He was and continues to be considered the worst ever, but is he still? Today marks the birthday of former US President James Buchanan, the one many consider one of the worst of all time.

James Buchanan was the 15th president of the United States. He served from 1857 to 1861, during the build-up to the Civil War.

Buchanan was single for his entire presidency; he’s the only guy from Pennsylvania and held the presidency just before Abraham Lincoln. It’s that final black mark that Buchanan's presidency appeared to show indifference to the onset of the US Civil War.

New York State officials have announced that the MTA is piloting new solar technology that allows customers to access real-time train, subway and bus arrival information without connection to the electrical grid. The MTA, Metro-North Railroad and New York City Transit are testing the performance and reliability of two solar-powered kiosks that use MTA Subway Time™ and MTA Bus Time™ to provide Metro-North customers with real-time arrival estimates for connecting subways and buses at Metro-North’s Woodlawn station.

Tree Planting Day
Shoelace Park (219 St & Bronx Blvd)

Join in Shoelace Park and plant trees along the river banks. Gloves and shovels will be provided.
April 26, 2014 (10:00am)
Bronx River Ramble
Gunhill Road Subway Stop on the 2/5 Trains

Explore the historic communities of Wakefield, Williamsbridge and Woodlawn on the season's first walking tour. You'll walk along Shoelace Park and hear tales of the old neighborhood, and see a collection of pre-WWII apt buildings.

Saturday, May 17th (Rain date is May 18)
Amazing Bronx River Flotilla & 5K Canoe Challenge

This Week in History, Apr 20 - Apr 26

Apr 20, 1980
Castro announces Mariel Boat-lift. On April 20, 1980, the Castro regime announces that all Cubans wishing to emigrate to the U.S. are free to board boats at the port of Mariel west of Havana, launching the Mariel Boatlift. The first of 125,000 Cuban refugees from Mariel reached Florida the next day. The boatlift was precipitated by housing and job shortages caused by the ailing Cuban economy, leading to simmering internal tensions on the island. On April 1, Hector Sanyustiz and four others drove a bus through a fence at the Peruvian embassy and were granted political asylum. Cuban guards on the street opened fire. One guard was killed in the crossfire.

Apr 21, 753 B.C.
Rome founded. According to tradition, on April 21, 753 B.C., Romulus and his twin brother, Remus, found Rome on the site where they were suckled by a she-wolf as orphaned infants. Actually, the Romulus and Remus myth originated sometime in the fourth century B.C., and the exact date of Rome's founding was set by the Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro in the first century B.C. According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were the sons of Rhea Silvia, the daughter of King Numitor of Alba Longa. Alba Longa was a mythical city located in the Alban Hills southeast of what would become Rome. Before the birth of the twins, Numitor was deposed by his younger brother Amulius, who forced Rhea to become a vestal virgin so that she would not give birth to rival claimants to his title. However, Rhea was impregnated by the war god Mars and gave birth to Romulus and Remus. Amulius ordered the infants drowned in the Tiber, but they survived and washed ashore at the foot of the Palatine hill, where they were suckled by a she-wolf until they were found by the shepherd Faustulus.