In the '70s, when parts of the South Bronx were literally burning, one landlord took care to maintain a handful of buildings on Kelly Street. His "pluck" inspired Harry De Rienzo to organize the block and its residents into the Banana Kelly Community Improvement Organization. Fast forward some thirty-something years and several of these properties are in disrepair. De Rienzo (now Banana Kelly's executive director) is back on the block as he looks to turn their fortunes around.
Bronx Councilman Jimmy Vacca is being credited with convincing the mayor to scrap plans to hike parking meter rates in the outer boroughs. In a statement released yesterday, Vacca said: “Outer-borough motorists can breathe a big sigh of relief today, knowing that after years of an out-of-control parking ticket blitz and ever-increasing tolls and registration fees, for once the budget will not be balanced on their backs.”
Forty-eight percent of Bronx pregnancies are aborted, the highest rate in the city and more than twice the national average. More here.
The police have questioned at least three people in connection with the murder of 70-year-old Bronx woman on Wednesday. Ethal Parish, a Crotona Avenue resident, was found stabbed to death.
Two Lehman High School students were arrested yesterday following the stabbing of a 16-year-old boy outside PS 12 on Tratman Avenue on Wednesday.
A Long Island broker who defrauded an order of nuns has agreed to pay them $350,000 in damages. The nuns are with the Sisters of Charity New York, located in Riverdale.
A Bronx man has admitted shooting and injuring two women in Times Square last Easter.
A teenager wanted for allegedly shooting and killing a fellow teen in Soundview last month has been arrested in Florida.
A teen toll collector pocketed more than $16,000 from truck drivers going over the Throgs Neck Bridge, the authorities say.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 7
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 4
Rose Donaghey, a 90-year-old veteran Bronx waitress known for her unstoppable work ethic, missed her first day on the job in over two years because of last week's blizzard. She works at the Wicked Wolf in Throgs Neck, and has served in restaurants all over the city for decades.
The Daily News' Bob Kappstatter breaks down the borough's crime stats for 2010. Like the rest of the city, the Bronx saw an overall decrease in crime but a jump in violent crimes--including a sharp rise in the number of stabbing fatalities. Here's a look at the stats for the 52 Precinct from last week's Norwood News.
Assemblyman Peter Rivera could be leaving his post for a gig in the new Gov. Cuomo's administration. If he does, a special election would determine who would fill his district seat, which covers West Farms and Parkchester.
Bronx spiritualist Chris Ochun, and other city psychics, are predicting who will win tonight's $330 Mega Millions lotto jackpot.
A quarter will soon get you five minutes less in parking time at meters in the outer boroughs, thanks to changes made at the start of the new year. The price increase won't actually go into effect in the Bronx until March.
City Councilwoman Helen Foster, who represents several neighborhoods in the South Bronx, had the worst attendance rate in the City Council last year, making it to 61.7 percent of her meetings, according to amNY. Foster told the paper that her absence was due to a number of ill family members. Bronx reps Joel Rivera and Larry Seabrook were also among the worst no-show members.
City Comptroller John Liu axed plans to build a new 911 call center in the Bronx, saying the budget for construction of the center, and another in Brooklyn, is now nearly double what it was estimated to cost when approved in 2005.
Bronx Congressman Eliot Engel has been cleared by the House ethics committee, which was investigating how he and other members of Congress spent travel stipends while visiting foreign countries.
