JUSTICE FOR JUNIOR BODEGA
BECOMES FIRST ‘SAFE HAVEN’
BY ALEX MITCHELL
It might not entirely be Justice
for Junior, but it is a step in the
right direction.
The notorious bodega that
15-year-old Lesandro ‘Junior’
Guzman-Feliz was brutally murdered
outside of at the corner of
East 183rd Street and Bathgate
Avenue became the fi rst ‘safe bodega’
in the Bronx and the city on
Wednesday, January 23.
Working collaboratively with
the NYPD, the United Bodegas
of America designed a multi-step
program that would equip bodegas
with panic buttons, shatterproof
glass and other measures
that could prevent an attack from
continuing and essentially save
an innocent life.
Each installation costs between
three and four thousand
dollars.
This safe haven bodega concept
comes from criticism after
surveillance video had shown Junior
run into the store, attempting
to hide from the gang members
behind its counter space,
only to be dragged out of the store
to his untimely death on Wednesday,
June 20.
One feature that the safe haven
bodega program offers is that
it gives the NYPD the ability to
monitor its security cameras in
real time.
Just weeks ago, the DA’s offi ce
began introducing a similar surveillance
camera intranet program
to expand its presence on
Bronx streets, taking much inspiration
from Junior’s tragedy.
Senator Luis Sepulveda also
spoke outside of the bodega on
Tuesday, July 10, announcing his
Your Neighborhood — Your News® February 3, 2019
LOCAL
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Junior’s friend, Tango outside of the bodega during a memorial.
Schneps Community News Group/ Alex Mitchell
Continued on Page 4
NYPD tickets
Bruckner Blvd.’s
illegally parked
18-wheelers
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
Truckers that are storing their
vehicles on a highway service
road were summonsed during a
recent NYPD crackdown.
Tractor trailer trucks illegally
parked along Bruckner Boulevard
between Middletown Road
and Wilkinson Avenue along Pelham
Bay Park have been a perennial
issue that has reared its head
again.
The stretch of road adjacent
to the Bruckner Expressway/I-95
has seen a great deal of overnight
parking of large 18-wheeler tractor
trailer trucks recently, especially
on weekends, said George
Havranek, Spencer Estate Civic
Association vice-president.
Councilman Mark Gjonaj, responding
to community requests,
asked the NYPD to take action.
The police ticketed three of the
vehicles on Tuesday, January 29,
said the councilman.
Gjonaj said he feels that some
tolerance should be afforded the
truckers because under federal
regulations they are permitted to
operate a rig only a certain number
of consecutive hours before
they must get off the road and
take a long rest before resuming
their trip.
This rule addresses valid
safety concerns. When a parking
summons enforcement blitz
Continued on Page 4
New 45th Precinct CO announced;
Capt. Ghonz to lead 42nd Precinct
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
The 45th Precinct has a new
commanding offi cer.
Captain Thomas Fraser, a
veteran of nearly 18 years in the
NYPD, assumed command of the
east Bronx precinct on Wednesday,
January 23.
The new CO is accepting his
fi rst assignment at the helm of a
precinct, but has held a wide variety
of positions during his NYPD
career.
He replaces Deputy Inspector
Carlos Ghonz, who was transferred
to the 42nd Precinct in Morrisania
as its commander.
Fraser said he is currently in
the process of meeting with community
leaders, as well as elected
offi cials.
Fraser told the Bronx Times
that his previous assignment was
Bronx Narcotics, where he was for
more than two years and where he
said he learned a great deal about
investigative police work.
The captain said he was impressed
with how well the police
Continued on Page 19
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