Archive

City Council Announces Legislation to Support Moms & Caregivers in Honor of Mother’s Day 

By SÍLE MOLONEY
New York City Council will introduce new legislation on Wednesday, May 12, to help revitalize and restore mothers in the workforce, in recognition of the negative impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on women, and on working mothers in particular.   The announcement regarding the upcoming legislation was made on Saturday, May 8, on the eve of Mother’s Day, and the legislation comes at a critical time. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 5.4 million women have lost their jobs across the country, which is nearly a million more than men.   According to the council, in New


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UPDATE NYS AG James Sends Letter to Facebook Opposing Proposed “Instagram for Kids” App

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The ongoing fallout over Facebook’s proposed “Instagram for Kids” app continued this week, prompting a response on Sept. 18 from the company’s VP of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg. Almost four months ago, on May 10, NYS Attorney General Letitia James sent a letter, along with 43 other state attorneys general, to Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, urging him to abandon plans to launch a version of Instagram for children under the age of 13. A scathing article on the topic by the Wall Street Journal published on Sept. 14 did little to temper the debate.   In the May letter, the coalition


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Public Libraries Expand Services Incrementally, Effective Monday, May 10

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  New York Public Library is expanding its services effective Monday, May 10, at some branches to allow limited browsing and desktop computer use under Phase 2 of its reopening. In the Bronx, the branches that have reopened under Phase 2 include Allerton, Baychester, Belmont, Edenwald, Francis Martin, Highbridge, Jerome Park, Kingsbridge, Parkchester, Van Cortlandt, West Farms and Woodstock.   The library system also plans to open all available branch libraries (except those undergoing renovation or being used by the City) with expanded service by mid-July, with the full complement of services such as general space use, programs, and classes


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Bronx Week 2021 Brings Some Normalcy & Three New Walk of Fame Honorees

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT
Under dark, gray skies, with an intermittent drizzle falling, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. announced the resumption of Bronx Week 2021 on Wednesday, May 6, another welcome sign of things slowly returning to normal, after last year’s celebrations were cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.   Usually, Bronx Week is an annual 10-day series of events whereby The Bronx celebrates the best of the borough. “The fact of the matter is, what we’ve been going through, the last 13/14 months, there was an uncertainty,” Diaz Jr. said. “We weren’t able to do Bronx Week last year. [Now] we’re doing all


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New Grants for Community Groups Offering Free, Outdoor Arts & Culture Performances this Summer

By SÍLE MOLONEY
New micro-grants are available for the City’s most under-resourced communities to provide free arts and culture performances in neighborhood parks, plazas and community gardens this summer and fall.   City Parks Foundation is a nonprofit whose mission is to make parks vibrant centers of community through sports, arts, community-building and environmental education programs. It organizes the citywide “SummerStage” program each year in conjunction with Capital One. Last summer, the program was made virtual. Together with a newly formed “Culture in Parks and Plazas Coalition,” City Parks Foundation announced on Thursday, May 6, the creation of the “Green Arts Live NYC


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Further Update: “All Hands” Responding to Fire in Multiple Dwelling in University Heights:

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Video by CITIZEN This is a developing story. A residential fire in a multiple dwelling has been reported by the FDNY on the third floor of 13 Buchanan Place in the University Heights section of The Bronx.   The incident was also reported on the Citizen’s App. According to Citizen users, firefighters were responding to a report of smoke coming from the roof of a house at around 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 8. Bronx All Hands Box 3191, 13 BUCHANAN PL, Multiple Dwelling 'B' Fire, 3 FLR — FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) May 9, 2021   Norwood News reached out to


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Police Appeal for Help with 2013 Double-Homicide Investigation, following Fire

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The New York City Police Department has launched a fresh appeal for the public’s assistance in providing any potentially helpful information regarding a double homicide investigation that occurred in 2013, following a fire in the 43rd precinct.   On Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 11.04 a.m., police officers responded to a 911 call regarding a residential fire inside 2045 Story Avenue in the Unionport section of The Bronx, in the 43rd precinct. After the fire was extinguished, 24-year-old, Jonathan Toribio, and 24-year-old, Kennedy Sanchez, were discovered with both stab and burn wounds. Both individuals were pronounced deceased on the scene.


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Update: 2018 Belmont Fire Deemed Double Homicide, Man Arrested for Murder, Arson

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Three years after a fire broke out in the Belmont section of the Bronx in which eleven people were hospitalized and two died, police have arrested a Bronx man, and charged him with murder and arson.   The NYPD responded to a 911 call regarding a fire inside 2381 Hoffman Street in the Belmont section of the Bronx, in the 48th precinct on Monday, March 5, 2018 at 1.32 a.m., as reported at the time by The NY Post.   FDNY personnel removed eleven aided people from inside the location, a 5-story residential apartment building, and EMS transported three to


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Andrew Yang and Vanessa Gibson Cross Endorse Each Other

By SÍLE MOLONEY
New York City council member, Vanessa Gibson, announced her endorsement of Andrew Yang for mayor of New York City, while he endorsed the councilwoman for the position of Bronx borough president at a joint-campaign rally on the steps of Bronx Borough Hall on Saturday, May 8. Also present at the event was Congressman Ritchie Torres, representing the 15th congressional district in the Bronx, who has previously endorsed Gibson, and is co-chair of the “Yang for NY” campaign.   “Andrew Yang has the bold and creative ideas we need to get our City back on track and ensure that the Bronx


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