Bedford Park News: Beloved Monte Employee Remembered as Humanitarian

Bedford Park News: Beloved Monte Employee Remembered as Humanitarian: Beloved Monte Employee Remembered as Humanitarian By David Greene BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 29- Friends and co-work...

Beloved Monte Employee Remembered as Humanitarian

Beloved Monte Employee Remembered as Humanitarian

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 29- Friends and co-workers from a popular program implemented by Montefiore Hospital were saddened to learn of the untimely death of Michael Joseph Walsh, who died of lung failure at the age of 51.

Walsh was found dead inside his Mosholu Parkway North apartment where he had lived for the last 18-years, discovered by police officers on Tuesday, May 26. His death over the Memorial Day weekend came just days before his 52nd birthday.

Walsh, who grew up in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, was a gifted pool player who gave local pool sharks a run for their money.

However, childhood arthritis prevented him from joining the professional circuit, but Walsh would spend years working for the owner of the local pool hall where he developed his skill, spending countless hours assisting players in perfecting their game.

Longtime friend Ileene Mark recalled meeting Walsh when he began to drive a taxi at Gateway Car Service, "I remember the day I met Michael, He was walking in. I worked nights and he worked days. He came in with this New York Met's bag and we were friend's ever since."

Soon after Walsh began helping recovering alcoholics and drug abusers at The Bowery Mission before coming to Street Smart, a program previously known as The Woman's Center, which got it's start at Montefiore Hospital, with a grant from the Centers for Disease Control, where he was the coordinator of the HIV prevention program for adolescence.

According to his boss at Street Smart, Anitra Pivnick, for the last decade Walsh would go into local schools and places like the South Bronx Jobs Corps where he instructed teens about the prevention of HIV.

Pivnick said of Walsh, "He was just an extremely kind man and he had an extraordinary gift to communicate with young people and that's no easy thing to do."

"They saw him as a mentor," Pivnick added, "He was wonderful with kids." 

Friends say Walsh was a very private person who loved baseball, music and was an avid coin collector. Walsh shared his love for animals with his two brother's Tommy and Eddie and shared his love for them when he opened his home to them briefly in 2010.

Walsh kept it hidden from many of his co-worker's and clients, but was devastated by the death of his youngest brother Eddie, who died from the effects of diabetes on March 31, 2012.

Co-worker Paulette Gordon who affectionately called Walsh "Fabio" for his long-wavy hair, recalled, "He was a dedicated worker who loved his job and the people that he worked with. He was really a good guy."

Another co

-worker Mike Henderson said of Walsh, "We did outreach together. Mike was the kind of guy who was more than willing to share information through his wisdom."

 

Henderson added, "He was very dedicated to his work and did his best at what he did. Mike did presentations to teens at schools and had a group of adolescents who admired and loved him."

During a June18 memorial for co-worker's at the Church of St. Brendan's, Father George Stewart said of Walsh, "He had a great love for youth, a great love for the poor. He had a great love for the underdog."

Recalling the 24-hour opening of the lower church that houses the Holy Eucharist, which began on December 8, 2013, Stewart said over 400 volunteers have given one-hour a week for the last year and-a-half to sit vigil at the open church and pray.

Stewart revealed, 

"The very first hour when we began, was manned by Michael. Michael was our very first to do it."

Walsh is survived by bothers Thomas and half-brother Allen.  

Bedford Park News: Pols Hail Supremes on #GayMarriage Decision

Bedford Park News: Pols Hail Supremes on #GayMarriage Decision: Pols Hail Supremes on #GayMarriage Decision  BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 26- Officials throughout the Bronx hailed the Suprem...

Pols Hail Supremes on #GayMarriage Decision

Pols Hail Supremes on #GayMarriage Decision 

BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 26- Officials throughout the Bronx hailed the Supreme Court’s decision making gay marriage the law of the land.

The court’s 5-4 decision allows gay and lesbian couples the right to marry in any of the 50 states. 

“Today is a historic day in the United States,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “The Supreme Court has made history and affirmed a basic human right today by allowing men and women to legally marry throughout this nation, regardless of their sexual orientation.

“After two decades of litigation, the Supreme Court has finally expanded equal rights and marriage equality to all. I would like to thank the Supreme Court for having the courage to make this bold decision, and I congratulate this nation’s LGBT community for their efforts on this issue,” Diaz said.

“Today the Supreme Court put to rest a decades-long civil rights struggle for marriage equality,” said Rep. Joe Crowley. “In its decision the Supreme Court affirmed what a majority of Americans believe, that marriage between two loving individuals, regardless of their sex, deserves full protection under the law as afforded under the 14^th Amendment. History will remember this day as a watershed moment, a day when ‘we the people’ took another major step toward justice in our enormous and enduring struggle to form a more perfect union.

“So today, as we celebrate this momentous victory for our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters let us also remember those we lost along the way. Those who came before us as activists, advocates, and allies who, when faced with bigotry and violence, did not shrink, but rather stood for the belief that discrimination based on sexual orientation has absolutely no place in the laws and policies of our country. We stand on the shoulders of those giants today, and proudly proclaim love is love.”

“America will never forget this day, and neither will people all across the world who know the meaning of love and compassion,” said Mayor Bill deBlasio “June 26, 2015, will forever be memorialized as a pivotal moment in the history of our nation – the day the Supreme Court affirmed our core values of love, equality, and justice, rejected ignorance and malice, and appealed to the humanity in us all. Our country will finally afford millions of Americans the rights they have always deserved, but until now were unable to exercise. Today, this country is richer – filled with 

more equality, more acceptance, and more love than yesterday. And for the people of this city, where the movement for LGBT rights began in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, we can be proud that we helped blaze the trail to this great victory.”

Congressman Charles B. Rangel, who represents the 13th Congressional District of New York that includes Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx, released the following statement on the Unite States Supreme decision on same-sex marriage:

"Indeed, all love is equal. I applaud the Supreme Court ruling on the same-sex marriage case and reaffirming that the union of the LGBT community should be treated equally. This decision marks another milestone toward American progress as the court reaffirms equal protections guaranteed to all Americans under the 14th Amendment. Today, a long overdue justice and equality have been served.

“Far too many couples have been denied protections by their governments, rights to legally commit to one another, and basic responsibilities as spouse and parents. The Court's ruling today makes it loud and clear that same-sex marriage is less about redefining the institution of marriage, but more so to ensure fundamental rights and dignity that gays and lesbians across the country deserve.

“As our nation celebrates Pride Month, this ruling could not come at a more appropriate time. I am proud that New York State is a leader in marriage equality and I look forward to other states across the nation recognizing this important right for all people. Let us continue on our path towards progress and let nothing stand in the way of ensuring equality for all,” Rangel said. 

#SupremeCourt #GayMarriage #Bronxnews

Bedford Park News: #Marriott Opens Door in Metro Center

Bedford Park News: #Marriott Opens Door in Metro Center: Bronx Now has a First-Class Place to Stay Marriott Opens Door in Metro Center By Dan Gesslein BRONX, NEW ...

#Marriott Opens Door in Metro Center

Bronx Now has a First-Class Place to Stay

Marriott Opens Door in Metro Center

By Dan Gesslein

BRONX, NEW YORK, JUNE 24- In a sign of the continued revitalization of the Bronx, community leaders hailed the opening of the borough's first upscale hotel. The ribbon cutting was also the capping of an odyssey for the Metro Center complex which went from an abandoned factory and vacant land to a thriving college campus style office complex and medical village.

The 125-room Marriott Residence Inn officially opened to great fanfare on Wednesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony with elected officials. Sure the Bronx has many motel rooms but none you would want to spend the night in. New Rochelle boasted the closest place to get a nice hotel room while visiting family rather than a hot-sheet motel. Now all that has changed with the opening of a first-class hotel.

"We’re thrilled that Marriott, one of the world’s premier hospitality companies, chose this location. Metro Center Atrium is unique in the Bronx – there’s nothing quite like it available anywhere else in the Borough. This truly is a landmark event for Metro Center Atrium, for our company, and for the Bronx," said Joseph Simone, President of Simone Development, whose company envisioned and built the Metro Center.

The Marriott is the crowning jewel in the Metro Center complex. The hotel caps off the Metro Center Atrium which is a mix of medical and office space in a suburban style campus.

Twelve years ago Old London Foods moved out of the area behind the Metro North tracks. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr said people were worried about the loss of jobs and that the land would sit unused. Now the Metro Center boasts 370,000 square feet of medical offices, an Applebee's, an LA Fitness and now a first class hotel. The complex also includes Mercy College.

"Today we have seen the realization of a magic trick," Diaz said.

Metro North is planning to reopen the old Morris Park station which will have a stop steps from the Marriott. Thus giving hotel guests access to transportation to Penn Station in Manhattan and upstate New York.

The new hotel is already a success. Officials say that although it officially opened today, the hotel is already 80 percent occupied. Business execs and hospital visitors to the medical centers inside the complex as well as nearby Calvary, Einstein Hospital and Jacobi Medical Center are staying at the new Marriott.

“Today is a great day for the Bronx,” said New York City Council Member James Vacca. “We welcome Marriott as the borough’s first hotel with open arms and hope it is the signal of even more great things to come. Clearly Marriott has recognized that the Bronx is a destination for New Yorkers and tourists alike. We already have beautiful parks, the

best zoo in the nation, the Yankees, and a PGA tour worthy golf course recently completed in nearby Ferry Point Park.”

Father Richard Gorman, chairman of Community Board 12, said the grand opening is a culmination of the revitalization of the borough.

"The Bronx is not only coming back. The Bronx is back," he said.

#Marriott #Simone #MetroCenter #Bronxnews

Bedford Park News: Saints Dance on Arthur Ave.

Bedford Park News: Saints Dance on Arthur Ave.: Saints Dance on Arthur Ave. Photos by Dan Gesslein The smells of zeppole a...