Bronx Notes: Mentoring Program for Students

The Young Scholars Immersion Program, a program coordinated by Kingsbridge Heights Community Center and Manhattan College, provides year-round mentoring and enrichment opportunities for disadvantaged students in the Bronx. The program is currently seeking more high school applicants. Students get the chance to visit college campuses, participate in writing and study workshops and get constant support from tutors at the College’s Center for Academic Success. For more information, contact Neil Bogan at nbogan@khcc-nyc.org or call (718) 884-0700 ext. 116.

Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 7

Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to the Bronx News Roundup. These are the Bronx stories we’re following today.

Bronx Notes: Free Weekly Immigration Services

Councilmember Fernando Cabrera along with CUNY Citizenship Now! will provide free confidential legal services to qualified immigrants to help them in their pursuit of U.S. citizenship, Wednesdays, starting Oct. 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Cabrera’s district office, 107 E. Burnside Ave. Personal consultations will be held with attorneys and paralegals. For more information, call (347) 590-2874.

2012 in Review: The Year in Pictures

Created with flickr slideshow. 2012 IN PICTURES: The Walton softball team comes together…Bronx Borough President smooches his wife after the State of the Borough address…local kids paint garbage cans in Willamsbridge Oval Park…local kids take in the show at the annual Jerome-Gun Hill BID street festival…Clinton and John F. Kennedy battle for local high school hoops bragging rights..patients for special surgery at Montefiore have some fun…Hurricane Sandy didn’t completely overlook the northwest Bronx where many trees were uprooted…a crash on Bronx River Parkway killed seven members of a single family…martial arts group shows off its acrobatic skill during Bronx Week…dance

Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 4

Welcome to the Friday edition of the Bronx News Roundup. These are the Bronx stories we’re following today.

Bronx Notes: Free Reading, Writing and Math Skills Training

Improve your reading, writing and math skills and work toward your GED with the Literacy Connection, a free education and employment program for young adults ages 16 to 24. The program is offered at the Mott Haven, West Farms, and Bronx Library Center branches of the NYPL. For more information or to RSVP, call (718) 401-7453.

Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 3

Welcome to another edition of the Bronx News Roundup. These are the Bronx stories we’re following today. After a record low number of murders in 2012, New York City experienced it’s first murder of 2013 early this afternoon in the Bronx at the Monroe Houses on Story Avenue. Police say a 59-year-old woman, identified as Elzina “Zina” Brown by the NY Post, was shot and killed during an argument between Brown’s daughter and her boyfriend. According to the Post, Brown was home on her lunch break from her job as a school crossing guard when the boyfriend fired shots that hit Brown’s daughter in the nose (she’s expected to survive) and then Brown, who took a bullet to her chest. One of Brown’s daughter’s uncles called Brown “a God-fearing woman who did not have an enemy in the world.”

Bronx Notes: Free Stop Smoking Program

North Central Bronx Hospital, 3424 Kossuth Ave., offers free group counseling and nicotine replacement therapy for smokers looking to quit. No appointments are needed or required, walk-ins are welcome. The smoking cessation program runs weekdays at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. in room 13A12. For more information, call (718) 519-2425/2490.

Be Healthy: Fast Food Flocks to the Bronx

Unfortunately for the Bronx, unhealthy lifestyles begets unhealthy eateries. According to the Center for an Urban Future’s fifth annual State of Chains study, the Bronx experienced the fastest growth in fast food stores of any of the five boroughs. Chain retailers in general are coming into the Bronx at a rapid pace as the borough is being seen as an untapped market, but the increase in fast food restaurants, like McDonald’s (two new Bronx locations in 2012) and Dunkin’ Donuts (three new), is troubling to health advocates who want to see better food options for Bronxites.