Bronx News Roundup, June 2

Hope everyone enjoys the beautiful day! Here's your daily dose of Bronx news:

The Bronx may have the honor of holding New York's first public alternative fuel station that will provide natural gas, ethanol and biodiesel. The station will be located near Hunt Point's Food Distribution center and is said to be at least five times the size of a regular gas station.

City budget cuts are affecting everyone, everywhere. Due to an expected budget cut between $2 -$3 million, the Bronx district attorney's office may have to lay off nearly 45 assistant prosecutors by the end of this month.

St. Barnabas Hospital had to place an emergency court order when the family of a patient experiencing internal bleeding, refused to allow doctors to give her a blood transfusion because it was against their religious beliefs. Read more here.

From some unknown place, oil is spilling into the Bronx River. Westchester County officials are cleaning up the oil spill, causing the closure of a northbound lane on the Bronx River Parkway. Read here also.

As we all know, the Bronx is considered the poorest county in the state. Many blame it on the poor wages Bronxites receive, that is why council members and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.,  are proposing the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act. The act would guarantee that when public subsidies are awarded to businesses for development projects, the jobs created will pay at least a living wage. While the mayor and other business interests appear to be skeptical about the plan, El Diario says the bill is a step in the right direction. Here's our story on the living wage bill from last week. (We have a bigger story on this in the latest edition of the Norwood News, which is on streets now. Pick up a copy today.)

Bloomberg announced that planned raises for all public school teachers will be eliminated for the next two years. According to Bloomberg, it would save the jobs of more than 4,000 teachers.

Bronx News Roundup, March 29

The parents of nine-month-old Neveah Jackson, who died Saturday of blunt-impact head injuries, are being questioned by the police. The Mott Haven couple claim that the child fell and hit her head on a desk.

Some residents of Manida Street in Hunts Point are seeking landmark status for a block of about 40 homes that date back to the early 20th century.

A civil rights photo gallery entitled "Road to Freedom" is on display at the Bronx Museum of the Arts until August 11.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. may run for citywide office in 2013 but if nothing is done with the Kingsbridge Armory, he may find it difficult to get elected. Last week Diaz appointed a task force to determine what to do with the long vacant building. 

The Bronx Violence Intervention Program is in danger of losing government funding.

Sections of the Bronx River Parkway and the Saw Mill Parkway have been closed today due to flooding.

In addition to being champions of baseball, the New York Yankees were named the highest paid sports team in the world.

On Friday a judge ruled to block the closing of 19 New York City schools. Among the Bronx schools that were given a reprieve are Christopher Columbus High School and the Global Enterprise High School.

Bronx News Roundup, March 15

[Note: This post has been updated and all broken-links have been repaired]

Hope everyone enjoyed the wet weekend. Now for some Bronx news!

In the aftermath of this storm filled weekend, 3,500 Bronx residents remain without power.

A fire in Morris Heights leaves a 39-year-old man dead in his apartment. A full investigation is underway.

A Bronx medical clinic registers its patients with iris identification technology. This consists of scanning the patient's eyes to locate medical records.

A wall collapsed from a two-story building in the Bronxdale neighborhood this weekend, leaving two people with minor injuries.

The city plans on dropping the contract with New York Organic Fertilizer Company in Hunts Point resulting in saving taxpayers some dollars and giving Hunts Point residents a chance at fresh air. You can also read more here.

The Bronx not only has some of the highest rates in obesity, but also some of the hungriest people. The New York Times is calling this the "Bronx Paradox."

The city is in search of a Bronx senior, age 74, who went missing yesterday. He is said to suffer from Alzheimer's and diabetes.

A major drug bust in the Pelham Parkway Houses last week led to 27 arrests and a whole lot of drugs.

City Island gets to play 'City Island' in the new film featuring Andy Garcia and Julianna Margulies. The comedy debuts in theaters Friday, March 13. Read more on the film here.

Bronx News Roundup, May 13

A mix of good and bad news today.

On Monday, firefighters rescued a seven-year-old boy who was dangling in an elevator shaft in a Hunts Point building.

A Bronx father, who confessed to killing his 14-year-old daughter last year, may have also impregnated her. Prosecutors say that Miguel Matias, 36, raped and murdered his daughter on Feb. 16, 2008. Matias appeared in the Bronx Supreme Court on Tuesday where prosecutors consolidated two indictments against him - one for his daughter's murder and one for second-degree rape and incest.

The principal at the Bronx Lab School in Williambsbridge, Marc Sternberg, has been named as a finalist for the prestigious White House Fellows Program in Washington, DC.

Teachers at P.S. 230 in Morris Heights are celebrating higher reading test scores.

The Daily News covers Fordham Place, the new 125,000-square-foot retail space on Fordham Road that holds Sears, Best Buy, Walgreens and Bank of America. It’s also where Senator Pedro Espada claims he will open his district office, though that seems to be stalled.

Yankee memorabilia from the old stadium, which the city sold to the Yankees for $11.5 million, will be auctioned off. The items are worth between $50 million to $100 million dollars. Go here to read more.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will be this year’s Grand Marshal at the Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade this Sunday.

Police are investigating a fatal stabbing that happened yesterday in a Mott Haven park.

Gonzalez Back in Court and Other Bronx News for Monday, Aug. 11

Happy Monday! Here's a few Bronx news stories to get you ready for the week.

Gonzalez, Co-defendants Look for Loophole
Lawyers for State Senator Efrain Gonzalez and his three co-defendants are challenging the validity of the federal indictment that accuses them of conspiring to bilk more than $400,000 in state funds (most of which, prosecutors say, went toward paying Gonzalez's person expenses). Gonzalez has maintained his innocence in the crime, but now his lawyers and those of his co-defendants plan to argue in court today that the feds stepped out of their jurisdiction to charge their clients. [NY Sun]

Meanwhile, lawyers for one of Gonzalez's co-defendants, Neil Berger, a former executive at Pathways for Youth (which allegedly sent money to a Gonzalez-controlled nonprofit called the West Bronx Neighborhood Association), are seeking to have charges against him dismissed because he is not being accused of profiting from the alleged scheme.

Gonzalez is in the middle of a heated re-election campaign against former Assemblyman/Council Member Pedro Espada. Gonzalez's campaign has challenged the legality of Espada's Bedford Park residency and his petition signatures.

Stay tuned...

More Bronx News
Veteran Bronx pols Council Member Oliver Koppell and Assemblyman Jose Rivera say the Dept. of Education is ignoring overcrowding problems in their borough. [Daily News]

Hunt's Point residents say the Wikipedia entry on their community is outdated and paints an ugly picture. [NY Times]

A Bronx soldier and dad is struggling to regain custody of his kids. [NY Post]

The Times summarizes the landlord-tenant battle at 2720 Grand Concourse, which the Norwood News has been writing about since March (they credited us in the story!). Read our initial story here, our follow-up here and and an editorial here.

Bronx Sports
While the Olympics gets rolling (did anyone else see the American swim team's thrilling victory over France last night?), you can get your sports fix right here in the Bronx, during the GHI Bronx Tennis Classic in Crotona Park. Action started yesterday and will continue through Sunday. Check back here for results and pictures throughout the week. [NY1]

[Update, afternoon]
Bronx Arts
A nice feature in the Times' City Room blog by David Gonzalez about a South Bronx sculptor.