Bronx Reps Say Debt Limit Deal Unfairly Burdens Middle Class, Gives Free Pass to Rich

[Video: Engel talks about his opposition to the debt limit deal.]

Earlier today, the U.S. Senate voted in favor of a budget agreement that would allow the nation to raise its debt ceiling while making trillions of dollars in cuts to government spending programs. Last night, the Republican-controlled House approved the same plan and President Obama is expected to sign it immediately before the country starts defaulting on its debt obligations.

While Democrats were split evenly between yays and nays, the three Bronx representatives, all Democrats, in the House -- Jose Serrano, Eliot Engel and Joe Crowley (who's more of a Queens guy than a Bronx guy, but he still counts) -- all voted against the deal.

Bronx News Roundup, Monday, July 18

Welcome back to the program, ladies and gentlemen. To the Bronx news!

Weather: Hot, with a high around 93 and rain possible after 4 p.m. Higher chance of rain and thunderstorms overnight. The rest of the week is expected to be similarly blazing, without as much possibility for rain.

Story of the Day: Bronx Students to Help Build School in Mali
This summer, students at the Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics, which has a heavy focus on community service, are exporting their manpower and $74,000 to build a school in the West African country of Mali. After spending the year fundraising, a dozen students from the school left for Mali yesterday to get construction off the ground. They will stay for 13 days as part of an international school building program run by the nonprofit group builOn. The scariest part for one student: "The only part that's making me nervous is the flight. I'm afraid of heights," said sophomore Raychell Velez.

Quick Hits:

Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 26

Yup, more snow. A winter storm warning is in effect today until 6 p.m., so bundle up; the weather folks are saying four to eight inches.

President Obama gave his second State of the Union Address last night, one that called for a bipartisan effort to fix the nation's economy and a proposed 5-year spending freeze.

Salon.com has named Bronx Rep. Eliot Engel number three on a list of Congress' "top five biggest aisle hogs"--politicians who stake out an aisle seat before a big speech in hopes of getting a handshake and a few words from the President. Check out this video of the worst offenders through the years:


The family of a 24-year-old Melissa Barthelemy, one of four victims believed to have been murdered by a serial killer on Long Island, say they received taunting phone calls on the woman's cell phone in the days after she disappeared.

Police are searching for a group of ten men who shot up a Melrose street last night, killing a 21-year-old man.

A Bronx woman pleaded not guilty yesterday to manslaughter charges for hitting and killing a woman with her car in Manhattan in November.

A Lehman College student stuck in Chile during protests there this month became the unofficial spokesman for about 1500 other stranded tourists, and earned himself a certificate of appreciation from the U.S. State Department.

Plans to lay seven miles of pipe from Van Cortlandt Park to Hunts Point have been scrapped by the city due to soaring costs. The plan was part of the ongoing Croton Water Filtration Plant project.

A Bronx couple is facing jail time for animal cruelty charges after nearly 100 emaciated cats were found in their artist's loft in Brooklyn. A neighbor told the Brooklyn paper the two were simply trying to care for the neighborhood's strays.

The widow of a murdered Throgs Neck man gave chilling testimony in court yesterday against her husband's accused killer, an alleged mob man.

A mugger tried to steal the cell phone of former Gov. George Pataki's eldest daughter at the Freeman Street subway stop.

The State Senate's Republican majority gave committee chairmanship roles to Jeff Klein and the other members of his Independent Caucus. Klein will chair the Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.

A 17-year-old student at Celia Cruz High School for Music was found dead in the snow on a Harlem street over the weekend. Loved ones of Gregory Willis Jr. say they are baffled by the quiet teenager's mysterious death; autopsy results are pending.

[Editor's Note:] Just a reminder to our readers that the Bronx News Network is in the middle of our annual fundraising appeal. If you value quality local journalism, please consider donating so we can continue to bring you news and features, like our daily roundup or our borough events calendar. More details on how to contribute can be found here. 

Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 4

Rose Donaghey, a 90-year-old veteran Bronx waitress known for her unstoppable work ethic, missed her first day on the job in over two years because of last week's blizzard. She works at the Wicked Wolf in Throgs Neck, and has served in restaurants all over the city for decades.

The Daily News' Bob Kappstatter breaks down the borough's crime stats for 2010. Like the rest of the city, the Bronx saw an overall decrease in crime but a jump in violent crimes--including a sharp rise in the number of stabbing fatalities. Here's a look at the stats for the 52 Precinct from last week's Norwood News.

Assemblyman Peter Rivera could be leaving his post for a gig in the new Gov. Cuomo's administration. If he does, a special election would determine who would fill his district seat, which covers West Farms and Parkchester.

Bronx spiritualist Chris Ochun, and other city psychics, are predicting who will win tonight's $330 Mega Millions lotto jackpot.

A quarter will soon get you five minutes less in parking time at meters in the outer boroughs, thanks to changes made at the start of the new year. The price increase won't actually go into effect in the Bronx until March.

City Councilwoman Helen Foster, who represents several neighborhoods in the South Bronx, had the worst attendance rate in the City Council last year, making it to 61.7 percent of her meetings, according to amNY. Foster told the paper that her absence was due to a number of ill family members. Bronx reps Joel Rivera and Larry Seabrook were also among the worst no-show members.

City Comptroller John Liu axed plans to build a new 911 call center in the Bronx, saying the budget for construction of the center, and another in Brooklyn, is now nearly double what it was estimated to cost when approved in 2005.

Bronx Congressman Eliot Engel has been cleared by the House ethics committee, which was investigating how he and other members of Congress spent travel stipends while visiting foreign countries.

Engel Joins Opposition of Wakefield Homeless Shelters

This morning, Bronx Congressman Eliot Engel came out in strong opposition of proposals that would bring two new homeless shelters to the north Bronx neighborhood of Wakefield.

He provided comments at a public hearing downtown concerning the city's plan to award Project Renewal a $87 million contract to turn a vacant car dealership at 4380 Bronx Blvd. into a 100-bed transitional homeless shelter, saying the Wakefield area would be harmed by the excess influx of homeless shelters.

"The character of the neighborhood, a generally low-rise, low-density homeownership neighborhood, would be disproportionately affected and in a negative way," he said in a statement.

Besides the Bronx Boulevard proposal, there is already a plan to create 63-unit homeless shelter on White Plains Road and the mayor's office says it wants to turn the vacant Muller Army Reserve Center into 200-unit homeless shelter.

Engel also said he supported a plan -- pushed by Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance -- to transfer the national guard units from the Kingsbridge Armory annex buildings into the vacant Muller Center. The annex buildings would then be free to become new schools, as politicians, parents and activists have long advocated for. If not, he said a community center would be more appropriate at the army center.

"The Department of Homeless Services should reconsider these proposals and spare the Wakefield community this disruption of its character and values," Engel said.

Engel on Rangel: Charges 'Not Something that You Can Just Excuse Away' (VIDEO)

Bronx News Roundup, Nov. 5

In the Daily News' there's an article (in print but not online) about the New York City Marathon, which is being held this Sunday. In the piece, Alec Diacou of the non-profit Yes The Bronx is quoted as saying the Bronx is "the best place to watch" the action. The runners (and some walkers, too, no doubt) will head over the Willis Avenue Bridge into Mott Haven before re-entering Manhattan by way of the 138th Street Bridge. The section is known as "The Wall," the Daily News reports, because it begins at mile 19, when many marathoners are beginning to flag. 

With all the applicants race organizers turn away, some are wondering if one annual New York City Marathon is enough.  Last year, the city considered - and then squashed - a proposal to bring a marathon to the Bronx.

The city Department of Education is withholding John F. Kennedy High School’s Progress Report, after questions were raised over its student discharge rate.  Other high schools' reports were released earlier this week. 

Since the new school year began, there have been 336 confirmed bedbug cases in public school buildings, compared to 135 in the same period last year.  Of the 336 cases, 39 were in the Bronx.   Brooklyn and Queens had the most. 

The driver of a tractor-trailer was knocked down and killed on the Cross Bronx Expressway yesterday afternoon.  According to police, the man exited his vehicle after it broke down and was struck by an SUV.

Two women were mowed down by hit-and-runs drivers in separate incidents yesterday evening, one in Throgs Neck, the other in Morrisania.  Both women were seriously injured.

A Bronx man has been sentenced to 15-years in prison for the attempted rapes of two women near Times Square. 

The Bronx woman married four men between 1985-94 as part of a cash-for-citizenship scam, the authorities say.  Sonia Estrada applied for another marriage license this past summer, but was denied after city officials became suspicious.

Michael Benjamin, the soon-to-be ex-assemblyman, is preparing for a congressional run in 2012, when he'll challenge Jose Serrano or Eliot Engel.   Benjamin, who's stepping down at the end of this year (Eric Steveson is replacing him), considered running against Serrano this fall, but eventually discarded the idea.  As we reported yesterday, Benjamin's also started blogging. 

State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. is continuing to live up to his critics' charge that he's a Democrat in name-only.  If there's a 31-31 tie in the Senate, Diaz told the Observer yesterday that he would consider voting for a Republican as majority leader.  The State of Politics blog has more.  At least one person - Haile Rivera, a staffer of the soon-to-be former State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. - believes Diaz himself should get the job.  Diaz insists he's not interested. 

Councilman Jimmy Vacca is sponsoring a bill that would require property owners to pay outstanding fines owed to the city, before they could be awarded building permits.

Bronx News Roundup, Oct. 22

Unhappy in the Boogie Down? A new poll says that Bronx residents are the least satisfied compared to those in the other four boroughs.

A junior high school teacher is accused of having had a yearlong affair with a 13-year-old student from IS 299 in Morris Heights, where he previously taught.

Several of the accused assailants in this month's gay bias attacks could be offered plea deals from the Bronx District Attorney next week, according to their lawyers.

A man was awarded $18.5 million by a federal jury this week after he served over 20 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Alan Newton was cleared by DNA evidence and released from jail in 2006, where he'd been wrongfully serving time for a 1984 rape and assault in the Bronx.

Some of the world's largest pumpkins are at the Botanical Garden this week, and will be on display until Halloween. The largest, a world record-holder, weighs in at a whopping 1,810 pounds.

A man has finally been convicted for the murder of a Bedford Park pizzeria owner, 18 years after the crime took place. Police finally solved the case in 2008 after linking a fingerprint found at the scene to Israel Feliciano, who faces sentencing next week.

Bronx-based filmmaker Ronald Armstrong's new short movie is a war film with an unusual all-female cast. 

The NYPD is expanding its investigation of alleged ticket-fixing, which started with the 52nd Precinct's Deputy Inspector John D'Adamo, into other precincts in Queens and Manhattan. D'Adamo has been accused of fixing tickets for friends and relatives.

New York Democrats are lending a hand to fellow Democrats across the country in the form of hefty campaign contributions. Bronx Congressman Eliot Engel, for example, has given $75,000 in donations to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this election season.

Bronx Leaders Take to The Streets for Peace

Congressman Engel and B.P. Diaz work for "Peace in our Streets" in Wakefield on Saturday.

On Saturday, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. teamed up with members of the Bronx Clergy Task Force, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, local elected officials, and community leaders, launched the “Peace in Our Streets” initiative.

The new program will bring elected officials like Diaz, religious leaders, law enforcement officials, and others into direct contact with Bronx residents to discuss growing safely concerns and violence in neighborhoods. They are especially concerned about the proliferation of illegal guns.

“Gun violence is a scourge on our communities, and Bronxites have made it clear to me that they will not sit by and allow the action of a few thugs to ruin the good work we have done rebuilding the Bronx," said Diaz in a statement.

The Bronx is currently experiencing a surge in gun violence, with murders and shooting incidents both rising significantly borough-wide.

The initiative kicked off at the Greater Faith Temple on White Plains Road in Wakefield. Diaz, Congressman Eliot Engel and others handed out literature on gun violence and other issues. They also spoke with neighborhood residents about fixing problems in their communities.

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson said curbing the gun problem would take a borough-wide effort.

“The D.A.’s Office will continue to prosecute and incarcerate those who possess illegal guns: ultimately, however, it’s going to take all all-out effort by every segment of our community to educate about the dangers in order to bring about a change in the culture,” Johnson said in a statement.

Going forward, the “Peace in Our Streets” initiative aims to regularly take to the streets and outreach. The next meeting and outreach campaign will take place on Saturday, Oct. 9, at the Mount Hermon Baptist Church, 1170 Nelson Avenue, in Highbridge at 1 p.m.

--By Layza Garcia

Bronx News Roundup, Aug. 31

With the Bronx continuing to head many "worst of" lists, Crain's wonders who will save it.

A NY Post reporter kayaks the Bronx River, and likes what she sees.

The Bronx is home to a growing number of DVD and video stores specilizing in Nigerian-made movies. The film industry there is called "Nollywood."

Councilman Jimmy Vacca is supporting a bill which would force the city to address the rising raccoon population in the outer boroughs.

In his weekly column, the Daily News' columnist Bob Kappstatter calls out Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera for skipping a televised debate. We wonder what annoys Rivera more - the criticism of her record or being called "Snooki." Kappstatter also suggests Assemblyman Carl Heastie, the Bronx Democratic party boss, is loath to endorse Gustavo Rivera in his race against State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr., in case Espada retaliates by supporting Assemblyman Nelson Castro, who faces a primary opponent in Heastie-backed Hector Ramirez.

Fight Back New York, a pro-gay marriage group, has been digging up dirt on State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. 

Dan Doctoroff, the former deputy mayor and development czar, played a key role in getting several massive construction projects off the ground, including the new Yankee Stadium and Bronx Terminal Market. City Limits looks back at his legacy.

Local residents and shoppers will be able to purchase special "parking memberships" when the Botanical Garden's new 825-spot parking garage opens in 2012.

One of the men on trial for allegedly trying to blow up two Riverdale synagogues last year, ranted about his hatred for Jews in secretly-recording conversations played in court yesterday.

Fordham Prep's talented soccer team has high hopes for a strong season.

Bronx Congressmen Jose Serrano and Eliot Engel, and several of their colleagues, are currently receiving hefty taxpayer-funded pensions on top of their six-figure salaries.

From last week's Village Voice: a police officer from the 41st Precinct in the Hunts Point secretly recorded his superiors demanding that he meet a quota of arrests and summonses, something the NYPD has always denies it does. These same superiors also ordered officers to downgrade crime complaints, he claims. The revelations come on the back of a four-part series in the Voice concerning a precinct in Brooklyn and another disillusioned cop with a hidden tape recorder.

Bronx News Roundup, Aug. 5

A few dozen Bronx youngsters rallied outside the State Supreme Court in the Bronx yesterday, to demand an end to violence in their communities. Through July 25, there had been 69 murders in the borough this year, up from 56 at the same point in 2009.

Bronx Congressman Eliot Engel is among a group of politicians who are skipping Congressman Charles Rangel's 80th birthday party/fund-raiser. Rangel faces ethics charges.

Police in Port Chester arrested a Bronx man after he allegedly attempted to withdraw $3,000 from a local bank using a forged New Jersey driver's license.

Some rare praise for Gov. David Paterson and state lawmakers.

In Riverdale, the cleanup effort after last month's tornado is far from over, reports The Riverdale Press (which has a brand new website).

The Press editorializes about State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr.'s recent claims that God is on his side.

Tea Party Brewing in the Boogie Down?

Every couple of years, someone steps up to challenge entrenched 11-term Democratic Congressman Eliot Engel, who represents part of Bronx (Riverdale, Norwood, Woodlawn), Westchester and Rockland counties, usually with underwhelming results. 

This year, the first to step up to the plate is Anthony Mele (pictured), 51, a Rockland-based businessman and Army vet who solidly identifies himself as an organizer with the burgeoning and conservative tea party movement that was credited with putting Republican Scott Brown into the vacant Massachusetts senate seat held by the late liberal icon Ted Kennedy.

Unsurprisingly, he's made taxes (the TEA in Tea Party stands for Taxed Enough Already) the singular theme of his campaign.

"Its time to stop the tax madness down in Washington," Mele said in a statement announcing his candidacy. "We don't need government over-spending, over-taxing and over-reaching into our lives." 

In this overwhelmingly Democratic district (so was Kennedy's), Mele is running on the Republican and Conservative ballot lines.

For more on Mele, check out his website.

Engel Undecided on Health Care Vote

Bronx Congressman Eliot Engel, a reliable liberal Democrat on most votes, says he wants to vote for President Obama's health care reform package, but he has to make sure it's not going to harm Medicare reimbursement rates for New York. The White House is feverishly hunting for Democratic votes and Engel's is probably one the administration probably thought it had in the bag. A vote is expected in the House on Sunday.

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 16

Twelve people were injured yesterday when a fire swept through a Bronxdale apartment building.  Here's a dramatic photo of a woman holding a baby girl out of a fifth-floor window so she could breathe.

In Bronx Park, recently, a group of young adults took a tree-climbing class - part of a new job-training program for aspiring arborists.

United Bronx Parents has come to the aid of Tato Laviera, a Nuyorican poet who was struggling to find an affordable apartment.

The DOE plans to close the construction trade program at Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School and replace it with a 18-month-old charter school. But the charter school has its own problems, among them, poor teacher and student retention. Moreover, its founder and former director is Richard Izquierdo, the nephew of Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo. Izquierdo was charged last year with stealing $200,000 from a non-profit.

The Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp. has a new president. Marlene Cintron, most recently the director of the state Senate's Puerto Rican and Latino Caucus, replaces Ray Salaberrios.

New procedures at Lincoln Medical Center have led to fewer infections in the hospital's intensive care unit.

The Daily News covers Bronx Community College's attempts to expel University Heights Secondary School from its campus. More here in this month's Mount Hope Monitor.

Least we forget, Councilman Larry Seabrook isn't the only Bronx politician looking at possible jail-time. In his weekly column, the DN's Bob Kappstatter ticks off five or six others under investigation.

Majora Carter, the founder of Sustainable South Bronx, was in Georgia yesterday to give a talk to a group of university students about green jobs and environmentalism. Carter now runs her own consultancy firm and was paid a tidy $18,500 for her time.

In high school basketball, Wings Academy are the new Bronx Borough champions.

A eclectic mix of celebrities and politicians - among them, actress Mary-Kate Olsen and Congressman Eliot Engel - name their favorite places to eat. Engel's? Liebman's Delicatessen on West 235th Street.

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 12

Lots to get to today. Here's some Bronx stories to get your day started.  

NY Times reporter Sam Dolnick takes a walk around the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx and mulls the Armory, stops at the Tibbet Diner, Van Cortlandt Museum, the Bronx Ale House (site of the upcoming BxNN bash on Feb. 25. RSVP now!) and other local spots. Nice little multimedia slide show comes with the story. 

Times Columnist Clyde Haberman goes off on "Bagel Larry" Seabrook and the scandal-plagued state of the City Council, which coincidentally voted to extend their term limits last fall. (I think we need to put this to a vote: should it be "Bagel Larry" or "Cash and Carry Larry"?) More on Bagel-nomics here.

Speaking of Bagel Larry (we'll go with this one for brevity purposes), Seabrook didn't show up to work yesterday, leaving his colleague, Maria del Carmen Arroyo, who remains under a cloud of suspicion, to fend off reporters' questions.In the same story,  The Daily News also says that Assembly members Peter Rivera and Carmen Arroyo (Maria's mom) are also under being investigated.

More on the Bronx's new golf course in Ferry Point.

Bronx Rep Eliot Engel calls Washington, DC's reaction to the recent snow storm "wimpy."

Bronx hip-hop legend Afrika Bambaataa is working with a social networking site that promotes dialogue between people who speak different languages.  

The Department of Homeless Services is changing its policies after a 17-year-old high school student was stuck in a Bronx intake center and missed her Regents graduation exam.

And finally, pessimistic Yankee blogophiles are already conjuring up ways in which the World Series Champion Bronx Bombers' upcoming season could fall apart. (Hint: it may something to with Kate Hudson and/or Cameron Diaz.)

Happy Valentine's Weekend!

Bronx Congressmen Celebrate House's Passing of Health Care Reform Bill

On Saturday, November 7, Bronx Congressmen Eliot Engel, Joseph Crowley and Jose E. Serrano were three of the 220 House representatives to vote in favor of the highly debated Affordable Health Care for America Act.

This revolutionary health care reform bill narrowly passed through the United States House of Representatives on Saturday night with the support of most Democratic representatives. Now, the bill will go on to the Senate, where it is expected to undergo more debate and reform.

“I voted in favor of the health care reform bill this evening in one of the most important votes of my 35 year career in public service,” said New York 16th District Congressmen, Jose E. Serrano, on the night of November 7. “Nothing I have voted for in all those years will change more lives for the better than this bill."

Under the bill, all Americans will have access to health care, health insurance companies will not deny coverage for pre-existing conditions and Americans will have significantly lower price rates for health care plans, among many other conditions.

“Our health care plan gives American families peace of mind. A peace of mind that health care is not just a luxury for some, but an affordable, accessible benefit for all,” said Congressman Joseph Crowley, who represents the 7th District of New York.

In a press statement, Congressman Eliot Engel of New York’s 17th District of New York outlined a list of how the health care bill will affect people in his district, which covers parts of the Bronx, Rockland County and Westchester County.

“Of the 98,000 uninsured in district, 16% of residents under 65, will have access to coverage. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this legislation will cover 96% of Americans. That means 61,000 New Yorkers in my district will be able to receive coverage,” said Engel.

Engel also said the health care bill will improve health care coverage for women, seniors, small business employees and the youth.

As for the future of the health care bill in the Senate, Engel said, “I look forward to prompt action by the full Senate to make this health reform measure a reality.”

A Reporter's Smorgasbord ... BronxTalk Celebrates 15 Years

Gary Axelbank and producer Jane Folloro celebrated 15 years of BronxTalk last night.
(Photo courtesy BronxTalk)

The 15th anniversary celebration of BronxTalk, Gary Axelbank's talk show on BRONXNET, last night was reporter heaven -- one-stop shopping for political interviews. Everyone was there.

Here are just a few items gleaned from the evening ...

Asked about the prospects for health reform, Congressman Eliot Engel said a law would pass Congress. "If we don't pass it, we're going to lose our majority," he told me. And what about the public option? There would be an "emaciated public option," he predicted.

I snagged the Bronx borough president, Ruben Diaz, Jr., for a moment and he said he thinks he'll have more votes on the City Planning Commission to back him on his "no" vote on the armory project than just that of his own representative, Kenneth Knuckles. "I don't think I'm going to be the only 'no' vote," he said. Diaz recommended a "no" vote to City Planning because the Related Companies has yet to sit down to hammer out a community benefits agreement. The Commission votes on Oct. 19 and then the City Council, which really has the most say in the matter, has 20 days to decide on the project.

Councilman Jimmy Vacca, who we don't get to see very often because he hails from way over in the east Bronx (I know, we need to get over there more), told us that, despite his well-chronicled bird-dogging of the Buildings Department, he was genuinely shocked by recent revelations of alleged mob infiltration of the agency. He also told us that the Bronx News Network is part of his daily media diet. Nice.

Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and Councilman Jimmy Vacca
shared in the festivities in the BronxTalk studio at Lehman College. (Photo by Jordan Moss)

Fernando Cabrera was in attendance, occupying that post-primary-win, pre-general-election netherworld that Bronx Democrats, while certain of ultimate victory, are consigned to for the next five weeks nonetheless.

Cabrera asked Borough Historian Lloyd Ultan if he could recommend a good book on borough history and Ultan laughed and said that his new book, "The Northern Borough: A History of the Bronx" is just the ticket. I'd also recommend South Bronx Rising, by Jill Jonnes, an updated version of her wonderful book, "We're Still Here," chronicling the borough's rise, fall and rise.

In between interviews with those who have appeared on the show, BronxTalk aired choice clips from the last 15 years. By far the best bite was from Pedro Espada in a debate with Adolfo Carrion when they were both running for Bronx borough president ih 2000. Carrion had just been released from prison for protesting the Navy's ongoing practice bombing of the Puerto Rican Island of Vieques. "Do the job that you were elected to do," Espada chastised Carrion. "And advocate if you must and protest if you must. But do it within the confines of the law."

Congratulations to Gary Axelbank and his producer, Jane Folloro, are in order of course and I'll post a Norwood News editorial and photos paying tribute in a couple of days.

Riverdale Pols Say Cookie Company Owes City

Local lawmakers are not letting the Bronx-based cookie factory, Stella D’oro go without a fight.

Congressman Eliot Engel, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and Councilman Oliver Koppell recently drafted a letter to the New York City Department of Finance, asking them stop the company’s move to Ohio until taxpayers money that was granted to them in the form of a tax abatement is returned.

The three politicians are also requesting the cookie business not be allowed to take plant machinery with them that they say was purchased and upgraded using taxpayer dollars.

“We feel very strongly that the New York City tax payers should not be outsourced to Ohio,” the three said in the letter.

Stella D'Oro was awarded tax abatements under the Industrial Commerical Abatement Program(ICAP).

Brynwood Partners, the Connecticut-based private equity firm that purchased Stella D’Oro from Kraft in 2006, announced earlier this month the sale of the pastry label to Lance Inc., prompting the relocation of production, including the machinery at the Bronx plant, to Ashland, Ohio. The move is set to take place in October.

The letter also references the end of 10 month-long employee strike that came to a close in July after the company was charged with unfair labor practices. Engel, Dinowitz, and Koppell believe the closing of the bakery may have been in retaliation, saying the workers' "sense of justice was short lived."

"We should not be sending our jobs and tax money to Ohio," said Engel. "Brynwood Partners made a coldy calculated that they wanted to break the Union," he added, "and when they lost a National Labor Relations Board decision, they decided to sell out. "

The lawmakers are demanding a temporary restraining order against the sale until the Department of Finance enacts "'claw back' procedures to recoup the tax abatements," that they say "have not been expended in a way beneficial to New York City."

They additionally requested that Lance Inc. be informed of their intentions.

Councilman Koppell hopes the city gets involved.

“It’s a longshot but we’re trying it," he said.

Engel on Healthcare Reform, Israel, and More

BRONXTALK/MONDAY, AUGUST 17 2009

This week, BronxTalk featured an interview with Rep. Eliot Engel of the 17th CD. He spoke with host Gary Axelbank about health care reform, Israel, and other topics of interest.

Here's a link to the program: http://bronxnet.fliggo.com/video/GCEs4pPO

Next Monday night BronxTalk will present an update on the demolition of the old Yankee Stadium.

BronxTalk, the borough's flagship talk show, will celebrate its 15th anniversary this October. It is seen live Monday nights at 9 p.m. on channel 67 in the Bronx and streamed live on the web at http://bronxnet.org/home/live/webstreamtrial.html. It is hosted by Gary Axelbank and produced by Jane Folloro.

Viewers can see replays of BronxTalk at 9:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m., and 9 p.m. daily. The programs are archived at http://bronxnet.fliggo.com/category/bronxtalk

Bronx News Roundup, March 31

Nick Berger, an associate of former state senator Efrain Gonzalez, has pled guilty to helping Gonzalez squirrel away taxpayer money for personal use. He faces a year in jail. Gonzalez himself faces more serious charges; his much-delayed trial will start on May. 4. Here's some background reading.

Bronxites are excited about the Yankees new ballpark. Here's what they'll be paying if they decide to attend a game.

Still on the Yankees, the chairman of the much-lampooned New Yankee Stadium Community Benefits Fund, is being sued over alleged conflicts of interest.

Daily News columnist Patrice O'Shaughnnessy questions the integrity of Adolfo Carrion and Eliot Engel.

Students at the Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy, a high school in Marble Hill, are proud of their school's A grade.

Fordham University has launched an ambitious funding-raising campaign. According to the school's Web site, the school is seeking "$500 million to support new facilities, more student scholarships, more endowed faculty chairs and more funding for academic endeavors throughout Fordham’s colleges and schools."

Kemba Walker, a freshman guard from the Bronx with plenty of moxie, is one of the main reasons UConn find themselves in the Final Four. Another Bronx player, Corey Fisher, is also still in the tournament, following Villanova's defeat of Pittsburg. Anyone know where these boys grew up?