A Bronx NYPD captain was caught on video destroying a candle-lit memorial, the type of which we are all too familiar with in The Bronx when someone passes away.
The incident took place during Sunday’s Dominican Day Parade according to the Daily News.
Captain Melendez of the 46th Precinct, known by other officers as Captain America, has a history of controversy surrounding him as it is was reported that back in 2006 he faced accusations of ordering other officers to falsify vandalism reports regarding a patrol car with a missing side-view mirror as per the Daily News.
“He got a call from the Chief of Department’s office telling him to clean up that mess. And now everyone is coming down on him on social media,” the source said.
The video sparked a wave of criticism on Facebook and Twitter.
“Damn, couldn’t he go about it in a different way? If this guy doesn’t have enough discernment to realize that’s a memorial of the dead and destroying it could obviously create backlash, he shouldn’t be in the position he’s in,” wrote one Facebook user, Ebony Mosheh. “And this goes for all of law enforcement. SMH!”
One Twitter user, @solaunicadeyna, wrote, “Disgusting behavior by Capt Melendez – why are cops so disrespectful but yet want empathy! This is not how you build relationships with your community.”
Whatever the circumstances behind this it is NOT ok to just kick and destroy a memorial dedicated to a deceased individual.
During weekdays there will be a total of 22 ferry trips departing from Soundview as well as 22 trips arriving at the terminal.
The first trip begins at 6:30AM and gets you to East 90th Street in just 18 minutes by 6:48AM, East 34th Street in 33 minutes and arrives at Wall Street Pier 11 45 minutes after departure by 7:15AM.
Currently a trip from Soundview takes well over an hour to get to Wall Street as you have to take a bus to the 6 local train then switch to an express to get you to Wall Street.
In a few weeks you’ll be cruising from The Bronx to Wall Street in style
This will provide much needed relief to commuters especially given the fact that our subway system is collapsing around us.
But we MUST take this opportunity that this should be a first step in expanding such ferry services throughout The Bronx
We even suggested that the West Bronx gets ferry landings from Riverdale down to Yankee Stadium which would truly be good deal for hundreds of thousands of Bronxites trying to commute around the city.
Now that the Soundview Ferry will begin in two weeks, NYC EDC and our elected officials should really look into getting direct ferry service into Astoria and down the Queens coastline and into Brooklyn.
One of the biggest flaws of our subway system is that they’re Manhattancentric despite the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers that work in the outer boroughs.
Creating such a ferry route that skips Manhattan altogether is not simply good planning but a necessity.
That being said, can’t wait to take the first trip!
Check out the schedule here and we’ll see on the ferry!
After years of waiting, The Bronx’s four new Metro North Stations that are coming to Co-op City, Parkchester, Morris Park, and Hunts Point have taken a step closer to becoming a reality.
But we need YOU our residents and community stakeholders to be involved in the process to ensure that residents benefit from these new stations that will provide unprecedented access to the region and employment centers for thousands of Bronxites.
As you know and we have reported in the past, The Bronx has the highest rate of reverse commuting in the entire nation which is defined as commuting in the opposite direction of a city’s core and instead traveling into the suburbs.
That being the case, these four stations which will provide access to not just Penn Station but also to Eastern Westchester County and Connecticut will be a boon for residents who currently would have to take buses or drive.
Here’s the full information on the next steps from the MTA:
On July 31st, 2018, the Bronx Metro-North Station Area Study officially launched, with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr, the NYC Economic Development Corporation, the NYC Department of Transportation, and the Department of City Planning convening a Working Group of elected officials, community institutions, area stakeholders, among others, to start the conversation on planning around this exciting investment in regional transportation in the Bronx. See our one-pager for more information and read the press release
What is the Bronx Metro-North Station Area Study?
Metro-North service is coming to the east Bronx following the completion of the Penn Station Access project and related work. Four new Metro-North stations will be located at Hunts Point, Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park, and Co-Op City. Thoughtful, holistic planning around each of the stations is critical to ensuring these stations are integrated into the fabric of the neighborhoods they will serve and will mean the difference between merely establishing new service and ensuring the service is a transformative and positive force in the lives of Bronx residents and their economy.
Artist rendering of Hunts Point Metro North Station
The Bronx Metro-North Study (BMNS) will look closely at each of the station areas to ensure maximum benefits accrue to the borough as a result of this unprecedented investment in transportation infrastructure and new service. BMNS will lead to short-term and long-term recommendations and improvements around the proposed stations, including safety and access improvements such as crosswalks, sidewalks, and wayfinding elements; better coordination with existing and planned subway and bus service. BMNS will also evaluate land uses and economic development opportunities at Morris Park and Parkchester/Van Nest.
Close coordination among the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the Department of City Planning (DCP), the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC), and the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) —together with the Bronx Borough President’s Office and other key city agencies and stakeholders — will be critical to ensuring the stations are thoughtfully integrated into the fabric of the neighborhoods they will serve.
History
In 2017, New York State committed nearly $695 million in its 2015–2019 capital budget to make the new stations and new Metro-North transit service in the East Bronx.
To prepare for these new stations, in 2014, after a three-year planning process, the Department of City Planning released a milestone report — Sustainable Communities in the Bronx — on regional rail and transit connections in the borough. That report included recommendations on numerous improvements to existing Metro-North stations throughout the Bronx. Work around those existing stations continues and promises improvements to the commuting experience of Bronx residents, providing a comfortable, fast, and convenient connection to major job and cultural centers not currently available to Bronx residents.
In addition to improvements around existing stations, the report also identified the need for greater planning around four stations planned for the East Bronx: Co-Op City, Morris Park Ave, Parkchester/Van Nest, and Hunts Point. BMNS will act as the next phase of the Sustainable Communities study.
Overview of the Study Area
Distributed along the existing Northeast Corridor rail line — which today also carries Amtrak trains and freight— the stations will be located at Co-Op City, Morris Park, Parkchester/Van Nest, and Hunts Point. The planning work help ensure that the stations themselves are as integrated into the surrounding neighborhood fabric as possible.
BMNS will look at transportation issues around all four stations, including:
Collaborating with Metro-North around station-level design.
Developing strategies to address pedestrian access and safety needs to enhance access to the stations.
For Parkchester/Van Nest and Morris Park, BMNS will also look more deeply at land use and economic development issues, to include:
Refining recommendations on levels of growth and uses in opportunity areas to include zoning districts.
Understanding market needs and opportunities around each station area for residential, commercial, and institutional growth.
Understanding opportunities for economic development and job growth to support existing development and meet borough and city-wide needs, especially in the medical services and life sciences research fields.
Identifying infrastructure investments (sewers and drainage, transportation, broadband, schools, e.g.) needed to support station area growth and redevelopment.
Artist rendering of Parkchester/Van Nest Metro North Station
Schedule and Process
Over the course of 2018-19, the Department of City Planning, the NYC Economic Development Corporation, and the NYC Department of Transportation, in partnership with the MTA, will embark on a comprehensive study of the Morris Park, Parkchester/Van Nest, Hunts Point and Co-Op City station areas. DCP, EDC, DOT. The study team will be co-chaired by the Bronx Borough President and will convene a Working Group to oversee the study, create a driving vision, guide public outreach, help convene area stakeholders and residents, and shape priorities and recommendations for each station-area. Public planning events will be offered around each station to ensure local input into station-area plans
Feedback and Questions
For questions related to the Bronx Metro-North Station Area Study, or to join the study mailing list to keep apprised of public events and communications, please email BMNS@planning.nyc.gov or call (718) 220-8500.
You probably know, especially if you’ve read our list of Bronx Facts, that the Piccirilli brothers of the South Bronx carved some of the most iconic sculptures we take for granted like Patience and Fortitude, the lions standing guard at the New York Public Library or even the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in DC.
But the mark that these six Italian brothers from Tuscany, Italy left is far greater than that.
Our friends over at 6sqft have a wonderful post on the history of the Piccirilli brothers and the legacy they left behind.
The Piccirilli Brothers, 1930 via the National Italian American Foundation
All six brothers – Attilio, Ferrucio, Furio, Getulio, Masaniello, and Orazio – were born in Massa, Tuscany, near the renowned marble quarries of Carrara, where their father, Giuseppe, was a master carver. Giuseppe taught his trade to all six sons, and Attilio and Furio continued their studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. Fortuitously, the Piccirillis arrived in New York at the dawn of the City Beautiful Movement (1890 – 1920), a model of city planning that sought to engender moral and social uplift through inspiring civic architecture. The movement’s monuments were wrought in the classical carving style the Piccirillis had perfected.
Albert Ten Eyck, a former sculpture curator at the Met, explained, “with the arrival of the Piccirillis, it became unnecessary for American sculptors to go to Italy to have their sculpture translated into marble. It became unnecessary, in fact, for a sculptor to know anything about stone cutting, and some were quite content to model in clay, and have all their stonework done by the Piccirillis.”
And indeed it did appear to become unnecessary as they left their mark across our great city and nation giving us an identity in stone for the ages.
The odious bigot that is Councilman Diaz Sr has been found to have broken New York City Council ethics rules for misuse of city resources.
The charges stem from his use of emails for his ridiculous “What You Should Know” newsletter.
Like an insolent child, Diaz Sr claims he didn’t do anything wrong because he did it for 16 years in the New York State Senate.
We’ll guess what Ruben?
Just because you’ve been doing something for years doesn’t mean it was ok and furthermore you’re now in City Council which doesn’t have the same rules as the state senate.
“I did that in the Senate for 16 years, never in the Senate I had problems, and now they are telling me you cannot use it. I will continue to use it,” he said of his official email address. “I never use it for political reasons, never use it to ask for money, never use it to ask to endorse someone.”
According to the New York Post, Diaz Sr said he was offered a deal to avoid punishment but he refused because he insists he did nothing wrong.
The City Council Ethics Committee will now reconvene to determine a resolution on the issue which may include an undetermined punishment.
Last month Lesandro “Junior” Guzman Feliz’s life ended shortly after being killed by a gang in Belmont.
The outcry from the family and residents has been so tremendous that even Governor Cuomo has funded millions to help curtail gang activity in The Bronx.
Now in Junior’s honor, a street will be renamed after him
And its not just inside your apartment that you can’t smoke within 25 feet of a NYCHA building (read: more ways for the NYPD to fine low-income residents).
But many residents are not happy.
In theory it’s a great idea because you might be helping people kick the habit or reduce risk of exposure of second hand smoke to others but we know how these things often play out.
There are residents who now feel this is just another rule that will be used to kick them out of their homes.
This rule isn’t coming from NYCHA but it’s coming from the federal government so blame Washington for creeping into your private lives.
The rule came into existence under the Obama administration in December 2016.
The following is an op-ed by Kris Sandor, Citi Bike General Manager:
Bronx residents have been asking for Citi Bike since the day the system first appeared in New York City back in 2013. Today, we can celebrate that the borough’s first blue bikes are finally on their way.
The dockless version of Citi Bike will roll out across a wide swath of the Bronx in the next few weeks—bounded by West Fordham Road, Southern Boulevard, the Cross Bronx Expressway and University Avenue, as part of a dockless pilot program taking place across New York City.
These bikes are a little different: instead of docking at a station, they can be parked anywhere that’s convenient, safe, and out of the way. These new bikes can be located, locked and unlocked using the Citi Bike app, which controls a lock on the rear wheel.
But what does this pilot program mean for you, as someone who lives or works here in the Bronx?
First, it means increased access—not just here in the Bronx, but all across the city:
Dockless Citi Bikes will complement MetroNorth, the subway and buses in Central Bronx, making it easier than ever to get around the neighborhood. And remember: a Citi Bike membership purchased here in the Bronx can also be used at any of the 750 stations across Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn to pick up any one of our 12,000 docked bikes using the same Citi Bike app. Already a Citi Bike member? You have automatic access to these new dockless bikes.
Image Courtesy of Citi Bike
If you’re downtown for work, just hop on a Citi Bike and get to your train, office, dinner date or gym in minutes. When you get back to the Bronx, our dockless bikes will be waiting for you here for a quick ride home. Looking to explore a new neighborhood? Use your membership to enjoy a spin through Brooklyn Heights, Astoria, or along the Hudson River Greenway. Have a downtown friend who already has a membership? Take them for a ride to your favorite spot on Arthur Avenue or a visit to the Bronx Zoo.
And the best part? You’re unbeholden to fixed routes or schedules — you can explore the city at your leisure.
Second, the system is available and affordable for everyone.
As Citi Bike arrives in the Bronx, our most important mission is to ensure that everyone here feels ownership of the system. This new dockless program is for all of us. That’s why we partnered with the de Blasio administration and Healthfirst to create a new program allowing SNAP recipients to get a Citi Bike membership for just $5 per month, with no annual commitment. That’s less than $0.25 a day.
While residents of NYCHA housing have long had access to this $5/month program, it no longer comes with an obligatory year-long commitment; you can try it for a month or two, see how it fits into your life and your budget, and choose whether or not to continue.
To apply for this discount, all you need to do is visit the Citi Bike website at citibikenyc.com/SNAP and enter your EBT card number or NYCHA tenant ID.
Third, thanks to your Citi Bike membership, you’ll be supporting good, skilled green jobs for New Yorkers.
We are proud to be a strong partner with the Transport Workers Union in bringing New Yorkers good, respected, union jobs. More than 480 proud New Yorkers now work for Citi Bike, building a growing “green collar” workforce focused on environmentally-sustainable industries, with jobs that include benefits, professional training, and opportunities for advancement.
If you’re interested in working for Citi Bike, visit the website here to fill out an application!
Citi Bike is as New York as the Grand Concourse, New York Botanical Garden or Arthur Avenue. We look forward to working with everyone who lives and works here to make it an integral part of your experience of the city.
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Stay tuned as we keep you posted to the official launch date of Citi Bikes in The Bronx!
Clarice White-Gathers, 75, suffers from heart failure and now finds herself homeless and sleeping on a friend’s couch thanks to the slumlords who run her building.
For years they’ve neglected to repair leaky pipes which have been wreaking havoc on her apartment’s ceilings until recently when they collapsed forcing the city to declare the apartment uninhabitable.
Meanwhile the scum (yes, we’re not mincing words because slumlords are the scum of the earth) are living large in a $3 million mansion on Long Island’s ritzy North Shore with dozens of luxury cars parked in their driveways according to an article in the New York Post.
“This is the worst, worst it has ever been,” Clarice White-Gathers said of her 159th Street apartment. “I feel like I’m abandoned, I’m homeless. Why isn’t there someone to help?”
For years, a leaky pipe has been turning the ceiling of her first-floor one-bedroom unit to mush. Then, a little over a week ago, everything came crashing down.
First it was the bathroom ceiling on July 22, leaving a gaping hole above her shower. Then the living-room ceiling gave way Wednesday, crashing down on a Post reporter’s shoulder just inches from her head.
Now a gash along the ceiling exposes floor joists that White-Gathers says have mold. And her doctor at New York–Presbyterian Hospital says the mold is worsening the obstructive pulmonary disease that’s struck her lungs.
No one should ever have to live like this and landlords should lose their properties if they can’t maintain them.
Jacobi Hospital’s drinking water supply has tested positive for legionella bacteria which causes the potentially fatal Legionnaires’ disease.
This was discovered during a routine required testing.
NYC Health & Hospitals released the following statement:
“As part of our aggressive water monitoring program, our routine, required testing of our potable water supply found very low levels of Legionella bacteria at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi. Per guidance from the New York State Department of Health, which regulates hospitals, we have taken steps to prevent any impact on our patients, staff, or visitors. Safety is always our highest priority.”
According to the department, no patients are reported to have the disease and that risk to patients, staff and visitors is minimal with zero risk to the neighborhood.
But how can we trust that considering the South Bronx outbreak several years ago which left dozens dead in New York City’s largest outbreak of Legionnaires’?
NYC Department of Health and the rest of the city’s administration insisted back then it wasn’t in the water supply but instead blamed water cooling towers.
Meanwhile it was eventually found in the water supply at several locations where residents became ill and even some died.
Experts agree that legionella is almost always transmitted via drinking supply and not water cooling towers.
Meanwhile 2017 was a record breaking year for legionnaires cases in NYC.
We will continue to monitor the situation and as always we’ll report any changes.
Like every racist who gets caught in the act, Bronx Montefiore white supremacist doctor Dov Bechhofer is “remorseful” for his remarks he made.
Cry me a river.
Make no mistake despite his apologies: The Doctor Bechhofer who wrote those hateful remarks calling for a white ethnostate and expulsion of people of color and Muslims from our country IS the real Bechhofer.
In a statement to the Associated Press, he said, “I am ashamed of the hurtful, unjustifiable words that I posted online that showed callous disregard toward certain minority groups and am deeply sorry for these transgressions,” he wrote. “The posts do not reflect how I was raised or how I actually treat others. I will continue to struggle to understand what brought me to write them.”
Really now? Pathetic.
There’s no struggling for him to understand anything. He’s a disgusting racist who has no place in our borough let alone as a medical provider where lives are at stake.
This is a man who supports violence to achieve the goals of a white ethnostate.
He should lose his medical license and not be allowed to practice ever again.
This is the ONLY reason Bechhofer is actually remorseful. Not because of the racist remarks he has made but because he was caught and now has everything to lose.
We’re assuming that now that he admitted this that he will be fired from Montefiore.
Meanwhile, Greg Johnson, a prominent white nationalist who is the editor in chief of Counter Currents said Bechhofer did nothing wrong except apologizing for his views.
Johnson writes:
Dov Bechholfer is going to lose a great deal because of this doxx. That’s why the enemy does this. Apologizing won’t change that. He needs to accept his fate. Then he needs to do the right thing, which is to fight. Because if more people fight and win, fewer people will have to face doxxing in the future. Dr. Bechhofer is going to go through hell. But if he does the right thing, he will help create a world where others do not suffer the same fate. And he will make himself into a hero in the process.
Beyond that, Dr. Bechhofer needs to recognize that not only will apologizing increase rather than decrease the negative effects of this doxx, it is also bad for his soul. Because he is lying. He didn’t change his whole worldview overnight. That is simply not possible. There are some things that we can control, and some things that we can’t. Dr. Bechhofer cannot control all the negative consequences that are in store for him, although he can mitigate them if he does the right thing. But there is one thing that he can control fully: his own moral stature. He has chosen to sully himself with a lie. He has abandoned truth in the vain attempt to regain social respectability. He needs to return to the truth and defend it. That way, no matter what happens to him, he can take solace in the fact that he preserved his moral worth.
This is America folks and if anyone doesn’t belong here it’s these vile, disgusting, poor excuse for humans.
Currently a trip from Soundview takes well over an hour to get to Wall Street as you have to take a bus to the 6 local train then switch to an express to get you to Wall Street.
Earlier this year we 
That being the case, these four stations which will provide access to not just Penn Station but also to Eastern Westchester County and Connecticut will be a boon for residents who currently would have to take buses or drive.
In addition to improvements around existing stations, the report also identified the need for greater planning around four stations planned for the East Bronx: Co-Op City, Morris Park Ave, Parkchester/Van Nest, and Hunts Point. BMNS will act as the next phase of the Sustainable Communities study.
There are residents who now feel this is just another rule that will be used to kick them out of their homes.
