ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC CHURCH SET TO CLOSE, MERGE
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
William Croker is trying hard to sound upbeat. But when the longtime member of St. Augustine Catholic Church talks about the venerable Bronx institution shutting down, his downcast eyes tell a different story.
The 162-year-old congregation will merge with Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church early next year, with Masses to be held at Our Lady of Victory.
NEW POCKET PARK IN MORRISANIA NAMED FOR POLITICAL PIONEER
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The Bronx’s newest pocket park honors a woman who grew up and grew old fighting to improve her neighborhood.
Estella Diggs, the first African-American woman elected to the state Assembly from the Bronx, still lives in the Morrisania neighborhood where she attended grade school. Now an one-acre park down the block from her home bears her name.
GRAND CONCOURSE HISTORIC DISTRICT TO GET LANDMARK STATUS
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The Bronx’s grandest thoroughfare is finally getting the recognition that many borough residents believe it richly deserves.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission expects to approve today the designation of a Grand Concourse Historic District.
CHARITY GAME TO REMEMBER MISSING BRONX COURT KING
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
When the Bronx was burning 40 years ago, Angel Cruz was setting borough basketball courts on fire with dazzling slam dunks and dribble drives.
He dominated the concrete playgrounds at the Patterson Houses in Mott Haven, wowed street ball crowds in Harlem, and then turned pro and played for Puerto Rico at the Olympic Games.
But then the human grasshopper known as “Monchito” - perhaps the greatest Nuyorican player of all time - vanished.
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HISTORIC GAY MARRIAGE DAY IN NEW YORK ‘FABULOUS’
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN, DANIEL PRENDERGAST, AL BARBARINO AND ERIN DURKIN (NYDN)
The Rev. Carmen Hernandez, the self-proclaimed “First Lesbian of the Bronx,” and her partner were the first same-sex couple to marry in the borough.
ROUGH TIMES FOR HISTORIC JEWISH HOUSES
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
All is not peaceful at the Shalom Aleichem Houses.
The real estate crash has come home to roost at the historic Van Cortlandt Village community, a Neo-Tudor fortress built by socialist Yiddish speakers in the 1920s.
The 15-building complex has racked up hundreds of housing code violations for broken sinks, leaks, rodents and lead paint, and is in foreclosure.
OWNER PLANS $10 MILLION FACELIFT FOR OLD BRONX COURTHOUSE
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The Gray Lady is getting a $10 million makeover.
The old Bronx County courthouse in Melrose - a bulky Beaux Arts structure nicknamed the Gray Lady - has been boarded-up for more than 30 years.
NEW WILLIS AVE. BRIDGE MARKS END OF ERA
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
When the old Willis Ave. Bridge floats down the river this fall, 109 years of Bronx history will leave with it.
WRITING OF LEGENDARY YIDDISH AUTHOR AT RISK
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The papers of a legendary Yiddish author are in the hands of Bronx bureaucrats, and scholars fear the ex-cops and clerks going through them may trash a treasure trove.
BOROUGH PRESIDENT TO ANNOUNCE WALK OF FAME INDUCTEES
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
From crooners to congressmen, the Bronx has nurtured some of the best.
