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Protesters Reignite Yankee Stadium Gripes

By Alex Kratz

Two Sundays ago, a group of South Bronx activists braved the oppressive afternoon heat to re-energize a campaign to hold the Yankees baseball club accountable for promises they made to the community for the right to build a new $1.5 billion stadium on public parkland.

In exchange for taking its parkland, soaking up taxpayer dollars (in the form of subsidies and tax breaks) and bringing more traffic congestion and parking woes to the area, the Yankees (and the city which backed the project) promised to provide local jobs, quickly restore parkland, and give back money to community groups and programs on an annual basis.

But the local jobs didn’t materialize. Replacement parks haven’t been built, mostly because the old stadium (where the new parks are to be built) is still standing and collecting moss. And the money, which is being dispersed through a specifically-created nonprofit fund, has been slow in getting back into the community, not to mention racked by controversy and possible corruption.

“All we’re asking is that they be good neighbors,” said Ramon Jimenez, one of the organizers of the protest who has helped create a shorthand friendly group called 4DSBxCoalition (For the South Bronx Coalition). “They promised everything. They have given us nothing.”

Jimenez is a Harvard-educated lawyer with offices in the South Bronx. “We want to revitalize this whole [Yankee Stadium and the lack of community benefits] issue,” Jimenez said, sweating in his suit underneath the 4-train line at 161st Street and River Avenue, along with about 30 equally sweat-soaked supporters.

Specifically, Jimenez and the Coalition, which held a similar protest at the new stadium in early June, want: the old stadium torn down by the end of the year; one representative of their organization on the advisory board that distributes the $800,000 in community funds; the replacement parks to be built safe and green (no artifical turf, they say); and for the community to share in the profits of memorabilia sold from the old stadium.

Hector Soto, another lawyer who helped organize the protest, said, “We’re trying to re-energize a campaign that was started by the community before the stadium was even built. The issues were never addressed . . . the community has not been compensated at all.”

Cassino Opens Norwood Campaign Office

By Alex Kratz

Last week, Tony Perez Cassino, a candidate for City Council in the 11th District who is challenging incumbent Oliver Koppell, opened up a campaign office on Gun Hill Road near DeKalb Avenue in Norwood last week.

Cassino has criticized Koppell for being Riverdale-focused, and says residents in Norwood, Woodlawn and Bedford Park should “expect the same high standards across the board.” (Koppell, though, has had a constituent services office across the street at the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center for several years.)

Cassino said that he is now running his campaign “equally” out of two offices, the other in the Kingsbridge/Riverdale vicinity. “No one will feel they can’t reach me,” Cassino said. “The office is a symbolic message that we will be here.”

If Cassino wins the election in September, he says he plans on keeping his office in Norwood.

Baez, Bronx Pols Oppose Armory Market

By Molly Ryan

In the past few months, Councilwoman Maria Baez has raked in a significant amount of cash from local supermarkets in support of her reelection campaign in the 14th District. According to the Campaign Finance Board, Baez has garnered $3,375 from a variety of local supermarkets in the Bronx, $2,000 of which she received the day before she had a press conference voicing her support of small supermarkets opposing the proposed big-box supermarket at the Kingsbridge Armory.

“That press conference was about individuals losing jobs in the community,” Baez said. The monetary contributions from local supermarkets “had absolutely no influence” on her decision to hold a press conference, Baez said, adding, “I reach out to anyone and everyone in the community.”

Baez focused on the potential loss of jobs at her press conference outside of a C-Town in Fordham on Aug. 11. She said that if the developer, The Related Companies, builds a big-box supermarket in the Armory, thousands of local jobs will be lost.

Jose Frias, the owner of the C-Town agreed. “My tax money should not be used to put me out of business, and my 80 employees out of work,” he said.  

Although Baez’s press conference was at a C-Town, the main opponent to the Armory supermarket is Morton Williams supermarket. Since one of Morton Williams’ main stores is situated directly across from the Armory, the company is banking on key political figures such as Baez to help save their business.

Avi Kaner, an owner of Morton Williams, donated $250 to Baez’s campaign. “Maria has been very supportive of the local business people, including us,” Kaner said. 

The entire Bronx Council delegation is behind Baez in this cause, and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. also opposes the big box market. Diaz is slated to publicly state his support or opposition of the entire redevelopment process by Sept. 8. (See cover story.)   

Neighborhood Notes

By Norwood News

Computer Class at Mosholu
The Mosholu Library, at 285 E. 205th St., is hosting a free class teaching basic computer and mouse skills on Sept. 9 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. No prior knowledge of computers is necessary. For more information or to register, call (718) 882-8239.

Lane Closures on University Heights Bridge
The NYC Department of Transportation will be performing repairs daily on the University Heights/West 207th Street Bridge from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. until Sept. 11. During repair hours, one of three lanes on the bridge will be open to traffic. For more information, contact Fred Herschkowitz at (212) 839-6307 or fherschkowitz@dot.nyc.gov.

Free Career Information Seminars
The Office of Continuing Education at Lehman College is offering free career information seminars for its non-credit certificate programs on some weekday evenings and on some Saturdays until the middle of September. Programs will include information on numerous careers, including substance abuse counseling, nursing, financial planning, insurance, paralegal studies and more. For more information and a detailed schedule, call (718) 960-8512 or visit www.lehman.edu/ce.

Donate Backpacks to Homeless Children
Bronx BP Ruben Diaz, Jr. is encouraging Bronx residents to donate backpacks and school supplies to “Operation Backpack” before the start of the new school year. “Operation Backpack” provides homeless children and students in New York City with backpacks and school supplies to help them succeed in school. To contribute, drop off a new backpack at the Bronx BP office at 851 Grand Concourse, Room 209. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.OperationBackpackNYC.org.

Community Health Fair
The Montefiore Medical Center North Division, at 600 E. 233rd St., is hosting a community health fair on Saturday, Sept. 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to promote health education and knowledge. Free blood pressure readings, dental screenings, HIV testing, nutritional information and a variety of other services will be offered along with dancing lessons, refreshments, music and additional entertainment.

Scouting for Girl Scouts
Girls from 5 to 17 years old looking to serve the Bronx community, make friends and learn life skills are encouraged to join the Girl Scouts of the Bronx. For more information about joining a Girl Scout troop, visit www.girlscoutsnyc.org or call (212) 645-4000.

Riverdale Choral Society Holds Auditions
The Riverdale Choral Society will hold auditions at an open rehearsal on Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. for their fall concert, a Bach-themed program titled “Basically Bach.” Regular rehearsals for the chorus will take place every Wednesday during the fall from 7:30 to 9:45 p.m. at Christ Church Riverdale (252nd Street and Henry Hudson Parkway East). Singers interested in joining the chorus are encouraged to audition by contacting Music Director John Lettieri at info@riverdalechoral.org or (718) 543-2219.

Foster Care Network
The Foster Care Network is reaching out to potential foster parents in the Bronx. Hundreds of foster children in the area need loving and caring families to make a difference in their lives. Foster parents receive tax-free financial assistance for the expenses of each child, free training, and Foster Parent certification. For more information, call (800) 454-3727 or visit www.fostercarenetwork.org.

Free Medicine Programs for Cancer Patients
The Complimentary Medicine Program at Albert Einstein Cancer Center is offering two free research programs for patients with cancer. The Yoga-Based Cancer Rehabilitation Program includes 12 weeks of yoga to see if yoga can help patients with breast, lung, and colorectal cancer. A certified yoga instructor teaches classes in both English and Spanish. The Mind-Body Cancer Program includes 8 weeks of Mind-Body groups (The Stress Management Education Group and the Spiritual Support Group) for patients with most types of cancer. Some restrictions apply to these groups, which have been specifically designed by a psychologist and an oncologist. For more information and to find out eligibility, call (718) 430-2380.

Breast Oncology Program
The Breast Oncology Living Daily Program also known as BOLD living offers a variety of free educational, support, and mind-body workshops. They are designed to empower and nurture breast cancer patients, survivors, and loved ones, but are open to all. For more information or to register, call (718) 430-3613 or email cancersupport@aecom.yu.edu.

Free Adult ESL Classes
PS 94, at 3530 Kings College Place, is offering ESL levels 1 and 2 classes beginning in September and running through June 2010. Classes meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Registration is first-come, first-served. For more information, call Ms. Seminario, the parent coordinator, at (347) 563-4772 or (718) 405-6345.

NMCIR Immigration Assistance
The Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights is offering immigration assistance to Bronxites. There is assistance with U.S. Citizenship, family petitions, and travel permits. It is offered at Refuge House, 2715 Bainbridge Ave., Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (718) 484-8294 or email info@NMCIR.org.

Volunteer at North Bronx Healthcare
The North Bronx Healthcare Network is seeking volunteers for the Sexual Assault Treatment Program run at North Central Bronx Hospital, Jacobi Medical Center, and Lincoln Medical Center. Those interested should be willing to volunteer twice a month and commit to serving the program for one year. For more information, call (718) 519-4788.

Farmers Market at Botanical Garden
There will be an all day Wednesday and Saturday Farmers Market at the Botanical Garden through Nov. 14. The Wednesday market will be held near Tulip Tree Allee and the Saturday market will be across the street from the Garden’s Mosholu Gate entrance. Vendors from New York’s Hudson Valley region and beyond offer a variety of home grown products, meats and home baked goods. For more information, visit www.nybg.org/edible_garden/farmers_market.php or call (718) 362-9561 and press 403#.

MTA’s Trip Planner Voice
Trip Planner Voice is a telephone service that allows customers to access bus and subway travel itinerary information via telephone 24/7 without the need to wait to speak to an agent. Trip Planner provides customers with the best and most accurate directions, fare information, walking distances and scheduled connections to and from other transit modes and transfers. For more information, and to learn how to get mobile access, visit www.tripplanner.mta.info.

Aid for Veterans and Their Families
The Warriors Family Assistance Program, launched by the American Legion Auxiliary, comes to the direct aid of veterans and their families in New York State. Veterans and their families can apply for up to $1,500 in aid in maintenance grants, medical grants and employment opportunities. Any veteran who has served honorably within the last four years, or is currently serving in one of the Armed Forces, and is a NYS resident, is eligible to apply. All grants are non-repayable. For an application or more information, call (800) 421-6348.

Computer Classes at Williamsbridge Oval
The Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center, 3225 Reservoir Oval E., is holding computer classes on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Learn how to use the internet and MS Office software. For more information, contact Albert Davis or Tuwanda Ruffin at (718) 654-1851.

Free Prescription $aver Card
The NY State Health Department is accepting applications for the free New York Prescription $aver Card. The program offers discounts on thousands of prescription medications. It will serve low-income New Yorkers who are disabled or between the ages of 50 and 64. To be eligible, income for single individuals must be $35,000 or less, and $50,000 or less for married individuals. Medicaid and EPIC recipients are not eligible for the Prescription $aver Card. To learn more or apply, visit www.nyprescriptionsaver.fhsc.com or call (800) 788-6917. (TTY users should call (800) 290-9138.) Applications are also available at pharmacies.

School Salon Reopens
The School of Professional Beauty Care at Grace Dodge Career and Technical High School, 2474 Crotona Ave., has reopened The New Image Salon to the public. It’s open every Thursday afternoon from 2:45 to 5:30 p.m., offering a wide variety of salon services at reasonable prices. Prices range from $5 to $25. Graduating seniors in the school’s cosmetology program staff the salon, with a licensed cosmetologist on duty. For more information, call (718) 584-2700 ext. 5084.

Couples Needed for Research Study
Doctors at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center are looking for healthy couples between the ages of 22 and 50, and in a monogamous relationship for at least six months, to participate in a research study. The study will test a vaginal gel and the couple will be screened for sexually transmitted infections. Females will have a gynecologic exam and vaginal fluid collected and males will have a genital exam. Female volunteers will have four visits and be reimbursed $60 per visit, and males volunteers will have three visits and will be reimbursed $40 per visit. Females must be using hormonal contraception. All visits will take place at the Albert Einstein General Clinical Research Center. For more information, call Julie at (718) 430-3253 or email microbicide@aecom.yu.edu.

English, Citizenship and Computer Classes
-MS 80 at 149 E. Mosholu Pkwy N., is offering English as a Second Language (ESL) and General Equivalency Diploma (GED) classes. For those interested, or if you have any questions, call Mrs. Alejandro at (718) 405-6300 ext. 1131.

-Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, 3450 DeKalb Ave., is offering free English as a Second Language (ESL) and Citizenship Classes. Ongoing classes run through June 30. For more information, call (718) 882-4000.

-St. James Recreation Center at 2530 Jerome Ave. offers free classes in Microsoft Office, Resume/Cover Letter Writing, Computer Basics, and much more. For more information, call Justin Young at (718) 367-3659.

-Fordham University, 557 E. Fordham Rd., is currently holding free computer and English Language classes for parents, Mondays through Thursdays and on Saturdays. Classes can either stand alone or as an 8- to 12-week series. For more information or to register, call (718) 817-3503.

Senior Employment
The American Association of Retired Person (AARP) and the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) are assisting low-income Bronx residents, 55 and older, to receive employment through their outreach, training, and internship programs. For more information, call AARP located at 384 E. 149th St., Ste. 608 at (718) 585-2500.

MS 80 Needs Love
MS 80 is asking parents and community members to show some love and volunteer for just an hour each week. The school needs mentors, math and reading tutors, part-time coaches and volunteers to help with cafeteria duty. For more information, call Ms. Alejandro (718) 405-6300 ext. 111.

Free Kids’ Summer Vacations
The Fresh Air Fund is currently registering boys and girls, ages six through 12, for free summer vacations in the homes of volunteer host families throughout the northeast or at one of five Fresh Air Fund summer camps in upstate New York. To find out how to register, call (800) 367-0003 or go to www.freshair.org.

MMCC Grade School & Teen Programs at Tracey Towers
The Mosholu Montefiore Community Center is accepting registration for their free after school program at Tracey Towers, 40 W. Mosholu Pkwy. The program meets Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. and is open to children in the third through sixth grades. From 6:30 to 9 p.m., the free Teen Center is open for youth ages 12 to 18. Programs include homework help, computers, arts and crafts, sports, acting, and quiet games. To register, stop by the Youth Community Room on the second floor of Tracey Towers and speak to Antoine Fields, or call him at (917) 482-5039.

Self Defense Classes
The Mosholu Montefiore Community Center still has space in its boxing, karate, and self-defense classes for children, teens, and adults. To register or find out class times, call (718) 882-4000 ext. 0, or stop by the center at 3450 DeKalb Ave.

Free Meditation for Breast Cancer Survivors
The Montefiore-Einstein Cancer Center is offering a free 20-week course on meditation and stress management for breast cancer survivors. The course is part of a research study. To register or learn more, call Kimala Harris at (718) 430-2380 or e-mail kah2019@med.cornell.edu.

Place for Teens With Issues
The Power Project is a free program for teens ages 12 to 18 who are dealing with substance abuse and other problems. Located at 3464 Webster Ave., Power Project provides case management, individual and group counseling, trips, and is just a place to get away from it all. For more information, call (718) 515-7971.

Wii Games for Adults and Seniors
On Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 p.m., adults and seniors can enjoy free Wii video games at the Mosholu Library, 285 E. 205th St. To sign up, go to the Adult Information Desk. For more information, call (718) 882-8239.

Free Parking Calendars
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz is offering free New York City Parking Calendars to community residents. To receive one, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to his office at 3107 Kingsbridge Ave., Bronx, NY 10463, or stop by the office in person.

Free Career Workshops
The State University of New York, located at 3950 Laconia Ave., is offering free career workshops, including job readiness training, resume and cover letter preparation, help with job searches and computer skills, job placement assistance, an Office Skills Certificate Program, college prep and more. For more information, call (718) 547-1001 or visit www.NBX.SUNYEOC.org.

After School Care
The Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, 3450 DeKalb Ave., provides after school care for children in elementary school. Children are transported from their schools in Norwood, Bedford Park, Williamsbridge and Van Cortlandt Village. The center provides a snack, help with homework, and an array of activities to keep children busy. Financial aid is available. For more information, call Ruth Moore, program registrar, at (718) 882-4000.

Schizophrenia Study Seeks Participants
A research study seeking new treatments for schizophrenia is looking for patients in the Bronx. Candidates must be 18 to 65 years old, diagnosed with schizophrenia at or before age 35 and currently on certain medications for schizophrenia. Patients can enroll through the first half of 2009. For more information, call (888) 988-6736 or go to www.cognitivestudy.com.

Job Opportunities
On Dec. 1, Mayor Bloomberg announced the expansion of free job placement services through New York City’s Workforce1 Career Centers. The centers provide personalized career counseling, interview training, resume/cover letter assistance, workshops and ESL classes. For more information, call the Bronx Workforce1 Center, 358 E. 149th St., (718) 960-7099.

Quality of Life Screening
The Psychosocial Oncology Program of the Montefiore-Einstein Cancer Center is conducting a survey study in order to learn about the physical and emotional stresses faced by cancer survivors. Participants will have to fill out questionnaires and have the opportunity to participate in free/low-cost programs and support services within the program. For more information, call (718) 430-2380.

Alzheimer’s Support Group
The Alzheimer’s Association’s New York City chapter provides a support group in Norwood for Spanish and English speaking caregivers who have relatives with Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia. The support group meets on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 5 to 6:15 p.m. For the location or more information, call Mark Goodwin at (718) 920-7377.

Free Respite Program
Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC) is offering free after-school services to families with mentally retarded or developmentally disabled children ages 5 to 21 from 3 to 6 p.m. KHCC is also offering a Saturday Respite Program for ages 15 to 25, and on Sundays another Respite Program is provided for ages 18 to 65. Weekend Respite Program hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They are held at the KHCC, 3101 Kingsbridge Terrace (near Sedgwick Avenue) at West 230th Street. To register or for more information, call Hanna Gabris at (718) 884-0700 ext. 202.

Speech Program at Ursula
The Mt. St. Ursula Speech Center, 2885 Marion Ave., is now accepting applications for its fall program. The center has openings for children ages 2 to 5 who are in need of speech and language services. Medicaid and other insurances accepted. For more information, call (718) 584-7679.

Aphasia Clinic Accepting Clients
The Lehman College Speech and Hearing Center, which provides therapy on a sliding scale payment schedule, is now accepting new clients in its recently expanded aphasia clinic. The clinic will provide individual and group therapy sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m. and 2 to 3 p.m.; group therapy sessions also take place on Tuesdays from 1 to 2 p.m. Diagnostic and therapeutic sessions will be supervised by faculty members who are licensed by the NYS Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and certified by ASHA (American Speech Language Hearing Association). For more information, call Wanda Adams at (718) 960-8138.

Adult ESL Level 1and 2 Classes
Beginning September 2009 through June 2010, P.S. 94x will be offering Level 1 and 2 ESL classes on Tuesday and Thursdays from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. For more information, contact Ms. Seminario, at (347) 563-4772 or (718) 405- 6345. You can also come to room 201 for more information and for sign up.

 

Out & About

By Judy Noy

Onstage

The Bronx Library Center, located at 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. off Fordham Road, hosts a Doo Wop Concert by The Wrenditions, Aug. 29 at 2:30 p.m. For more information, call (718) 579-4244/46 or visit www.nypl.org.

52 People for Progress will host two free programs: Its 19th annual 52 Latin Jazz Concert Series ’09, Wednesdays through Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m.; and its 1st annual 52 Tias Theatre Series ’09, Aug. 29 and Sept. 5 at 6:30 p.m.; both at 52 Park/The Miranda Theatre on Kelly Street between Avenue St. John and Leggett Avenue. For more information, call (718) 548-0315, (646) 250-8785, or (917) 742-9145.

Bronx-born drag king Elizabeth Marrero will appear in DAKA Bocona From the Boogie Down Bronx, Aug. 28 and 29 at 8 p.m. at La Tea Theatre, 107 Suffolk St. in the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center (between Delancey and Rivington streets), in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the box office, online at www.smarttix.com, or by calling (212) 868-4444.

Events

The loveable, family-friendly Pixar film, “Wall-E,” will be screened for free at Movie Night on Mosholu, courtesy of Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera and Community Board 7. This event will take place on Friday, Aug. 28 at 7:45 p.m. on the Mosholu Parkway Lawn at the intersection of Bainbridge Avenue and East Mosholu Parkway South. Everyone is invited. For more information, call Rivera’s office at (718) 409-0109.

Wave Hill offers a family art project: Fishy Fun, to focus on fish, especially the goldfish in WH’s Aquatic Garden, then use colorful paper bags to make 3-D fish that can swim through the air, Aug. 29 and 30; in the Kerlin Learning Center from 1 to 4 p.m. Wave Hill is located at West 249th Street and Independence Avenue. For more information, call (718) 549-3200 or visit www.wavehill.org.

The Edible Garden, taking place at the New York Botanical Garden through Sept. 13, features edible plants, teaches vegetable growing and offers celebrity food presentations by Emeril Lagasse (scheduled to appear on Sept. 12), and others. There will be children’s activities throughout the summer in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden and the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. Farmers Market will run on Wednesdays and Saturdays through Nov. 4 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Gardens ‘Round the World, in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, features Caribbean Garden, a pinwheel-shaped plot garden featuring Caribbean crops; and children will create carnival masks, Aug. 27 and 28 from 1:30 to 6 p.m. and Aug. 29 and 30 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information and a detailed schedule, call (718) 817-8700 or visit nybg.org.

Exhibits

The Bronx River Art Center, located at 1087 E. Tremont Ave., presents an exhibition, Black Gold, through Sept. 12. The exhibit features painting, sculpture, and installation. For more information, call (718) 589-5819.

The Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1040 Grand Concourse at 165th Street, presents an exhibition series commemorating the Grand Concourse’s centennial, featuring The Grand Concourse Commissions, through Jan. 4. Originally called the Grand Boulevard, the Grand Concourse celebrates its 100th year in 2009. For more information, call (718) 681-6000 or visit www.bronxmuseum.org.

The New York Botanical Garden presents an exhibit, Resplendent Roses, a celebration of America’s national flower, which runs through the first frost. For more information, call (718) 817-8700.

Learning

The Bronx Library Center has events for all ages:
For children and preschoolers, there is Preschool Story Time, Aug. 29 at 11 a.m.; films, Sept. 2 and 9 at 4 p.m.; and Preschool Romp, Sept. 3 and 10 at 11 a.m.
Also, for school-aged children, there is Make a Wacky Plate Creature, Sept. 3 at 4 p.m.
The Center is located at 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. off Fordham Road. For a detailed schedule, call (718) 579-4244/46 or visit www.nypl.org.

The Mosholu Library, located at 285 E. 205th St., presents Crafternoons, Aug. 28 at 2 p.m. For more information, call (718) 882-8239.

The Jerome Park Library, at 118 Eames Place, presents a film, Sept. 1 at 4 p.m.; and Arts and Crafts, Sept. 8 at 4 p.m.; both for school aged children. For more information, call (718) 549-5200.

NOTE: Items for consideration should be received in our office by Aug. 31 for the next publication date of Sept. 10.

New Location, New Services for Leroy Pharmacy

By Ashley Villarreal

About a month and a half after Leroy Pharmacy opened its new location on 204th Street, employees walk around the store talking to customers and consulting with patients at the pharmaceutical counter. One customer yells over the counter, “Hey Jay, looks like you’re still going strong!”

Jay Dhaduk, a pharmacist for 20 years who has worked at Leroy for 10 of them, smiles back, clearly excited about what the change will bring to his place of employment.

“That store was too tight,” said Dhaduk, of their old location about a block away.  Now that Leroy has moved to the 4,500 square-foot store (formerly a Blockbuster and before that a Woolworth’s), its staff can start offering new services that are important to the community, he said.

And the move also coincides with a more significant change in Leroy’s services. They were one of a handful of Bronx pharmacies picked to participate in a pilot program by Medicaid called Medication Therapeutic Management, or MTM, that seeks to build better communication among patients, health providers and pharmacies.

Some patients use multiple doctors and multiple pharmacies, and problems can arise with duplication or interaction of the drugs. The purpose of MTM, as it is stated by Medicaid, is to use “supplied MTM software” to make sure those issues are taken into account when pharmacies are filling out prescriptions.

 “Some pharmacies just fill prescriptions, put it in the bag and hand it to the customer. We don’t do that here,” Dhaduk says. “We don’t fill prescriptions blindly.”

In the new space at Leroy, a small private room is set aside off to the right of the drop-off counter. Here patients who have been flagged by Medicaid for being multiple-drug users will meet one-on-one for 30 minutes to an hour with a pharmacist about their family medical histories, current prescriptions and health habits.

“It’s a lot of pressure on us and Medicaid will be looking for results constantly. They are looking for certain small, small things that these guys may end up in the hospital for,” Dhaduk said. “Medicaid wants to avoid that. It said, ‘Hey, that’s too expensive, we’d rather keep you in the pharmacy than keep you in the hospital.”

Leroy’s owners also hope to re-open the old store down the road and use the space for yoga  and nutrition classes to help sustain patients’ well-being outside of the check-up room.

And keeping Leroy’s customers happy and healthy is very important, Dhaduk said, because Leroy has been around for over 20 years and has been a landmark in the Norwood community.

“Every single person that walks in here we know by their name, their families, their brothers and sisters, everything,” Dhaduk said. “We know the whole puzzle, the whole tree—every family has a tree and every tree we pretty much know. We don’t want to lose one, because if you lose one, you’ll lose the whole tree.”

Ed. Note: The Grand Opening of the new Leroy Pharmacy, located at 314 E. 204th St., between Hull and Perry avenues will be met with celebratory events and free vaccinations on-site. It is tentatively set for Sept. 15.

Hoops for Heartache

By David Greene

The basketball-loving Gardiner family was devastated by a tragic car crash just a few years ago. Now one of the surviving family members has dedicated an annual summer basketball tournament to his fallen family and others who have suffered through similar tragedies.

 The 4th Annual Gardiner Memorial Basketball Classic Tournament was held on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 15 and 16, at St. James Park on Jerome Avenue. The event was first organized by members of the Gardiner family of Fordham.

Sadly, Asia, 8, Derrick, 40, Jamel, 14, and Keywann, 23, along with family friend Brandon Daye, 18, were killed in a horrific crash on the Bronx River Parkway as they traveled to a game on July 9, 2006, that was, ironically, dedicated to other family members who had recently passed away.

Surviving family member Dexter Gardiner, a longtime Fordham resident who now resides on Burke Avenue, has continued to run the tournament. This year featured 96 players and eight teams, some from as far away as Bermuda and Mississippi. Free food and drink were available as well as a deejay and live entertainment.

“We’re bringing the families out,” Dexter Gardiner said, “families that have been through tragedies from all over the city.” The family of Sean Bell, the unarmed man shot dead by police in Queens, had attended in the past.

Some good can come from tragedy, Gardiner says. “I know I went on TV and spoke about getting the highway fixed. It was a very bad highway, and they fixed it, so I’m happy.” Gardiner claimed it was a defect in the roadway at East 177th Street, that sent his family’s vehicle over the highway divider.

“I’m doing this because a lot of families are going through this,” Gardiner says.

“I just want to give back to the people,” Gardiner added, “and to let them know that people from the community do care for them.”

The winner of this year’s tournament was “Jadakiss,” of Yonkers, a team that included Bronxite Kareem Reid, a former player with the University of Arkansas. Team Jadakiss defeated members of “Never Be Forgotten,” a team based on City Island.

Jeff S. Korek of the law firm Gersowitz, Libo and Korek P.C., who along with Lawyertime.com sponsored the event.

This year the law firm even participated with its own team, and despite being eliminated in the first round, Korek added, “We had a great time this weekend and are so happy to be a part of the tournament.”

The law firm also awarded $1,500 scholarships to three college-bound participants.

Ed. Note: For more information on the Gardiner Foundation, visit www.thegardinerfamily.tv. 

City’s Petitioning Process Favors Incumbents

By Molly Ryan

On Aug. 2, three candidates were running for the City Council in District 15: Jose Padilla Jr., Oscar Zorrilla and incumbent Joel Rivera. Two weeks later, only Rivera made it onto the official primary ballot.

In order to obtain a spot on the ballot, City Council candidates needed to submit petitions signed by 900 voters registered in their district to the Board of Elections (BOE). Padilla and Zorrilla both submitted enough signatures, but received objections from arguing against the legality of their signatures. After a struggle with the BOE and the Bronx Supreme Court, and no lawyers to help them out, both were booted off the ballot.

Padilla, Zorrilla and others say their removal is indicative of a petitioning system that heavily favors incumbents and discourages political competition.

“The [petitioning] process itself disenfranchises the voters” said Miguel Santana, a former candidate for the 14th District City Council who was removed from the ballot due to signature objections. “It is easier to knock people off the ballot than to facilitate an opportunity for a new candidate.”

In the complex petitioning process, any objector can claim that a candidate’s petitions are forgeries, signed by voters outside of their district or illegal in some other way. If the candidate chooses to defend himself against the objection, the case will be taken to Bronx Supreme Court. After hearing arguments, a judge then decides whether the candidate has enough legitimate signatures to be on the ballot.

“The [petitioning] process is designed to benefit incumbents or folks who are rich enough to hire an election lawyer” said Neal Rosenstein, an election specialist for New York Public Interest Research Group, a local think tank. “It is a Byzantine [ancient] process.” Rosenstein and others agree it is almost impossible to get on the ballot (or kick an opponent off the ballot) without an election lawyer.

Fernando Cabrera, a well-funded and heavily supported candidate in the 14th Council District, spent $5,500 to hire Bronx power broker, Stanley Schlein, to be his election lawyer, according to Campaign Finance Board records. Schlein was present at Santana’s court case representing Gloria Nunez-Pacheco and Michael Olizencia, who opposed Santana’s petitions. Santana did not have the money to hire an election lawyer and chose not to defend his petitions in court.

Besides law problems, a major flaw in the petitioning process and the BOE is that it’s politicized. In the Bronx, county leaders (from both parties) submit candidates to be on the Board of Elections, said Valerie Vazquez-Rivera, a spokesperson for the BOE who also happens to be Joel Rivera’s wife. Joel Rivera’s father, Jose Rivera, used to be the Democratic leader for the Bronx.

Not surprisingly, no incumbents running for re-election in the Bronx had to go to court to defend their petitions. And after the petition court proceedings ended, two Bronx incumbents ended up running unopposed for City Council, according to the BOE.

Padilla suspects that Rivera, the incumbent in his district, hired a person to file an objection to his petitions and knock him off the ballot. His objector, Annette DeJesus, claimed that most of his petitions were forgeries or had illegible signatures. “I was a significant threat,” said Padilla. “They [Rivera and his campaign] feel they should run unopposed.” Rivera could not be reached for comment by press time.

Without the aid of a lawyer, Padilla chose to defend the legality of his petition signatures in court. “You are given an opportunity [to defend your petitions],” Padilla said, “but that doesn’t mean that [the court is] hearing your argument and that it will be taken into account.”

After a frustrating and confounding struggle with the BOE and the Bronx Supreme Court, Padilla lost his case and was removed from the ballot. It’s not just Padilla who loses, he said. “It is unfortunate that the 15th [District] will not have democracy,” Padilla said.

Back to School Guide

By None

SCHOOL STARTS WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 9, 2009!

1. DOCUMENTS NEEDED TO REGISTER NEW STUDENTS
Proof of home address, which can be one of the following:
• An original lease agreement, deed, or mortgage statement for the residence
• A current tax bill for the residence
• Documentation on letterhead from a federal, state or local government agency
• NYCHA document
• Utility bill (gas, electric, water, or cable)
• Medical or insurance card with address
• Official payroll documentation from an employer such as a form submitted for tax withholding purposes or payroll receipt.
• Proof of child’s immunization
• Child’s transcript or most recent report card
• Proof of child’s birth; i.e. a birth certificate or passport

2. DETERMINE ZONED SCHOOL
Most elementary and middle schools are zoned. Your child’s zoned school is determined by your home address. If you don’t know your zoned school, CALL 311 or contact your Borough Enrollment Office.
Students can also apply to charter schools, alternative schools, magnet schools or gifted and talented programs. For additional information on these options, you can contact the Office of Family Engagement at (212) 374-2323.

3. REGISTER YOUR CHILD
You can register a child for any grade level at any time in August at a Borough Enrollment Office.

Residents of districts 7, 9, or 10 only
1 Fordham Plaza, 7th floor, Fordham Road at Third Avenue (718) 741-8495/8517.

Residents of school districts 8, 11 or 12 only
1230 Zerega Avenue, between Ellis and Newbold avenues (718) 828-2975/6426.

4. FIND TRANSPORTATION TO SCHOOL

General Education Eligibility
Eligibility for transportation is determined based on grade level and the distance between your residence and the school.

Special Education Eligibility
State education law mandates that the city provide transportation for special education children residing in New York City to and from the school they legally attend. The type of transportation provided (yellow bus or MetroCard) is determined by the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).
If you have any problems or questions with bus service you should contact the Office of Pupil Transportation’s (OPT) hotline at (718) 392–8855.

FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS:
To find out about available programs and questions concerning placement, you should contact the Office of English Language Learners at (212) 374-6072 or (718) 329-8111.
For translation assistance, follow the instructions on the Language Assistance Sign at the entrance of every school building or Borough Enrollment Office. Assistance is available in many languages.
Recent immigrant students with foreign transcripts who want to register should have their transcripts translated into English either by a certified translation agency, their consulate, the school they wish to attend, or DOE.
DOE Translation and Interpretation Unit (718) 752-7373.

FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS:
If you need additional assistance for Special Education Services, call the Committee on Special Education #1, which serves districts 9 & 10, at (718) 741-7070 or (718) 329-8091. For districts 8, 11 and 12, call the Committee on Special Education #2, at (718) 794-7428/7429, or call 311.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE FOR ASSISTANCE

Advocates for Children
AFC offers a Helpline four days a week to assist parents. You can call their Helpline between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays at (866) 427-6033.

BRONX BOROUGH ENROLLMENT OFFICES

Residents of districts 7, 9, or 10 only
1 Fordham Plaza, 7th floor, Fordham Road at Third Avenue (718) 741-8495/8517.

Residents of school districts 8, 11 or 12 only
1230 Zerega Ave., between Ellis and  Newbold avenues (718) 828-2975/6426.
For additional help for parents, call the Office for Family Engagement and Advocacy Central Office at (212) 374-2323.

For assistance, contact Jesse Mojica, director of Education and Youth, Office of the Bronx Borough President at (718) 590-3515.

Source: OFFICE OF THE BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT RUBEN DIAZ, JR.

A School Where Teen Drama is Always Welcome

By Ivonne Salazar

A crowded principal’s office usually means bad news. But at Bronx Theater High School, Principal Deborah Effinger has an open door policy with her students, meaning students are as much of a fixture as the furniture in her office.

On a typical school day, Effinger is often interrupted by her students who come in just to talk to her or maybe get some sage advice. But she gives her students more than just wisdom. One afternoon last spring, she sat in her chair patiently sewing a hole in the hood of a jacket for one of her students.

“It’s unique,” Effinger says of her relationship with her students. “If they know they can talk to me, it makes them feel a little more protected and at home.”

Bronx Theater opened its doors to students in 2003 with 95 students and is now home to an average of 400 students a year.

Last June, Effinger watched her third class graduate. In 2008, the last year statistics are available, Bronx Theater graduated 78 percent of its students, well above the city average.

It’s partly because of Effinger’s dedication to her students that the school has excelled. Prior to creating Bronx Theater High School, Effinger was producing plays as an assistant principal for Visual and Performing Arts at the former John F. Kennedy High School (now the Kennedy Campus that houses six smaller schools, one of which is Bronx Theater).

“I was happy being an assistant principal,” Effinger said.

Then in 2001, Roundabout Theatre Company, a Manhattan-based performing arts group that was interested in partnering with a public school, approached Effinger. They wanted to create a new high school through a project at New Visions for Public Schools.

“I thought about how motivated kids were [at Kennedy] to come and rehearse,” she said. “We developed a planning committee and a proposal.”

Two years later, they were up and running.

At Bronx Theater, in addition to traditional courses like English and math, students also take classes in acting, costume design, set design, playwriting, performance and theater business. Students learn about how to produce the performing arts, but they also learn how to run a sustainable business centered around them.
The curriculum provides a variety of options for students who have multiple interests.

Andrea Valentine, a senior at Bronx Theater, has always been passionate about acting. “I knew in elementary school I wanted to be an actress,” she said. “When I was in 8th grade I was looking for theater schools. Something about this school, the activities, attracted me. Ms. Effinger is very easy to talk to. This is like my second family.”

This summer, Andrea is directing with Roundabout Theatre and applying to SUNY Purchase and the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

Emily Garcia, a senior, learned about Bronx Theater because her sister was a student. She says the school is an outlet for personal expression.

“The classes here are entertaining,” she said. “People have energy and need to speak and perform. You get that energy out. You let the ideas run free. You meet people of different personalities and different opinions. You learn new things about yourself. You find yourself.”

In addition to acting, students can join the Bronx Theater Repertoire, the school’s dance company that performs twice a year, and participate in the year-end fashion show.

Unlike other performing arts high schools, Bronx Theater does not require students to audition. Instead, preference is given to students who live in the district (District 10), and each year 100 students are accepted through the Department of Education’s lottery system.

Even those without a passion for performing arts get something out of the school, Effinger says. “Anyone would benefit from the school,” she says. “I think there is a place for everyone here. [Students] learn how to run a business and be part of a theater company. There are few places that allow students to be part of a business.”

That goes for teachers too.

Kristin Brown is a math teacher at Bronx Theater. “I liked the idea of the school although I had never done theater,” she said. “The first time I saw a student performance, I knew there was something special going on. You really get to view the students in their element.”

But plays remain the school’s bread and butter. During the 2008-2009 school year, the juniors performed two plays, “The Diary of Anne Frank” and a “Midsummer’s Night Dream.”

Like Brown, Courtney Ferrell teaches math at Bronx Theater, but she also directs plays. “It was amazing [directing the students],” she said. “These kids exceed your expectations. I’m really proud of them and how they formed an ensemble. They understood everyone has a unique contribution. Now they’re friends and they always have each other’s back.”

Each year seniors have the chance to write and direct their own plays. Last year, the seniors produced “Ifunanya,” the story of a Nigerian princess, who despite being betrothed to someone from her village, falls in love with a white artist visiting the country.
Effinger said her students often take on important social issues in their plays.

The play “Sugar Shack,” directed by Kadeem Harris, a 2008 graduate currently on a full scholarship at NYU’s Tisch School, was about big real estate developers coming into a neighborhood and forcing small businesses to close. Another play, “Studio 99,” directed by James Coles (’07), now a junior at City College, focused on anti-smoking messages.

Imani Bland directed “Ifunanya” before graduating in June. She believes she found her calling at Bronx Theater.

“I was really looking for a singing and vocal program,” she said. “I wasn’t really looking for acting. I like acting, but I like directing better. I started writing a play. [The experience] opened my eyes to see all the other things I can do.”

In September, Imani will start her first year at the University of Bridgeport and hopes to become a writer one day.

Like a proud mother, Effinger is proud students like Imani who are fostered and developed at her school. “It’s a safe, warm, and nurturing place,” she said. “It’s not like any school that exists and we like it that way.”

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

By None

By Adolfo Abreu

As I get ready to go back to school, I like to look back on my summer vacation. I am proud to say that this summer I led hundreds of neighborhood youth in the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance’s campaign to make sure that the redevelopment of the Armory serves the needs of our community.

In particular, the members of Sistas and Brothas United want new schools built, community and recreation space for youth activities and economic benefits, and that means living wage jobs at the Armory.

We testified at Community Board 7’s two public hearings on the Armory. Even though they did not decide in the community’s favor, we were not discouraged.

We went ahead and held a Responsible Development Rally where hundreds of our neighbors, young and old, rallied and then marched to the Armory.

We also turned out in force and spoke out at Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz’s hearing. He even commented on how proud he was that we were so involved, taking the time to attend hearings on our summer vacation.

These are all positive examples of young people organizing for their community.

Members of Sistas and Brothas United are active because what happens with the Armory will affect our parents and ourselves and we want to make sure that whatever happens, there is good for our community.

Right now, the focus of the development by The Related Companies is just a shopping mall. The young people who I worked with over the summer say that we already have Fordham Road for shopping. What we need is community space, and living wage jobs — that’s what the neighborhood is lacking.

In our community, you cannot survive on the minimum wage.

Rent, electric bills, and food add up to more than you can make in a minimum wage job. We believe that the development at the Armory will not uplift our community from our economic problems unless there are living wage jobs there.

So, if the Armory is going to be developed, we need to make sure we get a Community Benefits Agreement that includes more community space than the developer has set aside, we need to make sure that the jobs in the Armory pay a living wage, and that there is local hiring for the jobs.

Adolfo Abreu, 16, is president of the board of Sistas and Brothas United, the youth organizing arm of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition. He attends Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics High School and will be a page in the U.S. House of Representatives this fall.

Diaz Sets the Tone

By Editorial

Our new borough president did something plainly logical, but nonetheless refreshing, this week. Coming up on a deadline to vote yay or nay on a Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment proposal from the Related Companies, Diaz essentially said he didn’t have enough information and needed more time. He got his wish. 

Diaz, propelled by a vigorous community campaign for a real community benefits agreement, wants to know how the developer is going to respond to a draft agreement hammered out by Diaz, the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance, and Community Board 7.

Asking a developer what it is going to give back to the community in return for significant taxpayer subsidies before voting on a project should be standard operating procedure in this city. The fact that community boards and borough presidents are routinely required to weigh in before all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed on these agreements just shows you how groundbreaking this minor request for a timeout is, and how stacked in favor of developers the process is.

We know Diaz is under a lot of pressure to OK a project that will create new jobs at a time when the city is hemorrhaging them. But it’s also the borough president’s job to make sure that the redevelopment of a community facility like the Armory is put to good community use and that the jobs created are good ones, rather than poverty-inducing ones the city’s taxpayers have to subsidize with various forms of public assistance. 

We encourage Diaz to drive a hard bargain on the Armory. If he succeeds where other borough presidents haven’t, he will set the tone for all future development projects in the borough and serve as a role model for the city.

Dodging Debate

By Editorial

Elections are essentially job interviews. Candidates should make themselves available to answer questions about their experience, qualifications and goals. 

Because the incumbent in the 14th Council District, Maria Baez, has decided not to participate in an Aug. 31 television debate on BronxTalk co-sponsored by the Bronx News Network,  we’re starting to think that it might be necessary to require debates for Council candidates as part of the city’s public financing program. If you’re getting taxpayer money through the city’s Campaign Finance Board, then you should be required to face the taxpayers and your fellow candidates in a debate.

That said, we are expecting a spirited and informative debate on community issues between Fernando Cabrera and Yudelka Tapia.

And, of course, we’ll reserve a seat for Council Member Baez in case she changes her mind.

Tune in to channel 67 (cablevision) at 9 p.m. on Monday night. The debate will be re-broadcast every weekday evening the same time that week.

Council Member Baez Gears Up for Fight of Her Life

By James Fergusson

Jose Rivera, the Bronx assemblyman, remembers the first time he met Council Member Maria Baez.

The year was 1982, and Rivera, having just been elected to the Assembly for the first time, was taking inventory in his district office, when he received a rude awakening.

“Twenty women, black, white, Hispanic, they stormed in,” he recounted recently.

An 11-year-old girl had just been hit and killed by a car on the Grand Concourse at 183rd Street, and the women wanted the driver prosecuted.  

Rivera told them his powers were limited, he’d yet to hire any staff, and he didn’t even have a typewriter. But they persisted, and turned to one of their own, a 20-something Maria Baez, for a solution.

“They said, ‘We’ve got your secretary, you get the typewriter,’” Rivera said. “I said OK, so I hired her. It was a two-people operation. And the rest is history.” 

A Single Mom on Welfare
Baez was born in Brooklyn and moved to the Bronx with her family at age 10. As a teenager, she attended Walton High School, but dropped out. “[After that] I literally did nothing with my life for a while,” Baez said.

It was a difficult time: she was a single mom reliant on public assistance. But slowly she began to get to her life together. She helped start a block association on East 183rd Street, near where she lived. And she earned her GED and a secretarial certificate from Monroe College.

Baez had not long graduated when she found herself standing in Rivera’s office. She became his receptionist and eventually, when he was a councilman, his chief-of-staff. “Honestly, at the time, he saw potential in me that I didn’t see myself,” she said. 

Baez later became the executive director of the Housing Workshop, a now-defunct affordable housing group that was based on Fordham Road; and, in the late 1990s, the chief clerk of the Bronx Board of Elections.

In the spring of 2001 Baez says she reached out to Rivera and Roberto Ramirez, the then-Bronx Democratic Party chairman, to ask if they would support her if she ran for City Council in the 14th District.

They gave her the thumbs up, and Baez was swept into office. She was reelected in 2003, and again in 2005.

In many ways, Baez’s story is inspiring. Thirty years ago she was on welfare; today, she’s a veteran councilwoman and the dean of the Bronx council delegation.

But is it all about to come crashing down?  With the Sept. 15 primary fast approaching, the Bronx Democratic Party has thrown its weight behind political rookie Fernando Cabrera.

To make matters worse, Baez has been hit by a tidal wave of negative press these past two years.

Scandal Upon Scandal
Baez brushes off the criticism. Her dismal attendance record at mandatory Council meetings and hearings? “I’ve been very ill,” she says.

Her initial refusal to support a housing bill which allows tenants to sue their landlord for harassment? “I was trying to be fair to everyone,” says Baez, who co-sponsored a rival bill that would have enabled landlords to sue tenants for harassment, as well as vice versa.

Her attempts to fund a Davidson Avenue tenant association that no longer exists? It still exists, she says.

Her office’s extravagant cell phone bills?  “There was an issue where we had got the wrong plan,” she says.

Her district office’s sky-high rent? “You’re going to tell me I pay the most?” she says. “I pay more rent on the Grand Concourse and 176th Street than someone… in Manhattan!” 

“It really, really hurts me when I hear about the negative things people say about this person,” said Elaine Watts, a friend of Baez’s.

Watts and others use words like “loyal” and “caring” to describe her. And they like the fact that she’s from the community and lives in the community.

Baez says she resides full time at 2415 Davidson Ave. It seems an unlikely spot for a politician with a six-figure salary; it’s no Fordham Hill, the gated community a few blocks away. The apartment she rents, moreover, is on the fifth floor of a non-elevator building – quite a climb for someone who’s been too sick to work.

On a recent visit to her building, several tenants were able to point out her apartment; others said they’d never heard of her.

Certainly, Baez doesn’t seek out attention. One community leader says she’s shy. But that’s scant consolation to Bronx community groups who have long griped about her reluctance to show up to events and meetings.

Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter, a Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition board member and a founding member of KARA (the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance), says KARA is still waiting for Baez to show “leadership.” (She’s been absent from major public hearings at which the Armory’s future was discussed.)
 

Pilgrim-Hunter also serves as the president of the Fordham Hill Owners Corporation; to residents there, Baez has been “invisible” she says.

Proud of Achievements
Since being elected eight years ago, Baez says she’s secured $40 million in capital funds for her district. Major projects to which she’s contributed include Mount Hope Housing Company’s new community center on Townsend Avenue.

Then there’s her legislative record. Over the past eight years, Baez has been the primary sponsor of six bills that became law, more bills, she says, than any other Bronx Council member.

But Dick Dadey, the executive director of the Citizens Union, a good government group, is unimpressed with Baez’s record as a lawmaker. “She has been a Council member who has not distinguished herself,” Dadey said, who also criticized her attendance record.

Baez, who has retained the support of Rivera, her loyal mentor, is unfazed. “I’ve heard remarks saying we need change,” she said. “No, this district needed change a long time ago and I’ve provided that.”

Ed. note: A longer version of this story is posted at www.mounthopemonitor.org, where it originally appeared.

Cabrera’s Journey From Pulpit to Council Bid

By Alex Kratz

It’s Sunday church time on Morris Avenue. Fernando Cabrera’s rising voice is filling with the Holy Spirit. Turning to the left, his profile to the congregation, the Bronx pastor is riffing and ranting like a Baptist preacher man. “Amens” and “hallelujahs” mix into the monologue like commas. He punctuates funny stories with loud, Chris Rock-like flourishes. He’s part pastor, part showman.

“He’s an entertainer,” says Greg Faulkner, the chair of Community Board 7 who joined Cabrera’s New Life International Outreach Church on Morris Avenue about five years ago.

He’s also a college professor, a community activist, a father of two and now a front-runner for elected office. 

A political rookie, Cabrera is running for City Council in the Bronx’s hotly contested 14th District against incumbent Maria Baez and fellow challenger Yudelka Tapia.

Though relatively unknown just a year ago, Cabrera has parlayed his on-stage charisma and natural leadership abilities into a campaign run backed by the most influential institutions and staffed by the county Democrats’ best operatives.

“He’s the perfect candidate,” says his campaign’s communications director, Fernando Aquino, “aside from the one thing.”

That thing would be that he was a Republican who lived in Westchester County just over a year ago. Cabrera, 45, doesn’t deny these facts, but says they are only bit parts of a larger story that began in the Bronx in 1964.

A California Conversion
That was the year Cabrera and his identical twin brother, Angelo, were born at Lincoln Hospital in the south Bronx. At the age of 4, the Cabrera family moved to Puerto Rico where his mother is from because his Dominican father got a job working there for American Airlines.

Hoping to alleviate some of Angelo’s acute asthma problems, the Cabrera clan packed its bags and moved again to the dry warm climate of southern California.

At 17, Cabrera says he “had a call” to God and underwent a conversion experience. “I gave my life to the Lord,” he says.

Soon after graduating college, he moved to Virginia to take a job as head of a faith-based substance abuse rehabilitation center called New Life for Youth, which was created by Victor Torres, a former Brooklyn gang banger and drug addict. Torres also created New Life International Outreach Church.

A teetotaler who says he has never drunk, smoked or ingested anything stronger than Coca Cola (others have confirmed this claim of sobriety), Cabrera says the rehab center “was like a school for me. I saw that if you’re real with people, then they will respond to you.”

Cabrera moved back to the Bronx in 1988 and started up a version of New Life International Outreach Church, bouncing around among northwest Bronx locations as the congregation grew.

In the early 1990s, Cabrera moved his young family to Pelham, a Westchester suburb. Still, his job as a counselor at Walton High School, and his church, kept him in the northwest Bronx on a daily basis. By the late 1990s, Cabrera had earned his doctorate in counseling and in 2000 he became head of the counseling program at Mercy College.

Throughout this time, Cabrera remained active in the northwest Bronx, sitting on the community board, doing service projects at local parks and counseling his parishioners.

A Political Conversion
During this time, Cabrera was also a registered — “but politically inactive,” he says — Republican, which he would remain until after the 2008 presidential primary. He won’t say who he voted for, but says he was inspired by the candidacy of Barack Obama and began to feel that his beliefs were more in line with Democrats than Republicans. (Cabrera doesn’t believe in same-sex marriage, but he does believe in civil unions. He also doesn’t believe in abortion except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger.)

Less than two years ago, Faulkner says he and Cabrera — they met when both served on Community Board 7 from 2004 to 2006 — were talking about the lack of political leadership in the area.

“We were really disappointed that problems we were advocating for weren’t being addressed,” Faulkner said, citing the disastrous Croton Water Filtration Plant project as a prime example.

Cabrera, reluctantly at first, agreed to run after speaking with his congregation at New Life, who he says are 100 percent behind him.

Anthony Springer, a New Life member for the past eight years, is now the Cabrera campaign’s unpaid volunteer coordinator. Springer says what makes Cabrera special is his love and empathy for people. “His heart beats for people,” Springer says. “I’ve seen how he stretches himself to help people just because they asked him to.”

Cabrera moved into his University Heights condo just before announcing his intention to run last fall. Cabrera says he would have made the move regardless, but his opponents seized on it, attempting to paint him as an opportunistic outsider. Tapia even staged a rally outside of his Pelham home earlier this summer.

Cabrera says his daughter, son-in-law and grandson now live there.

A Campaign on the Rise
But Cabrera’s candidacy was already gaining momentum. This spring, the Bronx Democratic Party (under new leadership) and the liberal Working Families Party both threw their weight behind Cabrera. Soon, unions and grassroots groups began following suit.

He now enjoys almost complete institutional support and all the manpower and votes that come with it.

For a challenger, that’s completely unheard of, says John DeSio, a former Bronx political reporter who now works for Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.

Patrick Jenkins, who is the communications director for the Bronx Democratic Party and is heavily involved in Cabrera’s campaign, says Cabrera’s on-stage energy translates to the campaign trail.

“I’m increasingly encouraged by his energy and insight,” Jenkins says. “And he’s a gregarious guy. He pumps me up.”

Yorman Nunez, a 20-year-old former candidate in the race, says he’s still not convinced about Cabrera and has yet to decide on who he’ll vote for come Sept. 15. “I’ve seen Fernando push for good things in the community,” Nunez says, referring to his support for community control of the old Fordham Library and good jobs at the Kingsbridge Armory. “But I also have questions about his residency issues and his party affiliation.” 

Despite claims that he’s a fire-breathing conservative from a wealthy suburb, Cabrera remains relentlessly upbeat. “I’m a very positive person, I’m not going to focus on the negativity,” he says at his campaign headquarters.

Next thing you know, he’s talking about how he’s going to push for jobs as councilmember, how Baez has created a “vacuum of advocacy,” about “the single moms, the families that don’t know they’re going to make it,” and it’s flowing from him again, like he’s up on the pulpit, speaking to the congregation. Then, finally, he says: “I’m ready.”

Veteran Candidate Tapia Has Eyes on Council

By James Fergusson

It’s 7:25 a.m. on a recent Thursday, and Yudelka Tapia is standing outside the 183rd Street subway stop on the 4 train, greeting sleepy commuters with a wide smile and a ready handshake.

“Hello, how are you? Nice to meet you,” she says to one man in quick, accented English. To another: “Buenos días. ¿Cómo está, señor?”

Around her, a handful of energetic volunteers, including her 16-year-old son, hand out flyers, and scribble down the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of registered voters they’ve managed to stop.

“People are longing for change,” says Tapia, during a lull in foot traffic.  “People have been longing for change for so many years.”

Later that morning, in her campaign office on the Grand Concourse, Tapia, 44, talked of a childhood spent in the Dominican Republic and the "strong" women who raised her – her mother, a grandmother, and various aunts. "They believed you can get anything you want if you work hard for it," she said.

Beginning her Advocacy
In Santo Domingo, Tapia served as president of an organization dedicated to women’s education, and earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She moved to New York in the late 1980s, and settled in the Bronx in an apartment not far from her current home on East 180th Street.

“When I got here I found that we still have the same problems that we have in my own country… education, social justice, domestic violence,” said Tapia, a mother of four boys. “And so I continued advocating.” 

As a stay-at-home mom, she helped her immediate neighbors fill out government forms and with translation. Later she began advocating for immigration reform, stronger rent control laws, and against domestic violence, by organizing events and attending demonstrations. She also fought for better schools by joining school leadership teams at several Bronx schools. 

Tapia believes her experiences living in, and fighting for the community give her an edge over her opponents, Fernando Cabrera and the incumbent, Councilwoman Maria Baez. “I can tell you how it is to go to Housing Court,” she said. “I can tell you what is to fight for a school, for your children, because I have. I can tell you what it is to live in one of the poorest districts and counties in the nation.”

Dipping Toes in Politics
In the mid-’90s, she began to dip her toes in the chaotic world of Bronx politics. She founded the Great Alliance Democratic Club which, by her own account, played an instrumental role in the election of several politicians, including Adolfo Carrion, who in 1997 became District 14’s Council member.

Tapia ran for School Board in 1999; Carrion’s old seat in 2001 (an election Baez won; Tapia didn’t even get on the ballot), and State Assembly in 2002 — all unsuccessfully. She was, however, elected as the State Committee Member for the 86th Assembly District, a position she held until last year, when she was voted out.

Tapia, who’s on unpaid leave from her current job as a senior auditor for the city, doesn’t hold back from criticizing her rivals. If Baez was too sick to attend mandatory Council meetings and hearings (Baez claims illness is the reason for her woeful attendance record) she should have stepped down, Tapia believes.

“I think that has prevented her from actually bringing more resources to the district,” said Tapia of Baez’s absenteeism. “If you’re not there for the discussion… how can you advocate for the people of your district?” 

But Tapia reserves most of her scorn for Cabrera, a pastor and college professor who is being supported by the Bronx Democratic Party, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., and a plethora of powerful unions.

Vying With Cabrera
Cabrera is a Democrat who says he lives on Sedgwick Avenue with his wife and son. But until last summer he was a registered Republican living in Pelham, a leafy Westchester town devoid of many of the problems that plague the west Bronx. Tapia doesn’t want voters to forget that.

“You’re telling me you’ve been a Republican for 19 years, and you actually have a connection with the people of this district?” she said, incredulous. 

Cabrera’s supporters point out that Tapia supported Nelson Castro, himself a one-time Republican, for Assembly last fall. But Tapia says she stepped away from Castro when she found out about his past. 

Tapia’s campaign has experienced one or two hiccups of late.  

Last week, she had to be told by a reporter that her campaign manager, Onix Sosa, had taken a job as State Senator Pedro Espada’s deputy chief-of-staff. “I haven’t heard that from him,” she said, after a brief silence. She now has a new campaign manager.

Tapia has also had problems getting her hands on matching funds from the city Campaign Finance Board. She says some documentation wasn’t submitted to the Board — hence the delay — but that she’s confident she’ll receive what’s rightfully hers on Sept. 2, when the next payments are announced.

Haile Rivera, a community activist from University Heights (and one-time candidate in this race), said Tapia should be applauded for getting this far. “For me, anyone who makes the ballot, without the support of the Democratic establishment, you’ve got to commend that,” Rivera said.

He called Tapia a “trailblazer” in the Dominican-American community. If she wins, she’ll be the first Bronx Council member of Dominican origin.

Tapia insists her campaign is healthy: she has 200 to 300 volunteers working for her, and will be able to call on more come primary day. James Duarte, a recent graduate from TAPCo High School on Webster Avenue and a Tapia volunteer, said working on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign last year inspired him to get involved politically on a local level. He said he looked at the three candidates and settled on Tapia. “I felt that Yudelka was more in touch with the needs of this community,” he said. “She’s one of us, I felt I could identify with her. She has a similar [life] story to a lot of people in this neighborhood.” 

Duarte said Cabrera, whom he’s met, offers few specifics — either in person or on his Web site — as to what he would do if elected.

Tapia, on the other hand, Duarte says, has come out with a detailed plan for preserving affordable housing; for ensuring the Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment project benefits the community; and for improving the environment, among other things. 

Tapia says she’s serious about winning, and isn’t just making up the numbers.  And despite the relentless campaigning — the flyering, the phone calls, the door knocking — she looks like she’s enjoying herself.

“Everyone in this city is watching this race,” she said. 

Swinging in the Rain

By Norwood News

Norwood resident and bandleader Ibrahim Gonzalez embodied the spirit of a very rainy, but nonetheless upbeat, Williamsbridge Oval Festival  on Saturday.

Despite the bad weather, Gonzalez performed in a dry area on the steps of the Park House with his Latin jazz band.

Kids were kept entertained by sack races, mural painting and a clown.
The event was sponsored by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz.

Youth Speaking Out Through Spoken Word

By Ashley Villarreal

The youth in the northwest Bronx have created their own forum for speaking out about issues they care about. This month it was the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory.

Sistas and Brothas United (SBU), an arm of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC), and Choose to Change, a committee dedicated to curbing youth violence, got together earlier this month at St. James Park to host an open-mic event to voice their opinions about the coming transformation of the 575,000,000-square-foot Armory, which is slated to be turned into a giant shopping mall.

“They’re going to turn it into a mall, and we don’t really have a problem with that, but we want those working inside the Armory to be paid living wages,” said Dockeem Barnes, a music artist who has worked as a youth leader for SBU, which is also a member of the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA). KARA has lobbied for living wages at the Armory for the last two years.

Barnes said the open-mic events are designed to raise awareness and get the community involved in issues that might affect people living in the area. Groups like Youth on the Move, and the NWBCC, have been participants in the past, he said, and each event has a politically or culturally significant theme to focus on while performers do anything from speak poetry and rap, to build models and put on plays.

Barnes said bringing people together through spoken word can be a powerful force. Some 250 people showed up to this month’s event.

He and others hope to get funding to host events regularly around the area, using larger spaces like the Monte Carlo Room, a popular Bronx club and venue.

“The more open mics we have, the more meetings we have, and the more we’re out there with the media, the more we stay out there,” Barnes said.

Community Wants Post Office to Stay

By Katie Riordan

Robert Zamot only has to walk a couple of blocks to feel connected to his son who lives out of state.  He usually sends him and other extended family members presents several times a month from his local post office on Webster Avenue, known as the Botanical Station. Zamot also does the vast majority of his bill pay through the mail.

But now, this 30-year resident of the Bedford Park neighborhood may have to walk an extra 15 to 20 minutes just to buy stamps.

The Botanical Station is one of 53 New York City locations, seven of which are in the Bronx, the U.S. Post Office is considering closing due to decreases in mail volume that it attributes to “electronic diversion and the widespread economic recession.” 

“[For me] It would be a huge inconvenience,” said Zamot.  “[For the community] it would be very detrimental considering the lots of elderly,” continued Zamot, who is concerned about the distance senior citizens would have to travel to the nearest office, the Fordham location on East 188th Street. At least two senior citizen facilities are located just blocks from the Botanical Station.

Herman Clement, the owner of a metal shop located next to the Botanical Station (he also owns the building where both are housed), called the closing unfair to those who prefer paying their bills by mail, rather than online.

“We didn’t grow up with computers,” said Clement. “[The elderly] like to pay bills [by mail] and see the results themselves.”

Clement and his business partner, Roberto Vayas, rent the post office their space and called the possible closing a “complete shock.”  They also criticized the way the agency informed the public. “They put a notice on the door. How much attention do people pay when they see a notice?  They open the door, close the door,” said Clemet.  “If more people were aware, there would be more worry.”

Residents aren’t the only ones troubled by the office’s potential closing. Employees also feel they have been left in dark.

“Nobody is answering our questions,” said Margie Serrano, a sales service associate at the Botanical Station, who would be very upset if she were relocated to a different location, which she’s been told is a possibility. But Serrano is most enraged about the effects the closing will have on the local immigrant community, which she says uses the post office for “money orders and all their basic needs because there is no bank in the area.”

Barbara Stronczer, president of the Bedford Mosholu Community Association, is trying to ensure that the neighborhood is more aware.  She has collected over 650 signatures for a petition against the station’s closing, including those of local merchants like Pioneer Supermarket and Allen Cleaners that rely heavily on postal services. Stronczer realizes they are also going to need some additional support and is reaching out to local politicians.

“In this instance we need the help of our elected officials,” said Stronczer.  “We’re hoping they come through for us.” 
As of press time, Stronczer was still not sure who would respond.

In an e-mail, a USPS representative said, “We will work to preserve access to postal retail services.” Through a review process, including the distribution of questionnaires to postal customers asking about usage and proximity to other locations, the USPS hopes to determine if services at certain stations can be combined, the USPS spokesperson said, adding that they do not expect to see any decisions on closings before Oct. 2. 

79-Year-Old Woman Dies in Decatur Fire

By David Greene

Longtime Norwood resident Gloria Ford, 79, died on Sunday afternoon after a fire engulfed her third story apartment on Decatur Avenue.

Firefighters were called to 3228 Decatur Avenue, near East 207th Street, after the fire broke out at 2 p.m., on Sunday, Aug. 23. The blaze was under control in under an hour, but it was too late to save Ford.

“They brought her out and she was wrapped up, but you could see she was burned,” said a neighbor who declined to give their name.

Outside the building, Acting Deputy Chief Richard Blatus told members of the media that Ford was alive when she was pulled from the building and taken to nearby Montefiore Medical Center. But there she was pronounced dead. Fortunately, Blatus said, “The fire was pretty much contained to the one apartment, with minor extension to the apartment above.”

The news was an unbearable blow to the woman’s unidentified son, who at one point threw something at a photographer.

A source at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said it was ruled an accident and the cause of death is smoke inhalation and thermal injuries or burns from the heat.”

“She was a nice lady, she was very funny,” said Stephanie Felicies, a neighbor of Ford’s who works for an ambulance company and often transported Ford to Beth Abraham Hospital. “She was a special lady.”

Ford is the second resident of the building to die tragically in the last six months. Michael Lorge, 42, a lifelong resident of the first floor, was shot dead outside his building on Feb. 14, as he got behind the wheel of his car to go to work. Police have still not charged anyone in his death.

Repeated attempts to reach the building’s landlord Ndue “Tony” Gelaj were unsuccessful.

14th District Debate on BRONXNET, Monday, August 31, 9 p.m.

By Norwood News

The Bronx News Network (which includes the Norwood News) and "BronxTalk" with Gary Axelbank are co-sponsoring a debate of candidates in the race for the 14th Council District seat. Candidates Yudelka Tapia and Fernando Cabrera will be there. The incumbent, Maria Baez, said she will not attend.

Candidate Profiles:

Yudelka Tapia

Maria Baez (extended version on Mt. Hope Monitor site)

Fernando Cabrera

 

Debate Details:

What: A debate on all the vital issues between candidates of the 14th Council District. Candidates Fernando Cabrera and Yudelka Tapia have agreed to attend. The incumbent, Maria Baez, has refused an invitation to be included.

Host Gary Axelbank will facilitate the conversation and editors from the Bronx News Network will be asking questions.

TV: BRONXNET, Channel 67 (Cablevision)

When: Monday, August 31, 9 p.m. (The debate will be replayed every night at the same time for the next several days)

How you can be involved: You can submit questions you’d like to see candidates answer by e-mail. Send questions to bronxnewsnetwork@gmail.com.

 

 

Diaz Wants Developer’s Response on Armory Benefits Before Vote

By Alex Kratz

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. has asked for and received an extension on his deadline to submit a recommendation for the Kingsbridge Armory mall project, saying he first wants to see how the project’s developer responds to a proposed Community Benefits Agreement (CBA).

As city law mandates, Diaz is in the process of weighing the pros and cons of the Related Companies’ land use review application, which, if approved, would pave the way for the developer’s plan to turn the 575,000-square-foot Armory into a retail shopping mall.

He was supposed to announce his recommendation by Aug. 24. He now has until Sept. 8.

Last Monday, Aug. 17, Diaz’s office sent Related a draft of an agreement that would bring the community additional benefits from the project aside from new shopping options and retail jobs.

The agreement was a collaborative effort, hashed out by Diaz’s office, Community Board 7, the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) and local elected officials.

“We do not want to say yes or no on the ULURP application until we have some idea from the developer regarding their direction on the CBA,” said Diaz spokesperson John DeSio, in an e-mail. He added in a later e-mail: “Logistics made this process extremely difficult to complete by the original deadline of Aug. 24, thus making the extension necessary.”

According to Greg Faulkner, the chairman of Community Board 7, who was heavily involved in the benefits agreement negotiations, the draft CBA would require that businesses at the Amory mall pay their employees a living wage ($10 an hour, plus benefits), something KARA has lobbied hard for over the past year.

In mid-July, Board 7 voted yes on the project with the condition, among others, that a substantial and enforceable CBA be signed by Related. In response, Related agreed that a benefits agreement would be appropriate for the project, but didn’t commit to a timetable for when it would be signed or what kinds of benefits would be included.

Also included in the draft CBA sent to Related last week, Faulkner said, are local hiring goals, a labor neutrality agreement (allowing workers to unionize) and mechanisms to protect and create affordable housing in the area. Also, an advisory committee made up of community members and elected officials would oversee the agreement’s implementation.

The draft agreement also includes language prohibiting a big-box supermarket at the Armory. Related had carved out space in the Armory’s basement for a 60,000-square-foot supermarket and Board 7 members had voted to support a new supermarket with organic food options. But Morton Williams, a local supermarket chain, had lobbied hard against an Armory supermarket and had the support of the entire Bronx delegation to the City Council (see page 2). 

A month ago, Diaz listened to more than three hours of public testimony on the project at Lehman College. A majority of speakers, many of them KARA supporters, urged Diaz to vote against the project if there wasn’t a strong benefits agreement in place within the City Charter’s 30-day window, which began at the end of July. While he wouldn’t commit to voting no without a CBA in place, Diaz did say, “I will push as hard as I can.”

Diaz’s vote is advisory, though it could have an impact on how the City Council votes in a couple of months.

CBAs have become common practice for big development projects in California and have gained popularity in other parts of the country, but the few signed in New York City have been criticized for being unsubstantial and lacking true community involvement. The Armory CBA would be the first driven by community voices, including Board 7 and KARA. 

By Alex Kratz

Two Sundays ago, a group of South Bronx activists braved the oppressive afternoon heat to re-energize a campaign to hold the Yankees baseball club accountable for promises they made to the community for the right to build a new $1.5 billion stadium on public parkland.

In exchange for taking its parkland, soaking up taxpayer dollars (in the form of subsidies and tax breaks) and bringing more traffic congestion and parking woes to the area, the Yankees (and the city which backed the project) promised to provide local jobs, quickly restore parkland, and give back money to community groups and programs on an annual basis.

But the local jobs didn’t materialize. Replacement parks haven’t been built, mostly because the old stadium (where the new parks are to be built) is still standing and collecting moss. And the money, which is being dispersed through a specifically-created nonprofit fund, has been slow in getting back into the community, not to mention racked by controversy and possible corruption.

“All we’re asking is that they be good neighbors,” said Ramon Jimenez, one of the organizers of the protest who has helped create a shorthand friendly group called 4DSBxCoalition (For the South Bronx Coalition). “They promised everything. They have given us nothing.”

Jimenez is a Harvard-educated lawyer with offices in the South Bronx. “We want to revitalize this whole [Yankee Stadium and the lack of community benefits] issue,” Jimenez said, sweating in his suit underneath the 4-train line at 161st Street and River Avenue, along with about 30 equally sweat-soaked supporters.

Specifically, Jimenez and the Coalition, which held a similar protest at the new stadium in early June, want: the old stadium torn down by the end of the year; one representative of their organization on the advisory board that distributes the $800,000 in community funds; the replacement parks to be built safe and green (no artifical turf, they say); and for the community to share in the profits of memorabilia sold from the old stadium.

Hector Soto, another lawyer who helped organize the protest, said, “We’re trying to re-energize a campaign that was started by the community before the stadium was even built. The issues were never addressed . . . the community has not been compensated at all.”

By Alex Kratz

Last week, Tony Perez Cassino, a candidate for City Council in the 11th District who is challenging incumbent Oliver Koppell, opened up a campaign office on Gun Hill Road near DeKalb Avenue in Norwood last week.

Cassino has criticized Koppell for being Riverdale-focused, and says residents in Norwood, Woodlawn and Bedford Park should “expect the same high standards across the board.” (Koppell, though, has had a constituent services office across the street at the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center for several years.)

Cassino said that he is now running his campaign “equally” out of two offices, the other in the Kingsbridge/Riverdale vicinity. “No one will feel they can’t reach me,” Cassino said. “The office is a symbolic message that we will be here.”

If Cassino wins the election in September, he says he plans on keeping his office in Norwood.

By Molly Ryan

In the past few months, Councilwoman Maria Baez has raked in a significant amount of cash from local supermarkets in support of her reelection campaign in the 14th District. According to the Campaign Finance Board, Baez has garnered $3,375 from a variety of local supermarkets in the Bronx, $2,000 of which she received the day before she had a press conference voicing her support of small supermarkets opposing the proposed big-box supermarket at the Kingsbridge Armory.

“That press conference was about individuals losing jobs in the community,” Baez said. The monetary contributions from local supermarkets “had absolutely no influence” on her decision to hold a press conference, Baez said, adding, “I reach out to anyone and everyone in the community.”

Baez focused on the potential loss of jobs at her press conference outside of a C-Town in Fordham on Aug. 11. She said that if the developer, The Related Companies, builds a big-box supermarket in the Armory, thousands of local jobs will be lost.

Jose Frias, the owner of the C-Town agreed. “My tax money should not be used to put me out of business, and my 80 employees out of work,” he said.  

Although Baez’s press conference was at a C-Town, the main opponent to the Armory supermarket is Morton Williams supermarket. Since one of Morton Williams’ main stores is situated directly across from the Armory, the company is banking on key political figures such as Baez to help save their business.

Avi Kaner, an owner of Morton Williams, donated $250 to Baez’s campaign. “Maria has been very supportive of the local business people, including us,” Kaner said. 

The entire Bronx Council delegation is behind Baez in this cause, and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. also opposes the big box market. Diaz is slated to publicly state his support or opposition of the entire redevelopment process by Sept. 8. (See cover story.)   

By Norwood News

Computer Class at Mosholu
The Mosholu Library, at 285 E. 205th St., is hosting a free class teaching basic computer and mouse skills on Sept. 9 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. No prior knowledge of computers is necessary. For more information or to register, call (718) 882-8239.

Lane Closures on University Heights Bridge
The NYC Department of Transportation will be performing repairs daily on the University Heights/West 207th Street Bridge from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. until Sept. 11. During repair hours, one of three lanes on the bridge will be open to traffic. For more information, contact Fred Herschkowitz at (212) 839-6307 or fherschkowitz@dot.nyc.gov.

Free Career Information Seminars
The Office of Continuing Education at Lehman College is offering free career information seminars for its non-credit certificate programs on some weekday evenings and on some Saturdays until the middle of September. Programs will include information on numerous careers, including substance abuse counseling, nursing, financial planning, insurance, paralegal studies and more. For more information and a detailed schedule, call (718) 960-8512 or visit www.lehman.edu/ce.

Donate Backpacks to Homeless Children
Bronx BP Ruben Diaz, Jr. is encouraging Bronx residents to donate backpacks and school supplies to “Operation Backpack” before the start of the new school year. “Operation Backpack” provides homeless children and students in New York City with backpacks and school supplies to help them succeed in school. To contribute, drop off a new backpack at the Bronx BP office at 851 Grand Concourse, Room 209. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.OperationBackpackNYC.org.

Community Health Fair
The Montefiore Medical Center North Division, at 600 E. 233rd St., is hosting a community health fair on Saturday, Sept. 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to promote health education and knowledge. Free blood pressure readings, dental screenings, HIV testing, nutritional information and a variety of other services will be offered along with dancing lessons, refreshments, music and additional entertainment.

Scouting for Girl Scouts
Girls from 5 to 17 years old looking to serve the Bronx community, make friends and learn life skills are encouraged to join the Girl Scouts of the Bronx. For more information about joining a Girl Scout troop, visit www.girlscoutsnyc.org or call (212) 645-4000.

Riverdale Choral Society Holds Auditions
The Riverdale Choral Society will hold auditions at an open rehearsal on Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. for their fall concert, a Bach-themed program titled “Basically Bach.” Regular rehearsals for the chorus will take place every Wednesday during the fall from 7:30 to 9:45 p.m. at Christ Church Riverdale (252nd Street and Henry Hudson Parkway East). Singers interested in joining the chorus are encouraged to audition by contacting Music Director John Lettieri at info@riverdalechoral.org or (718) 543-2219.

Foster Care Network
The Foster Care Network is reaching out to potential foster parents in the Bronx. Hundreds of foster children in the area need loving and caring families to make a difference in their lives. Foster parents receive tax-free financial assistance for the expenses of each child, free training, and Foster Parent certification. For more information, call (800) 454-3727 or visit www.fostercarenetwork.org.

Free Medicine Programs for Cancer Patients
The Complimentary Medicine Program at Albert Einstein Cancer Center is offering two free research programs for patients with cancer. The Yoga-Based Cancer Rehabilitation Program includes 12 weeks of yoga to see if yoga can help patients with breast, lung, and colorectal cancer. A certified yoga instructor teaches classes in both English and Spanish. The Mind-Body Cancer Program includes 8 weeks of Mind-Body groups (The Stress Management Education Group and the Spiritual Support Group) for patients with most types of cancer. Some restrictions apply to these groups, which have been specifically designed by a psychologist and an oncologist. For more information and to find out eligibility, call (718) 430-2380.

Breast Oncology Program
The Breast Oncology Living Daily Program also known as BOLD living offers a variety of free educational, support, and mind-body workshops. They are designed to empower and nurture breast cancer patients, survivors, and loved ones, but are open to all. For more information or to register, call (718) 430-3613 or email cancersupport@aecom.yu.edu.

Free Adult ESL Classes
PS 94, at 3530 Kings College Place, is offering ESL levels 1 and 2 classes beginning in September and running through June 2010. Classes meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Registration is first-come, first-served. For more information, call Ms. Seminario, the parent coordinator, at (347) 563-4772 or (718) 405-6345.

NMCIR Immigration Assistance
The Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights is offering immigration assistance to Bronxites. There is assistance with U.S. Citizenship, family petitions, and travel permits. It is offered at Refuge House, 2715 Bainbridge Ave., Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (718) 484-8294 or email info@NMCIR.org.

Volunteer at North Bronx Healthcare
The North Bronx Healthcare Network is seeking volunteers for the Sexual Assault Treatment Program run at North Central Bronx Hospital, Jacobi Medical Center, and Lincoln Medical Center. Those interested should be willing to volunteer twice a month and commit to serving the program for one year. For more information, call (718) 519-4788.

Farmers Market at Botanical Garden
There will be an all day Wednesday and Saturday Farmers Market at the Botanical Garden through Nov. 14. The Wednesday market will be held near Tulip Tree Allee and the Saturday market will be across the street from the Garden’s Mosholu Gate entrance. Vendors from New York’s Hudson Valley region and beyond offer a variety of home grown products, meats and home baked goods. For more information, visit www.nybg.org/edible_garden/farmers_market.php or call (718) 362-9561 and press 403#.

MTA’s Trip Planner Voice
Trip Planner Voice is a telephone service that allows customers to access bus and subway travel itinerary information via telephone 24/7 without the need to wait to speak to an agent. Trip Planner provides customers with the best and most accurate directions, fare information, walking distances and scheduled connections to and from other transit modes and transfers. For more information, and to learn how to get mobile access, visit www.tripplanner.mta.info.

Aid for Veterans and Their Families
The Warriors Family Assistance Program, launched by the American Legion Auxiliary, comes to the direct aid of veterans and their families in New York State. Veterans and their families can apply for up to $1,500 in aid in maintenance grants, medical grants and employment opportunities. Any veteran who has served honorably within the last four years, or is currently serving in one of the Armed Forces, and is a NYS resident, is eligible to apply. All grants are non-repayable. For an application or more information, call (800) 421-6348.

Computer Classes at Williamsbridge Oval
The Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center, 3225 Reservoir Oval E., is holding computer classes on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Learn how to use the internet and MS Office software. For more information, contact Albert Davis or Tuwanda Ruffin at (718) 654-1851.

Free Prescription $aver Card
The NY State Health Department is accepting applications for the free New York Prescription $aver Card. The program offers discounts on thousands of prescription medications. It will serve low-income New Yorkers who are disabled or between the ages of 50 and 64. To be eligible, income for single individuals must be $35,000 or less, and $50,000 or less for married individuals. Medicaid and EPIC recipients are not eligible for the Prescription $aver Card. To learn more or apply, visit www.nyprescriptionsaver.fhsc.com or call (800) 788-6917. (TTY users should call (800) 290-9138.) Applications are also available at pharmacies.

School Salon Reopens
The School of Professional Beauty Care at Grace Dodge Career and Technical High School, 2474 Crotona Ave., has reopened The New Image Salon to the public. It’s open every Thursday afternoon from 2:45 to 5:30 p.m., offering a wide variety of salon services at reasonable prices. Prices range from $5 to $25. Graduating seniors in the school’s cosmetology program staff the salon, with a licensed cosmetologist on duty. For more information, call (718) 584-2700 ext. 5084.

Couples Needed for Research Study
Doctors at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center are looking for healthy couples between the ages of 22 and 50, and in a monogamous relationship for at least six months, to participate in a research study. The study will test a vaginal gel and the couple will be screened for sexually transmitted infections. Females will have a gynecologic exam and vaginal fluid collected and males will have a genital exam. Female volunteers will have four visits and be reimbursed $60 per visit, and males volunteers will have three visits and will be reimbursed $40 per visit. Females must be using hormonal contraception. All visits will take place at the Albert Einstein General Clinical Research Center. For more information, call Julie at (718) 430-3253 or email microbicide@aecom.yu.edu.

English, Citizenship and Computer Classes
-MS 80 at 149 E. Mosholu Pkwy N., is offering English as a Second Language (ESL) and General Equivalency Diploma (GED) classes. For those interested, or if you have any questions, call Mrs. Alejandro at (718) 405-6300 ext. 1131.

-Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, 3450 DeKalb Ave., is offering free English as a Second Language (ESL) and Citizenship Classes. Ongoing classes run through June 30. For more information, call (718) 882-4000.

-St. James Recreation Center at 2530 Jerome Ave. offers free classes in Microsoft Office, Resume/Cover Letter Writing, Computer Basics, and much more. For more information, call Justin Young at (718) 367-3659.

-Fordham University, 557 E. Fordham Rd., is currently holding free computer and English Language classes for parents, Mondays through Thursdays and on Saturdays. Classes can either stand alone or as an 8- to 12-week series. For more information or to register, call (718) 817-3503.

Senior Employment
The American Association of Retired Person (AARP) and the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) are assisting low-income Bronx residents, 55 and older, to receive employment through their outreach, training, and internship programs. For more information, call AARP located at 384 E. 149th St., Ste. 608 at (718) 585-2500.

MS 80 Needs Love
MS 80 is asking parents and community members to show some love and volunteer for just an hour each week. The school needs mentors, math and reading tutors, part-time coaches and volunteers to help with cafeteria duty. For more information, call Ms. Alejandro (718) 405-6300 ext. 111.

Free Kids’ Summer Vacations
The Fresh Air Fund is currently registering boys and girls, ages six through 12, for free summer vacations in the homes of volunteer host families throughout the northeast or at one of five Fresh Air Fund summer camps in upstate New York. To find out how to register, call (800) 367-0003 or go to www.freshair.org.

MMCC Grade School & Teen Programs at Tracey Towers
The Mosholu Montefiore Community Center is accepting registration for their free after school program at Tracey Towers, 40 W. Mosholu Pkwy. The program meets Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. and is open to children in the third through sixth grades. From 6:30 to 9 p.m., the free Teen Center is open for youth ages 12 to 18. Programs include homework help, computers, arts and crafts, sports, acting, and quiet games. To register, stop by the Youth Community Room on the second floor of Tracey Towers and speak to Antoine Fields, or call him at (917) 482-5039.

Self Defense Classes
The Mosholu Montefiore Community Center still has space in its boxing, karate, and self-defense classes for children, teens, and adults. To register or find out class times, call (718) 882-4000 ext. 0, or stop by the center at 3450 DeKalb Ave.

Free Meditation for Breast Cancer Survivors
The Montefiore-Einstein Cancer Center is offering a free 20-week course on meditation and stress management for breast cancer survivors. The course is part of a research study. To register or learn more, call Kimala Harris at (718) 430-2380 or e-mail kah2019@med.cornell.edu.

Place for Teens With Issues
The Power Project is a free program for teens ages 12 to 18 who are dealing with substance abuse and other problems. Located at 3464 Webster Ave., Power Project provides case management, individual and group counseling, trips, and is just a place to get away from it all. For more information, call (718) 515-7971.

Wii Games for Adults and Seniors
On Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 p.m., adults and seniors can enjoy free Wii video games at the Mosholu Library, 285 E. 205th St. To sign up, go to the Adult Information Desk. For more information, call (718) 882-8239.

Free Parking Calendars
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz is offering free New York City Parking Calendars to community residents. To receive one, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to his office at 3107 Kingsbridge Ave., Bronx, NY 10463, or stop by the office in person.

Free Career Workshops
The State University of New York, located at 3950 Laconia Ave., is offering free career workshops, including job readiness training, resume and cover letter preparation, help with job searches and computer skills, job placement assistance, an Office Skills Certificate Program, college prep and more. For more information, call (718) 547-1001 or visit www.NBX.SUNYEOC.org.

After School Care
The Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, 3450 DeKalb Ave., provides after school care for children in elementary school. Children are transported from their schools in Norwood, Bedford Park, Williamsbridge and Van Cortlandt Village. The center provides a snack, help with homework, and an array of activities to keep children busy. Financial aid is available. For more information, call Ruth Moore, program registrar, at (718) 882-4000.

Schizophrenia Study Seeks Participants
A research study seeking new treatments for schizophrenia is looking for patients in the Bronx. Candidates must be 18 to 65 years old, diagnosed with schizophrenia at or before age 35 and currently on certain medications for schizophrenia. Patients can enroll through the first half of 2009. For more information, call (888) 988-6736 or go to www.cognitivestudy.com.

Job Opportunities
On Dec. 1, Mayor Bloomberg announced the expansion of free job placement services through New York City’s Workforce1 Career Centers. The centers provide personalized career counseling, interview training, resume/cover letter assistance, workshops and ESL classes. For more information, call the Bronx Workforce1 Center, 358 E. 149th St., (718) 960-7099.

Quality of Life Screening
The Psychosocial Oncology Program of the Montefiore-Einstein Cancer Center is conducting a survey study in order to learn about the physical and emotional stresses faced by cancer survivors. Participants will have to fill out questionnaires and have the opportunity to participate in free/low-cost programs and support services within the program. For more information, call (718) 430-2380.

Alzheimer’s Support Group
The Alzheimer’s Association’s New York City chapter provides a support group in Norwood for Spanish and English speaking caregivers who have relatives with Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia. The support group meets on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 5 to 6:15 p.m. For the location or more information, call Mark Goodwin at (718) 920-7377.

Free Respite Program
Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC) is offering free after-school services to families with mentally retarded or developmentally disabled children ages 5 to 21 from 3 to 6 p.m. KHCC is also offering a Saturday Respite Program for ages 15 to 25, and on Sundays another Respite Program is provided for ages 18 to 65. Weekend Respite Program hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They are held at the KHCC, 3101 Kingsbridge Terrace (near Sedgwick Avenue) at West 230th Street. To register or for more information, call Hanna Gabris at (718) 884-0700 ext. 202.

Speech Program at Ursula
The Mt. St. Ursula Speech Center, 2885 Marion Ave., is now accepting applications for its fall program. The center has openings for children ages 2 to 5 who are in need of speech and language services. Medicaid and other insurances accepted. For more information, call (718) 584-7679.

Aphasia Clinic Accepting Clients
The Lehman College Speech and Hearing Center, which provides therapy on a sliding scale payment schedule, is now accepting new clients in its recently expanded aphasia clinic. The clinic will provide individual and group therapy sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m. and 2 to 3 p.m.; group therapy sessions also take place on Tuesdays from 1 to 2 p.m. Diagnostic and therapeutic sessions will be supervised by faculty members who are licensed by the NYS Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and certified by ASHA (American Speech Language Hearing Association). For more information, call Wanda Adams at (718) 960-8138.

Adult ESL Level 1and 2 Classes
Beginning September 2009 through June 2010, P.S. 94x will be offering Level 1 and 2 ESL classes on Tuesday and Thursdays from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. For more information, contact Ms. Seminario, at (347) 563-4772 or (718) 405- 6345. You can also come to room 201 for more information and for sign up.

 

By Judy Noy

Onstage

The Bronx Library Center, located at 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. off Fordham Road, hosts a Doo Wop Concert by The Wrenditions, Aug. 29 at 2:30 p.m. For more information, call (718) 579-4244/46 or visit www.nypl.org.

52 People for Progress will host two free programs: Its 19th annual 52 Latin Jazz Concert Series ’09, Wednesdays through Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m.; and its 1st annual 52 Tias Theatre Series ’09, Aug. 29 and Sept. 5 at 6:30 p.m.; both at 52 Park/The Miranda Theatre on Kelly Street between Avenue St. John and Leggett Avenue. For more information, call (718) 548-0315, (646) 250-8785, or (917) 742-9145.

Bronx-born drag king Elizabeth Marrero will appear in DAKA Bocona From the Boogie Down Bronx, Aug. 28 and 29 at 8 p.m. at La Tea Theatre, 107 Suffolk St. in the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center (between Delancey and Rivington streets), in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the box office, online at www.smarttix.com, or by calling (212) 868-4444.

Events

The loveable, family-friendly Pixar film, “Wall-E,” will be screened for free at Movie Night on Mosholu, courtesy of Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera and Community Board 7. This event will take place on Friday, Aug. 28 at 7:45 p.m. on the Mosholu Parkway Lawn at the intersection of Bainbridge Avenue and East Mosholu Parkway South. Everyone is invited. For more information, call Rivera’s office at (718) 409-0109.

Wave Hill offers a family art project: Fishy Fun, to focus on fish, especially the goldfish in WH’s Aquatic Garden, then use colorful paper bags to make 3-D fish that can swim through the air, Aug. 29 and 30; in the Kerlin Learning Center from 1 to 4 p.m. Wave Hill is located at West 249th Street and Independence Avenue. For more information, call (718) 549-3200 or visit www.wavehill.org.

The Edible Garden, taking place at the New York Botanical Garden through Sept. 13, features edible plants, teaches vegetable growing and offers celebrity food presentations by Emeril Lagasse (scheduled to appear on Sept. 12), and others. There will be children’s activities throughout the summer in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden and the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. Farmers Market will run on Wednesdays and Saturdays through Nov. 4 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Gardens ‘Round the World, in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, features Caribbean Garden, a pinwheel-shaped plot garden featuring Caribbean crops; and children will create carnival masks, Aug. 27 and 28 from 1:30 to 6 p.m. and Aug. 29 and 30 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information and a detailed schedule, call (718) 817-8700 or visit nybg.org.

Exhibits

The Bronx River Art Center, located at 1087 E. Tremont Ave., presents an exhibition, Black Gold, through Sept. 12. The exhibit features painting, sculpture, and installation. For more information, call (718) 589-5819.

The Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1040 Grand Concourse at 165th Street, presents an exhibition series commemorating the Grand Concourse’s centennial, featuring The Grand Concourse Commissions, through Jan. 4. Originally called the Grand Boulevard, the Grand Concourse celebrates its 100th year in 2009. For more information, call (718) 681-6000 or visit www.bronxmuseum.org.

The New York Botanical Garden presents an exhibit, Resplendent Roses, a celebration of America’s national flower, which runs through the first frost. For more information, call (718) 817-8700.

Learning

The Bronx Library Center has events for all ages:
For children and preschoolers, there is Preschool Story Time, Aug. 29 at 11 a.m.; films, Sept. 2 and 9 at 4 p.m.; and Preschool Romp, Sept. 3 and 10 at 11 a.m.
Also, for school-aged children, there is Make a Wacky Plate Creature, Sept. 3 at 4 p.m.
The Center is located at 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. off Fordham Road. For a detailed schedule, call (718) 579-4244/46 or visit www.nypl.org.

The Mosholu Library, located at 285 E. 205th St., presents Crafternoons, Aug. 28 at 2 p.m. For more information, call (718) 882-8239.

The Jerome Park Library, at 118 Eames Place, presents a film, Sept. 1 at 4 p.m.; and Arts and Crafts, Sept. 8 at 4 p.m.; both for school aged children. For more information, call (718) 549-5200.

NOTE: Items for consideration should be received in our office by Aug. 31 for the next publication date of Sept. 10.

By Ashley Villarreal

About a month and a half after Leroy Pharmacy opened its new location on 204th Street, employees walk around the store talking to customers and consulting with patients at the pharmaceutical counter. One customer yells over the counter, “Hey Jay, looks like you’re still going strong!”

Jay Dhaduk, a pharmacist for 20 years who has worked at Leroy for 10 of them, smiles back, clearly excited about what the change will bring to his place of employment.

“That store was too tight,” said Dhaduk, of their old location about a block away.  Now that Leroy has moved to the 4,500 square-foot store (formerly a Blockbuster and before that a Woolworth’s), its staff can start offering new services that are important to the community, he said.

And the move also coincides with a more significant change in Leroy’s services. They were one of a handful of Bronx pharmacies picked to participate in a pilot program by Medicaid called Medication Therapeutic Management, or MTM, that seeks to build better communication among patients, health providers and pharmacies.

Some patients use multiple doctors and multiple pharmacies, and problems can arise with duplication or interaction of the drugs. The purpose of MTM, as it is stated by Medicaid, is to use “supplied MTM software” to make sure those issues are taken into account when pharmacies are filling out prescriptions.

 “Some pharmacies just fill prescriptions, put it in the bag and hand it to the customer. We don’t do that here,” Dhaduk says. “We don’t fill prescriptions blindly.”

In the new space at Leroy, a small private room is set aside off to the right of the drop-off counter. Here patients who have been flagged by Medicaid for being multiple-drug users will meet one-on-one for 30 minutes to an hour with a pharmacist about their family medical histories, current prescriptions and health habits.

“It’s a lot of pressure on us and Medicaid will be looking for results constantly. They are looking for certain small, small things that these guys may end up in the hospital for,” Dhaduk said. “Medicaid wants to avoid that. It said, ‘Hey, that’s too expensive, we’d rather keep you in the pharmacy than keep you in the hospital.”

Leroy’s owners also hope to re-open the old store down the road and use the space for yoga  and nutrition classes to help sustain patients’ well-being outside of the check-up room.

And keeping Leroy’s customers happy and healthy is very important, Dhaduk said, because Leroy has been around for over 20 years and has been a landmark in the Norwood community.

“Every single person that walks in here we know by their name, their families, their brothers and sisters, everything,” Dhaduk said. “We know the whole puzzle, the whole tree—every family has a tree and every tree we pretty much know. We don’t want to lose one, because if you lose one, you’ll lose the whole tree.”

Ed. Note: The Grand Opening of the new Leroy Pharmacy, located at 314 E. 204th St., between Hull and Perry avenues will be met with celebratory events and free vaccinations on-site. It is tentatively set for Sept. 15.

By David Greene

The basketball-loving Gardiner family was devastated by a tragic car crash just a few years ago. Now one of the surviving family members has dedicated an annual summer basketball tournament to his fallen family and others who have suffered through similar tragedies.

 The 4th Annual Gardiner Memorial Basketball Classic Tournament was held on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 15 and 16, at St. James Park on Jerome Avenue. The event was first organized by members of the Gardiner family of Fordham.

Sadly, Asia, 8, Derrick, 40, Jamel, 14, and Keywann, 23, along with family friend Brandon Daye, 18, were killed in a horrific crash on the Bronx River Parkway as they traveled to a game on July 9, 2006, that was, ironically, dedicated to other family members who had recently passed away.

Surviving family member Dexter Gardiner, a longtime Fordham resident who now resides on Burke Avenue, has continued to run the tournament. This year featured 96 players and eight teams, some from as far away as Bermuda and Mississippi. Free food and drink were available as well as a deejay and live entertainment.

“We’re bringing the families out,” Dexter Gardiner said, “families that have been through tragedies from all over the city.” The family of Sean Bell, the unarmed man shot dead by police in Queens, had attended in the past.

Some good can come from tragedy, Gardiner says. “I know I went on TV and spoke about getting the highway fixed. It was a very bad highway, and they fixed it, so I’m happy.” Gardiner claimed it was a defect in the roadway at East 177th Street, that sent his family’s vehicle over the highway divider.

“I’m doing this because a lot of families are going through this,” Gardiner says.

“I just want to give back to the people,” Gardiner added, “and to let them know that people from the community do care for them.”

The winner of this year’s tournament was “Jadakiss,” of Yonkers, a team that included Bronxite Kareem Reid, a former player with the University of Arkansas. Team Jadakiss defeated members of “Never Be Forgotten,” a team based on City Island.

Jeff S. Korek of the law firm Gersowitz, Libo and Korek P.C., who along with Lawyertime.com sponsored the event.

This year the law firm even participated with its own team, and despite being eliminated in the first round, Korek added, “We had a great time this weekend and are so happy to be a part of the tournament.”

The law firm also awarded $1,500 scholarships to three college-bound participants.

Ed. Note: For more information on the Gardiner Foundation, visit www.thegardinerfamily.tv. 

By Molly Ryan

On Aug. 2, three candidates were running for the City Council in District 15: Jose Padilla Jr., Oscar Zorrilla and incumbent Joel Rivera. Two weeks later, only Rivera made it onto the official primary ballot.

In order to obtain a spot on the ballot, City Council candidates needed to submit petitions signed by 900 voters registered in their district to the Board of Elections (BOE). Padilla and Zorrilla both submitted enough signatures, but received objections from arguing against the legality of their signatures. After a struggle with the BOE and the Bronx Supreme Court, and no lawyers to help them out, both were booted off the ballot.

Padilla, Zorrilla and others say their removal is indicative of a petitioning system that heavily favors incumbents and discourages political competition.

“The [petitioning] process itself disenfranchises the voters” said Miguel Santana, a former candidate for the 14th District City Council who was removed from the ballot due to signature objections. “It is easier to knock people off the ballot than to facilitate an opportunity for a new candidate.”

In the complex petitioning process, any objector can claim that a candidate’s petitions are forgeries, signed by voters outside of their district or illegal in some other way. If the candidate chooses to defend himself against the objection, the case will be taken to Bronx Supreme Court. After hearing arguments, a judge then decides whether the candidate has enough legitimate signatures to be on the ballot.

“The [petitioning] process is designed to benefit incumbents or folks who are rich enough to hire an election lawyer” said Neal Rosenstein, an election specialist for New York Public Interest Research Group, a local think tank. “It is a Byzantine [ancient] process.” Rosenstein and others agree it is almost impossible to get on the ballot (or kick an opponent off the ballot) without an election lawyer.

Fernando Cabrera, a well-funded and heavily supported candidate in the 14th Council District, spent $5,500 to hire Bronx power broker, Stanley Schlein, to be his election lawyer, according to Campaign Finance Board records. Schlein was present at Santana’s court case representing Gloria Nunez-Pacheco and Michael Olizencia, who opposed Santana’s petitions. Santana did not have the money to hire an election lawyer and chose not to defend his petitions in court.

Besides law problems, a major flaw in the petitioning process and the BOE is that it’s politicized. In the Bronx, county leaders (from both parties) submit candidates to be on the Board of Elections, said Valerie Vazquez-Rivera, a spokesperson for the BOE who also happens to be Joel Rivera’s wife. Joel Rivera’s father, Jose Rivera, used to be the Democratic leader for the Bronx.

Not surprisingly, no incumbents running for re-election in the Bronx had to go to court to defend their petitions. And after the petition court proceedings ended, two Bronx incumbents ended up running unopposed for City Council, according to the BOE.

Padilla suspects that Rivera, the incumbent in his district, hired a person to file an objection to his petitions and knock him off the ballot. His objector, Annette DeJesus, claimed that most of his petitions were forgeries or had illegible signatures. “I was a significant threat,” said Padilla. “They [Rivera and his campaign] feel they should run unopposed.” Rivera could not be reached for comment by press time.

Without the aid of a lawyer, Padilla chose to defend the legality of his petition signatures in court. “You are given an opportunity [to defend your petitions],” Padilla said, “but that doesn’t mean that [the court is] hearing your argument and that it will be taken into account.”

After a frustrating and confounding struggle with the BOE and the Bronx Supreme Court, Padilla lost his case and was removed from the ballot. It’s not just Padilla who loses, he said. “It is unfortunate that the 15th [District] will not have democracy,” Padilla said.

By None

SCHOOL STARTS WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 9, 2009!

1. DOCUMENTS NEEDED TO REGISTER NEW STUDENTS
Proof of home address, which can be one of the following:
• An original lease agreement, deed, or mortgage statement for the residence
• A current tax bill for the residence
• Documentation on letterhead from a federal, state or local government agency
• NYCHA document
• Utility bill (gas, electric, water, or cable)
• Medical or insurance card with address
• Official payroll documentation from an employer such as a form submitted for tax withholding purposes or payroll receipt.
• Proof of child’s immunization
• Child’s transcript or most recent report card
• Proof of child’s birth; i.e. a birth certificate or passport

2. DETERMINE ZONED SCHOOL
Most elementary and middle schools are zoned. Your child’s zoned school is determined by your home address. If you don’t know your zoned school, CALL 311 or contact your Borough Enrollment Office.
Students can also apply to charter schools, alternative schools, magnet schools or gifted and talented programs. For additional information on these options, you can contact the Office of Family Engagement at (212) 374-2323.

3. REGISTER YOUR CHILD
You can register a child for any grade level at any time in August at a Borough Enrollment Office.

Residents of districts 7, 9, or 10 only
1 Fordham Plaza, 7th floor, Fordham Road at Third Avenue (718) 741-8495/8517.

Residents of school districts 8, 11 or 12 only
1230 Zerega Avenue, between Ellis and Newbold avenues (718) 828-2975/6426.

4. FIND TRANSPORTATION TO SCHOOL

General Education Eligibility
Eligibility for transportation is determined based on grade level and the distance between your residence and the school.

Special Education Eligibility
State education law mandates that the city provide transportation for special education children residing in New York City to and from the school they legally attend. The type of transportation provided (yellow bus or MetroCard) is determined by the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).
If you have any problems or questions with bus service you should contact the Office of Pupil Transportation’s (OPT) hotline at (718) 392–8855.

FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS:
To find out about available programs and questions concerning placement, you should contact the Office of English Language Learners at (212) 374-6072 or (718) 329-8111.
For translation assistance, follow the instructions on the Language Assistance Sign at the entrance of every school building or Borough Enrollment Office. Assistance is available in many languages.
Recent immigrant students with foreign transcripts who want to register should have their transcripts translated into English either by a certified translation agency, their consulate, the school they wish to attend, or DOE.
DOE Translation and Interpretation Unit (718) 752-7373.

FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS:
If you need additional assistance for Special Education Services, call the Committee on Special Education #1, which serves districts 9 & 10, at (718) 741-7070 or (718) 329-8091. For districts 8, 11 and 12, call the Committee on Special Education #2, at (718) 794-7428/7429, or call 311.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE FOR ASSISTANCE

Advocates for Children
AFC offers a Helpline four days a week to assist parents. You can call their Helpline between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays at (866) 427-6033.

BRONX BOROUGH ENROLLMENT OFFICES

Residents of districts 7, 9, or 10 only
1 Fordham Plaza, 7th floor, Fordham Road at Third Avenue (718) 741-8495/8517.

Residents of school districts 8, 11 or 12 only
1230 Zerega Ave., between Ellis and  Newbold avenues (718) 828-2975/6426.
For additional help for parents, call the Office for Family Engagement and Advocacy Central Office at (212) 374-2323.

For assistance, contact Jesse Mojica, director of Education and Youth, Office of the Bronx Borough President at (718) 590-3515.

Source: OFFICE OF THE BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT RUBEN DIAZ, JR.

By Ivonne Salazar

A crowded principal’s office usually means bad news. But at Bronx Theater High School, Principal Deborah Effinger has an open door policy with her students, meaning students are as much of a fixture as the furniture in her office.

On a typical school day, Effinger is often interrupted by her students who come in just to talk to her or maybe get some sage advice. But she gives her students more than just wisdom. One afternoon last spring, she sat in her chair patiently sewing a hole in the hood of a jacket for one of her students.

“It’s unique,” Effinger says of her relationship with her students. “If they know they can talk to me, it makes them feel a little more protected and at home.”

Bronx Theater opened its doors to students in 2003 with 95 students and is now home to an average of 400 students a year.

Last June, Effinger watched her third class graduate. In 2008, the last year statistics are available, Bronx Theater graduated 78 percent of its students, well above the city average.

It’s partly because of Effinger’s dedication to her students that the school has excelled. Prior to creating Bronx Theater High School, Effinger was producing plays as an assistant principal for Visual and Performing Arts at the former John F. Kennedy High School (now the Kennedy Campus that houses six smaller schools, one of which is Bronx Theater).

“I was happy being an assistant principal,” Effinger said.

Then in 2001, Roundabout Theatre Company, a Manhattan-based performing arts group that was interested in partnering with a public school, approached Effinger. They wanted to create a new high school through a project at New Visions for Public Schools.

“I thought about how motivated kids were [at Kennedy] to come and rehearse,” she said. “We developed a planning committee and a proposal.”

Two years later, they were up and running.

At Bronx Theater, in addition to traditional courses like English and math, students also take classes in acting, costume design, set design, playwriting, performance and theater business. Students learn about how to produce the performing arts, but they also learn how to run a sustainable business centered around them.
The curriculum provides a variety of options for students who have multiple interests.

Andrea Valentine, a senior at Bronx Theater, has always been passionate about acting. “I knew in elementary school I wanted to be an actress,” she said. “When I was in 8th grade I was looking for theater schools. Something about this school, the activities, attracted me. Ms. Effinger is very easy to talk to. This is like my second family.”

This summer, Andrea is directing with Roundabout Theatre and applying to SUNY Purchase and the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

Emily Garcia, a senior, learned about Bronx Theater because her sister was a student. She says the school is an outlet for personal expression.

“The classes here are entertaining,” she said. “People have energy and need to speak and perform. You get that energy out. You let the ideas run free. You meet people of different personalities and different opinions. You learn new things about yourself. You find yourself.”

In addition to acting, students can join the Bronx Theater Repertoire, the school’s dance company that performs twice a year, and participate in the year-end fashion show.

Unlike other performing arts high schools, Bronx Theater does not require students to audition. Instead, preference is given to students who live in the district (District 10), and each year 100 students are accepted through the Department of Education’s lottery system.

Even those without a passion for performing arts get something out of the school, Effinger says. “Anyone would benefit from the school,” she says. “I think there is a place for everyone here. [Students] learn how to run a business and be part of a theater company. There are few places that allow students to be part of a business.”

That goes for teachers too.

Kristin Brown is a math teacher at Bronx Theater. “I liked the idea of the school although I had never done theater,” she said. “The first time I saw a student performance, I knew there was something special going on. You really get to view the students in their element.”

But plays remain the school’s bread and butter. During the 2008-2009 school year, the juniors performed two plays, “The Diary of Anne Frank” and a “Midsummer’s Night Dream.”

Like Brown, Courtney Ferrell teaches math at Bronx Theater, but she also directs plays. “It was amazing [directing the students],” she said. “These kids exceed your expectations. I’m really proud of them and how they formed an ensemble. They understood everyone has a unique contribution. Now they’re friends and they always have each other’s back.”

Each year seniors have the chance to write and direct their own plays. Last year, the seniors produced “Ifunanya,” the story of a Nigerian princess, who despite being betrothed to someone from her village, falls in love with a white artist visiting the country.
Effinger said her students often take on important social issues in their plays.

The play “Sugar Shack,” directed by Kadeem Harris, a 2008 graduate currently on a full scholarship at NYU’s Tisch School, was about big real estate developers coming into a neighborhood and forcing small businesses to close. Another play, “Studio 99,” directed by James Coles (’07), now a junior at City College, focused on anti-smoking messages.

Imani Bland directed “Ifunanya” before graduating in June. She believes she found her calling at Bronx Theater.

“I was really looking for a singing and vocal program,” she said. “I wasn’t really looking for acting. I like acting, but I like directing better. I started writing a play. [The experience] opened my eyes to see all the other things I can do.”

In September, Imani will start her first year at the University of Bridgeport and hopes to become a writer one day.

Like a proud mother, Effinger is proud students like Imani who are fostered and developed at her school. “It’s a safe, warm, and nurturing place,” she said. “It’s not like any school that exists and we like it that way.”

By None

By Adolfo Abreu

As I get ready to go back to school, I like to look back on my summer vacation. I am proud to say that this summer I led hundreds of neighborhood youth in the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance’s campaign to make sure that the redevelopment of the Armory serves the needs of our community.

In particular, the members of Sistas and Brothas United want new schools built, community and recreation space for youth activities and economic benefits, and that means living wage jobs at the Armory.

We testified at Community Board 7’s two public hearings on the Armory. Even though they did not decide in the community’s favor, we were not discouraged.

We went ahead and held a Responsible Development Rally where hundreds of our neighbors, young and old, rallied and then marched to the Armory.

We also turned out in force and spoke out at Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz’s hearing. He even commented on how proud he was that we were so involved, taking the time to attend hearings on our summer vacation.

These are all positive examples of young people organizing for their community.

Members of Sistas and Brothas United are active because what happens with the Armory will affect our parents and ourselves and we want to make sure that whatever happens, there is good for our community.

Right now, the focus of the development by The Related Companies is just a shopping mall. The young people who I worked with over the summer say that we already have Fordham Road for shopping. What we need is community space, and living wage jobs — that’s what the neighborhood is lacking.

In our community, you cannot survive on the minimum wage.

Rent, electric bills, and food add up to more than you can make in a minimum wage job. We believe that the development at the Armory will not uplift our community from our economic problems unless there are living wage jobs there.

So, if the Armory is going to be developed, we need to make sure we get a Community Benefits Agreement that includes more community space than the developer has set aside, we need to make sure that the jobs in the Armory pay a living wage, and that there is local hiring for the jobs.

Adolfo Abreu, 16, is president of the board of Sistas and Brothas United, the youth organizing arm of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition. He attends Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics High School and will be a page in the U.S. House of Representatives this fall.

By Editorial

Our new borough president did something plainly logical, but nonetheless refreshing, this week. Coming up on a deadline to vote yay or nay on a Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment proposal from the Related Companies, Diaz essentially said he didn’t have enough information and needed more time. He got his wish. 

Diaz, propelled by a vigorous community campaign for a real community benefits agreement, wants to know how the developer is going to respond to a draft agreement hammered out by Diaz, the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance, and Community Board 7.

Asking a developer what it is going to give back to the community in return for significant taxpayer subsidies before voting on a project should be standard operating procedure in this city. The fact that community boards and borough presidents are routinely required to weigh in before all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed on these agreements just shows you how groundbreaking this minor request for a timeout is, and how stacked in favor of developers the process is.

We know Diaz is under a lot of pressure to OK a project that will create new jobs at a time when the city is hemorrhaging them. But it’s also the borough president’s job to make sure that the redevelopment of a community facility like the Armory is put to good community use and that the jobs created are good ones, rather than poverty-inducing ones the city’s taxpayers have to subsidize with various forms of public assistance. 

We encourage Diaz to drive a hard bargain on the Armory. If he succeeds where other borough presidents haven’t, he will set the tone for all future development projects in the borough and serve as a role model for the city.

By Editorial

Elections are essentially job interviews. Candidates should make themselves available to answer questions about their experience, qualifications and goals. 

Because the incumbent in the 14th Council District, Maria Baez, has decided not to participate in an Aug. 31 television debate on BronxTalk co-sponsored by the Bronx News Network,  we’re starting to think that it might be necessary to require debates for Council candidates as part of the city’s public financing program. If you’re getting taxpayer money through the city’s Campaign Finance Board, then you should be required to face the taxpayers and your fellow candidates in a debate.

That said, we are expecting a spirited and informative debate on community issues between Fernando Cabrera and Yudelka Tapia.

And, of course, we’ll reserve a seat for Council Member Baez in case she changes her mind.

Tune in to channel 67 (cablevision) at 9 p.m. on Monday night. The debate will be re-broadcast every weekday evening the same time that week.

By James Fergusson

Jose Rivera, the Bronx assemblyman, remembers the first time he met Council Member Maria Baez.

The year was 1982, and Rivera, having just been elected to the Assembly for the first time, was taking inventory in his district office, when he received a rude awakening.

“Twenty women, black, white, Hispanic, they stormed in,” he recounted recently.

An 11-year-old girl had just been hit and killed by a car on the Grand Concourse at 183rd Street, and the women wanted the driver prosecuted.  

Rivera told them his powers were limited, he’d yet to hire any staff, and he didn’t even have a typewriter. But they persisted, and turned to one of their own, a 20-something Maria Baez, for a solution.

“They said, ‘We’ve got your secretary, you get the typewriter,’” Rivera said. “I said OK, so I hired her. It was a two-people operation. And the rest is history.” 

A Single Mom on Welfare
Baez was born in Brooklyn and moved to the Bronx with her family at age 10. As a teenager, she attended Walton High School, but dropped out. “[After that] I literally did nothing with my life for a while,” Baez said.

It was a difficult time: she was a single mom reliant on public assistance. But slowly she began to get to her life together. She helped start a block association on East 183rd Street, near where she lived. And she earned her GED and a secretarial certificate from Monroe College.

Baez had not long graduated when she found herself standing in Rivera’s office. She became his receptionist and eventually, when he was a councilman, his chief-of-staff. “Honestly, at the time, he saw potential in me that I didn’t see myself,” she said. 

Baez later became the executive director of the Housing Workshop, a now-defunct affordable housing group that was based on Fordham Road; and, in the late 1990s, the chief clerk of the Bronx Board of Elections.

In the spring of 2001 Baez says she reached out to Rivera and Roberto Ramirez, the then-Bronx Democratic Party chairman, to ask if they would support her if she ran for City Council in the 14th District.

They gave her the thumbs up, and Baez was swept into office. She was reelected in 2003, and again in 2005.

In many ways, Baez’s story is inspiring. Thirty years ago she was on welfare; today, she’s a veteran councilwoman and the dean of the Bronx council delegation.

But is it all about to come crashing down?  With the Sept. 15 primary fast approaching, the Bronx Democratic Party has thrown its weight behind political rookie Fernando Cabrera.

To make matters worse, Baez has been hit by a tidal wave of negative press these past two years.

Scandal Upon Scandal
Baez brushes off the criticism. Her dismal attendance record at mandatory Council meetings and hearings? “I’ve been very ill,” she says.

Her initial refusal to support a housing bill which allows tenants to sue their landlord for harassment? “I was trying to be fair to everyone,” says Baez, who co-sponsored a rival bill that would have enabled landlords to sue tenants for harassment, as well as vice versa.

Her attempts to fund a Davidson Avenue tenant association that no longer exists? It still exists, she says.

Her office’s extravagant cell phone bills?  “There was an issue where we had got the wrong plan,” she says.

Her district office’s sky-high rent? “You’re going to tell me I pay the most?” she says. “I pay more rent on the Grand Concourse and 176th Street than someone… in Manhattan!” 

“It really, really hurts me when I hear about the negative things people say about this person,” said Elaine Watts, a friend of Baez’s.

Watts and others use words like “loyal” and “caring” to describe her. And they like the fact that she’s from the community and lives in the community.

Baez says she resides full time at 2415 Davidson Ave. It seems an unlikely spot for a politician with a six-figure salary; it’s no Fordham Hill, the gated community a few blocks away. The apartment she rents, moreover, is on the fifth floor of a non-elevator building – quite a climb for someone who’s been too sick to work.

On a recent visit to her building, several tenants were able to point out her apartment; others said they’d never heard of her.

Certainly, Baez doesn’t seek out attention. One community leader says she’s shy. But that’s scant consolation to Bronx community groups who have long griped about her reluctance to show up to events and meetings.

Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter, a Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition board member and a founding member of KARA (the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance), says KARA is still waiting for Baez to show “leadership.” (She’s been absent from major public hearings at which the Armory’s future was discussed.)
 

Pilgrim-Hunter also serves as the president of the Fordham Hill Owners Corporation; to residents there, Baez has been “invisible” she says.

Proud of Achievements
Since being elected eight years ago, Baez says she’s secured $40 million in capital funds for her district. Major projects to which she’s contributed include Mount Hope Housing Company’s new community center on Townsend Avenue.

Then there’s her legislative record. Over the past eight years, Baez has been the primary sponsor of six bills that became law, more bills, she says, than any other Bronx Council member.

But Dick Dadey, the executive director of the Citizens Union, a good government group, is unimpressed with Baez’s record as a lawmaker. “She has been a Council member who has not distinguished herself,” Dadey said, who also criticized her attendance record.

Baez, who has retained the support of Rivera, her loyal mentor, is unfazed. “I’ve heard remarks saying we need change,” she said. “No, this district needed change a long time ago and I’ve provided that.”

Ed. note: A longer version of this story is posted at www.mounthopemonitor.org, where it originally appeared.

By Alex Kratz

It’s Sunday church time on Morris Avenue. Fernando Cabrera’s rising voice is filling with the Holy Spirit. Turning to the left, his profile to the congregation, the Bronx pastor is riffing and ranting like a Baptist preacher man. “Amens” and “hallelujahs” mix into the monologue like commas. He punctuates funny stories with loud, Chris Rock-like flourishes. He’s part pastor, part showman.

“He’s an entertainer,” says Greg Faulkner, the chair of Community Board 7 who joined Cabrera’s New Life International Outreach Church on Morris Avenue about five years ago.

He’s also a college professor, a community activist, a father of two and now a front-runner for elected office. 

A political rookie, Cabrera is running for City Council in the Bronx’s hotly contested 14th District against incumbent Maria Baez and fellow challenger Yudelka Tapia.

Though relatively unknown just a year ago, Cabrera has parlayed his on-stage charisma and natural leadership abilities into a campaign run backed by the most influential institutions and staffed by the county Democrats’ best operatives.

“He’s the perfect candidate,” says his campaign’s communications director, Fernando Aquino, “aside from the one thing.”

That thing would be that he was a Republican who lived in Westchester County just over a year ago. Cabrera, 45, doesn’t deny these facts, but says they are only bit parts of a larger story that began in the Bronx in 1964.

A California Conversion
That was the year Cabrera and his identical twin brother, Angelo, were born at Lincoln Hospital in the south Bronx. At the age of 4, the Cabrera family moved to Puerto Rico where his mother is from because his Dominican father got a job working there for American Airlines.

Hoping to alleviate some of Angelo’s acute asthma problems, the Cabrera clan packed its bags and moved again to the dry warm climate of southern California.

At 17, Cabrera says he “had a call” to God and underwent a conversion experience. “I gave my life to the Lord,” he says.

Soon after graduating college, he moved to Virginia to take a job as head of a faith-based substance abuse rehabilitation center called New Life for Youth, which was created by Victor Torres, a former Brooklyn gang banger and drug addict. Torres also created New Life International Outreach Church.

A teetotaler who says he has never drunk, smoked or ingested anything stronger than Coca Cola (others have confirmed this claim of sobriety), Cabrera says the rehab center “was like a school for me. I saw that if you’re real with people, then they will respond to you.”

Cabrera moved back to the Bronx in 1988 and started up a version of New Life International Outreach Church, bouncing around among northwest Bronx locations as the congregation grew.

In the early 1990s, Cabrera moved his young family to Pelham, a Westchester suburb. Still, his job as a counselor at Walton High School, and his church, kept him in the northwest Bronx on a daily basis. By the late 1990s, Cabrera had earned his doctorate in counseling and in 2000 he became head of the counseling program at Mercy College.

Throughout this time, Cabrera remained active in the northwest Bronx, sitting on the community board, doing service projects at local parks and counseling his parishioners.

A Political Conversion
During this time, Cabrera was also a registered — “but politically inactive,” he says — Republican, which he would remain until after the 2008 presidential primary. He won’t say who he voted for, but says he was inspired by the candidacy of Barack Obama and began to feel that his beliefs were more in line with Democrats than Republicans. (Cabrera doesn’t believe in same-sex marriage, but he does believe in civil unions. He also doesn’t believe in abortion except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger.)

Less than two years ago, Faulkner says he and Cabrera — they met when both served on Community Board 7 from 2004 to 2006 — were talking about the lack of political leadership in the area.

“We were really disappointed that problems we were advocating for weren’t being addressed,” Faulkner said, citing the disastrous Croton Water Filtration Plant project as a prime example.

Cabrera, reluctantly at first, agreed to run after speaking with his congregation at New Life, who he says are 100 percent behind him.

Anthony Springer, a New Life member for the past eight years, is now the Cabrera campaign’s unpaid volunteer coordinator. Springer says what makes Cabrera special is his love and empathy for people. “His heart beats for people,” Springer says. “I’ve seen how he stretches himself to help people just because they asked him to.”

Cabrera moved into his University Heights condo just before announcing his intention to run last fall. Cabrera says he would have made the move regardless, but his opponents seized on it, attempting to paint him as an opportunistic outsider. Tapia even staged a rally outside of his Pelham home earlier this summer.

Cabrera says his daughter, son-in-law and grandson now live there.

A Campaign on the Rise
But Cabrera’s candidacy was already gaining momentum. This spring, the Bronx Democratic Party (under new leadership) and the liberal Working Families Party both threw their weight behind Cabrera. Soon, unions and grassroots groups began following suit.

He now enjoys almost complete institutional support and all the manpower and votes that come with it.

For a challenger, that’s completely unheard of, says John DeSio, a former Bronx political reporter who now works for Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.

Patrick Jenkins, who is the communications director for the Bronx Democratic Party and is heavily involved in Cabrera’s campaign, says Cabrera’s on-stage energy translates to the campaign trail.

“I’m increasingly encouraged by his energy and insight,” Jenkins says. “And he’s a gregarious guy. He pumps me up.”

Yorman Nunez, a 20-year-old former candidate in the race, says he’s still not convinced about Cabrera and has yet to decide on who he’ll vote for come Sept. 15. “I’ve seen Fernando push for good things in the community,” Nunez says, referring to his support for community control of the old Fordham Library and good jobs at the Kingsbridge Armory. “But I also have questions about his residency issues and his party affiliation.” 

Despite claims that he’s a fire-breathing conservative from a wealthy suburb, Cabrera remains relentlessly upbeat. “I’m a very positive person, I’m not going to focus on the negativity,” he says at his campaign headquarters.

Next thing you know, he’s talking about how he’s going to push for jobs as councilmember, how Baez has created a “vacuum of advocacy,” about “the single moms, the families that don’t know they’re going to make it,” and it’s flowing from him again, like he’s up on the pulpit, speaking to the congregation. Then, finally, he says: “I’m ready.”

By James Fergusson

It’s 7:25 a.m. on a recent Thursday, and Yudelka Tapia is standing outside the 183rd Street subway stop on the 4 train, greeting sleepy commuters with a wide smile and a ready handshake.

“Hello, how are you? Nice to meet you,” she says to one man in quick, accented English. To another: “Buenos días. ¿Cómo está, señor?”

Around her, a handful of energetic volunteers, including her 16-year-old son, hand out flyers, and scribble down the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of registered voters they’ve managed to stop.

“People are longing for change,” says Tapia, during a lull in foot traffic.  “People have been longing for change for so many years.”

Later that morning, in her campaign office on the Grand Concourse, Tapia, 44, talked of a childhood spent in the Dominican Republic and the "strong" women who raised her – her mother, a grandmother, and various aunts. "They believed you can get anything you want if you work hard for it," she said.

Beginning her Advocacy
In Santo Domingo, Tapia served as president of an organization dedicated to women’s education, and earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She moved to New York in the late 1980s, and settled in the Bronx in an apartment not far from her current home on East 180th Street.

“When I got here I found that we still have the same problems that we have in my own country… education, social justice, domestic violence,” said Tapia, a mother of four boys. “And so I continued advocating.” 

As a stay-at-home mom, she helped her immediate neighbors fill out government forms and with translation. Later she began advocating for immigration reform, stronger rent control laws, and against domestic violence, by organizing events and attending demonstrations. She also fought for better schools by joining school leadership teams at several Bronx schools. 

Tapia believes her experiences living in, and fighting for the community give her an edge over her opponents, Fernando Cabrera and the incumbent, Councilwoman Maria Baez. “I can tell you how it is to go to Housing Court,” she said. “I can tell you what is to fight for a school, for your children, because I have. I can tell you what it is to live in one of the poorest districts and counties in the nation.”

Dipping Toes in Politics
In the mid-’90s, she began to dip her toes in the chaotic world of Bronx politics. She founded the Great Alliance Democratic Club which, by her own account, played an instrumental role in the election of several politicians, including Adolfo Carrion, who in 1997 became District 14’s Council member.

Tapia ran for School Board in 1999; Carrion’s old seat in 2001 (an election Baez won; Tapia didn’t even get on the ballot), and State Assembly in 2002 — all unsuccessfully. She was, however, elected as the State Committee Member for the 86th Assembly District, a position she held until last year, when she was voted out.

Tapia, who’s on unpaid leave from her current job as a senior auditor for the city, doesn’t hold back from criticizing her rivals. If Baez was too sick to attend mandatory Council meetings and hearings (Baez claims illness is the reason for her woeful attendance record) she should have stepped down, Tapia believes.

“I think that has prevented her from actually bringing more resources to the district,” said Tapia of Baez’s absenteeism. “If you’re not there for the discussion… how can you advocate for the people of your district?” 

But Tapia reserves most of her scorn for Cabrera, a pastor and college professor who is being supported by the Bronx Democratic Party, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., and a plethora of powerful unions.

Vying With Cabrera
Cabrera is a Democrat who says he lives on Sedgwick Avenue with his wife and son. But until last summer he was a registered Republican living in Pelham, a leafy Westchester town devoid of many of the problems that plague the west Bronx. Tapia doesn’t want voters to forget that.

“You’re telling me you’ve been a Republican for 19 years, and you actually have a connection with the people of this district?” she said, incredulous. 

Cabrera’s supporters point out that Tapia supported Nelson Castro, himself a one-time Republican, for Assembly last fall. But Tapia says she stepped away from Castro when she found out about his past. 

Tapia’s campaign has experienced one or two hiccups of late.  

Last week, she had to be told by a reporter that her campaign manager, Onix Sosa, had taken a job as State Senator Pedro Espada’s deputy chief-of-staff. “I haven’t heard that from him,” she said, after a brief silence. She now has a new campaign manager.

Tapia has also had problems getting her hands on matching funds from the city Campaign Finance Board. She says some documentation wasn’t submitted to the Board — hence the delay — but that she’s confident she’ll receive what’s rightfully hers on Sept. 2, when the next payments are announced.

Haile Rivera, a community activist from University Heights (and one-time candidate in this race), said Tapia should be applauded for getting this far. “For me, anyone who makes the ballot, without the support of the Democratic establishment, you’ve got to commend that,” Rivera said.

He called Tapia a “trailblazer” in the Dominican-American community. If she wins, she’ll be the first Bronx Council member of Dominican origin.

Tapia insists her campaign is healthy: she has 200 to 300 volunteers working for her, and will be able to call on more come primary day. James Duarte, a recent graduate from TAPCo High School on Webster Avenue and a Tapia volunteer, said working on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign last year inspired him to get involved politically on a local level. He said he looked at the three candidates and settled on Tapia. “I felt that Yudelka was more in touch with the needs of this community,” he said. “She’s one of us, I felt I could identify with her. She has a similar [life] story to a lot of people in this neighborhood.” 

Duarte said Cabrera, whom he’s met, offers few specifics — either in person or on his Web site — as to what he would do if elected.

Tapia, on the other hand, Duarte says, has come out with a detailed plan for preserving affordable housing; for ensuring the Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment project benefits the community; and for improving the environment, among other things. 

Tapia says she’s serious about winning, and isn’t just making up the numbers.  And despite the relentless campaigning — the flyering, the phone calls, the door knocking — she looks like she’s enjoying herself.

“Everyone in this city is watching this race,” she said. 

By Norwood News

Norwood resident and bandleader Ibrahim Gonzalez embodied the spirit of a very rainy, but nonetheless upbeat, Williamsbridge Oval Festival  on Saturday.

Despite the bad weather, Gonzalez performed in a dry area on the steps of the Park House with his Latin jazz band.

Kids were kept entertained by sack races, mural painting and a clown.
The event was sponsored by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz.

By Ashley Villarreal

The youth in the northwest Bronx have created their own forum for speaking out about issues they care about. This month it was the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory.

Sistas and Brothas United (SBU), an arm of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC), and Choose to Change, a committee dedicated to curbing youth violence, got together earlier this month at St. James Park to host an open-mic event to voice their opinions about the coming transformation of the 575,000,000-square-foot Armory, which is slated to be turned into a giant shopping mall.

“They’re going to turn it into a mall, and we don’t really have a problem with that, but we want those working inside the Armory to be paid living wages,” said Dockeem Barnes, a music artist who has worked as a youth leader for SBU, which is also a member of the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA). KARA has lobbied for living wages at the Armory for the last two years.

Barnes said the open-mic events are designed to raise awareness and get the community involved in issues that might affect people living in the area. Groups like Youth on the Move, and the NWBCC, have been participants in the past, he said, and each event has a politically or culturally significant theme to focus on while performers do anything from speak poetry and rap, to build models and put on plays.

Barnes said bringing people together through spoken word can be a powerful force. Some 250 people showed up to this month’s event.

He and others hope to get funding to host events regularly around the area, using larger spaces like the Monte Carlo Room, a popular Bronx club and venue.

“The more open mics we have, the more meetings we have, and the more we’re out there with the media, the more we stay out there,” Barnes said.

By Katie Riordan

Robert Zamot only has to walk a couple of blocks to feel connected to his son who lives out of state.  He usually sends him and other extended family members presents several times a month from his local post office on Webster Avenue, known as the Botanical Station. Zamot also does the vast majority of his bill pay through the mail.

But now, this 30-year resident of the Bedford Park neighborhood may have to walk an extra 15 to 20 minutes just to buy stamps.

The Botanical Station is one of 53 New York City locations, seven of which are in the Bronx, the U.S. Post Office is considering closing due to decreases in mail volume that it attributes to “electronic diversion and the widespread economic recession.” 

“[For me] It would be a huge inconvenience,” said Zamot.  “[For the community] it would be very detrimental considering the lots of elderly,” continued Zamot, who is concerned about the distance senior citizens would have to travel to the nearest office, the Fordham location on East 188th Street. At least two senior citizen facilities are located just blocks from the Botanical Station.

Herman Clement, the owner of a metal shop located next to the Botanical Station (he also owns the building where both are housed), called the closing unfair to those who prefer paying their bills by mail, rather than online.

“We didn’t grow up with computers,” said Clement. “[The elderly] like to pay bills [by mail] and see the results themselves.”

Clement and his business partner, Roberto Vayas, rent the post office their space and called the possible closing a “complete shock.”  They also criticized the way the agency informed the public. “They put a notice on the door. How much attention do people pay when they see a notice?  They open the door, close the door,” said Clemet.  “If more people were aware, there would be more worry.”

Residents aren’t the only ones troubled by the office’s potential closing. Employees also feel they have been left in dark.

“Nobody is answering our questions,” said Margie Serrano, a sales service associate at the Botanical Station, who would be very upset if she were relocated to a different location, which she’s been told is a possibility. But Serrano is most enraged about the effects the closing will have on the local immigrant community, which she says uses the post office for “money orders and all their basic needs because there is no bank in the area.”

Barbara Stronczer, president of the Bedford Mosholu Community Association, is trying to ensure that the neighborhood is more aware.  She has collected over 650 signatures for a petition against the station’s closing, including those of local merchants like Pioneer Supermarket and Allen Cleaners that rely heavily on postal services. Stronczer realizes they are also going to need some additional support and is reaching out to local politicians.

“In this instance we need the help of our elected officials,” said Stronczer.  “We’re hoping they come through for us.” 
As of press time, Stronczer was still not sure who would respond.

In an e-mail, a USPS representative said, “We will work to preserve access to postal retail services.” Through a review process, including the distribution of questionnaires to postal customers asking about usage and proximity to other locations, the USPS hopes to determine if services at certain stations can be combined, the USPS spokesperson said, adding that they do not expect to see any decisions on closings before Oct. 2. 

By David Greene

Longtime Norwood resident Gloria Ford, 79, died on Sunday afternoon after a fire engulfed her third story apartment on Decatur Avenue.

Firefighters were called to 3228 Decatur Avenue, near East 207th Street, after the fire broke out at 2 p.m., on Sunday, Aug. 23. The blaze was under control in under an hour, but it was too late to save Ford.

“They brought her out and she was wrapped up, but you could see she was burned,” said a neighbor who declined to give their name.

Outside the building, Acting Deputy Chief Richard Blatus told members of the media that Ford was alive when she was pulled from the building and taken to nearby Montefiore Medical Center. But there she was pronounced dead. Fortunately, Blatus said, “The fire was pretty much contained to the one apartment, with minor extension to the apartment above.”

The news was an unbearable blow to the woman’s unidentified son, who at one point threw something at a photographer.

A source at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said it was ruled an accident and the cause of death is smoke inhalation and thermal injuries or burns from the heat.”

“She was a nice lady, she was very funny,” said Stephanie Felicies, a neighbor of Ford’s who works for an ambulance company and often transported Ford to Beth Abraham Hospital. “She was a special lady.”

Ford is the second resident of the building to die tragically in the last six months. Michael Lorge, 42, a lifelong resident of the first floor, was shot dead outside his building on Feb. 14, as he got behind the wheel of his car to go to work. Police have still not charged anyone in his death.

Repeated attempts to reach the building’s landlord Ndue “Tony” Gelaj were unsuccessful.

By Norwood News

The Bronx News Network (which includes the Norwood News) and "BronxTalk" with Gary Axelbank are co-sponsoring a debate of candidates in the race for the 14th Council District seat. Candidates Yudelka Tapia and Fernando Cabrera will be there. The incumbent, Maria Baez, said she will not attend.

Candidate Profiles:

Yudelka Tapia

Maria Baez (extended version on Mt. Hope Monitor site)

Fernando Cabrera

 

Debate Details:

What: A debate on all the vital issues between candidates of the 14th Council District. Candidates Fernando Cabrera and Yudelka Tapia have agreed to attend. The incumbent, Maria Baez, has refused an invitation to be included.

Host Gary Axelbank will facilitate the conversation and editors from the Bronx News Network will be asking questions.

TV: BRONXNET, Channel 67 (Cablevision)

When: Monday, August 31, 9 p.m. (The debate will be replayed every night at the same time for the next several days)

How you can be involved: You can submit questions you’d like to see candidates answer by e-mail. Send questions to bronxnewsnetwork@gmail.com.

 

 

By Alex Kratz

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. has asked for and received an extension on his deadline to submit a recommendation for the Kingsbridge Armory mall project, saying he first wants to see how the project’s developer responds to a proposed Community Benefits Agreement (CBA).

As city law mandates, Diaz is in the process of weighing the pros and cons of the Related Companies’ land use review application, which, if approved, would pave the way for the developer’s plan to turn the 575,000-square-foot Armory into a retail shopping mall.

He was supposed to announce his recommendation by Aug. 24. He now has until Sept. 8.

Last Monday, Aug. 17, Diaz’s office sent Related a draft of an agreement that would bring the community additional benefits from the project aside from new shopping options and retail jobs.

The agreement was a collaborative effort, hashed out by Diaz’s office, Community Board 7, the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) and local elected officials.

“We do not want to say yes or no on the ULURP application until we have some idea from the developer regarding their direction on the CBA,” said Diaz spokesperson John DeSio, in an e-mail. He added in a later e-mail: “Logistics made this process extremely difficult to complete by the original deadline of Aug. 24, thus making the extension necessary.”

According to Greg Faulkner, the chairman of Community Board 7, who was heavily involved in the benefits agreement negotiations, the draft CBA would require that businesses at the Amory mall pay their employees a living wage ($10 an hour, plus benefits), something KARA has lobbied hard for over the past year.

In mid-July, Board 7 voted yes on the project with the condition, among others, that a substantial and enforceable CBA be signed by Related. In response, Related agreed that a benefits agreement would be appropriate for the project, but didn’t commit to a timetable for when it would be signed or what kinds of benefits would be included.

Also included in the draft CBA sent to Related last week, Faulkner said, are local hiring goals, a labor neutrality agreement (allowing workers to unionize) and mechanisms to protect and create affordable housing in the area. Also, an advisory committee made up of community members and elected officials would oversee the agreement’s implementation.

The draft agreement also includes language prohibiting a big-box supermarket at the Armory. Related had carved out space in the Armory’s basement for a 60,000-square-foot supermarket and Board 7 members had voted to support a new supermarket with organic food options. But Morton Williams, a local supermarket chain, had lobbied hard against an Armory supermarket and had the support of the entire Bronx delegation to the City Council (see page 2). 

A month ago, Diaz listened to more than three hours of public testimony on the project at Lehman College. A majority of speakers, many of them KARA supporters, urged Diaz to vote against the project if there wasn’t a strong benefits agreement in place within the City Charter’s 30-day window, which began at the end of July. While he wouldn’t commit to voting no without a CBA in place, Diaz did say, “I will push as hard as I can.”

Diaz’s vote is advisory, though it could have an impact on how the City Council votes in a couple of months.

CBAs have become common practice for big development projects in California and have gained popularity in other parts of the country, but the few signed in New York City have been criticized for being unsubstantial and lacking true community involvement. The Armory CBA would be the first driven by community voices, including Board 7 and KARA. 

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