Bedford Park News: Romeo Santos to Play Yankee Stadium

Bedford Park News: Romeo Santos to Play Yankee Stadium: Romeo Santos to Play Yankee Stadium Bronx Native Santos to Perform First Latin Music Concert at Stadium  By Howard Goldin ...

Romeo Santos to Play Yankee Stadium

Romeo Santos to Play Yankee Stadium

Bronx Native Santos to Perform First Latin Music Concert at Stadium 

By Howard Goldin

Yankee Stadium is arguably the most iconic sports venue in the world. It is not only the home of the world renowned New York Yankees, but also hosted world class soccer matches, championship fights, football bowl games, and NHL outdoor hockey contests. 

Less known, but no less important is that in Yankee Stadium,  three Popes celebrated Mass, Billy Graham preached, Nelson Mandela spoke after being released from prison in South Africa, a service was held less than 2 weeks after the 9/11/2001 attack on the World Trade Center and world famous entertainers performed concerts.

A two purpose press conference was held in the Legends Club of Yankee Stadium on Monday afternoon. An announcement was made of the first Latin music concert at the current Yankee Stadium. Bronx born vocalist Anthony “Romeo” Santos, termed the “King of Bachata”, will headline the July 12 show. The second half of the conference featured Santos, seated in a chair, calmly yet animatedly answering questions regarding his newest recording, “Fórmula Vol 2”, scheduled to be released on the following day.

With a large gathering awaiting the start of the press event, Yankees President Randy Levine and COO Lonn Trost moved to seats on the stage and were followed shortly by concert promoter Felix Cabrera and Santos. The multi-platinum selling recording artist took time to pose for many photos before the conference began. 

Both Yankees executives expressed the happiness and pride of the organization to present the concert in July and predicted its great success, both artistically and financially. Santos follows such superstars of the entertainment world on the stage in the current Yankee Stadium as Jay-Z and Eminem, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters and a heavy metal concert with Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. 

Levine said, “It only makes sense” that Bronx born Romeo Santos headlines the first Latin music concert at the current Yankee Stadium. He added, “Romeo Santos is going to be a giant hit here. The show will be memorable.”

Cabrera explained the number of performances that Santos sold out at Madison Square Garden and predicted, “I know he can sell out Yankee Stadium in less than one month.”

The 32-year-old singer seemed to be awed and proud to be in these surroundings. He remarked, ”I was born and raised in the Bronx, and when I walked around the streets here I always visualized coming to a game with my dad. My father is a big Yankees fane as am I, although I don’t know a great deal about sports.”

His feelings about performing a solo concert  at Yankee Stadium were expressed with much emotion, “This is a dream, thanks to God, to be here. It’s a tremendous honor to present myself here in a place of such magnitude, especially in the Bronx. It’s a privilege to be the first Latino artist. I am not just representing a genre [Bachata], a culture, but Latinos. [His father is from the Dominican Republic and his mother from Puerto Rico]. It’s a big responsibility, but I won’t let you down.” He termed it, “the most important event of my career.”

Many great musical artists performed in the first Yankee Stadium such as James Brown, Stevie Wonder, the Beach Boys, U2 and Billy Joel. The most recent Latin music concert there was held on August 24, 1973 by the Fania All Stars, more than 40 years ago.

To those who are not familiar with the musical sensation, it should be said that he has worked long and hard to reach his exalted position in the music world. After singing in a church choir as a boy, he, together with his cousin and two close friends formed a vocal quartet. They began as teenagers in 1994 and signed their first recording contract in 1999. After assuming the name Aventura, they had several hit records and attained status as a superlative musical group performing the Dominican genre, Bachata.

The foursome was honored during Bronx Week in 2007 as the group’s name was added to the Bronx Walk of Fame, the greatest honor given by the borough.

In 2010, the group disbanded, so its members could pursue individual projects. Romeo Sanchez recorded his first solo album, Fórmula Vol 1, which produced a unique feat of five #1 singles. The Sony Music Latin artist was the #1 in sales of Latin music in 2009, 2010 and 2012. This fact will most likely continue in the future as Santos has the most #1 discs in Latin music in the current decade. 

His new recording, which features Drake, Nicki Minaj, Carlos Santana, Marc Anthony, Tego Calderón and comedian Kevin Hart introducing it, has been eagerly awaited and should be another best seller.

Bedford Park News: Snow Going

Bedford Park News: Snow Going: Snow Going Residents Fend for Themselves with Snow and Ice (Photos by David Greene) By David Greene BRONX, NEW YORK, FEB...

Bedford Park News: Snow Going

Bedford Park News: Snow Going: Snow Going Residents Fend for Themselves with Snow and Ice (Photos by David Greene) By David Greene BRONX, NEW YORK, FEB...

Snow Going

Snow Going

Residents Fend for Themselves with Snow and Ice

(Photos by David Greene)

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 26- For two weeks, Norwood residents have taken to social media websites as well as phoning 311 and local elected officials to complain about unpaved streets and ice covered sidewalks.

Residents began to complain after vehicles were becoming stuck on streets that had small patches of ice that looked as if the road was incorrectly or only partially plowed.

The city's 1-year-old program PlowNYC, a multi-million dollar program that outfitted snow-plows with GPS tracking devices, showed that the street's in question: Decatur and Hull Avenue's between East Mosholu Parkway and E. 204 Street, Kossuth Avenue between E. 208 Street and Mosholu Parkway and Tryon Avenue at East Gun Hill Road-- had all been cleared.

I personally learned the perils of driving on Decatur at E. 204 Street, as the undercarriage of my vehicle became wedged on a three-inch slab of solid ice, in a metered parking space outside of the U.S. Post Office.

One in such a predicament quickly becomes aware of the two-manned teams of traffic enforcement agents who wrote up tickets to any snowed-in vehicles in metered spots or no-standing zones.

Without the help of four complete strangers, neighborhood guys who used sheer strength to get me out, I think I might still be there today.

Keith Mellis, a spokesman at the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) defended his worker's and opened my eyes when he said the icy-patches were, "caused by people who throw it back into the middle of the street and we go through it with a plow and can't pick it up."

Now that made sense, but residents scored another point when they stated that if crews had put down rock salt, the ice would have melted.

Decatur and Hull Avenue's was completely cleared shortly after my inquiry however, Kossuth Avenue remained encased in two-inch blocks of ice for several more days.

Drivers have it bad but pedestrians had it worse as Mosholu Parkway resident Jennie Jones discovered walking along Van Cortlandt Avenue East and Mosholu Parkway South with her cousin.

Holding onto her cousin and careful to maintain her balance or the two women would surely fall, Jones fumed, "I think it's unfortunate that we have to walk on an icy sidewalk. My cousin here, Emily, her balance isn't so great and she almost just fell right there on the corner."

"Something needs to be done," Jones continued, "about these sidewalks where people can walk to the grocery store, which is where were going, without fear that their going to fall down and hurt themselves."

Van Cortlandt Park resident Jerry Sorensen agreed with Jones when he described his dilemma, "I live two blocks from the store and I can't get there."

Norwood residents took to Facebook about an ice covered street outside of Williamsbridge Oval Park. A television news crew aired the story, quickly prompting the shamed Bainbridge Avenue business owner into getting workers to clear the narrowest of paths.

A similar ice condition existed outside of the Williamsbridge Oval Park, one source stated the delay was caused by a jurisdictional dispute between the Parks Department and the Department of Transportation.

A New York Times article revealed a similar condition awaited strap-hangers outside of the E. 174 - E. 175 Street Station of the B and D train along the Grand Concourse.

Shortly after the article a crew from an unknown municipality cleared the section featured in the story, but left an entire sidewalk covered in ice and snow that greeted subway riders at a second exit.

No doubt a finger-pointing match of wills between the State and City Department of Transportation as the city has jurisdiction over the Grand Concourse however, the state may control a portion of the street as it's an overpass of the Cross Bronx Expressway.

The NYC Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Department of Sanitation could also be in charge of the property.

Using the aid of a cane, Concourse senior Joseph Llanos was walking over the newly paved section of the Concourse when he explained, "When it snows it always gets icy here and they never pick it up. I don't know who cleaned it over here, someone must have complained."

Last week, the DSNY hired nearly a dozen private garbage companies who's trucks carted off tons of snow from the North Bronx to the parking lot at Orchard Beach.

Several days later, two days with the temperature flirting with the fifty-degree mark, most of the ice and snow is now gone, just in time to bring back the alternate side parking rules. I hope your car starts.

Bedford Park News: Police Commish Talks to Monroe Students

Bedford Park News: Police Commish Talks to Monroe Students: Police Commish Talks to Monroe Students BRONX, NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 26- NYPD Commissioner William Bratton spoke to a gathering of M...

Police Commish Talks to Monroe Students

Police Commish Talks to Monroe Students

BRONX, NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 26- NYPD Commissioner William Bratton spoke to a gathering of Monroe College School of Criminal Justice students during a meeting of the Latino Officers Association in the college’s Mintz Auditorium.

After visiting with a number of Monroe administrators, the Commissioner addressed the audience of more than 275 about a variety of criminal justice issues. He also took questions from the Latino Officers members as well as Monroe students.

In response to a query about the need for the Department to work closely with local communities, the Commissioner was emphatic.

“That is such an essential element of what we need to do,” he said. “We the police can’t do it by ourselves. We need to do it in partnership. A lot of the trust we lost because of the stop question and frisk is so critical because if they don’t talk with us, trust us to use information, we can’t do it by ourselves. We need information, we need participation, and we need cooperation. And you get that by having trust.”

“We are grateful to the Latino Officers Association and Commissioner Bratton for coming to the Bronx and Monroe,” said School of Criminal Justice Dean Michele Rodney. “These kinds of activities bring the real world of education to life for our students.  This will make them more enthusiastic about their studies and also give them a better sense of what they need to do to achieve when they become CJ professionals.”