The City Council Finance Committee voted unanimously in favor of making the Westchester Square Business Improvement District the city’s 67th BID.

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A move by the city to block the releasing of documents related to the Controversial opening of a St. Peter’s Avenue homeless shelter in August 2009 has been denied by the Supreme Court Appellate Division.

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Bronx activists notch victory in court, win right to see city records related to controversial homeless shelter.  Westchester Square/Zerega Improvement Assn. sued after city opened St. Peter's Ave. shelter in 2009.

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Press Release - For Immediate Release - Homeless Shelter Case to Proceed.

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The Westchester Square Business Improvement District inched a step closer to reality with a hearing before the City Council finance committee.

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The American Cancer Society’s regional office got a visit from Westchester Square merchants who dropped in to present them with a donation of over $3000 to fight cancer. 

 

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TESTIMONY OF BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT RUBEN DIAZ JR. TO THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE IN SUPPORT OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WESTCHESTER SQUARE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

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The most critical part of the approval process for the Westchester Square BID, the first and perhaps only hearing before the City Council, has been set for Monday, October 17.

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Ground was broken on Westchester Square’s Owen Dolen Park, transforming the sometimes misused and abused public space into what leaders hope will be the hub of artistic and social activity.

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Local Bronx pols eager to bring back the thriving Westchester Square of decades past broke ground Wednesday at Owen Dolen Park, the first step in a long-awaited renaissance of the area.

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The City of New York is fighting tooth and nail to control what information is fair game in the legal battle over the homeless shelter near Westchester Square.

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The rerouting of electrical wires currently running under Owen Dolen Park should not substantially delay construction on the $5 million park renovation.

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Students from the P. 12 Lewis & Clark School and merchants in Westchester Square teamed up to make an eyesore sparkle. 

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The real winners in the Third Annual Merchant Charity Softball Game were charities.

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A friendly merchant rivalry is heating up.  With less than a week before the Third Annual Merchants Charity Softball game, talk is already buzzing among the merchants about who will take home the championship trophy.

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The long awaited reconstruction of Owen Dolen Park may have to wait a little bit longer.  The second phase of the $5 million reconstruction project was scheduled to begin in July, but relocation of underground wiring that is part of Con Edison’s service system may delay the project.

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Local merchants are calling on their fellow businesses and the community to come out and support teams that will be playing a softball game for charity.

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Merchants from all over the northeast Bronx will be coming together to play an annual charity softball game that will benefit several worthy causes.  The third annual merchant charity softball game has been scheduled for Friday, July 29 at 7 p.m. at the Throggs Neck Little League Field. The rain date is Saturday, July 30 at 7 p.m.

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A judge has ruled that the city Department of Homeless services may have violated the City Charter by opening a shelter off the fledgling Westchester Square merchant corridor.

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A move by the city to stop the release of documents related to the opening of the Westchester Square homeless shelter has been denied by a judge.

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The Westchester Square Business Improvement District inched another step closer to becoming a reality with the pivotal approval of the City Planning Commission.

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Construction on the second phase of the Owen Dolen Recreation Center is set begin after five years of planning.

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Westchester Square is one step closer to becoming the ninth business improvement district (BID) in the Bronx.

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When Joe Regina, a key organizer of the Fair @ The Square, was asked to come up with a highlight for the day, he had a hard time naming just one.

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The long-awaited banners for around the Westchester Square shopping and business district were installed just in time for the third annual Fair in the Square.

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The Association of the Merchants & Business Professionals of Westchester Square, Inc., the Bronx Business Alliance and the Bronx Council on the Arts, encourage Bronxites to attend the 3rd Annual “Fair @ The Square” on Saturday, May 14, from noon to 6 p.m. along the streets of Westchester Square between St. Raymond and Westchester avenues.

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The Westchester Square BID steering committee offered testimony before the city Planning Commission, which moved the Business Improvement District effort one step closer to reality.

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Third Annual Event Promises 15 Bands, Carnival Rides, Games, Food

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Graffiti is an issue for all neighborhoods in the Bronx, but for the business people of Westchester Square, there is one block that they can’t bring under control.

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The Westchester Square Business Improvement District, In the Borough of the Bronx, Testimony submitted to the NY City Planning Commission April 27, 2011

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Community Board 10 unanimously approved plans for the Westchester Square Business Improvement District, adding more support to the BID effort that has been in the works for years.

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The formation of the Westchester Square Business Improvement District got another shot in the arm when two Community Board 11 committees voiced their support of the proposal.

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The Westchester Square Business Improvement District, a hope and wish of many merchants, inched one step closer to becoming a reality.

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This is the second of a series of BID player profiles, introducing the people and organizations who contributed behind the scenes effort to the process.

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Preliminary Planning Starts for Colossal 2011 Spring Event

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If you take a tour through almost any neighborhood, specifically on the commercial strips, more times, than not, you will notice they all have one thing in common…

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While the BID legislative process plods along in its bureaucratic (slow) path to law, this article will concentrate its efforts on the historical elements that led to the BID formation effort.  In particular, we will introduce and reveal the folks behind the scenes and tell the story of their efforts and support.  This is the first of a series of BID player profiles.

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The Association of Merchants and Business Professionals of Westchester Square (AMBPWS) and the Hutchinson Metro Center are inevitably tied together in a partnership of economic development and growth through expansion, and formation of the BID in the Square.  It’s a winning combination, not only for the resurgence of a well remembered and vibrant shopping district, but a gateway for increased consumerism, integration of arts, culture and community events between the Square and the center.

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Bronx residents were finally able to give the City Council a piece of their mind about the city’s poor blizzard-cleanup efforts.

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The Association of Merchants and Business Professionals of Westchester Square (AMBPWS) has been working steadily over the past five years toward revitalizing the commercial corridor with a vision of renewed vitality and a promising and sustained future through the formation of a BID.

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Westchester Square merchants are looking to replace the tattered banners that outline the square’s shopping and business district.

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A well-respected developer is leasing space for three projects near Westchester Square, Pelham Bay, and Morris Park that could spark the start of a massive economic renaissance.

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Although the process to create a business improvement district in Westchester Square is moving along, officials are still making efforts to get all businesses in the area involved with the BID’s formation.

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On January 11, 2011, the Parks Department closed its Request For Proposal (RFP) process for the redesign of Owen Dolen Park.

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Since the reactivation of the Westchester Square Merchants Association in 2008, there continues to be a progressive road to revitalization of the Square’s commercial corridor, especially with the prospect of becoming a business improvement district (BID).

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As a child I remember, from the day I started walking, and all through grade school, when the time came that my brother, and I, needed new shoes, my mother would take us to our neighborhood shoe store that featured foot adductor shoes, staff and service.

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Leading this task for the formation a Business Improvement District in Westchester Square has been an eye opening and enlightening opportunity.

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Since this is our first week back in print, The Association of the Merchants & Business Professionals of Westchester Square, Inc. would like to take this opportunity to welcome everyone to the New Year.  It’s almost unimaginable that we ended 2010 with a deadly blizzard just after Christmas that essentially shut down the city for a few days.

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A deal struck between the City Council and Bloomberg Administration will avoid a second parking rate increase in the last 18 months.

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All great BID’s throughout the city have a public benefit to them that can be utilized to assure the success of the area’s efforts. 

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‘Tis the season to be jolly!  It’s about one week until Christmas and many of our merchants in Westchester Square are stocked with wonderful merchandise that would make perfect gifts or stocking stuffers for everyone on your list.

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Just about every commercial strip in our borough has at least one shop that is the “go-to” place for that great morning cup of hot coffee to go along with breakfast and the newspaper.

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Now that the BID initiative has entered the legislative approval stage, future BID Update articles will present the BID’s progress from two perspectives.

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Happy Holidays!  That blast of frigid air this week ushered in the month of December on a b-r-r-i-s-k note and that means winter is right around the corner.

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Visibility, through touchpoints.  Why this topic?

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Motorists and merchants around the Bronx are furious over Mayor Bloomberg's plan to raise meter fees a quarter-an-hour in the outer boroughs.

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The property owners have spoken and they are in favor of a business improvement district in Westchester Square.

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By the time you read this article, the Westchester Square BID Steering Committee will have completed 10 out of the 12 steps necessary to complete the BID formation process.  Step 11, the compilation of a complete documentary binder, will be completed by the end of this year and submitted to the City of New York for official review and the start of Step 12, the Legislative Authorization Process.

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Season’s greetings!  It’s officially December and beginning to look a lot like Christmas and the holidays.  And the Westchester Square merchants welcome you and invite you to patronize our little village during this wonderful season.

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Are customers looking for a results-oriented approach?  Why do you think I am asking this question? Perhaps a “results-oriented approach” is a good approach to think about because we will be judged and measured only by one thing--the results.

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Following last week’s first BID public hearing, three additional property owners cast ballots in favor of the approval of the BID District Plan.  To date, more than half the properties in the district have responded to the BID mailings and public hearings by casting ballots.  Ninety percent have voted in favor of the plan.

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What a great turnout for the fall festival at Owen Dolen Park and Recreation Center on Sunday, November 21, co-sponsored by Congressman Joseph Crowley and Councilman Jimmy Vacca. 

From the sweet smell of cotton candy and just-popped popcorn permeating the air and drawing the crowd in and out of the recreation center for fun and games, to the train and pony ride outside and a glimpse into the world of dinosaurs on the Museum of Natural History’s moveable museum, it was a nice day all around.

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The Westchester Square Merchants Association both appreciates and recognizes the outstanding efforts of Congressman Joseph Crowley and Councilman Jimmy Vacca as co-sponsors of the Fall Festival on Sunday, November 21.

Congressman Crowley and Councilman Vacca stated that giving thanks is the central theme of the event. They hosted the festival at Owen Dolan Park and Recreation Center to highlight the revitalization of Westchester Square and to show their gratitude to area merchants and community stakeholders for our ongoing commitment and effort to improving the area.

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Have you ever sat down and thought about why you do what you do, wondered why you went into business, or perhaps why you stay in business with all the headaches and adversities you have to go through?

All organizations and careers function on three levels:   What they do, how they do it, why they do it.  So what’s the problem?  Very few people or organizations know why they do what they do. 

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Congressman Crowley, Councilman Vacca Sponsor Fun-Filled Day, Sunday, November 21st

We’ve turned back our clocks, the leaves are falling and there’s just the right chill in the air.  So why not celebrate the season with some great family fun this weekend at the free Fall Festival in Westchester Square, sponsored by Congressman Joseph Crowley and Councilman James Vacca. 

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The Westchester Square BID effort took a major step forward on Tuesday evening, November 16,  with the first of two legally mandated public hearings held in the Hutchinson Metro Center’s Conference Auditorium.  The hearing was sponsored by the Association of Merchants of Westchester Square, which began the BID effort almost two years ago.

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Our membership is steadily climbing.  Many of the business get it--visibility, increased sales, and Westchester Square as the “go to” place.  These are all the things we will make happen.

Do you realize that the malls have become unsafe with car break-ins and car jackings? Do you realize this is our opportunity to make a difference in customer shopping patterns? I envision with this paper we can offer special coupons, and develop cooperative marketing.

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So far you’ve been reading all about the BID, and probably wondering what this means for you as a consumer.  We’ve already covered the steps leading up to the drafting of the District plan, which lays out the details of the BID’s official structure, serves as its charter, defines the district, outlines the requirements for the board of directors, establishes an assessment formula, and determines the services to be provided.

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AMERICAN A-1 AUTO • 2601 ST. RAYMOND AVENUE • BRONX, NY 10461 • 718-792-9230

If you’re looking for reputable and quality auto repairs and service, then look no further than A-1 Auto--where you get honest work at an honest price.

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Special Events, Marketing Programs In And Around Owen Dolen Park

In our last segment on the BID, we discussed the District plan and the budget for the first year.  In the budget there are provisions for “special events” and “marketing programs” that total $84,000.  These expenditures will be used to draw people to the area for a variety of planned events, most of which will take place in or around Owen Dolen Park – the jewel of the Square that is about to undergo a $5 million construction redesign .

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Greetings to our members, friends and neighbors--

We invite everyone to attend our 2nd Annual Veteran’s Day Wreath Ceremony to honor the men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

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Fall and winter are prime seasons not only for the flu bug, but for other bugs as well -- head lice.

Head lice are small insects that live and breed on the human scalp. They live 40 to 50 days and go through three cycles: eggs (nits), nymphs and adults. Adult females can lay up to 400 eggs in their life cycle. They are reddish brown insects and the size of a sesame seed. The eggs (nits) are tiny whitish, oval, and are firmly glued to the hair shaft near the scalp. Nits may look like dandruff but cannot be brushed off or removed by normal shampooing.

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In September of this year, 1800FIX.COM opened for business in Westchester Square. And though it is a new business to our area, it is by no means a new business.

Two decades ago, three brothers who grew up in the shadow of Yankee Stadium decided it was time to venture out into the world of business. This was a time when electronic technology was becoming a more prominent part of our everyday living and wireless electronics was coming to the forefront.

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Special Events, Marketing Programs In And Around Owen Dolen Park

In our last segment on the BID, we talked about the steps that led up to the drafting of the District Plan. The plan is a very important step in the process because it lays out the details of the BID’s official structure and serves as its charter

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After more than a year as an empty shell, we’re happy to report that it’s back to the future for 2510 Westchester Square, the former Verizon call center.

The newly renovated facility, which is owned by Simone Development, now boasts signed leases totaling about 32,500-square feet--more than half of the space at the 60,000-square-foot building.  The news has Westchester Square business leaders looking forward to a surge in potential customers commuting to the area on a daily basis.

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2510 Westchester Avenue is back in business.

Recently, five organizations signed leases for space in the former Verizon call center, which is owned by Simone Development.

The building has been empty for more than a year as the call center moved out and Simone Development renovated the facility from top to bottom.

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They say no news is good news but we think you’ll like what you see and hear about recent happenings in and around Westchester Square.

One of the most obvious and welcome changes to the shopping experience is here with the recent grand opening of an 18,000-square-foot ABC Super Store at 34 Westchester Square. Finally, that cavernous space right smack in the middle of the strip vacated by Foot Locker last spring has been brought back to life reminiscent of the iconic Woolworth’s chain that graced the same location in what seems like eons ago.

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Records-N-Stuff was opened in 1976 by Richard and Jean Allen at 61 Westchester Square.

It was still a time when area youth would come in on a weekly basis, if not more, seeking out the newest music releases by their favorite groups and singers.

The small shop sold vinyl 45’s, LP albums and small memorabilia items. Around 1980-81, the store moved to a larger location, up the block to 66 Westchester Square, where it currently does business.

Soon after Jean Allen’s death (circa 2000) the business was put up for sale.

Dawn Evans, an actress who’s done various TV work, movies, commercials, etc., purchased the business as an investment.

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 Chalk one up for our side in the ongoing legal battle over the proposed homeless shelter on St. Peter’s Avenue.

As you may recall, last January, Bronx Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Wright stated in his decision that the city Department of Homeless Services (DHS) had not violated any procedures by placing homeless housing at 1564 St. Peter’s Avenue without prior community notification.

Truth be told, Justice Wright recently reversed his earlier decision after learning that an investigation by former Comptroller William Thompson revealed the DHS planned to establish a long-term contract with the service provider Basic Housing.

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By now, most of you have heard about the Merchant Association’s efforts to develop a Business Improvement District, or BID, for the Westchester Square commercial district. This is the first in a series of columns that will report on the progress of the BID effort and explain the steps we’ve taken and plan to take to complete the process.

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ABC Super Stores in Westchester Square is off to a banner start.

On its first day of operations, the Square’s new anchor store was full of curious shoppers.

Welcoming customers at 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 7 with a “soft opening,” the 18,000 square-foot ABC Superstore at 34 Westchester Square, the spot that was vacated last spring by Foot Locker, was greeted with a flood of shoppers purchasing men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, furniture, housewares, linens and toys. The store, which occupies floor space that had previously been the storeroom and warehouse for Foot Locker, was offering up bargains that many shoppers said they appreciated in a tough economic period.

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The latest twist in an ongoing legal fight over a homeless shelter on St. Peter’s Avenue could mean closure for the shelter.

In January 2010, Bronx Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Wright stated that the city Department of Homeless Services had not violated any procedures by placing homeless housing at 1564 St. Peter’s Avenue without prior community notification.

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THE COURT battle over a contentious Bronx homeless shelter is back on after a nine-month lull.

A Bronx judge who tossed out the suit by a group of Bronx merchants and residents in January has reopened their case against the city Department of Homeless Services, calling the agency’s argument “a sham.”

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If bigger is better, then Westchester Square has been home to the city’s best slice of pizza for 25 years.

Ljubo’s Pizzeria, which is known for its mammoth slices that dwarf the paper plates they are served on, is turning 25 this year.

To celebrate, owner Ljubo Kocovic held a birthday party on Sunday, September 26, in the shop at 15 Westchester Square. Clowns were there for the kids, and free Cokes were given out to anyone who could manage to eat two slices of the pizza.

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Plans for the reconstruction of Owen Dolen Park are closer to being realized.

Bids have now been put out for the project, which is a major part of Westchester Square reconstruction and will add a plaza, paths, amphitheater seating, and other enhancements to the park.

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Turns out you can fight City Hall - and win.

A group of merchants in a Bronx shopping district is close to winning a long-running feud with the NYPD's traffic enforcement division.

The division has its local offices in Westchester Square, and agents have been parking their personal vehicles - and NYPD cruisers - at metered spots, depriving shoppers of the premium spaces.

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For Westchester Square shoppers, it’s anchors away.

ABC Super Stores, a 10-store regional discount chain selling clothing, as well as furniture, will be expanding into the property at 34 Westchester Square that Foot Locker recently vacated. It should be the anchor store that merchants have clamored for.

The store’s appeal should be akin to the draw that Woolworth’s once had at the same location in the Square, with discount men’s clothing, women’s clothing, shoes, and furniture.

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What a waste!

The NYPD allows up to two traffic agents per shift to personally guard the private vehicles of fellow meter monitors in the Westchester Square neighborhood of The Bronx.

On the taxpayers' dime, the meter-agents-turned-security-guards -- who make an average $36,500 a year -- spend their whole shifts standing on the corner of St. Raymond and East Tremont avenues, occasionally patrolling the 15 or so cars parked there by colleagues.

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Residents in the Westchester Square section of the Bronx say that it's difficult to get a metered parking spot during the day - but that its a breeze for parking agents who leave their cars to be guarded by fellow traffic agents.

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• State hotline available for victims of recent storm
• Mobile Mammography Van to make visit on April 2
• Recycling decals available for pickup at my office

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Demand that Judge Wright accept testimony and evidence

Attorneys for Westchester Square merchants and residents have moved to re-argue a case against the Department of Homeless Services. They want the judge that shot them down, Geoffrey Wright of the Bronx Supreme Court, to accept further testimony and evidence. The re-arguement motion will be heard on February 17.

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Westchester Square, Unfair-Share! Westchester-Square, Unfair-Share!

Plaintiffs in Westchester Square v. Robert Hess, Commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services, who maintain that Hess opened a homeless shelter at 1564 St. Peter’s Avenue in August without adequate notification, have reached out to community boards from Jamaica to Inwood, Cobble Hill to Staten Island.

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Mayor opposed five-minute grace period for parked cars

The City Council voted overwhelmingly to establish a five-minute grace period for alternate-side parking regulations and Muni-meters on Monday, December 14. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had vetoed the bill, but more than two-thirds of the City Council weighed in to override the mayor.

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An employee of a Westchester Square pharmacy, who was arrested after arguing with a traffic agent over a parking ticket, has won support from area merchants who claim the traffic agent lied about George Collazo physically assaulting her while issuing a summons.

Collazo, 23, was charged with menacing and assault after he allegedly grabbed an electronic parking ticket device out of the traffic agent’s hands. The agent was writing Collazo an expired muni-meter parking summons at 1:15pm on Thursday, December 3.

Video from surveillance cameras outside Metro Optics in Westchester Square, across from where the alleged crime occurred, show Collazo and the agent in a heated exchange, but at no time is any physical force used. A Metro Optics employee also witnessed the exchange.....

Confusion over a proposal for a five-minute parking grace period was the spark for an assault on an enforcement agent in the Bronx this week, police said.

George Collazo, 23, thought the extra leeway - approved by the City Council but not by Mayor Bloomberg - had already gone into effect.

When he returned to his parked car in Westchester Square on Thursday afternoon and found an agent about to slap a ticket on his windshield he allegedly went nuts.....

Cops are hunting for a suspect, possibly fed up over parking tickets, who may fancy himself a rubber Robin Hood.

He slashed the tires of three NYPD Parking Enforcement cars in broad daylight on Monday.

The brazen tire slasher was captured on an NYPD surveillance camera.

The video shows an African-American man of medium build, wearing dark clothes, parking a light-colored Toyota or Honda minivan near the vehicles, exit, look both ways, and then bend over the front tire of one vehicle and violently jab an object into the tire. He then repeats the process five more times.....

Local residents, merchants, and officials are expected to offer testimony, some possibly under subpoena, in a court hearing to determine if the opening of the St. Peter’s Avenue homeless shelter in August was done in a lawful manner.

Former assemblyman, Stephen Kaufman, who will be representing the plaintiffs in the case ‘Westchester Square v. Robert Hess, Commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services,’ is arguing his clients’ case before a judge on Monday, December 7 at the Bronx County Courthouse.....

Since its debut in October of 1994, BronxTalk has been the flagship talk show in the Bronx. As a call-in talk show, BronxTalk gives Bronxites an opportunity to talk on the air with the borough's movers and shakers. Also, over the years BronxTalk has presented numerous political debates in some of the borough's most hotly-contested campaigns. Hosted by Gary Axelbank, BronxTalk also is the center of focus for topical discussions about Bronx education, crime and policing, politics, health care, youth services, housing, economic development, quality of life, and many other vital Bronx issues.

This episode covers the growing controversy regarding the placement of a homeless Shelter in Westchester square without the required due process.....

Safety concerns have been raised for the students who travel through Westchester Square after a violent stabbing occurred last week leading to a serious injury and one arrest.

According to police reports on Wednesday, November 4, at approximately 3 p.m. a fight began on the southwest corner of Westchester Avenue and Ferris Place.

During the altercation the suspect stabbed a 16-year-old white male several times in the torso. A police officer witnessed the stabbing and pursued the suspect as he was attempting to flee the scene.....

Small business owners in Throggs Neck and Westchester Square need affordable employees. Students at Lehman High School need work. Talk about a match made in heaven.

The Lehman High School Student Council plans to send interns down to Throggs Neck and up to Westchester Square. The Throggs Neck Merchants Association (TNMA) and the Association of Merchants and Business Professionals of Westchester Square (AMBPWS) are ready.....

The revitalization of Westchester Square continues as plans are revealed for phase 2 of Owen Dolen Plaza.

On Monday, October 19 the Department of Parks and Recreation presented the preliminary design for phase 2 of the Owen Dolen reconstruction to the Parks and Recreation Committee of Community Board 10.

“It’s a really good plan and when it is complete it will provide Westchester Square with a wonderful park everybody can enjoy,” said Ken Kearns, district manager of CB10. “It will really be something, a big positive change.”....

The protesters of a St. Peters Avenue homeless shelter are gearing up for one final Saturday afternoon of picketing outside of Mayor Bloomberg’s Pelham Bay campaign office before the November 3 general election.

After six weeks of Saturday protests outside the office located at Hobart Avenue and Middletown Road, the demonstrations organized by the Association of Merchants and Business Professionals of Westchester Square, Westchester Square-Zerega Improvement Organization and others will conclude on Halloween.....

Carmen Rosa received a letter from the city Department of Homeless Services in early September.

In it, the district manager of Community Board 12 was informed that six units in a building on Holland Ave. had been occupied by homeless families. It was the first correspondence she had received from the department about the site.

"They hadn't said a word about it beforehand," said Rosa. "I mean, at least have the common courtesy of letting us have some input so we can say together that this is the best place it can go, as opposed to letting us know at the last minute this is where it's going, thank-you-very-much."....

It's a tale that makes the blood boil, but also warms the heart a little.

At Westchester Square, under the No. 6 train elevated structure, there's a fenced-in lot at the site of last spring's huge three-alarm arson fire.

It's where five businesses thrived and one was set to begin.

Gone are the burnt structures. Gone are the mom-and-pop shops that held livelihoods and family hopes. Gone is the dream one man had of opening a cocktail lounge.....

When the city quietly transformed a brand-new Bronx building into an emergency homeless shelter in August, it incited a lawsuit and a blitz of rallies. Last Saturday -- the fifth in a series of Saturday protests that, organizers say, with continue up through the election -- more than two dozen angry residents filled a pen set up near the mayor's Pelham Bay campaign office. "No hearing, no shelter," they chanted, "No hearing, no votes."

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Comptroller’s court filing provides extra ammo in fight vs. city

BRONX, N.Y. ¯ Council Member James Vacca today applauded City Comptroller William C. Thompson for filing to join a lawsuit brought by the Westchester Square/Zerega community to stop the city from operating a controversial homeless shelter at 1564 St. Peter’s Avenue. The Comptroller’s Office began investigating the St. Peter’s shelter after being contacted personally by Vacca in early September.....

The Bronx Business Alliance held its first annual Awards Banquet at Pelham Split Rock Golf Course on Thursday, September 17. The fundraiser honored individuals who helped the Bronx Business Alliance grow into a resource for the business community in community boards 9, 10, 11, and 12.....

Demonstration at Bloomberg’s campaign office intensifies

More than 50 protestors showed up for the fourth straight week of Saturday picketing outside of Mayor Bloomberg’s Pelham Bay Campaign office. There are no signs that organizers have any intention of calling off the protests of the opening of a homeless shelter in a brand-new Westchester Square building.....

Despite rain that seemed like it was coming down in buckets, a group gathered outside of Mayor Bloomberg’s campaign office for the third consecutive Saturday to protest the opening of a St. Peters Avenue homeless shelter.....

City Comptroller and mayoral candidate William C. Thompson, through his attorney, Randy Mastro, has filed an intervention petition in State Supreme Court in the Bronx to join in a lawsuit brought by Bronx residents against a 38 unit homeless shelter which opened last month at 1564 St. Peter's Avenue in the Westchester Square section.....

    

A group of 50 protestors from different walks-of-life marched outside of Mayor Bloomberg’s Pelham Bay campaign office for a second consecutive weekend in a battle over a St. Peter’s Avenue homeless facility.....

Fire marshals believe Pelham Bay man started the fire

On Monday, September 21, fire marshals and federal agents arrested William Crean, 40, for arson in the Westchester Square fire of March 2009. Crean allegedly started the fire around 6 a.m. at 21 Latin Lounge.....

The state Department of Health has granted Westchester Square Medical Center an extended operating certificate, allowing the hospital to remain open through December 31, 2010, and a ray of hope for its longtime continuance.

Without the certificate, the hospital, a health care choice for many, would close by the end of this year. The new certificate gives Westchester Square Medical Center time to explore merging with other hospitals and emerging from bankruptcy.....

The Bronx Merchants Coalition met with a Small Business Services assistant commissioner to discuss making small business thrive in the borough.

On Friday, September 18 the merchants in the coalition, which encompasses groups from all over the borough, met with Assistant Commissioner Jeremy Waldrup of the Department of Small Business Services to discuss issues brought to Mayor Bloomberg’s attention at a recent coalition gathering in Throggs Neck.

Their goal is to have the merchants and the city work together to address forming ‘Retail Retention Zones,’ parking, sanitation, and tax incentives for growing business, creating jobs, and sprucing up shopping districts.....

The Parks Department has closed a concession stand near the Westchester Square train station after the operator began preparing food at the location without a proper license.

While the Parks Department’s official stance is that the concession, a newspaper stand, was closed due to irregularities in the operation, sources said there were also questions about the bidding process. Parks operates the concession because it is adjacent to Owen Dolen Park.....

A legal defense fund established by merchants and residents of the Westchester Square – Zerega community is taking the city into court to temporarily close homeless shelter that was opened without any community notification.

The homeless shelter, located in a new building at 1564 St. Peter’s Avenue, is home to 11 families, and soon 38 may occupy the building at three to six month intervals as they transfer to permanent housing.

The opening of the shelter has caused uproar because no “community impact study” or “fair share analysis” by the Department of Homeless Services was completed, as required by law, due to an unspecified emergency.....

Westchester Square homeless protest escalates at Bloomberg’s campaign office.

Civic groups from the Westchester Square – Zerega community and beyond are mounting six weekends of protest in front of Mayor Bloomberg’s Pelham Bay campaign office prior to the November election.....

BRONX MAN ARRESTED FOR ARSON IN MARCH FIRE THAT DESTROYED A ROW OF WESTCHESTER SQUARE STORES....

Authorities have arrested a 40-year-old Bronx man for setting a fire in Westchester Square in March that ripped through six businesses and devastated a portion of the fledgling shopping district.

William Crean allegedly set the fire at 21 Latin Lounge at 122 Westchester Square around 6 a.m. on March 22, fire officials said.

The fire quickly expanded to five adjoining businesses: National Restaurant, Rose Nail Salon, Peking House, Osvaldo Barber Shop and On the Square Flower Shop.....

    

Residents and merchants sued the city last week for creating a homeless shelter in the middle of a bustling shopping district.....

The Westchester Square Zerega Improvement Organization (WSZIO) and the Westchester Square Merchants Association were denied a restraining order against the City in the first round of its legal fight to stop the placement of a "transient" homeless shelter at 1564 St. Peter's Avenue in the Bronx.

For further information, contact:

Stephen B. Kaufman at 718-822-0500
Robert Swetnick at 212-349-2800
Westchester Square Merchants Association at 718-597-4629....

Hundreds of Bronx homeowners and residents packed a community room at the Westchester Square Public Library on Saturday afternoon to speak out against a transitional homeless shelter opened in their neighborhood without notification or a fair share analysis of what many claim is an oversaturation of social service programs in the area.....

Transient housing has been thrust upon the Zerega community with little prior notification from the Department of Homeless Services.....

Joe Regina was walking through Westchester Square, touting the new merchants association and a much-needed city program to clean up the streets, when a passing teen dropped a soda can on the sidewalk. Regina stopped midstride and hollered after the kid: "You do that at home?" The teen shot back, "Yeah, I do!"

Regina picked up the can, looking for the trash. "See what I mean?" he asked.

As secretary-treasurer of the new Westchester Square Merchants' Association, Regina, who works at Quick Care Frame Repair, well knows the challenges facing the once-thriving northeast Bronx shopping district. But he and other local businesspeople are banking on the neighborhood's resurgence, placing their hopes in their organization - and a new city program called Clean Streets.....

The Association of the Merchants and Business Professionals of Westchester Square hosted a tour to take a closer look at Westchester Square and discuss plans for its development into a cultural Mecca.

On Monday, June 29, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Assemblyman Michael Benedetto, Councilman Jimmy Vacca, Small Business Services Commissioner Robert Walsh, the Westchester Square-Zerega Improvement Organization, the Bronx Council on the Arts, Community Board 10, the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, and other representatives from government agencies and community organizations, took a walk through of Westchester Square.

The success of Westchester Square in an economic development initiative has the potential to grow outwards, said John Bonizio, president of the Association of the Merchants and Business Professionals of Westchester Square.....

The Bronx Merchants Coalition held a meeting on Wednesday, June 10, 2009, with William C. Thompson, Comptroller of NYC, and candidate for Mayor.

Chairman Bob Bieder, and other local business leaders, sat with Mr. Thompson to discuss issues of concern to the 12 merchant groups in Community Board #’s 9, 10, 11 and 12. Issues discussed included parking violations & parking solutions, taxes & fines, small business financing, graffiti, sanitation, and policing.

Mr. Thompson listened very intently to the problems and concerns and was very engaging with his responses and insight from within the government. Mr. Thompson spent well over an hour in discussion with the group and made several recommendations, including some that can be immediately implemented to alleviate problems in the North Bronx.

Mr. Bieder advised Mr. Thompson that he will address the 12 merchant groups in the Coalition on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 8:30am in the Royal Coach Diner on Gun Hill Road and ....

Westchester Square in the Bronx is bordered by the communities of Pelham Bay, Throgs Neck, Morris Park, Zerega, and Castle Hill. It became a major commercial hub when the IRT line was constructed, and the area grew to be a vibrant commercial center in the decades that followed. However, in the 1990s, Westchester Square’s primary anchor store, Woolworth’s, closed its doors, leaving a major vacuum that began a decline resulting in less foot traffic and reduced retail use.

Today, the area is made up of an assortment of diversified businesses, 90% of which are owner occupied. Its 132 merchant storefronts are housed in 73 buildings. The vacancy rate, well under 10% throughout most of this decade, has risen to 13% in the current economic downturn. There is no vacant private property, and the only city-owned properties are a large building housing the Department of Traffic and the Owen Dolen Park and Recreation Center, which is in the middle of the Square. Because of this central location, Owen Dolen has....

    

The Daytop Village Facility ambulatory care site at 16 Westchester Square will soon be shutting its doors and moving its services to 2614 Halperin Avenue, just three blocks away.

The move was halted a year ago over issues surrounding the physical expansion of the Halperin site that would have displaced over 20 parking spaces and required a special permit allowing the reduction of its parking from 36 spots to 18, with only six on site.

Though the Board of Standards and Appeals granted the special permit, the Department of Buildings denied construction permits in May 2007.

After a quiet period of time, on Wednesday, February 18, at a Westchester Square Merchants Association meeting, a Daytop representative confirmed the move for March. The building expansion never occurred.....