FIres & Accidents

After Bainbridge Burns Again, Merchants Try to Figure Out a Way Forward

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY
After a third major commercial fire in a 14-year span ripped through a busy business strip of Bainbridge Avenue in Norwood in the early hours of Tuesday, Oct. 10, several small business owners watched in shock as their livelihoods went up in smoke before their eyes and they are, once again, grappling to figure out a way forward.

UPDATE Norwood: Four-Alarm Overnight Fire Rips Through Several Small Businesses on Bainbridge Avenue

By SÍLE MOLONEY
A four-alarm fire ripped through the busy business strip of Bainbridge Avenue overnight on Tuesday, Oct. 10, with several businesses impacted by the blaze, which saw fire trucks and news crews take up the section of the avenue stretching from Van Cortlandt Avenue as far as Mosholu Parkway North. Firefighters initially said there were no injuries, but later confirmed one person was transported to North Central Bronx Hospital.

East Bronx: CM Velázquez, FDNY Announce $1.39M for Two FDNY Firehouses and EMS Station

By SÍLE MOLONEY
City Council Member Marjorie Velázquez (C.D. 13), a Democrat, announced this morning, Oct. 2, in Pelham Parkway, that she has allocated $1.39 million in capital funding to support the New York City Fire Department’s (FDNY) operational needs throughout  the district, including FDNY Engine 97 (Pelham Parkway), FDNY Engine 70/Ladder 53 (City Island), and FDNY EMS Station 20 (Pelham Parkway). Velázquez was joined by FDNY Bronx Borough Commander John Sarrocco and EMS Division 7 Commander John Eyzaguirre.

Belmont: Housing Lottery Launches for Units at 2150 Clinton Avenue

By SÍLE MOLONEY
NYC Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD) have launched an affordable housing lottery for units at 2150 Clinton Avenue, a 5-story, residential building in Belmont, as reported by YIMBY. Designed by Boaz M. Golani Architect and developed by Skyrock NYC Development, the structure yields 36 residential units.

UPDATE Kingsbridge Heights: Arrested Husband of Bronx Daycare Center Caretaker Charged with Drug Trafficking Resulting in Death

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Felix Herrera Garcia, the arrested husband of Grei Mendez, the caretaker of Kingsbridge Heights-based Divino Niño Daycare Center, who has been charged with murder and other drug trafficking offenses following the fatal fentanyl poisoning of one-year-old Nicholas Dominicus at the center on Sept. 15, has been charged with drug trafficking resulting in death in connection with the incident. Three other infants were also poisoned during the same incident but are recovering, as reported.

UPDATE Kingsbridge Heights: 40+ Pounds of Fentanyl Seized Six Blocks from Bronx Daycare Center Where Infants OD’d  

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Federal law enforcement authorities announced Thursday, Sept. 28, that as part of the ongoing investigation into fentanyl trafficking in New York City, federal, state, and local law enforcement officers recovered over 40 pounds of suspected fentanyl, carrying an estimated street value of $1.5 million in The Bronx on Tuesday evening, Sept. 26. They said the latest seizure took place six blocks away from Divino Niño Daycare Center at 2707 Morris Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights, where one-year old Nicholas Dominici experienced fentanyl exposure and later died on Friday, Sept. 15. Three other infants were also hospitalized as a result of being exposed to fentanyl at the same daycare center and are now recovering, as reported.