Riverdalian TV Host tapes 900th Show!

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(Sheran Tavarez on the set of the Antique Trader with designer John Van Means.- Photo by Shirlyn Bake)

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, July 13- Local television celebrity Sheran Tavarez quietly celebrated a significant milestone as the host of several popular cable shows, having taped her 900th show on June 9.

Living on Broadway in Riverdale and commuting to the BronxNet studios on the grounds of Herbert H. Lehman College, for more years then anyone cares to remember, Tavarez has been churning out quality television, with her shows, "The Antique Trader," "The New York Woman," and the children's show, "Penelope Peach and Friends."

After properly learning how to work the camera, Tavarez began her long stint with the children's favorite Penelope Peach and Friends. In the process of 900 shows you slowly learn the painstaking task of editing, arranging and even producing local television.

Recalling her milestone broadcast, Tavarez stated, "For the 900th show last week we had the renowned designer, artist and now a collector of autographs, John Van Means, who was on this week's edition of The Antique Trader." 

No one is quite sure when, but with stars in her eyes, Tavarez walked into the BronxNet studios between 32 and 35 years ago and she has not stopped for very long, her dedication to the research, production and editing of her shows... really show.

Oddly enough, talk show legend Joe Franklin was the first guest of The Antique Trader. Franklin is regarded as the grandfather of the talk show, having stared in the very first one on American TV.

Franklin began on radio in 1951, appearing on New York-Based WJZ-TV, which later became WABC-TV. The Joe Franklin Show jumped to WWOR-TV in 1962 and Franklin continued to host, working out of a cramped Times Square office until 1993.

Asked to name a couple of her favorite guests she has had on the show, Tavarez responds, "Cousin' Brucie," Bruce Morrow. We actually taped something at the WCBS studios before he left to go to Sirius Radio."

"Another guest?" Tavarez struggles before replying, "I've forgotten, there's been so many. George Way of the George Way Collection... the guy is incredible, I mean he has his own museum on State Island!"

For her efforts Tavarz has won countless awards, including several Beta Awards (Bronx Excellence in Television Access Awards) for her producing her shows and she just took home an award at the recent Tribeca Film Festival.

Besides being a legendary figure through the sets and halls of BronxNet, Tavarez also enjoys a following in England, Australia and Holland and don't forget YouTube.

For the milestone broadcast, Michael Knobbe, the Executive Director of BronxNet stated, "We're kind of a vibrant community of civically-engaged Bronxites that come to train at BronxNet and produce programs for BronxNet's, your television channels and Sheran Tavarez has produced  exciting and creative programs over the years."

Knobbe added, "She is a wonderful part of the open-work that is BronxNet."

Tavarez could not say who she would like to interview for her 1,000 episode, but says with a smile, "The next show I'm researching right now is the history of hats. Now that's going to be a very interesting show."

Tazarez still has a long way to go to ever pass talk show Queen Oprah Winfrey, who has taped over 5,000 episodes that will likely remain in syndication for many more year's to come... But Tavarez is still working on it.

Many of Tavarez' shows, including her 900th broadcast can be found on YouTube. Once on YouTube, fans of children's show simply type in, "Penelope Peach and Friends." Oddly enough, fans of, "New York Women," must type in, "Dena Robins," or, "The Antique Trader."

BronxNet is broadcast over Cablevision on channels 67, 69, and 70, and on Verizon on channels 33 - 38. Check local listings for days and times.   

Class Act

Axelbank family and Monroe College Foundation partner in awards to students

BRONX, NEW YORK, July 13- The family of Eli Axelbank, who was a principal at the former James Monroe HS, has joined forces with the Monroe College Foundation in scholarship awards for graduates of the Monroe Academy for Visual Art and Design (MAVAD) and the Monroe Academy for Business and Law (MABL).

Represented by Gary Axelbank, one of Eli’s three sons who is the BronxTalk television host, the Axelbank family has presented the award to students at the Monroe Academies (no relation to the college) at their graduations since his passing in 1982.

“Our family has done this for 30 years because my father’s legacy as an educator, a father, and a community leader is worth passing on to future generations,” Gary Axelbank said. “So we select students who have achieved not only in the classroom, but also in their communities.”

Eli Axelbank’s widow, Mickey, and the families of Arthur and Jeffrey Axelbank also contribute to the award. Long-time educator, Tom Porton, who was a colleague of Eli Axelbank, administrates the award on behalf of the high schools and the Axelbank family.

The MAVAD winner this year is Carmen Cancel who was a four-year member of the leadership class, the captain of the school’s blood drive, and on the senior council. She also fed the homeless, was in the art club, and worked with senior citizens.

The MABL award winner is Carlos Gonzalez who was a four-year basketball player, a member of the senior council and year book committee, and worked at feeding the homeless.

To help commemorate the decades of support the Axelbank family has provided, this year the Monroe College Foundation broadened the scope of the award with a scholarship to help the students pay for their college education.

Tat’s Alot!

Rape Suspect’s Tattoo of Own Name Led Cops to Arrest

By Dan Gesslein

BRONX, NEW YORK, July 13- Was it his tat that gave him away? Police arrested a man they say raped a visiting North Carolina woman. Tips led to an arrest after surveillance video of the incident showed the suspect had his name tattooed on his shoulder.

Investigators say the suspect acted as a tour guide and instead of simply helping the tourist find her hotel he sexually assaulted her.

Police arrested 27-year-old Ivan Jones based on a tip after surveillance video from the hotel was released. In the surveillance video cops noticed that the suspect had the name “Ivan” tattooed on his right shoulder as well as “Tiffany” inked on the inside of his left forearm. 

Investigators say the sex fiend targeted his victim while they were riding on a Bronx-bound subway car. On July 11, cops say the victim had engaged the suspect while on a Bronx-bound subway train at East 14th and Union Square. According to published reports the 33-year-old woman had asked the man for directions in the Bronx. He told her he was going the same way and he ended up escorting the woman from the Bronx subway stop to the Howard Johnson Express Inn on Boston Road.

At her hotel room at around 4 a.m., the woman heard a knock on her door. Once she opened the door, the man pushed his way inside the room. Cops say he choked and raped the woman. Then he bound her and stole $50, the victim’s cell phone and a pair of earrings. 

Jones was charged with rape, strangulation and assault.

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Cop wanted to 'whack' witness

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Jury charges cop with trying to hire hit man to kill witness

BRONX, NEW YORK, July 12- District Attorney Robert T. Johnson and New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced that Police Officer Jose Ramos and his wife Wanda Abreu have been charged in a new indictment with conspiring to hire a “hit” man to murder a witness in a criminal case against Ramos.  

In the indictment unsealed, the grand jury charged Ramos,43,and Abreu,39, with three counts of conspiracy in the second degree, a Class B felony offense, and one count of criminal solicitation in the second degree, a Class D felony offense. Conspiracy in the second degree, the most serious of the charges, is punishable by a maximum sentence of up to 25 years imprisonment if convicted.

The charges in this indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The defendants were arraigned before State Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett who ordered that Ramos be remanded pending disposition of these charges. Bail for Abreu was set at $100,000 cash or $500,000 bond. The judge was told that in addition to allegedly attempting to have a witness killed, the defendants had also tried to persuade another witness to lie, and had planned to set up an alibi by arranging to be out of state in Texas when the “hit” was carried out.

It is alleged in court papers that from September 15, 2011 until May 7, 2012, the defendants attempted to arrange the contract killing through face to face meetings and telephone calls, some of which were recorded at a detention facility on Rikers Island, where Ramos is awaiting trial.   

Ramos has been charged with numerous offenses in six other indictments, the most serious of which stemmed from NYPD sting operations in which he allegedly attempted to transport large quantities of heroin from the Bronx to Brooklyn, steal money from purported drug dealers, and commit a robbery while on duty. 

Wanda Abreu was also charged with Ramos in one of those indictments for allegedly filing a fraudulent insurance claim. Until these new charges were filed today, Abreu had been released on her own recognizance. Bail for Ramos in connection with last October’s indictments remains set at $500,000 cash or $5,000,000 bond. 

District Attorney Johnson and Commissioner Kelly thanked the New York City Department of Investigation and the members of their respective staffs for the hard work and dedication that resulted in the indictment announced today.

The Week in Crime

By David Greene

MAN SHOT ON DAVIDSON

Police officers from the 46th Precinct were called to the scene of a shooting on the University Heights / Fordham Heights border and discovered a male shot. 

The incident was called into police at just after 4:30 p.m., on Monday, July 9. The victim was transported to a local hospital, his condition was not immediately known. 

Police were said to be looking for a male Hispanic, 22 to 23-years old, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

FIRE AT PAY-O-MATIC ?

An all-hands fire was reported at the corner of E. Gun Hill Road at White Plains Road, that broke out at 11 p.m., on Sunday, July 8. 

Sources say the all-hands blaze broke out inside the Pay-O-Matic check cashing center on the Bainbridge/Olinville border. The fire was brought under control after about 25-minutes, the extent of the damage was contained as the center was open for business the following Tuesday. At the time of the incident, fire officials had the address as 3507 White Plains Road, but the center is listed as 697 E. Gun Hill Road, However, the FDNY now has no record of a fire breaking out at either address. A woman at the Payt-O-Matic stated she was not allowed to comment on if a fire took place at the location or not. Calls to their corporate office were not immediately returned.

TWENTY INJURED IN BRUCKNER CRASH

Twenty people were reported to be injured in a motor vehicle accident at Bruckner Boulevard and E. 149 Street, at 8 p.m., on Saturday, July 7. 

EMS declared the incident, "a mass-casualty incident," or (MCI) giving the incident special priority and additional resources due to the amount of injuries. None of the 20 injuries reported were thought to be serious.

SEX ASSAULT IN MT. HOPE

Police were called to E. Tremont Avenue and Valentine Avenue, at 3:30 a.m., on July 7. 

Officers from the 46th Precinct were called to Echo Park, where the victim stated she was sexually assaulted by two individuals. Police were reportedly looking for a white male about 20-years old and a Black male of unknown age in regard to this crime. No clothing description of either suspect was currently available.

WOMAN SHOT IN CASTLE HILL

Police from the 43rd Precinct were called to the scene of a shooting and discovered a female shot. 

Police were called at 3:30 a.m., on Thursday, July 5, to 2160 Seward Avenue. The NYPD's Emergency Services Unit was soon called to 2125 Randall Avenue to conduct an evidence search. No additional information was available at this time.

FORDHAM HEIGHTS SHOOTING

Police were called to 2230 Grand Concourse at E. 182 Street for a report of a person shot. The incident took place at 12:10 a.m., on July 5. No information on the victim or suspect were immediately known.

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS SHOOTING

Police were called to 2287 Loring Place North, between Loring Place and W. Fordham Road, at 11:45 p.m., on Wednesday, July 4. 

The male victim was transported to an area hospital and was expected to survive. No information was available on the shooter.

VICTIM WOUNDED IN MORRISANIA

Police and paramedics were called to 745 E. 152 Street for a person shot. Police got the call at just before 11:30 p.m., on July 4. The victim was said to have been removed in stable condition.

LONG ISLAND SOUND RECOVERY

Officers from the 45th Precinct reported a dead body washing up on the rocks at just after 11 p.m., on Wednesday, July 4. 

The NYPD Harbor Patrol was called to the Long Island Sound, off the coast of the Bronx in the area of the Bronx / Whitestone Bridge where it's believed a body was removed. No other details on this incident were immediately available.

ORCHARD BEACH DROWNING

Members of the Emergency Services Unit were dispatched to Section 8 of Orchard Beach after life guards reportedly pulled a victim from the water. 

The incident was reported by the life guards at 2 p.m. on July 4, and who quickly began giving CPR. ESU arrived within five-minutes and the victim was rushed to Jacobi Hospital where the victim was pronounced dead on arrival.

MAN SHOT IN MELROSE

Cops and medics were called to 346 Thurman Munson Way for reports of shots fired and discovered a man shot. 

The aided man was transported to a nearby hospital in stable condition. No information was available on the gunman.

9 INJURED IN PARKWAY CRASH

Nine people were taken to area hospitals after a motor vehicle crash at 2:50 p.m., on Tuesday, July 2. 

A collision between a black Ford Fusion and a mini-bus from the Bella Bus Corporation took place at the intersection of Pelham Parkway South and Williamsbridge Road. 

Six individuals were removed by EMS in stable condition and three others were reported as serious. Witnesses at the scene say the automobile sped through a red light when the collision took place. None of the injuries were thought to be life-threatening.

If you have witnessed or have information on a violent crime, you may give your information anonymously by calling 1 (800) 577-TIPS or TEXT: Crimes. ENTER: TIPS577.    

Hot times ahead

COMMUNITY BOARD

NEWS N’ VIEWS

By

Father Richard F. Gorman

Chairman

Community Board #12 (The Bronx)

“Hot town, summer in the city

Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty.”

Remember these words of THE LOVIN’ SPOONFUL? They are taken from a song written by band member Mark Sebastian entitled SUMMER IN THE CITY that was the number one song on the BILLBOARD HOT 100 in August of 1966. The song featured a series of car horns, during the instrumental bridge, starting with a Volkswagen Beetle horn, and ending up with a jackhammer sound, in order to give the impressions of the sounds of the summer in the city. The song is ranked number 393 on ROLLING STONE’S list of THE 500 GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIME.

While the heat wave of last week has subsided, it is clear that other hot, hazy, and humid days lie ahead. This summer may well prove to be rather uncomfortable, if not brutal, at times in terms of the weather.

What is clear, however, is that this summer will be far from calm or copasetic relative to the challenges that confront the people of

Community Board #12 (The Bronx) all year long. These issues will not be taking a vacation or giving us any rest or relaxation during these hazy, lazy summer days of July and August.

As I related to you last week, the issue of the homeless colony being planned by the City of New York and its Department of Homeless Services (N.Y.C.D.H.S.) on the intersection of Bronx Boulevard and East 238TH Street/Nereid Avenue is front and center once again. If the Bloomberg Administration has its way, two facilities housing well over 300 of our homeless brothers and sisters with chemical dependencies and/or mental health issues will be dumped on a single intersection in a single neighborhood within two years, within a brief stroll of yet a third homeless facility sheltering some 60+ folks, who otherwise would not have a roof over their head, up the hill and around the corner on White Plains Road. The end result is that a single spot in the one neighborhood of Wakefield will now have anywhere from 400 to 500 new residents, most if not all of whom have critical needs to be addressed in a Community Board that has historically suffered a severe scarcity of municipal services. If the circumstances leading to this situation demonstrate any genuine foresight in planning and/or justice in the equal and fair-share distribution of the burden imposed by the presence of municipal facilities in Bronx Community District #12, I wish that I could unearth it. Please, could somebody  --  ANYBODY!  -- kindly tell me what I am missing and let me in on the secret?

The United States Army and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S.H.U.D.) are preparing to facilitate the transfer of THE SERGEANT JOSEPH E. MULLER UNITED STATES ARMY RESERVE CENTER (MULLER U.S.A.R.C.) located at 555 East 238TH Street/Nereid Avenue to the City of New York for re-use by THE DOE FUND, INCORPORATED as a shelter for some 200 men with chemical dependencies and related social service needs. Simultaneously, PROJECT RENEWAL, a big-time player in the cottage industry that has sprouted up amongst the homeless, is on the verge of undertaking renovation of the structure at 4380 Bronx Boulevard. While these agencies profess with the piety of an old-fashioned cleric that their only desire is for the betterment of the homeless, the fact is that both organizations intend to house them in locales that are not environmentally safe. Both the

4380 Bronx Boulevard sites as well as the shuttered MULLER U.S.A.R.C. right across the street are contaminated with toxic materials that have seeped into the groundwater primarily from the AMERADA HESS Gas Station across Bronx Boulevard at 610 East 238TH Street/Nereid Avenue.

Moreover, if these agencies are seeking to do God’s work, they appear to be doing it in less than a divine fashion. The City of New York should not be preparing to have MULLER U.S.A.R.C. transferred to its Department of Homeless Services (N.Y.C.D.H.S.) because the process by which such transfer should be take place, THE DEFENSE BASE REALIGNMENT

AND CLOSURE ACT (DEFENSE B.R.A.C.), has not been followed. As a matter of fact, the City of New York is concocting a scenario that is as phony as a three-dollar bill in order to make it appear as if the spirit and letter of DEFENSE B.R.A.C. has been obeyed. Meanwhile, questions about the professionalism and competency with which PROJECT RENEWAL has served the homeless at another of its facilities in the Borough of Manhattan have led to complaints, some of which have resulted in the agency literally being dragged into court. Recently, an out-of-court settlement was reached on one of these grievances.

Accordingly, letters have been written and more will have to be

penned. Perhaps, other causes of action will have to be filed in

court. In any event, vacation is not a term that will apply to the

problems that beset our area during this summer. As THE LOVING SPOONFUL put it so well, it is going to be a “hot time” this summer in the City and our necks will probably get quite “dirty and gritty,” but we shall not allow those who do not have our best interests at heart to break them.

Until next time, that is it for this time!

Personal loan or illegal gift?

Engel stonewalls News

By Christopher Hagedorn

BRONX, NEW YORK, July 6- The question of whether or not Rep. Eliot Engel accepted an illegal gift from his largest campaign contributor of up to $250,000 to purchase a co-op in Riverdale as his primary residence is shrouded by his refusal to disclose the terms of a personal loan.

 

Several facts are known about the loan:

 

            •           Engel wrongly listed it as a “mortgage” on a financial disclosure statement.

 

            •           He received it from Harry Bajraktari, a contributor.

 

            •           No records or documents, other than his federal financial disclosure statement filed in May, reflect the loan as a financial liability.

 

            •           The New York City record of the purchase of the co-op at 3725 Henry Hudson Parkway shows a transaction in cash.

 

            •           City records show no co-op loan, neither personal nor conventional.

            •           The House Ethics Committee will not confirm or deny whether Engel received approval for the loan from a contributor, though Engel claims he did get approval

            •           Reviews of Engel's finances by an accountant, as reflected by his financial disclosure statement,put in doubt whether he could have received a co-op loan from a financial institution.

            •           Engel has refused to reveal any details of the loan, including interest rate and repayment schedule, according to the Daily News.

 

The House Ethics Committee has strict standards for gifts, to delineate legality. Rules on gifts state representatives “may accept a loan from a person other than a financial institution, provided that the loan is on commercially reasonable terms, including requirements for repayment and a reasonable rate of interest.”

 

Engel's refusal to disclose the repayments schedule and rate of interest for a loan from a major contributor is problematic.

 

Harry Bajraktari is not just a supporter, but also a person with a vested interest in his agenda as an Albanian-American leader, an activist in the Kosovo independence movement.

 

Bajraktari has invested years in cultivating Engel's allegiance to his cause.

Reportedly, an Albanian supporter said, “Remember that it was Eliot Engel, who, during one of his visits to Pristina, stood in the square and told the Kosovo Albanian mob that he wanted to be the first U.S. ambassador to return to an independent Kosova.”

Engel reported on his financial disclosure statement, filed in May 2012 for calendar year 2011 that he had a “mortgage loan” on his primary residence at 3725 Henry Hudson Parkway, a two-bedroom co-op apartment that he bought in February 2011. A spokesman for Engel told the Daily News, “There is no actual mortgage on the property as this is a personal loan.”

City records of the co-op purchase for $280,000 disclosed no indebtedness in the transaction.

Bajraktari's monetary noblesse has rewarded Engel in another way, by granting him a partnership stake in a Bronx building. Engel failed to disclose the partnership for two years.

According to the congressman, in 2008, over drinks, Bajraktari asked him if Engel wanted a “piece” of a building he was buying. Engel recited to the Daily News that $20,000 to $30,000 bought 24 percent of a building purchased for $400,000















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