This week's Riverdale Review and Bronx Press

UPDATE: Community Board 8 aging committee chair and City Council candidate Andrew Cohen donated festive lights and lit the Christmas tree at the Riverdale Monument earlier this afternoon.

Here are the stories in this week's issue (December 20 - 26) of the Riverdale Review.

* PS 24 music gets $19,000 boost from Klein > Local elected official and newly minted state Senator Jeffrey Klein will allocate $19,000 towards arts enrichment at PS 24. School principal Donna Connelly announced the funding injection at last Tuesday's parents association meeting. Klein, who visited the school in October, said he was happy with the educational offerings but was interested in helping to expand the school's music program.
* Community board rejects proposal for fundraising affiliate > Members of Community Board 8 have nixed controversial plans to establish an auxiliary organization that would raise money to support board operations. Members last week voted 21-13 against a proposal to create a Friends of Bronx Community Board 8 following frenzied discussion and opposition. Three members abstained from voting. Under the proposal, conceived fours years ago, the Friends of CB8 group would raise extra funds by soliciting bids from vendors to host street fairs and other public events.
* Commission approves project rejected by Board > The Landmarks Preservation Commission has voted to approve the building of a four-story mansion in the Riverdale historic district--almost a month after Community Board 8 unanimously rejected the project. Under the preliminary plans, the vacant lot at 5241 Independence Avenue would be developed into a seven-bedroom house equipped with eight and a half bathrooms, an indoor swimming pool, two laundry rooms and a maid's room. Members of the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 10-0 on December 11 to approve the mansion after its architect proposed several modifications. Among the revisions is the elimination of a proposed tower on the side of the house. The mansion will also have a semicircular driveway and will be set back from the street to match the houses around it.
* Six new cops for 50th > Six new police officers have joined the ranks of the 50th Precinct, providing the command with a slight boost in manpower. Commanding officer of the 50th Precinct Captain Kevin Burke said the new cops have been tasked with responding to 911 calls and with patrolling high-crime areas within the precinct.
* In slap at board leadership, new rules set for street permits > Community Board 8 has overhauled its street activity permit procedures in a push to become more transparent and to maximize community input. CB8 members last week voted 23 to 13 to change the process governing how street activity permits for street fairs, block parties and farmers market are issued. One member abstained from voting. Under the changes, all street activity permit applications submitted to CB8 for review will now be directed to a committee for approval, approval with conditions, or denial.
* Dog walker slashed on Palisade Avenue > A man walking his two poodles at around 6 a.m. Tuesday on Palisade Avenue at Kappock Street was accosted by two men and was slashed across the face with a knife by one of the men. According to police, Richard Marshall, 65, of 2621 Palisade Avenue, was attacked by two black men who appeared to be in their early 20s, before the pair ran east on Kappock Street. The men demanded no property, Burke said, and ran away after inflicting the wound.

NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly breaks ground on
the new student commons building, set to open in 2014

* MC breaks ground on new student commons > Manhattan College has ceremonially broken ground on its long-awaited Raymond W. Kelly '63 Student Commons, a $48 million multipurpose complex scheduled to open in fall 2014. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly joined more than 200 people, including college officials, local politicians, faculty and students for the ground-breaking event last Thursday. The five-story complex will be located at the intersection of Manhattan College Parkway and Waldo Avenue--a site that is now a parking lot.
* Press can't be barred from Board meetings > The chair of Community Board 8 has conceded that executive committee meetings are subject to the state's open meetings law and are therefore open to the public. CB8 chair Robert Fanuzzi Robert Fanuzzi made the declaration at last Tuesday's board meeting after receiving an official ruling from the New York State Committee on Open Government. The determination came less than a week after a reporter for the Riverdale Review was asked to leave the Board's December 5 executive committee meeting when members objected to the media's presence. But referencing the determination from Robert J. Freeman, the executive director of the Committee on Open Government, Fanuzzi said the executive committee was required to comply with the law.
* Jewish leader concerned over missing Christmas tree > Ari Hoffnung, the community leader widely thought of as a potential candidate for the City Council seat being vacated by the term-limited G. Oliver Koppell, has expressed his personal dismay that Riverdale, for the first time in memory, will not have an official city Christmas tree. The city's Parks Department has scrubbed the annual display due to "budgetary constraints."
* Hurricane Sandy relief concert > Local storm victims will benefit from the proceeds collected at Sunday night's Hurricane Sandy Relief Concert at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, but they would also benefit from knowing that so many professionals donated their time and extraordinary talent to help out during this event. Children's choirs, a legendary a capella group, a unique rock band, and Broadway and TV stars joined Riverdale's own indigenous performers for a great evening of entertainment.
* Stringer gets Bronx support for Comptroller bid > Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has vowed to help advance The Bronx's economic agenda if he is installed as comptroller during the 2013 citywide elections. Stringer, who last month abandoned his plans to become mayor and announced his candidacy for comptroller, committed to including The Bronx in the city's wider long-term financial plan. The popular Democrat believed his comments after enjoying breakfast with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. at the Riverdale Diner on December 12. If elected, Stringer said, he would be fiercely independent and would work with the mayor and all borough presidents to drive change and progress--and that The Bronx would benefit from these efforts.
* Issues raised at town hall meeting > Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz held the first of four town hall meetings at the Riverdale Senior Center in a bid to answer the questions of local senior citizens. "In order to do my job, I really have to know what people are thinking," Dinowitz said to a packed room of seniors last Monday.

Also, in the Bronx Press:
* Community prays for miracle at St. Jerome school > Nearly 100 people stood at 230 Alexander Avenue in front of St. Jerome Catholic School on December 12 to protest a plan to close down the school. It was cold and classes had just let out, but parents, local politicians and students stayed to fight for their school. Many held signs written in Spanish and English, and chants of "save our school" and "don't close St. Jerome" echoed through the streets.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr lights the menorah
during Chanukah celebrations at the Bronx County building

* FreshDirect modifies plan > Online grocer FreshDirect has bowed to community opposition and will give up three acres it had planned to use as a parking lot for trucks when it moves into its new headquarters in the South Bronx. The supermarket giant filed court papers last Thursday indicating that it would adjust its plans and integrate the trucks within its new main facility site.
* Chanukah celebration at the Bronx County building > Latkes, jelly donuts, indoor and outdoor menorah lightings, and a few Chanukah songs performed by the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale Community Choir are annual traditions now at Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.'s festive Chanukah event at the Bronx County building. Yankees broadcaster Suzyn Waldman was again mistress of ceremonies at the December 12 bash, where hundreds of community members heard the borough president express his support for Israel and his affinity for the Jewish community.

This week's Riverdale Review and Bronx Press

Here are the stories in this week's issue (December 6 - December 12) of the Riverdale Review:

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr joins Rabbi Levi Shemtov to
light the largest menorah in the Bronx, located at Bell Tower Park.

* Engel and Klein reach for the pinnacles of power > Congessman Eliot Engel has been anointed as  the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington D.C., and as such he wants to push for peace in the Middle East. The Foreign Affairs Committee has jurisdiction over bills and investigations related to foreign affairs of the United States.

* DNA evidence helps local police solve cold case murder > Detectives from the 50th Precinct finally may have cracked the 1993 murder of a prostitute in North Riverdale, thanks to DNA analysis. Police said Lucius Crawford, a 60-year-old ex-con from Mount Vernon, last week confessed to the fatal stabbing of Nella West--a crime he allegedly committed nearly two decades ago. According to police, the body of West, 38, was found by a cab driver face-up outside 5815 Liebig Avenue just after 3 a.m. on October 20, 1993. The victim, a known prostitute, suffered multiple stab wounds to the head, face and torso, a broken eye socket and a crushed skull during the brutal attack that took her life. The cold case had remained unsolved until five-og Detective Chris Boerke and Malcolm Reiman from the Bronx Homicide Squad made a breakthrough earlier this year. The pair ran biological evidence collected from the scene through the current DNA database and found a match.

* Local nursing home rocked by sex assault allegation > The distraught family of an 81-year-old female resident who was sexually assaulted at Hudson Pointe may file a lawsuit against the nursing care facility. Experienced Cheryl R. Eisberg Moin, who has been enlisted by the victim's family, accused the facility's administration of breaching their duty of care toward Gertrudis Munoz. Police allege Munoz was sexually assaulted bby a janitor in  the third-floor dementia unit of the Hudson Point at Riverdale Center of Nursing and Rehabilitation on November 29. Jorge Sarmiento, 56, of Washington Heights, has since been arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of an incompetent person and attempted sexual assault.

* Algiers still without gas > Residents of The Algiers in central Riverdale remain without gas nearly three weeks after a fire on the south side of the complex forced Con Edison to shut off gas service.

* Reporter tossed from community board meeting > The chair  of Community Board 8 allegedly violated the state's open meetings law when he tossed the media out of this month's executive committee meeting. CB8 chair Robert Fanuzzi asked a reporter from the Riverdale Review to leave last Wednesday's meeting after members spent 40 minutes discussing whether the law applied to the executive committee.

* Settlement in co-op discrimination suit > Parties involved in a housing discrimination lawsuit at 3800 Independence Avenue have reached an agreement. According to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office, Loventhal Silver Riverdale, Goodman Management and Jesus Velasco allegedly discriminated against African-American apartment seekers. The release charged that Velasco, the building's superintendent, admitted he informed prospective African-American buyers that there were no vacant units in the complex. On the very same day, he informed potential Caucasian buyers that there were available units. The United States District Court in the Southern District of New York signed a settlement and consent decree on October 16, but news of the decision only surfaced last week. Loventhal Silver Riverdale and Velasco are required to pay a $40,000 civil penalty.

* North Riverdale merchants weigh BID > Merchants in North Riverdale are in the preliminary stages of establishing a business improvement district in the neighborhood. The ambitious plan is still two to three years away, but local merchants said the BID's formation is part of a wider beautification project.

* Fuel conversion strains local buildings > Building owners and managers are already scrambling to meet their first deadline under the Clean Heat program announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg last year. The program requires all residences to convert from No. 6 heating oil to cleaner-burning No. 4 by 2014. By 2030, all buildings must upgrade to the still-cleaner No. 2 or to natural gas. According to Con Edison's gas conversion procedures, building owners have until January 11, 2013, to submit both an acknowledgment and a load letter in order to participate in the 2013 area growth program. A load letter requires that a certified plumber examine a buildings' heating system and come up with an estimate for the conversion. But with the influx of requests, there are not enough certified plumbers to go around because many are involved with repairs in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy.

* Spellman charged with manslaughter > Riverdale resident Kevin Spellman, a now-retired NYPD detective, was convicted last Thursday of second-degree manslaughter for the death of Kingsbridge resident Drane Nikac in October 2009, Bronx district attorney Robert Johnson announced. Witnesses said Spellman drove through a red light on Kingsbridge Avenue near West 232nd Street at around 6:30 a.m. when the victim, a 66-year-old Albanian native, began crossing the avenue with a cart containing bottles and cans for recycling. Spellman, 45, faces up to 15 years in prison and is free on bail awaiting sentencing on February 15.

* Benefit concert at HIR for Sandy relief > A varied lineup of performers will offer a Hurricane Sandy Relief Concert this Sunday, December 16, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale. Admission is $36, but donations of larger amounts are welcome. Proceeds will go to a fund administered by the UJA-Federation of New York to help those still in need as a result of the October storm that wrecked several of the city's neighborhoods.

* Local workers sought for 230th Street mall construction > It will be the $54 million two-story shopping mall that Bronx workers helped to build. The developer of the Broadway Plaza shopping center has announced that the borough's tradesmen will have first crack at filling a portion of the construction jobs on offer. Equity One last week revealed they have started hiring for the project and are seeking resumes from qualified, but currently unemployed, tradesmen who live in the northwest Bronx.

* Koppell declares war on graffiti > Graffiti vandals be warned: If you plan to tag in Riverdale, it probably won't stay up for long. Councilman G. Oliver Koppell has teamed up with CitySolve, a graffiti removal business, to remove to handiwork of graffiti vandals across his district. Koppell kicked off his campaign last Friday and personally painted over defaced sections of the West 235th Street Henry Hudson Parkway pedestrian overpass during the launch.

Also, in the Bronx Press:

* Campaign to save Clinton HS gathers steam > DeWitt Clinton High School on Mosholu Parkway, labeled as a failing school for the past three years by the Department of Education, has been on the chopping block twice and has become a dumping ground for failing students. Yet students, parents and teachers poured into the school auditorium for a hearing on December 6 to show their support and to prove to the DOE that their school deserves another chance.

* Eight injured in mattress fire in Longwood > At least five residents of an apartment building, said to be a recently converted homeless shelter, are recovering after a mattress fire near the lobby entrance. Firefighters got the call at 5:30 p.m. on December 9, as the billowing black smoke climbed up into the six-story building at 941 Intervale Avenue, creating panic among the trapped residents. RMS reported at least eight injuries, including five civilian and three firefighters. 

* Norwood resident gunned down along Murder Row > A popular Norwood man was shot and killed during an early-morning dispute on Decatur Avenue, just two blocks from his home. The deadly confrontation took place outside of a three-family home at 3089 Decatur Avenue between Mosholu Parkway North and East 204th Street at 2:2 a.m. on December 9. The victim was later identified as Gary Rodriguez, 46, of 3285 Decatur Avenue.

 

The proposed 81st Assembly district (UPDATE)

Maps of Assembly districts drawn by the legislative redistricting task force (LATFOR) have been sent to the relevant Assemblymember. We've reached out to the Bronx members and are waiting to hear back to get each one. Here's the first we've gotten, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz's 81st. 

UPDATE: All the lines are out now on the LATFOR site, and you can check another post on Bronx Press Politics to see our breakdowns of the Senate. 

The proposed lines add the rest of Van Cortlandt Village, the Jerome Park Reservoir, Clinton HS, Bronx HS of Science, Harris Field and Lehman College, much of Kingsbridge Heights, the four buildings from the Marble Hill Houses that are in the Bronx, and returns the one election district at the bottom of Riverdale (2400 and 2500 Johnson Ave) that was taken away in 2002. Several election districts in Norwood were moved to the 80th Assembly District. The population of the new district is 126,402, a -2.08 percent deviation from the statewide average. The current district has 119,653. 

Every single Bronx AD is within 31 people of one another.


Dinowitz said he absolutely loves this proposed district because it puts nearly all of Community Board 8 in his district. It also gives him Lehman College and Bronx High School of Science, both which he attended, as well as a junior high school that goes by a different name now. It also has a good portion of Kingsbridge Heights, which is the neighborhood he grew up in.


In terms of the overall Bronx Assembly districts, "they're very reasonably drawn," he said. There aren't many "zig zags" but instead you see a lot of straight lines that keep communities together.

"To the extent that you can not divide neighborhoods," LATFOR did a good job with the Bronx.

For your consideration, here is Dinowitz's district as it looks now, drawn up in 2002:

230th Street shopping plans come into focus

Here is our headlining story from this week's Riverdale Review.

By Brendan McHugh 

The city’s Economic Development Corporation is choosing between five bids for the 230th Street development, ranging from a single supermarket to a 16-story mixed-use development with 200 units of housing. 

The development will rise near the corner of 230th Street and Broadway, sandwiched between the elevated No. 1 subway and the Major Deegan Expressway. 

A source close to the project laid out basic details of the plans and stressed that they were in no particular order. 

The first, which the source dubbed the “Foodtown murderer,” is a 72,000-square-foot supermarket with 300 parks spaces on the roof. Foodtown, which was recently renovated, is directly across the street. 

Another proposal is a 32,000-square-foot, two story building with a supermarket on the ground floor. The second floor would be office space, and 90 parking spots would be available at grade level. 

A third project has 133,000 square feet of retail space as a two-story building. It would be a mix of businesses, such as a specialty grocer and national chains. There would also be 130 parking spaces below grade. 

Hebrew Home explores options for expansion on Palisade Ave.

Here's a story from this week's edition of the Riverdale Review.

By Brendan McHugh

Reingold (right) and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn
listen to constituent complaints at the Hebrew Home.

The Hebrew Home is planning to add new buildings for more senior services on the adjacent 14-acre plot, recently sold to them by the Passionist Fathers of Riverdale. 

A meditation center, possibly an underground garage and a consolidated entrance are also preliminary ideas Hebrew Home president and CEO Daniel Reingold said he has for the future. 

The land was bought for $16 million about two months ago from the Passionists, who could no longer afford the land with increased expenses, fewer retreat guests and fewer new recruits. 

“We are excited about this opportunity,” Reingold said Friday. “We think it will be something the community will be proud of. We hope to involve the community early on in discussions about what we’re going to try and do.” 

He added that the Hebrew Home will go through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), which requires months of public review and community involvement. 

“The Hebrew Home is considered among the best, if not the best nursing institution in the country,” Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz said. “Increasing their ability to provide services to seniors is a good thing.” 

Reingold said he was excited to work with the community, noting that the Hebrew Home was the first institution in the area to submit a ‘master plan’ to the community board. 

“This is very premature, but our plan would be to demolish the existing structures and replace them with an environmentally sound green building,” he said, calling the larger building an “eyesore.” 

MTA was going to try and restore service, until the State took away $250 million

The new tax plan that's been presented as a victory for the 99 percent actually isn't that great of news for straphangers.

According to MTA board member Charles Moerdler, $250 million won't be coming to the MTA through the mobility tax this year because of the State's new plan. While legislators say they'll find a way to make sure the MTA gets that money back, Moerdler says he's skeptical, because he doesn't know how they will be able to do that with such a tight budget.

Here's the kicker: according to Moerdler, the MTA was going to make an effort to save around $20 million to restore some of the service that has been cut over the last year. Now that they're not getting that $250 million, plus another $85 million they're not getting in other taxes he added, those plans are out the door.

He made it a point to add that cuts to the budget will be cuts to service, not new fare hikes to keep service.

"I'll be damned if they're going to increase fares while I'm there," he told Community Board 8, of which he is a member of, earlier this week.

Jump below to see the Straphangers' Campaign Top 10 best and worst lists of events that happened to commuters this year, which include the loss of millions in funding.

Bronx Board 8 "deplores" process with temporary ice rink in Van Cortlandt

Here's a story from this week's Riverdale Review and Bronx Press. But before we get to that, let us provide you with an update:

Community Board 8 overwhelmingly passed a resolution at last night's (Tuesday) general board meeting saying they "deplore" the parks department's decision to circumvent the public-review process by introducing a smaller, temporary rink that only needs a permit to operate. The board is planning a public forum to discuss the ice rink--both the temporary permit rink and the full concession rink--for January with the community, though a date has yet to be finalized. We will have a full story on the actions of Board 8 in next week's paper.

By Brendan McHugh 

As the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation continues to negotiate with Ice Rink Events to try and bring the boroughs only public skating rink to Van Cortlandt Park, their efforts to appease the community may have only enraged them more. 

A number of Community Board 8 members have expressed outrage over a new plan for a smaller—“mini”—29-day rink that skips public scrutiny. 

“There are a lot of disturbed people,” said one member of the board, who wanted to be kept anonymous until the general board meeting Tuesday night. 

The Tuesday, Dec. 13 meeting at the Rivedale YM/YWHA, which is after press time, is the community board’s best chance to collect public input on the skating rink. 

The board had scheduled—and subsequently cancelled—five meetings over the past few months as they attempted to hold a public meeting to discuss the larger, 15-year rink. However, with very little details, they did not want to hold a meeting. 

Community Board 8 has a resolution they plan to vote upon Tuesday night that, if passed, would say the board “deplores DPR’s decision to circumvent the public-review process…” 

Jump below for the full story.

Classes to be taught by state Senator Rivera

A story from this week's Bronx Press.

By Brendan McHugh

A popular series of civics classes is coming to the Kingsbridge Library this month. 

Rivera teaches civics classes
throughout the 33rd Senate district.

Beginning Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 6 p.m., state Senator Gustavo Rivera will be teaching classes on civics, citizenship and local government. 

“I’ve always believed that people need to know how their government works,” Rivera said. “As a political science professor for 11 years, it’s something I do all the time.” 

Rivera is teaming up with local resident Irving Ladimer for the second of the three classes. He heard Ladimer had taught similar classes in the past and wanted to team up with him for this round of classes. 

“We sat down and had a long conversation and he had the same concerns I did about citizenship and civic involvement,” Rivera said. 

Last month, the rookie senator held four one-hour classes at the Bronx Library Center that netted about 75 people each time. 

“It was overwhelmingly positive,” Rivera said, adding that he had “folks of all ages and all ethnicities” attend the classes from every corner of his district, including some from out of his 33rd state Senate district. 

He says the benefit of classes like this, and one that’s taught by an elected official, gives the public an opportunity to ask questions that they normally wouldn’t be able to ask. 

The first class—each one is on a Wednesday night—will focus on the constitution and civil rights and liberties. The second, taught by Ladimer, will be on citizenship. The final class is on voting and elections. 

Ladimer, the law, rules and ethics chairman of Community Board 8. 

Rivera recommends that people attend all three, but it is not required. The classes will end on Dec. 14 with a graduation ceremony to celebrate the completion of the course.

Will new heating oil rules bankrupt co-ops?

Here's a story from this week's Riverdale Review.

By Brendan McHugh 

The metal sleeve runs all the way
down to the boiler in the basement.
It cost $90,000.

It started as an environmental issue and it’s now become an affordable housing problem. 

A new city-mandated rule requires all residential buildings to switch from No. 6 heating oil to at least No. 4—a cleaner, more expensive oil—by 2015, but then to No. 2 or natural gas by 2030.

Environmental activists across the city celebrated the mandate, but for Riverdale, the mandate will end up costing thousands. 

“You hear about a boiler conversion, but for the rest of the building, it’s a big expense,” said Community Board 8 housing committee chairman Thomas Durham. 

His building, at the corner of Waldo Avenue and Manhattan College Parkway, is one of hundreds in Riverdale that burns No. 6. At least it did, until this summer when the building underwent a conversion from No. 6 to a duel system of natural gas and No. 2 oil. If Con Edison shuts down the gas line, Durham’s building still wanted to have a heat source, hence the backup No. 2.

Jump below for the full story.

Community Board 8 calendar

Here is the calendar for Community Board 8's public meetings.

Not on the calendar are the 50th Precinct's community council meeting and the public hearing to discuss the possible closure of the Spuyten Duyvil Post Office (both on Thursday, Nov. 10).


November 2011 Calendar

230th Street shopping plaza delayed

One last story from this week's Riverdale Review.

By Brendan McHugh 

The future shopping center at 230th Street and Broadway has gone through delay after delay over the past decade, and after being scrapped and restarted, has hit it’s first delay. 

The deadline for interested developers to submit proposals to the city’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has been extended two weeks, from Monday, Oct. 24 to Nov. 7. 

However, this may be the first good delay the project has ever seen. According to EDC spokesperson Kyle Sklerov, “There is significant interest in the Broadway Plaza site and we have extended the deadline to allow respondents more time to finalize their proposals.” 

Sklerov added that developers requested the additional time because they needed more time to finalize their proposals on the 80,000 square foot lot that will include a pedestrian plaza where Kimberly Place currently is. 

Jump below for the full story.

Street renaming sought for Frank Durkan

Here's a story from this week's Riverdale Review.

By Brendan McHugh 

An Irish name may be added on to Tibbett Avenue. 

The traffic and transportation committee of Community Board 8 unanimously voted in favor of adding ‘Frank Durkan Way’ to Tibbett Avenue between 240th and 238th streets, adjacent to Gaelic Park. 

Over a dozen people came to last week’s meeting to share an antidote about Frank Durkan’s sincerity and commitment to Gaelic Park and the Irish community, and dozens of other people and organizations sent letters. 

“He died a rich man in his heart,” said Martin Lyons, a longtime friend of Durkan’s and the organizer of the effort.

Frank Durkan Way wouldn’t become the actual name of the street; that would remain Tibbett Avenue. The new street name would be an honorary distinction only.

Jump below for the full story.

Community Board 8 hosting free business census workshop

Business Census Workshop

Walking around Riverdale is safe

And not just because of the low crime numbers.

From 1995 to 2009, there were 8,604 motor-vehicle crashes involving pedestrians in the 42 blocks that make up Manhattan Community District 5. In Bronx District 8 (Riverdale, Fieldston, Marble Hill, Van Cortlandt Village, Kingsbridge) during the same period, only 788 crashes occurred; less than 10 percent of Manhattan's District 5, which is Midtown.

The data comes from Transportation Alternatives new interactive map, CrashStat.

The only area that is considered safer than Riverdale is the South Shore of Staten Island (Community District 3) with 653 crashes.

 

The city's Department of Transportation disputes these findings, however (even the good ones). A spokesman points out to Crains New York that reporting the 15-year neighborhood-by-neighborhood totals misses an important point—the decline in injuries and fatalities over the period:

"Safety has actually increased and nowhere is this more evident than in places like Manhattan Community District 5, where fatalities and serious injuries were down 54% from 1995 to 2009; and in Brooklyn Community District 14, where fatalities and injuries down 65% from 1995 to 2009."

Citywide, pedestrian traffic fatalities have dropped 37% from 1995 to 2009.

Transportation Alternatives has called for stricter enforcement of traffic laws by the New York City Police Department, saying that the department should pursue harsher punishments, deploy more traffic cops and more rigorously enforce the 30 mph speed limit.

Jump below for the rest of the story.

Fighting obesity at the armory

The youth market is open Fridays through October.

Bringing fresh produce to the streets, the Kingsbridge Heights Youth Market kicked off today.

In the shadow of the Kingsbridge Armory at Barnhill Square, Bronx Community Board 8 and GrowNYC launched the second youth market in Community Board 8. It operates Fridays from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. through October 28th.

The youth market is a program of the nonprofit GrowNYC, and is part of a network of urban farm stands operated by teen entrepreneurs bringing fresh produce into low-income communities. The neighborhoods they serve are usually disproportionately affected by diet-related health issues like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. The youth markets bring healthy foods such as fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables, all grown by New York area farms.

State Senator Gustavo Rivera and City Councilman Fernando Cabrera were both present for the opening. Rivera, who has spearheaded the Bronx CAN Health Initiative (more on that Monday), bought some of the fresh produce to bring to the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center that will be used for the healthy cooking demonstration they are doing at the Health Initiative Check-In on Saturday.

Schervier's Steve Kazanjian (right) speaks at the youth market Friday as State Senator Gustavo Rivera, his communication director Conchita Cruz and CB8 District Manager Nicole Stent listen.

Funding for both Kingsbridge Heights and Marble Hill youth market was provided by Bon Secours New York Health System/Schervier. The Kingsbridge Heights Community Center and Riverdale Neighborhood House will employ the students that operate the markets with guidance and training from GrowNYC. All students have been recruited from the neighborhoods surrounding the youth markets.

Steve Kazanjian, director of Mission for Schervier, said the local nursing home has $100,000 to spend annually on projects such as this.

Jump below for a few more pictures.