Talk Bronx New York

An embattled north Bronx neighborhood is being eyed as the site for a city-sponsored homeless shelter.

Project Renewal submitted plans to the city Department of Homeless Services and notified Community Board 12 last week of its plan to open the shelter at 4380 Bronx Blvd.

The 100-bed transitional shelter is to be located on a commercial strip mostly filled with automotive shops.

It is the second social services facility proposed for the Wakefield neighborhood.

Praxis Housing Initiatives last month said it intends to open a multistory building at 4339 White Plains Road with about 60 apartments for homeless people who have medical issues like HIV or AIDS or addiction problems.

Project Renewal’s proposal must now be reviewed by the DHS, a process that could take anywhere from weeks to months.

The DHS has recently opened several shelters and so-called “cluster sites” in the Bronx as it struggles to house large numbers of people rendered homeless by the sagging economy.

“We’re opening facilities all around the city to meet the record demand,” said DHS Commissioner Robert Hess, citing an “unparalleled demand” for homeless services across the nation.

“We’ll continue to do that to meet our legal obligations to house everyone who comes into our system every day.”

Project Renewal now operates four shelters in Manhattan.

Meanwhile, Praxis defended its proposal for the White Plains Road development.

“This is not a shelter. It’s permanent supportive housing,” said spokeswoman Jolie Milstein.

“This could turn around the neighborhood and be the beginning of the revitalization of upper White Plains Road.” Read more..

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                Alma Heaney gets coiffed at Aliano’s Salon on Westchester Ave.

A small shopping strip in Pelham Bay off the No. 6 subway line offers bargain shoppers a little bit of everything.

Whether you’re looking to get the new year off to a healthy start by stocking up on vitamins and supplements or ready to tackle a needed home repair, this retail spot has just the items shoppers are looking for - and all for the right price.

HEALTH – Health Bound, 1833 Hobart Ave. (718) 319-0662

This little health store strives to take care of all their customers’ diet and fitness needs.

It offers an assortment of salves and ointments, vegetarian supplements, detox cleansers, herbal teas, beauty aids, organic products, sports drinks and much more.

Vitamins and supplements are especially popular, including a 24-ounce bottle of flax seed for $3.99. Owner Maria Borrero is offering 10% off all products until the end of January. And she’s happy to order anything you can’t find on her shelves.

Health Bound also has homemade protein shakes with names like Bahamas mama and blackcherry blast for $7.

TANNING – Electric Paradise, 3221 Westchester Ave.      (347) 582-2662

This upbeat tanning salon is especially student-friendly. Specials include 30% off with student ID.

However, everyone can save with a 10% off tanning package special that is running through January.

A single lay down session starts at just $8, and unlimited monthly packages start at $65.

A variety of lotions also are on sale to enhance your tanning session.

Electric Paradise also offers custom airbrush tanning. Read more..

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A decision to move thousands of kindergartners out of city-run day care centers and into public schools could overwhelm classrooms already bursting at the seams.

The vast majority of children who attend the centers are from low-income families where the parents count on day care to enable them to work. “This is very bad for my family,” said Eva Guadulupe, whose child attends Harlem’s Nasry Michelen Day Care Center. “They finish [public] school at 2:30 p.m. and my job finishes at 5.” The Administration for Children’s Services is shuttering the kindergartens to help close a $62million budget hole.

Despite the closing, the city must still pay rent on many of the leased buildings that housed the centers. Families in low-income neighborhood in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens are already forced to place their kids on buses and ship them miles away to schools with space.

“I don’t like my daughter going on the bus - it’s too far,” said Virginia Castillo, standing in front of Public School 56 in the Bronx last week with Fernicy, 5, in the frigid cold, waiting for a bus to take her more than a mile away to PS 54. Read more..

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While Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión is playing coy about his political plans should Mayor Bloomberg succeed in extending term limits, other Bronx politicians are not.

Carrión, who is running for city controller, said last week he has no doubt the City Council will approve the term limits extension, but he insists it’s still too early to say whether he will flip back and seek reelection to his $160,000-a-year borough presidency.

Much will depend, of course, on what the current controller, Bill Thompson, chooses to do. For now, Thompson is insisting he’s still running for mayor, Bloomberg or no Bloomberg.

Assuming that neither Thompson nor Carrión are politically suicidal, the smart money is on both running next year to keep their current jobs.

That, of course, would force Carrión’s would-be Bronx successors to rethink their game plans for 2009.

Heading the list is Councilman Joel Rivera, (D-East Tremont) son of endangered county Democratic leader Assemblyman Jose Rivera.

“I think you’re going to see a lot of the citywide and local officials postpone their plans for four years,” he said. “And that’s all it’s going to end up being.”

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Bronx’ seaside: Affordability on the water in Throgs Neck

The Bridgeview Estates in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx.

A view of the Whitestone Bridge from the pool.

Directly across the Long Island Sound from the multimillion-dollar Mediterranean villas in Whitestone Woods, the Throgs Neck neighborhood in the Bronx might offer the most affordable coastal living experience in the five boroughs.

At Bridgeview Estates, 21 two- and three- bedroom condominiums, some with direct waterfront access, are available starting at $475,000. Located at Schurz and Davis Aves. in a neighborhood known for families, water proximity and the shopping stretch of E. Tremont Ave., Bridgeview Estates is a newly built gated condominium complex with views of the Throgs Neck and Whitestone bridges.

“At night, these two bridges light up and make this area something magical,” says Robert Van Zandt, the longtime North Bronx real estate developer who built the property. “We tried to make this an alternative living option to what people are paying in and around Manhattan. They just have to come out here and their mind will be changed.”

With beach clubs and catering halls, bungalows, condominiums and small single-family brick and wood homes a block from the water, Throgs Neck bustles with entire families taking walks together while kids ride bikes and play sports on front lawns. Up the street, the community has asked the city for a long-planned public golf course on a former landfill cornering Ferry Point Park. Recent rumors suggest it might happen, making the neighborhood more attractive to homeowners.

“This side of the bridges is more laid-back than the Queens side, with lower price points and a less suburban feel,” says Maria Paleatsos, who owns MP Power Realty in nearby Pelham Bay. “I’m not sure you can find anything this price on the water where families can live so well.”

Completed and ready for move-in, Bridgeview Estates includes balconies for each apartment, two upscale homes for sale in the multimillion- dollar range with large decks and swimming pools and a development team that truly cares for the area. Van Zandt and colleague Richard Rodriguez funded and coach the baseball team for Villa Maria, a local Catholic grammar school. Their own children graduated, yet they still remain as coaches. Van Zandt also funds three scholarships for students from financially saddled families.

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