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Mayor: City Will Run Out of COVID-19 Vaccines Next Week, State Health Department Issues Vaccine Alert

By SÍLE MOLONEY
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Friday, Jan. 15, during an interview on WNYC, that the City is set to run out of COVID-19 vaccine supply next week, and called on the federal government to send additional doses.   “We will run out of vaccine next week in New York City,” said de Blasio. “The supply should go to where there is an infrastructure to get it into people’s arms. We know there is supply in this country not being used.”   The mayor’s office said that as of Friday, Jan. 15, the City had under 186,000


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Teddy Car Dealers Resumes ‘Music Matters’ Grants of $20,000 towards Bronx Music Programs

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Picking up where it left off when the pandemic hit last spring, Teddy Cars, car dealers in Nissans and Volkswagens, located on Boston Road in the Edenwald section of the Bronx announced on Friday, Jan. 15, that it will be continuing its $20,000 commitment to music education in the Bronx.   A year ago, the Teddy Cars Bronx Music Grant Program promised $20,000 in funding to ten school and community music programs in the Bronx. After funding five, the “Music Matters’ program was put on hold because of the pandemic. Beginning this month, once again, representatives said the dealership will resume


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Take Five Lottery Top-Prize Winning Ticket Sold in The Bronx

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The New York Lottery announced on Friday, Jan. 15, that one top-prize winning ticket was sold in the Jan. 14 TAKE-5 drawing. The ticket, worth $63,584.00, was purchased at U M K Inc, located at 5582 Broadway in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx.   The five winning numbers for the TAKE 5 game are drawn from a field of one to 39. The TAKE 5 drawing is televised every day at 10:30 p.m. A Lottery draw game prize of any amount may be claimed up to one year from the date of the drawing.   The New York Lottery continues to be North


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CM Rafael Salamanca Jr.  Endorses John Sanchez in the 15th District City Council Race

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Rafael Salamanca Jr, three-term City Councilman for the 17th District and chair of the City Council committee on land use, has endorsed district manager for Community Board 6, John Sanchez, in the District 15 City Council race set for March 23rd, it was announced on Friday, Jan. 15.   Councilman Rafael Salamanca Jr. said, “I am proud to endorse John Sanchez for New York City Council in the 15th District. For the past four years, John has served as District Manager for Community Board 6 where he has earned a reputation for going above and beyond for the community.”  


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Mayor Releases Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2022 of $92.28 billion

Mayor's Coming to the Bronx, and He's Bringing City Hall With Him
By SÍLE MOLONEY
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio presented the City’s preliminary budget for fiscal year 2022 (FY22), on Thursday, Jan. 14. The preliminary budget is $92.28 billion and the mayor said after the one of the most painful years in the City’s history, it charts a path to recovery while making responsible choices in light of steep revenue losses due to COVID-19.   “President-elect Biden will help our recovery by increasing FEMA reimbursement,” the mayor said. “And new Democratic majorities in Congress must move us forward with a federal COVID relief package that includes direct local aid.”   Officials from


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Congressman Adriano Espaillat Tests Positive for COVID-19

By DAVID GREENE
New York Congressman, Adriano Espaillat, who represents parts of the Bronx and Manhattan, announced on Twitter that he has tested positive for the coronavirus and is now under quarantine. In the first of three tweets, Espaillat posted at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 14, writing, “I am following the guidance from my physician and quarantining at home after having tested positive for COVID-19.”   As reported by Norwood News, the congressman was first vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the United States Capitol on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. On Jan. 14, Espaillat added to his first tweet, writing, “I


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Paycheck Protection Program Reopens to Small Lenders Jan. 15, and to All Lenders Jan. 19

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with the U.S. Treasury Department, will re-open the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan portal to PPP-eligible lenders with $1 billion or less in assets for first and second draw applications on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021 at 9 a.m. EST. The portal will later fully open to all participating PPP lenders on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021 to submit first and second draw loan applications to the SBA.   Earlier this week, the SBA granted dedicated PPP access to community financial institutions (CFIs) which included community development financial institutions (CDFIs), minority depository institutions (MDIs),


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“Community Classrooms” Provide Bronx Students with Internet Access to Help with Remote Learning

By SÍLE MOLONEY
House New York Inc., the educational philanthropic arm of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH) recently launched a PILOT program to repurpose underutilized community and common spaces in two Bronx affordable residences for educational use. Under the program, these two spaces are being used as safe and staffed learning environments for students who might not otherwise have access to reliable WiFi during this era of hybrid learning.   As the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced many students to learn remotely on either a full or part-time basis, the digital divide has been significantly exacerbated, disproportionately impacting low-income children


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