Local Man Charged with Stealing & Crashing Stolen Van into MTA Bus

By DAVID GREENE

Police say a Bedford Park man has been arrested and charged with stealing a van that ended up crashing, head on, into an MTA bus, injuring the driver. According to police spokeswoman and detective, Annette Shelton, the incident occurred at 7:40 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 3, when a 2007 Dodge Van was stolen from the area in front of 2706 Valentine Avenue, between East 194th Street and East 196th Street in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx. Shelton wrote in an email dated Aug. 11 that, at approximately 8:10 a.m., on Aug. 3, at the corner of

By JASON GONZALEZ

If the age of the coronavirus pandemic could be summed up in one sentence, it would read, “The world has changed – forever”. Who knew that face masks would become a part of regular attire, or that terms such as “sheltering in place”, “essential workers”, and “social distancing” would become part of our everyday vocabulary? Indeed, the universe has transformed in ways human beings never thought possible. For almost six months now, large gatherings in the City have been cancelled, indoor dining is prohibited, and sporting events are being held in empty venues. Of course, no other

By Síle Moloney

Phase 3 of the reconstruction of Grand Concourse in the Bronx is completed, as announced on Aug. 11 by the City’s departments of transportation (DOT), design and construction (DDC) and environmental protection (DEP), along with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Council Member Vanessa Gibson and advocates. The boulevard is a “Vision Zero” priority corridor as well as one of the four “Great Streets” identified and prioritized by the de Blasio Administration for significant infrastructure and safety improvements. Approximately 3,000 New Yorkers are seriously injured and more than 200 are killed each year in traffic crashes. Being struck

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Aug. 11, the NYPD released body-worn camera footage from an incident dated June 21, 2020 which occurred in the confines of the 109th precinct in Brooklyn, during which a person died while in police custody. The video includes available evidence leading up to, as well as during the incident. The NYPD wrote that the agency was releasing the video for clear viewing of the totality of the incident. All NYPD patrol officers are equipped with body-worn cameras. The agency wrote that the benefits of cameras are clear: transparency into police activity, de-escalation of police encounters, and

By SÍLE MOLONEY

New York Attorney General Letitia James today filed a lawsuit against Hillandale Farms, one of the country’s largest producers and wholesale distributors of eggs, for illegally gouging the prices of eggs during the coronavirus pandemic. In March and April 2020, Hillandale allegedly gouged the prices of more than four million cartons of eggs sold to major grocery store chains, U.S. military facilities, and wholesale food distributors throughout the state, charging New York customers up to four times the pre-pandemic price for one carton of eggs. During those two months, at the height of the pandemic in New York, Hillandale

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020 at approximately 6.52 a.m., police responded to a 911 call about a motor vehicle collision in the vicinity of White Plains Road and Bartholdi Street, in the confines of the 47th precinct in the Gun Hill Houses section of the Bronx. Upon arrival, police discovered an unconscious and unresponsive 29-year-old man lying on the roadway. EMS arrived and pronounced the man deceased at the scene. A preliminary investigation revealed that the occupants of a 1997 Black Nissan Maxima and a 2019 Honda motorcycle were both traveling northbound on White Plains Road when the driver of

By JASON GONZALEZ & SÍLE MOLONEY

On Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020 at approximately 10.19 p.m., police responded to a 911 call regarding a motor vehicle collision in the vicinity of Boston Road and Waring Avenue in the confines of the 49th precinct in the Allerton section of the Bronx. Upon arrival, police discovered an unconscious and unresponsive male lying on the roadway with trauma to the head. EMS responded and pronounced the victim deceased at the scene. A preliminary investigation revealed that a 27-year-old operator of a 2019 International dump truck was traveling southbound on Boston Road making a left turn onto eastbound Waring

By PROFESSOR ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA PFA

Well, we knew that Congress had been at a stalemate – even way before this pandemic – some would even say, even before Trump was president. We have been living with a divided government for several years now. Democracy is supposed to allow the will of the people to speak, so what happens when too many people speak, and have different opinions, to the point where nothing gets done? Enter congressional COVID stalemate, which means nothing gets done – no help for unemployment insurance, no more help for small businesses, no help for state governments, no help for eviction

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Monday, Aug. 10, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer highlighted what he called some of the glaring deficiencies in President Donald Trump’s announced ‘Executive Orders’ that he said are cause for serious concern amid the public health and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus. Schumer said President Trump’s actions yesterday “totally” leave out money for state and local governments—from New York City, to Long Island and beyond. He also said the orders totally exclude money for schools to reopen safely, a New York priority. Finally, Schumer warned the orders leave out testing, tracing and treatment of the coronavirus itself. Schumer