Bronx News Roundup, Thursday, July 21

Weather: Today's high of 96, which will really feel more like 104 with the humidity, will be roundly trumped by tomorrow's high of 101, which will really feel more like the seventh circle of Hades.  

Story of the Day: Bronx Charter School on Probation for Shady Lottery Practices
The Academic Leadership Charter School, which opened on East 141st Street in 2009, is in hot water and in danger being closed after city investigators discovered that the school may have manipulated its lottery selection process to weed out unwanted students. City officials accused the school's leadership of investigating students' past history and possibly even testing them before the selection played out, a huge charter school no-no. The lottery system, which is mandated by state law, "is at the heart of being a charter school," says James Merriman of the New York City Charter School Center. If the school doesn't revamp its lottery process and implement other changes, the school could be closed.

Quick Hits:
Residents say the city should have shuttered a Morris Heights brownstone that had been chopped up into illegal subdivisions before a fire that engulfed the house resulted in the death of a 65-year-old man.

Bronx News Roundup, April 19

Weather: Temperatures in the low to mid 50s, with rain showers throughout most of the day.

Story Of The Day: Charter School Blues

The Daily News' Daniel Beekman takes us on the scene of a public lottery at the high-performing Bronx Charter School for Excellence, in Morris Park, where 1,635 hopeful parents were vying to get their kids into just 28 open kindergarten spots. The lottery determines who gets in and who goes home, a process (as chronicled in the much-talked about film "Waiting for Superman") which means heartache for most of the families who apply.

"It's a crushing feeling," one parent told the News. "You gamble with your kid's life and just hope you get picked."

Bronx Charter boasts that 88 percent of its fifth-graders passed the state English exams last year--that's compared to the 41 percent average for public schools in Bronx's District 11.

Quick Hits: 

Former Co-Op City janitor Paulino Valenzuela was found guilty yesterday for the 2007 shooting that killed his boss.

More on the Bronx NYPD ticket-fixing probe: the Post reports that part of the massive investigation is focused on highway patrol officers headquartered on the Bronx River Parkway, who are responsible for cruising and ticketing drivers along the West Side Highway and FDR East River Drive.

Livery cab drivers in the south Bronx are sporting bullet proof vests provided by Security USA, which donated the vest in memory of Bronx cab driver Cesar Santos, who was shot and killed in 2010 over a fare dispute.

One Bronx family, and thousands of others, face homelessness or the shelter system as their city-provided rent subsidies run out.

Bronx Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson is one of several elected officials rallying for the state to establish a domestic violence offender database, following the recent brutal murder of a Lower East Side woman at the hands of her boyfriend.

A jury continues to deliberate in the trial of two NYPD transit officers accused of beating a Bronx man in 2008.

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 23

Frigid air in the Bronx this morning eventually gives way to slightly less frigid air this afternoon, but the sun will shine!

A couple of programming notes: The Norwood News, which covers Board 7, hits streets today. We'll trickle out some of the published stories (and some that didn't make the cut) here on BxNN and have them all up on the News' site by the end of the week. Also, we will be Tweeting live (@norwoodnews, and I'll see if we can get it up on this site as well) from the Bronx Borough President's "State of the Borough" speech at DeWitt Clinton high school tomorrow, starting at 11:30 a.m. And look for Bronx Foodie and The Bronx Sports Column, making their triumphant returns on Friday.

To the news!

Story of the Day:
Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. gave a little highlight reel preview of his State of the Bronx speech to NY1's Dean "The Dream." Here's my condensed Sportscenter-like montage of what to expect: "The state of the borough is strong . . .  lots of new housing! look at all of our green roofs! loans are flowing to Bronx businesses! . . . don't worry about the Kingsbridge Armory, trust us, we know taking on the mayor was risky, but we got this under control . . . Listen up, American Idols and Glenn Becks of the world, you're wrong about us, the Bronx is no longer burning, stop the stereotypes or risk a rumble!"

Quick Hits:
Following an infusion of 268,000 cubic yards of sand, Orchard Beach, a.k.a the Bronx Riviera, has its beach body back in shape for summer.

A pair of Bronx cops will not be charged with excessive force, despite video evidence that allegedly shows them roughing up a 19-year-old for riding his bike, says NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Salsa legends Ruben Blades and Gilberto Santa Rosa play Lehman Center on Saturday.

Ida Keeling, a 95-year-old Bronx girl, cruised to victory in the 60-meter sprint competition at a northern Manhattan track meet last week. After taking up running at the age of 67, Keeling's been crushing age-related sprint records ever since.

Speaking of running, congratulations to the Bronx Science boys and DeWitt Clinton girls for their victories in the Bronx indoor high school track and field championships.

Today, angry parents, teachers and elected officials are planning to take their fight to clean up PCB contamination at PS 68 to City Hall.

Gov. Cuomo's budget plan axes state funding to schools for the deaf, blind and severely disabled, including three in the Bronx.

The Post reports that there is new evidence suggesting charter-school students are doing better than public-school students in social studies and science.

Bronx News Roundup, Oct. 1

If you couldn't tell by the soggy weather this morning, it is indeed October now. Because of the rain, expect subway delays if you haven't already experienced them. On to the news!

First, an awesome picture of some of the subway flooding problems and a report that the 4 train was delayed after a tree fell near the 167th St. stop. [Update: a reader alerted us that this photo was taken in 2006. But it's still awesome.]

As of 10:57 a.m., the MTA was reporting delays on the 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D F, M, and N, Q, R lines.

To the relief of its 800-plus workers and doctors, Westchester Square Medical Center, slated to close on Dec. 31, will remain open but the amount of beds in the hospital will shrink, state Health Department officials say.

Internal Affairs reportedly raided 12 Bronx police precincts to seize and audit all tickets handed out over the past 13 months. 

The late actor Tony Curtis grew up in the Bronx, the son of dirt-poor Hungarian immigrants. His given name: Bernie Schwartz.

Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez points out that Eva  Moskowitz, who founded the Harlem Success charter schools and opened two new schools in the Bronx this year, spent some $1.3 million on marketing and recruitment, which swelled the waiting list to get in and pressured state officials to let her open schools. Gonzalez admits the schools have been successful, but says the money is the reason regular public schools can't compete.

The trial of four men accused of plotting to bomb two Riverdale synagogues is nearing conclusion as the defense wrapped up its case yesterday. They called very few witnesses, instead relying on their cross-examination of a government informant who they say entrapped their clients. Closing arguments begin Monday.

The Bronx driver accused of beating a traffic cop pleaded not guilty yesterday after turning himself in to authorities.

The Manhattan College and Fordham University men's soccer teams face off tomorrow night.

A deal to save the so-called "birth place of hip-hop" is near completion.

Hostos Community College is hosting a dominoes tournament on Sunday that will benefit the school's Emergency 100 and Scholarship fund. Entry is $30. Winners can earn up to $2,000 in prizes.

And finally, after conducting an online poll, the Wildlife Conservation Society has named the new beaver recently found in the Bronx River. It's Justin Beiber, er, Beaver. Justin joins Jose who was discovered in 2007 and named after Bronx Congressman Jose Serrano. The discover is another great sign of the river's resurgence. Plust, the two are planning a world-wide tour to the delight of pre-adolescent beavers everywhere.

Bronx News Roundup, July 22

Sherr-una Booker says she'll refile charges against David Johnson, the former top aide to Gov. Paterson. Booker filed a police report last fall saying Johnson assaulted her in their Bronx apartment, but the case was dismissed when she missed a court appearance the day after getting a phone call from the governor.

Sam Suzuki, the slumlord who got prison time for ignoring court orders to repair his crumbling apartment building on E. 172nd Street, was released from jail this week but could be sent back by the courts as early as next week.

Funeral services were held yesterday for the two teens who drowned in the Bronx River last weekend. (See here for more on the incident, and its aftermath in the community).

A kitten named Motz was rescued from a sewer by city workers yesterday in Morris Park.

A new documentary called "The Lottery," tracks students from the Bronx and Harlem as they compete for a seat at the very competitive Success Academy charter school in the Harlem (Success Academy will open two schools in the Bronx this fall).

Roses at the Bronx Botanical Garden are being bred to resist insects, meaning some of the plants will be pesticides-free. 

AM New York says rats are making nests in MTA metro card machines. That's not the only foul thing that maintenance workers have to deal with--they say riders use the machines as personal urinals (the article calls out several Bronx stops along the D among the worst offenders).

Construction could be finally in the works for a towering, long-unfinished apartment complex on Oxford Avenue.

Bronx News Roundup, June 17

The Bronx International Film Festival kicks off today (we're one of the festival sponsors). We've been posting trailers for some of the films being screened, so check back here later. And click here for more info, or to reserve tickets.

An off-duty Bridges and Tunnels cop fired his gun at a group of attackers during a road rage scuffle following an accident on the Major Deegan.

Gothamist showcases a collection of striking photographs from the LIFE image archive of the South Bronx during the early 1950s dubbed the "Bronx Slums."

Make sure you buy a ticket--and keep your recceipt--before boarding the Bx12 bus. Transit officials are cracking down on fare-beaters who've been taking advantage of the MTA's "pay at the curb" option, where tickets are purchased before riders board the bus.

The owners of a Westchester building that was the source of an oil spill in the Bronx River on June 2nd will be footing the bill for its cleanup.

The Huffington Post profiles Edda Lopez, a University Heights resident who is taking on Bank of America in a foreclosure battle (the Norwood News ran a story on Lopez earlier this month, as did this blog. Read here and here.)

The Huffington Post also chronicles, through photos, one blogger's trip to a Bronx recycling facility.

Paul DeRienzo, a South Bronx elementary school teacher, writes that charter schools--largely concentrated in the South Bronx and Harlem--could be making our school system more racially segregated.

Police are investigating two fatal stabbings that happened yesterday. 

The South Bronx has seen one of the highest jumps in subway ridership in recent years, according to a survey (the Aqueduct Racetrack stop, in Queens, has the lowest ridership, with a 72 percent drop-off over the past decade).

Labor Group Launches Leaflet Campaign Against Jeff Klein

Labor union demonstrators launched a campaign yesterday against State Senator Jeff Klein, who represents parts of the Bronx and Westchester, for what they’re calling his “anti-worker agenda,” according to a press release.

Volunteers from the New York State chapter of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), which represents a network of labor unions, stood outside train stations throughout Klein’s 34th District distributing leaflets that highlighted aspects of his work they called anti-labor.

The group also targeted Senator Craig Johnson, a democrat from Long Island. The campaign is the first of many attacks they plan to launch against state politicians in the coming months, according to the statement.

“Whether it's been attacking public employee pensions, refusing to help New York's unemployed workers, or failing to stand up to the Governor when he shut down hundreds of construction jobs, there is a long line of broken promises and actions in the Senate that have targeted the labor movement,” said AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes.

An article in the New York Post yesterday said the effort was the AFL-CIO’s response to a controversial bill that was passed by the State Senate last week, which lifted a cap on the number of charter schools in the state. The AFL-CIO represents teachers unions, traditionally vocal opponents of charter schools because the schools are not unionized and tend to compete with public schools when it comes to funding and resources.

Both Klein and Johnson voted in favor of the bill. Klein defended his decision to the Post today, saying his choice to support charter schools is “pro-parent, pro-kid.” More here.

New from the Norwood News

The first 2010 edition of the Norwood News is out on streets and online now. Here's a quick preview of what you will find.

New Councilman Fernando Cabrera's first term got off on the right foot with a rousing inauguration ceremony at Bronx Community College and the successful opening of his district office.

A start-studded politcal crowd showed up to the inauguration.

Tenants at a Decatur Avenue building in Norwood are battling their landlord in court, saying they aren't getting the services they deserve.

Tenants at a Fordham area building say their seasonal decorations have led to a safer environment.

Norwood artist Ivan Velez, Jr. perseveres in the narrow-minded comic book industry.

A popular local theater program perseveres despite funding cuts.

Plus: Espada wants more charter schools . . . Koppell on the Armory . . . Local residents on their hopes for the next decade . . . our Out & About arts and entertainment calendar . . . and find vital help, programs and services in our Web-expanded Neighborhood Notes section.

Bronx News Roundup, June 23

The MTA is cracking down on fare-beaters on the Bx12 Select Bus Service.

Increasingly, teachers working at charter schools in New York and elsewhere are looking to unionize. In the Bronx, the Green Dot New York Charter School in Mott Haven could be next.

Two brothers - Rodrigo and Gonzalo Venegas (aka Rodstarz and G1 of the Bronx hip-hop group Rebel Diaz) - have been found not guilty of resisting arrest and obstruction of justice, after coming to the aid last summer of a street vendor they say cops were harassing. More here. And here's a video clip of the incident.

Twelve high school students, including at least three from the Bronx, recently traveled to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, after winning a competition. More here.

Governor Paterson will hold a special session in the State Senate at 3 p.m. today, in the hopes of resolving the leadership stalemate. The Republicans, meanwhile, are planning a session for 2 p.m. - meaning they will control the chamber when the Democrats arrive. More here and here.

Bob Kappstatter is wondering if the Republicans will cut Pedro Espada loose.

Espapda and fellow (or ex-) dissident Hiram Monserrate are nothing if not quotable. We linked to this yesterday, but here's Espapda claiming in the Daily News that he really does live in his Bedford Park co-op and that a young boy in the building saw him the other day and said, "Mommy, mommy, look - he does live here." And here's Monserrate likening himself to Jesus.

Bronx BP Ruben Diaz, Jr. is calling on the city to test for toxic chemicals in aging public schools.

Judy Reyes, the Bronx-born Scrubs actress and one of the inductees into this year's Bronx Walk of Fame, is expecting her first child.

Bronx News Roundup, March 25

The Yankees are expanding their food options at their new stadium.

With the MTA expected today to approved huge fare hikes and massive service cuts to close their billion dollar budget gap, the Times says leaders in the State Senate have failed the region's 8 million transit riders. [More on the local angle on this story later, but Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz and State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. have expressed little desire to bend to the MTA's proposals of taxing bridges on the East and Harlem rivers even if it means fares could rise 23 percent and local services cut be drastically cut.]

More on the NYPD detective who was indicted yesterday on charges she lied to a grand jury about a Bronx drug bust in 2007. Surveillance video contradicted her statements, prosecutors said. More here.

St. Barnabas Hospital is fighting the efforts of its interns and residents to unionize.

The SUNY Charter School Committee put a high-performing Bronx charter school on probation for not meeting teacher certification standards. Trustees for the school are reluctant to take action becaus the school has been so successful. The fifth- through eighth-grade school outperformed other schools in its district in reading and math by 22 points and posted a much higher graduation rate.

Bronx News Roundup for Dec. 7

A cop has been indicted on first-degree manslaughter charges following the May shooting death of Fermin Arzu, an unarmed Honduran immigrant, in Longwood. More about the shooting here.

A detective assigned to the 44th Precinct is facing perjury charges.

Another Bronx "F" school is being zapped. This time it's PS 156. So far, then, four Bronx schools are for the chop, the others being
PS 79 on Creston Avenue in Mount Hope, and IS 216 and PS 220. More on the the closings here.

A Bronx charter school is in hot water after a audit revealed that administrators laid down nearly $68,000 on staff retreats to the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic.

The Bronx is leading the way in snow leopard production.

News Roundup for August 2

This week's New Yorker includes a Talk of the Town item on a nonprofit kennel club for hunting dogs run by the New Tabernacle Church near the Cross Bronx Expressway.

State Senator Jeff Klein weighed in on the Spitzer scandal and the possibility of appointing a special prosecutor, according to the Journal News.

Governor Spitzer signed over 100 bills into law today and vetoed 27, City Room reports.

Streetsblog reports that famed Danish urbanist Jan Gehl was hired as a consultant for Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC initiatives. Some of Gehl's goals are to make the city more pedestrian-friendly and improve public transportation.

NY Sun education reporter Elizabeth Green looks at the city's aggressive plan to close a bunch of public schools to make space for more charter schools.