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.

Bronx News Network

Piano for Public to Arrive in Oval Park on June 18

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Last summer, as part of the Sing for Hope program, a piano arrived in Sachkerah Woods Playground in the Norwood section of Van Cortlandt Park (see photo above by David Greene). This year, the destination is Williambridge Oval. It was supposed to appear near the new playground on June 18, but some final punch-list construction items under way there (the Parks Department says the playground, spray showers, and basketball courts, will be open by the end of June) make that location unlikely. The Parks Department tells us though that the piano is definitely Oval bound, and though they won’t know the location until the last minute, it may go in front of the benches at the Reservoir Oval West entrance. Unfortunately, last year, the pianos suffered from vandalism in two Bronx Parks, including Sachkerah Woods.

Bronx News Network

Bronx News Roundup, Friday, June 10

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Happy Friday, ladies and gentlemen of the Bronx and beyond, let’s get down to business. Weather: It may be cooler today, but there’s definitely still some sticky humidity lingering. A slight chance of thunderstorms this afternoon before we head into a weekend full of clouds, rain and, thankfully, much cooler temperatures.Story of the Day: Four Injured in Castle Hill BBQ ShootingI hate (and I don’t use that word lightly) making gun violence the subject of our Story of the Day. It feeds into the worldwide-held stereotype of the Bronx as a crime-ridden blight on the rest of New York City. There are other positive, compelling, fun and substantive conversations we should be having.

Bronx News Network

Bronx Events: Puerto Rican Festival at Roberto Clemente Park

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By GIOVANNY FAUSTO PINTOThis Sunday marks the 54th National Puerto Rican Day Parade, a time-honored tradition where Puerto Rican residents in the Bronx and the across the city come out to celebrate their heritage. This year’s grand marshals are Robert I. Unanue, President of Goya Foods, Inc., and Carlos ?Unanue, President of Goya Foods Puerto Rico. The Parade kicks off at 11 a.m. at Fifth Avenue and 44th Street, and ends at Fifth Avenue and 79th Street. If you need any flags, necklaces, or other swag to showcase your Puerto Rican

Bronx News Network

Bronx News Roundup, Thursday, June 9

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Weather: Outrageously hot. Because of the extremely temperatures and humidity today in the Bronx and the rest of the region, the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory until 8 p.m. tonight as well as an air quality alert from 2 to 11 p.m. Stay inside, drink lots of water and if you can, spend some time chillin’ in one of the city’s 400-plus cooling centers. Click here to locate the center nearest you. Thankfully it is supposed to cool down slightly tomorrow and then temperatures should drop significantly this weekend.Story of the Day: Shooter Takes Aim at Bronx Students, Hits 16-year-old in the HipThis is the type of terrifying random-act-of-violence story that keeps parents up at night. Yesterday afternoon, a man stepped off a BX5 bus near the Rincon de Gautier Institute for Law and Public Policy on Story Avenue and opened fire.

Bronx News Network

Heat Wave Health Tips: Stay Cool, Bronxites

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File photo by Adi TalwarWeather.com says the thermometer is going to hit a stifling 95 degrees today. As we mentioned in this morning’s news roundup, you can get some relief from the heat by stopping in at one of the city’s air-conditioned cooling centers.You can find the location closest to you by calling 311 or using this online map feature.In the meantime, the folks over at St. Barnabas Hospital wanted to remind everyone, especially the elderly and those with young children and infants, to be wary of the health dangers that can come with very hot weather.Dr. Ernest Patti, the hospital’s Senior Attending Physician of Emergency Medicine, offers these tips for how to stay cool-and avoid health problems like heat exhaustion and heat stroke-until this sweltering weather breaks:Drinks lots of cool water even when you’re not feeling thirsty. You can dilute water with a 50-50 mix of natural fruit juices if you desire a change. Avoid alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, sports and energy drinks (especially in children), coffee, cola, and caffeine drinks.