Carrion seeks higher office

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. announced this morning that he intends to run for city comptroller. According to the New York Observer's Politicker, this has current City Comptroller and mayoral hopeful William C. Thompson breathing a sigh of relief.

News in Riverdale this week

Real estate advertisements for the controversial Chapel Farm development have finally surfaced. A call to the realtor revealed some shocking news. Until all the new homes are completed (sometime in 2013), developer John Fitzgerald hopes to rent out each one as they are finished. The asking price for this one above (pictured on the developer's Web site) is $35,000 ... a month. Read the story.

MS/HS 141 Principal Lori O'Mara has started campaigning for additional money from the city Department of Education to expand the Riverdale school's undersized gymnasium.

Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy students hit the bowling lanes at Chelsea Piers during Hanukkah to raise $80,000 to buy an ambulance for Magen David Adom, Israel's version of the American Red Cross. To see how far they've gotten or to contribute to the cause, go to their Web site.

Is Starbucks just the beginning?

The Daily News has a story today about the new Starbucks in Riverdale. Apparently, Riverdale residents can thank (or blame) one man for the java giant's opening: Daniel Wright, a real estate broker with Halstead Properties Riverdale.
The story, written by CUNY journalism grad student Matt Townsend, goes on to say that the coffee chain's presence may signal a change in the neighborhood's retail landscape.
Townsend writes, "While Starbucks often serves as a beachhead for other retailers, the increase in national chains often means higher demand for space and, in turn, higher rents and property values - potentially pushing out mom-and-pop businesses."
"I've already run into so many people who I sold to who are saying, 'Our property value just shot up,'" Wright said. "It sounds silly, but it's kind of true."

Making global warming an issue

Riverdalian Frances Beinecke is unhappy about the failure of
the presidential candidates and the media that cover them to
make an issue of global warming. And as the president of one
of the nation's largest environmental organizations, she's
in a position to do something about it.
On her blog, she's calling on "voters to let commentators and
reporters — and candidates — know that global warming is a top tier issue. How can you do that? Call the campaign offices
in your area and tell them you want to hear more about
global warming. And then email your local paper or tv
station and say, “Where’s your story on global warming
and the election?”

News in Riverdale this week

Like food pantries across New York City, the Kingsbridge-Riverdale-Marble Hill Food and Hunger Project is struggling to keep up with the community's demands. To learn how you can contribute to the Food and Hunger Project or to learn of other organizations in need, go to our How you can help section.

Parking on the commercial strip of Mosholu Avenue will no longer be free, the city Department of Transportation has announced.

Students in local schools are committing fewer crimes, the city Department of Education maintains, but the city comptroller says otherwise. He is charging crimes are going unreported.

Tell MTA what you think

Not happy about the proposed fare hikes? MTA wants to hear from you. After holding public hearings throughout the city and Westchester, the transit agency is accepting suggestions and comments online. On Monday, Dec. 10, from noon to 1:30 p.m., commuters can post their opinions. Advanced registration is required on the MTA's site.

Meanwhile, Mayor Michael Bloomberg claims his congestion plan would eliminate the need for a fare hike, the Daily News reports.

Clean sweep

We have been keeping an eye on the West 253rd Street exit off the northbound Henry Hudson Parkway (see older posts) where speeding drivers, unable to navigate the sharp turn, have repeatedly clipped off the three warning arrows.
As of today, all three are down. The city Department of Transportation will send out a crew to replace the arrows, but more can be done. Drivers can take the turn slower and the city can erect a better warning sign to alert drivers of the hairpin turn.

Post columnist criticizes Engel

Rep.Eliot Engel, who led a delegation of 10 members of
Congress on a fact-finding mission to Brazil to learn about
the use of sugar-based ethanol in solving this country's
energy problems, found himself the object of a withering
attack by Washington Post columnist Al Kamen, who called the
trip a junket to warmer climes for representatives and their
spouses.
"Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House
International Relations subcommittee on Latin America, is
our leader on this codel to the land of soccer, samba and
Carnaval. Spouses are tagging along, of course. There's a
'spouse program coordinator' at some stops, according to an
early itinerary that floated our way," wrote Kamen, and his
column, gets tougher from there.