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.

Parents: Tell The DOE What You Think

Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott is asking New York City parents what kind of information they want from the DOE about their child's school and education. Here's the link to the survey; deadline is July 25. Check out the flier below for more info.

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.

Bronx News Roundup, April 8

Weather: Cloudy with a high of 54, and a slight chance of rain this afternoon.

Story of the Day: Black Steps Down
As we mentioned yesterday, Cathleen Black, the former magazine executive and controversial Schools Chancellor, stepped down from the post yesterday after only three months on the job. Black was appointed by Mayor Bloomberg last fall, a move that drew criticism across the board (and from a number of Bronx electeds) because of Black's scant education experience.

Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., sent out a press release yesterday in response to Black's announcement saying he "wishes her well" and praising her replacement, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott. Here's some background on the new Chancellor. 

Quick Hits:

The beloved Bronx Zoo cobra that went missing for a week last month has now officially been named. More than 60,000 people voted in the name-that-cobra contest that ended with the clever moniker "Mia." Cute.

An aide at M.S. 219 in Morrisania was arrested yesterday for allegedly showing pornographic photos on his cell phone to a 15-year-old female student. 

A group of housing advocates, tenants and elected officials are calling for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to take action against New York Community Bank, which owns the mortgages on 34 dilapidated apartment buildings in the Bronx that are in foreclosure. (See more here.)

Residents in Co-op City are sounding off over a loud hissing noise made by a nearby power plant. 

Two men were killed and a third was injured last night during a shootout near Devoe Park. No arrests have been made yet.

Mount Eden residents are shaken after a deadly shooting on Monday. Derick Cochran, 37, was shot and killed during a basketball game on the courts of the Highbridge Community Life Center.

A group of grandparents are holding bake sales to raise money for programs at the Grandparent Family Apartments, in Morrisania, which are being threatened by state budget cuts.

A former south Bronx homicide detective has penned a novel inspired by his experiences covering the beat.

A violent attack that took place last month at a bodega in Mott Haven was caught on surveillance tape. Police released the video this week in attempt to locate the assailant pictured. See below.