Friday News & Notes, 11/11/11, Veteran’s Day Edition

We took last week off, but we’re back today on Breaking Bronx with some freewheeling and random tidbits as we head into the weekend. — First of all, a very Happy Veteran’s Day to all of our brave men and women who have served or are currently serving overseas. — I want to take a minute to send a shout out to the vet I know best, ex-Marine Nicky Rosa, a tattoo enthusiast and beer aficionado who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and experienced some crazy, ah, stuff. (Full disclosure: he’s my lovely wife’s cousin.) Soon after coming home


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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.

More NW BX Violence: 4-year-old Boy Shot; Gunman Shoots Up Bronx Lebanon

The recent outbreak of violence in the northwest Bronx continues. A four-year-old boy was shot during a botched robbery attempt in University Heights on Tuesday night. Last night, two hospital workers were struck by bullets when a gunman opened fire at Bronx Lebanon Hospital in Mount Eden.

Breaking: Fire at Montefiore Medical Center (Updated)

Firefighters are currently responding to a two-alarm fire at Montefiore Hospital, on Gun Hill Road, near Bainbridge Avenue. Norwood News editor Alex Kratz is on the scene and says the blaze was small and started by a generator above emergency room. The emergency room and two intensive care rooms were evacuated. According to the hospital’s Twitter feed, no one was injured and the fire was contained immediately. We’ll have more information for you as it come in. Update: Employees returning to the building, as of 2:55 p.m.

Suspect Arrested in Grand Ave. Stabbing

Police have arrested a woman in connection with the murder of a 35-year-old man in an apartment building on Grand Avenue last week, according to the NYPD. Johanna Rivera, 26, of 2463 Grand Ave., was arrested and charged with second degree murder, police said. The victim, Gabriel Sherwood, was found lying in the lobby of 2460 Grand Ave. last Tuesday evening with multiple stab wounds to his torso. He was pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital shortly after. The killing was one of two to take place in the Fordham neighborhood last week. Days earlier, 59-year-old Bimal Chanda was beaten


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Searching for Answers in the Murder of Bimal Chanda

Last Thursday evening, as mourners began paying their respects to murder victim Bimal Chanda at the Parkchester Funeral Home, Chanda’s friends joined with community leaders and local elected officials outside of the building to publicly demand answers in his death.