Talk Bronx New York

Mayor & MTA Announce New Express Bus Routes .. IF…

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Executive Director and CEO, Elliot G. Sander today announced what could be a new express bus route from the Throggs Neck Section of the Bronx to Lower Manhattan, if - and only if - the congestion pricing plan is approved by the State Legislature and the City Council.

One of the new proposed routes, the BXM-19, would run from Throggs Neck down to Battery Place, serving as an extension to the existing BXM-9 which currently terminates at Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street. Currently, passengers of the BXM-9 who work in Lower Manhattan must transfer to a different bus or subway to continue below 23rd Street.

The BMX-19 would provide Bronx residents with a one-seat ride to Lower Manhattan. Taking place at a bus stop at the intersection of Layton and Vincent Avenues, the Mayor noted that he can not yet cut the ribbon on a service that would benefit thousands of Bronx residents because funding does not exist without congestion pricing.

The new express route, along with 44 other new and enhanced routes and over 300 new buses, would be funded under the Urban Partnership Agreement, which would award $354.5 million in federal funds to the City if the Mayor’s congestion pricing plan is adopted.

The Mayor was also joined by Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Assemblyman Michael Benedetto, City Councilman James Vacca, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, Gene Russianoff, Senior Attorney for the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and local resident Audrey Izzard.

“Legislators in every community must keep in mind the benefits congestion pricing will bring and what we give up if they fail to act,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “We face a real need for mass transit improvements, and congestion pricing offers the rare opportunity to fund them.

Without that funding, the MTA will not be able to make these projects happen.

The new BXM-19 bus route is one of hundreds of improvements that depend on the federal funding we will be given if we enact a congestion pricing plan.”

“If we’re serious about encouraging people to use public transportation, we must increase travel options for underserved areas,” said MTA Executive Director and CEO Sander. “This route, for example, would speed Bronx residents from Throggs Neck to jobs in Manhattan.”

“Congestion Pricing is critical to the future of New York City,” said Commissioner Sadik-Khan. “That is why we are traveling to many neighborhoods around the city to demonstrate just what kind of mass transit improvements, like new express bus routes, they could expect to see with this new source of funding.”

Read more..

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

Bronx Bodega Owners Receive Free Health Screenings

The New York Presbyterian Hospital’s Ambulatory Care Network sponsored free health screenings for Bronx bodega owners and their families on Thursday.

Dozens of owners came out to take advantage of the offer.

“The reason why we’re targeting ‘bodegueros’ is because they’re a population that tends not to go and get their health care on a timely basis,” said Andres Nietto of New York Presbyterian.

“They usually wait until it’s far advanced or it’s too late, and many of them use the emergency room as their primary care. So we’re trying to target populations that usually don’t get care, and bringing the hospital sort of out to the community,” continued Nietto.

The free screenings included cholesterol tests, blood pressure checks, and testing for diabetes.

SOURCE: NY1.com

Read more..

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

State Employees Rally to Save Pyramid Reception Center

Members of the New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF)?joined members of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)?at a rally to save the Pyramid Reception Center in the Bronx. The center is the state’s only intake center for the state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS).

PEF and CSEA members who work at the center were joined by supporters including parents of children who have successfully completed programs at the center.

“The Pyramid Reception Center is vital to the metropolitan area,” said PEF Vice President Pat Baker. “It’s central location, structured layout and experienced staff make it the logical site for the optimal provision of assessment, orientation and transportation services for youths entering OCFS facilities.”

OCFS announced in January plans to close Pyramid, which is the main reception and assessment center for all adjudicated juvenile delinquents entering OCFS care.

Read more..

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

Email Updates On Sex Offenders Proposed

State Sen. Jeff Klein, D-Bronx, and Assemblyman Rory Lancman, D-Queens, today called on the state to adopt a two-year-old proposal to require the state to alert parents and neighbors by email when a sex offender moves into their zip code.

The Democratic lawmakers say that New York City has an average of 14.9 moderate and high-risk sex offenders live in each zip code. Of the 3,260 known sex offenders residing in New York City, 133 live in Staten Island, 683 live in Brooklyn, 232 live in Manhattan, 531 live in the Bronx, and 204 in Queens.

The most—104 sex offenders—live in the 11207 zip code, which in Brooklyn’s East New York section.

In Westchester, the zip code 10701 in Yonkers has the most—44 offenders, followed by 34 in 10550 in Mount Vernon. In Westchester, an average of 2.8 level 2 and 3 sex offenders reside in each zip code, according to a report released by the lawmakers.

SOURCE: LoHudBlogs.com

Read more..

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

Replacing Parkland Gets Pricier In Yankee Stadium Plan

The bill for replacing parkland bulldozed to make way for a new Yankee Stadium has soared by almost 50 percent, officials said.

Unforeseen environmental problems and other hitches have raised the estimated cost from $128 million to $190 million, parks officials said at a City Council hearing Wednesday.

Still, they don’t plan to pare down the plan. It calls for creating 28 acres of new parkland and includes turning the old stadium into a children’s ballpark.

The Yankees’ new home field is slated to open in 2009 on parkland across the street from their storied South Bronx ballpark. The deluxe new stadium’s price tag also has risen _ to $1.3 billion, up from a $1 billion estimate last year.

The Yankees have said the lost parkland would be replaced. That has proven more expensive than expected because of such surprises as an old, underground oil tank that had to be drained and removed from one piece of new park, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe said.

But parks officials said the project was progressing. One small ballfield at an elementary school is set to open next month, and some other facilities in June.

SOURCE: NewsDay.com

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