Bronx News Network

Fight Over Worship at Schools Puts Bronx Church in Spotlight

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The Bronx Household of Faith has held services in PS/MS 15 for the past nine years.[Editor’s note: This story appears in the latest issue of the Norwood News, which hits local streets today. Just a quick warning: this story is long and easily could have been longer. I’m planning a follow-up post to tackle some of the angles we couldn’t fit into this original piece.]By Alex KratzWhen the leaders of Bronx Household of Faith, an evangelical Christian congregation based in University Heights, first approached the city, in 1994, about using its public schools to hold worship services, they didn’t think much of it. They certainly did not think they would find themselves, 17 years later, fighting for freedom of religion and speech as part of a back-and-forth legal case that could end up in front of the Supreme Court. “It’s taken on a life of its own,” said Bob Hall, Bronx Household of Faith’s head pastor.

Bronx News Network

Bronx News Roundup, June 14

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Morning, Bronxites! Your weather forecast for today calls for some cooler weather, with temperatures hanging around the low 60s, and a chance of rain this afternoon.Story of the Day: Getting Down to the Wire in AlbanyIt’s the last week of business for our state legislators before this year’s session ends on Monday and they adjourn until January-meaning just five more (business) days to tackle a number of high profile issues and turn some bills into law. As we wrote yesterday, a slew of Bronx representatives are pushing to pass stronger state rent laws before the week ends, including Assemblyman Jose Rivera, who was arrested during a lively protest outside Gov. Cuomo’s office.While the rent issue still lingers, the Senate and Assembly quickly passed an ethics reform bill yesterday. The Public Integrity Reform Act of 2011 will supposedly keep a closer eye on lawmakers and lobbyists for signs of corruption and conflicts of interest, establishing an independent ethics commission to keep watch over things, and requiring lawmakers to fully disclose sources of income.Other items still on the legislative agenda this week: a property tax cap and same-sex marriage. Bronx Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr., is now the lone Democrat opposing gay marriage.

Bronx News Network

Bronx Borough Hall Greenmarket Reopens Today

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(file photo)The greenmarket at Bronx Borough Hall, at 161st Street and Grand Concourse alongside Joyce Kilmer Park, reopens today. It will return every Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. until December 27.The market features fruits and vegetables from Migliorelli Farm in Duchess County and Morgiewicz Produce in Orange County, as well as fresh baked goodies from Not Just Rugelach in Hudson County, NJ, and honey from Ballard’s Honey based in Delaware County, NY.Food Stamps/EBT payments are accepted.

Bronx News Network

Bronx Crime Watch

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Grand Ave. ShootingPolice are asking for help finding the gunman responsible for opening fire on a crowd last Friday night in Fordham Heights, injuring three people, including a 5-year-old boy.

Bronx

Bronx News Weekend Roundup, June 13

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Weather: Partly cloudy and cool today, with a chance of light showers later this evening. Quick Hits: State Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr. says he’s received death threats for his fierce opposition to same-sex marriage, according to this AP piece about conservative gay-rights opponents who claim they’ve been “bullied,” for their views.Meanwhile, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is holding a special strategy session in Albany today, as he prepares to make one final push for a same-sex marriage bill before the legislature adjourns at the end of this week. A 15-year-old girl was shot in the back of the head outside of a party in Fordham Heights Saturday night. Yvette Marie Torres, a student at DeWitt Clinton High School, is in critical condition at St. Barnabas Hospital.

Bronx News Network

Student Work Showcased at Bronx Museum of the Arts

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Photos courtesy Free Arts NYCOn June 2, nonprofit group Free Arts NYC hosted its annual “Art from the Heart,” exhibit at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, on the Grand Concourse.The gallery show featured over 300 works of art done by children, from the Bronx and across the city, who participate in the organization’s art and mentoring programs. Free Arts NYC partners with schools, community centers and shelters to involve low-income children and their families in the creative arts.

Bronx News Network

Jose Rivera, Bill Perkins Arrested at Protest [VIDEO]

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As we mentioned in the post below, Bronx Assemblyman Jose Rivera-rarely seen without the red light on his hand-held video camera blinking-and Harlem State Sen. Bill Perkins, were among the dozens of protesters arrested this afternoon during a rally for stronger rent laws.Here’s some video footage of the protest, courtesy of the Albany Times Union.

Bronx News Network

Group Plans Massive Housing Complex for West Farms Road

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Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in the latest issue of the Tremont Tribune, out now.A development group is proposing to build a series of high-rise apartment buildings and retail shops in West Farms and Crotona Park East, in what the city is calling one of the largest private rezoning projects undertaken in the Bronx for several decades. Signature Urban Properties, a real estate group headed by former New York City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, purchased the five-acre site, which runs along West Farms Road and the Sheridan Expressway and north and south of the Cross Bronx Expressway.The group has requested that the city rezone the 11-block area to allow for residential development in order to construct 10 buildings, each approximately 15 stories high made up of 1,325 apartment units, 663 of which would be affordable housing. The project also calls for commercial shops along the buildings’ first floors, two landscaped public spaces and a children’s playground. The group has offered to donate a portion of the property to the city’s School Construction Authority for the construction of a new elementary school. The neighborhood is currently zoned for manufacturing, and consists mainly of warehouses and abandoned lots.