Public hearing sparks zoning debate

A zoning war broke out last night at a public hearing over a medical center's plans to build a 13-story mixed use building in Belmont.

Medalliance medical center is hoping to change zoning in the area, which currently allows buildings of up to four-stories high, to expand its location at 625 East Fordham Road.

Owner Sean Daneshvar is already constructing a three-story expansion to the center’s current building, but wants to add an additional 10-stories of residential apartments above it.

Residents who expressed hesitation about the rezoning clashed with supporters of Medalliance, who came out in droves, chanting and waving signs that read “Better for the Bronx,” and “More Jobs, More Health.”

Supporters of Medalliance rallied at a Feb. 3 public hearing in favor of rezoning.

Theresa Kemp-Castro, a patient at Medalliance for the past four years, came to show her support, crediting the doctors and nurses at the clinic with saving her life after an accident that left her partially paralyzed.

“I’m where I am today because of Medalliance,” she said, adding that an expansion of the center would increase the number of health services available to the community. “There are a lot of elderly and sick people nearby that need a clinic. It would mean a lot.”

Bloomy in the Bronx Promoting "Drunk Guns" Law

The mayor, along with Bronx State Senator Jeff Klein, held a press conference in Morris Park this morning to announced the introduction of a state law that would make it illegal to carry guns while drunk.

The "drunk guns" law would work much like the state's drunk driving laws, which make it illegal to drive a vehicle if your blood-alcohol level is above .08 percent. A violation would be considered a class-A misdemeanor offense and punishments could include a year in jail and/or a $10,000 fine. It could also lead to the revocation of gun licenses.

“Guns and alcohol are a deadly mix,” said Senator Klein, in a statement sent out after the announcement. “The time is now for us to get serious about penalties for those who chose to carry a gun while intoxicated.”

“If you are too intoxicated to drive a car, you should not be carrying a gun,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The law would apply the same standards and tests that are now used to prevent and punish driving while intoxicated. And that’s only right. I’m hopeful that our legislators and Governor Paterson will make New York the 21st state to enact such a life-saving, common-sense law.”

The law would not punish those who get drunk and carry their guns around their own home.

Murder on DeKalb Ave. (Updated)

A man identified as Victor Anderson, 26, of Brooklyn, was murdered early last Saturday morning on Dekalb Avenue, just north of Gun Hill Road in the Norwood section of the Bronx.

Police say they responded to reports of a man shot in front of 3535 DeKalb Ave. at 12:55 a.m. They found Anderson with a gun shot wound to the head. He was transported to North Central Bronx Hospital just two blocks away, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Neighbors say police were knocking on doors at near-by apartment buildings until at least 2:30 a.m., but police say they have no suspects at this time and that the investigation is ongoing.

For years, the stretch of DeKalb Avenue, north of Gun Hill Road, has been a hotbed for the drug trade. Two years ago, federal authorities took down an extensive network of drug traffickers and associated gang members several blocks north of where the shooting took place.

It was the first murder in the 52nd Precinct in months, but the second shooting incident in the last two weeks.

We first published this on the Norwood News' Facebook page, which you can access by going to facebook.com and searching for "Norwood News."

Update: Deputy Inspector John D'Adamo, the commanding officer of the 52nd Precinct, says his investigators are actively pursuing the case and tracking down some promising leads. He also said that despite the area's reputation for drug activity, the murder "is possibly not narcotics related." It is the first murder in the precinct since D'Adamo took over command of the precinct on Oct. 27. Trying now, to track down when exactly the last murder was.

Bronx Immigration Seminar to Focus on Haiti and 2010 Census

State Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson, along with the Bronx Americaribbean Chamber of Commerce will be holding an informational seminar this Friday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. at the Haitian Congregation of the Good Samaritan Church at 661 E. 219th Street (corner of 219th Street and White Plains Road).

The seminar will discuss how to understand temporary protected status (TPS) and how Haitians can receive TPS.

The seminar will also have a Haiti update and a session on Census 2010. TPS applications can also be filled out at the meeting (passport or resident alien card required).

Questions? For more information call Carolyn D. Jones at 718-547-8854, Krystal Serrano at 914-497-1931, or Rev. Nathaniel Saint Pierre at 718-881-3779

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 3

Ever bend over a water fountain and thought: Where's this stuff coming from? Chances are, your water is fine, but that wasn't the case for the workers at a Hunts Point sewage plant. A missing "backflow preventer" is to blame for the water that backed up into the pipes from the plant's massive boilers, leaving its workers to drink (and bathe in!) contaminated water.

A team of four clinicians from Montefiore Medical Center have returned from Haiti with quite a story to tell. ABC Channel 7 News did a story on it Monday night, and you can view the video here.

More on Anibal Lugo, the guy who police say stole an idling police SUV and was caught minutes later. Lugo's being observed at Jacobi Medical Center and Nelson Robles, the NYPD vet who the van belonged to, has been suspended without pay.

Visions for the Bronx's first public skating rink are finally coming to fruition. An agreement has been reached, moving plans from a grassy spot in Joyce Kilmer Park (which would have cost an extra $4,000) to 900 Grand Concourse, formerly the Concourse Plaza Hotel, now a senior citizens' apartment complex. 

Sean Denashvar, owner of the Med Alliance medical clinic near Fordham University, is expanding the clinic's facilities to three stories total. However, the community has been upset by additional plans for plopping 10 more stories of moderate-income rental units right on top. The area's residents will finally be able to voice their opinions about the 13-story behemoth. The hearing will take place today at 6:30 p.m. at the Candy Lounge, 608 E. Fordham Road. However, the BoogieDowner expresses some extremely legitimate concerns about the location of the hearing.

The Army Corps of Engineers will be working with the city Parks Department on the Bronx River. The $6.3 million project will rebuild a wetlands habitat near the mouth of the river in Soundview Park. The project will begin in the Fall, starting with a much-needed cleanup. Soundview Project Manager Ronald Pinzon notes, "There was a lot of stuff dumped there. Rocks, pieces of concrete, even a few refrigerators."

City Limits spotlights Intervale Green, the new eco-friendly affordable housing unit opening its doors at the end of the month on Intervale Avenue near Freeman Street in the Bronx. Many of the benefits of more "luxe" rental options will be included, such as a sculpture garden, decorative lighting, and a free computer with wireless internet with each apartment.

Bronx Science Ballers Defy Stereotyping

 Bronx Science lost its January match-up with against DeWitt Clinton, but is hoping to ride a three-game winning streak into the postseason. (Photo by Adi Talwar)

The gymnasium at the Bronx High School of Science (or "Bronx Science") is an interesting experience for one attuned to the sights of a traditional American sports hall. For one thing, a traditional American sports hall probably lacks the huge placard that greets those entering Bronx Science’s gymnasium, featuring the faces of seven stoic looking men arranged underneath the text “Alumni Winners of the Nobel Prize.”

Indeed, this school is a place of learned adolescents. Athletics, it would seem to the untrained eye, remains a difficult equation for the students at Bronx Science.

The stereotype is that students at Bronx Science are not jocks. They tell jokes about parabolas and physics equations. They're probably used to hearing the term "nerd."

But to believe that brains would inhibit the Bronx Science basketball team’s ability to play is a gross underestimation. These boys may spend their days with their heads buried in textbooks, but on the court they play ball like mad dogs.

Coach Sammel Brown remarked on the attention the team’s academic reputation attracts: jeers and trash talking from fans of other teams.

“I’ve heard it all,” said Brown, “I provoke it...we hear the jeers, I tell [the team], ‘this is what their saying, so lets make them feel destroyed.’” Brown invites the negativity. “We feed off it,” he says.

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 2

The Bronx Zoo is at the forefront of an effort to save a species of toad, whose natural habitat was destroyed when a river in Tanzania was dammed.

Police are hunting a group of gypsies suspected of burglarizing at least ten homes in the Bronx and Queens these past few months. The group preys on the elderly, police say, may be responsible for other break-ins in other states.

Yesterday, students at St. Raymond's Elementary School in Parkchester presented New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan with a $15,407 check. The money will go to Haiti.

A building manager, found guilty last year of criminally negligent homicide in the "Black Sunday” fire, will have to wait another week to find out if his conviction will stand. Cesar Rios could go free after a juror on the trial admitted that she e-mailed and tried to "Facebook" a witness.

State Sen. Pedro Espada and his lawyers have accused Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of launching a smear campaign against him.

The future of City Island's only FDNY fire company, Ladder 53, is once again in doubt. Last week, Mayor Bloomberg's 2011 fiscal year budget called for the shuttering of 20 fire companies, and which names and numbers weren't given, Ladder 53 - the quietest unit in the city - is likely on the list.

Blogging in the Huffington Post, a Hofstra University professor has some words of wisdom for University Heights Secondary School students, whose school is in danger of being kicked off Bronx Community College's campus. Here's another post by the same author criticizing BCC's decision (he’s friends with a teacher at the school), and here's an article that appeared the Mount Hope Monitor, concerning opposition to the eviction.

A trauma surgeon at St. Barnabas Hospital, who travelled to his native Haiti the day after the earthquake to help out, recalls his heart-wrenching experiences.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has been wooing Bronx Democrats.

More on the 16th Congressional District's status as the nation's hungriest place.

All eyes on Leroy Comrie as he takes over Land Use Committee, at a time when the City Council is beginning to take strong stands on development projects, as it did with the Kingsbridge Armory.

Subway Track Savior Honored by Bronx Borough President

On January 8th, Anna Lebron, an 88 year-old woman, was accidentally pushed into the subway tracks by a group of teenagers. Hearing the train making its way down the tunnel, Bronx man Douglas Murphy jumped into the tracks of the Hunts Point station, hoisting both the woman and himself back onto the platform with only six seconds left before the train pulled in.

Earlier today, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. presented Murphy with an award honoring his courage. Diaz stated, “Douglas Murphy showed extraordinary bravery through his quick action and willingness to put his life on the line to save others. He made us all in the Bronx very proud."

 

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. honors the bravery of Douglas Murphy (left). 

Murphy has also been featured on the Ellen DeGeneres show. Click "Read More" to watch the full interview.

Grand Concourse Honored on 100th Anniversary

In conjunction with Dr. Gary Hermalyn, executive director of the Bronx County Historical Society and Dr. Lloyd Ultan, Bronx Borough Historian, Bronx Congressman Jose Serrano presented a framed copy of the Congressional Resolution celebrating the100th Anniversary of the Grand Concourse to the Bronx County Historical Society. The presentation took place this past Friday at the new Poe Cottage Visitor's Center in Poe Park (Kingsbridge Road and Grand Concourse). 

“The Grand Concourse has been the symbolic heart of the Bronx since it was completed a century ago,” said Serrano. “The millions of people who have passed through the Bronx – arriving from around the world, working, raising families, growing up – they all look on the Grand Concourse as the preeminent connection in their Bronx community. It has seen wealth come and go, it has seen many famous people, it has been the home to triumphs and great creativity. It is hard to put words to the meaning of this great boulevard.

"As its centennial approached, I could think of no better gesture than to have the U.S. House of Representatives vote to recognize it for all that it is. Over the years they have helped me fund millions of dollars in upgrades for the Grand Concourse, but this would be about paying respect to our great thoroughfare. They agreed and we presented the resolution to the Bronx County Historical Society to keep and display for generations to come. As the Grand Concourse lives on and new generations come and go, we must continue to take time to honor this historic street, which is so much more than just a street, but instead is the heart of a borough.”

Serrano presenting the congressional resolution to the Bronx County Historical Society in front of Poe Cottage on the G.C.

Mt. St. Ursula's "Change Wars" Bring In Big Money for Haiti

The students of Mount St. Ursula should be proud of themselves. In a mission that started as a student fundraiser, each class was challenged to fill up a water jug with pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters to raise money for the school. Competing amongst themselves, the winners would get two class dress-down days (and some good, old-fashioned bragging rights).

During the course of collection, the tragedy in Haiti struck. Everyone at the school was in agreement: all the funds collected would be sent straight to Haiti. MSU would utilize Catholic Relief Services, known for being one of the most efficient charity organizations in the world, ensuring that 94% of donations would go straight to the recipients. Mount St. Ursula's Office of Development/Alumnae Relations and its Student Council continued the effort, and on January 20th, it was announced that $1,350.32 had been raised, $1,000 of which went to Catholic Relief Services. It was, after all, still a competition... and victory went to the sophomore class.

Mrs. Anna Ramos, Director of Development, announced, “I am so proud of our students who so generously contributed to the fundraising event. Their energy, positive spirit and willingness to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, are just reminders of how our students are empowered to serve others in the community and the global society.” Students of MSU are currently making plans for more fundraising efforts to support the people of Haiti.

Photo Above: (left to right) Moderator, Mr. Glenn Stordeur, alongside the Student Council Advisory Board – Kailani Capote ’10, Kiara Vega ’10, Crystal McMillian ’10, Adeola Okoduwa ’10 and President, Fr. John Vigilanti.

"Topping Off" Ceremony at BCC

 
 

Photo above:(L-R) Assemblyman Nelson Castro; Jay Hershenson, CUNY senior vice chancellor and secretary of the Board of Trustees; Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson; Philip A. Berry, vice chairperson, CUNY Board of Trustees and acting chairperson of the CUNY Construction Fund; President Carolyn G. Williams; Allan Dobrin, CUNY executive vice chancellor and chief operating officer; Iris Weinshall, CUNY vice chancellor for facilities, planning, construction and management.

Bronx Community College held a "Topping Off" ceremony in celebration of its new building last Thursday, Jan. 21. 

BCC President Carolyn G. Williams, along with elected officials and CUNY staff, welcomed the construction of the North Instructional Building and Library, BCC's first new construction since its move to campus 40 years ago. 

The college has faced issues of overcrowding, and Williams cited BCC's current enrollment of 11,000 (and counting): "A new building is a necessity<" he said. "We need classroom space and we need a library - we need facilities which enable our faculty to teach and our students to learn."

The North Instructional Building and Library will be home to 15 large classrooms and a small cafe on the first floor. The second floor will house group-study rooms and lounge seating. The topmost level will have book stacks overlooking the reading room below. 

Also included in the $102 million, 98,000-square-foot building is a two-story information commons.Clerestory windows will bring in a flow of natural light and provide views of the campus, the Cloisters and the Henry Hudson Bridge.

Koppell Forms a PAC; 'Toys" with Idea of State Senate Run

Council Member Oliver Koppell, elected to a third term last November, is holding a fundraiser on Feb. 7. The money will be used for a newly formed Political Action Committee, as the Daily News' Liz Benjamin reports, and won't be used for a future Koppell campaign. But Koppell tells Benjamin that he has "toyed" with the idea of running for state Senate if the current holder of that office, Eric Schneiderman, vacates his seat to run for attorney general if, as expected, the current holder of that office, Andrew Cuomo, runs for governor.