TWO MEN INDICTED IN CONNECTION WITH BRONX BUILDING EXPLOSION THAT KILLED FDNY BATTALION CHIEF

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that two men have been indicted on charges related to the explosion in an alleged marijuana grow house that killed FDNY Battalion Chief Michael Fahy, who had responded to a reported gas leak in the building in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “Chief Fahy responded to a building that turned out to be a time bomb. These defendants allegedly were growing marijuana and kept flammable substances on the premises. Chief Fahy ordered residents out of the building-- including one of the defendants--and saved their lives. He was mortally injured when the force of the explosion blew off the slate roof and it struck him.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendants, Garivaldi Castillo, 32, of 465 W. 166th Street, Manhattan, and Julio Salcedo, 34, of 3450 Kingsbridge Avenue, the Bronx, have been indicted on charges of first-degree Assault, second-degree Assault, and first-degree Criminal Possession of Marijuana. 

Castillo and Salcedo were arraigned today before Chief Administrative Judge Robert Torres and are due back in court on November 23, 2016. If convicted of the top charge, they could face up to 25 years in prison. 

According to the investigation, on September 27th, 2016, firefighters responded to the two-story building at 300 West 234th Street for a possible gas leak. They found numerous marijuana plants as well as heaters, fertilizer, and tanks of helium, allegedly maintained by Castillo and Salcedo. When the building exploded, debris killed Fahy and injured Firefighter Richard Ruebenacker. 

 The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney John Miras under the supervision of Christine Scaccia, Deputy Chief of the Homicide Bureau. 

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt

A.G. Schneiderman Calls On NYS Board Of Elections To Clarify Affidavit Ballot Process Ahead Of November 8th Election

Schneiderman: Poll Workers Must Offer Affidavit Ballots To Voters Who Believe They Are Registered, But Do Not Appear In Poll Books

   Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman called on the New York State Board of Elections today to issue clear guidance to poll workers about the affidavit ballot process in advance of the November 8 election. After receiving over 1,000 complaints from voters during the Presidential Primary on April 19, the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau opened an inquiry into the practices of Board of Elections across the state, which remains ongoing. As part of that inquiry, the Attorney General’s office has found that many poll workers do not receive accurate guidance about their legal obligations with respect to affidavit ballots.

“I urge the Board of Elections to address issues with the affidavit ballot process that my office has uncovered as part of its inquiry. It is critical that we ensure all eligible New Yorkers are able to cast an effective ballot on Election Day. Poll workers must offer affidavit ballots to voters who believe they are registered, even if they do not appear in poll books,” said Attorney General Schneiderman.

In the letter, the Attorney General asks the State Board of Elections to “issue clear guidance to local BOEs regarding the (a) procedures for determining the eligibility requirements for affidavit ballots; (b) process for casting such ballots; (c) importance of reviewing affidavit envelopes for completeness; and (d) necessity of providing persons who choose not to cast affidavit ballots with voter registration applications. BOEs also should be advised to provide the written guidance and training to their poll workers, and to ensure that poll sites have sufficient affidavit ballots and voter registration applications to meet demand.”

Assemblyman Mark Gjona - 4th Annual Halloween Parade This Saturday!

The 4th Annual Halloween Parade and Party! Saturday, October 22, 2016 Halloween Parade Assemble at 1:30 PM at the Southeast Corner of Pelham Parkway & White Plains Road Parade Kicks off at 1:30 PM Towards P.S. 105 Halloween Party 2:00 -  5:00 PM At P.S. 105 725 Brady Avenue Bronx, NY 10462 For further Information, Please Contact Senator Jeff Klein's office at 718-822-2049

OPENING OF 79 AFFORDABLE HOMES AND COMMUNITY FACILITY FOR KIDS IN HARLEM Inbox x

Famed Italian Renaissance-styled former school building affordable to working families; boasts state-of-the art youth facility serving residents and 1,000 local children a year

  Mayor Bill de Blasio and Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Vicki Been today announced the opening of The Residences at PS 186, a 79-apartment mixed-use affordable housing project that is also home to a more than 11,000-square-foot state-of-the-art clubhouse for the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem (BGCH). The homes will be affordable to individuals earning as little as $24,000, and families with incomes of $31,000 a year.

“This is truly a wonderful day for the Harlem community. Bringing families and kids back to this beautiful and historic school building is an amazing example of the work we are doing to re-energizing local communities, build affordable homes, and keep our children in safe and exceptional learning environments. I congratulate the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem, the families living in this building and everyone who brought us to this moment,” said Mayor de Blasio.

“This elegant restoration and adaptive use of P.S. 186 is truly worth celebrating. The project offers affordable homes to low-income families earning a range of incomes, and serves as a new and bigger space for the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem. It’s a wonderful asset for the community. I thank all the development partners who made this restoration possible, and welcome the new residents to their homes,” said HPD Commissioner Vicki Been.

“For more than 35 years, we have been an anchor for our community, providing programs that support academic success, healthy living, and good character for thousands of local children,” said BGCH Executive Director, Dominique R. Jones. “This new chapter in the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem’s long history here in Harlem signifies our renewed commitment to preparing local young people for the challenges of today in a new Club house equipped with the latest technology and learning resources. Our partnership with the City and our development partners is the first of its kind in the Boys & Girls Club of America movement and represents a new model for community development.”

The refurbished school building is a part of the City’s Housing New York: A Five-Borough, Ten-Year Plan, which has created 53,000 affordable homes since 2014. Responding to the Mayor’s call to address the city’s need for affordable housing opportunities, the City and development partners, like the Boys and Girls Club, are working on innovative projects like the reimagined P.S. 186 building to address the city’s growing need.

Designed by Dattner Architects and developed by Monadnock and Alembic, The Residences at PS 186 retains a number of the former school’s identifiable architectural features including exterior terra cotta ornaments, arched openings, columns, and boasts the new addition of a new decorative cornice. The building features original 14 foot ceilings, historically correct windows, ornamental stairs some preserved classroom locations and wood trim through-out.

The five-story, Italian Renaissance-style, H-shaped school building opened in 1903, and served as an elementary school for 72 years. Several well-known New Yorkers attended P.S. 186, among them Harry Belafonte, Arthur Mitchell, the founder and artistic director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. But, by mid-1970s, the school building had fallen into severe disrepair and was deemed unsafe. In 1975, the school moved and the building sat vacant.

Bronx Debate Watch Party at Bronx BBQ 170 West 233rd Street

  Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and District Leader Eric Dinowitz are joined at the Bronx BBQ on West 233rd Street in the 81st A.D. by Bronx Democratic County Organization Executive Director Anthony Perez, Soon to be 36th State Senator Jamaal Bailey, and Community Board 8 Chair Dan Padernacht as they watch and cheer on their candidate as they watch the third and final presidential debate. 

  In all over 100 loyal Bronx Democrats stopped in to watch the debate or show support for the host Ben Franklin Democratic Club, and Democratic candidate for president Hillary Clinton.

Above - The hosts for the night were 81st A.D. Male District Leader Eric Dinowitz, and Bronx Young Democrat Daniel Johnson.

Below - BDCC Executive Director Anthony Perez chats with John Zacarro Jr. the Chief of staff to 17th City Councilman Rafael Salamanca.

Timothy Tapia the Male District Leader of the 86th A.D. with Kevin Davies of the 80th A.D.  

Which Way Do We Park DOT?

Above is a photo of Fieldston Road between West 236th and West 238th Streets. This one way street was repaved by the city in August and new lines have finally been painted on the street. This line painting however occurred on a day that alternate side of the street parking was suspended and you will see in other photos the results of it. There use to be head in angle parking as you drove up the street, but that has now been replaced with lines for back in angle parking, but drivers were never told this as you can see in the photo above.

Above - This car was parked head in so the the lane marking could not be painted. You can also see a car parked in the lines but head in and not backed in.

Below - Again this car was parked as it always was head in so the new line could not be fully painted.

Above - Another car parked the old way so the full lane marking could not be painted.

Below - With the new back in angle parking two new parking spaces have been added at the corner of West 236th Street. However the sign stating 'No Parking has not been replaced, and these two cars could (if they have not already) be given parking tickets. Two parking spaces were removed at the West 238th Street corner for a new larger safety zone, so there was no gain in the number of parking spaces. 

Assemblyman Dinowitz Calls on City to Fix Public Safety Hazard Stepstreets

Dinowitz cites widespread safety concerns, multiple attempts in recent years to address various locations in Kingsbridge, Riverdale.   In letter to Dept. of Transportation, Parks Dept., Bronx Assemblyman calls for maintenance work on stone staircases, urges city to develop protocols for jurisdictional issues preventing quick fix.

   In an effort to address a long-standing public safety hazard stemming from maintenance issues at tree-lined public staircases throughout the Bronx, New York State Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz is calling on the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) and the NYC Parks Department ("Parks") to make immediate critical repairs to the so-called "stepstreets." Assembly Member Dinowitz is also urging both agencies to develop new protocols for avoiding the jurisdictional issues that have long frustrated repair efforts.

 

"Thousands of Bronx residents depend on stepstreets everyday to travel to and from work or home," said State Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz. "Many of these stepstreets are a disaster, with crumbling concrete, trash and broken lighting that put our families at risk. The city needs to stop passing the buck between agencies and find immediate, lasting solutions to this dangerous situation before people get hurt."

 

In letters to DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg and Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver, Assemblyman Dinowitz called on both agencies to work together to resolve "persistent, serious maintenance issues" at stepstreets throughout the Bronx. Dinowitz writes that his office has received multiple complaints from constituents and has made numerous efforts in recent years to reach out to the city to request fixes.

 

According to Dinowitz, part of the city's well-publicized failure to resolve the issue stems from jurisdictional disputes over the agencies' responsibilities to maintain the concrete staircases and lighting fixtures. As a solution, the Bronx Assemblyman is urging both agencies to develop new protocols for how to best address the issues. This, Dinowitz argues, would allow the city quickly and efficiently respond to residents' and elected officials' complaints.

 

"We have over 60 stepstreets here in the Bronx. They're a part of our community's identity and are just as important as any other street. That's why finding long-term solutions to addressing regular maintenance issues is so important," concluded Dinowitz.

These three have been the subject of inquiries by the Assemblyman's office:

1.  West 229th Street (Between Kingsbridge Terrace to Sedgwick Avenue)

2.  Naples Terrace leading to Broadway off of West 231st. Street 

3.  Godwin Terrace between West 231st Street and Naples Terrace