Bronx News Network

2011 Annual Appeal Update: Helps us Raise $10,000

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A reminder that our campaign is still going on and that we’ve raised $2,471-almost 25% of our $10,000 goal. We just need $29 dollars to make it to 25% of our goal. Please donate today and help us reach our goal of raising $10,000 by February 18th. To learn more about our programs, visit our About Us page. Today we also kick off a new semester of the Bronx Youth Journalism Initiative, which meets after school at Hostos Community College, and provides free journalism training to Bronx high school students.

Bronx News Network

Bronx Activists Arrested at DOE Protest

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Leaders from Sistas & Brothas United, the youth organizing arm of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, were among those arrested Monday night during a protest against the Department of Education’s controversial plans to close 25 public schools across the city.Sistas & Brothas United helped organize the press conference and rally, outside of DOE headquarters on Chambers Street in downtown Manhattan. Director Maria Fernandez and four other leaders from the group were among those arrested for making a human chain to block the sidewalk outside the DOE’s building, in what Fernandez described as an act of “civil disobedience.””You shut our schools down, we shut your streets down,” Fernandez said. “It was 23 of us lined up on Chambers Street. We linked arms, and we had 300 students, parents and allies chanting and cheering us on.”NYPD officers read them their rights, she said, then brought the group to a nearby police precinct for about an hour. Also arrested were City Council Members Jumaane Williams and Charles Barron, of Brooklyn.

Bronx

Imperiled Cemetery Workers Say They Have Tapes

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Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in the most recent issue of the Norwood News, which is on the streets and online now.Workers at Woodlawn Cemetery protest proposed layoffs. (Photo by David Greene)By DAVID GREENEDefiant Woodlawn Cemetery workers and their supporters recently held a boisterous rally to protest the outsourcing of 23 of the cemetery’s 38 caretaker jobs. Cemetery officials say the outsourcing is a necessary cost-cutting move, but workers claim it’s payback for publicizing their concerns about discriminatory practices among supervisors.Now, in an attempt to save their jobs, workers are exploring all options, including legal action and the possible airing of tapes that they say expose discriminatory practices among cemetery supervisors.“We have evidence to show and prove some of the discriminatory practices and documentation of grievances,” said one worker who requested anonymity because he feared retribution. The worker said the tapes in their possession could put management in a bad light.Over the summer, after it hired a firm to investigate workers’ discrimination charges, the cemetery fired at least one supervisor and acknowledged that it needed to change its training practices. But minority employees said little had changed and the practices were continuing.Workers were back protesting at the cemetery on Sunday, Jan.

Bronx News Network

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 2

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The ice storm apocalypse that threatened to freeze everyone’s lives today didn’t quite materialize overnight. But make no mistake, it is nasty out there. Exercise caution in all your travels today.A few quick weather/transit updates:-Service on the 4, 5 and 6 trains has returned after an earlier suspension, but there will be delays. All other Bronx lines have “good service,” according to the MTA. (Click here for more MTA updates.)-Access-a-Ride pick-ups scheduled before 10 a.m. today were cancelled.

Government

Cuomo's Cuts Could Hit The Poor

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The tiff between Albany and City Hall over education aid isn’t the only fight brewing over the governor’s budget. His cuts to public assistance, homeless services and child welfare are also coming under fire.