Potential Strike at 11 Foodtown Stores, Including Norwood, Apparently Averted

By DAVID GREENE

Following a walk-out by Foodtown deli workers on June 29, 2020, after employment contract negotiations broke down with employer, PSK Supermarkets, in Mineola, Long Island, a further strike was planned for Thursday, Aug. 27 as hopes of brokering a deal seemed to fade. The planned strike had the potential to impact as many as 67 workers at 11 stores across the metropolitan area. On Friday, Aug. 21, union officials from United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), Local 342, who represent deli workers, were seen handing out flyers outside the Foodtown store at 283 East 204th Street in

By JASON GONZALEZ

Data analysis by both State and City health departments shows that the COVID-19 virus disproportionately impacted Bronxites for a whole host of reasons, one of which was lack of access to healthcare, especially in low-income communities. On Friday, July 31, City Councilwoman for District 16, Vanessa Gibson, took a step towards addressing that disparity in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx. “We are here at River Park Towers unveiling a new mobile health care clinic facility in partnership with Morris Heights Health Center, following a disturbing article that we read about in June that talked about the unconfirmed COVID cases here at the towers,” Gibson

By SHIRLEY SYMISTER

Exercise is very important for overall health. It can help you to lose weight, stay at a healthy weight, lower the risk of some diseases and help with managing emotional health. With gyms closed and social distancing in place, finding a time and place to exercise is more difficult than ever before. However, there are still ways to get the exercise you need this summer, regardless of where you are: Get outdoors! Check out the Williamsbridge Oval and Van Cortlandt Park in Norwood, where there is enough room to exercise and still stay six feet from other

By SR. KEVIN PATRICIA LYNCH & KATHY MAYER

On July 16, a memorial service was held for all of the residents who died of various causes at St. Patrick’s Home in Norwood since March of this year. On Sept. 3, 1929, Venerable Mother Angeline founded the religious order, The Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Order who run the home. The date is a very important one for all Carmelite Sisters. As they prepare to celebrate the anniversary, known as Foundation Day, the Sisters and staff at St. Patrick’s look back on the history of both the nursing home and the Carmelite Order, and reflect on how

By SÍLE MOLONEY

With the announcement of Councilman Andrew Cohen’s nomination to the Bronx Supreme Court on Aug. 10, the race to fill his District 11 City Council seat just got a whole lot more urgent. Currently, there are six candidates vying to replace Cohen, with five having formally declared their intent with the City’s Campaign Finance Board. Jessica Haller, a tech entrepreneur, environmentalist and mother of four, announced her candidacy in late January, expecting at that point to spend much of her time in one of her favorite places – outside – knocking on doors. When the coronavirus pandemic hit

By SÍLE MOLONEY

A small but spirited protest was held on Saturday morning, Aug. 22, to save Jerome Station Post Office, located at 2540 Jerome Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights, from potential closure. Local resident, Pereta Rodriguez Ph.d., who said she relies on the post office for essential mail, initially asked three people to join her in saving her local branch, in solidarity with others around the country as part of a national day of protest to save the United States Postal Service. “I wanted to make sure that everyone knew what was at stake,” Rodriguez said. “It’s not just the ballots,

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Monday, Aug. 24, NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea announced that, going forward, additional police officers would be rostered at the weekends in an effort to curb the increased rates of gun violence seen across the Bronx, and across the City in recent months. The NYPD reported that 44 percent of shootings in the last month occurred on Saturdays and Sundays. For the week ending Aug. 23, murder in the Bronx, rose by 400 percent compared to the same period last year. In the 52 precinct alone, two murders were reported in July within six days of each other.

Bronx Projects Take Center Stage in State of the City

By AURÉOLE RIBES & SÍLE MOLONEY

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and the “#Not62 Campaign for a Healthy Bronx” steering committee held a virtual discussion on Wednesday, July 29 entitled, “A Discussion of Health Disparities and COVID-19.” The dialogue focused on why and how the Bronx ended up with the highest rates of COVID-19 cases in the State, from both a historical and an analytical perspective, as well as what could and should be done to shift that disparity. Since 2009, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s county health ranking report has ranked the Bronx in 62nd place out of New York State’s 62 counties

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York Public Library is hosting outdoor tabling events at several branches throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, staffed with Census representatives to help New Yorkers complete the 2020 Census before the extended census deadline of Sept. 30. The events are designed to encourage and support response rates in New York City, which currently stands at 56.5 percent. Federal funding is determined by Census response rates and Census information is used to determine New York City’s fair share of $675 billion in federal funds for public education, public housing, infrastructure, and more each year—as well as the