Occupy City Hall: Protestors Change Tack

By David Greene & Síle Moloney

The “Occupy City Hall” movement gathered further steam over the last week as the City Council vote on the City budget on Jun. 30 drew nearer. Protestors consolidated pressure on elected officials, calling for specific changes to the budget process, with the defunding of police at the top of the agenda. The Occupy City Hall movement appeared to morph out of a month of sustained Black Lives Matter protests across New York City, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police on March 25, 2020. Despite a series of recently passed State and City

By Síle Moloney

People who rely on an antenna to access free, over-the-air TV (approximately a third of TV viewers) will need to rescan their TV to continue to receive local TV programming and emergency alerts. TV rescans are free and simple, requiring just a few steps with the TV remote. The Media Advisory below from the National Association of Broadcasters provides additional information. TV Rescan Required for Antenna TV Viewers in New York, NY What: A TV Rescan Alert has been issued, July 3, 2020, for New York, NY. TV viewers who receive free, over-the-air local TV will need to rescan

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

The following article is a two-part feature story on the Black Lives Matter protests. Part I The following stories are all too familiar in the Bronx. On a summer afternoon in July 2016, a man saw a tense situation unfolding between NYPD officers and three people at Morris Houses in Claremont Village. One woman was cuffed, and the arguing escalated. The man thought he could help diffuse the situation, but in an instant, he was thrown against a gate by an officer who later defended his action by saying he felt the sergeant at the scene needed to

By Síle Moloney

A week after Woodrow Wilson was sworn in as the 28th President of the United States, Julia Bizzarri was born in the Bronx on Mar. 13, 1913. In a curious twist of fate, in the same year that now, 107-year-old Bizzarri has astonishingly shown COVID-19 who’s boss, Wilson’s name is to be removed from Princeton University buildings, one of a number of moves by age-old institutions to address the legacy of racism in the country. At 107, Bizzarri has lived through not only one civil rights movement, but what many are calling a second. Like others of her generation,

By Síle Moloney

Dear Readers, I hope you’re all well! I don’t say that lightly. Thank you for your patience, and for sticking with us during what we know, you know, has been a pretty crazy, and unprecedented time for everyone. After two and half months on hiatus due to circumstances related to the pandemic, this year’s seventh edition of the Norwood News is out now. Indeed, that is a story in itself (but for another day). We’re happy to be back, and to share plenty of interesting community news with you, so let’s get to it! After months of lockdown

By Auréole Ribes

The word of the day, announced over Zoom chat, at the most recent Bronx Toastmasters Club of Riverdale, was “polyvalent” which means “having different functions, forms or facets”. There is hardly a better word to describe the club. Toastmasters International is a non-profit, educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Bronx Toastmasters Club of Riverdale, which just last month celebrated its 21st anniversary since its foundation, is one of 16,800 such clubs, collectively comprising 358,000 members across 143 countries. Since 1924, the organization has helped people from diverse cultural and socio-economic

By Síle Moloney

Following a historic week of legislative reform aimed at addressing racial injustice and inequality at both City and State level, a group of about 50 local residents gathered peacefully at Williamsbridge Oval Park in Norwood on Friday Jun. 19 for a kid-friendly Juneteenth celebration in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Norwood Neighbors for Racial Justice and allies is an unofficial, local group recently formed and spearheaded by four local, multiracial women, Miriam Neptune, Jatnna Ramirez, Carissa Smith and Pam Sporn. In addition to organizing the Juneteenth event, the first of its kind in Norwood, the group

By David Greene

A flyer circulating on social media under the title National Economic Withdrawal Boycott has called for a week-long boycott of large box-store chains, fast-food restaurants, and online retailers from Sunday, Jun. 21 through Saturday, Jun. 27. The week-long call to action appears to have grown out of other social media campaigns that aim to empower Black people through the control of economics, and to highlight the fight against racism in America through the power of the Black Dollar. A number of social media campaigns supporting the Black Lives Matter movement have existed since the group was founded. However, as

By Síle Moloney & Miriam Quinones

New York State Assembly Speaker Carl. E. Heastie organized a Juneteenth rally and march in Olinville for Bronx Community Board 12 residents on Friday, Jun. 19. He was joined by approximately 100 people who marched from 213th Street to the junction of Gun Hill Road and White Plains Road, along with New York City Public Advocate Jumanne Williams, City Councilman Andy King, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., and Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark. The rally was held in honor of the annual, unofficial Juneteenth holiday, the oldest nationally-celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United

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Culture

Occupy City Hall: Protestors Change Tack

PSA: Media Advisory re TV Rescan Requirement Effective July 3, 2020

Black, Brown and Blue in the Bronx: Stories of Pain, Profiling, and Measured Promise

107-Year-Old Julia Bizzarri Survives COVID-19

Thank You For Your Patience: The Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out Now!

Bronx Toastmasters Club of Riverdale: Learning The Art of Effective Communication

Norwood Neighbors for Racial Justice Pen Open Letter to City Officials Calling to Defund NYPD

Ongoing “Black Out” Week-Long Boycott, as NYPD “Blue Flu” Expected on July 4th

Olinville: Joyous Juneteenth Celebration Held Following More Law Reform Announcements