‘Black
Whale
Sign’ billl
approved
BY ALEX MITCHELL
It was an infuriating day when
the owner of The Black Whale
restaurant on City Island was ordered
to remove it’s iconic woodcarved
sign that dated back to 1961
because it wasn’t in compliance
with an outdated city signage law
on Saturday, September 15.
When the City Island mainstay
was fi ned by the NYC Department
of Buildings, Councilman
Mark Gjonaj defended The Black
Whale’s whimsical nameplate, instructing
the restaurant to defy
the city’s mean-spirited regulations,
while promising to cover
any additional fi nes that the action
could incur.
The Black Whale, on Wednesday,
January 9, became the poster
(or sign) child to initiate new legislature
that would temporarily
place a hold on the antiquated and
impractical city signage laws.
“Almost every single Bronx
business is technically in violation,”
said Lisa Sorin, president
of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce.
She went on to explain that
during Mayor Bloomberg’s administration,
a moratorium was
put on the arbitrary signage laws
but was reinstituted under Mayor
de Blasio.
As a matter of fact, any business
that incorporates a phone
number, address or email address
to its outdoor signage is out of
compliance with the city’s sign
code and faces a civil penalty that
ranges from $5,000 to $20,000.
The city ordinance only permits
a maximum of 12 square feet
of text coverage per sign, which
barely allows suffi cent room to
display the shop’s name.
PRE-K TEACH
SAVES A LIFE
Instructor keenly detects
pupil’s brain tumor
BY ROBERT WIRSING
Teachers are often unsung
heroes, but one Bronx educator’s
quick thinking may have saved
her student’s life.
P.S. 93 Pre-K teacher Kathryn
Rivera, a 31-year veteran educator,
noticed one of her students,
Joshua Aponte, was consistently
having trouble maintaining his
balance and vomiting several
times a day.
She immediately notifi ed Joshua’s
mother, Yesenia, and advised
her to have him examined by a
doctor.
The initial examination
yielded no results and he was
given a letter of clearance to return
to school.
Unsatisfi ed with the diagnosis,
Rivera asked Yesenia to take
Joshua to a specialist.
Things came to a head the
weekend before Veterans’ Day
while Joshua was attending daycare.
The daycare supervisor phoned
Yesenia to inform her that Joshua
was sick and experiencing shortness
of breath and dizziness.
Restaurant Week kicks off
at Mott Haven’s Beatstro
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Some would argue it’s the best
week in the Bronx, but whether
you agree or not, it’s certainly
the tastiest. ‘Savor The Bronx’,
the borough’s annual restaurant
week, has graciously returned, offi
cially kicking off at the hip-hopthemed
speakeasy, Beatstro on
135 Alexander Avenue on Monday,
January 7.
It was there that a select number
of restaurants from around
the Bronx put their best dishes on
Continued on Page 4
display for a lucky few to try, such
as Borough President Ruben, Diaz,
Jr. and this reporter.
“We are open for business!”
Diaz proudly exclaimed just before
getting his hands on some of Beatstro’s
creamy mac and cheese.
He went on to say how tired
he is of seeing the Bronx left out
of ‘restaurant weeks’ around the
city and how his borough offers a
diversity of cuisine that is second
to none.
Your Neighborhood — Your News® January 13, 2019
LOCAL
CL ASSIFIEDS
PA GE 14
Reading Is Fun’damental
Books With Bharati shared the gift of literacy during its fi rst event of
the new year on Saturday, January 5 at Soundview Cornerstone. Joselyn
Somellian (r) enjoyed reading many books with Bharati Kemraj.
Photo by Aracelis Batista
Continued on Page 4 Continued on Page 15
Vol. 8 No. 2 UUPPUDDPAADTTAEETDDE DEE VVEEEVRREYYR YDD AADYYA YAA TTA TBB XXBTTXIITMMIEMESSE..SCC.OOCMMOM