UPDATE Mayor Vetoes Dinowitz Bill on Protesting Around Educational Facilities

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani vetoed on Friday, April 24, City Council Intro 175-B-2026 sponsored by local Councilman Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11), on free speech grounds. The bill, along with Intro 0001-2026, passed in the council in March. The former would require the police commissioner to establish a plan to address and contain the risk of physical obstruction, physical injury, intimidation, and interference at educational facilities while preserving and protecting the rights to free speech, assembly, and protest, according to Dinowitz’s office.

Department of Education Employee Arrested for Sexual Abuse

Police said on Friday, April 24, at approximately 12.04 p.m. an on-duty ew York City employee was arrested in the confines of the 44th Precinct in The Bronx, which covers some or all of the Bronx areas encompassing the Grand Concourse, Bronx Terminal Market, and Yankee Stadium.

UPDATE Belmont: FDNY Stresses Door Closing after Fatal Fire as Property Owner’s Role Under Scrutiny

After the fatal fire at 660 East 187th Street in Belmont on Tuesday, April 21, claimed the lives of two people and left residents of the entire building displaced, the FDNY held a second press conference in Belmont on Friday, April 24, to provide an update on their investigation into the 5-alarm blaze. Officials highlighted once again the importance of closing doors in the event of a fire to stop it from spreading, and also confirmed that the two deceased people had been found in the stairwells of the building. Meanwhile, one relative of some of the building’s surviving tenants has raised questions about the responsibility of the property owner following the fire. Read our initial story on the fire here and its aftermath here.

A.D. 81 Candidate Morgan Evers Endorsed by Rivera, Jackson & Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club

Morgan Evers, a teacher and disability activist who launched her campaign to challenge local, 16-term Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz on Dec. 7, 2025 for the 81st Assembly District seat in the upcoming June primaries, has received additional endorsements in recent weeks in the form of local State Senators Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33), Robert Jackson (S.D. 31), and the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club. 

UPDATE Belmont: Two Killed, Multiple Injuries after Residential Fire in 1920s Building on East 187th Street

Two people have died and 11 people were injured in a seemingly terrifying, 5-alarm residential fire in the Little Italy/Belmont section of The Bronx on Tuesday afternoon, April 21, according to the FDNY. Department officials said they believe the fire started on the first floor, though this is still under investigation. The deadly blaze follows another fatal fire in Belmont at 505 East 184th Street on March 26, as reported, in which there was one fatality and nine injuries.

Inquiring Photographer: Thoughts on the “Tax the Rich” Campaign

This week, we asked readers for their opinion on the ‘Tax the Rich’ campaign that would increase the taxes of millionaires and wealthy corporations, using the revenue earned from such taxes to restore funding cuts to healthcare and public services, as well as free childcare.