Following allegations that Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera (80th District) hired her boyfriend (who is now a Brooklyn City Council candidate) to work for her in 2010, the New York Post reported on Saturday that a prior boyfriend now alleges that Rivera hired him to run the Bronx Council on Economic Development even though he had no nonprofit experience. He also told that paper that his salary rose $15,000 just a few months after he started so that the couple would be “able to go out and do things.” More here.
87th Assembly District Candidates Face Off Tonight on BronxTalk
20 AugTwo candidates vying to replace Assemblyman Peter Rivera, who Governor Cuomo appointed as the state’s labor commissioner last spring, will debate tonight on BronxTalk. Details follow …
Tonight BronxTalk will present a debate for the Democratic Primary in the 87th AD that includes the central Bronx neighborhoods of Parkchester, Castle Hill, and West Farms. Beginning at 9:00pm on Bronxnet’s channel 67 (Fios 33), Luis Sepulveda and Daniel Figueroa will field questions from moderator Gary Axelbank.
Kappy on ‘Snooki’
16 AugBronx Times editor Bob Kappstatter pours some column ink in honor of the lawmaker he famously labeled Snooki a while back ..
Who wudda thunk it!
When we slapped the Snooki tag on absentee Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera a few years ago, we never figured the “girls just wanna have fun” moniker would apply to a tabloid scandal, complete with Naomi looking alluring in a black clingy thingy and “the top of her lacy red bra,” as the Post described one photo, along with smootchy shots with “boytoy staffer” Tommy Torres on her now-deleted personal Facebook page .
But while her personal life IS nobody’s business, it raises two serious questions about her judgement as an elected official:
For the rest, here’s the link.
For the paper’s drier, fact-focused report, go here.
Must-See TV on Armory Redevelopment
16 Aug
The answer to what the Armory will become is near. (Photo: J. Moss)
OK, it’s not Mad Men, or Dancing With the Stars or Breaking Bad, but this recent edition of Gary Axelbank’s BronxTalk is must-see TV if you care about what happens at the Kingsbridge Armory — and being a vacant mammoth landmark in our midst, we all should.
In a few weeks we hear, the city’s Economic Development Corporation will decide on two very different, but interesting, proposals for the Kingsbridge Armory — an ice skating arena serving Bronx kids with eight rinks or a lively market of small businesses, recreation, and an innovative movie multi-plex featuring 4D films.
Both proposals have precedents. The market would be based on developer Young Woo’s DeKalb Market in Brooklyn. And the ice skating concept has roots in the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation in Philadelphia.
Axelbank gives each side equal time.
For all the controversy and obstacles littering the last 20 years since the state turned over the keys to the city, we’re finally close to the finish line here. What gets picked should be what the community wants. So take a look and see what you think. And comment here about which of these proposals you’d prefer.
No ‘Sign’ of Rivera in Norwood Commerical Corridor
15 Aug
This poster, promoting the Assembly campaign of Mark Gjonaj, was one of dozens up on storefronts yesterday on Bainbridge Avenue and East 204th Street in Norwood, a key commercial destination in the 80th Assembly District. We didn’t see a single poster for incumbent Naomi Rivera, who recently received support from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. (not insignificant since Diaz was a key player on the diverse team toppling her father, Assemblyman Jose Rivera, as Bronx Democratic boss a few years ago).
Rivera has had a tough week as the New York Post highlighted a personal Facebook account of Rivera’s along with hiring her boyfriend, Tommy Torres, now a Brooklyn City Council candidate, as a no-show staffer. The good-government group Common Cause is now laying into Rivera for this. (Rivera doesn’t seem to have a campaign website, though Torres already has a campaign Facebook page for next fall’s Council election)
The Norwood News has many more links and details on the coverage of Rivera’s troubles.
Times Gives Some Ink to NYCHA Pummeling …
14 AugThe New York Times, silent for weeks while the Daily News took aim at the New York City Housing Authority for sitting on top of millions of dollars in federal funds while thousands of deteriorating, mold-infested apartments are left unattended, finally gave the issue some ink on its editorial page today.
As Bronx Matters pointed out in a previous post, a thorough City Limits investigation into the city’s reliance on private consultants — including Boston Consulting Group , the one NYCHA head John Rhea hired for a review of his agency and previously worked for himself — was first to declare that the city paid big bucks for a review of the public housing agency but hadn’t released it to the public.
It’s not too late for the Daily News to tip its hat toward City Limits.
Seabrook Convicted; Scramble to Replace Him Begins
26 JulCouncil Member Larry Seabrook, the veteran east Bronx politician who also had stints as assemblyman and state senator, vacated his City Council seat after being convicted of fraud today. The trial was the second for Seabrook, as the first ended in a mistrial last fall.
It was the third conviction of a Bronx lawmaker in the last four years, beginning with state Senator Efrain Gonzalez who, like Seabrook, also formed nonprofits to serve as self-serving siphons. And, of course, former State Senator Pedro Espada, who sent Gonzalez packing in a 2008 primary and then was defeated in 2010 by Gustavo Rivera, was convicted for embezzlement in May.
Bob Kappstatter gives us the first rundown of candidates expected to make bids this fall to take Seabrook’s place. Mayor Bloomberg is expected to order a nonpartisan election for Nov. 5. Even if Seabrook had been acquitted, term limits would have ended his time in the Council next year.
More Delays on Oval Park Visitors’ Center and Bathrooms
2 JulBy Jordan Moss
Ongoing delays in renovations at the Williamsbridge Oval Park in Norwood are aggravating local park advocates. Following past delays in construction of a new track and field, as well as basketball courts, a new playground and a sitting area with spray showers (all now open and popular) it is now the recreation center with its bathrooms, fitness center, and ample room for community programs, that have been put on hold for a second time. (It was originally scheduled to open last spring, according to the Norwood News.)
Friends of Williamsbridge Oval Park member Eileen Markey wrote Parks Department officials in late June demanding answers.
“… June 21 marked not only the beginning of summer, but yet another deadline blown in the frustrating Rec Center renovation project,” Markey stated in a letter addressed to Bronx Parks Commissioner Hector Aponte and two other agency officials. “The completion date has shifted a number of times. The most recent date was Spring 2012, which is now behind us. If it looked like completion were imminent, we’d let the date pass unmentioned. But the site is quiet and I hear dark rumblings that there is another problem on this project.”
Markey added: “We can’t go another summer without bathrooms, a rec center and most importantly: on site staff.”
But park users may indeed have to cope with those absences for a good bit longer.
A Parks spokesperson said the bathrooms are done but could not provide a clear completion date for the project that would result in the building’s opening.
“Construction on the interior bathrooms is complete, and the exterior bathrooms will be complete after the bathroom fixtures are installed,” the spokesperson said. “We are currently cleaning the interior spaces of the recreation center, and intend to have the building open later this summer.”
Parks said the cause of the latest missed deadline was “delays with the plumbing contractor procuring the bathroom fixtures.”
Bronx Matters 