The Week in Rewind spotlights some of the editorial work of the Bronx Times for the week of Oct. 20-27.
Beloved Allerton street vendor shut down by city four times, highlighting issue of inconsistent enforcement
Over the past month, city Department of Sanitation (DSNY) officers have cracked down on unlicensed street vending in the Bronx’s Allerton neighborhood.
The bustling Allerton commercial strip of Allerton Avenue between White Plains Avenue and Boston Road is home to some 200 small businesses and a few chain stores alongside a handful of street vendors, who hawk everything from yams and papayas to jewelry and African hats.
But when DSNY came after Victor Martinez’s produce stall that has been a neighborhood fixture since 2011, many residents — and even other vendors — were outraged. On Oct. 17, Martinez’s stand was shut down — and all his merchandise confiscated — for the fourth time in a month.
DSNY issued 485 violations between April 1, when it took over enforcement from city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and Sept. 14, according to a Sept. 27 letter to city Comptroller Brad Lander from the mayor’s office obtained via a Freedom of information Law (FOIL) request by the Bronx Times.
A jewelry vendor on Allerton Avenue, who requested anonymity for fear of enforcement backlash, told the Bronx Times the recent confiscations have been “really devastating.”
“They don’t want us to sell, but they don’t give us licenses to sell,” he said.
‘Cooking up more than just pizza’: Three arrested as feds seize $4M worth of drugs out of Soundview pizzeria
Three people were arrested and charged for allegedly operating a drug trafficking scheme out of a Soundview pizzeria in the Bronx, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced this week, after recovering more than 100 pounds of narcotics with an estimated street value of $4 million.
Then just after noon authorities spotted Samboy enter Mexzzarella with what looked like an empty backpack, just to leave less than 20 minutes later with the same backpack — only this time it looked “heavily weighted,” according to the DEA’s investigation. Officials followed Samboy as he left the pizzeria by car and pulled him over in front of 788 Metcalf Ave., less than a mile from Mexzzarella. After conducting a search of his car, officers recovered five kilograms of suspected cocaine.
Back at the pizzeria, officers made contact with Perez Guadencio and Cardenas Espinoza and detained them. Around 5:45 p.m. officers conducted a full search of Mexzzarella, and came across 42 kilograms of suspected cocaine, one kilogram of heroin and fentanyl, 1,000 glassine envelopes of oxycodone and fentanyl, rocks of cocaine, a kilo press, 100 vials of suspected crack cocaine, a “yellow powdery substance” on the floor, and around $40,000 from the basement of the storefront.
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said on social media that the bust was “disgusting” and “outrageous.”
“Where is the regard for our children, youth, seniors and families in our communities?” she wrote. “It’s sickening that children were potentially exposed to illegal drugs in their own community across the street from a school.”
According to the DEA, vials were stored near the pizza counter at Mexzzarella.
CB11 subcommittee OK’s new Pelham Parkway recreational cannabis dispensary; full board vote scheduled for Thursday
A proposal for a recreational marijuana dispensary in Pelham Parkway received unanimous approval from Community Board 11’s Economic Development Committee last week, paving the way for the full board to vote on the application this Thursday.
The hybrid monthly meeting, which took place on Wednesday, Oct. 18, mainly consisted of conversation regarding the status of Freshly Baked NYC, whose storefront would be located at 2152-2154 White Plains Road in the Bronx if the state-sanctioned application receives all its necessary approvals.
David Nicponski, Freshly Baked NYC’s CEO and co-founder, who received his legal conditional adult-use retail dispensary (CAURD) license in early April, filed for the initial application in September 2022.
More than a year later, Freshly Baked is yet to open, however, following an ongoing process that has already included entity formation, application filing, provisional licensure and finding a suitable location, as well as obtaining a vote for application approval by the state’s Cannabis Control Board.
Adult recreational use of marijuana was legalized by New York state in early spring of 2021, with the state’s first dispensary, Housing Works Cannabis Co., opening in the East Village just a few days before the start of 2023.
Applicants must have either had a prior cannabis conviction in New York state or be related to someone who had one, and also have owned a profitable business for at least two years. Nonprofits with a history of working with the formerly incarcerated are also eligible.
When Tropical Storm Ophelia wreaked havoc on NYC earlier this month, coastal communities like City Island bore the brunt of the beast with streets noticeably under water.
As tidal flooding continues to become an increasing concern, NYC recently installed flood sensors on City Island Avenue, Tiers Street, Ditmars Street and Minnieford Avenue in the northeast Bronx neighborhood.
The flood sensor data can be useful to not only city agencies, but also community residents, organizations and coalitions in understanding how flooding impacts their neighborhood, exploring how flooding is connected to other relevant community issues and creating action strategies in response.
So far, more than 70 sensors have been installed and with support from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), there is funding in place to install 500 in total over the next five years.
“Flood sensors will not only provide real-time information on flooding, which will assist emergency responders, the information they provide will also inform where the city invests funding for infrastructure upgrades,” said DEP spokesman Edward Timbers. “The city’s capital plan includes billions of dollars to upgrade the drainage system and improve stormwater management in the Bronx, and we’ve outlined steps New Yorkers can take to protect themselves and their property in the Rainfall Ready NYC Action Plan.”
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