Journal
THE BRONX
A MULTILINGUAL NEWSPAPER FOR A DIVERSE COMMUNITY VOL. 8 NO. 2
MARKET CHAOS
OCTOBER 2005
The Fulton Fish Market – Not Ready For Prime Time?
Community 2
IN THE BRONX Heather Hadson / Norwood News
OF GUNS
& LUNCHES:
After 13 Assaults
at School,
DeWitt Clinton
Students Protest
New Metal
Detectors
Italian B-2
French B-3
Spanish B-4
Japanese B-9
PHOTO: OZZIE RAMOS
Russian B-10
11 Media Business 5 Fashion 8 & 9
The Queen of Pulling the Plug “My Pants”
BronxNet Tells on the Terminal Fashion Tips
Women How Market: from the Kids
Where Will the
CU
to Get Ahead on the Block
LEHMAN COLLEGE IS NY
Vendors Go?
PUBLISHED BY THE MULTILINGUAL JOURNALISM PROGRAM OF LEHMAN COLLEGE, CUNY
www.lehman.cuny.edu
The Bronx Journal/October 2005
A2 COMMUNITY
MAKING THEIR
VOICES HEARD
DeWitt Clinton Students Protest New Metal Detectors (Or Applaud Them)
MELISSA JOHNSON
The Bronx Journal Reporter
W
hen students returned to classes
at DeWitt Clinton High School
this fall, they found metal
detectors installed at key entrances and a
newly instituted policy forbidding students
to leave school during lunch hour – deci-
sions, the school administration says, meant
both to prevent weapons from entering the
building and to decrease the number of vio-
lent attacks on school premises.
Even so, some students were furious.
They claimed they were being treated like
criminals and demanded to have their
mobility restored. “We feel like we are
locked up right now,” said freshman
Fernando Torres, 14.
José David, 17, a senior, agreed. “The
metal detectors cause delays to our classes
and ruin our chances to go out and eat
lunch,” he said.
And so David organized a student
protest by spreading word on Sconex.com,
an online community for teens. On
Monday, Sept. 19, the day of the protest, Photo: George M. Gutierrez
David initially drew only lukewarm sup- Bronx students, here gathering for the protest, worried that long lines at the metal detectors made them late for class.
port. Most students obediently cued up to
go through the metal detectors. But a frus- Records as the largest high school in they are trying to bring in weapons.”
tratingly long line brought them around to America -- which counts among its world- Of course, students looking to do vio-
his point of view. famous alumni the writer James Baldwin, lence do not necessarily rely on guns and
Before long, a crowd of more than the playwright Neil Simon, the fashion knives. In late September, a DeWitt sopho-
1,000 students from the area, some with designer, Ralph Lauren, and actor Burt more, Joel Pichardo, 15, told a Bronx
wrists bound in chains, others carrying Lancaster. Journal reporter that he had just been
signs that read, “This is school, not a jail,” Just how many precautionary measures punched in the face while trying to make his
gathered outside Clinton and marched the are needed to ensure students’ safety? And way through a crowd to class. He said he
two miles to the New York City Department how effective are they? While many retaliated and was quickly grabbed by other
of Education office at Fordham Plaza. DeWitt Clinton students opposed the mea- attackers, who repeatedly hit and kicked
Among their grievances was the claim that sures, others welcomed them. him. Pichardo viewed metal detectors with
the new entrance policy was making them “Every school in the Bronx has [metal relief “so we can just study without worry-
late for classes. detectors],” said Shante Anderes, 14, a ing about our safety,” he said. Photo: Surendra Mohabeer
“The school made the changes too fast,” sophomore. “It’s a good idea so students Esther Ariyibi, an 18-year-old senior, Senior José David initiated the protest
said David, arguing that officials did not won’t bring in weapons.” however, believes the new policy is ineffec-
consult the students about the new protocol. During the 2003 school year, 56 stu- tive. “People are still bringing weapons,” Burke said that workmen has torn down
At Fordham Plaza, administrators invit- dents were suspended from DeWitt Clinton, she said, mentioning that she had heard that three adjoining classrooms and a learning
ed four students to meet with them and air according to a profile on insideschools.org. a young woman had been attacked with a center to enlarge DeWitt’s basement cafete-
their grievances. Although no changes in The Bloomberg administration documented screwdriver only weeks after the start of ria. The area, which once had capacity for
policy resulted, the administrators offered 13 violent crimes in the school that year, school, with new metal detectors already in only 300 students, now has room for 800.
to open a dialogue with students regarding whereas the average was 8.3. No wonder place. As for the lunch period, Ariyibi But many students say this improve-
their demands. that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said in pointed out, “The lunchrooms are over- ment fails to address their real concern – the
DeWitt Clinton High School, one of the response to the protests, “I know it is crowded, and there are fights every day restriction of their mobility. They still want
oldest public schools in the area, is located annoying for some people, but the first because of it.” outdoor lunch privileges.
on a tree-lined stretch of Moshulu Parkway thing, the most important thing, is to make Sean Burke, an architect who designed DeWitt’s principal was unavailable for
in the Northwest Bronx. At any given time sure that all students and people who work the metal detectors, said that three out of comment. But a guidance counselor told
of day, pairs of teachers take cigarette in the schools are safe.” four are currently in operation to admit stu- TBJ that the administration planned to
breaks outside the imposing building, and As for DeWitt Clinton’s outsized num- dents to the building – two at side appoint student representatives who would
security guards chat on their cell phones. ber of crimes, one long-time Clinton entrances, and one in front, which is help to negotiate changes.
But often police cars are parked in front as teacher, who declined to give his name, removed after the morning rush. He sug- More than a month has passed since the
well, and sometimes a distressed student, explained it this way: “The school is rated gested that students were late – and agitated controversy first broke. But DeWitt Clinton
maybe two – either victim or victimizer, it so, because it reports all the violence, – because of the rules the school imposed, still uses metal detectors and security cam-
is hard to tell – sit in the back seat. Their unlike other schools that try to stay out of not because of the detectors. These rules eras and enforces lunchtime confinement.
presence underscores the challenges to the media.” Although he said he felt a involve having students remove all metal “Students are angry because of the change,”
safety at this historic New York institution greater sense of safety with the new securi- items from pockets and belts and surrender one security guard observed, then added
with a student body of 4,760 – it was once ty features in place, he added that the prob- book bags to be searched at the door. As philosophically, “It’s a change that they’ll
listed in the Guinness Book of World lem now is that “everyone is treated like for the overcrowded lunchroom problem, just have to get used to.”
The Bronx Journal/ October 2005
BUSINESS A3
At the Fulton Fish Market
SOMETHING’S FISHY
And It’s Not the Tuna....
Photo: Ozzie Ramos
A fishmonger at the South Street Seaport weighs the morning’s catch. About 125 million pounds of cod, halibut, and other fish are unloaded here each year.
with mobsters.” Still, he says that it would extremely gratified by the judge’s decision, routes that run straight into the market, thus
OZZIE RAMOS not be “economically viable” to move from which vindicates the public interest in keeping eliminating the trucks in residential areas.”
The Bronx Journal Reporter the Seaport until the injunction, which is organized crime out of the Fulton Fish Market Carrion emphasized the importance of
costing the market an estimated $45,000 a when it moves to Hunts Point.” the market to the redevelopment of the
week, is lifted. The relocation of the Fulton Fish Market South Bronx. “This is only the beginning
T
he fish ought to be swimming
upstream by now -- from the grisly The legal battle began earlier this year is the brainchild of the Giuliani administra- of the overall plan to revitalize the area,” he
South Street Seaport in Lower when the market’s independent wholesalers tion, which in 2001 proposed building a state- said, adding that plans for a waterfront
Manhattan, where the Fulton Fish Market balked at using the Laro Service Systems, a of-the-art facility that would meet govern- park, a Police Academy facility, and a boat-
was a staple for 185 years, to the spanking former Bay Shore, Long Island, cleaning ment regulations and provide more jobs for ing community along the East River in the
new Hunts Point Market in the Bronx. The company, which has been unloading fish for Bronxites. The Bloomberg administration South Bronx are already under considera-
fishmongers are supposed to relocate there them since 1995. In response, Laro sued. continued the project, and in 2004 the tion. These would bring additional jobs and
any day now, giving a giant economic boost 400,000-square-foot market, which will much-needed income to the area.
to the area. house approximately 50 fish wholesalers, was As for the numerous delays, Janel
Yet the much-ballyhooed opening has When will the new built at a cost of $85 million. Patterson of the Economic Development
been delayed once more – and indefinitely. Although the new space is gathering raves Corporation, which oversees the market,
On October 5, New York Supreme Court Fulton Fish Market from some politicians, it has also created con- told The Bronx Journal, “It was difficult for
Judge Carol Edmead pulled the license for at
least a month from the city’s three dozen fish
finally open? cern among others, as well as among commu-
nity activists who worry that the exhaust from
the wholesalers to adapt to a new facility,
since they have been used to working in the
wholesalers; it would have allowed them to The delayed move is the additional trucks going to market will con-
tribute to the already-high children’s asthma
same location their entire life.”
But on a recent morning, the fishmon-
unload their own fish when they moved into
Hunts Point, already the largest meat and pro- costing $45,000 a week. rate in the Bronx. gers themselves seemed nothing, if not
duce market in the Northeast. John Mendez, who lives in the Hunts practical. At the Fair Fish Market, a man
“We cannot turn a blind eye and give Point area and has an asthmatic child, is con- who identified himself only as Ziggy, said
short shrift to the undertakings of the Guiliani Laro won the contract to unload the fish cerned about the pollution caused by the he had been selling fish for 25 years and
administration to rid the Fulton Fish Market after Giuliani, as part of his war to push the trucks. “Almost every night you can hear had no problem with going to the Bronx.
of apparent corruption,” Edmead said on mob out of the market, eliminated the inde- them go by and smell the exhaust all over the “The merchants will go where the fish are
September 23, when she first issued her pendent unloaders, who had been hired by the street,” he said, adding that the situation is cheap,” he offered. “These are the best
restraining order. “Nor can we permit back- wholesalers. made worse because “sometimes the trucks prices in town.”
sliding into the morass of corruption for the Today Laro loads approximately 125 mil- stay there, idling and honking at each other.” Another, from Carl’s Seafood
sake of expediency.” lion pounds of cod, porgies, and halibut a year One strong supporter is Bronx Borough Company, explained that he only had seven
Her decision disappointed the fish mar- at a cost of $1.5 million to the wholesalers. President Adolfo Carrion, who contributed $1 years left until retirement. “I’d love to have
ket’s legal team. “We are confident that we The market may be mob-free now, but the million for streetscape improvements at Hunts stayed in the city, but you go where the
will ultimately prevail in this case,” said Ava wholesalers claim that Laro has become a Point. “The good thing about the fish market work is,” he said.
Maria Brennan, a senior counsel. monopoly and is too expensive; instead, they is that it runs overnight when people are usu- Carrion, for his part, claims that most
“We don’t have any ties to the bad old want to use their own unloaders again. ally sleeping and indoors,” Carrion told The wholesalers with whom he spoke were
guys,” said another market lawyer, William Laro’s attorney, Guiliani’s former Chief Bronx Journal. “We are working with the impressed by the gleaming new facility and
Kuntz, adding that the city does not “deal of Staff, Randy Mastro, said, “We are Department of Transportation to create truck were eager to move in.
The Bronx Journal/October 2005
A4 OPINION
EDITORIAL Commentary
A TURBULENT SEASON
protest against the installation of metal detectors.
On Women’s Wages
T
his has been a chaotic fall. Hurricanes in
New Orleans and Mississippi, floods in Paola Cárdenas visited the Bronx Museum of the
the Northeast, earthquakes in Pakistan, Arts to interview its senior curator, Lydia Yee, on
By Andrea K. Díaz
mudslides in Guatemala, and terrorist threats in the how the museum chooses its art – and its artists.
New York subways have all overshadowed the And for thrill-seekers, the Honduran-born compet-
city’s mayoral race. These events have also stolen itive biker, Jorge Jovel, talks about how he got
“I
headlines away from the turbulent state of our involved in extreme biking, and how difficult it was 19 when I started to work, and it has not been easy,”
local markets. No, not the stock markets, but the was for him before he obtained his green card. says Sara Valdez, 42, a civil engineer and mother of two,
Fulton Fish Market, which was supposed to be Finally, don’t forget that Tuesday, November 8, who now works for George W. Auch Company, manag-
functional at its new Hunts Point facility early this is Election Day. Go to the polls, and make your ing a crew of seven men who are building a school in Coral,
September, but as we go to press is still in a state vote for mayor count. Michigan. “When I began as an engineer, companies were just
of suspended animation (see our story on page 3); looking for male workers, and the payment was really bad for us.”
and the Terminal Market, whose vendors are anx- Valdez, who started her working life as a receptionist in her
Publisher father's real estate office, eventually went to Michigan State
ious about being uprooted from their long-time Lynne Van Voorhis
home, with no alternate site yet chosen (story on University’s College of Engineering to become an engineer, a career
Editor-in-Chief
page 5). Patricio Lerzundi
usually dominated by men. By dint of sheer competency, she has
Given that so much is discomforting, both turned things around in her work life. However, she is still earning
Editor
globally and locally, The Bronx Journal is pleased Marjorie Rosen almost 17 percent less than her male colleagues in the same job.
to announce a modicum of good news: that during Managing Editor
We are living in an era in which thousands of qualified and tal-
this school year we are planning five complete Nicholas Boston ented women graduate annually. They hold college degrees and are
multilingual issues. This one features, among Art & Design Director employed at higher levels today than ever before. These women are
other articles, a Spanish-language piece by Ulises Orlando Lorca clearly as capable as their male counterparts; yet even in senior posi-
Design Consultant tions, they are still paid less than men with comparable skill and
Gonzales on the famous denizens of Woodlawn Ulises Gonzales
Cemetery and one in French by Amah Justin experience.
Reporters and Writers: In 2004, the National Committee on Pay Equity did a study and
d’Almeida that critiques the United Nations, sug-
gesting that without certain reforms, the esteemed Viktoriya Bogomolnaya, Anibelka Cortorreal, Paola concluded that even though the Equal Pay Act – signed in 1963 by
Cardenas, Amah Justin d’Almeida, Andrea K. Díaz, President John F. Kennedy -- was passed more than 40 years ago, a
organization will perish. Leandro Fortyz, Miguel García, Ulises Gonzales, Moraima
In our English-language section, we are more woman working full-time still makes only 76 cents for every dollar
Guanipa, Annika Harris, Melissa Johnson, Surendra
committed than ever to covering events and issues Mohabeer, Mara Palermo, Joselin Pichardo, Ozzie Ramos,
that a man makes. It is even worse if her skin is black or brown.
that are important to the Bronx and its citizens. Yini Rodríguez, Femi Sobowale, Melissa Zayas Moreno. Black women earn 66 cents and Latinos only 55 cents.
For this reason, we have sent our crack student This translates to $24 less a week for every $100 worth of work
Faculty Consultants: women do. That is $24 less for each woman to spend on groceries,
writers and reporters into the field: photojournal- Dante Albertie, James Carney, Tom O’Hanlon,
ist Ozzie Ramos has been covering the breaking Asako Tochika, Robert Whittaker housing, child care, and other expenses, says John J. Sweeney, the
news on the New Fulton Fish Market; Leandro president of America’s Union Movement. In the course of a lifetime
The Bronx Journal is published by the of work, the 24-cents-on-the-dollar that women are losing adds up,
Fortyz has been reporting on the demise of the Multilingual Journalism Program, Lehman College,
Terminal Market near Yankee Stadium, and the making life even more difficult for them. In terms of annual pay, the
250 Bedford Park Blvd. West, Carman Hall 259,
concerns of the community and vendors alike. Bronx, NY 10468-1589. median income for high school graduates 25 or older in New York
Melissa Johnson went to DeWitt Clinton High Telephone: (718) 960-8217. State in 2004, according to a 2000 Census Bureau report, was
Fax: (718) 960-8218. $19,821 for full-time working women and $31,183 for full-time
School to talk to students after their landmark
working men. For women with a bachelor’s degree, it was $35,195;
for men, $52,242. In the Bronx County the median income for full-
time working women was $28,245, whereas men made around
$40,000,
Recently the gender wage gap has narrowed a bit. In September,
2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the gap had
improved by two pennies. Yet Melissa Josephs, director of equal-
opportunity policy for Women Employed, a Chicago non-profit
organization that assists working women, points out that bad news
continues to be the main news. “The wage gap is remarkably obsti-
nate,” she says. “It resists education, job experience, and profes-
sional advancement.”
Clearly, these two pennies do not make a big difference. Yet the
consequences of this pay gap are endless. Because women are paid
less now, they have difficulty raising families, especially since more
than 84 per cent of children live in single-parent homes that are run
by women. This discrepancy also means that they have less avail-
able to save for their futures and will earn smaller pensions than men
in comparable jobs.
What can women do to fight for parity? Even though women’s
groups have been actively resisting the attacks trying to peel away
their rights, they need to fight for what they want. The ground-
breaking feminist, Gloria Steinem, suggests that one way is for
women to research salaries in their specific fields. They can also
join a union or simply keep their eyes open for a promotion. Then,
too, there is always legal action.
“This is no simple reform,” Steinem said at the Third Annual
Women And Power Conference, organized by the Omega Institute
in September of 2004. “It really is a revolution. Sex and race,
because they are easy and visible differences, have been the prima-
ry way of organizing human beings into superior and inferior groups
and into the cheap labor in which this system still depends….”
The solution may be complicated, but not for the comedienne
and sitcom star, Roseanne. “The thing women have yet to learn is
nobody gives you power,” she has said, speaking perhaps from
experience. “You just take it.”
Ulises Gonzales
The Bronx Journal/October 2005
COMMUNITY A5
Is The Terminal Market Terminal?
MARKET CHAOS
Local Shoppers and Merchants Fear The Worst
LEANDRO FORTYZ
The Bronx Journal Reporter
T
he Bronx Terminal
Market suffered a
major setback in its
most recent effort to be
included in the redevelopment
plans spearheaded by the new
owners of the property,
Related Companies.
On September 14, members of the
Community Board 4 voiced their concerns,
then voted 21-2 in favor of endorsing the
Gateway Mall project, which does away
with the Terminal Market, and is part of the
larger plan to build a hotel, a waterfront
park, and a spanking new Yankee Stadium
along the Harlem River.
The latest battle leaves the businesses
that are currently operating in the market
searching for alternative relocation sites.
“It would be good to stay,” said Manny
Sanchez, manager of New York. Produce, a
store selling Latin specialty food items,
“but if the market goes, I go with it.” Photo:Leandro Fortyz
Constructed in the 1920s, the market is Community support for the Gateway Mall project leaves specialty shops like New York Produce, above, uncertain about their future.
home to wholesale distributors of ethnic
food. Africans come here to buy yams,
plantains, and cassava flour; Latin employees. Today about 30 occupants
Americans buy cod fish, spices from back remain. Other businesses have relocated to
home, and products from companies like the Hunts Point Terminal Market, where the
Bustelo and Goya. In addition, there are Fulton Fish Market is trying to relocate
products from the West Indies and from Lower Manhattan.
Caribbean Islands as well as various coun- Merchants who currently lease space at
tries around the world. the market would like the city to either
Dominic Ojevwe, a Nigerian, shops at assist them in finding land that would
the market weekly. “The regular supermar- accommodate the market as a whole, or to
kets do not have the same products from my modify the proposed redevelopment plans
country, and the stores that do have them to include a renovated market on the land
are more expensive,” he says. previously slated for the Olympic bicycle
For some, the market is a social scene as venue, scheduled to be built on the west
well. Jose Hernandez, who has worked for side of the Major Deegan Highway to the
22 years at the store, Latin Tropical, in the border of the Harlem River Drive if the U.S.
market, knows many of his customers by had won the bid for the 2012 Games.
their first names. “They come here to shop, “There is plenty of room for the market
and we start talking about their families,” to the west of the highway,” Stan Mayer,
he says. the representative for the Bronx Terminal
The recent history of the 31-acre lot is Market Merchants’ Association, said. “But
mired by scandal involving neglect by the the city refuses to entertain that idea.”
former lease holder, David Buntzman. Barry Nissen, a property management
Since Buntzman’s acquisition of the market Photo:Leandro Fortyz
consultant, asked, “Did Related Companies
in 1972, it has been poorly managed, result- consider drawing up plans that would Merchants’ rep Stan Mayer says a new market could be built nearby.
ing in filthy conditions and illegal dumping include a new market as opposed to relocat- land west of the highway,” says Jessie is also a possibility. This site is currently
of asbestos waste. In 1988 and 1991 the ing and separating the various businesses Meizer, a Related spokesman. “The piece of leased by USA Waste Services but is being
city gave violations in excess of $20,000 to presently occupying the market?” land in question is owned by the city, which reviewed by the city and the merchants as a
the landlord for improper handling of that The Communications Director of a plans to make a waterfront park adjacent to viable option because it is so visible along
waste. Today the location near Yankee group called Neighborhood Retail Alliance, the new mall.” the water. The merchants are concerned
Stadium remains in poor condition, with Matt Lipsky, also supports renovating the Various city locations are being consid- that the proposed relocation sites are not
unpaved brick streets and potholes that send market at its current location. “Now that ered for the Terminal Market’s move. One recognizable enough or big enough to ser-
cars careening through the air. the Olympics are a thing of the past, the city is a site at the southern end of St. Ann’s vice all the present market occupants, who
Clearly, the market has witnessed better should work with the developers to include Street in the Bronx, which is owned by the would then be forced to disband and relo-
days. In its early years it was one of the a new market adjacent to the Gateway city and is used for storage of trucks and cate separately, which is what the mer-
largest ethnic food distributors in the coun- Project,” he said. miscellaneous equipment. chants association is trying to avoid.
try, with more than 100 tenants and 1000 “Related Companies does not own the The southern end of Alexander Avenue Continued on page A6
The Bronx Journal/October 2005
A6 COMMUNITY
Continued from page A5
Market Chaos....
Photo:Leandro Fortyz
Sal’s is one of 30 occupants working out of the Terminal Market, which once boasted more than 100 shops.
Gregory Bell, chairman of the subcom- Bronx and surrounding areas. “Teamsters’ amount of demolition debris and exhaust the blessing of Bronx Borough President
mittee of the Bronx Voice for Inclusion, a Local 282 is here to bring jobs to the from trucks would create a hazardous envi- Adolfo Carrion and the endorsement of
group that represents workers in the bor- ronment that can affect the air quality dur- Mayor Bloomberg, whose administration
ough, is concerned about job opportunities ing construction,” claimed one woman at sold the property for less then property
for Bronx residents, especially minorities Residents shared their the meeting. value – a reported $40 million -- to the
lacking construction skills. “We must Not so, says Miezer. “The air quality developer with a guarantee of a buy-back if
ensure that this project employs individuals
concern about will be maintained by misting the work area the project did not get approved.
from within the community,” he said. asthma and other with water to weigh down dust and vehicle The Bronx Terminal Market will con-
At the Community Board 4 meeting, exhaust,” he explained, admitting that asth- tinue to look for alternative sites for its ten-
representatives from the labor unions got
health problems that ma and other health issues are problems ants. “The city should do everything in its
behind the Gateway Mall project. Edwin might arise during throughout the country, and he understood power to see that the present merchants are
Lopez represents Local 3, the electricians. demolition and the community’s apprehensions at approv- relocated to an area that can accommodate
“Local 3 is here to back the project and to ing the project. “The Gateway Mall will the market’s current tenants,” says Mayer.
let the community know that a pre-appren- construction. utilize all safety procedures to ensure that “The true essence of a market revolves
ticeship program would assist members of they are in compliance with the Department around the consumer’s ability to shop in
the community in attaining their full of Environmental Protection,” he said. various storefronts with similar goods and
apprenticeship and becoming eligible for neighborhood,” he said. With Community Board 4’s endorse- at the same location.”
employment at the multi-year project,” he Yet residents also shared their concern ment of Gateway, the chances for a reno- More to the point, says Ojevwe, if the
said. And Teamsters’ representative, Paul for health problems such as asthma and vated Bronx Terminal Market at its current market moves away, “I don’t know where I
Luddine, assured the community that prior- asbestos during the demolition and con- location has become slimmer. will go to buy the hard-to-find products
ity would be given to those who live in the struction phases of the project. “The Next up for Related Companies is to get from my country.”
The Bronx Journal/ October 2005
C U LT U R E A7
Photo: Ulises Gonzales
Lydia Yee in front of the fully renovated Bronx Museum on Grand Concourse.
PAOLA CÁRDENAS
The Bronx Journal Reporter What is the museum currently showing? gram? Could it be a good marketing vehi- Bronx into something more positive and
From October 26 through February, we cle? What kind of visitors would it bring? dynamic. One of my most recent exhibi-
are presenting “Irreducible: Contemporary And could we raise money for that exhibi- tions, “ One Planet Under A Groove,” was
T
he Bronx Museum Short Form Video.” The exhibition features tion? If everyone feels it is a good project about how younger artists have been influ-
two dozen videos by artists from around the from all points of view, then we will go enced by hip-hop culture. I’m proud of
of the Arts may be world, which are all structured around a ahead. both these exhibitions because I think they
one of the bor- particular performance, event, or situation. What does an exhibition consist of? attract diverse groups of viewers who learn
Some focus on mundane daily activities, It consists of works of art, which are a lot about each other.
ough’s best-kept secrets. others address social issues (like being a usually organized around some sort of topic Describe an ordinary workday for you.
foreigner in an alien culture) or political or theme. We have to borrow the work, and I do not think there is an “ordinary day.”
Now celebrating its 25th topics (like the U.S. Navy’s use of Vieques we also provide catalogs or other interpre- One day I could be working on an essay and
as a bombing range). Some videos are quite tive materials, wall texts, and object labels spend most of my time at the computer.
anniversary, it was founded funny; others are earnest or critical. The to help the public in looking at the work. Another day I could be working in the gal-
in 1971 to serve the Bronx’s exhibition will make viewers think about Do you have a special mandate to feature leries, installing an exhibition, or preparing
video in a new way. Bronx artists? for an event. Other times I am doing paper
ethnically diverse What kind of art does the BMA shows? It’s not an exclusive part of our mission, work, responding to requests, or visiting
It varies. Earlier this year we had three but if we hear of an interesting local show, artists, which I really enjoy. Every day
community. The BMA offers exhibitions up: One was a selection from we look at it, and if we like something, we brings something different.
our collection, another was a collaborative talk to the artist and ask him if he wants his Tell us about yourself.
art exhibitions, family and video that a young Venezuelan artist named work in our museum. I was born in 1967. I studied art history
educational programs, Javier Tellez did with patients at the Bronx Where do you find your artists? at the University of Michigan. During my
Psychiatric Center, and third, we had a I visit other museums, and if I like junior year, I came to New York to intern in
children’s classes, jazz show of Romare Bearden’s water colors something, I try to hook with the artist. Or the curatorial department of the New
that Bearden was commissioned to paint for sometimes artists come to us through our Museum of Contemporary Arts. And it had
concerts, and holiday John Cassavetes’s film, “Gloria,” that was program, “Artists in the Market Place,” or an impact on me. The more I got to know
shot here in the Bronx. AIM, which gives priority to new artists. about art, the more interested I became in it.
shows. Each year it also What is the museum’s principal pur- What kind of exhibitions have you orga- So I did my graduate work in art history at
presents an exhibition called pose? nized since you started working here? the City University of New York and start-
Our mission is really to present and One of the first exhibitions I organized ed working here in 1993.
“AIM,” featuring up-and- interpret art for a wide range of audiences was primarily about women artists. It was Why should Bronxites come to the muse-
and to make art accessible to everybody. called “Division of Labor: Women’s Work um?
coming young artists from Where does most of the art come from? and Contemporary Art.” I also co-organized A lot of things that we do reflect the
Our primary focus is on artists of an exhibition called “Urban Mythologies: interest and concerns of the people in the
the metropolitan area. African, Asian, and Latin American The Bronx Represented Since the 1960s.” It Bronx. We are very much a museum of the
Recently the museum’s descent. But many works are either pur- looked at how the image of the Bronx has moment, trying to show what is going on
chased, donated, borrowed or loaned to us changed over time. For many years, people right now. And because we focus on cultur-
senior curator, Lydia Yee, sat by other museums, collectors or artists. were afraid to come here. The media creat- al diversity, there is something in the muse-
How do you choose the exhibitions? ed a negative stereotype of the Bronx, and I um that can speak to everybody.
down and talked with The I work with another curator in my wanted to see both how the media con-
department to propose exhibitions to other structed that image and how artists were
Bronx Journal about her members of the staff who have a different either responding to it. And we discovered The Bronx Museum of the Arts is located at 1040
work and the musem’s new expertise, and we get feedback from them. that, over time, as more artists were living Grand Concourse at 165th Street. Call (718) 681-
We ask ourselves: has the proposed exhibi- in the Bronx and some were from the 6000 for information. Suggested donation: $3,
show. tion good potential as an educational pro Bronx, it helped to change the image of the adults, $2,students, $1, seniors. Free to children.
The Bronx Journal/October 2005 The Bronx Journal/October 2005
A8 FA S H I O N FA S H I O N A9
MY PANTS
Fashion Tips from the Kids on the Block
YINI RODRÍGUEZ
The Bronx Journal Reporter
Julio De la Cruz, 17, Walton High School: > Natanael Díaz, 18, Walton High School
<
Y “You’ve got to learn how to run. You
o, like, cool, “For my sister’s
man, let it all
wedding I was forced to can’t really push your legs up. It’s like
hang down. skiing on the sidewalk.”
That is, if you want use regular pants. It
to be in style. was like a
If you haven’t
already noticed, nightmare, and
today’s kids on the they really
block are wearing bothered me.”
pants that are double
or triple the normal
size – pants whose “Well, let’s say
waistline flirts with that you are size
the hips, pants which
36, so you will
roll like bagels around
the ankles, and pants have to buy size Left to right: Héctor Hernández, Héctor Salcedo, Carlos Rivera.
on which the wearer 40. You always Carlos Rivera, 16, Kennedy High School:
<
just might stumble if
he had to run for have to buy two or “Sometimes we wear a belt,
a subway. three sizes bigger than sometimes we don’t. Well,
In order to sometimes they fall, but
what your really are. Same Left to right:Thomas McCabe, Steven Rodríguez, Bismal Richards.
understand the most of
phenomenon, The thing applies to the length. Bismal Richards, 15, Academy for Careers in Sports:
the time,
<
Bronx Journal If you are a 32 inseam, you “If I don’t wear baggy pants, I we manage
headed to the streets
to get the skinny
need to buy a 36.” look funny, and my friends to hold
from the local < Ricardo Correa, 18, Walton High School
make fun of me.” them up.”
fashion plates.
PHOTOS BY:YINI RODRÍGUEZ
The Bronx Journal/October 2005
A10 MEDIA
IN MY VIEW:
QUEEN With Persistence And
ANIBELKA CORTORREAL
The Bronx Journal Reporter
N
ext to Glenis Henriquez,
the Energizer Bunny
seems like a slacker.
The host of such BronxNet shows
as “Diálogo con Glenis,” “Teens
Talk to Glenis” and “Diálogo con
el Presidente Adolfo Carrion, Jr .,”
Henriquez, 41, wears many career
hats. An educator, translator, and
TV personality, she also has a
Photo: Ulises Gonzales
regular job as Director of External
“Since Dentist Barbie had not been created yet,” Harris, at home with her Barbie collection, says, “I decided to make my own.” Affairs for the City of New York’s
She May Be A Sexy Clothes Horse.
Small Business Services. In that
Still, One Doll Owner Argues,
capacity, she has represented
Mayor Bloomberg at business
events geared to Hispanics, and,
BARBIE IS A FEMINIST! particularly, Hispanic women. “I
have had the privilege to attend on
the mayor’s behalf,” she says,
ANNIKA HARRIS
The Bronx Journal Reporter “and that is tremendous because,
to their male counterparts. For instance, Barbie never took first of all, he has to trust you.
I
received my first Barbie Doll, Peachy Keen Barbie,
when I was 4. I admired her peach gown, but I
a back seat to her boyfriend, Ken. When she was pilot, Ken Also, it means a lot to say you
was co-pilot. And when she was a doctor, Ken was her
knew it was not practical for everyday life. I also come on behalf of the mayor,
nurse. While Ken merely played in the Rockers band,
knew that such a magnificent doll could not have just one
Barbie was the bandleader and lead singer.
dress, so I made it my mission to get more clothes for her.
Barbie has served another function as well: she has
especially when you are from the
Along with an appreciation of fashion, Barbie taught me
many life lessons.
brought me closer to girls my age. Even if I and my play- projects.”
mates did not initially get along, we were always able to
By the time I was 10, I had collected at least 30 share Barbie. We would play for hours on a Saturday after- Actually, Glenis Rojas was born in Santo Domingo,
Barbies. At this time, I was also seeing a woman ortho- noon, and if the storyline was really interesting, we would the Dominican Republic. She was the youngest of seven
dontist, whom I admired. I wanted to play at being a den- continue it the next day. half-siblings and the only child of Juana and Marino
tist. Since Dentist Barbie had not been created yet, I decid- Barbie also taught me to accept different cultures. In Rojas, who moved to New York in 1965, leaving Glenis,
ed to make my own. I decorated a large box like a dentist’s 1964, Mattel, her manufacturer, produced fashions for her then 1, with her grandmother. “Every time a plane passed
office and adapted other Barbie accessories to furnish the that imitated the traditional costumes of various countries, by, she would say, ‘Mommy is on that plane,’” Henriquez
office. I even sewed a lab coat for one of my Barbies. I felt among them Japan, Mexico, Switzerland, and Holland. In recalls.
that Barbie had so many other professions, why not go den- “The Dolls of the World Collection,” Barbie represents Her grandmother, whom she loved as a mother, nur-
tal as well? women from more than 40 countries and cultures. Not only tured her and her half-brothers and sisters while their
Since her birth in 1959, Barbie Millicent Roberts, more do her costumes change, but also, from country to country, mother worked in a factory in New York City. Henriquez
commonly known as Barbie doll, has fascinated young her skin color, facial features, makeup, and hair. And so was 7 when her parents finally had enough money to
girls and adults alike. She is the most popular doll in his- there is Arctic Barbie, Puerto Rican Barbie, Ghanaian reclaim her. “I came to New York on the plane with my
tory because, as an adult, she gives young girls access to a Barbie, etc. two youngest brothers, and it was such a scary experi-
world that is forbidden to them -- the world of grown-ups. As a young girl, I was fascinated by Mattel’s ability to ence,” she says.
Traditionally, girls have played with dolls that resemble make Barbies of different cultures and nationalities look Life in the United States was not easy, either. First,
babies, which forces them to imitate their mothers and different. I would stare at the faces of Native American Henriquez had to overcome the language barrier. “My
nothing else. Since Barbie is an adult doll, she presents a Barbie and compare them to my other Barbies. There was father wanted to teach me how to read (English), but he
world that is alien to young girls. even a difference between the features of several black himself couldn’t read it,” she says. “So as we were dri-
In addition, she allows girls in our male-dominated Barbie Dolls. I learned to appreciate their differences and ving, he would tell me to read as many of the store signs
society to aspire to be more than caregivers and mothers. their beauty. as I could. Now I say I could have been saying anything
For example, Barbie has had a myriad of careers over the Barbie initiated my love of fashion. As I collected because he didn’t know [how to read] either.”
decades. Besides being a dentist, she has been a doctor, an more Barbie outfits, I realized that someone had to design The Bronx was another challenge. Henriquez, who
Olympic athlete, and a TV news reporter. In 1965, 20 years and make all these clothes. Then I started researching lived on Webster Avenue and 171st Street, could not get
before an actual woman was sent into space, Barbie careers in the fashion industry. used to her urban surroundings. She had been accustomed
became an astronaut, . Barbie has also been a candidate for Although I am 24, I still collect Barbie. She has been a to playing freely in her grandmother’s backyard on José
United States president. Alas, she never won a plurality. part of my life for so long that I cannot give her up. She is Martí Street in Santo Domingo, but here she could not
Barbie may be curvy, but, to my mind, she is absolute- a role model. I am thankful for the lessons she taught me, play outside. What’s more, she lived in a building where
ly a feminist. After all, she has shown girls that they can be and I know that today’s girls are learning them, too, she had to travel up and down by an elevator, which she
in positions of authority and do not have to be subordinate because two Barbies are sold every second. calls “another entrapment.”
The Bronx Journal/October 2005
MEDIA A 11
OF BRONXNET
Luck, Glenis Henriquez Finds Her Voice
kerage business. “I could do five shows now,
and I would never have the amount of stress
I had as a broker. It was all sales. I was not a
happy person,” she says. “Now I have diver-
sity. With television, I developed my writing
and people skills.”
“Diálogo con Glenis,” Henriquez’s first
show, debuted in 1995 and was instantly suc-
cessful; it airs live on Wednesdays at 6 p.m.
“Teens Talk to Glenis” and “Dialogo con el
Presidente Adolfo Carrion, Jr.,” both of
which can be seen on Tuesdays, deal with
subjects like immigration, business and edu-
cation. Geared to the Latin community, they
are informational, upbeat, and reflective of
Henriquez’s personality.
“Her energy and enthusiasm are infec-
tious. Whether you know her personally or
you watch her on TV, she is a friend,” says
Michael Knobbe, Bronxnet’s Executive
Director. “And it’s great to have a friend like
Glenis because she is a tremendous resource
of knowledge and information.”
Although Henriquez has little free time,
when she does get a break, she enjoys spend-
ing it with Julio, sitting on the terrace of her
Riverdale condo that overlooks the Hudson
River, appreciating the view. She also adores
rollerblading and travel.
“To all the women
graduating from
college,
I would say, ‘Do not
take no for an
answer.’”
“My greatest accomplishment is finding
a good man,” says Henriquez of her happy
marriage. “I swear, it is the hardest thing to
find a supportive man who is unconditionally
on my side. He doesn’t ever have a negative
“The Bronx is a training ground that has prepared me for anything I would ever want to do,” says Henriquez.
thing to say, and that is a miracle.”
But the youngster learned English; she also degree in finance, she went to work at tute on the first day of school because a Julio, 53, is now retired and teaches inter-
learned to love her new surroundings. “The Lehman Brothers, an investment firm, wran- teacher was absent. Three days later, the prin- national business as an adjunct professor at
Bronx is a training ground that has prepared gling clients for the brokers. But when the cipal, learning that the teacher had died, the Dobbs Ferry campus of Mercy College.
me for anything I would ever want to do,” company refused to promote her to stockbro- offered Henriquez a permanent job. She One secret to their success, he says, is “that
says Henriquez. “I’m pretty much the same ker, she left for Equitable Life and became taught there for 11 years. we give each other space. She will go off to
girl I was growing up in the projects, obedi- one of its most productive brokers, breaking Henriquez won her job as a translator at write, and I’ll be at the computer. We give
ent and good, resourceful and strong.” every sales record for three years. The Bronx Times through another serendipi- each other time alone.”
At Grace H. Dodge High School, a voca- Then she returned to Lehman and tous accident. “A co-worker told me that he The couple has no children. “It is the ulti-
tional school, she learned the skills that became one of its top brokers. It was here, worked on a newspaper, and that they needed mate challenge, and I just never felt like I was
helped her support herself through Baruch too, that she met her husband of 14 years, a Spanish translator. I called in, and they gave ready or that I will ever be ready to take on
College, where she typed papers and resumes Julio Henriquez. The president of Self me the job,” she says. From then on, that challenge,” Henriquez says.
for other students. “During those years I Powered Lighting, a company that manufac- Henriquez says, she became the “phantom As someone who likes to find a balance
needed to generate income, because my tured and provided exit signage for the air- faxer,” because she never actually stepped in life, Henriquez encourages young women
mother was giving me $20 a week,” craft industry, he was a Lehman client. foot in the newspaper’s offices; instead, she to be strong and to fight for their dreams. “To
Henriquez remembers. “That was $10 for After four years, Henriquez left Lehman faxed her work in every week, no matter what all the women graduating from college, I
tokens and $10 for food. What I used to do in Brothers, hoping to dedicate more time to her part of the world she was in. Then one day would say, ‘Do not take no for an answer,’”
order to survive was to take those two dollars marriage. But fate had other things in store she decided to visit. She met the publisher, Henriquez says. “Just because somebody
every day and buy three donuts – I’d have for her. “My life has been a series of acci- John Collazzi, and he brought her to tells you ‘no’ during a job interview doesn’t
one with coffee in the morning, one with dents gone well,” Henriquez muses. Bronxnet, where she now has three success- mean it is over. Find somebody who says
water in the afternoon, and then another with Deciding to work as a substitute teacher at ful TV shows. ‘yes,’ because every time you get a ‘no,’ you
water in the evening.” M.S. 144 while studying for her Master’s in Although she worked almost as much as are closer to a ‘yes.’ Do not be disappointed.
After graduating from Baruch with a education, Henriquez was called in to substi- before, Henriquez never returned to the bro- Think positive.”
The Bronx Journal/October 2005
A12 E D U C AT I O N
“Like the other
students,
I began to develop
an online
personality….
While some talked
a lot and others
argued or criticized,
I was serious…but
open-minded.”
A Student Commutes Without Leaving Home
A little bit of Bronx in
Puerto Rico
MELISSA ZAYAS
The Bronx Journal Reporter
had ever expected to, and a great deal about
T
he idea was exciting: its involvement in Gaza. I also came to
respect the country’s religion and way of
Sitting at home in life, which, I realized, the Israelis are des-
Santurce, about 15 perately trying to protect. The Jerusalem
Post also has in international section, which
minutes from San Juan, and contained attention-getting articles like the
one about the largest surfboard in Australia.
going to school in New York The board was so large, 16 to 20 people
City. How could I say no? could stand on it at once.
For another assignment, I had to com-
And so, during my freshman year at pare a mainstream Spanish newspaper to
Sacred Heart University in Puerto Rico, a one that was typically American. I chose El
school with more than 5,000 students, I Nuevo Día and the Wyoming Eagle
signed up for an online bilingual journalism Tribune. El Nuevo Día is the most impor-
class with Lehman College in New York. tant newspaper in Puerto Rico and the one
To be honest, at the beginning I was not with the greatest circulation. The Wyoming
sure how it was all going to work. I had Eagle Tribune focuses on local news from
never taken an online course before, but Cheyenne and Laramie. As different as
Lehman’s Multilingual Journalism Program these locales were, their newspapers were
had caught my attention in a big way. After surprisingly similar. Both offered a variety
all, I speak and write English and Spanish of sections, from local news to politics and
fluently, Spanish being my first language sports. Their advertising was vast, and they
and English my second. I knew a class like ran regular sections on cinema, music,
this was going to put into practice both my health and fashion.
languages and would help me express In class, I also tested my own ideas and
myself better. Still, with some trepidation, I shared opinions about these papers with
signed up. other students, mostly from the Bronx. In
When I got my account on Lehman’s doing so, I learned to see different points of
Blackboard, I studied the class syllabus and view. I discovered that each newspaper had
curriculum for MLJ 211, titled Introduction its own way of reporting. Sharing online
to Multilingual Media, to get a better idea also made me feel more secure and confi-
about what the class would concentrate on. dent because I felt that the other students
Photo: Carmen Zayas
For the first assignment, we all had to write took every word I wrote into consideration.
about plagiarism and sign an honor code. “I learned to see different points of view,” says Zayas, above, about her online class.
In addition, this course gave me
Then the fun began. tools that I will always be able to use. Here, I was able to learn about the talked a lot and others argued or criti-
During the semester we explored news- For instance, it made me more orga- Dominican culture. Even more impor- cized, my own online personality was
papers from abroad, even those in other lan- nized with my ideas and more respon- tant, each time a student gave an opin- serious, although I also tried to present
guages such as French. Personally I sible, because every other day I had to ion about my essay, new ideas came to myself as open-minded. I am a little bit
became a loyal reader of The Jerusalem check our student forums, not to men- my mind. I began to rethink my ideas like that offline as well, but I am also a
Post, an English-language Israeli newspa- tion the deadlines for our assignments. and to formulate questions that I ought friendly girl, always smiling.
per, which informs readers about the Another good thing was that the to consider for the next assignment. Studying online and reading newspa-
Middle East from an Israeli point of view, other students could comment on my It was something of a surprise that I pers from around the world made me see
of course. Afterwards I had to write a 500- essays. I remember one online forum also learned a good deal about myself dur- the media abroad with new eyes. Now I
word essay about my view of the newspa- in which we discussed the differences ing this online adventure. Like the other try to look farther than my own horizon --
per. Reading The Post, I learned much more between newspapers from the students, I began to develop an online per- which is, after all, what an education is
about Israel’s customs and culture than I Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. sonality during the course. While some supposed to do.
The Bronx Journal/October 2005
REVIEWS A13
Dinner: iyan include the cassava-based grains, fufu
and garri.
Theater. In fact, these young and energetic
dancers can give the mainstream company
ments (kicks) simultaneously took my
breath away and made me want to head
SANKOFA AFRICAN On one September evening, Nigerian-
born Adewale Adebiyi, 37, a loyal patron
a run for its money.
At least, that was my impression after
back to the gym.
Ailey, who died of AIDS in 1989,
RESTAURANT since the restaurant opened, noted that his seeing the dazzling piece, “Escapades formed his troupe in 1958 at the 92nd
2254 Webster Avenue favorite dishes at Sankofa are fufu and
egusi soup, accompanied by fried fish.
(Excerpts),” performed at the Battery Park
Evening Stars concert in September.
Street Y in Manhattan, along with a group
of talented, classically-trained African-
(at East 182nd Street) “The food is excellent,” he said. “That’s Choreographed by Ailey himself and first
Specialties: Kenkey, what makes me come here every day.” danced in 1983, it is a hypnotic, four-part
piece set to music by the legendary jazz
Maxwell Cudjoe, 21, agrees. He gravi-
fufu, egusi, ewedu. tates toward the kenkey, in part because it drummer, Max Roach, and tells of a young
Cost: Very reasonable. reminds him of his childhood in Ghana. couple in love. It begins with a soulful
For those who want to stay with the duet choreographed to music that has a
S
FEMI SOBOWALE tried and true, Sankofa also serves fish bluesy vibe. A male dancer (James A.
The Bronx Journal Reporter such as tilapia and shrimp, Caribbean and Pierce, III) walks onto the stage first and is
continental meals like fried rice, vegetable followed by a young woman (Alia Crutch-
ankofa, a pristine 24-seat restau- salads, and steak, and vegetarian dishes. er). She moves sensuously and shows off
rant, caters primarily to African “We care for our customers’needs by amazingly high leg extensions while he
immigrants in the area. Busy cab preparing delicious food along with the tra- circles around her; throughout, they are
drivers as well as working-class and middle ditional African taste,” says the owner, barely touching, but ever so near.
class residents all flock here for home- Abdoullayi Idrissa, 28. He welcomes both During the second and third parts of
made African meals. African and Caribbean immigrants looking the dance, all 12 members of Ailey II
To the first-time visitor, Sankofa stands for a home away from home, and local vis- weaved on and off stage throughout the
out for its neatness. The décor is simple, itors who might like to try African food for story of the duo. Once again, they exhibit
yet bright, with one white wall and another the first time. ed clean, grand, ballet-like leg extensions
padded with glass. The floors are highly Prices are reasonable, between $7 and and lines.
polished brown marble. $9 for a main dish. The courteous staff con- The only difference between Ailey II
I dined here with my wife and 9-year- tributes to the dining pleasure. By the way, and the original Ailey Dance Theater is a
old son on a recent evening. We ordered Sankofa offers take-out, catering, and even subtle lack of control that is evident when
traditional Nigerian specialties: fufu, a dish has a private reception hall large enough to the dancers are holding positions, but they
made from mashed yams, which we ate accommodate 200. can only get better with experience. How-
ever, what this group lacks in control, it
Dance:
with pepper soup and fish; and my favorite,
the tasty, slightly sour kenkey, made from makes up for with an awesome display of
smashed and fermented cornmeal that is technique, including some first-rate fourth-
wrapped in corn husks and served with a
spicy stew laced with fried fish and red
The Alvin Ailey II position jumps and turns. And throughout
the performance, the troupe maintained its
American dancers. In 1969 he created the
Ailey School and, five years later, Ailey II
pepper. A complete meal for the three of us Company’s high energy level. (also known as the Alvin Ailey Repertory
“Escapades (Excerpts)”
cost an unbelievably reasonable $20, The costumes by Carol Vollet- Ensemble) to help gifted students make the
excluding drinks. (By the way, Sankofa Kingston helped as well. The men wore transition from studio to stage. There is a
does not serve any alcohol, although cus- khaki pants and form-fitting button-down reason that all three continue to thrive
D
tomers are allowed to bring it in if they MELISSA JOHNSON shirts, and the women, red, purple and today. Simply put, it is excellence.
drink it discreetly.) The Bronx Journal Reporter orange tops cut out at the sides and black The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater will be
skirts with deep slits accentuating their at Manhattan’s City Center, 130 West 55th
on’t be fooled into thinking that long legs. As they moved, the dancers Street, from Nov. 30 to January 1. Same-
Ailey II is second string to the seemed to take on a radiant glow. Their day tickets for students are available at the
original Alvin Ailey Dance strength and agility performing high batte- box office.
BRIDGE: An International “Language” Professor Julian Laderman
(Math and Computer Science) is a Life Master of ACBL
JULIAN LADERMAN
NORTH defender’s job will be to keep 4
spades. Suppose the same defender
♠ K532
B
ridge is certainly an interna- has to do both jobs, that is keep 4
tional game. Some interna-
tional events attract players
♥ KQ2 hearts and 4 spades. In this example
East has both jobs. If the declarer
from over 90 different nations. ♦ AQ83 takes his 6 minor suit winners, con-
Sometimes they are all even playing
the same hands. Bidding systems tend
♣ AK sider the situation that faces East.
WEST EAST On the first 5 tricks East can com-
to vary between nations but the rules
♠ 7 ♠ J 10 9 8 6 fortably play his 4 minor suit cards
The eatery, which opened in January of
of the game are basically the same. and a spade but on the 6th trick East
♥ 76 ♥ J 10 9 8
2005, boasts an array of native dishes: sta-
Now consider this hand where must throw one of his 4 hearts or
ples like soya, amala (yam flour), banku (a
any bidding system should land you
♦ 10 9 5 ♦ 72 one of his 4 remaining spades. A
mixture of maize and grated cassava), and
in the same contract. squeeze occurs at trick 6 when a
Opening lead: club jack ♣ J 10 9 7 5 3 2 ♣ 84
tuwo (corn flour) These are usually served
second major suit card is discarded
along with hearty soups such as egusi
Once North recuperated from the SOUTH by East. The fourth heart in declarer
(made from squash, pumpkin or watermel-
surprise that South had enough points and the fourth spade in dummy are
♠ AQ4
on seeds, and often cooked with beef and
to open 1NT, North had an easy time both threat cards.
tomato), ewedu, an okra and peanut stew,
jumping straight to 7NT. After all if
♥ A543 Of course you still will not make
sometimes made with fish, chicken, or
their 1NT range is 16-18 hcp, North is 7NT if East was dealt 4 or more
♦ KJ64
goat, cassava flour, and various seasonings
certain they have at least 37 points. cards in one major and West 4 or
imported from African countries, notably
When South saw the high card
♣Q6 more cards in the other major. But
Ghana and Nigeria.
laden dummy, South was somewhat good bridge is giving yourself all
Meals at Sankofa are prepared with
disappointed. Unfortunately there are three possibilities for making your
Dealer: East
utmost care to ensure the authentic African
only 12 top tricks. There are two contract. See, squeeze plays are not
Neither side is vulnerable
flavors. Modern techniques in food prepa-
obvious ways of winning a 13th trick: always very complicated.
ration are used side by side with traditional
if hearts break 3-3 or spades break 3- If a reader would like to learn
West North East South
methods. For instance, to make the popu-
3. There is also a third possibility: a more about executing squeezes, I
lar staple, iyan, you need to cook the yam
squeeze play. Suppose neither hearts –––– –––– Pass 1NT would recommend the book I wrote,
and then physically pound it, sometimes
nor spades break 3-3, then only one
Pass 7NT Pass Pass A Bridge to Simple Squeezes. It is
for a half hour, into a soft-textured prepara-
defender will have 4 or more hearts.
Pass available through the Sales
tion. Other dishes which accompany soup
This defender’s job will be to keep 4 Department of the American
or stew, and that also share a similarity with
hearts. Likewise, only one defender Contract Bridge League (800-264-
will have 4 or more spades. This 2743).
ROUGH
The Bronx Journal/October 2005
A14 S P O RT S
Riding the Number 4, You
Could Always Count On One
In the world of Xtreme biking,
Thing –The Battery Ladies
BY ULISES GONZALES
Baaaa-aa-att-erries!!!
explosion, like a machine gun, which
I
t was nine a.m. I had to run. To take
the bus, then change to the train, then defined my subway experience. But now,
walk towards school, then jump the this new distended drawl suddenly seemed
stairs. Life means moving, at least here in like an amazing selling tactic.
this city. On hearing that drawn-out voice, I
Some time ago, on a nice morning in would jolt into the present, surprised, and
June, I was on a train reading an article turn toward the end of the subway car,
about a young couple moving from the where the voice was booming from. And I
Midwest to an ecological experiment with- would glance at the people sitting around
in New York State. The writer was defend- me. I wasn’t the only one jolted awake.
ing the concept of New York City as the Other passengers looked as surprised as I.
perfect design for a city, because so many But the selling tactic was working, and the
of its services are concentrated in a very battery woman was getting riders’ attention.
small area. Then, pushing her way through a crowd
He wrote about the big parks designed of arms, legs, briefcases, and strollers, the
within – green areas where citizens enjoy heroic seller emerged, issuing her “battle
the days walking or biking, as if they were cry.” She was a small woman. Hanging
in the country. (But I am sorry to say that from her hands were dozens of batteries
this is not the case here in the Bronx. I tried encased in two long plastic strips. She
hard to enjoy myself a few weeks ago in looked Mexican, and she looked tired. Later
Van Cortland Park, but I could not put out I asked her name: Maria from
of my mind how dirty it was, how aban- Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. She kept smil-
doned it felt, and how different from ing as she advanced. Do these baa-a-tter-ies
Brooklyn’s Prospect or Manhattan’s Central last longer? I wondered. And will my music
Parks.) But that writer wrote that in a city play as slowly as this battery lady sounds
—as though the battery’s life were running Photo: Ulises Gonzales
where you do not need a car because you
down? I decided to try her wares. I bought “I was a crazy kid,” says Jovel, “always going home with a broken arm.”
can go almost everywhere using the
“combo” of buses and trains, you are saving two batteries for a buck. The same price as
ANNIKA HARRIS/JOSELIN PICHARDO
an incredible amount of energy. usual. Still a good deal. And she left me
The Bronx Journal Reporters
with a grateful, but probably fake, seller’s
smile, advancing, irrevocably, towards the
H
next car. e flies through the air with the greatest of ease –
Pushing her way A few days later I moved to the Bronx.
I stopped taking the train from Brooklyn.
sailing off concrete ramps, doing back and front
through a crowd of Now, sometimes, I take the bus. But there flips, 360-degree turns, and pop-o-wheelies on a
are no battery sellers on buses. And when I small bicycle. In the world of extreme bikers, they call him
arms, legs, briefcases, take a train, usually towards Manhattan, I
realize how many passengers have switched The Bronx Bomber, and for good reason.
and strollers, from CD players to MP3s and iPods, which,
of course, need to be recharged at home.
“I was a crazy kid who was always going home with a broken arm and telling Mom,
‘Oh, Mom, I fell off a tree or a balcony’ – or someplace,” said the biker, Jorge Jovel,
the heroic seller I realize now, as I am writing this piece,
that the machine-gun selling technique is a
while sitting in Mullaly Skate Park on River Avenue one recent afternoon.
Like other children, Jovel was a risk-taker. He was not afraid of falling. But unlike
emerged, issuing her thing of the past. Did those staccato sellers
move to, say, another train? Perhaps the N,
most kids who turn cautious as they become adults, Jovel has made a career out of risk-
taking. Today, this Bronx resident is an award-winning professional BMX rider who
“battle cry.” the R, the A, or the 1? Or was the new style
so effective that every other battery seller
placed in the Vans Triple Crown in North Carolina and won the King of New York
Competition every year from 1997 to 2004.
simply copied it? Will subway historians But don’t think Jovel is just another extreme sports athlete. Now 25, he has had to
somehow remember this sunny day in June face numerous personal challenges throughout his short lifetime. Some of them cen-
I was concentrating on this “Why-I- when a Guatemalan entrepreneur changed tered on his emigration to the United States from Honduras when he was ten, along
love-New-York” article, happily riding the the traditional way of selling batteries in the with his mother, Freda Medrano, now 47, and his sister, Claudia, 24. The move was
Number 4 train from Brooklyn all the way subway? difficult for young Jorge, first because his parents were separating – he remains close
to the Bronx, when, all of a sudden, I heard Perhaps, if the MP3 trend does not send to his father – and next, because he did not know he was moving to the Bronx; he sim-
that piercing sound: Baaa-tttteee-riiiiiiiies. all the battery ladies (and the occasional ply thought the family was going to New York to visit his aunt.
As a frequent rider of the subway for gent as well) into early retirement, one day, Jovel’s first day of school was complicated, too, mostly because his teacher was
more than five years, I was accustomed to as you ride the train, you, too, will hear unaware that he did not speak English. “That first day I didn’t understand what she was
these people selling two batteries for a dol- Maria’s voice calling out: Baaa-ttttee-rrrii- telling me,” he said. “So she starts screaming at me, and the girl sitting next to me asked
lar. And in that pre-iPod era, when I could iies. Perhaps you will wince at her slow cry if I spoke English, and I said no. Afterwards the teacher apologized.”
not leave home without my CD player and as she bursts forth from one car into the She need not have worried about Jovel. He learned the language in three months,
three or four CDs for the day, I was a regu- next. And maybe you, too, will buy her and by the end of third grade at CES 163 on Webster Avenue and 180th Street, he
lar customer. The sound – “batteriesonedol- wares – two batteries for a dollar – and earned the best English scores in school. “ I was an A student and a teacher’s pet,” he
lar-batteriesonedollar-batteriesonedollar” share with me this odd, only-in-New-York says – at least until his last year of junior high, when his mother’s new husband, who
– had always been an unavoidable staccato subway experience. was also the family’s sponsor for citizenship, suddenly abandoned them. “My mom
was crying all the time. She was depressed, and it was bothering us too,” said Jovel.
RIDER
The Bronx Journal/October 2005
SPORTS A15
they call the daredevil, Jorge Jovel, “The Bronx Bomber.”
Jovel attended Gompers High School for a
short time but soon transferred because of
what he describes as “horrible” and unsafe
conditions there. At Manhattan Center for
Science and Math, he enjoyed drawing and
making inventions. After the turmoil at
Gompers, it took him a while to learn to
concentrate on his studies. Luckily, a smart
and studious friend, Rob Luciano, now an
engineer, helped him enroll in after-school
leadership activities and also the GE
Scholars Program.
Although Jovel was a good student, his
immigration status prevented him from
attending college. First of all, he was not yet
a United States resident and so could not
receive financial aid; moreover, he felt an
obligation to help his mother financially. “I
couldn’t really afford college,” he said.
Still, he applied to City College and
was accepted. He planned to study archi-
tecture, but after graduation took a con-
struction job instead, putting up with ten-
hour days for $50 each to help his mother
out. When he could, he biked.
Not even a shattered
wrist could keep
Jovel away from
those gravity-defying
flips and turns.
“It’s like
an addiction,”
he says.
Photo: Ulises Gonzales
“You start riding a bicycle,” says Jovel, at Mullaly Skate Park, above, “and you want to learn more and more things.”
Jovel’s cousin Maurisio had introduced
met Jeff Jones from Hell on Wheels and tion was not that bad,” said Jovel. opening. He plans to travel to Honduras for
Jovel to bicycle riding when they were boys
started doing shows for him.” This time he was wrong. It was a diffi- the first time in 17 years. He also wants to
back in Honduras. “Maurisio was pretty
Soon, Jovel stopped working a regular cult injury to fix. Even after wearing a cast compete in Europe. And finally, he can talk
good at doing tricks like jumping over kids
job and focused on performing at bike for four months and having physical thera- seriously to BMX sponsors. “Now I have
in the neighborhood. He was having so
shows, where he could earn $250 and up for py, the wrist refused to heal. Jovel eventu- no excuse for anything,” he said.
much fun doing it,” said Jovel.
an appearance. “Shows are a set amount,” ally required a bone graft in which doctors In the next year, Jovel also hopes to
But in the Bronx, Jovel had to give up
he explains. “Then, if you make a big name took bone from his hip and inserted it into enter more competitions. He wants to ride
riding. “I did not have a bike, and we were
for yourself, companies see this, and they his wrist. He wore a cast for four more in the X-Games and plans to move to an
still not settled in,” he said. Even so, at 15
pay you accordingly – anything from free months. Worse, he was unable to compete extreme sports camp in Woodward,
he got a job in a local bike shop. “But after
products to $300,000 a year, even millions for more than a year. “Afterwards I was Pennsylvania, where he can perfect his
two months, I was fired when my boss
if your name is worth that much.” going through recovery and trying to get skills. One day he would also like to start a
asked for my social [security card]. He
Yet for a long time Jovel felt hamstrung. my mind back into it because,” he said, clothing company or business allowing
cursed me out and told me I could go to
Without a green card, he was forbidden to “you start to get scared, and you start doubt- him to design or invent things.
jail” for working illegally.
travel out of the country, and so competing ing yourself.” Meanwhile, he says, being a biker has
Jovel began riding seriously at age 16.
in Europe was out of the question. Not hav- Jovel has not competed in any big con- its perks, such as flocks of female fans who,
Soon he was gung-ho. “You start riding a
ing papers, he said, “put some limits on me, tests since his injury. “I am the team man- he said, “treat you like a rock star.” Even so,
bicycle and you want to learn more and
but it hasn’t stopped me. If anything, it ager for the company I work for and make he has recently met a woman and they are in
more things,” he said. “And then you start
makes me try harder.” about $300 a day,” he said. He has also been a serious relationship.
getting better, and, especially if you do
Last year something else altogether working as a driver, delivering products to For Jovel, BMX riding has become a
shows, you want to entertain the people.”
slowed him down. At a show after the Vans Pathmark and Waldbaum’s. “I like to work lifestyle. “I’m into anything extreme,” he
By 19, he received a work permit and
Competition, Jovel was doing a trick and hard,” he added. “And my supervisor saw said. “I like speed, I like wheels, I like
tried to juggle a full-time construction gig
landed on his right wrist, breaking it. He that and said he wanted to make me his going fast. I like jumping, being in the air.
and riding. “I set up ramps for a company
knew he needed surgery but kept riding. assistant.” Anything that gets my adrenaline going.”
and rode for free just so they could see what
“I’ve done things with broken toes and Recently Jovel received his green card. He paused, fumbling for words. “It’s like --
I could do,” says Jovel. “Through that, I
sprained ankles, so I figured that my situa- Already, he feels, doors of opportunity are how can I explain it? It’s like an addiction.”
ROUGH RIDER
DAREDEVIL BIKER
JORGE JOVEL SAYS:
“I’m into anything Xtreme. I like
speed, I like wheels, I like going
PHOTO: ERIK CANTRE
fast…. It’s an addiction.”
Story on pages A 14&A15