Winner of Vol. 72, No. 18
What’s inside?
Thursday, June 10, 2021
n Bicycle lanes, shared lane markings on way despite CB8, neighbor opposition rbrennan@riverdalepress.com
How do you feel secure in a place like Van Cortlandt Village? It all starts with the streets. Page A10
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DOT takes the ‘fast lane’ on Mosholu Ave By ROSE BRENNAN
Street safety
the Pulitzer Prize
Ideally, community boards and city agencies are supposed to work in tandem to optimize the quality of life for people who call a neighborhood home. But sometimes, the city agency reminds the community board its input is only advisory, and ultimately it can decide to just do what it wants. That appears to be the case for new traffic calming measures coming to Mosholu Avenue. These include shared lane markings between West 254th and West 256th streets, as well as on West 254th between Mosholu and Riverdale avenues. Also included are wayfinding signage for cyclists heading to Van Cortlandt Park, curb exten-
sions on Mosholu and Liebig avenues, and bicycle lanes between Broadway and West 256th. One would be hard-pressed to find someone against making a street safer. But many who live, work and travel through this part of the neighborhood feel bike lanes shouldn’t be part of such a plan. Particularly on Mosholu. DOT first proposed the measures in 2019, but any implementation was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. But as vaccination rates increase and coronavirus cases almost all but disappear, city officials are poised to revisit some of the projects they were forced to abandon during the public health crisis. But even a year or more down the line, some who live within the confines of Community Board 8 still haven’t warmed up to the idea of bike lanes on Mosholu. And they made their feelings abundantly clear to Bronx DOT commissioner Nivardo Lopez at last month’s traffic and transportaMOSHOLU, page A4
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
Mosholu Avenue will soon be home to another set of bicycle lanes in the community. But they aren’t coming without vocal opposition, as many neighborhood leaders decried the installation, claiming their concerns were ultimately ignored by the city’s transportation department.
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, Love leaves a memory no one can steal
Bronx boss It won’t be long before voters select the next borough president. But is anyone a shooin at this point? Page A11
Art of the ideal Art Chang says he’s ready to lead City Hall. For him, being mayor is something he’s worked for all his life without even realizing. Page A3
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
Pat Connaire painted a shamrock on West 260th Street near Delafield Avenue in memory of two neighbors, Rob Henry and Jimmy Becker. The shamrock painting is a tradition more than 50 years old meant to honor late loved ones in Riverdale and Kingsbridge.
Friends remembered with street clover painting n Pat Connaire continues 50-year tradition paying tribute to lost friends like Rob Henry and Jimmy Becker By BRENDAN O’SULLIVAN Intern
E
very year around St Patrick’s Day, a large shamrock appears on the pavement at the corner of West 231st Street and Kingsbridge Avenue. No, its sudden formation isn’t a magical apparition created through the luck of the Irish. Instead, it’s part of a
tradition that’s more than a half-century old, continued by Pat Connaire to memorialize Kingsbridge residents who recently died. Yet, it’s a tradition that has once again found its way to North Riverdale in recent weeks. And it’s all because of the passing of Rob Henry and Jimmy Becker. Connaire painted a shamrock on West 260th Street near Delafield Avenue, looking to provide some solace for the families and friends of the two men. “It’s a meeting place for everybody,” Connaire said. “It’s almost like church. People go in there and you get some kind of feeling. It’s like closure.” While this shamrock painting tradition may have originated in Kingsbridge, Connaire has brought it to
North Riverdale. And he’s expanded it beyond just St. Patrick’s Day — now, he paints a clover whenever he deems it important to mark events, like deaths, throughout the greater Kingsbridge and Riverdale area. But the shamrocks — especially the one on West 260th — are hardly a one-man job. Mary-Anne Connaughton, owner of Mary-Anne’s Irish Gift Shop on Riverdale Avenue, visited the spot just blocks from her store to draw the shamrock’s outline. From there, Connaire invited some family members and friends of Henry and Becker to participate in actually painting the clover. Its green interior is accentuated with a yellow and white outline. SHAMROCK, page A4
Framing business returns after awful ceiling collapse n Rescued from the rubble, Nohad and Samia Jourdy vowed to reopen storefront By BRENDAN O’SULLIVAN Intern
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
Nohad Jourdy, co-owner of Picture Perfect Frames on West 231st Street, works on a customer’s order in the back of the newly reopened store. The store’s ceiling collapsed on Jourdy and his wife, Samia, last November, shutting down the business.
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The months were long as they gathered permits and waited for construction to finally finish. But just before Memorial Day the wait was over. Nohad and Samia Jourdy reopened Picture Perfect Frames on West 231st Street. And this time its ceiling is perfectly in-
tact — unlike what happened last November when it collapsed with the two of them inside. “It’s good to come back for business,” Samia said. “It feels good.” It was a typical Monday when the couple arrived at their family-owned business in Kingsbridge last year. Nohad focused on the front of the store, while Samia took on her usual work station in the back. But all of that changed later in the afternoon, and in a matter of seconds. The store’s ceiling collapsed, burying Nohad and Samia, screaming for help in what became total darkness. CEILING, page A4