Bronx News Roundup, Nov. 2

Is the creation of small specialized high schools siphoning off good students from the few still-remaining large schools like DeWitt Clinton, which just received an F on its progress report? That's the question posed by this article in the Daily News today.

The Bronx added 3.8 percent more chain stores this year -- much more than the 1.6% citywide -- the Wall Street Journal reports following the release of a report from the Center for an Urban Future.

The old Fordham Library will not become an animal shelter as originally planned.

A bailout for the company behind those failed Yankee parking garages? This NY Post columnist believes that's a lousy idea.

The governor's jobs hotline is getting a ton of hits. We're mentioning it in case you need it and haven't hit it yet.

One of the alleged ticket fixers may have covered up a beating by a paint store manager pal, according to a suit filed by the victim. 

The Bronx Sports Column: Two Bronxites Named All Big East; Boys HS Tourney Update

We'll continue today with my twin winter sports obsessions: tracking Bronx point guards playing in the Big East and following the high school basketball playoffs. (Note: Looking for more on varsity girls swimming results? Boys gymnastics? Let me know via e-mail-- akratz@norwoodnews.org -- or by leaving a comment.)

The Big Bronx:
Boogie Down ballers Dwight Hardy (St. John's) and Kemba Walker (UConn) made the All-Big East first team, with fellow Bronxite Corey Fisher (Villanova) earning a spot on the second team.

A few weeks ago, I opined that Hardy, a high-scoring guard from John F. Kennedy high school, deserved a mention in the "Best Bronx Point Guard" conversation after torching Walker's UConn squad. Still, I put him in third place on the list, behind Walker (1) and Fisher (2). It's still hard to put Hardy above Walker, but he's definitely surpassed Fisher in recent weeks. While Fisher's Villanova squad has faded, Hardy's St. John's team is streaking into the postseason. 

Here are the season averages of the Bronx's best:
--Walker: 23.1 points per game, 4.3 assists per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, 1.8 steals per game
--Hardy: 17.9 ppg, 1.9 apg, 3 rpg, 1.4 spg
--Fisher: 15.5 ppg, 4.8 apg, 2.8 rpg, 1.5 spg

Bonus points to Hardy, who is averaging nearly 24 points per contest over his last 11 games, for getting the best of the head-to-head battles. Hardy put up 33 vs. Walker's UConn team and 34 vs. Fisher's Villanova squad -- both St. John's wins. Walker's heating up of late, but is only averaging 21 over his last 11. Fisher's averaged a little more than 15 over his last 11.  Fisher gets a bump for being the best passer of the trio, while Walker's 5-plus rebounds per game is remarkable considering he's 6-foot-1, 172 pounds.

We'll see how the Big East and NCAA tournaments to shake out before making a final call on this.

High School Hoops Playoffs Update (how the Bronx teams are doing):

Bronx Sports Update: HS Tourney Update; Monroe Teams Eye Nationals (Updated)

Monroe's Jeff Early

Quick update from the BxNN sports desk (which is shockingly close to the BxNN crime desk):

Both the men's and women's basketball teams from Monroe College -- strong junior college programs that routinely graduate players to bigger basketball programs -- took care of business last weekend and will be playing for births into the national junior college tournament this weekend.

Both teams will be tested on the road. The Lady Mustangs travel to Scranton, PA to take on Lackawana College, while the male 'Stangs, led by guard Jeff Early (pictured), will be in Maryland taking on a Hagerstown Community College team that defeated them earlier this year in double overtime.

Apparently, you can follow the games live on CyberSports USA. (UPDATE: The men's game, which starts at 1 p.m. Saturday, will also be streamed live on the website for Hagerstown radio station 1240 AM WJEJ. Click on the link on upper left-hand side of the home page.)

After a week off, the PSAL high school playoffs resumed last night. The Bronx fared decently.

Walton, which we wrote about last Friday, saw its championship dreams die after enduring a tough 60-64 loss to fifth-seeded High School for Graphic Arts Communication in Manhattan.

Meanwhile, DeWitt Clinton, Evander Childs, South Bronx and Alfred E. Smith all moved into the round of 16. Clinton and South Bronx face off at the Mott Haven Campus gym tomorrow night. Evander has the pleasure of meeting top-seeded Midwood on Midwood's home court, while Smith draws Brooklyn Collegiate at home.

In tonight's action, third-seeded Christopher Columbus hosts Manhattan's High School for Environmental Studies and Bronx Science stays home for its match against New Dorp High School. Both games start at 5 p.m. If both win, as expected, the Bronx will have six spots in the Sweet 16.

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 Weekend News Roundup, Nov. 8

Congratulations to all the Bronxites and everyone else who completed the NYC Marathon yesterday.

Most runners didn't notice crossing the borough's brand new Willis Avenue bridge, which was floated into place in early October. “I was too busy trying not to suffer,” a firefighter who works in the Bronx told the NY Times.

Some video from the race. Gebre Gebremariam of Ehtiopia took the men's title and Kenya's Edna Kiplagat won the women's race. Also competing: NY1's Bronx reporter Dean Meminger.

In his column about the race, the Times' George Vecsey said the crowds in the Bronx seemed "better" than in years past.

Several news outlets picked up on the story of a 21-year-old Mt. Hope father charged with causing the death of his 8-week-old daughter. At the arraignment Friday night, prosecutors say Gregory Gray gave conflicting statements to police about how the child was injured. Gray, who his uncle called a "loving kid," pleaded not guilty.

NPR has piece on "The Anthology of Rap," a new book about the evolution of the music genre born right here in the Boogie Down nearly four decades ago. 

A profile of Frank's Sport Shop owner Moe Stein, whose family has been in the sport and uniform business for almost 90 years near Park and Tremont avenues. Here's some video of Moe in action (watch this, Moe's hilarious). More from the Times earlier this year, and from the Tremont Tribune last year. 

After starting 0-5, the DeWitt Clinton football team has streaked to four straight wins and a PSAL playoff birth after undressing Lehman High School on Saturday, 48-6.

The Bronx Science girl volleyball squad is also streaking into the PSAL playoffs.

Could the Hunts Point Market be moving to Jersey? 

A new farming school is coming to the south Bronx.

An entrepreneur is taking advantage of the ban on cell phones at Bronx public schools by offering to baby-sit students' electronic devices for $1 a day. His mobile mobile phone depository offers its services at Lehman and Clinton high schools.

Friends worked hard to get the name of a fallen Vietnam War soldier from the Bronx, Peter Wiesneifski, included on a Van Nest war memorial.

The custodian of the Bronx's Theodore Roosevelt High School is being accused of using city workers to renovate the homes and apartments he owns.

New in the Norwood News

Just in time for the weekend, the latest edition of the Norwood News is out on streets and online now. Here's a quick preview:

Bronx Community College students, staffers and faculty "March for Dignity." Plus, an op-ed from one of the march organizers.

Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and the mayor's office square off again over a Bronx development space that has implications for the Kingsbridge Armory. (I'm detecting a theme between these two political entities.)

Speaking of development, Bronx pols say the city's new living wage study is rigged to favor the mayor's view on development.  

High School football rivals DeWitt Clinton and John F. Kennedy are struggling through growing pains this year.

More on the great pumpkin carving king.

In a move to curb New York's rampant obesity and diabetes problems, the city looks to ban people from using food stamps to purchase soda and other sugar-heavy drinks.

And much more.

Follow us on Twitter: @norwoodnews and check us out and like us on Facebook.

Bronx News Roundup, May 7

Happy Friday everyone! On to the news!

The city is looking for input on how to best revamp the 162-year-old High Bridge, which connects 170th Street in the Bronx to 173rd Street in Manhattan. It's slated to become a pedestrian promenade and could end up being something like the incredibly popular High Line in the West Village. There will be a public hearing on the bridge next Thursday at 6 p.m., at PS 11, 1257 Ogden Ave.

Bronx students are helping to create an urban farm in Hunts Point.

Bronx Zoo animal keeper Ralph Aversa is in charge of keeping track of the zoo's new lion cubs.

The city's proposed teacher cuts, announced yesterday by Mayor Bloomberg, will disproportionally effect the Bronx.

Some thoughts on last Saturday's Bronx Food Summit.

The NYPD is looking for 16-year-old Caroline Ferreras of 624 Prospect Ave. Click here for a photo and more info. 

In the wake of former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno's conviction on fraud charges, the Times-Union has a round-up of all the recent "unlawful lawmakers." Three of them -- Guy Velella, Gloria Davis and Efrain Gonzalez -- are from the Bronx.

Boxing is back at the Paradise Theater next Friday night.

A study outlines potential greenway routes through the Bronx.

The unconventional DeWitt Clinton H.S. baseball team has bunted its way to a hot start this season.

A pastor who duped hundreds of people -- including many attached to evangelical churches in the Bronx -- into giving up personal documents by telling them they were getting jobs is back in New York.

Bronx News Roundup Feb. 17

On Friday, the two tenants charged with the "Black Sunday" deaths of two firefighters in January 2005 were acquitted of all charges. The Daily News had an editorial criticizing the decision. A second jury is yet to determine the fate of the building's manager and the corporate owner.

Bob Kappstatter thinks Borough President Adolfo Carrion might get that much anticipated call from the White House this week. Carrion is giving his annual (and perhaps final) State of the Borough address at Lehman College this Friday.

A livery cab driver was shot and seriously injured in Longwood early this morning. On Saturday, another cab driver was shot - this time fatally - outside his Decatur Avenue home in Bedford Park.

In an illuminating interview with The Times, Rev. Wendell Foster, the former District 16 councilman, talks about growing up Alabama, his chance move to New York, the civil rights movement, and his efforts to break into politics and become the first black elected city official in the borough.

Dewitt Clinton girls fought off Bronx Science and Taft Education Campus to win this year's PSAL indoor championships.

The city has seen a recent surge in bedbug complaints. The neighborhoods with the itchiest people include central Brooklyn, midtown Manhattan, and parts of the north and east Bronx.

The Bronx is leaking jobs faster than any other borough. Local politicians are urging unemployed residents to apply for benefits to help ease their financial situations.

The Bronx Beat, a weekly newspaper produced each spring by students at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, is up and running again. Stories include:

Danger Lingers at Two Crosswalks
Sidewalk book sales fill a retail vacuum
Teens take active role in fight against HIV

More here.

Bronx News Roundup: Nov. 12

Getting a little bit of a late start today, but let's see what's floating around cyberspace.

My favorite story today is about a Morrisania area grandfather named Diogenes Angeles, 57, who used karate learned as a youngster to successfully defend himself against a trio of would-be attackers.

State Senator Carl Kruger of Brooklyn said he and the other two Democratic dissidents, Ruben Diaz, Sr. and Senator-elect Pedro Espada, Jr., both of the Bronx, would not decide on who they would support for Democratic leader until January. New York Democrats now control the State Senate 32-30, but need the threesome, which Espada is now dubbing, "The Three Amigos,"to vote in Malcolm Smith, the party's current minority leader.

More on this in the Daily News and more coming in the new edition of the Norwood News, which will be online and on the streets by tomorrow morning. We spoke with Espada, Jr. on Monday. He basically said the same he planned to vote for a Democrat, "but not Malcolm Smith." Say what you will about Espada, but the man knows how to make headlines. We're going to keep a close eye on how this story unfolds.

Bronxites are having a disporpotionally tough time getting new or refinanced loans, according a new report by Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, an NYU thinktank.

The DOE is asking principals to trim 1.3% of their budgets, meaning big schools will take bigger hits. The north Bronx's DeWitt Clinton High School stands to lose $400,000.

Speaking of cuts, the Animal Care and Control Center, a nonprofit wing of the Health Department, will slash $434,000 from its budget. The Center wants to put a new animal shelter in the old Fordham Library, much to the dismay of local residents and leaders.

Look for what's new in the Norwood News, coming tomorrow.