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.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Bronx. Enjoy the beautiful sunny, 60s-ish day. Everyone deserves it after enduring that slog of a winter. (If you’re of age and find yourself getting thirsty later, see our post on the borough’s best Irish bars.
Bronx boy Kemba Walker has UConn dancing.Today marks the beginning of the best four-day stretch in all of sports: the opening two rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Nothing compares to the drama of the Big Dance. Every game – there are 16 today, 16 more tomorrow and another 16 over the weekend – is a dogfight. Every game contains potential for heroism and heartbreak. It’s 18- to 22-year-old kids playing the biggest games of their lives.
It’s been exactly one year since our good friend and colleague Megan Charlop (she was a good friend and colleague of many, many people) died in a tragic accident while biking to PS 55 to plan a summer camp fair. From what I can recall it was a gorgeous pre-spring day much like today. She is still deeply missed but we are glad to bring you this report from the Norwood News about her incredible work in public and community health and those that seek to continue it.
Rain today in the Bronx will supposedly give way to sunshine tomorrow. To the news!Story of the Day: Bronx Bus Crash Story ContinuesFederal investigators met yesterday with Ophadell Williams, the driver of a tour bus that crashed on I-95 in the Bronx on Saturday morning, killing 15 passengers and severely injuring six others. Legal experts say Williams, an ex-con who served time for manslaughter, is unlikely to be charged with a crime unless he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs or if he demonstrated a pattern of reckless driving before the crash. The NY Times staked out the crash site, near the on-ramp to the Hutchinson River Parkway, to find tour buses passing by ever so cautiously. On Monday night, another Chinatown tour bus bound for Philadelphia crashed on the Jersey Turnpike, killing two.
Photo courtesy of the official website of the Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipBronx Councilman Joel Rivera is ready to rumble over the fate of mixed martial arts.Rivera, the Council’s majority leader, attended a rally today at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan to legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York, one of eight states where the sport is illegal. Rivera and fellow Councilman Jumaane Williams sponsored a resolution that supports Assembly and Senate bills which would allow MMA competitions and exhibitions throughout the state.“Mixed Martial Arts has been a success in numerous markets across the United States and the World,” Rivera said in a press release. But it’s not all about the money, Rivera said, “as a sport it has proven to be as safe as or safer than boxing and other contact sports.”MMA is a legal and active sport in all but eight states. According to a study from Siena Research Institute at Siena College in Loudonville, New Yorkers are “evenly divided on legalizing mixed martial arts (MMA), known as ultimate fighting, as 39 percent favor legalization while 41 percent find it dangerous, even barbaric and would ban it.”However, one pro-MMA coalition, NY MMA Now, which is advocating for legalization in New York, criticized the Siena study, saying: “While it is true that MMA could bring needed revenue into New York, this argument is generally positioned against the opposing sentiment that mixed martial arts is too ‘dangerous, even barbaric.’”NY MMA NOW says this juxtaposition can lead some to think that the argument in favor of MMA is “Yes, MMA is barbaric, but let’s legalize it for the money.” But, “this could not be further from the reality of our sport and where supporters of our MMA stand.”
If you want to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day, but don’t want to have to go all the way downtown for the Saint Patty’s Pub Crawl, here are a few Boogie Down Irish bars to check out. The BxNN staff are partial to Bronx Ale House, because it’s close to our office and has a great selection of craft beer (plus Guinness). Last year they had live musicians playing the bag pipes. The Piper’s Kilt, on W. 231st Street, is another, more traditional, favorite.
State Senator Ruben Diaz, Jr. is laughing off requests to return money contributed to his campaign by State Senator Carl Kruger, who is facing federal bribery charges. Diaz and Kruger are pals who made up half of the so-called ‘4 Amigos’ – including Hiram Monserrate (who was expelled from the Senate after assaulting his girlfriend), Pedro Espada (who Bronx voters returned to his real home in Mamaroneck when they elected Gustavo Rivera). Here’s some of what Diaz has to say:
Tenants Rally at New York Community Bank from Bronx News Network on Vimeo.A group of Bronx tenants from a number of foreclosed, violation-riddled apartments have filed a lawsuit against the bank that owns the mortgage on their properties, hoping to hold the lender responsible for paying for repairs.The lawsuit was filed last Thursday on behalf of tenants by Legal Services NYC-Bronx, the Urban Justice Center, Urban Homesteading Assistance Board and NY Communities for Change.That same day, residents from the buildings and organizers rallied at a Manhattan branch of the New York Community Bank. They were turned away after asking to see the branch manager to make their case (see the video, above, for more from the scene.)”We don’t do those types of loans here,” the dismayed manager said, after closing the door to her office once protesters filed inside the bank’s lobby.”You have no idea what we’re going through, because you live fine,” responded Gennet Riley, a tenant who lives in one of the foreclosed buildings at 735 Bryant Avenue. “We’re here trying to let you understand that we care about our buildings. We just want you to acknowledge us.”The group then set up shop on the sidewalk outside, chanting, waving signs, and handing out photos of their crumbling apartments to confused passersby. One bank customer, after asking what the protest was about, promptly picked up a poster and started marching with the group.Tenants complain of long spells without heat and hot water, broken elevators that go unfixed, mold, leaking ceilings and scurrying vermin at the eight Bronx properties: 1221 Sheridan Ave; 1225 Sheridan Ave; 2265 Morris Ave; 2271 Morris Ave; 2345 Crotona Ave; 2350 Creston Ave; 3212 Cruger Ave; and 735 Bryant Ave.“When it rains, it’s leaking in my bathroom.
This is a tale of the very type of government secrecy that we would like to see less of and that we are advocating for during Sunshine Week. In late fall of 2009, the Norwood News sent an inquisitive young intern named Megan Taylor to Harris Field in Bedford Park to see how the massive reconstruction of soccer and baseball fields was coming along. She came back with a scoop. Workers there told her construction had halted following the discovery of some kind of contamination.We immediately pressed the Parks Department for more details. What kind of contamination is it?
Today, as part of our Sunshine Week festivities, we’ve posted this lovely and melodic history of the Freedom of Information Act, signed by Lyndon Johnson in 1966 and then amended over the years as it suited certain presidents. Plus, it can also be used for putting babies to sleep. Enjoy. The information is out there!
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