Bronx News Roundup, Friday, April 15

Happy Tax Day! If you're freaking out because you haven't gotten your, um, stuff together, then freak not, you still have three more days to file! The deadline to file has been extended this year to Monday, April 18, so you have the entire weekend to continue procrastinating.

Weekend weather: It should stay nice and sunny today, though a little cooler than yesterday. Rain and wind will rule Saturday, with the sun supposedly breaking through on Sunday afternoon.

To the news!

Story of the Day: Woodlawn Weiss and other Bronck's Beer
How could I not make this Riverdale Press story about a Woodlawn man who is turning his basement brewing hobby into a beer-making enterprise the story of the day? (Ok, don't answer that, but just look at the photo; so refreshing and inviting. But I digress.) Anyway, Steve Nallen, a Woodlawn resident whose family runs deep with Bronx blood, introduced two of his Bronck's Beer Co. creations -- Woodlawn Weiss and Pelham Bay IPA -- to thirsty patrons at the The Bronx Ale House in Kingsbridge last week to rave reviews. Nallen's efforts (named after the borough's indirect namesake, Jonas Bronck), combined with those of The Bronx Brewery, could give the borough a much-needed economic boost -- a mini Bronx beer stimulus package, if you will. Happy Friday and drink responsibly.

Quick Hits:
Authorities arrested 16 people for their alleged involvement in a massive Bronx-Yonkers cocaine distribution ring.

Ticket fixing scandal update: A Bronx cop who works in the 46th Precinct testified to a grand jury that union delegates helped her take care of at least two summonses, according to the Daily News.

In the wake of the deadly tour bus crash in the Bronx last month, transportation officials say more than 100 drivers have been pulled off the road for various violations.

In response to reports of rampant prostitution around PS 6, Bronx State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., aka The Rev, is introducing legislation that would stiffen penalties for illegal sex traders who operate near schools.

Deliberations began in the trial of two Bronx female cops who were charged with beating a motorist. 

The old Willis Avenue Bridge, which once connected 70,000 vehicles a day between the Bronx and Manhattan, was taken to New Jersey this week to be recycled.

Former Schools Chancellor Joel Klein responded to Jonathan Mahler's NY Times Magazine profile of the Bronx's MS 223, which we broke down in Monday's "Story of the Day," saying the writer unfairly characterized the presence of more charter schools as one of the reasons why many public schools are struggling to succeed. 

Fordham University professor Mark Naison talks about the Bronx's musical history.

Many Bronx public school students are not responding to the DOE's annual survey, which contributes to each school's overall grade.

Bronx Weekend News Roundup, Monday, April 11

Weather: Dense fog in the Bronx today will give way to a partially cloudy, partially sunny afternoon with highs in the low 70s. Chance of thunderstorms later tonight.

Story of the Day: Bronx's MS 223 Embodies Public School Challenges
Spent a good chunk of this morning reading Jonathan Mahler's extensive NY Times Magazine piece about MS 223, a South Bronx school opened during the early days of former Chancellor Joel Klein's reform movement. Through his profile of 223 and its energetic and highly-optimistic principal, Ramon Gonzalez, Mahler, who wrote the fabulously entertaining "The Bronx is Burning," deftly captures the challenges of not only running, but improving, public schools in the Bronx (and much of NYC, for that matter). If you don't have time to read the piece (as I mentioned, it's "extensive," to the tune of 20 printed out pages), I'll summarize the key take away points.

--The charter school paradox: Gonzalez uses many ideas and strategies promoted by charters schools. MS 223 starts school early and entices kids to stay late. Gonzalez hires young, bright, inexperienced and tireless teachers from groups like Teach for America and NYC Teaching Fellows. He partners with nonprofits and uses resources to raise funds for 223. He instituted a dress code. At the same time, charter schools are plucking many of the most promising local students -- whose parents want all the structure and personal attention charters have to offer. Plus, Gonzalez doesn't have the flexibility of a charter because he's more bound to union regulations. Now, he's fighting to keep a charter school out of his own building.

--MS 223 is a good example of the city's controversial strategy of shutting down schools and starting over. Gonzalez's school undoubtedly represents a large improvement over the middle school it replaced. Math and reading scores have spiked exponentially.

--On the other hand, MS 223 is also taking on students dispersed when the city shuts down other low-performing schools. As Mahler puts it: "the endless flow of underperforming students drags down test scores, demoralizes teachers and makes the already daunting challenges of transforming 223 into a successful school, not not just a relatively successful one, that much more difficult."

--The most overwhelming challenge at schools like MS 223 remains poverty and lack of parental involvement.

Quick Hits:
A look at the Bronx Zoo's celebrity cobra, which was recently named "Mia," following an online contest to brand the former escapee:


A look at MTV's new upcoming reality show, "Son of a Gun," which will follow the life and career of Bronx rapper Corey Gunz.

During the rough winter months, a stretch of two- and three-story homes in the Bronx -- on Freeman Street, between Union and Prospect avenues -- could very well have been the Most Neglected Block in New York City.

A grand jury is looking into a police ticket-fixing scheme that may have involved some 40 Bronx cops.

The animators for the new movie "Rio," went to the Bronx Zoo for inspiration.

A Bronx Science senior contemplates a buffet of Ivy League college choices while trying to avoid "hubris."

A 16-year-old Bronx boy was arrested and charged with murder following last Thursday's triple shooting near the corner of Fordham Road and University Avenue.

The family of a Bronx man who died of heat stroke while incarcerated at a boot-camp-style detention center is suing the state for $18 million, saying missteps and abuses led to his death.