Milbank Buildings Sold to Scarsdale Landlord

Milbank's 10 Bronx buildings have over 4,000 housing violations among them. (File photo by J. Evelly)

 

Another chapter in the ongoing Milbank Bronx housing saga: the 10 crumbling apartment buildings were finally sold last week to a Scarsdale-based landlord after months of negotiations, according to Crain's New York.

Steve Finkelstein bought the mortgage and the deeds to the properties in a $28 million deal, the article reports, promising to start serious and immediate repairs at the violation-riddled buildings, and agreeing to report to HPD within 30 days about what work he's done.

Finkelstein, who owns 31 other buildings in the Bronx, told Crain's he expects to face an "amazing amount of work," but that he's sending eight-man crews into every building to start on repairs.

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 4

Usually, I enjoy my 25 minute walk to work every morning. Today, I skated, slipped and shimmied my way to the Keeper's House, aka BxNN headquarters on the Williamsbridge Oval in Norwood. On the plus side, I was heartened by a team of folks helping a man pry his car out of an iced-in predicament and enjoyed seeing the sun hitting untouched patches of snow, making the surface look like glazed marshmallow frosting. Now, I'm hungry.

Today's forecast calls for clouds and a high of 34 degrees, with snow possible in the middle of the night and into Saturday morning. Super Bowl Sunday is supposed to be sunny and above freezing!

Story of the Day:
Steve Finkelstein, a Scarsdale-based property owner, has put in a bid to take over the 10 rapidly deteriorating Bronx apartment buildings abandoned by Milbank Real Estate. Finkelstein is offering about $28 million for the debt and the deed to the apartment buildings, but there is still the matter of striking a deal with tenants. Finkelstein says he will put $6.8 million into repairing the dilapidated buildings, which HPD Commissioner Rafael Cestero called the worst he's ever seen. A report commissioned by the City Council late last year said the buildings needed $26 million in repairs. Lawyers for the tenants are skeptical. 

For more on the Milbank mess, click here.

Story of the Day, Part 2:
After pounding the nails in the coffins of 10 city schools on Tuesday, the Panel for Education Policy voted last night to shut down 12 more schools, including the Bronx's John F. Kennedy, Christopher Columbus, Performance Conservatory and Global Enterprise high schools, Frederick Douglas III Academy Middle School and PS 102. Ten of the 22 schools approved for closure are from the Bronx. Vehement protests and criticism have accompanied the panel's votes, with some resulting in arrests, as we reported on Wednesday.

Quick Hits:
Remember this name: Nuha Dolby. Nuha, a 10-year-old fifth grader at the Bronx's PS 24 in Spuyten Duyvil, composed an original piece of music, "Voice of Darkness" (sounds like the next M. Night Shamylan film), that will be performed today at Lincoln Center by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. After hearing it played by the orchestra for the first time earlier in the week, Nuha told the Daily News, "It was, like, amazing. It was fantastic and so cool."

The ice covering the sidewalks outside of the Pelham Bay subway station and bus stop is making trips to and from ridiculously treacherous. City agencies, it appears, are all passing the buck on who should remedy this danger zone.

In that same vein, it appears the Parks Department isn't removing ice near Matthews Park. (I'd like to add that the DEP should be doing something about the ice on Sedgwick Ave. outside of the Jerome Park Reservoir.)

A Westchester developer is moving to the Hutchinson Metro Center in the Bronx.

[Editor's Note:] Just a reminder to our readers that the Bronx News Network is in the middle of our annual fundraising appeal. If you value quality local journalism, please consider donating so we can continue to bring you news and features, like our daily roundup or our borough events calendar. More details on how to contribute can be found here

Bronx Weekend News Roundup, Jan. 31

Walked past a sturdy, 60ish woman this morning shoveling her walkway for perhaps the eighth or 15th time this winter. She smiled and rolled her eyes and looked at me. "Just making way for the next one," she said. We both chuckled and cursed, knowing full well, it's not over.

Indeed, the National Weather Service has issued a "Winter Storm Watch" for the Bronx this week and says snow could come as soon as tonight, with more on the way Tuesday, with lingering flurries continuing into Wednesday. Sigh. Gird yourselves, Bronxites.

Story of the Day
A dead Riverdale man, Raphael Klapper, collected 828 votes in the general election for the 31st State Senate District this past fall. Klapper, 85, died in May, but the Conservative Party collected signatures and put his name on the ballot anyway. William Newmark, chairman of the Bronx Conservative Party, said he didn't know Klapper was dead until the Board of Elections called him two months before the election to tell him so.

Which brings us to this question: Who in this situation was most oblivious/inept? The Conservative Party for putting a dead man on the ballot? The Board of Elections for keeping a dead man on the ballot? Or the 828 people who voted for a dead man?

(Note: Democrat Ariano Espaillat won this seat, taking over for new AG Eric Schneiderman. [Follow-up note: this past election, the Conservative Party put up another candidate, John McCarthy, in the 33rd District, without telling McCarthy about it. The Norwood resident found out when he received something in the mail from the Board of Elections.])

Quick Hits
An urban planner at CUNY who helped develop a mobile phone app for finding city landmarks, used his own hand-held device to find the Hall of Fame for Great Americans at Bronx Community College and the Loew's Paradise Theater on the Grand Concourse, below Fordham Road.

A new series on the The Huffington Post uses Milbank Real Estate's disastrous investment in Bronx apartment buildings to highlight how similarly risky ventures across the country are hitting tenants hard this winter. (For BxNN coverage of the Milbank saga, click here.)

Legendary Bronx DJ Kool Herc is reportedly too broke to pay for badly-needed surgery.

Legal nonprofit groups like the Bronx Defenders are using a new Supreme Court ruling to push for lawyers to be more proactive in telling their clients about how pleading guilty could lead to deportation for many immigrants.

Near Yankee Stadium, Muhammed Rashid, a Subway sandwich shop employee, was slashed in the neck yesterday after allegedly refusing to share a cigarette with someone.

After their Van Nest building burned down last year, a Bronx family has struggled to survive.

A Bronx minister was indicted Friday on rape charges.

A Bronx man was sentenced to 46 months for gold robberies in northern Virginia.

[Editor's Note:] Just a reminder to our readers that the Bronx News Network is in the middle of our annual fundraising appeal. If you value quality local journalism, please consider donating so we can continue to bring you news and features, like our daily roundup or our borough events calendar. More details on how to contribute can be found here.

Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 18

In December 2009, arsonists broke into a Unionport church, scrawling obscenities on the walls and stealing computers before setting the place alight. The church has since bounced back, rebuilding and doubling the size of its congregation.

Workers who claim they were laid off by Woodlawn Cemetery after joining a union, rallied outside the cemetery yesterday afternoon. They've previously accused their supervisors of racism.

Last year, 27 people were murdered in Bronx housing projects, up from 13 in 2009.

A Bronx boxer is returning to the ring after a 25-year absense.

Three Bronx men have been arrested for allegedly using counterfeit bills at a mall in Middletown in upstate New York.

Jorje Jimenez, a Lehman College student and possibly the best wrestler in the city, could be new Jersey-bound, dealing a blow to those trying to promote the sport here in New York.

State Sen. Jeff Klein's breakaway Independent Democratic Conference is already in trouble, says the Daily News' Bob Kappstatter in his weekly column. 

State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. is accusing Gov. Andrew Cuomo of "blackmailing" New York.

A Bronx gymnast with bags of potential is on the way back after a serious injoury.

A Q & A with Majora Carter, the founder of Sustainable South Bronx who now runs her own consultancy firm.

Youngsters from the Bronx and Westchester took part in the third annual Intergenerational Martin Luther King, Jr., Great Debaters Contest on Saturday morning.

More on Assemblyman's Peter Rivera ties to a non-profit organization whose executive director has been charged with corruption.  Rivera allegedly told investigators he knew nothing about Neighborhood Enhancement for Training and Services' day to day operations, and didn't even know the executive director drew a salary - which is little strange considering he's given more than $2 million to the group over the years. If nothing else, the allegations and rumors surrounding Rivera have ended any chance he had of landing a job on Gov. Cuomo's team. Here's the Bronx News Network's original post about the investigation.

Soundview Health Care Network, the group of health centers run by Pedro Espada, the legally challenged former state senator, is still open for business, despite the scandals.

Last week, Cathie Black, the new Schools chancellor, quipped that "birth control" was the solution to school overcrowding.  Mayor Bloomberg has since tried to defend her, but was booed yesterday at a Martin Luther King, Jr. Councilman Charles Barron and others say Black's remarks had racist connotations.

Espada's replacement, Gustavo Rivera, gave a wide-ranging interview to Feet in 2 Worlds about his plans for district and the alleged "debt" he owes those who helped him win election. 

More on the Archdiocese of New York's decision to close six Bronx schools.

Students at Fordham University are apparently eager to learn Twi, a language widely spoken in West Africa as well as parts of the Bronx.

More on a new city program - the Proactive Preservation Initiative - which is designed to identify buildings that are falling into disrepair. The program was inspired by the terrible conditions at 10 Bronx proprieties owned by Milbank Real Estate.

Resident of a Riverdale co-op are being driven barking mad by a neighbor's "singing" dog.

City Launches Housing Initiative, Inspired by Milbank Mess [VIDEO]

Mayor Bloomberg Announces New Housing Initiative from Bronx News Network on Vimeo.
Above, Mayor Bloomberg discusses a new way the city plans to drive landlords to repair housing violations.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in the Bronx today to announce a new city housing initiative largely inspired by the Milbank properties--the now infamous 10 neglected apartment buildings in the northwest Bronx that have been falling apart since foreclosure two years ago.

The Mayor made the announcement this morning at Our Lady Of Angels Church, on Webb Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights, before a crowd of Milbank tenants and organizers from the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, who have been fighting for almost a year to draw the city's attention to the deteriorating buildings (here's a short summary for some background.)

The new "Proactive Preservation" program will essentially allow the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to more aggressively identify and inspect distressed properties, intervening to make repairs if necessary, in the hopes of preventing another Milbank scenario from taking place.

"While the work our housing inspectors do is very good, it can sometimes be too little, too late, or both," Bloomberg said.

Bronx News Roundup, Dec. 15

Every news outlet under the sun has coverage of Pedro Espada, Jr.'s indictment, as the now-former Senate Majority Leader and his son were charged yesterday with six counts of embezzlement and conspiracy. Here's what we posted last night.

Here's the Times' take, which reminds readers of how once upon a time, in 2006, Espada had accused his then-rival Ruben Diaz, Sr., of more or less the same things he's now being indicted for.

The Daily News' Celeste Katz includes a response from the Espada camp: "Today is a sad day for Soundview and a sad day for the Espada family. Senator Espada and his son deny any wrongful doing and we intend to fight the charges in court."

Both men are schedule to appear at a federal court in Brooklyn this afternoon. We'll have more on that later.

In other news:

Employees from the Bronx Psychiatric Center rallied yesterday against proposed layoffs at the facility, which they say will only make things less safe for patients and workers.

One of the city's largest chapters of the carpenters union, which represented workers in the Bronx and part of Manhattan, was officially shut down yesterday after a slew of corruption scandals.

A Bronx man was sentenced to five years in prison for selling cocaine in upstate Watertown, NY.

New Census data shows that more New York City residents are getting college degrees than ever before. The number of graduates in the Bronx increased by 2.9 percent since 2000.

Terrible conditions at an unemployment office in Mott Haven--including floods, rats and a bed bug infestation--make the spot even more depressing for the jobless who have to wait there.

HPD is still trying to get LNR Property Corp., the servicer to the dilapidated Milbank buildings, to cough up the $2.5 million in repairs that a court ordered the group to pay in September.

The Post takes a look at what our lawmakers in Washington are spending on their pet projects--aka "pork" spending--this year. Bronx Congressman Jose E. Serrano scored $500,000 for transportation improvements at the Bronx Zoo.

On the local level, a number of state lawmakers, including Bronx Assemblyman Jose Rivera, have found a loophole that allows them to collect pension checks while still in office.

The man accused of shooting an off-duty Bronx narcotics detective over the weekend was released on $5,000 bail.

Police will start using hidden cameras to videotape suspects in precincts in the Bronx and Brooklyn, stating next year.

Bronx News Roundup, Dec. 14

A year ago, the City Council - with the strong backing of Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. - killed Related Companies' plans to turn the Kingsbridge Armory into a shopping mall, after Related refused to guarantee future employees a "living wage." Today, the armory remains empty and no jobs, even low-paying ones, were created.  In an editorial, the Daily News (not for the first time) asserts that Diaz did the Bronx and its workforce a huge disservice. The Post comes to a similar conclusion, as does BoogieDowner.

Fieldston residents fear a developer's plans could harm the neighborhood's much-loved Indian Pond. The Riverdale Press has covered this issue at some length. See here and here. And here's an editorial.

State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. has been lying low as he braces himself for an income tax indictment, according to the Daily News' Bob Kappstatter, in his weekly column.

Bronxnet, the public access network, has been trying to negotiate a new deal with provider Cablevision. But talks have stalled. "They are holding us hostage. They have no respect for the Bronx. Cablevision is trying to play us cheap," said Ruscoe Brown, a Bronxnet board member and former Bronx Community College president.

Among the findings of a new study released by CUNY's Dominican Studies Institute: many Dominicans living in the Bronx and Manhattan are conflicted about their children identifying as "American."

Police have arrested a man in connection with the shooting of an off-duty detective outside a Bronx diner on Sunday. Samuel Ventura was picked up in Waterbury, Connecticut.

Using rarely used subpoena powers, HPD is turning up the heat on the firm which controls the debt on ten run-down apartments buildings in the Bronx. The buildings, which went into foreclosure last year, were owned by Milbank Real Estate, a now-infamous private equity firm. You can read more about Milbank here. Milbank tenants have long-complained about terrible living conditions. A few days ago, a tenant of 1535 Taylor Ave. wrote the following on the SeeClickFix website:

[A]nother evening and how cold ,freezing , i am more cold inside than out. the only way to wash and keep warm is to boil and turn on the stove , with a space heater. Milbank R.E. tells us that there is no oil . i asume that they won't be sending any. I am in the understanding the Milbank R.E. is in foreclosure. 40 families and manyof them children and sick.

A federal jury yesterday rejected a Bronx man's claims that a police officer violated him with a baton. But Ralph Johnson, a Wall Street worker, was still awarded $20,000, after the jury determined that the Bronx DA was wrong to prosecute him with resisting arrest.

CUNY officials are concerned about the impact budget cuts could have on community college students.

Ed. note: Start a discussion about any of these stories, or anything else you want to talk about in our forum. Highlight problems in your neighborhood with our SeeClickFix feature. And find out what's happening in our constantly-updated events calendar.

HPD Will Now Be "Proactive" in Repairing Milbank Buildings

Just a little followup to Greg's post below, about HPD's promise for extensive inspections and emergency repairs on the Milbank properties, a portfolio of crumbling Bronx apartments that went into foreclosure in 2009.

As Greg said, HPD Commissioner Rafael Cestero and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said today that the city will more aggressively address Milbank's plight by making thorough inspections, issuing violations and starting repairs on the most health-threatening problems, like apartments with lead paint in them.

Cestero, who took a tour of three of the buildings this week with tenant leaders and organizers from the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, said the conditions are some of the worst he's ever seen.

"I have to say, in my 21 years working in the affordable housing industry in this great city, I have never been more shocked, angered and frustrated," he told reporters on a conference call this morning.

HPD normally sends out inspectors to look at an apartment when someone lodges a housing complaint with 311. But officials said today that taking this "proactive" approach with Milbank--going in to make an inspection in an apartment even if no one has complained about it yet--will make the difference in turning the buildings around.

"That should send a message to any potential buyer," Quinn said. "HPD is going to be on the owner 24/7."

HPD Increasing its Role in the Milbank Buildings

Crain's has a new article about HPD's increased role in the 10 Milbank building portfolio out this afternoon.

While the headline, "City takes control of rehabs of 10 Bronx buildings" may exaggerate slightly, HPD is promising roof to cellar inspections and is sending out its Emergency Repair Program unit to make repairs. Equally important, they are sending a forceful message to potential buyers of the buildings that they are going to be intensely involved with the buildings for the foreseeable future.
 

To fill in a gap in the story, the building tours HPD went on earlier this week were organized by the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition.

Finally, at least two out of three other Milbank buildings that are part of a separate financing package (originally with Dime of Williamsburgh) have gone into foreclosure. Dime had already sold the debt on the buildings to 1026-30 Woodycrest Debt LLC and 1535 Taylor Debt LLC, both with addresses listed under the law firm Kriss and Feuerstein LLP. There is no indication on ACRIS of whether the mortgages were sold at a discount.

Foreclosure actions were filed against 1030 Woodycrest Ave and 1535 Taylor Ave at the beginning of October for $1,519,229 and $1,921,345 respectively. A third building, 828 Courtlandt Ave, isn’t listed in our foreclosure listings yet, but it also had its debt sold to the same outfit.

In a bizarre move, the California Business Bank recently provided Milbank an additional nearly $2.5 million dollars of financing on these three properties on October 1st. One has to wonder if the bank knows what it is getting itself into.

Milbank Tenants Still Waiting for Repair $; HPD Plans to Take Action

Milbank's portfolio of Bronx properties have been in varying states of decline since foreclosure started in 2009.  (File photo by Jeanmarie Evelly)

It's been nearly a month since a Bronx Supreme Court Judge ordered LNR Property Corp., the servicer that oversees a now infamous, dilapidated portfolio of foreclosed Bronx buildings, to start paying for repairs on the apartments (for some background, see here, here and here.)

But while LNR's 30-day deadline for making the payment approaches this week, they haven't put any no money into repairs so far, according to advocates working on the case.

"In a lot of ways, we're waiting, which is uncomfortable," said Dina Levy of the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB). LNR's lawyers are preparing to appeal the judge's payment order, she said. 

LNR was told they had 30 days to fork over $2.5 million toward renovations--much less than what experts say the actual repairs will cost, but still a milestone victory for the tenants and housing advocates who had been fighting for months to get something done.

Meanwhile, a proposed deal to transfer the mortgage on ten of the properties to a mystery buyer--which Crain's identified as Riverdale-based Chestnut Holdings--has yet to close.

Tenants Hold Prayer Vigil; Demand Change

Residents at a portfolio of foreclosed and dilapidated buildings hold candles at a prayer vigil last night. (Photo by Jeanmarie Evelly)

Tenants from ten crumbling Bronx buildings gathered in the courtyard of 2770 Kingsbridge Terrace last night for a an emotional candlelit prayer vigil, fed up with conditions in apartments that many describe as unlivable. Their homes have been in foreclosure proceedings for over a year after private equity firm Milbank Real Estate defaulted on its $35 million mortgage.

"We shouldn't have to live like this," said Sergio Cuevas, whose apartment at 2785 Sedgwick Ave. is plagued by leaks, mold and rotting floors. "I don't invite anyone over to my home."

His neighbor, Chuck Davie, says he won't let his four-year-old son use their bathroom because the mold is so severe. He showers every morning at Bally's Gym to avoid using his leaky bathtub at home.

The vigil was held just hours after a Bronx Supreme Court judge ordered LNR Property LLC, the servicer to the loan that oversees the portfolio of buildings, to pay $2.5 million within the next 30 days on repairs. Housing advocates hailed the decision as a milestone step.

"As far as I know, this is the first decision of this kind," said Jonathan Levy of Legal Services-NYC, which filed a motion on behalf of the tenants to hold LNR or Wells Fargo, the bank that serves as the trustee on the mortgage, financially responsible for fixing the buildings.

Judge Orders Servicer to Pay $2.5 Million to Fix Milbank Buildings

A big update in the ongoing Milbank saga--the portfolio of ten apartment buildings that have fallen into disrepair since Milbank Real Estate went into foreclosure proceedings on them.

Tenants have been trying to get LNR, the servicer that oversees Milbank's $35 million mortgage, to help finance some of the 3,000 housing violations that need repairing, and Legal Services-NYC Bronx had filed a legal motion on behalf of the residents this year to try and make that happen.

Meanwhile, LNR is supposedly looking to sell the buildings to a mystery buyer in a deal that was rumored to be closing today. But according to Dina Levy of the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, LNR came to Bronx Supreme Court and announced that they weren't ready to close on the transaction. The judge then ordered the Florida-based company to fork up $2.5 million in the next 30 days to start fixing some of the apartments' many problems.

"As far as I know, this is the first decision of this kind," said Jonathan Levy, of Legal Services-NYC.

The order, however, could be rendered moot if LNR's deal to sell the properties goes through in the next month. We'll have more details on this, and from tonight's candlelight vigil, later.

Vigil and Press Conference Planned for Millbank Buildings; Rent Strike Anticipated

Tenants from 10 distressed and deteriorating Bronx buildings owned by Milbank Real Estate are coming together tonight to hold a prayer vigil and conduct a press conference at Our Lady of Angels Church in Kingsbridge Heights. 

The vigil, organized by the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, is designed to bring more attention to the worsening condition of the buildings and to put pressure on the city to intervene on tenants' behalf.

Milbank is in foreclosure on the properties and there is supposedly a mysterious buyer who wants to buy them, but they have not been identified. Tenants want the buyer to come forward with a rehabilitation plan or they say they may launch a rent strike.

Here's more on the situation.

City Council Releases Report on Milbank's Woes

Council Speaker Christine Quinn at City Hall last week, announcing a new strategy to deal with distressed buildings like Milbank's (Photo by Jeanmarie Evelly)

Members of City Council and a number of housing advocacy groups unveiled a plan last Thursday to deal with the city's growing number of distressed, overleveraged properties--including 10 Bronx apartment buildings owned by Milbank Real Estate, which have been in worsening states of disrepair since the company went into foreclosure on the properties last year.

The program will elicit the help of pro-bono engineers and architects to assess the damage in properties like Milbank's so that tenants can have a detailed list of their building's problems, and better hold landlords accountable for making repairs.

"We believe it's important for residents to be armed, so they can advocate for their own solutions," said Andrew Reicher, executive director of the Urban Homestead Housing Board, which has been working with Milbank tenants for the past several months.

The first property survey, done by Baer Architect Group and the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, is a nightmarish list of 3,300 housing violations in the 10 Milbank's properties, which are scattered throughout the northwest Bronx. The study confirms what tenants have long been saying.

Complaints include leaking walls and ceilings, broken elevators, rotting floors and months without a working toilet in some apartments. It calculated that the cost of repairs for all the buildings could add up to over $24 million.

"It's reprehensible," said Charlene Barton, who lives in one of the properties at 1576 Taylor Avenue, and says she's been fighting a mold infestation for almost a year. "Why manage a building if you're not going to take care of it?"

Bronx News Roundup, Sept. 23

Tensions are high in the ongoing Bronx synagogue bomb plot trial. According to NY1, Judge Colleen McMahon got into verbal spats yesterday with lawyers on both sides of the case.

Police arrested a 30-year-old woman yesterday in connection to a fire she allegedly started last week in the basement of an apartment building in West Farms.

There may not be alligators in New York's sewers, but a Bronx man found a 3-foot snake in his toilet earlier this week. Authorities say it was a harmless corn snake, and likely someones discarded pet.

A Bronx man is being charged with the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl Throgs Neck girl who went missing last week. She has since safely returned home.

A man from Riverdale is going to court today for leaving his dog locked in a van during 95-degree weather last July. The dog died, despite attempts by police to revive it.

Martha Stewart designed the Bronx Botanical Garden's "Edible Garden" exhibit. The homemaking maven also hosted a cocktail party at the garden on Tuesday.

Bronx-born Jenny-from-the-block Lopez will be the next new judge on American Idol. 

The City Council will announce a new plan today to deal with the city's distressed and over-leveraged buildings--like the crumbling Bronx properties owned by Milbank Real Estate.  We'll have more on this later.

The Lehman Center for the Performing Arts celebrates its 30th anniversary season this year. 

A Bronx student traveled to the White House this month to participate in a dance program.

Bronx News Roundup, Aug. 4

Due to staff vacations, we haven't done a news roundup in a while now, so this is a long one.  Here goes:

Fernando Tirado, the district manager of Community Board 7 who was looking to unseat State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr., has been kicked off the ballot.  After the validity of Tirado's petition signatures were challenged, the city Board of Elections determined he was nearly 300 short of the 1,000 required, according to the Daily News' Bob Kappstatter, whose weekly column also includes a rundown of who will face primary opponents this September and who won't. (We'll have more campaign updates later in the week.)

Espada and a group of tenant activists were involved in a nasty spat in Albany yesterday [video]. As the chair of the Senate's housing committee, Espada has long been accused of holding up tenant-friendly legislation.

As you've likely heard by now, yesterday evening state legislators finally completed the budget. Espada had been criticized in recent days for attempting to hold things up, before eventually relenting. Here's the press release he sent out late last night, and here's a full page ad he ran in El Diario recently in which he claims he's been "vilified" by the press.

Away from Espada: several community gardens in the Bronx are now home to chickens.

Faced with huge fee hikes, fruit and vegetable merchants at the Hunts Points market are threatening to move elsewhere. 

Last Saturday, a 25-year-old man was shot dead in Melrose in the courtyard of the building in which he lived. 

Police say a Bronx grandfather who was attacked by a group of men in Mott Haven on July 24, and who later died in hospital, was murdered for his cellphone.

Morrie Yohai, the 90-year-old founder of Cheez Doodles, died last week at his home on Long Island Sound.  Yohai grew up in the Bronx and created the ubiquitous snack in the 1950s after taking over the Bronx food factory his father owned.

Anthony Rotunno, the former principal of Kennedy High School who resigned after a state audit found that $90,000 in bake sale money was missing, has been fired from his new job in Westchester, after officials there learned of the probe.

A Bronx man with Down syndrome is celebrating two milestones this month: his 50th birthday and his 30th year working at the Botanical Garden. Talking of the Garden, here's a little history, courtesy of WNYC, for an ongoing series called Borough Tales.

A potential buyer has been found for 10 troubled apartment buildings owned by Milbank Real Estate, a private equity firm which defaulted on its loan and left the buildings in a terrible state.  But tenants should hold off on celebrating, says City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and others.  See here and here for some background on this issue.

In The New York Times, Steve Singer, the director of college counseling at Horace Mann School, has some advice for college applicants.

If we've missed anything important, please post a link in the comments section.

Story Of The Day: For Tenants in Foreclosure Limbo, a New Legal Strategy

Bertha Van Wright holds up a photo of a rat she found in her Garden Street apartment. Her building, one of several in the Bronx owned by Milbank Real Estate, went into foreclosure last year and has since fallen into disrepair, plagued by rodents, insects and mold. Last month, a legal group filed a court motion to hold the bank that oversees the mortgage on many Milbank properties responsible for their upkeep. Read the story in this month's Tremont Tribune. (And for some more background on the issue, read this blog post by contributor Gregory Lobo Jost.)

New In The Tremont Tribune

May's Tremont Tribune is on the streets and online. Check out some of our latest stories:

• The primary race for Pedro Espada's state senate seat is getting crowded, with Community Board 7 manager Fernando Tirado and former Gillibrand staffer Gustavo Rivera both declaring their candidacy. 
• Speaking of Espada: some coverage of his current legal woes, as well as his recent financial contributions to a three local groups. 
• Tenants in two apartment buildings on Garden Street, owned by Milbank Real Estate, have found themselves living in terrible conditions after their buildings went into foreclosure last year. Now, a legal group is working on behalf of residents in ten other Milbank buildings to hold the bank that oversees the mortgage responsible for maintenance. 
• Assemblyman Michael Benjamin, whose district covers much of CB6, says he won't be seeking re-election this fall. He's toying with the idea of running against Congressman Jose E. Serrano instead. 
• A group of students from PS/MS 3 have scored a grant to help fund their quest to clean up a local park.

For more, including some great photos of recent events and our community calendar, visit www.tremonttribune.org. And don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

Banks Get A Bronx Cheer At Wall Street Rally

The protestors, pictured here on Broadway not far from City hall, eventually made their way to Wall Street (Photo: J. Fergusson) 

Several thousand people descended on Wall Street last Thursday to denounce the nation’s leading banks who they believe caused the economic crisis, and to demand that the US Senate pass financial reform.

"Because we are one country, when greed runs amok on Wall Street, it means lost jobs and shuttered stores on Main Street," Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions and one of the event's organizers, told the crowd.