CM Cohen and AM Dinowitz Celebrate New Kosher Food Site at P.S. 24

Starting Monday, the Bronx will no longer be the only borough in New York City without a kosher food distribution site as part of the City’s Get Food program. After weeks of advocacy from Bronx elected officials, the City has agreed to distribute free kosher grab-and-go meals at P.S. 24 in the the borough starting Monday, May 11, opening the City’s prevailing meal distribution program to observant residents in the borough for the first time since the program’s launch. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and Council Member Andrew Cohen had been advocating for kosher food offerings in the Northwest Bronx to

By Síle Moloney

On May 5, Mayor Bill de Blasio warned New Yorkers on Twitter that if their children were experiencing persistent fever, rash, abdominal pain or vomiting, to call a doctor right away. The previous day, City health officials had issued a bulletin to New York City health care providers instructing them to immediately report any patients under 21 who displayed these symptoms. In the bulletin, the officials also wrote that 15 patients aged between two and 15 years of age had been hospitalized in the City between Apr. 17 and May 1 with an illness possibly linked to COVID-19. “We

New York State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi and Bronx Community Board 7 will be providing free hot meals today, May, 8, 2020 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the northbound corner of 199th Street and Grand Concourse. Contact Ischia Bravo, District Manager for questions. Bronx Community Board 7 ibravo@cb.nyc.gov 646-330-3599

Antibody Testing To Begin Next Week

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on May 7 that, beginning next week, antibody testing will be offered on an appointment-only basis for approximately two weeks in Morrisania, East New York, Upper Manhattan, Concord, and Long Island City. Through a partnership with BioReference labs, the City will conduct its own antibody survey at community testing sites in the five boroughs to better understand the spread of COVID-19. The survey will test approximately 70,000 New Yorkers over an initial two-week period, with the capacity to administer up to 5,000 tests per day. Scheduling will open this Friday via a dedicated

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

It took just 15 minutes for City workers to run out of free face coverings at a mask distribution site in Williamsbridge Oval Park on Tuesday, May 5. Distribution of the masks was scheduled to take place between noon and 2:00 p.m., but empty folding tables were already being moved back inside the park’s recreation building by 12:20 p.m. as residents were still arriving. “We gave out 1,700 masks,” said a City worker who did not wish to be identified. New Yorkers across the five boroughs began receiving free masks and face coverings on Saturday, May 2, at

By David Greene

There is no firehouse or hospital in the immediate area of the Amalgamated Housing Cooperative, located opposite Van Cortlandt Park South, yet residents of the cooperative have been joining in the national ritual to thank first responders on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic by going to their windows every night at 7 p.m. and diligently applauding. A recent visit to Building 11 in the complex, which was built between 1927 and 1970, found residents banging on pots and pans, blowing horns and cheering on the front line workers, hospital workers, and paramedics who have been helping and

New York Botanical Garden will be celebrating its annual Garden Party on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10, with a virtual Azalea Garden tour, and is inviting people to share greetings and memories of their moms during a Facebook Watch Party. The community is invited to join the Facebook Watch Party featuring a virtual tour of the garden’s spectacular Maureen K. Chilton Azalea Garden which is in peak bloom, and will also include personalized Mother’s Day greetings from the Garden’s members and patrons. People are encouraged to show their love for their moms with fun at-home activities for the whole family

By Miriam Quinones & Síle Moloney

The first “official” COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) at North Central Bronx Hospital (NCB) was formally opened during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, May 5. Norwood News reported in April how NCB, one of 11 public hospitals in the NYC Health & Hospitals system, doubled its capacity, and has been taking in the overflow of COVID-19 patients from other public and private hospitals from around the State over the course of the pandemic. Council Member Fernando Cabrera, the hospital’s executive director, Cristina Contreras, NYC Health & Hospitals’ Sally Pinero, Thomas Gaudio of Jacobs Engineering Group, William White, LiRo Group

By David Greene

Make no mistake. Social distancing has fast become the new catchphrase of 2020. Yet, many Bronxites, from lovers to parents to MTA workers are simply not adhering to the required minimum 6-feet distance from others while in public, nor are they always wearing masks. This, despite recommendations issued by the City’s health department since early April to do exactly that, and despite Gov. Andrew Cuomo eventually doubling the fine from $500 to $1,000 on Apr. 6 for anyone found not keeping their distance from others or not wearing a mask when out in public. On Apr. 20,