Bronx News Network

Bronx BP Heavily Involved in Hunts Point Negotiations, Spokesman Says

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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 Network

Bronx News Roundup, Monday, May 23

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Welcome back to the program, ladies and gentleman of the Bronx and beyond. Let’s get down to Bronx business. To the news!Weather: Our first post-Bronx Week day will, unfortunately, be more of the same: cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms – the National Weather Service has issued a “hazardous weather” warning. If we can gut it out until Friday, however, we might see some sunshine. Story of the Day: Bronx Week Honoree’s Life Comes “Full Circle”The 40th edition of Bronx Week ended yesterday with a parade and festival on Mosholu Parkway that featured more than 80 of the borough’s schools and culminated with a performance by rap legend Big Daddy Kane.

Bronx News Network

Diaz Sr. Blasts Mayor and Speaker, Forgets Supporting Espada's 'Rent Freeze' Bill

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Diaz at a rally in Albany last year for former Sen. Pedro Espada’s “rent freeze” bill, which tenant advocates called a “de-control bill in disguise.” (File photo by Alma Watkins)Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr. is on the warpath again, this time blasting Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn for supporting a same-sex marriage bill when, he says, they should really be focusing on the renewal of the state’s rent stabilization laws, which expire on June 15.But, over the past year and a half, Diaz himself has done his share to divert attention away from the strengthening of rent regulations. “I would love to see Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn set their priorities straight and spend a day in Albany to push for an extension of our affordable housing laws before the deadline passes,” Diaz wrote in a statement sent out last week after Bloomberg and Quinn had trekked to the capitol to lobby for gay marriage. “The Rev” has spent a fair amount of his own time focusing on same-sex marriage – he organized a rally last Sunday against its legalization – but he says that was just in response to other politicians pushing the issue.”I’m not putting [same-sex marriage] as a priority,” he said in a phone interview last week.His priority, he says, is the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, the set of state laws that protect the rent-regulated status of hundreds of thousands of apartments in the Bronx, and about a million across the city. Tenant advocates have been pushing to see the laws not only renewed before the June 15 deadline, but strengthened to close some of the loopholes that landlords use to hike rents in regulated units.Diaz said the mayor and Gov. Andrew Cuomo were ignoring the approaching June 15 deadline, and that, he says, “is a crime.”

Bronx News Network

'Aurora' Sculpture in West Farms Square Comes Down

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“Aurora,” a wooden sculpture that’s occupied West Farms Square since 2009, was removed on Saturday. (Photo by Fausto Giovanny Pinto)Something is conspicuously missing now from West Farms Square, the pedestrian plaza underneath the No. 2 and 5 train subway platform at the corner of East Tremont Avenue and Boston Road.A hulking wooden sculpture that’s been on display in the center of the square’s brick circle for nearly two years was de-installed on Saturday, to make room for another public art piece to be erected in the same spot over the next few months.”Aurora,” an unpainted wooden abstract by Mexican-born artist Diego Medina, stood over 14 feet tall and was inspired, the artist said, by the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca’s 1930 poem, “La Aurora de Nueva York” (Dawn in New York).The sculpture was installed by the Bronx River Art Center (BRAC) and the Department of Transportation in August 2009, part of the DOT’s “UrbanART” program. BRAC says a new piece will replace it in the coming months.”Aurora” filled the West Farms Square plaza for nearly two years. (Photo courtesy of BRAC)

Bronx News Network

Bronx Crime Watch (Editorial): Clock Ticking on NYPD Freedom of Information Request for Neighborhood Crime Stats

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if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget(‘541ca520-2641-44df-8677-26f325a8569d’); Get the <a href=”http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/countuptimer”>Count Up Timer 2.0 (Updated Version)</a> widget and many other <a href=”http://www.widgetbox.com/”>great free widgets</a> at <a href=”http://www.widgetbox.com”>Widgetbox</a>! Not seeing a widget? (<a href=”http://docs.widgetbox.com/using-widgets/installing-widgets/why-cant-i-see-my-widget/”>More info</a>)Editor’s Note: This editorial appeared in last week’s issue of the Norwood News. We will continue to display this counter (above) until the NYPD releases sector statistics for every Bronx police precinct. Editorial: NYPD Hides Neighborhood Crime StatsThe NYPD has been proud to trumpet plummeting crime stats over the last 15 years or so.

Bronx News Network

Famous Bronxites Inducted Into Bronx Walk of Fame

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Joy Bryant, Irene Cara, Charles Latibeaudiere and Chazz Palminteri are this year’s Bronx Walk of Fame additions. (Photo courtesy Bronx Borough President’s office)As we mentioned in this morning’s news roundup, the grand finale of Bronx Week took place yesterday, and four successful Bronx natives were honored by BP Ruben Diaz, Jr., with spots on the borough’s walk of fame.This year’s inductees: actress Joy Bryant of the NBC sitcom “Parenthood;” singer and actress Irene Cara, best-known for starring in the 80s hit film “Fame;” Charles Latibeaudiere, a producer for the celebrity gossip show TMZ; Chazz Palminteri, an actor who wrote and starred in “A Bronx Tale.” Street placards bearing the names of the four new honorees, posted along the Grand Concourse, were unveiled yesterday before the big annual Bronx Week Parade.

Bronx News Network

Bronx BP: DEP's Plan for Limited Jerome Park Reservoir Access 'Unacceptable' (Video)

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[Video: Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. talks about how the DEP’s limited access plan for the Jerome Park Reservoir is unacceptable.]A group of concerned local residents, community leaders and elected officials gathered on a terrace overlooking the Jerome Park Reservoir today to demand better public access to the reservoir’s perimeter.Echoing community frustration with the city’s proposal to allow residents a mere three days of access to the Jerome Park Reservoir two years from now, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. publicly invited the city’s commissioners of Parks and Environmental Protection to a public hearing at Amalgamated Houses on June 2. The hearing stems from a meeting of the Croton Facility Monitoring Committee (FMC) in March where members of the committee – mainly the chairs of the surrounding community boards – decided that they had little if any influence over the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and thought their concerns would be taken more seriously if raised by the borough president. Instead of access inside the reservoir, the city is planning to spend $3.8 million “to construct a stone jogging trail parallel to the existing sidewalk,” according to the Parks Department. In the first phase – which would include seating, plantings, fencing, lighting, adult fitness equipment, and reorganized dog runs and basketball courts – a path would be constructed along the northern section of Sedgwick Avenue. Joining Diaz at today’s press conference and in the fight for access were Councilman Oliver Koppell, Assemblyman Jose Rivera, Assemblyman Jeffery Dinowitz, State Senator Gustavo Rivera, members of various neighborhood improvement associations, and members of Community Boards 7, 8 and 12.“It is amazing in an age where the city doesn’t have enough money for firehouses…the DEP spent thousands of dollars and years to produce a report that basically said nothing,” said Father Richard Gorman, Chairman of Community Board 12 and a member of the FMC.

Bronx News Network

Bronx Foodie: What I Learned at the Bronx Urban Farm Tour (Slideshow)

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[Slideshow: These photos by Adi Talwar are from the last stop of the Urban Farm Tour at Rincon Criollo, 156th Street and Brook Avenue. For more of Adi’s photography, check out his website: rawlat.com/adi.] Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of visiting one of the stops on the Bronx Urban Farm Tour, the Garden of Happiness, at 182nd Street and Prospect Avenue. The tour – which also stopped at La Finca del Sur at 138th and Grand Concourse and Rincon Criolloa at 156th Street and Brook Avenue – was part of Bronx Week and organized to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Bronx Food Summit, which was held last May. This year’s eco-tourism event was organized by The Bronx Tourism Council, the Bronx Food and Sustainability Coalition, and the New York Botanical Garden. They are planning monthly farm tours through out the summer, so stay tuned for more details.

Bronx News Network

Bronx News Roundup, Friday, May 20

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First a quick plug for everyone to come out on Sunday for the grand finale of Bronx Week, the parade on Mosholu Parkway up here in the northwest part of the borough. Last year was a blast. This year should be no different. Come celebrate the Boogie Down!Now, to the news!Weekend weather: Thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and evening, with temperatures in the low 70s. Saturday will be warm, high 70s expected, and hopefully rain-free.

Bronx News Network

Bronx Health: Caregiver Fair This Saturday and Upcoming Public Baby Shower

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Caregiver Resource Fair Bronx Borough President Rubin Diaz Jr., Emblem Health, and Presbyterian Senior Services will be holding a Family Caregiver Resource Fair on May 21 at PSS/WSF Grandparent Family Apartments (Lower Level), 951 Prospect Ave. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.In case you were wondering whether you’re a family caregiver, here’s the broad definition. You are a Family Caregiver if you: provide unpaid assistance to a spouse, partner, relative or friend who is ill, disabled or needs help with basic activities of daily living, make frequent calls to check in on a loved one, prepare meals for someone, provide transportation for doctor’s appointments, shopping or recreation, assist with bathing, dressing or feeding, assist with bill paying and other financial affairs, monitor medication intake, prepare medications or assist with administration, help someone with household chores and repairs, or coordinate someone’s medical care.Save the Date: Bronx/Westchester Public Baby ShowerPregnant women from the Bronx and Westchester counties are invited to a free open house two weeks from tomorrow. Baby Shower Saturday June 4, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Union Community Health Center, 260 East 188th St., at Valentine Avenue (1 block east of Grand Concourse; 1 block south of Fordham Road) Come learn about the Stork’s Nest, a free, prenatal education program. Refreshments will be served.