Tiger Cubs Make Their Zoo Debut

(Photo by Julie Larsen, WCS)

BRONX, NEW YORK, September 5– The Tiger Mountain exhibit at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo roared with new activity as three Amur tiger cubs made their public debut.

The cubs were born to mother Katharina and father Sasha. These tigers were bred by recommendation of the Species Survival Plan, a cooperative breeding program designed to enhance the genetic and demographic stability of the tiger population in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to ensure its long-term viability of the species.

The one male and two females in the litter each weighed an estimated two-and-a-half to three pounds at birth and now weigh approximately 45 pounds. Katharina is 13 years old, and her last litter of cubs was born in May 2010. Sasha is 15 years old, and this is his first litter.

The three cubs will be on exhibit with their mother intermittently for the first few weeks as they acclimate to their surroundings.

“The birth of a rare species like Amur tigers is always an exciting time at the Bronx Zoo,” said Jim Breheny, WCS Executive Vice President and Bronx Zoo Director. “The cubs will play a vital role as representatives for their wild relatives – inspiring zoo visitors to learn more about the threats these majestic animals face in the wild and what we can do to protect them.”

In celebration of the debut of the three tiger cubs, the Bronx Zoo is offering $3 off the purchase of each Total Experience Ticket purchased online. Visit www.bronxzoo.com for more information and to purchase a ticket to visit the cubs.

Amur tigers are also known as Siberian tigers. They are found in the Russian Far East and northeastern China. Male Amur tigers are the world’s largest cat and can grow to weigh 650 pounds. 

Tigers are in trouble. In the last 100 years, the global wild tiger population has plummeted 97 percent to just 3,200 – 1,000 of which are breeding females. Once found in 30 countries across vast areas of Asia, tigers are now just found in scattered fragments across 10 countries.

The Wildlife Conservation Society is on the ground saving wild tigers right now by implementing a “Source Site” strategy to reverse the downward trend. Source Sites are areas in the wild where viable populations of breeding females exist and have suitable habitat to support population growth. Forty-two Source Sites scattered across Asia have been identified as the last hope and greatest priority for the conservation and recovery of tigers.  A WCS delegation is currently attending the World Conservation Congress in South Korea from Sept. 6-13 to fight for tigers and other species at risk from extinction.

As the global leader in tiger conservation, WCS has been conducting ecological studies on tigers since the 1960s and has a long history of protecting these big cats through the establishment of protected areas, increasing enforcement against poaching, and public education.  Wildlife Conservation Society researchers continue their work across Asia safeguarding tigers throughout their range.

For more information on the study and how to help WCS save tigers in the wild, visit www.wcs.org.

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Primary Predictions

100 PERCENT

By Robert Press

BRONX, NEW YORK, September 3- Before we give you our primary day predictions, a little news first. 

We told you back in May of this year that the MTA was preparing for East Bronx Metro North train service into mid Manhattan. We also said that this service would be going into Penn Station (not Grand Central Station) with stops at four East Bronx communities Coop-City, Morris Park, Parkchester, and Hunts Point. The first meeting on this will take place in Morris Park on Monday, September 10 at the Price Center/Block Pavilion auditorium at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, 1300 Morris Park Avenue (at the intersection of Eastchester Road). An open house will begin at 6:30 p.m, followed by a presentation on the project at 7 p.m. Other community meetings will take place on September 24th in Coop-City, October 2nd in Hunts Point, and on October 24th in Morris Park. All meetings will open at 6:30 p.m and start at 7 p.m.

Since Madonna will be performing at Yankee Stadium, the 161st Street BID is having a Madonna look alike contest before the concert on September 8th. You can go to my blog for more details and to see photos of the contestants at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com. You can also see coverage of 87th A.D. candidate Luis Sepulveda's fund raiser last week, Senator Jeff Klein's Gloria Gaynor Concert, the growing scandal of Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's admission of maybe doing the wrong thing in approving an alleged $103,000 payment to hush up a Vito Lopez (Brooklyn's now former Democratic County Leader) scandal.

We sit down occasionally to interview elected officials on different topics, and last week we sat down with State Senator Gustavo Rivera 33rd State Senate District to discuss his September Democratic Primary campaign. Gustavo knows that he has a sort of well funded challenger, but is confident that he will be re-elected by the voters of his district. We spoke of the changes to his district where his union support in Van Cortlandt Village, as well as most of Bedford Park and Norwood where he was very strong was redistricted to a different senator. Gustavo picked up more areas to the south of where his district is, which is where his primary challenger is from. Gustavo also said that the current scandals involving Naomi Rivera (same last name, but no relation) should not affect him as he now has only three election districts in the 80th A.D. as compared to before redistricting. The Bronx Democratic County organization has backed Gustavo, and the morning of the interview Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. was out campaigning with Gustavo. He would not give me a figure on his margin of victory, but said that I would not be disappointed with the numbers.

The Bronx Democratic County Annual Barbecue will be held on Sat. Sept. 8th in front of the county Headquarters located on Blondell Avenue at the corner of Eastchester Road starting at 12 PM.

On to our predictions- First in the 33rd State Senate District the only contested state senate district in the Bronx we see the current state senator being re-elected by a 66 – 34 percent margin.

In the Civil Court Judge race we see Eddie McShan winning by at least a 3 – 1 margin, especially with all the backing he has of almost every elected official in the Bronx.

The one minor Democratic Party position we see as interesting is if Bronx County Campaign expert Benny Catala can win his old 77th A.D. Male District Leader position back from Mark Esceffeary-Bay who won the 77th A.D. Male District Leader position in 2010.

There are no assembly primaries in the 79th, 81st, 83rd, and 85th A.D.'s, and in the 77th A.D. we see Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson winning the primary. In the 78th A.D. we see the race getting closer each and every day with challenger and current 78 A.D. State Committeeman Richardo “Ricky” Martinez closing in on the incumbent Jose Rivera's lead especially since the former county leader 's daughter is involved in what could wind up indictments and possible jail time. By the way Jose was the Bronx County Leader while his daughter Naomi was chosen to replace an ineligible candidate and we will have our prediction next week, because we want to see if any charges against daughter Naomi or father Jose the county leader while the alleged scandals was happening comes out before the primary. The same is true for the 80th A.D. as challenger Mark Gjonaj is about even with the tarnished incumbent, and I don't see the two other challengers Irene Estrada, and Adam Bernudez not getting more than 1 or 2 percent each or total.

In the 84th A.D. we see another victory for Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo. In the 86th A.D. if incumbent Nelson Castro can't win with close to or over 90 percent he needs to look at himself and figure out what went wrong. In the old 76th and now new 87th A.D. two years ago we predicted Luis Sepulveda as the winner. He lost to longtime incumbent Assemblyman Peter Rivera (now State Labor Commissioner) by about 200 votes. With no incumbent this time we predict again that Luis Sepulveda will win, and by a margin of 81 – 19 percent. This even as State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. is home recuperating from knee surgery and can not be out on the campaign with Sepulveda.

Don't forget to check my blog for daily updates, other events, and photos of events covered. If you have any comments about this column or my blog, or would like to have an event listed or covered in this column or on my blog you can e-mail us at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press.

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Summer of Bullets Comes to an End as Concerns About Gun Violence Continues

COMMUNITY BOARD

NEWS N’ VIEWS

by

Father Richard F. Gorman

Chairman

Community Board #12 (The Bronx)

  

BRONX, NEW YORK, August 30- Phooey! Labor Day is upon us. Among other things  --  such as students having to return to their regimen of reading, writing and arithmetic  --  it means that the Summer is coming to an end. It has been an interesting Summer this year between the thrill of watching our American athletes winning the gold at the XXX Olympiad in London and the rather blustery, sometimes even turbulent, weather that has visited us.

Equally as stormy has been the crime scene in our area. There have been far too many instances of gun violence in the Borough of The Bronx overall and in Community Board #12  in particular. No one has been immune from the bloodshed.  Young and old, people of all religions, races, colors, and heritages, rich and poor, even infants in their strollers and baby carriages  --  people in all neighborhoods  --  North, South, East, and West  --  have suffered from the scourge of bullets fired from guns in hands which should not have held them. Most frightening of all, too often these illicit weapons were aimed by our children striking out and shooting at their peers, other youth.  This madness defies rational explanation and genuine justification!

Since last writing on this topic a week or so ago, more violence has scarred our Borough and our neighborhood. It has similarly afflicted other Boroughs and locales as well. In response, there have been calls for augmented police action and personnel along with enhanced strategies on the part of the New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) in order to deal with this daunting state of affairs. Neighborhood activists and residents, joined by their elected officials and prominent personalities, have taken to the streets, occupying them from dusk until the early morning hours in an endeavor to “take back” their streets from the hoodlums and the shooters. While I wholeheartedly endorse the tactics of these engaged and enraged fellow New Yorkers, I sadly note that, in our sister Borough of Brooklyn, when activists and residents resolutely positioned themselves in one crime location, a shooting tragically went down only a few short blocks away.  Criminals are like cockroaches  --  the light scatters them, clearing their putrid presence from one place, only to have the little menaces flee and take up refuge in another.

One may honestly complain at this point that nothing can be done to rescue society from the mayhem of gun violence and that there is no possible solution(s) to this pandemonium. I beg to differ. The answer to this problem is staring us right in the face. It looks right back at us each time we peer into a mirror.  The rejoinder to gun violence is our rejection of violence as an acceptable response to disagreements and difficulties in life.  You and I must come to realize that violence, most especially that involving the use of illegal weapons, is not meant to be part-and-parcel of our existence, but anathema to it. Regrettably, you and I, and far too many of our fellow New Yorkers and Americans, have accepted, perhaps tacitly or maybe grudgingly, that we must live with guns and tolerate the violence that they bring. Moreover, there are still too, too many in our society that are willing to accept  --  and even PROMOTE!  --  the possession of firearms, whether in accordance with law or in defiance thereof  --  and to employ them and violence when they feel justified in doing so. Violence will cease when we  --  ALL OF US!  --  renounce it as a legitimate means to end, when, in the messianic vision of the Prophet Isaiah, we “beat our swords into ploughshares.” Illegal guns will be wiped from the streets of America, of the City of New York, of our beautiful Borough of The Bronx, and of Community Board #12 (The Bronx) when each and every man, woman, and young person refuses to tolerate their infection of our neighborhood a single second longer.

I thank my good Friend, The Honorable Efrain Alvarado, Administrative Judge for Criminal Matters of the Twelfth Judicial District (Bronx County) for the enlightening and instructive conversation we had on the topic of social violence and illicit handguns recently. As always, the Justice was an insightful individual as well as an exceptional teacher. 

For those that share his vision and mine of a society in which problems created by people can be solved by people and in which the power of good can ultimately overcome that of evil, I invite you to stand up and speak out about illegal weapons. If you know of one  --  and of an individual who is willing to use it, possibly against you or one of your loved ones  --  I implore you once more  --  PLEASE AND IN THE NAME OF GOD!  --  to pick of the telephone and to call immediately, without fail or any hesitation, 1 - 866 - GUN STOP (1 - 866 - 486 - 7867).  The information you share with the Police will be confidential.  The life that you save may be your own.

Until next time, that is it for this time!

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Huge Win for Hughes

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Redemption for Soriano

By Rich Mancuso

BRONX, NEW YORK, August 29- Rafael Soriano on Monday night was not perfect at Yankee Stadium. The efficient closer for the New York Yankees gave up a three-run homer run in the ninth inning that contributed to an extra inning loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Tuesday night he rebounded with a perfect ninth as New York evened their series with the Jays, 2-1. 

The Yankees go for a rubber game win Wednesday afternoon in the Bronx in what now has become a tight race in the American League East with the Orioles and Tampa Bay.

Soriano struck out two Blue Jays and preserved a win for Phil Hughes (13-11), his sixth straight win at home.

“The best day I had all year,” commented Soriano who got his 34^th save.

Hughes pitched seven good innings and the only run allowed was a home run off the bat of Adeiny Hechavarria with two outs in the fifth inning, the first of his career. The Yankees produced a run on an RBI single from Nick Swisher in the third, and Curtis Granderson got a run on a sacrifice fly in the fourth.

It was one of those rare games that saw the Yankees fail to hit a home run. They came into the game leading baseball with 199. Manager Joe Girardi used newly acquired Steve Pearce in the cleanup spot of the order as the designated hitter.

With Alex Rodriguez on the disabled list with a broken hand, and Mark Teixeira out for at least a week with strained left calf, two power cogs out of the lineup, his team resorted to small ball off Blue Jays starter and loser Rickey Romero.

Romero (8-12), coming off a bad start against Detroit, yielded five hits in seven innings and had an extra day of rest.

“I’m just going to build off this,” he said.

Pearce walked, went to second on a wild pitch, and advanced to third on a groundout and scored on the Granderson sacrifice fly to center.

“The little guys in the lineup did a nice job in that role,” said Girardi. “We’re a little banged up,” he said about his team that has an important three-game series starting Friday evening in the Bronx w,ith second place Baltimore.

Said Girardi about how Soriano rebounded, “It’s hard when you do your job 95 percent of the time and not as easy when you don’t.”

Email Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com  Listen and watch Rich Thursday night from 10:30pm-12:30am live www.inthemixxradio.com 

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No Civility in Parking

Wakefield Area News

By Mary V. Lauro

BRONX, NEW YORK, August 27- Alien space ships hovering over the City may well conclude that life on earth is in the form of four wheeled metallic bodies that are sometimes invaded by walking parasites. The parasites so annoy the metallic bodies that they scoot away until they get rid of the parasites at another location. The aliens would not be far wrong. Indeed there seem to be as many cars as are humans.

This may be fact and not fancy especially at night when one is trying to find a parking space. The streets are tightly packed with cars except for the occasional driveway which has been overlooked by civility-deprived individuals. Today's so-called citizens have no respect for rules, laws or regulations. They know that to have one's car towed for parking at a driveway is a rare occurrence. So what if the homeowner in front of whose driveway he is parked has to get to work or has an emergency? He can always take a cab. One wonders whether the blame can be placed on the incivility of the perpetrator or the inefficiency of the police. Even so, ticketing these individuals will not solve the parking situation.

It is during the daylight hours that one confronts the parking problem. We have often noted that many families have a car for each member of the family. When houses were built in the past, and even today, the assumption was and is one or two cars for each family. No single family house in an urban setting has room for a six car garage. So, two cars are placed in the garage and four are parked in the street. That, of course depends on whether the two-car garage has not been converted into storage space or an illegal apartment. (There are blocks and blocks in Wakefield and CB 12 where garages have been converted into illegal apartments enriching their owners.) So now it is all six cars parked in the street.

But that is only the beginning. When dad goes to work, his son moves his own car in such a manner as to take two spaces so that when dad returns, he can move the car to make room for dad. This ploy is used by friends and relatives. Some groups can use six cars to occupy half a block. One observes the same cars in the same spots day after day.

Nor can we omit the innocent but sloppy parkers who leave too much space between their car and another parked car, or who haven't the good sense to park their car as close to the proximate driveway so that another car can park behind them. Essentially, these drivers also are taking two spaces.

We note that many drivers don't give a fig about parking in front of a hydrant. They gamble that the police will not see the hydrant. They also know that a patrol car rarely stops to issue a summons for such an occurrence. But, there is one place these civility-deprived drivers will not park and that is at a cross walk because it can easily be spotted and the fine is $100.

We have already offered two ideas to help the parking situation. One is to permit more angle parking especially at night. This would not make money for the City nor cost drivers at all. Another is to issue one free parking permit to each family, but place a charge for parking permits for a second or third car.

Now we offer another money making idea to our cash strapped city. Mark parking spaces on each block so many feet apart. Cars must park within those spaces or face steep fines. It may not solve the problem, but it would help.

Should Pols get a Pay Raise?

Naomi late to her own party

100 PERCENT

By Robert Press

BRONX, NEW YORK, August 27- The latest news is that there may be a special session right after the election by the NY Assembly to take up the matter of a pay raise from the current base salary of $79,500 to just over $100,000. 

The key word is base, because there are extra monies for chairing committees, travel expense reimbursement, among the other perks of an assembly member. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in trying to justify the raise by saying that members of the assembly have not had a raise in their pay for 14 years. Silver also says that the legislature has taken measures to end corruption and dysfunction in Albany. Mind you this comes as in the past week Queens State Senator Huntley announcing that she is awaiting to be indicted (most likely) for fraud, Brooklyn County Democratic Leader Assemblyman Vito Lopez was stripped of his committee Chairmanship after being found guilty of sexual harassment, and the most recent scandals involving Bronx Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera who is now under investigation by almost everyone. If passed the pay raise would go into effect on January 1st 2013 when there is a new assembly body, otherwise that new assembly body would have to take up the measure which would then go into effect January 1st 2015.

Our Committee of 100 Democrats 8th Annual Free Community Barbecue was a huge success as over 1,000 people attended. Even as we were ending the event there were still over 200 people dancing on East 204th Street. Committee of 100 Democrats Chairman Richardo “Ricky” Martinez who is running for the 78th Assembly seat said that the people loved it, and those voters in the district want him as their new assemblyman in the 78th A.D. A special thank you goes to Senator Jeff Klein an old friend of the committee who stops by every year, and is not influenced by anyone. You can go to my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com to read more and see photos of the event. There was mention in the New York Post that Mr. Martinez's opponent the current assemblyman owns a house with his wife in Elmont Long Island, and residency questions may now arise about the incumbent.

There was a festival on Allerton Avenue (the 5th Annual) Sunday sponsored by Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera. I arrived at 12:30 p.m. to see the festival that started at 12 p.m. and was scheduled to end at 5 p.m. was not even half set up. While I waited I talked to some people, and asked a few questions. I asked one of the police officers how many people were expected, and was told a few hundred. I stopped at some of booths to find out that they were being charged for their space, and was told that their was no real price structure only as much as could be gotten from the vendor. Many store keepers said that business was down, and the local supermarket was empty with people crowded in the shade in front of the store. I went into Assemblywoman Rivera's campaign office (that just happened to be on Allerton Ave.) to find out when the assemblywoman would arrive, and first was told later, and then about a half hour, which I took as the usual quick photo opportunity whenever, so I left at 2 p.m.

Last week, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., held a press conference with New York Ranger great Mark Messier, Olympic Gold Medalist skater Sarah Hughes, and some of the local elected officials to announce his backing of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center proposal for the Kingsbridge Armory. Diaz said that the Bronx has the “Greatest baseball team, a top flight golf and tennis center under construction, and with this proposal perhaps the greatest ice sports center in the nation.”

Messier and Hughes spoke of the wonderful opportunities that children and adults would have. Of the local elected official, Councilman G. Oliver Koppell said, “Fifteen years ago I had a vision for a sports center here at the armory,” while it seemed to me and others that Assemblyman Jose Rivera was trying to take the credit for fixing the roof and inside of the armory. Go to my blog to read more and see photos of the event, and a sketch of armory in this proposal.

The New York City Council Redistricting Committee held its last preliminary hearing at Lehman College last week, and by the poor turnout and lack of speakers it seems like no one cares. Only nine of the scheduled 10 speakers had any thing to say, and three more people from Queens and Brooklyn spoke after the chairman practically begged the audience if there was anyone else who wanted to speak, even taking a recess for 20 minutes still with no more speakers.

The important thing here is that according to the figures given out Brooklyn lost almost 40,000 people, Queens 150,000 people, Manhattan and Staten Island gained about 1,500 people each, and the Bronx gained 75,000 people. The size of a council district is about 160,000 people, with district 8 part Bronx and part Manhattan the Bronx council delegation is looking to have another full council district.

Lastly, speaking of council districts, there will be a special election on election day for the vacant council seat that Larry Seabrook was elected to. Seabrook was removed from office after being convicted of 9 out of 12 counts corruption in office. Community activist (and friend) Andy King who came in a strong second to Seabrook last year now is favored to win this special election. Since this seat is in Co-op City, we are going to let the Co-op City news cover this special election, but we will give updates in this column.

Don't forget to check my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com for more details, photos, updates, and items that may not have made it into this column. If you have any comments about this column or would like to have an event listed or covered in this column or on my blog you can e-mail us at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press.

Genovese Family Member Convicted of 20-year-old Mob Hit

BRONX, NEW YORK, August 24- District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced that a 64-year-old New Jersey man with ties to organized crime is facing life imprisonment after being convicted of murder for his role in a “mob hit” that occurred in the Bronx 20 years ago.

Paul Gaccione, a.k.a. Doc, was found guilty on one count of murder in the second degree in the death of Angelo Sangiuolo, who was 32-years-old when he was shot to death on June 3, 1992. The jury found that Gaccione, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, had acted-in-concert with others in causing Sangiuolo’s death.

State Supreme Court Justice Seth Marvin set sentencing for Wednesday, September 12, 2012 in Part T27. The judge could impose a maximum term of up to 25 years to life in prison.

The jury heard testimony that Gaccione was the driver of a stolen van in which the deceased was a passenger when he was shot numerous times in the torso and head. Following the “hit” in the vicinity of Wilkinson and Westchester Avenues, Caccione drove the van into the parking lot of a nearby McDonald’s Restaurant at 1515 Williamsbridge Road and abandoned the stolen vehicle with the body in it.

During the trial, witnesses testified that the murder had been arranged by Angelo Prisco, a member of the Genovese Organized Crime Family and carried out at Prisco’s direction by John Leto, who shot Sangiuolo to death. The deceased was in the van with Gaccione and Leto under the pretense that Prisco had asked them to help Sangiuolo resolve some problem.

Both Prisco and Leto were prosecuted and convicted for their roles in this killing as well as other crimes, by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The case against Gaccione was referred to the Bronx District Attorney for prosecution because federal authorities lacked jurisdiction under the RICO Statute. Gaccione could not be charged under the federal enterprise corruption law solely on the basis of his participation in the murder.

The case against Gaccione is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Robert Caliendo, of the Rackets Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Glucksman of the Investigations Division.

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