Elections 2021: Elisa Crespo on the Economy, Housing & Criminal Justice

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

In her campaign to replace incumbent councilman and congressman-elect, Ritchie Torres, on the City Council, Elisa Crespo wants to focus on the issues affecting the residents of the 15th District more than on her candidacy. Among the most pressing issues, she finds, is the high rate of unemployment. “We are at Great Depression level [un]employment rates in the Bronx,” Crespo told the Norwood News in a phone interview. “In some parts of this council district, there’s a 30 percent unemployment rate.” Together with her mom and siblings, Crespo, 30, experienced job and housing insecurity growing up in Brooklyn,

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD released body-worn camera footage on Friday, Dec. 4, from an officer-involved shooting that occurred on October 22, 2020, in the 41st precinct, which covers Hunts Point and Longwood. The video includes available evidence leading up to the incident as well as during the incident. The NYPD said it was releasing the video for clear viewing of the totality of the incident. All NYPD patrol officers are equipped with body-worn cameras. The police said the benefits of cameras are clear: transparency into police activity, de-escalation of police encounters and accountability for police officers, through an independent

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

In the lead up to Thanksgiving, on Nov. 19, Lehman College partnered with the Foodbank of New York and Montefiore Health System for an annual food produce distribution event. About a dozen folding tables were set up inside the students’ parking lot at Lehman College, where volunteers filled up paper grocery bags with several thousand pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables, including apples, bananas, corn, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, and zucchinis. The produce was delivered directly from the Hunts Point Market that same morning and the bountiful grocery bags were later delivered to 20 different community groups

By MELISSA CEBOLLERO

The COVID-19 pandemic brought healthcare into the spotlight this year. If you haven’t already done so, take time to enroll in a 2021 health plan through New York State of Health, the state’s official marketplace. Open Enrollment is happening now. You can enroll until Dec. 15 for coverage that begins Jan. 1, 2021. If we talk to our friends, family and neighbors, we can help families get the coverage they need to take care of their health. Why use NY State of Health? The digital marketplace allows anyone to shop and compare quality affordable health plans. Once you

By DAVID GREENE

This week, we asked readers if they agree that presidential pardons should be given when a president leaves office. Is it right and just? “That’s a good question. I believe that if you have a lot of proof, proof like they have on this person, Michael Flynn, there’s so much proof that this guy didn’t do anything wrong, so yeah, I believe in the pardons, even if the president is leaving office. Hey, he still has the ability. He’s still the president, yeah.” Dawn Marie, Indian Village “That’s a very interesting question. I don’t know if it’s

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

The race to replace Councilman Andrew Cohen in the 11th City Council District has widened in recent months with Mino Lora making her announcement to run on Oct. 9. Lora said her platform is focused on justice for all: racial justice, justice for immigrants, health, economic, housing, education and cultural justice, as well as criminal justice reform. Announcing her candidacy via a press release, Lora said in October, “We are a community of dreamers and doers who make the Bronx home, and keep this city running.” She added, “This campaign is fueled by our joy, our pain, and our passion.”

By GABRIEL POBLETE

Amid the ongoing, opening hour restrictions imposed on clubs, bars and restaurants, currently subject to a 10 p.m. closure, one Bronx district is experiencing skyrocketing, loud music complaints. Since moving to Williamsbridge in the upper Bronx, Venus Carey has had to endure unbearably loud music from neighbors’ parties. She said it has gotten so bad, at times she and her roommate have resorted to booking a hotel to get some respite. “It’s affecting my productivity,” said Carey, 38. “It’s affecting my mood. It’s affecting my sleep,” she added. “If it happens on a weekend, even on a Saturday, I

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Police reported that Leila Aracena was found “safe and in good condition”, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, at approximately 12.20 p.m. She has been reunited with her family. On Wednesday, Dec 2, 2020, at approximately 10.52 p.m., there was an unofficial report on the Citizen’s App of an incident on E. Gun Hill Road and Perry Avenue that police were searching for a 10-year-old girl, described as Latina, 5 foot, 2 inches tall, with hair in pigtails, and last seen wearing gray sweatpants, a red T-shirt and red sandals. According to the app, at 11.09 p.m., police reportedly requested

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Tuesday, November 24, 2020, at approximately 10.40 a.m., police responded to a 911 call regarding an unconscious, aided person in a wooded area of the Mosholu golf course, in the vicinity of East 233rd Street and Jerome Avenue in the 50th precinct. Upon arrival, police discovered the remains of an unidentified man, lying on the ground at the location. EMS responded and pronounced the individual deceased at the scene. The identity of the deceased is pending family notification. The medical examiner is to determine the cause of death. The investigation is ongoing.