The ice storm apocalypse that threatened to freeze everyone's lives today didn't quite materialize overnight. But make no mistake, it is nasty out there. Exercise caution in all your travels today.
A few quick weather/transit updates:
--Service on the 4, 5 and 6 trains has returned after an earlier suspension, but there will be delays. All other Bronx lines have "good service," according to the MTA. (Click here for more MTA updates.)
--Access-a-Ride pick-ups scheduled before 10 a.m. today were cancelled. Call to reschedule if you had an appointment.
--Buses: The Bx34 buses are detoured north-bound on Webster Avenue between Fordham Road and Bedford Park Boulevard and then south-bound on Bedford Park Boulevard and Kingsbridge Road"; Bx19 buses are not operating into Riverbank State Park; All limited buses are making local stops; Riders should expect delays throughout the day.
--Temperatures are expected to get up to around 40 degrees today, causing yet more slushy nastiness. This will be followed by colder temperatures tomorrow.
Story of the Day:
Following a raucous meeting attended by between 2,000 and 3,000 people in Brooklyn that stretched into the wee hours of this morning, the city's Panel for Education Policy, led by new Chancellor Cathleen Black, voted to close 10 schools, including four in the Bronx. The PEP said the schools slated for closure were failing students. Those slated for closure in the Bronx include: School for Community Research and Learning, Urban Assembly Academy for History and Citizenship for Young Men, New Day Academy and Monroe Academy for Business/Law High School.
The Times' Fernanda Santos writes about Black: "It was not Ms. Black’s first public meeting, but it was by far the angriest, loudest crowd she had faced since taking the job on Jan. 3, and certainly more intense than the subdued meetings she was used to in her many years as a publishing executive."
The city is looking to close a total of 25 schools this year, the most ever in a single year. On Thursday, the PEP will vote on the fate of 13 other schools, including the Bronx's Christopher Columbus High School.
Quick Hits:
At least one Egyptian business owner in the Bronx says he will be happy to see embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak leave office.
A Bronx man saved his niece and nephew from a burning building yesterday on E. Tremont Avenue and Southern Boulevard.
After undergoing what he is calling an illegal and humiliating body cavity search, a Bronx man is suing the NYPD.
The Voice takes an in-depth look at controversial charter school maven Eva Moskowitz's newly opened Bronx Success Academy 1.
A jury convicted a Bronx man on Monday of murdering another man after a minor car crash in 2008.
A reporter lives through the First Annual Pipe Smoking Society's Small Game Dinner. Joshua Bernstein, the reporter, writes that he was given a waiver to sign before participating in the dinner, which included squirrel, beaver and Colombian big-butt ants. The waiver included this language: "Attendee understands that the risks in executing any Bronx Pipe Smoking Society experience include, without limitation, seizures, drowning, broken or loss of limb, indigestion, illness (mental or physical), haunting, possession, insomnia, night terrors or concussion." Awesome.
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Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 2
Monday, December 27, 2010
Bronx Weekend News Roundup, Dec. 27
We hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday weekend, and that you're all holding up post-blizzard!
It's 24 degrees and windy in the Bronx right now. Bedford Park's been hit with 22 inches of snowfall, as of this morning. The MTA is warning travelers to stay home if they can, as there are delays or suspensions on many subway lines and buses--you can check for service updates here.
On to some Bronx headlines:
A 17-year-old boy was shot to death early Sunday morning at the West Farms Square/E. Tremont Ave. subway station. Lewis Hawkins, of Harlem, was shot in the chest on the elevated platform after exiting a Manhattan-bound No. 2 train. Over a dozen people who were at the scene have been questioned by police so far, though no one has been charged.
On Friday, an ex-con from the Bronx held a family in Albany hostage for 15 hours before police shot him in the chest and took him into custody. Isaac Peterson, 38, faces charges of kidnapping, robbery, burglary and weapon possession.
Newly arrived immigrant and transfer students are still being directed to enroll at high schools which the city has deemed "failing," including Columbus High in the Bronx, despite the fact that the schools are likely to be shut down next year.
A Bronx girl who has struggled through the foster care system is featured in the New York Times as part of the newspaper's Neediest Cases Fund.
The body of a 28-year-old Bronx woman was found inside a suitcase in Harlem last week. Police have identified the woman as Betty Williams, who lived on the Cross Bronx Expressway.
A viewing service is being held in Soundview today for Angel Roldan, the city sanitation worker who was struck by a car and killed in Castle Hill last week.
Jose Pagan, a Bronx resident who has served two tours of duty in Iraq, found himself homeless this year just three days after leaving the military. This ABC News report says that Pagan is one of thousands of service members returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan who end up on the streets. Video at the link.
A Bronx family who lost their home to a fire this summer were one of many to receive holiday gifts from NY Post readers who donated to Toys for Tots.
Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, visited the soup kitchen at Our Lady of Refuge School on Christmas day.
The Daily News pays homage to Ralph Farrait, or "Pastor Ralph," as he was known on the Bronx boxing scene. The legendary Golden Gloves trainer passed away earlier this month; he's been laid to rest at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Iran Barkley, a former boxing champion who was homeless in the Bronx this year, is getting back on his feet. Readers of the NY Post, which chronicled Barkley's hardships in a series of articles last month, helped land the retired boxer a home in Hunts Point and a number of prospective jobs.
A rundown building in Morrisania has become an irksome eyesore to neighbors.
A number of bus drivers in the Bronx purposefully slowed down service on Friday, in retaliation for the MTA's decision to cut a contract with a local Transport Workers Union.
South Bronx nonprofit Per Scholas refurbishes donated computers and gives them to low-income families for free or at discount.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Bronx News Weekend Roundup
Former Norwood News reporter Heather Haddon's story made the cover of yesterday's NY Post: a Bronx man's decision to bury his longtime girlfriend in the same grave as his deceased wife has sparked a family feud.
Columbus High School, long on the DOE's list of low performing schools, is set to be phased out next year. Administrators say that they're struggling in the meantime, working with a minuscule budget and missing extra funding that other low performing schools have received.
The Bronx LGBT community is banding together to address tolerance in the borough after this month's heinous gay bias attacks.
Residents in Wakefield are protesting the construction of a number of planned homeless shelters, worried about what they're calling an "over-saturation" of support services in their neighborhood.
Legendary Yankees fan Freddy Schuman--aka "Freddy Sez"--passed away yesterday at the age of 85. Freddy attended almost every Yankees' home game for decades, and was known for riling up fans by banging a spoon and frying pan together and walking the stadium.
A dispute between Cablevision and Fox-owner News Corp. meant black-outs on the channel for some Bronxites.
Three public school teachers--including one from Fordham High School for the Arts--have been fired for inappropriate behavior on Facebook. The Bronx teacher who got the boot was busted for "friending" a number of his female students and leaving comments on photos he thought were "sexy."
Several rezoning plans in the process of being approved will revitalize large sections of the Bronx, according to the Wall Street Journal. Plans are in the works for Third and E. Tremont Avenues, Webster Avenue and E. Fordham Road.
Nobel Prize winner David Politzer visited his Alma mater, Bronx High School of Science, last week. The school boasts a total of seven Nobel-prize winning alumni.
The Daily News says that the flashing blue lights on the Bx12 bus might be illegal. A state law says that blue lights are intended only for emergency responders, like police and fire department vehicles.
The city came down harder this election season on illegally posted campaign materials. Workers from Adriano Espaillat and Gustavo Rivera's campaign told City Hall they were careful about where volunteers posted their literature for fear of fines from the Department of Sanitation.
A high school in Melrose boasts the first-ever green roof on a public school.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
High School March Madness: Bronx's Wings Academy Advances to Semi-finals of City Championship
Spoiler alert: with one exception, they all lost.
John F. Kennedy, the northwest Bronx's best prospect and last year's city championship runner-up, was eliminated in a second round game against East New York Transit Tech, who beat the Knights 68-67. J.F.K had a bye the first round. The Post has a rundown of that upset right here.
Evander Childs, The Bronx High School of Science, and Christopher Columbus all met similar fates in their first round match-ups last Tuesday. Evander Childs lost to the #30 seed Prospect Heights, Bronx Science lost against the #32 seed Ft. Hamilton, and Christopher Columbus lost to the #28 seed Far Rockaway.
Dewitt Clinton made it through the first round, beating the 40th seed George Washinton 71-53. The Governors were humbled, however, in their second round match-up against the #8 seed Brooklyn Collegiate, who won 87-46.
The Bronx continues to be represented, however, by the #3 seed Wings Academy.
The Wings, hot off winning the borough championship last month, had a bye the first round and dispatched their first opponent, the #19 seed South Shore, in a second round game 88-75.
On Sunday, the Wings beat Abraham Lincoln High School 78-59. Lincoln has been the reigning city powerhouse; this will be the first time in nine years they do not compete in the finals at Madison Square Garden. The Daily News has more on that game here. Now, the borough champs are to face the #2 seeded Boys and Girls High School in the semifinals tomorrow. If they win that game, the Wings will advance to the finals, playing the winner of a Cardozo (#1)- E. New York Transit (#12) game.
PSAL has the playoff brackets up online, regularly updated. They can be found here.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 25
How has the Bronx's Christopher Columbus High School been faring with this round of school closings? The New York Times reports on the the current state of things in this 70 year-old school, one of the last large high schools left in the Bronx. Education officials say that the "failures" of Columbus "are self-evident," as enrollment, the student body and graduation rates falter.
Before the dashboard erupted in flames, a heroic school bus driver, Jamal Richards, carried four disabled children to safety on Saturday on West Mosholu Parkway South, near Jerome Ave. Three of the children were in wheelchairs, and the other used a walker -- none were injured.
Coconut candy was mistaken for crack cocaine, and two Bronx men were taken into custody for possession of the sweet treats. Cesar Rodriguez and Jose Pena are planning to sue the NYPD for $2 million for carelessness and not following protocol.
More than 1200 guns have been taken off the street, thanks to the Bronx gun buy-back program held this past Saturday. NY1 has video on the buy-back as well.
