Parents, Activists Organize Walk to Save MS 80 This Afternoon

A group of parents and local activists will be holding a walk this afternoon to save MS 80, the school on Mosholu Parkway that has already lost its principal after it was designated for the Department of Education’s turnaround program. Under the turnaround program, the school would undergo a complete facelift, which would include hiring a completely new staff (although up to 50 percent of the current staff could be rehired) and taking on a new name.

Bronx Links, Monday

Obviously slow day on the blog today as we begin production on this week’s print edition of the Norwood News. In the meantime, here’s a rundown of the latest Bronx stories making the news.

Legal Services NYC-Bronx To Open Community Office at the Hub

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

Funeral Arrangements Set For Bronx Teacher Justin Bravo

Arrangements for the funeral of late Bronx teacher Justin Bravo, who died in a motorcycle crash on Mosholue Parkway Wednesday morning, were posted in our comments section earlier today. Here’s a link to the obituary page, on the website of Johnstons’ Funeral Home, where visitation will be happening.

Motorcyclist Killed on Mosholu Parkway Was ‘Favorite’ Bronx Middle School Teacher

Justin Bravo, who was killed while riding his motorcycle on Mosholu Parkway in Norwood yesterday morning, was a seventh and eighth-grade social studies teacher at MS 244 in Kingsbridge, the Norwood News has learned.

Envisioning a New Bronx Side of the Harlem River

A view of the Harlem River from University Heights. (Photo by Adi Talwar)

Last week, the Harlem River Working Group and Bronx Council for Environmental Quality kicked off a series of three “community visioning meetings” at Hostos Community College. The idea is to brainstorm new ideas and re-affirm old ideas for usage of the borough’s west coast and come up with a visioning document that will help shape future development. Anyone interested is invited to attend.

It’s Budget Time: City Council Rallies for Restorations, While State Lawmakers Strike a Deal

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

Former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, who has spent the past three years working for the Obama administration, is taking a job in the private sector with CSA Group, which bills itself as the “largest architectural, engineering, environmental services, consulting, and construction and program management company in the United States.”