Cassino on Term Limits: Fix the Incumbent Loophole

Last Tuesday, New Yorkers voted overwhelmingly to limit city politicians to two consecutive terms in office. 

The vote overturns a controversial law pushed through in 2008 by Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council, which OK'ed three four-year terms for the mayor, council members, borough presidents, and others. (Back then, Annabel Palma was the only Bronx council member who voted against the extension.)

Supporters of the two term-limit, then, are celebrating.  But there's a catch: the new law won't impact incumbents. When the city's Charter Revision Commission approved the term limits ballot question in the summer, members also voted 9-6 in favor of allowing sitting office holders to run for a third term, should they choose to do so.

For commission member Tony Perez Cassino, this, too, needs to be reversed.

According to an article published yesterday on City Hall's  website, Cassino, a lawyer and Riverdale resident, is already laying the groundwork for a ballot question in 2011 that would give voters the option of tying incumbents to two terms. "Stay tuned because we really need to fix this loophole and finish the job we started," Cassino wrote on his blog last week. (Last month, he also opined on this issue in the Daily News and Gotham Gazette.)

Cassino, you may recall, ran - and lost - against Council member Oliver Koppell in last year's Democratic primary.  Koppell had been term-limited, but was allowed to run again following the City Council vote.

6 of 7 Bronx Council Members Vote for For Bloomberg As Term Limits Extenstion Passes

The headline pretty much says it all. The City Council, with strong support from the Bronx delegates, essentially voted to keep Mayor Michael Bloomberg in office for another four years. (Of course, there will be the whole formality of an actual election next year, but let's be honest here.)

Annabel Palma was the one voice of opposition from the borough. James Vacca, who earlier joined Palma as a "no" vote, flipped sometime in the last 48 hours. And fence-sitters Helen Foster and Maria del Carmen Arroyo sided with Bloomberg in the end. Larry Seabrook, Maria Baez, Joel Rivera and Oliver Koppell all voted for the opportunity to keep their jobs for another four years as well.

It will be interesting to see the fallout from this. Bloomberg, who will spend whatever it takes to win re-election, will almost undoubtedly remain in power (though his image as a reformer and non-traditional political outsider will take a big hit). But what about the Council members who sided with him.

Joel Rivera is probably challenge-proof. (Not sure about Vacca, Seabrook, Arroyo and Foster)

But Maria Baez, who's been under fire all year for everything from her terrible attendance record to extravagant cell phone bills, will face one if not two or three tough challengers.

And Oliver Koppell, who didnt' do himself any favors by siding with Jose Rivera (and not the Ben Franklin Club) in the Bronx Democratic Party battle, steps back into a race featuring a handful of well-funded challengers. (Although the number of challengers just dropped by one as Jamin Sewell, his counsel for the past four years and a candidate for his boss' formerly term-limited job, just sent out a press release saying he would drop his campaign in deference to Koppell.)

In any case, stay close because this will take a while to sort out.

Term Limits Live

N. Clark Judd at the Riverdale Press is live-blogging this afternoon's term limits vote.

Latest on Term Limits from the Bromx

Happy Term Limits Vote Day! We'll continue to follow all the action today as it unfolds down at City Hall, but here's a couple of quick updates.

This morning the City Council's Government Operation Committee voted 6-0 to approve Mayor Bloomberg's plan to extend term limits to include a third four-year term. Interestingly, the one Bronx member of the committee, Larry Seabrook, who had indicated earlier that he supported the term limits extension, abstained from voting.

According to the latest tally on NY1, Seabrook is still one of 19 "yes" votes on the proposal. Meanwhile, 22 Council members are against the legislation.

The opponents apparently lost an ally sometime between yesterday and today as east Bronx Council member James Vacca, who came out early against the plan, has flip-flopped and is now sitting on the fence. Annabel Palma is the only Bronx delegate who is now openly opposed to the plan, while term-limited Council members, Joel Rivera, Maria Baez and Oliver Koppell support the extension.

Meanwhile, constituents of Bronx member Maria del Carmen Arroyo, who says she's undecided after initially expressing her support for Bloomberg's plan, want her to make a decision. Helen Foster joins Arroyo and Vacca on the fence.

The full council vote is scheduled for around 2 p.m. today. The legislation needs 26 votes to pass. Stay tuned to see how this plays out and how the Bronx votes.

Term Limits and City Council District 14

The City Council will decide at 2 p.m. tomorrow whether or not to extend term limits, after a last ditch effort to derail the vote failed. The latest count by NY1 has 18 council members favoring an extension, 23 against, and 10 undecided. But supporters and opponents of the bill say Speaker Christine Quinn (who supports an extension) wouldn’t have scheduled the vote unless she was confident of securing a majority.

Here in the west Bronx, a “yes” vote would allow Council member Maria Baez (District 14) to run again, and potentially serve another four years. Baez says she’s in favor of an extension because it would “give an opportunity for members like myself to finish projects."

Predictably, the up-and-comers eyeing her seat (which under current laws would become vacant at the end of 2009) see things differently.

“I don’t think you can change them because one person wants to stay in power,” said Hector Ramirez, in reference to Mayor Bloomberg. “If you want a change you have to go again to the people [for a referendum]. If people say yes, then ok, but not because of one person.”

Ramirez, currently a district leader, is one of three individuals in the 14th District to have filed financial disclosure forms with the city’s Campaign Finance Board - the others being Yudelka Tapia and Haile Rivera. All are of Dominican origin. Never before has there been a Bronx council member from the DR.

Reached by phone earlier this week, Rivera, a community activist who suspended his campaign in June to work as field organizer for the Obama's campaign, argued against a term limit extension, saying the wishes of New Yorkers should be respected. “Twice they voted against extending them,” he said. “These votes should count, otherwise what’s the point in voting?”

Tapia didn’t respond to phone messages seeking her term limit position. But she's probably playing close attention: in many ways, her City Council campaign is further along than the others. She’s the only candidate, for example, with a campaign Web site.

According to her online biography, Tapia's a senior auditor for the city, the president of The Great Alliance Democratic Club, a Bronx State Committee member, and a tenants’ rights advocate, among other things. Politically, she's more experienced than both Rivera and Ramirez, having run for the same City Council seat in 2001, and then the 86th Assembly seat in 2002 (both unsuccessfully).

Unlike her rivals, who are supporting Carl Heastie and the "Rainbow Rebels" in their efforts to de-throne Party Chairman Jose Rivera, Tapia hasn’t taken sides – at least not publicly. One elected official told me she’s fence-sitting. But she's clearly close to the party boss, or has been in the past. In a July press release, sent out in support of Assembly candidate and fellow Dominican Nelson Castro (who defeated the Rebel-backed Mike Soto in September's primary), Tapia praised Rivera, citing his willingness to reach across racial boundaries – the very thing the Rebels say he’s failed to do. Her release said: “Mr. Rivera and other Puerto Rican Democratic Leaders in The Bronx have always acknowledged the contributions and rights of the Dominican community."

Tapia, then, could be in a tough spot. If term limits are extended (as looks likely) and Jose Rivera is ousted (also likely), she could end up facing an incumbent (Baez), as well as a candidate (either Ramirez or Haile Rivera) with backing from the party's new leadership.

Haile Rivera, it should be said, says he’s unsure if he’ll revive his campaign when he returns to the Bronx. “At the moment I’m focusing 110 percent on Obama,” he said. (So things are looking pretty good for Ramirez, as it stands.)

Of course, there’s still a long was to go: the election isn't until November 2009. But tomorrow’s term limit vote, and the outcome of the Bronx leadership battle, will play an important role in deciding District 14’s next council member.

Other term limit news: As we reported earlier, Adolfo Carrion, the borough president and former District 14 council member, has dropped his support for a term-limit extension, after billionaire Ronald Lauder told The Times the extension should only apply to council members currently serving their second term.

Bronx BP No Longer Supports Term Limits Legislation and Other Twists

The term limits debate keeps taking more twists and turns.

Earlier today, three council members announced they would not support the term limits extension, two attempted and failed to block the legislation in court and three others introduced an amendment that would require any term limits extension be put to vote through a public referendum.

Meanwhile, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, a former mayoral hopeful who has announced his intention to run for City Comptroller, released a statement saying he could no longer support the term limits legislation after billionaire Ronald Lauder (the architect of the original term limits referendums in 1993 and 1996) said he would try to block term extensions for Council members.

Carrion's statement:

"I can no longer support term limits legislation in light of Mr. Lauder’s recent statements to the New York Times in which he clearly indicates that he intends to block a permanent third term extension for City Council members. It is irresponsible for government to enter into a deal with a private citizen that would undo the term limit legislation resulting in a two-tier class system of council members. I am, therefore, asking members of the City Council to oppose Intro 845A.

The proposed legislation and the debate surrounding it should not be about the incumbent mayor and cannot be about individual agendas.

The public opposition to the proposal is based on the idea that it is a singularly motivated measure to extend one person's term in office. New York is the greatest city in the world with an enviable talent pool of the best and the brightest. The idea that has been presented by some, that this Mayor is indispensable, is naïve and a distraction from the real debate. As such, I can no longer, in good conscience, support this legislation."

Term Limit "Debate" Breaks Out at Community Board Meeting

Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz started it off at the monthly meeting of Community Board 7 at Scott Tower in Bedford Park by first denouncing Mayor Bloomberg's plan to consolidate (or, as Dinowitz would say, close) senior centers throughout the five boroughs.

Speaking to a crowd of about 50 seniors, board members, meeting regulars, elected officials and politico staffers (a guy from Comptroller and mayoral hopeful Bill Thompson's staff was there, for example), Dinowitz then went on to say he also opposed the mayor's push to extend term limits without a referendum from the people, saying the people voted to enforce term limits twice (in 1993 and 1996) and should have the opportunity to do it again.

As Dinowitz began, Council majority leader Joel Rivera and his older sister Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera walked into the room. Joel, who supports the mayor's effort, took the mic next and offered his rebuttal, calling the term limits struggle "The Battle of the Benefactors," a reference to Bloomberg and fellow billionaire Ronald S. Lauder (the cosmetics heir who bankrolled the first two referendums). He then said he supported the mayor's bill because it prevents "the incapability of the voters to vote for who they want to vote for." He added that if the incumbents aren't doing their job, the voters can always "kick the bums out!"

While Naomi decided not to weigh in on the matter, later in the meeting, Kenny Agosto, the male district leader in Naomi's 80th assembly district (who is on the outs with the Rivera clan after he backed the Bronx Democratic rebellion, led by Dinowitz, among others), made a passionate speech about why the council should vote against the term limits, citing how leaders have been replaced in times of tremendous hardship in the past (like how Bloomberg replaced Giuliani shortly after 9/11).

Joel encouraged people to come down to City Hall for the coming council vote on Thursday, saying it would should be a pretty raucous affair and a chance to see "the democratic process in action."

Bronx News Roundup: Oct. 20

Thanks to Nick for posting about the Tour de Bronx. I think I speak for many participants, when I say that I'm a moving a little slowly today. Congratulations to all who finished whatever route they ended up taking.

Here's the Bronx news floating around the Internet today.

Terms Limits
The big story this week, of course, will be how Bloomberg's bid to extend term limits to include a third term will shake out. The Times' reports that Bloomberg may be pressuring nonprofit groups to support the extension. Meanwhile, Comptroller Bill Thompson, a mayoral hopeful, said the mayor's using strongarm tactics and threats to bully support for the legislation.

In the Bronx, Council members Joel Rivera, Maria Baez and Oliver Koppell support the term limits extension. James Vacca and Annabel Palma oppose the plan. And Helen Foster and Maria Carme del Arroyo haven't made up their minds.

According to NY1, 16 members support the plan, 19 members are opposed and 16 are still undecided.

Following hearings last Thursday and Friday, there is expected to be a Council vote later this week. The outcome will change the trajectory of dozens of 2009 city races.

Crime
A hostage situation ended without violence on Saturday evening in Belmont. Three men were attempting to rob a family by gunpoint, but police were quickly called to the scene and the family was taken hostage. Police eventually negotiated the family's safe release and arrested the three suspects. Here's the NY1 report on the story.

A Bronx doctor was accused of molesting a boy at a health clinic in Washington Heights. Dr. Jaime Luis Cortes was also charged with molesting two boys in the Bronx in 1994, but was acquitted.

Sports
In a match-up of perhaps the two best high school football teams in the Bronx, perennial power Kennedy defeated resurgent Clinton, 14-8. Apparently, Clinton did a lot of trash talking before the big game, only to be put back in their place.

Schools
Students from throughout the Bronx gathered last Friday at Hostos Community College to address school violence and ways to stop or mediated it.

The Streetsblog writes about how PS 76 is turning a biking tragedy into a learning experience. In June, PS 76 fifth-grader Michael Needham died (following 18 days in a coma after being hit by a speeding car outside of the Allerton Library. On Wednesday, PS 76 students will participate in a bike rodeo to promote bike safety.

Bronx News Roundup Oct. 17

Yesterday, an autistic Bronx toddler was left alone on a school bus for six hours, outside P.S. 194 on Waterbury Avenue in the east Bronx. The bus driver and a school matron have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Just last month, another bus driver was suspended without pay for dropping off a five-year-old boy two miles from his Eastchester home.

Rose Donaghey, an 88-year-old waitress who works at the Wicked Wolf on East Tremont Avenue, is in the news again. Earlier this month she was profiled in the Daily News. The "lively octogenarian" has been working as a waitress for the past 50 years.

The trial of a Bronx man accused of murdering six men in the 1990s, begun yesterday in Manhattan's state Supreme Court. Prosecutors say Fausto Gonzalez was a motorcycle obsessed hit-man whose modus operandi was pass his victims on powerful Honda Fireblade, shoot them dead, and then speed off. Gonzalez, who's already serving a life sentence for a separate murder, is pleading not guilty.

The Times has some exhaustive coverage of yesterday's term limits hearing at City Hall. See here and here. They're also live blogging today's hearing. An hour or so ago,
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz alluded to State Senator Efrain Gonazalez's recent primary defeat, in his argument for extending limits. "I’ve always been opposed to laws that enforce term limits. They are profoundly undemocratic," Markowitz said, according to The Times. "We have methods to apply term limits, they’re called elections. Look at the most recent elections: Two veteran state senators were defeated in elections in the Bronx and Brooklyn."

Bronx Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, on the other hand, argued against an extension. “Although I remain personally opposed to term limits, it is my opinion that it would be wrong to circumvent the results of the 1993 and 1996 referendums in which the voters of our great city both affirmed term limits and rejected any attempt to alter them,” Diaz said, according to The Times.

Diaz, it should be said, isn't affected by term limits because he's a state official. But he's running for Bronx borough president and could suddenly face a powerful opponent - Adolfo Carrion - if the current laws are changed. Carrion, the current BP, is a candidate for comptroller. He's yet to say if he'd seek another four years as BP, if allowed to run again. But he does favor a term limit overhaul. A few minutes ago, his office fired off a press release detailing Carrion's testimony at today's hearing. He said: "I support extending term limits, not because Michael Bloomberg wants to run for Mayor again, but because it begins to move us back toward responsible governance and representative democracy, which should continue to be the foundation of American democracy."

UPDATE: I should have mentioned that Diaz has previously said he'll step aside if Carrion does indeed run for a third term. We shall see.

New from the Norwood News

Get all the latest from Norwood, Bedford Park, North Fordham and University Heights in the latest edition of the Norwood News, on the streets and online now. Here's a quick preview of some of the stories we're following:

An in-depth look into how the local groups and activists might be able to extract further community benefits from the coming renovation of the Kingsbridge Armory, which, at this point, is looking mostly like a giant shopping mall. Community Benefits Agreements have ensured substantial and enforceable benefits packages in places like California, but because of resistance by the Bloomberg administration, those types of agreements have been slow to catch on in New York City.

Also, a look at the first official public hearing about the Armory project. The Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA), which is seeking a Community Benefits Agreement with the project's developers (The Related Companies), showed up in force to voice it's concerns and wishes for the project.

Three local City Council members -- Joel Rivera, Maria Baez and Oliver Koppell -- support the mayor's plan to extend term limits. Like Bloomberg, all three face a job change or unemployment after next year. The rest of the council is split or undecided.

The warring factions inside the Bronx Democratic Party will battle it out in court, Oct. 27. Why the outcome and Bronx politics in general should matter to everyone who lives here.

A new program in University Heights is fusing basketball and academics to send kids to college and getting fantastic results.

Allen Cleaners, a "cleaner's cleaner" in Bedford Park, just celebrated its 60th year in business.

Plus, check out our Out & About arts and entertainment calendar and our Neighborhood Notes guide to local events, programs and services, which is expanded online.

Foster Quiet on Term-Limits Issue

Council member Helen Foster is known for voicing her opinion - even when it makes her unpopular with her Bronx colleagues. But she's been oddly silent on the term-limits issue. Today, NY1 spoke to several of her constituents. One said: "She has to make up her mind."

Under current laws, Foster will be forced to step aside at the end of next year. Previously, she's expressed an interest in running for borough president.

Bronx News Roundup Oct. 14

According to NY1, five of the Bronx's eight council members support Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plans to extend term limits. Only Annabel Palma and Jimmy Vacca, neither of whom are term limited, are against it. Helen Foster is undecided. Across the city, 15 council members support the extension, 19 oppose it, and 17 say they haven't made up their mind. All but one of those supporting the overhaul are term-limited. Funny that. A vote is expected in the next two weeks, but the Justice Department will have the final say.

Davidson Community Center on Burnside Avenue is celebrating its 40th birthday. More here in October's Mount Hope Monitor.

Did Nelson Castro lie under oath? Richard Soto, whose brother Mike lost to Castro in September's primary, says he did. Now Soto's filed a complaint with the Bronx DA, according to Bob Kappstatter in the Daily News. This is more bad news for Jose Rivera, the embattled party chairman. Castro, who running for Assembly in the 86th District, was the only primary candidate Rivera supported who won.

Despite being 72, it appears that Rivera still packs a punch - albeit a soft one. Kappstatter says Rivera knocked him with an "intimidating knuckle tap to our jaw" for writing negatively about him and his supporters. It's not the first time Kappstatter's got on the wrong side of a Bronx pol. Earlier this year, Assemblyman State Senator Ruben Diaz accused him of spreading lies and rumors. But Diaz didn't resort to fisticuffs. Instead the good reverend promised to pray for him.

The Seattle Post Intelligencer is asking readers whether schools and politics mix. Last week, the UFT filed a lawsuit accusing the principal of C.S. 134 in Morrisania of forcing a teacher to remove a pro-Obama poster from the school's union bulletin board.

Violent crime is on the rise, says the Daily News. Here in the west Bronx, the 44th Precinct has seen a huge increase. Murders and rapes are up nearly 50 percent on last year's figures. In the Five-Two and Four-Six there's better news, with most violent crime categories down.

Several Bronx schools are helping to raise awareness about the dangers of breast cancer.

Three abandoned lots in Melrose are being redeveloped.

Baez in Favor of Extending Term Limits

Council member Maria Baez tells us she's in favor of extending term limits, and that she'd like to serve another four years.

"I’m definitely in support of it," she said of Mayor Bloomberg's plan, in a phone interview on Friday. “It would give an opportunity for members like myself to finish projects."

For Baez, these projects include the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in University Heights, and Mount Hope Housing Company’s new community center - efforts she helped fund. (October's Mount Hope Monitor, published this Wednesday, will have updates on both these projects.)

Baez's stance on the term limits issue mirrors that of most council members. Out of 37 members interviewed by the NYT, 28 said they were in favor of lifting them. Perhaps this isn't surprising. After all, what's not to like about a part-time job that pays more than $100,000 a year? But even if Baez is allowed to run again, another term isn't a formality. She'll likely face stiff competition - especially if her mentor, Party Chairman Jose Rivera, is pushed out in the coming weeks.

Times: Bloomberg to Seek Third Term

The Times just put up a story on it Web site that reports that Mayor Bloomberg will push a change in the term limits law so that he can seek a third term.

Here's an editorial about the issue from the Norwood News.

Bronx Councilman Koppell Pushes Term Limits Extension

The discussion about extending term limits is no longer abstract.
Councilman Oliver Koppell has requested that legislation be drafted to extend term limits from two terms to three.

Four More Years! Koppell Likes the Idea.

Oliver Koppell, one of 35 Council members who will be otherwise employed on Jan. 1, 2010 thanks to term limits, brushed off rumors that he’s going to introduce a bill to extend term limits, according to the Daily News. The law now restricts citywide elected officials, borough presidents and Council members to two four-year terms. But lately there’s been talk, mostly fueled by some New Yorkers’ desire to see Mayor Bloomberg continue in office, about efforts to extend the limits by one more four-year term.

Koppell told the Daily News that he did request that the Council bill-drafting division come up with a bill extending term limits two years ago but that it never went anywhere. But it’s clear that Koppell is a supporter of adding on another term and he thinks voters would go for it if they knew it meant four more years of Bloomberg.

"He's quite popular, and I think people should have the chance to vote for him," Koppell said.

(Somehow, we have the feeling that Anthony Wiener, Christine Quinn and Bill Thompson would beg to differ.)

Extending term limits would upend what is already proving to be a lively race to replace Koppell (not to mention similar efforts in 34 other Council districts). There are now five candidates (including Koppell staffer Jamin Sewell) all from Riverdale, in the mix, and there may be more. They’ve already held fundraisers, launched Web sites, and hit the streets.

We saw a crew of Ari Hoffnung supporters outside the C-Town on Sedgwick Avenue last week. They were wearing orange t-shirts emblazoned with the question, “Got Parking?” and asking passersby to sign a petition calling on Mayor Bloomberg to reduce the number of alternate-side parking days.

All this campaign activity is a year out from next year’s election.

But it will be for naught if the Council succeeds in extending term limits.

Stay tuned.

It's Official -- Efforts to Extend Term Limits are Dead

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced today that the Council is abandoning all efforts to extend or repeal term limits, which currently limits all New York City elected officials -- Council member, public advocate, comptroller, borough presidents and mayor -- to two 4-year terms. (It does not apply to the city's representatives to the state legislature or officials elected statewide, like the governor, the attorney general and the comptroller).

Here's Quinn's full statement:

After careful consideration and discussions with my colleagues in the Council, I have decided not to pursue a change in New York City's term limit law. I will neither support legislation nor will I seek or support a new referendum eliminating or altering term limits.

Over the last two years, the City Council has pursued an agenda of reform and democratization. We have strengthened our lobbying and campaign finance laws, increased transparency in the budget process and improved our constituent services by implementing CouncilStat. I believe that overruling the will of New Yorkers - who have voted twice in favor of term limits - would be anti-democratic and anti-reform.

While our City is certainly doing well, we still face many challenges. On education, jobs, housing and health care, working New Yorkers need our help. That means the Council and the Administration must focus our attention on these critical issues and not be distracted by a political debate over term limits - a matter that has already been settled by the voters.

I look forward to working with my colleagues over the next two years to make New York and an even greater place to live.

Bronx News Roundup for Nov. 28

The Bronx Criminal Courthouse, plagued by two years of delays and millions of dollars in cost overruns, is finally ready to open, according to the State Dormitory Authority.

Looks like there won’t be an effort to repeal or extend term limits.

Coca Cola rolls a fleet of hybrid electric trucks out of its Bronx Service Center.

Tenants protest Maria Baez's sponsorship of a tenant harassment law they say gives ammunition to landlords but prevents tenants from fighting back. Bronx Council member and majority leader Joel Rivera supports it, too. But Council Speaker Christine Quinn and the rest of the Bronx delegation support an alternate measure that puts more teeth in tenant protections.
This WNYC report says landlords fear frivolous claims will clog the court system.

And the Village Voice looks into $30,000 in campaign contributions to Adolfo Carrion by an elevator company that just got a $5 million windfall from the city to purchase air rights over its property to make way for a pedestrian bridge to the new Yankee Stadium.

Quinn's Thinking on Term Limits

All the discussion on this blog and elsewhere about candidates seeking City Council seats in 2009 depends almost entirely on the assumption that term limits will kick in then. That's a fair assumption, since that's the law. But when she ran for Council speaker, Christine Quinn indicated that she wanted to extend term limits to three 4-year terms instead of two. I've been wondering lately what became of all this. I haven't heard anything. Until now. Liz Benjamin of the Daily Politicker brings us an update.

News Roundup for June 20

Bob Kappstatter at the Daily News takes a look at the political aspirations of term limited Council members, who are rumored to be eyeing runs for State Assembly and/or Borough President. The termed-out Bronx pols are: Helen Foster, Larry Seabrook, Oliver Koppell, Maria Baez and Joel Rivera.

More trouble for the clerk's office at the Bronx Supreme Court - two couples were told they arrived too late to be married yesterday, even though they were there before the 4 p.m. closing time, the New York Post reports.

The Village Voice has a story on the challenges of being gay or lesbian in the Bronx, where the community just held a Bronx Pride celebration for only the second time in seven years.