)