Bronx News Roundup, May 14

Sorry for the late posting today. But do check out the latest Norwood News, which hits the street today. We’ll start with the heavy news and end on a lighter note.

More information on the death of Nimzay Aponte, a 23-year-old woman who was stabbed to death in a Mott Haven park on Tuesday. The Daily News reports that Aponte met Raymond Dennis, 35, online and they had chatted via instant messenger, though she refused to meet him. He tracked her down and spotted her on Tuesday in St. Mary's Park with a man, someone who was enrolled in a job-hunting seminar with her. The two were taking a break from the seminar when Dennis stabbed both Aponte and then the man. Paramedics raced the victims to Lincoln Hospital, where Aponte later died.

A Bronx man was shot and killed in Buffalo less than one day after graduating from the University of Buffalo. Javon Jackson, 23, graduated on Saturday, May 12, and was shot on Sunday at 3 a.m.

This morning a 9-year-old female yellow lab-chow mix ran onto the Major Deegan Expressway and was hit by a car close to exit 3. Soon after, another dog, apparently her son, ran to her rescue and would not let officers near her. Then, the dog ran off leading cops on a high-speed chase. The owner of the two dogs saw it all on T.V., and she went to animal care and control in East Harlem where the dogs were being held. The female dog is now at a pet hospital with a broken leg, but she’s expected to recover.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at NYU’s graduation ceremony yesterday at Yankees Stadium.

Newsday features several overlooked, but beautiful, places to visit in New York City and lists Vancortlandt Park and Poe Cottage as two of them.

Open Thread; Sen. Gillibrand?

This is our first open thread -- a place for you to discuss the issue of the day.

Today, we're wondering what our readers thing of Gov. Paterson's seletion of upstate congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate.

Just click on the comment button below.

Secretary Carrion? What Do You Think?

Add Mr. Secretary to the titles that could be affixed to Bronx BP Adolfo Carrion come the New Year. This report in the Times today says Obama transition officials are considering Carrion for the secretary of the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, better known as HUD.
This comes on the heels of reports that Carrion is on the list of of officials Gov. Paterson is considering for appointment to the United States Senate to take Hillary Clinton's place as she packs for the State Department.
We want to know want you think of either of these prospects. Comment away ....

Bronx News Roundup Nov. 20

More than a hundred animals are dead after a fire tore through a Morrisania pet shop.

If Hillary Clinton becomes Obama's secretary of state, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion could be in line to replace her as New York's junior senator.

According to the Daily News, State Senator-elect Pedro Espada failed to register his campaign committee or make the proper filings, meaning "it's impossible to tell who financed his campaign and how the money was spent." Espada could be slapped with a fine, but what other penalties he might face (if any) isn't clear.

The Bronx Zoo is going green this winter.

A family in Locust Point (a neighborhood next to the Long Island Sound) have replaced their bungalow with two 18-ton boxes.

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine on Morris Park Avenue has a new logo.

Hillary in the Bronx

Hillary Clinton made her first post-primary appearance yesterday -- in the Bronx. She came to the Pelham Prepartory School to speak at graduation, fulfilling a promise she made four years ago to a student who, with her mother, has volunteered for her campaigns.

Bronxite Pushing for Obama in Pennsylvania

There is a huge Democratic primary battle going on today in Pennsylvania and one of our own Bronx boys is there battling in Philadelphia for front-runner Barrack Obama.

Two and a half months ago, Hillary Clinton, backed by most local politicians, handily won the New York primary, despite a serious effort by one Bronx political activist. In the weeks leading up to the Feb. 5 Supper Tuesday primary, Haile Rivera, a University Heights resident, drove his mini-van all over the city campaigning for Obama.

Despite Clinton's nearly 20 percentage point victory here in the Empire State, Obama went on to win a string of primaries and caucuses and currently holds a significant lead in the popular vote and in delegates, going into today's Pennsylvania primary.

After New York, Rivera, a candidate for Maria Baez's soon-to-be-vacant 14the district council seat, began dedicating weekends (and even some week days) volunteering with Obama's campaign in places like Virginia and Rhode Island.

A few weeks ago, Rivera made a risky and possibly life-changing decision. He quit his job (one that he loved and cared deeply about) at the nonprofit New York Food Bank, to work full-time (and get paid less) on Obama's campaign in Philadelphia.

He's now working (that's Rivera pictured) seven days a week, sometimes up to 18 hours a day, leading local volunteers in the struggle for Philadelphia hearts and minds. He says it's hard, but rewarding and that he wouldn't have done it if he didn't believe Obama to be a transcendent politician that could change this country. Plus, he's gaining valuable political chops for his upcoming (and ongoing) campaign for city council. He says it's a "once in a lifetime opportunity."

Luckily, his mother lives there and he stays with her. But his girlfriend, Cosette, still lives in the couple's apartment in U-Heights and the distance is tough on both of them. Every weekend, she takes a Chinatown bus to Philly to help him out on the campaign.

Depending on what happens in Pennsylvania (Clinton has a big lead in polls, but Obama is more popular in Philly and other urban areas), Rivera will have another decision to make. If Obama wins, Clinton might drop out of the race. But if Clinton wins, the race will most certainly continue. Obama officials want Rivera to move on with them to upcoming primary states and he's seriously considering it. Next up: North Carolina and Indiana on May 6. Either way, that's a long bus ride.

Sen. Diaz on Clinton Campaign Shakeup

Some Latino lawmakers, including Sen. Ruben Diaz of the Bronx, are up in arms over the ousting of Patty Solis Doyle, a Latina who was Hillary Clinton's campaign manager until yesterday.

Bronx News Roundup Jan. 14

In the Bronx, Internet cafes are as rare as Starbucks. It's good to hear, then, that one (an Internet cafe, not a Starbucks) is about to be built in Soundview. (More here on the borough's digital divide and what's being done to correct it.)

In the Post today, there's a look at a "murderous gang turf war" that's engulfed several Manhattan high schools. The violence has been fueled by the rivalry of two Dominican gangs, Dominicans Don't Play (aka DDP) and the Trinitarios, says the paper. Washington Heights, in northern Manhattan, has been hit the hardest, but both gangs are active in the west Bronx, too. DDP gang members, for example, have been linked to an incident in which a 12-year-old girl was shot in the back and seriously injured following a house party on Marion Avenue in Fordham, last spring.

Yet another kick in the teeth for opponents of the new Yankee Stadium.

Rates of infant mortality, bucking a city-wide trend, increased in the Bronx from six deaths per 1,000 births in 2005, to seven per 1,000 in 2006, according to a new study. In 2006, the Bronx also recorded the highest percentage of babies born to teenage mothers, at 12 percent of all births. Brooklyn, with 7 percent, was second. More here, in what, above statistics aside, is a mostly positive take on the city's health.

Bronx pol Helen Foster is one of only four Democratic Council members supporting Barack Obama's presidential campaign. The other 48 are in Hillary Clinton's camp.

Victorious: Clinton and McCain

Hillary Clinton, then, somehow defied pundits and pollsters to snatch a win that just 24 hours earlier had seemed all but impossible.
Here's talkshow host Arnie Arnesen's fascinating (and funny) take on how the New York senator did it.

On the Republican side, John McCain pushed Mitt Romney into the silver medal position. See the full results here.

I was at Barack Obama's event. His supporters had come for a victory party, but as the evening wore on it became clear that Clinton's early lead would hold. The young crowd looked deflated; the "Fire it Up!" "Ready to Go!" chants were not as convincing as the previous night's.

Flanked by his wife, Obama was gracious in defeat. If shell-shocked, he didn't show it. (In a measure of how unexpected the result was, several reporters we heard from had already written their "Obama Wins Big" story, and were just waiting for the polls to come in so they could fill in the numbers before filing.)

I'm up in the Granite State with the New York Community Media Alliance, formerly know as IPA-NY. (See here for details on how the trip came about.) Yesterday morning, long before the results came through, we met with Andrew Smith, a pollster at the University of New Hampshire. Smith, who like everyone expected Obama to walk it, ran through the pre-election polls - Obama's meteoric rise, McCain's recovery, Clinton's stutter, etc. And he gave us his colorful opinion on some of the mistakes each candidate has made, and the hurdles they need to overcome to stay in the race. Here's some choice bits:

Smith said Giuliani's campaign was "horrible," and that he'd been arrogant to think he could get somewhere without old fashioned campaigning (he flew to New Hampshire for an short speech now and again but then got out of town). Smith compared Giuliani to a man who's about to walk off a cliff but is too stubborn to change direction.

McCain's chief problem, said Smith, is his stance on immigration which has dried up his fund-raising; Romney's, "his inability to be a skillful enough politician to change his position and make it believable."

Clinton, meanwhile, "has the worst media handling people of all the campaigns." Smith said that he'd spoken to reporters who'd received calls from Clinton's people demanding they retract a certain story and threatening to block a reporter's access to the White House if their boss is president. "The way they [Clinton's campaign] treated the press [in New Hampshire] was her biggest mistake," he said. "There was a level of control and paranoia in that campaign that’s scary." Because of this treatment, said Smith, reporters never gave her a break.

Obama's biggest issue is his lack of substance, thinks Smith. "[He's] like the meringue of American politics, light and fluffy, looks good, but when you eat it you wonder was it was." It a criticism, of course, that's been made before. But having heard Obama speak twice this week, I think it rings true. He spoke powerfully, as you'd expect, yet he was strangely boring and repetitive, hardly touching on his would-be policies or how he'd make them a reality. All talk ("change" "hope" "tomorrow") and no substance to speak of, may not wash for long.

Obama and company will soon be in New York ("Super Tuesday" is on Feb. 5). If you wish you vote, you need to register by Friday.

On a local level, here in the west Bronx, some community groups are using the hype to encourage local residents to take more of an interest in politics. On Saturday, for example, an event's being held at the Gambian Society on Jerome Avenue. The aim is to educate the borough's African population on the importance of voting.

Dinowitz: Bronx 'Just As Good' as Iowa, NH

I spoke with Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz yesterday about he presidential nominating process and his support for Hillary Clinton. Here's the short piece I wrote about it for the Norwood News (on the Web later today).

Leading up to Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, two prominent Bronx pols campaigned for Hillary Clinton in Manchester. Assemblymen Jeffrey Dinowitz and Jose Rivera were in the Granite State last weekend.

And despite polls on Tuesday that predicted an Obama win in New Hampshire and additional bad news for Clinton in South Carolina and nationally, Dinowitz said he was standing by his candidate.

“I’m with Hillary. I believe in her,” he said.

“I’d rather support someone who’s actually talking about issues,” Dinowitz added, comparing Clinton’s policy prowess with what he described as Obama’s soaring, yet vague, rhetoric of hope and unity.

Dinowitz didn’t want to criticize Obama harshly (he admitted he’d be a supporter if the Illinois senator prevails), but he did offer a gentle gibe. “Where’s the beef?” he said, echoing Walter Mondale’s famous quip criticizing Gary Hart in the 1984 race for the Democratic nomination.

Dinowitz also offered a critique of the nominating process, particularly Iowa’s and New Hampshire’s outsized role in the selection of nominees. “To have a couple of states have such huge influence on the process is just crazy,” he said. “A voter in New Hampshire has 100 times the weight, than a voter in New York. People in the Bronx almost never see the presidential candidate. We’re just as good and just as important as people who live in Iowa and New Hampshire.”

Dinowitz also pointed out that in Iowa, just as many independents voted for Obama as Democrats. The same might prove true in New Hampshire. “The people who should pick the party nominee should be members of the party,” he said.

Bronx Officials Stump for Hillary

Just got these two photos e-mailed to us from Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz' office. He was in Manchester, New Hampshire at a rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, with other members of the Riverdale-based Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club. Pictured in top photo, from left to right, are Ben Franklin club member Michael Heller (who is also a spokesman for the North Bronx Healthcare Network), Dinowitz, Hillary Clinton and former president Bill Clinton).

In the second photo, Dinowitz is pictured with Clinton and Bronx Democratic leader Assemblyman Jose Rivera.

By the way, Mount Hope Monitor editor James Fergusson will be up in New Hampsire later today and tomorrow with a delegation of editors from NYC ethnic and community newspapers. We expect he'll be blogging a little here on his experiences up there. So, check back!

Adolfo in the Granite State

BP Carrion stumps for Hillary in Manchester New Hampshire at Latino Fest.

News Roundup For Aug. 15

The city has announced a new method for transporting trash from the Bronx. The system, which eliminates transportation by truck, will move the 2, 000 daily tons of municipal and residential waste onto trains at the Harlem River Yards to be sent out by rail, the Daily News reports.

For a limited time, A Bronx Tale will run on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre with Chazz Palminteri starring. The show, a Broadway play in 1989 and then a movie, is back on the stage. Previews to begin Oct. 4, with regular season running from Oct. 25 for 18 weeks.

According to a Daily News article, DE Smith Corp., a marketing and merchandising firm in Manhattan is proposing to install a three-story tall red, metal sign that would say "Yes the Bronx" on Manhattan-facing waterfront in the Bronx. The campaign is meant to improve the image of the Bronx; however, Councilman Koppell is not a huge fan of the proposal, suggesting something more muted, like landscaped bushes.

Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, Jr. is considering a run for Bronx borough president.

And Bronx Dem boss and Assemblyman Jose Rivera is "looking forward to endorsing Hillary before the end of the summer."

An Offer They Can't Refuse?

Bronx Democratic boss Jose Rivera has invited the top Dem presidential candidates -- Obama, Clinton, and Edwards -- to a June 8 forum on Puerto Rican politics at Hostos Community College.
There was a time in the Bronx when the road to the White House was paved through our fair borough. Candidates didn't need to be invited. They just knew they had to come to Concourse Plaza or some other such venue and kiss the ring of local party honchos.
The Bronx hasn't held the brass ring for presidential aspirants for a few decades at least.
But now that New York has moved up its presidential primary date to early in 2008, and voters will actually get to pick among a large field of candidates, Democratic contenders won't be able to take the Empire State's delegates for granted.

So, it's no coincidence that Rivera is now extending an "invitation" to his fellow Democrats to stop by for a visit. How influential he and our borough are, or are perceived to be, will be determined in the nature of the candidates' RSVP's.