Bronx Week Finale on Mosholu Parkway This Sunday

May 17, 2013 at 3:40 PM

Here’s a slideshow of photos taken from last year’s Bronx Week Finale, which, of course, included the the parade and festival on Mosholu Parkway. This year’s parade and festival kick off this Sunday, May 19, at noon on Mosholu Parkway and runs until 6 p.m. The viewing stand for the parade will be near Van Cortlandt Avenue and the concert will be held at a stage near Bainbridge Avenue. For more information, click here.

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Out & About in the Bronx

May 17, 2013 at 3:24 PM

[Lehman Center is hosting a Salsa Romantica Concert on Saturday night. Click here for details.]

Below is a listing of arts, entertainment and recreational activities happening in the Bronx over the next two weeks.

Editor’s Pick

Bronx Literary Festival at NYPL

The entire family can enjoy Bronx Literary Festival, an entire day of fun on May 18, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a variety of activities, starting with a puppet show at 11 a.m. For more information, call (718) 579-4244/46/57 or visit www.nypl.org.

Onstage

The Bronx Library Center, at 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd., presents Latin Jazz Concert, May 18 at 4:30 p.m. For more information, call (718) 579-4244/46/57 or visit www.nypl.org.

The Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd., W., presents Lehman College Community Band, free, May 19 at 2 p.m.; and Solid Ground, a play about landing on your feet, May 29 at 10 a.m. and noon (for middle and high school groups; apply for free tickets for your school group at solidgroundnyc@gmail.com; promo video at mtstv.org), both in the Lovinger Theatre; and Back to the ‘80s III, a salsa concert featuring various performers, May 18 at 8 p.m. (tickets are $30 to $50); and comedian/actor Paul Rodriguez, June 1 at 8 p.m. (tickets are $55 to $85). For more information, call (718) 960-8833.

The Bronx Academy of Art & Dance (BAAD), 841 Barretto St., presents dance performances: The Boogie Down Dance Series: Full Circle-isms, featuring hip-hop, May 17 at 8 p.m. ; and Physual: 10th Anniversary Concert, featuring various performances (each $20); and Bronx Dance Magazine Potluck Brunch, a free brunch for the dance community, May 19 from 1 to 5 p.m.; and Pepatian Presents Showing Off, free performances on May 19 at 6 p.m. where dance site will be announced. Also presented are: Capoeira Dance Classes, May 18 and June 1 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. ($7/class). For more information, call (718) 842-5223. Read more

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Campaign Violations Put Political Hopeful in Spotlight

May 16, 2013 at 4:38 PM

By Alex Kratz

Yudelka Tapia is moving forward with a plan to run for an assembly seat after a judge recently upheld the city campaign finance board’s decision to hold her accountable for more than $100,000 in dollars in violation penalties and repayment obligations. (File Photo)

Yudelka Tapia’s path to becoming an elected official hit a massive roadblock last week when a judge upheld the New York City Campaign Finance Board’s decision to hold her accountable for more than $100,000 in violation penalties and reimbursement payments stemming from a troubled and unsuccessful City Council campaign in 2009.

Up until last week, Tapia, the female district leader in the west Bronx’s 86th Assembly District, was running in the crowded race for the 15th District City Council seat, which includes the Fordham-Bedford area and is opening up with the departure of term-limited majority leader Joel Rivera.

Tapia is now turning her attention to the open 86th District assembly seat recently vacated by Nelson Castro, who left office in March when it was revealed that he had become a government informant after being indicted himself on perjury charges back in 2009.

But Tapia, a longtime community activist who started the Bronx’s first Dominican political club, is now drowning in debt and carries a tainted record of mismanaging public funds.

During and following her 2009 run in the 14th Council District, which she lost to Fernando Cabrera, Tapia racked up 12 campaign finances violations for a total of $47,774 in penalties. The violations included, among other things, making late filings or not making required filings, accepting money from a corporation, not reporting expenditures and not responding to draft reports.

Because she failed to provide documentation on time, the board is also holding her responsible for repaying $59,930.86 in public matching funds, in addition to the penalities.

“We are pleased that the Court upheld the Board’s enforcement actions concerning this campaign,” said Matt Sollars, a spokesperson for the campaign finance board. “Candidates who violate the City’s campaign finance laws face significant penalties and public funds repayment obligations.”

Sick Days

Though she has already “terminated” her campaign’s registry with the city’s campaign finance board, Tapia says she will appeal the ruling. Leo Glickman, Tapia’s lawyer, said Tapia is being punished too severely for simply being late in filing documentation. He said the delay in filing was due to a severe illness suffered by Tapia’s treasurer, who is also her son. Read more

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Bronx News Network Re-Launches as ‘Bronx Bureau’ Tonight

May 16, 2013 at 1:29 PM

By Alex Kratz

Remember the Bronx News Network?

The network, created by the staff of the Norwood News and its nonprofit publisher, Mosholu Preservation Corporation, back in 2006, included two bilingual monthly newspapers, the Tremont Tribune and Mt. Hope Monitor, as well as a humming blog and website and a successful youth journalism program.

In 2011, the network ran into funding problems and was suspended. The papers took an indefinite hiatus and the website stopped being updated. Meanwhile, the Norwood News took over control of the youth program (which just concluded another successful semester at Hostos Community College last week) and the other assets of the network were transitioned to City Limits, New York’s go-to place for hard-edged civic and policy journalism.

Tonight, the network is being re-birthed as the “Bronx Bureau” of City Limits during a launch event at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1040 Grand Concourse (at E. 165th St.), from 6 to 9 p.m. The event will include a panel discussion on poverty, part of a City Limits series on the topic, and a networking reception.

The Bronx Bureau will have a familiar air for readers of the Norwood News. It will be led by Jarrett Murphy, a Norwood resident and City Limits’ editor-in-chief, and Jordan Moss, who ran the Norwood News for 17 before moving on last year and is now the managing editor at City Limits.

We, for one, are excited to see what the new Bronx Bureau has in store for the Boogie Down, a borough badly in need of more media coverage.

Editor’s note: This launch event is free and open to the public; Attendees can register at http://bronxbureaulaunch.splashthat.com/.

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Editorial: Armory Celebration Time!

May 13, 2013 at 3:41 PM

By Norwood News

The mayor made the announcement on the Armory drill floor, which is the size of three football fields. In five years, the Armory will be home to free after-school ice sports program that will help uplift local youth. (Photo courtesy Mayor’s Office)

The story of the “long vacant” Kingsbridge Armory stretches back into the early years of the Norwood News. We began publishing in 1988. The military left the main building in 1993. We’ve been writing about its emptiness and the efforts to fill that emptiness ever since.

There’s a reason for that. The Armory is not only a huge, beautiful, iconic building, its fate holds all the promise of a revolution for the downtrodden area around it. That area includes lovely homes, nice buildings and hardworking people. But it’s also home to prostitution, drug dealing, slumlords and gun violence.

Simply put, it’s needed a shot in the arm(ory) since well before the Armory stopped being a place where bullets were stored.

Over the years, we’ve chronicled all the failed attempts and pipe dreams (including Councilman Oliver Koppell’s outlandish notion back in the day that the Armory should house a bunch of silly ice skating rinks), always with an eye on how any given project would benefit the community.

Now, with the Armory on its way toward becoming the world’s largest ice sports complex — Koppell, you were so ahead of your time! — which is coming complete with the city’s strongest community benefits agreement, it’s time to celebrate. Read more

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Out & About: Patti Labelle Plays the Bronx Saturday Night

May 10, 2013 at 2:50 PM

Patti LaBelle, the “Soul Diva,” will be in the Bronx for a special engagement at Lehman Center (250 Bedford Park Blvd.) on Saturday night, with Xavier Lewis and Whiskey Peach opening up. Before the show, which starts at 8 p.m., there will be a gala benefiting Lehman Center and the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Presented by Max Tucci, Brie Blythwood, Gina Tucci, Eva Bornstein, John “Gungie” Rivera, Lehman Center’s Spring Concert Committee and the Board of Directors, the benefit reception will feature wine and passed hors d’oeuvres provided by the popular Bronx-based pan-Latin restaurant Babalu and its Celebrity Chef Alex Garcia.

For tickets and other information, click here.

For other stuff going on in the Bronx this weekend, check out our Out & About feature.

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Bronx Notes: Free Melanoma and Skin Cancer Screenings on Saturday

May 10, 2013 at 2:27 PM

The Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care and Montefiore Medical Center’s Division of Dermatology are offering free melanoma/skin cancer screenings for people of all ages on Saturday, May 11, 2013, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care, 1521 Jarret Place.

Screening participants will undergo a total skin exam that takes 10 minutes and can save their life. All screening participants will receive a free UV wristband to monitor exposure to harmful UVA and UVB rays. The sun-sensitive band changes color to show when to reapply sunscreen and when to get out of the sun.

Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is the fastest growing cancer in men and the second fastest in women in the U.S. It also is the number one cancer in young people ages 25-29. Experts attribute the rise in melanoma cases to exposure to harmful UV rays outdoors and excessive tanning bed use.

Melanoma can occur anywhere on the body, often appearing as a new mole or one that has changed in appearance. If it goes undetected and spreads, the results can be devastating. Skin screening is very effective in detecting the disease early, when there is a 95 percent cure rate.

Note: Appointments are encouraged, but not required. Call (718) 862-8840 to register and for more information.

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Business Beat: With Changes Coming, Affinity CEO Urges Collaboration

May 10, 2013 at 2:22 PM

At an April 11 reception, new Affinity President and CEO Bert Scott urged closer collaboration between the health plan and its community partners. (Photo courtesy Affinity Health Plan)

Bert Scott, the new president and CEO of Bronx-based Affinity Health Plan, says changes in the health care market will pose greater challenges for consumers, health plans and providers, and make effective collaboration essential among all stakeholders.

“Change sustains us as an organization and is what this business is all about,” said Scott, speaking at an April 11 reception for community organizations in the northwest Bronx. “I am thrilled to lead this organization at a very critical time.”

As Affinity prepares to participate in the New York Health Insurance Exchange, which was mandated by the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), Scott noted concurrent changes in existing government-sponsored programs.

“Not only is Medicaid expanding,” he said, “but Medicare is also changing with the dual-eligible population.” Read more

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Judge Rules Bronx Political Hopeful Tapia Must Pay Severe Campaign Finance Penalties; City Campaign Funding Unaccounted For

May 10, 2013 at 10:04 AM

Yudelka Tapia received almost $80,000 in matching funds from the city in her run for a west Bronx City Council seat in 2009. The city’s campaign finance board says Tapia, who is again running for office this year, never accounted for almost $60,000 of that money.

Yudelka Tapia’s path to becoming an elected official hit a massive roadblock this week when a judge upheld the New York City Campaign Finance Board’s decision to hold her accountable for more than $100,000 in penalties and reimbursement payments, stemming from an unsuccessful City Council campaign in 2009.

During and following her 2009 run in the 14th Council District, Tapia racked up 12 campaign finances violations for a total of $47,774 in penalties. The violations included, among other things, making late filings or not making required filings, accepting money from a corporation, not reporting expenditures and not responding to draft reports.

Though she has already “terminated” her campaign’s registry with the city’s campaign finance board, Tapia says she will appeal the ruling. Leo Glickman, Tapia’s lawyer, released a statement earlier today, saying Tapia is being punished too severely for simply being late in filing documentation. Although the campaign never actually filed documentation accounting for nearly $60,000 in taxpayer funding, Glickman says it would show the funds were spent properly.

Glickman said the filings were late because Tapia’s son, Jorge Javier, who was also her treasurer at the time, “became very ill and was repeatedly admitted to the hospital.”

The Board, however, didn’t buy the excuse, saying it gave Tapia nearly three years to respond to requests for documentation and held a public hearing, which Tapia did not attend, to discuss the matter. Read more

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Speaker Wants to Raise Smoking Age to 21

May 8, 2013 at 2:38 PM

By Sara Regalado

Joined by health and anti-smoking advocates, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced last week that the Council would introduce legislation that ups the minimum age requirement on tobacco purchases from 18 to 21. If passed, New York City will become the first major city in the United States to hold a 21 years of age minimum.

“By delaying our city’s children and young adults access to lethal tobacco products, we’re decreasing the likelihood they ever start smoking, and thus, creating a healthier city,” Quinn said.

The idea behind the proposal is that the earlier a person begins smoking, the more likely they are to become a life-smoker. The less access youths have to these products, the less likely they are to ever start smoking. Raising the tobacco purchasing age would also essentially eliminate legal cigarette smoking at and around New York City high schools. Read more

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