Bronx News Roundup, Dec. 23

A tree that was salvaged from the rubble of the World Trade Center after 9/11, and nursed back to health in Van Cortlandt Park, was once again planted back at Ground Zero. The tree's homecoming coincides with yesterday's passage of a bill that will give health benefits to 9/11 responders. 

The NYPD will start using hidden cameras in the interrogation rooms of two police stations, including the 48th Precinct in Tremont.

A group of Franciscan monks from the Bronx are looking to revitalize a rundown neighborhood in Ireland.

Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., says things are looking up for Bronx businesses, thanks in part to the work of the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp.

A man is being charged with attempted murder after leaving threats on his ex-girlfriend's facebook page and attempting to kidnap her one-year-old daughter near Claremont Park.

The Bronx Zoo will be collecting food and toy donations for underprivileged New Yorkers until the end of the month; those who donate will get one free general admission ticket to the zoo. 

A group of Riverdale residents continue their campaign to boycott weekly community newspaper the Riverdale Review.

Nathaniel Linden, the man accused of robbing a handful of Bronx churches since November, told the Daily News he needed the money to feed himself and his pets.

Melissa Petro, the Bronx public school teacher who was removed from her classroom after she posted stories about her sex-worker past on the internet, is profiled in this month's issue of the magazine Marie Claire.

A profile of Dr. Richard Izquierdos, a longtime pediatrician in Hunts Point who opened his own charter school this year.

Bronx News Roundup, Nov. 30

The Daily News' Patrice O'Shaughnessy says troubling questions still remain in the death of Billy Murphy, a homeless man who died in Norwood back in August. Police insist his death was an accident, but those who knew him aren't convinced. For more on Murphy's life and death, check out this Norwood News story and BxNN post.

A burglary at Our Lady of Refuge School in Bedford Park on Sunday may be connected to a string of recent break-ins at Bronx churches.

A construction firm working on the delayed and over-budget Croton Water Filtration Plant in Van Cortlandt Park lied about hiring minority subcontractors.  To atone for the fraud, Schiavone Construction has agreed to pay a $20 million fine. According to the Daily News, the firm was ratted out by a Gambino mobster.

In his weekly column, the Daily News' Bob Kappstatter gives some ink to a campaign aimed at encouraging readers and advertisers to boycott the Riverdale Review, a weekly paper published by Andy Wolf. Tony Cassino, a lawyer and politico who has often come under attack in the Review, insists he's only a bit-player in the effort, and that parents angry at Wolf's coverage of Riverdale schools are the ones driving it. For some background on the campaign, here's a Riverdale Press article. It seems a pretty balanced take on the situation considering the two papers rarely see eye to eye. For more, here's Cassino writing about the campaign on his blog, and here's Wolf hitting back at his "anti-first amendment" critics. 

A Bronx man has been charged with stealing $5 million from Columbia University.

State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. was a no-show at yesterday's special session in Albany.  Espada, who leaves office at end of the year, was the only absent Democrat.  According to The Times, he cited a family emergency. Yesterday, Espada's staffers were mum on his whereabouts.  Gustavo Rivera, the man who will take ownership of his seat in January, was in Albany yesterday, where he voted on the Senate Democratic leadership. 

A 15-year-old Bronx boy drowned on Sunday after drifting into the deep end of a hotel swimming pool in Pennsylvania.

The women's basketball coach at Hostos Community College is hoping that four-year colleges begin to take notice of the team's talented players.

Cathleen Black, the city's new schools chancellor, visited PS 109 in Morris Heights this morning. Black was officially hired yesterday.

A pizza delivery man was struck and killed by a car in Riverdale last night as he crossed the street. The driver remained on the scene and wasn't charged.

The family of a Bronx teen shot in the face by a police officer last year is suing the NYPD. The cop lied about what really happened, and had no reason to shoot, the family contends.

Some Bronx organizations which received tax breaks and bonds from the city's Industrial Development Agency in order to boost the local economy, have actually shed jobs, not created them. 

The Rockefeller Center's annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony will be held tonight.  This year, the tree came from the garden of a Bronx fireman who lives upstate.