Bronx Woman Quits Smoking after 40 Years with Support from the New York State Smokers’ Quitline

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Quitting smoking or vaping is challenging. According to the New York State Smokers’ Quitline (Quitline), Amit C., pictured, age 53, first tried cigarettes at age 12 because her older friends smoked. Before she knew it, she was hooked. Throughout her life, Amit tried on many occasions to become tobacco-free. However, she had trouble succeeding. “I was a single mom and was stressed out financially,” Amit said. “It felt like everyone around me smoked. Recently, my uncle, who was a long-time smoker, passed away in his early 60s due to surgery complications. This really shook me. I want to be

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD confirmed on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 1, that the parents of an unidentified girl found alone on Dec. 31, in the Soundview section of The Bronx have been located and an investigation into the incident is currently ongoing. Earlier on Sunday, police had been appealing to the public for help identifying the young girl, pictured in the attached photo, and locating her parents or guardians. According to the NYPD, on Dec. 31, at 6:25 p.m. in front of 1208 Leland Ave in Soundview, the unidentified child had been observed walking alone and was removed to NYC Health

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The City’s public health system’s first baby of 2023 was welcomed at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, 2023. Named Kingsley Mei, the baby boy weighs 6 pounds, 7.6 ounces, and measures 19 inches. Kingsley was born to parents, Dexin and Holly. This is the Brooklyn couple’s first boy. Later on New Year’s Day, at 9:04 a.m., NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln welcomed newborn baby boy, Emilio Araujo, who weighed in at 8 pounds and 15.7 ounces. As New Year’s Day drew to a close, at 11:30 p.m., NYC Health +

By DAVID GREENE

Members of ‘Montefiore Melodies’ rehearse a rendition of “Jingle Bell Rock” as they prepare to sing with patients during the holiday season at Montefiore Medical Center, located on East 210th Street in Norwood on Friday, December 2, 2022. Video courtesy of David Greene via YouTube. Bronx choir, “Montefiore Melodies,” brought together, in person, people who are recovering from strokes and other neurological disorders for the first time in two years on Friday, Dec. 2, at Montefiore Medical Center to sing songs of holiday cheer. The afternoon event kicked off the holiday season and took place outside Montefiore Moses Campus

By SÍLE MOLONEY

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced on Friday, Dec. 23, that over $256 million in federal funding was secured to upgrade the New York City Subway and Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) systems, improving accessibility to meet or exceed new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) construction standards. Representatives for the Democratic senators said the two grants will provide more than a quarter of a billion dollars for accessibility improvements through the Federal Transit Administration’s All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP), created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed last year and supported by both Schumer

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Amid the winter storm, the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) is reminding parents and caregivers with infants about the ways to keep their children safe while sleeping. Officials said there is serious danger associated with babies less than a year-old sleeping with parents in adult beds, or sleeping with blankets or quilts, which can create a risk of suffocation. To keep babies warm and safe, parents and caregivers are urged to dress them in an extra layer of infant clothing or in a wearable blanket, such as a sleep sack. ACS Commissioner Jess Dannhauser said, “With a winter

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Health Commissioner Issues Advisory NYC health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, issued a new advisory on Dec. 9 as NYC faces high levels of a triple onslaught of COVID-19, flu, and RSV cases. New Yorkers are strongly urged to wear masks in public, indoor settings, and crowded outdoor settings, to get vaccinated, test regularly, wash hands regularly and stay home, if sick. For more information, visit here. He said this is especially important for people who are – or are meeting – those who are at increased risk for complications from COVID-19, RSV, or the flu, such as those age 65

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY

A resident of a transitional shelter and supportive housing facility located in the Fordham Manor section of The Bronx said a deceased 62-year-old man, who died from a heart attack at the shelter on Dec. 10 and was later removed by emergency services, had earlier reported to staff of chest pains. He was later found unconscious and unresponsive in his shared dorm room. When contacted about the incident on the weekend it occurred, and which took place at the Bowery Residents’ Committee Inc. (BRC) shelter and transitional housing facility, located at 237 Landing Road, which is specialized in providing,

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition. When Bryan Cortez started studying Computer Information Systems at Bronx Community College (BCC) in the fall of 2021, New York City, like the rest of the country was still getting to grips with living through a second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. This had followed a summer spike in COVID cases caused by the then-new and highly infectious Delta variant. As a result, Cortez started his first semester at BCC, located at 2155 University Avenue in the University Heights section of The Bronx,

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Health

Bronx Woman Quits Smoking after 40 Years with Support from the New York State Smokers’ Quitline

UPDATE Parents of Child Found Alone in the Soundview section of The Bronx Located

NYC H+H Welcomes First Baby of 2023 at South Brooklyn Health, followed by More Bronx Babies

Caroling After a Stroke: “Montefiore Melodies” Sing Again

Schumer, Gillibrand Secure $256M for ADA Upgrades to Subway & PATH Systems

UPDATE Neighborhood Notes: Weather Warning, Onsite Testing for COVID/FLU/RSV, Lithium-Ion Safety Tips & More!

Fordham Manor: Shelter Resident Says Dead Man Removed from Shelter Had Complained of Chest Pains

UPDATE Heating Restored at Bronx Community College Amid Resignation