Friday, February 1, 2013

Riverdale News: Bronx Hails Koch

Riverdale News: Bronx Hails Koch: -->   Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. issued the following statement on the passing of Mayor Ed Koch: BRONX, NEW YORK...

Bronx Hails Koch

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Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. issued the following statement on the passing of Mayor Ed Koch:
BRONX, NEW YORK, February 1- “Today the Bronx is mourning the death of a son and one of the city’s greatest and most charismatic public leaders. Mayor Ed Koch was a man of wit and wisdom, a leader who helped lift our city out of the brink of bankruptcy, raising our spirits along the way and securing New York’s place as the capital of the world.
“Mayor Koch was always proud of his Bronx roots. During his administration he helped rebuild the South Bronx, creating a task force that helped restore burned-out buildings while creating new, thriving communities—work that still resonates to this day. He was a man of deep devotion, who after leaving office continued to inspire New Yorkers through his activism and his commitment to a city he fiercely loved.
“While we mourn his loss we honor his legacy, commitment to civil rights and his civic leadership, which will forever live in our hearts and in the millions of lives he touched. On behalf of the 1.4 million residents of the Bronx, I would like to extend our most heartfelt condolences to his family and friends during this very difficult time,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Riverdale News: Search Continues for Gunman in Double Homicide

Riverdale News: Search Continues for Gunman in Double Homicide: --> (Below) A memorial has been set up for the two victims who were discovered shot to death inside a car on Perry Avenue. (Above...

Search Continues for Gunman in Double Homicide

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(Below) A memorial has been set up for the two victims who were discovered shot to death inside a car on Perry Avenue. (Above) A memorial photo of Jennifer Rivera.
By David Greene
BRONX, NEW YORK, January 30- Homicide detectives continue their search for the suspect wanted for the latest killing in the relatively quiet and safe neighborhood of Norwood, after two cousins were found shot to death inside an SUV.
Answering a call of a person shot, police were summoned to a private home at 3328 Perry Avenue at 12:15 a.m., on January 16, when the officers discovered a man and woman had both been shot in the head inside a white SUV.
According to police, the male victim was rushed to Jacobi Hospital and the female victim was removed to St. Barnabas Hospital. Both victims were pronounced dead upon their arrival.
Police would later identify the victims as Jason Rivera, 30, of E. 194 Street and his niece Jennifer Rivera, 20, of Boynton Avenue.
None of the residents spoken to reported hearing gunfire, leading to speculation that the victims were killed at another location and dumped of the relatively quiet Perry Avenue.
Police say Jason Rivera served 4-years in prison after he was
convicted of stabbing a man in 2005. One published report stated that investigators were looking at the older Rivera's criminal background as a possible motive for the killings.
One resident of the block stated, "I didn't hear the gunfire... I've
been here 52-years so something like this is not going to shake me."
Several other violent incidents were reported recently within the
confines of the 52nd Precinct, at just after 5 p.m., on January 10,
police were called to 2608 Creston Avenue, where police discovered a male victim who was shot through the front door of a building.
Police were looking for the gunman, described as a male Hispanic teen, between 14 and 15-years old, who fled from E. 193 Street towards E. Kingsbridge Road.
At just before 6 p.m., on January 13, officers from the 52nd Precinct were called to 3051 Valentine Avenue at E. 204 Street, where they discovered a 30-year old male shot to his side and back.
Police in this incident were said to be looking for a male Hispanic who fled in a Range Rover. On January 14, police were called to 3525 Decatur Avenue, where a victim was discovered with a slash wound to the leg. All three victims were expected to survive. No arrests in any of the incidents were reported.
Longtime Norwood resident Sim Binnum believed the solution rests with Commissioner Ray Kelly, stating, "If we had walking patrols like he has in Manhattan, he could end some of this crap right now. If you go to Fordham you'll see walking patrols. But 204th Street is just as much a commercial district as Fordham or Jerome Avenue."
The 52nd Precinct, which covers the Norwood, Bedford Park and Fordham communities reported just six homicides last year, down from a high of 43 in 1993.
Anyone with any information on any violent crime are asked to call the CRIMESTOPPERS Tip Line at 1 (800) 577-TIPS, all calls remain confidential.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Riverdale News: Ben Franklin Dem Club Endorses Diaz & Cohen

Riverdale News: Ben Franklin Dem Club Endorses Diaz & Cohen: --> Riverdale Report By Robert Press BRONX, NEW YORK, January 25- The headline refers to the meeting of the Ben Fran...

Ben Franklin Dem Club Endorses Diaz & Cohen

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Riverdale Report
By Robert Press


BRONX, NEW YORK, January 25- The headline refers to the meeting of the Ben Franklin Democratic club that was held last Wednesday to see if the club wanted to endorse candidates in the race for Bronx Borough President and in the local 11th City Council race. The question to the membership was do you want to vote to endorse in the Bronx Borough President's race, and do you want to endorse in the 11th City Council district? The answer to both questions was an overwhelming YES, despite a question by one member if it was to early to endorse.

The one and only announced candidate current Bronx BP Ruben Diaz Jr. spoke to the club saying how he thanked the club for its endorsement and help the first time around in 2009, and would hope that it be the same this year. He thanked the members of the club for their support.

Next were the candidates for the 11th City Council seat. Andrew Cohen was first up, and he stressed that he was a man of integrity and someone who is honest. He went through his community and professional experience, and some of his views on current issues. Cohen said that that public school system is drowning in standardized testing, the mayor should negotiate with the teachers on true teacher evaluations, and that there needs to be much better parent involvement in the school system.

Shelly Keeling who recently announced her candidacy two weeks ago was next up. Ms. Keeling said that she has lived in the area for over 25 years and has been a businesswoman for 34 years. She said that she is a substitute teacher.

Third and last was Cliff Stanton. Mr. Stanton opened up with “Now I know how Jonah must have felt in the belly of the whale”. Stanton went from bad to worse by cracking a joke that he had Assemblyman Dinowitz's back after being called the dictator of the club by one member. Stanton gave a brief bio of himself, and said “I get things done”. On a question about censorship of a local Riverdale newspaper, Stanton said that the paper was constantly attacking PS 24. Whether it was a joke or not Stanton went on to say “If the government was coming after Andy Wolf (the publisher of the paper), I would come to his aid”.

When the vote was counted BP Diaz got all but 2 votes where no endorsement was marked. In the 11th Council race, of the three candidates Andrew Cohen received 84 of the 99 votes. Second place went to no endorsement with 6 votes, third was Ms. Shelly Keeling with 5 votes, Cliff Stanton received 3 votes, and there was one write in vote for Bob Press the writer of this column. Just for the record I am not a member of the Ben Franklin Club, and was therefore not able to vote. Check my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com archive section on the left “Ben Franklin Club Endorsements” for more details & photos of the candidates and vote count.

Community Board #8's Economic Development Committee met on Monday January 14th, and on the agenda were street activity permit applications (SAPO) for three events co-sponsored by KRVDC (the Kingsbride Riverdale Van Cortlandt Development Corporation). Ms. Tracy Shelton the Executive Director of KRVDC was on hand to answer questions, but when committee members asked to see the applications there were none. Committee Chair Sergio Villaverde said that he asked the District Manager of the board to e-mail them out. It also appeared that when asked if he knew the SAPO rules, Mr. Villaverde thumbed through a loose leaf looking for an answer that did not come. It was later announced that this was only an informational meeting on the applications, and the vote on them would be next month. The following night two different SAPO applications were heard, seen, and approved by the Traffic and Transportation committee chaired by Dan Padernacht. Also on the T&T agenda were two sidewalk cafe applications that were both approved. Separate discussions on the Cannon Place retaining wall replacement presentation by the DDC, and truck route to the West 238th Street/Broadway mall Riverdale Crossings were also part of the meeting.

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 you can call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Riverdale News: Bronx Seeing Major Drop in Crime

Riverdale News: Bronx Seeing Major Drop in Crime: --> BRONX, NEW YORK, January 23- Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. released statistics highlighting the decrease in murders in th...