The Bronx News Network was a daily news blog launched in 2008 by the Norwood News. In 2012, City Limits acquired the network and relaunched it as The Bronx Bureau.
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.
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.
“Why does King Lear suffer? What is a neutron?” poet Billy Collins asked a crowd of 3,000 anxious graduates, proud parents, and supportive friends, during his speech at Lehman College’s commencement ceremony last Thursday morning in the Bronx’s Bedford Park neighborhood.“It’s not about knowing the answers to these questions,” Collins said. “It’s about having the intelligence to know how to think.”Emphasizing his point, Collins quoted the biography of Noah Webster, founding father of Webster’s Dictionary. For Webster, Collins said, “completing the requirements for his degree would signify not that he was a learned man, but that he had acquired the necessary tools to become one.”Gloriana B. Waters, a vice chancellor at the school, echoed Collins’ theme. “Your time here has not only given you the education but the knowledge and with hard work and tenacity you can accomplish anything.
Welcome back to the program ladies and gentleman of the Bronx and beyond. Lots of great stories and information on tap for this week, so let’s get to it. To the news!Weather: In a word: Perfect. Sunny, 80 degrees with a lovely cooling breeze from the northeast. Could be looking at some rain tomorrow afternoon.
Acting as a mediator between the city and an irate livery cab industry, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. attempted today to provide some middle ground for negotiations on a plan to bring legal street hails to New York City’s outer boroughs.
As a supplement to what we reported earlier, below is the letter Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. sent to the powers that be in the city and state talking about how he would create a “framework” to ratify the mayor’s so-called “Five Borough Taxi Plan.”Five Borough Taxi Plan Letter by Bp Diaz(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); })();
A new hoops league that preaches Christian values plays at Devoe Park every Saturday. (Photo by Adi Talwar)Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in the latest edition of the Norwood News, out on streets now. Shane Barker, a 16-year-old University Heights resident, does not usually use Devoe Park, the triangular and hilly green space that sits on the corner of Fordham Road and University Avenue and is just blocks from his home.“Me and my brother don’t come down here because there’s troublemakers,” he says.But today is different. It’s a gorgeous, sunny Saturday morning and Shane, sporting cornrows and the wispy beginnings of facial hair, is one of 70 kids participating in a newly-formed basketball program created by a Bronx-based group called the New York City Christian Athletic League.Aided by word of mouth and an infusion of funding from local Councilman Fernando Cabrera, the hoops program is flourishing in a park that has become synonomous with trouble.The league’s founder, Edwin Santiago, and his “right-hand man,” Frank Abarca, both attend Bronx Household of Faith, an evangelical Christian church that meets at PS 15/291 on Andrews Avenue in University Heights.In 2005, Santiago, who lives in Soundview and works part-time at Horace Mann, started a men’s softball league that has grown to the point where it now includes 10 other city churches. He wanted to expand the league to include youth leagues, but only recently decided to take “a leap of faith” and go for it.
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