Members of the Bronx Assembly delegation which voted in lockstep-save the two feet of Jeffrey Dinowitz-to allow the city to blast a massive hole in Van Cortlandt Park for a water filtration plant, are starting to have second thoughts about the project they championed as a boon for the borough’s park system and its workers.

For better or worse, things are changing. A widely-publicized "building boom" is taking place throughout the Bronx, and residents on Grand Avenue are feeling it more acutely than others, with four sites currently under construction between East 190th and 192nd streets.

The COVE, a youth center in the troubled Knox-Gates section of the northwest Bronx, is recovering from a summer of turmoil that included a tough management transition and a string of violent incidents. Three weeks ago, a young man who had visited the COVE on occasion, was shot in the back across the street from the youth center.

New York City Comptroller William Thompson issued a report last week finding that, from 1990 to 2005, disparities in hospitalization and mortality rates based on income have widened among New York City boroughs for heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (81st District) participated in rallies protesting appearances by Iranian President Ahmadinejad at the United Nations and Columbia University.

As U.S. assistance to Latin America dwindles, Rep. Eliot Engel has created an innovative plan to keep providing aid to our developing southern neighbors. His 10-year, $2.5 billion plan focuses on a non-traditional approach by encouraging financial commitments from the private sector and recipient nations.

A City Council bill to provide assistance for New Yorkers seeking public benefits was introduced by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum last week. Councilman Joel Rivera (District 15) and David Pedulla from NYU Brennan Center showed up in support of the initiative.

The “heat season” begins this week and city Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Shaun Donovan wants to remind residential building owners of their legal responsibility to provide hot water year-round and 24-hour heat for tenants.

A handful of Bronxites under the age of 40 were picked by the monthly paper City Hall as “Rising Stars” in New York City politics.