New Webster Ave. Plans Bring Cheers and Jeers

Editor's Note: This article first appeared in the latest edition of the Norwood News, on the streets and online now.

Construction has begun at 3600 Webster Ave. on a four-building
affordable housing complex. (Photo by Jeanmarie Evelly)

By JEANMARIE EVELLY

Change is coming to Webster Avenue.

The gritty, industrial stretch that runs through the neighborhoods of Norwood and Bedford Park was rezoned by the City Council this past March, with a plan designed to encourage more retail stores and residential housing in an area now largely composed of parking lots and auto body shops.

Though not necessarily a direct result of the city’s change—zoning plans are more like gentle hands that shape a neighborhood, and depending on market conditions, it can take years before any real changes are seen—new projects already underway or in the pipeline along Webster are a portent for what the street could look like down the road.

Two developers are eyeing the avenue as the site of separate affordable housing complexes. One is already underway, in a lot technically located in Community Board 12, along the south end of Woodlawn Cemetery and just north of Gun Hill Road. Jackson Development Group is constructing over 400 new apartments in four buildings, calling the massive development “Webster Commons,” and advertising the rentals for low and moderate-income tenants.

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.

Bronx 'Renaissance Man’ and Activist Ozzie Brown Remembered

Ozzie Brown (left) and Paul Foster share a laugh at last month's Community Board 7 meeting. (Photo courtesy CB7)

By Alex Kratz

Ozzie Brown, a colorful, loquacious and dedicated member of Community Board 7 who was also active in the civil rights movement and an advocate for diabetes awareness, died last week after a battle with cancer. He was 67 years old.

Locally, Brown was best known for the active role he took as a member of the community board. But Brown was much more than that, a “true Renaissance Man,” said former Bronx Borough President Adolf Carrion, one of Brown’s best friends.

“Ozzie was a worldly person,” Carrion said. “He brought a mix of experiences that many people would be surprised to hear about. He was a musician, a promoter of music, a philosopher, a lover of the arts.”

Memorial Services for Ozzie Brown to be Held Today

Ozzie Brown, a colorful, loquacious and dedicated member of the Bronx's Community Board 7 who was also active in the civil rights movement and an advocate for diabetes awareness, died last week after a battle with cancer. He was 67 years old.

Services are being held today for Brown at John J. Fox funeral home at 203 E. 201st St. (at the corner of E. 201st Street and Grand Concourse) from 2 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.

Former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, who said Brown was "one of his best friends," will speak at the night service.

In an interview this morning, Carrion called Brown a "true Renaissance Man."

“Ozzie was a worldly person,” Carrion said. “He brought a mix of experiences that many people would be surprised to hear about. He was a musician, a promoter of music, a philosopher, a lover of the arts.”

We'll have more on Brown's life and legacy tomorrow and in the next edition of the Norwood News, which hits streets tomorrow.

Bronx News Roundup, Tuesday, April 12

Weather: Light rain is expected here in the Bronx sometime after noon, with temperatures dropping into the 40s as night falls on our lovely borough.

To the news!

Story of the Day: Kazimiroff Boulevard Re-Renamed
It is said that Dr. Theodore L. Kazimiroff, a jack of many trades (dentist, naturalist, Indiana Jones wannabe) and the Bronx's first historian, once removed a tooth from a lion's mouth in the Bronx Zoo. He had become such a legendary borough figure that, just a year after his death in 1980, a section of the winding road that runs from East Fordham Road to Allerton Avenue and cuts between the New York Botanical Garden and Fordham University was remaned Dr. Theodore L. Kazimiroff Boulevard.

For years, the Garden and Fordham complained that the new street name confused drivers who wanted access to its institutions. (Current Bronx historian Lloyd Ultan was skeptical about this claim). In any case, they finally got their way Monday when Mayor Bloomberg signed into law a bill, sponsored by Bronx City Councilman Oliver Koppell, renaming the street Southern Boulevard, as it was known before it took on Kazimiroff as its namesake. Kazimiroff's widow, Emilia, who still lives close to her husband's former street, wasn't happy about the change, which is apparently such a rarity that Henry J. Stern, a former parks commissioner who reportedly knows everything about New York City ("a living compendium of New York trivia"), couldn't remember it ever happening before. "It is sort of a slap in the face," she told the Times. Dr. Theodore L. Kazimiroff will remain the unofficial and honorary name of that stretch of Southern Boulevard.

Quick Hits:
Speaking of street renaming, honorary or otherwise, Community Board 3 is considering a proposal to rename Jennings Street, between Prospect and Union avenues, after The Chords, a Bronx rhythm and blues band that crossed over into pop stardom with their hit, "Sh-Boom," which ruled the summer of 1954.  Here's The Chords singing their hit in 1980:


To the chagrin of many Bronx artists, Latin jazz is being removed as a Grammy category.

Some food activists, including Karen Washington of the Bronx group La Familia Verde, say the city needs to do more to get Farmer's Markets set up in poorer areas of the city.

Community Board 7 -- Norwood, Bedford Park, North Fordham and University Heights -- has more buildings with rat problems, 14% of them, than any other board in the borough. CB6 is second.

The Capitol profiles Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a former Bronx state senator.

East Bronx Councilman James Vacca is starting to feel some heat for not supporting a living wage bill that the rest of the Bronx delegation has signed on to.[Link fixed]

Montefiore Medical Center is working to teach its patients how to cook colon-healthy meals to help them prevent colon cancer. Speaking of cancer, the New York area is reportedly very aggressive in its end-of-life cancer care as there are financial incentives to keeping patients out of hospices. But Montefiore's chief medical officer, Dr. Gary Kalkut, says this trend has nothing to do with federal financing.

Webster Rezoning Okayed, Setting Up Makeover

(Editor's Note: this article was first published in the Norwood News, out now)

A plan to rezone Webster Avenue between East Gun Hill and Fordham roads was officially approved by the City Council at the end of March, the culmination of years of planning by local leaders and elected officials to help transform the 1.75-mile corridor.

“We worked very diligently over a five-year period to craft this proposal,” said Community Board 7 member Ozzie Brown, who said the plan lays the groundwork for a more vibrant and pedestrian-friendly Webster Avenue.

“We were able to set the context for what might happen in this region for the next 10, 15 years or so,” Brown said.

Frustration Bubbles Over at Reservoir Access Meeting

(Editor's Note: this article was first published in the latest edition of the Norwood News, on the streets and online now.)

By JORDAN MOSS

After a long-delayed report that essentially denies the community greater access to the Jerome Park Reservoir was issued last week, activists and officials are feeling powerless, particularly because a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) official assigned to report to the community on its findings refused to answer any questions.

The Facility Monitoring Committee (FMC), an advisory body that meets monthly at the DEP’s community office on Jerome Avenue to keep tabs on the Croton water filtration plant in Van Cortlandt Park and related projects, includes the chairs of the three surrounding community boards, Councilman Oliver Koppell, and representatives of the Parks Department and the borough president’s office.

But despite all that civic firepower, Fr. Richard Gorman, the committee chair, says it has “no juice” in getting the answers it needs. He argued for a higher-level hearing, organized by the borough president’s office.

The last straws appear to be the continued lack of progress in hiring Bronxites to work on the project and the report which, citing security concerns, essentially closes the door on community hopes to have greater access to the path inside the two chain-link fences that ring the reservoir.

Yankees Looking For Youth Leaders

Every year, the New York Yankees Community Council puts together a Youth Leadership Corp., a group of 60 Bronx youths (five from each of the Borough's Community Districts) who recognized as  active leaders that give back to their communities. The award includes a $750 stipend for each young person selected.

The application form is below. Nominees need to be approved by the Community Board of the district in which they live--so completed forms should be sent to a young person's respective board. As of earlier this week, Bronx Community Board 7 had yet to receive any nominees.
NY Yankees Youth Award 2010

Board Directs Senate Canidate Fernando Tirado to Take Leave of Absence

Last night, during its final meeting before the summer hiatus, Community Board 7 held a closed-door executive session and voted overwhelmingly to direct District Manager Fernando Tirado to take a leave of absence while he runs for senate in the 33rd District.

Tirado announced his candidacy in late May to the surprise of many of the board's 30-plus volunteer members. Several board members expressed reservations about whether the board's work as a non-partisan government agency might be compromised in some way by Tirado's run for office. They asked Tirado to come up with a plan, in writing, for juggling both roles.

Then, last night, the board sat down to discuss the matter and ultimately voted in favor of a measure that directed Tirado to take a leave effective tomorrow. The board also reserved the right to re-evaluate the situation periodically. Board member Ozzie Brown said 22 people voted for the measure, six voted against it, and three abstained.

I talked to Paul Foster and Ozzie Brown of the board earlier today. They said that it wasn't that they feared Tirado would abuse his office, but rather that the board wanted to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest or partisanship.

"We needed to protect the board," said Foster, who took over as chair of the board when Greg Faulkner left at the end of last year.

In an interview, Tirado said he thought he could effectively handle both roles and wanted to stay on until the petitioning process ends in mid-July. But he also said he understands the board's decision and says this will free him up to focus full-time on his campaign, which pits him against four other Democratic candidates, including the incumbent, Pedro Espada, Jr. 

In the meantime, the borough president's main community board guy, Tom Lucania, will most likely take over for Tirado in his absence.

I'll have more on this later.

Another Challenger to Join Race Against Espada

Later this evening, Fernando Tirado, the district manager of Community Board 7, will announce his candidacy for state senate in the 33rd District, joining an increasingly crowded lineup of folks challenging the embattled Pedro Espada, Jr.

With about roughly four months until the Democratic primary, there are now five candidates vying for Espada's seat: Tirado (pictured), activist Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter, former Gillibrand aide Gustavo Rivera and lawyer Daniel Padernacht.

Tirado has a BA in political science and worked for the city's health department for years before becoming district manager of Community Board 7 (Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights) in 2008. He moved to Bedford Park in 2006 and joined the community board as a member before being plucked to replace long-time former district manager Rita Kessler.

The Remaking of Webster Avenue (and a whole bunch of other stuff)

For more than a year, Community Board 7 has been working with the city's Department of City Planning to rezone a section of Webster Avenue as well as several other surrounding neighborhoods. City Planning, with input from Board 7 and a few other local stakeholders (mostly the so-called Four Bronx Institutions: the New York Botanical Garden, Fordham University, Montefiore Medical Center and the Bronx Zoo) recently completed its rezoning plan.

The next stage before these zoning changes are approved is the completion of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), or, in other words, a study that is supposed to say how the neighborhoods being rezoned will be affected by the changes.

There will be a public meeting about the plans (and what the scope of the study will be) on May 19, starting at 4 p.m. (and ending whenever people stop testifying), at the Bedford Park Senior Center, 243 E. 204th St. You can check out the plan by clicking here. (Warning: it's huge and pretty technical.) 

Bronx Events, Through March 11

Note: We're back with more Bronx events to keep you occupied in the Boogie Down for the next week. If we're missing anything, please alert us in the comments section or by emailing as at bxnewsandevents@gmail.com.  

Beginning Tuesday, March 2 through Saturday, April 24, ceramist Mara Gross's solo exhibit entitled "Women: At The Table, Off the Wall, Every Day," will be on display at the Hall of Fame Gallery in Bliss Hall at Bronx Community College. A reception and discussion will be held by the artist on Wednesday, March 10, from 12-2 p.m. and another on Saturday March 13, from 1-5 p.m. Bronx Community College is located at 2155 University Avenue at West 181st Street and University Avenue. For more information on the artists click here. And click here for directions to the school.

The Riverdale/Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture, is having a weekend full of events:

Saturday, March 6 at 7 p.m.: The movie "My Life As A Dog," a film by director Lasse Hallstrom will be presented. The film is based on a 12- year old boy who's summer away from home taught him lessons in his young life that he will never forget. The movie is one hour and 50 minutes long.

Sunday, March 7 at 11 a.m.: Jim White will be presenting "The Virtue of Patience" in celebration of Women's History Month. His presentation will be focusing on women's liberation from the bonds of sexist oppression.
Also on Sunday, March 7 from 1:15- 3:00 p.m.: A reception will be held for Dr. Lillian Wilhelm Masters, member of the Riverdale Art Association. She will be presenting her exhibit, "Myself as Artist: A Retrospective."The exhibit will be available throughout the month of March. The Riverdale/Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture is located at 4450 Fieldston Road, corner of Manhattan College Parkway. For further information on any of the exhibits or programs call (718) 548-4445 or visit www.rysec.org.

Saturday, March 6, from 10 a.m-3: p.m., the Bedford Mosholu Community Association will be holding its flea market at St Mary’s Church. The church is located at Bedford Park and Decatur Avenue. Donations are needed.

Tree Lighting on Mosholu Parkway

Thursday December 10th: The good people of Norwood and its surrounds assembled in cold weather at the intersection of Bainbridge Avenue and Mosholu Parkway. They came out to be a part of the tree lighting ceremony organized by Community Board 7. St. Brendan's school choir sang Christmas carols while the adults cheered. Politicians and local dignitaries were present. I enjoyed making photographs of my community I hope you enjoy them too.