Bronx News Roundup, Nov. 12

For years now, the city has been giving tax breaks to several New York City strip clubs, including the now-closed Hunts Point Triangle.

The owner of a Bronx hardware store says there's something fishy about the city's Better Business Bureau and its grading system. 

The Bronx Ink profiles Grace Outreach, a Bronx-based nonprofit that helps women prepare for college and the workplace.

Police have arrested a man in connection with the murder of a gas station attendant during a botched robbery attempt in Laconia on Oct. 28.

A Bronx man who was hit by a stray bullet during a wild shootout in Harlem in August, is suing the city for $20 million. In the complaint, the man's lawyer writes: "This is a clear case of police officers improperly following police procedure with respect of discharging of firearms in a crowd." During the gunfight, one person was killed, and several others were injured, included two cops.

State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. is sponsoring a bill which would prohibit state lawmakers from earning a second income. If passed, Diaz himself would be forced to give up his $15,000 annual stipend as a Pentecostal minister.

Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo has named 50 prominent New Yorkers to serve on his transition team. Among those: Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.

A Bronx woman whose husband stabbed and very nearly killed her three years ago, has been unable to return to work, and is now struggling to hold onto her home. The bank is after it (foreclosure has been looming) and so is her soon to be free husband.

Earlier this month, the Department of Education delayed the release of John F. Kennedy High School's progress report, after concerns were raised over discrepancies in the student discharge rate.  Today, the report was finally published; the school received a D grade, and could be phased out.

The neighborhoods of Hunts Point and Longwood are featured in The Times' "Living In" column.

Bronx News Roundup, Oct. 5

A Soundview woman whose apartment is infested with bedbugs claims she picked them up during a visit to Bronx County Family Court last month. The bloodsuckers were also found recently at the Bronx DA's office. 

Daily News columnist Patrice O'Shaughnessy describes a recent visit to the Hunts Point fish market, which replaced Manhattan's famous Fulton Fish Market five years ago. The New Fulton Fish Market Cooperative at Hunts Point (it's full name) is the second largest wholesale seafood market in the world.

With tongue in cheek, the Daily News' Bob Kappstatter writes: "I am publicly announcing my support for Rick Lazio for Bronx Supreme Court justice."

A year ago, Mayor Bloomberg's promised to launch Harlem Children's Zone-style antipoverty programs in Brooklyn and the South Bronx. The programs have yet to materialize.

Violent crime is on the rise. Borough-wide, there have been more murders, rapes, robberies, and felony-assaults than this time last year.

State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. may endorse gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, the man Diaz's son, BP Ruben Diaz, Jr., recently called an "utter nut job."

Two young Bronxites - Marvin Figueroa and Antoinette Rangel - have landed White House internships.

Lincoln Hospital has received a state grant to build a 60-bed psychiatric unit. (Subscription needed.)

Students from University Heights Secondary School (which is now located in Morrisania) traveled to Washington DC at the weekend for the "One Nation Rally."

A profile of a botanica store in Soundview.

Cardinal Spellman High School's girls soccer team is on fire this season.

Bronx News Roundup, June 10

Happy Thursday! Here is your daily dose of news from around the Web. 

The Times writes about how Ruben Diaz, Jr. is leading a campaign for legislation requiring that workers at all development projects receiving city subsidies be paid at living wage. The bill is expected to be met with resistance from Mayor Bloomberg, the real estate industry and business leaders, all of whom say it would scare off potential employers.

The green chimneys on Alexander Avenue will be painted and cleaned this weekend by a group of New York residents. The volunteers have signed up to beautify the center in exchange for free Lady Gaga tickets. Read the press release here

Detectives are currently looking for the man who killed Robert (Carl) Copeland, 45, on the sidewalk just steps from his Bronxwood home at 1:30 a.m. this morning. The Daily News has the story. 

Former congressman Rick Lazio won the Republican nomination at the New York State Republican Convention, making him Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s opponent in the race for Governor.

Scientists have found that Sasha, a 450-pound Siberian tiger at the Bronx Zoo, reacts positively to the Calvin Klein scent Obsession for Men. The cologne will be used to lure felines of all kinds into visible space for future studies.

El Gran Combo, the salsa group that has been together for nearly 50 years, will perform this weekend at the Lehman Center for Performing Arts. The show will feature old favorites as well as new releases from their 2010 album.

A Bronx man was convicted of murder yesterday after killing his cousin's 18-year-old girlfriend for compensation.

After spending two years homeless in the Bronx, Silvio Zabalo will graduate from Marshall School, a college prep school in Minnesota on Sunday. He is the first in his family to graduate from high school. Read the interview with Silvio here

Santa spotted on Fordham Road

Friday, December 4th: The Fordham Road BID organized their fifth annual Sparkling the Heart of Fordham Holiday Lighting event. Special performance by the Fordham University Gospel Choir, refreshments, raffle, holiday music and a Christmas tree lighting finale made this event sparkle with good holiday cheer. Santa Claus took time out from his busy schedule to visit and had gifts for all the children present. Mr.Claus left before I could photograph him on his flying sleigh. Other prominent people present were the Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz and City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera.

BREAKING NEWS: BP Diaz Recommends 'No' Vote on Armory Project

We just got a press release from Borough President Ruben Diaz announcing that the will recommend a "no" vote to the City Planning Commission on the Kingsbridge Armory project.

His chief reason for giving the thumbs down is that the city's chosen developer, the Related Companies, has not yet agreed to the terms of a community benefits agreement.

Diaz did say he would like to continue to work with Related and community stakeholders on drafting a CBA.

“While I cannot offer my approval to this proposal at this time, I am hopeful that the developer will continue negotiations with my office and the community stakeholders to craft a strong community benefits agreement that allows both the developer and our neighbors to prosper from this project,” Diaz said in the statement.

Diaz's decision represents a monumental sea change compared with his predecessor, Adolfo Carrion, Jr., who was widely criticized for minimizing community involvement in the Gateway Mall and Yankee Stadium negotiations and exacting meager community benefits from developers and the city in return for supporting those projects.

Community Board 7 approved the Armory project in July, but subject to several conditions, top among them the crafting of a CBA.

Now the focus shifts to Related and the City Council. Will Related negotiate? Will Council members support the project if they don't? This issue is particularly likely to loom large in the Council primaries in the 11th and 14th Districts, where Oliver Koppell and Maria Baez will cast important votes that are sure to guide others from around the borough and the rest of the city.

We'll keep you updated. In the meantime, here's the rest of that press release.

Several weeks ago, Borough President Diaz’s office submitted a draft community benefits agreement to the developer in hopes of negotiating the terms of that document with the Related Companies in advance of the borough president’s submission to the City Planning Commission.

That document includes provisions concerning a living wage policy, first source and local hiring, various economic development initiatives, labor peace and the ability of employees at the retail development to unionize, community access to space at the Kingsbridge Armory and the development of a community facility as part of the project, the maintenance of local parks, green initiatives, and area traffic improvements.

The draft community benefits agreement also calls for a supermarket or big-box warehouse club to be excluded from the development. The Related Companies signed a similar community benefits agreement as part of their development of the Gateway Center Mall at the Bronx Terminal Market.

In his ULURP recommendations, Borough President Diaz outlined additional concerns he has regarding the development of the Kingsbridge Armory. They include the effects of the retail mall on neighborhood traffic, the failure to include educational facilities in or around the Kingsbridge Armory, and the lack of any study of the impact the mall could have on local businesses, particularly the Fordham Road business district and the River Plaza retail center in Marble Hill.

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.

Rivera's BP Bid Uncertain

If you were looking forward to a BP bout between Joel Rivera and Ruben Diaz, Jr., this post from Liz Benjamin makes that seem a lot less likely.

The Deal is Done

Malcolm Smith of Queens will be Senate majority leader after all, now that three wayward Democrats, including Ruben Diaz and Pedro Espada of the Bronx, have fallen in line behind him.

Smith doled out committee appointments to the three to bring them on board. Liz Benjamin has the list.

Espada and Diaz will both get $12,500 lu-lus (payments in lieu of salary) in addition to their $79,500salaries for heading their committees.

The Senate will take a formal vote today making it all official. Smith will be the first Democrat in decades to lead the chamber, giving the party full control of the state legislature.

Takin' it to Their Streets

A WFP canvasser in Hunts Point soliciting signatures to get Pedro Espada and
Ruben Diaz to support a Democratic majority in the state Senate.

The Working Families Party, a feisty liberal political party that knows how to organize, is collecting petition signatures in the Bronx Senate districts of Senator Ruben Diaz, and Sen.-elect Pedro Espada. They want both Democratic pols, who have been withholding their support from Majority-Leader-in-Waiting Malcolm Smith in hopes of scoring plum leadership assignments, to vote with the Democrats on leadership positions. Smith agreed to, then reneged on, a deal to make Espada the Majority Leader while Smith would retain the superior title of President Pro Tempore.
Liz Benjamin has more on the petition gathering, similar efforts by organized labor, and the little matter of the third holdout senator, Carl Kruger, who Democrats need to keep in the fold, too, if they want to take power of the state Senate for the first time in 40 years.

Bronx News Roundup, Dec. 16

Getting a late start today, but on to the many links we need to get to:

Local students and organizers went to the Community District 10 Education Council meeting last Thursday to demand more school seats to alleviate overcrowding. [More on this meeting later. We were there as well and it was not pretty. Students and teachers, one by one, told horror stories of kids trying to learn (and teachers trying to teach) in stairwells, windowless storage closets and water bug-infested locker rooms.]

Speaking of overcrowding, recent data released by the DOE says class sizes have gone up since last year. The Daily News says state budget cuts may further hinder the DOE's efforts to reduce class size in the city.

In his Bronx political column, the Daily News' Bob Kappstatter says Joel Rivera will definitely run for borough president if (when?) the current BP Adolfo Carrion takes a job with the Obama administration. Rivera planned on running until the term limits extension put Carrion back in play to keep his job. Now, if Carrion's gone, Rivera would face off against Assemblyman Ruben Diaz and, possibly Kappstatter says, Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo.

On Sunday, the Times profiled Bronx environmental justice superstar Majora Carter, who recently took her game national with a new for-profit consulting firm and country-wide speaking engagements.

A Bronx teen tells the Daily News about his harrowing fight with a knife-wielding BMW driver who attacked the teen for leaning on his ride.

Westchester Square Medical Center is in danger of closing.

More from trial of former actor Lillo Brancato (pictured right, with boxer Zab Judah), who is facing murder charges. In his testimony, Brancato said he was drug addict, not a murderer.

WNYC goes to a Bronx high school to talk about the worsening economy.

-Photo by David Greene

Espada Leapfrogs to Plum Leadership Role

Pedro Espada will take office as majority leader of the State Senate in January.

It is probable that only a small percentage of city residents can name their state legislators. But it’s hard to imagine that anyone in the northwest Bronx won’t soon know that their state Senator is Pedro Espada.

Espada, a newly elected state Senator for the 33^rd Senate District, which includes all the neighborhoods of Community Board 7 and much of Community Board 5, has catapulted himself to the top of the Senate leadership with some audacious, bare-knuckles deal-making.

By threatening not to support Queens State Senator Malcolm Smith in his bid to ascend to majority leader now that the Democrats have a two –seat majority in the chamber, Espada and two other renegade Dems – Ruben Diaz, Jr. of Brooklyn and Carl Kruger of Brooklyn -- extracted tremendous concessions from Smith.

Smith will still be the top Democrat in the chamber, but he’ll only retain the Constitutionally-proscribed title President Pro-Tempore. Espada, will be the majority leader and will control the Rules Committee, through which all legislation flows.

Diaz was made chair of the Aging Committee and Kruger chair of the powerful Finance Committee.

The deal was reportedly brokered by Queens Congressman Gregory Meeks and upstate billionaire and perennial political aspirant Tom Golisano in a meeting also attended by Governor Paterson.

Also reportedly part of the deal, and a concession to Diaz, was a promise not to bring legislation legalizing gay marriage to the floor of the Senate next year, according to the Times. The Daily News report on the deal implies a longer ban.

The Gang of Three or Three Amigos – as they’ve been called in the press – also exacted changes in the way the Senate is run, making it easier for Republicans to bring their legislation to the floor and assigning seating by alphabetical order rather than by party. The three Democrats have flirted with supporting the Republican leadership, making them unpopular on their own side of the aisle. But they’re now among the most powerful legislators in the Capitol.

As the Times put it: “The deal is a particular triumph for Mr. Espada and Mr. Kruger, who went from being pariahs in their own party to being two of its leading members.”

The rule changes that will allow Espada -- who still has not registered his campaign committee a month after the election accord --- to ascend to the carved out position of majority leader will have to be voted on in January, so anything could still happen.

But Espada's victory takes some of the pressure off Gov. Paterson to appoint a Hispanic to Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate seat. Espada and Diaz said the lack of Hispanic leadership in significant positions was a key motive for their high-stakes political gamesmanship. They can certainly check that off their to-do list now.

Bronx News Roundup Oct. 17

Yesterday, an autistic Bronx toddler was left alone on a school bus for six hours, outside P.S. 194 on Waterbury Avenue in the east Bronx. The bus driver and a school matron have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Just last month, another bus driver was suspended without pay for dropping off a five-year-old boy two miles from his Eastchester home.

Rose Donaghey, an 88-year-old waitress who works at the Wicked Wolf on East Tremont Avenue, is in the news again. Earlier this month she was profiled in the Daily News. The "lively octogenarian" has been working as a waitress for the past 50 years.

The trial of a Bronx man accused of murdering six men in the 1990s, begun yesterday in Manhattan's state Supreme Court. Prosecutors say Fausto Gonzalez was a motorcycle obsessed hit-man whose modus operandi was pass his victims on powerful Honda Fireblade, shoot them dead, and then speed off. Gonzalez, who's already serving a life sentence for a separate murder, is pleading not guilty.

The Times has some exhaustive coverage of yesterday's term limits hearing at City Hall. See here and here. They're also live blogging today's hearing. An hour or so ago,
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz alluded to State Senator Efrain Gonazalez's recent primary defeat, in his argument for extending limits. "I’ve always been opposed to laws that enforce term limits. They are profoundly undemocratic," Markowitz said, according to The Times. "We have methods to apply term limits, they’re called elections. Look at the most recent elections: Two veteran state senators were defeated in elections in the Bronx and Brooklyn."

Bronx Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, on the other hand, argued against an extension. “Although I remain personally opposed to term limits, it is my opinion that it would be wrong to circumvent the results of the 1993 and 1996 referendums in which the voters of our great city both affirmed term limits and rejected any attempt to alter them,” Diaz said, according to The Times.

Diaz, it should be said, isn't affected by term limits because he's a state official. But he's running for Bronx borough president and could suddenly face a powerful opponent - Adolfo Carrion - if the current laws are changed. Carrion, the current BP, is a candidate for comptroller. He's yet to say if he'd seek another four years as BP, if allowed to run again. But he does favor a term limit overhaul. A few minutes ago, his office fired off a press release detailing Carrion's testimony at today's hearing. He said: "I support extending term limits, not because Michael Bloomberg wants to run for Mayor again, but because it begins to move us back toward responsible governance and representative democracy, which should continue to be the foundation of American democracy."

UPDATE: I should have mentioned that Diaz has previously said he'll step aside if Carrion does indeed run for a third term. We shall see.

Joel Rivera on Filtration Hot Seat Tonight

Council Member Joel Rivera, a likely candidate for Bronx borough president, will be on Gary Axelbank's public affairs talk show tonight on Cablevision, channel 67. The BronxTalk PrimeTime host, who is also an activist on the filtration issue, is certain to ask Rivera if he believes, like Assemblyman Ruben Diaz does, that he was "misled" by city officials who promised that the project would use Bronx workers and that it would cost $1.2 billion (the estimate is now $2.8 billion) and if Rivera supports holding hearings on the cost and jobs issues in the City Council.
The show airs at 9 p.m. and is repeated at the same time throughout the week. Viewers can call in during the live show.
Here's a recent article and editorial about the issue in the Norwood News.

More on the Early Start to the BP's Race

As the Times reported in July, City Council Majority Leader, Joel Rivera, 28, is planning to run for borough president in 2009, a decision that’s likely to put him on a collision course with close friend Assemblyman Ruben Diaz.

When asked for an update, Rivera, who attended a press conference this afternoon to mark the beginnings of a new health center on Burnside Avenue, said he’s getting close to formally announcing his campaign, adding that he’s already raised $200,000.

“At the moment I have 140,000 bosses,” he quipped, in reference the population of the District 15. “In 2010 I hope to have 1.4 million.”

Rivera (pictured) will be trying to do what his father, Bronx Democratic boss Jose Rivera, never managed. (Rivera Sr. stepped aside for Adolfo Carrion in 2001.)

So far, no one’s officially said they’re running, and with the election two years away anything can happen, but other possibles include State Senator Jose Marco Serrano and Council Member Helen Foster. (Photo by James Fergusson)

Early Start to BP Race

The New York Times reported on Sunday that the city’s term-limits law has led to a flurry of early campaigning for the 2009 citywide elections for Mayor, Comptroller, Public Advocate and Borough Presidents.

A graphic accompanying the story identifies two Bronx council members as candidates for Bronx Borough President: Helen Foster and Joel Rivera. Both have filed campaign finance disclosures with the New York City Campaign Finance Board.
Two other rumored candidates for Borough President have not yet filed any paperwork: State Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr. and State Senator Jose Marco Serrano. Serrano said he’s exploring the possibility.

“I’m definitely looking at all angles, but there is something to be said for where I am right now,” Serrano told the Norwood News. “The State Senate is controlled by the Republicans, I took a Republican seat by defeating Olga Mendez, and we are very interested in helping take back a Democratic majority.”

If Serrano and Diaz run, the Bronx could see four second-generation politicians running for the same seat.