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BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ HOSTS THE ANNUAL PEACE IN OUR STREETS INITIATIVE

LITTLE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP AT YANKEE STADIUM

By Howard Giske

ronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., together with members of the Bronx Clergy Task Force and local community leaders hosted the annual Peace in Our Streets initiative on Saturday, September 22. This program brought Borough President Diaz, religious leaders, law enforcement officials and other

concerned citizens into direct contact with Bronx residents to discuss growing concerns about violence in their neighborhoods, especially the threat of illegal guns. The initiative kicked off at the Forest Houses Community Center on Tinton Avenue in Morrisania.

BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ AND MERCY COLLEGE OPEN CENTER TO EMPOWER PARENTS
Yankee logo and National Anthem Raiders with the Cup Despite strong hitting by both teams, the score kept at 1-1 until the sixth inning. I noticed that the Yankee outfield wall is marked at 408 feet from home plate. So many hits that would have been home runs in a smaller field ended up as pop-up outs at Yankee Stadium. In the sixth inning, Raider #8 Mejia walked, and then #7 Alex Martinez bunted, getting to first with a runner on second base. Then #25 Camacho hit a double and batted in a run, getting the score to 2-1 with Raiders in the lead. Finally, a strike out ended the Orange turn at bat. Raider relief pitcher #27 Baez was able to keep the Bombers from scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Bombers had #31 Fonseca as their relief pitcher for the 7th inning. At this point #15 Brandon Gomez walked, and then #24 Tapia hit a double, yielding runners on 2nd and 3rd base. Then #34 Paulino hit a double to bat-in 2 runs, getting the score to 4-1. Walks of #27 Baez and #8 Mejia left the bases loaded. The crowd cheered as #7 Martinez singled, batting in two more runs. This streak ended as two pop-up hits were caught, putting the Raiders ahead at 6-1. When at bat, despite their best efforts, the Bombers could not score, and that ended the game. Both teams showed great sportsmanship and celebrated as the game ended. Borough President Diaz announced that sponsor AT&T was donating tickets to the Yankee game the following Monday to both teams. Then he awarded the Raiders the Bronx Borough Presidents Cup.

he game on Tuesday September 25th, for the players, was the game of a lifetime for two Bronx Little League teams, the Bombers and the Raiders. This was the second annual Borough Presidents Cup championship game. The Raiders, the defending champions from last year, won 6-1. Borough President Ruben Diaz emphasized when speaking before the game that all the players are certified good students with a B-average in school, 90 percent or greater school attendance and a demonstrated commitment to community service. The game was played hard, and the outcome was not certain until the last inning of the seven inning game. The orange-clad Raiders were first at bat. Despite an impressive line-drive by #44 Danny Camillo, it was caught by a Bomber fielder. The opening Bombers pitcher, #34 Alvarez did a great job in the first inning, with no Raider hits. The blue Bombers also did not score in their first at bat. In the second inning, the Raiders had one runner on base when #15 Brandon Gomez hit into center field and the fielder could not make the catch, yielding a double and the Raider s first run batted in. The Raiders at bat ended when #34 Paulino struck out. The Bombers were then at bat when #32 Ozuna hit a triple, followed by #34 Alvarez hitting a double and batting a run in. A single left runners on first and third, but the next batter struck out ending the inning at score 1-1. Clutch pitching by Raider #7 Martinez kept the Bomber from further runs.

ronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and Mercy College School of Education are pleased to announce the opening of the Bronx Parent Center, an innovative program empowering parents to support their children's education through workshops, resources and leadership development. "This new program will help empower parents and provide them with the knowledge and the skills to support their children's educational experience. A parent's active role in the education of their child plays an important role in their child's academic achievements and success. Education remains an important focus of my administration and my office will continue to support innovative ways to increase parent engagement so that all Bronx students can succeed," said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. The Center will offer parent workshops on such topics as managing problem behaviors, strategies to support special needs children, helping with math, read-aloud strategies, parent leadership and hands-on technology. "Mercy College was founded on a vision dedicated to student success, innovative spirit and giving back to the

community. Today, over sixty years later, we carry on these traditions with the opening of the Bronx Parent Center," said Mercy College President Dr. Kimberly R. Cline. "The Center serves as a valuable resource to parents through workshops and leadership development." The Center will also serve as a training ground for Mercy College School of Education students to engage with parents in educational decisionmaking, as well as a research base for School of Education faculty to investigate best practices in parent engagement. The Center was generously outfitted with capital funding from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.'s office. "The vibrant faculty of the Mercy College School of Education is delighted to be offering their professional expertise to support our Parent Center - this will be a paradigm for the rest of the region to follow, since we strongly believe that parents are the most neglected part of the 'education equation," said Mercy College School of Education Dean Alfred S. Posamentier.

Harlem News Group October 4, 2012

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