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Bedford Park Firehouse Marks Century of Service
October 21, 2004
By Heather Haddon
On a quiet Briggs Avenue block, the loudest location is also one of the most cherished by Bedford Park residents. The clang of fire engines rushing from the home of the Engine 79 and Ladder 37 Fire Department companies is a din that, as of this year, has been gladly tolerated for the past century.
Current and former firefighters celebrated that milestone last week during a Mass and ceremonial event at the modest, two-story firehouse. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and other top brass presented a mayoral proclamation and plaque to the companies before a crowd of residents, family members and rows of firefighters standing in the rear.
While trucks and technology have replaced the horses and steamers of the past, the Fire Department traditions here, as in many companies, are still revered.
"It’s hard to get a firefighter to change," said Msgr. John Delendick, the Fire Department chaplain, before a backdrop of black helmets and reflective jackets. "There are changes we don’t want, like when someone dies. But 100 years has not changed the attitude of what firefighters bring as people of compassion and commitment."
That fondness for their work, and each other, was clearly on display as firefighters hugged and reunited with colleagues. "This was the best five years of [my career]," said Captain Catalan Otto, at Briggs Avenue until 2001. "I had a lot of memorable days here."
"Da Bronx Bravest," as the companies are known, have witnessed plenty of action over the course of their 155,000 total runs. Founded in 1904 when Bedford Park was still farmland, the companies covered much of the same terrain they do today — from Fordham Road to Woodlawn Cemetery and the Jerome Park Reservoir to the New York Botanical Garden.
In a photo dating back to the 1920s, 12 firefighters from the companies stand with their helmets. One of them was Frank Turner, Jr.’s father.
"It hasn’t changed much," said Turner, 79, who drove all the way from Texas last year to donate his father’s memorabilia to the firehouse. With its well-preserved tin ceiling and wrought-iron banister, the red paint was the only thing Turner didn’t remember from his days delivering dinner to his dad while on duty.
As the neighborhood developed, the companies’ workload grew exponentially. Their runs tripled by the 1960s, and during the waves of arson in the 1970s, the units relieved other Bronx firehouses to the south. By 1982, Engine 79 ranked in the top 10 of total runs citywide.
The companies were dispatched to the site of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, but perhaps their most well known run was their response to St. Philip Neri Church’s devastating fire in 1997. While the five-alarm inferno almost completely destroyed the Bedford Park church’s interior, firefighters were able to save some of the church’s religious artifacts.
"Thanks to their hard work, many of the church’s treasures still exist," said Father John Bonnici, St. Philip’s pastor, who also presided over the event’s Mass.
Otto remembers that harrowing day well. "We couldn’t find the fire at first, there was so much smoke," he said.
Over the century, the companies have lost 12 men. But five Engine 79, Ladder 37 veterans, who were at the time stationed at other houses, perished on Sept. 11. Sue Gimley’s brother-in-law was one of them. "It’s always hard," said Gimley about attending public events.
Gimley has been embraced by the companies, a natural byproduct of the intense bonds formed within a firehouse. "It’s almost like marrying into a family," said Edward Burgess, 34, a Ladder 37 member. "We all think of each other as brothers."
But for new members, joining that brotherhood can be bumpy. "They busted my chops in the beginning," said Otto, who came from a Queens firehouse. Rivalry between the houses is intense, according to Otto.
Burgess, a former cop, had to get used to a whole new culture. "You come in the door, and think you know how to do things better," said the Woodlawn resident. "But you realize it’s that way for a reason. You as an individual have to adapt."
The Department has been criticized for its lack of inclusiveness in a particularly diverse city. Out of the city’s total force of 11,184 firefighters, 92 percent are white and only 30 are women, according to officials. Of the 801 members who have served on Briggs Avenue, there has been only one woman — who is currently serving there — and a handful of ethnic minorities.
But Kenny Akan, an African-American Norwood resident who joined Ladder 37 in August, felt welcomed from the beginning. "There are a lot of good guys here," said Akan, 32. "They are always willing to teach you."
There’s a lot to learn, including 24-hour shifts and an unpredictable schedule. "It’s hard getting used to," said Burgess, holding a tall cup of coffee after being up all night.
Many firefighters feel the appreciation from local residents makes the challenges worth it. "It’s a great neighborhood," said Tom Peterman, a former company member now stationed in Highbridge. "People really appreciate you here."
Grace Siemer, a 20-year resident of East 201st Street, says the companies deserve every ounce of gratitude. "They are very humble," said Siemer, who attended the event with other Bedford Mosholu Community Association members. Siemer, who recently witnessed a fire on Marion Avenue, said the companies were on the scene in seconds.
"I’ve seen them go into burning buildings," said Siemer, a St. Philip’s parishioner. "Whatever accolades they get, it’s never enough."
A Norwood News Anniversary
October 21, 2004
By Editorial
The Norwood News was founded in October 1988, so we are now 16 years old. But we are also celebrating another anniversary this month– the 10th anniversary of the paper becoming a bi-weekly publication
.In 1994, when the paper hired its first full-time editor and increased its frequency, we were able to deepen our coverage. A few years later, we were, with the help of foundation grants, able to extend our coverage to North Fordham. And just last year, we took on University Heights, so we now cover every neighborhood in Community District 7.
We are proud of these successes and that our coverage has been honored with several first-place awards from the Independent Press Association. Most of all, though, we are honored that our loyal and growing readership continues to rely on the Norwood News for our in-depth reporting on local issues. And we are grateful to our advertisers, without whom this newspaper would not be possible.
We have so many people to thank for our success over the last decade, so we hope you will join us at a members’ reception at our offices at the Keeper’s House on Oct. 27 to do just that. Members of the paper get in free. If you are not already a member (basically a subscriber with additional benefits), you can become one with a $40 admission fee. Even if you already pick up the newspaper for free, you can support and strengthen our work by becoming a member. We hope to see you on Oct. 27!
Kerry’s the One to Save Us from Iraq Mistake
October 21, 2004
By Alex Kratz
REP. JOSE E. SERRANO
John Kerry’s position on Iraq is very simple. He voted to give the president of the United States the authority to go against Saddam Hussein when he promised to go to war only as a last recourse. But George Bush broke his promise. He was determined to go to war regardless of the facts, and now we’re suffering the consequences.
What has been this war’s cost? Our nation has lost more than 1,000 valiant young men and women who volunteered to serve the country, and more than 7,000 soldiers have returned from Iraq with physical injuries. The war is costing us billions and billions of dollars and inestimably in terms of our international prestige. Now, in the midst of one of the most important presidential elections in our history, we should not allow Senator Kerry’s position to be distorted since we all know that he has always firmly supported the struggle against Al Qaeda, a struggle that is fundamentally different from the war in Iraq. John Kerry and I see that the president made a grave error when he focused his attention more on Saddam Hussein, who didn’t attack us, than on Osama Bin Laden, who emphatically did on Sept. 11.
In 2002, Kerry and the Senate gave their support to the president to put pressure on Saddam. Kerry, and millions of other Americans, based their support for the president on the administration’s arguments that Saddam Hussein had dangerous weapons of mass destruction that posed an imminent threat to our nation’s security.
But let there be no confusion. The initial support Kerry gave to the president does not mean that he agrees with how the president has pursued this war. He and I firmly believe that the president has pursued a fundamentally flawed strategy in Iraq over the past few years, both before and after the fall of Baghdad. He pressured the UN to pull its inspectors out of Iraq before they had the time they needed to confirm if Saddam really had dangerous weapons of mass destruction. When the international community, including some of our closest NATO allies, remained unconvinced of the president’s case for war, he stubbornly stormed ahead without international support, without providing our soldiers with proper equipment, and without a plan for winning the peace. Now, we’re stuck with more than 90 percent of the costs of the war, and more than 90 percent of the casualties, and there is no end in sight. The CIA has recently suggested that Iraq might be headed toward civil war, but the president is ignoring reality, refusing to level with Americans about the situation on the ground there.
Already, we have spent $200 billion in Iraq. And it is our families who have lost the most. We don’t have enough money to pay adequate salaries for teachers here in Bronx schools. We can’t pay fair wages to the hospital workers or the policemen who keep our communities healthy and safe. Money for economic development in places like the Bronx is now in shorter supply, and police and fire departments lack the funds they need to properly function. But the Bush administration continues to pay astronomical amounts to companies like Halliburton to build Iraq.
After the disaster of Sept. 11, all of us wanted to follow the White House’s leadership, and our nation came together as one. But the Republican leadership reacted in strange ways, quickly acting to cut taxes for the wealthy, and aggressively pushing us toward war in Iraq, even though we never had evidence connecting Saddam with 9/11. This war has cost us the scorn of other nations who used to look toward us as leaders of the free world because of our commitment to fairness. Now the time has clearly come to rethink our priorities and change the direction of our nation.
To win the war against terrorism, we need to destroy the terrorists who attacked us, we need to stop creating a new generation of terrorists, and we need to clean up the mess that President Bush has created in Iraq with his wrong-headed decisions. We need a strong leader to resurrect our alliances and coalitions and a commander-in-chief who understands the difference between rhetoric and reality. We need a president who knows when we should use our army and how to use it efficiently. But we also need a president who knows when to use our diplomacy and our experience, our intelligence system, and our economic power to make America and the world safer.
We need a new leader in the White House. We need John Kerry.
Meals Breakdown
October 21, 2004
By Editorial
They can spin all they want, but the city’s Department for the Aging (DFTA) is already justifying the community’s worst fears about the Meals on Wheels pilot program in the Bronx.
It’s bad enough that that RAIN, one of the two agencies that got the contract to deliver the meals, has been hours late in bringing meals to many of its elderly, homebound clients. But DFTA also seems to have misled the public when they promised, after much outcry, that seniors who wanted to get hot, rather than frozen, meals would be able to do so. As we report in this issue, even though some seniors are receiving hot meals, they all were originally "flash frozen," something DFTA and RAIN didn’t bother to reveal during hearings on the issue last spring. Sadly, in addition to the city administration, many of our local elected officials supported this ill-conceived plan. That support is tainted by RAIN’s close connections to DFTA and its director’s financial contributions to members of the Bronx Democratic organization.
To his credit, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión broke with his allies in the organization and denounced the pilot last spring, when we applauded his action.
We hope the borough president will now raise his voice once again.
St. James Construction Delayed by Defaults
October 21, 2004
By Chelsea Lehman
Bronx residents who frequent St James Park are well aware that the park house is in disrepair. The building, which faces Jerome Avenue, is surrounded by fencing and has not been open to the public since May of 2003.
In the spring of 2003, the Parks Department’s Capital Projects Division hired Pelcrete Construction Company as the general contractor to renovate the building, which was considered to be in desperate condition. TEC Plumbing and Advanced Air Systems were hired as subcontractors to help with the job. The project called for the total rehabilitation of the electrical and plumbing work, and the construction of new bathrooms, which were to be built on the outside of the building so they could be made available to the public when the park house was closed.
However, before work began, Advanced Air Systems defaulted on the job, claiming that the workload was too overwhelming. According to the Parks Department, soon after beginning work on May 13, 2003, both TEC Plumbing and Pelcrete Construction also defaulted on the project.
Since the companies defaulted, no repair work has yet been completed. "We have not been able to do any work on the park house, because we need to rebid the job which will take some time," said John Bachman, chief of Operations for Bronx parks. Bachman said the Parks Department hoped to have the building successfully renovated by June 2005.
BCC Registration Drive Rocks the Vote
October 21, 2004
By Heather Haddon
On a perfect Indian-summer day earlier this month, Bronx Community College (BCC) students took a break from classes to socialize and soak up the sun. But many of them took care of some important business at the same time — they registered to vote.
BCC sponsored a major registration drive on Oct. 7 and, contrary to the notion that young people are apolitical, the voter forms were moving fast. "I can barely keep up," said Lourdes Carrasco, a BCC student who worked on the drive.
Sponsored by the school’s student government, in conjunction with Rock the Vote, a national organization, the event was the culmination of an exhaustive effort to get people registered in time for the general election. Work-study students with BCC’s chapter of the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), a good-government organization, led the charge all semester long.
"I’ve been working from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the last few days," said Carrasco, who was hoarse from all the pitching on campus and well-trafficked areas like Fordham Road.
While BCC holds voter registration drives annually, students stepped up their efforts this year — and it yielded results. Over 500 students registered over the semester, representing 10 percent of BCC’s total population.
During the event, hundreds of students milled around the school’s grassy quad for the free food, games, and one actual rock band. "We know there is a miniscule proportion of students who are into Rock and Goth," said Victor Rajcoomar, BCC’s student government president, over the wail of a guitar solo. "But we have also got DJs spinning lots of Latin and hip-hop."
A raffle, including prizes like boom boxes and DVD players, attracted plenty of students to the registration table. "I’ve gotten a lot more positive responses this year," said Grace-Zita O’Toole, 21, who has registered BCC students for the past two years.
The peaked interest stems partly from the involvement of BCC’s student government. Frustrated that legislation to fund a new BCC building was recently vetoed by Governor Pataki, the organization decided to put extra effort into getting students voting. "We want to send a clear message to Albany," Rajcoomar said.
But much of the heightened awareness among young people undoubtedly comes from this year’s high-stakes election (T-shirts reading "vote or die" have actually become trendy). Many students said they were registering this year to give President Bush the boot. "I’m not happy with his decisions," said Kevaughn, 21, of White Plains Road. "He was too hasty in going to war, and we didn’t even get [Osama] bin Laden or find weapons."
Tania Valera put it more simply. "I want Bush out," said Valera, 26. Kirk Daley, BCC’s director of Student Activities, has noticed a heightened political awareness among students this year. "They have a greater sense of the power of their vote," Daley said. To further capitalize on that trend, BCC will host a speaker series this month on electoral matters, and on voting day, NYPIRG will shuttle students to the polls.
Statistically, young adults do need some extra encouragement to vote. Only 42 percent of young people voted in the 2000 presidential election, compared to 70 percent of those over 25, according to census statistics. "I think [young people] often don’t pay mind to politics when you are hanging out," said Rolfy Espinal, 21, a North Fordham resident. "They don’t think it will have an effect on them."
O’Toole acknowledged that combating apathy is challenging. "I’m not going to lie to you, it’s hard," she said. O’Toole focuses on issues like tuition rates and financial aid to help put voting into perspective for students.
Studies have shown that young people are the best means to inspire their peers to care about voting. So, clad in hoodies, oversized T-shirts and big earrings, BCC’s advocates got to work convincing their classmates to participate in the political system. Espinal alone has convinced 10 of his friends to register.
Though not involved in the drive, Anesha Bonner of Morris Heights escorted her friend, Rolesha Usher, to the registration table. Bonner, 27, has voted since she turned 18. "My family always votes together," said Bonner.
Usher, 19, quietly filled out the form for the first time. "Hopefully," she said, "this will change something."
80th Assembly District Candidates
October 21, 2004
By Heather Haddon
Anthony Chiofalo, a lawyer and Belmont resident, has continued his uphill fight for the 80th Assembly seat — this time, as a Republican.
Though he’s a registered Democrat, Chiofalo was knocked off the ballot in September’s hotly-contested primary for the seat, which covers Morris Park, Pelham Parkway and sections of Norwood and Bedford Park. In keeping with his persistent, and at times pugnacious, character, Chiofalo vowed to fight on.
"There is no Republican or Democratic way to clean the streets," said Chiofalo, 43, quoting former mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.
Chiofalo’s platform straddles both parties. He is a liberal on most social issues, advocating for programs for the elderly, the environment, and education. But his conservative streak comes out on economic issues like reforming housing voucher programs and keeping low-income developments out of middle class areas.
He would also like to see more cops on the streets. "I want to prevent middle class areas from deteriorating," said Chiofalo, who has lived in the district since 1996.
Education is a top concern for Chiofalo, a father of two young boys whose wife teaches at Mount St. Ursula Academy. Chiofalo supports the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit to bring more state school funding to New York City, and he would like to develop a healthcare-oriented high school in partnership with the borough’s many hospitals. He also thinks the state needs to expand programs for special education students.
A corporate lawyer for 20 years, Chiofalo has reached out to the Bronx Environmental Health and Justice organization in their lawsuit against the water filtration plant planned for Norwood. He thinks that putting the plant in Van Cortlandt Park is a bad move environmentally, and it is also unlikely to yield jobs for Bronxites, he says.
"Those who supported this are being totally foolish," he said, referring specifically to Bronx Democrats.
Claiming that he is the only candidate "with integrity," Chiofalo has aggressively attacked his opponent, Naomi Rivera, for being a puppet of her father, Assemblyman Jose Rivera. While Rivera has clearly come out against the plant, Chiofalo says that those are empty claims given her father’s support for the project.
"Whatever label you want to put on me, I’m going to act in the community’s interest because it’s my interest," he said. "I don’t know if I can say that about my opponent."
Chiofalo says his former primary adversaries, Joe Thompson and Anthony Friedman, are now supporting his campaign despite their previous antagonisms (especially between him and Friedman, the son of a former party boss). "Many of [their] people are now working with me," said Chiofalo, who counts 50 volunteers on his team.
Chiofalo points to their support as a sign of his ability to build political coalitions. But he also clearly relishes confrontation as he demonstrated at a raucous primary debate in August, when he repeatedly attacked his opponents.
That event may have played a role in Rivera’s decision not to debate Chiofalo on BronxTalk, a cable talk show, where he appeared alone last week.
Chiofalo is proud of his long history of community service in the district, much of it geared toward Italian-Americans. He helped found a Bronx Italian-American political action committee, has taught Italian to youngsters, and was busily registering elderly Italians in the district earlier this month.
With the area’s waning Italian population, and Rivera’s name recognition, Chiofalo’s formula may well not generate enough votes. But none of that seems to matter to him "I’m not a career politician," he said. "I came into this race with my only self interests being those of my family and neighbors."
Rivera Stresses Family and Community
Naomi Rivera has cast herself as a mother, neighbor, and leader, seeking to emphasize her political competency and community sensitivity. She also defends her independence, and dodged a barrage of attacks against her during the primary. (Despite repeated invitations, Rivera chose not to be interviewed for this article.)
The 41-year-old Morris Park resident most recently served as deputy chief clerk for the Bronx Board of Elections, and previously, was the borough president’s special events director. A Manhattan Community College graduate, Rivera is married with two sons.
One of Rivera’s top issues is domestic violence. She co-chairs the Bronx Domestic Violence Advisory Council, and produced a Bronx phone-in talk show called "DiVa Talk." If elected, she hopes to increase police training and judicial responses to domestic violence.
In a candidate survey completed in August, Rivera said her other top concerns were identifying and reducing the causes of asthma, and fighting for social services and affordable housing. Rivera has gone to great pains to cast herself as independent from her father, Bronx Democratic organization leader Assemblyman Jose Rivera. She has taken a strong stance against the filtration plant, which her father and her brother, Council Member Joel Rivera, support. She also questioned the controversial Bronx Meals on Wheels overhaul, another plan blessed by the elder Rivera.
All Meals on Ice In Bronx Pilot
October 21, 2004
By Heather Haddon
Homebound seniors in the Bronx who chose to continue with hot food delivery under the revamped Meals on Wheels program are receiving reheated frozen meals, contrary to what the city had previously indicated.
City Department for the Aging (DFTA) Commissioner Edward Mendez-Santiago told the Norwood News that all seniors receive "flash frozen" meals under the pilot program, dubbed Senior Options, which rolled out earlier this month. "This has always been the plan," said Mendez-Santiago testily.
But critics were unaware that the "hot" meal option chosen by seniors who refused, or could not handle, the frozen meals were not freshly prepared. "The seniors of the Bronx were deliberately misled," said Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz in a letter to Mendez-Santiago earlier this month. "I don’t think anyone believed that when you said hot meal you meant a reheated frozen meal."
DFTA announced last year that it intended to consolidate the Bronx’ Meals on Wheels program from 17 to two providers, and serve frozen meals on a weekly basis to at least 30 percent of the 2,000 current recipients. After choosing the new vendors — RAIN and Mid-Bronx Senior Citizens Council — and three months preparation, old providers stopped serving clients at the end of last month.
The transition has been bumpy as scores of seniors received their meals way after the standard 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. window-time, or not at all. "Yesterday, someone came banging on the door at almost 10 p.m.," said Rose Cohen, 89, of Kings College Place. "I’m usually in bed by 8 o’clock." (On Monday, the Norwood News saw a RAIN meals truck driving around Norwood at 5 p.m. and again at 8 p.m.)
Mendez-Santiago said the mishaps in the pilot’s first week were due to two RAIN delivery trucks which broke down. He indicated that complaints to DFTA have since dropped, with 100 in the first week and 25 as of last week.
"We acknowledge that there were a few problems at first … but 97 percent of seniors have received their meals with few delays or no problems," Mendez-Santiago said. "We have seen a transition that has gone rather smoothly."
Though Mendez-Santiago said they fixed the program’s "glitches," officials and former providers continue to log complaints. "They say it’s a glitch, but it’s not like a bus that didn’t come," said Fran Namzoff, Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC)’s former meals coordinator. "Sure it’s a work in progress, but it’s not progressing."
DFTA considers the flash frozen meals an upgrade from past offerings, which providers cooked themselves. Repeatedly referring to criticisms of the pilot as "rhetoric," Mendez-Santiago said the meals are nutritious, appetizing, and "fresh like they were never frozen."
None of the meals are prepared by RAIN. Most of them are manufactured by ConAgra, a food processing giant, and then shipped to RAIN for delivery. The Kosher meals, which Cohen receives, come from Queens.
While Cohen liked the blintzes served one day, she thought reheating her meals made them watery. "I wanted hot meals," said Cohen, whose 91-year-old husband also depends on the program. "Some are cold, some are ice cold, and some look like [they were] defrosted. There’s something wrong there."
Previous statements by DFTA did not indicate that the hot meals would be reheated. "Senior Options will provide up to 35 flash frozen menu selections É [and] seniors may also choose to continue to receive a daily hot home delivered meal," stated a DFTA press release from May. A DFTA outline of the pilot program from last year clearly made a distinction between "hot/chilled/or frozen meals."
Cohen, who has cancer and a spinal condition, does not have a microwave and must use an oven to reheat the meals. "I can’t cook," said Cohen, whose husband suffers from Alzheimer’s.
DFTA promised to provide microwaves to seniors who lacked them but chose the frozen meals option. Mendez-Santiago said that DFTA is seeking private funding to pay for the microwaves, and no seniors who needed them are currently receiving frozen meals.
Dinowitz and Council Member Oliver Koppell, two of the only local officials to oppose the pilot, held a press conference at City Hall last Wednesday. Council Member Joel Rivera, who supported the pilot along with most members of the regular Democratic organization, said his office is funding a hotline at the Mary Mitchell Center to track complaints independently. "We don’t want to depend on DFTA’s numbers," he said.
DFTA intends to conduct an independent review of the program after a year, and if deemed successful, it can be renewed for up to six years.
Mendez-Santiago said that case managers have followed up with every complaint, and that many seniors are satisfied with the switch. "We have been very proactive," he said. "The story is, 43 percent chose to get frozen meals. The seniors are speaking for themselves."
But Cohen might not be saying what DFTA wants to hear.
"They are not reliable," said Cohen, who subsisted on bread and yogurt when the meals didn’t arrive last week. "Why did they take away the program from [MMCC]?"
Still Talking, BronxTalk Marks Anniversaries
October 7, 2004
By Heather Haddon
It’s a gray Tuesday morning on Lehman College’s leafy campus, but within BronxTalk’s subterranean studio, the lights, and the conversation, are hot. Host Gary Axelbank races between segments on tuberculosis, Throgs Neck, the Mets, and preparing your child for school. Three guest callers have canceled, the guests for tomorrow are calling, and Axelbank has to rush through his closing so the credits can roll.
All this action transpired in just the last half of the two-hour cable TV show. As the lights dim, the production staff takes a deep breath and prepares to do it again tomorrow — just as they have 1,100 times before.
While not inclined to pause, BronxTalk is giving itself a well-deserved pat on the back this month by celebrating the fifth and 10th anniversaries of BronxTalk AM and BronxTalk PrimeTime respectively. The two leave a legacy of meaty, award-winning programming that, by several accounts, is unparalleled in the city.
"There is no other forum like this," said Michael Max Knobbe, the executive director of BronxNet, a nonprofit public access station on Cablevision that broadcasts the shows on Channel 67. "Other stations call up and say that they are using [BronxTalk] as their model."
While BronxTalk’s critical ingredients are clearly identifiable — guests of all statures, newsworthy topics, viewer phone calls — the show’s sparkle emanates from its stellar staff. Axelbank helped found the show in 1994, bringing on producer Jane Folloro soon afterward.
Over 8,000 interviews later, they are still kicking. "You’ve got to be ready, willing and able so there’s no dead air," said Folloro, a no-nonsense Yonkers resident, as she juggled phone
calls. "That’s all that matters. Not tomorrow shows, or future shows, but what’s on air
now."
BronxTalk PrimeTime is a live, half-hour evening talk show that brings public figures and discussion of controversial issues to Bronx viewers. Axelbank takes off his trademark white sneakers and wire-rimmed glasses, dons a suit, and sits down to speak with politicians, activists and artists on Monday nights.
"It’s more like a Charlie Rose format," said Axelbank, 50, a Bronx native and father of two who lives in Van Cortlandt Village.
The show has hosted 21 political debates, and is an essential stopping point for borough candidates on the campaign trail. Former borough president Fernando Ferrer turned up 12 times, current Borough President Adolfo Carrion’s ascent from district manager of Community Board 5 was chronicled, and nearly every Bronx state and city representative has appeared.
"BronxTalk is our version of C-SPAN," said Council Member Joel Rivera. "Their team makes sure that the voices of Bronxites are heard."
It was the show’s success that spawned BronxTalk AM to make room for, as Axelbank put it, "church picnics, car washes" and other local affairs. Launched in 1999, AM is a radio-style format that starts with a discussion of current affairs, then bounces between issue segments, guests, and listener calls.
"Jane and I have the philosophy that we don’t say no," said Axelbank. "If you want to come on the show, come on the show."
AM thrives on spontaneity, made possible by its staff’s skill. Axelbank, a former producer for WNBC, can talk competently about almost anything, and Folloro is a tough taskmaster when running the show. "You can be insistent without being annoying," she said about booking the show’s guests.
Folloro’s cell phone is on BronxTalk’s voice mail, and the mother of two frequently gets calls at night. "It’s just whatever it takes," she said before venturing to the vending machine for "lunch."
Folloro gets help from interns who come through BronxNet’s training program. The assistants do technical work, handle phone calls and help with booking. "You’re like a clown juggling all these things," said David Makonnem, a Lehman grad from Harlem. "[Jane] keeps you on your toes."
While the show is sometimes a little rough around the edges due to limited resources — Axelbank controls the cameras himself from a remote control — the content is solid. "You get much more of a full discussion than a [short] news segment," said Dr. Linda Hirsh, a Hostos Community College professor who hosts AM’s education segment.
That substance especially shines during PrimeTime, where topics range from the war in Iraq to hot-sheets motels. Axelbank’s most intense memories are from the segments on the Amadou Diallo shooting. On the day of the ruling, their airwaves were flooded with listeners needing to vent.
Susan Karten, a lead lawyer for the Diallo and Central Park jogger cases, appeared on the show several times. "Bronx communities get to hear a more focused view on the issues of the day," she said about BronxTalk. "I think it should be expanded to every borough."
Axelbank stays neutral when hosting the debates, but he doesn’t bite his tongue during commentaries on hot topics like the water filtration plant, which he’s adamantly opposed to, or his love for the Mets. Bronx officials aren’t always crazy about his outspokenness, but Axelbank encourages those who disagree to challenge him on the air. "[BronxTalk's] phone number is up on the screen," he emphasized. "Any elected official can call up and disagree with me."
BronxTalk staff wish they received more feedback from viewers, but the ones who do call are extremely loyal.
The program could also use a larger studio (Folloro doesn’t have her own desk), and BronxTalk will probably need to change its facilities by next year as Lehman plans to reclaim the basement space for a computer center. Knobbe is searching for new spaces off- and on-campus, and seemed confident that something will materialize.
As for his future with BronxTalk, Axelbank doesn’t like to predict much beyond the next show. But his passion for journalism, and his belief that the Bronx’ 1.3 million people deserve their own media, suggests that he’s in it for the long haul.
"People say to me, ‘you are going to talk about the Bronx for two hours a day?," he said. "You don’t ask a talk show host from Boston that question, and the Bronx is twice as large as Boston."
More Choice in High School Enrollment
October 7, 2004
By Heather Haddon
Surrounded by stacks of brochures, parent Macrina Lord recently began the daunting process of researching high schools for her eighth grade daughter. With the opening of new small schools in the Bronx, and an application that requires more selections than ever, that process has only made her more overwhelmed.
"I don’t know where to start," said Lord, a Montefiore employee, as she sat at the Norwood-based Educational Counseling Center. "My fear is making the wrong choice."
But choice — and hopefully, an informed choice — is the new buzzword around the Department of Education (DOE) when it comes to high schools. The city is looking to end the trend of students ending up in a "last resort" school, and instead is pushing for teens to select a school they actually want to attend.
More than ever, teens need to give that prospect some thought. "We want [students] to make informed choices," said Michelle Cahill, DOE’s Senior Counselor on Education Policy and one of the chief architects of the city’s new approach.
Beginning in 2002, many of the city’s largest, low-performing high schools, including Evander, Kennedy and Walton, stopped taking new classes of students. All three now house "mini-schools," thematic high schools capped at 500 students. The city hopes this formula will help improve graduation rates, especially in the Bronx, by providing more individual attention and a thematic hook.
The Bronx is now home to 44 mini-schools, most of which are in their first or second year of operation. The majority have their own special education and English-as-a-Second-Language offerings, but students mix with the larger host schools for supplemental programs.
From the onset, the mini-schools have been embroiled in controversy, especially in their relationship with the larger schools that house them. But DOE shows no sign of deviating from this approach. "There is no last resort [school] anymore," said Cahill, referring to schools zoned geographically.
The city is also moving away from the Education Option system. Commonly known as ed-op, this is a computerized method where student grades are the determining factor in whether they’re selected. Ed-op puts lower-performing students at a disadvantage.
Students now choose 12, instead of five, schools, which in turn rank their applicants. The school where the highest rankings "match" is where the student goes, according to Cahill. Once that selection is made, there are no other options to pick from or waiting lists to hope for.
The new system debuted last year with mixed results. Some local students didn’t get into their third or fourth pick, and wound up at one of their lower-ranking selections (often their zoned school). "They weren’t happy," said Tanya Dale of the Center, a project of the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, which counsels students in school choice.
But the system does provide a glimmer of hope for satisfying students, especially for teens with more mediocre grades. But that’s only true if students know something about the schools they select. "You’ve got to put down 12 choices you can live with," Dale said.
That process was so overwhelming for parent Linda Collins that she and her son, Michael, started researching schools when he was still in seventh grade. "It’s a very short period of time between September and November," said Collins, a Parkchester resident whose friends wondered why she started so early. "This year [they] are running around frantically."
One family’s approach
The Collinses started their high school hunt at the Center, a calm, orderly office located in a Norwood apartment building. While the city suggests that parents go to their local learning support center for help, Dale discourages that route. "Many parents sent there came back confused," said Dale, a five-year Center veteran.
Dale starts by assessing the student’s past performance, academic and extracurricular interests, and how far they are willing to travel. Based on these factors, she makes some suggestions from the official high school directory (which is available at the region office, 1 Fordham Plaza). She also prints out possible matches from insideschools.org, an excellent Web site with extensive reviews of all city high schools.
Michael also did research, perusing the schools’ pages on the DOE Web site (nycenet.edu). "The main thing I looked at was graduation rates," said Collins, 13, who also scanned their after-school and sports offerings.
The Collinses then hit the high school fair circuit. They talked to four schools at the
Center’s annual event, which is coming up again soon (see p. 11). "Michael liked it
because the high school students talked to him," the elder Collins said.
Next, the Collinses visited the schools they were interested in, which Michael found especially insightful. "First I wanted to see if [the students] were really learning, or were they just sitting around talking?" he said. But the perceptive teen also looked for subtleties like teacher-student ratio and variety in library books.
The Collinses made several visits to the Center, which also coached them on filling out the application correctly. (The Center hosts an application workshop on Wednesday, Nov. 3.)
While the Collinses certainly benefited by starting early, other eighth graders shouldn’t lose hope, but they should start hunting immediately.
After making another appointment, Lord left the Center, arms full of brochures. "This is where the real homework comes in," she said.
Rocky Start for New District 10 Council
October 7, 2004
By Heather Haddon
School District 10′s new school council got a wobbly start when its first fall meeting was marred by low attendance, bad acoustics, and a general sense of disorder. Audience members were clearly frustrated with the revamped board, now called the Community Education Council — which is struggling to define itself and make its voice heard in the city school system.
"I anticipated some kind of structure," said Ramon Hernandez, a Burnside uncle of two school-aged children.
But there was little direction in the Council’s Sept. 23 meeting as members struggled to keep order, even though there were less than 30 people in attendance. The poor audio system in the large gym of the hosting school, PS 85 on Marion Avenue, didn’t help.
"The acoustics are awful," said PS 8 Principal Maria Quail, who was the only principal in attendance.
The Councils are the city’s substitute for the 32 community school boards, which were dismantled last spring. While the boards were elected by popular vote, the Council’s 12 unpaid members were selected — the majority by parent association (PA) officers and two by the borough president — from a pool of applicants. In contrast to the old boards, all members must have school-aged children and live or work in the district. The newly created Region 1 is comprised of Districts 10 and 9, which is to the south.
The Council members went through a brief training this summer, but they weren’t prepared to respond substantively to a series of heated questions during the meeting’s public session. Audience comments ranged from the specific–such as crossing guards and school nurses — to more general rants against the school system.
"We’re not miracle workers," said Maria Torres, a PS 46 parent and one of the Council’s vice presidents. "We can only try to work together."
Torres thought the meeting went well considering it was their first without a Region 1 administrator acting as chair. Joel DiBartolomeo, a local instructional supervisor for the region, sits in on the meetings but does not hold a formal position on the board.
In recent years, the state legislature whittled down the boards’ power significantly, and the Councils have even less authority. While they still approve school zoning lines, the Councils can no longer offer input on curriculum. The meeting’s business section included updates on Council staffing and other protocol, but did not handle any specific resolutions.
Torres says that the Council members must address parent feedback on their own, as there is no direct regional staff person to funnel input to. "It’s our job to find solutions to these problems," she said. "We’ll go out and find out whose department is at issue."
But during the meeting, Torres seemed to be looking for help. "We would love for
[principals] to be here," she said in response to one parent’s comment. "That way we could approach them with our concerns and get real answers,"
Even DiBartolomeo had few specific solutions for parents. "We are a school-starved district; we simply don’t have enough seats," he said, replying to a question about overcrowding. Instead, DiBartolomeo encouraged parents to use their "neighborhood groups" to lobby Albany for more funding for schools.
But not all parents were disappointed. "I got some answers," said Angela Castelo, a PS 85 parent who was looking for information about Title I.
Despite the rocky start, members said that they are trying to improve attendance. "I delivered 250 fliers myself to publicize [the meeting]," said Torres, who is focusing on recruitment from MS 45, PS 46 and PS 54. According to Marvin Shelton, the Council’s president, each member has adopted five or six schools to focus on.
While the old Board had a majority of its representatives from Kingsbridge and Riverdale, the current Council is more reflective of the district’s demographics. Board members nearly always conducted business from a long table on a stage, but the Council sat at a table on a level with parents.
While many of the parent speakers took a hostile tone, there were a few rounds of applause for the Council. "We want to welcome you," said Silvia Figueroa, head of the PA Presidents Council.
But many parents remained a bit skeptical. "It’s an experiment in the works," Hernandez said. "The jury is still out."
Public Service TV
October 7, 2004
By Editorial
For two hours every weekday and even more on Mondays, Gary Axelbank finds a gazillion ways to talk about what he loves best: all things Bronx.
His remarkable cable TV shows, BronxTalk AM and PrimeTime, which respectively celebrate their fifth and 10th anniversaries this month, are a kind of perpetual town hall where Bronx citizens can come to promote their cause, raise issues, take issue and come together. By presenting the views of so many different people, organizations and communities, the shows weave together the fabric of a borough of more than 60 neighborhoods and even more nationalities.
Axelbank and BronxTalk also provide essential context, analysis and even investigation to critical issues facing Bronxites. It also provides an entry point for citizens that too often find themselves shut out from participating in media.
More people should know about this resource. We encourage BronxNet officials to spread the word about BronxTalk so that more of the borough’s citizens find this treasure toward the end of their cable dial.
Reform in Albany
October 7, 2004
By Editorial
Who knew it was possible? State legislators are actually talking about reforming the Byzantine ways of the state Capitol.
Reform has been forced onto the table by a number of factors. The Brennan Center at NYU recently released an exhaustive study of the state legislature that rated it the worst in the country in terms of how it operates and its chronic inability to get things done. Three incumbents actually lost their seats in the primary election last month, the most rare of rarities. And 20 years of late budgets and unresolved issues like creating a fairer education funding system and reforming the Rockefeller drug laws are just the latest illustration of an arthritic legislature incapable of doing its job.
Proposals from the Brennan report are making their way into campaigns for the state legislature this fall. Seventeen members of the Assembly, including Jeffrey Dinowitz and Jeffrey Klein, have co-sponsored a resolution that calls for changing procedures that actually discourage the participation of members in the legislative process. They include: giving each committee the power, which currently resides with the speaker, to hire and fire its own staff, thereby making staff less beholden to leadership and more responsive to committee chairs and the needs of their policy area; making attendance at committee hearings mandatory; and requiring all floor votes to be "slow roll-call votes," which means that members’ votes would be counted only when members are present in the chamber and personally indicate whether they wish to vote "aye" or "nay." Unbelievably, members do
not have to be present to vote under the current rules. If they are not present, they can allow the speaker to count them as a vote in favor of the legislation in question.
These aren’t radical ideas. They are the most basic foundation for a functioning legislature.
We urge all of our local representatives in Albany to support this resolution and we will be following the progress of these and other measures to reform the legislature.
Armory in Limbo
October 7, 2004
By Heather Haddon
A full year after the city promised to issue a request for proposals (RFP) to develop the Kingsbridge Armory, officials say they cannot predict when that will happen. In order to bid out the decade-long development project, the city needs to gain full control of the East 195th Street annex to the rear of the Armory, which still houses two National Guard units.
"We are talking to the military, but we have nothing to report at this time," said Janel Paterson, spokesperson for the city’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC), which oversees the Armory’s redevelopment.
EDC says it began talks with the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs last June to find a substitute space for the 50,000-square-foot annex. Roughly 300 Guard members use the building, located between Jerome and Reservoir avenues, for drill practice, mechanical work, and youth programming.
While the state was initially reluctant to consider the idea, they expressed more openness this summer. "We are looking to EDC to provide alternative [locations] to look at," said Scott Sandman, a Military and Naval Affairs spokesperson, in July.
Paterson would not comment on whether or not EDC had assembled a list of potential sites. After a lively hearing last May that heartened local Armory advocates, the Armory seems to have fallen off EDC’s priority list. When asked about the project’s status, Paterson said, "Frankly, I only get updates when you call."
But activists and officials are waiting for EDC to identify a site. Assemblyman Jose Rivera recently met with members of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition to discuss the situation.
"Rivera has been instrumental in trying to get EDC to meet with Division of Military and Naval Affairs," said Ronn Jordan, the Coalition’s president and a Norwood resident.
According to Jordan, Rivera is looking to Stanley Schlein, the Bronx Democratic
organization’s connected lawyer, to move things forward.
Two weeks ago, Council Member Joel Rivera unofficially met with the Guard units with Council Member Maria Baez, whose district includes the Armory, to assess their needs. "We were going over logistical stuff," Rivera said.
The Coalition has its own proposal to redevelop the Armory, which Rivera and other Bronx Democrats favor. The design includes schools, which must be built on the site of the annex, along with retail and community components.
The Coalition and its developer partner, The Richman Group, have compiled a list of seven possible sites for the Guard, and members are continuing to identify more. Officials are also considering unoccupied city- or state-owned land to build a new facility, according to Rivera.
While Rivera said that the negotiations still lack a time line, Coalition members are doing their best to keep the Armory on the front burner.
"In the next three to six months, we will be forcing the issue," Jordan said.
Meals Pilot Under Way
October 7, 2004
By Heather Haddon
The overhaul of the Bronx Meals on Wheels program for senior citizens rolled out last Friday despite a three-month delay that advocates hoped spelled its eventual demise.
"We knew this was going to happen, but we’re sad it’s happening," said Patricia Burlace, director of the Bedford Park Multi-Service Senior Center, which provided meals to local seniors.
The city’s Department for the Aging (DFTA) announced last fall that it intended to trim costs on the Bronx’ homebound meals program by reducing the borough’s providers from 17 to two and lowering the cap on the cost of the meals. The controversial pilot also looked to deliver frozen meals weekly instead of hot ones daily to some seniors.
Most Bronx Democrats backed the plan, dubbed "Senior Options," despite widespread protest from advocates and providers. (The Norwood News reported in March that at least one of the two agencies awarded the new contract had close ties to both DFTA and the Bronx County Democratic Committee.)
Critics worried that seniors would suffer from the loss of daily contact with deliverers, and that reheating the meals could be too complicated. The city responded by lowering the quota of seniors who would receive frozen meals from 70 to 30 percent, and said that participation in the pilot was optional.
"Senior Options represents an unprecedented effort to build greater service capacity at a time of limited resources and changing demographics," said Andria Cimino, a DFTA spokesperson, in a statement. More than 40 percent of current Meals recipients chose to participate in the program, according to Cimino.
But critics are still wary. "At this point, we are in wait-and-see mode," said Bobbi Sackman of New York’s Council of Senior Centers and Services, an advocacy group. "We still have concerns… about social isolation."
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum also expressed concerns about how DFTA has encouraged seniors to participate in the pilot. "The comments of seniors indicate that DFTA has not fully and clearly apprised them of the services changes and of their new options," she said in a statement earlier this week.
Additionally, a report by the city comptroller found that the pilot would actually cost $185,400 more in its first year because of multiple start-up costs, including giving microwaves and refrigerators to seniors who needed them.
The new providers are Regional Aid for Interim Needs (RAIN), which will cover all of the local area, and Mid-Bronx Senior Citizens Council. Though originally slated to begin in July, the city pushed back the pilot’s start date to give the agencies more time to prepare.
While critics hoped the three-month reprieve would become permanent, current providers received letters in September that the overhaul was under way. "They took back the trucks [last week]," said Don Bluestone, director of the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, referring to his agency’s delivery vehicles. "[The pilot] is a terrible disservice to the seniors."
An estimated 60 staff people were laid off from the consolidation, and DFTA says it is working to find them new positions.
The city intends to test the pilot for a year with possible expansion to the other boroughs. Sackman says she will continue to monitor its development. "We hope [the evaluation] process will include community organizations and advocacy groups to make sure it’s fair and balanced," she said.
For local providers, many who have offered Meals on Wheels for decades, the change is a blow. "You want to see that things are getting better, but I’m not sure that this is it," Burlace said.
Dinowitz Reports Troubles With Pilot
As the Norwood News went to press, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, an opponent of the meals pilot, released an Oct. 5 letter he wrote to DFTA commissioner Edward Mendez-Santiago, reporting problems with the pilot. "My office and local senior centers have been swamped with calls complaining that they did not receive their meals or that the meals were late, and that they were receiving reheated frozen meals," Dinowitz wrote. "Furthermore, I am told non-Kosher meals have been delivered to seniors who should have received Kosher meals."
The Norwood News will follow up on these complaints in our next issue.
Not So Fast!
October 7, 2004
By Jordan Moss
A week after the City Council overwhelmingly approved the deal that would allow the city to construct a giant water filtration plant in the Norwood section of Van Cortlandt Park, a state judge ordered the city not to begin work on the project until at least next Tuesday when a hearing will be held in the same courtroom.
The Friends of Van Cortlandt Park, an advocacy group that argued that the city can’t build the plant in the park until it rezones the parkland it will occupy, brought the suit. The city argued, according to filtration opponents who attended the session, that no rezoning was necessary because the mayor issued a letter overriding the zoning requirements in July. That letter was not previously disclosed to the public.
A call to the city’s Department of Environ-mental Protection for comment at press time was not returned.
Another group, the Croton Watershed Clean Water Coalition, which has long been opposed to filtration on the grounds that it will embolden developers to build in watershed areas upstate, was also in court last week in Queens in a parallel effort to stop the plant.
The group argued that the city failed to include over 30 different studies that were
referenced in the final environmental impact study for the project, which are required by state and city statutes according to the Water Coalition’s lawyer, Jim Bacon.
"How can you have an administrative review process if you’re preventing the public from looking at the information that makes up your determination?" he said.
The group also believes that the city put new information in its final study that was not in an earlier version, making it impossible for citizens to comment in time to affect the final project.
The judge in that case did not issue an injunction but did ask the city to respond by Oct. 20.
Two other suits are also in the works. Lawyers for the town of Eastchester in Westchester County said they will sue the city because building the plant in the Bronx will require the town to build an expanded pump station and chemical filtration facility next to its middle school and high school. And Bronx Environmental Health and Justice, an organization of Norwood residents fighting the facility is expected to sue on environmental justice grounds with the help of the Environmental Law Clinic at Columbia University.
While plant opponents teed up their lawsuits, the project’s proponents took a victory lap after a couple of days after the lopsided 45-5 Council vote. At St. James Park, Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg, and a raft of Bronx Democrats gave themselves a collective pat on the back for pushing a deal through the state legislature that traded the approval of the borough’s Assembly delegation for the promise of $200 million in water bond money to improve Bronx parks.
Protesters from the Norwood area, who say the plant should be built at Eastview, a city-owned industrial site in Westchester, interrupted the mayor and other speakers several times. They were occasionally shouted down by union members who support the construction of the facility in the Bronx. While the mayor answered two questions from protesters at the end of his remarks, the protesters, who argue that the seven or eight years of plant construction will wreak havoc on their neighborhood, weren’t satisfied.
"The mayor didn’t even talk about the health issue," said Norwood resident Dunica Charles, who is worried about the impact of construction on asthma. "They sold us out."
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