Bronx News Roundup, June 23

Weather: Foggy and 71 degrees at the moment, with scattered thunderstorms predicted.

Story of the Day: Kemba Walker Ready for His NBA Close-up
Soundview native Kemba Walker, who was launched into basketball stardom after leading his UConn Huskies to a national championship this spring, is expected to be a lottery pick in tonight's NBA draft, telling the Hartford Courant that he's "excited, nervous, ready." He could join any of five teams--Charlotte, Detroit, Toronto, Sacramento and Utah. "It's a dream come true no matter where I am selected," Walker told the paper.

"The Bronx, and all of New York City really, will smile knowingly and burst with pride," tonight, the NY Post's Steve Serby writes. Good luck, Kemba!

Quick Hits:

In other news related to talented Bronx athletes: North Riverdale Little Leaguer Sean Gallagher, 9, pitched a perfect, 8-inning game last week. 

Bronx News Roundup, June 21

Happy summer solstice! The season will kick off with some rain showers later this afternoon, and temperatures around 80 degrees. Scattered thunderstorms predicted for tomorrow.

Story of the Day: Armory Report Released
The Kingsbridge Armory Task force released a 267-page report today detailing plans for how the long-vacant building should be filled (ideas: a hockey arena, a culinary center and a mega-church). For more on the report, see our previous post here. Feel free to go there and share your thoughts/suggestions in the comments section. For example: what do you think of TV evangelist Creflo Dollar's proposal to take over the building?

Bronx News Roundup, Wednesday, April 13

Weather: Nasty, cold, windy, drizzly. I think I saw my breath this morning. If we can make it through today, tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful -- warm and sunny.

Story of the Day: Environmental Injustice!
The Bronx has long fought against the idea that it is simply a dumping ground -- for city-funded homeless shelters, massive (and over-budget) water filtration plants in our parks and, of course, actual garbage. Some 60 percent of the city's garbage is dumped in two areas saturated with waste transfer stations: Newton Creek in Brooklyn and Hunts Point here in the Bronx. Manhattan produces 40 percent of the city's garbage, but has no transfer stations. Five years ago, Mayor Bloomberg said he would make the garbage distribution more equitable and open three new transfer stations in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn. That plan has now been shelved (Bloomberg pulled the funding, but a spokesman said he's still "fully committed" to trash equity, whatever that means), leading advocates to cry foul. "This . . . tale of two cities needs to end," Kelly Terry-Sepulveda, executive director of The Point Community Development Corporation in Hunts Point, told the Daily News. "We were moving in the right direction. Let's not backtrack."

Quick Hits: 
We'll start with the bad news. Police say a 17-year-old opened fire on East Burnside Avenue last night, killing 16-year-old Dontae Murray, who was shot in the head, and injuring another man who was struck in the hand.

One of the two female Bronx cops who stand accused of savagely beating a motorist while off duty said their accuser went "ballistic" and ripped open her shirt during their tussle. The NYPD is being sued for $25 million over the incident.

Tenants, advocates and elected officials say the New York Community Bank is irresponsibly dumping several Bronx apartment building mortgages that have reached foreclosure. They would rather see the bank sell to a vetted nonprofit organization.[link fixed]

By April 30, 18 Bronx schools identified by the state as low-performing, including Banana Kelly High School, MS 391 and Fordham Leadership Academy, will learn whether or not they will face closure. 

Police arrested and charged a man with the murder of a Bronx grandmother who was stabbed to death three months ago.

OK, now for some more positive stories. More alewife are being found in the Bronx River, an indicator that the river's water quality continues to improve.

Mott Haven residents are enjoying the city's Garden and Greening program. 

The city's Ghanaian population, much of it concentrated in the Bronx, turns funerals into party destinations and fundraisers.

The Times profiles Paul Sliva, the down-to-earth golf pro who plies his trade at the Bronx's Van Cortlandt Golf Course.  

And finally, as we reported yesterday, Soundview native and college basketball star Kemba Walker is taking his game to the next level, announcing that he would enter the NBA draft this year rather than return to the University of Connecticut for his senior season. Walker's on pace to graduate a year early in May. Here's some shaky video (but no ads) of his press conference yesterday.

Bronx Hoops Star Kemba Walker Declares for NBA Draft

Bronx boy Kemba Walker, the charismatic point guard who led the University of Connecticut men's basketball team an an extraordinary run to Big East and NCAA Tournament titles, announced today he will skip his senior season and enter the NBA draft.

The decision came as no surprise to many observers who watched Walker, who is on pace to graduate a year early in May, emerge this year as one of the most dynamic offensive players in college basketball. He averaged 23.5 points per game, good for fifth in the nation.

"I just think it's the right time for me to go to the NBA," Walker said at a press conference Tuesday, according to USA Today. "It's a happy day, but a sad day because I am leaving my brothers."

Walker, who grew up in Soundview and attended IS 174, wrote a diary during the tournament for the Daily News. 

Bronx News Roundup, Wednesday, April 6

Weather: It looks and feels beautiful out this morning -- bright and cool, but not cold -- but apparently there's a 20 percent chance of rain later on.

To the news!

Story of the Day: 'Wild Style' Filmmaker Back in the Bronx
Filmmaker Charlie Ahearn, who put a spotlight on the Bronx hip-hop and graffiti scene with his seminal documentary, "Wild Style," is returning to the Boogie Down with his new short film, "Bongo Barbershop." The new film, which is showing this week during the New York African Film Festival, is set in University Heights, near the cross section of Jerome Avenue and 183rd Street, close to the unofficial birth-place of hip-hop -- Kool Herc's basement in a Sedgwick Avenue building. It focuses on the story of a young MC from Tanzania in search of the "real hip hop" who meets a Bronx legend -- Grandmaster Caz, who starred in "Wild Style" -- in a barbershop. In the video below from the Daily News, Ahearn talks about his new film.


Quick Hits:
After rejecting a plea deal, Bronx health clinic founder and ex-State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. and his son pleaded not guilty to embezzlement and fraud charges in Brooklyn yesterday. The trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 12.

Students at St. Ignatius, a privately-funded Jesuit middle school in Hunts Point, are thriving.

Two entrepreneurs, a Yonkers rapper and his Trinidadian mixologist colleague, are trying to cash in on the fruit smoothie craze. They recently opened up a new juice bar, Juices for Life, on Castle Hill Avenue in Castle Hill.

Bronx-bred college hoops star Kemba Walker played for the Bronx-based New York Gauchos team growing up.

The NYPD is conducting "dirty bomb" training exercises that may tie you up in traffic on your way to and from the Bronx over the next few days.

Bronx-born actress Kerry Washington talks about how the arts kept her out of trouble early in life.

Formerly-homeless tenants at Bronx buildings are facing eviction and life back on the streets with the city's Advantage program set to expire on May 1 due to state budget cuts.

A Bronx man faces three years in jail for downloading a bootleg copy of the movie "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." No word yet on what he regrets more: breaking the law or watching "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

23-year-old Bronx rapper D Bless wants to be the Bronx's next hip hop hero.

Bronx News Roundup, Tuesday, April 5

Speed roundup today as we're going to press with the latest edition of the Norwood News, which will hit streets in Fordham, University Heights, Bedford Park and Norwood tomorrow.

First, the weather: Rainy, with temperatures falling into the high 40s and winds gusting up to 36 miles an hour.

To the news!

Story of the Day: Bronx Boy Leads UConn to National Hoops Title
Soundview's own Kemba Walker, who attended IS 174 before heading to Rice in Manhattan to play his high school ball, was named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player in leading the University Connecticut men's basketball team to its third national championship. They beat Butler University, a relatively tiny Indiana school, 53-41. Jason Fisher, who apparently played with Walker back in the day, said he was proud to see his fellow Bronxite make it on the big stage. "It's spirit and hard work," he told the Daily News. "It's something we all dreamed about when we were playing way back in the third grade. It's a dream that came through for Kemba, and I'm really happy for him." Here's how they celebrated on the UConn campus (skip it if you don't want to see college kids deliriously happy):


Quick Hits:
More than 33,000 people wrote in suggestions to name the Bronx Zoo's most famous reptile -- the Egyptian cobra who was on the loose for a week -- and the finalists have been revealed: Agnes, Amaunet, Cleopatra, Subira Egyptian, Mia. Click here for more on the names and to vote for your favorite of the top five.

JPMorgan Chase donated an old Washington Mutual building, on East Tremont in Westchester Square, to the Bronx Council on the Arts.

HBO ran a documentary last night about Hollywood super producer Jerry Weintraub, who's a Bronx boy.

Watch and then vote for the winner of WNYC's Bronx Battle of the Boroughs music contest. The winner moves on to represent the Bronx in the citywide Battle of the Boroughs showcase in June.

A major rehab is beginning at the old Bronx County Courthouse.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio showed up at a Bedford Park building the other day to tout his new plan to hold shady landlords more accountable. The plan will include a link on craigslist that would lead apartment seekers to de Blasio's list of the city's worst landlords.

Bronx News Roundup, April 4

Weather: Keep your umbrellas on hand. It's gray and dreary in the Bronx today, with rain expected later tonight and continuing for the next few days.

Story Of The Day: Hometown Boy Makes Good
Bronx native Kemba Walker, the 20-year-old basketball superstar that's led the UConn Huskies to the NCAA championships, graces the cover of today's New York Daily News. Walker is an inspiration to those in the Soundview neighborhood where he grew up, the story says. He'll take the court tonight with the rest of the Huskies to face off against the Butler University Bull Dogs. More here. 

Quick Hits:
A class at the Clason's Point Library is teaching adults the ins and outs of using Facebook.

The National Transportation Safety Board is launching a six-month investigation into the discount bus industry, largely in response to last month's horrific Bronx bus crash that killed 15 passengers.

The Egyptian cobra that went missing from the Bronx Zoo last week was finally found, and now you can help name it. The zoo and the Daily News are taking submissions from the public, and you can vote online until 1 p.m. today.

A business group in midtown Manhattan known as the 34th Street Partnership doled out funds for the proposed ice skating rink in Van Cortlandt Park, a move that's irked some midtown merchants.

Adrian Rodriguez, the Bronx teen who was struck by a moving 5 train last week in Union Square, has died, NY1 reports.
A 32-year-old Bronx man who survived a shooting years ago was shot to death by a group of men Sunday morning in Melrose.

A third-grader from Morrisania is suing the NYPD. Public School 132 student Sofia Bautista says she was handcuffed by police officers last spring after she got into a classroom fight with another student.

Bronx Sports Column: Lady Mustangs are National Champs; Kemba's Killing It in the Big Dance

The Monroe Lady Mustangs won the national junior college championship last weekend.

 So much good basketball going on, it's enough to make your head spin. Before we get to the Big Dance, we'll start with the littler dances, which produced at least one Bronx champion.

Lady Mustangs Bring Home Hardware
With its 78-74 victory over Pima Community College (Ariz.) last Saturday night, the Monroe College Lady Mustangs basketball team took home its third national junior college title and first since moving to the Division II level two years ago. Sophomore Shanee Williams led the 11th-seed Lady Mustangs in scoring throughout the tournament, averaging 15.5 points per game and was named MVP.

"All year we talked about the difference between being great and being special," said Coach Goodman. "These players have worked so hard and now they can say they are truly special. Years from now people will remember that the Monroe Mustangs, an 11-seed, became national champions."

Meanwhile, Monroe's mens team finished third nationally.

Wings Takes Girls Title, Clinton Falls in Final Four
The Bronx's Wings Academy girls -- the Lady Wings -- team beat Curtis 46-43 for the PSAL Girls A Division title during a raucous championship game (bout) that featured a bleacher brawl. Just minutes after hitting the game-winning three-pointer with 2.3 seconds left, senior Aquillin Hayes announced she would be attending the University of New Haven to play hoops next yer. Here's photos from the game by the NY Post.

The Lady Wings were scheduled to play today at 1:30 p.m. in the State Federation tournament, but I haven't been able to find a score anywhere on the internet.

The 29th-seeded DeWitt Clinton boys team's shocking underdog run through the PSAL boys A tournament came to a screeching halt in the Final Four a week ago, as the Governors fell to eventual champion Midwood. 77-53.

Bronxites Move on to Elite 8
Soundview product and University of Connecticut point guard Kemba Walker is turning the NCAA men's basketball tournament into his own personal showcase. Walker, an IS 174 alumnist, absolutely abused the higher-seeded San Diego St. Aztecs last night, scoring nearly half of his team's points during the Huskies 74-67.

A dancer who performed at the Apollo three times as a youngster, Walker, a 6-foot-1, 175 puma of a ballplayer scored from everywhere and every which way imaginable. Plus, the kid's got personality.

The LA Times' columnist Bill Plashke swooned: "Just like that, the tiny guy with the wide-eyed smile and scraggly chin hair that he refuses to shave has become the best thing about this billion-dollar tournament. After a weekend filled with average basketball and questionable officiating, college basketball needs Kemba Walker, a star who is not too big to act like a child, a 20-year-old who laughs his way through giant games with playground guts."

Walker's UConn team plays Arizona, which features Bronx-bred forward Kevin Parrom (St. Raymond's High School), on Saturday for the chance to play in the Final Four in Houston. 

One final note: On Saturday afternoon, at 4:30 p.m. in Yonkers, the St. Brendan's School boys fifth and sixth grade team plays for some type of state championship.

Bronx Sports Column: A Borough-Centric Tournament Breakdown

Bronx boy Kemba Walker has UConn dancing.

Today marks the beginning of the best four-day stretch in all of sports: the opening two rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Nothing compares to the drama of the Big Dance. Every game -- there are 16 today, 16 more tomorrow and another 16 over the weekend -- is a dogfight. Every game contains potential for heroism and heartbreak. It's 18- to 22-year-old kids playing the biggest games of their lives. The quality isn't as high as you'll see in the NBA, but the desire and hustle and passion is immeasurably greater.

Let the Madness begin!

(For the record, I'll be rooting hard for my hometown Washington Huskies, a 7th seed, who face Georgia Friday night with a matchup against 2-seed North Carolina looming. I've also become an increasingly fanatic St. John's supporter. The Johnnies, led by Bronx-bred point guard Dwight Hardy, play a tough Gonzaga team in Denver tonight without senior DJ Kennedy, who blew out his knee during last week's Big East tournament. Final Four Picks: Ohio St., Pittsburgh, Purdue, Duke. Champion: Ohio St.)

Because this is a borough-centric blog, I'm going to highlight all the Bronxites playing in the tournament and break down their teams' prospects for advancement.

The Bronx Sports Column: Two Bronxites Named All Big East; Boys HS Tourney Update

We'll continue today with my twin winter sports obsessions: tracking Bronx point guards playing in the Big East and following the high school basketball playoffs. (Note: Looking for more on varsity girls swimming results? Boys gymnastics? Let me know via e-mail-- akratz@norwoodnews.org -- or by leaving a comment.)

The Big Bronx:
Boogie Down ballers Dwight Hardy (St. John's) and Kemba Walker (UConn) made the All-Big East first team, with fellow Bronxite Corey Fisher (Villanova) earning a spot on the second team.

A few weeks ago, I opined that Hardy, a high-scoring guard from John F. Kennedy high school, deserved a mention in the "Best Bronx Point Guard" conversation after torching Walker's UConn squad. Still, I put him in third place on the list, behind Walker (1) and Fisher (2). It's still hard to put Hardy above Walker, but he's definitely surpassed Fisher in recent weeks. While Fisher's Villanova squad has faded, Hardy's St. John's team is streaking into the postseason. 

Here are the season averages of the Bronx's best:
--Walker: 23.1 points per game, 4.3 assists per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, 1.8 steals per game
--Hardy: 17.9 ppg, 1.9 apg, 3 rpg, 1.4 spg
--Fisher: 15.5 ppg, 4.8 apg, 2.8 rpg, 1.5 spg

Bonus points to Hardy, who is averaging nearly 24 points per contest over his last 11 games, for getting the best of the head-to-head battles. Hardy put up 33 vs. Walker's UConn team and 34 vs. Fisher's Villanova squad -- both St. John's wins. Walker's heating up of late, but is only averaging 21 over his last 11. Fisher's averaged a little more than 15 over his last 11.  Fisher gets a bump for being the best passer of the trio, while Walker's 5-plus rebounds per game is remarkable considering he's 6-foot-1, 172 pounds.

We'll see how the Big East and NCAA tournaments to shake out before making a final call on this.

High School Hoops Playoffs Update (how the Bronx teams are doing):

The Bronx Sports Column: Who's the Bronx's Best Point Guard? Dwight Hardy Makes His Case

Dwight Hardy, welcome to the conversation. (More on Hardy in this Bronxnet video above.)

Before this season, the question of who is the best current Bronx-bred point guard came down to two names: Villanova University senior Corey Fisher and Kemba Walker, a junior at the University of Connecticut.

After a highly productive three-year run mostly coming off the bench for Nova, Fisher, who attended New Jersey hoops powerhouse St. Patrick's Catholic School, etched his name in NYC street ball lore over the summer when he dropped 105 points in a summer league game.

A highly-touted McDonald's All-American out of Manhattan's Rice High School, Walker started the season in flames for the unranked Huskies, torching ranked foes Michigan St. and Kentucky during a preseason tournament and single-handedly putting UConn back on the national map.

Both play for top 10 teams and are worthy heirs to the point guard throne held in the past by Bronx legends like Rod Strickland and Kenny Satterfield. Both are more like so-called combo scoring guards than classic pass-first versions like Strickland, a Truman High alum who starred in the NBA.

But on Thursday night, JFK grad Dwight Hardy, the starting point guard for a resurgent St. John's team, forced his way into the conversation. On a nationally-televised ESPN game, Hardy outplayed Walker in Madison Square Garden on his way to 33 points. His performance carried the Red Storm to a convincing 89-72 victory and put St. John's in a position to possibly earn a NCAA tournament birth.

In the aftermath, Hardy told the Daily News: "I was just in a zone. When I'm in a zone, I just kind of black out. . . . The basket just keeps getting bigger and bigger."

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 10

Cold, but sunny today in the Bronx. Warmer temps on the horizon. 

Story of the Day:
Not so sure about this little Valentine's fund-raising effort by the Bronx Zoo. For a $10 donation, the Zoo gives you the opportunity to name a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach after your sweetheart. "Nothing says forever like a cockroach," Zoo Director Jim Beheny told the Daily News. "They are resourceful, resilient and have been around for hundreds of millions of years." They are also offering a Courtship Quiz for those who are still look for that special someone. The result of the quiz determines which creature matches up with your "wooing" style. (We linked to a different story about this yesterday.)

Quick Hits:
Paradmedics saved a toddler from a Hunts Point fire that injured nine. 

Two Bronx-bred hoopsters, University of Connecticut's Kemba Walker and St. John's Dwight Hardy square off tonight at Madison Square Garden. (More sports updates in tomorrow's "Bronx Sports Column." In the meantime, here's a roundup of the first round of the Bronx Boro Championship tournament.)

The Bronx ranks number four out of the five boroughs in pedestrian deaths. (Speaking of pedestrian deaths, Gun Hill Road has long been considered one of the borough's most dangerous roads. Tonight, there will be a town hall-type input meeting to discuss congestion and safety problems on Gun Hill Road at Mosholu Montefiore Community Center.

Hunts Point residents came out to protest a new strip club planned for the area, which owners say will bring 20 new jobs for exotic dancers. Residents say that's not the type of economic development they're looking for.

And finally, our favorite Bronx political columnist Bob Kappstatter re-appears on a new day, Thursday, as the Daily News revamps its borough coverage (no more Bronx Boro News on Tuesdays, unfortunately). Kappy reminds Pedro Espada that he still needs to pay $62,580 in sanitation fines for illegally taping and stapling posters to public property. Espada, as we reported yesterday is holding a rally this morning publicly fight charges that say he looted his nonprofit network of health care clinics. Plus, Kappy alerts us to the New Yorker's report that the Dos Equis commercial's "Most Interesting Man in the World" is played by Jonathan Goldsmith, a Jewish actor from the Bronx.

Want to make sure the news continues? Just a reminder to our readers that the Bronx News Network is in the middle of our annual fundraising appeal. If you value quality local journalism, please consider donating so we can continue to bring you news and features, like our daily roundup or our borough events calendar. More details on how to contribute can be found here.

Bronx News Roundup, March 31

Nick Berger, an associate of former state senator Efrain Gonzalez, has pled guilty to helping Gonzalez squirrel away taxpayer money for personal use. He faces a year in jail. Gonzalez himself faces more serious charges; his much-delayed trial will start on May. 4. Here's some background reading.

Bronxites are excited about the Yankees new ballpark. Here's what they'll be paying if they decide to attend a game.

Still on the Yankees, the chairman of the much-lampooned New Yankee Stadium Community Benefits Fund, is being sued over alleged conflicts of interest.

Daily News columnist Patrice O'Shaughnnessy questions the integrity of Adolfo Carrion and Eliot Engel.

Students at the Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy, a high school in Marble Hill, are proud of their school's A grade.

Fordham University has launched an ambitious funding-raising campaign. According to the school's Web site, the school is seeking "$500 million to support new facilities, more student scholarships, more endowed faculty chairs and more funding for academic endeavors throughout Fordham’s colleges and schools."

Kemba Walker, a freshman guard from the Bronx with plenty of moxie, is one of the main reasons UConn find themselves in the Final Four. Another Bronx player, Corey Fisher, is also still in the tournament, following Villanova's defeat of Pittsburg. Anyone know where these boys grew up?