Mount Hope Monitor

CEO Promises New Day for Embattled Housing Company

By JAMES FERGUSSON Mount Hope Housing Company was founded in 1986. Its mission: to provide safe, affordable housing for residents of the Mount Hope neighborhood, and in the process fight back against the urban decay that was ravaging much of the south Bronx. Today, the organization manages more than 30 apartment buildings ...

PS 204 Teachers, Parents: Current Building Not Up to Par

TEACHERS AND PARENTS AT PS 204, A SCHOOL AT W. 174TH ST. NEAR NELSON AVE., SAY THEIR CURRENT BUILDING FAILS TO SERVE STUDENTS’ NEEDS (PHOTOS: A. WATKINS) By REBECCA THOMAS For half an hour twice a day, the children of PS 204 in Morris Heights have a playground. Before the school day ...

Cuts to After-School Programming Draws Protest

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="599" caption="ON OCT. 22, STUDENTS FROM PS 59 AND PS/MS 279 HELD A RALLY TO BRING ATTENTION TO RECENT CUTS TO AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMMING (PHOTO: P. EGAN)"][/caption] By PATRICK EGAN When school started this past September at three local schools, hundreds of kids, and their parents, had to face the ...

Historic Theater Reopens

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="598" caption="THE HISTORIC LOEW’S PARADISE THEATER, A ONE-TIME MOVIE THEATER, HAS REOPENED ITS DOORS FOR CONCERTS AND EVENTS AFTER A TWO-YEAR CLOSURE (PHOTO: J. FERGUSSON)"][/caption] By ELIZABETH BRIDGES It was a sight unseen along the Grand Concourse for more than two years: a buoyant throng of people waiting ...

Protesters Say Dogfighting Is the Pits

About 20 animal-right protesters held a rally on Sept. 29 opposite the Bronx Supreme Court on East 161st Street, to bring attention to the trial that was due to start that morning, involving five men charged with dogfighting offenses. The men were arrested in June 2008, when police raided a suspected ...

School Moves Up From Basement to High Rise

While stuck in a Manhattan College basement, the Jonas Bronck Academy became one of the most successful middle school programs in the northwest Bronx. But since its inception 12 years ago, the school community has longed for a space of its own. This July, however, the academy moved from its Riverdale basement ...

Bronx Businesses Give $ to School Libraries

An unprecedented number of Bronx businesses are participating in this year's Shop for Public Schools program. The Fordham Road Business Improvement District (BID) and 15 stores have raised over $2,000 this year. Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Vice Chair of the Fund for Public Schools, ...

Muslims Mark the End of Ramadan

Local Muslims turned out in force on Sunday, Sept. 20, to celebrate Eid ul-Fitr at Mount Hope Masjid, a mosque on Mount Hope Place, just east of Jerome Avenue. The day began with a 9 a.m. prayer, followed by a sermon, followed by food and socializing. Approximately 600 people were in ...

Foster Defeats Sierra

Councilwomen Helen Diane Foster defeated Carlos Sierra in the Sept. 15 Democratic primary in the 16th Council District, which covers the southwest Bronx. Foster, who's been in office since 2002, captured 3,090 votes (63 percent of the total) to her opponent's 1,801 (37 percent). During the campaign, Sierra questioned Foster's work ethic ...

Crime Watch, October 2009

Local Officer Dies of Heart Attack Raymond Rodriguez, a police officer with the 46th Precinct, died of a suspected heart attack on Sept. 16, while on duty at the Station House at 2120 Ryer Avenue. The precinct's commanding officer, Inspector Kevin Harrington, said Rodriguez was a "very likeable guy" who "will be ...