Results tagged “bronx”

Residents of the Sister Thomas Apartments, a low-income building in the South Bronx, are so disgusted by the combined odors from a sewage plant and trash transfer station that they're considering a plan to pump perfume into their building. The idea is the brainchild of environmental justice advocate and MacArthur "genius" Award winner Majora Carter, who enlisted the help of Parisian perfumer Pascal Gaurin to create a new fragrance for the Bronx Building. It's called L'Eau Verte du Bronx du Sud, which means "Green Water of the South Bronx." more ›

The 15-year-old boy who flipped his family's GMC Envoy while speeding on the Bruckner Expressway—killing 12-year-old passenger Kaitlin Booth— last December was sentenced to 18 months in a juvenile detention center after pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide. Initially after the crash, Anthony Pontis claimed that Booth, a neighbor, was a pedestrian and the SUV was driven by two men who ran off. The Daily News reports, "Depending on Pontis' behavior and other circumstances, a judge could extend the 18-month sentence till his 18th birthday." His lawyer said, "He's a child and he's heartbroken... He's a good kid who did a bad thing. His family extends their condolences to the Booth family." more ›

Anyone who's ever noticed the stench of corruption wafting from Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada will surely be heartened by these six sublime words, uttered by one law-enforcement official to the Post: "The problems for Espada are expanding." Can we please get that on a T-Shirt, and also used for the chorus of a fist-pumping arena rock ballad, and maybe turned into a major motion picture starring Luis Guzmán? Sources say Espada could be indicted on federal charges within the month, and you can bet he won't go down without a fight. Popcorn, anyone? more ›

Yesterday at 5:45 p.m., a person opened fire on Delavall Avenue in the Eastchester section of the Bronx, hitting two people. A 19-year-old man died and a 20-year-old man is in critical condition. The NY Times spoke to a cab driver who lives in the area, "He said the area is usually busy during the day with industrial workers but generally quieter at night. 'You don’t expect that to happen around here,' he said. 'It’s a freak thing.'" WABC 7 reports that a person may have been arrested in connection with the shootings. more ›

Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr.'s various problems—like his involvement with the Senate coup, issues with campaign filings and probably not even living in his Bronx district—make him vulnerable for reelection this fall. Which is probably why community advocate Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter is throwing her hat into the ring. CityRoom reports that she "played a prominent role in killing the city’s plan to build a shopping mall inside the Kingsbridge Armory" Even though she "has never before run for office," she said, "I want to offer the district a fresh start. I want to return us to an honest and open government, sort of turning our backs on the old politics that has become a problem here in the Bronx and in Albany in general." Remember, the Manhattan Young Democrats have a "Don't Vote For Pedro" shirt. more ›

In court papers filed today, prosecutors describe the alleged leader of the plot to bomb synagogues in the Bronx as a "hate-filled anti-Semite" who considers Osama bin Laden his "brother." The Post reports that James Cromitie told an informant he wanted to shoot President Bush, saying the president "is the anti-Christ and if Allah does not kill him then a brother will." Another of one the men involved in the plot already said they were disappointed the World Trade Center had already been hit. more ›

After going to court over a year ago for moldy walls, crumbling ceilings and rat infestations, the residents of 1585 East 172nd St in the Bronx may see their awful landlord in jail. The building is part of the "Ocelot portfolio," a notorious group of housing structures bought at the peak of the real estate boom under inflated mortgages and abandoned when the buying company, Ocelot Capital, went under. Just last year, Sen. Chuck Schumer denounced the company, saying, "Residents need a landlord who will maintain the property, not someone who will look to maximize profits at the expense of residents’ safety." He implored Fannie Mae to find a buyer who would repair the buildings and keep them affordable. more ›

A Bronx teen beaten outside of the Jonathan Levin High School of Media and Communications is suing the Department of Education and the city. According to the Daily News, Gustavo Ramos claims security guards closed the school doors on his hands as he tried to run inside to escape a gang fight outside. Then, he says, he was knocked to the ground, hit in the face with a baseball bat and stabbed three times. more ›

Police raided an apartment in the Bronx yesterday and discovered more than $1 million worth of heroin. Seven kilos of heroin were found in the Sterling Avenue apt. where the heroin mill was run out of; the heroin had already been cut and placed into 50,000 glassine envelopes that sell for about $20 each, said the city Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor. They were labeled with names such as "Maserati," "Heat Wave" and "Body Bag." more ›

Last month 57-year-old Megan Charlop, an avid cyclist and foster mom, died when she fell under a bus after getting clipped by a car door in the Bronx. Tomorrow there will be a memorial ride and Ghost Bike dedication for Charlop, whom one local resident called "our angel. I waved her goodbye as she rode away. She looked so happy. She died doing something she loved." more ›

When a sewer main circa 1939 collapsed in Bedford Park, Bronx yesterday, it created a sinkhole reminiscent of War of the Worlds on Webster Avenue at 198th street. The 25-feet wide, 20-feet deep hole has left 200 people out of water and street closures into this morning, according to NY1. And the smell of gas was still lingering in the air after a gas service line was damaged in the collapsing sewer main. No one was hurt, but the tripods will soon change all that. more ›

Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson is doing damage control after getting busted blocking a bike lane outside her district office in the Bronx on Monday. Of course, by "busted" we don't mean "ticketed by the NYPD"; as usual it was an outraged cyclist who caught the violation, photographing her car in the bike lane and sending it to BoogieDowner. The cyclist also got a shot of Gibson's parking placard on the dashboard, which declared that she was on "Official Police Business." What kind of police business, you ask? more ›

Officer Robert Salerno, who was shot three times at close range in a Bronx "ambush," was released from the hospital yesterday. Though his kevlar vest protected him from a shot to the chest, he was shot twice in the lower torso by 57-year-old Santiago Urena, who had just pulled a gun on a home health aide who rejected his romantic advances. He was released from Lincoln Hospital after being treated for nerve damage in his hip and leg. Salerno's mother told the Post, "It’s a very good day." more ›

A man who paid his cousin to kill his ex-girlfriend by staging a Bronx robbery gone wrong was sentenced to life in prison without parole yesterday. Even a lawyer for Carlos Cruz said, "It's an exceptionally troubling case." more ›

Indicted Councilman Larry Seabrook (D-Bronx), he of the $177 bagel, spent nearly $20,000 of taxpayer money to move into a new office—a month after he was indicted of massive fraud. Seabrook, who once divorced his wife without telling her, left his $3,500-a-month office on White Plains Road, which he had been using despite leasing it officially to a nonprofit he ran, to a larger office building on Boston Road this past month. more ›

A building can be the target of a hate crime, not just a person, or so ruled an appelate court in the case of man who threw Molotov Cocktails at a Bronx synagogue on the eve of Yom Kippur. Thirty-year-old Palestinian-American Mazin Assi is currently serving 5 to 15 for the crime he committed in 2000, with three other men. His lawyer said he should have been convicted only of attempted arson, but a judge decided the stricter charges apply. "It is self-evident that, although the target of the defendant's criminal conduct was a building, the true victims were the individuals of Jewish faith who were members of the synagogue,'' Judge Victoria Graffeo wrote in a ruling that "broadens the hate crimes act," according to the New York Law Journal. more ›

Reporters at the Post have uncovered yet another incidence of a potential Medicaid scam in which Harlem hustlers herd patients to dental offices, offering them small cash payments to get teeth cleanings or denture work. This time a 27-year-old street seller named Jose, who works with crew of five to seven others was ready, even eager, to chat. "I know this is a multimillion-dollar thing we're doing out here, and it's bad," he said. "Yes, [the dentists] know it's illegal. They don't care. They bill [Medicaid] $300 to $350 [for each person]. more ›

A teeth-cleaning by a third-year dental student at NYU costs $60, but in Harlem and the Bronx dentists will pay you to open wide—if you're on Medicaid that is. The Post reported today on how dental offices lure in low-income patients offering 20 bucks cash for those who undergo a teeth cleaning and 40 for partial denture work. "There's a white van around the corner by the Salvation Army ready to take you and bring you right back," said one hawker who works the streets for a Bronx clinic. According to Medicaid officials offering to pay patients "is illegal and a sign of fraud." more ›

Last year Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. fought and conquered the building of a mall in the historic Kingsbridge Armory; now—facing a possible bid for citywide office—he has to figure out what to do with the hard-to-fill space. "He's got a big problem," a Bronx elected official told the Post. "No one's been able to do anything with this thing, and now he comes along and stops the only development that seemed to have a chance." more ›

Earlier this month, the city vowed to cut ties with New York Organic Fertilizer Company, which was responsible for an odious smell that left residents in Hunts Point feeling very fowl. Well, don't inhale too deeply yet Hunts Point residents: the NYOFCO isn't planning on going anywhere. Even if the city does terminate their contract in June, as was promised, the company will try importing sludge from elsewhere. They also plan to try to salvage the agreement with the city with deeper discounts. more ›

The cop wounded by a gunman inside a Bronx apartment fired the rounds that killed the perp, police investigators believe. Even though Officer Robert Salerno had been hit twice—his Kevlar vest halted a third shot to the chest—the three-year NYPD veteran unloaded his 16-round clip, striking Santiago Urena in the the abdomen, shoulder, and temple, police officials told the Post. more ›

The Bronx resident who wounded a police officer after a home health aide rejected his romantic advances was killed by NYPD bullets—not a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The medical examiner's officer has determined that 57-year-old Santiago Urena was struck by three rounds fired by cops after he opened fire on Officer Robert Salerno, the Times reports. more ›

There are more details about the incident that left a 4-year-old child critically injured in the Bronx yesterday: Though it was initially reported that a livery cab slammed into little Joshua Delarosa and his mother, who were walking to his day care, at 230th Street and Broadway, it turns out the car slammed into a pole (with a pedestrian crossing sign), which then fell onto the boy. more ›

According to the NY Post, "A livery cab driver plowed into a woman and her 4-year-old son as she was walking him to nursery school... nearly killing the boy, cops said. The 27-year-old man was driving a black Lincoln southbound on Broadway at 230th Street around 8:30 a.m., when he rammed into the 41-year-old Bronx woman and her son crossing at the intersection." The boy is in critical condition while the mother is in stable condition. Also: "The driver stayed at the scene and was not charged." more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] An NYPD officer was shot inside a Bronx public housing project just before 12:30 p.m., according to police scanner reports. The wire dispatches indicate that an emotionally disturbed person shot an officer at 3073 Park Avenue in the Bronx and "barricaded [himself] with a gun inside the [apartment]." It's unclear if the officer was on duty at the time of the shooting, but responding officers put him in a patrol car and drove him to Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, according to the scanner. more ›

A Bronx dad was shot dead after telling a neighbor to keep quiet so his family could get some sleep. David Morales was on the phone with his nephew Louie Garcia complaining about the noise, when around 5 a.m. he suddenly went silent. "I heard him trying to breathe over the phone—gasping," said Garcia. "He couldn't talk." He hung up and called back, but instead of Morales a neighbor answered, telling him his uncle had been shot, reports the News. "He felt very cold," said a cousin who rushed to the scene. "It felt like a sponge—it wasn't even stiff. I realized he had taken his last breath." The noisy neighbor and alleged killer—a Panama native and former seaman—fled the scene, but later turned himself in. more ›

Yesterday, the Medical Examiner's office said that a 22-month-old girl who was found unconscious in a Bronx apartment and later died from terrible injuries had been killed. Now police have arrested the boyfriend of the toddler's mother and he has been charged with second-degree murder. The Daily News reports that Ramel Green said in a videotape confession, "I knocked her in the stomach with my elbow. She had her eyes open, but she wasn't breathing." more ›

In the Bronx a heroic dad of two young girls was stabbed to death by a group of vicious teens Friday night, while attempting to protect the 16-year-old son of a friend. The teen had been involved in an altercation between two rival groups earlier in the day, and after night fell prowlers came back looking for him. “I’ll hang with you,” 26-year-old Orlando Salgado told the teen, according to the AP, but the thugs stabbed him twice and ran. "For saving his life, we're going to take yours now," one of the attackers allegedly told him. more ›

Forget harsh words and gory images—the pro-life movement has a peaceful new persona. As part of the “40 days for life” campaign legions of anti-abortion protesters from around the country are holding a vigil outside a Bronx women’s clinic. Bearing rosaries and signs, that read “Abortion Stops a Beating Heart,” they arrived at Dr. Emily Women’s Health Center February 17, and have returned eight hours per day, every day since, reports the News. They’re expected to stay put until closing next Sunday. "We offer them prayer, literature, roses and chocolates," said Chris Slattery, president of Christian-based Expectant Mother Care Frontline Pregnancy Centers. He calls the Bronx “the abortion capitol of America." more ›

In a Bronx housing development, cops shot a man threatening to use two kitchen knives against his neighbors. Around 9 p.m. last night police anwered a call about a disruption on the 18th floor of an apartment building on E. 149th Street. Residents told them a 33-year-old man—who lived a few floors down—banged on their door and threatened murder. more ›