Concourse Tenants Score Victory for Workers

The unexplained firing of three longtime union workers just before the new year at a historically well-maintained building on the Grand Concourse in Bedford Park led to a furious battle between tenants and their landlord. But after months of heated exchanges and union protests, two workers were rehired and tenants continue to put pressure on their landlord.

Journalists Revisit Deadly DeKalb Fire, Reignite Housing Discussion

A decade after an electrical fire at 3569 DeKalb Ave. claimed the life of an 8-year-old Bronx boy, journalists and housing activists are still trying to find answers to the questions posed in the wake of his death–namely, how the city should enforce housing code violations and hold landlords accountable for conditions that put tenants at risk. That was the topic of a panel discussion held at Manhattan College last night, organized by the school’s Urban Affairs department, City Limits magazine and Jordan Moss, a former Norwood News editor. The event arose from an investigation into landlord practices and regulations

Bronx Housing Forum to Address Landlord Violations

This Monday, April 23 at 4 p.m., housing advocates, landlords and tenants are participating in a free panel discussion at Manhattan College to discuss potential reforms of the housing code enforcement system that would enable the city to more easily hold neglectful landlords accountable. The event, entitled,”Safe at Home: Putting Teeth in Housing Code Enforcement and Holding Landlords Accountable,” will take place on the first floor of the Leo Engineering Building, 3825 Corlear Ave., between West 238th and West 240th streets. All are welcome. Jordan Moss, a former Norwood News editor, is one of the organizers of the panel, which

A local nonprofit that advocates for the rights of homeless residents is facing scrutiny after the New York Post ran a story about the group last month, alleging one of its board members gave a “crash course on squatting,” instructing people on how to break into vacant buildings–an accusation the organization says is completely false. Picture the Homeless (PTH) is a citywide nonprofit headquartered on Morris Avenue in the Bronx, just south of Fordham Road. The group, run largely by homeless or formerly homeless individuals, works to organize the city’s homeless population, advocating on policy and social justice issues that

Op-Ed: Livable Neighborhoods, Without the Gentrification Label

It’s been almost seven years since the New York Times wrote about the south Bronx transforming into a hip and gentrifying “SoBro,” citing an influx of white residents, artists, croissants and mesclun salad greens. Just last month, the Times ran a similar article, by the same author, once again boldly declaring gentrification in the south Bronx – now on the lower Concourse.

State Offers Support to PS 51 Parents, City Another Story

In late March, the parents of current and former PS 51 students met with state officials to ask questions and discuss their concerns about potential health effects caused by exposure to contamination at the school’s former site on Jerome Avenue.

Be Healthy! Wednesdays: Bronx Photo Exhibit Spotlights Public Housing Health Hazards

Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, Breaking Bronx features a health-related story, event or tidbit as part of an online expansion of our Be Healthy! column. Bronx Photo Exhibit Spotlights Public Housing Health Hazards When the ventilation fan in Maribel Baez’s bathroom stopped working, a black patch of mold began to grow on her ceiling. She called the New York City Housing Authority, which runs the Melrose Houses in the South Bronx, where she’s lived for four years, and tried to get the problem fixed. NYCHA told her it would be two years before they could send a repairperson out. The mold

A group that offers free legal services to low-income Bronx residents will be getting a new and improved home at the busy HUB commercial corridor, at Brook Avenue and E. 149th Street, a number of local elected officials announced last week. Legal Services NYC-Bronx will move into a commercial condominium that’s being built as part of City-sanctioned development project on a stretch of undeveloped property at the HUB. When completed, the group’s new offices will feature a green space and be fully handicap accessible, according to a press release sent out by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., who is

It’s that time of year again–budget negotiation time, as lawmakers hammer out deals on how much the city and state governments should spend, and on what. City Council members have until the start of the next fiscal year, on July 1, to agree on a plan for the city’s spending. Mayor Bloomberg released a $68.7 billion preliminary budget proposal in February, which he boasted would close a $2 billion budget gap without raising taxes. But not everyone, of course, is happy with the Mayor’s plan. Bronx City Council Member Annabel Palma, who represents Parkchester, Soundview, Castle Hill, and Classon Point,