City Island News BX: Which Pols are the Biggest Elected Turkeys?

City Island News BX: Which Pols are the Biggest Elected Turkeys?: Which Pols are the Biggest Elected Turkeys? 100 PERCENT By Robert Press 1st Annual Turkey Awards BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMB...

Which Pols are the Biggest Elected Turkeys?

Which Pols are the Biggest Elected Turkeys?

100 PERCENT

By Robert Press

1st Annual Turkey Awards

BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 4- Just like many elected officials gave out turkeys last week, I am going to give my 1st Annual Turkey Awards to some elected officials. 

My first Turkey Award goes to all those Republican elected and party officials who did not believe in their candidate for governor Rob Astorino. Each and everyone of you deserve to get a Turkey Award. It reminds me of those turkeys on the other side of the isle who wrote off Bill Thompson in the 2009 Mayor's race. Both races were much closer then thought, and with a little more help from their own party who knows? However ,when he first came to the Bronx I asked candidate Astorino if he was running just to help get a Republican State Senate. Well Astorino lost and the Republicans won the state senate outright. Makes you kind of wonder if I was right.

The next and last Turkey Award goes to that big Turkey who runs New Jersey. What kind of deal did he make with Andrew Cuomo? Was it the Sargent Schultz attitude Cuomo took of 'I Know Nothing, I See Nothing, I Hear Nothing' when it came to Bridge-gate that got him Republican N.J. Governor Chris Christe's support? Or should I say lack of support for Cuomo's Republican opponent Rob Astorino.

It seems that Mayor Bill de Blasio turns to his Deputy Mayors when something happens for advice. Deputy Mayors are also at press conferences with commissioners and the mayor. Al Sharpton was with the mayor and police commissioner at a press conference, and Mayor De Blasio has defended Al Sharpton in his matters with the IRS and his wife's Chief of Staff woes. De Blasio even has said that he asks Sharpton for advice at times, so just when is Mayor Bill de Blasio going to name Al Sharpton a Deputy Mayor?

Back in the Bronx – It is party time no matter which party you belong to. On Sunday December 7th, The Bronx Conservative Party is hosting their Annual Holiday Party. The location is Spoto's Restaurant 4005 East Tremont Ave (in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx), and it will take place from 2 – 7 p.m. Bronx Conservative Party Chairman William Newmark always has a very interesting event including the delicious food. There is a $25 admission fee per person here, but one never knows just who may drop in.

On Wednesday, December 17th, The Bronx Democratic County Committee, Chairman Assemblyman Carl E. Heastie, and the Bronx Young Democrats are hosting their 2014 Holiday Celebration at the UFT Bronx Headquarters located at 2500 Halsey Avenue from 6 – 9 p.m. This event is free and open to all Bronx residents. You can call (347) 281-9757 for more information.

This past Sunday Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj celebrated the 102 years of Albanian Independence. This is very special to the first Albanian elected official in New York State. Hundreds of Albanians and others were on hand at Maestro's to celebrate their allegiance. America their new home, and to Albania the land they or their forefathers immigrated from. It was great to hear both National anthems, and see the dedication of tho Albanian-Americans to both countries.

Some others on hand were Senator Jeff Klein who spoke of how Assemblyman Gjonaj has improved the standard of living in the Pelham Parkway area of the 80th A.D. since being elected. I kidded Senator Klein that it was his old assembly district, and Senator Klein said that was a long time ago. 

Assemblyman Mike Benedetto also had only praise for Assemblyman Gjonaj, and the Albanian community. 32BJ, the service workers union comprised of 145,000 members of which 20,000 are Albanians received a citation from Assemblyman Gjonaj for their work in the Albanian communities of the Bronx and Staten Island. The Bronx Jewish Community Council received a citation also from Assemblyman Gjonaj for its food pantry that services over 400 area residents including over 100 Albanians, and that shocked Gjonaj. 

The third and last citation from Assemblyman Gjonaj was to Mr. Zeqir Kukaj. Mr. Kukaj was one of the first people who immigrated to the Bronx from Albania. He helped set up what is now the Bronx Albanian community. Assemblyman Gjonaj said to Zeqir, “Without you this could not have been possible.” You can go to my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com to read more about the 102nd Celebration of Albanian Independence Mark Gjonaj style. There are some real good stories that I did not have room for in this column about the upcoming political year and beyond you may want to read. By the way, the food at Maestro's was delicious as usual.

If you have any political news that you would like to share, have any comments about this column, or have an event that you would like to have listed or covered in this column or on my blog you can e-mail us at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press.

City Island News BX: Biblical Beatdown

City Island News BX: Biblical Beatdown: Biblical Beatdown Man Beats Friend to Death After Coming from Church By David Greene BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 3- Police a...

Biblical Beatdown

Biblical Beatdown

Man Beats Friend to Death After Coming from Church

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 3- Police are looking for a dapper gunman with one drooping-eyelid and his two cohorts, who calmly waited for the gunman to take a haircut— before they robbed the joint and ran away with the shop’s cash register.

Cops were called to the Alante Barber Shop on Westchester Avenue in the Longwood section at just before 10 p.m. on November 29.

Police say that after getting his haircut the man produced a gun and the suspects preceded to rob the other customers, before fleeing down the street with the shops cash register.

Police say no shots were fired and no injuries were reported.

Detectives quickly pulled surveillance camera video that they would release to the media.

As quickly as police obtained the video, police identified the gunman as Ramael Pierson, 24, and would release a police mug shot of him from a 2008 arrest.

In the photo Pierson's left eye is nearly shut, possibly a medical condition as no swelling is evident.

Police could not immediately say if a witness identified Pierson or from facial recognition software now used daily by the NYPD.

Attempts to reach the shop owner were unsuccessful.

Police have asked anyone who has any information on the trio to call CRIMESTOPPERS at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls remain confidential.

City Island News BX: What do you know about Thanksgiving?

City Island News BX: What do you know about Thanksgiving?: What do you know about Thanksgiving? Community Board News N’ Views By Father Richard F. Gorman Chairman Community Bo...

What do you know about Thanksgiving?

What do you know about Thanksgiving?

Community Board

News N’ Views

By

Father Richard F. Gorman

Chairman

Community Board #12 (The Bronx)

BRONX, NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 26- Thanksgiving is truly an American holiday. It originated in the New World. Even before it became a national holiday established by law, generations of Americans celebrated a day of thanksgiving for blessings received. Americans, despite diversity in faith traditions, racial and ethnic background, economic status, gender, age, or physical and mental condition uniformly anticipate and celebrate Thanksgiving Day.

One could suppose, then, that Americans know all that is fact about Thanksgiving. Do they? How about you, neighbors and friends? For example, do you know any or all of the following …

• The first Thanksgiving Day was held in the Autumn of 1621, included 50 Pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag Indians, and lasted three days. Many historians believe that only five women were present at that first Thanksgiving, as many women settlers didn't survive that difficult first year in the New World. 

• Thanksgiving didn't become a national holiday until over 200 years later. Sarah Josepha Hale, the woman who actually wrote the classic song “Mary Had a Little Lamb” convinced President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, after writing letters for 17 years campaigning for this to happen.

• Historians say that no turkey was served at the first Thanksgiving. What was on the menu? Deer or venison, ducks, geese, oysters, lobster, eel and fish were. They probably ate pumpkins, but no pumpkin pies. They also did not eat mashed potatoes or cranberry relish, but they probably ate cranberries. There were no “Turduckens”  --  i.e., a turkey stuffed with a duck that is stuffed with a chicken. These were nowhere to be found during that first Thanksgiving.

• The first Thanksgiving was eaten with spoons and knives, but no forks! Forks were not even introduced to the Pilgrims until 10 years later and were not a popular utensil until the eighteenth century. The Pilgrims, prior to utilizing forks, did use their fingers, however.

• Thanksgiving is the reason for T.V. dinners. In 1953, Swanson had so much extra turkey  --  260 tons  --  that a salesman told them they should package it onto aluminum trays with other sides like sweet potatoes. Ergo, the first T.V. dinner was born!

• Thanksgiving was almost a fast and not a feast! The early settlers gave thanks by praying and abstaining from food, which is what they planned on doing to celebrate their first harvest, that is, until the Wampanoag Indians joined them and  --  lucky for us!   --  turned their fast into a three-day feast!

• Each year, the President of the United States pardons a turkey and spares it from being eaten for Thanksgiving dinner. The first turkey pardon ceremony started with President Harry S. Truman in1947.

• Why is Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November? President Abraham Lincoln said Thanksgiving would be the fourth Thursday in November, but, in 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt moved it up a week hoping it would help improve the Christmas shopping season and spur the economy during the Depression era. It never caught on and it was changed back two years later.

• The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924 with 400 employees marching from Convent Ave to 145^TH  Street in New York City.  No large balloons were at this parade, as it featured only live animals from Central Park Zoo.
• Turkey is not responsible for drowsiness or the dreaded "food coma." Scientists say that extra glass of wine, the high-calorie meal or relaxing after a busy work schedule is what makes one drowsy!

• How did the tradition of watching football on Thanksgiving start? The National Football League started the Thanksgiving Classic Games in 1920 and, since then, the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys have hosted games on Turkey Day. In 2006, a third game was added with different teams hosting.

• Wild turkeys can run 20 miles per hour when they are scared, but domesticated turkeys are bred are heavier and cannot run quite that fast.

• Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird of the United States instead of the eagle.

• Americans eat 46,000,000 turkeys each Thanksgiving.

• Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's first meal in space after walking on the moon was foil packets with roasted turkey.

• The heaviest turkey on record, according to the Guinness Book of Records, weighed 86 pounds.

• Californians consume the most turkey in the United States on Thanksgiving Day!
• Female turkeys, called “hens,” do not gobble. Only male turkeys gobble.

• The average turkey for Thanksgiving weighs 15 pounds.

• Campbell's soup created green bean casserole for an annual cookbook 50 years ago. It now sells $20 million worth of cream of mushroom soup.

So how many of these pearls of wisdom did you know?  Regardless of your expertise in Thanksgiving Day trivia, there is one most important thing that all of us know-- viz., that the need for and the origin of Thanksgiving Day both spring from a common yearning to acknowledge God’s loving goodness and His munificent generosity to us. Join me, then, fulfilling this need rooted in the very core of our being by praying these words, taken from the Preface of the Roman Catholic Mass for Thanksgiving Day:

Father, all-powerful and ever-living God,

we do well always and everywhere to give You thanks.

We acknowledge You as the Lord of all Nations,

the Creator of land, and sea, and sky,

the Source of the wonders of nature and salvation.

Through Your Word You called all things into being,

that You might bestow on us Your love

reflected in the vastness of the universe

and the bounty of this earth.

You placed creation in our care,

yet You alone sustain all life with the gentle dew of Your Word

and the life-giving breath of Your Spirit.

Your gifts of nature have not exhausted Your goodness,

for the fullness of Your love is revealed by the imparting

of the manifold gifts of Your Grace.

Our hearts are moved to thankful praise,

and so we join the choirs of angels and saints

in proclaiming Your glory.

Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving! See you after the feast!

City Island News BX: ‘Blood’ in the Streets Over Ferguson

City Island News BX: ‘Blood’ in the Streets Over Ferguson: ‘Blood’ in the Streets Over Ferguson (Photojournalist Ken Murray is soaked in red paint aimed for Police Commissioner Bill Bratton--Pho...