All Stories by Selamawit Gebrekidan

Moshe Piller: How a New York Landlord Works the System

After 18 months of rehabilitation for a broken hip, all that Eta Eckstein wanted was to go back home to her Brooklyn apartment. The 92-year-old Holocaust survivor had lived at 8750 Bay Parkway for 40 years, but when her son visited her apartment while she was still at the Shore View Rehabilitation Center, he found a red eviction notice on the door.

By Daniel Fastenberg | May 18, 2010 | Comments 0

Skillet-Wielding Man Shot by Police, Mother in Critical Condition

A Bronx man was shot dead by the police on Sunday night after four officers found him hammering his mother with a frying pan in his apartment.
The man, identified as Satnam Singh, 27, lived with his mother, Balbir Kaur, 54, on the second floor of the building at 3055 Third Ave. Just after 11 p.m. [...]

By Selamawit Gebrekidan | Feb 22, 2010 | Comments 0

Bronx Mosque Buys Home on Verge of Foreclosure

A fund-raising drive brought in money from the congregation, other mosques and Web sites.

By Selamawit Gebrekidan | Feb 12, 2010 | Comments 8

Highbridge Man Charged with Murder in Girlfriend’s Death

A woman’s death in the Bronx left neighbors and witnesses struggling for explanations.

By Selamawit Gebrekidan | Feb 04, 2010 | Comments 0

News Digest - September 9, 2010
Check out a story in conjunction with our sister site, The Brooklyn Ink, about a Bronx landlord.
Ian Thomson walks the Hall of Fame for the Bronx Ink today. Coming Soon.
The Bronx Ink’s Astrid Baez covers Bronx Week. Coming soon.
Police and family refuse to give up search for 75-year-old Throgg’s Neck landlord, Vincent Durso (NY Daily News).
The annual Fieldston Fashion Show showcased fashions made out of every material, except fabric. This is the seventh year the Fieldston School in Riverdale clebrates the showcase of color and flair (New York Times).
A Bronxite for more than 30 years, Inna Hecke Grade, widow and translator of legendary Yiddish novelist and poet Chaim Grade, has died at 85. Read her obituary at the New York Times.
Wildlife Conservation Society launches an online petition to stop budget cuts at Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium. Sign up here.
As Riverdale father becomes a bone marrow donor, he discovers he has leukemia and is now searching for his own donor (Riverdale Press).
Find out who will join the Grand Concourse Bronx Walk of Fame when Borough Pres. Ruben Diaz Jr. announces the inductees as part of Bronx Week (NY Daily News).
The rape trial of Lawrence Taylor, continues as the Giants star denies having slept with the Bronx teen prostitute (NY Daily News).
Bronx Science Girls and Boys Handball teams aim for double sweep of the Public Schools Athletic League (NY Daily News).
Bronx Week 2010 kick-starts tomorrow at 11 a.m. with Madison Avenue bridge centennial celebration and will last until May 23. Events are listed on BronxWeekEvents.com.
Parkchester, the East Bronx housing development, will celebrate its 70th birthday this Saturday at Metropolitan Oval. (NY Daily News)
Westchester Square Hospital will remain open after five-year financial plan was announced. The hospital filed for bankruptcy in 1997. (NY Daily News)
Robert Mitchell, 24, and Dexter Green, 20, were arrested and charged with murder, Police said, for their involvement in the fatal Mother’s Day shooting of two teens at a birthday party. Early Sunday morning Marvin Wiggins, 15, and Quanisha Wright, 16, were caught in deadly gunfire when men who allegedly were angry with another returned to the party and began shooting. Their intended target was not injured. (NY Post)
Two teens celebrating a birthday were shot and killed in a Weeks Avenue apartment building in Tremont, early Sunday morning. One of the dead has been identified as Marvin Wiggins, a student at James Monroe High School. Other names have not yet been released. (Daily News)
Missing Person: Caroline Ferreras, 16, has been reported missing since May 3. She is a resident of 624 Prospect Av, and was last seen wearing blue and pink jeans. She is described as 5′6 tall, around 135 lbs, with black hair, brown eyes, and a tattoo on her neck. If you have information, please contact the NYPD (800-577-TIPS).
A march will take place Saturday May 8, 2010, in Mott Haven, to honor victims of gun violence. (starts on Brook Av. between 139th & 149th St. — and finishes on Saint Ann’s Av. between 148th & 149th St.) (Daily News)
It was business as usual at the Yankees Clubhouse Store on 42nd Street this afternoon in spite of the bomb scare that led police to evacuate Times Square for approximately 90 minutes. A staffer at the store, who asked not to be named for fear of getting in trouble with management, said they remained open throughout the day and were visited by an average number of customers. As policemen shut down Broadway and Seventh Avenues from 44th to 47th Streets, workers at the store said they watched New York 1 for updates on the situation. They claimed not to have received any communications or instructions from the team. Employees said the two recent terrorism scares in the area haven’tmade them fearful since the neighborhood has been a terrorism target for a long time. Officials later determined that the “suspicious packages” responsible for the scare contained books and plastic water bottles.
Local leaders and volunteers planted baby greens at a new community farm in Hunts Point. (Daily News)
The historic High Bridge may soon join the High Line as one of the city’s newfangled elevated parklands. (Daily News)
A 16-year-old Bronx girl is at the center of a rape case involving ex-Giant’s linebacker Lawrence Taylor. (The New York Times)
Elias Peguero, an 18-year-old from the Bronx, was fatally shot in an Inwood bodega last night. A surveillance video caught the last moments of the teen’s life whose murder, police say, may have been motivated by a debt. (New York Daily News)
U-Haul truck originating from the Bronx briefly caused a bomb scare on Robert F. Kennedy Bridge last night. Authorities did not find anything dangerous in the abandoned vehicle and confirm that the event was not a terrorist attempt (The Associated Press)
Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas is being sued by former law school classmate, Janet Cohen. Cohen is accusing him of owing $500,000 in gambling debt she helped pay of to stave off loansharks. (New York Daily News)
Of all the boroughs, the Bronx has the highest arrest rate (88 arrests per 1,000 residents) and the lowest felony conviction rate (43 percent). (The Wall Street Journal)
At 1 p.m. on Monday, a 33-year-old man standing in the entryway to an apartment building in Mott Haven was shot multiple times. The shooter was wearing a black sweatshirt, a black stocking cap, and white shoes and appeared to be carrying a silver revolver, as seen in photos released by the police. The victim is in stable condition at Lincoln Hospital and the investigation is ongoing.
Stories of car chasers in Hunts Point (The New York Times)
Gisselle Rojas left her residence on Cypress Avenue in the South Bronx at 10 p.m. Sunday night. The 16-year-old hasn’t been seen since. Anyone with information is asked to call the police: 1-800-577-TIPS
The New York Botanical Gardens will be featuring Emily Dickinson’s poetry through June 13.
The Wildlife Conservation Society at The Bronx Zoo is asking for the public’s help in naming lion cub triplets. (NY Daily)
The search is on for a suspect wanted in connection with a robbery that occurred on Saturday, March 22, 2010 at the corner of Grand Concourse and East 187th Street. The suspect is described as a 28-year-old Hispanic male approximately 5 feet 10 inches, 170 pounds. He was seen wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and a dark colored baseball hat. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). (WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM )
A new playground will open tomorrow, Thursday, at 1794 East 172 Street. The playground was designed by P.S. 47 elementary school students and will serve more than 1,100 students and community members.
St. Barnabas Hospital, Bronx residents clash over security measures as employees and a doctors union locked in an ongoing battle with the hospital citing a 300 percent spike in assaults at the facility last year. (NY Daily)
Croton water facility creeps closer to completion. The plant scheduled to be up and running in 2012 is still behind schedule and is billions of dollars over budget. (Riverdale Press)
A disproportionate number of the homeless families in New York City shelters come from the Bronx. (Mott Haven Herald)
A man who has admitted to molesting over a dozen boys was freed by a Bronx jury last week when they decided he didn’t exhibit mental illness, despite the judge’s ruling that said he had a “mental disorder, pedophillia, and that he has serious difficulty controlling is unlawful conduct.” (Daily News)
A 2-year-old pit bull from the Bronx’s lawyer has managed to delay his death sentence for months now. The dog, who was was given the legal injection ruling after biting a father and child, has been on Death Row since January. His lawyer, who is working for free, is working on a plea deal. (Daily News)
A group of delegates from Hong Kong will visit Bronx High School of Science tomorrow, kicking off a week-and-a-half-long tour of American schools that will also make stops in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. (news.gov.hk)
Eastchester police have a warrant for the arrest of Michael Sowa, a 17-year-old Bronx resident, for an armed robbery that took place last week. Sowa, who is being held by the New York City Police Department on a gun charge, allegedly robbed a 21-year-old Eastchester man at gun point on Wednesday evening. (LoHud.com)

A Bronx man who purchased an all-access key from an MTA employee for $50 had it taken away from him by police and is now bemoaning his loss. The man primarily used the key to get free rides for himself, but also made money off it by selling entrances to the subway at discounted prices to others. (Daily News)
State Senate majority leader Pedro Espada left the set of Channel 2’s Eye of New York in anger before the end of the program after being asked about allegations that he lives in Westchester even though he represents the Bronx. The democrat is facing state and federal charges for stealing $14 million from the Soundview HealthCare Network. (1010 Wins)
Sustainable South Bronx founder Majora Carter plans to pump perfume into Sister Thomas Apartments, a Hunts Point low income building that typically smells of sewage plant and truck exhaust. The perfume, L’Eau Verte du Bronx du Sud, or “Green Water of the South Bronx,” has an essence of grass, rain and citrus, Carter told the Daily News.
AT&T filed a civil law suit against locksmith company, Dependable Locks, charging the company set up a national phone center in the Bronx and left over a year ago without paying the bill of $1.6 million. (New York Post)
Bronxite Mike Boga, 46, spent 40 minutes in the Eastchester Bay yesterday, after falling in when reaching for a seat cushion he had dropped. Chris Esposito, 44, and Paul Treanor, 58, rescued the man on boat. (New York Post)
The NYPD is seeking the public’s assistance in locating Wilfredo Rivas, 62, that went missing on April 21, 2010 at noon in the confines of the 40th precinct. Rivas, who suffers from Alzheimers disease, left his home at 674 E. 149th St, he is approximately 5′5″ tall and weights 150 lbs. If you have any information, please call Crime stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo along with US Attorney’s Office launched a criminal investigation against Pedro Espada. (YNN)
A new commanding officer, Captain Kevin Nicholson, will head the 49th precinct. (The Bronx Times)
Teen driver gets 18-month sentence for killing his 12-year-old neighbor in a car crash. (Daily News)
10 staffers with ties to Senator Pedro Espada Jr.’ Bronx health clinic have been subpoenaed. (Daily News)
Mount Carmel Senior Center received a $15,000 grant from senator Jeff Klein for healthier meals. (The Bronx Times)
High levels of lead were found under Jerome Park sports fields. (Daily News)
“You lend it, you mend it,” said tenants in 10 Bronx buildings with more than 900 open violations. Residents filed a lawsuit blaming Wells Fargo for reckless lending that led to years of deterioration. (City Limits)
IRS and FBI raided embattled politician Pedro Espada Jr.’s medical clinic in the Bronx this morning. Espada Jr. is accused of using the clinic to siphon off over $14 million. (Daily News)
Pedro Espada Jr. denied allegations of corruption on Tuesday night, criticizing Attorney General Anthony Cuomo’s “steamroller approach.” (Albany Times Union)
Two Bronx men face federal charges in Putnam County bank heist. Carl Farrington and Karreim Barrow were each charged with aggravated bank robbery and using, carrying or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence (Mid Hudson News)
As the state Department of Transportation is replacing every barrier in the state in a plan scheduled to conclude by 2015, legislators question the DOT spending of more than $33 million on the project, saying it is wasteful. (News Channel 13)
More scandal at the Bronx marriage license bureau as Carmen Baez, daughter of former city Councilwoman Maria Baez, is fired after campaigning for her mother while on “sick leave”. The Daily News reports.
New York Senator Pedro Espada Jr. accused of milking his Bronx non-profit for $14 million. (New York Times)
The Bronx’s first domestic abuse outreach center opens on 161st Street (NY-1)
Tiki Barber ditches Bronx Zoo fund-raiser amidst marriage scandal. (Daily News)
Bronx Democrats are positioning themselves for this fall’s primary election. State Senator Pedro Espada will face a challenge and former borough president Adolfo Carrion could be tapped for lieutenant governor. (Read more)
Ink reporters are following the story of Jonathan Torres, an 18 year-old student at St. Raymond High School for Boys who was shot and killed last Friday. What do you know? E-mail us at thebronxink@gmail.com.
Two Bronx bus routes slated to get the axe under updated MTA plans: the BxM4a to Bedford Park and the BxM7B to City Island, the New York post reports today. Click here to see the MTA’s proposal.
Bronx police detective says her boss sent her ‘Twilight” text messages (Daily News).
State Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr. reportedly tied to a company being investigated by federal prosecutors. (Boogie Downer rounds up some links).
The Bronx Ink is rolling on a chilly, sunny Monday morning. It should not get much hotter this week.
Police report one man dead, one injured in early evening shooting in Eastchester area of The Bronx
“Bronx Throwdown” event set for next Friday (Boogie Downer)
Sen. Klein continues his crusade against graffiti. Full story to follow on Bronx Ink.
Bronx group says Medicaid patients get inferior health care (NY Daily News)
Mott Haven’s money isn’t in banks (Mott Haven Herald)
Villaverde to challenge Jose Rivera (Bronx News Network)
The Fordham Road Business Improvement District will host and organize business and community events next month to promote going green in the Bronx.
Mallorie Ayala, 16, was last seen leaving her home on Lacombe Ave in the Bronx on April 10. At 5′3″, 95 lbs, she was last seen wearing a blue denim jacket and turquoise jeans. She has a pierced nose and a necklace that says “DADDY’S LITTLE GIRL”. Call 800-577-TIPS with any information.
New York City cuts Section 8 housing. The Bronx Ink’s Alice Speri finds out how it will affect Bronxites. Coming soon.
Small businesses in the Bronx call for increased protection against exploitative landlords. The Bronx Ink’s Lynsey Chutel find out more. Coming soon.
New species of herring found in the Bronx River, hope for the polluted channel (NY Daily News)
Riverdale man accused of shooting an arrow that struck a Yonkers woman in the stomach last year pleads guilty to assault. (The Riverdale Press)
Riverdale’s State Sen. Eric Schneiderman announces he will run for NY attorney general this November (The Riverdale Press)
New York magazine ranks the city’s best neighborhoods to live in. The highest in the Bronx is Riverdale, coming in 38th. Belmont (44th), Co-Op City (45th), Bedford Park (48th) and Parkchester (49th) score higher than Harlem (50th). (New York)
New running track in Macombs Dam park fuels dreams of young competitors. (NY Times)
It’s Opening Day at Yankee Stadium. Bronx Ink reporters Dan Lieberman, Jennifer Brookland, Michael Ratliff and Alec Johnson are covering the annual event.
New citywide anti-graffiti law kicks in; aims at reducing delays before cleaning. (NY Daily News)
Elia (15) and Genesis (16) Rodriguez are reported missing. They were last seen at their home on 1609 East 174 St. on Friday April 9 around 5 a.m. Both sisters are five feet eight inches tall, with brown eyes and curly black hair.
They are of thin build and in good mental and physical condition. Genesis was last seen wearing a white sweater, a blue tee-shirt, blue jeans, black sneakers and carried a green bookbag. The NYPD requests that anyone with information call Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
Lorrell Waddell, 64, was last seen on Monday April 12 around 2:45 p.m. at his home located at 801 Co-Op City Blvd. He is five feet eight inches tall, 170 lbs, with salt and pepper hair. Anyone with information call Crime Stoppers Hotline (NYPD) at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
Police officer Carlos Hernandez was arrested in the confines of the 48 Pct for leaving the scene of an accident. (NYPD)
Research finds half of the labels on prescriptions in the Bronx that have been translated for non-English speaking customers contain serious mistakes. (Reuters)
A Bronx teenager who was stabbed and beaten with a baseball bat outside his high school is suing the New York City school system. He claims the school security guard blocked his only escape route. (Bronx News Network)
A Bronx drug bust yielded $1 million worth of heroin yesterday in Parkchester. Investigators seized seven kilos of heroin that had been cut and placed in 50,000 baggies that sell for $20 each. According to the city Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor four people were arrested in the raid. Stamps for branding the drugs with names such as “Body Bag,” “Maserati,” and “Heat Wave.” (NY Post)
A building housing three public schools in Hunts Point was evacuated Wednesday morning over concerns about carbon monoxide.(NBC New York)
The former assistant manager at the Tribute WTC Visitor Center, Emmanuel Reyes, 25, was indicted on 72 counts, including grand larceny and falsifying business records. Reyes pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to stealing thousands of dollars from the charity. (NY Daily News)
The tenants of 2710 Bainbridge Ave. have a new landlord, and tenants, while skeptical, are seeing their complaints addressed. (The Bronx Ink)
Several Bronx parents support a plan to put schools in the old Kingsbridge Armory. (Daily News)
Are Bronx politicians abusing their parking placards? (The BoogieDowner)
A would-be bank robber was arrested in the act on Tuesday afternoon after he tried to stick up the Bank of America at 700 Allerton Ave.
U-Haul was wrong. The Bronx is not “America’s fastest growing city.” (The Bronx Ink)
A Mount Hope Man has been jailed for running a dog fighting ring out of his basement. Alexander Estephane, 45, was sentenced last month to four years in prison and ordered to pay a $15,000 fine. (Mount Hope Monitor)
Robert Salerno, the Bronx cop who was shot March 22 in a gunfight has been released from the hospital. He is likely to spend the next two months in a White Plains physical-rehabilitation center. (Bronx News Network)
In Bronx County 47 percent of residents have returned Census forms by mail. New York State participation rate is 54 percent and nationally the current rate is 60 percent. (U.S. Census)
Six Bronx neighborhoods are reportedly below the national average of participation for the 2010 Census. Castle Hill, Hunts Point, Morrisania, West Farms, Wakefield and Williamsbridge were named as areas that are failing to return Census forms. (Carribbean Life News)
Elsa Chen, 57, an unlicensed cosmetologist is accused of killing a Bronx woman after injecting silicone into her buttocks and thighs, last year. Fiordaliza Pichardo, 43, died on March 17, 2009, the day after Chen carried out the illegal procedure in Pichardo’s Bruckner home. Chen is charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. (NY Post)
On Monday, more than 100 community board members joined Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. to protest Mayor Bloomberg’s cuts to community board budgets. (Bronx News)
Dancers from Performers Edge Dance Academy in Throggs Neck out performed 25 schools and 500 dancers in a Connecticut competition to win first, second and third places. (The Bronx Times)
Fare beaters are flocking to the Bx12 despite an MTA crackdown that can result in a $100 fine for not buying a ticket. (Daily News)
Carlos Cruz sentenced to life with no chance of parole for the 2008 contract killing of Chelsea Frasier. (T&G)
The Bronx police officer that was shot three times on March 22nd, and whose shooter was then killed by another police officer, was released today from the hospital. (WABC-TV)
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and local leaders to protest proposed community board budget cuts at Bronx Country Courthouse. Check back this afternoon for the story.
The latest jobs numbers have been released. Read the story here.
Police arrested Joseph Roman, 23, for a 2008 murder in the Bronx. The fugitive was arrested in Las Vegas and returned to New York today.
Morrisania housing project’s name sparks curiosity. Read more on The New York Times City Room blog.
Governor Paterson joins census push in The Bronx. Watch him on NY1.
A 77-year old is rescued by police from his submerged truck on the flooded Bronx River Parkway, LoHud.com reports.
In a South Bronx housing project, affordable housing goes green. Read more in The Economist.
Police are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Dajah Jones, 18. She has been missing since Friday, March 26. She is believed to be in good physical, but poor mental condition and has black hair, brown eyes and a crescent moon and star tattoo on her right arm. She was last wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and red and black sneakers. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-8477 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (800) 577-8477 end_of_the_skype_highlighting. (NYPD)
Seasonal exhibits at the Bronx Zoo will open April 3. The Congo Gorilla Forrest, Butterfly Garden, and Children’s Zoo will re-open. (Zoo and Aquarium Visitor)
A former office manager at a Bronx rabbinical school is suing the school because she says she was discriminated against for not keeping kosher. Lauren Rudd claims in a lawsuit that she was not allowed to use the Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School’s microwave “because it was kosher and she was not.” (NY Post)

The MTA announced that the northbound platform of the Parkchester No. 6 train station will be partially closed for repairs beginning April 10 and lasting for three months. (Daily News)
On Saturday night, police responded to a 911 call of a 9-month-old who wasn’t breathing at Mott Haven apartment. The baby was taken to Lincoln Hospital where she was pronounced dead. A police investigation into the death in ongoing. Ink reporter Eno Alfred is covering the story.
Today at noon, State Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr. and Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo attended the groundbreaking ceremony for The Rev. Dr. Fletcher Crawford Housing development at Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church. Bronx Ink reporter Sunil Joshi was there. His full report is coming soon.
Con Edison earned approval from the Public Service Commission to raise its rates 12 percent over the next three years. Increases will begin taking effect next month. Con Edison estimates the rate hikes will add about $10 to the average household’s monthly bill over the next two years. The rate hike is expected to bring Con Edison approximately $420 million in additional revenue. (Gothamist)
Ruth Daako, 53, has been reported missing as of yesterday. She was last seen wearing blue jeans, black glasses. She is 5 feet 2 inches tall, 130 lbs with brown eyes and black hair. The NYPD requests that anyone with information call Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
On Wednesday, Bronx prosecutors charged man for a 30-year unsolved murder using previously unavailable DNA evidence. Yasmine Guerda reports.
A media examiner has determined that the Bronx man who shot a police officer on Monday, was killed by the police. The officer remains in stable condition. (New York Times)
The Bx18 bus, which runs from Tremont to Morris Heights might be saved from MTA cuts. Still on the chopping block is the Bx14 which gets 200 riders a day. The MTA is cutting $8million less than expected. (Epoch Times)
A Bronx man was killed in a motorcycle accident Wednesday afternoon. Raymond Pena, 21, died after crashing his 2006 Suzuki motorcycle into a fence near Meagher Avenue. (NYPD)
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. named members of new Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment task force. The 12-member panel will be co-chaired by himself and includes members from the business world, trade unions and community activists. (Daily News)
March 25th marks the 20th anniversary of the Happy Land fire at Southern Boulevard and Crotona Parkway. Set by a jilted ex-boyfriend at a social club, this tragedy left 87 people dead. (Tremont Tribune)
The Bronx police officer that was shot three times on March 22nd, and whose shooter was then killed by another police officer, is now in stable condition. (AP)
Residents and elected officials gathered at public hearing to voice their concerns to MTA board members. They were protesting against the MTA’s proposal of drastic service cuts and fare changes to cover its nearly $400 million budget shortfall. (Tremont Tribune)
The 4-year-old boy struck on March 23rd at W 230th St./Broadway intersection is now “in stable condition” (Daily News)
Kareem Campbell, 13, has been missing since Friday March, 19. He was last seen at his 4120 Hutchinson River Parkway home wearing a blue coat, blue jeans and white sneakers. He is 6′1″, 175 lbs. The NYPD requests that anyone with information call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS

Sentencing for Carlos Cruz, charged with first-degree murder last spring, has been postponed until April 5th. His lawyer, Patrick Bruno, had surgery for a heart attack over the weekend. Cruz was convicted last April after admitting to paying his cousin $700 to kill Chelsea M. Frazier, the mother of his now 3-year-old son. (News Telegram)
Police are searching for a man who reportedly brought out a gun and bit a cab driver in the neck five times at the end of his ride in an attempted robbery. (New York Post)
A Bronx preschooler is in critical condition at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia this morning after a cab hit a pole holding a pedestrian crossing sign, which fell on top of the boy. Joshua Delarosa, 4, was standing with his mother, waiting to cross at the intersection of W 230th Street and Broadway when the pole hit him. The cab driver blamed a Department of Environmental Protection truck, but neither driver is being charged. (Daily News)
Bronx resident Santo Silva, 57, has been arrested for shooting his neighbor David Morales. Silva, who is at Lincoln hospital being treated for chest pains, has yet to be formally charged. (Daily News)
A police officer was shot shortly after noon today in the South Bronx. He was reportedly shot two or three times and is at Lincoln Hospital. His condition has not been released. A suspect in the shooting is barricaded inside 3073 Park Avenue near Morris Avenue where the shooting took place. (New York Times) BronxInk reporter Alec Johnson is following the story.
Montefiore Medical Center has opened a pancreas transplant center in the Bronx to treat patients with severe end-stage diabetes. (Nurse.com)
A Bronx dad, David Morales, 30, was shot dead Sunday morning after complaining about a noisy neighbor (Daily News)
Orlando Salgado, 26, a Bronx father of two was stabbed to death while trying to break up a fight between teens, Friday night(Daily News)
The city medical examiner’s office said the 22-month-old toddler killed in Bronx, Saturday, was beaten to death. Ramel Green, 23, has been charged with second degree murder. (New York Times)
Landlord, Mark Benun was sentenced to 51 months in prison for $6 million mortgage fraud scheme in Highbridge, Bronx (The Real Deal Online)
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. attended the dedication of The Osborne Association’s “Green Career Center” at 809 Westchester Ave., Bronx.
Ground Zero rescue and clean-up workers obtained from the city $657.5 million compensation over damage to their health. (New York Times)
The Grand Concourse district, a historic landmark? Bronx Ink reporter Astrid Baez attended a meeting between preservationists and residents at the Bronx Museum of Art. Coming soon on the Bronx Ink !
The Bronx is getting ready for it’s 12th Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. (Daily News)
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.
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)
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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.
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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)
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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)

All Stories by Selamawit Gebrekidan

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Skillet-Wielding Man Shot by Police, Mother in Critical Condition

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Highbridge Man Charged with Murder in Girlfriend’s Death

Characters of softball, the real Bronx pastime

Bronx Week to Offer Glimpse of a Greener Future

Video-A Sunday in the life of a storefront church

VIDEO – The Bronx Celebrates Holy Week, the Indian Way