Bronx News Roundup, Aug. 31

Weather: Clear and sunny today in the low 80s. It could get a little overcast later this afternoon, but there's no real rain in the forecast until this weekend.

We missed yesterday's news roundup--let's just blame the hurricane--but we're back to our regularly scheduled blogging. Here are some Bronx news headlines from yesterday and this morning.

Crotona Park resident Jose Sierra, 68, is among the 40 or so victims who died during this weekend's storm. A Puerto Rican native and father of 13, Sierra was an avid fisherman who went out to check on his boat at a City Island marina on Sunday morning. His body was found that afternoon in the waters nearby.

Former State Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr., and his son are defending themselves against charges of fraud and money laundering by blaming their accountants. The Espadas' defense lawyer, the Daily News reports, is claiming the men assumed their use of taxpayer funds from the Soundview Health Clinics they controlled--to pay for things like sushi restaurant tabs and birthday party pony rides--were legal because the expenses were approved by an accounting firm.

Toxins Send PS 51 to Crotona

Editor's Note: This story first appeared in the latest issue of the Norwood News, out now.

Bronx New School, housed on Van  Cortlandt Avenue East in an old lighting factory,
will have a new home in a former Catholic school two miles away in Crotona.
(Photo by Adi Talwar)

By Ronald Chavez

At a tense public hearing last week, the Department of Education announced it will be moving Bedford Park elementary school PS 51, known as the Bronx New School, to a new building two miles south—the result of a discovery earlier this summer that its current site contains hazardous levels of a chemical toxin linked to cancer.

“I apologize to you. It will not happen again,” Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott told a crowd of seething parents at the Aug. 18 meeting at the Bronx High School of Science.

Meeting to Discuss Bronx New School Relocation, Thursday, Aug. 18 at Bronx Science

There will be a community meeting to discuss the closing of the Bronx New School building and the school's relocation on Thursday, Aug. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Bronx High School of Science auditorium, 75 W. 205th St., between Paul and Goulden avenues.

High levels of trichloroethylene contamination was found in the Bedford Park elementary school earlier this year. The DOE only recently told parents about the contamination and relocation to an unknown destination in a letter last week.

For more background, click here and here.

Bronx News Roundup, Tuesday, Aug. 9

Weather: Sunny, with a high in the mid-80s until later this afternoon, when rain and thunderstorms became increasingly likely. There's an even higher chance for rain tonight. Should be hotter, less chance of rain, tomorrow.

Story of the Day: Report: City Knew of Bronx New School Contamination 6 Months Ago
According to a Daily News story out today, a contractor performing tests at the Bronx New School's cafeteria found high levels of trichlorethylene (otherwise known as TCE) contamination as early as January. In March, underneath the school's basement floorboard, the contractor discovered TCE contamination levels that were 10,000 times higher than what the state deems safe. Exposure to TCE has been linked to cancer and it can cause severed kidney and liver problems. The Department of Education says they didn't have the contractor's full report until the end of June. But even Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott acknowledged that the city should have informed parents sooner. "I'm totally shocked by the whole thing," one parent told the Daily News. Also, it's still unclear where the school will move now with just a month left before school starts.

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