Talk Bronx New York

Deputy Inspector Jesus Raul Pintos, sitting at his desk at the 72nd Precinct in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood

 SUNSET PARK — The newly appointed deputy inspector of the 72nd Police Precinct in Sunset Park, Jesus Raul Pintos, wanted to quietly celebrate his latest promotion with a few friends and family, but his father had other ideas. Last November he organized a surprise party for his son and invited more than 70 people.

Pintos’ recent promotion is the culmination of his lifetime ambition to join the New York Police Department. At 38, he has achieved a rank that is usually given to police officers in their mid 40s. What makes this achievement even more remarkable is that Pintos never formally graduated from high school.

“I never expected to get this far when I was a young kid,” said Pintos who speaks with an inflection of a Spanish accent, his first language. “I wasn’t a good student. I dropped out of high school, so I couldn’t see myself becoming something big.” Read more..

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Since 2000, the folklorist Joseph Sciorra has built a presepio in his Brooklyn kitchen. His take on this traditional Italian Nativity scene reflects more modern settings like Baghdad or a Caribbean beach. This year, he set the crèche in the South Bronx of 1975

 For the past few weeks, Joseph Sciorra has been painstakingly putting together a tabletop tableau of the South Bronx circa 1975. Subway cars slathered with graffiti are set against bombed-out tenements and empty lots. An empty lot is covered with broken bricks and a battered mattress, and a charred car is abandoned by the curb. He added the final touch this week:

Jesus, Mary and Joseph

This is not an exclamation, but a partial roster

They are joined by the Three Kings, some stable creatures, shepherds and angels on high. Read more..

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