Gay Bronx Couples Waste No Time in Making History

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

Karen Cofield and Gwendolyn Williams, who met 5 years ago, were married at the
Bronx County Courthouse on Sunday. (Photo by Jordan Moss)

By Jordan Moss

The signs of a highly unusual Sunday at the Bronx County Courthouse, where profound new rights were being conferred on a large group of New Yorkers, were hard to miss.

Staff of the mayor’s office, sporting orange baseball caps, warmly greeted anyone who came within 50 yards of the courthouse’s Concourse entrance. There was no crammed line-up leading to the metal detectors. Cameras, forbidden from courtrooms and confiscated for the duration of one’s visit if found, were waved on through.

History, after all, was waiting for its close-up.

Bronx News Roundup, Oct. 21

A firefighter and a homeless man fell through two floors of a burning building on Sedgwick Avenue early this morning. The firefighter sustained only minor injuries, but the homeless man is in critical condition at St. Barnabas with severe burns. Investigators said they believe the blaze was set intentionally. Here's some video.

Grim LeRogue, otherwise known as the Bronx lunatic who stormed the field at Yankee Stadium during the game Monday night in an apparent bid to impress Cameron Diaz, who is dating Alex Rodriguez, apparently had it in for A-Rod even before Diaz hooked up with him.

The Bronx County Courthouse will  star in a a film featuring Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller.

Cardinal Hayes High School honored Regis Philbin, one of their most memorable alums.

A Sugar Maple tree fights for survival in Van Cortlandt Park.

Dozens of cab drivers in the Bronx were busted for picking up passengers in unsafe, unlicensed and uninsured cars. Five vehicles were seized and 44 summons were given out.

The family of a man killed in an alleged hit-and-run incident is looking for help in finding the driver who fled the scene.

Bronx News Roundup, August 14

State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. negotiated a job for his son as part of the deal he struck to return to the Democrats, a possible violation of state law, an anonymous senior Democrat told the NY Post. Espada denies this claim.

On Wednesday, Espada's son, Pedro G. Espada, a 35-year-old former City Councilman, resigned from the plum $120,000 a year job that was specially created for him under a cloud of controversey. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said he was satisfied with the younger Espada resignation and the elder Espada's assertion that he didn't influence the hiring of his son in any way. Still, it doesn't look good for Espada or Senate Democrats who are still holding onto a slim 32-30 majority.

Newsday's snarky editorial on Espada and other political "spin" efforts of the recent past.

The Albany Times-Union says, based on the latest episode inolving his son's employment/resignation and several other legal investigations currently underway, Espada should step down from his post.

Others are calling on Cuomo to continue investigating Espada's role in the hiring of his son.

Liz Benjamin writes that Bronx State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. says there's a big difference between political family dynasties and nepotism.

In other news:

Student riders in the Bronx and other outer boroughs who depend on express buses to get to school will see their discounts disappear this fall as part of the MTA's budget hike. Students will have to pay the full $5.50, up from the $2.50 they paid last year.

Yesterday, authorities found two piles of human waste on the lobby floor of the Bronx County Courthouse.

A Bronx man has been accused of exposing himself to a woman on the subway.

Montefiore Medical Center is having success with its electronic records system as well as dispensing information to its Bronx clients via the internet.

West Bronx News: Quick Links

Mayor Bloomberg was in the northwest Bronx yesterday to promote a new electronic health records initiative that he says will improve preventive care throughout New York City.

Bob Kapstatter, the Daily News' Bronx borough chief, takes NY Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez's husband, Louis Vazquez, to task for his hot wheels (a 2003 James Bond two-door convertible T-bird), which he registered through his company, Rain, Inc. Kapstatter points out that, through a fat city contract, Vazquez's nonprofit runs the Meals-on-Wheels program using non-union workers. Vazquez's nonprofit must register with his wife, the NY Secretary of State.

The Sun reviews the new Bronx County Courthouse.