Education

NWBCCC Bids Fond Farewell to Karen Washington at The Bronx People’s Festival

By DAVID GREENE
  Over 300 Bronxites turned out for a day of learning, planning, and healing, as dozens of local organizations converged on The Mary Mitchell Center, located at 2007 Mapes Avenue in the Crotona section of the Bronx, for “The Bronx People’s Festival” on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021.   Participating groups included Mothers on The Move, Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association, Laborers International Union of North America, The Point, The Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC), the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative and others. The various groups were on hand to provide guests with assistance, as well as free gifts, as


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Sanchez Chairs Council Committee on Housing & Buildings, as Women Comprise Council Majority

By SÍLE MOLONEY
On Thursday, Jan. 20, the New York City Council appointed recently elected, Bronx, District 14 City Council Member, Pierina Sanchez, as chair of the council’s powerful housing & buildings committee, which has jurisdiction over New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the Department of Buildings (DOB), as well as rent regulation policies and practices.   HPD is responsible for promoting the quality and affordability of the city’s housing by developing new, affordable housing, enforcing the housing maintenance code, and engaging neighborhoods in planning. DOB is the primary regulator of the construction and real estate industries in


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Velázquez Introduces City Council Bill to Audit Holocaust Education in Schools, Dinowitz Supports

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Democrats, District 11 City Council Member Eric Dinowitz, District 13 City Council Member Marjorie Velázquez, both representing parts of the Bronx, and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, representing parts of Queens, announced on Thursday, Jan. 27, Holocaust Remembrance Day, that a New York City Council resolution in support of Rozic’s bill A472A will be introduced in the City Council. The bill directs the commissioner of State education to audit Holocaust education in New York.   In the context of the announcement, Velázquez said the increase in antisemitic attacks across the globe, and specifically in New York City was a reminder that the


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UPDATE Bronx Defenders Issue Cool Response to Mayor’s Blue Print to Curb Gun Violence

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem and Queens Defenders released the a statement on Monday, Jan. 24, in response to Mayor Eric Adams’ announcement earlier on Monday of his “Blueprint to End Gun Violence” in New York City. The mayor’s announcement follows a roundtable discussion held at a public school in Bedford Park on Saturday, Jan. 22, with crisis management teams and violence interrupters, amid a spate of high-profile police and civilian shootings which have taken place since he took office, including, as reported, the shooting of a now 1-year-old


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UPDATE New Rochelle High School Teacher Arraigned for Distributing Indecent Material to 15-Year-Old

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced on Monday, Jan. 24, that former Salesian High School teacher, Mariela Barajas, was arraigned for allegedly disseminating indecent material to a 15-year-old.   Barajas, 22, of Mount Vernon, was charged on Jan. 24, in Mount Vernon City Court with disseminating indecent material to minors in the first degree, a felony. The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office made the arrest following an investigation, with assistance from the Mount Vernon Police Department and New Rochelle Police Department.   While employed at the New Rochelle school, in December 2021 and January 2022, Barajas allegedly engaged


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Op-Ed: From Dr. King’s Dream to Parole Justice

By Dr. DEBORAH JENKINS
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”   Those are perhaps the most famous words uttered by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday we celebrated this week. They are also the words that run through my mind when I think about the withering injustice of mass incarceration. 160 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, we still are not free. In many ways, we have made progress, but


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Bedford Park School Project Among Highlights of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fine Arts & Essay Exhibition

By SÍLE MOLONEY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aee1LQsewMA Video courtesy of the New York Education Department and Office of General Services The New York State Education Department (NYSED) and Office of General Services (OGS) announced on Friday, Jan. 14, a record-breaking number of students have participated in the 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fine Arts and Essay Exhibition, with one Bedford Park public school singled out for its creative project.   Department officials said Dr. King’s commitment to nonviolent advocacy served as the inspiration for 2,700 students from more than 90 public and private schools across the State to submit their creations. Overall, the submissions mark


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Applications Open for Woodlawn Cemetery Bridge to Craft Careers Preservation Training Program

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Woodlawn Cemetery & Conservancy is calling all young people aged 18 to 24 who are looking for a meaningful career in construction, historical preservation, and skilled trades and who would love to work with their hands to apply by Jan. 28, to be paid interns and receive specialized hands-on training in masonry and restoration.   Each spring, the Woodlawn Bridges to Crafts Careers Preservation Training Program selects 20 interns to receive specialized hands-on training in masonry and restoration under the guidance of a resident craftsman. The program includes a 10-week, paid, career training and job placement workforce development program which


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TAKE 5 Lottery Ticket Sold in The Bronx

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  The New York Lottery announced on Monday, Jan. 10, that one, top-prize winning ticket was sold for the Jan. 9 TAKE 5 midday drawing. The ticket, worth $18,720.50, was purchased at Heritage Pharmacy Inc, located at 235 East Tremont Avenue in the Tremont/Mt Hope section of the Bronx.   Take 5 players with midday and evening draws on the same ticket must check their numbers at nylottery.ny.gov to determine if they have the winning numbers for the corresponding midday or evening drawing. TAKE 5 numbers are drawn from a field of one through 39. The drawing is televised twice daily at


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