St. Barnabas Hospital and Union Come to Terms on Residents' Contract

St. Barnabas Hospital and the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare union have ratified a three-year contract set to increase salaries and benefits for the 291 resident physicians at the hospital. The contract also sets up a labor management committee to hold regular meetings where residents and administrators can bring concerns, according to SEIU spokesperson Heather Appel.

Union, hospital and elected officials lauded the deal.

"We believe the agreement works for all parties concerned," said St. Barnabas President and CEO Scott Cooper, MD. "We look forward to enjoying a positive and fruitful relationship with the CIR for years to come."

Congressman Jose E. Serrano said the agreement was "gratifying." He added, "It goes to show that when management and labor sit down and collaboratively negotiate, good things happen.

The contract will run through June 2014.

Bronx News Roundup, July 19

Weather: keep the sunblock handy and the AC cranked on--another hot and sunny one today, with temperatures in the low-90s. The heat will continue through the rest of the week, hitting a peak on Friday.

Story of the Day: Former Council Speaker Turns Bronx Builder
Today's Wall Street Journal takes a closer look at Gifford Miller, a former City Council speaker and one-time mayoral hopeful who, according to the story, "has no interest in ever returning to politics." His new career path--real estate--has brought him to the Bronx, where his firm is attempting to rezone a swath of land  in West Farms/Crotona Park to build a massive affordable housing complex.

We wrote about the $400 million project, which will consist of 10 high-rise buildings around the Cross Bronx and Sheridan Expressways, in the June issue of the Tremont Tribune, and some readers seemed wary of the plan. Read more here. 

Quick Hits:
The family of a 13-year-old Bronx girl say they will sue the Department of Education, claiming the girl was repeatedly raped by a computer repairman employed at her Harlem school.

Bronx News Roundup, June 16

Weather: Warm and sunny today, in the high 70s/low 80s. Chance of rain late tonight and into tomorrow morning.

Story of the Day: Mount Hope Dad Gets a New Kidney
We'll start off today's roundup with a feel-good piece in honor of Father's Day this weekend. New York Daily News' Patrice O'Shaughnessy brings us the story of Bronx dad Jameak Lee, who after a decade of illness, dialysis and disappointment, successfully underwent a kidney transplant this winter. This will be the first Father's Day in his 12-year-old son Justin's life that Lee will feel well enough to celebrate.

Heat Wave Health Tips: Stay Cool, Bronxites

File photo by Adi Talwar

Weather.com says the thermometer is going to hit a stifling 95 degrees today. As we mentioned in this morning's news roundup, you can get some relief from the heat by stopping in at one of the city's air-conditioned cooling centers.You can find the location closest to you by calling 311 or using this online map feature.

In the meantime, the folks over at St. Barnabas Hospital wanted to remind everyone, especially the elderly and those with young children and infants, to be wary of the health dangers that can come with very hot weather.

Dr. Ernest Patti, the hospital's Senior Attending Physician of Emergency Medicine, offers these tips for how to stay cool--and avoid health problems like heat exhaustion and heat stroke--until this sweltering weather breaks:

Bronx Events: St. Barnabas Hospital Blood Drive, Today

Councilman Joel Rivera, St. Barnabas Hospital and the New York Blood Center are hosting a community blood drive at the hospital's Hemodialysis Unit, at 451 Third Avenue, until 5:45 p.m. today.

From the press release:
The need for blood is constant. New York Blood Center alone requires over 2,000 volunteer blood donations each day to meet the transfusion needs of patients in close to 200 New York and New Jersey hospitals. Each donation of blood can help save 3 lives following component into red cell, platelet, and plasma separation. Car accident and trauma victims may need as many as 50 or more red cell transfusions.


More details on this and other Bronx events can be found in our community calendar, below.

Editor's note: What did we miss? Send details to bronxnewsnetwork[at]gmail.com.

Meet the First Bronx Baby of 2011

Sergio Martinez, pictured here with his proud mom, Kiara Suron, was born at St. Barnabas Hospital at 12:17 a.m. on Jan. 1.  He weighed  6 lbs., 11 ¾ oz and was 18 inches long.  Photo courtesy of St. Barnabas Hospital. 

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 9

Here's your daily dose of BX news around the Web:

State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada has had it with Governor Paterson's proposed budget cuts and is threatening to refrain from voting on any future budget extenders. Paterson needs every Democratic vote in the Senate to solve the budget crisis. Read more here.

The Daily News takes a look into the mixed hertitage restaurant, Coquí Mexicano, in Melrose.

Bronx High School of Science teachers plan to rally outside of Mayor Bloomberg's upper east side home Thursday, aiming to bring to his attention the ongoing battle the teachers from the math department have had with the assistant principal.

Nearly 75 students from P.S. 212, on Tinton Avenue, were behind in all their classes due to the denial of state-mandated language classes until March.

Co-op City's maintenance workers will be back on the job today, after union members and management announced they will give negotiations another shot.

An 87 year-old Bronx man, who is receiving dialysis treatments, has had his Access-a-Ride service suspended due to his alleged failure to show up. NY1 has the story.

The recession may have caused many in the Bronx to lose their jobs, but it has also helped many find new careers working right from home. Read about it here.

The ongoing battle between St. Barnabas Hospital and its interns and resident physicians may have finally been brought to an end by a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that says interns and residents have the right to form a union. For some background information on this issue, check out the Tremont Tribune.

15 South Bronx environmental workers are heading to the Gulf Coast, for a month to help with the oil spill cleanup.

A Bronx girl is graduating with perfect attendance, never missing a day of school dating back to Kindergarten.

Bronx News Roundup, June 8

State legislators have approved $775 million in cuts from New York’s health care budget. Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx Lebanon Hospital, and St. Barnabas Hospital are slated to lose out on $13.9 million, $8.8 million, and $4.4 million, respectively.

The latest political news from the Daily News' Bob Kappstatter, including confirmation that the Bronx Democratic Party will be supporting Hector Ramirez over Nelson Castro, the incumbent assemblyman, in September's Democratic primary.  (We were at Castro's reelection party last night.  More on this later.)

Former mayor Ed Koch is no fan of State senators Pedro Espada and Ruben Diaz, Sr.  Interviewed by New York Magazine, he calls them - and their colleague Carl Kruger - the "three rats."

The police have ignored the plight of four women seriously hurt in last month's Bronx River Parkway car crash, says the Daily News' Patrice O'Shaughnessy.  Two cops - including the driver, who was drunk - died in the wreck.

The trial of a man accused to gunning down 18-year-old Chelsea Frazier in Castle Hill last year is wrapping up.

A Bronx man who  spent the day of his father's funeral in jail on false charges of soliciting sex from a prostitute, has been awarded $40,000 by the city.

The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore has been named among the best children’s hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report, for the third consecutive year. It was ranked in the top 10 for Kidney Care, and the top 25 for Neurology and Neurosurgery.

A Bronx woman's life has been saved following a blood transfusion at St. Barnabas Hospital. Her family, who are devout Jehovah's Witnesses, wanted to leave her fate in God's hands, but doctors went to court for an emergency order.

A new book, City on Fire, examines the city's bungled response to the fires that swept the South Bronx, Harlem, and parts of Brooklyn during the 1970s.

Another new book, Freedomland, details the rich history of a long-closed theme park in Co-op City.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and Sen. Eric Schneiderman are under fire from supporters of charter schools.

Big cats at the Bronx Zoo have a penchant for Obsession for Men, a Calvin Klein fragrance. 

World Cup fever is about to take over the Bronx, and much of the city for that matter. The first games are on Friday.

Bronx News Roundup, June 2

Hope everyone enjoys the beautiful day! Here's your daily dose of Bronx news:

The Bronx may have the honor of holding New York's first public alternative fuel station that will provide natural gas, ethanol and biodiesel. The station will be located near Hunt Point's Food Distribution center and is said to be at least five times the size of a regular gas station.

City budget cuts are affecting everyone, everywhere. Due to an expected budget cut between $2 -$3 million, the Bronx district attorney's office may have to lay off nearly 45 assistant prosecutors by the end of this month.

St. Barnabas Hospital had to place an emergency court order when the family of a patient experiencing internal bleeding, refused to allow doctors to give her a blood transfusion because it was against their religious beliefs. Read more here.

From some unknown place, oil is spilling into the Bronx River. Westchester County officials are cleaning up the oil spill, causing the closure of a northbound lane on the Bronx River Parkway. Read here also.

As we all know, the Bronx is considered the poorest county in the state. Many blame it on the poor wages Bronxites receive, that is why council members and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.,  are proposing the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act. The act would guarantee that when public subsidies are awarded to businesses for development projects, the jobs created will pay at least a living wage. While the mayor and other business interests appear to be skeptical about the plan, El Diario says the bill is a step in the right direction. Here's our story on the living wage bill from last week. (We have a bigger story on this in the latest edition of the Norwood News, which is on streets now. Pick up a copy today.)

Bloomberg announced that planned raises for all public school teachers will be eliminated for the next two years. According to Bloomberg, it would save the jobs of more than 4,000 teachers.

Bronx News Roudup, April 28

Employees and a doctors' union at St. Barnabas hospital are at war once again with hospital officials, this time over security measures within the hospital. The union feels the lack of security has doctors, nurses and other staff members fearing for their lives as they work. You can also read more here.

Last night, a two-alarm fire on White Plains Road wiped out an entire commercial building, including a laundromat, an auto-body shop and a hardware store that survived three generations in the same family.

Yankee fans can now ride a boat to games thanks to Delta Airlines.

Tenants and housing groups affiliated with the coalition Real Rent Reform held a sit-in at Senator Pedro Espada's Albany office, urging him to resign. You can also read more here.

The dispute over government subsidies and community benefits (including a mandated living wage for workers) at the Kingsbridge Armory continues to have ripple effects. The New York City Bar Association is now urging the city to stop allowing community benefits agreements to be part of the zoning approval process.

Bronx News Roundup, April 1

Spring is back! Enjoy the day and some Bronx news:

Tenants of 2710 Bainbridge Ave. plan to file a lawsuit against  landlord Frank Palazzolo in housing court tomorrow in effort to get the building into better hands. Palazzolo was rated as one of the "10 Worst Landlords" by the Village Voice.  (If the name sounds familiar to readers of the Norwood News, it's because of our 2002 coverage here, here and here. Also we have a reporter at a rally in front of the building right now.)

The city's decision to use federal stimulus money to build a parking garage at St. Barnabas Hospital may remove more than the problem of an overcrowded parking lot. A doctor's union has filed a lawsuit against the city claiming that the project would do the opposite of what the stimulus money is meant to do and will eliminate permanent jobs instead of creating them. The Tremont Tribune published a story about the parking garage in February.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. cheers on Bronx residents to complete census forms so that the Boogie-Down can be tops in Census form returns.

The Jewish Association of Services for the Aging received $10,000 in federal funding from Rep. Joseph Crowley toward the Grandparents Connection Program in Co-Op City.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and other local Community Board officials are holding a rally on Monday to protest Mayor Bloomberg's proposed 2011 budget cuts that they say will greatly affect community boards and the services they provide.

Political parties are preparing for a showdown in the selection of the next executive director of the city's Board of Elections.

Community leaders , firefighters and City Island residents rallied again yesterday against the closing of Ladder 53 and other firehouses throughout the city. According to Bloomberg's proposed budget cuts for the 2011 fiscal year, nearly 20 firehouses would be shut down.

A look into why "Morrisania Air Rights" housing project on Park Avenue, was given such an unusual name.

New in the Tremont Tribune

This month's Tribune is now online.  Stories include:

20th Anniversary of Happy Land Fire Nears
Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of the blaze, started by a jilted ex-boyfriend at a social club at 1959 Southern Blvd that left 87 people dead.

Lessons From Fire Still Linger
The Happy Land fire tradegy is a stark reminder of the dangers posed by unlicensed buildings, and a warning to the city agencies that oversee them.

St. Martin of Tours Pastor Still Hard at Work
It was just last spring that Father John C. Flynn collapsed during a friendly game of golf and had to have a pacemaker put in his heart—an operation that, after complications, landed him in St. Barnabas Hospital for several days. But that bout with illness hasn’t kept the 81-year-old priest from his post at St. Martin of Tours Parish, where he’s been the pastor for over 20 years.

Award for 92-Year-old St. Barnabas Volunteer
Alice Stafford Otis, 92, first started working at St. Barnabas Hospital in 1969, and has been a volunteer there for the past 15 years. 

Also, be sure to check out our What's Going On? section for local events and annoucements.

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 2

The Bronx Zoo is at the forefront of an effort to save a species of toad, whose natural habitat was destroyed when a river in Tanzania was dammed.

Police are hunting a group of gypsies suspected of burglarizing at least ten homes in the Bronx and Queens these past few months. The group preys on the elderly, police say, may be responsible for other break-ins in other states.

Yesterday, students at St. Raymond's Elementary School in Parkchester presented New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan with a $15,407 check. The money will go to Haiti.

A building manager, found guilty last year of criminally negligent homicide in the "Black Sunday” fire, will have to wait another week to find out if his conviction will stand. Cesar Rios could go free after a juror on the trial admitted that she e-mailed and tried to "Facebook" a witness.

State Sen. Pedro Espada and his lawyers have accused Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of launching a smear campaign against him.

The future of City Island's only FDNY fire company, Ladder 53, is once again in doubt. Last week, Mayor Bloomberg's 2011 fiscal year budget called for the shuttering of 20 fire companies, and which names and numbers weren't given, Ladder 53 - the quietest unit in the city - is likely on the list.

Blogging in the Huffington Post, a Hofstra University professor has some words of wisdom for University Heights Secondary School students, whose school is in danger of being kicked off Bronx Community College's campus. Here's another post by the same author criticizing BCC's decision (he’s friends with a teacher at the school), and here's an article that appeared the Mount Hope Monitor, concerning opposition to the eviction.

A trauma surgeon at St. Barnabas Hospital, who travelled to his native Haiti the day after the earthquake to help out, recalls his heart-wrenching experiences.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has been wooing Bronx Democrats.

More on the 16th Congressional District's status as the nation's hungriest place.

All eyes on Leroy Comrie as he takes over Land Use Committee, at a time when the City Council is beginning to take strong stands on development projects, as it did with the Kingsbridge Armory.

Bronx News Roundup, Dec. 16

A survey recently released by the Department of Health lists the Bronx, along with the Upper East Side of Manhattan, as having the highest levels of air pollution in New York City.

If the MTA cuts the Bx14 bus line, which it plans to do, residents of the Country Club section of the Bronx will have to walk about a mile to access public transportation.

St. Barnabas Hospital will use federal stimulus money to build a new parking garage. The garage will create new construction jobs, but it will eliminate parking attendant jobs.

Yesterday, Governor Paterson signed a bill at the Morris Park Community Association to protect homeowners from the foreclosure crisis. The community association is in an area that is severely affected by foreclosures.

It's official-- the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated a row of nine houses on Perry Avenue in Bedford Park as New York City's 100th historic district. Click here to view a Norwood News story about the houses.

Residents of the Bronx, especially around Kingsbridge Heights and Mosholu Parkway, have an overwhelming pest infestation.

NY1 recently went on a tour of the now dry "Bronx Swamp" in Mott Haven.

Yesterday, students of Alfred E. Smith High School, a vocational school in Melrose, protested the Department of Education's plan to eliminate their school.

Check back on the blog for a news roundup regarding the Kingsbridge Armory later this morning.

New from the Tremont Tribune

The September edition of the Tremont Tribune just hit the streets and is online now. A quick peek at what's inside:

Tenants in Belmont's Fordham Towers endured rats, broken elevators, and on-and-off heat and hot water after their building was bought by private investors in 2007. Now the building is in foreclosure - and housing advocates predict a wave of foreclosures among Bronx buildings bought in recent years by private equity funds who paid sky-high prices.

Arthur Avenue flaunted its food at the annual Ferragosto festival, and even Mayor Bloomberg stopped by for a taste.

The Bronx River Art Center recently filled the hole in the heart of West Farms Square - with an abstract sculpture conceived as a defense of New York City.

State Sen. Ruben Diaz is up in arms...over algae in Indian Lake.

Questions for Ivine Galarza, Community Board 6's longtime District Manager.

St. Barnabas Hospital renames an emergency room after an EMT who died on 9/11.

PLUS our monthly listing of community announcements and events, news briefs, political coverage, and more.

Union Turns up Heat on St. Barnabas

As the Tremont Tribune reported in June, CIR/SEIU Healthcare had been engaged in bitter fight with St. Barnabas Hospital, whose administration has been blocking resident doctors' attempts to unionize.

Now the union, which has 13,000 members nationwide, is drawing attention to others aspects of the hospital's history and performance. Last month they launched a blog, Examining St. Barnabas, which has shed light on executive pay; the hospital's below average patient satisfaction scores; and its failure to follow through on plans to build a 10-story health center.

The health center was supposed to replace an abandoned Elks Lodge on the Grand Concourse at East Burnside Avenue. While the building itself was demolished, the project was soon put on hold. Instead of a health center, there’s now an empty lot filled with trash and rubble. "[The] Grand Concourse Deserves Better on 100th Birthday," writes CIR. More here and here.

New in the Tremont Tribune

The lastest Tremont Tribune (the third ever) hit the streets last week. The stories are now on-line. They include:

Putting the Farm Back in West Farms
Kaman Fong first saw Drew Gardens through the windows of the Q44 bus. The garden, a lush, two-acre strip of lawn and community vegetable plots running along the Bronx River on East Tremont Avenue between East 177th Street and West Farms Road, sits behind three bus stops and attracts plenty of attention from riders as they go by. Some stop and ask for a tour. Others get off and garden.

Rivera Runs for Third Council Term, Virtually Unopposed
A lot has changed for Joel Rivera, the two-term city councilman, in the past year. There was the contentious leadership brawl in which his father, Assemblyman Jose Rivera, was ousted as Chairman of the Bronx Democratic Party and replaced by Assemblyman Carl Heastie; Joel’s own stillborn race for borough president, suddenly called off in March; and the challenge for his seat in the 15th district from well-funded Community Board 6 member Radame Perez, which inexplicably dissolved in May.

Local Students Given Film Camp Scholarships
It’s summertime, but hundreds of students stream in and out of the Millennium Public School in lower Manhattan each day. Most of them have paid thousands of dollars for a special filmmaking training camp, hosted by the New York Film Academy and taught by its renowned professors, using state-of-the-art equipment. But this year - for the first time - nearly a hundred students are attending the film camp free of charge.

At St. Barnabas, Actors and Mannequins
The patient is sprawled across the bed, his vital signs ticking loudly on the monitor in the corner. “Please, give me something for the pain,” he moans. “It hurts, it really hurts.”

Community Board Looks to Honor FDNY Hero
If local leaders get their way, a Bronx street will soon have a new name. In May, Community Board 6 voted in favor of renaming a block - East 180th Street, between Park and DeVoe avenues - in memory of fire alarm dispatcher and one-time Fordham resident Dennis Patrick O’Connell, who died last year at age 56.

Bronx News Roundup July 21

Four Democratic state senators, including Ruben Diaz and Pedro Espapda, have hit back at Mayor Bloomberg, after he allegedly compared them to Nazis. The mayor is frustrated the Senate hasn't acted sooner to renew mayoral control of schools.

Espada, the new majority leaders, raked in $150,000 in campaign donations in the first half of 2009, but he's yet to reveal how he spent it.

Councilwoman Maria Baez has the worst attendance record in the City Council. She showed up at just 56 percent of mandatory Council meetings and hearings in the 2009 fiscal year, according to the Post. This isn't the first time Baez has claimed top spot. In an interview earlier this month, she blamed a long-term illness for keeping her away from City Hall. She said Council Speaker Christine Quinn is "aware" of her condition, and has been helpful and understanding. Certainly, Baez's chronic absenteeism hasn't angered Quinn too much. Last week, she gave Baez a glowing endorsement at a campaign rally.

Quinn's support, and other developments, suggests Baez "still has plenty of political street savvy," writes Bob Kappstatter.

Residents doctors at St. Barnabas are asking Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate executive pay at the hospital.

Police are looking for three men who robbed a man at knife point on Saturday evening, inside a Washington Avenue building.

A Williamsbridge man was shot dead on Sunday night, as he tried to to protect his brother from an armed mugger.

Chinese alligators, bred in captivity at the The Bronx Zoo and later released at mouth of the Yangtze River, have begun breeding, much to the delight of the Wildlife Conservation Society. The species is said to be on the verge of extinction.

Castle Hill merchants say a parking ticket blitz is driving away customers.

Michael Martin, aka Iz the Wiz, a prolific graffiti writer from the the Bronx, has died.

A new book explores the history of DeWitt Clinton High School and its remarkable alumni.

Tenants of 1600 Sedgwick Ave. in Morris Heights say they've been hit by through-the-roof utility charges. More here.

New from the Tremont Tribune

The second edition of the brand new Tremont Tribune hit the streets this week, with full coverage of the neighborhoods inside Community Board 6: Belmont, Bathgate, Tremont, Crotona, and West Farms. It's bilingual and monthly, and you can find it at local businesses or online. Here's a look at what we've got for you this month:

Resident doctors at St. Barnabas Hospital are fighting to form a union.

A former gangmember turned police liaison tells the story behind his change of heart.

Community Board 6 thinks the funding cuts in Bloomberg's budget spell the beginning of the end for community boards.

Photos from the annual Feast of St. Anthony, which took over Belmont last week (you can find more photos from the feast below).

Plus an update on city council races and our listing of free local concerts, festivals, and events, in What's Going On?

And if you didn't catch us last month, never fear! The first ever edition of the Tremont Tribune is also online, with stories on Crotona's ambitions for a new, green, community center, and a controversial new housing development in Bathgate.

Take a look, and let us know what you think!