National Voter Protection Group Endorses Ritchie Torres in City’s 15th Congressional District Race

By Síle Moloney

Voter Protection Project (VPP), a political action committee working to end gerrymandering and voter suppression across the country, announced its endorsement on Monday, Apr. 27 of Council Member Ritchie Torres in New York’s 15th congressional district race. Founded in 2019, VPP evolved following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Rucho v. Common Cause, which stated that federal courts could not regulate partisan gerrymandering. Since then, VPP has been supporting Democratic candidates running for office who champion voter equality all across the country at federal and state level. “The Voter Protection Project is proud to endorse Ritchie Torres,”

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

In the midst of a pandemic, public health is the number one priority. People need to know what is being done at every level of government to keep them safe. In the case of COVID-19, an additional worry is that there is currently no vaccine, nor any clinically proven treatment for the virus. Local officials have been kept busy reaching out through social media posts, newsletters, emails, and phone calls advising their constituents on how to stay safe and avoid infection. However, if the latest town hall for North Bronx residents is any indication, people are not just concerned

By Síle Moloney

CITIZEN reported that police responded at around 8:20 p.m. on Friday Apr. 24 to a now-confirmed shooting of a man in Morrisania in the South Bronx. The address reported for this incident was 635 Jefferson Pl. The 911 caller reported a Beige Ford Fusion was stolen from the scene by the suspects. Police are requesting no further units at the scene and have no suspect description at this time.

While You Were In: The Week In Pictures

By David Greene

After a month of quarantine, Norwood residents are adapting to “life in the COVID-19 zone”, as seen in this series of photos taken on Monday, Apr. 20. While many businesses remained open, the lack of crowds on a weekday in April still seemed strange, but signs on shuttered businesses, in car windows, and writing on the sidewalk tells the real story of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Hospital staff and paramedics were shown plenty of love and appreciation from the windows of the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore. While most residents wore masks in public, as required across

By Síle Moloney

Mayor Bill de Blasio said that social distancing measures are helping the City fight the novel coronavirus, and that this is evidenced by three indicators. These are tracking hospital admissions for suspected COVID-19 cases, ICU occupants in NYC Health + Hospitals facilities, and the percentage of city residents testing positive for the virus. The mayor made the remarks at a press conference at City Hall on Thursday Apr. 23 during which he also announced plans to significantly increase the City’s supply and distribution of halal meals during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, which begins today. De Blasio praised

By PROFESSOR ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA PFA

The share price for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a publicly-traded wrestling and entertainment company, fell by 40 percent between Jan. 1 and Mar. 11, the latter being the date on which the World Health Organization officially declared the growing spread of the novel coronavirus a pandemic. At that stage, 28 people had died from the virus in the U.S. according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. having been reported in Washington state in January. Meanwhile, the number of confirmed positive cases in the U.S. had risen to over

By Síle Moloney

Just over a quarter million New Yorkers have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Apr. 20 and it’s not over yet. 14,828 have died. Make no mistake. This is a tragedy. Aside from the loss of life, this crisis will forever leave a legacy – the trauma carried by all those who were unable to say goodbye, the horror of discovering bodies in the homes of those who died alone. How can we make sense of it? Some positives may be salvageable. Not only did the pandemic give rise to a statewide centralized care plan, involving both public

Andrew Saul, the U.S. social security commissioner, launched an appeal on Apr. 21 to social security beneficiaries who have dependents, and who do not file tax returns to take action in order to receive an additional payment of $500 per child, in addition to the automatic $1,200 individual payment. “Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients who don’t file tax returns will start receiving their automatic Economic Impact Payments directly from the Treasury Department soon,” Saul said via a press release. “People receiving benefits who did not file 2018 or 2019 taxes, and have qualifying children under

By Síle Moloney

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio assured Bronxites that no New Yorker would go hungry during the COVID-19 pandemic when he paid a visit to the Kingsbrige Armory on Saturday, Apr. 18, along with Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz Jr., and number of other City agency officials. “My message today is simple,” he said. “We will not let any New Yorker go hungry – period. If you need food, we will get it to you.” The armory has been transformed into a temporary food distribution center, one of eight set up in recent weeks all over the City