City’s Free Mask Supplies Run Out in 15 Minutes at Williamsbridge Oval Park

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,

By Síle Moloney

To say that COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the lives of people and families across New York City is to state the obvious, but the pre-existing inequality already prevalent in the Bronx has meant that the virus has had an even more devastating impact on low-income families in the borough. Data taken from the latest available New York City Government Poverty Measure Report, 2005-2017, shows that often these impacted families are families of color, who were already under acute financial strain, and none more so than those who have children in hospital. Doctors from the Children’s Hospital at

By Síle Moloney

Following recent reports by the CDC that two pet cats in New York State contracted the novel coronavirus, pet owners around the City may have become concerned that their own pets may get infected. However, they can now call a new Pet Hotline which will serve as an information, planning, referral and service coordination hub for New York City pet owners. On Apr. 29, the City’s emergency management department and the Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare announced the launch of the NYC COVID-19 Pet Hotline for those who need support for their pets during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Pets

By David Greene

The long-awaited flattening of the curve that officials had been talking about since the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York State came just as reports began to break about an overflow of bodies at local hospitals, nursing homes, and funeral parlors. This, as the Bronx went on to report the highest number of coronavirus cases in the City relative to the borough’s population, and trail only Queens and Brooklyn in terms of the actual number of statewide positive cases per county. As of Apr. 30, according to the State’s health department, 2,459 people have died from COVID-19 in

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned New Yorkers during his regular press briefing on Sunday, Apr. 26 about an unintended consequence of his “PAUSE” executive order which has been in effect since March, ever since the World Health Organization declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic. The impact of having to stay home, cancelling public events and social gatherings, closing non-essential businesses, schools, religious and sports venues has given rise to a common dilemma – how to maintain positive mental health. Coincidentally, May marks the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Month. “Do not underestimate the stress that this situation has