Rep. Joe Crowley on BronxTalk

BronxTalk, Gary Axelbank's talk show on the borough's public access station, BRONXNET, featured Rep. Joe Crowley this week. They discussed the economy, environmental issues and the election of a Republican in a historically Democratic district. Video above.

Bronx Congressmen Celebrate House's Passing of Health Care Reform Bill

On Saturday, November 7, Bronx Congressmen Eliot Engel, Joseph Crowley and Jose E. Serrano were three of the 220 House representatives to vote in favor of the highly debated Affordable Health Care for America Act.

This revolutionary health care reform bill narrowly passed through the United States House of Representatives on Saturday night with the support of most Democratic representatives. Now, the bill will go on to the Senate, where it is expected to undergo more debate and reform.

“I voted in favor of the health care reform bill this evening in one of the most important votes of my 35 year career in public service,” said New York 16th District Congressmen, Jose E. Serrano, on the night of November 7. “Nothing I have voted for in all those years will change more lives for the better than this bill."

Under the bill, all Americans will have access to health care, health insurance companies will not deny coverage for pre-existing conditions and Americans will have significantly lower price rates for health care plans, among many other conditions.

“Our health care plan gives American families peace of mind. A peace of mind that health care is not just a luxury for some, but an affordable, accessible benefit for all,” said Congressman Joseph Crowley, who represents the 7th District of New York.

In a press statement, Congressman Eliot Engel of New York’s 17th District of New York outlined a list of how the health care bill will affect people in his district, which covers parts of the Bronx, Rockland County and Westchester County.

“Of the 98,000 uninsured in district, 16% of residents under 65, will have access to coverage. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this legislation will cover 96% of Americans. That means 61,000 New Yorkers in my district will be able to receive coverage,” said Engel.

Engel also said the health care bill will improve health care coverage for women, seniors, small business employees and the youth.

As for the future of the health care bill in the Senate, Engel said, “I look forward to prompt action by the full Senate to make this health reform measure a reality.”

Bronx News Roundup, Sept. 15

Away from politics and Primary Day, here's the rest of today's Bronx news:

With Fashion Week upon us, The Times has a story about the designers Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, both of whom - by an amazing coincidence - grew in Norwood within a few blocks of each other.

More on Jimmy Grove, the Harlem resident who won $168 million in a convenience store on Fordham Road.

Five men, including two from the Bronx, have been charged with gang-raping an 18-year-old Hofstra University student.

At a recent "town-hall" healthcare meeting in Parkchester, Congressman Joseph Crowley refused to accept questions from the floor, instead insisting that he talk with constituents one-on-one.

Livery cab drivers working out of the Bronx gathered in Highbridge yesterday, to air their concerns about a recent spate of passenger-on-driver murders.

This spring, the Uzi-wielding drug dealer who shot dead a Bronx assistant district attorney in 1990, was unreleased on parole. State parole officials and the Bronx DA's Office have launched probes into how this was allowed to happen.

Bronx News Roundup Feb. 12

Verdicts are expected tomorrow in manslaughter trials of two tenants and a landlord charged with the 2005 deaths of two firefighters at a building on East 178th Street. The prosecution claims the men died because illegal partitions inside an apartment blocked access to fire escapes, forcing six firefighters to jump from a fourth floor window (four survived). The defense says firefighter protocol was to blame. More here.

New York State's highest court has a new chief judge. Jonathan Lippman was appointed yesterday after a vote in the Senate. Several senators abstained, including the Bronx's Ruben Diaz Sr. and Pedro Espada Jr., saying they didn't believe the nomination process gave women and minorities a fair shot at the job.

A Jewish group has hung a "Free Palestine" banner above the entrance of the Cross Bronx Expressway.

Twelve people have been arrested following a one-year investigation into a spate of vehicles thefts in the New York area. Police say the gang targeted luxury cars and construction equipment.

Congressmen Elliot Engel and Joseph Crowley have sprung to the defense of the $400 million naming rights deal between the Mets and Citigroup.

Nursing homes in Riverdale, and their residents, are concerned about proposed budget cuts.

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.

In the News...

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion will star in nine TV ads to promote the Bronx (and indirectly his 2009 mayoral campaign), according to the Observer.

Today's New York Times has a feature by Manny Fernandez about Johnny Five, a homeless man living beneath an abandoned train station in Highbridge. It's a fascinating look at his failed transition from the streets to an apartment provided by local community based organizations.

In another Highbridge story, the Metro reported Friday that there's talk of reopening the High Bridge so people don't have to climb across it illegally any more to get to the Manhattan side of High Bridge Park.

Congressman Joseph Crowley weighed in on congestion pricing.

And this week's City Limits features a story on the construction jobs that were promised in connection with the Croton Filtration Plant, now that the first pre-apprenticeship program is underway. The Norwood News ran a story on this in December.