Taste of Little Italy

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BP Calls on Community to Stand Up to Gun Violence

By Dan Gesslein

BRONX, NEW YORK, September 7- As police release surveillance video of the men suspected of wounding an infant with a stray bullet, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. is calling on all Bronxites to stop the violence. 

In a statement, the BP is calling on residents in all Bronx communities to be a part of his “Peace in our Streets” initiative on September 22. 

“Please volunteer your time and work with us to take as many illegal guns off of our streets by helping provide information to fellow Bronxites about ways they can make their neighborhoods safer,” Diaz said. “I also urge all Bronxites with knowledge of illegal guns in their community to call 866-GUN-STOP to anonymously report those guns to the police.”

The BP’s plea comes in the wake of two high-profile acts of gun violence. On Tuesday, Lamin Sillah, a 28-year-old immigrant from Gambia, was shot and killed when two men tried to rob the gas station he worked at. 

The following day, two-month-old Trayvon Bunson was grazed by a bullet while sitting in his stroller in Hunts Point. Cops say the infant was hit in the shoulder when the gunmen opened fire on their intended target. Investigators released surveillance video of the suspected gunmen fleeing the scene. 

"I speak for all Bronxites as we keep Lamin Sellah in our prayers and hope for little Trayvon Bunson's quick recovery,” Diaz said.

"Ending gun violence has been a top priority of mine and I know it is a national problem. Unfortunately, despite our good work, too many firearms end up in the wrong hands both through legal and illegal means. We must all unite in putting an end to this senseless act of violence so we can better prevent these crimes and protect innocent people across our city and nation,” the borough president concluded.

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Wakefield News: In the dark on Homeless Shelters

Wakefield News: In the dark on Homeless Shelters: Wakefield Area News By Mary V. Lauro BRONX, NEW YORK, September 6- Before we get to the phone call which inspired this column, we mention t...

In the dark on Homeless Shelters

Wakefield Area News

By Mary V. Lauro

BRONX, NEW YORK, September 6- Before we get to the phone call which inspired this column, we mention that with summer's end, meetings will begin again. 

Please mark the dates since postage is expensive and not everyone has e-mail. The League will have its first meeting on September 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Redeemer Lutheran Church on Barnes and Boyd Avenue. The 47^th Precinct Community Council will have its first meeting at 8 p.m. on September 12, also at Redeemer Lutheran which brings us to the fact that the 47's current commanding officer, D.I. DeEntremont has been transferred out of the 47 Pct. to the prestigious Fugitive Enforcement Unit.

We are most appreciative of DI DeEntremont's command of the 47^th Precinct these past three years. Given the fact that he was understaffed, he did a tremendous job in keeping as much peace as possible. He also had a very soothing personality and was most cooperative with the community through the 47^th Precinct Community Council. He did not see the community as an enemy, and, in return, we saw him as a friend.

The bright side to this loss is that we will gain DI Brian Mullen who comes to us after a stint in the 33^rd, 52^nd and 44 Precincts. His reputation is also sterling. If past is prologue, he may continue the good community-police relations that marked the tenure of DI DeEntremont.

Regarding that phone call, the voice was that of an intelligent female. Our number had been given to her by CB 12. She was distraught. How could it be, she asked, that neither she nor her neighbors knew that three homeless shelters were scheduled to be built in the community? Her mother lives on Bronx Boulevard, she said, less than two blocks away from the Muller Army Reserve Center on Nereid and the Balfour building on Bronx Boulevard. And, what about this AID's (Praxis Initiative) center being built opposite Food Town on White Plains Road? Don't we count she asked plaintively? Why have we been kept in the dark?

We explained as best we could all we had done since May 2009 on the three shelters: the petitions, the letter writing, the protests, the busloads of people. We told her how Praxis wooed all our elected officials including our Community Board and how Wakefield was kept in the dark until Praxis had them all in tow.

What about the Community Board, she wanted to know. What did it do? She was told the chair wrote long columns, but the Board never discussed the situation. She wanted to know whether it notified the community and why notices were not placed in store windows or flyers sent to all residents within a certain distance from the shelters. We could not answer but she did.

She said, "That priest does not want to see any community uprising. He doesn't want to lose control. I went to two meetings there and swore I would not go again. It was like a high school class with the priest sitting up front and doing all the talking. The agenda was a joke. Same agenda two times and I understand from other people who have gone that it is the same every month. Neither the Board members nor the audience have any idea what the hot topics are. The community is left out in the cold with no voice at all. It seems the main interest of the Chair is to close the meeting by 9:30”

We'll end here, but we will have more to say.

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Reward Offered to Find Immigrant’s Killers

Gas Station Attendant Gunned Down

By Dan Gesslein

BRONX, NEW YORK, September 6- A $12,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a pair of bicycle robbers who gunned down a hardworking African immigrant at an East Tremont gas station.

Yesterday, police announced the $12,000 reward for information leading to two men suspected of killing a 28-year-old Gambian immigrant inside an East Tremont gas station. The victim had apparently been working at the station less than two weeks before he was killed.

Investigators released a sketch of the gunman who was wearing a NY Giants hoodie at the time. 

At around 8:12 p.m. on September 4, Lamin Sillah, 28, was inside the gas station at E. 182nd Street and Southern Boulevard when the bandits rode up on bicycles. Sillah was counting receipts at RC Petroleum when one of the gunman entered the office and showed a gun. Surveillance video shows that as Sillah puts up his hands, the gunman shoots him in the torso. 

Sillah was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital with three bullets in him but he died a short time later.

Police said Sillah was a hard working immigrant from Gambia whose wife is still living in Africa. It is unclear why the robbers gunned down the attendant.

The gunman is described as a black male between the ages of 20 and 25. He has a stocky build and was last seen wearing a NY Giants hoodie. 

Anyone with information is urged to call CRIMESTOPPERS at (800) 577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

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Tiger Cubs Make Their Zoo Debut

(Photo by Julie Larsen, WCS)

BRONX, NEW YORK, September 5– The Tiger Mountain exhibit at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo roared with new activity as three Amur tiger cubs made their public debut.

The cubs were born to mother Katharina and father Sasha. These tigers were bred by recommendation of the Species Survival Plan, a cooperative breeding program designed to enhance the genetic and demographic stability of the tiger population in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to ensure its long-term viability of the species.

The one male and two females in the litter each weighed an estimated two-and-a-half to three pounds at birth and now weigh approximately 45 pounds. Katharina is 13 years old, and her last litter of cubs was born in May 2010. Sasha is 15 years old, and this is his first litter.

The three cubs will be on exhibit with their mother intermittently for the first few weeks as they acclimate to their surroundings.

“The birth of a rare species like Amur tigers is always an exciting time at the Bronx Zoo,” said Jim Breheny, WCS Executive Vice President and Bronx Zoo Director. “The cubs will play a vital role as representatives for their wild relatives – inspiring zoo visitors to learn more about the threats these majestic animals face in the wild and what we can do to protect them.”

In celebration of the debut of the three tiger cubs, the Bronx Zoo is offering $3 off the purchase of each Total Experience Ticket purchased online. Visit www.bronxzoo.com for more information and to purchase a ticket to visit the cubs.

Amur tigers are also known as Siberian tigers. They are found in the Russian Far East and northeastern China. Male Amur tigers are the world’s largest cat and can grow to weigh 650 pounds. 

Tigers are in trouble. In the last 100 years, the global wild tiger population has plummeted 97 percent to just 3,200 – 1,000 of which are breeding females. Once found in 30 countries across vast areas of Asia, tigers are now just found in scattered fragments across 10 countries.

The Wildlife Conservation Society is on the ground saving wild tigers right now by implementing a “Source Site” strategy to reverse the downward trend. Source Sites are areas in the wild where viable populations of breeding females exist and have suitable habitat to support population growth. Forty-two Source Sites scattered across Asia have been identified as the last hope and greatest priority for the conservation and recovery of tigers.  A WCS delegation is currently attending the World Conservation Congress in South Korea from Sept. 6-13 to fight for tigers and other species at risk from extinction.

As the global leader in tiger conservation, WCS has been conducting ecological studies on tigers since the 1960s and has a long history of protecting these big cats through the establishment of protected areas, increasing enforcement against poaching, and public education.  Wildlife Conservation Society researchers continue their work across Asia safeguarding tigers throughout their range.

For more information on the study and how to help WCS save tigers in the wild, visit www.wcs.org.

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100 PERCENT

By Robert Press

BRONX, NEW YORK, September 3- Before we give you our primary day predictions, a little news first. 

We told you back in May of this year that the MTA was preparing for East Bronx Metro North train service into mid Manhattan. We also said that this service would be going into Penn Station (not Grand Central Station) with stops at four East Bronx communities Coop-City, Morris Park, Parkchester, and Hunts Point. The first meeting on this will take place in Morris Park on Monday, September 10 at the Price Center/Block Pavilion auditorium at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, 1300 Morris Park Avenue (at the intersection of Eastchester Road). An open house will begin at 6:30 p.m, followed by a presentation on the project at 7 p.m. Other community meetings will take place on September 24th in Coop-City, October 2nd in Hunts Point, and on October 24th in Morris Park. All meetings will open at 6:30 p.m and start at 7 p.m.

Since Madonna will be performing at Yankee Stadium, the 161st Street BID is having a Madonna look alike contest before the concert on September 8th. You can go to my blog for more details and to see photos of the contestants at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com. You can also see coverage of 87th A.D. candidate Luis Sepulveda's fund raiser last week, Senator Jeff Klein's Gloria Gaynor Concert, the growing scandal of Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's admission of maybe doing the wrong thing in approving an alleged $103,000 payment to hush up a Vito Lopez (Brooklyn's now former Democratic County Leader) scandal.

We sit down occasionally to interview elected officials on different topics, and last week we sat down with State Senator Gustavo Rivera 33rd State Senate District to discuss his September Democratic Primary campaign. Gustavo knows that he has a sort of well funded challenger, but is confident that he will be re-elected by the voters of his district. We spoke of the changes to his district where his union support in Van Cortlandt Village, as well as most of Bedford Park and Norwood where he was very strong was redistricted to a different senator. Gustavo picked up more areas to the south of where his district is, which is where his primary challenger is from. Gustavo also said that the current scandals involving Naomi Rivera (same last name, but no relation) should not affect him as he now has only three election districts in the 80th A.D. as compared to before redistricting. The Bronx Democratic County organization has backed Gustavo, and the morning of the interview Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. was out campaigning with Gustavo. He would not give me a figure on his margin of victory, but said that I would not be disappointed with the numbers.

The Bronx Democratic County Annual Barbecue will be held on Sat. Sept. 8th in front of the county Headquarters located on Blondell Avenue at the corner of Eastchester Road starting at 12 PM.

On to our predictions- First in the 33rd State Senate District the only contested state senate district in the Bronx we see the current state senator being re-elected by a 66 – 34 percent margin.

In the Civil Court Judge race we see Eddie McShan winning by at least a 3 – 1 margin, especially with all the backing he has of almost every elected official in the Bronx.

The one minor Democratic Party position we see as interesting is if Bronx County Campaign expert Benny Catala can win his old 77th A.D. Male District Leader position back from Mark Esceffeary-Bay who won the 77th A.D. Male District Leader position in 2010.

There are no assembly primaries in the 79th, 81st, 83rd, and 85th A.D.'s, and in the 77th A.D. we see Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson winning the primary. In the 78th A.D. we see the race getting closer each and every day with challenger and current 78 A.D. State Committeeman Richardo “Ricky” Martinez closing in on the incumbent Jose Rivera's lead especially since the former county leader 's daughter is involved in what could wind up indictments and possible jail time. By the way Jose was the Bronx County Leader while his daughter Naomi was chosen to replace an ineligible candidate and we will have our prediction next week, because we want to see if any charges against daughter Naomi or father Jose the county leader while the alleged scandals was happening comes out before the primary. The same is true for the 80th A.D. as challenger Mark Gjonaj is about even with the tarnished incumbent, and I don't see the two other challengers Irene Estrada, and Adam Bernudez not getting more than 1 or 2 percent each or total.

In the 84th A.D. we see another victory for Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo. In the 86th A.D. if incumbent Nelson Castro can't win with close to or over 90 percent he needs to look at himself and figure out what went wrong. In the old 76th and now new 87th A.D. two years ago we predicted Luis Sepulveda as the winner. He lost to longtime incumbent Assemblyman Peter Rivera (now State Labor Commissioner) by about 200 votes. With no incumbent this time we predict again that Luis Sepulveda will win, and by a margin of 81 – 19 percent. This even as State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. is home recuperating from knee surgery and can not be out on the campaign with Sepulveda.

Don't forget to check my blog for daily updates, other events, and photos of events covered. If you have any comments about this column or my blog, or would like to have an event listed or covered in this column or on my blog you can e-mail us at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press.

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