Bronx News Weekend Roundup, June 13

Weather: Partly cloudy and cool today, with a chance of light showers later this evening.

Quick Hits:
State Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr. says he's received death threats for his fierce opposition to same-sex marriage, according to this AP piece about conservative gay-rights opponents who claim they've been "bullied," for their views.

Meanwhile, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is holding a special strategy session in Albany today, as he prepares to make one final push for a same-sex marriage bill before the legislature adjourns at the end of this week.

A 15-year-old girl was shot in the back of the head outside of a party in Fordham Heights Saturday night. Yvette Marie Torres, a student at DeWitt Clinton High School, is in critical condition at St. Barnabas Hospital. So far, there have been no arrests.

Anti-hunger advocates and Bronx Assemblyman Jose Rivera want New York to rename its food stamps program to its federally-known moniker--the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)--in an attempt to reduce the stigma attached to applying for the benefits.

The federal government is pushing for state courts to curb medical costs by encouraging judges to settle malpractice cases way before they get to trial. The tactic, known as judge-directed negotiation, started locally in the Bronx State Supreme Court and is being expanded to other counties.

The Bronx Academy of Art and Dance, aka BAAD!, is hosting its 11th annual "Out Like That!" festival this week; there's a schedule of performances and events at the link.

A Long Island construction company that received millions of dollars from the MTA to install security fences around the authority's warehouses and transit depots has been found guilty of grand larceny, after supposedly submitting bogus or inflated invoices for years. 

Police have released surveillance footage of three men believed guilty of shooting four people--including a pregnant woman--at a BBQ in Castle Hill last week.

Another bout of gun violence left a 5-year-old boy and a 30-year-old man wounded on Friday. The victims of both shootings survived.

A 62-year-old man collapsed and died following a scuffle with police officers at a Morrisania homeless shelter on Friday, and autopsy results are pending.  Police had been called the the Webster Avenue shelter by administrators who said the man had been fighting with other residents.

The annual Riverdale Riverfest took place yesterday.

A 12-year-old Bronx boy has been missing since Friday; photo at the link.

Editor's Note: BxNN will keep posting this clock in our daily news roundups -- tallying the days until the NYPD releases neighborhood sector crime stats, which we requested from them via a Freedom of Information Law request last year. For some background, see our Norwood News' editorial here.

Bronx News Roundup, Friday, May 27

Happy Friday and Memorial Day weekend everyone out in the Bronxosphere. On to the news!

Weather: Hot and muggy with a chance of thunderstorms tonight. Isolated thunderstorms could break through the sunny humidity throughout this Memorial Day weekend.

Story of the Day: Late Bronx Soldier Honored with Street Sign
Fittingly, on this Memorial Day weekend, Army Sergeant Jose Velez, who was killed in Iraq five years ago, will have a street corner, E. 156th and Courtlandt Ave., named after him during a ceremony tomorrow morning. Velez grew up near the corner that will bear his name in the Jackson housing projects and attended school in the northwest Bronx at DeWitt Clinton High School. After spending several years as a truck driver, Velez (nicknamed "Cafe Joe" because of his affinity for coffee at home and abroad) joined the Army in 2004, where he was assigned to a transportation battalion in Queens. In February 2006, the friendly, jovial Bronx boy was shipped to Iraq, where he was stationed in Baghdad. Just four months after his arrival and two months before his 36th birthday, Velez was killed when an explosive device exploded near his Humvee. Velez's buddy Rafael Rodriguez, who spearheaded the renaming effort, said Velez, who had two kids and was engaged to be married when he died, "always had a positive attitude."

Quick Hits:
The Post says Bloomberg is enlisting Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., a recent adversary in Bronx development deals (see: Kingsbridge Armory and the Muller Center in Wakefield), to push his plan to create a new fleet of hail-able taxis in the outer boroughs.

During a drunken driving trial against a former Bronx prosecutor, the Bronx trustee for the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, Joe Anthony, was heard on wiretaps talking about fixing tickets, or as officers are now calling it, "professional courtesy."

Students at the Bronx's Samuel Gompers High School want the same federal help other low-achieving are receiving through a new "re-start" program.

Not leaving for the extended weekend? Daily News movie critic Joe Neumaier says you can chill out and watch some classic New York movies at site throughout the five boroughs starting with a showing of "The Red Shoes," showing at the Eastchester Library at noon. (On a side note: Libraries will be closed for the rest of Memorial Day weekend, May 28-30.)

A union rep called the negotiations between New York and New Jersey over the Hunts Point market "tense," and said if the market's lease expires without a deal on Tuesday, then the cooperative will operate on a month-to-month basis.

Bunch of good stuff in the Riverdale Press this week, including this story about 50th Precinct cop Matthew Delaney who moonlights as a crime novelist and this story about the complicated battle for control of the 15-building, 234-unit Sholem Aleichem housing complex in Van Cortlandt Village. The owners, who are in foreclosure, say they want to hold on to the building, but tenants aren't sure that's a good thing. (Side note: longtime tenant and former state senate candidate Dan Padernacht says "Sholem Aleichem" is the correct spelling, although it's apparently debatable. The Press says its "Shalom.")

Editor's Note: BxNN will keep posting this clock in our daily news roundups -- tallying the days until the NYPD releases neighborhood sector crime stats, which we requested from them via a Freedom of Information Law request last year. For some background, see our Norwood News' editorial here.

Bronx News Roundup, March 4

Happy Friday everyone! Apparently, it's warming up just enough for it to rain all weekend. Lovely. To the news!

Story of the Day:
Ridiculously tragic story in the Post today about a 25-year-old Bronx woman, Lana Rosa, who was beaten into a coma, allegedly during a dispute with a man over a parking spot in the East Village. Police arrested Oscar Fuller and charged him with the crime. Here's a video report from the Post:


Quick Hits:
Ex-State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. is due in a Brooklyn federal court today for a pre-trial hearing. Espada and his son are facing federal fraud charges involving the nonprofit health care clinics Espada founded and runs. 

Police are searching for a crew of fire escape burglars who are targeting apartments in Morrisania.

Lots of coverage today on the Bronx's New York Botanical Garden's upcoming "The Orchid Show: On Broadway," a collaboration between the Garden and theater folks (hence the "Broadway" theme) that opens tomorrow. The Times calls it a "Grand Stage for a Diva Plant." Here's video from the Daily News:


A housing coordinator at a special needs apartment building in Melrose was fired after allegedly scamming tenants out of thousands of dollars.

The "Guido Monologues," directed by Pelham Bay native Joseph Mileto, opens off-Broadway next week.

A couple of Bronx teens were nominated for an Emmy this year for a show they did on Bronxnet.

Some love for the grand architecture at Bronx Community College.

The Riverdale Press has a bunch of new Riverdale-Kingsbridge-related stories on its website. I'll let you sift through them.

Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 19

The state has banned former Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr., and his son from its Medicaid program. Espada is the CEO of the Soundview Healthcare Network, and was criminally indicted for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the string of clinics.

Speaking of Espada: investigators are trying to determine if he used Soundview money to pay a ghostwriter he'd hired back in 2006 to help pen an autobiography. "I think he wanted to be a hero character in his memoir," the writer told the Post of the book, which was never completed.

Don Kirshner, a Bronx-born music producer and television host, passed away yesterday at the age of 76. He had hand in some of the most popular songs and musical acts of the 1950s, including Manhattan's Carole King and fellow Bronxite Bobby Darin.

News for outer borough residents, where yellow city cabs are often hard to come by: Mayor Bloomberg plans to legalize livery cabs to make street pick ups. The proposal has yellow cab drivers irked, saying the move will cut into their income.

The Mayor is expected to make the announcement during his "State of the City" address today, at 1 p.m.

Police have ruled the death of a Bronx couple's 11-day-old baby an accident. The infant was smothered while being carried by her mother in a carrier harness during an outing.

The Bronx saw a shocking 107.7% jump on in the number of murders that took place in the borough's public housing complexes in 2010, compared to the year before.

A Bronx woman was busted trying to use counterfeit $100 bills for her purchases at the Palisades Mall.

Jurors in a Bronx Supreme Court will get to hear a tape of accused killer Daniel Carbuccia's plan to re-enact a scene from the mafia classic "The Godfather," to scare a witness out of testifying against him.

A gorgeous Mediterranean-style mansion in Riverdale's Fieldston Historic District is up for sale. Anyone with a spare $4.5 million want to buy it for me?

Craigslist has starting pulling ads from posters trying to sell the controversial drink Four Loko online. Bronx Sen. Jeff Klein has been on a mission to get the booze-and-caffeine mixed beverage off the market for good. Apparently, you can still buy cans of the stuff on eBay.

Workers at Woodlawn are trying to garner the support of plot owners at the cemetery in an ongoing union dispute over layoffs.

A man who was killed after accidentally plunging his truck into a Wisconsin lake earlier this week has been identified as 43-year-old Peter Ramanand, of the Bronx.

Bronx News Roundup, Sept. 23

Tensions are high in the ongoing Bronx synagogue bomb plot trial. According to NY1, Judge Colleen McMahon got into verbal spats yesterday with lawyers on both sides of the case.

Police arrested a 30-year-old woman yesterday in connection to a fire she allegedly started last week in the basement of an apartment building in West Farms.

There may not be alligators in New York's sewers, but a Bronx man found a 3-foot snake in his toilet earlier this week. Authorities say it was a harmless corn snake, and likely someones discarded pet.

A Bronx man is being charged with the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl Throgs Neck girl who went missing last week. She has since safely returned home.

A man from Riverdale is going to court today for leaving his dog locked in a van during 95-degree weather last July. The dog died, despite attempts by police to revive it.

Martha Stewart designed the Bronx Botanical Garden's "Edible Garden" exhibit. The homemaking maven also hosted a cocktail party at the garden on Tuesday.

Bronx-born Jenny-from-the-block Lopez will be the next new judge on American Idol. 

The City Council will announce a new plan today to deal with the city's distressed and over-leveraged buildings--like the crumbling Bronx properties owned by Milbank Real Estate.  We'll have more on this later.

The Lehman Center for the Performing Arts celebrates its 30th anniversary season this year. 

A Bronx student traveled to the White House this month to participate in a dance program.

Bronx News Roundup, Sept. 2

Bad news for Senate buddies Pedro Espada, Jr. and Ruben Diaz, Sr.: Spanish-language newspaper El Diario/La Prensa is backing their rival candidates in the Sept. 14 primary. In a release sent this morning, the paper announced the endorsements of Espada-challenger Gustavo Rivera and Carlos Ramos, who is looking to unseat Diaz in the 32nd Senate District. The statement called Rivera a "rising star," and chided Diaz for his "narrow mindedness."

Voters in Riverdale, where Democrats historically turn out to elections in high numbers, could play a key role in determining the outcome of Senate races in the 31st and 33rd Districts, the Riverdale Press is reporting.

A 6-alarm fire broke out last night in a record store on White Plains Road near 236th Street, causing the building's roof to collapse and spreading quickly to businesses nearby. At least a dozen firefighters were reportedly injured and several stores destroyed.

It's a parking ticket showdown between a tow truck operator and an NYPD officer from the 45th Precinct. Tow truck driver Marvin Robbins says the  cop gave him an invalid parking ticket as payback for his job, which is to tow illegally parked police vehicles.

Harlem Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV (who is running for Charles Rangel's seat in Congress) supposedly took campaign donations from the owner of a Melrose strip club, who is being sued for sexual harassment by the club's dancers.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., is urging the city to test all schools for PCB, a toxic building material. Tests done by the city last month showed high levels of the chemical at a public school in Co-op City.

The new Mott Haven Educational Campus debuted this week, a college-like 280,000-square-foot site that will house four schools. The Mayor announced that the city will add a total of 17,000 new classroom seats this year to relieve overcrowding.

A surveillance camera caught two arsonists on tape as they tried to set fire to a West Farms apartment building on Tuesday morning. Police are still looking for both suspects.

Bronx News Roundup, July 30

Mayor Bloomberg agreed yesterday with the Bronx judge who ruled saggy pants legal, though not fashionable. "I am certainly not the style police," Bloomberg told the Post.

The Times reported this morning that, five months into the investigation of Governor Paterson's top aide abuse case, officials are still unclear about how much the governor knew about the abuse and when he knew it. A later article by the Times states that Paterson unlawfully leaked evidence in the case to witnesses. Read the full story here.

Waitresses at Bronx strip club Sin City filed a law suit charging that their managers routinely groped them, stole their tips and demanded sexual favors.

The National Weather Service is urging locals to be prepared for tornadoes such as the one that hit Riverdale earlier this week. The Service's top suggestions are to get inside, stay away from windows, and have an emergency kit.

Police have found suicide notes throughout the home of Micaela Jackson, who killed her son and herself in their Bronx home on Wednesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the Bronx six awards worth about $350,000 to help pay for HIV/AIDS prevention programs geared toward young people and women. Get the details here.

Bronxites can now show their home pride on their feet with limited-edition Nikes specialized for each borough.

The Times highlighted some Bronx attractions in its own What's Going On? roundup this morning, see city-wide events here or check out our calendar.

Bronx native Jennifer Lopez is slated to replace Ellen DeGeneres on the next season of American Idol, according to billboard.com.

National Weather Service: Tornado Hit the Bronx

For the first time in more than 30 years, a tornado hit the Bronx on Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The Riverdale Press reports that the eye of the storm centered around north Riverdale, but effects were felt throughout the north Bronx, including Williamsbridge Oval Park (pictured above) and Mosholu Parkway (pictured below), where police used a truck to push a tree off the road. If you know of any other downed trees causing problems in your neighborhood, send in photos and we'll follow up with city agencies.

Bronx News Roundup, July 14

If you haven't heard, Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter dropped her bid to oust Pedro Espada from State Senate yesterday. We broke the story last night, The Times has more on it today.

The Wall St Journal reports that million-dollar homes in Villanova Heights, a community in the estates section of Riverdale, are not selling. Read the story here.

County Executives of America wants to bring free broadband wireless service to more than 400,000 Bronx County households. The plan says it will create 15,000 job opportunities in Bronx County.

Officials told The Times yesterday that a plan to demolish the Sheridan Expressway in the South Bronx would increase local traffic.

Bronx politicians are urging St. Barnabas Hospital to allow residents and interns to form a union.

A new Willis Avenue Bridge, which links Manhattan to the South Bronx, is making its way down the Hudson River this week.  The bridge will eventually make its home in the Harlem River to replace its nearly 110-year-old predecessor.

Bronx News Roundup, June 15

The trial of four men accused of plotting to bomb Riverdale synagogues has being delayed due to prosecutors' failure to turn over necessary documents. Defense lawyers said they would file a motion to dismiss the case.

According to a report by the Citizens' Committee for Children, child welfare issues in the Bronx have become worse since the recession began.

A three-year-old Bronx boy survived after falling out of a third-story window that lacked window guards.

Bronx Democrat Joe Crowley's fund-raising history is under review by ethics investigators in the House.

A Bronx-based recycling company has been indicted over accusations that it filed false documents with New York State, in an effort to hide the illegal disposal of waste.

The Daily News's Bob Kappsttater details the latest goings on in Bronx politics.

A little local sports news, the Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy Tigers win their first PSAL 'B' baseball title.

The Orioles are coming back to the Bronx, to play against the team that took away their position as world champions.

Tickets are on sale for the Inaugural New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in December. If you purchase tickets before Sept. 8, prices start at $30.

What’s Going On This Weekend?

Residents participate in a Family Art Day at Wave Hill. Photo by Joshua Bright.

Friday
Come see the salsa group El Gran Combo perform with La Excelencia at the Lehman Center for Performing Arts at 8 p.m. $35-$55 tickets are on sale. For more info call (718) 960-8833 or visit www.lehmancenter.org.

Celebrate Family Yoga Day at Wave Hill! Members pay $15, non-members $20. One parent/one child. Each additional child is $5. More info at http://www.wavehill.org/calendar/event_2168.html.

Award-winning writer and playwright will perform Becoming Joaquin, a play about a Latino transgendered man working to own his life, at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15. For more information and directions call (718) 842-5223 or visit www.bronxacademyofartsanddance.org.

Saturday
8 y Mas joins El Gran Combo at the Lehman Center for Performing Arts. Show at 8 p.m. $35-$55 tickets are on sale. For more info call (718) 960-8833 or visit www.lehmancenter.org.

Get crafty at Family Art Project Day: Rainbow Feathers of Clay at Wave Hill! Visit birds, draw them, and craft a colored clay relief. The event will be held at the Ecology Building from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Free with admission to grounds. For more information call (718) 549-3200 ext. 305 or visit www.wavehill.org.

Learn To Ride Clinic for Adults is this Saturday 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at Concrete Plant Park. Learn to ride a bike with Bike NY and the Bronx River Alliance for free! Bring your bike or reserve one for a fee. Registration is required. Visit www.bronxriver.org or call (718) 430-4665 for more info or to register.

Highway to Health Festival & Youth Forum will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at PS 64. Join community members and health activists for live entertainment, Zumba, capoeira, jousting, rock climbing, unicyclist, interactive exhibits, tacos by Chipotle, cooking competitions, mini film festival, bike advocacy, health screenings, dance, yoga, gardening and more. The event is free for all generations. Visit nycyouthforum.com for more info.

Global Family Gardening: Spring Harvest Celebration will take place at the New York Botanical Garden this Saturday and Sunday from 1:30-5:30 p.m. Come taste, see and craft plants from around the world! More info at http://nybgeducation.com/plan_your_visit/planyourvisit_results.php?event_type=7.

Verve and Swerve sweeps the stage 8 p.m. at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance. Come watch a dance celebration of pride and power. Tickets are $20. For more information and directions call (718) 842-5223 or visit www.bronxacademyofartsanddance.org.

Bronx News Roundup, May 20

Police are asking for help in locating the man who robbed a woman's car in Mott Haven--stealing a container with the remains of her recently cremated mother.

Police are also looking for 14-year-old Moona Choudhary, of 2158 Blackrock Ave., who has been missing since May 17. See this link for a photo.

The four Bronx men who were arrested in February for pelting off-duty cops with snowballs have some new evidence--video surveillance of the incident, where it looks like one of the officers pulls his gun. Watch the video here. The case against the four, who were charged with criminal possession of a weapon, was dropped earlier this month.

State Senator Jeff Klein, who heads the government efficiency task force, lauded Governor Paterson's recent decision to halt overtime pay to state agencies.

There's a new wave of young, Obama-inspired political hopefuls, according to the Daily News--including Pedro Espada challenger Gustavo Rivera.

Ex-Senator Efrain Gonzalez, who pleaded guilty last spring to counts of fraud and conspiracy, asked a federal judge yesterday to grant him a similar sentence as former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, who was sentenced to two years in prison earlier this month on counts of mail fraud. Prosecutors have asked that Gonzalez get as much as 14 years.

Nine senior centers in the Bronx are on the chopping block as a result of state budget cuts.

A housing court judge issued a warrant for the arrest of a landlord for failing to show up in court and for ignoring orders to fix hundreds of violations at his 1585 East 172nd Street building. 

A group of Riverdale residents stopped the Parks Department from spraying herbicide in Ewen Park.

A look at some of the changes, and non-changes, in Kingsbridge over the years. 

Residents are campaigning to get grocery service FreshDirect to deliver to the Northwest Bronx.

Bronx News Roundup, March 18

We'll start with the stories about the death of health advocate Megan Charlop.

Here's the Daily News article on Charlop's death. You can read more here and here. Here's our post on Charlop's death.

A man was shot and killed yesterday while driving on Eastchester and E. Gun Hill roads. The shooter is said to have been following the man who was driving an impala and sped off after the shooting. Investigations are underway.

The mastermind behind last May's plot to blow up two synagogues in Riverdale may have actually been a government agency informant. New court papers reveal interesting information in regards to the case.

Governor Patterson loses fifth top state official from his administration. Press secretary and acting chief spokeswoman Marissa Shorenstein resigned her position in the middle of the domestic violence case scandal.

College students partying might be trouble for the 238th Street neighborhood in Riverdale.

Senator Jeff Klein introduces bill that may require non-profit organizations, including private colleges to pay property taxes. Senate officials estimate that the proposal could be quite expensive costing about $1.2 billion dollars.

Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 21

A collection of Bronx students and their parents are suing the city for alleged abuses on the part of NYPD public safety officers. The plaintiffs allege that the officers, who are supposed to protect students, have been wrongfully handcuffing, assaulting and arresting the teenagers they work with.

The Latin music group Aventura, whose members hail from the Bronx, are set to perform a series of sold out concerts at Madison Square Garden. The Bronx group's new album has been number one on the Billboard's top Latin albums chart for the last 20 weeks.

A would-be scammer has been calling Riverdale residents posing as Rabbi Avi Weiss of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, asking for credit card donations of $10. Recipients of the calls have so far been wary.

A rookie Bronx police officer has been suspended after being caught on a homemade videotape punching and kicking a suspect who was lying handcuffed on the ground on Davidson Avenue near Fordham Road. The cop now faces possible arrest.

Thanks to community pressure, city officials are backing off of their decision to completely close Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School. The vocational school's automotive program will now be spared.

The Monroe College School of Criminal Justice has opened a new courtroom at their Bronx campus which will be used for courses and community workshops.

Bronx News Roundup, Dec. 8

The Mount Hope Community Center's opening is delayed due to a problem the size of three-eighths of an inch. The city claims that the building extends less than an inch on their property and thus refuses to issue the center its permanent certificate of occupancy. Read about some previous delays in opening that we published in the Mount Hope Monitor.

The Daily news highlights some of northern Riverdale's best finds.

A Daily News columnist, provides a glimpse into the crusade of a Bronx woman's tireless anti-gun crusade.

Another Daily News columnist hints that many Bronx politicians have hopes of assuming leadership positions on City Council.

The Department of City Planning has proposed the rezoning of an L-shaped area in the Tremont and Bathgate neighborhoods running along Third Ave. to spur growth in the area.

A developer has big plans for an area in East Tremont, including the construction of an 18-story building and a possible bowling alley.

A Bronx homeowner continues to be slapped with littering tickets for unsightly messes in her front yard that she blames on trash being blown from a nearby bus stop.

The Daily New's latest coverage of the Armory's living wage stand-off reports that the mayor's office offered a compromise. Stay tuned for our posting on the developing story later today.

Two Bronx schools have been added to the Department of Education's closure list.

Police have survellience video of the gunman in an attempted robbery shooting on Grant Avenue in Concourse Village.

Police continue to investiage the shooting a of a Bronx mother who was killed yesterday outside her home in front of her two daughters.

Bronx News Roundup, August 4

Construction on a new, large-scale housing development on Eagle Avenue in the South Bronx starts today. The development will be called St. Ann's Terrace and it will have eight buildings with 640 affordable housing units.

As Bronx BP Ruben Diaz approaches his decision on whether to support The Related Companies' plan for the Kingsbridge Armory, Bronx residents hope he will improve the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA). Diaz hopes to include stronger enforcement mechanisms for the CBA.

Today, the United States Senate will begin to debate Judge Sonia Sotomayor's appointment to the Supreme Court. The vote for Sotomayor is expected to be confirmed by the end of this week.

The New York Daily News suspects that Bronx Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo and her daughter, City Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo will soon be arrested for benefiting from their relatives stealing $20,000 from a nonprofit organization.

Riverdale Avenue between 254th and 260th Streets has a variety of affordable shops and restaurants recently profiled in the New York Daily News.

Bronx New Roundup, March 20

Forgive the lack of posting today on the blog, but we're undermanned and a little under the weather. Here's a few links to tide you over till next week.

A 27-year-old man named Eric Collins was arrested yesterday on charges he shot a woman with an arrow at a Riverdale nursing home on Sunday. Here's the Riverdale Press story on the arrest. Video coverage here from NY1.

The city is slashing funding for nine Bronx after- school and child care programs.

The Bronx Zoo and other zoos around country and fighting hard to stave off funding cuts.

WNYC's report on the Bronx Art Museum's Grand Concourse exhibit.

The Daily News' Errol Louis says there's still no justice in the Bronx for a slain 2-year-old, Khamerin Antwine, who was beaten to death a year and a half ago. Louis says Bronx DA Robert Johnson hasn't pressed charges, even though a Bronx family court held both the mother and her boyfriend directly responsible for the child's death.

The city's cutting hospital jobs in the Bronx and other facilities throughout the city.

Lavette Bills, a Bronx real estate broker and radio show host, was charged with scamming the very folks (distressed homeowners who feared foreclosure) she said she was trying to help on her radio show.

Bronx News Roundup, March 18

Happy post-St. Patrick's Day everyone. Hope everyone made it home safely last night. Here's some links to get you back into the swing of things.

First, let's talk MTA, which is threatening huge fare hikes and massive service cuts as a way to bridge its yawning budget gap. 

The new Democratic Senate majority's short-term MTA bailout plan, which included a 4 percent fare increase for subways and commuter trains and a small payroll tax (25 cents for every $100) but not any tolls for the East and Harlem rivers (as the governor and Richard Ravitch have pushed for), was rejected by both the Gov. David Paterson and the head of the Senate Finance Committee. 

Paterson said the plan was short-sighted and more of a stop-gap measure than a solution. Local politicians, including Senator Pedro Espada and Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitiz say they're adamantly against the bridge tolls and want the MTA to open up its books before they implemet any drastic measures (like bridge tolls). Dinowitz called the tolls regressive (meaning they would hit the less wealthy harder) and said he felt like the MTA was trying to hold lawmakers hostage by threatening them with service cuts and fare hikes. 

The Post reports that a consultant for Paterson may be in line to take over the MTA when it gets organized in the near future, a fact that could be shaping some of his decisions.

Times columnist Jim Dwyer says State leaders are blowing it and don't have enough power to get things done. 

Police continue to investigate an incident in Riverdale where a woman was shot with an arrow. More here about how police are finding the case difficult to solve.

CBS News writes about an Irish dancing troupe in the Bronx. 

GOP leaders are upset that the Senate Dems, including Bronx Senator Jeff Klein, are giving staffers big salary hikes. More on this from NY1, which first reported raises.

Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 30

Let's start this Friday with some not-so-cheery citywide budget news:

Mayor Bloomberg's giving his budget speech at noon. Some highlights (lowlights?): reportedly, the mayor wants to raise sales tax, from 8.375% to 8.75% and cut the city's workforce by 23,000 jobs (15,000 of those jobs may be in the Department of Education). In addition, Bloomberg may ask city workers to pay for some of their health insurance benefits and scale back some bigger construction projects.

The Albany Times-Union reports that nearly two dozen state lawmakers, including six Democrats (and one former lawmaker) from the Bronx, had received warrants for failing to pay tax debts (such as back taxes, fines and interest). Assemlyman Peter Rivera owed $20,000 (he says he's since paid this off), while former Senator Efrain Gonzalez still owes $43,462. Others who were served, included Gonzalez's replacement, Pedro Espada ($949.51), Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr. ($2,328.73), Assemblyman Michael Benjamin (2,634.18), Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera ($1588.85) and Assemblyman Jose Rivera ($481.32).

A college student from the Bronx who helped manage a prostitution ring connected to ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer was sentenced to six months in prison yesterday, but the judge praised her for getting her life back on track.

A rookie firefighter talks about how his life flashed before his eyes during the Black Sunday fire in the Bronx in 2005.

Two Bronx Science students are finalists in a national science talent search.

The Daily News reports that Riverdale businesses are closing at a rapid pace. For more on Riverdale businesses, go to the Riverdale Press Web site.

A Bronx mom who smothered her newborn son on a city bus was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Video from NY1 here.

More on the new film-focused high school in the Bronx, The Cinema School.

Sports Salsa is coming to Bronxnet.

Muslim student finds haven for prayer

An Indonesian exchange student attending a public high school--the David A. Stein School in Riverdale--had nowhere to say her afternoon prayers, until the Riverdale Jewish Center, an Orthodox synagogue, offered her a room, The Riverdale Press reports.