Bronx News Weekend Roundup, June 27

Weather: Mostly sunny and in the 80s today.

Quick Hits:
The Times' David Gonzalez, himself a graduate of St. Martin of Tours School in Crotona, offers this poignant piece on the school's closing and emotional last day of classes, which was last Wednesday. The 86-year-old parochial school is one of 26 closed this year by the Archdiocese of New York because of budget cuts and low enrollment.

More Money Woes for the Mary Mitchell Center

The Mary Mitchell Center,
at 2007 Mapes Ave.
(Photo by James Fergusson)

Staff at the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center in Crotona are facing another financial hurdle this month, as the Health Department is demanding upgrades be made to the center's kitchen to comply with licensing laws.

The center serves hot, healthy meals each afternoon for students in its popular after-school program. Now, the city says they have until February to purchase and install a new stove, with a fire suppression system that meets Health Department requirements, to avoid losing their childcare license.

"It's a big expense," said executive director Heidi Hynes. "It's just not something that we can do."

The Department of Education, which owns the building and runs a GED program there, told Hynes that it would buy and install the stove, but at the cost of approximately $35,000.

The center is already struggling to pay the city another $30,000 to cover maintenance fees on the building, which had been waived for over a decade in an agreement with the DOE since the Mary Mitchell Center officially opened in 1997. This summer, however, the city announced that it could no longer afford the fees.

"Given the current fiscal reality, we are asking community organizations who have not been paying for these services to begin covering these costs," a DOE spokeswoman said last month.

Hynes says she has already had to cut the center's operating hours to afford the monthly maintenance payments. To buy the new stove, they will have to redirect more money from the budget that was originally intended for after-school programming. The center still needs to raise an additional $15,000 over the next month to pay the costs in full.

"Basically, we have between Thanksgiving and Christmas," to come up with the money, Hynes said.

Nominate a Bronx Youth Leader in CB6!

Community Board 6 is inviting the public to submit the names and biographies of community-minded youths to be considered for nomination to the New York Yankee Community Council Youth Leadership Corp--an annual award doled out by the Yankees to five young people in the Bronx who have volunteered their time to civic activities and worked to make their communities better.

Awardees will receive a $750 stipend. To be considered for nomination by CB6, the young person must meet the following criteria:

• Live in the boundaries of Community Board #6, which encompasses Bathgate, Belmont, Bronx Park South, East Tremont, Crotona Park North and West Farms
• Be no older than 18
• Have a history of involvement in civic activities and helping to improve their community
• Willing to commit to working with Bronx CB6 in the preparation of its June anti-violence talent show

 The nomination form is below, and should be returned to CB6 by the Friday, Nov. 5 deadline to: 1932 Arthur Ave., or to brxcb6@optonline.net, or faxed to 718-579-6875.

Nomination Form

Shooting Outside Community Center in Crotona Sparks Quest for Funding, New Policies

Sensei Will Lawton of the Mary Mitchell Center's after-school program with Shareyana, who lives in the building where a fatal shooting took place last week. (Photos by Rachel Waldholz)

At about 5 p.m. last Monday, Sensei Will Lawton was standing on the basketball court behind the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center, where dozens of kids in the Center's after-school program were playing. Suddenly, he heard gunshots, and then saw, just outside the fence, three figures running up the street, one of them "just blazing away," said Lawton, who runs the Center's  martial arts program.

"[It was] like watching a western in your living room on a 50-inch television," he said.
The 5 p.m. shootout was followed within hours by another on the same block, this one fatal. Lawton and other staff had no sooner walked some of the kids home to their apartment building at 2000 Prospect Avenue, which neighbors the Mary Mitchell Center, when a gunman shot three people outside the building, killing Felix DelValle, 19 and wounding two others, including the apparent target, Angel Rivas, 42.

Bronx News Roundup for July 22

The 'right' criticizes President Barack Obama for focusing too much on Judge Sonia Sotomayor's personal background and not on her judicial record.

The Stella D'oro Company released comments to the sweet-toothed today to claim one reason for declining profits has been due to the high wages they pay their union workers.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer is calling on Fannie Mae to secure responsible buyers for the Ocelot Apartments in Crotona, Bronx. After high mortgage prices caused landlords to abandon the building site a year ago, tenants and lawmakers are hoping to rope in someone to repair deteriorating conditions and keep the units affordable.

In response to the growing culture in his city, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. announced upcoming events that will mark Dominican Pride Week, which is set to last until Sunday.

The Bronx weighs in on a study that shows it houses more residents who are overweight than any of New York City's other boroughs.

Data taken from crowded areas of the Bronx and Harlem, the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health has found that exposure to pollution can reduce childrens' IQ.

Actors are exploring new tastes on the BronxNet public access station's hit show called "Bronx Flavor." The show features tours of local restaurants while mixing in a little bit of comedy to spice it up. You can watch all the episodes on the bronxflavor.com.

Coaches get excited about the 50th anniversary of the Army-Notre Dame college football match-up, which will be played at the new Yankee Stadium in November.

To the dismay of drivers, Bronx-bound traffic will be closed for another three weeks as construction continues on the Throgs Neck Bridge