Talk Bronx New York

What a great year. What a rotten year.

Okay, so maybe somewhere in between, even with the economy sliding into 2009.

It was that kind of year for the Bronx, with the highs hopefully edging out the lows. And let’s wish for it to be onward and upward in 2009.

Economy: Boom and bust

# On the upside, there was the new Yankee Stadium going full steam ahead - steamrolling over the local community in the process with a big loss of centrally located parkland - and the new Gateway Center mall to its south, both due to open in 2009. And the city finally chose a developer to turn the giant Kingsbridge Armory into a mall.

# The downside: the Bronx had the highest jobless rate in the state, registering 7.7% in October, while continuing to be the poorest urban county in the nation.
It was reflected in growing lines - with many turned away - at struggling local food pantries.

# A report in September by the Center for an Urban Future titled “Attack of the Chains?” found the Bronx has the fewest chain stores of any borough, with many not in the Bronx at all. Read more..

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Wings Academy guard Dashaun Wiggins scored 15 points, but it was his big rebound late that clinched the 80-78 victory over JFK. Photos by Damion Reid

SLOW-STARTING JFK FALLS SHORT, EYES WINGS REMATCH

Dashaun Wiggins saw the ball come out of James Blue’s fingertips and immediately thought rebound. Blue, Wiggins said, has a tendency to shoot long, and he twisted his right wrist, another sign the junior said, that it would come off the back rim.

He slightly nudged Kelvin Dixon, John F. Kennedy’s 6-foot-6 forward, and out-leaped him. Wiggins came away with the rebound, but in essence the game. He knocked down two free throws, sealing Wings Academy’s 80-78 victory over Kennedy at Bronx Regional HS. The win moves the Wings into first place in Bronx AA by their lonesome.

“This gives us a lot of confidence,” said junior forward Krystian Foriest, who had 15 points and nine rebounds. “It lets everybody know we’re back and we’re here to rule the Bronx.” Read more..

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Bronx Science’s Gregory Barber is undoubtedly the best PSAL bowler in the borough. The sophomore has averaged a respectable 183.71 pins per game while leading the Wolverines to a 7-1 record and first place in Bronx II.

Barber began bowling in a league in Queens at age 5; he has his own ball and a private coach, and he entered the week ranked 39th among boys in the PSAL.

But in the Bronx, Gregory Barber is an anomaly.

The borough’s teams have failed to reach the third round of the PSAL playoffs for the past five seasons. The second highest–ranked bowler in the Bronx is Wolverines co-captain Matt Dunay, who averages 171.60 pins per game, good for 83rd in the city. Bronx Science ranks 26th overall in the PSAL. The next-best Bronx squad is Taft, ranked No. 41 before games this week.

Such numbers raise an obvious question: Why is the Bronx stuck in a perpetual traffic jam on the lanes, so many miles behind Staten Island powers Tottenville, McKee/SI Tech and Susan Wagner?

Why are they lagging so far behind Queens contenders Bayside (second) and Thomas Edison (fourth), and Brooklyn’s Goldstein (fourth), Fort Hamilton (seventh) and New Utrecht (eighth).

Barber pauses for a minute, when asked about the paucity of quality Bronx programs.

“I just think they have more money over there,” Barber said.

It’s a provocative thesis, and one of many possible explanations for Bronx bowling’s spot in the PSAL slow lane.

Queried during their matches at Ball Park Lanes on Tuesday, coaches and players alike mentioned economic factors, early exposure to the sport and ready access to the lanes as necessary ingredients for success. Read more..

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The trickle-down effect of plunging stock markets around the world probably means more people will be headed to Bronx Community College to meet Blanche Kellawon.

Kellawon, director of BCC’s Adult Education and Training program, also runs the college’s Displaced Homemakers Program.

The 26-year-old program, created by the New York State Labor Department, helps people - most of them women, many of them single mothers or women who lost their homes or former lifestyles due to divorce, a death in the family, or some other unforeseen circumstance - get education and training so they can find jobs.

“We provide computer training, job readiness activities like résumé writing and cover letter writing, and counseling support,” Kellawon said. “We offer this to anyone who was displaced from their job.”

People like Angela Da Leon, 42, who spoke no English when she immigrated to the Bronx from the Dominican Republic in 1995.

Da Leon - who has two daughters, Ivia Arsola, 19, and Aeyde Arsola, 10 - said that though she found a job at a Washington Heights travel agency, she quickly found her limited English skills meant limited employment.

“I could only help people in Spanish,” she said.

Da Leon was referred to Bronx Community’s BEGIN language program, which teaches English as Second Language, by a city Human Resources Administration counselor in 2006.

Once she completed BEGIN, Da Leon began training with Displaced Homemakers, where she got computer training.

Da Leon was one of several students in the Displaced Homemakers Program who passed an H&R Block tax preparation test, and now works for them as a tax preparer.

She also has continued her studies at Bronx Community, enrolling last summer to seek a degree in radiology.

The program’s affiliation with BCC gives students “the opportunity to be in several programs at the same time,” she said. “They can work toward a General Education Diploma [GED], get training and do job searches.”

Da Leon’s training helped her choose radiology as a career. Read more..

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