civil rights

UPDATE Councilman Eric Dinowitz Calls on DOE to Investigate Education Council District 14’s Sponsorship of “Divisive Rally”

By SÍLE MOLONEY
District 11 City Council Member Eric Dinowitz released a statement on Thursday, Nov. 9, condemning what he referred to as the antisemitic call for a walkout earlier that day by students calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East, after the breakout of war in the region following the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, the kidnapping of around 240 Israeli hostages by Hamas, and the subsequent shelling and ground invasion of the Palestinian Gaza Strip by Israeli Defense forces since Oct. 8.

Congestion Pricing Tolls One Step Closer to Reality

By DAVID GREENE
Bronx drivers should brace for impact as officials at NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) are a big step closer to hitting drivers entering Midtown Manhattan from The Bronx with the new ‘congestion pricing’ toll. DOT work crews have already begun working on the installation of cameras.  

Mexican Independence Day Celebrated in The Bronx

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson joined the Consul General of Mexico in New York and community partners to host a celebration outside Bronx Borough Hall on Friday, Sept. 15, in recognition of Mexican independence. On the sunny September day, the mood was cheery, amid music, laughs, and the raising of the Mexican flag.

Gillibrand Calls for Humanitarian Aid to Address Emergency Needs in Gaza

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Democratic U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the U.S. senate armed services committee and of the U.S. senate committee on intelligence, is calling on the Biden administration to contribute to the United Nations’ emergency appeal of $294 million to address the immediate humanitarian needs in the West Bank and Gaza in Palestine, in the wake of an escalation of violence in the region following the Hamas attacks on Israel on Saturday, Oct. 7. Gillibrand is joined by 33 of her colleagues in the push, which is led by U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut.  

Rivera & Colleagues Introduce Bill to Fund Safe Evacuation of New Yorkers from Israel & Palestine

By SÍLE MOLONEY
State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33), Brooklyn-based State Sen. Julia Salazar (S.D. 18), and Brooklyn-based Assembly Member Emily Gallagher (A.D. 50) introduced Bill S7716 on Wednesday, Oct. 18, to allow New York State to financially reimburse New Yorkers who are trying to evacuate from Israel and the Palestinian territories during the ongoing crisis in the Middle East since tensions escalated on Saturday, Oct. 7, following an attack by Hamas on southern Israel, which prompted a bombing of the Gaza Strip by the Israel Defense Authority.