Germs on the MTA buses and trains

With the weather reaching below zero degrees, people are not prepared for the cold and getting sick. As a commuter I take the MTA bus everyday to get to school and it is a germ breeding ground. As gross as it may sound people sneeze and cough without covering their mouths. I have also seen dirty tissues and people hacking up mucus on the bus with crowd in it!!!!!! I thought it would be helpful to give the readers a couple of tips on how to avoid catching germs from the MTA buses and subways:

1. Carry hand sanitizer with you and apply after touching railings or poles.
2. Cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough with the inside of your arm.
3. Avoid sitting next to people who are excessively sneezing, coughing, and who appear to be ill.
4. Drink vitamin C to boost your immune system. 

It's Christmas Time!!!!

The weather is chilly, the wind is nipping out your nose, children are preparing their Christmas lists, and the Bronx is filled with lights. Every corner you turn in the Bronx has a house decorated with lights and Christmas figures. One house in particular is famous in the Bronx for its extravagant lights and decorations. The house is located in the Pelham Bay area of the Bronx. The decorations include 50,000 miniature light bulbs and 40 500-watt halogen lamps. The Garabedian  family owns the house and first started decorating it in 1973. The family keeps a small donation box outside of the gates that surround the house for anyone who would like to make a small donation for the holidays. 


I visit the display every year during the holidays since I was six years old =)

Ivy League Kids Got That Stuff to Pass.....

One would think that Columbia University is a college of excellence and prestige. But this was not the case when news hit the media that the university located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City had five (one is not featured in the picture on the right) of its students busted in a drug raid. The students were dealing the drugs out of frat houses and dorms located on the campus. Since July they had sold an estimated amount of about 11, 000 dollars in sales of LSD, Cocaine, Ecstasy, Marijuana, and a number of other drugs. The drug ring was named, "Operation Ivy League", they were arraigned at the Manhattan Criminal Court Tuesday morning. Their bail was set from 25,000 to 75,000 dollars. The following are names and descriptions of those individuals who were detained:

Michael Wymbs, 22 was the former vice president of student council in the engineering school.
Harrison David, 20 was an engineering student and salutatorian from his high school.
Adam Klein, 20 is neuroscience major and part of the fencing team.
Jose Stephan Perez aka Stephan Vincenzo, 20 who was a Gate millennium scholar in which Bill Gates pays for your entire four years of schooling,

The students sold the drugs out of frat houses for some frats such as Alpha Epilson Phi, Pi Kappa Alpha, and Psi Upilson.

They went so far as to applying LSD into Altoid mints and Sweet tart candies.

RIP Londell Byrd

On December 4th  at 4pm in the Sound view section of the Bronx Londell Byrd, a senior at Mount Saint Michael High School who had received a scholarship to attend Pace University in the fall was approached by an individual. Jimmy Delgado had an argument with Londell the day before and approached Londell to "squash" the beef (a slang term for problems with others). As the two started talking they began arguing again and Jimmy pulled out a gun fired into the crowd. The crowd immediately ran in different directions and Londell was left shot three times point-blank in the chest. Londell was taken to Jacobi Medical Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Londell was his mother's only son with a promising future. My brother attended school with Londell and said he was not only a star athlete but a laid back kid who never had problems with anyone. The saddest part of this story is the fact that Jimmy had just been released from jail recently before this tragedy took place. Incidents such as this happen all the time because tempers get out of control and todays youth believes that violence will resolve their problems.

Violence only led to two young lives being lost in this tragedy, one may his soul rest in peace and the other may he find the right path to life in a jail cell.    

Maritime!!!!!!! A gift by the sea

In Throggs Neck there is a navel base called Maritime College, which is located right off the Long Island Sound. If your ever driving on the Throggs Neck Bridge take a look at it!!!!!!!! It is a beautiful scene to see during any season. I usually go bike riding in the spring and summer but in the fall and winter I like to go take pictures on the campus and by the sound.

The public is allowed to go onto the campus but you must be screened by security first. There is also a small museum dedicating to the navy and its efforts through out the entire world.

I went this past weekend and took a couple of photos, but I suggest going whether it is with friends, family, your better half or alone =)

MP Vs. TN Blvd

While I was a student at Preston high school there was always a rival between kids who lived in Throggs Neck and Morris Park. I could not understand why there would be a rival between the two neighborhoods when most of the kids hung out with each other. I decided to ask around to see what the real "beef" was between these two "hoods". I decided to ask my best friend who has lived in Morris Park her entire life and she said,

"Oh yeah, there's always been a rival between MP and TN. Its like the battle of the egos, like whose better, tougher, and has the prettiest girls. You have to understand that their two different ethnic groups too. MP is dominated by the Italians and TN has the Irish. I personally think the rivalry is dumb because we all hang out with each other and you even have people dating each other from the opposing side."

She had a point, I mean in high school I dated a guy from Morris Park and there was no problem with what neighborhood we were from. Recently the rivalry has calmed down but I believe it to be very interesting that two different neighborhoods on opposite sides of the Bronx would have a "war" with each other to see who "runs" the Bronx.

I say that neither one of them runs the Bronx, its CASTLE HILL of course, but thats just my opinion!

Possums, Raccoons, Oh My!

Since last year, the Throggs Neck Community has had a serious problem with raccoons and possums. Not only have the animals decided to make this their home but they have also decided to raid the trash cans and even come out during the day. This is a serious problem because it can be a possibility that they have rabies and other diseases. Animal control has been notified numerous times to remove the animals but the problem is so large that they cannot remove them entirely in a short amount of time.

I believe this is the cause of the large field by the Whitestone bridge that is being cleared in order to construct a  golf course. This project was started in 2002 and has yet to be completed. The raccoon and possum problem need to be dealt with before someone is attacked or bitten by these animals. If the golf is not going to be built then the field should fumigated and closed off to the public.This would also help with the young teens who sneak into the field to smoke mariguana.