SAT scores at RKA drop for second consecutive year

By MIAWLING LAM

Seniors at the Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy scored an overall average of 1,333 on the 2012 Scholastic Aptitude Test, more than 160 points shy of the national mean.

New figures released on Tuesday by the College Board, the company that administers the SAT, shows H.S. 141’s composite scores took a 34-point dive in 2012.

The school’s 113 test-takers averaged a score of 438 on critical reading, 455 on mathematics and 440 on writing, meaning it was ranked 64th among more than 470 city high schools.

Average scores for RKA seniors on the college entrance exam have plummeted by 91 points in the past two years. In 2011, students averaged 1,367 on the three sections of the test. In 2010, the composite score was 1,424.

Despite the poor performance, H.S. 141 emerged as the fifth-best high school in The Bronx and the third-best in District 10.

The borough’s two flagship specialized high schools—Bronx High School of Science and High School of American Studies—came out on top, followed by Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics and Collegiate Institute for Math and Science.

Henry Hudson Bridge to lose cash tolls by November

By MIAWLING LAM

The Henry Hudson Bridge will become entirely cashless within two months, the Riverdale Review has learned.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority revealed it would push ahead with plans to implement all-electronic tolling and remove all means of cash collection by mid-November.

The MTA’s plan, which was obtained by the Review, was unveiled during a closed private meeting on Thursday, September 20.

Under cashless operations, all tolls will be levied via E-ZPass, meaning motorists will be able to zip through any open lane on the Bronx-Manhattan bridge without stopping.

Those who drive through the toll plaza without an E-ZPass will be identified by license plate images and will receive a statement in the mail. Drivers who pay the $2.20 toll within 30 days of receiving the bill will not be penalized.

However, customers who fail to cough up funds will be sent a second invoice and be slapped with a $5 fine. The penalty then rises to $50 if motorists fail to pay within 30 days of receiving the second bill. Recalcitrant drivers who still refuse to pay the toll and fine could then face civil action.

According to sources, the MTA will work with motor vehicle departments across the country and match license plates with vehicle registration records to track down out-of-state drivers.

A similar cashless system in effect for several years in Sydney, Australia, is serving as a model in the current initiative.

This week's Riverdale Review and Bronx Press

Here are the stories in this week's issue (September 27 -October 3) of the Riverdale Review and Bronx Press.

* SAT scores at RKA drop for second consecutive year > Seniors at the Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy scored an overall average of 1,333 on the 2012 Scholastic Aptitude Test, more than 160 points shy of the national mean. New figures released on Tuesday by the College Board, the company that administers the SAT, shows H.S. 141's composite scores took a 34-point dive in 2012. The school's 113 test-takers averaged a score of 438 on critical reading, 455 on mathematics and 440 on writing, meaning it was ranked 64th among more than 470 city high schools.

Tulfan Terrace is projected to be completed by March 2013,
nine years after construction began

* Tulfan Terrace apartment project, long delayed, is back on track > Thirty luxury units at Tulfan Terrace, the long-awaited apartment building on Oxford Avenue, may finally hit the real estate market in April next year. A representative from Ox-3620 LLC said the high-rise condo tower remains on track to be completed by March 2013-nine years after construction began. Scaffolding and black safety mesh surrounding the building's facade were torn down earlier this month, revealing a curved wall of windows.
* Boston-based Jewish congregation buys Fieldston Road spy house > A congregation with roots in Chernobyl is planting itself in the shadow of Riverdale's Russian embassy complex. The Talner Congregation Beth Davis relocated to Riverdale from the Boston area last year and purchased 5437 Fieldston Road, the site of a nondescript white house reputed to be an intelligence-gathering venue rather than a residence.
* Co-op board reverses error on canine house rules > A dispute between shareholders and a co-op board over canine guests at 3720 Independence Avenue appears to be resolving after nearly six years. The co-op's board of directors threatened shareholders Rita and Murray Hyman with eviction and terminated their proprietary lease, claiming the couple had breached a house rule about harboring pets. But the fight has concluded, according to board president Bob Moll, who said the case against the Hymans has been dropped and that their proprietary lease would be reinstated shortly.
* Henry Hudson Bridge to lose cash tolls by November > The Henry Hudson Bridge will become entirely cashless within two months, the Riverdale Review has learned. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority revealed it would push ahead with plans to implement all-electronic tolling and remove all means of cash collection by mid-November. The MTA's plan, which was obtained by the Review, was unveiled during a closed private meeting on Thursday, September 20.
* Drivers fight Independence Avenue parking ticket bungle > Local motorists are challenging a series of $60 parking tickets following claims that traffic enforcement officers are unfairly penalizing drivers for parking in front of Riverdale Jewish Center. Department of Transportation crews recently repaved the stretch of Independence Avenue between West 232nd and West 239th streets. However, in the course of putting down new road striping, workers erroneously painted additional lines outside 3700 Independence Avenue to indicate three legal parking spaces. The road markings contradict two signs that bookend the stretch, stating it is a "no parking zone." As a result, drivers who have failed to notice the signs have been slapped with a $60 ticket.
* Bronx unemployment rate still towers over city > The Bronx continues to grapple with high unemployment rates despite a slight decrease in overall unemployment in New York City. The county's jobless rate as of July 2012 stood at 13.9 percent, up from 12.8 percent a year ago, according to a report from CUNY's Labor Market Information Service.

James Downey

* Street renaming sought for James Downey > A slew of sporting and religious organizations have called on city officials to rename a local street in honor of James Downey, a community leader whose passion inspired a generation. The North Riverdale Baseball League, St. Margaret 0f Cortona and the Knights of Columbus Pro-Patria Council have joined forces to lobby for the stretch of Mosholu Avenue between West 254th and West 256th streets to be renamed "James V. Downey Way."
* Timber! Tree limbs coming down on Broadway > North Riverdale residents contacting 311 to report a poorly maintained tree are being told Whalen Avenue is not in the city's records and therefore, does not exist.

Also, in the Bronx Press: 
* Co-op City gives high marks to MTA Metro-North plan > More than 250 Bronx residents, business owners and elected officials piled into a Co-op City Community Center auditorium to hear and respond to a new proposal made by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to expand Metro-North service to the East Bronx. According to officials, the plan would cut average travel time to Manhattan in half, and many Co-op City residents think it's about time.
* Bronx Community College unveils $80 million library > With the gleaming new building as a backdrop, Bronx Community college feted the opening of its North Hall and Library last Friday in a lively ribbon-cutting ceremony.
* Man charged in Bronx Zoo tiger encounter > An Upstate man has been charged with misdemeanor trespassing, after performing a death-defying leap into a tiger enclosure before a crowd of horrified spectators at the Bronx Zoo.

Educrats at PS 24 defend 50 percent cut in music program

By MIAWLING LAM

Officials at P.S. 24 continue to defend their controversial decision to downsize the school’s cherished music program.

Despite widespread outcry from local parents, elected officials and community members, P.S. 24 interim acting assistant principal Emanuele ‘Manny’ Verdi last week said he stood by a move to excess the school’s vocal music teacher.

Verdi acknowledged that music education was important, but said retaining classroom instructors and reducing class sizes were higher priorities.

“I stand by my guns,” he said, while addressing the matter at last week’s School Leadership Team meeting.

“From our standpoint, these are the cards we were dealt. We had five days to react to it and this is what we did.

“We were told the budget was the same…but when the budget came in, it wasn’t the same. It just wasn’t. So we had to hustle.”

As a result, school administrators said they were forced to excess the entire music department—one instrumental teacher and one vocal teacher—just days before the end of the last school year.

At the time, Verdi said officials were forced to let go of the teachers because three staffers—with seniority—were returning from leave.

However, after the community bandied together and protested the cuts, administrators last month confirmed that instrumental teacher, Maryellen Shepley, would be rehired.

Controversially though, the vocal teacher still remains excessed.

Despite the downsizing, P.S. 24 principal Donna Connelly reiterated her commitment to arts instruction and pointed to her introduction of a theater program as evidence of this.

“We were the ones that expanded the (music) program. When we came into the school, we made it bigger. We didn’t make it smaller. Everybody forgets that,” she said.

The comments come a week after around a dozen parents bemoaned the devastating cuts and called on the school to restore both positions.

In a series of random interviews conducted on the first day of the new school year, many parents and grandparents warned that the loss of a vocal teacher could negatively impact academic achievement and rob children of a well-rounded education.

Under the partial restoration, the school will be eligible to continue participating in the Music and the Brain program and the VH1 Save The Music Foundation.

The MATB program supplies students from Grades K-2 with dozens of keyboards, while VH1 supplies pupils in Grades 3-5 with a range of woodwind instruments.

Existing partnerships with the New York Philharmonic and Little Orchestra Society will also continue to supplement the school’s musical instruction.

This week's Riverdale Review and Bronx Press

Here are the stories in this week's issue (September 20 -26) of the Riverdale Review and Bronx Press.

* Educrats at PS 24 defend 50 percent cut in music program > Officials at PS 24 continue to defend their controversial decision to downsize the school's cherished music program. Despite widespread outcry from local parents, elected officials and community members, PS 24 interim acting assistant principal Emanuele 'Manny' Verdi last week said he stood by a move to excess the school's vocal music teacher.
* Skating rink details: Recycled shipping containers; loss of parking > Around six parking spaces along Broadway could be temporarily lost during the winter months every year so that a designated drop-off zone can be established at the Van Cortlandt Park ice-skating rink. Concessionaire officials announced plans to submit an application for a street activity permit during last Wednesday's Community Board 8 parks committee meeting.
* Manhattan College hosts education session on Islam on 9/11 anniversary > September 11 this year at Manhattan College's Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center was marked by a panel discussion on the need for Americans to reach an understanding of Islam. 
* Projects in some local parks still lag, as others near completion > Local residents are finally beginning to catch a break with local parks projects. After years of enduring repeated delays, construction woes and issues with private contractors, parks in the Riverdale/Kingsbridge area are getting spruced up. We look at a list of current parks projects, including Ruth MacLaughlin Playground; Conrad Grauer Field; Sid Augarten Field; Van Cortlandt Park; Ewen Park, and their status.
* SAR calls for traffic calming measures > Officials at Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy are urging that speed bumps be installed on streets surrounding the school in order to increase student safety. In a letter sent to Community Board 8 and obtained by the Riverdale Review , SAR High School principal Rabbi Tully Harcsztark said traffic calming measures were desperately needed along West 259th Street.
* Mace and Taser used in Kingsbridge melee > A fun-filled night came to an abrupt end when security guards allegedly Tasered patrons and sprayed mace inside a popular upscale Kingsbridge restaurant. Police said a brawl involving at least six people broke out at Silhouette Restaurant & Lounge, located at 5668 Broadway, around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 9.
* New roof to be constructed at PS 24 > Students at PS 24 will lose a small section of their playground while construction crews perform much-needed repairs to the school's roofs and parapets. Workers have begun replacing two roofs--a 12-year-old roof and a 48-year-old roof--on the main school building as part of the $5.2 million capital improvement project.
* Man dies in crash on Deegan > A 35-year-old man was killed in an early-morning car crash on the Major Deegan Expressway in North Riverdale last Thursday. Police said Brian Mills was driving his black 2004 Hona Accord northbound on the Major Deegan when he slammed into the back of a construction truck near Exit 12 just after 6 a.m. on September 13. Exit 12 is the intersection where the expressway meets an extension of Mosholu Parkway.
* Scandal-scarred assemblywoman crushed in adjoining district > The residents of Tracey Towers propelled Bronx real estate agent and property manager Mark Gjonaj to a historic victory during last week's four-way Democratic primary. According to unofficial results released by the New York City Board of Elections last Thursday, Gjonaj trounced scandal-plagued Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera by 513 votes.

Also, in the Bronx Press:
* Plan for commuter rail through Morris Park gets thumbs up > A plan to expand Metro-North service into four neighborhoods in the East Bronx could slash travel times to midtown Manhattan in half, according to officials. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled details of the long-awaited proposal during the first of four information sessions at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Morris Park on Monday, September 10.

This week's Riverdale Review and Bronx Press

Here are the stories in this week's issue (September 6 -12) of the Riverdale Review and Bronx Press.

Chris Lighty's body is removed from the crime scene

* Suicide of rap mogul shocks Riverdale neighbors > Chris Lighty, the influential hip-hop music mogul who fatally shot himself at his $1 million-plus Riverdale home, kept such a low profile in the neighborhood that many locals were unaware of his celebrity status. 
* New draft city council district will look a lot like the old city council district > City Council District 11 is set to gain small parts of Woodlawn and Williamsbridge, and lose tiny sections of Bedford Park and Kingsbridge Heights under preliminary draft maps released by the New York City Districting Commission.
* MTA removes trash cans in new cleanup effort > A pilot program championed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to remove trash cans from subway stations has expanded to The Bronx. Authorities announced all means of garbage disposal were removed from two Bronx stations--the 238th Street No. 1 and the East 143rd Street No. 6 platforms--on September 2
* Slow zone unrolls, very slowly > Speed bumps will be added to certain Riverdale streets by November as part of a staggered implementation of the city's Neighborhood Slow Zone program. Department of Transportation officials have confirmed they are currently evaluating streets for possible future speed bumps near P.S. 24 and M.S/H.S 141 in a bid to improve pedestrian safety. It is unknown how many speed bumps are being considered or where they will be located.
* Man injured in North Riverdale shooting > Police are on the hunt for two suspects who struck and injured a man during a possibly drug-related shooting in North Riverdale. Investigators said two men approached Edwin Figueroa, 31, outside his 6687 Broadway apartment just before 7:50 p.m on Friday, August 31.
* Horace Mann alumni return diplomas over sex abuse scandal > Fresh from organizing diploma returns, the Horace Mann Action Coalition now plans to organize forums to discuss child abuse in schools and is considering creating a fund to be held in escrow until the school does the right thing.
* Former Hebrew Institute rabbi reaches new milestone in New Orleans > Life hasn't been easy lately in The Big Easy, but former Riverdale rabbi Uri Topolosky managed to accomplish his mission there in the lingering wake of Hurricane Katrina. He left his post as assistant rabbi at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in 2007 and headed down to New Orleans with his wife, Dahlia, a psychologist, and their two sons to rebuild Congregation Beth Israel and serve as its spiritual leader.

The fire at 5213 Broadway

* Manhattan College hires two locals > The commute to work will now be very brief for Dr. Joe Cutbirth and Dr. Val Kolesnikov, two new Riverdale residents who have joined the faculty at Manhattan College this semester. 
* Blaze engulfs Marble Hill  discount store > A severe two-alarm fire engulfed a local discount store early Tuesday morning, officials said. The blaze started at 2:48 a.m. at EZ 99 Cent Store, a single-story commercial building at 5213 Broadway in Marble Hill, an FDNY spokesman said. Officials said more than 100 firefighters from 25 units fought to control the blaze and eventually extinguished it by 3:57 a.m. There were no fatalities or injuries. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Also, in the Bronx Press:
* As Naomi Rivera probes grow, Mark Gjonaj becomes frontrunner in hot Assembly seat > At least five government agencies have launched investigations into Bronx Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera following allegations she used taxpayer funds as her personal expense account and awarded cushy jobs to two lovers.

Districting Commission unveils preliminary plans for City Council District 11

By MIAWLING LAM

It’s a case of you win some, you lose some for City Council District 11 under preliminary draft maps released by the New York City Districting Commission.

The 15-member body unveiled redrawn boundaries for all 51 City Council districts, including eight in The Bronx, today.

The plan reveals only minor changes for City Council District 11, which encompasses Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Woodlawn and Spuyten Duyvil.

According to the draft plan, the district is set to gain parts of Woodlawn and Williamsbridge but will lose sections of Bedford Park and Kingsbridge Heights.

Districting Commission chair Benito Romano stressed the boundaries are not yet firm.

“I want to mention that this map is preliminary,” he said on Tuesday. “It does not purport to endorse any particular lines. It is a starting point.”

Romano said two rounds of public hearings would be held before the commission submits its final plan to the city clerk and Department of Justice in March 2013.

He added that the next round of hearings—one in each borough—is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, October 2. The locations will be announced in due course.

Districting Commission executive director Carl Hum said New Yorkers would be able to have their say on the lines when the agency’s mapping software goes live this week.

“It will allow users to adjust lines and see the effect of that on districts and adjoining districts,” he said. “It will be preloaded with 2003 lines and the proposed lines.”

Boundaries for the 51 City Council districts are redrawn every 10 years in order to reflect shifts in population and demographics.

According to the last census, City Council District 11 grew by 2,516 people, bringing the total population to 163,226.

But in an attempt to evenly distribute the population among the districts, District 11 will now cover 156,071 residents.

Cliff Stanton, a Van Cortlandt Village resident and the leader of a boycott against the Riverdale Review, is the only candidate who has declared a run for City Council District 11.

The seat, which is currently held by Councilman G. Oliver Koppell, will be vacant during the 2013 citywide elections because of term limits for Koppell.

The only other person currently registered  to run for Koppell’s seat is Ari Hoffnung, a deputy comptroller for John Liu, who mounted a campaign during the last election.

However, Hoffnung has previously indicated that he is not considering a run.

Rumors have swirled about the political aspirations of several other area residents, including Community Board 8 members Andrew Cohen, Daniel Padernacht and Robert Press.