Department of Education Launches “COVID-19 Situation Room”

By SÍLE MOLONEY

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Richard A. Carranza announced on Sept. 14, the opening of the Department of Education COVID Response Situation Room—a multi-agency partnership between the Department of Education (DOE), Department of Health and Mental Health (DOHMH), and the Test & Trace Corps—to facilitate a rapid response to positive COVID-19 cases in public schools. The Situation Room provides a single point-of-contact between schools and agency partners responsible for performing both testing, contact tracing, and ensuring the appropriate interventions are being taken by school communities. “The Situation Room is the precise system we need

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has reiterated the Trump Administration’s commitment to minimize displacement and evictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic in line with President Trump’s executive order, “Fighting the Spread of COVID-19 by Providing Assistance to Renters and Homeowners.” On Sept. 1, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the “Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19,” order. It took effect on Sept. 4, and declares a national moratorium on certain residential evictions for nonpayment of rent, as well as other fees or charges. In fact,

Crime File: Another Heroin Death in the Bronx

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that as of Sept. 14, all customers who refuse to wear a mask on public transit will be subject to a $50 fine. The new measure follows Governor Cuomo’s executive order directing the MTA to develop a plan to bolster mask compliance across public transit. MTA officials reiterated that the rule is to ensure that customers are adhering to the best possible public health practices and to further improve upon current rates of mask usage, which are already above 90 percent across New York City Transit subways and buses, the Long Island Rail Road and

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Following the news that 24 New York City teachers tested positive for COVID-19 across all five boroughs after returning to school, on Monday, Sept. 13, Bronx Council Member Fernando Cabrera reiterated his earlier warning that the Department of Education (DOE) must carefully plan with UFT before re-opening schools. “I’m saying again, the DOE must engage in careful planning with the UFT and CSA before we can open our schools,” he said. “Having 24 teachers across the city testing positive for COVID-19 after returning to school buildings is a dire warning sign. As I have said previously, the DOE needs

By SÍLE MOLONEY & MIRIAM QUINONES

On Thursday Sept. 3, 2020, a commemorative “Care” mural was unveiled in the patio of the rotunda building (building 4) at Jacobi Medical Center in the Morris Park section of the Bronx. The idea behind the mural was to promote greater neighborhood wellness, and to help build trust and engagement between the community and the hospital. Designed by artists, Andrei Krautsou and Yulia Puhach, the project was an artistic collaboration with the staff of Jacobi Medical Center, in conjunction with the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund. Since Friday, Aug. 21, the project participants had been painting, in stages,

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The MTA Construction & Development department announced on Sept. 10 that it is another step closer to completing the roadway construction phase of the $253 million Throggs Neck Bridge roadway deck replacement. In this phase, the project team will replace the original concrete roadway, which dates to when the bridge was built in the late 1950s, with a new lighter-weight, stronger, steel deck. Staged roadway work began on Friday, Sept. 11 with a new traffic pattern in place on Sept. 14 using a movable barrier to ensure full traffic lane capacity for customers during the morning and afternoon

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

At first glance, the relationship between skydiving, a woman’s right to vote, and Woodlawn Cemetery might not seem obvious. On Aug. 26 though, four members of the Highlight Pro Skydiving Team parachuted from helicopters 4,500 feet in the sky onto the grounds of the cemetery and placed a yellow rose at the gravesite of suffragist, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and other pioneering women. Other celebrations took place across the country on the same day to commemorate the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which secured the right to vote for women. In Manhattan, a monument to women’s rights

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the man shown in the attached surveillance video and photos who is wanted in connection with a forcible touching incident which occurred in the 52nd precinct. On Tuesday, July 14, 2020 at approximately 5 p.m., in the vicinity of Davidson Avenue and Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, a 21-year-old female was entering the vestibule of her apartment building when an unknown man approached her from behind and grabbed the victim’s buttocks. The individual then fled on foot in an unknown direction. The victim sustained no injury.

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD is asking for the public’s assistance identifying three male individuals who are sought in connection with a series of gunpoint robberies which took place in the 43rd, 44th, 47th, and 50th precincts. The men appear in the attached videos and photos which were taken in the vicinity of various incident locations. Incident Number 1 On Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020 at 7 p.m., in the vicinity of Grant Highway and West 169 Street, in the Mount Eden section of the Bronx, a 66-year-old male victim was walking on the street when two unknown men approached him