Montefiore Food, Mask and Hand Sanitizer Giveaway at Westchester Square Campus

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

On Aug. 14, in the Parkchester section of the Bronx, associates from Montefiore Westchester Square Campus were joined by State Sen. Luis Sepulveda, Assembly Member Michael Benedetto, and Council Member Mark Gjonaj to distribute masks, hand sanitizers, and lunch to the local community at their Raymond’s Avenue location. Lunch was provided by Montefiore cafeteria staff, and information on the importance of going to the ER for health emergencies was distributed to those in attendance, including information about how the staff at Montefiore are keeping Westchester Square COVID safe for their community. Thank you to our healthcare heroes at @MontefioreNYC

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York State legislature will hold a virtual hearing on the impact of Tropical Storm Isaias on New York State on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020. On Aug. 4, the storm hit New York with heavy rain, tornadoes and winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour. Isaias left hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers without power across New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Rockland, the Hudson Valley and other areas of the state within the service territories of PSEG-Long Island, Con Edison, Orange and Rockland, National Grid, Central Hudson, New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) and other

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Life isn’t easy. Just ask Jose Ramon, a 54-year-old Parkchester resident who was diagnosed with ALS in January of this year. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a progressive nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control. The condition is often called Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the baseball player who was diagnosed with it. On Saturday, July 25, as part of a wider fundraising initiative spearheaded by the ALS Association, Greater New York Chapter, Ramon, supported by a group of friends and supporters completed a “Walk from Home”

By DAVID GREENE

On August 18, the NYPD released body-worn camera footage of an incident involving the death of a person while in police custody that occurred on June 4, 2020 in the confines of the 9th precinct in Manhattan. According to the NYPD, the video includes available evidence leading up to, as well as during the incident. The NYPD released the video for clear viewing of the totality of the incident. All NYPD patrol officers are equipped with body-worn cameras. According to the agency, the benefits of cameras are clear: transparency into police activity, de-escalation of police encounters and accountability

By DAVID GREENE

A guilty plea and a 20-year sentence in a 21-year-old, cold case murder has brought closure to the close-knit family of Elsa Grullon who was killed in the Highbridge section of the Bronx on May, 27, 1999. On Aug. 11, 2020 at Bronx Criminal Court, during the age of social-distancing amid a global pandemic, family members of Grullon finally witnessed justice being served for a crime committed at the end of the last century. Grullon, 56, was discovered over two decades ago by a family member inside her home at 825 Gerard Avenue in the South Bronx. An autopsy

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

A crew of five City lifeguards rescued a Bronx man who collapsed in knee-deep water at Orchard Beach on July 29. “We saw him wade out and suddenly he collapsed face down into the water,” said lifeguard supervisor Neil Veloz. “When we reached him and pulled him out, he had no pulse and wasn’t breathing.” Lifeguards, Andriy Kapys and Arlene Suvana, pulled the victim, Joachin Rosado, 33, from the water. Immediately, additional lifeguards, Julio Benjamin and Troy Washington, began CPR to resuscitate Rosado. However, Veloz said when they used a defibrillator, he had no shockable heart rhythm. The

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

Local residents in the Norwood section of the Bronx got down to business last Monday, Aug. 10, showing up to help clean up Williamsbridge Oval Park in response to a call from elected officials, including Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz Jr., City Council Member Andrew Cohen, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and State Sen. Jamaal Bailey. As reported by Norwood News, a trail of devastation, including fallen trees and branches strewn across pathways and sports courts, was left in the park after Storm Isaias struck New York City on Tuesday, Aug 4, leaving 300,000 New Yorkers without electricity, some for more than

By DAVID GREENE

An unidentified woman was injured when her blue Honda Civic collided with a taxi cab in the Norwood section of the Bronx on Sunday. Fire officials and police were called to the crash, reported at 8:56 a.m. on August 16, at the intersection of East Gun Hill Road and Dekalb Avenue in Norwood. The FDNY reported that the victim was transported by EMS to North Central Bronx Hospital. Her injuries were not believed to be life threatening. One witness said the woman suffered minor facial injuries from the deployment of her airbag, and appeared to be

By SÍLE MOLONEY & JASON GONZALEZ

As the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, public officials are listening to constituents’ concerns, and walking the talk when it comes to addressing ongoing food insecurity. A number of food drives have been held all across the borough by various elected officials in recent months, and appear set to continue as Bronxites struggle to cope with the ongoing economic crisis. The New York Times reported on July 7 that “the City’s unemployment rate is hovering near 20 percent — a figure not seen since the Great Depression.” In conjunction with the Bronx Parent Housing Network (BPHN), a