A number of LGBT advocacy groups and several local elected officials will be demonstrating tomorrow afternoon on the steps of the Bronx County Courthouse in support of marriage equality.
The rally was organized by Bronx Rainbow Independent Democratic Association and Marriage Equality New York.
Expected to attend: State Senators Jose M. Serrano, Gustavo Rivera, Jeff Klein and Adriano Espaillat, Assemblymembers Carmen Arroyo, Jeffrey Dinowitz and Jose Rivera and NYC Councilmember Maria del Carmen Arroyo.
According to a press release, the event is in part a response to State Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr.'s controversial March 15 parade against the passage of a gay marriage bill for New York.
The rally will start at 2 p.m. at the Bronx Courthouse, 851 Grand Concourse at 161st Street.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Tomorrow: Bronx Rally for Marriage Equality
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, March 30
Weather: Another sunny day today, finally warming up a bit to hit around 50 degrees this afternoon. Temps will drop again tomorrow, with rain expected and a possibility of light snow on Friday.
Story of the Day: Snake Fever
The nation is captivated by the Bronx Zoo's missing cobra, which disappeared from the park's reptile house this weekend and then, mysteriously, started posting updates of its whereabouts on Twitter yesterday. @BronxZoosCobra has racked up 136,458 followers and has reached celebrity status, getting shout-outs from Mayor Bloomberg, Steve Martin and the Daily Show's John Stewart. According to Gothamist: "Some entrepreneurs have already started an 'I Egyptian Cobra New York' line of clothing and accessories." Collectors items, for sure.
Quick Hits:
Charles Kavanagh, the former pastor of St Raymond's Church who was defrocked after accusations that he molested a 17-year-old seminary student in 2002, is suing his accuser for defamation.
The 14 pitbulls that were rescued from an apartment fire on the Grand Concourse earlier this month are struggling with health and behavioral issues, according to the Times. Three of the dogs had to be put down shortly after the blaze because their injuries were so severe.
Bronx State Sen. Jose M. Serrano makes a case to reform the member item distribution process in yesterday's Times Union. Serrano argues the money should be doled out equally, instead of the most powerful legislators getting the biggest cuts, as is currently the case. Meanwhile, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget has cut pork project spending entirely for this fiscal year.
A Bronx man pleaded guilty yesterday to bringing an underage girl across state lines and forcing her to perform sex acts on NFL star Lawrence Taylor. Rasheed Davis faces up to 30 years in prison; Taylor was sentenced last week to six years probation and will have to register on the New York State Sex Offender Registry.
Ex-cop Eddie Coello was indicted by a Grand Jury yesterday and charged with the murder of his wife, Throgs Neck resident and mother of four Tina Adovasio, whose body was found in a wooded area in Westchester last month.
This Daily News slideshow takes a look at the wives and girlfriends of the New York Yankees.
Congress will renew discussions today of a bipartisan bill to strengthen safety regulations for buses, sparked by a series of recent deadly bus accidents, including the Bronx crash earlier this month that killed 15 people on the New England Thruway.
Activists are fighting the Department of Environmental Protection for access to the Jerome Park Reservoir, which has been fenced off from residents since World War II.
A string of recent Bronx bodega robberies have store owners and police on alert.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, March 18
Hopefully you are reading this on a laptop or iPad/Phone in Van Cortlandt or Crotona or Soundview or Pelham Bay or Roberto Clemente or Williamsbridge Oval or any one of the Bronx's many parks. And if you're not, hopefully you'll get to one later today as temperatures will soar into the 70s! Less warm over the weekend, but it will still remain jarringly comfortable.
To the news!
Story of the Day: Spotlight on Ex-Cop Husband of Dead Bronx Mom
Yesterday morning, Eddy Coello, a former NYPD housing cop, walked unprompted into the 45th Precinct with his lawyer to talk with police one day after the dead body of his wife, Tina Adovasio, was discovered in a wooded area in Westchester County. Medical examiners said Adovasio died from asphyxiation. Coello, who has a history of domestic violence, refused to give police a DNA sample and walked out of the precinct 24 minutes later. At this point, police are saying he is the only "person of interest" in this case. A former girlfriend told the Daily News Coello was volatile and prone to violent outbursts. As police continued to gather evidence from Coello's car and the Throgs Neck home he shared with Adovasio and her four children, Adovasio's lawyer told the Post the case was "plodding toward an inevitable conclusion."
Quick Hits:
Here's our story on the decision to close the Oak Point post office.
The state revoked the license of Ophadell Williams, the driver of the Chinatown tour bus that crashed on I-95 in the Bronx, killing 15 passengers and leaving six others in critical condition. Transportation officials and state police are also clamping down on other tour bus drivers.
On "Match Day," some 200 medical students at the Bronx's Albert Einstein College of Medicine found out where they will be going to be resident physicians. Many are surprisingly choosing the lower-paying family medicine route. Students will disperse throughout the country, but one, who will stay in the Bronx at Montefiore Medical Center and pursue family medicine, said, “This country needs more primary care doctors. It’s the best way to deliver care, in terms of prevention, in terms of long-term follow-up, patient satisfaction, and reducing cost."
A new exhibition at the Lehman College art gallery is highlighting the resurgence of so-called "fiber arts" -- knitting, weaving, embroidery, that type of thing.
Woodlawn Cemetery and the union representing its workers have reached a tentative agreement that would increase wages and lead to the cemetery cutting only 12 staffers, down from the original 23.
Bronx/Harlem State Senator Jose M. Serrano says he's much more excited about the new Puerto Rican and Latino caucus than he was last year, when it included Pedro Espada Jr. (ousted by voters, facing criminal charges) and Hiram Monserrate (ousted by the senate after being convicted of beating his girlfriend). The new caucus includes Bronx reps Serrano, Ruben Diaz Sr., Gustavo Rivera, Adriano Espaillat as well as Martin Milave Dilan (Brooklyn) and Jose Peralta (Queens).
Many Bronx tenants continue to benefit from oil donations given out by Citgo, the oil company controlled by Hugo Chavez and the Venezuelan government.
Check out all the planned work-related service changes on Bronx subway lines this weekend. Every line in the borough will be affected.
The Riverdale Press unmasks the "phantom painters" behind the giant shamrock painted every St. Patrick's Day on W. 238th Street and Review Place.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Local Politicans Fight Senior Center Closures
Proposed budget cuts could shut down 105 senior centers citywide this year, 22 of which are in the Bronx—and Bronx politicians are getting ready for a fight. Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. rallied today on the steps of Bronx Borough Hall (see the above video) in order to signal that this decision would not be accepted quietly.
“Once again, Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg have joined forces to increase the suffering of the senior citizens in New York City who have come to rely on these centers for meals, companionship and social activities,” Diaz said in a press release.
Senator Jose M. Serrano joined Diaz and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. at the rally today.
"I will work diligently with my colleagues to develop a budget that is cognizant of the needs of all New Yorkers. We must be careful to develop a budget that doesn't hurt our most vulnerable population," Serrano said in a press release.
Changes to the state’s budget have cut $25 million usually reserved for the City’s Department for the Aging (DFTA), or a third of the agency’s funding for senior centers, according to spokesman Christopher Miller.
Last year, the city threatened to close 50 senior centers across the five boroughs, but many were saved after funding was restored at the last minute.
In a statement, the DFTA said it is working to reverse the cuts, but that closures are certain unless the state money is somehow restored. Centers would close at the end of June if the budget gets passed as proposed, Miller said.
Bronx Council Member Oliver Koppell said the closures would deal a huge blow to local seniors.
“The loss of the senior centers in my district and throughout the city will have a devastating effect,” he said in a statement. “Not only do the centers serve meals, they provide exercise, recreation and socialization to relieve the loneliness that many older people experience.”
To see the full list of Bronx senior centers on the chopping block, click the jump.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Senate Dems Get Their Committee Assignments
Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson released a list today of Senate committee assignments today, which are shown below.
The Republicans have also published their assignments, along with the names of reps who will chair said committees. The list is here. Sen. Dean Skelos, leader of the now-majority Republicans, gets to name committee chairs--positions of power that come with a "lulu," or financial bonus.
No Democrats were granted chair positions this time, and neither was Bronx Sen. Jeff Klein, or any other member of his newly formed Independent Democratic Conference.
The minority committee assignments are posted below. The names at the top of each committee list that have an asterisk next to them are the ranking minority members--i.e., the top Democrat on that committee.
New Sen. Gustavo Rivera is the new minority ranking member of the Committee on Crime Victims, Crimes & Corrections (formerly chaired by Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson when the Dems were in the majority). He's also been assigned to the Committees on Agriculture, Health, Finance, Higher Education, Labor and Banks.
Other Bronx Senators in minority ranking positions: Ruben Diaz on Aging (he was the former committee chair), Jose M. Serrano for Cultural Affairs, and Hassell-Thompson on the judiciary committee.
See the list document for more.
46671049 Senate Democratic Committee Assignments
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Serranos Continue Assault on New Arizona 'Anti-Immigrant' Law
Above is a clip of State Senator Jose M. Serrano, who represents the south Bronx and east Harlem, in Albany denouncing Arizona's new immigration law and calling for comprehensive immigration reform, saying the current system destroys families.
Then, just a few minutes ago, the senator's father, Bronx Congressman Jose E. Serrano sent out a statement calling for Major League Baseball to move the 2011 All-Star game, scheduled to be held in Phoenix, "due to the extremist anti-immigrant law enacted last week in Arizona."
Serrano said there's precedent for this type of stance. The NFL rescinded its offer to hold the Super Bowl in Arizona in 1993 after the players union warned that it would not play in a state that didn't honor the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., which it didn't at the time.
Serrano said: “This anti-immigrant law is unjust, wrong-headed, mean-spirited, and unconstitutional. It is important that everyone who believes in justice and our national spirit of decency speak out against this measure. MLB has a very loud megaphone and their rejection of Arizona’s action would be an important demonstration to the state that we do not tolerate such displays of intolerance in our nation.”
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Serrano Looks to Reform Member Item Spending
A bill unveiled today by Sen. Jose M. Serrano—whose district includes Melrose, Mott Haven, Morris Heights and Highbridge—aims to change the way member item funds are distributed, according to a press release. The bill, which is a joint effort between Serrano and Assemblywoman Sandy Galef of Ossining, would make it easier for taxpayers to see how their lawmakers are spending public funds.
“This bill indicates a very common sense approach to this issue by adding additional layers of scrutiny and transparency to a process that, for too long, has been shrouded in mystery,” Serrano said in a statement.
Member items are public funds doled out to legislators that they can spend on local activities, usually through community groups and nonprofits. Over the past few years, a disturbing number of Bronx lawmakers have gotten into trouble for allegedly misusing them. Councilman Larry Seabrook, Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo, State Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr. and former State Sen. Efrain Gonzalez have all made headlines for their alleged mishandling of taxpayer dollars.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Bronx News Roundup, Nov. 6
Back in 2004, the Bronx Criminal and Supreme courts merged, with the aim of slashing the time felony suspects languish in jail awaiting trial. Instead, just the opposite has happened, according to a damning new report. There's now a huge backlog of cases.
A Bronx author says vaccines - like the H1N1 one - may do more harm than good.
A plywood sculpture in West Farms Square, which the Tremont Tribune wrote about last month, has been is getting some press this week. See here and here.
Yesterday, State Sen. Jose M. Serrano helped launch a new Web site called Open Legislation. The aim: to increase transparency in the law-making process.
Still on Serrano, here he is blogging about the importance of arts education in a child's development.
A suspect in the recent murder of a Yonkers man committed suicide on the Major Deegan Expressway near Fordham Road early Wednesday.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Bronx Pols Reluctant to Criticize Monserrate; Diaz, Sr. Even Praises Him
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Many, if not all, of the Bronx’s elected officials have hosted, or attended, events and rallies designed to shed light on the crime (which is more prevalent in the Bronx than elsewhere in the city), honor the victims, and condemn the perpetrators.
It’s been interesting, then, following local pols’ reaction – or lack of reaction – to the conviction last week of State Sen. Hiram Monserrate of Queens, who was found guilty of misdemeanor assault of his girlfriend.
With the exception of Jeff Klein, none of Monserrate’s Senate colleagues here in the Bronx have been willing to criticize him, at least publicly, let alone demand his removal from office.
State Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr., for one, seems amused, not angry. “We are still the Four Amigos!” Diaz told reporters – a reference to himself, Monserrate, Pedro Espada, and Carl Kruger – after Monserrate was found not-guilty of the more serious felony assault charge, which would have forced him to step down.
Diaz later sent out a press release, which said, in part: “Senator Monserrate was found guilty of trying to do good by forcing his girlfriend to go to the hospital for treatment.” He said he hopes to officiate at Monserrate's wedding. (As columnist Clyde Haberman notes in today's Times, it can't be easy planning a wedding when the groom and bride aren't allowed to talk to each other.)
Espada, another friend of Monserrate's (the two men helped bring the Senate to a standstill this summer), is similarly nonplussed by the conviction. "As it relates to Albany business, I think it's something that should be put behind us now," Espada said, according to The Buffalo News.
Ruth Hassell-Thompson, who chairs the Senate’s domestic violence task force, insists no one is "anxious to see this swept under the rug." But, at the same time, she hasn't exactly rushed out to reproach her colleague. She believes the Senate should wait until December, when Monserrate is sentenced, to decide how to punish him.
Jose M. Serrano, meanwhile, has yet to speak on the matter. And neither has Eric Schneiderman, although he’s been tapped to lead a committee that will consider possible disciplinary action against Monserrate.
UPDATE:
Council members Annabel Palma and Melissa Mark-Viverito just released a joint statement which said, in part:
Hiram has broken the public’s trust and it is our hope that he will now demonstrate leadership by stepping down from his position. Remaining in office would be a disservice to his district and his constituents.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Bronx News Roundup, June 18
The annual Bronx Independent Film Festival starts today at Lehman College.
Pedro Espada's housekeeper in Westchester has been interviewed by the Bronx DA about her boss' much-talked about residency.
One of the pit bulls rescued in a raid on a dogfighting ring in Mount Hope last summer has been re-homed. See here and here. More here on the raid itself (scroll down).
The Bronx DA is investigating a lawyer who represents landlords in Bronx housing court. The big questions: Does the lawyer actually exist? And, if not, what does this mean for the tenants he - whoever he is - has helped evict?
A Bronx detective, charged with perjury after a teenage suspect secretly recorded an interview the two had (an interview the detective said never happened), is an honest man, his lawyer insists.
An artist has created a life-size bust of a Bronx teenager who was shot dead in January.
Some of the funding the city threatened to take away from the Bronx Zoo has been restored.
State Senator Jose M. Serrano has an op-ed in today's Albany Times Union about stimulus accountability.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Senator Serrano on WNYC
State Senator Jose M. Serrano will be on The Brian Lehrer Show this morning at 10:15 a.m. to discuss this week's goings on in Albany, and the implications for the state. Tune in to FM 93.9 or AM 820. Or listen online.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Bronx News Roundup, May 7
Not a tremendous amount of Bronx news floating around today. We'll put a few links up here and then get to the business of reporting our own stories.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Bronx News Roundup, March 17
State Senator Jose Serrano wants to keep the Harlem River a river. In an op-ed in the New York Times this past Satruday, Charles J. Urstadt, the chairman of a real estate investment trust, and the one-time chairman of the Battery Park City Authority, called for the river to drained to create space for parks, schools, businesses and homes.
Denise Delgado-Brown, the woman shot by an arrow in Riverdale yesterday, is recovering in hospital.
Bronx buses and subway lines are getting busier and busier.
The Times has a nice piece about a world renowned Irish fiddler who grow up in the Bronx. Happy St. Patrick's Day, by the way.
A food pantry in Highbridge has found a new home.
The feds have ended a two-year investigation into State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. and his son Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr., who's running for borough president. More about the investigation here.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Bronx News Roundup Jan. 29
Green Party officials from the Bronx - including Lukas Herbert, a vocal critic of Adolfo Carrion and the new Yankee Stadium - are speaking out against the MTA's expected fair increases.
If you ride the D Train you've probably seen these guys break dancing for change and dollar bills. According to the Times, many of them live in the same Bronx neighborhood.
Last Saturday, the South Bronx Food Co-operative opened its first store at 3103 Third Ave.
A Catholic newspaper from across the pond takes a look at the Belmont and Arthur Avenue.
Motorists who park outside schools and leave their engines running for more than a minute will face $100 fines, under a new asthma-fighting bill passed by the City Council. Councilman Jimmy Vacca voted against the bill saying it will victimize parents dropping off and picking up kids.
State Senator Jose M. Serrano has been blogging about budget cuts on Room Eight:
The old saying in government is that “where you stand depends on where you sit.”More here. The cuts will be discussed at a joint committee meeting on Feb. 3. If you can't make it (it's in Albany, after all) you can submit commentary via YouTube - for perhaps the first time in Albany history, says Serrano.
In other words, because I’m freshly seated as Chair of the Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation Committee, it’s no wonder I stand in strong opposition to proposed budget cuts that affect, well, all of the above.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Bronx News Roundup Jan. 15
This Sunday, the Bronx Historical Society will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Edgar Allen Poe's birth at the cottage in Poe Park where the writer and poet spent his final years.
The Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy (BETA), a small high school housed on the John F. Kennedy Campus, has a wealthy backer: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The city is to start doing-up and reselling foreclosed homes in the Bronx and elsewhere, so that the vacant properties don't breed crime and blight.
Businesses on Riverdale Avenue are dropping like flies.
State Senator Jose M. Serrano is opposing plans to introduce tolls on bridges over the Harlem River.
A Bronx doctor is NY1's "New Yorker of the Week."
The new Yankee Stadium's financing is being increasingly scrutinized.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Rally Calls for End to Vacancy Decontrol
More than 500 NYC residents gathered together on Tuesday, December 9th at the New York Society for Ethical Culture to demand an end to vacancy decontrol, a practice by which landlords can take a vacant apartment out of rent regulation when the rent reaches $2,000. This rent control deregulation offers landlords incentives to raise rents to reach this threshold by whatever means necessary, including unsubstantiated improvements to common areas (major capital improvements), apartment renovations, and tenant harassment. Coalition members believe that they can get this law passed in Albany with a democratic-controlled state Senate, although that reality has been thrown into doubt by the unravelling of Malcolm Smith's deal with the Three Amigos.
A high school band kept energy levels high with pep songs at the start of the rally, and tenants led the room in chants like “La renta sube, sube/el pueblo sufre sufre” (The rent gets higher, higher/the people suffer suffer). Organized by Housing Here and Now, a coalition of non profit affordable housing providers, tenant groups, and community organizers, the rally called for the New York State Assembly and Senate to pass legislation to end this loophole.
The Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) was one of eight organizations that planned the spirited gathering, along with ACORN, Community Voices Heard, Make the Road NY, NYS Tenants & Neighbors Coalition, New York Immigration Coalition, NYC AIDS Housing Network, and the Working Families Party. Tenants involved with each of these organizations shared personal stories and reflections on the impact of vacancy decontrol on their struggle to maintain apartments in neighborhoods throughout New York City.
New York State Senators and Assembly members (or their representatives) in attendance signed a statement pledging to address repeal of vacancy decontrol with their chamber’s Speaker, Housing Chair, and the Governor by January 10, 2009. State senators in attendance were José M. Serrano, who represents parts of the South Bronx and East Harlem, Tom Duane, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and representatives from Senators Liz Krueger, Diane Savino, Joseph Addabbo, and Daniel Squadron. There were also representatives from Assembly members Karim Camara, Hakeem Jeffires, Linda Rosenthal, and Deborah Glick.
Sitting in one of several NWBCCC sections underneath the balcony, it was difficult to assess the full size of the audience in the 812 seat venue but the main level was filled to capacity. We received a visit from Senator Jose Serrano who came to see his “Bronx people,” thanking us for coming and encouraging the work of New Settlement Apartment’s CASA Housing Organizing Initiative. Folks can get involved in future efforts to end vacancy decontrol by visiting the Housing Here and Now website or their blog.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Bronx News Roundup Oct. 15
The New York Times has an interactive map showing who in the City Council supports a term limit extension, and who doesn't. The Times sums it up this way: "Much of the support comes from the Bronx, while much of the opposition is from Queens."
The trial of a man accused of shooting dead an off-duty cop in Pelham Bay in 2005 starts today. Steven Armento could face life in prison without the possibility of parole. Armento's co-defendant, Lillo Brancato Jr., an actor who appeared in several episodes of the "Sopranos," and the film "A Bronx Tale," will be tried separately. Officer Daniel Enchautegui was killed when he went to investigate to burglary at his neighbor's house. See here and here.
State Senator Jose M. Serrano, representatives from the New York Civil Liberties Union, and others, are holding a press conference at 1 p.m. today, to protest a new Department of Education policy which makes it easier for military recruiters to access high school students' personal information.
Last week, Congressman Joseph Crowley (Bronx/Queens) helped broker a nuclear pact between the United States and India.
P.S. 5, an elementary school in Mott Haven, is giving its students cheap, indestructible laptops. The program is sponsored by Teaching Matters and the DOE. The idea is to get students onto a shared network so they can do school work at home.
JFK takes on Clinton in high school football this Saturday. The Daily News is calling the game a "battle for borough supremacy." Both teams are 5-1 so far this season.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Bronx News Roundup Sept. 4
Following a lawsuit, city officials have backed away from a plan that would have used explosives to blast rock out of Jerome Park Reservoir.
State Senator Rubén Díaz Sr. likes what he sees in Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate.
Ocelot Properties, a private equity firm with buildings in the Bronx, is a do-nothing slumlord, tenants charge.
State Senator Jose M. Serrano has kind words for the growing number of same-sex couples choosing to live in the Bronx.
Tuesday's Daily News reported that Best Buy, the electronics giant, wants to hire Bronx residents to staff two new stores - one on Fordham Road (which will open in November) and the other in the Gateway Mall (set to open this time next year). More here.
Also in the Daily News, bus drivers working certain routes in the Bronx and Brooklyn regularly encounter violent passengers, a new study shows. The worst route of all? The Bx 36, which winds through Washington Heights, Morris Heights, Mount Hope, and several east Bronx neighborhoods.
Are real estate prices in the South Bronx about to shoot up? Is Mott Haven the new Williamsburg? Not likely, says The Read Deal. Here's Boogiedowner's take on the story.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
A Bronx Obama?
Inspired by Barack Obama using his stint in the Illinois state legislature as a springboard to national office, The Capitol, a newspaper that tracks politics in Albany, takes a look at up-and-coming state senators in the Empire State and lists three with Bronx constituencies -- Jose M. Serrano, Jeff Klein, and Eric Schneiderman. Serrano is at the top of the list. Each are ranked on the 'Obamameter.'
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Concourse Rezoning Hearing
Here's word via Sen. Jose M. Serrano about a scoping meeting tonight on rezoning the lower Grand Concourse ....The Dept. of City Planning has announced plans to re-zone the Lower Concourse. A public scoping meeting will be held tonight at Hostos Community College to solicit comments and input with regard to the draft scope of work. Senator Serrano (who's in Albany, for the end of legislative session) will have staff on hand to deliver his testimony. The Senator encourages all residents to come and share their own testimony. Nobody knows the Bronx better than Bronxites, and it's so important for City Planning officials to hear from you. A successful re-zoning process depends on strong community engagement!
Where: Hostos Community College
450 Grand Concourse, 3rd Floor
For additional information, contact the Dept. of City Planning's Bronx Borough Office at (718) 220-8500
