Health Check: Summertime Exercise in the Time of Social Distancing

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

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Public Prep, the nation’s first non-profit network that exclusively develops exceptional, tuition-free PreK and single-sex elementary and middle public schools, is launching the new school year and welcoming students back to virtual classrooms with an annual tradition – a Male Heroes Walk on their first day at Boys Prep Bronx located in the Concourse Village section of the Bronx. This event began seven years ago as a way for scholars to interact with their heroes whether they are family members, professionals, or school staff. They give out high-fives on their way to class as they kick off the school

By DAVID GREENE

With the current pandemic, economic halt, and growing food shortage foremost in everyone’s mind, members of The Love Legacy Chapel, based at Westchester Square in the Bronx, recently embarked on an ambitious, “Feed a Thousand” campaign, whereby they hope to eventually feed 1,000 hungry Bronxites each week. According to Pastor Christopher Garcia, the church, located at 2500 St. Raymond’s Avenue, began the program in early July with a half dozen volunteers who handed out some 200 meals consisting of chicken and rice, potato salad, as well as fruits and vegetables. The church purchases food through donations, and food