The Bronx Ink

By Ethan Frogget, April Warren and Shlomo Sprung

By: Ethan Frogget and Umar Muhammad

BronxNet brought together the voices and music of Opera Steve, Sikedeezy & Steve Kang in “BX Marks the Spot,” an original Bronx anthem produced by Derek Woods and Michael Max Knobbe.

Opera Steve and Steve Kang sat down with the Bronx Ink to tell us what it took to create “BX Marks the Spot.”

Jack Lynch got a text message late Sunday night. Peter Regan saw the headlines Monday morning. Sharon Engeldrum took a phone call.

Nearly 10 years after 9/11, terror boss Osama Bin Laden – responsible for the deaths of so many Bronx loved ones – had been shot and killed by Navy SEALs.

For Lynch, who lost a son on 9/11, and Regan, who lost his father, and Engeldrum, whose 9/11 responder husband later died in Iraq, the news was a welcome but sobering shock.

“Justice has been served,” said Lynch, 75, still mourning son Michael, a firefighter. “They reached the kingpin – the founder of Al Qaeda.”

But the terror leader’s death won’t bring back Michael, a Throgs Neck kid who rushed to the World Trade Center with Engine 40 from the upper West Side, his father said.

“That was my first thought,” he said, sadly. “It changes nothing for me. The grief exists forever.”

Lynch called the raid of Bin Laden’s Pakistani compound a “terrific blow” struck for America.

“We’re in a war against terrorism and we have to win,” he said. “I knew America would get Bin Laden eventually. It sends an important message to the terrorists – don’t fool with America.”

But reading about the raid, Regan felt no relief – just a pang for his father, Donald, a veteran firefighter who rode to the twin towers with the Bronx’s Rescue 3.

Minus Bin Laden, the terrorist threat lives on, he said.

“There were so many reports over the years – he’s dead, he’s not dead,” said Regan, who became a firefighter himself in 2004. “I’m glad he’s gone. You want it to be over. But call me a cynic – I think the work’s not done.”

Engeldrum is proud of the soldiers who took down Bin Laden and said her husband, Army Sgt. Christian Engeldrum, would have been, too.

A firefighter and former National Guardsman from Throgs Neck who reenlisted after working at Ground Zero, he was killed in Iraq in 2004. [NYDailyNews]

Residents in Riverdale say that after Osama bin Laden’s death, they are worried a neighborhood synagogue may be a target again.

Four synagogues in the area were reportedly the target of a foiled terror plot.

Four men were accused of trying to blow up the Bronx synagogues and shoot down military planes at Stewart Air Base in 2009. Residents say after that scare, they are worried about facing retaliation from other terrorists.

Residents say security at large houses of worship should be increased. [News12]

Following the announcement of Osama bin Laden’s death, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) issued a top alert for the entire state of New York and officials say they didn’t waste any time today increasing security throughout the borough and the rest of the city.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said, “We certainly are not taking any chances. Our assumption is that bin Laden and his disciples would like nothing better than to avenge his death with another attack.”

The NYPD and MTA deployed more officers at subway stations as a precaution, including bomb-sniffing K-9s and counter-terrorism officers to conduct searches during the morning and evening commute. [News12]

A new zebra is earning her stripes at the Bronx Zoo.

The female grevy zebra named Terri was born earlier this year to her mom Tara and her dad Jimbo.

The happy family is part of the zoo’s African Plains exhibit.

Terri is the first zebra born at the zoo since 2003.

Grevy zebras, indigenous to northern Kenya, are endangered. [NY1]

By Umar Muhammed and Ethan Frogget

The Bronx building where a deadly fire broke out early yesterday had numerous complaints filed against it, including at least one for illegal subdivisions.

Investigators say Juan Lopez, 36, Christina Garcia, 43, and her son, Christian Garcia, 12, died after flames broke out in their apartment located at 2321 Prospect Avenue in Belmont.

The fire department is still investigating the cause, but says the fire doesn’t appear suspicious.

The Department of Buildings says complaints have been filed over the past few years for illegal conversions, a lack of secondary exits, and defective electrical wiring.

Con Edison says electricity to the building was cut off about a week ago.

“They were like furnished rooms. They had a couple of people. They shared kitchens, so I know they were pretty well stacked,” said Robert Cruz, a relative of one of the building’s residents. [NY1]