Crime

Bronx Man Indicted for Murder of 17-Year-Old Rising Basketball Star, Brandon Hendricks

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on Sept. 22 that a Bronx man has been indicted on second-degree murder and additional charges in the death of Brandon Hendricks, a 17-year-old high school basketball player who was shot in the Bronx by a stray bullet on June 28, 2020.   Clark said, “The defendant allegedly callously fired into a group of people and ended the life of a young, promising teen. Brandon Hendricks had just graduated James Monroe High School and was set to play college basketball when he was killed on a Morris Heights street. Since his death, Brandon’s


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Bronxite Arrested in Connection with Subway Derailment, Subway Rider Hailed a Hero by MTA

By SÍLE MOLONEY
On Sunday, Sept. 20, at approximately 8.18 a.m., police responded to a train derailment at 14th Street subway station in Manhattan. An investigation revealed that a man had been seen throwing construction debris onto the northbound A train track, which caused the first car of a subway train to derail upon entering the station.   No injuries were reported by the emergency services at the time of the incident. The New York Times later reported that three people suffered minor injuries.   The A, C, D, E, and F subway line services were impacted as a result of the derailment.


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Fernandez, Other Elected Officials to Hold Rally Denouncing Hate in Community, after Mural Defacing

By SÍLE MOLONEY
On Friday Sept. 18, a mural, located at 296 East 204th Street in the Norwood section of the Bronx, painted to support Black trans lives, was found defaced with hate speech against the LGBTQ+ community. The attached photo has been cropped to exclude expletives.   This #BlackTransLivesMatter mural was created by us earlier this summer we made it with love + joy among all the hate so this all hurts we are mourning + surviving continued violence against our communities, we won't be erased, we keep us safe not the nypd #blacktransloveiswealth — BlackTransMedia (@BlackTransMedia) September 19, 2020   Assemblywoman


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Lehman College Hosts Virtual Screening of PBS Documentary “College Behind Bars”

By SÍLE MOLONEY
A Lehman College program (Reentry@Lehman) that serves students who have been affected by the criminal justice system, hosts the fourth and final screening of the PBS award-winning documentary, “College Behind Bars”on Thursday, Sept. 17 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.   The 55-minute screening will be followed by a panel discussion with film producer, Salimah El-Amin, Lehman College President Daniel Lemons, and Reentry@Lehman members. The documentary is a four-part PBS film series by Lynn Novick that follows incarcerated people through rigorous college programming while exploring how education transforms lives and impacts criminal justice.   “The four-hour series, distilled from nearly


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Former New York City Schools Official Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charge

By SÍLE MOLONEY
United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on September 15, 2020, David A. Hay, 40, most recently of Brooklyn, New York, entered a guilty plea to a charge of receiving child pornography. Most recently, Hay served as Deputy Chief of Staff to the New York City Chancellor of Schools.   According to court filings, in May of 2010, while living and employed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, David A. Hay exchanged emails with a 15-year-old child. During the course of these communications, the defendant received sexually explicit digital images and videos from


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De Blasio Announces Furloughs for Mayoral Office Employees

By SÍLE MOLONEY
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Sept. 16 that the City will issue a week of furloughs for mayoral office employees. This action, in addition to savings from the adopted budget, will represent a 12% cut to the FY21 Mayor’s Office budget.   “Dedicated public servants have worked tirelessly for our city and their fellow New Yorkers throughout this crisis,” said De Blasio. “This is a painful step, but it shows just how committed we are to responsible budgeting and leading the City through these challenging times. Today’s announcement makes it clear we need Albany to step


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Bodega Owners Get Sit Down with NYPD Over Crime, Face Mask Enforcement

By DAVID GREENE
  Representatives of the United Bodegas of America (UBA) will be granted a sit-down with NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea and his top brass regarding a host of issues including recent robberies and assaults on bodega workers, as well as the dangers for shop workers enforcing the city’s mandated face mask rule.   The meeting is expected to take place on Wednesday, September 16 at Police Plaza in Lower Manhattan.   In a statement released on Tuesday, Sept. 15 announcing the sit-down, Radhames Rodriguez, the President of UBA, wrote, “It’s been an awful year for all of us in the bodega


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Shopping Strip Closed after Security Alert outside Pelham Bay Funeral Parlor

By DAVID GREENE
Business is back to normal along a busy shopping strip in Pelham Bay, after a man reportedly left a pressure cooker outside of a funeral parlor.   According to residents and workers in the area, members of the NYPD’s 45th precinct, Emergency Services Unit and the Bomb Squad were joined at the location by members of the F.B.I., who arrived on the scene around 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15.   The block was quickly shut down along Crosby Avenue, between Westchester Avenue and Roberts Avenue, after a pressure cooker was found in the doorway of Ralph Giordano Funeral Home


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