Monday, February 11, 2013

CB8 Meeting on Transportation

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BRONX, NEW YORK, February 11- Community Board 8 will be holding a meeting of the Traffic and Transportation Committee on Tuesday, February 19. The meeting will be held at Manhattan College, 3840 Corlear Avenue at 7:30 p.m.
On the agenda are the following:
An unenclosed sidewalk cafe application for the Tin Marin Bar & Lounge, Inc., 3708 Riverdale Avenue.
Resident request for “No Parking Signs” and removal of Parking on Independence Avenue from West 246 to West 247 Streets.  
Application of Kingsbridge Heights Community Center to create a “Play Street” which will close Kingsbridge Terrace between Perot Street and Summit Place on Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in July and August to coincide with the on-site youth market. 
For more information call Community Board 8: 718-884-3959.
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De Blasio Endorses Cohen

Riverdale Report
By Robert Press



BRONX, NEW YORK, February 11- Our headline was to take place on Friday February 1st, but due to Ed Koch's passing the endorsement was pushed back a week to this past Friday February 8th.

With snow falling and weather reports of an upcoming blizzard NYC Public Advocate (and candidate for mayor) Bill de Blasio and 11th city council candidate Andrew Cohen met in front of the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center for de Blasio to endorse Cohen for the 11th city council seat currently held by term limited Councilman G. Oliver Koppell. This is now the second major Democratic candidate for mayor to endorse Andrew Cohen for the 11th city council seat. City Council Speaker (and candidate for mayor) Christine Quinn endorsed Cohen's candidacy two weeks ago, and like the Quinn endorsement there was no across endorsement of de Blasio by Cohen. After the endorsement both Public Advocate de Blasio and council candidate Cohen went inside to talk with MMCC director Don Bluestone who had a lot to talk about on how MMCC programs have been cut back over the past few years. Bluestone then gave the pair a tour of the center. You can go to my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com to read more on the endorsement, and to see photos of the event.

Last Thursday night Senator Jeff Klein hosted a free flu vaccine shot event in the Van Cortlandt Village section of his district. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz helped sponsor the event, and also on hand was Community Board #8 member & city council candidate Andrew Cohen. An RN from Jacobi Hospital administered the flu vaccine shots, and you can go to my blog to see a photo of Mr. Emanuel Badger receive his flu vaccination from nurse Kylia Ester. Credit for the event also goes to Mr. John Doyle of the North Bronx Healthcare Network.

The 50th Precinct is hosting an Operation I.D. Cell Phone Safety Program on Sunday February 24th at the Riverdale Y located at 5625 Arlington Avenue from 9 AM – 1 PM. Information on cell phone safety, registering the serial number of your cell phone, and engraving with a NYPD serial number if the phone is lost or stolen and found by the police department for quick return. This should be of importance to owners of the new I-Phone, which is one of the hottest items being stolen.

Don't forget to check my blog for the latest listing of events going on at Wave Hill. Even though there is snow on the ground Wave Hill is open and holding many different activities.
My good friend Mr. David Kornbluh is hosting an evening reception to meet Public Advocate Bill de Blasio on Monday night February 18th from 6 – 8 PM at 2600 Netherland Avenue Apt. 2408. You can call 646-480-4908 or e-mail elanadleopold@gmail.com for more information as this is a fund raiser for mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio.

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.

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Riverdale News: De Blasio Almost Endorses Cohen

Riverdale News: De Blasio Almost Endorses Cohen: --> Riverdale Report By Robert Press BRONX, NEW YORK, February 6- In what was to be the second of the four major Democratic candi...
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De Blasio Almost Endorses Cohen

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Riverdale Report
By Robert Press
BRONX, NEW YORK, February 6- In what was to be the second of the four major Democratic candidates running for mayor this year to endorse Andrew Cohen for the 11th council district was put off due to a death in the political family, that being former Mayor Ed Koch. Many people in and out of politics told me Koch would have wanted the endorsement of Cohen by current Public Advocate Bill De Blasio to go on so people could have another way of remembering February 1st 2013. 
The endorsement of Cohen by De Blasio has been pushed back a week and should have happened by the time you read this paper. Andrew Cohen was endorsed by current City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (currently the leading Democratic candidate in the race for mayor) a week before the scheduled De Blasio endorsement which leaves only Bill Thompson and John Liu left as the two other major Democratic candidates not to endorse 11th council candidate Andrew Cohen. Look however for the official endorsement by current Public Advocate Bill De Blasio (and candidate this year for mayor) of Andrew Cohen for the 11th council district in next weeks paper. It has been rumored that current Mayor “ King Moneybags Bloomberg” (who ran on the Republican line for mayor three times) might be endorsing one of Cohens opponents in the Democratic Primary for the 11th council district.
While Mr. Nicks Pizza & Pasta has opened up at 3552 Johnson Avenue (in the old Corner Cafe spot) finally after several long months of work, Riverdelight Restaurant a few stores down the block has closed its doors after many years of being a fixture on Johnson Avenue. One reason the high cost of rent, and it appears that one or two other stores on Johnson Avenue are on the brink of closing for to the same reason. We wish Mr. Nicks Pizza & Pasta well as it is the third store that the owners have, with the other two well established stores in Tarrytown and Briarcliff Manor. Stop in and try a slice of pizza of your choice or enjoy one of the other many items on Mr. Nicks menu. It looks like there will be a new store opening up right across the street from Mr. Nicks. The name on the sign says Munchies which means it could be an Ice Cream and/or Yogurt shop. More on Munchies in future columns.
Even though there may be snow on the ground Wave Hill is still open for business, and you can visit that little gem of a place in the northwest section of the Bronx for one of Wave Hills winter activities. Just go to my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com and check the archive section on the left to click on the weekly listings of events that are going on at Wane Hill. There is fun for the entire family at Wave Hill.
While the school bus strike continues to drag on there seems to be less children not attending school every day as the strike continues. Parents are finding other ways to get their children to school, and if that was the hope of Mayor Bloomberg it may be coming true. The mayor may just say now that the bus routes are not needed, and the city can save millions of dollars by eliminating them. What has happened to that good old neighborhood school, and where are the promised improvements in education that you made eleven years ago Mayor Bloomberg? Schools are still being closed due to poor performance (even schools opened under your watch), and to many children still can't read or write on grade level let alone graduate high school on time or at all. Mayoral control gets an “F” and should replaced by a different system.
Finally, next week I will have a report on the February 5th Community Board 8 Economic Development Committee meeting, and how those Street Fair applications and other matters that the committee will take up go. By the way I would love to tell you where the meeting is to be held, but as of our deadline (Sunday February 3rd) the location is still “To be determined”. I wonder why?
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.
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Child Carjacking Caught on Tape

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Monday, February 4, 2013

Riverdale News: Quinn Endorses Cohen

Riverdale News: Quinn Endorses Cohen: --> (Photo by Robert Press) Riverdale Report By Robert Press BRONX, NEW YORK, February 4- Friday afternoon City Counc...
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Quinn Endorses Cohen

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(Photo by Robert Press)
Riverdale Report
By Robert Press
BRONX, NEW YORK, February 4- Friday afternoon City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (the current leading candidate for mayor in 2013) came to Louie's Dale Dinner located on West 231st Street in the 11th council district to endorse the candidacy of Andrew Cohen for the 11th City Council seat that will be vacated at the end of the year by term limited Councilman G. Oliver Koppell. 
This was an informal chat of friends over coffee to which the press was invited to cover and ask a few questions after Speaker Quinn's endorsement of 11th district candidate Andrew Cohen. Speaker Quinn said that she first met Mr. Cohen in 1997, and the two have remained friends since then. Quinn said it was important to have someone such as Andrew Cohen as the local councilman, because of Mr. Cohen's community record as a member of Community Board 8, other volunteer community work, and his fine law background which is exactly what is needed in someone you want to be as your council member. Quinn continued that it is important to be able to get out in the community to do constituent work such as Mr. Cohen has done, but that he can also do the job that is needed at City Hall.
In answering questions Quinn and Cohen said that it is important to support the local merchants, and that is one reason for the endorsement here in this diner on a local merchant strip. As to my question on her thoughts on which of the two proposals that she wanted to see be placed in the Kingsbridge Armory, Quinn said that she was not fully clear on the Young Woo plan. She added that she wants to consider what Councilman Cabrera (whose district the armory is in) thoughts on the armory plans were. On a question of bringing back the idea of “congestion pricing” Quinn said that she supports the idea, and that New York City will need to have additional revenue streams. 11th council candidate Andrew Cohen in a previous interview with me said that he is opposed to congestion pricing. This endorsement was by Speaker Quinn of the candidacy of Andrew Cohen only, as there was no cross endorsement of Quinn by Cohen or anyone else. You can go to my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com to read more on the endorsement, and see photos of Speaker Quinn and 11th council candidate Andrew Cohen.
11th council candidate Andrew Cohen has already been endorsed by the four local elected officials current 11th councilman G. Oliver Koppell, Congressman Eliot Engel, State Senator Jeff Klein, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, and the local Ben Franklin Democratic Club. As of now there are two other announced candidates in the 11th council district race, Cliff Stanton and Shelly Kelling.
I was able to catch Speaker Quinn before she got into her car to leave, and asked her if the recent conviction of former Councilman Larry Seabrook had her office under investigation. Quinn replied that was done with a while ago, and nothing has come of it. My sources tell me that there may soon be something coming out of that Quinn investigation soon.
The MTA held a public meeting last week on not cutting back, but increasing train service. The Irvington (Yonkers), North Riverdale, and Spuyten Duyvil stations are to have added non peak train service. In the past trains have passed through the three stations leaving up to one hour between non peak train service. The proposed additional service is to have a train now stop at the three stations at least once every half hour as ridership has increased on the Hudson line of Metro North. No one at the hearing had any thing negative to say about the increased service, but several speakers asked the MTA to increase the rush hour service that has left train platforms and trains packed as one person said “the sardine packed subway”. Several homeowners did ask the MTA to do a study if there will be any added traffic or other effects on the quality of life issues surrounding the stations.
While 48 seats were set up for the public it seemed that there were more MTA police and personnel present at the hearing. You can go to my blog to read more and see photos of the K-9 unit that was on hand, and the many empty seats.
Beautiful Wave Hill is open even though there may be snow on the ground, and you can check the latest listing of events going on at Wave Hill on my blog.
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.
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