Deadly Belmont Fire Points to Illegal Housing Dangers; City Launches Crackdown

Editor's Note: A version of this article first appeared in the May edition of the Tremont Tribune.

A fire at 2321 Prospect Ave. killed
three people in April (Photo by David Greene)

Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council announced yesterday that the city will be taking a new, more aggressive approach in identifying and inspecting apartment buildings suspected of being divided illegally.

At the end of April, a fire tore through an apartment building in Belmont and killed three family members who had been living there--Christina Garcia, 43, Juan Lopez, 36, and their 12-year-old son Christian Garcia.

The early morning blaze broke out on the top floor of a multi-family building at 2321 Prospect Ave., a space that had been subdivided into several rooms using partitions, according to FDNY spokesman Frank Dwyer.

The tragedy has shined a spotlight on the proliferation of dangerous housing conditions in the Bronx, and across the city. Experts and elected officials say practices like illegal divisions, erected by both tenants and landlords alike, are frighteningly common and growing in number.

Sally Dunford, of the West Bronx Housing and Neighborhood Resource Center, called the problem “endemic.”

She described some of what she’s seen in the community in recent years: already small apartments portioned off into even smaller ones, blocking access to the fire escape or stationed dangerously close to the building’s heating source; five people living in a basement with no bathroom or kitchen; an elderly couple living in a closet; tenants moving back into a property immediately after the city ordered them to vacate.

“It’s just scary,” Dunford said.

Startling Statistics Put Focus on Latina Suicides

Editor's Note: This story was originally published in the latest issue of the Norwood News, out now. 

Health care professionals and the city’s elected officials are looking for ways to tackle the daunting problem of teen suicides, as data from several sources shows that Hispanic teenagers, especially young Latinas, are disproportionately at risk for self-harm compared to other racial groups.

In the Bronx, 15.3 percent of Latina teenagers reported having attempted suicide in a 2009 survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which looked at youth behavior (numbers in Staten Island and Brooklyn were even higher).

City data shows the same disturbing trend: according to a 2008 report from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 46 percent of Hispanic teenage girls polled reported feelings of “persistent sadness.”

“It’s pretty startling across the board,” said Alan Ross, executive director for the Samaritans of New York, a nonprofit suicide prevention organization that also runs a 24-hour emergency hotline.

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.

Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 20

Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the organization that matches adult mentors with children and teens, is looking for volunteers in the Bronx. The group received only 27 Bronx mentors last year.

A Bronx woman has been reunited with her daughter, who was kidnapped over two decades ago.

Councilman Oliver Koppell and Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., continue their fight for passage of a Living Wage bill, which stemmed from last year's battle over plans for the Kingbridge Armory. The two pols attended a rally in Harlem last week in support of the legislation, which Mayor Bloomberg and the business community have opposed. 

A 16-year-old boy from the Bronx wowed judges on American Idol this week. Travis Orlando "took viewers on a tour of his rough Bronx neighborhood near the Grand Concourse thoroughfare," according to MTV.com.

Rayvon Guice, 21, of the Bronx, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for shooting two women in last year's chaotic "wilding" in Times Square on Easter Sunday.

A student from Bronx High School of Science is a semifinalist in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search for his genetic research project.

The family of Betty Williams, the murdered Bronx woman whose body was discovered inside a suitcase on the Upper East Side last month, are trying to reunite with her 3-year-old son. The boy was placed in foster care after his mother struggled with addiction problems.

A couple was killed early yesterday morning in a car accident on the Grand Concourse near East 165th Street.

Pedro Espada's memoir, which never materialized, was meant to be in part a political attack against then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, according to the Post. Investigators have been looking into the proposed autobiography to find out if Espada used money from his Soundview Health Clinics to pay for the ghostwriter he'd hired.

Students at Theatre Arts Production Company High School, on Webster Avenue, say it's easy to get straight A's at the school, which is one of the higher performing in the city. The Department of Education is looking into whether or not grades at the school have been fudged. The Times has more here.

New York Democrats, including Sen. Jeff Klein, are laying off staff this year due to budget constraints. The party had racked up millions in debt during their two years in power.

Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 14

The man charged with burglarizing three Bronx churches in November and December has been indicted. Nathaniel Linden is also a suspect in several other break-ins.

Riverdale-area politicians Eliot Engel and Oliver Koppell were left stunned by Sunday's massacre in Tuscon, Arizona, in which their freind, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was critically injured.

Several Bronx pols, including Koppell and the Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., spoke at a pro-living wage event in Harlem last night. Koppell is the primary sponsor of a living-wage bill currently before the Council.  Here's the latest on what may or may not happen.

The city is planning on replacing the closing John F. Kennedy High School with two charter schools, according to an internal Department of Education document obtained by The New York Times.

In an analysis piece, the Riverdale Press looks at whether the DOE "set up" JFK for failure.

St. Augustine in Morrisania is one of six Bronx Catholic scheduled to be closed at the end of the school year. Here's some reaction from students and teachers.  See here for more about these closing schools.

Cops are asking for the public's help in catching those responsible for two violent robberies in the Bronx this week.

A jury has aquitted Thomas Cordero -- the so-called "nude housekeeper" -- of murdering Eastchester resident John Conley. This despite DNA evidence and a confession. Conley was stabbed to death in October 2001.

A Bronx woman has been charged with giving other women illegal breast and butt implants.  Yes, you read that correctly.  The Mount Eden resident allegedly imported the silicon from the Domincan Republic and charged $1,000 per op.

A Bronx boxer and former Golden Gloves champ is trying to turn his life around after a stint in jail.

Bronx News Roundup, Dec. 2

Happy Hanukkah, everyone! The festival of lights started last night at sundown. Here's a yummy potato latke recipe from the Riverdale Press to get you in the spirit of things.

Two of the men originally named as attackers in October's antigay beatings in Morris Heights are now being identified as victims of the assault, according to WNYC.  Bryan Almonte and Brian Cepeda were originally charged by police as perpetrators in the attacks, but were later released. Five other men were arraigned yesterday on hate crime charges in the State Supreme Court.

Police are still on the hunt for the man responsible for a string of muggings in Co-op City, and one incident in Manhattan. The assailant arms himself with an ice pick, and has robbed four women in the elevators of their apartment buildings. He was caught on tape by a surveillance camera; video at the link.

Melissa Petro, the former teacher at PS 70 who was removed from her classroom after she wrote about her experiences as a sex-worker, was officially charged yesterday with conduct "unbecoming of a teacher," by the DOE.

Parishioners at St. Augustine's Church in Morrisania are worried that the closure of their parochial school could be detrimental to the parish itself, as it relies heavily on revenue from the school to operate. Six catholic schools in the Bronx face closure after funding cuts were announced a few weeks ago.

Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez says she's still a Boogie Downer at heart, according to Us Weekly. "I never miss the Bronx because it's always with me," Lopez told the celebrity magazine.

Former Borough President Adolfo Carrion, who left the Bronx for a short stint in the White House, is giving a speech today at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

Bronx Councilman G. Oliver Koppell introduced a bill in City Council to make all yellow taxicabs wheelchair accessible. Only 231 of over 13,000 city cabs can currently accommodate riders in wheelchairs.

Another Bronx pol, Councilman James Vacca, is behind a bill that will require the Department of Transportation to set guidelines for the approval and installation of bikes lanes, speed bumps and other "traffic calming devices."

A 26-year-old man was struck by a car and killed while crossing Riverdale Avenue on Monday night.

A new program introduced at Hostos and Bronx Community College is helping cash-strapped students stay in school by qualifying them for financial assistance, child care, health insurance and other benefits.

Bronx News Roundup, May 25

A 14-year-old girl has gone missing from her home on East 168 Street, and the police are asking for the public's help in locating her. 

The Daily News' "Best of the Borough Series" looks at Bronx food, Bronx culture, Bronx sports, and the Bronx for kids.

Mayor Bloomberg says the so-called living-wage bill is "poorly thought out and will not work."  The bill (full name: The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act ) is sponsored by council members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma.  It's being introduced today.

Thirty-six individuals have so far graduated from the Osborne Association's Green Career Center in Morrisania.  The center, which opened in March, provides former prisoners with the skills to land a "green" job.

On her blog, a Bronx teacher laments the lack of news coverage Sunday's double-murder in Mount Hope has received. 

This summer, several Bronx pols "will find themselves in real knockdown brawls to hang onto their seats," says the Daily News' Bob Kappstatter.

The Bronx Democratic Party has endorsed Eric Stevenson, a district leader who's running for Michael Benjamin's assembly seat.  Benjamin plans to step down and may challenge Congressman Jose Serrano. 

In an editorial at the weekend, El Diario la Prensa criticized the National Puerto Rican Day Parade Committee for giving State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. a lifetime achievement award.  Diaz is undeserving because of his opposition to gay marriage, the paper argues.  You can read Diaz's response to the editorial here. 

iPADs are banned from the Yankee Stadium. 

The Bronx Zoo's lion cubs are nameless no more.  Daily News' readers picked out Nala, Adamma and Shani.

The Bronx Halls of Justice has been open two years, but court officers' radios still don't work inside, increasing the likelihood of prisoner escapes.

The first in a two-part series about life in River Park Towers, a huge housing complex in Morris Heights on the edge of the Harlem River.  While the view is stunning, the buildings and apartments have seen better days. 

Bronx News Roundup, May 24

It's Monday and it's cloudy... not a great combo but here's some Bronx news to help awaken your senses!

Two 19-year-old men were killed early yesterday at East Burnside and Walton, in what police say was a gang-related attack. Irving Cruzwas pronounced dead at the scene and Raffy Taveras, who was shot in the neck, was pronounced dead at Bronx Lebanon hospital. No arrests have been made.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr and local health advocates, are taking a stand against Big Tobacco, announcing the formation of the Bronx Smoke-Free Partnership, a group aimed at stopping tobacco marketing towards children in the borough, as well as creating more smoke-free outdoor spaces.

The New York State Health Department released an online map of areas in the Bronx that are at high risk for cancer.

Hundreds of Bronx residents showed up for the bone marrow donor drive this weekend in effort to find a match for the 6 -month old baby girl who has a rare blood disorder.

City Council members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma may cause an uproar in City Hall, when they propose a bill that guarantees a wage of at least $10 for workers of development projects that have received more than $100,000 in public subsidies.

Bruckner's Bronxdale Houses will be renamed in honor of former resident, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

A Bright MMCC Baseball league Parade

April 10th, unlike last year, a bright, sunny, crispy cold Saturday morning played host to the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center Baseball season opening parade. MMCC's megaphone welding high energy Bob Altman, led the participants who started at 3450 Dekalb Ave. The parade went north on Jerome Ave then made a left into wooded Van Cortlandt park, finally ending at a lush green baseball field. State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, City Council member Oliver Koppell walked with the little leaguers and pitched the ceremonial opening balls. As always, it was a pleasure making photographs of my neighbors, I hope you enjoy the slide show.

Please click on the photos to view them larger with captions. Not all photos have names, if you leave me information in the comments, I'll add it to the photo captions.

Local Pols, Union Members Rally for Good Jobs

32BJ SEIU member Alba Vazquez at Monday's town hall meeting (Photos courtesy of 32BJ)

Alba Vazquez emigrated to America in 1977 from her native Uruguay, where a military dictatorship had seized power a few years prior. She settled in the Bronx with the hopes of building a safer, more prosperous life for her and her young family.

It wasn’t easy. Vazquez and her husband went their separate ways and she was stuck raising four children on her own. To make ends meet, she juggled three low-paying jobs. “It was awful, 18 hour days, no weekends, no vacation,” she said.

Ten years ago, however, Vazquez’s fortunes changed for the better when she landed a cleaning job at Madison Square Garden and became a member of 32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU). With a decent wage and benefits, she was able to provide for her loved ones.

“When I started to work at the Garden our lives changed completely,” said Vazquez, a softly spoken 53-year-old who lives on Hull Avenue near 204th Street.

Vasquez was speaking at a town hall meeting on Monday night at the Amalgamated Houses, a housing complex just south of Van Cortlandt Park. About 70 32BJ members had gathered to show their support for a City Council bill which would guarantee decent wages and benefits to cleaners, security guards, and other building service workers at new commercial and residential developments financed by city tax-dollars, and at buildings the city leases in the future.

Koppell Forms a PAC; 'Toys" with Idea of State Senate Run

Council Member Oliver Koppell, elected to a third term last November, is holding a fundraiser on Feb. 7. The money will be used for a newly formed Political Action Committee, as the Daily News' Liz Benjamin reports, and won't be used for a future Koppell campaign. But Koppell tells Benjamin that he has "toyed" with the idea of running for state Senate if the current holder of that office, Eric Schneiderman, vacates his seat to run for attorney general if, as expected, the current holder of that office, Andrew Cuomo, runs for governor.

Bronx Council Members & Committee Assignments

[Updated, Jan. 29, 10:10 a.m.]

City Council members were appointed to their respective committees and chairmanships last week and we thought we would give you an idea of what issues the Bronx delegation will be focusing on and in which areas they will hold some sway.

Click "Read more" at the bottom of this post for a listing of all your Bronx Council Members and their assigned committees and chairmanships.

A few quick notables:

Oliver Koppell of District 11 kept his position as chair of the Mental Health Committee, continuing a streak that dates back to 2006. Also, newly-appointed District 14 council member Fernando Cabrera has become chair of the Drug Abuse Sub-committee. (Drug Abuse is a sub-committee of the Mental Health Committee; it's one-person subcommittee formerly chaired by Annabel Palma.).  Meanwhile, Larry Seabrook (District 12) has maintained his place as chair of the Civil Rights Committee.

Each Council Member receives an additional stipend for those expenses related to the committees which they chair, and yet another if they hold office (although, in the Bronx's case, the only applicable member is Joel Rivera of District 15, who is also Majority Leader).

Koppell: On Armory, Administration ‘Bargaining in Bad Faith’

As a vote neared in the City Council on the Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment, only Oliver Koppell was publicly expressing reservations about joining with the Bronx delegation in rejecting the project.

Earlier that week, Koppell held a town hall meeting in Bedford Park where he verbally tussled with constituents who were virtually unanimous in their position that he should vote the plan down if it didn’t include a living wage provision.

“If you want to be responsible for an empty building for the next 10 years, that’s you,” Koppell told his audience then. “I don’t want to be responsible for that.”

Add to those concerns Koppell’s support of Mayor Bloomberg in the November election and you’ve got the Bronx Council member most likely to give the project a green light.

But when the vote came, he voted with the Bronx delegation and 44 of his colleagues, in a stunning rebuke of Mayor Bloomberg and one of his top outer-borough economic development priorities.

We called Koppell a few days ago and asked him why he voted the way he did.

“I wanted the project to go ahead,” Koppell said, “but I hadn’t made up my mind because we were involved with quite lengthy negotiations with the city to try and get some concessions on the living wage.”

Koppell said the negotiations with the Bloomberg administration were “going ahead fairly positively until Friday [the vote was on Monday], and then at the last minute, the administration took all of their tentative offers off the table, and wanted us to proceed with no concession on living wage,” and no progress on other matters either.

One of those tentative offers was the creation of a fund from the sale price of the building to subsidize merchants so they could pay their wokers the living wage -- $10 an hour plus benefits – demanded by elected officials and the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance.

On the day of the vote, Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera told the press that the city’s top lawyer said that  one of the offers – giving direct financial to eligible workers – might run afoul of the state Constitution .

But Koppell, a former state attorney general, said he believes even that “could have been worked out in my opinion if the city and Related wanted to proceed with it.”

Koppell said there were other benefits under discussion including a provision for Bronx purchasing and hiring Bronx workers. “They were on the table and maybe they could have been worked out,” he said. “When the other two matters were taken away everything fell apart.”

Bronx News Roundup, Friday Dec. 11

City Hall magazine says Bronx Democrats are shying away from challenging controversial Bronx State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. Two names mentioned as possible challengers -- Lillian Perez (chief of staff for Sen. Eric Schneiderman) and Haile Rivera (a local activist and former Obama organizer) -- have said they're not looking to run against Espada.

The Daily News reports that Council members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma are introducing a bill that would tie the creation of living wage jobs ($10 an hour, plus benefits or $11.50 an hour) to city-subsidized development projects.

[Side note on this effort: A little too late for ensuring living wage at the Bronx's Kingsbridge Armory project, where the developer, The Related Companies, is receiving millions in city tax breaks and a discount on the sale price. It's also too late for this to bill to pass before the end of the year. All Council bills die on Dec. 31 and there's no way it's getting done by then. However, it's true that there is momentum for "living wage" legislation and many Council members are pledging to take up the cause in early 2010. Koppell and Palma's bill will get the ball rolling.]

The city is telling all public school principals to prepare for a 1.5% midyear budget cut. Here's how the principal of the Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics, a successful small high school in the south Bronx, is planning to make the cuts.

Since 2007, food stamp usage in the Bronx has gone up 27%.

A look at all the best high school football players in the Bronx this year. And here's the borough's best girl volleyball players.

Bronx schools have improved according to the DOE's overall school grading system.

The brother of the Bronx mother who was shot execution style on Monday morning wants justice.

A new report say there are more than 500 stalled construction projects in New York City. But only 24 of them are in the Bronx.

Two Bronx high schools -- High School for American Studies at Lehman College and Bronx Science (the two are literally blocks away from each other as part of the northwest Bronx's education mile) -- have been named to U.S. World and Report's top 100 American high schools.

Koppell Seeking Armory Input at Bedford Park Meeting Tonight

Councilman Oliver Koppell is having a meeting  at the Bedford Park Multi-Service Center for Senior Citizens at 6:30 p.m. tonight (Mon.) to solicit input from constituents about the Related Companies' proposal to develop a shopping mall at the Kingsbridge Armory. A vote in the City Council is expected Wednesday.
The Center is located at 243 E. 204th St., between Mosholu Parkway South and Valentine Avenue. For more information, call 718-549-7300.

2009 Election Results

Here's a rundown of all the citywide and local election results, according to news reports. The city's board of elections says official certified results will not be released for another two weeks.

Mayor
Michael Bloomberg 51.61%
William Thompson 46.04%

Comptroller
John Liu 75.98%
Joseph Mendola 19.30%

Public Advocate
Bill de Blasio 73.86%
Alex Zablocki 17.93%

Bronx Boro President
Ruben Diaz, Jr. 86.87%
Allison Oldak 13.13%

City Council District 11
Oliver Koppell 79.09%
Stylo Sapaskis 16.54%

City Council District 12
Larry Seabrook 89.87%
Martin Badonsky 10.13 %

City Council District 13
James Vacca 92.78%
Frank Della Valle 7.22%

City Council District 14
Fernando Cabrera 87.11%
Yessenia Duran 10.68%

City Council District 15
Joel Rivera 96.64%
Steven Stern 3.36%

City Council District 16
Helen Foster 92.41%
Tanya Carmichael 6.72%

City Council District 17
Maria del Carmen Arroyo 96.86%
Robert Goodman 3.14%

City Council District 18
Annabel Palma 87.77%
Leopold Paul 7.79%

Primary Postcard: Norwood Polls Quiet After Apparent Morning Brawl

Koppell campaign workers stand outside of the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center polling site. Sandler (right) claims a Cassino supporter tried to strangle him this morning.

Around 3 p.m. this afternoon, the primary polling site at the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center was ominously devoid of Tony Cassino campaigners. Instead, Oliver Koppell campaign workers strolled around the area surrounding the community center passing out flyers and attempting to sway primary voters in their favor.

Despite Cassino's Norwood campaign office's location directly across the street from the community center, the only Cassino campaign literature in sight was plastered on the windows of his office.

However, earlier in the day, a Koppell campaign worker claimed that Cassino campaigners were not so quiet.

Andrew Sandler, a Koppell volunteer who has been campaigning outside of the community center all day, said, "A Cassino supporter pushed me and strangled me this morning when I was handing out flyers outside of Cassino's office." Although Sandler said that when he complained about the incident to Cassino, the City Council candidate apologized for his supporter's violent behavior, but Cassino also "said that I provoked him." The Cassino campaign could not be reached for a comment.

Besides the alleged brawl, Sandler said the poll station at the community center has been "quiet."

Poll workers agreed with Sandler, saying that turnout has been fairly low and they hope to get more voters after 5 p.m.

At another poll site in Norwood, the St. Brendan School on 207th Street, poll workers also said the turnout for today's primary election has been low. One worker pointed out that not one person has voted in the 94th District today.

Outside of the St. Brendan School, Jamin Sewell, who is counsel for Councilman Koppell, said he was "not surprised" about the number of voters. "I expected a low turnout," he said. "In some cases, people are unaware of the election."

Still, Sewell said, "I'm confident he (Koppell) is going to win, it just is a matter of by how much."

There were no Cassino campaigners outside of the St. Brendan School this afternoon.

Gloves Come Off in 11th District Race

The candidates' mailers in the 11th District started filtering into local residents' mailboxes a few weeks ago. Neither candidate mentioned the other. Until now.

Yesterday, the two started mixing it up in the mail, with Koppell attacking Cassino for printing and mailing his mailers out 0f state, and Cassino reminding voters that Koppell was a prime mover behind the push to extend term limits. (You can expect more of this as the primary on Sept. 15 nears.)

This seems like a good time to remind our readers -- particularly those in Norwood and Bedford Park -- that the Bronx News Network and Norwood News are presenting a debate between these two candidates at the Mosholu branch of the New York Public Library (285 E. 208th St., between Perry and Bainbridge avenues.)

Bronx News Roundup for August 26

A Bronx man is being held without bail after fingerprints from a minor charge were found to match those sampled from a rape victim in 1993. In 2007, the man's cousin was charged in connection to the crime and now faces up to 25 years in prison.

A worker for Tri-State Electrical Contracting was struck by a lift on the Throngs Neck Bridge. The worker's company was ironically a subcontractor of E.E. Cruz Contracting, the company found responsible for the July 10th fire that shut down Bronx traffic to and from the bridge for more than two weeks.

According to a poll done by the New York Daily News, 76% of baseball game and park-goers rated most of the parks in the Bronx area outside Yankee Stadium with D's or F's on a scale from A-F in terms of maintenance. Residents say they haven't seen where much of the $220 million has gone that was allotted in 2004 by Mayor Bloomberg to revitalize city parks.

Councilman G. Oliver Koppell of the Bronx calls on Sen. Diane Savino to make an apology for remarks that Gov. David Paterson's vision is affecting his ability to govern.

Leaks persist after $32 million was given to do repairs at the Grand Concourse tunnel at 161st Street. The situation has residents wondering where their tax dollars are going and Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. calling it "an ice skating opportunity" for cars.

Mosquitoes infected with the West Nile Virus have been found in the east Bronx. Health officials advise residents of the Ferry Point Park area near Whitestone Bridge as they plan to spray for bugs in the area tonight.

A Bronx team proves the game of cricket will continue to have a big following as the Bronx Lions, the cricket team for Lehman High School that was nonetheless eliminated from playing in the tournament, showed up with hundreds of others to watch the NYPD youth cricket match that was reported on by NBC News.

Some residents of the South Bronx have started up a small farm to raise organic produce as well as interacting with the community to raise cultural and historic awareness of the land.

Campaign Copy Editor Needed

Notice anything wrong with this picture? It is the cover of City Council incumbent Oliver Koppell's (oops, just gave away the answer) glossy new campaign pamphlet that hit District 11 households this week. Ding, ding, ding. You guessed correctly: it's Koppell, not Koppel.

We all make mistakes, including, believe it or not, this blog and the newspapers of the Bronx News Network, but Koppell must wish he took a look at this before he sent it out. It's an otherwise beautiful looking mailer trumpeting all of the two-term Riverdalian's accomplishments as a city lawmaker. Too bad this is the first thing everyone will see. (It's spelled correctly several other times in the four-page pamphlet.

He's probably not the only one dealing with spelling issues. I'm sure his opponent's campaign has its own trouble. Remember, it's Anthony Cassino, not Casino.

The September primary is less than a month away (September 15) and, in tough races (which Cassino-Koppell might end up being), mistakes can prove costly. We'll see.

Check back here for more campaign coverage as the competitive Bronx races heat up.