Talking the Bronx – 03.27.13
Talking the Bronx – 03.27.13 Part I
The Bronx Borough President celebrates Women’s History Month
On Tues., Mar. 19th, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. hosted his annual Women’s History Month Celebration. Among those honored were June M. Eisland, former City Council Member from the northwest Bronx; Hon. Nelida Malave-Gonzalez, Surrogate Judge for Bronx County; and Wanda Williams, DC 37’s Political Action and Legislation Director. Ms. Williams was unable to attend the event, and her award was accepted by Sheana Smith, Legislative Analyst/Bronx Coordinator for DC 37.
The Bronx Community College President’s Lecture Series
Bronx Community College presents “Guns: How Do We Stop the Violence?,” the first in a series of President’s Lectures on issues of major importance to the college community and general public. Among the panelists expected to participate are Geoffrey Canada, President and CEO, Harlem Children’s Zone; Gloria Cruz, Bronx Chapter of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence; Shafiq Abdussabar, President, National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers; and Phillip Thompson, Manager for Impacted and Faith Communities, Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
The lecture will be held on Thurs., April 11th from 12 noon to 2 p.m. The lecture will take place at the Gould Memorial Library Auditorium on the BCC campus, located at 2155 University Avenue.As described by organizers, the lecture takes place at a time when gun-related homicides and other gun-related crimes have declined sharply in the Bronx—as they have in other parts of the New York City metropolitan area. According to one report, the borough’s overall 2012 murder rate was 23 percent lower than that of the previous year’s, and it is now lower than that of Philadelphia, Chicago, and Boston. The number of murders in the Bronx dropped to 112 from 148 in 2011. Panelist will be asked to engage us in an important conversation about guns and violence, a dialogue that will expand upon the discussion that has galvanized the nation in the wake of the tragic killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Among the themes that will be explored are:
• How do we explain the decline in gun violence rates?
• What role, if any, do street stop-and-frisks play in the decline?
• What impact will New York State’s tougher gun control laws have on gun-related crimes in the Bronx and similar urban areas?
• What other policy measures can be put in place to get illegal weapons off the street?
• What can we do as parents, friends, and members of the community to stop the violence?
The lecture will be sponsored d by the Office of the President of BCC and the BCC Criminal Justice Program.
The event is free and open to the public.
For additional information, please contact Diane Weathers, AVP, Marketing and Communications at 718. 289.5770 or at diane.weathers@bcc.edu.cuny.
Advocate of Wordz
The Bronx Museum of the Arts will be hosting a “Readings and Conversations” session with Bronx author Advocate of Wordz. His new book, Advocate of Wordz, is described as a “book of poetry and other creative nonsense that is imperative to your existence.”
Organizers have written, “Advocate of Wordz is an author and performer who, over the course of a decade, has been teaching kids how to talk their way out of detention and has shared his skewed perception of the world around us. He is ‘the handsome son of a conservative Puerto Rican who can speak in Old English and a liberal white woman who knows how to mambo.’ Raised in The Bronx between seedy neighborhoods and affluent communities, the multicultural parlor trickster of paragraphs began fashioning language in an attempt to bridge the duality of his world.”
The presentation is to be held in the North Wing Lobby of the Museum on Wed., Apr. 3rd from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
For more information, please visit www.bronxmuseum.org.
Archdiocese of New York aids families
Dr. Timothy J. McNiff, Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of New York, has announced that the Archdiocese would grant refunds to families who have paid registration deposits at archdiocesan high schools for the 2013-2014 school year and who can demonstrate their child’s acceptance into one of the eight New York City specialized public high schools below:
• Bronx High School of Science
• Brooklyn Latin School
• Brooklyn Technical High School
• High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College
• High School of American Studies at Lehman College
• Queens High School for the Sciences at York College
• Staten Island Technical High School
• Stuyvesant High School
This is prompted by a delayed high school acceptance notification date by the New York City Board of Education as a result of Hurricane Sandy. The postponement necessitated some parents to register their children in alternate high schools, including Catholic high schools, to ensure placement for next year, without yet receiving verification of acceptance into a specialized high school.
The decision by Dr. McNiff, made in consultation with Cardinal Dolan, is a one-time accommodation only for those families with documentation verifying acceptance into one of the city’s eight specialized high schools and will be funded by the Archdiocese of New York rather than the individual Catholic high schools.
“I felt this was the appropriate and compassionate decision given the extraordinary circumstances resulting from Hurricane Sandy and a way to relieve families impacted by the devastation of one, but for many, significant, financial burden,” said Dr. McNiff. “By assuming the reimbursement responsibility, the archdiocese both respects our Catholic high schools’ no-refund policy and demonstrates our willingness to work with the city for the best interest of New York families.”
Parents whose children qualify for the refunds should contact Joseph Gerics, Ed.D., Associate Superintendent for Secondary Education, Archdiocese of New York, at Joseph.Gerics@archny.org by April 15th. All requests must include appropriate documentation indicating admission into one of the eight specialized high schools listed above.
The South Bronx Leadership Forum
Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Mathew Wambua will join the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (SoBRO) on Tues., Apr. 16th for its South Bronx Leadership Forum. Commissioner Wambua is expected ti highlight the latest HPD updates and priorities, expound on the new housing market, define signature and legacy projects in the Bronx, and speak on the latest ventures in the borough.
Previous guest speakers have included US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Senator Charles Schumer to name a few. The participants have also included elected and appointed officials at the city and state levels, heads of community relations at some of New York City’s largest corporations, banks and financial establishments and other esteemed Bronx leaders in business.
The forum will be held at 555 Bergen Avenue (3rd Flr) at 9:00 a.m. with registration and continental breakfast beginning at 8:30 a.m. There is a donation of $5.
To RSVP or for more information, please contact Andrea Mahee at amahee@sobro.org or visit www.sobro.org.
