The man police say spent three weeks in April and May terrorizing and brutally robbing elderly Bronx women in the 48th and 52nd precincts has been arrested, according to Deputy Inspector Joseph Dowling, the commanding officer of the 52nd Precinct.Yesterday afternoon, we published a mug shot of Tyrone Rosario, 40, an ex-con who has
Bronx River Park is one of three in the Bronx that will be getting free Wi-Fi access this summer. (Photo by J. Evelly)In the mood to do a little web surfing in the great outdoors? You’ll soon be able to break out your laptop or iPad at three Bronx parks, thanks to a city initiative launched today.Devoe Park in Kingsbridge Heights, Bronx River Park in West Farms and Joyce Kilmer Park, near Yankee Stadium, will be Wi-Fi enabled this summer, part of a bigger project launched by the city and wireless service provider AT&T that’s bringing free wireless to 20 different city parks.Starting today, you’ll be able to get online near the north-end playground in Joyce Kilmer Park. Bronx River Park and Devoe Park will get Wi-Fi enabled over the summer. “New York City has the greatest network of public parks in the world, and we’ve invested heavily to expand and enhance them,” Mayor Bloomberg said at an announcement in Harlem.
Bronx robbery suspect Tyrone RosarioPolice say they are looking for assistance in locating Tyrone Rosario (pictured), 40, who they say is wanted in connection with six robberies of elderly women in the 48th and 52nd precincts between April 23 and May 9.Rosario is described as being 5-feet-5-inches tall and weighing 120 pounds. Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477) or submit their tips by logging onto Crime Stoppers’ website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577.All calls are confidential.
File photo by Adi TalwarOur Lady of Mount Carmel Church kicks off its annual St. Anthony’s Festival today, in Belmont’s “Little Italy,” on the street surrounding the parish at 627 East 187th Street.The feast features five days of carnival games, rides and live music-not to mention a ton of delicious street food.
OK, now it’s been officially a year, plus some, that the NYPD has ignored our request for very basic statistical information about crime in Bronx neighborhoods. And it’s been a couple of weeks since we posted this clock and we still haven’t heard from police headquarters.Councilman Fernando CabreraBut there is some good news. Greg Faulkner, chief of staff for Councilman Fernando Cabrera
Weather: Stay thirsty, my friends, and drink lots of water. It’s going to be a scorcher today in the Bronx, with highs reaching the mid- to upper-90s. Should be similarly toasty tomorrow and Friday before it cools down this weekend.Story of the Day: Bloomy: FDNY to Aid in Illegal Subdivision InspectionsIn late April, a 12-year-old and his parents were killed during a fire that quickly engulfed the illegally subdivided Belmont-area row house they were living in. The tragedy highlighted the dangers of illegally subdivided houses and buildings throughout the city and underscored the difficulty the city has in policing the problem. Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council got proactive about it, announcing a new program designed to urgently target “high-risk” buildings where illegal subdivisions have been reported and use city firefighters to help gain access to buildings during inspections.
Editor’s Note: A version of this article first appeared in the May edition of the Tremont Tribune.A fire at 2321 Prospect Ave. killedthree people in April (Photo by David Greene) Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council announced yesterday that the city will be taking a new, more aggressive approach in identifying and inspecting apartment buildings suspected of being divided illegally.At the end of April, a fire tore through an apartment building in Belmont and killed three family members who had been living there-Christina Garcia, 43, Juan Lopez, 36, and their 12-year-old son Christian Garcia.The early morning blaze broke out on the top floor of a multi-family building at 2321 Prospect Ave., a space that had been subdivided into several rooms using partitions, according to FDNY spokesman Frank Dwyer.The tragedy has shined a spotlight on the proliferation of dangerous housing conditions in the Bronx, and across the city. Experts and elected officials say practices like illegal divisions, erected by both tenants and landlords alike, are frighteningly common and growing in number.Sally Dunford, of the West Bronx Housing and Neighborhood Resource Center, called the problem “endemic.”She described some of what she’s seen in the community in recent years: already small apartments portioned off into even smaller ones, blocking access to the fire escape or stationed dangerously close to the building’s heating source; five people living in a basement with no bathroom or kitchen; an elderly couple living in a closet; tenants moving back into a property immediately after the city ordered them to vacate.“It’s just scary,” Dunford said.“Illegal subdivisions are a major problem because they make it difficult for people to escape a fire, for firefighters to find and extinguish a fire, and can also trap firefighters in a burning building,” Dwyer said in e-mail.Dunford said that problem has been exacerbated by the city’s dwindling affordable housing stock, making tenants are more likely to squeeze into a crowded, chopped-up apartment to save a buck.“People are more willing to do than to go to a shelter,” she said.Landlords, meanwhile, who are struggling to make mortgage payments on the city’s ever-growing number of financially unstable properties can collect more rents if they can fit more tenants into a given space—even if it’s a fire hazard.“People who are going under are much more likely to do stupid things,” Dunford explained.The last known owner of the Prospect Avenue building where the fire took place, a used car salesman named Domingo Cedano, told the New York Times that he’d lost the building to foreclosure years ago.Records listed on the Department of Buildings (DOB) website show that the city received several complaints about the property over the last few years, but that inspectors were unable to access the apartments to follow up on them.A bill sponsored by Bronx Councilman Oliver Koppell would force the DOB to seek a warrant to gain access to properties in instances where inspectors are turned away, or fail to gain entry, more than twice.“I was shocked to find out this city practice,” Koppell said, of closing complaint cases after the two failed attempts. “It seemed to me to be completely outrageous, and irrational. They’ve got to try to pursue it.”In yesterday’s announcement, the Mayor described the city’s “new approach,” wherein Fire Department officials will team up with Buildings inspectors to investigate apartments deemed “high risk.”
Weather: Hot, topping out in the upper 80s. Possible thunderstorms later tonight, with temperatures spiking into the mid-90s tomorrow. Story of the Day: 17-Year-Old Arrested with Stolen Property, Police Say Suspect Responsible for School BurglariesPolice may have caught a break in their efforts to stem a rash of computer burglaries at Bronx schools and churches. Yesterday, police said they had arrested 17-year-old Pedro Delacruz on Jerome Avenue and charged him with possession of stolen property and burglary tools. According to the Daily News, police said Delacruz started his crime spree in January when he broke into St.
Last month, the Norwood News featured an article about the unique learning center for homeless advocacy called Picture the Homeless (PTH) over on Morris Avenue. The article explored the story of one PTH member Arvernetta Henry and told of her struggle to hold her job as a teacher in the Bronx while being housed in a homeless shelter in Queens. Eventually, because of her long commute, she could no longer keep her job. Henry, like other homeless New Yorkers, remains frustrated with her situation and points to the city’s numerous vacant buildings as a possible solution to the problem of homelessness. This month, PTH and Hunter College’s Center for Community Planning and Development (HCCCPD) are teaming up for the first-ever count of vacant buildings and lots throughout the five boroughs.The survey aims to reveal the extent of vacant property in the city.
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