Bedford Park News: Fire Destroys Shopping Strip

Bedford Park News: Fire Destroys Shopping Strip: Fire Destroys Shopping Strip  By David Greene BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 24- Firefighters battled a wind-fueled fire that tore t...

Bedford Park News: Fire Destroys Shopping Strip

Bedford Park News: Fire Destroys Shopping Strip: Fire Destroys Shopping Strip  By David Greene BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 24- Firefighters battled a wind-fueled fire that tore t...

Fire Destroys Shopping Strip

Fire Destroys Shopping Strip 

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 24- Firefighters battled a wind-fueled fire that tore through a row of businesses along East Burnside Avenue, destroying at least two stores and at least two other stores suffered extensive damage.

Officials say the blaze broke out at 10:35 a.m. on March 23, inside of Fino men's clothing store at the corner of Walton Avenue.

The fire quickly spread to an adjacent 99 cent store. Flames ripped through the roof of both businesses and both were completely destroyed.

A plume of black smoke hovered eerily over the Mount Hope neighborhood for the first hour of the blaze, before it dissipated into a white smoke that blended into the approaching clouds. 

Fire officials could not confirm, but it appeared that a cell phone store was also destroyed in the three-alarm blaze.

Fire damaged the rear of at least two businesses-- a meat store and a fruit store.

Nearly 140 firefighters from 33 units fought back the flames and were able to save the Radio Shack, an Amalgamated Bank and a furniture store on the opposite corner from where the fire began.

The blaze was eventually brought under control at 2:27 p.m., but two tower ladders sprayed the smoldering pockets of fire for the rest of the afternoon.

Three firefighters suffered minor injuries and were transported to local hospitals.

Fire marshals remain on the scene a day later and continue to investigate the blaze's origin.   

Bedford Park News: Nobody Told Us About Outbreak

Bedford Park News: Nobody Told Us About Outbreak: Nobody Told Us About Outbreak Residents Fuming Over Silence on Disease By Michael Horowitz BRONX NEW YORK, MARCH 14- Co-op Ci...

Bedford Park News: Nobody Told Us About Outbreak

Bedford Park News: Nobody Told Us About Outbreak: Nobody Told Us About Outbreak Residents Fuming Over Silence on Disease By Michael Horowitz BRONX NEW YORK, MARCH 14- Co-op Ci...

Nobody Told Us About Outbreak

Nobody Told Us About Outbreak

Residents Fuming Over Silence on Disease

By Michael Horowitz

BRONX NEW YORK, MARCH 14- Co-op City shareholders, speaking out during interviews expressed concerns that they had just found out about two confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ Disease in their building, one from last summer and one from 13 months earlier than that.

Among the Building 27 shareholders who were interviewed, only Teresa Acevedo said that she was not concerned about reports of cases of Legionnaires’ Disease in her building.

Expressing the dominant point of view among those questioned Ariel Jimenez, walking out of his building with his 5-year-old son, Elian, said, “This is really spooky. I’m concerned for the little ones who don’t have fully developed immune systems to fight disease, and, of course, I’m concerned for everyone else in the building. We should have been told about this in December, when management and the city’s Health Department first found out about it.”

Jimenez added, “Like many people in our building, we have had problems with mold in our apartment. Under the circumstances, it should have been even more important for the shareholders in our building to know what was happening in terms of the cases of Legionnaires’ Disease.”

Expressing an even more vocal view, Ethel Minkin stressed, “This whole thing about Legionnaires’ Disease in our building is a shock to me. Riverbay should be sued for this. Co-op City is a nice place, but there are too many secrets. The shareholders have a right to know what’s going on.”

Rena Mena, a former paramedic, added, “We have a whole lot of environmental problems in our apartments. I have toxic black mold in my apartment, which Maintenance workers keep fixing because it keeps coming back. I suffer from asthma, so I’m especially concerned, like Legionnaires’ Disease, that could make it more difficult for me to breathe.”

A shareholder, who wished to remain unidentified, stressed, “We just got through settling an environmental lawsuit in North Carolina, and now, we have to deal with this. I have a 1-year-old daughter, and I’m extremely concerned about our health.”

Bedford Park News: Bronx Ready for March Madness

Bedford Park News: Bronx Ready for March Madness: Bronx Ready for March Madness Manhattan, Fordham, Advance to NCAA Tourney By Howard Goldin BRONX NEWS, MARCH 12- Representati...