Bronx News Roundup, May 10

Weather: Another clear and sunny day, with temperatures hovering around the mid-60s. Enjoy.

Story of the Day: 46 Arrested in Tour Bus Crackdown
Yesterday, 46 people were arrested on felony charges after two months of investigation into the state's tour bus industry, following a March 12 bus crash in the Bronx that killed 15 passengers. Those arrested are drivers of tour buses, MTA city buses and taxis busted for holding commercial licenses while they had other suspended driving licenses under different names, found by running their photos with facial recognition technology.

Quick Hits:

The growing count of bodies found along a stretch of beaches on the south shore of Long Island may be the work of multiple killers, authorities said yesterday. Among the identified remains was Bronx resident Melissa Barthelmy, 24.

Relive your childhood by taking this tree-climbing class at the Botanical Garden. I totally want to sign up for this; video below.


A Bronx man pleaded guilty yesterday of pimping out underage girls who were staying at a homeless shelter. He faces up to 12 years in jail.

Ever wonder why the Bronx's Manhattan College is named after a different borough? A little history lesson for you.

A teacher at Bronx Prep Charter School chronicles the ups and downs of putting on a school play for Gotham Schools.

Metallica has promised to play their 90s metal tune "Enter Sandman," a fan-favorite, during their much anticipated Sept. 14 concert at Yankee Stadium. Is this good news? Sorry, but I hate that song.

Speaking of Yankee Stadium: three servers at the venue are suing the concession stand where they worked, saying they never got a portion of their tip money.

Jose the Beaver was on hand to congratulate 35 children, from 14 different countries, who took their citizenship oaths at the Bronx Zoo yesterday. 

Journey into the Heart of Transgender Prostitution in the Bronx

Ed. note: This story appears in the latest issue of the Norwood News, which is out on the streets now. Pick up your copy today.

It’s a slow Monday night for Bianca, a transgender prostitute who operates on the corner of East 192nd Street and Davidson Avenue -- a quiet residential intersection near St. James Park, a place where the “tranny” sex trade has flourished, to the chagrin of local residents, for more than a decade.

“What are you doing here?” Bianca asks a potential customer, smiling coyly. “You’re looking good.”

Bianca’s hair is pulled back tight against her skull, a frizzy, kink of thick dark hair puffs out into a pony tail. Her heavily made-up face is highlighted by voluptuous dark red, almost purple, lips, and big dangling, gold-colored hoop earrings.

“I’m slumming it tonight,” she says, looking down at her baggy, gray-hooded sweatshirt, tight black skinny jeans and high tops. She is tall, but slender. Her sharp jaw line and wide shoulders give off just a whiff of masculinity.

Like the majority of the dozen or so prostitutes who ply their trade here, Bianca has male genitalia, but lives her life as a woman. Off and on, she takes hormones, but for the time being isn’t interested in having full gender re-assignment surgery.

Bianca is 27, she says, and has worked as a prostitute near Davidson and 192nd ever since she was 16.

“My best friend got me into it,” Bianca says. “She was doing it and was making a lot of money at it.” She’s thought about trying to get out, she says, but the money is too good. She earns enough to afford her own apartment on the Grand Concourse and usually only works a few hours a day.

On this Monday night, it’s 11:30 p.m. It’s been two hours and still no customers.

Bronx News Roundup Jan. 22

Move over Queens, the Bronx is now the most diverse county in America, according to the U.S. Census. Says Newsweek: "Choose any two residents at random and there's an 89.7 percent chance that they'll be of different races or ethnicities." More here on the Bronx's changing demographics.

A Bronx man who posed as an immigration lawyer has been charged with stealing thousands of dollars from unsuspecting clients who hired him to help them obtain visas.

Two Bronx women have been charged with prostitution offenses after police replied to an ad on Craigslist and set up a sting.

The movie Doubt, set in a Bronx catholic school in the 1960s (and filmed in part at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale), has been nominated for four Academy Awards.

Careless drivers make the Bronx an especially dangerous place for kids walking to and from school.

Borough President Adolfo Carrion has returned 20 contributions adding up to $47,450 , according to his latest filing. In recent months Carrion has been linked to four jobs: his current one (a possibility if nothing else works out); city comptroller (ditto); New York senator (now Caroline Kennedy's ruled herself out, his chances may have jumped a little); and, most talked about of all, a heavily rumored (but not yet confirmed) move to Washington to work with President Obama.

Riverdalians who attended Tuesday's inauguration tell of their experiences.