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Breaking News
Pelham Bay Residents Vow to
Continue Fight with Development
By David Greene

Over seventy residents and concerned citizens from a dozen different
organizations converged on Middletown Road in Pelham Bay to protest a
development that they claim will destroy the area.

The rally was held outside the site of a proposed seven-story, 44-family
complex at 3030 Middletown Road, on Saturday, October 18.

Tony Canata, vice president of the Waterbury/La Salle Community Association,
told the crowd, "We're here for a special reason. The man that's building this
monstrosity here... how could he get away with it? I don't know."

Canata was referring to real estate mogul Jacob Selechnik, a partner in 2419
LLC, a Westchester, N.Y.-based company that is the owner of record. As a
landlord, Selechnik amassed 23,137 housing code violations at over 100
properties in 2004, many in the South Bronx. Selechnik also owed NYC
Housing, Preservation and Development (NYC HPD) over $90,000 for
emergency repairs made by the city, earning him a spot on the Village Voice's
top 10 list of worst landlords in 2006.

A stop-work order was recently lifted and the developer was issued eleven new
permits from NYC HPD and the New York Department of Buildings, so residents
are once again up in arms as the digging at the site has begun.

Speaking to the crowd, Senator Jeff Klein told residents, "I think we're all on the
same page, that we want to keep our neighborhood strong and that means we
have to fight overdevelopment.

"It doesn't belong here because it's already congested," Klein continued, "We
don't have the parking, the schools in the area are already over crowded. We
just don't have the city resources to take care of these properties, and to make
matters worse, we have someone with a bad track record."

Klein then vowed, "Any type of tax exemption this person hopes to get,
anything he hopes to get from the state level, I'm going to make sure that
doesn't happen."

Councilman Jimmy Vacca, questioning if Selechnik is actually getting out of the
business, as some have speculated, as a residential landlord, or if he's giving
the properties to family members, stated, "He has his building department
permits; however what we are continuing to do is try to nail down exactly who is
building the building, and where the relationship is with the former owner."

Vacca stated he has also contacted the City Planning Commission, in order to
"revisit the rezoning here in Pelham Bay." Vacca added, "They left the zoning
intact, when we should have had changes."

Assemblyman Michael Benadetto offered, "Maybe we can do something up in
Albany, with some of the building incentives we give out for housing... maybe
we can pull back on the incentives, so it's not so attractive to build here."

Benadetto concluded, "We've had a problem in this city for a long time. They
build everywhere they want to build... but they don't care about the outer
boroughs and what's happening to us."   
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FIGHTING BACK...
by David Greene

Nearly twenty Bronxites
took part in an
introductory
self-defense seminar at
Fujiryu Ju-Jitsu, located
at 1626 Bronxdale
Avenue, on Sunday,
October 26. Master
Linda Ramzy, a 7th
degree black belt,
offered street-smart tips
on how to thwart a
random or domestic
violence attack. Ramzy
hopes to offer a class
for teen boys and young
men at a cost of $75 for
two classes. The class
is expected to begin on
November 16.

Those wishing more
information can contact
Master Ramzy at (917)
716-7673.
West Farms Resident
Celebrates 103rd
Birthday                           
By David Greene

She was born just after the
turn of the 20th century and
has watched another come
and go, and Clifford "Ma"
Wrench, just keeps going with
the flow, even after 103 years!
Celebrating with a few dozen
friends, family members and
fellow volunteers at the
Soundview Health Center, on
Tuesday, October 14, where
she has volunteered for the
last twenty years, they
celebrated with a cake, as well
a letter from the White House.
Pedro Espada, Soundview
Health Center's President,
asked Wrench, "What is your
secret, what is your fountain of
youth?" Named after her
father, Wrench replied, "My
secret, my children, is believing
in God. Not always have I been
this firm, but I'm there now, and
I have no intentions of turning
back." After being born in
Minden, LA., in 1905, Wrench
came to New York City at age
19. She says she was, "just a
kid running away from home."
She began as a cook at
Montefiore Hospital and years
later would become a nurse.
Wrench would also spend a
few years entertaining crowds
as a dancer at the old
Lafayette Theater on Seventh
Avenue. "i did a little of
everything," she says. Asked
what the single most important
moment in her long life has
been, Wrench replied, "Getting
married to the man I met, I was
with him 32 years." After
meeting her husband John,
Wrench took a job as a nurse
at the Riker's Island Jail, where
she worked for 27 years.
Believe it or not, Ma Wrench
also spent several years as the
personal cook to President
Teddy Roosevelt. Wrench
humbly acknowledged, "I'd
come to know the Roosevelts
quite well." Asked if she was
voting in the upcoming
Presidential election, Wrench
fired back, "Of course I'm
voting; they haven't stopped
me yet." Asked if she could
share some of her wisdom on
who to select, she replied,
"That's my business, it's my
secret, baby... Old I am but
dumb I ain't." A letter from
President George W. Bush to
Wrench, stated, "Laura and I
send our warmest wishes on
your 103rd birthday." The
letter added, "You are part of a
generation that has
contributed great strength and
honor to our country.

Americans are inspired by your
accomplishments." Wrench has
lived on Rosedale Avenue for
the last 50 years and
continues to volunteer, bake
and cruise around with her
friends in her 1974 Cadillac.
Verizon & Local Safety  
 
Let's not fumble the ball at the goal
line
>more
Post's Post-  
Convention
'Balancing' Act The problem
with the paper's 'fact-check'

9/11/08

A September 7 Washington Post
article purported to offer "a guide to
some of the more questionable
assertions" coming from the
Republican and Democratic
presidential tickets at the recent
party conventions. But what the
paper really gave readers was a
lesson in media "false balance,"
where corporate journalists feel
obligated to give equal attention to
political lies or exaggerations
from both sides--even when the
facts suggest that the deception is
mostly on one side. >
more
11th Annual International
Film Festival
by Andrew Perretti

November 12 - 15, 2008

I had the pleasure of meeting Terra
Renee at an open hours hosted by
the Greater New York Chamber of
Commerce this past Halloween. I
was pleased that we had an
opportunity to record a sound bite
to promote the international film
festival.  Terra is doing amazing
things with AAWIC. I'm looking
forward to creating synergy between
our two organizations.

The Festival will feature works of
emerging and established women
filmmakers who are of the African,
Latina and Asian Diaspora.
>more
Left to right: Terra Renee, Director, African
American Women In Cinema, Michelle
Bloom, Office Manager, and Diane Collins,
membership coordinator of the Greater NY
Chamber of Commerce
African American
Women In Cinema
>more
Upcoming Events
Halloween Slashing Rumors
Persist
By David Greene

An Internet threat of gang initiations
on Halloween has sparked false
rumors in the Morris Park and
Throggs Neck sections, of no less
than eight women being slashed.
The rumors have, for the most part,
turned out to be false. E-mails and
text messages were circulating
around the country this past week,
warning of a 'Bloods Initiation
Weekend', beginning on Halloween.

A similar threat credited to the Crips
gang, threatened the lives of 31
women and girls targeted in random
acts of murder. Police Commissioner
Ray Kelly downplayed the threat,
when he told members of the media,
"Halloween is the season of rumors.
We know nothing specific about this
threat. We heard it because people
are talking about what's out there,
and what's on the Internet." Kelly
continued, "We have no specific
information to indicate that there's
any validity to this rumor," but added
that because of the rise of
vandalism on Halloween, New York
City was to remain on a heightened
alert, similar to other cities including
Baltimore, Philadelphia and
Washington. However, Kelly's
message downplaying the threat
didn't quell the rumors as one visitor
to the Java Blast Cafe on Morris
Park Avenue, was overheard
incorrectly telling other customers,
"Six women were slashed on Morris
Park Avenue and another two were
stabbed in Throggs Neck." One
member of Community Board 11,
had heard the rumors, recalled
another Morris Park resident who
had heard the grim tales, recalling,
"They were saying it could be a
rumor, but they're just not sure",  
later adding, "The whole
neighborhood is talking about it."
The community board would later
determine that there were no
stabbings in the area, but one
person was arrested after police
broke up a large crowd of unruly
teens. Calls to Police Plaza and the
49th Precinct were not returned
before publication of this article.

A source at the 45th Precinct
maintained, "We had none, no
stabbings." In three reported
Halloween-related attacks, a victim
was reported shot at the intersection
on Manida Street and Randall
Avenue, at 5 p.m. on Wednesday,
October 29.  Officers from the 41st
Precinct were reportedly looking for
a suspect fleeing the scene, wearing
a Michael Meyers mask. A tourist
was slashed across his throat with a
box-cutter after a Halloween night
dispute with a man dressed as the
Grim Reaper, on a Bronx-bound No.
6 Train. Police charged Ismael
Guevara, 20, with the attack on Lee
Dutton, 21, of New Hampshire, that
took place at just after 9 p.m.

Another person was reported shot at
the intersection of Union Avenue
and Southern Boulevard, at 10:30
a.m., on Monday, November 3.
Police were reportedly looking for
two male Blacks, wearing Halloween
masks, who were seen fleeing the
scene. All three victims were
expected to recover. In an article in
the Newark Star Ledger, one woman
Clifford "Ma" Wrench,
just keeps going with the
flow, even after 103
years!
Clifford "Ma" Wrench holds a plaque naming a star in
her honor, presented by Pedro Espada (right).         
Photos by David Greene
OFFICERS INJURED IN CRASH...
by David Greene

A pair of police officers from the 46th Precinct
were injured when their patrol car collided with
an SUV, on Sunday, October 26. The crash
took place at just after 3 p.m., at the
intersection of W. Burnside Avenue and
Davidson Avenue.

The two officers were extricated from the
vehicle and rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital.
No information was available on the occupants
of the SUV or the condition of the officers, but
their injuries were not believed to be life
threatening.

One witness at the scene claimed the patrol
car had its emergency lights on, but no siren.

  • PHOTO 1: The police car came to a
    stop after colliding with an SUV.         
  • PHOTO 2: Both police officers likely
    avoided serious injury thanks to their
    airbags.       PHOTO 3: After striking the
    police car, the SUV came to a stop just
    before jumping the busy curb on W.
    Burnside Avenue.        PHOTO 4: Two
    police officers were injured after this
    smack-up at W. Burnside Avenue and
    Davidson Avenue.   
  • Photos by David Greene
     Asked why she was so upset about the project, protester Anita
Velente, the vice president of the Pelham Bay Taxpayer's Civic
Association replied, "I moved here in 1942 and this was the country. You
could park, there was two or three cars on every street... that was
replaced with 3-family attached homes with two cars each."

At least one area store owner, who declined to give his name, stated,
"They call it overcrowding but more people in the area will bring more
business... that's progress."

Seth Donlin, a spokesman at NYC HPD, confirmed that Selechnik has
settled with his department, stating, "He doesn't owe anything now, he
sold all but one of his buildings... he can't complete the sale without
taking care of the lien."

Donlin added, "We're also happy if he chooses to sell the property, pay
us the money that he owes us, and the new landlord maintains the
property in a proper fashion.... but clearly the advocates were unhappy
with him as a landlord and are probably happy that he at least seems to
be, at least largely, getting out of the business of property management."

Several calls to Selechnik's Grand Concourse office for comment were
not returned.
                                      #   #   #

  • PHOTO 1: Tony Cannata of the Waterbury / LaSalle Community
    Association and protesters against landlord Jacob Selechnik's
    latest development on Middletown Road.  
  • PHOTO 2: Senator Jeff Klein told Pelham Bay residents he would
    stop tax incentives for the new landlord of a new development on
    Middletown Road.        
  • PHOTO 3: A protester holds sign denouncing the over-
    development of Pelham Bay.
  • PHOTO 4: The site in question once housed a 2-story union hall.
    --   PHOTO 5: One of the 19 permits issued from the NYC Housing
    Preservation and Development and the Department of Buildings to
    developer Jacob Selechnik.  
  • PHOTO 6: One of the 19 permits issued from the NYC Housing
    Preservation and Development and the Department of Buildings to
    developer Jacob Selechnik.          
  • PHOTO 7: Developer Jacob Selechnik got the 19 permits needed
    to continue a project on Middletown Road..          
  • Photos by David Greene
Graffiti: Spirit of an Age
@ 40 x 10 opens at
The Longwood Art
Gallery @ Hostos on
December 3rd
>more