This week's Riverdale Review and Bronx Press

Here are the stories in this week's issue (November 15 - 21) of the Riverdale Review:

The abandoned gas station at West 230th Street and
Broadway has been acquired by Equity One.

* 230th Street mall may expand with key corner > The developer of the yet-to-be-built $54 million Broadway Plaza shopping mall has purchased the adjoining vacant lot--the defunct Getty gas station. The Riverdale Review can reveal that Equity One last month acquired the 7,500-square-foot parcel at 5510 Broadway from a California-based LLC for a hefty $2 million--more than three times the current market value of $630,000.
* Local pols eye Senate leadership battle > Election Day is over, but a few state Senate races upstate are still too close to call, which could have an impact on the careers of some local politicos.
* Board rejects plans for new mansion > Community Board 8 has rejected controversial plans to construct a new mansion in the heart of the Riverdale Historic District. Following fervent opposition, board members last week voted unanimously against a proposal to develop the vacant lot at 5241 Independence Avenue into a four-story, single-family house. Under preliminary plans, the house would boast seven bedrooms, eight and a half bathrooms, an indoor swimming pool, two laundries and a maid's room.
* MTA's Bus Time program will let you track your ride on your phone > Local straphangers can finally track the real-time location of every local and express bus in Riverdale after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority quietly launched its Bus Time program. MTA officials flicked the switch and activated GPS hardware on all 54 Bronx bus routes, inculding the Bx7, Bx9 and Bc10, on Saturday, October 27. However, with efforts underway to restore subway service and repair critical signal and switch components in the wake of superstorm Sandy, the launch has received little fanfare.
* New president a kindred spirit at Riverdale rabbinical school > Open-mindedness, outreach and independent thinking--along with broad-based textual study--will still be the basics at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah when its presidency transfers from Rabbi Avi Weiss to Rabbi Asher Lopatin this July.
* iPhone stolen from woman at gunpoint > The armed serial robbers terrorizing Riverdale have struck again. Police said the two men suspected of carrying out at least five local robberies nabbed yet another iPhone on Sunday.

The Fieldston Lofts apartment tower

* New Fieldston Lofts building on Riverdale Avenue hits market > Luxury condominiums at Fielston Lofts, a boutique apartment building in Riverdale, have been re-listed for a price tag of around $1 million each. The seven-story building, located at 3751 Riverdale Avenue, features 10 three- and four-bedroom units, ranging in size from 1,849 to 2,164 square feet. Each condo boasts high-end finishes including bamboo floors, granite countertops, towering ceilings, marble tiles, custom kitchen cabinets and modern appliances. But it's the asking price--between $899,000 and $1.059 million--that has courted controversy among locals.
* Paradise Theater set to become Creflo Dollar megachurch > The Paradise Theater, an 83-year-old Bronx institution, will soon be home to the World Changers Church of New York. Pastors Creflo and Taffi Dollar reportedly signed the lease on October 20.
* Community leaders get a glimpse of learning at RKA > There was an upbeat vibe at M.S/H.S 141 as community leaders were treated to snapshots of learning in progress as they took a tour of the school on Tuesday morning.

Also, in the Bronx Press:
* Dominic Castore dies > Passionate Bronx resident and longtime Community Board 11 chairman Dominic Castore passed away last weekend.
* Veterans housing opens > At-risk war veterans now have a new, supportive place they can call home. Kingsbridge Terrace, the second of two state-of-the-art Bronx residences created by Jericho Project, will enable veterans to live in affordable, furnished housing.

This week's Riverdale Review

Here are the stories in this week's issue (November 8 - 14) of the Riverdale Review:

* Troubled aftermath of hurricane horror > Local homes are slowly getting back on the grid but mail delivery has ground to a halt and residents are facing a crippling gasoline shortage following the devastation of superstorm Sandy. As city agencies, utility providers and elected officials continue relief efforts in the battered region, those in Riverdale are reeling from the damage caused by the historic storm.
* Long delays and foul-ups mar voting in Riverdale > Hundreds of voters inundated local polling sites on Tuesday to exercise their democratic right. Although many Riverdale residents turned up to vote for one of the presidential candidates, some were also concerned about weighing in on the local Congressional and Senatorial races. However, reports of lengthy queues and broken scanning machines trickled in as the day wore on.
* Police hunt two men in connection with string of armed robberies > Police fear that a recent rash of armed robberies in Riverdale, including two over the past weekend, could be part of a wider trend. Detectives from the 50th Precinct believe the same two suspects, both descried as black males in their late teens or early 20s, are responsible for at least five local robberies reported between October 18 and November 4. Police said the pair's modus operandi follows the same pattern: They target individuals traveling on foot and demand that victims hand over their smartphones and other valuables. On at least three occasions, the men even flashed a firearm.

Veterans' Day ceremony

* Local veterans honor fallen comrades > The crisp, sunny day made the perfect backdrop for the annual Veterans' Day ceremony in Riverdale on Sunday, November 4. Attendance at the ceremony, held at the newly-refurbished Memorial Grove, was much lower than anticipated, with around 25 Bronx residents there to celebrate the men and women who served our country. This was in part due to miscommunication within the parks department, which had been informing callers that the ceremony had been cancelled due to superstorm Sandy.
* Delayed Bronx Restaurant Week is now underway > Foodies, dining enthusiasts and bargain hunters, take note: Bronx Restaurant Week is still on. Borough officials kicked off the second annual event during a subdued launch preview at Oregano Bar & Bistro in Riverdale last Thursday. Dubbed Savor The Bronx, the promotion aims to showcase the borough's diverse gastronomical delights and elevate its culinary cred. Under the promotion, rescheduled due to superstorm Sandy, around 35 Bronx restaurants are offering diners a three-course lunch for $16.41 and a bargain dinner for $20.12 through Friday, November 16.
* Local renaissance girl awarded full college scholarship > Riverdalian Jessica Lavery, a freshman at the University of Scranton, is the winner of a four-year Presidential Scholarship that covers full tuition. She was one of only 19 students the university selected for this comprehensive scholarship award, reserved for incoming freshman with outstanding high school records and community involvement.
* HIR hosts Global Hunger Shabbat > There was an abundance of food, with choices for everyone from vegans to omnivores, so the concept of hunger seemed distant for 300 community members who enjoyed a Sabbath meal last Friday night at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale. The November 2 Global Hunger Shabbat event was one of hundreds taking place worldwide through an American Jewish World Service initiative. 
* Local dentist plans relocations > Riverdale residents will soon have a brand-new dental care facility in town. Dr. Gabriel Shalmi of Riverdale Dental Care will be moving his practice on Riverdale Avenue to a location around the corner of West 259th Street. The move is planned for December or January.