BRONX SCENE
World War I memorial installed in Shoelace Park
BRUCKNER DETOX
CENTER OPPOSED
cents
New owner:
I’m developing wellness center
A sense of concern and outrage
is brewing in Throggs
Neck about a possible conversion
of an offi ce building into
an unwanted use.
Commercial tenants at
2800 Bruckner Boulevard received
letters to vacate the
property, and community
leaders have formed a coalition
to fi ght a possible alcohol
Westchester Square reels over Continued on vagrants Page 67
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR MARCH 6-12, 2020 49
(Right) Nick DiBrino is standing in front of the obelisk at 219th Street and Bronx Boulevard in
Shoelace Park. The monument to the neighborhood men killed in World War I was designed
by Charles Stoughton and installed in the park in 1923.
The 219th Street entrance to Shoelace
Park at Bronx Boulevard is
marked by a tall obelisk of Deer Isle
granite that was installed in 1923. It
was donated by the Seventh Draft
Board. The names of thirty-two residents
of the Williamsbridge neighborhood
who lost their lives in World
War I are inscribed on it along with
the battles they fought. The words
“Lest We Forget,” the date MCMXXIII
(1923), and the name Stoughton, architect,
are also etched into the stone.
The architect was Charles Stoughton
(1860-1944) who ran an important architectural
fi rm with his brother, Arthur,
until the latter moved to Canada
in 1915. Among the other important
Bronx works created by them is the
beautiful landmarked 52nd Precinct
on Webster Avenue with the distinguished
clock tower.
The World War I battles that took
the lives of our Williamsbridge neighbors
inscribed on the obelisk are
“Somme, Ypres Lys” facing east, “Vittorio
Venetti, Chateau Thierry” facing
north, “St. Mihiel, Meuse Argonne”
facing west and “Cambrai, Champagne
Marne” facing south. French
and American forces took over 13,000
prisoners and captured almost 500 big
guns in 36 hours in September of 1918
at St. Mihiel. The battle for Chateau-
Thierry took place on July 18, 1918.
This was a counter attack on German
positions by French and American
forces along a twenty-fi ve mile front.
They surprised the Germans by attacking
at 4:45 AM without a preparatory
bombardment which was highly
unusual. It was very successful and
stunned the opposing forces.
The brickwork around the base of
the obelisk was redesigned in 2008 to
capture the overfl ow of rainwater and
storm water runoff to prevent it from
cascading unfi ltered into the Bronx
River. There is a circular manholestyle
design bearing an inscription
that includes the names of our Mayor,
Michael Bloomberg, other politicians
and the designer. It is quite well done
and the re-design does serve an important
function.
Shoelace Park was dedicated on
July 7, 1973 by Mayor John V. Lindsey
(1921-2000), Parks Commissioner
Richard Clurman (1924-1996) and
community activists. It extends approximately
one mile from 211th
Street to 227th Street and obtains its
name from its shape which forms a
thin ribbon along the east bank of the
Bronx River.
There is access to the Bronx River
from the 219th Street entrance and
canoes are launched therefrom on a
relatively regular basis in the nice
weather. A platform has been set
up to facilitate launching. The park
provides an important recreational
source for area residents and river
clean-ups are also occasionally held
from that location.
Hank Stroobants of the East Bronx
History Forum is the local historian
for Williamsbridge and Wakefi eld and
has adopted this section of Shoelace
Park. He ran a Memorial Day Service
at the obelisk this year with the help
of the Boy Scouts and generally keeps
an eye on the park. He is also known
for his walking tours of the area.
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While Bronxites prepared
to take a ‘bite out of crime’
at the annual August 1 Night
Out Against Crime, one crook
turned that around and took
a bite out of a local merchant
who tried to interrupt his
thievery.
A.M.A.F. Fashion business
owner Abdul Sol felt more
than an impact to his quality
of life on the morning of Sunday,
July 9, when a shoplifter
tried to leave his store with
a bag of clothing and Sol sufered
a severe bite on his left
rearm and a dislocated right
with the man.
At his 25 Westchester
Square store, Sol recalled how
the shoplifter had on previous
customer.
occasions
been a paying “He spent money here,
it’s not like I never saw him
before,” Sol said. “He came
around two or three months
ago and bought a pair of
shoes.”
But the Sunday of the assault,
the suspect asked for a
shopping bag, grabbed stuff,
and tried to leave, according
to Sol.
“I told him, ‘No, you can’t
take my stuff.’”
A fi ght ensued and Sol said
he “went to the ground with
him. I hurt my shoulder. He
took a big bite in my arm. I was
at the hospital until 6 o’clock. I
still have pain in my shoulder.
I still can’t lift my left arm.”
Sol said he had seen the
shoplifter associate with patients
from the Bronx Psychiatric
Center, so he fi gured he
was a client.
As Bronx Psychiatric Center,
on Waters Place, continues
to release its patients on
the street during the day, they
interact with homeless people
and drug rehab program.
Complaints have been
fi led with the city about beds
being moved into the building
or illegally converting it
into a residential building,
with some folks planning to
take legal action against the
landlord because they have
leases, according to multiple
sources.
Homeowners and renters
are also circulating petitions
to protest what appears to be
“a substance-abuse rehabilitation
program recruiting
staff” to work in the building
and lack of community notice
or engagement on what
may be sited at 2800 Bruckner
Boulevard.
“The community is defi -
nitely mobilized,” said Steven
Kaufman, an attorney who
is leading the Throggs Neck
Strong coalition looking into
the matter, adding “I believe
with mobilization, we might
be able to stop what they want
to do.”
Tenants in the building
say they got letters over the
last two weeks telling them
to vacate the building by
September, said Bobby Jaen,
Throggs Neck Merchants Association
president and coalition
member.
So far, at least 20 complaints
have been logged with
the NYC Department of Buildings,
including those concerning
“commercial space that is
being turned into residential
space” and those saying tenants
see “beds, dressers, mirrors
and chairs,” being moved
in.
As of press time, a meeting
of the Throggs Neck Strong
coalition has been planned
for the Crosstown Diner on
Thursday, August 3, with Jaen
expecting around 125 people,
following a lot of community
organizing and petitioning
that led to a forceful showing
at an earlier impromptu meeting
on Friday, July 28.
Anthony Mameli, Charles
Ruttenberg Realty’s Bronx
commercial real estate manager,
said the company was
planning a grand opening for
its new offi ce at the building
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