editorial
It’s time for the Bronx to adopt tennis
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 12 ULY 19-25, 2019 BTR
WE’LL FETCH IT FOR YOU
...and deliver to your home
BRUCKNER DETOX
CENTER OPPOSED
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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 vagrants
ulder during a confrontation
Continued on Page 67
Continued on Page 67
Subscribe Today!
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
Bronx Times Reporter
Name:
Bayside, NY 11361
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Queens may be known best
for tennis, but the Bronx is volleying
back with a reputation
of its own for the netted sport.
It’s all thanks to the state of
the art Cary Leeds Center for
Tennis and Learning in Crotona
Park.
This outstanding facility
has not only brought access to
the game of tennis to the Bronx
and the borough’s youth, but it’s
also attracted the professional
World Team Tennis squad, the
New York Empire to set up shop
in Crotona as well.
Filled with energy and excitement,
the Empire opened
up their inaugural home stand
in front of a packed, Bronx
crowd that couldn’t get enough
of the action.
Billie Jean King even
stopped in at the facility some
weeks ago to give it her own
personal blessing.
She acknowledged that having
a place for local kids to play
and learn the sports is nothing
short of a game changer.
Another tennis ace and
The Cary Leeds Center for Tennis and Learning. The Bronxer
number-one ranked American
tennis player John Isner also
acknowledged how crucial it
is to bring the game into urban
areas.
He believes that if you can
literally put the ball in front
of city kids then they’re much
more likely to be attracted to
playing the game and could end
up being developed into truly
outstanding talent.
Isner played his fi rst match
ever at Cary Leeds over the
weekend and was simply astonished
by the double decker facility
that rivals the best around
the nation.
Venus Williams will even
be stopping by later this week
for a match against the Empire
as will US Open Champion
Sloane Stephens and tennis legend
Mardy Fish.
It’s time for the Bronx to
pick up a racket and get into
the game. Now, the ball is in
our court. John Isner playing for the New York Empire in the Bronx. The Bronxer
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