Roving Car Washes Pepper North Bronx Landscape

By DAVID CRUZ

At a sporadically busy section of Webster Avenue edging towards East Gun Hill Road, cars zip by Radame Jil. For drivers who visit Jil, they can expect one detailed car wash for $15, a fraction of the price when compared to what a brick and mortar car wash would charge for a 20-minute wash. Some days he’s paid only $40 for 11 hours, the equivalent of $3.67 an hour. Other days he makes more, though way below the minimum wage. His boss, barely around, finances the supply of cleaning equipment. Exploitation is not on Jil’s mind. Neither is the rate.

By DANIELA BEASLEY

With nice weather and the start of the unofficial summer season approaching the recognizable red signs that read “No Barbecuing in this Area” have been taken out of storage and officially put up along Mosholu Parkway and other neighboring parks by the city Parks Department. There are only a few red signs placed in obscure locations along the parkway, which was said to be a problem last year. This is the second year the signs have been installed before Memorial Day Weekend as opposed to past years when the signs weren’t put up until early July. Although illegal, year after

By TATYANA TURNER

A team effort by several Bronx institutions brought the arts to Norwood’s local hospital. The Healing Arts Department at Montefiore Medical Center hosted roughly 30 elementary students from P.S 280 in Norwood on May 18. Residents, including parents, gathered at the Grand Hall in the Moses Campus to watch several performances including dance, chorus, and African drumming. The department hosts several programs that use art and creativity to improve health outcomes and ease anxiety, primarily for hospital patients. Employees have taken part in art galleries to show off their creative side. Montefiore typically hosts community artists to showcase their

By ADRIANNA LOMBARDO

Getting a cab could get a lot smoother for the disabled in the Bronx. New York State Assemblyman Victor Pichardo traveled to Webster Avenue in Norwood to propose a bill calling for the creation of a dispatch system for New York taxis specific to customers on wheelchairs. Pichardo labeled his legislation a “better solution” to fixing a taxi service hole. Services for the disabled, including the ability to receive accessible car service, are mandated by law. Pichardo noted there is no citywide central dispatch service for wheelchair accessible riders resulting in the disabled having to call a regular car service to

By DAVID CRUZ

Attorneys in the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC) lease case agreed with a judge’s order to have a letter sent to state agencies asking to demonstrate, in writing, that they’re fully committed to a loan needed to jumpstart the massive project. KNIC’s strongest ally, meantime, may be found on the bench. “You need to go to the source,” said Judge Ruben Franco, who heard the case involving KNIC developers and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) at Bronx Supreme Court on May 16. A team of lawyers from the New York City Corporation Counsel, still holding the 99-year lease

The NYPD is looking for a pair of thieves wanted for burglarizing a Planet Fitness gym over the weekend. Police from the 52nd Precinct say the bandits broke into the exercise chain at 309 E. Kingsbridge Road during the overnight hours of May 14 and swiped $100 from the cash registers before taking off. The crooks are described as black or Hispanic men, wearing black hooded sweaters and gray pants. Anyone with information is asked to call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).

World Science Festival Dazzles at Lehman College

By WENDY JOAN BIDDLECOMBE

Families packed the APEX building at Lehman College on Saturday, May 7 to escape the dreary weather and get hands-on with science. Though the annual science festival has taken place in New York City since 2008, this is the first time the event, which demonstrates science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in larger-than-life exhibits, has traveled to the Bronx. The visit comes at a time when the borough continues to lag in the number of its residents working in the tech sector. “What we wanted to do is take kids’ natural instinct to touch things and be curious, and use

S.A.F.E. Disposal Bring old medications, fluids (i.e. motor oil, paint) and e-waste (i.e. batteries, computers) to Orchard Beach on May 14 for the annual S.A.F.E. Disposal event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shred Fest Shred old, sensitive documents at Frank Siegel Park, Grand Concourse between 157th and 158th Streets, on May 21, and Triangle Plaza at Co-Op City Boulevard and Rom Bouts Avenue next to Municipal Credit Union on May 22. Both start at 10 a.m. Free Tenant Legal Advice State Senator Gustavo Rivera, 2432 Grand Concourse, suite 506, 5th floor, hosts tenant specialists on Tuesdays (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

Editor’s Pick Bronx Week The public is invited to enjoy Bronx Week which takes place from May 5 to 15. Events include outdoor performances, health fairs, and more, culminating on May 15 in the free grand finale which includes Bronx Walk of Fame inductions at the steps of the Bronx County Building on the Grand Concourse at 161st Street (11 a.m.), followed by annual parade at noon (reviewing stand at Mosholu Parkway East at Van Cortlandt Avenue), and food & arts festival and concert on