BY ALEX MITCHELL AND
JASON COHEN
Here are some major Bronx
headlines from January
through April.
JANUARY
Fight Over Bronx Zoo Elephant
Nears Conclusion
A legal battle over whether
an elephant has legal rights
and if it should stay in the
Bronx Zoo or be relocated to
an elephant sanctuary concluded
its arguments in January.
On Jan. 6, the nonprofi t
group Nonhuman Rights Project
(NhRP) argued for a third
time in the Bronx Supreme
Court to free Happy the elephant
from solitary confi nement
in the Bronx Zoo.
“The argument that the
NhRP makes is that Happy is
a person,” said NhRP President
Steven Wise.
In total, they stated their
case for 13 hours, which began
in September. Wise, who
has worked for decades as an
animal protection attorney,
explained that his organization
and experts argued that
Happy has rights and should
live with other elephants.
Hells Angels buy former
American Legion property on
Longstreet
A notorious organization,
often viewed in a poor light,
purchased a Throggs Neck
building recently to call their
new home.
Sopranos Actor and Country
Club Resident Passes
Away
Some knew him as Tony’s
driver and for those who did
not watch ‘The Sopranos,’ Anthony
Ribustello was a man
who impacted the Bronx Republican
BRONX TIMES R 20 EPORTER, JAN. 1-7, 2021
Party for many
years.
Ribustello, of Country
Club, passed away Dec. 28,
2019 at the age of 53.
Besides portraying Dante
Greco on the renowned HBO
series, he ran for borough
president in 2009, served on
Community Board 10, was
a Republican Party district
leader, county committeeman
and former deputy chief
of the Bronx Board of Elections.
Ribustello died while waiting
for a kidney transplant. He
is survived by his wife Rena
and a son.
FEBRUARY
Major Drug Bust in Kingsbridge
Seven million dollars
worth of fentanyl was taken
off the street in January during
a west Bronx drug bust.
On Jan. 28, law enforcement,
announced the arrests
of six individuals in connection
with a large-scale narcotics
packaging and distribution
network operating in
Kingsbridge.
The long-term investigation
culminated in the feds
seizing approximately 750,000
glassine envelopes of suspected
heroin/fentanyl from
an apartment at 2559 Sedgwick
Avenue during a courtauthorized
search Million
Project coming to the south
Bronx
Community Board 1 residents
fear that a mega project
coming to the neighborhood
in two years will slowly push
everyone out.
On Jan. 30, representatives
of the NYC Economic Development
Corporation presented
its plan to develop a riverfront
park, ‘The Lower Concourse
Park Project,’ which is part of
a 2.3 acre $194 million investment
in the south Bronx.
MARCH
Jacobi Launches Drive
thru COVID-19 Testing:
On March 17, Jacobi Hospital
launched a drive thru testing
site for the coronavirus.
Dr. Elana Sydney, chief of
ambulatory medicine at Jacobi,
spoke with the Bronx
Times about how the testing
works and who should come
for it. She stressed that people
do not need a doctor’s note, but
must call 311 in order to make
an appointment and they cannot
just show up at the site.
Testing was available from 9
a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cabrera told the Bronx
Times that shuttering the
road was important and more
needed to be closed. The safety
and health of citizens should
come before anything, he
said.
Local businesses temporarily
close in response to Coronavirus
scare:
All schools, libraries and
community boards were also
closed temporarily. Nursing
homes also restricted visitation
to medical family members.
Courtesy of Gov. Cuomo’s
offi ce, new testing site opens
in Co-op City
On March 30, a COVID-19
testing site opened in the
north east Bronx.
Governor Andrew Cuomo,
Speaker Carl Heastie, Senator
Jamaal Bailey and Assemblyman
Michael Benedetto introduced
the testing site at 2210
Bartow Ave, Co-op City.
Parkchester community
loses local culinary legend:
APRIL
A man who served the
likes of Derek Jeter and Jennifer
Lopez and became known
as an icon in the restaurant
industry was taken from the
Bronx in April.
On April 12, Joe Torres,
owner of Joe’s Place Restaurant
& Bar, 1841 Westchester
Ave., passed away from
COVID- 19. Torres, 73, had
his eatery for two decades and
spent the majority of his life in
the kitchen.
For many years he was the
chef at Jimmy’s Bronx Café on
Fordham Road, which shuttered
in 2004.
MAY
Two affordable mega housing
developments coming to
the south Bronx
A developer revealed renderings
for two huge affordable
housing developments
coming to the south Bronx.
This development comes
on the heels of the Jerome Ave
rezoning that the City Council
approved in 2018.
Maddd Equities is building
Rivercrest at 1164-1184 River
Ave. in Concourse, which will
be a two phased, mixed-use,
100 percent affordable housing.
JUNE
They closed on fi nancing
on the Extremely-Low and
Low -Income Affordability
Program with the NYC Department
of Housing Preservation
and Development and
the New York City Housing
Development Corporation in
June 2019.
Mayor opens streets in
Morris Park, Mott Haven,
Fordham, and elsewhere as
New York motorists return
During these months,
West 230th Street in Kingsbridge,
140th Street in Mott
Haven, Rhinelander Avenue
in Morris Park and Creston
Avenue in Fordham Heights
were opened up by Mayor Bill
de Blasio along with others
to pave way for creative approaches
to keep small businesses
open outdoors during
warm weather.
Jadakiss sends over 250
pizzas to Bronx, Harlem and
Yonkers medical centers:
The iconic New York rapper
who last year confessed
a strong admiration for pizza
crust has given much than
just that to some uptown
health systems today.
In the spirit of aiding
front line medical workers
and Friday, May 15 also being
national pizza party day,
Jadakiss donated 250 pizzas
to medicals centers throughout
in the Bronx, Harlem and
Yonkers as part of the Pizza
vs. Pandemic initiative.
Bronx resident receives
$1,000 from Andrew Yang nonprofi
t organization:
Former 2020 Democratic
BTR
2020: year in review
Fentanyl found in the drug bust
Courtesy of Offi ce of the Special
Narcotics Prosecutor For the City of New
York
Nurses and doctors at the drive
thru testing site for the coronavirus
at Jacobi.
Photo Courtesy Jacobi Hospital
Joe Torres, owner of Joe’s Place
Restaurant & Bar, who passed
away April 12 from COVID-19
Photo courtesy Joe Conzo
Police investigate a shooting in Brooklyn hours a shot time after the
NYPD announced it was dismantling the Anti Crime Unit.