The city wants to turn the Sheridan Expressway into a West Side highway-style boulevard. The at-grade Bronx street with lights and trees is designed to mend a neighborhood torn apart by the aborted highway, while still giving truck access to the nearby Hunts Point market.

There are thousands of artists is New York City. Some are famous internationally, while others are scratching out a living while perfecting their craft in basements or on stage. WNYC is bringing a few of them to the spotlight, in their own voices.

As the executive director of the Bronx Defenders, a public defense and legal services organization, Robin Steinberg has spent her career demanding justice for the residents of the poorest Congressional district in the nation. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, the landmark Supreme Court case that created the public defender system to ensure some balance between prosecution and defense, but as Steinberg explains, "Leveling the playing field is simply impossible."

Alphonza Bryant III, 17, had a lot to look forward to. There was his upcoming prom (he already had a white tuxedo picked out) and next month, he was graduating high school. In a class photo, he appears to be anticipating the occasion, wearing a cerulean blue cap and gown.

The Bronx may soon be home to the world's largest indoor ice sports complex. The city plans to transform the Kingsbridge Armory into a 750,000 square-foot ice sports complex that includes nine rinks on two levels.

In this episode of Micropolis, WNYC's Arun Venugopal ventures into the home of Michael, a transsexual prostitute and heroin addict -- and, as you can hear in the segment above -- given to baking cookies for her guests.

+ More: Micropolis

Congratulations to Emily Angell, winner of our Battle of the Boroughs: Bronx competition! Check out the band's winning performance here.

An 18-block stretch in the Bronx will be the first in New York City to test pay-by-phone parking.

The pilot program will allow people to use phone, internet or smartphone app to pay for 264 metered parking spaces along or adjacent to Arthur Avenue  -- as well as spots in the city's Belmont Municipal Parking Field. To participate, motorists must sign up in advance on the Pay-By-Phone website. Each Muni-Meter in the pilot program has a QR code and a seven-digit number; the motorist must use either to confirm payment.

Users will receive a text or email when their meter is about to expire, and they will have the option of extending their time without having to return to their cars. According to the mayor's press release, traffic enforcement agents will use new hand-held scanners to cross-check the PayByPhone's data to ensure compliance.

"New York City parking has come a long way since we had to put a roll of quarters in our pocket," said city transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, making the announcement Tuesday in the Bronx with Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

A side view of the Muni-Meter in the Bronx. Note QR code and 7-digit ID. (Photo by Christine Streich)

Related: Good Bye, Parking Meter; Hello, Muni-Meter

The pay-by-phone pilot will be tested for three months; it could then expand citywide.

Potentially more interesting than the ability to feed the meter remotely is the second half of Tuesday's announcement: a real-time parking availability map, seeded by information transmitted from roadbed sensors.

A sensor embedded in the roadway detects whether a parking space is free or not. (Photo by Christine Streich)

"Green indicates the greatest likelihood of a spot; yellow, the chances aren't so good, and red, well, you get the idea--" said Sadik-Khan. "Forget about it, as Marty [Markowitz] would say," interjected Bloomberg, referring to Brooklyn's Borough President.

Sadik-Khan added the map would cut down on the pollution created by cruising around and looking for a spot. "Knowing where to go, and to concentrate your search on where it's going to have the biggest value and the biggest payoff, is half the battle," she said.

In addition to being available online, the map is also available as a smartphone app. Bloomberg batted away suggestions that the app could encourage distracted driving.  Bloomberg reasoned passengers could check the map -- or drivers could check it before they leave "or pull over. I mean, a lot of things are meant for you, you can't do it while you're --" here the mayor paused -- "in the shower, for example."

This cracked up the crowd. "I'm just trying to think of some other place you shouldn't," Bloomberg said, moving along to the next question.

Real-time parking conditions in the Belmont section of the Bronx (click for interactive map)

Other cities around the world -- San Francisco, London, Vancouver, Miami -- use similar technology. Monica Hernandez, a spokesperson for the District Department of Transportation, said all 17,500 meters in Washington D.C. can be paid for via phone, and that the program had been in place for almost two years. "It's serving its purpose," she said. "It provides one more option for people looking to park."

With reporting from Christine Streich/WNYC.

When Assemblyman Nelson Castro was first elected in 2008, he was hailed as the Bronx's first Dominican American elected legislator. On Thursday, Castro was named as Assemblyman-1 in the bribery indictment of fellow Assemblyman Eric Stevenson. But Castro spent almost his entire tenure in office as a convicted criminal who had been cooperating with law enforcement authorities for years.

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Battle of the Boroughs - it's all about the sound. 

Be a part of making someone's dream come true tonight! Twelve bands compete, but only one can go on to represent the Bronx in the Ultimate Battle on June 21. 

Which of the bands made it on to the finals? Find out here. Don't forget to VOTE for who you want to see back on The Greene Space stage representing the Bronx. Voting closes Sunday, April 14 at 11:59pm ET. The winner will be announced Monday, April 15 at 12pm ET.

Experience all of the music from the Bronx 2013 show below:

The Crown Diner in the Bronx is a few blocks from Yankee Stadium and the Bronx Supreme Court. It’s where vendors and fans, law clerks and lawyers grab donuts and omelets. And it’s where opinions on same-sex marriage vary. “The world is changing and they need to move along with the change,” says one patron.

A police officer accused of shooting an unarmed 18-year-old in the Bronx last February was back in court Tuesday.

On today's show, we took calls from people who recently moved to the Bronx to mark the milestone that the borough saw its first net migration gain in decades. As we were selecting music for the segment, we came across some great songs about the Bronx. Here are some of our favorites -- suggest your own in the comments below!

For the first time in a long time, census numbers show that more people moved to the Bronx than moved out. Are you one of the 115 net people who moved to BX in 2012, or part of the influx over the last five years or so? Or are you a Bronx resident who thought about leaving but decided to stay? Tell us why! Call 212-433-9692, or post your story here.

Director Michel Gondry has worked with Bjork, Kanye West and Radiohead, as well as A-list actors like Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, but for his latest project, "The We and the I," he opted to cast a bunch of non-actors: regular kids living in the Bronx.

The Bronx Museum of the Arts will extend its free admission policy through 2015. That's thanks to a $500,000 gift from Shelly and Donald Rubin, the couple behind the Rubin Museum of Art.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. talks about his State of the Bronx speech, including a proposal to create a registry of criminals who use guns, like that for sex offenders.

It’s been 100 years since the Marble Hill neighborhood became geographically annexed to the Bronx. But technically, it still belongs to Manhattan. And that gives its residents a bit of an identity crisis.