Longtime MPCA leader retires
Morris Park community honors the contributions of Frankie Agovino
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,28 NOVEMBER 13-19, 2020 BTR
Sirens, lights, police Getty Images
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Two 15-year-olds are behind bars
after allegedly stabbing a 20-year-old
woman to death in the west Bronx.
The victim, Nyla Bond, was found
by police with knife wounds at about
7:47 p.m. outside of a Macombs Road
building on Monday, Nov. 2.
Bond was rushed to Bronx Lebanon
Hospital Center where she was
pronounced dead.
Since that time, both a 15-yearold
boy and girl had both been
taken into police custody as Bond’s
alleged assailants.
The girl was arrested on Wednesday,
Nov. 4 and the boy was cuffed
on Monday, Nov. 9 according to
the NYPD.
Police sources said a motive has
not been determined at this time, but
News12 reported that it was an act of
revenge after the victim posted “illicit
photos of the 15-year-old girl online.”
Anyone with information regarding
his whereabouts can call Crime
Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish,
dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit
tips online at nypdcrimestoppers.
com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
All calls and messages are
kept confi dential.
BY ALEX MITCHELL
One man who has been a
driving force of the Morris
Park community for nearly
half a century has recently decided
it is time to pass along
his legacy in the Bronx.
Frankie Agovino, a founding
member and current vice
president of the Morris Park
Community Association and
related neighborhood affi liations,
will be retiring from his
long served post of 46 years, he
told the Bronx Times.
He’s called Morris Park
home since moving from east
Harlem as a young boy, falling
in love with both the Bronx
and the sport it’s so well known
for — baseball.
Agovino played on the
New York Yankees travelling
rookie team while growing up
in the borough, a proud experience
which he wanted to share
with his neighborhood.
The neighborhood stalwart
was particularly active
in bringing sports to Morris
Park, especially softball. He
was instrumental in creating
the neighborhood’s longtime
softball league, which played
its games at what is now
Loretto playground.
Throughout the years,
Frankie would even umpire
games in what began as an
eight-team league and grew to
60. Locals said that it was one
of the most unifying events the
community has ever seen.
Aside from the goodhearted
fun of America’s pastime,
there was strategy and
even a degree of city planning
implemented in Agovino’s
softball league — having
park lights installed to keep
illicit behavior away from the
community space.
Resident safety and the
good of Morris Park had always
been a top priority for Agovino,
which is why he created
a neighborhood watch patrol
in Morris Park back in 1976
after someone close to him fell
victim to a mugging.
The patrol, which worked
hand in hand with the MPCA
throughout the years, has
been credited by longtime
residents for not only keeping
Morris Park safe through diffi -
cult years for the Bronx, but it
also brought valuable funding
to the area through fundraisers
Agovino was behind.
Actions like that attracted
many new homeowners to Morris
Park throughout the years
according to Vinny Tolentino,
a close friend of the longtime
neighborhood activist.
“To say that he has been
involved civically for over 40
years speaks for itself,” Tolentino
said. “There’s only one
way to describe Frankie and
that is relentless when it comes
to getting things done, that’s a
great quality for a civic leader.
He will be missed.”
That sentiment was reiterated
by MPCA president Al
D’Angelo, who credited Agovino’s
directness throughout
the years.
“He said what he thought,
he always was able to get problems
on the table,” D’Angelo
said, calling Agovino “a credit
to the community.”
While working closely as a
former president of the MPCA,
Agovino also enjoyed some
celebrity moments over the
years, like when he told former
New York City Mayor Rudy
Giuliani that he “might be a
mayor, but I’m a president.”
Of course, that line didn’t
work when Agovino posed for
a photo with former President
George W. Bush.
Since that time, Agovino
has also been praised by local
elected offi cials for his contributions.
One of these lawmakers
is Councilman Mark
Gjonaj, who is grateful for
what Agovino has done for his
section of the Bronx.
“This neighborhood
wouldn’t be the same without
him,” said John Reilly,
who has called Frankie a dear
friend since they were both
only 14-years-old.
Calling his friend one of the
hardest workers Morris Park
has ever seen, Reilly said, “he’s
going to miss it.”
Another friend of Agovino,
Cliff Thieleke, called Frankie’s
retirement “bittersweet,” but
for good reasons. Thieleke
worked closely with Frankie
on the creation of Morris
Park’s various sports leagues,
an experience that bonded the
two for life.
“He is a pillar of the community,”
Thieleke said.
Frankie Agovino with former U.S.
President George Bush.
Courtesy of Frankie Agovino
Teens arrested for fatal
stabbing in Mount Eden
FAMILY COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF BRONX
Docket No. NN-01982-3/20
SUMMONS
In the Matter of
THE GRANADOS CHILDREN
C
hildren Under Eighteen Years
Alleged to be Neglected by
Respondent(s)
N
OTICE: PLACEMENT OF YOUR CHILD IN FOSTER CARE MAY RESULT IN THE LOSS OF
YOUR RIGHTS TO YOUR CHILD. IF YOUR CHILD STAYS IN FOSTER CARE FOR 15 OF THE
MOST RECENT 22 MONTHS, THE AGENCY MAY BE REQUIRED BY LAW TO FILE A PETITION
TO TERMINATE YOUR PARENTAL RIGHTS AND TO COMMIT GUARDIANSHIP AND CUSTODY
OF YOUR CHILD TO THE AGENCY FOR THE PURPOSES OF ADOPTION. IN SOME CASES,
THE AGENCY MAY FILE BEFORE THE END OF THE 15-MONTH PERIOD. IF SEVERE OR
REPEATED CHILD ABUSE IS PROVEN BY CLEAN AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE, THIS
FINDING MAY CONSTITUTE THE BASIS TO TERMINATE YOUR PARENTAL RIGHTS AND TO
COMMIT GUARDIANSHIP AND CUSTODY OF YOUR CHILD TO THE AGENCY FOR THE
PURPOSES OF ADOPTION.
TO: EUGENIO GRANADOS
A petition under ARTICLE 10 of the FAMILY COURT ACT having been filed with this court
alleging that the above-named child(ren) is a neglected child(ren), a copy of said petition being
annexed hereto:
YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to 900 SHERIDAN AVENUE, PART 92, BRONX, NY 10451,
ON NOVEMBER 23, 2020 AT 2:30PM, to answer the petition and to show cause why said
children should not be adjudicated to be a neglected children and why you should not be dealt with
in accordance with the provisions of ARTICLE 10 of the FAMILY COURT ACT and why an order
of support under Section 235 of the FAMILY COURT ACT should not be made if the final
disposition is an order of placement.
On your failure to appear as herein directed, a warrant may be issued for your arrest.
FURTHER NOTICE: Family Court Act §154(c) provides that petitions brought pursuant to Articles
4,5,6,8 and 10 of the Family Court Act, in which an order of protection is sought or in which a
violation of an order of protection is alleged, may be served outside the State of New York upon a
Respondent who is not a resident or domiciliary of the State of New York. If no other grounds for
obtaining personal jurisdiction over the Respondent exist aside from the application of this
provision, the exercise of personal jurisdiction over the respondent is limited to the issue of the
request for, or alleged violation of, the order of protection. Where the Respondent has been
served with this summons and petition and does not appear, the Family Court may proceed to a
hearing with respect to issuance or enforcement of the order of protection, as well as to inquest on
the underlying neglect allegations, and issue a finding in their absence.
SHAYNA WEINBERG-GORDON, ESQ
Dated: July 23, 2020