Bronx News Roundup, March 8

It's a clear and beautiful morning in the Bronx today, with highs reaching into the mid-40s this afternoon. On to our news roundup:

Story of the day: 

Reporter David Greene snapped this photo from the scene of a fire on the Grand Concourse yesterday, when firefighters rescued 14 pit bulls from a blazing sixth-floor apartment in a building in Fordham Heights. All of the dogs, including one puppy and four newborns, were safe and one was treated for a minor injury. No people where injured. We'll have more photos and the rest of Greene's account shortly.

Stand-up comedian and Bronx native Mike DeStefano, who spun his troubled childhood and recovery from heroin addiction into his comedic routines, died yesterday. His lawyer told the New York Times that DeStefano was in his 40s, but could not confirm an exact age or cause of death. 

A Bronx woman was struck and killed by a car yesterday after stepping into a lane of traffic on a Westchester road to avoid a puddle caused by recent flooding, police said. Her companion was also injured.

A man accused of beating a 25-year-old Bronx woman into a coma over a parking space apologized outside of a Manhattan court yesterday, and said the injured woman, Lana Rosas, was the one who hit him first.

The cabdriver accused of mowing down two men in Manhattan after refusing to drive them to the Bronx has a history of confrontations with passengers, according to the Daily News. He was fined and suspended by the Taxi and Limosine Commission last year after supposedly abusing another rider.

New York City is poised to become the most gridlocked city in the country, according to a new report, which sites a stretch of the Cross Bronx Expressway as the worst traffic spot. 

A Bronx high school and a middle school, which have yet to be named publicly, will soon be part of the DOE's plan to test a new "turnaround" tactic. Instead of closing down the low-performing schools, as it has done in the past, the city will try replacing the principal and half of the teachers at the sites in hopes of improving them.

Bronx Activists Arrested at DOE Protest

Leaders from Sistas & Brothas United, the youth organizing arm of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, were among those arrested Monday night during a protest against the Department of Education's controversial plans to close 25 public schools across the city.

Sistas & Brothas United helped organize the press conference and rally, outside of DOE headquarters on Chambers Street in downtown Manhattan. Director Maria Fernandez and four other leaders from the group were among those arrested for making a human chain to block the sidewalk outside the DOE's building, in what Fernandez described as an act of "civil disobedience."

"You shut our schools down, we shut your streets down," Fernandez said. "It was 23 of us lined up on Chambers Street. We linked arms, and we had 300 students, parents and allies chanting and cheering us on."

NYPD officers read them their rights, she said, then brought the group to a nearby police precinct for about an hour. Also arrested were City Council Members Jumaane Williams and Charles Barron, of Brooklyn. Fernandez said she received a citation to appear in court in April.

The DOE's Panel for Educational Policy voted last night to shut down 10 schools for poor performance, including four in the Bronx: School for Community Research and Learning, Urban Assembly Academy for History and Citizenship for Young Men, New Day Academy and Monroe Academy for Business/Law High School.

The panel will hold another hearing tomorrow to decide the fates of another batch of schools, including the Bronx's John F. Kennedy High School, Christopher Columbus High School, Global Enterprise High School, P.S.102 and Performance Conservatory High School.

Bronx Weekend News Roundup, Dec. 27

We hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday weekend, and that you're all holding up post-blizzard!

It's 24 degrees and windy in the Bronx right now. Bedford Park's been hit with 22 inches of snowfall, as of this morning. The MTA is warning travelers to stay home if they can, as there are delays or suspensions on many subway lines and buses--you can check for service updates here.

On to some Bronx headlines:

A 17-year-old boy was shot to death early Sunday morning at the West Farms Square/E. Tremont Ave. subway station. Lewis Hawkins, of Harlem, was shot in the chest on the elevated platform after exiting a Manhattan-bound No. 2 train. Over a dozen people who were at the scene have been questioned by police so far, though no one has been charged.

On Friday, an ex-con from the Bronx held a family in Albany hostage for 15 hours before police shot him in the chest and took him into custody. Isaac Peterson, 38, faces charges of kidnapping, robbery, burglary and weapon possession.

Newly arrived immigrant and transfer students are still being directed to enroll at high schools which the city has deemed "failing," including Columbus High in the Bronx, despite the fact that the schools are likely to be shut down next year.

A Bronx girl who has struggled through the foster care system is featured in the New York Times as part of the newspaper's Neediest Cases Fund.

The body of a 28-year-old Bronx woman was found inside a suitcase in Harlem last week. Police have identified the woman as Betty Williams, who lived on the Cross Bronx Expressway.

A viewing service is being held in Soundview today for Angel Roldan, the city sanitation worker who was struck by a car and killed in Castle Hill last week.

Jose Pagan, a Bronx resident who has served two tours of duty in Iraq, found himself homeless this year just three days after leaving the military. This ABC News report says that Pagan is one of thousands of service members returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan who end up on the streets. Video at the link.

A Bronx family who lost their home to a fire this summer were one of many to receive holiday gifts from  NY Post readers who donated to Toys for Tots.

Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, visited the soup kitchen at Our Lady of Refuge School on Christmas day.

The Daily News pays homage to Ralph Farrait, or "Pastor Ralph," as he was known on the Bronx boxing scene. The legendary Golden Gloves trainer passed away earlier this month; he's been laid to rest at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Iran Barkley, a former boxing champion who was homeless in the Bronx this year, is getting back on his feet. Readers of the NY Post, which chronicled Barkley's hardships in a series of articles last month, helped land the retired boxer a home in Hunts Point and a number of prospective jobs.

A rundown building in Morrisania has become an irksome eyesore to neighbors.

A number of bus drivers in the Bronx purposefully slowed down service on Friday, in retaliation for the MTA's decision to cut a contract with a local Transport Workers Union.

South Bronx nonprofit Per Scholas refurbishes donated computers and gives them to low-income families for free or at discount.

Bronx News Roundup, Dec. 9

Fordham University's basketball team beat out Manhattan College last night in the "Battle of the Bronx."

As BxNN reporter James Fergusson pointed out yesterday, Sen. Pedro Espada told supporters via Facebook in September that he'll "continue being a senator through December 31st," though he's been MIA in Albany the past few weeks (see here and here.)

A woman was convicted yesterday for killing a 91-year-old woman during a robbery in the Bronx in 2003. Nadine Panton, 34, also of the Bronx, faces 25 years to life in prison in a sentencing later this month.

A 48-year-old Bronx man was arrested and charged with carjacking and stealing $100,000 worth of merchandise from a jewelry store in Pelham Manor.

The city is trying to shut down a crackhouse on Hunts Point Avenue by suing under the public nuisance law. Neighbors and police say the building, near the Bruckner Expressway in Hunts Point, has been a problem drug spot for years.

Village Voice reporter Elizabeth Dwoskin eloquently recalls the worst bathroom she's ever seen in her years on the housing beat--one in a neglected apartment building on Lorillard Place.

More outrage over the DOE's plans to close 10 Bronx schools next fall.

Bronx residents, and those across the city, are having a cold winter--over the past two months there have been 71,000 complaint calls to 311 from tenants who have no heat in their buildings.

A Bronx driver accused of killing a pregnant woman when he lost control of his van in Manhattan last year will face jail time.

The Riverdale Press takes a closer look at Londell Byrd, the 18-year-old Riverdale teen who was shot and killed in Soundview this past weekend. Byrd was "well-liked" in the community and was going to Pace University in the fall.

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.

Bronx Catholic Schools Struggle with Enrollment, Fight Closures

Last month, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York announced that it would stop providing subsidies for 32 Catholic schools in the state--six in the Bronx--in an effort to ease ongoing budget problems, cuts that would essentially mean closure for most of the schools named.

The schools, chosen for their low enrollment numbers, have until the end of the month to appeal the decision by coming up with a plan to prove their financial viability before a final decision is made in January.

"The initial reaction was very sad, everyone was very upset and teary eyed. But the mood is kind of transitioning," said Michael Brady, a board member at St. Augustine's School in Morrisania, which currently has 170 students, and will present its proposal to the archdiocese today.

"We're hopeful and prayerful, and willing to put up the good fight. We know we serve a good purpose here," Brady said.