Blog

Bernie Sanders Alum Latchmi Gopal Announces Run for 15th District City Council Seat

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Former Bernie Sanders national organizer and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member, Latchmi Gopal, is officially running to replace Ritchie Torres in New York City’s 15th City Council district. She join Ischia Bravo, Ischia, Elisa Crespo, Oswald Feliz, John E. Sanchez, and Julian S. Sepulveda.   Gopal enters the race on the back of her experience with economic and social causes across the country as well as in the Bronx. She is currently director of communications and strategic partnerships for Unemployment Workers United, a multiracial and multigenerational movement which advocates for a new “normal” that restores dignity and guarantees a


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COVID Alert NY App Launches as Cuomo Fact-Checked on Nursing Home Claims

Bronx Teen First Vaping-Related Death in New York State
By SÍLE MOLONEY
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Oct. 1 the launch of an innovative technology-based tool, the COVID Alert NY, to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.   “Contact tracing has been instrumental in stopping the COVID spread, and we have worked hard over these past months to establish a nation-leading testing and tracing program. Today, we are building on that effort [….] with our official Exposure Notification App created by the New York State Department of Health in partnership with Google and Apple,” the governor wrote. “With COVID Alert NY, you can use your phone to receive alert notifications if


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Affordable Homeownership Summit Focuses on Black Homeownership & Racial Wealth Gap

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The annual Affordable Homeownership Summit hosted by the Center for NYC Neighborhoods will take place, virtually, over two days on Oct. 7 and 8, between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. EST. It will discuss recovery strategies from the global pandemic, Black homeownership, the racial wealth gap, and climate change.   The center will bring together hundreds of leaders, policymakers, government officials, lenders and advocates, virtually, for its seventh annual summit, which will run for two days with five panels, as experts discuss innovative solutions and current best practices for low, and moderate-income homeowners.   Keynote speaker Andre Perry, fellow on


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Parkchester: Missing 14-Year-old Girl

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The NYPD is seeking the public’s assistance in locating Nahomy Polanco, 14, who was reported missing on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020 within the confines of the 43rd Precinct.   It was reported to the police that Nahomy was last seen on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020 at approximately 5.45 p.m., leaving her residence at 2147 Starling Avenue in the Parkchester section of the Bronx. She is described as a Black Hispanic female, five foot, 2 inches tall, and weighs 110 pounds. No clothing description is available for the time of her disappearance.   Anyone with information in regard to this missing


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New Yorkers Use Estimated 23 Billion Plastic Bags Annually, Enforcement to Start Oct. 19

By SÍLE MOLONEY
New Yorkers use an estimated 23 billion (not 23 million, 23 billion) plastic bags every year, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. That’s 1,182 bags per person, with each bag being used for about 12 minutes. Approximately 85 percent of this staggering total ends up in landfills, recycling machines, waterways, and streets.   Here’s something else everyone should reflect upon. The Ecology Center (ecologycenter.org) wrote, “Like many other plastics, we can’t guarantee that plastic film is getting recycled, even if it is clean, dry, and disposed of in the “right” place. We also know that all plastic ever


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Bronx Connections: 2020 Election Local Lens (Part 1 of 5)

By ELIOT SCHIAPARELLI
  Norwood News, in partnership with WFUV radio and BronxNet Television, presents a five-part series on national issues affecting voters in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election, seen through the local lens of Bronx neighborhood communities. Part 1 looks at the environment.   Sewage treatment plants, major trucking routes, food distribution centers, and highways like the Cross Bronx Expressway, all clustered together in the South Bronx have created an area with such poor air quality, it has been nicknamed “Asthma Alley,” by locals.   According to a 2018 City health department report, pollution levels in the South Bronx


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King of the Bronx Celebrated at Woodlawn, 29th Anniversary of Passing of Miles Davis

By SÍLE MOLONEY
After ten years of honoring powerful women, Kings of the Bronx 2020 marked an inaugural event to celebrate successful men who made an impact on their community. On Sept. 17, 2020, Mitch Rose, president, chief executive officer and trustee of The Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservancy, was honored at the Kings of the Bronx 2020 virtual event, in collaboration with Schneps Media, the Bronx Times and the Bronx Times Reporter. Rose was recognized along with other male honorees for their leadership, vision, community service and contributions to the Bronx.   Receiving his award, Rose said, “It is a great privilege to


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Standards and Ethics Committee Recommend Expelling King from Office

King Casts Himself the Victim Post-Suspension, Appears to Back Theory of a Larger Plot
By SÍLE MOLONEY
On Tuesday, Sept. 29, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson released a statement on the findings of the Standards and Ethics Committee regarding Council Member Andy King, following an investigation launched in February 2020 into alleged conflict of interest violations, disorderly conduct, breaking City, and possibly State laws and running afoul of the Council’s anti-discrimination and harassment policies.   “I agree with the recommendations of the Standard and Ethics Committee. Council Member King should be expelled from office,” Johnson said. “This is not a decision to be made lightly, but Council Member King has given us no alternative. This is the


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