Culture

Let’s Stop The Bleed Together!

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The tragic killing on Aug. 5 of 14-year-old local resident Ángel Miguel Mendoza Hernández in the Williamsbridge Oval park in Norwood, allegedly by an armed gang, shocked the community and lead to numerous calls for the installation of better lighting and security cameras in the Oval, and while every measure taken to date to address safety for all is, of course, valued, necessary, and appreciated, it won’t, unfortunately, bring Ángel back.

Halloween Festivals held in Kingsbridge Heights, Longwood

By DAVID GREENE
Youngsters in Kingsbridge Heights and in Longwood celebrated Halloween early as a large crowd turned out for Theory 9’s Annual “Trick or Streets” Halloween Festival, held on a dead-end (no pun intended) at West 231st Street and Sedgwick Avenue on Saturday, Oct. 25.

Op-Ed: Creative Arts Therapy, A Lifeline for New Yorkers in Crisis

By MARIA PATUHAS
As a social worker working on an acute psychiatric unit in The Bronx, I see every day how creative arts therapists make a profound difference in the lives of some of our city’s most vulnerable residents. It’s time for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to make creative arts therapy accessible outside of the hospital, too, by signing S1001/A3391 into law [https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S1001].

UPDATE City Council Votes “Yes” on Latest Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment “The Kingsbridge Center”

By SÍLE MOLONEY
In the most hopeful sign yet for residents of Kingsbridge Heights, who have long awaited real momentum behind the redevelopment of the long-vacant, City-owned Kingsbridge Armory, the New York City Council voted “yes” on the latest redevelopment project, “The Kingsbridge Center (El Centro Kingsbridge),” on Wednesday, Oct. 29. The happy news follows dozens of envisioning meetings, surveys, outreach, workshops,, various hearings, set-backs, drama and more drama along the way.

UPDATE Mamdani Asks Voters to Reject Islamophobia & See Him as Candidate “Fighting for Every Single New Yorker”

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Democratic mayoral nominee and still the frontrunner according to the latest polls, Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (A.D. 36) was back in The Bronx on Friday, Oct. 24, for another press conference, this time, held outside the Islamic Cultural Center of The Bronx, located at 371 E 166th Street, north of the Melrose section of The Bronx, as he asked voters to reject tired Islamophobic tropes and reiterated that he aims to be a mayor “fighting for every single New Yorker.” Members of the press corps included international media outlets from the UK (BBC), France and Germany.

Former NY Gov. & Mayoral Candidate Andrew Cuomo Visits Wakefield Mosque on Campaign Tour

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Former New York governor and independent mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo, 67, paid a visit to the Masjid Ansarudeen Islamic Center in the Wakefield section of The Bronx on Saturday, Sept. 20, to meet with members of the mosque and “discuss issues important to the community.” The former governor has received heat for allegedly not having visited a mosque during his tenure as governor though he disputes this.