Bronx’s Rivera and Other Latino Leaders Push for Community Engagement

After Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez was arrested early Wednesday morning at Zuccotti Park for participating in the Occupy Wall Street movement, Latino political and organizational leaders, including northwest Bronx State Senator Gustavo Rivera, are standing in support of Rodriguez and urging community participation during tomorrow’s National Day of Action for the 99%.

Wall Street Protesters ‘Occupy Woodlawn’

A group of protestors from downtown Manhattan’s Occupy Wall Street encampment came to the Bronx this weekend, in a show of support for Woodlawn Cemetery workers campaigning against what they say are unfair labor practices at the landmark cemetery. About 75 Wall Street demonstrators and members from several labor unions showed up on Saturday to rally with the cemetery workers, who for the last couple of years have tried unsuccessfully to address what they said were acts of overt racism by Woodlawn supervisors. “We’re going to be there to support them, because their struggle is our struggle,” said Occupy Wall

Bronx Community Leaders and Officials Brainstorm Solutions to Recent Violence (Video)

In reaction to a recent spike in violent crime, including the shooting of a 4-year-old in University Heights on Tuesday night, Bronx Councilman Fernando Cabrera and Council Speaker Christine Quinn held a public brainstorming session among community leaders. The goal was to solicit solutions, both immediate and long-term, for curbing the recent rise in violence.

An Anticlimactic Bronx Election Day

Yes, it’s Election Day in New York, in case you were wondering why the kids have off from school. Bronxites eager to fulfill their civic duty, however, will be disappointed to learn that there’s no actual race going on in the Boogie Down.

Coalition, Occupiers Combine Forces

The old school grassroots organizers with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition have found an energetic new ally in the growing number of demonstrators with the nascent Occupy the Bronx movement.

MS 80 Program Aims at Opening Elite School Doors

On a recent rainy Saturday morning, seventh-grader Mehrina Tabassum sat quietly at the front of a classroom inside MS 80 on Mosholu Parkway, listening as a tutor instructed the small group of students to tackle a math problem. Through a new tutoring program, she hopes to buck history and gain admittance into one of the city’s elite and selective public high schools.

Sick Records at PS 51, & Other Bronx Links

The Daily News obtained several years of records, via a Freedom of Information Law request, from the nurse logs at PS 51–the Bedford Park school that was moved to a new location this fall after testing found hazardous levels of a chemical toxin called trichloroethylene (TCE) in its former building, an old lighting factory. Longtime exposure to TCE has been linked to kidney and liver problems, damage to the central nervous system, as well as dizziness, headaches, nausea and blurred vision. In our Norwood News cover story few months back, concerned parents discussed what they thought was an excessive number of sick

Comptroller Visits BCC, Highlights Bronx Unemployment Woes

Last week, City Comptroller took a little mini-tour of the Bronx.

Cabrera Pushes for Transparency on Neighborhood Crime Stats

Spurred on by a Norwood News campaign, Councilman Fernando Cabrera introduced legislation this month that would force the New York City Police Department to publish neighborhood crime statistics each month.