Bronx News Roundup, Friday, July 22

Welcome to Friday's Bronx news roundup. Let's get down to business, starting with the scorched earth we are all living through here in the Boogie Down and elsewhere around the country.

Weather: The National Weather Service says temperatures could reach 104 this afternoon and have issued an Excessive Heat warning. (My question: is there an Egregious Heat warning?) Tomorrow it is supposed cool down to a high of 100. We won't see any real relief until Monday when temperatures are expected to drop down into the relatively frigid low-80s! 

Story of the Day: Bronx Cop Penalized for Ticket Fixing
The Bronx ticket-fixing scandal has claimed its first victim. (Unless, of course, you factor in the criminal cases that blew up in the face of prosecutors who were relying on testimony from cops implicated in the scandal.) Gregory Manning, a former financial secretary with the Patrolman's Benevolent Association, pleaded guilty yesterday to departmental charges at the NYPD Advocate's Office. Manning, who had testified three times in front of a grand jury called to investigate dozens of cops implicated in ticket fixing, was docked 40 days vacation, suspended for five days and issued a $500 fine for his transgressions. Manning had already filed retirement paper work, but the NYPD would not process it because the veteran cop was involved in the ongoing grand jury investigation. This could be a path others implicated in the scandal who want to retire might take as well.

Quick Hits:
Rev. Carmen Hernandez, an outspoken advocate for gay rights and LGBT justice, and her partner Dorris de Armas, a grandmother, will be one of 98 couples getting married in the Bronx on Sunday, the first day gay marriage will be allowed in New York. (764 couples are scheduled to tie the knot in the five boroughs Sunday, the most ever on a single day in NYC history.) In an interview, Hernandez talks about her love for de Armas, her homophobic mother and her decision to come out to her congregation at age 30.

Bronx News Roundup, Wednesday, July 20

Quickie roundup today. 

Weather: Prepare yourselves. Today's high in the low-90s is nothing compared to what's coming. The National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Watch warning starting tomorrow afternoon as "a large dome of high pressure" moves from the middle of the country to our neck of the woods.

Story of the Day: Pugilists Collide in Bronx Produce Market
Bunch of press today about the upcoming Saturday night boxing match/cancer fundraiser at Hunts Point market, including this story about Livingstone Joseph, a Bronx boxer from the Virgin Islands who has lost an aunt and uncle to cancer. More on the event here and here.

Quick Hits:
James Schlau, a registered sex offender, was sentenced to 60 years for violently sexually assaulting three Bronx prostitutes last year.

Italian-American academic Dr. Joseph Scelsa of Morris Park was named the grand marshal from this year's Bronx Columbus Day Parade, which is scheduled for Oct. 9.

Bloomberg Checks In On Hunts Point Market

Bloomberg talks with Stephen Katzman, a president of the Hunts Point Produce Market
(Photo courtesy of the Mayor's office)

Mayor Bloomberg paid a late night visit to the Boogie Down yesterday to meet with vendors at the Hunts Point Produce Market, taking a tour of the facility and talking to some of the leaders there about the challenges they're facing.

It's in the best interest of the Bronx and the city that the Mayor stay on good terms with leadership at the market, which employs some 2,400 people and brings in about $2.3 billion in sales each year. A few months ago, it seemed as if the cooperative might pack up and move to New Jersey, tempted by an offer from Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Bronx BP Heavily Involved in Hunts Point Negotiations, Spokesman Says

Despite a Crain's article that does not mention his involvement, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. is heavily involved in negotiations to keep the Hunts Point Market in the Bronx, said spokesman John DeSio.

In our news roundup earlier today (now updated), we made note of the conspicuous fact that Diaz was not mentioned in the Crain's article as being part of the city and state's Hunts Point Market negotiating team. It did mention Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy, the Empire State Development Corp., the city's Economic Development Corp. and other Bloomberg officials.

Diaz has said keeping the Hunts Point Market in the Bronx is a top priority of his administration. DeSio says this remains the case and that Diaz and Duffy are in regular contact, as is Marlene Cintron, the head of the Bronx Overall Development Corp., and the city's EDC. He added that Diaz was instrumental in bringing New York's U.S. Senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, into the negotiating fold. 

On Sunday, Crain's reported that the market cooperative is on the verge of signing a short-term lease to stay in the Bronx, at least temporarily, while they continue to negotiate a long-term lease, either in Hunts Point or New Jersey.

Bronx News Roundup, Tuesday, May 24 (Updated)

Welcome to the show, Bronx people and cognoscente. To the news!

Weather: My shirt was drenched with sweat by the time I made it into the office today. It's hot and muggy and cloudy and we're in for a wildly unpredictable day and evening. There's a 60 percent chance of precipitation, which means, with these conditions, we could be looking at anything from a drizzle to thunderstorms to hail.

Story of the Day: Hunts Point Market to Stay in the Bronx, For Now
On Sunday night, Crain's NY reported that the Hunts Point Market (full name: Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative Market) were not close to signing a long-term lease, but were "hammering out a short-term extension while they haggle over a 30- or 40-year lease that would include a $320 million revamp of the antiquated facility, the country's largest wholesale produce market." New Jersey is aggressively wooing the market cooperative, offering them tax incentives to jump across the Hudson. But the city and state have formed a negotiating team that includes Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy, the Empire State Development Corp. and the city Economic Development Corp. and other Bloomberg officials (where is the Bronx borough president on this?), and are ramping up their efforts to keep the market in the Bronx. One union official told Crain's that about 40 percent of the 47-member cooperative are leaning toward a move to Jersey, but others think they might lose customers if they do. Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. has said keeping the market and it's 8,500 jobs in the Bronx is one of his top priorities, but according to Crain's, it doesn't appear that he will have much say in the matter.

(Update: John DeSio, a spokesman for the borough president's office says that Diaz is, in fact, in regular contact with Duffy and that Marlene Citron, the head of the Bronx Overal Development Corp., the BP's development arm, is in constant contact with the city's EDC. DeSio says Diaz was also instrumental in bringing New York's two U.S. senators into the fold.)

Quick Hits:
Lots of wrongfully accused Bronxites trying to cash in these days. In one case, a Bronx man who was arrested after police thought his Snapple beverage was something a little stronger and then was thrown in jail for 40 hours, is suing the NYPD. 

In another case, a Bronx teenager who was acquitted of criminal mischief charges is suing the city for falsely arrest, malicious prosecution and violation of civil rights.

A Bronx police officer copped to ticket-fixing at a drunk driving trial. Defense lawyers are going after any police officer involved in the ticket-fixing scandal as a way to undermine their credibility. It's working.

The lion triplets born in the Bronx Zoo last January are getting soooo big!

A new Bronx housing project, Fordham Village, provides housing for low-income and homeless veterans. 

A talented Bronx high school basketball player at Wings Academy, Deonte Houston, was acquitted of robbery charges.

Bronx-born photographer Ken Regan has a new book out documenting Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue Tour in 1975.

Bronx Weekend News Roundup, April 25

Welcome back to the program, ladies and gentleman of the Bronx and beyond. Without further adieu, let's get down to business.

Weather: Warm, in the high 60s, today with potential for thunderstorms after noon. Supposed to be even warmer tomorrow.

Story of the Day: Prospect Avenue Fire Kills 3 
Early this morning, a swift-moving fire engulfed a Prospect Avenue row house in Belmont, killing a family of three Mexican immigrants -- the 40-year-old mother, 36-year-old father and a 12-year-old son. Two younger children in the family were removed by an uncle, NY1 reports. Another four injured tenants were taken to Jacobi Hospital for treatment. Residents there said the violation-plagued building had been chopped up into a series of single-room apartments. Con Edison had cut off power there last week and neighbors said the building had slipped into foreclosure, turning it into a revolving door for squatters.

Quick Hits:
The Times takes a look at Albany's Brangelina-esque power couple, Bronx State Senator Jeff Klein and Brooklyn/Staten Island State Senator Diane Savino, who have united personally as well as legislatively. Apparently the Albany press corps has dubbed them "Klavino." Klavino makes up half of the independent caucus made of rogue Democrats who have been friendly with the Republican majority.

Angel Ruiz, a Bronx livery cab driver, was rewarded for calling police to report a 61-year-old man being savagely beaten by a man and woman in Mott Haven. The 61-year-old man ended up dying, but the call led to the arrest of two suspects and the NY State Federation of Taxi Drivers rewarded Ruiz for his activism with a $500 check.

About a dozen full-length Bronx-centric films will be shown during Bronx Week (May 12-22) as part of the first annual Bronx Week Film Festival. The festival is being organized by BoogieDowner blogger Greg Tsougranis. The films will show at the Bruckner Bar & Grill from May 16-19.

Mamadou Balde, who remains alive after police shot him several time last week for allegedly waving what turned out to be a fake gun around, is being charged with weapons possession and menacing behavior.

A Bronx teenager was reportedly stabbed to death by gang members after he demanded a $10 refund from a Belmont-area house party he was kicked out of.

A Bronx teenager said she was sodomized at the Metropolitan Hospital psychiatric ward.

The first season of "Car 54, Where Are You?" -- a 60s-era sitcom cop show set and filmed in the Bronx -- has been released on DVD. Here's a clip:


Following reports of a 7-year-old student being handcuffed in Queens, a Bronx mom came out to say she received a $30,000 settlement after her 7-year-old had been handcuffed at PS 71 last year.

The wooing of the Hunts Point produce market continues as the Hudson Reporter reports that market officials are looking at several New Jersey locations.

Bronx News Roundup, March 1

Welcome to March, everyone. We made it through a bizarre, quick, cold February and I don't know about you, but I feel one step closer spring! The first day of the month will be sunny and cool, with temperatures reaching freezing levels tonight and then fluctuating wildly throughout the rest of the week.

Story of the Day:
Fantastic story and video on Riverdale's own Mr. Mummy, Bob Brier, an Egyptologist who has dedicated his life -- and three consecutive apartments -- to collecting what he calls "Egyptomania." Brier, 67, a world-renowned mummy researcher, has amassed countless Egypt- and mummy-related items, "a collection that runs the gamut, from rare artifacts to dime-store kitsch, from authentic mummy parts to pop culture merchandise," writes the Times' Corey Kilganon. Brier once sent his daughter to school with a mummified cat and says (jokingly?) that he'll be buried with all his Egyptomania.

Quick Hits:
The Visiting Nurse Service of New York is testing out a new smart phone app with young diabetes patients in the Bronx and Manhattan. The app is designed to help them manage the disease.

The City Council is considering legislation that would regulate so-called "crisis pregnancy centers," which seek to deter women from having abortions. The Bronx has the highest rate of aborted pregnancies -- 48% -- of any borough.

An insurance company is threatening to pull the plug on coverage for obstetricians at Bronx-Lebananon Hospital, which delivers some 2,700 babies each year.

ABC goes behind the scenes with the Bronx warrant squad. Here's the video:


Looks like city and state officials getting serious about keeping the Hunts Market in the Bronx. Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. said last week he was confident a deal would get done.

Big heroin bust on Bronx Park East.

Bronx businesses and cultural institutions are gearing up for the return of Yankees baseball on March 31.

Pregones Theater will be celebrating Latin music and dance all month long.

Editor's note: Did we miss anything? Have a news tip for the Bronx News Network? E-mail us at bronxnewsnetwork@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

Diaz: We Won't Let Jersey Snookie Bronx for Hunts Point Market (Video)

The funniest and most over-written part of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.'s state of the borough speech came at about the halfway point, when Diaz began talking about bringing business into the Bronx and holding on to those businesses that are already here. He mentioned the Hunts Point market, which does $2.3 billion in sales annually and is flirting with other suitors while it angles for a better deal in the Bronx. Recently, Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sent his lieutenant governor to woo the market's leadership.

Diaz has been criticized in the past for being ineffective in his attempts to keep Bronx businesses, including the Stella D'oro cookie factory in Kingsbridge, from jumping ship. Yesterday, Diaz attempted to temper that criticism by talking tough (and verbose) about keeping the Hunts Point Market in the Boogie Down.

"I don't know if you've heard the rumors, but while certain Machiavellian municipalities across the Hudson River . . ." Diaz began saying before the crowd started cracking up, as a huge photo of "Jersey Shore" drama queen Snookie (a.k.a Nicole Polizzi) appeared on the projector screen behind him. Here's video shot by BxNN contributor Rachel Sander yesterday:

Diaz vs. Snookie from Alex Kratz on Vimeo.

Bronx Weekend News Roundup, Nov. 22

Welcome to Monday everyone. Here's some Bronx news to get you in the know this week.

The city and the cooperative that operates the Hunts Point Market are not making much progress in crafting a new lease agreement. Both parties agree the site needs about a $320 million upgrade, but there is a large difference of opinion on how much each should contribute to the cause. The cooperative's lease runs out in June.

Loads of coverage of the Army-Notre Dame football game at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. Here's how the baseball stadium was transformed into a football stadium. Lifelong Yankees fan Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, college football's most famous underdog, spoke to Cardinal Hayes High School students the day before the game. In attendance at the game: two dozen soldiers wounded while fighting in the Middle East, where war continues without much attention from folks back at home. Not much drama during the game, which Notre Dame easily won, 27-3.

A couple of traffic tragedies hit the borough this past weekend. Police are searching for a driver who hit a man with his car last night at 167th Street and Jerome Avenue and then left him to die.

Police charged a Boston man with drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter after his vehicle, traveling north in the southbound portion of the Major Deegan, ran into another car, killing a New Jersey man. This, police say, was after the drunk driver hit someone on Fordham Road and then drove onto a southbound off-ramp.

Video monitors will be installed to catch drivers who illegally enter into the city's new bus-only lanes, including the one on Fordham Road for the Bx12.

Former BxNN intern Andrew Boryga (we're so proud!) writes about a lost documentary that followed two Bronx gangs -- the Savage Skulls and Savage Nomads -- in the late 1970s. The documentary, "80 Blocks from Tiffany's," is being re-released.

After a precipitous fall from grace, Bronx native and former boxing champ Iran "The Blade" Barkley is living in a Holiday Inn Express on Boston Road.

A woman is suing a Bronx couple who run an animal shelter for allegedly giving her a crazed cat.

CBS reports that "dozens of people" marched on Saturday in response to a surge in anti-gay attacks, including the brutal torture and sodomizing of three victims last month in Morris Heights. Here's a little background on how and why the march was organized.

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.

Bronx News Roundup, Sept. 21

A prayer vigil was held in Baychester last night to mourn the six people who died in a crash on the New York State Thruway on Saturday. The pastor of Joy Fellowship Christian Assembly, a church on East Gun Hill Road, and his wife, were among the victims.  Speakers at the vigil included a Brooklyn pastor whose own church suffered a similar tragedy two years ago.

A Bronx man who drove drunk and killed a man in Westchester last December, pleaded guilty to several charges yesterday.

A fire broke out under the 138th Street Bridge yesterday afternoon, interrupting Metro-North train service for several hours.

The Daily News' Bob Kappstatter says a piece of him is going to miss State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. who was defeated in last week's primary.

Espada staffer Haile Rivera thinks State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. should replace Espada as majority leader.

The Hunts Point produce co-op is set to resume on-again, off-again talks with the city's Economic Development Corp. over plans for a $320 million renovation. 

A man was shot several times when armed robbers burst into his Morrisania apartment yesterday. He's in a stable condition at St. Barnabas Hospital.

A Soundview man got the fright of his life last night when he found a three-foot long corn snake coiled around his toilet seat.

Bronx News Roundup, Sept. 8

At a press conference announcing endorsements from Assemblyman Jose Rivera and Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo, State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. said Eric Stevenson -- the candidate expected to take over Michael Benjamin's 79th Assembly District seat -- was intimidated into withdrawing his endorsement of Espada. Stevenson said he had no idea what Espada was talking about.

Planned Parenthood is now officially backing the primary opponents of both Espada (Gustavo Rivera), and his top Senate ally, Ruben Diaz Sr. (Charlie Ramos).

In his latest campaign finance filing, Espada said he spent $17,000 on produce that he's given out during his campaign. But the manager of Hunts Point Market, where Espada says he sent a $17,000 check to, said the market doesn't sell produce, it just leases space for produce vendors.

As we mentioned in yesterday's roundup, the apartment building generally considered the "birthplace of hip hop" will be purchased and renovated by a city-backed housing group.More here. And here.

Prosecutors have the defendants in the Riverdale synagogue bomb plot trial on tape testing out hand-held missile launchers. And reportedly getting really excited about them.

The Post's Bronx girls high school soccer preview says the Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy squad has become one of the top teams in the borough after two seasons of playing at the varsity level.

New issue of the Hunts Point Express

With a special report on the largest food distribution center in the world--the three Hunts Point markets--the March issue of The Hunts Point Express has hit the streets.

The paper also reports on:

• Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's suit to stop the sickening stench from a fertilizer plant;
• the neighborhood institution on the front lines in the war on obesity and diabetes;
• the scarcity of daycare for working parents and its consequences
• break-ins plaguing area businesses
• and new scholarships that could provide up to $50,000 to eight college-bound high school students.

Find The Express at local community centers, clinics and some stores and on-line at www.huntspointexpress.com

News Roundup December 10

The New York Times' Web site currently features a video of interviews with South Bronx residents regarding the recent $700 billion bail-out passed by Congress.

The Daily News reports that Newark Mayor Cory Booker is hoping to convince vendors of the Hunts Point Market to move the market across the Hudson.

The News also reports that the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition is planning to turn out at tonight's District 10 Community Education Council hearing to demand more seats be included in the 2010-2014 DOE capital plan. That meeting takes place tomorrow night, Dec. 11, at 6:15pm , at Middle School 118, which is at 577 E. 179th St., near Third Ave. [Corrected from earlier post that said the meeting/rally was tonight. This Daily News story, which was posted to the Web Tuesday night, wrongly says the rally is "tomorrow."]

NY1 reports on the city's "Cribs for Kids" program, which provides free cribs to families in the South Bronx (along with Harlem and Brooklyn). As the article notes, the importance of babies having a crib to sleep in relates not just to comfort but to safety: if a baby has to sleep in the same bed as other children or adults, there is the risk of the baby accidentally being rolled over.
The city is asking for donations for its "Cribs for Kids"program.