All Stories by Leslie Minora

Two Strangers and a Shot in the Dark

Is he the murderer or a second victim? Or both?

By Leslie Minora | Dec 15, 2009 | Comments 1

Fresh as a Daisy

Daisy McFadden of Williamsbridge makes 99 look easy.

By Leslie Minora | Dec 12, 2009 | Comments 2

Scholarships for Teens When They Need Them Most

Long-time community activist Alonzo de Castro hosted his annual scholarship banquet for Williamsbridge youth.

By Leslie Minora | Nov 22, 2009 | Comments 2

Dr. Juice and His Holy Fruits

It took a love of juice bordering on obsession to open Holy Fruits, a new Bronx juice bar.

By Leslie Minora | Nov 09, 2009 | Comments 2

Bloomberg Parties On

The contest was much closer than expected, but the mayor still had his celebration — and four more years

By Leslie Minora | Nov 04, 2009 | Comments 0

Day Care Cuts Create Overcrowded Kindergartens

Record numbers of 5-year-olds crowd public school classrooms after day care kindergarten cuts.

By Leslie Minora | Nov 01, 2009 | Comments 2

News Digest - March 11, 2010
- The New York City Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating the following missing person from the 46th precinct: Ronald Zacchi, 66-years-old, who lives in 1387 Randall Avenue, is 5′5″ tall, 150 lbs, has grey hair and blue eyes, and was last seen wearing a black jacket, blue jeans, black sneakers. If you know anything that might help locate Zacchi, please call the police at 1 800 577-8477.
- Bronx Borough President announced the creation of a Kingsbridge Armory Task Force to discuss the future of the armory. (The Riverdale Press)
- A 47-year-old woman was found stabbed in her Morris Heights apartment, on University Avenue. (VillageVoice)
- Mark Boal, who won the 2010 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for “The Hurt Locker”, is a Bronx High School of Science alumnus. (Daily News)
- The Fifth Bronx College Fair will take place on March 19th, for all college and high school students. Guest speakers will be Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson and New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. For more information, visit nyscollegefairday.com.
- Twenty-seven suspects were arrested on drug charges and a large amount of drugs was seized by the Bronx Narcotics Police in the Pelham Parkway Houses. (Daily News)
- A bill unveiled by Senator José M. Serrano —whose district includes Melrose, Mott Haven, Morris Heights and Highbridge— aims to make it easier for taxpayers to see how lawmakers spend public funds. (Bronx News Network).
- Mark your calendars! The Bronx Pride week will start on Saturday May 15th and end May 23rd. More info on Ilovethebronx.com
- Congressman José E. Serrano, from 16th District of New York in the Bronx, called for an end to the war in Afghanistan. “We cannot tolerate the presence of terrorists seeking to harm our nation anywhere in the world,” he said. “But we must ask ourselves if long term occupations are the correct answer to this threat.” (YouTube)
- Four Bronx teenagers have been charged with criminal possession of a weapon and could face a year in jail, because they hit an off-duty cop with a snowball in February. They are preparing a $10 million lawsuit against the city. (Daily News)
- Bronx Ink reporters Sarah Butrymowicz and Alec Johnson are following the story of Keon Nedd, 17, who was killed in a car accident a few blocks from his home at 1 a.m. Monday morning. Police are still looking for the driver who fled the scene on foot.
- Two men involved in a dogfighting ring were found guilty of felony charges in a Bronx court . Both men face up to four years in prison. (Daily News)
- The 17-year-old boy who was killed after being struck by a green 1996 Honda Accord early this morning has been identified as Keon Nedd. Police are looking for the driver who fled the White Plains Road accident.
- The United Nations celebrates International Women’s Day. (UN.org)
- Police are searching for the driver of a 1996 Green Honda Accord that struck a 17-year-old on White Plains Road and Seward Avenue and fled on foot, early this morning. If you have a tip, call the police at 800-577-TIPS.
- A Bronx man was arrested Sunday for stabbing and killing a man who tried to break up a fight at a bar on Saturday morning. (Daily News)
- Family Court judges struggle with decision to send youth to state-run juvenile prisons after December report exposed mistreatment at the facilities. (NY Times)
- City Councilwoman Annabel Palma, housing advocates and low-income residents with HIV and AIDS discuss their opposition to proposed state budget cuts to the HIV/AIDS Services Administration at 9:45 a.m. on City Hall steps.
- Parishioners of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Church in Highbridge gathered for Sunday service in a gym next to the church after it was damaged by a fire on Friday. (NY 1)
- The demolition of the old Yankee stadium started last Saturday. (Daily News)
- More than a third of U.S.’s 1.4 million Puerto Ricans need a new birth certificate by July 1 – (State Senator Pedro Espada’s twitter feed)
- Cablevision broadcasts again ABC Disney’s channel 7 after a feud between the cable company and ABC prevented Bronx residents from watching the beginning of the Academy Awards ceremony. (NY 1)
- “The Orchid Show: Cuba in Flower” exhibition on view at the New York Botanical Garden through April 11th.
- Scarsdale doctor, whose body was pulled from Eastchester Bay in the Bronx three days after she went missing, will be buried today. (Lohud.com)
- Portable device that might zap migraine pain was developed in Montefiore Headache Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. (CBS News)
- Bronx students protested MTA’s proposal to discontinue student MetroCards. (Daily News)
- Peter Kauffmann, the communications director for Gov. David Paterson has quit his job, saying “I cannot in good conscience continue in my current position.” (CBS6)
- Rev. Al Sharpton called an emergency meeting with black elected officials tonight at Sylvia’s in Harlem to discuss the Gov. David Paterson Scandal and Rep. Charlie Rangel.(AP)
- Job seekers can meet potential employers when the Keep America Working tour kicks off at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Hutchinson Metro Center. The Bronx Chamber of Commerce expects a high turnout as many companies will be hiring directly at the event.
- Police are looking for Tiana Hargrove, 10, who was last seen at her school, P.S. 277 yesterday afternoon. If you have a tip, call the police at 800-577-TIPS
- Governor David A. Paterson violated ethics rules when he accepted Yankees world series tickets, an ethics panel ruled today. The five tickets, worth a total of $2,125, were received free of charge. (NY Times)
- Bronx has the city’s highest number of residents without bank accounts; in some neighborhoods it’s above 50 percent. A new city initiative encourages them to set up accounts by withholding bank fees for two years. (NY Daily News)
- Rep. Charles Rangel temporarily steps down from his chairmanship of a powerful House committee while an ethics panel investigates two of his recent Caribbean trips paid for by corporate sponsors. (NY Times)
- Follow the Bronx Ink on Twitter.
- The MTA will be hosting a public hearing tomorrow in the Bronx on possible service cuts and fare changes to the city’s subway and bus lines. The agency has proposed cutting student metrocards. (Bronx News Network)
- A man was killed moving into an apartment in the Bronx after he backed into an elevator shaft while carrying a mattress. (NY 1)
- The annual Bronx state of the borough address has been rescheduled for Friday at 11:30 at Evander Childs High School.
- Sherr-una Booker, 40, a mother of two teenagers and a cancer survivor, was the alleged victim of repeated domestic abuse by a senior aide to the governor at her Baychester apartment. Booker dropped the charges after a phone call with the governor, an incident the state attorney general is now investigating. (NY Post)
- Police discovered a 36-year-old man dead in his Morrisania apartment last night while responding to a burglary call. The investigation is in progress.
- Trees, power lines downed under weight of snow (Riverdale Press)
- Governor David Paterson will not seek re-election following allegations he and the state police attempted to protect a top aide from domestic violence charges. (NY Times)
- Snow Update: “All public high, middle and elementary schools are closed in the Bronx until further notice,” says Bronx Director’s office at NYC Department of Education.
- Snow Update: NYPD 50th Precinct says traffic is normal today on and around Gouverneur Avenue; several streets were blocked yesterday afternoon after an oak fell across Van Cortlandt Park South, smashing two cars.
- Snow Update: MTA “cold weather plan” has been launched. High delays expected on 2, 3, 4, 5, A, E, Z, F, G, and N trains. Very high delays expected on Bronx-bound 4 trains due to signal problems. Straphangers should expect several trains to run local “in various sections in the routes”, says MTA. Buses will be running as well, but delays are also to be expected. Check with MTA for service updates.
- Bronx neighborhoods top list of households with no bank or credit union accounts, according to NYC Department of Consumer Affairs report.
- Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. plans for the future of the Bronx (NY Daily News)
- New York City public schools closed because of snow (NY Daily News)
- Jeter says Bronx is where he wants to be (NY Post)
- Fallen tree on Van Cortlandt Park South crushes car and blocks traffic (Riverdale Press)
- Bronx Ink reporter Shreeya Sinha is at the Bronx Courthouse covering the sentencing of Dominick Labruzzi, a Department of Correction captain accused of sexually abusing inmates. Check back for her story today.
- Thousands of misdemeanor cases may be thrown out after the merger of Bronx Criminal and Supreme courts was found to be unconstitutional, The Daily News reports.
- A New York woman was sentenced to up to three years in jail for lying about being raped by a Bronx man who already served four years for a crime he never committed. The New York Post has the story.
- Follow The Bronx Ink on Twitter.
- Convicted of a misdemeanor in the Bronx since the borough’s Supreme and Criminal courts merged in 2004? You could be off Scott free unless the Bronx District Attorney’s office wins an appeal of a judge’s decision yesterday.
- A police officer based in NYPD’s Morrisania precinct was branded a “rat” after reporting allegations of phony traffic tickets and evidence tampering to the Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau, according to the Daily News. The paper reported a mouse trap with the officer’s name on it was found in the 42nd Precinct station.
- The mother beaten with a frying pan, is still in critical condition, but stable as of Tuesday afternoon according to a spokeswoman at Lincoln Hospital.
- A Bronx Supreme court judge has overturned the conviction against landlord, Cesar Rios because she says the evidence wasn’t sufficient enough to convict.
- Ink reporter Jennifer Brookland is out at the Bronx Supreme Court covering the trial of Cesar Rios, who was convicted with the negligent homicide of two NYC firefighters. Rios may be acquitted because a juror admitted she tried to e-mail and Facebook a witness. More to come…
- The Bronx Zoo is trying to save the Kihansi spray toads, whose natural habitat was destroyed when a river in Tanzania was dammed (NY Times)
- University Behavioral Associates, a subsidiary of Montefiore Medical Center, has received $5 million for training for home health aides in the Bronx. (NY Daily News)
- The skillet-wielding man shot to death Sunday night because he was beating his mother with a frying pan is bipolar, according to police. (NY Daily News)
- Mother beaten with skillet is now in stable condition tonight , police said. (Full Story)
- Ink Reporter Selam Gebrekidan is following the police shooting of a skillet-wielding man police say had a history of emotional problems. His mother is now in critical condition at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center. More soon…
- One dead and three shot in Sunday morning standoff in Mott Haven (NY Daily News)
- Man beating his mother with skillet is fatally shot by police Sunday night (NY Times)
- City cancels charter school’s move to the Bronx after board members questioned (NY Daily News)
- Woman falls from 5th-floor apartment after clinging to air conditioner to escape fire Saturday night (NY Daily News)
- Embattled City-Councilman Larry Seabrook won’t resign his office. (Bronx News)
- A Bronx man is going to prison for 10 years for running a drug ring in Vermont. (Brattleboro Reformer)
- Mariano Rivera’s baseball card says that he’s 40 years old. It also says that he’s still very good. (Yankees.com)
- Former President Bill Clinton addressed a packed house in Co-op City on Wednesday night. (Bronx Ink)
- The Bronx ranks as least healthy place to live in New York State, a study by the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found. (NY Daily)
- A well-crafted press conference featuring State Sen. Pedro Espada, a Bronx Democrat, nearly was upended by opponents representing tenant rights groups. (WNYC)
- St. Stephen’s church prayers for renovation funds are answered. The 111-year-old church in Marble Hill is getting a long-awaited exterior makeover. (Riverdale Press)
- A scheduling conflict at the Yankee Stadium: Yankee finance lawyer Jonathan Ballan booked the stadium for his son’s bar mitzvah on Jun. 5, the same day the stadium was reported to hold a boxing event. (NY Times)
- A 29-year-old Bronx man was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Burlington court for running a Vermont drug ring. (Reformer)
- Bronx man convicted of kidnapping Harding resident will be released from state prison because he did not get a speedy trial. (NJ Local News)
- Ink Reporter Sam Fellman tells the story of a harrowing escape from a fire in a Bronx apartment building. (Bronx Ink)
- Several Bronx residents are learning the trade of climbing trees. (NY Times)
- Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. visited a youth center in Crotona. (Bronx News Network)
- Wings Academy is the Bronx Borough high school basketball champion. (NY Post)
- President Bill Clinton to headline Black History Month celebration tonight in Co-op City. (Bronx Ink)
- Eight people were treated for injuries at Jacobi Medical Center and released; one other person remains hospitalized in fair condition, a hospital spokesperson said.
- Firefighters got a call at 2:13 p.m. yesterday afternoon about the fire at 795 Pelham Parkway North. 60 firefighters and 12 trucks responded, officials said.
- Yesterday’s fire in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx was apparently caused by a child playing with matches, fire department officials said. More soon…
- Winter weather advisory in effect until 6 p.m. tonight. 2 to 5 inches of snow expected for the Bronx (Weather.com)
- Fire in Pelham Parkway section leaves 12 injured, including 3 firefighters and five children. (Examiner.com)
- Now that Valentine’s Day is over, flower shops around the Bronx take stock, and gauge the economy. Rainflorist owner Karl Makris says he’s pleasantly surprised the day after. (Bronx Ink)
- As the Yankees count down to spring training, a little piece of the Bronx shakes off winter. Alec Johnson will report back from the neighborhood around Yankee Stadium soon.
- Bronx Borough President Appoints New Economic Czar (NY Daily News)
- Trying to save the Morris Park Boxing Club (New York Times)
- For Valentine’s Day watch “Romantic Bronx” and “After 64 Years I Love You Still.” (Bronx Ink)
- The BBC is looking for Bronx parents to host British teens for a new reality show. (New York Post)
- The Hunts Point High School’s sustainability initiatives are gaining additional community support. (The Hunts Point Express)
- The Bronx Muslim Center in Fordham is in a building facing foreclosure. Despite raising $400,000 through donations, its future is uncertain. (Bronx Ink)
- Learn more about John D’Adomo, the new top cop in the 52nd Precinct. Neighborhood leaders and coworkers laud his leadership ability, energy and positivity. (Norwood News)
- The Bronx Democratic Party endorsed Kirsten Gillibrand in her effort to win re-election to the U.S. Senate. Gillibrand could face a primary challenge from former Tennessee congressman Harold Ford Jr. (Daily News)
- Why has it taken more than a year to rebuild a staircase on 176th St.? (BoogieDowner)
- The City’s new Fresh Retail Expansion to Support Health program is funneling millions of dollars into two new supermarket developments. The Western Beef on Park Ave. will be expanded and the Foodtown on 204th St., which burned down in December, will be rebuilt (NY Times)
- On March 13, Bronx-resident Joshua Clottey will fight Manny Pacquiao, who is widely viewed as the top boxer in the world, at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. Promoters expect 40,000 people to attend the fight. It will be televised on pay-per-view and on HBO. Clottey trains at John’s Gym, on Westchester Ave. (YourNabe)
- Bronx Councilman Pleads Not Guilty Of $177 Bagel Fraud (Gothamist)
- Bronx is no place for my feathered friends, says flock caretaker seeking safe home for chickens (NY Daily News)
- The New York City Industrial Development Agency approved millions in tax and real estate benefits Tuesday for the development of two new supermarkets in the Bronx — one near Tremont Avenue and one in Norwood (NY Times)
- The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for Bronx county beginning at 10 p.m. tonight to 6 a.m. Thursday. Heavy, wet snow and winds with gusts up to 40 mph are predicted. The Bronx Ink staff will follow the storm and the community’s response. (Bronx Ink)
- Rosa Nuñez, the Bronx mother who saved her three children from a burning building and then ran back inside to help her husband and neighbors, remains in serious condition at the Jacobi Medical Center. (Bronx Ink)
- A 15-year-old girl was shot in stomach last night around 8:45 p.m. outside a building at Walton Ave. and East 177th St. in the Mount Hope section of the Bronx. The name has not been released. She is in serious but stable condition at St. Barnabas Hospital. No arrests have been made. (The Bronx Times)
- The Department of Education has already canceled school for New York City children tomorrow in anticipation of a whopper of a storm. (Daily News)
- Three-term City Councilman Larry B. Seabrook, Bronx, is facing a 13-count indictment accusing him charges including money laundering, fraud and conspiracy. He is expected to turn himself in to authorities today. (NY Times)
- The Bronx Borough Board is hearing public comments on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed budget. Sam Fellman is reporting that Bronx libraries may face mid year cuts of $5.9 million and 5 out of 9 libraries may be closed on Sundays. More to come. (Bronx Ink)
- The Stella D’oro baking headquarters on West 237th St. is closing its doors after 78 years of breadstick making with a public auction sale of equipment. Dan Lieberman is following the auction and will report back later. (Bronx Ink).
- The family of a Soundview woman who died in October following a visit to the dentist has filed a wrongful death suit in the Bronx Supreme Court. (Daily News)
- Former State Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr. (D-Bronx), who admitted in 2006 to funneling $200,000 in pork barrel funds to a Bronx nonprofit wants to withdraw his guilty plea because he believes he got bad advice from a free lawyer. (NY Post)
- A pack of about three dozen chickens are running the streets of Highbridge. Leftover from an abandoned chicken coop, they are fending for themselves. (Daily News)
- The Church of the Savior, Co-op City, hosted a charity concert to raise money for Haiti at the Dreiser Loop Community Center on Saturday Feb. 6. TransJazz and Ron Anthony performed for a crowd of about 100 community members who gathered in support of the disaster stricken island nation. (Bronx Ink)
- Two stops on the 6 train will be closed for the next seven months. Free rides on the Bx4 bus will replace the train at the Morrison Avenue-Soundview and Whitlock Avenue stations. (Daily News)
- A man died after being “shot numerous times” in the lobby of 1234 Union Avenue at 4:27 a.m. Saturday morning, police said. The victim’s name has not been released.
- After 27 years of fighting in a Bronx court, two sisters won part of their father’s inheritance. The loser: their own brother. (Daily News)
- A Bronx mother was in serious condition yesterday after she rushed her three children out of a burning building, then ran back inside to help her husband and neighbors. (NY Post)
- Retired officers say NYPD data was sometimes fudged. (NY Times)
- Follow us on Twitter @BronxInk
- Angel Cortes, who was reported missing earlier this week, has returned home, his wife said. (Bronx Ink)
- Gavin Murray, a 22-year-old Bronx resident, was convicted of second-degree murder on Wednesday. (Bronx Ink)
- Bronx Psychiatric Hospital said it didn’t realize employee was a registered sex offender until a 22-year-old male patient accused the worker of assault. (Daily News)
- Legendary bakery Stella d’Oro is closing its doors after 45 years of operation. There will be a public auction of all equipment on February 9th, including the original breadstick line and 200 ft ovens used to make biscotti.
- Wakefield, an embattled north Bronx neighborhood, is being considered as the site for a city-sponsored homeless shelter. (Daily News)
- Police in the 46th Precinct are looking for a missing 14-year-old boy. Michael Dorsey was last seen on Tuesday boarding a Bronx-bound 6 Train.
- Mayor Bloomberg and Sen. Klein introduced new legislation about carrying guns while intoxicated. (Bronx Ink)
- Bronx resident Edwin Marrero entrusted fellow Marine Mike Torres with his family photo album 40 years ago. Torres’ family has been trying to return them ever since. (NY Times)
- A Barack Obama look-alike claims he was punched in the face by a police officer in Morris Park. (Bronx News)
- Four doctors from the Montefiore Medical Center recently returned from Haiti. Watch them tell their story. (ABC 7)
- The Army Corps of Engineers is planning to restore a marsh in Soundview Park. (Talk Bronx NY)
- Bronx high school students, angry about the elimination of student discounts, protested outside of Metropolitan Transit Authority headquarters. (Riverdale Press)
Bronx Tales
VIDEO – History of the South Bronx in pictures at Bronx Museum
Images by photographer Lisa Kahane on display through March 1. (Photo: Ian Thomson/The Bronx Ink)
Yankees Bring World Series Trophy to a 75-year-old Fan
A 75-year-old Yankees fan had her dream come true after seeing the World Series trophy.

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VIDEO – Celebrating the Newest Country in the World

Hundreds gathered at an event in Eastchester, Bronx on Saturday, February 13 to celebrate Kosovo's second year of independence.

VIDEO – A Mosque’s Call to Prayer

A mosque in the Bronx will once again seek a sound permit to amplify the Muslim call to prayer.

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