The Week in Rewind spotlights some of the editorial work of the Bronx Times for the week of May 6-May 12.
Archdiocese puts faith in first-of-its-kind Bronx pilot program to address educational and social gaps
The Archdiocese of New York hopes that a pilot program launching in Bedford Park can address pandemic-fueled impacts that led to majors closures of Bronx Catholic schools over the past few years.
The first of these Catholic education and family centers is expanding on education services offered at the 75-year-old St. Philip Neri School, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese told the Bronx Times. The St. Philip Neri Catholic Education and Family Center is aiming to meet educational needs of the nearby population, while also becoming a social hub hoping to address area food insecurity, housing and health issues.
In 2023, six Bronx catholic schools shut their doors, with four other Bronx schools merging into two. The archdiocese said that shifting demographics and lower enrollment rates — made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic — were the reasons behind the closures, which will come at the conclusion of the 2022-2023 school year.
It will take a minimum of three years for full construction of The St. Philip Neri Catholic Education and Family Center — including modernizing the aging building for environment challenges, making window and gym replacements — which carries a total cost of $2.1 million, Archdiocese officials said.
The Archdiocese said it launched its plans during a strategic planning process in 2021 for “a high-impact, sustainable course” for its Catholic school network. If successful, the pilot program could expand into other sections of the Bronx and Washington Heights.
A view of one of the Amalgamated Houses buildings down Van Cortland Park South. Photo ET Rodriguez
Amalgamated Houses avert planned gas shutoffs, look toward electrification efforts in 2024
More than 800 residents of the near-century old Amalgamated Houses in Van Cortlandt Village are breathing a sigh of relief, as they will avert a planned gas service shutoff that would have taken place this July.
Amalgamated’s general manager Charles Zsebedics told the Bronx Times that a meeting between Amalgamated’s board of directors, the state’s Homes and Community Renewal, the city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) and Con Edison determined that the gas service did not have to be shut off to any of the affected buildings unless a future emergency gas condition arises.
Last December, Amalgamated’s contracted plumbing company assessed that “major work” needed to be done to repair the aging gas piping systems in the cooperatives by June 30 of this year, which carries a $6,500-$7,500 price tag per apartment.
Local Law 152 requires the periodic inspection of gas piping systems of all buildings at least once every four years.
According to DOB, property owners and the contracted plumber began submitting these inspection report certifications of the different buildings in late December and in early 2023 — however, DOB said they never ordered Con Edison to turn off gas service that would have affected roughly 827 residents.
State Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz — whose mother and brother were once residents of the complex — told the Bronx Times that he called a meeting between the organizations and the board to clear up confusion on if the gas shutdown needed to happen in compliance with Local Law 152.
“By us getting everybody in the same room at the same time, meaning everyone is talking to everyone, it was agreed that there was nothing imminent that would result in Amalgamated losing gas by July,” said Dinowitz. “The main thing is that we stopped a very bad and, apparently, unnecessary, thing from happening to the residents of about 800 of the apartments in the Amalgamated.”
City BOE wins appeal knocking Andy King off this year’s City Council ballot
Former Bronx City Councilmember Andy King’s attempt to get back into politics hit a major roadblock Wednesday, after an appeal by the city’s Board of Elections (BOE) to knock him off the ballot was successful.
The ruling by an appellate court reversed a decision last week by a New York Supreme Court judge to allow King — a Democrat who held the District 12 northeast Bronx seat before his 2020 expulsion from the council — to seek his old seat this year, despite his removal from the ballot by the BOE last month.
Members of the council face term limits after serving two consecutive terms, leaving many to believe that since King, 61, had already served two successive terms, he could not seek a third one.
But Judge Lucy Billings, in her May 4 ruling, asserted that King’s expulsion in 2020 prevented him from serving out all four years of his second term. Additionally, Billings noted the action taken by the City Council against King, in the form of an expulsion, doesn’t carry the same weight as a removal from office.
The Supreme Court’s Appellate Division disagreed.
The appellate court felt that the BOE properly interpreted the act of removal from office “to include a council member who is expelled by vote of the council.” The appellate decision said that the Supreme Court should have denied King’s petition.
Per the decision by the appellate court, the earliest King can run for office is 2025. The Bronx Times reached out to King for comment and is awaiting a response.
King was the first sitting councilmember to be expelled from the City Council by his colleagues — in a 48-2 vote — on the basis of four charges including harassment, discrimination and conflicts of interest.
Bronx Chamber celebrates economic development for Bronx Week, Small Business Month
The Bronx Chamber of Commerce is on a growth trajectory as it celebrates this month’s double occasion: Bronx Week and NYC Small Business Month.
The chamber has grown from about 150 members pre-pandemic to almost 500, according to Michael Brady, the chamber’s senior vice president for economic development and policy.
Its members include small and medium-sized businesses, as well as larger organizations like the New York Botanical Garden, New York Yankees and the Bronx Zoo.
Bronx Week is a series of events that celebrate the borough from May 8 through the end of the month.
But this month isn’t just for celebrating the Bronx, but all of the businesses in it.
The chamber helped launch NYC Small Business Month at Yankee Stadium on May 2 with the NYC Department of Small Business Services, the New York Yankees and the borough president’s office to highlight the impacts small businesses have on economic development in the Bronx and citywide.
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