Image Courtesy Mott Haven Herald/Christina Thornell
This morning on Bronx AM Links, you’ll read about Bronx immigrants who recently shared their migration stories at the Bronx Documentary Center, the move to have deer crossing signs installed on Shore Road in Pelham Bay Park, and Bronx born and raised author and queen of suspense, Marry Higgins Clark, still has it. You’ll also find how a rise in African immigrants in our borough has led to an increase in demand for interpreters, and an Upper West Side veterinarian who spays and neuters Bronx dogs and cats for free.
Immigrants share stories of resilience at Bronx Documentary Center
On November 21st, the Bronx Documentary Center was packed with folks who came to listen to the various tales of migration from their own fellow Bronxites who made their way to America and ended up in The Bronx.
The Mott Haven Herald writes:
“Miriam Kone migrated from Mali in 1994 when she was 16-years-old. As a young girl in Mali she was expected to marry at age 13, but she had other plans. She convinced her mother, who had left Miriam to her grandmother’s care, to help her go to America. “You have to be a fighter,” she told the audience. “You can’t give up.”
About 40 people gathered at the Bronx Documentary Center on Nov 21stto hear immigrants share their experiences. Stories from Mexico to Mali, both deeply personal and of universal resilience had their moment in the limelight. If there was one common thread woven through each story, it was the deep desire to have a better life built on personal achievement.
Kone is no exception. When she was a little girl, she shared a single pot of food with her siblings but if she were too slow or timid would miss out on lunch. Now, in the Bronx, she often reminds her three children how easy it is to get food with a fridge at home. Or how much easier it is to get an education. “I tell my children they are going to college for me,” Kone said.” Read the rest at the Mott Haven Herald
Look to see deer corridor signs installed in Pelham Bay Park
After several accidents and years of advocacy, it appears that the city Department of Transportation is now seriously considering the installation of deer crossing signs in Pelham Bay Park.
According to City Island Civic Association board members, DOT has informed them that it may be dropping its opposition to deer signs and is reviewing Pelham Bay Park sign locations.
This comes on the heels of at least three accidents between motorists and deer this year on roads traversing the park, said John Doyle, CICA corresponding secretary. Read the rest at The Bronx Times
Mary Higgins Clark: The ‘queen of suspense’ still reigns supreme
CNBC takes on one of our favorite notable Bronxites: Mary Higgins Clark. In an article and video, the news channel posts:
“Once I know the people, they tell me where to go now and what’s the next,” Higgins Clark said. “I mean, I can be writing and a character will say, ‘I don’t belong in this scene, I’m getting out.’ And that’s when writing is fun.”
Yet the path of the “queen of suspense” wasn’t direct. She had a couple of stops early on in 1949 and 1950, when she worked as a Pan American World Airways flight hostess.
“That was extremely glamorous in those days,” Higgins Clark told CNBC, “I mean, flying was still so new.” She worked Pan Am routes to Europe, Africa and Asia, and recounts that the experience was rare, “for 21 years old, to be all over the world in those days was pretty nifty.”
Before that, the Bronx, New York-born author had a stint as a telephone operator at a Manhattan hotel. “Hotel Shelton, Good Afternoon,” she described how she would operate the switchboard.
“And then I’d listen in” on phone calls, Higgins Clark said with a laugh. There was the “lady of the house” at the hotel and she’d always listen in on her, “because I loved to hear her make her dates.”
Fast forward to her early 30s, and Higgins Clark was married with a family. She was writing then, but having a hard time getting published. “There was no market for short stories,” she said. Read the rest over at CNBC
Upper West Side veterinarian spays and neuters dogs and cats for free
“Animals become a part of you. They become a part of your heart,” Astacio told PIX11. “When you put the care of your pet with a vet who cares so much, it’s great.”
To many in the Bronx, Dr. Kaplan is a hero, but to this unassuming vet, he is just doing what he was put on earth to do.
“It hurts me to know that animals are dying in shelters because they don’t have homes. If I can do something about it then I am going to try,” Dr. Kaplan said.
Influx of West Africans in the Bronx Spurs Demand for Interpreters
“Conversations were still bubbling when Afua Atta-Mensah took the microphone and welcomed everybody to the African Community Town Hall, held in the basement of the Bronx Museum of the Arts this month. “Ete sen?” Ms. Atta-Mesah, the program moderator, shouted in one of Ghana’s primary language groups, Twi. The crowd of 300 cheered. She had simply asked, “What’s up?” According to a new report released last month by the United States Census Bureau, more than 192 languages are spoken in the New York metropolitan area, making the city the most linguistically diverse in the country. The rise in African languages significantly contributes to this panoply, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the Bronx. According to the Census Bureau, more than 16 African languages are spoken in the Bronx, a number that is quite likely far lower than what is actually spoken in homes in the borough, linguists say. In West Africa alone there are more than 800 languages.” Read the rest over at The New York Times
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