Talk Bronx New York

 WHOSE ARMORY? Northwest Bronx residents rally outside the Kingsbridge Armory in October

Members of the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) watched in hushed suspense from the visitors gallery above the City Council chamber on Dec. 14.

After four years of building a grassroots movement to advocate responsible development in their community, they looked on as councilmembers voted on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plans to turn the Kingsbridge Armory, a 575,000-square-foot fortress-like structure in the northwest Bronx, into a lowwage shopping mall. When Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera (D-Bronx) finally announced the project’s defeat by a vote of 45-1, cheers rang throughout the chambers.

“This is a historic moment in the City Council,” said councilmember Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn). “I can’t remember any big project like this that the mayor initially wanted, that the council would go against in support of the people.” Read more..

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East Bronx City Councilman Jimmy Vacca may be stepping up in that august body.

He is now chairman of the Council’s committee on fire and criminal justice services, but our City Hall consigliere Frank Lombardi tells us the powers that be are pushing to give the hardworking Jimmy the plum job of chairman of the transportation committee.

After finance and land use, it’s the third most powerful committee, drawing heavy media attention.

John Liu leveraged his chairmanship of it to help propel him into the controller’s seat.

Giving Jimmy the committee would give him a chance to take on the MTA, add muscle to the Bronx delegation and help position him for possible higher office - maybe borough president, should Ruben Diaz Jr. decide to step down to run for some citywide office (mayor?) in 2013 when Jimmy’s term expires.

Jimmy was unavailable for comment. Read more..

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 This past Saturday afternoon, a group of Bronx bikers, mostly young people, worked the Grand Concourse for Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson like it was their own personal campaign trail.

Yorman Nunez, a former City Council candidate in the 14th District who is now working on the Thompson campaign team, organized the outreach, calling it “Bikers for Billy.”

The Thompson campaigners wore t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Eight is Enough,” a dig at Mayor Bloomberg, who pushed an unpopular term-limits extension bill through the City Council last fall so he would be eligible for re-election Read more..

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We’ve been covering Pedro Espada for more than 15 years now - although he stopped returning our calls when we slapped The Wascally Wabbit moniker on him (We’re told he WEALLY hates it).

Over that time, we’ve seen him play fast and loose, be it in politics (even secretly taping fellow pols), business, with campaign finance boards or the IRS - and get away with it.

But while he’s managed to squirm and brazen his way out of a bunch of jams, he’s REALLY outdone himself in the chutzpah department over the past few months, rising to state Senate majority leader by committing multiple counts of felony politics.

Just ask Albany Republicans and Democrats who’ve made handshake deals with him and wound up shy a few fingers.

He may be evil, he may be perverse (then again, he IS a politician), but the man is a genius.

Pedro’s parlayed his slippery loyalty, street-thug smarts, double-crossing reputation and don’t-give-a-damn attitude into not only becoming a major power in Albany, but the newest Bronx icon.

Type “Sen. Pedro Espada Bronx” on Google and he gets 236,000 hits - and counting. Jeesh!

El Diario’s Gerson Borrero quoted Pedro last week as telling reporters camped outside his Soundview health clinic: “Do you truly understand that I don’t give a s— about what you write?” Read more..

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Let’s see. Arrogance. Greed. Sleaze.

Are we leaving anything out here?

It all happened last week:
# State Sen. Pedro Espada toppling Democratic control in the Senate by crossing over to shake down the Republican camp.

That, after Dems stopped the Wascally Wabbit from trying to sneak $2 million in pork barrel funding to two questionable groups linked to his health clinic chain - not the first time he has tried it.

Some folks are also wondering if those files Pedro temporarily claimed were stolen in a burglary at his Mamaroneck “home” might not have been on someone’s subpoena list.
# State Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo and City Councilwoman daughter Maria (Will Change Last Name for Votes) del Carmen Arroyo glomming free flights to the Caribbean.

Those trips courtesy of Carmen’s grandson/Maria’s nephew Richard (Little Ricky) Izquierdo Arroyo.

The feds charged him and Margarita Villegas with stealing $200,000 in goods and services from a South Bronx nonprofit linked to one the Arroyos funded and larded with relatives. Read more..

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