The Bronx was one of only two U.S. counties in 2007 outside of the West and the South with a majority Hispanic population, according to new census estimates culled from counties with at least 10,000 residents each.

Of the 46 majority Hispanic counties nationwide, only the Bronx and Sweard, Kan., were outside of Florida, California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Washington State.

Also, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx were three of the 13 counties of populations of at least one million with majority-minority populations generally, according to the census estimates.

More on the census stats here.

The Bronx cottage where Edgar Allan Poe and his wife lived in the late 1840's is getting its first full restoration, plus a visitors center.

The restoration's slated to start next spring and last a year, during which time the cottage, at 2460 Grand Concourse, will be closed. Construction of the visitors center is already under way, according to The Washington Post. The restoration will cost $250,000, the visitors center $4.2 million.

Poe and his wife Virginia moved to the cottage in 1846 in hopes that being away from the city would help Virginia's tuberculosis. She died there, however, in 1847, and Poe famously checked out two years later on a trip to Baltimore.

The visitors center, according to The Post, will be designed to evoke Poe's "The Raven," with the roof done in an upraised V shape and the shingles on the outside walls gray.

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development has rejected developer Mark Karasick’s bid for the Mitchell Lama housing development in the western Bronx that many consider to be the birthplace of hip-hop, after an investigation determined that the sale price is not supportable under current rent restrictions.

The decision allows for the current owner to negotiate with tenants on a sale. The New York Times reported that the asking price was $14 million, more than the double its $5 to $6 million value estimated by housing advocates based on future rents.  read more »

The Mayor has found a smelly way to relieve traffic congestion in the city: Put trash on the train.

Today, along with Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty, the Mayor announced that 2,100 tons of daily residential and municipal waste from the Bronx will now be shipped for final disposal by rail, rather than by truck. Fewer trucks on the road will help reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality, according to a press release. The measure is part of the city’s comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP).

The big winner today was not the city, but Waste Management of New York, LLC. The company was awarded a $1 billion, 20-year contract to ship the waste.  read more »

On July 5, 1520 Sedgwick Avenue was recognized by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation as the “Birthplace of Hip-Hop.”

The tenants and supporters of the affordable housing development in the Bronx are now hoping that the recognition will help them avoid being booted from their homes.

In February, word came that the owner of the high-rise was looking into selling the property so that the units could be converted to market-rate apartments.

This morning, elected officials, including Senator Charles Schumer and Congressman Jose Serrano, along with musicians and tenants, planned to congregate at the historic address to lobby for the preservation of the affordable housing complex.

The full press release from the Save 1520 Sedgwick Ave. Coalition is below.  read more »

Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui mailed out a disturbing video to NBC News in which he says things like, "You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and torched my conscience."

Reactions to the late-term-partial-birth abortion ban from the 2008 candidates was quick and broke along party lines.

Hillary Clinton's favorable ratings sunk in a USA Today/Gallup survey.

John Edwards may be having lunch with Mario Cuomo today.  read more »

10 a.m. The Food Bank for New York will launch a backpack program to address childhood hunger at home at the Citizens Advice Bureau, 1130 Grand Concourse, in the Bronx.  read more »

Noon. Councilman Charles Barron will march with a family alleging police brutality at 684 Thomas Boyland Avenue, between Blake and Sutter avenues, to the 81st Precinct on East New York and Thomas Boyland avenues, in Brooklyn.  read more »

10 a.m. A Way of the Cross procession will start at St. James Cathedral-Basilica, 250 Cathedral Place in Brooklyn, then proceed over the Brooklyn Bridge, stop at City Hall Park, pass Ground Zero and end at St. Peter's Church on Barclay Street.  read more »

A Bronx martial arts instructor from the Bronx pleaded guilty today to a charge of "conspiring to provide material support or resources" to Al Qaeda, said Michael J. Garcia, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Get it? He's from the Bronx and knows martial arts!

In making his plea before United States Magistrate Gabriel W. Gorenstein, the martial arts instructor, Tarik Shah, admitted that he had agreed to train Qaeda terrorists in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat with weapons.

The case began in May 2005, with the arrest of Mr. Shah, a New York jazz musician and martial arts expert, who was accused of swearing an oath of allegiance to Al Qaeda. Mr. Shah, who grew up in the Bronx....

UPDATE: The link above now directs to the newer version, which ran on B1 today. (The earlier, Bronx-centric one is missing).