A group of Fordham students who want better access to birth control are taking matters into their own hands, setting up an off-campus health clinic to combat the Catholic university's convoluted health care plan. more ›

Seventeen students from the Bronx High School For Law & Community Service were sent to St. Barnabus Hospital and treated for minor injuries after an unknown assailant entered the building and discharged a substance that authorities believe is pepper spray. The school was evacuated shortly after the incident occurred around 10:00 a.m. A DCPI representative tells us that no one is in custody and they haven't yet identified the assailant. more ›

A Fordham sophomore who is paralyzed from the neck down after a fall from his lofted bed is suing the school for not installing guardrails. Last February, after a night of drinking, 20-year-old Kei Usami fell almost four feet from his bed and fractured his spine. According to the Post, his lawsuit also alleges that the schools volunteer EMS medics transported him without a neck brace, exacerbating the fracture. more ›

Fordham University Law student Michael Zimmerman seems like a real sweetheart. When he's not working on the roof garden he started atop of the St. Paul the Apostle Church parish house, he's organizing a C.S.A. (Community Supported Agriculture) group he founded. Besides bringing fresh produce to participating students and faculty, the C.S.A. also donated lots of extra vegetables and fruit to the local soup kitchen. But no good deed goes unpunished by the administrators of higher eduction—Fordham has effectively shut down Zimmerman's C.S.A., prohibiting it from operating on campus. more ›

For the second time this summer, a female bus driver on the Bx9 line has been attacked by an irate passenger at Fordham Plaza. Driver Maria Hogan says that a 6-foot-tall male passenger punched her because she didn't pull over for his stop. "The punch hit me on the right side of my face, right next to my ear. I ended up on the seat. I tried to push him away with my legs," Hogan told the News. more ›

One elderly woman was killed and five others were injured when a cab crashed into a building in the Bronx this afternoon. A 61-year-old, who has yet to be identified, was shopping in the Cee and Cee Department Store when the careening cab crashed through a glass pane and hit her. The car was about halfway across the intersection when everyone started screaming, ‘Oh my God! Oh my god!' I turned and saw the car slam into the store,” said witness Juan Gonzalez Sanchez. more ›

Since New York started handing out letter grades with their Department of Health inspections, a number of college cafeterias have been performing quite poorly and students and their parents are not amused. Today the Times catches up with the story, and though the schools are rushing to fix things ("We let the students down,” one admin said) it is too little, too late for some. Why bother with school food, these kids want their Five Guys, and they want it now! more ›

Health Department inspections at three of Fordham University's dining facilities last month revealed a (dirty) laundry list of violations, including "evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas, 'filth flies,' and not storing hot food items above 140 degrees Fahrenheit and cold food items below 41 degrees Fahrenheit." Two things to note here: The cafeterias are operated by Sodexo, a French multinational corporation that has previously been fined by the NY State Attorney General and that is now contracted to run concessions at the soulless new Coney Island. Second: Fordham students are as outraged as they are unsurprised, and they say they've found all sorts of weird stuff in their food. more ›

An intoxicated Bronx public school teacher was arrested by cops yesterday after she crashed into another car early in the morning. In a scene out of one of those DWI PSA's, police found discarded, empty Bud Lights in the backseat of the rental car being driven by Anna Marinelli, 27, who teaches first grade at PS 21. Another female bolted from the passenger seat after the crash, which occurred on East 181st Street near Grand Concourse in Fordham around 9 a.m. Marinelli, who was using a rental car because she had totaled two other cars in the past month, was charged with a DWI. She allegedly told police she was only guilty of being a good friend, since she was trying to help her friend find drugs. more ›

Yesterday morning, a man jumped from the roof of a 40-floor building on West End Avenue—and survived because a red Dodge Charger parked on a dead end apparently cushioned his fall. The Daily News reports that 22-year-old Thomas Magill was screaming, "My leg! My leg!" A witness told the paper, "He came down feetfirst at like 100 mph. That's a miracle if I've ever seen one. He should be a goner. It was like that movie 'Unbreakable.' That was this guy: unbreakable." And the car's owner, construction worker Guy McCormack, pulled out a set of rosary beads from his car, "Here's what saved him!" more ›

Some more details on yesterday's incident where an unlicensed driver struck a teenage bicyclist in the Bronx: The Daily News reports that 18-year-old Alprentice (A.J.) Gray Jr. is on life support at St. Barnabas Hospital—relatives say he is in a coma. more ›

Over 160 firefighters responded to a four-alarm fire at the Love Gospel Assembly in the Fordham section of the Bronx early yesterday morning. The fire occurred around 1:30 a.m.; the church was unoccupied but three civilians were injured as the blaze spread to a homeless shelter next door. One woman who lived at the shelter said, "It was so crazy. You could smell the smoke so bad. It was in my eyes, and no alarms went off. People were going sort of nuts trying to get out." The church, which also operated a soup kitchen, is vowing to rebuild; another resident said, "They give out tons of food to the homeless and are always providing services. They do so much for the community. I hope the community helps them out now." more ›

As we noted yesterday, the M15 "Select Bus" service planned for First and Second Avenues will operate on an honor system, with riders expected to buy tickets at curbside kiosks before boarding, and produce the tickets upon request by a uniformed inspector. But will New Yorkers really behave honorably, or simply roll the dice and bet they don't run into any of the 30 inspectors policing the route? more ›

There have been at least three muggings of Fordham students in the past week, according to NY1 News, at least one incident involving "steak knives." The Post also notes that the attacks have taken place at Lorillard and 189th Streets, but police claimed the attacks were "not part of a pattern." more ›

The Harlem Mega Millions winner who said that winning the $168 million has turned his life into hell is apparently eager to continue spreading the word and allowing people around him to share in the collective nightmare. A Fordham bodega owner near the one where Groves bought the winning ticket two weeks ago says he came in to buy a six-pack of Heineken and began bragging of the winnings and the fact that he was "not working anymore in my life!" The store owner who encountered Groves tells the Post, "I didn't believe him, because what would a millionaire be doing coming in here and buying candy and beer?" When Groves first revealed himself to be the winner after laying low for a couple weeks, he said, "It's a dream turned into a nightmare. Winning is the beginning. Living with it is pure hell." But now he seems to be in better spirits; the News talks to a liquor store owner in his neighborhood who said, "He came in and bought a bottle of Hennessy yesterday. He was so happy." The Harlem man says he doesn't plan on abandoning his regular spots because "I got my McDonald's and White Castle near me." more ›

While there's still no word on just who was lucky enough to pick up the winning ticket to Friday night's $333 million Mega Millions jackpot in the Bronx (one of two winning tickets), lottery officials did reveal just where it was printed. Fordham Grocery and Convenience Store on Fordham Road will receive a $10,000 prize for selling to the winner, but the only detail they know is that it was a Quick Pick ticket. Store owner Michael Patel said that he sold over 2,000 tickets in the days leading up to the drawing and had his suspicions that the lucky winner may have been a man who bought 200 tickets Friday night. Maybe he's laying low just as MTA worker Aubrey Bryce did for three weeks when he won Mega Millions last month. Patel and his son Bhavesh posed posed for the News with a handwritten sign reading "Winner!! Mega Million Jackpot $166 million here!!" (Take some pride, fellas—round UP.) One local who shops at the store told NY1, "I'm really, really happy. It happened right here at my spot on my block where I play all the time. It could have been me, so God bless them. I won $10, so I'm grateful." more ›

It's time to run down the various commencement speakers around town—please let us know about others in comments (or email us at tips[at] gothamist[dot]com). This Wednesday, New York University will have its commencement at Yankee Stadium—and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will give the commencement address. Clinton will also be the commencement speaker at Barnard College's ceremony next Monday. more ›

Bono & Co. really love popping up and playing unusual shows in New York. Well U2 is back, and this time they're playing in the Bronx! A student at Fordham confirms (through a WFUV exec) that the band will be playing a show for staff and faculty there on March 6th (follow a week long stint on Letterman) at the bright n' early hour of 8 a.m. Word is that "Professors have reportedly been told by the administration to cancel morning classes for security reasons." more ›

Cops charged a Bronx man with the murder of his former girlfriend, following her gruesome death last month. After initially being arrested for for violating an order of protection last month, yesterday charges against Shadron Rambert were upped to murder yesterday. it took days to identify Paulemont Manuella after finding her charred remains, cut up limbs and slashed throat on a rooftop of a Marion Avenue apartment building in the Fordham section of the Bronx. Rambert has a number of prior arrests on his record for robbery, reckless endangerment, twice for weapons possession, as well as charges of assault last summer against Manuella. more ›

In one corner, you have Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer; in the other, there's Cardinal Edward Egan, head of the NY Archdiocese. And in the middle, it's Fordham's Law School, which is drawing heat from Catholics for bestowing its annual Fordham Stein Prize on Breyer. Breyer, appointed by Bill Clinton in 1994, has supported abortion rights (as have other Fordham Stein honorees), prompting a petition opposing the award. In particular, Breyer's opinion in Stenberg v. Carhart--known at the case about partial-birth abortions--where the majority found "Nebraska’s statute criminalizing the performance of 'partial birth abortion[s]' violates the Federal Constitution"--bothers Catholics. A NY Archdiocese spokesman said Egan called Fordham and was "confident that a mistake of this sort will not happen again," though the AP points out other prize honorees have supported abortion rights. more ›

The State Island Advance has a heartbreaking yet inspirational story about a young man really looking forward to the new school year at Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus. Except Tim Price was run over by an Access-a-Ride minibus and "dragged 40 feet" earlier this year ("His right leg had been shattered, both clavicles broken, and his face and back severely burned") and now walks with a limp and uses a cane. His mom can't take him from S.I. to Fordham--she has two jobs--and hasn't found an affordable car service (boarding at Fordham is too expensive, too), so Price might have to...turn to Access-A-Ride for transportation. However, the honors student says, "I don't know if I could psychologically handle that." He is also suing NYC Transit, the Access-a-Ride vehicle's owner, and the driver for damages. An unofficial poll of NYers indicates they think Access-a-Ride drivers are some of the worst. more ›

New York is in the midst of graduation season, when freshly minted scholars don cap and gown to accept sheepskins and jobs they will probably remember as their most demeaning. But first they'll have the opportunity to ingest the wisdom of their commencement speakers. Also, it's an opportunity to get on TV and be tackled by security guards. David Letterman ran a top-ten list of signs that you have a bad commencement speaker. Shockingly, no mention of whether the speaker's name rhymed with Gov. Nelliot Schvitzer. more ›

The idea sounds preposterous at first, but a pair of retired NYPD detectives believes that a gang of serial killers are responsible for the deaths of at least 40 young men across 11 states. more ›