News Roundup, Feb 24

Here's some interesting news going on in the Bronx:

Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson predicts that the merging of Bronx Criminal and Supreme courts will bring nothing but chaos.

The convictions of the two former owners of a Bronx building where two firefighters were killed in 2005 were overturned yesterday due to the lack of evidence. A judge ruled that the owners were not aware of illegal partitions within the apartments. Read more here.

Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr. and the Bronx Board of Elections were served with another subpoena by AG Andrew Cuomo in search of 2008 senate petitions.

Nine-year veteran Officer Frank Palestro is now known as an NYPD whistle blower for reporting allegations of corruption at the 42nd precinct. "I was the PBA delegate, and now I'm labeled a rat for doing what I was supposed to do."

A long-awaited 18-hole PGA-level golf course at Ferry Point, the site of former dump, is said to be ready by fall of 2011. Mayor Bloomberg has handed the project over to the Parks Department, which is now looking for a firm to manage the course once it's completed.

Yankee fans lost another battle in trying to save Gate 2 from being demolished in June. After it's gone, the Parks Department will then begin the building of the long-delayed Heritage Field Park.

Bronx politcal leaders are gathering their petitions to begin the election war for state assembly, Senate and district leadership slots.

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 News Roundup, Feb. 11

Larry Seabrook, the indicted Bronx councilman, has been asked to step down from his position as vice co-chair of the Black, Latino and Asian caucus. Meanwhile, the behind the scenes jostling to succeed him in the Council has already begun. Names being tossed around include Assemblyman Carl Heastie, the chair of the Bronx Democratic Party.

Still on Seabrook, the media has been lifting the lid on his messy love-life. In 1993 he divorced his wife but somehow neglected to tell her. She found out seven years later.

Bronx Republicans J.C. Polanco and Jay Savino have been served with subpoenas by federal prosecutors investigating a $50 million voting-machine contract the city's Board of Elections awarded a Nebraska company. Polanco is the Bronx Republican commissioner; Savino is the chairman of the Bronx Republican Party. More here.

The Bronx Democratic Party has endorsed Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

A man is suing a Bronx co-op complex for discarding his deceased father's possessions.

The police are hunting five men suspected of robbing a parking garage in Morrisania last week. After tying up an attendant, the men stole cash and a BMW.

Yesterday's snow storm was welcomed by tire shop owners on Jerome Avenue.

An ice-skating rink has opened on East 161st Street.

BoogieDowner clears up some erroneous information floating around cyberspace about two local supermarkets.

Joshua Clottey, a world-class boxer, has quietly made the Bronx his home these past seven years. Next month, the Ghana-born welterweight is scheduled fight Filipino phenom Manny Pacquiao.

In Throgs Neck, near the Whitestone Bridge, a new golf course is being built. Ferry Point Golf Course is scheduled to open in 2011. Golf legend Jack Nicholas had a hand in the original design - previous plans to build here fell through - and continues to be involved.

A Riverdale couple recently celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary.

Bronx News Roundup, August 17

Both Bronx residents and baseball fans are fighting to save the old Yankee Stadium's Gate 2. Although New York City has plans to remove the gate which would cost around $10 million to preserve, Yankee and Bronx enthusiasts argue that the gate should be used as an entryway into the new Heritage Park. Visit the Save Gate 2 website for more information on how the gate will preserve Bronx history.

[On the flip side, there was a protest yesterday afternoon calling for the old stadium to be torn down immediately and for the Yankees to fulfill promises they made to the community concerning jobs and environmental protection. More on this, including photos, later today.]

Continuing on with the ever interesting and chaotic chronicles of Senator Pedro Espada Jr.'s summer of controversy, the Senator now says that he is making efforts to stop nepotism in his office. Senator Espada Jr.'s son was recently hired for a $120,000 a year Senate job, but resigned after one week amid a sea of criticism for nepotism.

In BP Ruben Diaz Jr.'s budget for 2010, over 40 Bronx schools, parks and cultural organizations will receive $21 million in funding. The much needed money will go towards improving houses, playgrounds, libraries, sports facilities and a slew of non-profit groups.

After eight years and only slight progress in completing the Ferry Point golf course, the Parks Department is estimating that the project will need another $80 million to be completed. The construction process already has dealt with many controversies including a FBI investigation for supposed dealings with the mafia.

Bronx politicians speak out against the MTA after the Daily News broke the story about the MTA cutting back student discounts on express buses to Manhattan.

Early this morning a Bronx cab driver, Amadou Ndiaye, was shot dead in an attempted robbery in the Baychester. Police are still investigating the crime.

Yesterday afternoon, two men were wounded in a gunfight in Crotona Park.