Health

Espaillat leads Effort to Eliminate Barriers to Federal Disaster Relief in Wake of Hurricane Ida

By SÍLE MOLONEY
    Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), who represents parts of the Northwest Bronx and Northern Manhattan, and Grace Meng (NY-6) who represents parts of Queens, announced that they are leading an effort to eliminate barriers to federal disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Ida.   Espaillat and Meng took the lead in writing a letter, calling on U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Chairman Peter DeFazio, who chairs the congressional committee on transportation and infrastructure, to include Espaillat’s bill, H.R. 3037 – the Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act of 2021 in upcoming emergency disaster supplemental funding.   Espaillat said


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UPDATE Williamsbridge: Search for Missing 15-Year-Old

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The New York City Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a 15-year-old boy reported missing in the  47th precinct.   Police reported, on Sept. 17, that Elijah Pratt Johnson of 3638 Holland Avenue (Williamsbridge), 3rd Floor, The Bronx, NY 10467, was last seen at his home on Tuesday Sept. 14, at 10.30 p.m. He is described as male, 15 years old, 5 foot, 6 inches tall, Black, weighs 110 pounds, has brown eyes, black hair and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, gray sweatpants and black sneakers.   A photograph of Elijah is attached.   Anyone


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UPDATE: Jeffrey Dinowitz Pushes for New Law to Combat Fake Vaccination Cards

The FBI issued a warning on March 30 about a growing number of fraudulent vaccination cards which were being peddled to New Yorkers and to American residents, nationwide. As reported, Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) subsequently introduced legislation at State level to charge those partaking in such fraud and is now pushing to have the bill signed into law as soon as possible.   The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the U.S. Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the FBI issued the warning in March to make the public aware that there were individuals who


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UPDATE: De Blasio Signs “Rikers Relief Plan,” Hochul Announces Release of 191 Inmates & Transfer of 200 to State Facilities

By SÍLE MOLONEY
A number of Bronx and other elected officials were taken on a tour of Rikers Island on Monday, Sept. 13. Their aim was to highlight what they said are illegal and unsafe conditions at the jail. Among the group were State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (S.D. 34), Congressman Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Assembly Member Kenny Burgos (A.D. 85), Assembly Member Amanda Septimo (A.D. 84), as well as public defenders and activists like Min. Dr. Victoria Phillips of the Jails Action Coalition.   Ahead of the visit, Bowman said the group intended to call on City and State governments to use every tool


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Kids Return to In-Person Learning at Public Schools 18 Months after NYS “PAUSE” Order

By DAVID GREENE
Many of New York City’s 1.1 million school children who were sent home in March 2020 when then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a statewide “PAUSE” order, amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, returned to their classrooms on Monday, Sept. 13, as the City reopened public schools for in-person learning once again.   After joining NYC Schools Chancellor, Meisha Porter, at P.S. 25 Bilingual School on East 149th Street in the Woodstock section of the South Bronx on Monday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio later held a press briefing at City Hall. “This is the day New York City’s comeback is


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UPDATE: Bronx Legislators, Activists Call Out City Plan to End “Solitary Confinement”

By DAWN CLANCY
When Melania Brown, 33, heard that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had publicly vowed in June 2020 to end solitary confinement, Brown hoped she might finally make good on a promise she, herself, had made to her deceased sister.   Brown’s younger sister, Layleen Polanco, 27, a transgender woman, died a preventable death following an epileptic seizure on June 7, 2019, while she was held in segregated confinement on Rikers Island. As reported last year, activists have long alleged that solitary confinement has killed and destroyed the lives of countless Black people and other People of Color, and


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Laconia: Search for Missing 13-Year-Old Girl

By SÍLE MOLONEY  
The NYPD is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a 13-year-old girl who has been reported missing from the 49th precinct in the Laconia section of the Bronx. It was reported to police that Shiloh Lalondriz, 13, was last seen on Sept. 9, at approximately 6.30 p.m., in front of her home at 2725 Throop Avenue in Laconia.   She is described as female, weighs approximately 123 pounds, is Hispanic, is 5 feet, 6 inches tall, has brown eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing a blue shirt with a “2” printed on the back, blue socks and


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New York State Eviction Moratorium Extension Follows Bronx Rally   

By SARAH HUFFMAN
  A housing rally organized by Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) in Hunts Point on Aug. 3 achieved the desired result: an extension of the State eviction moratorium. In addition, the State moratorium offers greater protections than its federal counterpart, which is also fortunate as in the meantime, the federal moratorium extension has been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.   Torres was joined at the Aug. 3 rally, held at 1231 Lafayette Avenue, by New York City Council Member Vanessa Gibson (C.D. 16) and advocates from Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA), the Supportive Housing Network of New York,


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Bronxites Pick up the Pieces & Seek Relief in the Wake of Storm Ida

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY
  The relative and literal “calm before the storm” on the afternoon and early evening of Wednesday, Sept. 1, perhaps lured many Bronxites into a fall sense of security that then-impending Storm Ida would not be as extreme as forecast. The consequences of such nonchalance proved to be devastating.   Between noon and 6 p.m., the day was overcast, humidity was at 82 percent, temperatures ranged from 68 to 72 degrees F, southwesterly winds were traveling at 11.8 mph but there was no rain. At 6.18 p.m., the National Weather Service (NWS) tweeted that tornado warnings had been issued for


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