After the mayor banned cell phones in public schools five years ago, Bronx-native Vernon Alcoser, 41, decided to figure out how to tap into this new, niche market. So, he bought a truck, equipped it with safe places for kids to store their electronic devices, and called it Pure Loyalty.
Archive | December, 2011
Job scarcity leaves little room for second chances
Posted on 12 December 2011.
: A staggering 61 percent of ex-convicts are unemployed in New York City. They struggle with the stigma of time spent behind bars, battling against the resistance of employers to allow ex-offenders back into the workplace. Richard Hairston has spent one fifth of his life behind bars and one half of his life in and out of the criminal justice system. At a time when other young people his age were going to school and getting summer jobs, Hairston was selling drugs and worrying about court dates, visiting hours, and length of sentences. Now Hairston needs work, but will anyone have him?
Posted in The 12 Percent0 Comments
Woman fatally shot in Bronx nightclub — NBC News
Posted on 11 December 2011.
An unidentified gunman fatally shot a woman and injured another person at a Hunts Point nightclub in the Bronx early this morning, said a report from NBC News. Monique Rodriguez, 33, was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound in her head soon after gunshots were fired at 4 a.m. at Club Heat. […]
Posted in Newswire0 Comments
For jobless, volunteering becoming a popular way to stay active
Posted on 11 December 2011.
Nilka Martell, a single mother from Parkchester in the Bronx, lost her paralegal job last December. After a long, cold winter on benefits, she decided to start volunteering to fill her free time. In three months, she had turned the dirty sidewalk across the street from her apartment into a colorful flowerbed, transforming the entire block. Despite worsening unemployment figures, data from Volunteering In America shows that a growing number of New Yorkers are using their free time to volunteer.
Posted in The 12 Percent0 Comments
Looking to urban farming as a possible job-creator
Posted on 11 December 2011.
Joseph Ferdinand has been on disability for 10 years, following a career as an electrician on the city’s subways. For six of those years, he has been volunteering with the Mount Hope Housing Corporation doing housing advocacy work, until he learned about aquaponics — a burgeoning urban farming trend combining the growth of plants and fish. Now, with the help of four other volunteer friends, he’s working to develop his own aquaponics organization to bring fresh food, education and jobs to the community.
Posted in The 12 Percent0 Comments
A new digital divide? Tech volunteers say support, not access, is the problem
Posted on 10 December 2011.
The traditional internet-access digital divide is narrowing because of falling prices of small laptops and smartphones.
Posted in Bronx Neighborhoods, Culture, Northwest Bronx0 Comments
Twitter helps find missing autistic girl
Posted on 10 December 2011.
Janice Lewis, who went missing Tuesday afternoon, was found a little over 24 hours later with the help of social media.
Posted in Bronx Neighborhoods0 Comments
Bengali enclave grows in Norwood
Posted on 09 December 2011.
Norwood is becoming an attractive destination for Bangladeshi immigrants in New York City, with plans to build a new $2 million, four-story mosque in a few years.
Posted in Bronx Neighborhoods, North Central Bronx0 Comments