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PEEKABOO BLINDS? $1 Million bathroom at Joyce Kilmer Park leaves users exposed with open louvers

The new Portland Loo bathroom at Joyce Kilmer Park has opened at a cost of $1 million as seen in this. -Photo by David Greene By David Greene  Bronx Voice   August 13, 2025 BRONX - The Parks Department has announced a new pilot program where five new public bathrooms will open across the city. The one Bronx bathroom at Joyce Kilmer Park has opened to mixed reviews—especially after residents learned of the $1 million price tag and patrons could be observed by sickos from outside the bathroom. On July 1, Mayor Eric Adams and NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa announced the installation of five new “Portland Loos” at a cost of $6 million as part of the “ We Outside Summer ” pilot program. A press release about the new program states that the bathrooms “get built faster and for a fraction of the cost.” The Adams Administration plans to spend $150 million in the construction of 46 new bathrooms and renovating 36 existing ba...

Bloods Gang Member Charged with Bronx Execution

Gerry Mazzella was gunned down by a gang member in what family call a case of mistaken identity.


By Dan Gesslein

Bronx Voice

November 4, 2022 


BRONX - The feds charged a gang member with murder for executing a man on a Bronx street. Prosecutors said the defendant gunned down the victim to further himself in the gang which is an offshoot of the Bloods.   


Family members said Gerry Mazzella was a former pot dealer who turned his life around. Mazzella worked at a Bronx bagel shop and had plans of moving out of the city, when he was shot in the back of the neck in 2021. Friends believe he was the mistaken target. 


Prosecutors said that on June 3, 2021 Shakoor snuck up behind Mazzella and shot him point blank in the back of the neck. 





Prosecutors say Jaleel Shakoor shot and killed Mazzella as a way to move up in the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation (“Gorilla Stone”), an offshoot of the Bloods Street Gang. The US Attorney’s office for the Southern District charged Shakoor with racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, murder with a firearm, and illegal possession of ammunition.




“As alleged, the defendant committed a murder as part of his gang membership: he shot Gerry Mazzella from point-blank range, killing him,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “With these charges, we continue our daily work of investigating and prosecuting those who perpetrate these senseless acts. We hope this prosecution brings some measure of comfort to the victim’s loved ones.” 




The Gorilla Stone gang ran a drug distribution operation throughout the Bronx as well as in the jails and prisons in NYC and throughout the state. The gang sold drugs and committed robberies to enrich themselves. They also attacked rival gang members including assault and murder. 





Shakoor was charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of death or life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison; one count of murder through use of a firearm, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of death or life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of possessing ammunition after a felony conviction, which carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison.



NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said: “This case is an outstanding example of what the NYPD and our law enforcement partners can accomplish when we strike back at the relatively few people responsible for spreading violence and fear in New York City.  Together, we remain committed to thwarting gang activity in all its forms, and to reinforcing the severe consequences that await anyone who dares to jeopardize safety in our neighborhoods.”


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