Weather: Light rain is expected here in the Bronx sometime after noon, with temperatures dropping into the 40s as night falls on our lovely borough.
To the news!
Story of the Day: Kazimiroff Boulevard Re-Renamed
It is said that Dr. Theodore L. Kazimiroff, a jack of many trades (dentist, naturalist, Indiana Jones wannabe) and the Bronx's first historian, once removed a tooth from a lion's mouth in the Bronx Zoo. He had become such a legendary borough figure that, just a year after his death in 1980, a section of the winding road that runs from East Fordham Road to Allerton Avenue and cuts between the New York Botanical Garden and Fordham University was remaned Dr. Theodore L. Kazimiroff Boulevard.
For years, the Garden and Fordham complained that the new street name confused drivers who wanted access to its institutions. (Current Bronx historian Lloyd Ultan was skeptical about this claim). In any case, they finally got their way Monday when Mayor Bloomberg signed into law a bill, sponsored by Bronx City Councilman Oliver Koppell, renaming the street Southern Boulevard, as it was known before it took on Kazimiroff as its namesake. Kazimiroff's widow, Emilia, who still lives close to her husband's former street, wasn't happy about the change, which is apparently such a rarity that Henry J. Stern, a former parks commissioner who reportedly knows everything about New York City ("a living compendium of New York trivia"), couldn't remember it ever happening before. "It is sort of a slap in the face," she told the Times. Dr. Theodore L. Kazimiroff will remain the unofficial and honorary name of that stretch of Southern Boulevard.
Quick Hits:
Speaking of street renaming, honorary or otherwise, Community Board 3 is considering a proposal to rename Jennings Street, between Prospect and Union avenues, after The Chords, a Bronx rhythm and blues band that crossed over into pop stardom with their hit, "Sh-Boom," which ruled the summer of 1954. Here's The Chords singing their hit in 1980:
To the chagrin of many Bronx artists, Latin jazz is being removed as a Grammy category.
Some food activists, including Karen Washington of the Bronx group La Familia Verde, say the city needs to do more to get Farmer's Markets set up in poorer areas of the city.
Community Board 7 -- Norwood, Bedford Park, North Fordham and University Heights -- has more buildings with rat problems, 14% of them, than any other board in the borough. CB6 is second.
The Capitol profiles Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a former Bronx state senator.
East Bronx Councilman James Vacca is starting to feel some heat for not supporting a living wage bill that the rest of the Bronx delegation has signed on to.[Link fixed]
Montefiore Medical Center is working to teach its patients how to cook colon-healthy meals to help them prevent colon cancer. Speaking of cancer, the New York area is reportedly very aggressive in its end-of-life cancer care as there are financial incentives to keeping patients out of hospices. But Montefiore's chief medical officer, Dr. Gary Kalkut, says this trend has nothing to do with federal financing.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Tuesday, April 12
Monday, April 11, 2011
Vacca and Palma Sponsor Blizzard Bill
It's hard to think about snow right now, with the weather outside hitting a sunny 73 and the Mister Softee trucks finally making their rounds through the neighborhood, but try to remember that post-Christmas blizzard that dumped two feet of snow on the city, leaving a string of stranded MTA buses--and perturbed residents--in its unplowed wake.
To avoid another snow fiasco like that one, Bronx City Council Members James Vacca and Annabel Palma sponsored a bill, passed last week, that requires the Department of Sanitation to prepare and publish snow-removal plans each winter for all five boroughs.
"Last December’s blizzard revealed how woefully unprepared the City was to deal with these kinds of major storms," Palma said in a press release.
The required plans must include a list of primary, secondary and tertiary streets (the terms the Sanitation Department used to classify blocks in order of plowing-importance) to be published online, along with criteria for each ranking.
"During the December blizzard, we heard a lot of talk about tertiary streets and how they were the lowest priority for snowplows. Well, tertiary streets are where taxpayers like you and I live, and many of us didn’t see plows until days after the blizzard was over," Vacca said.
"That’s unacceptable. This bill will put the City’s feet to the fire so that they are forced not only to have a plan but also to explain why they chose to have the plan they chose to have."
During this winter's blizzard, some outer borough streets and neighborhoods went unplowed and snowed-in for several days, to the frustration of those who lived there.
The new law also requires the Sanitation Department to provide detailed plans for removing snow from bus stops, an inventory of snow management equipment and personnel by community district, and contact information for personnel that residents and elected officials can call on.
Bronx Weekend News Roundup, Monday, April 11
Weather: Dense fog in the Bronx today will give way to a partially cloudy, partially sunny afternoon with highs in the low 70s. Chance of thunderstorms later tonight.
Story of the Day: Bronx's MS 223 Embodies Public School Challenges
Spent a good chunk of this morning reading Jonathan Mahler's extensive NY Times Magazine piece about MS 223, a South Bronx school opened during the early days of former Chancellor Joel Klein's reform movement. Through his profile of 223 and its energetic and highly-optimistic principal, Ramon Gonzalez, Mahler, who wrote the fabulously entertaining "The Bronx is Burning," deftly captures the challenges of not only running, but improving, public schools in the Bronx (and much of NYC, for that matter). If you don't have time to read the piece (as I mentioned, it's "extensive," to the tune of 20 printed out pages), I'll summarize the key take away points.
--The charter school paradox: Gonzalez uses many ideas and strategies promoted by charters schools. MS 223 starts school early and entices kids to stay late. Gonzalez hires young, bright, inexperienced and tireless teachers from groups like Teach for America and NYC Teaching Fellows. He partners with nonprofits and uses resources to raise funds for 223. He instituted a dress code. At the same time, charter schools are plucking many of the most promising local students -- whose parents want all the structure and personal attention charters have to offer. Plus, Gonzalez doesn't have the flexibility of a charter because he's more bound to union regulations. Now, he's fighting to keep a charter school out of his own building.
--MS 223 is a good example of the city's controversial strategy of shutting down schools and starting over. Gonzalez's school undoubtedly represents a large improvement over the middle school it replaced. Math and reading scores have spiked exponentially.
--On the other hand, MS 223 is also taking on students dispersed when the city shuts down other low-performing schools. As Mahler puts it: "the endless flow of underperforming students drags down test scores, demoralizes teachers and makes the already daunting challenges of transforming 223 into a successful school, not not just a relatively successful one, that much more difficult."
--The most overwhelming challenge at schools like MS 223 remains poverty and lack of parental involvement.
Quick Hits:
A look at the Bronx Zoo's celebrity cobra, which was recently named "Mia," following an online contest to brand the former escapee:
A look at MTV's new upcoming reality show, "Son of a Gun," which will follow the life and career of Bronx rapper Corey Gunz.
During the rough winter months, a stretch of two- and three-story homes in the Bronx -- on Freeman Street, between Union and Prospect avenues -- could very well have been the Most Neglected Block in New York City.
A grand jury is looking into a police ticket-fixing scheme that may have involved some 40 Bronx cops.
The animators for the new movie "Rio," went to the Bronx Zoo for inspiration.
A Bronx Science senior contemplates a buffet of Ivy League college choices while trying to avoid "hubris."
A 16-year-old Bronx boy was arrested and charged with murder following last Thursday's triple shooting near the corner of Fordham Road and University Avenue.
The family of a Bronx man who died of heat stroke while incarcerated at a boot-camp-style detention center is suing the state for $18 million, saying missteps and abuses led to his death.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
BronxTalk welcomes the baseball season
This Monday night BronxTalk will usher in the baseball season with an interview with one of baseball's official scorers who is also the author of a new book about the Mets. Beginning at 9:00pm., host Gary Axelbank will talk with Bronxite Howie Karpin about 162-0, Imagine a Mets Perfect Season, the Yankees, and how the Divisions stack up for 2011. Mr. Karpin will also share some behind-the-scenes stories about making the scoring decisions that affect the recorded history of America's pastime. It's a show no baseball fan, especially one from the Bronx, will want to miss.
Here's a link to last week's show with a Fordham University seismic expert about the earthquakes in Japan and subsequent tsunami, fault lines in the Bronx and the NY metro area, the potential for disaster at Indian Point, and more.
BronxTalk - April 4, 2011
One of New York City's longest running TV talk shows now in its 17th year, BronxTalk is seen each Monday night at 9:00pm on Bronxnet's Cablevision channel 67. It's also on Verizon Fios channel 33 and streamed live at www.bronxnet.org. Hosted by Gary Axelbank and produced by Jane Folloro, BronxTalk is repeated each day at 9:30am, 3:30pm, and 9:00pm. Archives are available here: BronxTalk archives
Friday, April 8, 2011
Webster Rezoning Okayed, Setting Up Makeover
(Editor's Note: this article was first published in the Norwood News, out now)
A plan to rezone Webster Avenue between East Gun Hill and Fordham roads was officially approved by the City Council at the end of March, the culmination of years of planning by local leaders and elected officials to help transform the 1.75-mile corridor.
“We worked very diligently over a five-year period to craft this proposal,” said Community Board 7 member Ozzie Brown, who said the plan lays the groundwork for a more vibrant and pedestrian-friendly Webster Avenue.
“We were able to set the context for what might happen in this region for the next 10, 15 years or so,” Brown said.
Cupcakes for a Cause
Frustration Bubbles Over at Reservoir Access Meeting
(Editor's Note: this article was first published in the latest edition of the Norwood News, on the streets and online now.)
By JORDAN MOSS
After a long-delayed report that essentially denies the community greater access to the Jerome Park Reservoir was issued last week, activists and officials are feeling powerless, particularly because a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) official assigned to report to the community on its findings refused to answer any questions.
The Facility Monitoring Committee (FMC), an advisory body that meets monthly at the DEP’s community office on Jerome Avenue to keep tabs on the Croton water filtration plant in Van Cortlandt Park and related projects, includes the chairs of the three surrounding community boards, Councilman Oliver Koppell, and representatives of the Parks Department and the borough president’s office.
But despite all that civic firepower, Fr. Richard Gorman, the committee chair, says it has “no juice” in getting the answers it needs. He argued for a higher-level hearing, organized by the borough president’s office.
The last straws appear to be the continued lack of progress in hiring Bronxites to work on the project and the report which, citing security concerns, essentially closes the door on community hopes to have greater access to the path inside the two chain-link fences that ring the reservoir.
Discovery High School Scores Wellness Award
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| Discovery High School students and science teacher Steve Ritz (right) serve home-grown vegetables at a luncheon last spring. (Photo by G. Ciliberto) |
Students at Discovery have spent the past several years, under the guidance of gardening guru and science teacher Steve Ritz, cultivating their own on-premise organic herb and vegetable gardens. The students have hosted green cafeteria luncheons and farmer's markets and donated their homegrown produce to local soup kitchens.
Last fall, the group built garden installations---complete with their own irrigation systems--for the NBC Experience Store, on 49th Street in Manhattan.
According to a press release, the NYC Strategic Alliance for Health chose Discovery "because it offers schools an innovative and successful model for breaking the cycle of poor eating habits by providing instant access to healthy produce."
An awards ceremony will be hosted by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. on Tuesday April 12, at the Main Rotunda of Bronx Borough Hall starting at 11 a.m.
Bronx Living Wage Campaign Heats Up
Text and Videos By JORDAN MOSS
Untitled from Bronx News Network on Vimeo.
The campaign that would require developers of retail projects receiving taxpayer subsidies to pay a living wage -- $10 with benefits and $11.50 without -- is heating up as advocates press for an April City Council hearing. Council Speaker Christine Quinn has said she would allow hearings on the bill, which has 29 supporters, including every Bronx member of the City Council except for James Vacca of the east Bronx. Vacca was very much on the minds and tongues of numerous speakers at a Living Wage NYC rally last week at the Bronx Pentecostal Deliverance Center on the anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death.
The legislation was introduced by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., (see the video above) who led the effort to defeat the city’s effort to build a mall at the Armory, mainly because the developer would not guarantee that retail workers be paid a living wage. Council Members Oliver Koppell (speaking in the video below) and Annabel Palma are leading the charge in the Council.
Oliver Koppell Speaks At Living Wage Rally from Bronx News Network on Vimeo.
Mayor Bloomberg is on record opposing the bill, but with five more backers, the Council would have enough votes to override his veto.
Bronx News Roundup, April 8
Weather: Cloudy with a high of 54, and a slight chance of rain this afternoon.
Story of the Day: Black Steps Down
As we mentioned yesterday, Cathleen Black, the former magazine executive and controversial Schools Chancellor, stepped down from the post yesterday after only three months on the job. Black was appointed by Mayor Bloomberg last fall, a move that drew criticism across the board (and from a number of Bronx electeds) because of Black's scant education experience.
Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., sent out a press release yesterday in response to Black's announcement saying he "wishes her well" and praising her replacement, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott. Here's some background on the new Chancellor.
Quick Hits:
The beloved Bronx Zoo cobra that went missing for a week last month has now officially been named. More than 60,000 people voted in the name-that-cobra contest that ended with the clever moniker "Mia." Cute.
An aide at M.S. 219 in Morrisania was arrested yesterday for allegedly showing pornographic photos on his cell phone to a 15-year-old female student.
A group of housing advocates, tenants and elected officials are calling for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to take action against New York Community Bank, which owns the mortgages on 34 dilapidated apartment buildings in the Bronx that are in foreclosure. (See more here.)
Residents in Co-op City are sounding off over a loud hissing noise made by a nearby power plant.
Two men were killed and a third was injured last night during a shootout near Devoe Park. No arrests have been made yet.
Mount Eden residents are shaken after a deadly shooting on Monday. Derick Cochran, 37, was shot and killed during a basketball game on the courts of the Highbridge Community Life Center.
A group of grandparents are holding bake sales to raise money for programs at the Grandparent Family Apartments, in Morrisania, which are being threatened by state budget cuts.
A former south Bronx homicide detective has penned a novel inspired by his experiences covering the beat.
A violent attack that took place last month at a bodega in Mott Haven was caught on surveillance tape. Police released the video this week in attempt to locate the assailant pictured. See below.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Black Out as Schools Chancellor
Cahtleen Black, Mayor Bloomberg's highly-controversial choice to be the city's Schools Chancellor, will step down today, the Times reports.
The appointment of Black, a former magazine executive, was widely criticized by school advocates and several Bronx elected officials.
Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott will take her place.
Bronx News Roundup, Thursday, April 7
Weather: Cloudy, maybe a little damp, high of 52.
To the news!
Story of the Day: Jose Rivera Stirring Up Trouble
Bronx political battle ax and assemblyman, Jose Rivera, didn't let Gov. Andrew Cuomo's austere budget pass quietly. Last weekend, during the Puerto Rican/Hispanic caucus's Somos El Futuro conference in Albany, Rivera, the former Bronx Democratic party boss, ripped Cuomo for criticizing his own party during budget negotiations. For the most part, Bronx Dems have been quiet about expressing their problems with the budget, which included deep cuts to education, health care and social services (and did not include strengthened rent laws or an extension of the so-called "Millionaire's Tax," which may have staved off some of these cuts). Not Rivera. He seemed energized by the fight, as you can see in the video he recently posted of the (ultimately ineffective) rallies held in Albany leading up to the budget deal.
Quick Hits:
The sister of late Bronx rapper Big Punisher -- aka Big Pun, aka Christopher Rios -- is lobbying to have the corner of E.163rd Street and Rogers Place in Longwood renamed Big Pun Place. The Grammy-nominated Big Pun died of a heart attack in 2000, with reports saying he weighed nearly 700 pounds at the time of his death. An earlier effort to rename a street after him was rejected by the city, which claimed his lyrics were too "violent and racy," the Daily News reports.
Yesterday, Dr. Nirav Shah, the state's relatively new health commissioner, made a trip to a new Bronx health clinic at El Nuevo San Juan Health Center. He's promoting the use of one-stop-shopping health services provided by these type of health clinics, which he says will streamline care.
Two Bronx custodians have been accused of bilking the city for some $500,000 after allegedly creating a fake-job scheme at two Bronx high schools.
Police are looking for three women they have on tape delivering a nasty beat down to another woman in Mott Haven.
A Bronx woman say she's certain Terry King, who was arrested and charged with two rapes committed a decade apart, is the man who raped her in Melrose in 1998.
The Bronx Zoo is scheduled to announce the name of its celebrity Egyptian cobra today.
