Cops Coming to Reduce Crime

City Hall Finally Listens to Wakefield 

Cops Coming to Reduce Crime

By Robert Press

BRONX, NEW YORK,JULY 16- Elizabeth Gill, President of the 47th Precinct Council, demanded action when crime was going way up last year in the 47th Precinct, and it seems that City Hall heard her.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton came to Cardinal Spellman High School to explain the new 'Summer All Out' police department program. It is a three-month program called 'Summer All Out' in the 10 highest crime police precincts. The mayor and police commissioner praised the new program that was started last month. Crime decreased in the 47th Precinct in Wakefield with shootings down 70 percent for the past month.

In the past the Mayor said that there was a chain of command that had to be gone through to change the deployment of police officers in a precinct. Now that red tape has been cut to allow for an almost instant redeployment of officers where they may be needed when problems pop up. The 47th Precinct has been assigned 26 additional officers for three months, and several other officers commonly refereed to as 'House Mouse Officers' have also been deployed into the streets of the precinct. In all there are 330 additional officers that have been sent to the 10 precincts in the 'Summer All Out' Program which began on June 8th. Other Bronx police precincts in this three month program are the 43rd, 44th, and 46th according to Bronx Assistant Chief Commanding Officer Larry Nikunen. 

Deputy Inspector Stevenson of the 47th Pct. had only praise for his police officers, and he thanked 47th Pct. Council President Elizabeth Gill for her help in getting his command the much needed manpower to reduce the high crime rate. 

Commissioner Bratton spoke of how the NYPD must keep coming up with new strategies to keep ahead of the bad guys. However when asked the question - that it looks like the first thing that the new street officers are doing is looking at car registration and inspection stickers when they arrive on their beat. I then said that to me it looks like these officers might have a ticket quota to fill. 

Commissioner Bratton fired back to me, 'Well that's what it looks like to you', and then stepped away from the podium without any real answer. I asked one of the new officers the same question, and was told if the situation warrants a summons it will be given. 47th Pct. Commanding Officer Stevenson said 'No Comment' when I asked him the same question.  

#NYPD #MayordeBlasio #Bratton #SummerAllOut #Bronxnews

Westchester Square News: Enough is Enough!

Westchester Square News: Enough is Enough!: Enough is Enough! Community Demands End to Violence (Photo by David Greene) By David Greene BRONX, NEW YOR...

Enough is Enough!

Enough is Enough!
Community Demands End to Violence

(Photo by David Greene)

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 10- A group of community residents and clergy members gathered in the Allerton section in response to a recent shooting of a 20-year-old male. 

The group Stand Up to Violence (SUV) held a demonstration along Allerton Avenue and Wallace Avenue. The group’s planned rally had little effect on the days violence as Bronx homicide detectives were in Parkchester for most of the afternoon, after another 20 year-old was gunned down outside a playground with a toddler in his arms. The infant was unharmed. 

In fact the borough recorded no less than five homicides in the past week, but police officials say help is on the way in the form of more patrol officers on the street.

#NYPD #Shootings #Toddler #GunViolence #Bronxnews

Westchester Square News: Inmate charged with attacking social worker in Rik...

Westchester Square News: Inmate charged with attacking social worker in Rik...: Inmate charged with attacking social worker in Rikers District Attorney Robert Johnson announced the indictment of 35-yea...

Inmate charged with attacking social worker in Rikers

Inmate charged with attacking social worker in Rikers

District Attorney Robert Johnson announced the indictment of 35-year-old Jonathan Hodgson in the brutal June attack on a Rikers Island medical worker.

Hodgson was arraigned in Bronx Supreme Court before Justice Joseph Dawson and pled not guilty to: assault in the first degree (Class B Felony); assault in the second degree (3 counts) (Class D Felony); assault in the third degree (Class A Misdemeanor) and resisting Arrest (Class A Misdemeanor). 

Hodgson is being held at Rikers Island’s George R. Vierno Center on an underlying Manhattan indictment for attempted murder in the second degree and assault in the first degree for a January, 2015 attack. On June 18^th, he stepped into the office where 69-year-old mental health clinician Ralph Atlas was working.  

Hodgson is accused of, without warning or provocation, pummeling the Corizon employee in the face and head, breaking the clinician’s jaw, fracturing his eye socket and nose, as well as causing other injuries for which the victim had to be hospitalized.        

Bail was set at $10,000 following the D.A.’s request for $250,000; Hodgson is to return to court on September 1, 2015, Part 77, Hall of Justice, 265 E. 161^st Street, Room 680. The defendant has asked to represent himself in Court.

If convicted of the charges, Hodgson faces up to 25 years behind bars.  The case against Hodgson is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ara Ayvazian of the Bronx D.A. Intake Bureau.  The charges in this indictment are merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.    

#RikersIsland #NYPD #BronxDA #Bronxnews      

Westchester Square News: #CaughtonTape: Fast food fools steal ATM

Westchester Square News: #CaughtonTape: Fast food fools steal ATM: #CaughtonTape: Fast food fools steal ATM By Dan Gesslein BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 2- Smile geniuses. A pair of criminal ma...

#CaughtonTape: Fast food fools steal ATM

#CaughtonTape:

Fast food fools steal ATM

By Dan Gesslein

BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 2- Smile geniuses. A pair of criminal masterminds were caught on tape stealing an ATM machine from a fast food restaurant.

At around 10:20 a.m. on June 30, two crooks broke into the Checkers Restaurant off the Grand Concourse. The restaurant's surveillance cameras recorded the masterminds as they rocked the ATM off its attachment to the floor. They then dragged it onto a waiting hand truck and wheeled it out the door.

The masters of disguise thought wearing a bucket cap and baseball cap would hide their identity. However, the crooks' faces can clearly be seen on the video.

Anyone with information is urged to call CRIMESTOPPERS at (800) 577-TIPS.

All calls are strictly confidential.

#CaughtonTape #NYPD #ATM #Bronxnews

Westchester Square News: Danced over victim as he lay dying

Westchester Square News: Danced over victim as he lay dying: Gunman convicted in holiday killing Danced over victim as he lay dying BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 1- District Attorney Robert Johnson ann...

Danced over victim as he lay dying

Gunman convicted in holiday killing

Danced over victim as he lay dying

BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 1- District Attorney Robert Johnson announced the jury conviction of 32-year-old Cadman Williams in the Memorial Day weekend 2008 killing of a Yonkers man.

After a six-week-long trial and two hours of deliberation, the Bronx Supreme Court jury found Williams guilty of: manslaughter in the first degree (Class B Felony) and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (Class C Felony). 

When he is sentenced by Justice Dominic R. Massaro on July 23^rd, Williams faces as many as 40 years in prison.

Kenneth Sackey of Yonkers was celebrating not only a new job, but the long, hot, holiday weekend, returning from a family barbecue the evening before Memorial Day to his brother’s apartment in the Bronx. But as they returned to 1749 Grand Concourse, Sackey was loaded for bear, with an attitude and a bat – and when he saw some of the kids with whom he had a spat the night before, he was going to show who was boss. The 42-year-old Kenneth took his bat, and with a backhanded swing, cracked it against the entryway of the building, shattering the wood and sending splinters flying out across the sidewalk.

Williams was friendly with the kids, but he had not been at the deli with them the day before. He was not bruised by the bat, but his ego took a hit. So he hit back, drawing out his .22 caliber revolver, and squeezed off three-to-four shots – two of which hit their mark. Kenneth Sackey tried to flee through the apartment house, but video showed him falling and writhing in pain during his last minutes of life. Either bullet alone would have killed Sackey, as the one in his back struck a major vein that leads back to the heart. The bullet to the victim’s face traveled 

through to his spine.

Another surveillance video showed Williams moments after he walked past his dying victim, dancing a heartless jig as he took the elevator up to his then-girlfriend’s apartment.  

The case against Williams gained some notoriety for the delays bringing it to trial, resulting in an unusually long Rikers Island stay for the defendant. He will be credited for the nearly seven years he spent at Rikers awaiting trial.  

The primary delay involved defense requests that admissibility of the DNA found on the murder weapon be stayed until a Brooklyn judge rendered a decision regarding that type of DNA in an unrelated case. That decision finally came late last year.  But the issue DNA in Williams’ case became irrelevant when the defendant testified on the stand that he, indeed, had fired the fatal shots.

The case against Williams was prosecuted by Bronx Senior Trial Assistant D.A. George Suminski and A.D.A. Amy Schneider of Trial Bureau 20/50.

#NYPD #BronxDA #CadmanWilliams #Bronxnews

Westchester Square News: #CaughtOnTape: Halloween Hooligan Robs Gas Station...

Westchester Square News: #CaughtOnTape: Halloween Hooligan Robs Gas Station...: #CaughtOnTape: Halloween Hooligan Robs Gas Station Outside Co-op By Dan Gesslein BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 1- Poli...

#CaughtOnTape: Halloween Hooligan Robs Gas Station Outside Co-op

#CaughtOnTape:

Halloween Hooligan Robs Gas Station Outside Co-op

By Dan Gesslein

BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 1- Police are trying to catch a Halloween masked hooligan who robbed a gas station outside Co-op City on Tuesday.

At around 3 a.m. on June 30, the suspect used a handgun to stick up the Sunoco gas station at 1945 Bartow Avenue just outside Co-op City. Sporting a Halloween mask and black hoodie, the suspect entered the gas station that sports giant neon signs for “Lottery,” “Beer” and “Cigars.” He waved a handgun at the clerks and demanded cash. Cops say the gunman made off with $650 in cash.

Police released surveillance video taken from inside the gas station’s convenience store. The suspect is described as 5 foot 7 and weighing 150 pounds. He was seen wearing a Halloween mask, a gray hoodie sweatshirt, grey pants and plastic gloves.

Anyone with information is urged to call CRIMESTOPPERS at (800) 577-TIPS. 

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto

Crime Stoppers' website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting

their tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.

#CaughtOnTape #NYPD #StickUp #CooCity #Bronxnews

Westchester Square News: Driver sentenced for fatally striking mother of tw...

Westchester Square News: Driver sentenced for fatally striking mother of tw...: Driver sentenced for fatally striking mother of twins BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 29- District Attorney Robert Johnson a...

Driver sentenced for fatally striking mother of twins

Driver sentenced for fatally striking mother of twins

BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 29- District Attorney Robert Johnson announced that 29-year-old Agustus Jenkins of Montgomery, NY, has been sentenced to the maximum sentence of 1-1/3-to-4 years behind bars for the January 2014 death of the mother of twin toddlers, Nydja Herring, of the Bronx.

Jenkins was found guilty of Criminally Negligent Homicide, a Class E Felony, following an 11-day trial before Justice Peter Benitez, during which the jury returned their verdict on June 4^th after less than a day’s deliberation.

The 32-year-old victim was crossing the street at East Tremont and Van Nest Avenues, on the way to the store to buy milk for her twin toddlers, when she was struck by Jenkins’ speeding vehicle. He was behind the wheel but had a friend with him, along with two children aged four and 11.  Blood alcohol tests showed he was operating the vehicle above the legal limit. He was also driving on a suspended license. Ironically, Jenkins was coming back from the wake for a baby who had died from SIDS.

Not only were Nydja Herring’s twin 2-year-olds left without a mother, the victim’s own mother was scheduled to receive a kidney from her daughter. Herring’s mother is still on the organ transplant list.

#NYPD #BronxDistrictAttorney #FatalAccident #Bronxnews

Westchester Square News: Restaurant Charges to Use Bathroom

Westchester Square News: Restaurant Charges to Use Bathroom: Gotta Go? Better Have the #Dough! Restaurant Charges to Use Bathroom By David Greene BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 29...

Restaurant Charges to Use Bathroom

Gotta Go?

Better Have the #Dough!

Restaurant Charges to Use Bathroom

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 29- Residents and visitors of Norwood got a shock recently when one popular restaurant began charging a $3 fee to use the restroom.

Those entering the El Caribe Restaurant located at 2 East Gun Hill Road were immediately confronted with a pair of signs that read, "Bathroom is only for the customers. You want to use it? You will have to pay $3.00."

One local resident who declined to use his name because he had friends among the staff, stated, "I think they’re going to lose a lot of business because it's a public facility and now your going to ban people from using the bathroom."

The resident added, "C

ustomers may want to go in there and wash their hands before a meal. Now they’re going to charge you to use the bathroom and wash your hands? That's crazy."

One East Gun Hill Road street peddler offered, "Since they started doing that we walk around the block and use the bathroom at North Central Bronx Hospital, so we just won't patronize them anymore. It's a shame and it's a lousy policy. No other restaurant is doing that, so we'll just go somewhere else."

Asked if he'd ever used the bathroom, the peddler replied, "Yes, it's a nice bathroom, but it's kind of small. It's not like the gas stations, but I don't think it's worth three bucks."

Repeated attempts for comment were met with employees slamming down the receiver of the telephone on two separate occasions.

The trend appears to be growing as the front door to the Mosholu-Montefiore Community Center a block away, now has a sign on it's from door that reads, "Sorry no public restrooms."   

Westchester Square News: #Fireworks at Orchard Beach

Westchester Square News: #Fireworks at Orchard Beach: Bronx Lights Up Photos by David Greene Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and New York State Senator Klein held a salute to t...

#Fireworks at Orchard Beach

Bronx Lights Up

Photos by David Greene

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and New York State Senator Klein held a salute to this great country at the annual "New York Salutes America Fireworks Extravaganza" at Orchard Beach.

#Fireworks #OrchardBeach

Westchester Square News: BP hosts eating contest

Westchester Square News: BP hosts eating contest: BP hosts eating contest Photo by Robert Benimoff Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. hosted the first ever "Bronx Eating...

BP hosts eating contest

BP hosts eating contest

Photo by Robert Benimoff

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. hosted the first ever "Bronx Eating Contest," featuring empanadas from Havana Cafe in Throggs Neck, at the annual "New York Salutes America" fireworks extravaganza at Orchard Beach on June 25. The event, which is co-sponsored by State Senator Jeff Klein, kicks off the city's week-long celebration of America's independence.

Westchester Square News: Pols Hail Supremes on #GayMarriage Decision

Westchester Square News: Pols Hail Supremes on #GayMarriage Decision: Pols Hail Supremes on #GayMarriage Decision  BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 26- Officials throughout the Bronx hailed the Suprem...

Pols Hail Supremes on #GayMarriage Decision

Pols Hail Supremes on #GayMarriage Decision 

BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 26- Officials throughout the Bronx hailed the Supreme Court’s decision making gay marriage the law of the land.

The court’s 5-4 decision allows gay and lesbian couples the right to marry in any of the 50 states. 

“Today is a historic day in the United States,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “The Supreme Court has made history and affirmed a basic human right today by allowing men and women to legally marry throughout this nation, regardless of their sexual orientation.

“After two decades of litigation, the Supreme Court has finally expanded equal rights and marriage equality to all. I would like to thank the Supreme Court for having the courage to make this bold decision, and I congratulate this nation’s LGBT community for their efforts on this issue,” Diaz said.

“Today the Supreme Court put to rest a decades-long civil rights struggle for marriage equality,” said Rep. Joe Crowley. “In its decision the Supreme Court affirmed what a majority of Americans believe, that marriage between two loving individuals, regardless of their sex, deserves full protection under the law as afforded under the 14^th Amendment. History will remember this day as a watershed moment, a day when ‘we the people’ took another major step toward justice in our enormous and enduring struggle to form a more perfect union.

“So today, as we celebrate this momentous victory for our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters let us also remember those we lost along the way. Those who came before us as activists, advocates, and allies who, when faced with bigotry and violence, did not shrink, but rather stood for the belief that discrimination based on sexual orientation has absolutely no place in the laws and policies of our country. We stand on the shoulders of those giants today, and proudly proclaim love is love.”

“America will never forget this day, and neither will people all across the world who know the meaning of love and compassion,” said Mayor Bill deBlasio “June 26, 2015, will forever be memorialized as a pivotal moment in the history of our nation – the day the Supreme Court affirmed our core values of love, equality, and justice, rejected ignorance and malice, and appealed to the humanity in us all. Our country will finally afford millions of Americans the rights they have always deserved, but until now were unable to exercise. Today, this country is richer – filled with 

more equality, more acceptance, and more love than yesterday. And for the people of this city, where the movement for LGBT rights began in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, we can be proud that we helped blaze the trail to this great victory.”

Congressman Charles B. Rangel, who represents the 13th Congressional District of New York that includes Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx, released the following statement on the Unite States Supreme decision on same-sex marriage:

"Indeed, all love is equal. I applaud the Supreme Court ruling on the same-sex marriage case and reaffirming that the union of the LGBT community should be treated equally. This decision marks another milestone toward American progress as the court reaffirms equal protections guaranteed to all Americans under the 14th Amendment. Today, a long overdue justice and equality have been served.

“Far too many couples have been denied protections by their governments, rights to legally commit to one another, and basic responsibilities as spouse and parents. The Court's ruling today makes it loud and clear that same-sex marriage is less about redefining the institution of marriage, but more so to ensure fundamental rights and dignity that gays and lesbians across the country deserve.

“As our nation celebrates Pride Month, this ruling could not come at a more appropriate time. I am proud that New York State is a leader in marriage equality and I look forward to other states across the nation recognizing this important right for all people. Let us continue on our path towards progress and let nothing stand in the way of ensuring equality for all,” Rangel said. 

#SupremeCourt #GayMarriage #Bronxnews

Westchester Square News: #Marriott Opens Door in Metro Center

Westchester Square News: #Marriott Opens Door in Metro Center: Bronx Now has a First-Class Place to Stay Marriott Opens Door in Metro Center By Dan Gesslein BRONX, NEW ...

#Marriott Opens Door in Metro Center

Bronx Now has a First-Class Place to Stay

Marriott Opens Door in Metro Center

By Dan Gesslein

BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 24- In a sign of the continued revitalization of the Bronx, community leaders hailed the opening of the borough's first upscale hotel. The ribbon cutting was also the capping of an odyssey for the Metro Center complex which went from an abandoned factory and vacant land to a thriving college campus style office complex and medical village.

The 125-room Marriott Residence Inn officially opened to great fanfare on Wednesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony with elected officials. Sure the Bronx has many motel rooms but none you would want to spend the night in. New Rochelle boasted the closest place to get a nice hotel room while visiting family rather than a hot-sheet motel. Now all that has changed with the opening of a first-class hotel.

"We’re thrilled that Marriott, one of the world’s premier hospitality companies, chose this location. Metro Center Atrium is unique in the Bronx – there’s nothing quite like it available anywhere else in the Borough. This truly is a landmark event for Metro Center Atrium, for our company, and for the Bronx," said Joseph Simone, President of Simone Development, whose company envisioned and built the Metro Center.

The Marriott is the crowning jewel in the Metro Center complex. The hotel caps off the Metro Center Atrium which is a mix of medical and office space in a suburban style campus.

Twelve years ago Old London Foods moved out of the area behind the Metro North tracks. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr said people were worried about the loss of jobs and that the land would sit unused. Now the Metro Center boasts 370,000 square feet of medical offices, an Applebee's, an LA Fitness and now a first class hotel. The complex also includes Mercy College.

"Today we have seen the realization of a magic trick," Diaz said.

Metro North is planning to reopen the old Morris Park station which will have a stop steps from the Marriott. Thus giving hotel guests access to transportation to Penn Station in Manhattan and upstate New York.

The new hotel is already a success. Officials say that although it officially opened today, the hotel is already 80 percent occupied. Business execs and hospital visitors to the medical centers inside the complex as well as nearby Calvary, Einstein Hospital and Jacobi Medical Center are staying at the new Marriott.

“Today is a great day for the Bronx,” said New York City Council Member James Vacca. “We welcome Marriott as the borough’s first hotel with open arms and hope it is the signal of even more great things to come. Clearly Marriott has recognized that the Bronx is a destination for New Yorkers and tourists alike. We already have beautiful parks, the

best zoo in the nation, the Yankees, and a PGA tour worthy golf course recently completed in nearby Ferry Point Park.”

Father Richard Gorman, chairman of Community Board 12, said the grand opening is a culmination of the revitalization of the borough.

"The Bronx is not only coming back. The Bronx is back," he said.

#Marriott #Simone #MetroCenter #Bronxnews

Westchester Square News: Saints Dance on Arthur Ave.

Westchester Square News: Saints Dance on Arthur Ave.: Saints Dance on Arthur Ave. Photos by Dan Gesslein The smells of zeppole a...

Westchester Square News: Saints Dance on Arthur Ave.

Westchester Square News: Saints Dance on Arthur Ave.: Saints Dance on Arthur Ave. Photos by Dan Gesslein The smells of zeppole a...