Bronx News Roundup, Nov. 1

The head of Skanska USA, the multi-national general contractor overseeing the troubled filtration plant project in Van Cortlandt Park took some questions from The New York Times and acknowledged there was a federal investigation into the use of disadvantaged business enterprises as subcontractors in public works projects and vowed it wouldn't happen again. He said: "It had to do with the use of disadvantaged business enterprises as subcontractors. We wound up settling with the Department of Justice for around $19 million. Believe me, we’ll never have that issue ever again!"

Two Bronxites have launched an effort to make the Cross Bronx Expressway less crowded, polluted and dangerous. (We'll put up the video of last night's BronxTalk, where the initiative was announced, as soon as it's available).

Savor the Bronx, the borough's Restaurant Week, which actually goes through Nov. 13, starts today. Check out some of the participating restaurants.

A construction worker in Soundview was killed when the building he was working in collapsed.

NAACP chief Ben Jealous announces his support for living wage legislation in the City Council that resulted from the defeat of the city's mall plan for the Kingsbridge Armory. He will attend a rally for the bill, which the mayor opposed and Council Speaker Christine Quinn is undecided on, at Riverside Church on Nov. 21.

High school students in the Bronx Youth Journalism Initiative interviewed Norwood merchants and residents about what they'd like to see take root in the large Bainbridge Avenue lot leveled by fire two years ago. (Includes video.)

Bronx News Roundup, Oct. 28

Bummer: A Nor'easter is headed our way. 

Restaurant Week in the Boogiedown (Savor the Bronx) and its featured restaurants are all well and good, says Gothamist, but there are many under-noticed culinary gems in the borough that deserve your attention.

The Occupy Bronx protesters, who have been meeting at (but not really occupying) Fordham Plaza on Saturday have a famous borough-based corporate target in their sights: The New York Yankees.

A new push to step up enforcement of the pooper-scooper law in the Bronx, formally titled "Don't Be a Pooper-trator" was announced yesterday at the Bedford Park Senior Center by Bronx Borugh President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and the city's Sanitation commissioner, John Doherty. (Includes video)

We linked to the Times story yesterday about the brand new Poe Park Visitors' Center being padlocked indefinitely for lack of staffing. The Norwood News, on its Breaking Bronx blog, reports that a Parks Department spokesman told the paper in June that the Center would be open within a month.

A gritty but glorious effort to showcase a sculptural dome made mostly of umbrella spokes -- created by two artists and volunteers based at Rocking the Boat in Hunts Point -- in the waters off of Inwood ran ashore last Wednesday on, of all places, Rikers Island. For different takes on the story see the Hunts Point Expess, and Jim Dwyer's NYT column.

The Riverdale Press reports that the city won't built a pedestrian footbridge to connect parts of Van Cortlandt Park separated by the Major Deegan Expressway. The footbridge was embedded in the City Council's approval to site the filtration plant in Van Cortlandt Park, a project whose cost has tripled to $3 billion.

Montefiore is tweeting its job openings @MontefioreJobs. Here's one. 

Stable stats aside, crime is getting more violent in Marble Hill.

Bronx News Roundup, Oct. 27

The Bronx's first restaurant week, officially known as Savor the Bronx (we mentioned it in yesterday's roundup) is getting a shoutout from ZagatBuzz. "The borough is giving everyone an excuse to get their butts way uptown," the site says.

The Irish Echo reports that the Transportation Committee of Community Board 8 has given its OK to the naming of a street near Gaelic Park in Kingsbridge for the late human rights activist and lawyer Frank Durkan.

The Bronx Museum of Arts will screen the documentary "Garifuna Nation"on Friday at 7 p.m. (Video)

Kappstatter gives us the rundown on what the political machinations may be behind Bronx Democratic boss Carl Heastie not nominating a new executive director of the city Board of Elections for more than a year now. Also in the column, is news of the first meeting of the Bronx Young Democrats Club tomorrow night.

The New York Times Arts section reports some hard news about the new Poe Park visitors' center being shuttered and vandalized for lack of funding to staff the raven-shaped building.

City Comptroller John Liu discussed the economy with Bronx Community College students last week and made other stops in the borough. (Video)