BCC to Remove Confederate Statue at Bronx Hall of Fame

Following the massive condemnation of demonstrations in Charlottesville, Va, Bronx Community College (BCC) plans on removing the sculpture of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson from its much visited Hall of Fame, school officials announced. The move comes several days after neo-Nazi and white supremacists converged onto Charlottesville over the removal of a statue bearing Lee’s image from public spaces. The violent protests resulted in the death of Heather Hayer, who was killed by a car that appeared to have deliberately run over counter-protesters by alleged driver James Alex Fields, Jr. “For 60 years, Bronx Community College

INDEPENDENCE DAY CAME five days early in the Bronx as fireworks light up the night sky on June 29 at the holiday celebration held at Orchard Beach. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. hosted the yearly gathering, which attracted hundreds of spectators. Food vendors were on hand, and the annual Bronx Empanada Eating Contest did not disappoint. Photo by Miriam Quinones

Ahead of Mayoral Control of Schools Fate, Bronx BP Releases Report on G&T Inequity Fix

By DAVID CRUZ

Under a cloud over whether the fate of mayoral control of schools will be killed by the Albany Legislature, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and his Brooklyn counterpart released a report outlining ways to equalize the public school system’s gifted and talented program (G&T), claiming it grossly excludes minority students. “We are totally optimistic…that before 12 o’clock strikes tonight the Legislature will come up with mayoral control expansion,” Diaz, standing next to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, said at a press conference in front of the New York City Department of Education (DOE) headquarters. “Should we go back to

By DAVID CRUZ

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who held off on advancing the $350 million reconfiguration of the Kingsbridge Armory into an ice center since entering office, is expected to turn over the lease to developers once the state releases a loan needed for the first phase of the massive project. “We’re ready to move forward with all the legal paperwork to make the project happen,” said de Blasio of the latest news as first reported by The New York Post. But the city is still waiting on the $138 state loan Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to release to developers of the Kingsbridge

Gjonaj Secures Bronx Democratic County Committee Endorsement

By DAVID CRUZ

County endorsements usually come with a reliable apparatus and a bigger lead for the endorsee.

Bronx Week to Induct Four to Walk of Fame

By TATYANA TURNER

The annual Bronx Week celebration, an 11-day extravaganza underscoring the borough’s strengths, is under way in the Boogie Down. At a media preview three days before, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. presented this year’s inductees to the Bronx Walk of Fame, which include a celebrated doctor, actress, DJ, and musician. Roughly 100 guests gathered inside Bronx Borough Hall for a media preview of inductees who’ve achieved significant success in their fields. Their names will be etched along the 106 names that make up the Bronx Walk of Fame, running along Grand Concourse south of 161st Street. This year’s honorees

Could the curse of the Kingsbridge Armory be lifted? For decades, it seemed any time there’s some headway in turning it into a promising venue, a barrier gets in the way. There was the failed attempt to repurpose the enormous castle into a public school and then a mall by the Related Companies. The latest proposal that’s within reach of reality is the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC). And even then, that project has hobbled along, facing lawsuits along the way. But Governor Andrew Cuomo appears to have broken the spell. Even as the now-approved Fiscal Year 2018-19 $153 billion

Just more than $3 billion in residential, commercial and institutional projects have been pumped into the Bronx in 2016, according to a newly released report, signaling a continued trend of a Bronx on the mend. But the report hedges its bets somewhat, throwing in its report the Kingsbridge National Ice Center project, which was mired in delays and near extinction last year. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., which drafted the report and presented it at a forum focusing on development projects in the Bronx, included the $350 million project in the report nonetheless. The KNIC project stalled after developers

Task force hears strengths and weaknesses of gifted and talented programs A task force is learning the city Department of Education’s gifted and talented program (G&T) is in high demand, short supply, poorly publicized, and poses logistical nightmares for the hundreds of parents whose children enroll in the program. They’ve also found persisting racial inequities in a city where minorities dominate. The task force, jointly led by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and his Brooklyn counterpart, Eric Adams, held its first session on March 20 at the Bronx High School of Science, a specialized high school where entry becomes