Closing fire companies to reduce the city’s budget gap could have broad ripple effects as firefighters travel farther to get to emergencies and deal with buildings with which they aren’t as familiar.
[Slideshow: These photos by Adi Talwar are from the last stop of the Urban Farm Tour at Rincon Criollo, 156th Street and Brook Avenue. For more of Adi’s photography, check out his website: rawlat.com/adi.] Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of visiting one of the stops on the Bronx Urban Farm Tour, the Garden of Happiness, at 182nd Street and Prospect Avenue. The tour – which also stopped at La Finca del Sur at 138th and Grand Concourse and Rincon Criolloa at 156th Street and Brook Avenue – was part of Bronx Week and organized to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Bronx Food Summit, which was held last May. This year’s eco-tourism event was organized by The Bronx Tourism Council, the Bronx Food and Sustainability Coalition, and the New York Botanical Garden. They are planning monthly farm tours through out the summer, so stay tuned for more details.
[Video: Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. talks about how the DEP’s limited access plan for the Jerome Park Reservoir is unacceptable.]A group of concerned local residents, community leaders and elected officials gathered on a terrace overlooking the Jerome Park Reservoir today to demand better public access to the reservoir’s perimeter.Echoing community frustration with the city’s proposal to allow residents a mere three days of access to the Jerome Park Reservoir two years from now, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. publicly invited the city’s commissioners of Parks and Environmental Protection to a public hearing at Amalgamated Houses on June 2. The hearing stems from a meeting of the Croton Facility Monitoring Committee (FMC) in March where members of the committee – mainly the chairs of the surrounding community boards – decided that they had little if any influence over the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and thought their concerns would be taken more seriously if raised by the borough president. Instead of access inside the reservoir, the city is planning to spend $3.8 million “to construct a stone jogging trail parallel to the existing sidewalk,” according to the Parks Department. In the first phase – which would include seating, plantings, fencing, lighting, adult fitness equipment, and reorganized dog runs and basketball courts – a path would be constructed along the northern section of Sedgwick Avenue. Joining Diaz at today’s press conference and in the fight for access were Councilman Oliver Koppell, Assemblyman Jose Rivera, Assemblyman Jeffery Dinowitz, State Senator Gustavo Rivera, members of various neighborhood improvement associations, and members of Community Boards 7, 8 and 12.“It is amazing in an age where the city doesn’t have enough money for firehouses…the DEP spent thousands of dollars and years to produce a report that basically said nothing,” said Father Richard Gorman, Chairman of Community Board 12 and a member of the FMC.
Yesterday marked the kickoff of the “From the Bronx” Pop-Up Shop Museum, and cultural showcase. The four-day event features the work of Bronx photographers, musicians and visual artists. The showcase, hosted by Mainland Media, is being held in a landmark Melrose home on 614 Cortlandt Ave. and will continue through Sunday May 22. The showcase features a photography exhibit from the 1970s and 1980s by photojournalists Michael Kamber, Rickly Flores and David Gonzalez.
Caregiver Resource Fair Bronx Borough President Rubin Diaz Jr., Emblem Health, and Presbyterian Senior Services will be holding a Family Caregiver Resource Fair on May 21 at PSS/WSF Grandparent Family Apartments (Lower Level), 951 Prospect Ave. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.In case you were wondering whether you’re a family caregiver, here’s the broad definition. You are a Family Caregiver if you: provide unpaid assistance to a spouse, partner, relative or friend who is ill, disabled or needs help with basic activities of daily living, make frequent calls to check in on a loved one, prepare meals for someone, provide transportation for doctor’s appointments, shopping or recreation, assist with bathing, dressing or feeding, assist with bill paying and other financial affairs, monitor medication intake, prepare medications or assist with administration, help someone with household chores and repairs, or coordinate someone’s medical care.Save the Date: Bronx/Westchester Public Baby ShowerPregnant women from the Bronx and Westchester counties are invited to a free open house two weeks from tomorrow. Baby Shower Saturday June 4, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Union Community Health Center, 260 East 188th St., at Valentine Avenue (1 block east of Grand Concourse; 1 block south of Fordham Road) Come learn about the Stork’s Nest, a free, prenatal education program. Refreshments will be served.
First a quick plug for everyone to come out on Sunday for the grand finale of Bronx Week, the parade on Mosholu Parkway up here in the northwest part of the borough. Last year was a blast. This year should be no different. Come celebrate the Boogie Down!Now, to the news!Weekend weather: Thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and evening, with temperatures in the low 70s. Saturday will be warm, high 70s expected, and hopefully rain-free.
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