Results tagged “bronxriver”

For the second straight year, an alewife herring was found in the historically polluted Bronx River, signaling that restoration efforts are working. Rep. Jose Serrano told the Daily News, "We have turned a dead river that was unusable for our community into a living river with wildlife." Alewives were reintroduced to the river in 2007, and pass through on their way to spawn from Nova Scotia. Natural Resources Group director Marit Larson said the next step is getting them over the 182nd Street damn to spawn. He said, "NRG and the Bronx River Alliance are continuing...to plan the construction of fish ladders at all three dams in the Bronx. This will open the upper reaches of the river as spawning grounds for even more returning alewife." At press time, it was unclear how many eyes the fish have. more ›

The Bronx River (not to be confused with the Bronx Swamp) used to be famous for the smell, which, in the immortal words used by journalist Guy Trebay, "could gag a maggot." It always made me wonder what might be beneath the surface. Well, the people at the Bronx River Alliance know: they've been dredging things up from the bottom of the river since the 1970s. And in quantity: "Our tire count is around 70,000," said Anne-Marie Runfola, Deputy Director of the BRA. more ›

Back in 2007, cops raided the Bronx home of Alcy Rosario, 27, as he and two accomplices loaded 50 kilos of cocaine—with a street value of $20 million—into duffel bags. Police collared his two partners, but Rosario escaped by running away and jumping into the Bronx River. City Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan tells the Post "they never found the body, but they were always checking to see if he might be around," and cops were regularly seen staking out his building. Well, it turns out Rosario actually survived his suicidal plunge in the river, and even went on to lead a life of carefree recreation. On Saturday night, he finally surfaced, after police were alerted to a group of men riding all-terrain vehicles through Van Cortlandt Park. It's unclear why Rosario didn't harness his mutant Bronx River powers to fight off the cops—he's refusing to speak to investigators. He faces charges that could land him eight to 20 years behind bars; his accomplices pleaded guilty after the 2007 arrest and are currently serving seven-year sentences in state prison. more ›

HEADS UP!: We love Daniel Kitson, it's been documented, so we wanted to give you a heads up that our favorite British comedian is coming back to the States! He has three shows in December at Union Hall (the 2nd, 3rd and 4th), and tickets are ON SALE NOW for two of those dates. It'll be the best $8+fees that you ever spent. ART: The Brothers Grimm fairytale Hansel and Gretel has taken over the... more ›

It was originally named the 8th Avenue Subway, but the 'A' train turns 75 today, having opened September 10th, 1932. Officials are holding a ceremony at the line's northernmost station––Inwood/207th St.––and will be running six antique railcars from the 1930s during the day to commemorate the event. This is more than the Eighth Ave. Subway garnered on its opening day: Back in 1932, just before midnight, transit workers simply dropped chains blocking access to turnstiles up and down the line and riders were free to pay the five cent fare at any of the original 28 stations between 207th St. and Chambers St., a total distance of 12 miles. more ›

Another wet April day. Friday is off to a rainy start. So much so that the National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for the city and much of northeastern and central New Jersey. The warning is in effect until 11:00 a.m. as a large area of moderate to heavy rainfall passes over already saturated ground. Taking a cue from Jesse Jackson the Weather Service reminds us "when encountering flooded roads make the wise choice… turn around… don't drown." If the warning's not enough a flood watch, a flood statement and a special weather statement have also been issued. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Broadway in Queens, a water rescue from the Bronx River, and a retaining wall collapse on Waterview Ct. on Staten Island.
• A judge awarded equal custody of a 17-month-old infant to the child's father, the boyfriend of Jennifer Rubell. She is the daughter niece of the late club impressario Steve Rubell, and previously claimed her boyfriend was a stoner mooch, who refused to leave her apartment or get a job.
• The former head of the Brooklyn Democratic party, Clarence Norman, Jr., is heading off to prison for 1-3 years, for what amounts to a shakedown of a judicial candidate.
• Al Sharpton is turning his attention from Imus to the Hip-Hop industry, and demanding the end of racist and sexist content. We're feeling good about his recent increase in police protection following Imus-related death threats.
• Some students at Columbia want to return to the days of 1968-style radicalism, but without all the bra-burnings, free love, and drug use. Sticks and carrots, kids.
• We hope East Village Idiot tipped this waitress well for her subtle observation
• Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind wants to know why there's such great disparity in what NYC hospitals charge for identical or similar procedures, because the differences can be pretty outrageous.
• The Anarchist Book Fair was held this Saturday at the Judson Memorial Church, but there's no word yet as to whether the Dewey Decimal System is oppression or not.
• Finally confirmed: Hipsters love vinyl records

It is a day for rodents, that's for sure. To the excitement of Big Apple animal lovers, the NY Times reported the first beaver in 200 years has been spotted in the city. A 2- or 3-year-old beaver has been seen in the Bronx River, doing one of two very New York things: Looking for a mate or trying to make his home better (the Times says he was spotted "looking for more material to insulate its home"). more ›

A horrible car accident unraveled in the Bronx yesterday afternoon: A 1994 Acura Legend somehow jumped the median of the Bronx River Parkway, killing five of its seven passengers. Four members of the Gardner family of the Bronx - Derrick, 40, and daughter Asia (some reports say Derrick and ASia were from Mississippi), 8; brothers Jamel, 14, and Keywann, 23 (Derrick was their uncle) - and relative Brandon Daye, 18, of Mississippi were killed. Two other passengers were injured, including Jamel and Keywann's brother Howie. Three other cars became involved in the accident, but the injuries to the nine drivers and passengers were minor. It's unclear how the Acura, driven by Keywann, lost control, but the Post describes what seems to have happened near the East 177th exit of the Bronx River Parkway:

After their green Acura Legend slowed down for heavy traffic in the southbound lanes, Keywann, the driver, somehow lost control of the car, which ran onto the concrete divider, police said. more ›

We're always looking for current bike path maps. The most authoratative comes from Transportation Alternatives, but it's a 1.5MB PDF, and hasn't been updated this year. The NYC Bike Map 2006 mashup pictured above is attempting to fill in the gaps, but seems to be missing a bunch of the smaller paths. We've already featured the Secret Bike Maps page-- but still haven't taken that trip to City Island. Has anyone successfully biked up there from Manhattan? We've circled the route on the map above, but we're not sure how long it would take to get there and back, and none of our pansy-ass friends will do it without some more information. more ›

Oh bless you, Kevin Walsh-- without your magical work at Forgotten-NY, we'd never learn about out-of-the-way neighborhoods like Harding Park in the Bronx. For those of you who aren't familiar with the area (that should be just about everyone-- we asked a Bronx old-timer if he knew where Harding Park was, and he had no idea), the neighborhood is just across the East River from Riker's Island, near the mouth of the Bronx River. Only about four miles from upper-Manhattan, it looks completely bucolic, and definitely lives up the FNY "you'd never believe you are in New York" moniker. As usual, in addition to his great pix, Kevin dug up the history of the area: more ›

The Gotham Gazette has a good article about the state of our city's waterways. The good news is that they are less polluted than they used to be: more ›

Why does "Bronx" have to be prefaced with "The?" Why not "A Bronx" or, most reasonably, just plain old "Bronx?" more ›