Bronx News Roundup, April 13

Mayor Bloomberg's $63 billion budget plan will cut more than half of pest control jobs in the city. Politicians says this could possibly lead to a bigger rat infestation in the Bronx.

A new law says the city can remove graffiti from buildings whether property owners respond to waivers or not.

The landlord of 1585 E. 172 in Soundview could end up in jail if necessary repairs aren't made. Tenants have been fighting in court for over a year.

Last night's Charter Revision Commission meeting at Hostos Community College took a turn when Councilman Koppell exceeded his time limit by four minutes as made a plea for an end to term limits.

Two Democratic state lawmakers sponsored a bill that gives principals in NYC the power to choose what teachers should lose their job due to budget cuts.

Police are searching for missing Bronx sisters. Both were last seen Friday on E. 174th Street.

Bronx resident Alex Johnson is going to college through new program that allows carpenters to receive college credit for apprentice work.

In the Daily News, Patrice O'Shaughnessy writes about Castle Hill resident Andrea Magnotti, a woman with bipolar disorder. Magnotti will be taking part in a public walk to raise awareness and funds for the National Alliance of Mental Illness' New York office.

An elderly Bronx male of 801 Co-Op Boulevard is missing. Police are seeking the public's help in finding him.

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 5

Heads up: NYC is on a blizzard watch. Snow may start up this evening and continue well into tomorrow afternoon, so plan accordingly. Of course, this is only rampant speculation.

In other news:

The city has forced an overnight homeless shelter at the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center to close its doors. The official explanation: land devoted to park purposes (the community center is owned by the parks department) cannot be utilized for any other purpose. The center may still offer its other services to the public during the daytime.

After passing from one owner to the next, and years of bitter labor struggles between owners and employees, the old Stella D'oro Bakery will officially be shut down. On Monday the factory will be auctioned off by its current owner, Brynwood Partners, who moved production to Ohio after buying the company from Kraft. 150 people will be unemployed as a result.

A rape victim is receiving $1 million from Parkchester South, a condominium on Tremont Avenue. The attack happened in 2003, but recent details indicate the condominium was the suspect was responsible for nearly a dozen robberies and assaults between 2002 and 2003. Residents were kept in the dark about the crime spree.

David Gonzalez over at the Times talks about the history of graffiti in New York City. In the article, Gonzalez talks to Eric Felisbret, who recently released a book anthologizing New York graffiti. Felisbret's website can be found here.

Anyone see that movie Big Fan? The Daily News has a lighter story about football fanaticism in their story about how the NFL saved the life of Benny From The Bronx, a local sports talk radio caller.

Bronx News Roundup, August 11

The Daily News examines a number of questionable issues in the race for the 14th district City Council.

This Saturday and Sunday, Dexter Gardiner and the Gardiner Family Foundation will host the fourth annual Gardiner Memorial Basketball Classic Tournament at St. James Park.

The Bronx Parks Department has come under fire from the Outsiders, a Bronx youth baseball team, for not providing regular maintenance for baseball fields.

Teddy Ferrer, an employee of Tuff City, a store in the Bronx that combines graffiti, tattooing and a music studio, was recently interviewed by the New York Times about his graffiti and tattooing skills.

Police are investigating a possible series of hate crimes against West African Muslims in the Claremont neighborhood of the Bronx.

As if obtaining the position of Senate majority leader was not enough of a reward to end Pedro Espada Jr.'s June coup of the Senate, now Espada Jr.'s son will fill the newly created position as "deputy director of intergovernmental relations." Pedro G. Espada, a former city councilman, will earn $120,000 a year working for the Senate.

Yesterday, the MTA released a new $28 billion, five year plan to improve the New York City bus and subway systems. Included in the plan is the renovation of four subway stations along the 6 line in the Bronx.

BoogieDowner blogger, Erin Cicalese, contacted Community Board 7 about removing unsightly graffiti on a WWI monument on Mosholu Parkway and succeeded in getting help to clean up the monument. The New York Daily News covers Cicalese's story here.

The New York Dormitory Authority plans to spend $637 million on the construction of buildings for public and private universities and nonprofit health care facilities in the Bronx.

Bronx News Roundup July 21

Four Democratic state senators, including Ruben Diaz and Pedro Espapda, have hit back at Mayor Bloomberg, after he allegedly compared them to Nazis. The mayor is frustrated the Senate hasn't acted sooner to renew mayoral control of schools.

Espada, the new majority leaders, raked in $150,000 in campaign donations in the first half of 2009, but he's yet to reveal how he spent it.

Councilwoman Maria Baez has the worst attendance record in the City Council. She showed up at just 56 percent of mandatory Council meetings and hearings in the 2009 fiscal year, according to the Post. This isn't the first time Baez has claimed top spot. In an interview earlier this month, she blamed a long-term illness for keeping her away from City Hall. She said Council Speaker Christine Quinn is "aware" of her condition, and has been helpful and understanding. Certainly, Baez's chronic absenteeism hasn't angered Quinn too much. Last week, she gave Baez a glowing endorsement at a campaign rally.

Quinn's support, and other developments, suggests Baez "still has plenty of political street savvy," writes Bob Kappstatter.

Residents doctors at St. Barnabas are asking Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate executive pay at the hospital.

Police are looking for three men who robbed a man at knife point on Saturday evening, inside a Washington Avenue building.

A Williamsbridge man was shot dead on Sunday night, as he tried to to protect his brother from an armed mugger.

Chinese alligators, bred in captivity at the The Bronx Zoo and later released at mouth of the Yangtze River, have begun breeding, much to the delight of the Wildlife Conservation Society. The species is said to be on the verge of extinction.

Castle Hill merchants say a parking ticket blitz is driving away customers.

Michael Martin, aka Iz the Wiz, a prolific graffiti writer from the the Bronx, has died.

A new book explores the history of DeWitt Clinton High School and its remarkable alumni.

Tenants of 1600 Sedgwick Ave. in Morris Heights say they've been hit by through-the-roof utility charges. More here.

Graffiti

Some graffiti eye sores of our neighborhood.
Is there is a way to channel this graffiti energy into something positive?