Bronx

Some thoughts on Census 2010 Population Changes

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I was eager to get into the 2010 Census data at the tract level, but am a bit disappointed that the new American Fact Finder website has been down since Friday. Instead, I was able to download a limited amount of new data from the Department of City Planning website and look at the most basic of statistics, namely population change since 2010 (though the Mayor is officially challenging them). The map below (click on the image to enlarge) shows changes in population by census tract since 2000 for NYC, not as a percent but by the actual number of counted residents. Much of the city shows in light yellow meaning the population stayed mostly the same (up or down by less than 150 residents). The reddish areas show decreases in population while the greenish areas show increases, with the intensity of the color matching the larger decline/increase.While I can’t back this up with the actual data until the AFF site gets back up and running, it will be interesting to see how strong the effects of gentrification in Washington Heights, Inwood, and Astoria were on the large drops in population there.

Bronx News Network

Summer Youth Employment Cuts Hit Bronx Hard This Year

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Cuts to Summer Youth Employment from Bronx News Network on Vimeo.Bronx News Network executive editor Jordan Moss recently caught up with Bob Altman, the associate director of the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, to talk about how cuts to the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program are affecting teens and organizations here in the Bronx.Summer Youth Employment, a program run by the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development which sets teens up with summer jobs, has seen it’s budget whittled away over the past few years. Watch the video above for more.

Bronx News Network

Bronx Events: Bronx Real Estate Summit, Wednesday 3/30

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This Wednesday, March 30, will mark the 2nd Bronx Real Estate Summit at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1040 Grand Concourse. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., and former Borough President Adolfo Carrion will offer opening remarks, and a number of real estate professional will serve as panelists at this networking event. See the flier below for more info. (function() { var scribd = document.createElement(“script”); scribd.type = “text/javascript”; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = “http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js”; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })(); Check out our constantly updated events calendar, below, to see what’s happening in your neighborhood this week. Editor’s note: What did we miss?

Bronx News Network

Bronx Pols Push Cuomo On Rent Reform; Jeff Klein’s Name Absent

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The following story appeared in this week’s issue of the Norwood News.By Jeanmarie EvellyA number of local elected officials are urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to renew and strengthen rent regulation laws, in favor of renters, as part of his budget negotiations with the legislature this month.Last week, about 90 lawmakers signed a letter to the governor pressing the issue, which requested that he not only renew the existing Emergency Tenant Protection Act that expires this spring but that he include provisions to repeal vacancy decontrol — the law that lets landlords hike rents of stabilized apartments once tenants vacate them, essentially deregulating the city’s housing market.State Senator Jeffrey Klein Every Bronx state representative put his or her name on the letter with the exception of one: State Sen. Jeff Klein, whose district covers parts of the Bronx and Westchester. Klein, who recently formed a four-member Independent Caucus among centrist Senate Democrats, has been a target of housing advocates’ campaigns in the past, criticized for his inaction on pro-tenant legislation and for receiving substantial campaign contributions from landlord and real estate groups.“Jeff Klein is an operative for the real estate lobby,” said Michael McKee, of the Tenants Political Action Committee. “He works behind the scenes to make sure that pro-tenant legislation does not pass.”Klein’s camp, however, said that the senator was never given the letter to sign.“We don’t have a record of receiving the letter,” said spokesman Rich Azzopardi.When asked where Klein stood on the issue of vacancy decontrol, Azzopardi said the senator would support the legislation if it came up for a vote.“We’re not opposed to having these issues in the budget,” he said. “If the bills come to the floor, he’ll vote for them.”But housing advocates say Klein’s history indicates otherwise. In 2008, his name was absent from another letter of support signed by Senate Democrats at the time to push for the repeal of vacancy decontrol, according to an article in the New York Times.“He has not really been a strong advocate of tenants,” said Mary Tek, of the advocacy group Tenants & Neighbors.

Bronx News Network

Bronx News Roundup, Friday, March 25

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Weather: Sunny, but still, sadly, cold. That goes for the whole weekend. Story of the Day: The Holy Grail – A High-Class Bronx HotelDuring his February state of the borough speech at Clinton High School, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. dared mention the Holy Grail of Bronx BPs – the creation of a high-class hotel in our fair borough. Adolfo Carrion and Freddy Ferrer both tried to prioritize a new hotel to no avail. But Diaz believes he’s recognized a simple solution this time: use one of the failing new Yankee Stadium parking garages that are “going belly up,” Diaz says in an article in the Daily News.

Bronx News Network

Bronx Foodie: Black Bean Enchiladas

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I’m so glad it’s going to be both sunny and chilly this weekend, because that’s my favorite weather for cooking. It’s the perfect weather to make stews or soups that need to sit on the stove for a while without the whole apartment getting hot and stuffy.Here’s a good recipe that I made for dinner recently. Now, I’m not claiming that my recipe is authentic in any way. (Even though I’m Latina, and have eaten my fair share, I’m not an enchilada expert.) It’s just a fun dish that I put together one evening using ingredients that I found at my local grocery store or that I already had in my kitchen. And that’s what we’ve tried to focus on with Bronx Foodie.