Bronx BP Heavily Involved in Hunts Point Negotiations, Spokesman Says

Despite a Crain’s article that does not mention his involvement, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. is heavily involved in negotiations to keep the Hunts Point Market in the Bronx, said spokesman John DeSio.In our news roundup earlier today (now updated), we made note of the conspicuous fact that Diaz was not mentioned in the Crain’s article as being part of the city and state’s Hunts Point Market negotiating team. It did mention Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy, the Empire State Development Corp., the city’s Economic Development Corp. and other Bloomberg officials.Diaz has said keeping the Hunts Point Market in the Bronx is a top priority of his administration. DeSio says this remains the case and that Diaz and Duffy are in regular contact, as is Marlene Cintron, the head of the Bronx Overall Development Corp., and the city’s EDC. He added that Diaz was instrumental in bringing New York’s U.S. Senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, into the negotiating fold.

Bronx News Roundup, Tuesday, May 24 (Updated)

Welcome to the show, Bronx people and cognoscente. To the news!Weather: My shirt was drenched with sweat by the time I made it into the office today. It’s hot and muggy and cloudy and we’re in for a wildly unpredictable day and evening. There’s a 60 percent chance of precipitation, which means, with these conditions, we could be looking at anything from a drizzle to thunderstorms to hail. Story of the Day: Hunts Point Market to Stay in the Bronx, For NowOn Sunday night, Crain’s NY reported that the Hunts Point Market (full name: Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative Market) were not close to signing a long-term lease, but were “hammering out a short-term extension while they haggle over a 30- or 40-year lease that would include a $320 million revamp of the antiquated facility, the country’s largest wholesale produce market.”