The experimental Bx12 Select Bus Service that runs between upper Manhattan and the Bronx has been a big hit according to New York City Transit, with a trip from end to end on the route taking an average 12 minutes less time than before. (One transportation advocate says her average 65 minute commute has been cut to 48 minutes.) You'll recall that the route now features more buses (up to ten more during peak hours)......

Hart Island is one of those places in New York that many won't ever see. Part of the Bronx, it's currently uninhabited, but in the past has been used as a prisoner of war camp, a missile base and has housed a prison and a women's asylum. Richard Nickel Jr. of The Kingston Lounge recently snuck on to the patrolled island (for five hours starting at the creepy hour of 4 a.m.), a risk since......

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg and other city officials unveiled the newly renovated access path between Highbridge Park and the High Bridge in Manhattan. The $4.2 million project (which included a new pathway and restored iron stairway between the bridge and a water tower) is part of a $60 million plan to restore the High Bridge as part of Bloomberg's PlaNYC initiative. The Mayor said, "I’d like to think that the High Bridge will do for uptown......

35-year-old Marlon Smith, who was allegedly beaten, pistol whipped and maced by two off-duty female cops during a road rage incident in the Bronx on August 15th, says he's suing the city for $25 million. According to a witness, the altercation was sparked when Kollen Robinson, 24, and Michelle Anglin, 37, yelled at Smith to close his car door so they could pass by in Robinson's SUV. An exchange of insults quickly became physical, with......

It's been a heartbreaking week for Rafael Sanz. His pregnant wife, traffic agent Donnette Sanz, was hit by an out-of-control van and was pinned under a school bus on a Bronx street. She died, but doctors delivered their 2-months premature baby boy. Unfortunately, the baby lost his fight a week later and Sanz told the Daily News that doctors weren't optimistic, so he took the baby off the respirator "to end his pain." Donnette Sanz's......

Rafael Sanz lost his wife last week, and yesterday, he lost his newborn son: Baby Sean Michael Justin Sanz, born two months premature after his mother was hit by an out-of-control van on August 14, died around 1 p.m. Mayor Bloomberg said, "Our hearts and prayers go out to the child's father, Rafael Sanz, and to all those who loved Donnette and her son. Their already heavy burden of grief has been terribly compounded." Rafael......

The Daily News visited the premature baby of the traffic agent killed by an out-of-control van last week. Sean Michael Justin Sanz was born 2 months premature, "but doctors say he's a fighter and is expected to live." The father, Rafael Sanz, is mourning his wife Donnette's sudden death, "She was looking forward to the birth so much. That's all she would talk about was her son." But he reflected on how an estimated 30......

Co-Op City, the massive co-op housing development (reportedly the largest in the world) in the Bronx, lost power over night. Con Ed says power was out at eight building and has been restored to six of them, and the other two buildings, per WCBS 880, "are being worked on and won't be back on until Saturday morning." Initially there was a fire, but that has been put out. Con Ed would also like you to......

On Tuesday night, a pair of siblings were abducted when a carjacker stole the livery cab they were in. The cab driver had been helping their mother unload some packages when a man took off in the cab on Tinton Avenue in the Bronx. NY1 reports the 4-year-old boy was "dropped off about a block away at 166th Street and Tinton Avenue and was able to walk home" while his 7-year-old sister was dropped off......

Thieves eying electronics in cars better think twice: WNBC reports that the police arrested three men who broke into a "bait car"--a vehicle that had a laptop, GPS, and cell phone. Apparently the men, who were charged with grand larceny, criminal mischief and auto stripping, used a rock to break into the car. The Bronx DA's office says the sting was on Southern Boulevard (near Fordham and the NY Botanical Garden), where many break-ins have......

Two female NYPD cops did some serious damage to a Bronx man early Friday night, allegedly pistol whipping him during a road rage incident. Michelle Anglin, 37, and Koleen Robinson, 24, were off-duty when they became enraged at 35-year-old Marlon Smith for leaving the driver’s door of his Suburban open, almost scraping Robinson's SUV, the Daily News reports. F bombs and A bombs were promptly fired at Smith by the cops. When he responded with......

Rafael Sanz experienced what had to be the most intensely emotional day in his life yesterday after his pregnant wife was struck and killed by a van. Dr. Lynn Kempt at St. Barnabas Hospital told the Daily News, "You know that song, 'New York Minute?' I had to tell this poor man that his wife was dead, and then I walked him down to show him his son." The family of Donnette Sanz was about......

An awful tragedy unfolded in the Bronx yesterday afternoon: A 33-year-old traffic agent was crossing 188th Street at Webster Avenue when a "runaway van" hit her. Donnette Sanz was propelled into the path of a school bus, and she was pinned underneath. A witness told NY1, "The van had hit the lady first, she flipped over. And the bus had got in the way, and hit her and ran her over." About thirty people rushed......

A 20-year-old was killed while a 13-year-old was wounded during a shooting in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. People heard gunfire outside of 730 East 165th Street around 11:30 p.m.; a man told WCBS 2, "I'm on my way home and I hear a boom, boom, boom. It's not a common thing, but we're used to being careful." When police arrived, they found the two people shot. The 20-year-old was shot in the head......

Last night around 10 p.m., a fire broke out in a row of stores in East Tremont and grew to be a huge five-alarm blaze. More than 200 firefighters worked to put it out by 1 a.m. No civilians were hurt, but a few firefighters were injured. It's unclear what caused the fire.......

It's been over a year since the NY Times revisited the "Birthplace of Hip-Hop" and noted that the owners of the building were pondering opting out of the Mitchell-Lama program, enabling them to sell the building or charge higher rents on the open market. Now the Times notes that even after a year of protests and raising awareness, the building may not be saved (as some thought it would be back in March). The owners......

Police are investigating a shooting that left three people wounded in the Bronx early this morning. It occurred outside a Hunts Point gentleman's club--the Badabing--apparently after an argument. WABC 7 reports that one person was shot multiple times and a bouncer was another victim. The police arrested three of the suspects, after a chase on I-95, and found two guns, but one shooting suspect is still at large.......

One Bronx man’s entrepreneurial dream of bringing subs and strippers together under one roof has finally been crushed by a federal judge. It wasn’t the timeless “sandwiches and lapdances” concept that got owner Anthony "Cousin Vinny" Agnello in trouble, but rather his appropriation of Subway brand wrappers and menus for his hybrid venture on East Tremont Avenue, which he described in a flier published by Gawker in May: During the day, it is an extraordinary......

Around 1:20 a.m. this morning, a fire broke out in a Parkchester apartment building. One resident told WCBS 2, "There was a gentleman running down the street yelling fire and [telling] everybody to get out. I heard the blast - the windows when they blew out. I was already in bed." Two teens and one boy, all of whom had been sleeping, were rescued from the apartment where the fire originated and were taken to......

Photograph of Yankee Stadium during yesterday's All-Star batting practice by Frank Franklin II /AP While columnists, TV commentators and many others are falling over themselves to bid Yankee Stadium a respectful, sentimental good-bye, players were a little more honest when asked what they wouldn't miss about the house that Ruth built. The NY Times spoke to a number of visiting players, who offered these reasons it was easy to say good-bye: “The smell,” “The......

Van Cort, the 6-month-old coyote pup found in the Bronx on Wednesday, is still looking for a home. Well, actually the folks at Animal Care & Control are: The AC&C tells the Post, "We are in the process of reaching out to some other organizations to see what the best course of action would be" for the coyote's next chapter of life. Apparently the pup may need to be "taught such essential coyote skills as......

A 24-year-old former library assistant at the fancy Riverdale Country School in the Bronx is suing the city and several police officers over a case of mistaken email identity that landed him in jail for 30 hours and left him publicly disgraced. The trouble started last year after William Hallowell sent a resignation email to Robin Bernsen, the head librarian at the school. She replied sympathetically, according to the Times, and Hallowell moved on with......

Yesterday, we mentioned that a coyote was spotted near the Horace Mann School in the Bronx. It turns out the coyote was a pup of about 6 months. Animal Care and Control took the little fella to its Manhattan facility and nicknamed the 9-pound coyote "Van Cort," since he was near Van Cortlandt Park. A specialist told the Post, "My guess would be that he was part of a litter. Maybe it was hunting and......

A Bronx neighborhood was outraged last month when a building's mural memorializing 9/11 and a local firefighter who was killed at the World Trade Center was tagged by a graffiti artist. The tagger painted his initials directly over the face of Peter Bielfeld. Tips eventually led police to arrest 16-year-old Avery Prince, who goes by the tag SIPS and has since apologized for defacing the mural. Artist Eddie Gonzalez has since restored Bielfeld's face......

After years of planning, the MTA has re-launched bus service along the Bx12 route, which travels through the Bronx and Upper Manhattan. A NYC Transit director for bus service planning, Ted Orosz, tells the NY Times, "It looks cooler, it’s faster, it will run a little more frequently. All those things should increase ridership.” The new "Select Bus Service" initiative includes more buses (up to ten more during peak hours), new designs on the outside......

On the heels of announcing 40% of New Yorkers practice unsafe sex, the Department of Health wants to test every adult in the Bronx for HIV over the next three years. Noting the borough's highest AIDS-related death rate in the city, Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden said, "The Bronx has the opportunity to lead the city in the fight against HIV/AIDS by being the first borough to have all residents tested." The health department hopes......

Fresh from attending the Bronx Food and Arts Festival on Sunday, Dave Cook of the highly recommended food site Eating in Translation reports that Hunts Point barbecue rig Mo Gridder’s – famous for its St. Louis cut smoked rib platter served in the parking lot of an auto center – is moving into its very first restaurant space without axles. Owner Fred Donnelly will open Mo Gridder’s II in the Belmont Section of the Bronx,......

Photograph of Hillary Clinton at Pelham Preparatory Academy's commencement by Tina Fineberg/AP Senator Hillary Clinton made good on a promise to a supporter and girl she considers her "goddaughter" and spoke at her high school graduation from Pelham Preparatory Academy, in a ceremony at Fordham University. Aleatha Williams and her mother have volunteered for Clinton's presidential campaign, plus her 2000 (when Alethea was 10!) and 2006 Senate campaigns. When she graduated middle school, Alethea......

One teenager has been arrested and police are seeking a second suspect in the murder of a 25-year-old man shot to death following a minor traffic accident in the Bronx. Adolfo Gonzalez was shot twice in the chest early Saturday morning, after he got into a fender bender with two other vehicles. Two cars were reportedly simultaneously making u-turns around 5 a.m. Saturday morning near White Plains Road and Morris Park Ave. in the Bronx.......

The ex-girlfriend of a 49-year-old Bronx woman is suspected of murdering her former lesbian companion after the victim was found stabbed to death in her bathtub. Cecelia Rodriguez had recently been kicked out of the pair's Bronx apartment after the breakup, but reportedly was distraught when she heard the news of Olga Rodriguez's death. The landlord who discovered Rodriguez's body was skeptical of the histrionics. "She was acting-crying. The crying was not real. "[The victim]......