This week's Riverdale Review and Bronx Press

Here are the stories in this week's issue (January 24 - 30) of the Riverdale Review:

* Stanton campaign raises conflict of interest > The editor of the PS 24 parents association bulletin has been placed on City Council candidate Cliff Stanton's campaign payroll. The Riverdale Review can reveal that Jennifer Firestone is receiving $1,000 a month from Stanton's campaign committee for political consulting. Because Firestone is also the editor of the PS 24 PA's Sounding Board and has the opportunity to include publicity for the City Council candidate in the public school's newsletter, her campaign role presents a possible conflict of interest. Firestone does not disclose her ties to the Stanton campaign in the PA bulletins, which she edits on a volunteer basis.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz hands
Riverdale resident Helene Afon a check
for $5,000. She lost her husband of 52 years
in a fire which destroyed her home.

* Stella D'oro shopping mall on track for fall opening > Parts of Riverdale Crossing, the $80 million shopping mall located at the former Stella D'oro cookie factory, could open it doors by as early as October. Metropolitan Realty Associates president Joseph A. Farkas said the two-story mall would most likely be unveiled in two stages--the north building will open first, with BJ's Wholesale Club set to follow suit a month later.
* Hebrew Home expansion plan bound for a rocky road > Homeowners near the Hebrew Home at Riverdale will soon have a chance to present their case regarding the home's ambitious plan to build a new senior residence on its recently purchased riverfront property. Hebrew Home CEO Daniel Reingold reached out to the Riverdale Nature Preservancy, a group that protects Riverdale's natural beauty and character, to facilitate community discussion before starting the arduous process of submitting the plan for official approval.
* Court case against accused iPhone killers move forward > The two men charged with murdering Hwang Bum Yang, the local chef who was shot and killed for his iPhone last year, could soon have a trial date. During a brief hearing at Bronx Supreme Court on January 15, Alejandro Campos, 21, stood next to attorney Richard Williams and received a new hearing date when a possible trial date could be set. Williams was filling in for Campos' regular attorney, Martin Galvin. Campos' co-accused, Dominick Davis, 20, was also slated to appear, but his case was not heard because his attorney, Kyle Watters, was not in attendance.
* Man jumps from apartment window > A man jumped to his death by leaping out the window of his North Riverdale apartment, according to authorities. Police said Robert Tavon, 54, jumped from his sixth-floor apartment at 5424 Netherland Avenue just before 2 pm last Thursday.
* No surprises as Ben Franklin club endorses Andrew Cohen > The Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club voted to support Andrew Cohen in his bid to replace Councilman G. Oliver Koppell in this year's citywide elections. The club's predicted endorsement for Cohen came after nearly 100 members heard from all three announced candidates during a meeting at Tibbett Towers on January 16. According to a breakdown of the 99 ballots cast, Cohen secured 84 votes, track coach Cheryl Keeling won five votes and Van Cortlandt Village resident Cliff Stanton, three votes. Six members made no endorsements and one voted for Community Board 8 candidate Robert Press as a write-in candidate.
* ConEd addresses chronic power outages in Spuyten Duyvil > Con Ediso has vowed to provide Spuyten Duyvil with additional power to stem the frequency and duration of electrical outages. The utility company agreed to the service improvement during a meeting with Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and affected neighborhood residents on January 11. An extra power supply, to be installed by December, is designed to address the problem of continual blackouts on parts of Independence Avenue, Kappock Street and Palisade Avenue.
* Proposal to introduce ID scanners at PS 24 > Members of PS 24's parents association are asking for more security in the school, and City Council candidate Cliff Stanton may have a solution involving ID scanners. The former PA co-president flagged the idea of placing a scanner to track adults entering and exiting the school during the PA meeting on January 15. Under Stanton's proposal, IDs would not be issued to children but to adults wishing to enter the building on a regular basis, including Kindergarten parents who enter the school to drop off or pick up their child. The proposal, which Stanton estimated would cost $16,000, is still in its early stages. As of press time, no formal proposals have been filed for the scanners or any other school safety funding at PS 24.

And, in the Bronx Press:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg joins Councilman Ydanis
Rodriguez and Deputy Bronx Borough President Aurelia
Greene to break ground for improvements to
the High Bridge. Photo by Kristen Artz

* City begins restoration work on High Bridge > Mayor Michael Bloomberg has broken ground on the restoration of New York City's oldest bridge, the High Bridge, as part of the city's long-term plan for a "greener, greater New York." The $61 million project will reopen the bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists by 2014 and provide a link between Manhattan and The Bronx over the Harlem River. The bridge was closed to the public in 1970. The reconstruction of the bridge will include safety and structural improvements such as renovated stairways, railings and lighting.
* Bronx police respond to three taxi-related crimes in six hours > A bizarre morning for taxi drivers in The Bronx ended with one driver shot, one bitten and robbed and a third awe-struck as police officers lifted his cab off a pedestrian.
* Could more music be destined for Bronx venues? > The Bronx isn't getting its fair share of music from Carnegie Hall, according to a recent audit by the city comptroller's office. The city has charged Carnegie Hall with a contractural obligation to provide free music programming for diverse groups throughout the five boroughs. But the comptroller's office concluded that The Bronx and Staten Island have been neglected as performance venues and that the Department of Cultural Affairs' failure to attract large audiences with free tickets to neighborhood concerts could mean that programming selections aren't "properly designed for the neighborhood."
* Two wounded in Co-op City shooting > Two people were wounded when gunfire erupted on the grounds of 140 Einstein Loop in Co-op City on Sunday, January 13. Paramedics and emergency services personnel were called to the scene at 12:08pm following reports of gunfire and rushed two victims to Jacobi Hospital.
* Woman injured in bizarre fall > Paramedics transported a young woman who was injured when a piece of plywood reportedly collapsed into a construction trench at an apartment building in University Heights. EMS were dispatched to the front of the building at 2321 Andrews Avenue, where they discovered a 33-year-old woman had fallen in the trench, located in the alley leading to the building's courtyard and basement.