Bronx News Links: Arroyo in trouble, Bronx Aerospace under fire, Supermarkets dwindle

Here's a few Bronx stories from last week that we didn't get around to posting until today:

Arroyo Under Investigation
Bronx City Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo is under criminal investigation for allegedly funneling more than $80,000 to a nonprofit with family connections.

Daily News reports: "City officials confirmed the probe Wednesday, a month after the Daily News disclosed that Arroyo directed $82,500 in 2007 to the South Bronx Community Corp., where her sister was the fiscal officer and her nephew was executive director."

Bronx Aerospace Under Fire
The extremely successful Bronx Aerospace H.S. may be closed by the Air Force at the end of next year unless school administrators can account for $66,000 and address possible rule violations, the Daily News reports.

The Air Force officially placed the school on probation for possibly mishandling ROTC funds, and parents and teachers have complained about certain school rules, including one student promoting his girlfriend.

The principal, Barbara Kirkweg, known around school as Captain Kirk, says the problem surrounds ROTC funds, which are separate from general school funds and she expects situation to be resolved soon.

In 2006, we reported that the aviation-themed Academy graduated more than 93 percent of its class in 2005, making it the most successful small school at the time. Last year's graduation rate was 90 percent, according to InsideSchools.org. Students said they are judged based on their performance and leadership skills rather than students' clothing. The high school also provides a refuge from the streets, as students often stayed late in the night.

Supermarket Scarcity
Soundview residnts held a town hall meeting last night to discuss the possible closure of the area's largest supermarket Key Foods, in the face of rent hikes and dwindling supermarkets.

Daily News reports: "In a borough where few people own cars and public transit coverage is less than ideal, closing a major grocery store could mean a difficult trek to the next-nearest supermarket, or force the least mobile to rely on higher-priced local grocery stores."

-Compiled by Stephen Baron

Bronx Heights' Supers May Strike

More hardship beckons for tenants living in Bronx Heights' ten apartment buildings: the non-profit's supers and maintenance staff are threatening to strike because they haven't been paid in eight weeks.

Bronx Heights (full name: Bronx Heights Neighborhood Community Corporation) is currently being sued by HPD. Why, exactly, isn't clear - HPD aren't saying - but several of Bronx Heights' current board members say that rent money (HPD pays Bronx Heights to manage the buildings and to collect rent) has disappeared and that the organization can no longer afford to maintain the apartments, pay the supers, or keep up with the bills.

More here and here.

New in the Norwood News

A little weekend reading from the Norwood News, which is on streets and online now. Here's a quick preview:

Tenants battle with a bullying landlord on the Grand Concourse.

A new coach helped propell DeWitt Clinton's tennis team to the city quarterfinals.

The Health Department eyes the contaminated old Fordham Library for an animal shelter. Community activists want it to become community space. Meanwhile, the city is confused about which agency controls the building's destiny. Read more.

A Bronxite gives up his life to work for Barack Obama, but keeps one eye on a City Council seat.

And much more, online now.

May's Mount Hope Monitor

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The May edition of the Monitor is now online.

Stories include:

Drug Dealer Turned Mentor
Local man, Jamel Allah, a former heroin dealer, now spends his free time mentoring Bronx youth.

Cheap Co-ops Coming to Featherbed Lane
Rarely do the words "affordable" and "co-op" appear in the same sentence - especially in New York. But at 150 Featherbed Lane, a local development company is trying to turn conventional wisdom on its head.

Morris Heights Non-Profit Under Fire
In October 2006, CBS ran a story about "fed up" tenants at 1694 Davidson Ave. The building's elevator, tenants said, had been broken for the past six months, making it difficult for the elderly and infirm to get around.
Well, as of last week, the elevator was still broken. According to the super, Juan Fernandez, it's now been out of action for two years.
The building is owned by HPD, but managed by Bronx Heights Neighborhood Community Corporation, a non-profit staffed mostly by volunteers.
Bronx Heights manages 10 HPD buildings in the Morris Heights section. In theory, they should be collecting rent for the city, while putting aside a small percentage (8 percent) to maintain the buildings, pay the supers, and pay Con-Edison and other bills. In practice, however, the buildings (like 1694 Davidson Ave.) aren't been maintained, the supers aren't being paid, and the bills are being ignored (62-66 W. Trement Ave. has an outstanding water bill of more than $300,000).
Bronx Heights' new treasurer, Monica McDermott, says the organization's bank accounts are empty; that there's no money to pay Con-Edison, no money to pay the company that provides oil, etc. She thinks money has been "misappropriated." HPD also sees something amiss: they're suing Bronx Heights (although they wouldn't give me details, citing an on-going case).
The bigger story here, and one I didn't have time to explore this month, is that several former and current Bronx Heights' board members (along with local residents) say that people have been stealing from Bronx Heights for years - maybe decades. "It’s like a cash cow for everyone," says McDermott. "People come in and take a piece of the pie and then they move on." McDermott thinks HPD have got "egg on their face" for ignoring the situation for so long.
We'll have more on this story next month.

Thoughts from Iraq

In February, the Monitor profiled William Perez, a 29-year-old Mount Hope resident who’s serving in Iraq. We spoke with him while he was on leave – the only one he'll get during a 15-month deployment – and he was pretty upbeat (considering he was about to leave his fiancé behind and head back to Baghdad).

Recently, however, Perez has had a difficult time. On April 28, his good friend Cpl. David McCormick, of Matagorda County, Texas, was killed by rocket fire.

Perez has been keeping a diary of sorts in regular emails home to his mom, Nitza Vera. Nitza wanted me to post some of these e-mails, "so the youth, and others, will know what it is really like right in the middle of a war. We take a lot for granted, and he doesn't even know if he will see the sun rise the next day. He feels at least he is sharing his deepest thoughts with his neighbors. No gang, or police brutality can compare to what he is going through right now without a warm hug in site, or a familiar face."

Here are the e-mails:

May 5
I thought today of all days we would have a day off because we were to have a memorial for my friend that passed away. Of course I was sadly mistaken because we
have such an enemy threat here that we work day in and day out- put ur feelings to the side and we will get to them when we see fit. Numbing, all is numbing-
After my mission of receiving small arms fire with in 100 meters from where i was resting my head in a humvee that had to be at least 110 degrees, I prepared for a memorial that I thought I was prepared for. The Chapel filled up slowly, every one spoke soft, the tone was meek and sorrow was felt throughout the room. A big picture of Corporal McCormick was to the right of the altar and a screen just to the left of it so the projector could show pictures through slides. In the middle of the altar were McCormick’s weapon, boots helmet and dogtags. I was ok until they started calling out random names of our PSD-(personal security detail for the SGT MAJOR) As the 1st Sergeant called names soldiers responded with 'Here 1st Sergeant' but when they got to Corporal McCormick there was no answer - 1st SGT called him 3 times and it echoed throughout the walls.. We waited as if he would say 'here 1st sgt but no 1 answered. That's when I broke, I started crying. I have not cried in such a long time that it felt new to me. I could not stop, I just kept thinking of him and how that could be any 1 of us up there. Just so you know, we all are aware that this job is not an easy 1 to swallow but we are at least on guard and awaiting an attack when we roll out the wire. McCormick died while he was asleep, while he slept a rocket shot by the enemy hit him. I don't even know if I am gonna wake up the next morning anymore so I make my prayers extra special for family and friends. We have been taking indirect fire for some time over here and it has gotten real close that our rooms shake and we wake up because of the blast but no 1 was ever a casualty, now it hit home. It is a reality...I wish 2 come home 2 u to have a normal life again...

May 7
Today was a weird day, I woke up feeling lost, where have I been for these past 6months. I have so many mixed feelings, was my situation so bad that I really needed to join? This separation has taken a toll on my sanity, not able to hold and feel my loved ones. My son, my family and definitely my wife with child on the way. I need to leave this place, it only reminds me of death. It only serves the lies this nation has fed us. My friend died because of this 'lie' or maybe it was for 'gas' and 'oil' His life and so many others mean more than that, to say terror was the cause, we never found the weapons of mass destruction, maybe Osama has them where ever he is. I am so tired of this place that it takes me down. My emotional status is on a slide going downward. I need my sanity- I need my wife-son-family.. things that make life worth living, I do not need to be here with strangers that only know ranks and treat you like the paygrade you recieve. I really don't care anymore, I argue with these SGT's without regard to who they are.. little by little they get more of me with out the military bearing- what a famous quote---- ' A mind is a terrible thing to waste' they should replace waste with 'lose'

May 8
This is my friend (pictured), I worked with him for a yr. I saw him day in and out, did endless missions and joked with him. He was stop loss which means if his contract is over 3 months before we deploy again or after 3 months from us deploying he will have to stay another tour in iraq, which is exactly what happened. If it was not for that he would be with his family right now. He is a good man and an even better soldier, pray for his family- this could be ur brother or father or loved one.. honor his death by praying for his family. He is the reason we can buy gas and oil or whatever reason we are here.. i at least know its not 4 mass destruction....

Bronx, the 'Rodney Dangerfield of Boroughs'

That's how Times reporter and Bronxite David Gonzalez describes the Boogie Down in a great article/post that's up on the City Room blog right now.

The article focuses on how guide books, like AAA's, have very little information about lodging and other amenities for those wishing to visit our fine borough -- and then goes on to say that our very own tourism council isn't helping, despite the fact that there is a tourism market (mostly out-of-town baseball fans coming in to catch a Yankee game) that could be taken advantage of.

Gonzalez said he wanted to explore this idea after picking up a guide book in Texas and finding next to zilch written about the Bronx. What he found is that while most lodging facilities in the Bronx still cater to hourly customers, there are a couple of legit hotels that serve actual tourists. He also said the Bronx is still suffering from an outdated image problem, one that's not being helped out by our own tourism council and borough president's lack of action in remedying the problem.

Until there's a real effort to repair this image problem, the Bronx will remain the Rodney Dangerfield of boroughs: Can't get no respect!

Lengthy Interview With Councilmember Foster

The Highbridge Horizon has now posted a lengthy interview with Councilmember Helen Diane Foster on our Web site.

On April 11, the Horizon interviewed Foster in her District Office on Jerome Avenue. We published excerpts of this interview in our April issue, but because the Web does not provide the same space constraints as the printed page, we offer a far more expanded version online.

During the interview, Foster was typically candid, as she addressed a wide range of topics during the course of a roughly hour-long conversation. Her words about the killing of Sean Bell, and the trial of the three officers who killed him --words Foster spoke exactly two weeks before the officers were acquitted -- have echoed powerfully in recent weeks.

"There is more outrage over the torturing of animals," Foster said, "than there is over the fact that another Black man is killed at the hands of the police."

A little later on in the interview, she added: "I think when the verdict comes out, once again like the Diallo case, this city will be looked at and judged on what that outcome is. It appears that we keep going back to Dread Scott, where a Black man has no rights that a white man has to respect, including his own life. And if we see another acquittal in this city, it will be a sad day for all of New York City, and how we are looked at [not only] by ourselves, but by the country. "

Other highlights of the interview:

* On her relationship with borough president Adolfo Carrión: "I think it’s cordial. I don’t have any ill will towards him. I think the defining moment for me and our relationship would be around Yankee Stadium."

*On why she has officially decided to run for Bronx Borough President in 2009: "I think clearly that they [her constituents] wanted me to focus on the Bronx, be in the Bronx, and run for borough president. The significance of being Black and being a woman and running for the highest position as borough president of the Bronx. But I think equally as important that was heard that night is that everybody wants to be a part of it. And in years past, there has not been that inclusive feeling for the Bronx borough president."

*On how to prevent gentrification from pricing Highbridge residents out of their homes: "We have what we have in Harlem, Washington Heights, and we know it’s gonna come right across the bridge. So there has to be an inventory of city-owned land that as much as possible we can look to the City Council. which has ultimate jurisdiction over it, to regulate the type of housing that goes up so that we can have a balance. We also don’t want to become the dumping ground for the shelters or only low-income housing. Because there is a correlation, obviously, with housing and school performance. We want to have multi-use, so that we are bringing dollars into the area. "

Check out the rest of the interview here

Norwood Mexican Restaurants

On Monday we wrote about the influx of Mexican immigrants in the Norwood area as evidenced by two new Mexican restaurants. A West Bronx Blog reader asked what those restaurants were. Well, the one on Gun Hill Road (near Webster Avenue) is called La Familia. The other, on E. 204th St, is called Rio Mixteco. Enjoy! Disfruta!

The Norwood News will be writing about both restaurants in the near future.

Feel free to write in about any new, or particularly good, restaurants, Mexican or otherwise, in your neighborhood.

Eyewitness Account: Sean Bell Demos

More than 1000 people demonstrated—and more than 200 were arrested—at six locations throughout New York City yesterday, in coordinated acts of protest and civil disobedience to denounce the acquittal of the three officers who killed Sean Bell. Traffic was stopped at the Brooklyn Bridge; the Manhattan Bridge; the Triborough Bridge; the Queensboro Bridge; the Holland Tunnel; and the Queens Midtown Tunnel.

I spent much of yesterday afternoon in Midtown East. Beginning around 3pm, demonstrators marched in front of Bloomingdale’s at East 60th Street and 3rd Avenue, holding signs that proclaimed: “We Are All Sean Bell/This Whole Damn System Is Guilty.” (Those signs, in fact, were ubiquitous at a larger rally at 1 Police Plaza, as well).

Chants included “Justice for Sean Bell!” “I am Sean Bell!” and “They Say Get Back/ We Say Fight Back!”

The size of the march mushroomed between 3 and 3:45pm; there were perhaps 30 protestors in front of Bloomingdale’s at the beginning of that time window and close to 100 by the end. And the crowd may have been even bigger than that; as the New York Times’ coverage of yesterday’s actions correctly pointed out, it was sometimes difficult to distinguish protestors from bystanders.

The crowd was a diverse one—perhaps 2/5 of the demonstrators in front of Bloomingdale’s were white, while the rest were predominantly African-American—and included a youth carrying a skateboard, men who looked to be in their twenties wearing jeans or khakis, activists sporting “We Will Not Be Silent” tee-shirts, and middle-aged folks dressed in business attire.

Shortly before 4pm, the crowd marched to the nearby Queensboro Bridge, where more than 30 demonstrators knelt at the entrance, joined hands, and blocked traffic coming off the bridge for more than twenty minutes before being peacefully arrested. Those engaging in this civil disobedience counted from 1 to 50 to represent the number of bullets fired at Bell, and chanted, “I’ll go to jail for Sean Bell!” They also shouted, “50 shots equals murder!”

On a sidewalk adjacent to the bridge, and behind a police barricade across 2nd Avenue, protestors who did not wish to get arrested expressed support for – and chanted along with -- those who did.

Protest organizers then called on demonstrators to head down to 1 Police Plaza, near the Brooklyn Bridge, in support of those who were busted in Wednesday’s demonstration. According to the New York Times, about 60 people, including the Rev. Al Sharpton and Bell’s widow, Nicole Paultre-Bell, were arrested as they stopped traffic near that bridge.

I arrived near the Brooklyn Bridge around 5pm. There was still a sizeable crowd gathered, angrily counting from 1 to 50 and chanting “Guilty!” and “Murderers” as police officers watched on the other side of the barricade.

Adjacent to the demonstration, a bus marked “NYC Police” -- a vehicle that appeared to be the size of a school bus – was filled with recently- arrested protestors. As the crowd chanted, the faces of some arrestees could be seen gazing outside the bus windows and smiling appreciatively.

Protestors soon marched back to 1 Police Plaza, where the rally continued. Chants of “Licensed murderers” --in reference to the NYPD—filled the air.

As I left 1 Police Plaza, I heard an African-American police officer talking on his cell phone as he headed towards the crowd.

“I’m out here with a whole bunch of protestors,” the officer said.

Bloomberg Out of Touch on Water Rates

Opinion by Gregory Lobo Jost
Our billionaire mayor once again shows how out of touch he is with reality by crassly dismissing calls to provide immediate relief to water rate payers. When asked about the calls by City Council Members Gennaro and Weprin for the City to return a portion of the rental payment to rate payers, Mayor Mike brushed off the entire issue. So reports the Daily News,

"They spend the money on real projects which we need," Bloomberg said of the city's water system Monday. "From what I can tell, they do it reasonably efficiently, and this [rental relief] seems to me to be a brouhaha about nothing from a couple of people who want to run for higher office."

While some of the elected officials making this point are running for higher office, that doesn't make their point invalid. In fact, those who will be sticking around in public office during the coming years realize that the problem of incresing water rates will only get worse. The easiest route for Bloomberg is to ignore the problem and let the next Administration deal with it -- so much for our visionary Mayor planning ahead to 2030! What about 2010?!?

Significant side point: The Mayor probably wasn't thinking about the filtration plant where costs have skyrocketed when he made his "reasonably efficiently" comment. (By the way, the parks improvements that were part of the deal Bronx politicians made to allow the construction in Van Cortlandt Park aren't being paid for out of the Parks Department budget -- they are coming from rising water rates!)

While the Water Board is also holding hearings this week (last night in the Bronx and tomorrow at 5:30 in Manhattan), they will argue that all that they actually have little control and our points should be made directly to the Mayor's office. Since the Mayor's office isn't holding public hearings on the topic, though, advocates will continue to press major points of reform with the Mayorally-appointed Water Board. Hopefully they will have the wherewithal to take our case to the Mayor, or resign in protest of what's going on -- but I wouldn't hold my breath on either count.

Meanwhile, the Independent Budget Office released a report on the water rate increases this week, although they focus entirely on short-term relief. A better comprehensive look at the system can be found in the Urban Prospect (entitled Liquid Assets), released today by the Citizens Housing and Planning Council.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I know, I know, some say this is a "manufactured" ethnic holiday (see: St. Patrick's Day) created mostly by big-name beer companies (see: Corona), but this is also a day of pride for Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans, especially on West Coast and in the southwest part of the country.

Also, the Mexican population in the Bronx is expanding rapidly. Anecdotal evidence: two new authentic Mexican restaurants opened in Norwood in the past month, one on Gun Hill Road, the other on 204th Street. Disfruta!

Here's a good story about the origins and celebration of Cinco de Mayo from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Here's an excerpt from the Chronicle article about the origins of the holiday:

In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is treated as a celebration of Mexican heritage, much like St. Patrick's Day is to Irishness or Lunar New Year is to Chinese culture. It's sometimes confused with Mexican Independence Day, which is actually Sept. 16, the day in 1810 when Mexicans first declared their intention to be free from Spanish rule.

Cinco de Mayo is not a Mexican Fourth of July, and it's not "Drinko de Mayo," as the beer companies have tried to fashion it. In fact it celebrates the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, when a ragtag Mexican army fought off an attack by the larger and better-equipped French force sent by Emperor Napoleon III to conquer Mexico.

The French, along with Spanish and English troops, had invaded Mexico in 1861 after Mexican President Benito Juarez declared he was suspending payment on the country's foreign debts. The Spanish and English withdrew after negotiating settlement of the debt. But Napoleon, hoping to gain a foothold in the Americas to counter the growing power of the United States, ordered his troops to attack.

At the Battle of Puebla, in central Mexico, 2,000 Mexican troops successfully defended their forts against 6,000 French soldiers. They won the battle, but Napoleon won the war, installing his cousin Maximilian as emperor of Mexico. It wasn't until 1867 that he was deposed and Juarez regained the presidency.

Soundview Rallies For Sean Bell

On Saturday, Bronx residents continued to demonstrate their anger over the acquittal of the three police officers who killed Sean Bell.

About 45 people—including teenagers, seniors, and those in between— marched through Soundview. The roughly 30-minute procession began in front of 1157 Wheeler Avenue – the building where Liberian immigrant Amadou Diallo was killed in 1999 by four NYPD officers— and concluded at the 43rd Precinct. A brief rally was held at the 43 after the march. Protestors observed a moment of silence for Diallo before beginning their trek down Wheeler Avenue.

The march was called, and led, by Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr.

“It seems to us that the only difference nine years later is that there were nine more bullets fired, ” Diaz told the crowd outside the 43rd Precinct, comparing the 41 shots fired at Diallo to the 50 bullets pumped at Bell.

As was the case with Wednesday’s rally in Highbridge, a major theme expressed at Saturday’s demonstration was that—given the history of fatal shootings, abuse, and harassment by law enforcement against persons of color—what happened to Sean Bell could easily have happened to any Black or Latino male. Demonstrators chanted “I am Sean Bell,” in addition to “I am [Anthony] Baez,” “ I am [Abner] Louema,” and “I am Amadou [Diallo],” referring to other victims of high-profile instances of police shootings and brutality. Marchers also sang the Civil Rights Movement anthem “We Shall Overcome,” and counted from 1 to 50 to represent the number of shots fired at Bell and his friends.

“It doesn’t have to be Amadou. It doesn’t have to be Sean Bell,” said 25-year-old Highbridge resident Richard Baldwin. “It could be your kids next.”

Baldwin added that Bell’s killing had hit him very personally. “A part of me dies,” Baldwin said, “every time someone is taken from this earth for the wrong reasons.”

Several Soundview residents watched the march from apartment windows, storefronts, and doorsteps. “They should rally,” said Josie Cruz, 49, as the march passed by. “50 bullets? That’s no good. Cops don’t have a right to shoot somebody 50 times.”

Some residents, like 27-year-old Anthony Morales, joined the demonstration on the spot. Morales said he encountered the march after exiting a bus, and was thrilled to see members of his community speaking out. “In this neighborhood, you really don’t hear protests like this,” Morales said. “So it’s a beautiful thing. It’s totally needed.”

Morales described police-community relations in Soundview as “horrible,” and said that he and other young residents of the neighborhood were frequently stopped-and-frisked by local police. He attributed the rarity of protest in Soundview to a fear on the part of residents to speak out against the police. When informed that the march was headed towards the 43rd Precinct, Morales enthusiastically exclaimed, “That’s what’s up!”

In front of the precinct, Diaz noted that Judge Arthur Cooperman had cited the “demeanor” of Bell’s friends Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman--as well as other prosecution witnesses--during the trial as a factor in his decision to acquit Officers Marc Cooper, Gescard F. Isnora, and Michael Oliver.

“To say that we can be shot 41 or 50 times because we have a certain flavor or swagger,” Diaz said, “is something we cannot tolerate.”

Diaz echoed the Rev. Al Sharpton’s calls for the creation of an independent prosecutor to prosecute cases involving police shootings.

As the rally in front of the 43rd Precinct wound to a close, this reporter was approached by Gloria Cruz, whose 10-year-old niece Naisha “Nana” Pearson was killed by stray bullets in Mott Haven in September of 2005. Cruz has since quit her retail job and devoted much of her life to efforts to rid the streets of illegal guns; in fact, she was in Washington D.C. lobbying Congress on this issue when she learned of the acquittal of Cooper, Isnora, and Oliver. She said she was “dumbfounded” and “upset” when she heard the verdict.

“I feel hurt,” Cruz said. “I know what it’s like to lose a loved one. Even though it was a legal gun [the weapons that killed Bell] , it was gun violence. We need to have the police department stop profiling us.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton has called for citywide acts of civil disobedience this Wednesday May 7, in protest of the acquittal of the three officers.

Sharpton announced that protestors will gather Wednesday afternoon at six locations throughout the city for a “pray-in” that will involve blocking traffic. According to NY1, The spots Sharpton announced are: Third Avenue at 125th Street; Park Avenue at 34th Street; Third Avenue at 60th Street; Varick and Houston Streets; One Police Plaza; and 415 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.

Check out NY1's Web site for more information about Wednesday's actions