Pride on Display

Did we catch you at the 25th Annual Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade? See our photos of the festivities. 

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New Bronx Family Feud?

100 PERCENT

By Robert Press

Martinez for The 78^th Assembly Seat

The Chairman of the Committee of 100 Democrats, State Committeeman from the 78^th A.D., and our good friend Mr. Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez has announced that he will be running for the 78^th Assembly Seat. This was found out by us at the Bronx Puerto Rican Day parade when current 78^th Assemblyman Jose Rivera snubbed his State Committeeman to photograph his daughter's opponent Mr. Mark Gjonaj in the 80^th Assembly race while Mr. Gjonaj was speaking to the crowd. 

We spoke to candidate Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez to find out exactly why he decided to run this year against a man who he called at one time his mentor. Mr. Martinez said that his friendship with Assemblyman Rivera goes back to when he used to go out with the assemblyman's daughter now Assemblywoman Rivera. Mr. Martinez said that while he and many others have been very loyal to the assemblyman that the assemblyman has not as proven by his actions, the latest being redistricting his son Councilman Joel Rivera into the 78^th Assembly District so Jose can pass the assembly seat down to his son when his son is out of a job in 2013. Candidate Martinez continued that the the 78^th A.D. is not a kingdom that gets passed down to the next generation.

Many people and political insiders have said that they thought Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez would run for the assembly seat in 2010, and have encouraged him to run this year. Now that word is getting out that he is running, Martinez said that his support is growing every day. Candidate Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez said that Assemblyman Rivera knew that he wanted to run in 2010, but that he was diagnosed with an early stage of cancer that he has survived and is now ready to run for the assembly seat. By the way Rivera, who we were told is 75, allegedly has health problems so it would be easy for him to say that he has to retire in midterm so his son could run in a special election. However if that were to happen we have been told that there is another person close to the current Democratic County Leader (that took control of the county leadership away from Rivera) who was redistricted out of the 78^th A.D., but has moved back into the new 78^th A.D. and could be waiting for such an opportunity.

Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez is running on a platform of “The Community and the People First.” Mr. Martinez, unlike the current assemblyman, is in favor of term limits for all elected positions. “If there are term limits for the President and the City Council, why are there no term limits for statewide offices.” Better education, more and better jobs, better housing, better transportation, are only a few of candidate Martinez's goals, and he said that some of those in office often think of themselves or their family first and Assemblyman Rivera is a perfect example of that.

Staying on the subject of Assembly races we have been told that incumbent 80^th State Committeewoman Diane Cerino will not be on the petition of the current assemblywoman but will be on the petition of Mark Gjonaj for the 80^th Assembly District. We now have three assembly races in the 78^th, 80^th, and the open 87th assembly districts that we will be watching. In two weeks we will get out our crystal ball to predict the winner in the 13^th Congressional race that is on Tuesday June 26th, which has now turned into a real battle. 

If he is reelected Congressman Rangel may need to take several weeks or even months to recuperate.

Lastly go to my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com to see photos that I took of the Bronx Puerto Rican Day parade along with the details of how the parade went. It looked like a washout for a few minutes as the rain started to pour, but the sun quickly came back out after the brief shower. Thousands marched, and thousands more enjoyed those who marched with the cars and floats.

If you have any comments about this column or would like to have an event listed or covered in this column or on my blog you can e-mail us at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press.

Manhattan College Captures MAAC Championship

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 4- In the early weeks of the 2012 college baseball season, few Manhattan College rooters would have expected their favorites to be facing the two-time defending NCAA champions, South Carolina, in the first game of the NCAA playoffs on June 1st.

During the off-season, Kevin Leighton, the coach who headed a resurgence of the Jaspers during the past half-dozen years left the college to accept the vacant head coaching position crosstown at Fordham University. He was succeeded at Manhattan by Jim Duffy. Duffy, a standout player at Seton Hall, served as an assistant baseball coach at his alma mater for seven years.

The year started very disappointingly for Duffy and his players as the Jaspers only won one of the first 15 games they played. At that point, things changed. Manhattan won 32 of the remaining 43 contests to capture the MAAC regular season title, the MACC Championship Tournament and enter the NCAA Tournament with a 33-25 mark. 

Duffy explained the change, “We just worked really hard, strung together some wins and battled back and figured out what worked.”

Manhattan’s 18-6 record in the MAAC earned it the regular season title for the fourth time in the last five years, missing it only in 2010. The Jaspers were victorious in the conference championship for the second straight year. The only other conference title won by Manhattan was in 2006.

The team was exceptionally comfortable in its own home field, a public park, Van Cortland Park, as it was the only Division I club to go undefeated at home, 18-0, during the 2012 season.

Manhattan dropped its first game in the double elimination MAAC championship, which took place in Troy, New York.  The Jaspers then relied on their submarining righty Taylor Sewitt to go all the way to the title.

The senior from Highland Mills, New York won each of Manhattan’s final three contests. He began by hurling a nine-inning shutout. On the following day, he pitched the last two innings without surrendering a run and earned the win after the jaspers came from behind. In the final game he won with an 11 inning relief appearance victory over Canisius. His tournament mark was 22 innings of scoreless pitching during which he threw 296 pitches. His efforts earned him the award as Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week.

Manhattan’s reward for winning the MAAC title was a trip to Columbia, South Carolina for the first round of the National Tourney. In the opening contest, the Jaspers were scheduled to meet the two-time defending national champion University of South Carolina Gamecocks.

Sewitt, Manhattan’s starter, entered the game with a scoreless streak of 33.2 innings. Sewitt and South Carolina starter Colby Holmes hooked up in a sterling pitching duel in which neither hurler gave up a hit or a run in the first five innings.

Sewitt’s scoreless streak ended at 39.1 innings Adam Matthews doubled in two of the gamecocks with two out in the sixth. Two more scored in the inning to put South Carolina ahead, 4-0.

Joe Rock of Manhattan singled to left with two out in the eighth. The hit was the first given up by Holmes. The winning pitcher left the game after the eighth having surrendered only one hit and one hit batsman while fanning nine.

Manhattan relievers gave up three runs in the eighth to conclude a 7-0 victory for South Carolina.

The next opportunity for the Jaspers in the double elimination tourney was a Saturday contest against Coastal Carolina. The game was tightly contested during the first five innings as the score stood 1-1.

The Carolina tide covered Manhattan as the Chanticleers scored 10 runs during the next three innings to end the season for the Jaspers.

Although the Jaspers lost both games at the NCAA in South Carolina, Duffy and his players can savor the pride of a MAAC regular season and tournament title and the opportunity to represent the Bronx on the national collegiate baseball stage.

Pharmacy Burglarized

PHARMACY BURGLAR: Cops are asking for the public’s help in trying to catch a man who broke into a Riverdale pharmacy. Surveillance video shows the suspect breaking into the Hudson Parkway Pharmacy at around 3:30 a.m. on May 31.

Anyone with information is urged to call CRIMESTOPPERS at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls are confidential..

Mother Remembers Fallen Son

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By Michael Horowitz

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 1- Emily Toro, the mother of a fallen hero in the second Iraq war, was on hand, Sunday, to add poignancy to Co-op City's Memorial Day observance at the Veterans' Memorial Park on Bartow Avenue.

Among the local dignitaries joining Sunday's local observance of Memorial Day were Rep. Eliot Engel, Assemblyman Michael Benedetto, and Community Board 10 District Manager Kenneth Kearns.

Toro, who became as Gold Star Mother after her son, Private Isaac Cortes, was killed in Iraq in 2007, said that she really did not understand the importance of taking time out to observe Memorial Day until her son was killed at the age of 26.

Toro, commenting after Sunday's observance, said that her son, who grew up in Parkchester, was killed as a soldier in the Army's 110^th Mountain Division.

“My son, who had worked as a security guard at Yankee Stadium, saw joining the Army as his path to joining the New York Police Department,” Toro noted.

Along the way, Toro pointed out, the Army nurtured a sense of patriotism in her son that burned deeply within him at the time he was killed.

Lirio, for his part, said, after Sunday's Memorial Day observance, that he is extremely proud of his daughter, Capt. Jasmin Lirio, 29, a career military officer who previously served in the second Iraq as a platoon commander.

In his remarks at Sunday's local observance of Memorial Day, Assemblyman Benedetto stressed that those who have served in the military throughout the nation's history deserve special praise for answering the call of duty without asking questions about their missions.

Benedetto said that most Americans do not fully appreciate the way those in the military have sacrificed their youth, the healthy bodies, and even their lives to keep American free.

Rep. Engel, for his part, stressed that too few Americans take time out to reflect, even on Memorial Day, on the sacrifices that those in the military have made to maintain the freedoms that Americans enjoy.  

Madagascar in the Bronx

Baby Lemurs make their Zoo debut

Photo Credit: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

BRONX, NEW YORK,  June 1 – A Coquerel’s sifaka, born this spring, clings to its mother’s back as she perches on a branch in the Madagascar! exhibit at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo. A collared lemur, also born this spring, curls up to its mother as she reclines on a rock.

All lemur species are endemic to the island nation of Madagascar. Both the sifaka and the collared lemur are seeing dramatic declines in population due to loss of suitable habitat. The IUCN has designated the Coquerel’s sifaka as an Endangered Species and the collared lemur is listed as Vulnerable.

Coquerel’s sifakas spend most of their time in trees and leap effortlessly, launching themselves vertically with their strong legs. Like most species of lemurs, the females are dominant to the males, claiming the choicest food and the best sleeping and sunning spots.

Collared lemurs use their long tails to balance when leaping through the forest canopy. Collared lemurs live in groups of males and females but are not matriarchal like the sifaka and many other lemurs.

There are five species of lemurs on exhibit in Madagascar! along with many other animals unique to the African island. Opened in 2008, Madagascar! educates zoo visitors about the country’s incredible biodiversity and the challenges it faces.

The Wildlife Conservation Society works in Madagascar to protect lemurs and other wildlife. 

To plan your trip, visit www.bronxzoo.com or call (718) 367-1010.

Third Time’s Not the Charm

Third Time’s Not the Charm for Check Cashing Chump

By Dan Gesslein

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 1- Guess he thought the third time would be the charm in trying to rob an East Tremont check cashing place. However, cops say the crook struck out all three times at the same store.

According to investigators the same man tried to rob the same Pay-O-Matic check cashing place at 890 East Tremont Avenue three separate times in the same day. The first attempted robbery occurred at 12:45 a..m. on May 30. The man, whose image was captured on surveillance video, walked into the check cashing place and demanded money. The suspect was unable to complete the robbery and fled.

Then about 10 hours later the same man tried to rob the site. Once again the would be robber left empty handed. Then again that night the suspect walked into the same Pay-O-Matic and again demanded cash and again left empty handed. 

The only thing cops say the robber was successful in was that he got a clear image of his face caught on surveillance video. Now investigators are asking for the public’s help to catch this robber.

The suspect is described as a black male, 6 foot 1 to 6 foot 2. He weighs between 175 and 180 pounds. He was wearing a black

du-rag, black shirt and black pants. 

Anyone with information is urged to call CRIMESTOPPERS at (800) 577-TIPS. The public can also summit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.