Bronx school fundraiser nixed after J.Lo. concert scheduled for same day

BRONX, N.Y. -- A Bronx school fund-raiser was canceled because a Jennifer Lopez concert was scheduled for the same night in the same area.

Having the two events the same night means too much traffic.

Students who were supposed to perform at the gala and have been rehearsing for months are disappointed.

"We were saying like, really? Really? J-Lo? Really? Last-minute notice? Really?," said Kendel Braboy, a student.

When pop star Jennifer Lopez scheduled her Orchard Beach concert for Wednesday night, it effectively canceled the annual spring gala benefiting the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning. The annual fund-raiser, which has generated about $75,000 for the free after-school program in the past, was supposed to be held at nearby golf courses on the same night as the concert.

A spokesperson for the concert said she had no comment at this time.

"Like, now she wants to pop up, like, no offense, but like, the other, like, last three years, she's been, like, nowhere," said Obinna Ohiekwe, a fifth-grader.

Shubert Jacobs, the school principal, said that the limited access to the area is a major problem.

"Orchard Beach, it's one-way in, one-way out," he said. "Already there was talk of residents, how will they even get to their homes? Those were the things that caused us to make the decision because we are thinking of safety."

The principal acknowledges other programs may be cut if the expected money doesn't come through somehow.

Fifth-grader Elijah Richards spent countless hours committing a Nelson Mandela speech to memory for the gala.

"It wasn't really fair for us to put a lot of work into this and then it's just canceled all of a sudden," said Richards.