Norwood Campers Celebrate at Sal's Pizza

Campers from St. Brendan's Church Play Camp got an end-of-summer treat last week, with a pizza party at Sal's Pizzeria on E. 204th Street.

The group of 20 tykes were treated to pizza and sodas on the house, said counselor Maritza Rivera, who snapped this shot of the group with owner Sal Calce.

"They were excited and had a blast," she said. "It was a great experience for the kids."

Norwood Walks Aim to Build Community and Commerce

Kids line up for face painting during a Weekend Walks event on E. 204th Street in Norwood.
(Photo by Alex Kratz)

By Alex Kratz

On Sunday, hundreds of local residents spilled onto the middle of E. 204th Street for the Weekend Walks event, which included shopping, face painting, fitness instruction and lots of kids playing in an open fire hydrant courtesy of the fire department.

Hosted by Community Board 7 and Mosholu Preservation Corporation, Weekend Walks is a city initiative designed to bring community and commerce together on streets throughout the five boroughs. On E. 204th Street, a two block stretch between Bainbridge and Hull avenues was blocked for shopping and a host of other activities.

Lowell Green, the chair of Board 7’s transportation committee, first learned about the Weekend Walks program last summer and signed the board up to help host the event over the winter. Green, however, was skeptical that the board could pull it off without a co-host. In the early spring, Mosholu Preservation Corporation (MPC), a nonprofit that manages affordable housing and promotes economic development in the Norwood area (and also publishes the Norwood News), teamed up with Board 7 to help organizing and promoting the event.

Michael Lambert, the deputy director of MPC, said he hopes Weekend Walks will help build momentum and interest for an E. 204th Street business corridor beset by two tragic fires in the past two years.

Representatives from several area businesses, including Ridgewood Furniture, Foodtown, Freilich Jewelers, McKeon Funeral Home, Papa John’s Pizza and the new Beso Lounge, participated in the event.

Weekend Walks continues the next two Sundays, July 31 and Aug. 7, from noon to 5 p.m.

Joe Liberatore, Longtime Arthur Avenue Vendor, Has Died

A plaque on display at the Arthur Avenue Market calls Liberatore "Little Italy's Mayor."
(File photo by Fausto Giovanny Pinto)

Joe Liberatore, one of the original vendors at the Arthur Avenue Retail Market in Belmont, passed away Monday night at the age of 93, according to a post yesterday on the "Arthur Avenue, the Real Italy of New York" Facebook page.

Liberatore had been a staple at the Italian indoor bazaar since its opening in 1940, and more recently had been peddling plants and seedlings (like basil, olives and bay leaves) at his Liberatore Joe's Garden of Plenty.

Residents are sharing their condolences and memories of Liberatore on Facebook, here.

Bloomberg Checks In On Hunts Point Market

Bloomberg talks with Stephen Katzman, a president of the Hunts Point Produce Market
(Photo courtesy of the Mayor's office)

Mayor Bloomberg paid a late night visit to the Boogie Down yesterday to meet with vendors at the Hunts Point Produce Market, taking a tour of the facility and talking to some of the leaders there about the challenges they're facing.

It's in the best interest of the Bronx and the city that the Mayor stay on good terms with leadership at the market, which employs some 2,400 people and brings in about $2.3 billion in sales each year. A few months ago, it seemed as if the cooperative might pack up and move to New Jersey, tempted by an offer from Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Fire Devastates Rebounding Community

A row of businesses on Jerome Avenue were destroyed by a fire last Friday. (Photo by David Greene)
 

By DAVID GREENE

The neighborhood of Burnside, which has enjoyed a sort of renaissance and building boom in recent years, suffered a major setback last week as a row of stores burned down along the bustling shopping corridor of Jerome Avenue.

According to officials from the FDNY, the fire broke out inside a laundromat at 2081 Jerome Avenue at 9:53 a.m., on Friday, April 29

The blaze continued to rage, prompting officials to declare four-alarms and requiring 168 firefighters, who remained on the scene long after the blaze was brought under control at 2:12 p.m.

The fire destroyed six businesses: the Bronx Eagle Cafe restaurant, a barber shop, a children's store, a beauty salon, a locksmith and the laundromat where it began. A nearby nail salon and the MARC Academy Pre-K and After School Program suffered smoke and water damage.

Bronx Events: Celebration of Women Entrepreneurs

The Bronx Entrepreneurs and Business Network, an independent grassroots networking group, will celebrate Women's History Month with a spotlight on women and Bronx entrepreneurs tomorrow night at the PeaceLove Cafe in Melrose, 617 Melrose Ave. from 7-9 p.m.

The event will feature a panel discussion on networking, social media and other business strategies moderated by Clarisel Gonzalez, editor and publisher of PRSUN Communications. It is free and open to the public.

Find out what else is happening in the Bronx this week in our events calendar, below.

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

Liquor Authority’s Mistake Paves Way for Bikini Bar

Community leaders are fuming over The Luxury Box,  a new bikini bar in West Farms (Photo by F. Pinto) 

Editor's note: this article first appeared in the latest issue of the Tremont Tribune, which is on the streets and online now.

By FAUSTO GIOVANNY PINTO

The Luxury Box Sports Bar and Cabaret, a bikini bar that recently opened at 1101 E. 177th St., received its liquor license even after Community Board 6 sent a letter of disapproval, a mistake the Liquor Authority acknowledges.

“We didn’t recommend this,” said Ivine Galarza, Community Board 6’s district manager. “We don’t want this type of place next to a residential building.”

In a statement, the Liquor Authority admitted it screwed up. Even though they received the Board’s letter, it wasn’t scanned into the file, spokesman William Crowley said.

While community board approval is not needed to obtain a liquor license, a letter of disapproval would have sent The Luxury Box’s application before a three-member panel — and those letters weigh heavily on the board’s decision.

Bronx Workshop: How to Grow a Profitable Business

Speaking of advice for small business owners (see the post below), the non-profit group Workshop in Business Opportunities is running a 16-week course on how to run a profitable business, at nine locations throughout the city, including one in the South Bronx. We're told there's no set deadline, though applicants are accepted on a first come, first serve basis. The courses start in February. Visit www.wibo.org or see the flyer below for more info.
WIBO Spring11 Workshop

New Bronx Office to Help Small Business Owners

Officials cut the ribbon on SCORE's first Bronx office (photo courtesy of the Borough President's office)

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., and Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation President Marlene Cintron cut the ribbon today on a new Bronx office for SCORE, a nonprofit that offers free counseling for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

The new SCORE office will be in the building that houses the BOEDC, at 851 Grand Concourse, where business owners can seek advice from professional mentors every Thursday from 10 to 4 p.m. You can make an appointment by calling (718) 590-6252.

"Our Bronx businesses need and deserve every resource they can get," Diaz said. "I am thrilled that SCORE has made a decision to provide direct access to its services to Bronx businesses."

Learn more about SCORE on their website: www.scorenyc.org

Freilich Jewelers Featured on Bronx Ink

The Bronx Ink, a news site produced by students at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism, has this video profile on Norwood jeweler Allan Freilich, whose family has been in the local jewelry business for decades. Their store is on E. 204th St., between Perry and Hull Avenues.

Keeping the shine, Even in hard times from Connie Preti on Vimeo.

Walmart: Bronxites Love Us!

Retail megastore Walmart is once again eyeing the big apple for the site of a new store, and this time they've got research under their belt to fight off opponents. The company commissioned its own poll that surveyed 1,000 New Yorkers--the majority of which, the company says, would welcome a Walmart somewhere in the city.

According to the poll, Bronx residents want a Walmart more than folks in any other borough: 80 percent of those asked say they would support the retailer coming to the city, according to a press release.

Opposition against Walmart setting up shop has been fierce in the past, as critics often question the company's labor practices and argue that the retailer would hurt the city's small business community.

But Walmart polled them, too: according to the survey, 62 percent of small business owners asked said they favor the store based on the idea that it would help create jobs.

A few years back, a coalition of Walmart opponents teamed up with a number of Bronx community groups to fight the possibility of the box store coming into the neighborhood.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn had planned to hold a hearing this week to discuss the impact a Walmart could have, though the retailer says it has no announced project in the city yet. The hearing has been postponed until next month.

So what do we think? Does the Bronx want a Walmart?

Bronx News Roundup, Nov. 23

Police are searching for a Bronx man, who lives on University Avenue, in connection to a number of break-ins and burglaries on the Lower East Side.

Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo visited a now-empty juvenile detention center in upstate New York yesterday, citing it as an example of Albany dysfunction and inefficiency. Tryon Residential Facility for boys was made famous after a Bronx teenager died there in 2006 during a violent scuffle with staff at the facility, which will close this year.

The key witness in a Bronx court murder trial is now keeping mum and refusing to testify; prosecutors say he was intimidated into silence by the men being tried, and their cronies.

Local business owners are gearing up for the start of the Holiday shopping season this Black Friday, and looking for ways to entice reluctant shoppers.

With Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson and Senate President Malcolm Smith in the hot seat over Aqueduct raceway casino allegations, Bronx State Senator Jeff Klein is poised to climb the ranks of the Democratic Party this year, says Bob Kappstatter.

His column this week also gives a shout out to our very own Alex Kratz for his Norwood News story on the thriving prostitution trade near St. James park. 

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn released a report on the city's food industry yesterday, calling for a number of sweeping policy changes, including a revamping of the Hunts Point Market. Bronxite Harry Bubbins, of the community garden group Friends of Brook Park, weighs in, saying that Quinn and the Council need to put more support behind local gardens and urban farms.

A look into Cardinal Spellman High School's girls' basketball team this season.

Note: Don't forget to check out some of the new features on this site, like our events calendar, community forum, and the SeeClickFix feature, where you can report and track responses to neighborhood problems.

Start Your Own Green Cart Business

(Photo by Ivonne Salazar)

Calling all Bronx entrepreneurs: nonprofit WHEDco is partnering with the NYC Green Cart program to host a free business workshop on Tuesday, Aug. 24, to recruit and train potential green cart owners. Learn the in and outs of owning your own fruit and vegetable stand business, and get help with the application process.

No business experience is necessary and the session is open to anyone--the idea is to help Bronx residents profit financially their own business ventures, while also increasing healthy food options throughout the borough.

The workshop will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on Aug. 24 at WHEDco's Intervale Green Office, at 1330 Intervale Ave. (between Jennings St and Freeman St). It's free, though you should call to reserve yourself a seat. RSVP to Cassandra Flechsig at (212) 337-4311, or call for more information.