The Bronx Ink

A 16th officer was arrested Thursday night as a part of the long-running grand jury investigation into the widespread ticket-fixing practice for family, friends, and colleagues.  The New York Times reported that according to knowledgeable sources, it was expected that 15 police officers will surrender by Friday morning to face criminal charges in the Bronx.

From November 1 to 13, the Bronx will host its first ever Restaurant Week, reports Gothamist.  Savor the Bronx promotes many of the borough’s best restaurants on Arthur Avenue and elsewhere and highlights the various types of cuisines.  Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said, “The Bronx is your oyster!”

Due to crowding issues, Public School/Middle School 194 has recently been forced to bus students to “overflow sites,” schools that can handle its overflow.  NY Daily News reports that 20 years after a successful fight for a new school in Westchester Square so children would not have to be shuttled outside of the area, families once again have many concerns.

Over 160 years ago, Edgar Allan Poe lived in a tiny, country poor man’s house in what today is the Bronx.  The New York Times reports that the famous poet’s cottage in the Fordham neighborhood is receiving finishing half-million dollar renovations and this month has opened to students.  October marks the month of the poet’s mysterious death and ends with Halloween.

According to project developer Signature Urban Properties, a proposed $350 million mixed-use, affordable-housing development in the West Farms and Crotona Park East sections of the Bronx has made great progress.  Crain’s New York Business reports that by next year, ground is expected to be broken for the mix-used development targeted to create an estimated 412 jobs in the area.

In late September, several residents of Villa Charlotte Brontë cooperative in the Bronx awaited permission to return home after Tropical Storm Irene caused a landslide at their building.  The wait continues. NY Times reports there is concern about the stability of the foundation of two of the buildings overlooking the Hudson River.

Since 1863, the sprawling Woodlawn Cemetery has seen jazz greats, literary giants, political leaders and everyone in between entombed above and beneath its hallowed grounds. On Sunday, Oct. 16, the cemetery was inducted into the National Historic Landmark Registry. It is the sixth Bronx institution to make the list, Norwood News reported.

“From every racial background, the Woodlawn Cemetery represents the largest and most distinguished register of mausoleums in the country,” said John Liu, the New York City Comptroller.

The ceremony joined together Woodlawn Cemetery President John P. Toale, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., State Senator Jeffrey Klein, Bronx Historian Lloyd Ultan, Lehman College President Ricardo Fernandez, and many others who assisted in distinguishing the cemetery as a National Landmark.

Bronx Senator Gustavo Rivera marked National Food Day on Monday by sharing with students in Fordham that eating better helped him lose weight, NY1 reported.

Rivera, who weighed 299 pounds in June, has since lost 16 pounds.

He weighed himself during an event at the Academy of Mount St. Ursula.

Rivera began his dieting when the borough started its CAN Health Initiative, teaching residents everyday tricks to stay fit.

“I’m already eating smaller portions, I’m already making sure I drink more water than anything else, and the bottom line is, these are things that I can maintain,” said Rivera.