Bronx Zoo to take down Skyfari

Bronx Zoo to take down Skyfari

BY BOB KAPPSTATTER
DAILY NEWS BRONX BUREAU CHIEF

Saturday, January 24th 2009, 4:00 AM
The Bronx Zoo has announced they plan to take down the hard-to-maintain Skyfari.

The Bronx Zoo has announced they plan to take down the hard-to-maintain Skyfari.

The Bronx Zoo’s Skyfari air tram, which stranded dozens of people for hours last year, has been permanently grounded, zoo officials said Friday.

But they insisted the decision to send it to the scrap heap was purely financial, saying the seasonal ride was getting too expensive to maintain.
READ MORE…[NYDN]

BX. POL STEERS $1.5M TO NEPHEW’S SCHOOL

BX. POL STEERS $1.5M TO NEPHEW’S SCHOOL – New York Post

BX. POL STEERS $1.5M TO NEPHEW’S SCHOOLBy DAVID SEIFMAN

Posted: 3:44 am
July 6, 2008

A BRONX legislator under scrutiny for channeling $82,000 last year to a group that had ties to her relatives has allocated $1.5 million in capital funds this year to a charter school where her nephew is chairman of the board.

Records show that City Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo directed the money to the 3-year-old South Bronx Charter School for International Cultures and Arts, founded by her nephew Richard Izquierdo.

Arroyo vigorously defended her actions – and was backed by council officials.

“It’s an incredible program in a school district in desperate need of quality education,” she said.

Arroyo said the funds would be combined with a $1.5 million grant from Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion so the highly rated school could relocate from three locations to its own building next year.

Izquierdo isn’t just Arroyo’s nephew. He’s also treasurer of her 2009 re-election campaign and chief of staff to Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo, the councilwoman’s mother.

“It’s not a conflict with the state rules,” Arroyo, the daughter, pointed out.

“He is a hardworking leader in this community. He’s dedicated his time and energy. He should be supported.”

She stressed that Izquierdo isn’t getting paid for either his school or campaign duties.

Council officials said Arroyo went beyond the requirements of new disclosure rules by notifying the council’s legal office of her family connection. The rules only apply to immediate blood relatives, such as spouses and children.

Arroyo took some heat for sending discretionary funds last year to the South Bronx Community Corp., which had once employed her and where her sister, Iris, and her nephew, Izquierdo, had both worked.

Arroyo insisted neither was receiving a salary at the time the grant was issued, despite reports that Iris Arroyo had served as the agency’s fiscal officer as late as February 2007.

Veteran government watchdog Gene Russianoff said that “legally and technically” Arroyo acted properly.

But he added: “The appearance is dicey. There are a lot of connections. Given the public furor over this [council member], you would expect greater sensitivity.”

david.seifman@nypost.com