Bronx News Roundup, March 3

Speed roundup this morning, as we prepare for production of the Mt. Hope Monitor, our bilingual paper that covers Community Board 5. 

Bronx weather today: Sunny. Cold.

Story of the Day:
In an update of a tragic story we were following yesterday, police say Vincent Cordero stabbed his wife, Kety Sanchez, three times in the chest before dousing their University Heights apartment with gasoline and setting the room on fire, killing Sanchez and the couple's baby girl in the process. Cordero died last night after being taken to Westchester Medical Center.

Quick Hits:
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a big heroin bust that disrupted an operation that stretched from "Valentine Avenue in the Bronx to Gill Alley in Buffalo."

David Johnson, the former aide to Governor David Paterson, pleaded guilty to harassing a Bronx woman. Last year, investigators looked into whether Paterson improperly contacted her following the harassment incidents, but the former governor was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Police are looking for two men they say have robbed seven Bronx bodegas over the past two months.

In his now-Thursday Bronx column, Kappy says Boro Prez Ruben Diaz, Jr. will fight the mayor's proposal to cut all of the borough presidents' operations budgets by 24%, which spokesman John DeSio will eliminate the staffers who provide constituent services. DeSio said some 2,000 people came into the office looking for help last year. Kappy also calls out the Bronx's "Snooki" -- Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera -- for not showing up to the BP's state of the boro speech.


Naomi Defensor, who grew up in Hunts Point, will be part of the new cast of MTV's hit reality show, "The Real World," which is set in Las Vegas and debuts next week.

The Rebel Diaz Arts Collective is still going strong after its founding as a hip hop-themed community center two years ago.

Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 6

Happy Three Kings day, to those of you who celebrate it! The holiday, which marks the arrival of the three kings to Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus, is popular in Latin American and Caribbean cultures. There are a few community celebrations taking place in the Bronx this weekend; see our events calendar for details.

Two teenagers are facing assault and attempted murder charges for Wednesday's stabbing of a 16-year-old boy outside his public school in Westchester Square. The victim, Negro Rivera, remains in critical condition.

A 70-year-old woman was found stabbed to death yesterday inside her 15th-floor apartment on Crotona Avenue. There have been no arrests so far.

The health department and local community leaders are looking to curb the effects of second-hand smoke in the South Bronx,which has the highest smoking rate in the city--and the highest rates of children with asthma.

Loeser’s Kosher Deli, at 214 W. 231st St. in Kingsbridge, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. On Saturday, the deli will be having food specials to mark the big day.

And for another big Bronx anniversary: the public library on City Island is celebrating its centennial.

More on the opening of a men's homeless shelter in Highbridge, which has upset a number of residents in the area.

David Johnson, an ex-top aide to former Gov. David Paterson, appeared in a Bronx court yesterday for a hearing on his alleged assault of ex-girlfriend Sherr-una Booker.

A Bronx man accused of holding an Albany family hostage during a Dec. 23 standoff with police appears to have shot himself during the altercation. Police say that at least two of the five bullets that injured 38-year-old suspect Isaac Peterson came from his own gun.

The city's plan to rezone Webster Avenue could help revitalize the thoroughfare. Here's the Norwood News' coverage of the rezoning from July's issue.

An 8-month-old tiger cub from Pennsylvania is moving to the Bronx Zoo.

Renowned Jazz pianist and longtime Riverdale resident Billy Taylor died of heart failure on Dec. 28, at the age of 89.

Bronx News Roundup, Oct. 14

The 10 men accused of savagely beating three men because they believed they were gay will appear in Bronx State Supreme Court today. The suspects have been charged with a number of hate crime offenses (for more on the incidents, here's a roundup of links).

Ildefanso (Cheto) Mendez, the 23-year-old accused of orchestrating the violent attacks, tells the Daily News that he's innocent and "not a monster."

Pelham Manor Police Chief Alfred Mosiello says his officer, who shot and killed a man on Boston Road on Tuesday after an altercation,  followed proper police procedure. Officer Kenneth Stretz attempted to pull over Wardell Johnson, of Harlem, who was driving an ATV and then fled when it ran out of gas.

BoogieDowner posts about some new grocery stores, here and here.

A breakout of violence at DeWitt Clinton High School earlier this month has administrators there declaring a "building-wide emergency" state at the school.

NYPD units are in the Bronx today, at a shooting range on Rodman's Neck, to conduct a practice exercise to prepare for a terror attack like the one that occurred at a Mumbai hotel in 2008.

Mayor Bloomberg and a number of volunteers painted the rooftop of a NCYHA housing complex, on E. 146th St., as part of a new program to help make buildings more energy efficient.

A Bronx judge has extended an order of protection against former Gov. Paterson aide David Johnson, who was charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend at her apartment last year.

Bangladeshi leaders in the Bronx are applauding the arrest of four teenagers accused of mugging an immigrant teen in Parkchester last month. The South Asian community has been calling for more diligence in policing what they see as a growing number of bias crimes against them.

According to a press release from State Sen. Jeff Klein's office, a new security camera has been installed in Keane Square in Pelham Bay to help deter crime and loitering there.