Live grenade removed from Riverdale apartment building

By MIAWLING LAM

The NYPD's bomb squad removes the improvised
explosive device from the scene

Members of the NYPD’s bomb squad removed a live hand grenade from the basement of the Majestic building in Riverdale—more than five years after it was placed there.

Commanding officer of the 50th Precinct Deputy Inspector Kevin Burke said police were called to the 87-unit building located at 3660 Waldo Avenue just after 1 p.m. last Friday.

He said detectives were led to the improvised explosive device, reportedly a small pineapple grenade, after gathering intelligence from a man currently in custody and charged with murder.

Authorities said the grenade was discovered during a drug search and is part of an ongoing investigation by a task force comprised of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and NYPD officers.

Hebrew Home unveils plans for 300 units of senior housing at Retreat site

By MIAWLING LAM

The Hebrew Home at Riverdale plans to construct a new 300-unit independent living senior residence complex on the 14-acre plot they purchased from the Passionist Fathers of Riverdale.

When built, the facility will be the first in New York City to offer a continuing care retirement community.

Officials from the geriatric center unveiled their preliminary design and development plans for the sprawling site at Monday night’s Community Board 8 land use committee meeting.

It is the first time the facility’s authorities have spoken publicly about their vision for the land, which they acquired from the Passionists for $16 million in November 2011.

Hebrew Home president and CEO Daniel Reingold said the 300 units will be a combination of one- and two-bedroom apartments. The residences will be divided into four mid-rise towers ranging from four to eight stories.

“The main philosophy of the concepts that we’re developing have to do with what the older adults want today, which is more independent living with supported services available as needed, rather than an institutionalized environment,” he said.

Superstorm Sandy leaves trail of disaster in Riverdale (UPDATE)

UPDATE: The severe gasoline shortage gripping the New York metro area is forcing locals to endure epic-long lines to secure fuel for their cars and generators.
Gas pumps at the Sunoco station, located on 5914 Riverdale Avenue, and the Prime station, at Broadway and Mosholu Avenue, were completely dry as of Friday lunchtime. 
However, the Gulf station on Riverdale Avenue, just north of West 263rd Street, was open and filling the near-empty tanks of hundreds of motorists.
Some drivers told us they had been waiting in line for over 40 minutes and that the queue even stretched for seven blocks--back to West 256th Street--at one point.

Northbound traffic on Riverdale Avenue was reduced to one lane on Friday afternoon as motorists queued for gas.
This line stretched from West 259th Street to the city line, with some drivers reporting waits of around 40 minutes.

By MIAWLING LAM

More than 3,000 local homes were left without power after superstorm Sandy ripped through Riverdale and left a path of mass destruction.

These two trees, located at the corner of Fieldston Road and
Waldo Avenue, brought down power lines in the area  

The unprecedented storm swept through the region last night, bruising Riverdale with its relentless near-hurricane-force wind gusts and sporadic rain.

Dozens of trees were uprooted, widespread power outages were reported, Internet and cable service was disrupted and several homes in Fieldston were damaged.

As of noon Tuesday, Con Edison said 46,805 Bronx customers were without power, including 3,489 in Riverdale. Citywide, more than 613,237 were left in the dark, including much of lower Manhattan.

Locally, early indications suggest the leafy enclave of Fieldston bore the brunt of Sandy’s wrath. Half of its residents were left without power and its usually pristine streets were littered with leaves, branches and other debris while several roads were blocked by fallen trees.

On Waldo Avenue between West 246th and West 250th streets, two trees fell onto the attic of a two-story house, while four blocks away on Delafield Avenue, several trees toppled over and brought down utility wires.

Further south, Palisade Avenue was rendered impassable after a tree came crashing down in front of 2521 Palisade Avenue. Another tree on West 232nd Street between Independence and Palisade avenues was also upended from its roots, blocking both lanes of traffic.

This tree on West 232nd Street blocked two-way traffic

Despite the destruction, commanding officer of the 50th Precinct Kevin Burke said there have been no reports of local fatalities or injuries.

He said the five-oh operated at full capacity during the storm and that around 150 officers—each working 12-hour shifts—answered the deluge of 911 calls.

“Most of the emergencies were in regards to downed power lines and trees falling onto cars,” he said.

“I think most people heeded the warnings and understood that it was a once-in-a-lifetime storm.

“What we found out is that a large majority, if not everyone, stayed indoors, which prevented the loss of life.”

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz said Riverdale fared remarkably well compared to the rest of the city, thanks in part to the neighborhood’s high elevation.

“I think that under the circumstances, we can consider ourselves fortunate—we’re not flooded, and our homes didn’t burn down,” he said, referring to the devastating blaze that destroyed more than 50 homes in Breezy Point, Queens.

However, Dinowitz said residents in Fieldston suffered a battering.

“In Fieldston, there wasn’t just a downed tree here or there. You really had to know where you were going because there was blocked street after blocked street,” he said.

In fact, Councilman G. Oliver Koppell likened the situation outside his Fieldston 

house to a war zone.

The elected official sought refuge in a Manhattan hotel on Monday night because his house is surrounded by a slew of old trees. “My yard looks like a battleground. It really is amazing,” he said on Tuesday.

This tree on West 250th Street in Fieldston came perilously
close to hitting the private house on the left

“A tremendous number of branches—probably around 50—came down around my house, and it confirms that I was wise not to sleep here. We were very worried because we have very large trees.”

Fieldston Property Owners Association president Stephen Boatti said at least half of Fieldston descended into darkness after strong winds toppled power lines. He estimated at least 12 trees were uprooted in the area.

“We had a tornado two years ago and another hurricane last year, but this is much worse as far as the number of trees and the damage,” he said.

Boatti said private crews were methodically traversing each block in Fieldston and clearing streets of debris.

As city agencies scramble to deal with the aftermath and begin the massive cleanup, local community organizations are also doing their part.

The Riverdale YM-YWHA opened its bathrooms and showers to those without power on Tuesday night, while the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale and Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale notified congregants of changes in prayer service schedules due to safety concerns.

Meanwhile, the Riverdale Review understands just two people checked into the city-run evacuation shelter at M.S./H.S. 141. However, sources claim both individuals were homeless and not residents in the area.

BREAKING NEWS: Hip-hop mogul, Chris Lighty, dead at 44

By MIAWLING LAM

Influential hip-hop music mogul Chris Lighty fatally shot himself inside his South Riverdale townhouse on Thursday.
Police said Lighty, 44, fired a single shot to his head from a .9mm black handgun after an altercation with his ex-wife, Veronica, around 11:33 a.m. at his 670 West 232nd Street home.
The medical examiner’s office will determine the cause of death, but it is understood the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.Commanding officer of the 50th Precinct Captain Kevin Burke said Lighty was pronounced dead at the scene.“He was going through a divorce and was in the process of moving out. He had a U-Haul truck in the front,” he told The Riverdale Review and Bronx Press Review.

The scene just before the medical examiner's office
removed the body from the scene

“Words were exchanged and he went out in the backyard and shot himself once.”

Lighty, who grew up in the Soundview section of The Bronx, is credited with bringing hip-hop to mainstream audiences and for discovering a number of leading rappers.

The Bronx native, who was reportedly worth $30 million, got his start in the industry by schlepping records for DJ Red Alert in the 1980s and by working under Russell Simmons and Lyor Cohen at Rush Management.

He founded his own company, Violator Management, and eventually merged it with Primary Wave Talent Management to form Primary Violator Management last fall.

At the time of his death, he was the chief operating officer of Primary Violator—a management company and record label whose roster include artists such as 50 Cent, Sean “Diddy” Combs, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes and Mariah Carey.

A slew of musicians and industry professionals took to Twitter to express their condolences including Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Pete Wentz, Scooter Braun, Fat Joe and Omar Epps.

Popular rapper and recent Bronx Walk of Fame inductee Fat Joe paid tribute to Lighty and said he “would be dead or in jail for a hundreds years” if Lighty hadn’t signed him to his in the early 1990s.

“Many years ago, I was a young kid in the Bronx selling drugs and I had a dream of becoming a rapper,” he said in a phone interview. “He saw the talent in me, and signed me. He birthed me, and my career. I’m mature enough to understand that he saved me and my family.”

Fat Joe said he last spoke to Lighty two months ago during an event in Miami. The “Lean Back” and “What’s Luv?” artist said the pair joked around and had a brief heart-to-heart.

During their exchange, Fat Joe said Lighty gave no indication that he was depressed or going through a rough patch.

“He was telling me how proud he was of me and that I was doing really well,” he said.

“He was a beautiful, handsome and lovely person. He was a legend. This is shocking. Nobody can believe it.”

More than a dozen of Lighty’s family and friends gathered outside his Riverdale home on Thursday afternoon. They even used flattened cardboard boxes and a large white sheet as shields when the medical examiner’s office removed the body from the scene.

According to Forbes, Lighty was extremely selective about whom he worked with, but he was extremely dedicated to those he selected.
“I only work with artists I love, people I’d leave my vacation for or get out of bed at 3 a.m. to clean up a mess for,” he reportedly told the publication in 2006.

LATFOR lines dropping soon

The southern end of Oppenheimer's district.
The new lines reportedly give the district Eastchester.

The first public draft of the new state legislative lines will (probably) come out later today, drawn by LATFOR, the agency charged with the project.

We haven't seen a map yet, but from sources we've spoken to, state Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer's (D) district will be expanded to include republican-heavy Eastchester. State Sen. Jeff Klein (IDC) will be giving up Eastchester and taking over all of the Bronx's Riverdale, which current is split between him and two other senators.

Oppenheimer is retiring this year, so Republicans hope by adding Eastchester to the district, they'll be able to snag the seat away from the Democrats.

From what one of our Democratic sources pointed out, if Klein had anything to do with this change, that would mean he has directly helped the Republicans expand their slim majority. Klein's creation of the Independent Democratic Conference and his involvement with the Republican party last year has already irked Democrats, so this move certainly wouldn't be of any help to mend relations.

Of course, this is just the first public draft, and there's also a chance Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoes the lines altogether and sends them to be drawn by a court, which could create chaos.

Mayoral hopeful Scott Stringer stresses his local ties

Here's a story from this week's Riverdale Review and Bronx Press.

Stringer has been on the campaign trail, coming to Riverdale twice in a month.

By Brendan McHugh 

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer toured the Riverdale Y last week, making his second trip to the neighborhood in less than a month. 

Following in the footsteps of other 2013 prospective mayoral candidates, Stringer schmoozed with the seniors at the Riverdale Y during their Friday lunch on Jan. 13 with Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz. 

Previously, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn toured the facilities with City Councilman G. Oliver Koppell and City Comptroller John Liu followed Dinowitz through the Y. 

But Stringer, a suspected candidate for mayor, has an extra connection to the area that his opponents do not: his mother is a Kappock Street resident. Stringer showed off pictures of his five-week-old baby, Maxwell, and talked to the seniors about saving critical services in the upcoming budget. 

“There is a real vitality in the area, especially among the seniors in this community,” Stringer said. “We need to mobilize seniors to prevent budget cuts to vital services.” 

Riverdale resident Jack Lew to be named Obama's chief of staff

Riverdale resident Jack Lew will
be Obama's new chief of staff.

Reports are rolling in that Jacob "Jack" Lew is going to be named President Obama's chief of staff, replacing William Daley.

Lew, an Orthodox Jew, is currently the director of the Office of Management and Budget, a Cabinet-level position and a post he also filled during the Clinton administration.

He was previously Obama's deputy secretary of state.

Daley is leaving after just over a year on the job; he replaced Rahm Emanuel, who left the White House to run successfully for Chicago's mayor.

The shift from Daley to Lew will take place at the end of this month. Lew will complete the budget proposal and Daley will oversee crafting of the State of the Union address due in two weeks.

"I think the world of Jack Lew," Rep. Eliot Engel said in a phone interview, going on to list good trait after good trait about him. "Both as smart as a whip and as bright as can be. He’s a nice person and he interacts well with people. The president made a good choice."

We are going to have a full story on this in this week's paper, so make sure to pick up a copy Thursday.

Bomb scare at RKA

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

By Brendan McHugh 

There was bomb threat Tuesday morning at the Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy. 

Around 10:30 a.m. Dec. 20, RKA was evacuated as police investigated the threat. A neighbor of the school said detectives from the 50th precinct told him that a brown paper bag with “bomb” written on it was found in a third floor stairwell. 

A Department of Education spokesperson said a school safety agent saw the suspicious package. After a bomb squad searched the building and determined the packaged was not a bomb, students were allowed to reenter the building at 11 a.m. 

The package was empty.

Students say a picture of the bag was posted on Facebook, which is what a school employee may have seen.

A school official said everything had returned to normal shortly after. 

RKA is located at 660 W. 237 St., along Independence Ave.

 

A short photo essay of my night yesterday

For those of who have noticed a slight decline in posts the past week or so, it's been because our other reporter, Miawling, has been on vacation in her homeland of Australia (It's summertime there, by the way). Anyways, it's caused me to pick up the other half of the newspaper, leaving me less time to blog.

Here's some of what I was up to yesterday afternoon.

5 p.m.: Driving down Riverdale Ave, I ran into these two cars near W. 238th St.,
which ran into each other. No one was injured.

6:45 p.m.: On my way to the 50th Precinct for a Community Board 8
public safety committee meeting, I hit two of the most decorated houses
in the Riverdale Kingsbridge area, right behind the Riverdale Diner.
If you've decked your house out, email us a photo!

To cap off the night, I dropped by the Ben Franklin Reform Democratic Club's
holiday party. Among the guests were Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.,
Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz,
and state Sens. Gustavo Rivera and Jeff Klein.

Throughout the Bronx, residents have different views of life

A story that didn't make the paper this week (though a Riverdale-centric article does appear in the Riverdale Review).

By Brendan McHugh 

Bronxites appear split on a number of issues, according to a recent study, highlighting the range of diverse neighborhoods in the borough. 

Last week, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. released the results of his office’s first-ever “Well Being Survey.” The survey, which was conducted between late August and the end of October, was designed to measure the opinions of Bronx residents and those who work in the Bronx on a variety of issues that impact their communities. 

Approximately 1,900 individuals took part in the survey, which was available both online and in print at a wide variety of locations across the borough. Of that number 92.6 percent, or more than 1,750 individuals, live in the Bronx. 

“I am happy that so many people who are connected to the Bronx, either because they live here or work here, took a few minutes out of their busy schedule to make their voices heard on the important issues that face our borough,” Diaz said, adding that he will use the information to help guide policy for years to come.

Jump below for the full post.

Henry Hudson Bridge turns 75 years old

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

By Brendan McHugh 

The Henry Hudson Bridge has hit the diamond anniversary. 

The Henry Hudson Bridge turned 75 years old on Dec. 12. All photos courtesy of the MTA.

On Monday, Dec. 12, 1936, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and master-builder Robert Moses cut the ribbon on the Henry Hudson Bridge.

Exactly 75 years later, the New York Public Library’s Riverdale branch has begun showing a month-long photo exhibit, highlighting the construction and life of the bridge. 

The exhibit includes more than a dozen photographs from the MTA Bridges and Tunnels Depression-era collection and will include a section for schoolchildren, focusing on different types of bridges and the building of the Henry Hudson, and another geared to the community before the bridge was built.

Jump below for the full story and some fascinating photos from the 1930s when the bridge was being constructed.

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.

Hoffnung named to key post

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

By Brendan McHugh 

Ari Hoffnung will start his new position
as deputy comptroller Dec. 19.

Riverdale resident Ari Hoffnung was promoted to deputy comptroller this week.

City Comptroller John C. Liu appointed Hoffnung, 38, to Deputy Comptroller for Public Affairs. Hoffnung, who most recently served as Assistant Comptroller of Budget & Chief Policy Officer, will assume his new role on Dec. 19. He replaces Alan van Capelle, who is departing the comptroller’s office.

“Ari has been a consistent and constant driving force on some of our office’s highest priority initiatives over the past two years, and he's proven to execute with precision,” Liu said in a statement. “Ari also shares my deep commitment to public service and improving city government. I’ve no doubt he will excel even more as part of my leadership team.”

Hoffnung will oversee all operations pertaining to the Public Affairs Bureau of the New York City Comptroller’s Office, which includes the Community Action Center, Public Affairs, and Communications departments.

“I am hopeful that my professional experience in the non-profit, business and government sectors will help me build upon the work of my predecessor, Deputy Comptroller Alan van Capelle,” Hoffnung said in an email.

Jump below for the full story.

Letter from PS 24 parents association to the school staff

The parents association at PS 24 in Riverdale sent a letter to the school staff, asking them not to speak to us here at the Riverdale Review & Bronx Press, because they claim we run a smear campaign against the school.

"On behalf of the parents of PS 24, who hold our school's administration, and its staff, in the highest regard, we ask that whoever is responsible for these leaks, to cease and desist immediately," the letter states.

We wrote a news story on the letter--and the reaction to the letter--in this week's Riverdale Review. Also, you can read our recent editorials to get our response and thoughts about the PA. I'm not going to speak on behalf of the paper on the blog, but I will say that we're not printing lies about the school; if we didn't report the bad grades that the city gives the school, the school still gets a bad grade. We just let the public know about it.

We welcome good news and accomplishments from all local schools and hope you'll let us know about it. Head over to the Contact Us page to get in touch.

A commenter requested to see the letter they sent, so here you go. Ask and you shall receive!

Letter from PS 24 Parents Association to Staff

New answer for school traffic woes?

A story from this week's Riverdale Review. There is a similar story in a separate post that fully explains the 'slow zone' practice that debuted in Claremont this week.

By Brendan McHugh 

Last month, elected officials requested slower speed limits, new signage and speed bumps for the area around PS 24 and MS/HS 141. 

Turns out, the City has a new program that can do just that. 

On Monday, the Department of Transportation announced its first-ever Neighborhood Slow Zone in Claremont. The slow zone reduces the speed limit in the quarter-square mile neighborhood from 30 mph to 20 mph, adds nine new speed bumps and over 50 new signs—both on poles and stenciled onto the street—to the area alerting drivers of the speed limit. 

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, one of three legislators who wrote to DOT in October, says Independence Avenue is a model candidate for the new traffic safety program. 

“Given the area’s proximity to several schools, a public library, and houses of worship, I believe this stretch of Independence Avenue would be an ideal location for a Neighborhood Slow Zone,” he wrote in a letter to DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan earlier this week. 

Jump below for the full story.

Chain stores flock to the Bronx

Another story from this week's Riverdale Review and Bronx Press.

By Brendan McHugh 

The Bronx is slowly gaining the reputation as the last frontier for major development, with the 230th Street lot and the Kingsbridge Armory highlighted as some of the last major plots of land that could be developed for commercial use. 

In a recent study, national retailers are beginning to expand in the Bronx, more so than in most other boroughs. 

Chain store locations jumped 3.8 percent from 2010 in the Bronx, trailing only Queens at 5.8 percent growth. The amount of chain stores in Manhattan decreased by 2.1 percent. 

Jump below for the full story.

Smoke-Free Housing Forum coming to Riverdale Nov. 16

We've written about this issue before, and later this month the community will have a chance to discuss this issue, which has the potential to be a very divided conversation. Riverdale Smoke Free Housing Forum

Is it time to move power lines underground?

One last story from this week's Riverdale Review.

Power lines are the only thing holding up this fallen tree.
Residents, however, were left without power because of it.

By Brendan McHugh 

Storm after storm has ravaged Riverdale residents, killing tree after tree, which inevitably land on a power line or two. Or more. 

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz is fed up with the situation. 

“This problem has continued for far too long and must be fixed,” he wrote in a letter to Consolidated Edison. “I strongly urge you to move the electrical wires in these areas underground, thereby eliminating the risk of interference by felled trees.” 

As of Monday, over 1,000 Bronxites were still without power, and Con Edison said they hoped to have solved the rest of the outages by Wednesday evening. Dinowitz says that if the electric and gas company would start putting wires in the ground, they could avoid the problem completely. 

“I surmise these power outages are related to the abundance of trees in these areas, and hence the increased likelihood of trees falling down and knocking down electrical wires,” he wrote. “We are in the 21st century, and there is no reason we should continue to rely on an unreliable and antiquated system of delivering power to the affected areas.”

Jump below for the full story.

Riverdale's real estate prices are still outrageous

Evidence: To get a three- or four-bedroom in this apartment building, be ready to shell out somewhere between $900K and $1.059 million.

The building, dubbed "Fieldston Lofts," is on Riverdale Avenue near W. 238th Street. It's at the north end of the commercial strip that runs between 238th and 235th Streets.

As one of Riverdale's prominent leaders put it, "The terraces have a great view of Salvatores," the pizza place across the street.

According to the Real Deal, the condominium development site is owned by a Chicago-based LLC that shares an address with Builders Bank, according to public records, which picked up the site for $9.79 million in 2009.

Looks like Riverdale has another Solaria on its hands. At least that empty building has some good views.

At least it's completed and up for sale. It could be this neighboring building:

 

Jason Bateman and Alexander Skarsgard in Riverdale (Sad UPDATE)

Bateman is (not) shooting
a film in Riverdale.

Movies and television shows are shot in New York City all the time; it's part of our life. But they're more often shot in Midtown Manhattan and Brooklyn, and only occasionally do film sets come to the Bronx, and specifically Riverdale.

So head over to the NoMa Blog to see an exclusive photo of the film set "Disconnect," starring Jason Bateman and Alexander Skarsgard. The blogger promises more photos coming from an "insider."

According to NoMa, they will be filming at the Solaria until 3 a.m. tonight and from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Thursday and Friday nights. They note that Skarsgard is from True Blood, though I am more focused on trying to catch a glimpse of Bateman, the star of Arrested Development.

"Disconnect" is a "Crash"-style ensemble piece that explores various characters and how they are affected -- and in some cases destroyed -- by the Internet and other forms of modern communication. The cast also includes Frank Grillo ("Prison Break"), Andrea Riseborough and Michael Nyqvist, with Bateman set to play the overprotective father of Colin Ford's character.

UPDATE: My insider tells me Bateman and Skarsgard probably won't be in Riverdale. The filming taking place in the Solaria is some of the lower level celebs. Just to clarify, NoMa never said the actors would be there. I was just hoping to see them if they were.