Bronx River Art Center (BRAC) - Applying for Housing and Living Spaces

Please join us for an informative discussion on applying for affordable housing. Sponsored by The Bronx Council on the Arts & The Actors Fund  Thursday May 23rd, 5:30pm - 7:30pm At the Bronx River Art Center Event Space 1087 East Tremont Ave, Bronx NY 10460 For more information click HERE

www.bronxriverart.org

Exclusive Craft Beer at Five Points Fest Brooklyn

Five Points Fest, America's premiere Designer Toy festival, is excited to share another killer announcement about our featured beers this year from Lagunitas, Sixpoint Brewery and Kings County Brewing Collective! To kick things off, we have the Sofu-Baby Sour, a delicious mango, passion fruit sour brewed by KCBC!  This exclusive can is designed by NYC based artist and Five Points Fest Paint Fight Brewser JCORP!  This exclusive collectible can will go on sale at 11 am on Saturday, June 1st! Last years exclusive can, with art by UK artist Czee13, sold out in 20 mins! So make sure you get this years can quick!

JCORP's duties as Five Points Fest Brewser doesn't end there! She also designed the artwork for, and named, the exclusive Sixpoint Brewery Greatest Day IPA!  This hazy IPA is exclusive to Five Points Fest 2019!

Five Points Fest will have a full assortment of beers from Lagunitas Brewing Company for you to enjoy! All of which will be available at the bar provided by Brooklyn's own Pine Box Rock Shop! We will also have a specially designed beer can featuring art by 2019 DTA Fan Artist of the Year, Quiccs! Adorning a can of Kolsch Style Huell Melon & Citra Hops Ale, this can will catch the eye of Quiccs fans and craft beer drinkers alike.

This exclusive can is an explosion of TEQ63 goodness that we have all come to expect from Philippines artist, Quiccs. This limited edition exclusive collectible can will go on sale at 11 am on Saturday, June 1st!

To get your hands on these delicious exclusive beers, make sure you have your Five Points Fest tickets! You can purchase tickets on fivepointsfest.com now.

Join us at Five Points Festival at the Brooklyn EXPO Center for Designer Toys, art, craft beer & food, and so much more... When: Designer Toy Awards @ the Brooklyn Bazaar Saturday, June 1st: 7pm Five Points Festival: Saturday, June 1st: 11am - 6pm Sunday, June 2nd: 11am - 5pm   Where: Brooklyn EXPO Center 72 Noble St, Brooklyn, NY 11222 Doors Open at 10am for VIP's. Cost: Daily and full weekend passes available Saturday Only Admission: $35 ($40 at the door) Sunday Only Admission: $30 ($35 at the door) Weekend Pass: $45 ($50 at the door) VIP Pass: $125 Website: www.fivepointsfest.com   Social Media: Facebook: facebook.com/fivepointsfest Twitter: @fivepointsfest Instagram: @fivepointsfest Get a VIP ticket for Five Points Fest 2019, which includes access to  the Designer Toy Awards, Early Access and MORE! An Exclusive Quiccs 3inch TEQ63 toy. Designer Toy Award Ceremony Ticket – Party with us at the Designer Toy Awards on Saturday night and rub elbows with the best in the industry! - THE ONLY WAY TO GET A TICKET! VIP Preview – Get in an hour early both days Exclusive Badge – With swank art just for VIPs STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFO!! -------- ABOUT THE EVENT Five Points Festival is a collision of Designer Toy, Indie Comic, Craft Beer, Kaiju & Sofubi, Street Art and Live Painting, curated by Clutter and sponsored by Blick Art Materials, The Outer Spacemen, Kidrobot, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Sixpoint Brewery, KCBC, Café Grumpy and Sailor Jerry. Additionally, the bar is being provided by Brooklyn's own Pine Box Rock Shop.  Taking place the weekend of June 1-2nd, 2019, at the gorgeous Brooklyn Expo Center, the festival will bring together the best Indie Artists, Designer Toys, Original Art, Resin Sculptures, Plush, Blind Boxes, Blanks, Minis, Kaiju, Japanese Vinyl, Street Art, Posters, Prints, Apparel, Live Painting, Craft Beer, Food Trucks, Pins, Patches and more!

NYPD Active Shooter Presentation 49th Precinct May 29th

The 49th  precinct  will be hosting an Active Shooter presentation .There will be an in-depth  do and don't  explanations on what to do if confronted in an active shooter situation. We urge everyone especially  all houses of worship to attend this very  important meeting hosted  by  the NYPD.

Where:Robbins Auditorium at  Einstein College.Use either 1300 Morris Park OR 1825 Eastchester Road entrance.

When: Wednesday  May 29 ,2019

Time :6:00  PM 

Hosted by: 49th Precinct

Councilman Diaz Sr. Throws Out 1st Pitch Legends League Softball 2019 Season

  The first pitch is coming right at you as Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. hurled it to open the Legends League 2019 season. 

  With Councilman Diaz Sr. are Legends League President Mario Rodriguez, Vice-President Fermin Padro, Commissioner Hestor Garcis, Empire Team Manager Jose Gonzalez, Players Eusebie (Cheo) Romero and Angel G. Morales, and Ground Keeper Angel Rios.   

Friday Night's School Diversity and Specialized High School Admission Community Forum

 There have been calls by Mayor De Blasio and Chancellor Carranza to scrap the sole test for admitting students into the city's specialized high schools , in favor of putting in a system so more minority students would be admitted than is currently in place. 

 State Senator John Liu, a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science has been given the task to hold hearings in all five boroughs, and then report to the state senate his findings. 

 At the Bronx meeting held Friday night at Lehman College a poor turnout by Bronx residents and parents allowed speakers mostly from Queens and Brooklyn to dominate this forum. There were statements that the admission test is color blind by many, and only a couple of people who said that the admission process should be changed. 

 Speakers went on to say that the Department of Education has and is doing a poor job of educating students so they are unprepared to answer the questions on the test. There were a couple of students who said that their goal is to pass the admission test to the specialized schools so they can have a better education than in high schools in their area.

  If one waits outside the Bronx High School of Science, you will notice dozens of buses from a company in Queens that brings students to the school, and the takes them back to Queens. Others take the subway getting off at the nearby #4 train station of Bedford Park Boulevard. 

 The NYCDOE tried to solve this problem a few years ago expanding the specialized high schools from the three original State mandated schools to eight by adding five more NYCDOE schools. The mayor and chancellor can change the admission process at the five additional schools. At the original three specialized high schools Bronx Science, Stuyvesant, and Brooklyn Tech the state legislature would have to change the admission process, because it was the state legislature that set the admission policy.

Above - State Senator John Liu (R) the Chair of the Senate NYC Education Committee, and State Senator Jamaal Bailey (L) the senator for area where the forum was held. 

Below - A little levity before the forum began between the two senators for the camera.

Bronx Community Board 7 Veterans Brunch

  Community Board 7 member Myrna Calderon in one of her many talents, opened the Veterans Brunch by singing the National Anthem beautifully. CB 7 Veterans Committee chair Emmanuel Martinez then gave opening remarks. 

  General Loree Sutton, MD-Commissioner of the NYC Veterans Agency was the Keynote Speaker, talking about how much veterans are owed by serving their country. She said however most veterans do not know what they are entitled to, and her agency is trying to give veterans more information. 

 Elected officials Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, State Senator Gustavo Rivera, and Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez spoke briefly, As did CB 7 Chair Jean Hill and District Manager Ischia Bravo,

There was a pause for brunch, with a little networking before the event resumed for the award presentation and closing remarks by former career Army Sergeant John Perez.

Above - The setting for the soldier(s) who are still Missing in Action.

Below - The five honorees Gerry Landron (Army), Tony Tay6lor (Army), Rev. Donald Yearwood (Navy), Duval S. Guerino (Army), and David Lamy (Army).

Above - Former Army Sergeant John Perez with a very moving closing speech.

Below - The honorees, members of CB 7 with the District Manage, and Sergeant Perez.

Protest at 2800 Bruckner Boulevard

  A crowd of over 100 resident who live around 2800 Bruckner Boulevard came out Saturday morning to protest what is being called a possible substance abuse treatment center being proposed at the site. Residents and those affiliated with the free standing school at 2778 Bruckner Boulevard are worried of what people with drug dependencies will be roaming the area. 

  It was said that no drugs would be given out on site, but it was said today that the clients would be given a prescription to go to the local CVS pharmacy about ten blocks away to pick up their medication. The clients would then return to the site to take their medication. That has the community and those affiliated with the school next door extremely worried about their and the children at the school's safety. 

  The protest was organized by Edgilo Semmitelli (a local community activist), and another protest is planned for June 8th. It was also mentioned that at the Parents Association meeting of PS 304 the operators of 2800 Bruckner Boulevard would be in attendance.

Above - Ted Pryor of Councilman Gjonaj's office spoke.

Below Max McKay of Assemblyman Benedetto's office also spoke. These were the only representatives of the local elected officials.

Above - Children from the local public schools hold signs against a drug treatment program.

Below - Mr. Semmitelli and Micki Denapoli the Executive Director of the TOTS school, who is worried about the school children's safety if the program opens.

Assemblyman Benedetto Sponsors Bill A7607 in Response to WELL Campaign Report

Assemblyman Michael Benedetto stood with leaders from the Wellness, Equity, and Learning Legislative Campaign to talk about bill A7607. The findings of the WELL Campaign report are concerning and make it clear we need to create solutions at the state level said Assemblyman Benedetto. Bill A7607 establishes a model state wellness policy that connects the dots to support a student's physical, mental, and emotional health he added.

The WELLNESS Campaign pointed out that almost one in three New York children are overweight or obese, while one in six struggles with hunger. As a result students face physical, cognitive, and emotional challenges leading to decreased school performance. 

Under federal law, all New York school districts must have a wellness policy. Many districts however struggle to develop meaningful policies. 

The WELL Campaign will make New York a leader in comprehensive school wellness by connecting the dots between related components of student health and well being. It will include healthy eating, physical activity, and mental health. That will give New York children the best chance of achieving academic success.

The WELL Campaign calls for developing a New York State model wellness policy. Investing Ten million dollars to support high-needs districts with wellness policy implementation. Creating an online hub to centralize district wellness policy and reports. 

Healthy, active children learn better, perform better academically, and behave better.

Above - Assemblyman Benedetto with Claire Raffle (The Wellness Campaign), Elly Moltzen (Bronx Health Reach), and Lorey Zaman (NYS PTA).

Below - Claire Raffel of the WELLNESS Campaign answers a question from this reporter about previous attempts at wellness programs, and why those programs failed.