Q&A: Dr. Jane Bedell, Bronx District Public Health Office

In 2003, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene opened regional offices in several high-needs neighborhoods that have some of the worst health outcomes in the city. The South Bronx District Public Health Office is located at 1826 Arthur Ave. This week, Be Healthy! caught up with Assistant Commissioner Jane Bedell, M.D. to see what her office is working on.

Letter to the Editor: End of Middle Class Dream at Tracey?

Our landlord at Tracey Towers has notified tenants that the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) has received its application for a rent increase to go into effect in three stages over the next two years. The percentage requested for July 2011 is 25.53; for July 2012 it is 20.34; for July 2013 it is 16.9. When the math is done, we tenants will have our rents increased by a whopping 77 percent in the next two years.

Clinton Baseball Eyes Playoffs

(Photo by Adi Talwar) Clinton’s baseball team needs to overcome inconsistency to make a run in the city playoffs.Coming into the home stretch of a season filled with inconsistency, not just weather-wise, but with the team’s play as well, the talented DeWitt Clinton High School varsity baseball team is looking to secure a playoff berth in the PSAL Championship.

Armory Report Coming in June

At a town hall forum in Kingsbridge Heights on Sunday, State Senator Gustavo Rivera said the Bronx borough president’s Kingsbridge Armory task force was in the final stages of completing its recommendations for redeveloping the massive building that has been vacant for nearly two decades. They will release the report in June, he said.

Ferrer Named to MTA Board

Former Bronx borough president and two-time mayoral candidate Freddy Ferrer was appointed on Monday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board, the governing body that oversees the state agency (and, most notably, approves all of those fare hikes and service changes).

Gillibrand Visits Monte

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand made a stop in the Bronx recently to attend a “healthy eating” fair at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in Norwood.

Picture the Homeless Challenges Perceptions of Marginalized

Adjusting the yellow bow in her thick gray locks of hair, Arvenetta Henry clasped her hands under her chin. “Everyone calls me Miss Henry,” she said with a smile, “because I am a teacher.” Henry spent most of her adult life as a Bronx teacher. She is no longer in the traditional classroom setting, but through a nonprofit homeless advocacy organization operated by the very homeless population it serves, Henry, who became homeless herself 18 months ago, continues to teach.