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| A fallen tree near Boston Road and E. 180 Street (Photo by Luis Torrens) |
Showing posts with label bronx weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bronx weather. Show all posts
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Bronx Readers' Photos of Hurricane Irene
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Aug. 16
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| A car splashes through a puddle on Southern Boulevard in Bedford Park during yesterday's record-setting rainstorm. (Photo by David Greene) |
Story of the Day: Street Name Honors Pregnant Traffic Agent Killed in Tragic Accident
The corner of Webster Avenue and E. 188th Street has been renamed Donnette and Sean Sanz Place, after a 33-year-old Bronx traffic agent who was struck and killed by a van three years ago while crossing the street on her lunch break. Sanz was seven months pregnant at the time and her unborn son, named Sean, died later. The man driving the car that struck her, Walter Walker, 72, had a history of license suspensions and served six months behind bars for criminally negligent homicide.
Quick Hits:
Speaking of Bronx re-namings, a newly opened South Bronx park, Charlton Thompson Garden, honors two soldiers killed during the Korean War.
Everyone should check out this beautiful Time slideshow of photographs by Stephen Shames, who spent decades, from 1977 on, chronicling the lives of young people in the Bronx. His shots, compiled in his recently released "Bronx Boys," captures some quintessential scenes of urban life (kids playing in fire hydrants, a boy sleeping out on the fire escape) as well as some more tumultuous spots in the borough's history (street fights, kids shooting up).
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
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.
Quick Hits:
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Thursday, June 30
Ladies and gentlemen of the Bronx and beyond, welcome to the last Bronx News Roundup of June. Here's to a lovely Independence Day weekend and a fantastic July. Now, to the news!
Weather: Absolutely gorgeous, high in the low- to mid-80s, nice little breeze to cool the sweat beads on the back of your neck. No complaints here. Tomorrow, there's a slight chance of isolate thunderstorms in the afternoon, but we doubt it.
Story of the Day: Report Says Father's Rage Led to Bronx Football Star's Death
Yesterday, we linked to the brain-twisting and tragic story of Truman High School football star Isayah Muller, who was stabbed to death in a Bedford Park parking lot just hours after his graduation ceremony at Lehman College. Today, more details have emerged. According to the NY Post, after a post-graduation meal on City Island, Isayah's father, Andre Muller, became enraged when he couldn't locate an expensive bottle of cologne in his car. After dropping off Isayah's grandmother, the father drove back to the parking lot where the family had dropped off the car during the ceremony and angrily confronted two attendants who were on duty. A brawl ensued, with one of the attendants wielding a machete and the other a makeshift knife, both weapons were apparently on hand for protection. (You know, in case an enraged man accuses you of stealing expensive cologne and you need to shank somebody.) Isayah went to help his father and was stabbed by one of the attendants, once, in the heart. He was pronounced dead a short time later at St. Barnabas Hospital. Muller was charged with assault yesterday and was released after pleading not guilty. Neither of the attendants have been charged with a crime.
Quick Hits:
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Wednesday, June 8
Weather: Stay thirsty, my friends, and drink lots of water. It's going to be a scorcher today in the Bronx, with highs reaching the mid- to upper-90s. Should be similarly toasty tomorrow and Friday before it cools down this weekend.
Story of the Day: Bloomy: FDNY to Aid in Illegal Subdivision Inspections
In late April, a 12-year-old and his parents were killed during a fire that quickly engulfed the illegally subdivided Belmont-area row house they were living in. The tragedy highlighted the dangers of illegally subdivided houses and buildings throughout the city and underscored the difficulty the city has in policing the problem. Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council got proactive about it, announcing a new program designed to urgently target "high-risk" buildings where illegal subdivisions have been reported and use city firefighters to help gain access to buildings during inspections. Prior to the deaths of the 12-year-old and his parents, the city had received several complaints about the row house being dangerously chopped up into single-room units. But after twice attempting and failing to gain access to the building, the Department of Buildings, as is the agency's policy, stopped trying to get in and inspect he place. In a test run of the new program, the city targeted 16 buildings and was able to inspect 93 percent of them.
Quick Hits:
Last Friday, in reaction to series of violent incidents in the Bronx this spring, students staged an anti-violence rally outside of Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School.
In anticipation of a rally against proposed school closures and layoffs, Bronx teachers met to commiserate, drink and talk strategy.
A former Bronx transit cop, Jorge Arbaje-Diaz, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for using his uniform and badge to steal cocaine and $4 million in illegal drug proceeds.
WNYC takes a look at the Botanical Garden's new Resplendent Roses show.
Students unveiled a new art exhibit in the Bronx's Crotona Park.
A Bronx mom who killed a 67-year-old woman after running a red light on the Upper West Side was sentenced to a year in prison.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Tuesday, April 26
Weather: Bronxites will be burning (or at least sweating a little) today as temperatures soar into the high 70s! Small chance of showers later on. Similar mix of warmth and rain potential tomorrow.
Story of the Day: Cute Kid Battles Cancer, Runs for Cute Penguins
We'll lead with this heart-warmer about a penguin-loving six-year-old boy from Long Island who is coming to the Bronx on Saturday to participate in the Bronx Zoo's annual Run for the Wild fundraiser. Last fall, after doctors diagnosed young Aghelos Kouvaras with a rare form of cancer, he was forced to drop out of school and has spent his life in and out of hospitals ever since. During his ongoing convalescence, Agehlos developed a love for penguins: "They're cute animals and they were dying," Aghelos told the Daily News. Despite his own condition, Aghelos wanted to do something to help his new endangered favorite creature. In turn, his teachers went to work raising $3,000 for this year's Run for the Wild, which is dedicated to protecting the Magellanic penguins who live off the coast of southern Argentina. Now, eight months after his diagnosis, Aghelos feels well enough to do his own running for the wild and will participate in the 5K run/walk on Saturday with about 80 supporters cheering him on. Yesterday, the Zoo rewarded the first-grader by letting him feed their penguins.
Quick Hits:
In a well-reported follow-up to the story of the Belmont-area fire that killed two parents and their 12-year-old son, the Daily News reports that the Buildings Department received five complaints saying there were illegally converted one-room apartments in the building (2321 Prospect Ave.) that went ablaze yesterday morning. The last complaint came just 11 days before the fire and there is no record of the agency doing anything in response. Too often -- records show less than half of the time -- the city is unable to access buildings to investigate complaints. And after two attempts, cases are closed. Buildings officials say the low inspection rates are due to budget constraints that won't allow them to authorize overtime so inspectors can visit buildings after hours and on weekends.
The man heading the NYPD ticket-fixing scandal, Bronx DA Robert Johnson, unsuccessfully tried to get his own speeding ticket fixed by going through proper court channels. Let this be a lesson to all of us.
DNAinfo's Murray Weiss reports on Huffington Post that the ticket-fixing investigation may also include cops attempting to squash domestic violence and DWI charges.
Bronx-born caterer Kwame Onwuachi, now living in Harlem, is following in his mother's culinary footsteps.
Tree-giveaway projects are happening all over the borough.
Yamaris Clemente, a relative of late Puerto Rican baseball legend Roberto Clemente, is excelling as the shortstop for the Monroe College softball team.
East Bronx waterfront advocates have a vocal new ally in the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance.
Westchester Square is one step closer to gaining a Business Improvement District.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Bronx Weekend News Roundup, Monday, April 18
Welcome back to the program, ladies and gentleman of the Bronx and beyond. Just a reminder, today is the official deadline to file your taxes. So, get it done or risk the wrath of the IRS.
Weather: High of around 60 today with clouds obscuring the sun as the day goes on. A strong chance of rain tonight through Wednesday.
Story of the Day: Bronx Cops on the Hot Seat
Yesterday, the Post unveiled its "exclusive" look into the NYPD ticket-fixing scandal that apparently is almost exclusively focused on Bronx police officers. The report claims 400 cops, most of them from the Bronx's 12 precincts, could face internal disciplinary action and two dozen officers, many of them union delegates, could face criminal charges. The investigation began in 2008 after a Bronx cop suspected of selling drugs was heard on a wire tap asking another cop, a union rep, for help fixing a summons. The investigation ballooned from there. Today, the Times delves into the matter, quoting several unnamed "law enforcement officials" and a couple of named lawyers who say ticket fixing has been around since ticket issuing began and that the matter should be handled within the department. It's unclear when the Bronx District Attorney's office will complete its grand jury investigation, while an Internal Affairs Bureau probe continues.
Quick Hits:
Victor Toro, a South Bronx activist who face deportation back to his native Chile where he was tortured in the late 1970s, remains outspoken even as the U.S. government is intent on removing him from the Mott Haven area he now calls home.
New Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott, who officially starts his new job today, spoke at Harvest Fields Community Church in Westchester Square yesterday and assured teachers: "You will never, ever hear me say a bad thing about you," according to the Daily News. But he also said he would go through with Bloomberg's plan to cut 4,000 teachers and fight to end their seniority protections.
Three Bronx teens were injured, one critically, while driving a mini van along Bruckner Boulevard early Saturday morning.
Boxing is coming back to the Loew's Paradise Theater.
A new study found that tax filers in several low-income zip codes in the Bronx and Brooklyn saw more than a million dollars of their refund money go to high-interest "refund anticipation loans." Jumelia Abrahamson (her name is misspelled in the article [and was again misspelled in this post earlier, but is now, finally, corrected]), who works for University Neighborhood Housing Program, a Bronx-based nonprofit that offers free tax prep precisely because they want filers to keep more of their refunds, said the for-profit companies who push these loans often obscure how much of a cut their taking.
Broxite David Vizcaino will compete in the 2011 Special Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Tuesday, April 12
Weather: Light rain is expected here in the Bronx sometime after noon, with temperatures dropping into the 40s as night falls on our lovely borough.
To the news!
Story of the Day: Kazimiroff Boulevard Re-Renamed
It is said that Dr. Theodore L. Kazimiroff, a jack of many trades (dentist, naturalist, Indiana Jones wannabe) and the Bronx's first historian, once removed a tooth from a lion's mouth in the Bronx Zoo. He had become such a legendary borough figure that, just a year after his death in 1980, a section of the winding road that runs from East Fordham Road to Allerton Avenue and cuts between the New York Botanical Garden and Fordham University was remaned Dr. Theodore L. Kazimiroff Boulevard.
For years, the Garden and Fordham complained that the new street name confused drivers who wanted access to its institutions. (Current Bronx historian Lloyd Ultan was skeptical about this claim). In any case, they finally got their way Monday when Mayor Bloomberg signed into law a bill, sponsored by Bronx City Councilman Oliver Koppell, renaming the street Southern Boulevard, as it was known before it took on Kazimiroff as its namesake. Kazimiroff's widow, Emilia, who still lives close to her husband's former street, wasn't happy about the change, which is apparently such a rarity that Henry J. Stern, a former parks commissioner who reportedly knows everything about New York City ("a living compendium of New York trivia"), couldn't remember it ever happening before. "It is sort of a slap in the face," she told the Times. Dr. Theodore L. Kazimiroff will remain the unofficial and honorary name of that stretch of Southern Boulevard.
Quick Hits:
Speaking of street renaming, honorary or otherwise, Community Board 3 is considering a proposal to rename Jennings Street, between Prospect and Union avenues, after The Chords, a Bronx rhythm and blues band that crossed over into pop stardom with their hit, "Sh-Boom," which ruled the summer of 1954. Here's The Chords singing their hit in 1980:
To the chagrin of many Bronx artists, Latin jazz is being removed as a Grammy category.
Some food activists, including Karen Washington of the Bronx group La Familia Verde, say the city needs to do more to get Farmer's Markets set up in poorer areas of the city.
Community Board 7 -- Norwood, Bedford Park, North Fordham and University Heights -- has more buildings with rat problems, 14% of them, than any other board in the borough. CB6 is second.
The Capitol profiles Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a former Bronx state senator.
East Bronx Councilman James Vacca is starting to feel some heat for not supporting a living wage bill that the rest of the Bronx delegation has signed on to.[Link fixed]
Montefiore Medical Center is working to teach its patients how to cook colon-healthy meals to help them prevent colon cancer. Speaking of cancer, the New York area is reportedly very aggressive in its end-of-life cancer care as there are financial incentives to keeping patients out of hospices. But Montefiore's chief medical officer, Dr. Gary Kalkut, says this trend has nothing to do with federal financing.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Tuesday, March 29
Weather: Very similar to yesterday -- sunny and cold this morning, gradually warming up into the mid-40s in the afternoon and then cooling down again at night.
To the news!
Story of the Day:
The legal morass deepened yesterday for Pedro Espada Jr. as federal prosecutors unveiled new charges against the ex-Bronx State Senator and health clinic mogul, as well as his son, Pedro Gautier Espada. The father-son duo were hit with new tax evasion and wire fraud charges, according to the indictment filed in Brooklyn Federal Court, where the Espadas are being tried. Both are out on $750,000 bail after being charged in December with stealing more than $550,000 from Pedro Jr.'s nonprofit health care clinic empire in the Bronx to pay for, among other things, a $49,000 down payment on a Bentley. Prosecutors indicated yesterday that they would be willing to offer the Espadas a plea deal that could lead to reduced sentences if he admits to wrongdoing.
Quick Hits:
We'll start the hits with Vanity Fair's hilarious take on the Bronx Zoo's missing Egyptian cobra, which is apparently now Tweeting as it slithers about town. Already, the snake boasts a Twitter following of 10,000 fans. "Right now, it's the snake's game," the Zoo said in statement.
Police are searching for a body in Riverdale Park after two suspects told authorities they had killed a man and dumped him there 11 years ago.
Though details have yet to be released, two special needs schools in the Bronx are happy that their state funding has been tentatively restored.
Police are asking assistance in tracking down two armed robbery suspects.
Bronx native and two-time presidential candidate Ellen McCormack died on Sunday at the age of 84.
Bronx State Senator Jeff Klein launched a crusade against Four Loko, which returned to NYC stores last month minus the caffeine, but is still packing a stiff, 12% alcohol, punch and comes in brightly colored cans. He's calling Four Loko and other similarly-loaded and fashioned drinks, "alcopop." (By the way, who knew Klein's girlfriend was neat-freak fellow state senator, Diane Savino of Brooklyn/Staten Island?)
100-year-old east Bronx resident Lily Rapaport is sharing her life story through a new federal program called StoryCorps.
Meet the latest super-sized Bronx rap sensation, Fred The Godson, who was the only NYC rapper featured on the cover of the hip-hop magazine XXL's "Freshman of the Year" issue.
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