11/04/2011

Bronx synagogue welcomes Jewish New Year with a last goodbye

Text by Ted Regencia and Lindsay Minerva (photo by Ted Regencia)

NEW YORK — On a rainy Wednesday night at the start of Rosh Hashanah, Miriam and Herbert Korman struggled up the stairs to reach the lobby of Temple Emanuel at Parkchester in the Bronx. Eight other congregants waited patiently for the couple to arrive inside the almost empty sanctuary of faded wood and stained glass. As he reached the foyer, 91-year-old Herbert Korman groaned with exhaustion.

It was the final time that the Kormans will lead Jewish New Year services at Temple Emanuel. On Oct. 31, Parkchester’s last conservative synagogue will officially close, bringing an end to another chapter of Jewish history in the Bronx.

“I can’t even imagine not having this,” said Miriam Korman, as she nodded towards the two-story sanctuary. “We’ve been members here for over 50 years.”

To read the full story, please visit BronxInk.org

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11/04/2011

Aspiring rapper slain near Soundview in the Bronx

Text and photo by Ted Regencia

NEW YORK — Taiwon “Ty” Turner was an aspiring rapper who listened to Dr. Dre and Jay-Z, his favorite artists.

“He was very kind, very quiet, he was just a wonderful kid,” Sonia Taylor said of her nephew, who was gunned down on the grounds of the Sotomayor public housing complex near Soundview on Sunday evening, Oct. 9. “It’s a waste, it’s a waste.”

A cousin remembered his smile, and his partying spirit. “He treated me like a sister,” said Crystal Willis, 16, a cousin from Harlem, who gathered with other relatives near the scene of the shooting at 1060 Ave.

Police said they received a 911 call saying a male was shot around 8:18 p.m. on Sunday. Two residents of the nearby apartment building said they heard three gunshots shortly before police arrived.

To read the full story, please visit BronxInk.org

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11/04/2011

Bronx senior assaulted in his lobby

Text by Celia Llopis-Jepsen and Ted Regencia

NEW YORK — An 81-year-old Parkchester resident was knocked down and punched inside the front door of his apartment building Thursday afternoon by a young male assailant who tore off the senior’s jewelry and emptied his pockets of cash.

Police released security video footage from the building at 1555 Unionport Road that showed the attack lasted less than a minute. The elderly victim, Jose Rodriguez, sustained minor injuries, including multiple bruises.

The footage shows Rodriguez, who was returning home at around 4 p.m., opening the door to his building, when a man wearing a towel draped over his head grabs him from behind.

The mugger then held Rodriguez in a chokehold and shoved him into the lobby, where he began hitting him in the face. Once Rodriguez fell to the floor, the teen tore the towel from his head and continued beating and kicking. (Photo by Ted Regencia)

To read the full story, please visit BronxInk.org

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11/04/2011

Jews and Palestinians find a separate peace in Hunts Point

By Ted Regencia and Janet Upadhye

On one corner of Southern Boulevard and 163rd Street, a 25-year-old Palestinian refugee stirred chicken kebabs over a hot fryer in his halal cart, contemplating the tensions between his country and Israel being reignited this week in the United Nations General Assembly.

Down the block in Hunts Point where Musab Abusbeih peddled his $5 kebab and shawarma specials, Jewish and Palestinian-owned businesses operate peacefully side by side.  Abusbeih believes that if only the warring parties learned to talk like the merchants of Hunts Point peace might be attainable.

“We don’t even fight about parking on this block,” said Ron Levy, a former Israeli soldier.  “And everybody fights about parking in New York City.”

Downtown in United Nations headquarters last week, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas sought official statehood recognition from the General Assembly. Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu opposed Palestine’s unilateral declaration of statehood, saying a two-state solution can only be achieved through a negotiated settlement, which would include Hamas dropping its call for the destruction of Israel.

To read the full story, please visit BronxInk.org

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11/04/2011

The Bronx Remembers 9/11

By Ted Regencia

Ten years ago, nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon along with the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa.

The lives of many New Yorkers were never the same after Sept. 11, 2001.

In the Bronx, at least 143 residents were reported killed. The loss extends beyond immediate family members and friends of the victims. The Bronx Ink interviewed residents who were also deeply affected by the attacks. One Bronx firefighter shares his experience at Ground Zero. A police officer describes the horror at the scene. Still another, a Palestinian refugee from Jordan, talks about his change of heart after being rebuked by his mother.

Hear these voices from the Bronx as they share their memories. Please visit BronxInk.org

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11/04/2011

David Flies The Coop: A day in the life of a Columbia University freshman

David Flies The Coop from Ted Regencia on Vimeo.

David Boucard, 17, freshman Engineering student at Columbia University, bids goodbye to his mother, Rolande Jean-Louis as he moves into Furnald Hall dormitory.

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11/04/2011

Hurricane Irene: The Aftermath In The Bronx

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August 28, 2011

By Ted Regencia

NEW YORK — Hurricane Irene packed a much weaker punch when it hit New York early Sunday morning of August 28, prompting Mayor Mike Bloomberg to declare that the city “certainly dodged a bullet.” But it still left some scattered scenes of destruction in the Bronx, uprooting trees and destroying properties around the Parkchester district.

Along Metropolitan Avenue, a downed tree fell on top of a Toyota RAV4 smashing its windows and crushing the roof. A Mercedes Benz SUV parked right in front of the Toyota was also damaged.

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11/04/2011

The shoe shiner on 5th Ave. and 42nd St.

By Ted Regencia

NEW YORK — A short radio profile of Georgia native Robert Robinson, 69, who works as a shoe shiner in Manhattan on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street.

“The main objective is to shine shoes. Not to be a psychologist you know,” Robinson said.

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08/02/2011

Quinn signs Illinois DREAM Act

AOL-Patch.com
August 02, 2011

By Ted Regencia

SKOKIE, Ill. — With a nod to the growing Latino population in Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn signed Monday the DREAM Act that expands educational opportunities for undocumented immigrant students.

Quinn signed the legislation at Chicago’s Benito Juarez Community Academy in the presence of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel along with other elected officials as well as civic, religious and academic leaders.

The Dream Act stands for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors and aims to use private funds in Illinois to help children f undocumented immigrants continue on to college.

“All children have the right to a first-class education,” the governor said.

“The Illinois DREAM Act creates more opportunities for the children of immigrants to achieve a fulfilling career, brighter future and better life through higher education.”

To read the full story, please visit AOL-Patch.com in Skokie

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07/26/2011

Bloomberg administers gay marriage; hundreds exchange vows

Text and photos by Ted Regencia
Published July 24, 2011

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NEW YORK — In a move that is likely to have far-reaching socio-political implications across the United States, the country’s most populous city of New York welcomed on Sunday hundreds of same-sex couples, who exchanged vows on the first day that gay marriage is legal here.

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, one of the top politicians supporting gay rights, presided over the wedding of his chief policy adviser John Feinblatt and his Commissioner of Consumer Affairs Jonathan Mintz at the Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor.

“Today in the city and in the state, history takes an important step forward by allowing every person to participate,” Bloomberg said during the Sunday evening ceremony.

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