Big Bands and Business Flair: JGHBID to Host 17th Annual Fall Festival

By ARIANA CIPRIANI

The Jerome Gun Hill Business Improvement District is gearing up for its 17th annual Fall Festival, slated for Saturday, Oct. 13. Join the BID for the annual event where Jerome Avenue between Mosholu Parkway and East Gun Hill Road is closed to traffic and full of people shopping, dancing, and celebrating the fall season. “The goal of the festival is twofold,” said Jennifer Tausig, the BID’s executive director. “We want to celebrate the neighborhood and say thank you to all the loyal local shoppers as well as attract new shoppers to the variety of quality goods and services offered in

By JOSEPH KONIG

“Right now, the Bronx is prime real estate. Prime, prime real estate.” Those are the words of Joseph Governali, a Norwood resident and realty investor who said he recently entered into contract to purchase four homes in Bedford Park. Governali and his Brooklyn-based partner, Emmanuel Marshall, are part of a larger movement of investors and developers buying up Bronx homes, and tearing them down to replace them with tall buildings, exploiting existing zoning laws. The section of Bedford Park–bordered by Grand Concourse, Mosholu Parkway, East 198th Street and Webster Avenue–saw 28 properties sold between January and August of 2018 (see

"Joker" Film Shoot Spotted in Bedford Park

By DAVID CRUZ

Bedford Park Boulevard has gone Hollywood, shooting the upcoming “Joker” film! An Instagram post by fromtheBronx, crediting TMZ, shows extras at the Bedford Park Boulevard B/D station awaiting a subway to pull in. Suddenly extras flee as a purple-suit clad Joker, played by Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix, emerges from subway, walking towards the film crew. View this post on Instagram The new Joker movie starting Joaquin Phoenix filming at the Bedford Park Boulevard station. The Bronx, USA. VIDEO: @tmz_tv via @splashnews . . . #regram #thebronx #bronx #fromthebronx #thebronxdoesitbetter #nycgo #seeyourcity #howibronx #nycneighborhoods #thebronxnyc #thebronxusa #thisisnewyorkcity #trueyorkcity

By JOSEPH KONIG

The Bronx Democrats held a judicial convention and an organizational meeting of the county committee on Sept. 20, nominating judges to the eight county Supreme Court positions and filling party committee positions. Hundreds of Democrats turned out to represent their communities at the gathering held at Eastwood Manor. Two Bronx Supreme Court judges, Robert Torres and Mary Ann Briganti, were re-elected to their posts as criminal term judges. Eddy McShan and Julio Rodriguez III, both acting criminal term judges, were nominated to compete for their positions. Four civil court judges — Ben Barbato, Llinet Rosado, Marsha Michael and Elizabeth Taylor —

For the Traveling Art Lover All Roads Lead to Fordham

By DAVID GREENE

The spinning wheels inside a young artist’s mind and the wheels from vintage wagons discovered across the Bronx, collided at the intersection of Fordham Road and the Grand Concourse, creating a unique work of art that will be on display until next spring. Welder and artist Colin Nicodemo, 44, of Cold Spring, N.Y., beamed with pride during the unveiling of his ten-foot high a hand-welded, circular shaped statue entitled, “All Roads Lead to Fordham”. Nicodemo was surrounded by family members and members of the Fordham Road Business Improvement District (BID), at the unveiling at the south side of the East

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By FERNANDO CABRERA

Not since Hurricane Katrina have we seen the U.S. government fail so miserably in addressing a domestic humanitarian crisis as it has in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. A full six months after Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, 2017, ravaging the island, our federal government continued dragging its feet in providing relief to rebuild Puerto Rico’s most basic infrastructure functioning and reliable electricity, healthcare, operational schools, bridges, roads and reliable communications. These aren’t luxuries; they are basic necessities for any community to jumpstart its own economy, generate and maintain jobs, and restore a sense of

Petitioners Gather Support for Elevator at Mosholu Train Station

By DAVID CRUZ

Ahead of the MTA Board meeting on Sept. 26, petitioners pushing for the installation of an elevator at the Mosholu Parkway No. 4 station stood outside the station just over a week before the meeting to collect signatures. The plan is to present the signatures at the meeting in downtown Manhattan. Jason Caraballo, a manager at Montefiore Health System’s Office of Community & Government Relations, broached the subject with straphangers during the evening rush. Caraballo teamed up with Frederic Klein, an employee at Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz’s office, and Kenny Agusto from Sen. Jamaal Bailey’s office. The petition gathering is part

A Career Change Later a Bedford Park Bakery Opens

By JOSEPH KONIG

Angel Espinal opened Confectionaires, a new bakery at 2961 Webster Ave. and Bedford Park Boulevard, on Aug. 11. For Espinal, the bakery — which serves up a wide-ranging menu of fresh baked pastries, cakes, breads and coffee — is a second career of sorts. After nine years in the personal training industry, Espinal found a new passion in the cake-making business. “What attracted me was the artistry of the pastries,” Espinal said. “I would go into the nice bakeries, Bouchon Bakery, Maison Kayser, Dominique Ansel. It was like they were selling art that you can eat. I always had a

Teen Talk The 52nd Precinct is inviting children ages 12 to 18 to share their concerns on bullying, gangs, drugs, and domestic violence/teen dating over free McDonalds burgers and fries at a date that’s to be determined. Anyone interested can call the precinct’s Community Affairs Unit and speak to Police Officer Crystal Reveron at (718) 220-5824 for more information and to reserve a spot. Resource Expo The Bronx Library Center, 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd., is hosting the annual Resource & Career Expo on Sept. 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Employers in the retail, manufacturing, security and law enforcement,