Talk Bronx New York

Ruben Diaz Jr. will present his achievements and goals for the Bronx in his first State of the Borough speech.

 Taking on development, jobs, living wages, gun violence - and a snowstorm - Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will present his achievements and goals for the Bronx today in his first State of the Borough speech.

Key among his goals, says his office, will be a new plan to develop the Kingsbridge Armory, after he and others led the fight to kill a plan for a mall there.

A thousand invited guests at the Evander Childs High School campus are expected to hear Diaz announce a task force to develop new ideas for the cavernous, white-elephant armory’s future, such as manufacturing and recreation.

Diaz was pilloried by Mayor Bloomberg and construction unions for pushing the City Council to kill the plan for the heavily subsidized mall, over his insistence retailers there pay “a living wage” to workers - $10 an hour with benefits, or $11.50 without benefits.

He is expected today to again raise the issue of living wages for projects receiving heavy city subsidies and tax breaks, and announce he has partnered with Bronx City Council members Anabel Palma and Oliver Koppell on legislation requiring that developers who receive taxpayer help make their project pay workers a living wage.

The borough president also is expected to announce a long-held dream of former borough presidents and business leaders - to bring a quality hotel to the Bronx, working with developers and the New York Hotel Trade Council to identify sites, and generate interest from hotel operators.

Former Borough President Fernando Ferrer had a master plan calling for a hotel as part of a Yankee Village near Yankee Stadium. The new Gateway Center Mall near there has been viewed as a possible site. Some have suggested a hotel near Fordham University, with the Bronx Zoo, New York Botanical Garden and Arthur Avenue as nearby draws. Read more..

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Bronx, NY - Today, The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo hosted its first ice carving competition. The Salute to Wildlife Ice Carving Competition, presented by Food Network, featured 15 professional ice carvers who used chainsaws, power tools, and various carving instruments to bring their visions of wildlife to life.

“The Salute to Wildlife Ice Carving Competition is one of many family oriented wintertime activities at WCS Bronx Zoo,” said Jim Breheny, WCS Senior Vice President of Living Institutions and Director of the Bronx Zoo. “It is a fun way to educate and raise awareness about the wildlife and wild places that WCS works to save around the globe.”

The winner Jeff Scarpa a freelance ice carver from Connecticut created a meticulously detailed sculpture of a shark and a sea turtle above a coral reef entitled “The Bronx Sea” which landed him the top prize of $1000.

The $500 second prize was won by Dan Bergan from Ice Sculpture Design in Deer Park, NY for his representation of a whooping crane fleeing the globe.”

The winner Jeff Scarpa a freelance ice carver from Connecticut created a meticulously detailed sculpture of a shark and a sea turtle above a coral reef entitled “The Bronx Sea” which landed him the top prize of $1000.The $500 second prize was won by Dan Bergan from Ice Sculpture Design in Deer Park, NY for his representation of a whooping crane fleeing the jaws of a crocodile entitled “Survival.”

The $250 third prize went to Mark McKenzie from Cool Way Ice Creations in South Ozone Park, NY for his “Flying Fish” sculpture.

Each contestant was given four hours and 600 ponds of ice to work with to glistening likenesses of wildlife including giraffes, gorillas, eagles, and more.

The winning sculptures were chosen by a combination of public voting and a panel of four judges that included: David Powell, WCS Assistant Curator of Mammalogy; Sarah Hezel, WCS Assistant Director of Graphic Design and Production; Paul Magnaldi, Ice Sculptures of New York; and celebrity guest Susie Fogelson, judge on The Next Food Network Star. Judging criteria included technique, creativity, animal likeness, design composition, and overall look. Read more..

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An explosion at a Consolidated Edison substation has set off a massive oil-spill cleanup along the Bronx River.

Scores of workers are cleaning up an unknown quantity of a light, clear oil similar to mineral oil that flowed into the city’s storm sewer system on Nov. 4 when a 345-kilovolt transformer containing 30,000 gallons of the fluid caught fire. A machine malfunction created an electrical arc that ignited the oil at 152 Kingston Ave. in the Dunwoodie neighborhood.

The resulting smoky fire was controlled in 20 minutes, and no one lost power from the event. Much of the oil, which was used as a dielectric fluid to cool the transformers, burned or remained on-site, but some of it mixed with the water used to quell the flames and escaped into the city’s sewer system, where it flowed into the Bronx River near the Cross County Parkway. Read more..

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A red eyed tree frog that makes it’s home in the Bronx. The Bronx Zoo is celebrating its 110th birthday this year.

A red ruffled lemur mesmerizes with giant golden eyes

When the Bronx Zoo first opened its gates to the public in 1899, William McKinley was in the White House, the first city subway line was being dug, and the paperclip had just been patented. So much has changed since, but the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo remains an integral part of New York City’s character.

A Palawan peacock is one of the zoo’s feathered inhabitants.

In honor of the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States turning 110 years old, here’s a list of 110 things every New Yorker should know about the Bronx Zoo.

1. The Bronx Zoo opened to visitors on November 8th, 1899.
2. On opening day, the zoo featured 843 animals in 22 exhibits.
3. The zoo borders the south side of the New York Botanical Garden.
4. Most of the land on which the zoo was built was previously owned by Fordham University.
5. Fordham sold it to the city for only $1,000 with the stipulation that the lands be used for a zoo and garden.
6. More than 236 million guests have visited the zoo since its opening.
7. With 265 acres, the Bronx Zoo is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States.
8. The zoo employs over 750 full-time staff per year.
9. Theodore Roosevelt and William Hornaday, the Bronx Zoo’s first director, helped form the American Bison Society (ABS) at the zoo in 1905.
10. The buildings in Astor Court were designed by the firm of Heins & Lafarge, who also designed the original plans for the cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights. Read more..

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The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo celebrating the 110th anniversary of its opening Sunday.To honor the parks special milestone, hundreds of visitors were on hand to sing Happy Birthday and cut the cake.

“I like seeing all the animal, because some are cute and there is a lot to learn about animals,” said one zoo goer.

“I think what the zoo does is it gives people that zoo face, you see an animal and it’s fun, your face lights up, you get the zoo face.”

“We make people aware that life is bigger than they themselves are and they are part of something much larger. I think if we do that and we make people want to contribute in efforts to save wildlife and places then we have been successful.”

Zoo officials say since the zoo opened in 1899, more than 236 million people have visited the grounds. Read more..

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