Talk Bronx New York

Bronx native Omari Lawrence committed to St. John’s in August. Photo by Damion Reid

Omari Lawrence made it official Thursday night. In front of family, friends and members of the media, the former St. Raymond HS and current South Kent School guard signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at St. John’s University inside the Mullally Park Recreation Center in the Bronx.

But, according to Lawrence brother, Abebe, a former Division I athlete himself, Omari attending St. John’s was a foregone conclusion.

“I’ve known he wanted to be a local kid since freshman year of high school,” the former defensive end at the University of Maine said. “At the end, it was a no-brainer. It was St. John’s all along.”

Lawrence, the basketball player, stated differently numerous times. He took visits to UConn, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Georgetown and North Carolina State. But visiting those places made him realize one thing: New York City was where he wanted to be.

Abebe said when they got off the plane in Wisconsin for a visit with Marquette, his brother let out a sigh.

“I can’t believe I’m out here, man,” Omari said, according to Abebe.

“I just wanted to stay home with my family (for college),” Omari said Thursday night. Read more..

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Yankees aim to be more successful in the free-agent season than they were in the 2008 campaign and are targeting starting pitchers, manager Joe Girardi said on Thursday.

“The rotation is the number one area for us,” Girardi told reporters in a conference call on the eve of the opening of the free-agent market.

Girardi said he expected the Yankees to be active in courting free agents following the team’s 89-73 record in his first season in charge that left the Bronx Bombers out of the playoffs after 13 successive trips to the postseason.

Top starter on the market is big left-hander CC Sabathia, who was a combined 17-10 with a 2.70 ERA splitting his year between the Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers.

AJ Burnett, 18-10 with Toronto, Derek Lowe (14-11, Dodgers), Ben Sheets (13-9, Milwaukee), Ryan Dempster (17-6, Cubs) are among other leading free agent starting pitchers. Read more..

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MORE THAN 100 South Bronx residents attended a public meeting held by Mothers on the Move (MOM), a community organization that has mobilized around local issues such as funding and safety for public housing, students rights and, most recently, environmental justice.

Among the grievances expressed by residents was the continued deteriorating condition of New York City public housing due to the lack of funding for crucially needed maintenance projects. There was testimony, especially from the elderly and disabled, on how building elevators are constantly out of service. Some said there were times they had to walk up 20 flights of stairs to get to their apartments.

There have been several demonstrations at City Hall to address these issues, but the city continues to cut funding for public housing. At the same time, the city charges the New York City Housing Authority $73 billion for the “special services” provided by the New York Police Department. Those “services” basically mean occupying subsidized housing facilities and harassing residents for suspected crimes. The city also wants to spend $550 million for jails in the South Bronx.

The environment has become a huge concern as well. The asthma rate is the highest in the South Bronx especially among young children, and the cancer rate is 25 percent higher in the Bronx then the rest of the city. Read more..

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 The Bronx touch down in just over a month - enter below to go into the draw to win a single pass.

Press Release:

In a tirelessly repetitive age of rock where nearly every bands’ value system holds songwriting, tight-legged pants and blog devotion at the same level - The Bronx reminds us of how an aggressive yet catchy rock song done right is still capable of making the hair stand up on the back of our necks. As easy and simple as it seems, it’s nearly impossible to find a band in 2008 that makes truly exciting rock that is rooted in passion and intelligence, which is why The Bronx need to be held in the high regard they deserve. Read more..

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