Bells a-ringing?

Did anyone hear melodic bells chiming this morning. If so, or if you know what it was all about, please leave a comment.

B to the R to the O-N-X

One highlight of Ruben Diaz Jr.'s State of the Borough address yesterday was this BronxNet video made in response to American Idol's recent negative portrayal of the Bronx that got everyone — especially Mr. Diaz Jr. — all worked up.

So, without further adieu … B to the R to the O-N-X.

Building worker strike?

On Wednesday evening, Bronx building workers voted to strike if they do not reach an agreement with the Bronx Realty Advisory Board by the March 15 deadline.

More than 3,000 Bronx apartment building workers in over 1,000 residential buildings — including building superintendents, janitors, handypersons, porters, firepersons, doormen, elevator operators and garbage handlers — would walk off their jobs if negotiations, which have underway since Feb. 8, fall through.

Buzzer beater

In case you haven't seen this amazing video yet, check out freshman guard Michael Alvarado's 65-foot buzzer beater on Jan. 30, which gave Manhattan College a 1-point victory over Marist College. The video has 1.5 million hits on YouTube. A Daily News article reports that the Kingsbridge star had a similar shot in 2005, when he was playing for Our Lady of Angels.

D'Adamo's drama

The New York Post reported yesterday that the wife of John D’Adamo, Deputy Inspector of the 52nd Precinct and former commanding officer of the 50th Precinct, admitted to Clarkstown police she lied in her initial report that she was severely beaten on Feb. 14. Instead, The Post said police believed her injuries were self-inflicted.

The Post had previously reported that she sustained a beating three days after Deputy Inspector D’Adamo’s patrol car’s tires were slashed outside his Clarkstown home in Rockland County.

At that point, Deputy Inspector D’Adamos reportedly told Clarkstown police he had been having an affair with a police officer who may have worked for him in the past and was also in another relationship — leading to suspicions that a love triangle was at the heart of the two incidents.

Rivera asks Senators to vote for ethics reform

Pass the Pledge recently posted a video featuring a message from state Sen. Gustavo Rivera on its website.

The message urges the state Senate to pass an ethics reform package and Mr. Rivera asks his 53 colleagues who signed Ed Koch's reform pledge last year to vote for ethics reform immediately.

He mentions Pedro Espada Jr., though not by name, as "the senator from our district represented the worst of government in Albany."

Reading at Fieldston

Are students at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School lagging behind in reading?

According to The New York Times, the answer is yes. An article published Monday focuses on student Drake Roth, whose parents pulled him out of Fieldston when they noticed their son’s kindergarten reading levels were not up to par.

“Public elementary schools are federally mandated to teach reading almost from Day 1. But private schools in New York … set their own curriculums, and even some of the most prestigious choose not to teach reading until first grade or later,” the article reads, in part.

Do you think Fieldston is worth the money or are students better off in public schools?

Broadway deadly for pedestrians

Of all the streets in New York City, Broadway — especially in Kingsbridge and Upper Manhattan — was shown to be the most dangerous for pedestrians, according to a report released by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a non-profit organization, on Feb. 9.

There were 11 pedestrian fatalities on Broadway in Kingsbridge between 2007 and 2009, according to the report.

Espada is back

The Bronx News Network is reporting that indicted former state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. will hold a rally to claim his innocence in front of the Soundview Health Center at 11 a.m. today.

You got (kosher) beef?

Joshua M. Bernstein, New York Press' food writer, recently took a trip up to Marble Hill and Riverdale to find some kosher beef.
Mr. Bernstein ended up at Liebman's Delicatessen and enjoyed a nice big pastrami sandwich.
"I settled on pastrami. Matt opted for a brisket-pastrami combination. We both received a complimentary mountain of coleslaw and a platter of pickles, a mixture of half-sour and sour pickles so profoundly garlicky, they'd stop the Twilight vampires at 50 feet. The coleslaw was also winningly crisp, not a gloppy nightmare. And the sandwiches? Though the rye bread wasn't as pungent as I prefer, the thinly sliced meats were masterpieces of beef, tender and peppery and fatty in all the right places. With a smear of coarse-ground mustard, and sips stolen from Matt's can of Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray soda, my sandwich disappeared on the double."

PS 24's lunch money debt

PS 24 parents owe more than $20,000 in lunch money, one of the largest debts in the City, the Daily News reported today.

Early this week, the City extended the deadline schools have to collected unpaid lunch money at the behest of principals who said they did not want to act as bill collectors. The deadline had already extended once, to Feb. 16.

"As of last month, 1,043 out of roughly 1,600 schools had lunch balances due, totaling more than $2.5 million for the first three months of this school year alone," the News reported.

Do you think the City was right to extend the deadline or should schools like PS 24 pay up?

Milbanks buildings get bidder

New York Magazine (via Crains) reports on a Scarsdale investor's bid to buy properties in Kingsbridge formerly owned Milbank Real Estate.

Wells Fargo foreclosed on the buildings in 2009 and they have been added to a city partnership called the Alternative Enforcement Program, meaning they are among the 200 worst in the city.

Now, Steve Finkelstein has put in a $28 million bid to buy and repair the buildings and pay off their debt.

Panel for Educational Policy votes to phase out Kennedy

Say goodbye to John F. Kennedy High School.

Early Friday morning, the Panel for Educational Policy voted in favor of phasing out JFK by 2014 starting next fall.

After hours of public comment that began at 6 p.m. at Brooklyn Technical High School in Fort Greene, eight of the 13 members appointed by borough presidents and Mayor Michael Bloomberg voted in favor of the phase-out. Four opposed, there were no abstentions and one member was absent.

All eight of the mayor-appointed PEP members voted in favor of JFK’s closure and the four borough representatives present — Monica Major (Bronx), Dmytro Fedkowskyj (Queens), Patrick Sullivan (Manhattan) and Gbubemi Okotieuro (Brooklyn) — voted to keep the school open. Staten Island representative Joan Correale was absent.

The evening took a turn when the first student, Kennedy senior Ahmani Croom, got up to speak.

"John F Kennedy was set up for failure. This process is a complete joke," she screamed, before starting a "fix our schools now!" chant that lasted for about 10 minutes and ended in a massive walkout of more than half of the meeting’s attendees.

The large auditorium dissolved into chaos as attendees started walking out shouting, waving signs and shaking their fists in what appeared to be a planned boycott of a meeting by those who perceived the closure process as being stacked against them.

“In case you didn’t notice, this meeting is officially adjourned!” one student screamed before leaving.

DOE spokesman Jack Zarin-Rosenfeld said he had never seen a walkout at a PEP meeting. He was unsure how many of the 350 people who signed up to speak left.

After the walkout, the room became decidedly more subdued as Community Education Council members, parents, community members and a few remaining students spoke, mostly in favor of phase-outs, charter schools, co-locations and having more choices for their children.

Hours earlier, a raucous rally outside Brooklyn Tech drew hundred of protestors by 4:30 p.m. Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez spoke to attendees who stood outside in the cold evening air, waving sings and chanting.

"I think Cathie Black and the DOE failed the students, parents and elected officials," Mr. Rodriguez said in an interview after he spoke, adding that he is in favor of phasing out Kennedy, but not of the two New Visions charter schools the DOE has proposed to replace it.

Mr. Rodriguez was one of two politicians represented at the hearing but did not stick around to speak to the panel. Elizabeth Lorris Ritter, community liaison for State sen. Adriano Espaillat, spoke.

“This hearing came too late to ensure meaningful public participation,” she said.

There were 20 proposals up for vote on Thursday, including eight for schools from the Bronx. The PEP approved all of them, 12 of which will result in the eventual or immediate closure of schools. Ten phase-out proposals were also approved on Tuesday.

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Diaz Sr. and City's abortion rate

The New York Times writes about the City's 41 percent abortion rate and mentions how Bronx state Sen. Rubén Díaz Sr. urged a group of anti-abortion ministers to do something about it.

School closure meeting tonight

Tonight's meeting to close John F. Kennedy High School and 12 other schools is expected to be even crazier than Tuesday's 7-hour marathon.

The Daily News reported: "Tonight's vote on the controversial closing of 13 schools could make the marathon first hearing on the issue look like a kindergarten class."

On Tuesday, 2,000 people attended the first round of closings, which was almost cancelled due to the ice storm that froze the City. PEP members voted to close 10 schools that night. Tonight at Brooklyn Tech High School, located at 29 Fort Greene Place (south of Dekalb Avenue), 13 more schools, including JFK are on the table. And in a rare occurrence for this winter season, nothing is coming out of the sky.