Samuel J. Gompers High School

Environment/Home/Housing

Tempers flare at Community Board 1

By Joe Hirsch, video by Anika Anand / February 24, 2012

A heated war of words erupted at Community Board 1′s February meeting as protesters shouted down a developer and a city housing official’s efforts to explain the city’s plans to construct Crossroads Plaza.

The board voted to approve the city’s request for a zoning change that would allow the three-building complex to be built at the corner of 149th Street and Southern Boulevard, but had to do so over the catcalls, jeers and sometimes profane objections of some 30 protesters who had cleared the lot of debris and turned it into the Morning Glory Garden.

Arts/Culture/Environment/Government/Politics/Home/Immigration

Schools struggle with language barriers

By By Patricia Rey Mallén / February 17, 2012

The “No Child Left Behind” Act, established by the Bush administration in 2002, stated that all students should have equal access to a high quality education. But in the Bronx, where the number of residents who speak English “not well” or “not at all” has risen by about 15 percent to over 312,000 since 1990, language is a significant barrier to achieving that goal.