The Bronx Ink

New York flexes security muscle to foil 9/11 plot

Anti-terrorist security has been beefed up across New York, in an emphatic response to a possible car bombing on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. A New York Daily News report, based on “specific and credible” info, claims that the plot involves three veteran terrorists – one possibly with an American passport – approved by Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri. It also quotes investigators saying that names of all three were known, but they were too common to provide much direction.

After 9/11, Anthrax Day in the Bronx

Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will declare September 14 as Anthrax Day in the Bronx, The Bronx Times reports, when the band performs with heavy metal’s Big Four at Yankees Stadium on Wednesday night. Anthrax features three native Bronxites – Charlie Benante and Frank Bello from Throgs Neck, and Rob Caggiano from Pelham Parkway. But a Yahoo Music Blog points out that just four days later, on September 18, it will be the 10th anniversary of the anthrax attacks that killed five people in the days following 9/11.

She stuffed him in suitcase, stole his checks

Monique Exum, the woman who ‘buried’ her 73-year-old boyfriend in a suitcase, is now believed to have done it for the money. The New York Daily News reports that Exum, 36, stole Johnny Davis’ Social Security checks and bank funds for three months, till his packed corpse was discovered in Williamsbridge on Sunday.

Man found stabbed to death in Bronx home

A 44-year-old man’s body was discovered around Thursday afternoon, the New York Daily News reports, at his apartment on W. 167th St. in the Bronx. Police said the man, whose name was not immediately released, had multiple stab wounds. They were alerted by a woman who worked with the victim in a clothing business, after she did not hear from him in days.

‘Credible’ terror threat on 9/11 anniversary

There is a “specific, credible, but unconfirmed threat” of a possible al-Qaeda-sponsored attack in New York on or near the anniversary of 9/11, Bloomberg.com quoted a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesman as saying on Thursday. The statement said the attack could be vehicle-borne, possibly bigger than car or truck bombing at a transportation hub or bottleneck in the city.

School year starts with layoffs, cutbacks

As more than 1 million city students returned to school on Thursday, their parents and teachers worried over the cuts to public schools, School budgets have been slashed by more than 10% since 2007, says a New York Daily News report. That has translated to 2,600 fewer teachers for 10,000 more students expected to enroll this year. Principal Anna Hall, at the Bronx Academy of Letters, too has been forced to cut after-school programs and is short of even basic supplies.

Underground filmmaker George Kuchar dies at 69

Bronx-raised filmmaker George Kuchar died on Tuesday after a long battle with prostate cancer, the San Francisco Chronicle reported today. He was 69. Believed to have inspired the likes of Andy Warhol and John Waters, according to the Hollywood Reporter, George and his twin brother Mike made over 500 films that defined a unique genre of low-budget cinema. They moved out of the Bronx in 1971, when the deceased George accepted a teaching position at the San Francisco Art Institute.

Last of 4 Bronx bombing plotters gets 25 years

A New York court sentenced a Newburgh man to 25 years in prison on Wednesday, a Reuters report said, for plotting to bomb a Bronx synagogue and shoot down military planes. Haitian Laugerre Payen, 29, was the last of four men arrested in May 2009, in an operation that The Wall Street Journal says involved more than 100 law enforcement agents.

Flooding closes river parkways in the Bronx

The Bronx River parkway and one lane on the Saw Mill remained closed on Thursday, due to the heavy rain this week. A Patch.com report said the Bronx River Parkway is closed between Scarsdale Road and Desmond Avenue due to flooding. The Saw Mill River Parkway south of Exit 16 has one lane blocked due to a downed tree and flooding. Locals are advised to expect delays, and seek detours.