Bronx News Roundup, Friday, Aug. 12

Happy Friday folks. Let's get down to Bronx business. To the news!

Weather: Not a cloud in the sky today and tomorrow, with temperatures staying relatively mild in the mid-80s. Look for Sunday showers to break the loveliness.

Story of the Day: Striking Workers Bash Verizon Scab Practices
Yesterday, the Village Voice found a handful of striking Verizon union workers in the South Bronx criticizing their scab worker replacements for shoddy and unsafe work practices. At least a few Bronx politicians, including State Senator Jeff Klein and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, have voiced their support for the 45,000 members of the Communications Workers of America who say Verizon is unfairly "dictating" (not negotiating) terms for a new contract. Here's video the Voice shot yesterday:


Quick Hits:

Bronx News Roundup, Wednesday, July 20

Quickie roundup today. 

Weather: Prepare yourselves. Today's high in the low-90s is nothing compared to what's coming. The National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Watch warning starting tomorrow afternoon as "a large dome of high pressure" moves from the middle of the country to our neck of the woods.

Story of the Day: Pugilists Collide in Bronx Produce Market
Bunch of press today about the upcoming Saturday night boxing match/cancer fundraiser at Hunts Point market, including this story about Livingstone Joseph, a Bronx boxer from the Virgin Islands who has lost an aunt and uncle to cancer. More on the event here and here.

Quick Hits:
James Schlau, a registered sex offender, was sentenced to 60 years for violently sexually assaulting three Bronx prostitutes last year.

Italian-American academic Dr. Joseph Scelsa of Morris Park was named the grand marshal from this year's Bronx Columbus Day Parade, which is scheduled for Oct. 9.

POTS Community Survey

Local nonprofit Part Of The Solution (POTS) is looking to adjust its food pantry service hours, and they're asking for community feedback to see what hours would be the most benefitial to exisiting and potential clients.

The program provides free supplemental food and some non-food items to families in the following zip codes: 10453, 10457, 10458, 10459, 10460, 10463, 10466, 10467, and 10468. Each household receives enough non-perishable food for 3 days of meals, plus fresh fruits and vegetables.

POTS is asking that residents who live in the above zip codes fill out this quick community survey.

Learn more about POTS by visiting http://www.potsbronx.org/.

Tonight: POTS Fund-raiser at the Bronx Ale House

POTS (Part of the Solution) is holding a fund-raiser at the Bronx Ale House in Kingsbridge tonight.  The organization, which is located on Webster Avenue (and is in the midst of expanding), runs a food pantry and offers other services such as free haircuts and legal help. Here's its website.

The suggested donation at this evening's event is $10.  More details below.

POTS Fund-Raiser

Bronx News Roundup, Aug 26

Great story in the Times today about a hoarder in Bedford Park whose apartment had turned into a literal sea of stuff. The photos are amazing. Recently, Part of the Solution (POTS), the soup kitchen and multi-service organization on Webster Avenue in Bedford Park, enlisted a company that specializes in extreme hoarder cases to help make the apartment habitable again.

Testimony began in the trial against the four men accused of plotting to blow up two Riverdale synagogues, with an FBI agent saying he paid a confidential informant nearly $100,000 a year to help him catch local would-be terrorists. Defense lawyers say the FBI and the informant came up with the plot and entrapped the four defendants.

NY1's Dean Meminger takes a look at Freedomland, the Bronx amusement park that was located in the space now the Bay Plaza mall in Co-op City. It only lasted five seasons in early 1960s, but was the biggest amusement park in the world when it was built, according to borough historian Lloyd Ultan.

BoogieDowner has details on the new and improved dog run at Williamsbridge Oval Park. (The bloggers, who live in the building where Pedro Espada owns a condo that he claims is his primary residence, also say they recently received a hypocritical robo-call from Espada.)

If Espada is re-elected in the 33rd District this fall, a group of women state senate candidates and incumbents say they will not vote for him as majority leader.

The Bronx DA's office has bed bugs.

Bronx-bred hoop star Corey Fisher, fresh off a 105-point outburst in a summer league game, is ready to take on more of scoring load during his senior season at Villanova.

Burn the Fat, Feed the Hungry

http://potsbronx.org/Part of the Solution (POTS), one of the biggest and best soup kitchens and multiservice assistance centers in the Bronx, is holding a gut-busting charity fundraiser tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. at Excel Martial Arts, 3044 Westchester Ave.

Basically, you pay $25 and get a courtesy hardcore 3-hour workout (or you can workout for a few minutes and take off, no commitment necessary) conducted by New York Fit Body Boot Camp. Plus, 100% of your $25 goes to POTS, which will use the money to feed the hungry and provide other potentially life-changing services for people in need of just that.

Here's more details and how you can sign up.

Here's a story the Norwood News wrote about POTS last May. (You might notice the photo from our logo.)