Talk Bronx New York

 Sean Taylor  

Bronx ready to assist Taylor’s kin : Player’s death stirs haunting memories of Darrent Williams

In late February, Broncos defensive back Domonique Foxworth, hurt by the loss of teammate and close friend Darrent Williams, stood in an Indianapolis hotel lobby hoping to make a difference for other NFL players.

“We’re here for safety. We’re here to make sure there isn’t another D-Will situation,” said Foxworth before entering an NFL player advisory committee meeting that included about 15 players, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, players’ union head Gene Upshaw and Broncos owner Pat Bowlen.

While player safety was a major theme of the NFL in the the aftermath of the murder of Williams in downtown Denver in the early hours of Jan. 1, that focus failed to prevent another tragic death. Early Tuesday morning, Washington Redskins Pro Bowl safety Sean Taylor died at a South Florida hospital. Taylor was shot early Monday morning in his bedroom during a home invasion. There have been no arrests.

Like Williams, Taylor was a defensive back. Like Williams, Taylor was 24.

And so the NFL mourns the murder of another player. The NFL came out for Williams’ funeral. It will come together again in the coming days for Taylor, one of the brightest young players in the league. His death hit the Broncos on a personal level.

“This brings back bad memories,” Foxworth said. “We’re not even done grieving for our loss, and now this happens.”

Foxworth said he will give Redskins players any help or advice he can. The Redskins called the Broncos on Tuesday to get advice on how to handle the logistics of the situation, and Denver personnel have sent messages of condolence and encouragement to the Washington franchise.

Taylor’s death resonated with the Williams family. Darrent’s mother, Rosalind, declined to speak publicly about Taylor’s death, but Troy Asmus, a family spokesman, said she was shaken by the murder.

“Rosalind went to bed Monday night hearing the news that there was some hope for Sean, and she was praying for the best,” Asmus said. “When we awoke Tuesday, she found out the news and was devastated. It has brought back so many bad memories. It hit her hard.”

Asmus said Rosalind Williams would be willing to speak to the Taylor family to offer support.

Like every other NFL player, Taylor watched a video this summer that Rosalind Williams made at the request of Goodell. In it, she stressed that players must use extreme caution in public and never assume their safety.

Darrent Williams’ agent, Jeff Griffin, learned the news of Taylor’s death in an early-morning phone call, just as he had about his client’s death on New Year’s Day. Griffin received a call from the spouse of another client in tears Tuesday morning, awakening feelings he knew too well. Griffin reached out to representatives of Taylor on Tuesday, offering help and support.

“You never want this situation to happen once, but for it to happen twice is just terrible,” Griffin said. “I know how hard it was to lose D-Will, and now all of Sean’s people are dealing with the same thing.”

In Denver’s locker room, linebackers D.J. Williams and Nate Webster along with center Chris Myers — still dealing with the memory of Williams’ death — now grieve for a fellow Miami Hurricane. D.J. Williams and Myers played with Taylor at Miami. Webster worked out with Taylor in the offseason. Broncos backup quarterback Patrick Ramsey also played with Taylor in Washington for two seasons.

Foxworth remains hopeful a lesson can be learned from the latest tragedy.

“The problem is it’s too late for the Williams family and the Taylor family,” Foxworth said. “But we have to learn from this.”

SOURCE: Denver Post

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post

New York City Commuters Face Delays for Cross Bronx Roadwork

Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) — Commuters heading into New York City across the George Washington Bridge were delayed as much as an hour this morning because of construction work on the Cross Bronx Parkway Expressway that’s scheduled to continue into next week.

The New York State Department of Transportation has been doing repaving on the eastbound Cross Bronx Expressway between the George Washington Bridge and Jerome Avenue from 11 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. every day this week, closing two of four lanes between the bridge and the Major Deegan Expressway and two of three lanes between the Major Deegan and Jerome Avenue, according to a statement on the city’s Web site.

The work also forced closure of the George Washington Bridge’s eastbound lower level and the ramp from the northbound Henry Hudson Parkway to the eastbound Cross Bronx Expressway, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge.

Last night, two eastbound lanes of the bridge’s upper level were also closed, along with the left lane of the ramp from the eastbound lower level to the Cross Bronx Expressway, the Port Authority said on its Web site. That caused delays of as much as an hour for traffic heading into New York, said Bernie Wagenblast, New York operations manager for Westwood One Inc.’s Metro Networks traffic service.

“It apparently ran later than it was scheduled,” Wagenblast said in a telephone interview. “Needless to say you just need one little thing to go wrong and traffic backs up across the bridge into New Jersey, and that’s what happened today.”

The additional closures are scheduled to take place tonight and Dec. 3 before a holiday construction embargo goes into effect, according to the Port Authority.

Adam Levine, a spokesman for the state Transportation Department, didn’t immediately return a telephone message left by Bloomberg News seeking further comment.

SOURCE: Bloomberg

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post

A Bronx Tale’ Reopens, Adds Sunday Night Shows for December

Academy Award nominated actor Chazz Palminteri resumes performances tonight, November 29th in his acclaimed show, A Bronx Tale, at The Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48th Street) directed by Tony Award-winner Jerry Zaks. The show opened Thursday October 25 for a limited engagement to run through February 10.

Beginning December 9, an additional performance on Sundays at 7pm has been added (for the month of December only).

During the strike, Palminteri was honored with a portrait at Tony’s DiNapoli Restaurant in Times Square. Also, at Town Hall, he held a question-and-answer session with students from 13 New York City high schools who had tickets to one of the cancelled performances.

A Bronx Tale was first mounted off Broadway in 1989 and helped establish Palminteri as a writer and actor with a distinct voice. In A Bronx Tale, Palminteri brings 18 characters to vivid life, depicting a rough childhood on Bronx streets populated by a cast of friends and enemies.

Playing schedule: Tue-Sat at 8 PM, Sat at 2 PM, and Sun at 3 PM

Additional Performances: Sunday, December 9, 16, 23 and 30 at 7pm

Tickets are $96.50, 76.50 and 26.50 and are available through www.telecharge.com, call 212-239-6200. Premium tickets and Group Sales are also available through www.telecharge.com. Visit www.abronxtaleonbroadway.com

SOURCE: Broadwayworld.com

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post

Hero officers Lloyd Blackburn (l.) and James Treadwell with Luisa Abreu and her two kids, whom the cops saved from an inferno in their Bronx building.

Fire sparked on E. 147th St. building’s fifth floor and quickly ripped through the hallway.

Two NYPD officers save three children from burning Bronx building

A pair of unflinching NYPD truancy officers raced into a burning Bronx building Wednesday and pulled three children to safety - as shattered glass and smoldering plaster rained down from the roof.

Officers James Treadwell and Lloyd Blackburn realized they could not wait for backup as they drove up to the inferno at the five-story walkup just after 11 a.m.

“As we come up to the building, there were flames shooting out of the windows,” said Treadwell, who had been flagged down by a terrified passerby.

“There were huge flames,” the 17-year NYPD veteran said. “There was debris coming down.”

The fire had sparked on the E. 147th St. building’s fifth floor and quickly ripped through the hallway, witnesses said. Because the building’s smoke detectors failed, several residents were unaware their lives were in danger, the cops said.

“We saw it, and we thought about the people inside,” said Blackburn, an 11-year veteran. “We just had to get them out.”

Luisa Abreu, 26, was watching her two children in her second-floor apartment and talking by phone with a friend on the fifth floor - and neither woman had any idea their building was burning, she said.

“No detectors went off,” said Abreu. “The only reason I knew about the fire was that the officers were banging on the doors and walls, screaming, ‘Fire! Fire! Fire!’”

When Treadwell and Blackburn reached Abreu’s home, they scooped up the panicked woman’s year-old son, Jovi, and 4-month-old daughter, Jamie Lynn, and ran out of the building.

“He grabbed my son and ran through the fire,” said Abreu, a hostess at a midtown Outback restaurant. “Fireballs were falling from the roof. … They almost hit me.

“If it wouldn’t have been for the officers, I would’ve still been inside with my children.”

The cops then ran back into the building to save another child, she said.

Firefighters arrived moments later, helped other residents evacuate and battled the intense two-alarm fire. The blaze was declared under control at 12:10 p.m.

One tenant and six firefighters were taken to hospitals for treatment of nonlife-threatening injuries, officials said.

SOURCE: NYPD

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post

Bronx Ex-Officer Is Sent to Prison

A former city police officer who helped his brother distribute vast quantities of cocaine and marijuana throughout the New York area from 2002 to 2005 was sentenced in Federal District Court to 10 years in prison yesterday.

The former officer, Jose Torrado, 32, of the Bronx, pleaded guilty earlier this year to drug trafficking charges. Mr. Torrado joined the Police Department in 2001 and resigned in 2006 amid an investigation into his crimes. While serving with the department, Mr. Torrado worked with a criminal group that smuggled drugs from Mexico to New York in trucks, prosecutors have said.

SOURCE: NY Times

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post