Cuomo Pulls New York From Federal Deportation Program

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today that he’ll be suspending the state’s participation in the controversial Secure Communities program, a measure that requires local law enforcement agencies to share the fingerprints of anyone who’s been arrested with federal immigration officials, who then check the prints for a person’s green card status.Cuomo’s move comes after weeks of mounting pressure from local legislators and immigrant advocacy groups, who say the program is not meeting its supposed goal of deporting serious and violent criminal offenders.

Hunts Point Produce Market to Stay in the Bronx for at Least 3 More Years

The Hunts Point Produce Market and its 2,400 employees will remain in the Bronx for at least three more years as city officials expressed confidence that they were on their way to reaching a long-term deal with the cooperative that would include a revamp of the market. For the next nine months, the city will have exclusive negotiating rights with the market cooperative, leaving suitors from New Jersey out in the cold until at least early 2012. “Thanks to this agreement, the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative will extend its lease, recommit to the Bronx, and, for the next nine months, work with New York City – and New York City only – on a long-term plan for a larger, modernized market,” Mayor Bloomberg said in a statement today. “Our Administration and the Co-op both want that to be built in the Bronx, and in the coming months, we will continue working together to make it happen.”With its lease at Hunts Point recently running out, the cooperative was beginning a month-to-month rental situation. The plan was to work on a short-term deal to stay in the Bronx while the cooperative’s 47 vendors negotiated a long-term lease, either in Hunts Point or New Jersey.

Bronx News Roundup, Wednesday, June 1

Welcome to June, Bronxophiles. Here’s today’s lineup of Bronx news!Weather: The National Weather Service is issuing a “hazardous weather outlook” warning, which could amount to nothing, or severe thunderstorms. After a high of 89 today, it’s supposed to cool off tomorrow, down to a less stifling 76 degrees.