First, we need to catch up on some of the Bronx stories we missed last week:

— NY1 reports that two men charged with a brutal anti-gay attack in October 2010 were sentenced last Monday. Daniel Rivera, a member of the “Latin King Goonies,” who attacked and sodomized four men on Osborne Place in Morris Heights with a baseball bat and a plunger, was sentenced to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to burglary charges. Elmer Confresi pleaded guilty to attempted gang assault and was sentenced to four years in prison and five years of probation. The remaining gang members have not yet been sentenced.

— Residents have expressed concern about a leaky tunnel on East 174 Street at the 174-175 Street B and D train station, Bronx News 12 reports. Community members are complaining of the tunnel’s rusty beams, old chipping paint, dirty water, and crumbling walls. Sidney Flores, a local community activist who has been advocating for repairs since 2005, has started a petition, currently 800 signatures long, to have the tunnel fixed.

— The New York Daily News reports that a gunman blasted away at a group of men — sending two to the hospital — during a furious shooting in the Bronx, officials said Wednesday. Police said the two victims were hanging out in front of a bodega on Webb Ave. near Kingsbridge Rd. in Fordham Manor at 11:40 p.m. Sunday when a man dressed all in red, carrying a black plastic bag, walked by. A video released by police shows the man in red pulling a gun out of his bag and opening fire. The gunman was still at large last Wednesday. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to come forward.

— The Board of Elections nullified more than 1,800 signatures that were collected by Bronx Council Member Maria Del Carmen Arroyo in her bid to maintain her South Bronx seat, The New York Daily News reports. The signatures invalidated by the Board of Elections were limited to those belonging to non-registered Democrats or non-residents of the district, which includes Hunts Point, Morrisania and parts of Highbridge. Yet the remaining signatures include likely fabrications such as Kate Moss and Derek Jeter. Arroyo must maintain at least 450 signed petitions to remain on the ballot for the Sept. 10 primary.

— NY1 reports that the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco), a nonprofit organization responsible for building and operating the South Bronx’s Intervale Green, the largest green affordable housing development in the country, has begun a new fundraising effort to build a greenhouse atop an apartment building in the Crotona Park East section of the Bronx. WHEDco aims to raise $1,900 for the new initiative via $10 donations contributions to the organization’s website: IOBY.org.

– –NY1 reports that MTA crews returned to clean up debris that has been falling for months from the 6 train overpass on Westchester Avenue in the Parkchester area of the Bronx. The MTA says it is working on the clean up but local residents and business owners expressed concern for their safety.

-On Monday, the five mayoral candidates sat in on a housing forum in the Morrisania section of the Bronx, Bronx News 12 reports. During the event, hosted by the Harlem Interfaith Commission for Housing Equality, candidates spoke briefly to local residents, although Anthony Weiner reportedly had the most floor time.

— The Riverdale Press reports that according to a study by the New York State Labor Department, the Bronx has the highest unemployment rate of any county in New York State despite an overall dip throughout the rest of the city. In June, the borough’s unemployment rate was 11.8 percent which is down from last year’s 14 percent rate, but residents said they are still struggling to make ends meet.

— Elderly residents at a Middletown Plaza senior housing facility are complaining about the New York City Housing Authority’s failure to repair the security system in their 15-story, 40-year-old building, The New York Daily News reports. Several of the 185 residents claimed they have been awaiting the installation of closed-circuit cameras in hallways and outside in addition to patch-up repairs that have caused flooding in recent years and stalled elevator service. Yet, according to the NYCHA, plans are underway to finish the repairs.

— The Riverdale Press reports that Justin Fornal, 35, most known for playing his alter ego Baron Ambrosia on BronxNet and the Cooking Channel, finished swimming a seven and a half mile stretch of the Bronx River on Saturday. Fornal, who took on the challenge after learning that the Bronx Historical Society had no record of anyone swimming the distance, was given hepatitis A and tetanus shots before embarking on the 7-hour journey.

Here are the newer stories we’re following today.  

— Bronx News 12 reports that mayoral candidate Bill Thompson paid a visit early Friday morning to Schuster Meat Corporation in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx during his 24-hour campaign tour. The factory, founded in 1941, sends out 20,000 pounds of meat per day to clientele.

— 14-year-old Shaaliver Douse was shot at 3 a.m. Sunday morning at the intersection of East 151 Street and Courtlandt Avenue in Melrose by a rookie police officer, NY1 reports. Police say the teenager fired a gun at a male standing across the street and, after being told my police officers to drop his weapon, was shot in the left jaw and pronounced dead at the scene. Douse had previously charged with attempted murder of a 15-year-old, although the charges were dropped.

— City Council Speaker and mayoral candidate Christine Quinn, who has been criticized in the past for her power to allocate discretionary funds, has allocated $50,000 to the Throgs Necks Volunteer Ambulance Corp,s which was on the verge of closure, the New York Daily News reports. The service formerly relied upon contributions from local residents and politicians to operate.

–The Bronx Times reports that District 13 Council member James Vacca responded to a neighbor’s complaint that nearly six-feet of debris was collecting at a  home at 3669 East Tremont Avenue in Throgs Neck. The Council member’s efforts led to the issuing of a Stop Work order at the site, where interior demolition was underway without a permit.

— Fatherhood will be the theme of the Bronx Documentary Center’s upcoming film festival, which will run from August 8-11, Bronx News 12 reports.  The non-profit gallery and educational visitor space located in the Melrose section of the Bronx was founded in 2011 by New York Times photographer, Michael Kamber and Danielle Jackson, a former photo director for Magnum Photos New York. Click for more information.

-Here’s an update on last week’s story: The New York Daily News now reports that Bronx Council member Maria Del Carmen Arroyo has admitted that the signatures on her ballot from stars such as Derek Jeter and Kate Moss were false. The Board of Elections determined that 1,800 of the signatures were invalid but the council member is still well above the 450 required to get on the ballot. Arroyo has filed a complaint with the District Attorney’s office against her staff workers, Elbin Lopez, Luis Vargas, and Betty Julien, who she claims are responsible for the forgeries. Arroyo later admitted her nephew, Richard Izquierdo Arroyo, who recently served 10 months in jail for embezzling $200,000 from an Arroyo-supported non-profit, had played a large role in the petition process.  Arroyo insists she will remain on the ballot.

That’s your news roundup for today. We’ll be back tomorrow with the Bronx Crime Report.