Bronx Links, Monday

Good afternoon, and welcome back to the work week. It’ll be cloudy and in the low 50s this Monday. Here are a few local news stories we’re following on Breaking Bronx today: A woman was arrested this weekend on animal cruelty charges for allegedly starving her two pit bulls, which were removed from a Webster Avenue apartment building by the American Society for the Prevention for Cruelty to Animal (ASPCA) back in December weighing a mere 16.4 and 15.2 pounds. Gillian Irving, 27, could face up to two years in prison if convicted. A baby born nearly four months premature,

Bronx Townhall Meeting to Address Healthcare Disparities

Bronx Health REACH, Assemblyman Nelson Castro, Senator Gustavo Rivera, and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest will be holding a Town Hall meeting on Saturday, April 28 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to discuss inequities in New York’s health care system. “Make Health Equality a Reality,” will include a panel of legislators, doctors, community members, and lawyers. Audience members will be invited to ask questions about health care access. The event is open to all and breakfast and free health screenings will be provided for all attendees. The event will take place at P.S. 33 in the Bronx

State Budget Deal Met With Praise and Criticism From Bronx Pols

State lawmakers in Albany announced last week that they’d reached a $132.6 billion budget deal with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, passing each of the 11 budget bills on Friday — a few days early, before the annual budget deadline of April 1. The plan decreases overall state spending compared to last year, but increases funding for some agencies and projects that some local officials have hailed as a boost for New York City.

Bronx Activists Say Do Right or You Can’t Have Our Armory

With proposals for the Kingsbridge Armory on the verge of being vetted behind closed doors, more than 200 local activists made it clear that any developer chosen by the city will have to deal with and provide benefits to the community.

Bronx Links, Wednesday

Welcome back to Breaking Bronx. Here are some local news stories we’re reading this Wednesday afternoon: It’s baseball season! But for some Bronx teams, there are challenges to face before hitting the field. Players at the Bronx High School of Science, and other high school who were hoping to use the sparkling new baseball diamonds at Harris Field, are unexpectedly stuck waiting another season because the grass on the fields is not ready. The Riverdale Press first wrote about the delay in March; the Times‘ School Book blog covered it today, with a video (see below). Students have been without

The Bronx is just 24 miles from a major nuclear power plant and Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera wants to know why there isn’t a plan in place to protect the 1.4 million people living in the city’s northernmost borough. At a press conference in Norwood yesterday, Rivera publicly released her letter requesting state hearings on the emergency evacuation plans of local, state, and federal governments in case of a nuclear meltdown at the Indian Point Energy Center. Surrounded by kids from the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center as well as regional environmental watchdogs, Rivera said she is unhappy with the 10-mile radius

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,

Two Bronx legislators are looking to pass a bill that would ban employers from requesting social media site passwords from job applicants, a practice they say is growing in popularity and a threat to the privacy of job-seekers. “This legislation will address a terrible and growing abuse by certain employers,” said Assemblyman Jeffery Dinowitz, who is sponsoring the version of the bill in the Assembly. “Employers should not be snooping on social media communications that are private, and they certainly should not be given passwords that are supposed to be kept secret. It’s like an employer asking for a copy