Bronx Notes: Get a Free Tree

Million Trees NYC will be having several tree giveaways over the coming month, including: April 14, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., at Hunts Point Riverside Park, Lafayette Ave. (between Edgewater Rd. & Bronx River), April 28 at Waterbury Lasalle Community Association, 3075 Baisley Ave., May 5 at Drew Gardens, 1071 East Tremont Ave., and May 5 at Friends of Van Cortlandt Park, Broadway and Mosholu Ave. Trees are limited; reserve a tree online at www.nyrp.org/bronxtrees. For more information, visit milliontreesnyc.org. For further questions, contact Michael Mitchell at (212) 333-2552 or mmitchell@nyrp.org. Ed. note: Every weekday, we highlight Bronx programs,


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Report: Stadium Parking Falls Short on Jobs Promise

A company that received millions in tax-exempt bonds to finance the development of parking lots around Yankee Stadium did not deliver on the number of jobs it said it would create, an audit from the City Comptroller’s office detailed recently. Bronx Parking Development Company LLC received $225 million in private activity bonds to build 2,184 parking spaces near the new Yankee Stadium. The city’s Economic Development Corp. (EDC) approved the financing for the project despite the fact that the organization’s parent company had defaulted previously on tax-exempt economic development bonds, the report said. “The EDC has enormous power to create


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Bronx Links, Wednesday

Welcome back to Breaking Bronx. Here are some local news stories we’re reading this Wednesday afternoon: It’s baseball season! But for some Bronx teams, there are challenges to face before hitting the field. Players at the Bronx High School of Science, and other high school who were hoping to use the sparkling new baseball diamonds at Harris Field, are unexpectedly stuck waiting another season because the grass on the fields is not ready. The Riverdale Press first wrote about the delay in March; the Times‘ School Book blog covered it today, with a video (see below). Students have been without


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Be Healthy! Wednesdays: Bronx Photo Exhibit Spotlights Public Housing Health Hazards

Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, Breaking Bronx features a health-related story, event or tidbit as part of an online expansion of our Be Healthy! column. Bronx Photo Exhibit Spotlights Public Housing Health Hazards When the ventilation fan in Maribel Baez’s bathroom stopped working, a black patch of mold began to grow on her ceiling. She called the New York City Housing Authority, which runs the Melrose Houses in the South Bronx, where she’s lived for four years, and tried to get the problem fixed. NYCHA told her it would be two years before they could send a repairperson out. The mold


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Bronx Links, Monday

Obviously slow day on the blog today as we begin production on this week’s print edition of the Norwood News. In the meantime, here’s a rundown of the latest Bronx stories making the news.

Legal Services NYC-Bronx To Open Community Office at the Hub

A group that offers free legal services to low-income Bronx residents will be getting a new and improved home at the busy HUB commercial corridor, at Brook Avenue and E. 149th Street, a number of local elected officials announced last week. Legal Services NYC-Bronx will move into a commercial condominium that’s being built as part of City-sanctioned development project on a stretch of undeveloped property at the HUB. When completed, the group’s new offices will feature a green space and be fully handicap accessible, according to a press release sent out by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., who is


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It’s Budget Time: City Council Rallies for Restorations, While State Lawmakers Strike a Deal

It’s that time of year again–budget negotiation time, as lawmakers hammer out deals on how much the city and state governments should spend, and on what. City Council members have until the start of the next fiscal year, on July 1, to agree on a plan for the city’s spending. Mayor Bloomberg released a $68.7 billion preliminary budget proposal in February, which he boasted would close a $2 billion budget gap without raising taxes. But not everyone, of course, is happy with the Mayor’s plan. Bronx City Council Member Annabel Palma, who represents Parkchester, Soundview, Castle Hill, and Classon Point,


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Bronx Lawmakers Sponsor Bill to Protect Facebook Passwords

Two Bronx legislators are looking to pass a bill that would ban employers from requesting social media site passwords from job applicants, a practice they say is growing in popularity and a threat to the privacy of job-seekers. “This legislation will address a terrible and growing abuse by certain employers,” said Assemblyman Jeffery Dinowitz, who is sponsoring the version of the bill in the Assembly. “Employers should not be snooping on social media communications that are private, and they certainly should not be given passwords that are supposed to be kept secret. It’s like an employer asking for a copy


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