Bronx News Network

Controversial Minister Looks to Set Up Shop at the Armory

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Creflo Dollar, pictured with his wife, Taffi, in a photofrom the Kingsbridge Armory report.An evangelical preacher from Georgia, known for his lavish lifestyle and for touting the spiritual benefits of wealth, is proposing to take over the long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory, according to a report released by the Bronx borough president’s office last month.World Changers Church International, an Atlanta-based, nondenominational parish led by television preacher Creflo Dollar and his wife, Taffi, has proposed turning the 575,000 square-foot West Kingsbridge Road building into a “state of the art church facility” fit with administrative offices, daycare and afterschool program space, a gymnasium, food and clothing banks and a recording studio.The proposal is one of over 20 submitted to Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., and a task force he appointed last year to consider future uses for the space. World Changers presented to the task force in January, and said their center, if approved, would be open to use for all community members, regardless of religious affiliation.Dollar (yes, that’s his real name, according to a “frequently asked questions” section on the church’s website) is a controversial figure in the religious world, known for preaching “prosperity theology,” or the idea that God rewards believers with wealth and financial bounty.“Jesus came to restore abundance and prosperity in our lives,” Dollar wrote in a column on his website. “Simply put, we don’t have to be poor once we grab hold of the Word of God.”Bob Hall, head pastor of Bronx Household of Faith, a conservative evangelical Christian church in University Heights, called Dollar’s ministry “crap,” and said his focus on wealth and affluence gives Christianity a bad name. “This is what frustrates me about the mega churches,” he said. “If we had just a tenth of their landscaping budget, just think about how much good we could do.”Dollar’s budget is big enough for World Changers’ New York affiliate to rent out mega venues like Madison Square Garden and the Javits Center for services.

Bronx News Network

Despite Outcry, City Moves Ahead With Wakefield Homeless Shelter Plan

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It looks like the Muller Army Reserve Center, a former military base in Wakefield that community leaders want to house the Kingsbridge Armory Annex’s National Guard so that the Kingsbridge Armory Annex can house a school (confusing, right?), is set to become a homeless shelter-the plan that Mayor Bloomberg’s administration has long been pushing.Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., who

Bronx

Bronx News Roundup, Tuesday July 5

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Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend!Weather: Bright and sunny today with a high of 92! Stay cool folks!Story of the Day: Ever wonder what the NYPD does with confiscated fireworks? Watch the video of the NYPD’s disposal of 5, 000 pounds of fireworks at a firing range in the Bronx.Quick Hits:Councilman Larry Seabrook, who is awaiting trial on corruption charges, made headlines today because he is trying to give taxpayer money to an unlicensed after-school program.

Bronx News Network

Armory Report: Long in Length, Short on Answers

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The Kingsbridge Armory, on West Kingsbridge Road. (File photo by Adi Talwar)Editor’s Note: This story was first published in the latest issue of the Norwood News, on the streets and online now.By ALEX KRATZ Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. has made it clear redeveloping the vacant 575,000-square-foot Kingsbridge Armory into a quality-job-producing, vibrant community space, is a top priority of his administration. But a much-anticipated report created by an Armory task force he assembled was released with little fanfare earlier this month and appears to generate more questions than answers. On June 21, Diaz’s office quietly released the 267-page report, which included no clear plan for financing the redevelopment. It detailed all of the meetings of the task force, which included union reps, health care industry leaders, developers, community activists and elected officials.

Bronx News Network

Sing for Hope's Statement on Oval Piano

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At the end of a week-long saga starting with an assumption that the piano in Williamsbridge Oval was stolen followed by a Parks Department admission that its sanitation crew discarded it, Sing for Hope, the nonprofit group that provided the piano, had this to say on Saturday:”Sing for Hope was informed today by the NYC Parks Department that the missing piano at Wiliamsbridge Oval was mistakenly removed from the park by sanitation staff.

Bronx

Bronx Crime Watch: Rally for Clinton H.S. Shooting Victim Grows On Facebook

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Editor’s note: This article first appears in the latest edition of the Norwood News, out on streets and online now. By Alex KratzWhile 15-year-old DeWitt Clinton High School student Yvette Torres fights for her life at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, a group of people, many of whom have never met her, some from as far away as Massachusetts, are doing their best to track down the person who shot her in the back of the head and bring them to justice.Yvette was shot in the head after she confronted a gunman at a June 11 party in an apartment building near Fordham Road, on the corner of East 187th Street and Valentine Avenue. It’s unclear exactly what sparked the confrontation or why the gunman fired the shot that hit Yvette. But it is clear that there were witnesses to the crime and the shooter remains at large.On June 17, the New York Post reported that a 17-year-old boy had been arrested and charged with Yvette’s shooting. But the NYPD says no one has been arrested and the investigation is ongoing.Seeing that the investigation had stalled, Queens resident Nelson Figueroa decided the police could use some help.