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 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.

Bronx News Network

Bronx Arts: Melrose Mania

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Yesterday marked the kickoff of the “From the Bronx” Pop-Up Shop Museum, and cultural showcase. The four-day event features the work of Bronx photographers, musicians and visual artists. The showcase, hosted by Mainland Media, is being held in a landmark Melrose home on 614 Cortlandt Ave. and will continue through Sunday May 22. The showcase features a photography exhibit from the 1970s and 1980s by photojournalists Michael Kamber, Rickly Flores and David Gonzalez.

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

Bronx News Roundup, Thursday, May 19

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Home stretch of Bronx Week(s). Let’s get down to business. To the news!Weather: Brief reprieve from monsoon season right now, but more rain and thunderstorms are possible this afternoon. Story of the Day: A Bronx Underground Rock Scene EmergesIn a Throgs Neck church basement, the seeds of a Bronx rock movement are taking root. A decade ago, a trio of young Bronx musicians and music lovers – Dave Rose, Anita Colby and Adam Fachler – made a simple observation about their borough’s music scene: It sucked.

Bronx News Network

Bronx Crime Watch: Suspect Wanted for Mugging Old Ladies

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Police say the man running in the above video is wanted for brutally mugging six old ladies (ages 64 to 81) in the Bronx’s 48th and 52nd precincts over the past month. Exact locations of the robberies are unavailable, but the suspect’s M.O. is the same in each case. He pushes or punches his elderly female victims and then takes their money. In one instance, the woman fought the attacker off before he could steal her money.On victim described the attack to the Daily News: “I didn’t see [the suspect’s] face. He grabbed my face and put his hand over my mouth because I was screaming.

Bronx News Network

Bronx News Roundup, Wednesday, May 18

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Lots going on today in the Bronx, like the distribution of the latest Norwood News in the Fordham, University Heights, Bedford Park and Norwood communities and some other stuff. We’ll roll out the NN stories in this space over the next few days, but don’t wait for that. Pick up your copy today. Ok, I’m done plugging. On to the news!Weather: Flood Watch still very much in effect today, with thunderstorms possible after 2 p.m. Keep galoshes, emergency row boat, handy.