Morrisania: 7-Month-Old Infant Dies

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Thursday, October 1, 2020 at approximately 6.30 a.m., police responded to a 911 call regarding an aided infant inside of 1285 Washington Avenue, Morrisania Houses, in the Morrisania section of the Bronx, within the confines of the 42nd precinct, Police Service Area (PSA) #7. Upon arrival, officers observed a 7-month-old male baby unconscious and unresponsive, with no obvious signs of trauma observed. EMS also responded to the location and transported the aided infant to BronxCare Health System hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. The identity of the deceased

By SÍLE MOLONEY

President Donald Trump’s doctors said during a press briefing on Oct. 3, that the president is being administered remdesivir, a drug trialed in the Bronx to treat patients with COVID-19, as a joint research initiative by Montefiore Health System and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Einstein/Montefiore was the first New York site to take part in what is an ongoing international drug treatment study. The first iteration of the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial (ACTT) began in various locations on Feb. 21, though candidate recruitment only began in the Bronx in March. Remdesivir is described as an investigational, broad-spectrum

By DAVID GREENE

Investigators from the FDNY’s Fire Marshal unit are investigating the second blaze to strike a commercial business along a popular shopping hub over a three-day period in the Norwood section of the Bronx. FDNY officials reported that the fire broke out inside the W&K Beauty Salon & Barber Shop, located at 6 West Gun Hill Road. According to an unnamed official, the fire broke out at 10.47 p.m., on Sunday, Sept. 27 and 60 FDNY members from 12 fire units brought the blaze under control by 11.28 p.m. Fire Marshals from the FDNY’s Bureau of Fire Investigation were

By Síle Moloney

Over 50 Bronx students, parents and community members will march through Education Mile on Saturday, October 3rd as part of Dignity in Schools’ National Week of Action calling for police-free schools. The protest, organized by Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition and Sistas and Brothas United (SBU), will drop banners demanding police-free schools and investment in restorative justice at six schools — Dewitt Clinton High School, Bronx Science High School, High School for American Studies, Walton Campus, P.S. 86, and P.S. 340. The protest comes as students re-enter school for the first time after six months of home learning

Bronx Teen First Vaping-Related Death in New York State

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Oct. 1 the launch of an innovative technology-based tool, the COVID Alert NY, to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. “Contact tracing has been instrumental in stopping the COVID spread, and we have worked hard over these past months to establish a nation-leading testing and tracing program. Today, we are building on that effort [….] with our official Exposure Notification App created by the New York State Department of Health in partnership with Google and Apple,” the governor wrote. “With COVID Alert NY, you can use your phone to receive alert notifications if

By SÍLE MOLONEY

New Yorkers use an estimated 23 billion (not 23 million, 23 billion) plastic bags every year, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. That’s 1,182 bags per person, with each bag being used for about 12 minutes. Approximately 85 percent of this staggering total ends up in landfills, recycling machines, waterways, and streets. Here’s something else everyone should reflect upon. The Ecology Center (ecologycenter.org) wrote, “Like many other plastics, we can’t guarantee that plastic film is getting recycled, even if it is clean, dry, and disposed of in the “right” place. We also know that all plastic ever

By ELIOT SCHIAPARELLI

Norwood News, in partnership with WFUV radio and BronxNet Television, presents a five-part series on national issues affecting voters in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election, seen through the local lens of Bronx neighborhood communities. Part 1 looks at the environment. Sewage treatment plants, major trucking routes, food distribution centers, and highways like the Cross Bronx Expressway, all clustered together in the South Bronx have created an area with such poor air quality, it has been nicknamed “Asthma Alley,” by locals. According to a 2018 City health department report, pollution levels in the South Bronx

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez has issued a statement regarding residents’ concerns in the Allerton community about the possibility of a substance abuse treatment center being opened in the neighborhood. Department of Buildings work permit signs at 2500 Williamsbridge Road had prompted concern among the community that a treatment center was going ahead. The assemblywoman said that she contacted the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports who confirmed that there was no such application pending at the site. Proud to stand with my community to demand answers on the use of 2500 Williamsbridge Road. Together we will make

By SÍLE MOLONEY

New York Blood Center is calling on the community to make appointments to visit donor centers as COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the process of donating blood. Before COVID-19, mobile blood drives hosted by high schools, colleges, businesses and other organizations made up about 75 percent of the region’s incoming blood supply, but the number of blood drives has dropped by two-thirds this year due to the pandemic. The upcoming school year presents new and unprecedented challenges. Blood donations are typically lower during the summer and the return to school usually helps make up the difference and stabilize the blood