Bronx News Roundup, April 28

Weather: A severe weather warning is in effect for today, as intermittent periods of sunshine are disrupted by heavy rain and isolated thunderstorms.

Story of the Day: New Details in Bronx Gay Bashing
Police interview records turned over to defense lawyers in the case of October's bias attack reveal that the men accused--members of a street gang who call themselves the Latin King Goonies--were supposedly extorting one of their victims for protection money, the Daily News reports.

The crew allegedly demanded $2,000 from one of the victims, a 30-year-old man who was reportedly having sex with one of the gang's younger members, and viciously beat and sodomized both men when he couldn't pay up.

Accused ringleader ringleader Idelfonso Mendez and six of his cohorts face multiple hate crime charges, the article says. The men are due back in court next month.

Quick Hits:
Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr. is planning a march against same-sex marriage for May 15, the same day as the Bronx Puerto Rican Day parade. The Rev. is presumably preparing to fight a gay-marriage bill that's scheduled for a vote in Albany this spring, which has the support of Gov. Cuomo and a number of other Senate members.

A savvy parking garage owner in Mott Haven fended off two would-be burglars--one wielding a knife--with nothing but an apple. Impressive. Check out the video below.

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com/?__source=embedCode.

The two young children who survived Monday's deadly apartment fire on Prospect Avenue in Belmont are mourning the loss of their parents and older brother, who were killed in the blaze.

The owner of the building where the fire took place, before it went into foreclosure, also owned another foreclosed property on nearby 187th Street. That building is also illegally divided in violation of the fire code, the Daily News says.

Northwest Bronx churches are once again being targeted by burglars, police say, after a string of break-ins since late March. A number of other parishes were burglarized this year around Christmas, though the man believed to be responsible for most of the incidents was apprehended a few months ago.

The NYPD ticket-fixing probe, which is being led by the Bronx District Attorney's office, is spreading, with officers from the State Police, Yonkers PD, Port Authority PD and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, believed to be involved.

Soundview's 12th annual Family Day Festival kicks off this weekend.

A struggling food pantry in Kingsbridge Heights is doing all it can to keep feeding the hungry.

In Wake of Bias Attacks, a Push to Build a More Tolerant Bronx

Earlier this month, gay rights advocates and a few dozen Bronx residents and community leaders met in Morris Heights to discuss ways to combat hate and promote tolerance in the borough. 

The town hall-style meeting was held on Dec. 9 at Davidson Community Center, a short walk from the vacant house on Osborne Place where several young men were were viciously beaten in early October. Police say they were assaulted because they were gay or perceived to be gay.

While condemning the attacks, the Bronx Community Pride Center, one of the non-profits behind the event, hopes some good can come of them; that the attacks can kick-start a borough-wide conversation and ultimately prevent future hate crimes. 

At the meeting, Ephraim Cruz, co-founder of the political group Bronx for Change, said it was time to call out the politicians and religious leaders who spout hate speech about homosexuals.

"The hate speech is a precursor to the violence," Cruz said. "If young people see our politicians speaking ill about gays and no one checks this, it sends a message."

I don't think Cruz mentioned him by name, but he was clearly referring to Rev. Ruben Diaz, Sr., the outspoken state senator and gay marriage opponent who once compared homosexuality to bestiality. Cruz, it should be said, has a vested interest in seeing Diaz hurt politically; another of Bronx for Change's founders, Charlie Ramos, challenged Diaz in September's Democratic primary. Cruz has previously criticized the reverend's son, Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., for not standing up to his father on this issue.

Others at the meeting, while supporting the need to challenge bigotry, advocated a more conciliatory approach, saying it was important to engage those with opposing views, not shut them out.

Dirk McCall (file photo by Alex Kratz)

Dirk McCall, the Bronx Community Pride Center's new executive director, and one of the panelists, said that while he and, say, a Pentecostal minster, may never see eye-to-eye on gay marriage, they should be able to find some common ground, and agree that the attacks, and all violent acts, are wrong. "If we can get them [churches] on the record saying the attacks are wrong, then that's a start," McCall said.   

Added an audience member: “Personally, I hate it when people say ‘Let’s agree to disagree,” because that’s when the conversation is over."

Bronx News Roundup, Dec. 2

Happy Hanukkah, everyone! The festival of lights started last night at sundown. Here's a yummy potato latke recipe from the Riverdale Press to get you in the spirit of things.

Two of the men originally named as attackers in October's antigay beatings in Morris Heights are now being identified as victims of the assault, according to WNYC.  Bryan Almonte and Brian Cepeda were originally charged by police as perpetrators in the attacks, but were later released. Five other men were arraigned yesterday on hate crime charges in the State Supreme Court.

Police are still on the hunt for the man responsible for a string of muggings in Co-op City, and one incident in Manhattan. The assailant arms himself with an ice pick, and has robbed four women in the elevators of their apartment buildings. He was caught on tape by a surveillance camera; video at the link.

Melissa Petro, the former teacher at PS 70 who was removed from her classroom after she wrote about her experiences as a sex-worker, was officially charged yesterday with conduct "unbecoming of a teacher," by the DOE.

Parishioners at St. Augustine's Church in Morrisania are worried that the closure of their parochial school could be detrimental to the parish itself, as it relies heavily on revenue from the school to operate. Six catholic schools in the Bronx face closure after funding cuts were announced a few weeks ago.

Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez says she's still a Boogie Downer at heart, according to Us Weekly. "I never miss the Bronx because it's always with me," Lopez told the celebrity magazine.

Former Borough President Adolfo Carrion, who left the Bronx for a short stint in the White House, is giving a speech today at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

Bronx Councilman G. Oliver Koppell introduced a bill in City Council to make all yellow taxicabs wheelchair accessible. Only 231 of over 13,000 city cabs can currently accommodate riders in wheelchairs.

Another Bronx pol, Councilman James Vacca, is behind a bill that will require the Department of Transportation to set guidelines for the approval and installation of bikes lanes, speed bumps and other "traffic calming devices."

A 26-year-old man was struck by a car and killed while crossing Riverdale Avenue on Monday night.

A new program introduced at Hostos and Bronx Community College is helping cash-strapped students stay in school by qualifying them for financial assistance, child care, health insurance and other benefits.

Bronx Gay and Straight Unity Rally Set for Saturday

Gay and straight leaders in the Bronx are combining forces for the LGBTQS (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Straight) United as One March and Rally to counteract what they see is a surge in violence against the gay community.

The two-mile march will travel from Bronx Community College, the starting point for a similar (but silent) rally a few weeks ago, travel to 1901 Osborne Place, the site of the recent and gruesome anti-gay attacks in Morris Heights, and then culminate on the steps of the Bronx County Courthouse.

The rally will assemble around 11 a.m. at BCC, University Avenue and 181st Street.

In a press release, organizers sited the anti-gay attacks at Osborne Place and Mnahattan's Stonewall Inn, as well as attacks on straight people for simply "looking" gay.

"Coming Out" Event at Hostos Tonight

 The New York Times' Sam Dolnick had a story today--in the wake of the heinous bias attacks that happened two weeks ago--about the hardships of being openly gay in the Bronx.

"Gay and lesbian residents said it can be especially difficult to be gay in the Bronx, given the macho culture of the street, the local gang codes and the rise of storefront churches that call homosexuality a sin," the story reads. Click here for the rest of the article. 

"The outer boroughs, areas outside of lower Manhattan, remain homophobic areas," said Brad Cauthen of Bronx Aids Services, which runs a 16-week program for gay men of color that focuses on sexuality, health and self-esteem. You can find out more about the program by calling them at (718) 295-5690. Here's their website.

There are other resources available to the LGBT community in the Bronx. The Bronx Community Pride Center and the Hispanic Aids Forum are two organizations worth checking out.

Tonight, Hispanic Aids Forum is sponsoring a "Coming Out" event at Hostos Community College's Repertory Theatre from 6-9 p.m. See the flyer below for more details. 
Coming Out Event

Headlines in Wake of Bronx Gay Bias Attacks

The Bronx--and the rest of the country--is reeling after last week's horrific antigay attacks, in which a group of men who call themselves the "Latin King Goonies" sodomized and tortured a 30-year-old gay man and two 17-year-olds they suspected of having had sex with him.

The violence comes after the suicides of five gay teenagers across the country over the last month, all of  whom were tormented in school for being gay. Yesterday was National Coming Out Day, and today, Oct. 12, is the 12 year anniversary of Matthew Shephard's death, the 21-year-old gay college student from Laramie, Wyoming, who was brutally beaten and left tied to a fence to die in 1998.

Last week's beatings took place in an abandoned building in Morris Heights, while the suspected ringleader of the gang is a 23-year-old man from Bedford Park.

"The Bronx is hanging its head in shame," this week, writes Daily News columnist Bob Kappstatter. "As if it needed another bad rap, the utter stupidity and vile hatred of some punk gangbangers gave the borough a new black eye."