PLANS FOR BRONX SKATING RINK NOW ON ICE
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The city is putting its plans for a Bronx skating rink on ice.
The Parks Department has announced it won’t fulfill Mayor Bloomberg’s promise to bring an ice rink to Van Cortlandt Park this winter because it and Con Edison can’t supply enough electricity to power the outdoor facility.
DONALD TRUMP SIGNS DEAL TO RUN BRONX PUBLIC GOLF COURSE
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The city has picked The Donald to run its newest public golf course.
Donald Trump’s company has signed a 20-year license deal to operate the links-style course under construction at Ferry Point Park in the Bronx, the Parks Department announced Friday.
YANKEE STADIUM HOSTING BIG-TIME FOOTBALL GAMES
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The Bronx baseball cathedral is fast becoming a gridiron temple, with big-time football finding a home at Yankee Stadium.
Two Brooklyn high schools battled there Tuesday night, with Abraham Lincoln grinding out a win in the PSAL Championship Division title game against Erasmus Hall, and the house that George Steinbrenner built will host its second college football bowl game on Dec. 30.
MORE AND MORE BIG-BOX RETAIL DEVELOPMENT PLANNED FOR BRONX
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
Runners and cyclists are warring over renovations planned for a beloved Bronx nature trail.
The 1.5-mile Putnam Trail in Van Cortlandt Park is slated for $2.4 million in renovations
by the city Parks Department
to widen and pave the rugged dirt path, changes the agency claims will benefit cyclists, wheelchair users and people with strollers.
But members of the Save the Putnam Trail campaign argue the project will ruin the bucolic atmosphere of the leafy byway.
RANDALLS ISLAND TENNIS CENTER EXPANSION PLAN SLAMMED
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
Park and community advocates are raising a racket over the continued privatization of public parkland on Randalls Island.
The private company that runs a swanky tennis center at Randalls Island Park has announced plans to expand the facility at no cost to taxpayers.
But advocates claim poor players from the South Bronx and East Harlem won’t benefit, because the center operates like a high-priced club, with members shelling out thousands of dollars for lessons and perks.
NATIONAL CYCLING ASSOCIATION REVEALS ARMORY VELODROME PLAN
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The National Cycling Association unveiled its plan on Thursday to build a world-class velodrome and BMX park in the Bronx’s long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory.
CEO Jack Simes of NCA revealed that the group hopes to rent the landmark building from the city for eight weeks next spring to host a demonstration project, including youth programs and a six-day bicycle race.
MTA TEES UP PLAN TO SELL DRIVING RANGE FOR RETAIL DEVELOPMENT
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The MTA is shopping a golf driving range to land buyers, marketing the Bronx property as ripe for big-box retail development.
The 14-acre plot in Pelham Gardens is one of nine city-owned tracts that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to lease or sell, the agency recently announced, following a review of nearly 4,000 holdings.
VAN CORTLANDT PARK REOPENING DELAYED, CRICKETERS ANGRY
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
Bronx parkgoers and cricket players are getting crabby about renovation delays at the Van Cortlandt Park Parade Grounds.
The Parks Department won’t reopen eight cricket fields until next fall because the renovated Parade Grounds contain weeds and crab grass, said an agency spokesman.
The renovations began in 2009 and the fields were slated to open last spring. But the Parks Department contractor hired to reseed the turf has botched the job twice, said Bob Bender, Community Board 8 parks committee chairman.
YANKS WINS MEAN BIG BUCKS FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN, ERIN DURKIN AND BILL HUTCHINSON (NYDN)
Business owners - even Mets fans - are banking on a long playoff run for the Yankees to pad their bottom lines.
The city Economic Development Corp. says the American League Championship Series could bring a windfall of about $12.6 million per home game. Thinking bigger, each World Series Game could stir up $20 million per game.
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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