Bronx News Roundup, Aug. 18

Weather: Cool and mostly cloudy with on-and-off rainstorms predicted.

On to your Bronx news!

Story of the Day: DOE Meeting Tonight to Discuss 'Toxic' P.S. 51
Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott and other city officials will  be in the Bronx tonight to meet with parents and members of the community to discuss P.S. 51, the Bedford Park elementary school that's being moved because its current building was found to be contaminated with high levels of Trichloroethylene--an industrial solvent that can potentially cause serious health problems that affect the central nervous system, including the liver, kidney, and the immune system, according to the EPA.You can read more coverage on the situation here; details about tonight's meeting are here.

The DOE said there are no immediate health risks posed to students at the school, but that doesn't seem to have done much to ease parents' concerns. "All parents in this school should have their children tested because as you can see from this issue the Board of Education can't be trusted to tell the truth," one BxNN reader and PS 51 parent commented. We'll be covering tonight's meeting and will keep you updated.

Quick Hits:
The funeral for Christina Santiago, killed this weekend in Indiana when a concert stage collapsed, takes place today in the Bronx.

Great story in the Times this morning about parents who are caught with minor amounts of marijuana--not enough to charge them with a crime--getting  subject to extra scrutiny from child welfare on accusations of neglect.

Bronx News Roundup, Friday, April 22

Happy Earth Day! Go out and do something good for Mother Nature today. Send her a card made out of recycled paper or hug a tree or clean up your dog's poop or here's a bunch of other suggestions.

Weekend Weather: Very cool, in the 50s, on this Earth Day. The nearly-certain arrival of rain is supposed to hold off until the middle of the night and then continue through Saturday. Temperatures will rise into the 60s tomorrow and could hit a cloudy 70 on Sunday.

Story of the Day: The Best Roasted Pork in the Boogie Down
Roasted pork as the Story of the Day? You betcha, as my dad loves to say. We'll get to some gloom and doom in the Hits, but not here. Here we're talking about pork. Luscious, mouth-watering Puerto Rican-style roasted pork at El Nuevo Bohío. BxNN friend David Gonzalez's descriptions in this NY Times "Neighborhood Joint" feature are downright poetic. A snippet: "Veiled by vapor rising from the steam tables, platters emerge like apparitions, handed over to waitresses who balance them on forearms that would frighten a championship arm wrestler." Wow. Gonzalez is on top of his game. After reading this piece, I almost stopped this roundup and immediately headed over to the corner of East Tremont and Mapes avenues. Maybe I'll walk there later in honor of Earth Day. Plus, there's a slide show.

Quick Hits: 
Echoes of Sean Bell in Highbridge early this morning as police opened fire a 20-year-old man, who reportedly would not drop the pellet gun he was holding, striking him 10 times. Amazingly, Mamadou Valve, he's still alive as of this posting.

More on the fatal car crash on Fordham Road, which we reported on yesterday afternoon. The woman who died has been identified as 61-year-old Carmen Ahmed, who was shopping when the livery cab crashed into Cee & Cee Department store.

The NYPD ticket-fixing investigation centered around Bronx police officers received a big boost from two "hapless" rookie cops.(The Post has been all over this story.)

City Hall calls Bronx DA Robert Johnson a "winner" this week for his role in ticket-fixing investigation and endorsement from the Bronx Democrats.

Police are looking for a man who was caught on tape snatching the purse of a 78-year-old woman.

Cops arrested and charged a suspect with murdering a young Bronx mother.

The DOT is attempting to curb speeding on Bruckner Boulevard in Country Club by installing a new "speed board."

Often incendiary Post political columnist Frederic U. Dicker, who grew up in the Bronx, has been "surprisingly gentle" with Gov. Cuomo thus far, the Times report.

And finally, in a wide stretch of an editorial today, the Daily News links the impending loss of the Bazzini nut roasting plant jobs to the political fight to stop the Kingsbridge Armory from turning into a shopping mall and criticizes city politicians -- specifically Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. -- for not being more business-friendly.

Two problems with this editorial. One, the loss of Bronx jobs is never a good thing, but Bazzini CEO Rocco Damato said: "It's nobody's fault." And two, it says the living wage bill supported by 28 Council members is an "insane idea" that has "taxpayers subsidize wages in the private-sector." That's simply not true. The living wage legislation, known as the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, would require developers (not taxpayers) to provide living wage jobs when they receive big subsidies and tax breaks from the city. In that way, taxpayers already subsidize the private sector. But that money goes into the pockets of developers and doesn't translate into better jobs. So, on behalf of Diaz, Jr., I'd like to say, Oh yeah, Daily News, what do you have to say about this:


The Bronx, the Brooooooooooooonx!

News Roundup, Feb 24

Here's some interesting news going on in the Bronx:

Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson predicts that the merging of Bronx Criminal and Supreme courts will bring nothing but chaos.

The convictions of the two former owners of a Bronx building where two firefighters were killed in 2005 were overturned yesterday due to the lack of evidence. A judge ruled that the owners were not aware of illegal partitions within the apartments. Read more here.

Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr. and the Bronx Board of Elections were served with another subpoena by AG Andrew Cuomo in search of 2008 senate petitions.

Nine-year veteran Officer Frank Palestro is now known as an NYPD whistle blower for reporting allegations of corruption at the 42nd precinct. "I was the PBA delegate, and now I'm labeled a rat for doing what I was supposed to do."

A long-awaited 18-hole PGA-level golf course at Ferry Point, the site of former dump, is said to be ready by fall of 2011. Mayor Bloomberg has handed the project over to the Parks Department, which is now looking for a firm to manage the course once it's completed.

Yankee fans lost another battle in trying to save Gate 2 from being demolished in June. After it's gone, the Parks Department will then begin the building of the long-delayed Heritage Field Park.

Bronx politcal leaders are gathering their petitions to begin the election war for state assembly, Senate and district leadership slots.

Bronx News Roundup, Nov. 30

Another Bronx teen, 17 year-old Issi Dominguez, was shot to death early yesterday morning in Fordham at 182nd Street and Valentine Avenue. Dominguez, who had no criminal record, was shot in a crowd of people. Police suspect the shooting occurred as a retaliation for a previous stabbing.

The Bronx DA Robert Johnson was criticized for charging a man who beat his wife to death with a misdemeanor. The victim's family is pushing the DA to charge the husband with a more serious crime.

Residents of six run-down buildings in Morris Heights and Soundview are protesting against Dime Savings, the bank that holds the mortgage on the buildings.

Bronx county leads the country in the percentage of residents receiving food stamps.

In similar news, the Daily News reports that more Bronxites are eating at soup kitchens and food pantries.

This weekend, Muslims in the Bronx celebrated Eid al-adha, the feast of sacrifice.

The Bronx Zoo is collecting toys and winter clothes as donations for those in need in the Bronx. Donors will receive free admission to the zoo.

The driver who is suspected to be responsible for a hit-and-run accident on Baychester Avenue on Friday had a suspended license. 40 year-old Sonya Powell was killed by the suspect's car as she was crossing the street.

Bronx News Roundup April 23

Above, the Bronx DA, Robert Johnson, talks to Bronxnet about gun crime and this Saturday's gun buy-back program.

The Yankees owe the city $67K in back-rent. More here on their pricey (and empty) new seats.

In the Bronx, foreclosures notices are up 50 percent compared to a few months ago. That's a higher percentage increase than any other borough.

Majora Carter on the importance of green jobs, green roofs, green infrastructure, and what we can learn from the Internet.

Pastor Joel Osteen, the author and televangelist, was in Williambridge yesterday to meet with elected officials and clergy. On Saturday, he's scheduled to give a service at Yankee Stadium.

Gay Riverdalians talk about gay marriage.

The dour economy has hurt Riverdale's little leagues, but so far they're surviving.

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.

Boring Election Day

If you were wondering why you haven't been hearing about any elections going on in the Bronx tomorrow, it's because there are none. District Attorney Robert Johnson, a Democrat, is up for reelection but he is running uncontested in the general election, and he even scored the Republican and Conservative lines, as did his Queens counterpart, Richard Brown.