UFT Gives Early Endorsement to Eric Dinowitz’s 2021 Run for Council

By DAVID CRUZ

Eric Dinowitz, the scion of Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz and a special education teacher in the New York City public school system, received his first endorsement from the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), representing rare public support in an election cycle that’s less than two years away. Such an endorsement was also embroiled in an awkward rollout last year when the younger Dinowitz put the cart before the horse, telling supporters in May he was endorsed by the 200,000-plus strong union well before the union publicly supported him. Educators, school staff, classroom paraprofessionals, psychologists, and retirees make up the union. Dinowitz

By HENRY MCEACHERN

Prepare yourselves, Bronxites, the state-wide Bag Waste Reduction Law starts March 1, barring grocery and retail stores from providing plastic bags to customers in an effort to reduce waste. “City residents use billions of single-use carryout bags every year, and they are frequently used for only a few minutes at a time,” said Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia in a press release. “Plastic bags are particularly troublesome as contaminants in our recycling, as they often clog machinery, and we’ve all seen plastic bags stuck in city trees around the city. This is not sustainable.” To prepare, the city Sanitation Department is

By DAVID CRUZ

The NYPD needs help tracking a suspected burglar who ransacked a locked bedroom in Bedford Park. Police from the 52nd Precinct say the thief entered the bedroom from the victim’s window on Dec. 29, 2019 at around 10:30 a.m. in the area of East 195th Street and Bainbridge Avenue. He then scored some cash from the 28-year-old’s bedroom before taking off. The police offered no official description of the suspect, though it revealed video of the suspected thief taken from inside the bedroom. Anyone with information in regard to the identity of this male is asked to call the

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By HENRY MCEACHERN

New York Attorney General Letitia James broke the seal of an extensive 107-count indictment last Thursday. The indictment charges five individuals for their roles in a gun-and-drug-trafficking scheme operating throughout the Bronx and upper Manhattan. The investigation, dubbed “Operation Iron Empire,” was a joint effort of the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force, the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, and the New York Strike Force–a unit comprised of federal, state, and local law enforcement. “It is a fact, illegal drug trafficking and gun violence threaten the lives of New Yorkers,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan. “

Out & About: Black History Month Celebration

Editor’s Pick Black History Month Celebration The public is invited to North Central Bronx Hospital, 3424 Kossuth Ave. to celebrate Black History Month, Feb. 21 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. on the 17th floor. The keynote speaker is Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, the first African American Assembly Speaker in NYC history. Info: NCBPublicAffairs@nychhc.org. Events Tracey Towers, 20 W. Mosholu Pkwy. So., Community Room A, holds Election 2020 Town Hall, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. Event includes discussion on early voting, voter registration, poll worker job opportunities, and the upcoming presidential election. Info: John Zaccaro, Jr. at John.ZaccaroJr@gmail.com. Church of

Inquiring Photographer: State of the Bronx

With Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. set to deliver his State of the Borough address on Feb. 20, we asked readers to offer their take on the state of the Bronx. Right now, the main thing I’m concerned about is police actions. Other than that, the Bronx is a good place to live. Yeah, they’re still doing stop and frisk. They stop people for anything: weed, guns. I don’t mind them getting the guns off the street, but stopping everyone is harassment … I do worry about gentrification and that’s scary because it pushes the poor people right out of

By DAVID CRUZ

Councilman Ritchie Torres grabbed his ninth labor endorsement in his run for the 15th Congressional District race, which inches closer to petitioning season. This time Torres received the official backing from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3 (IBEW Local 3), representing electrical workers across New York City. “When it comes to fighting for working people, Ritchie Torres doesn’t just talk a good game, he takes action and he delivers. From standing with our members who have been on strike for years against Spectrum’s corporate greed to fighting for better wages for all his constituents, there’s no question Ritchie is the

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

In an effort to authorize an additional story and nine feet to its construction project at 2856 Webster Ave., New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) appeared before the Community Board 7 Housing/Land Use and Economic Development Committee monthly meeting on Tuesday. They requested a letter from CB7 certifying support for the height increase. Before presenting a slide show in conjunction with Douglaston Development, Aaron Bouska, NYBG’s vice president for community and government relations, publicly notified CB7 of its development plans. “Tonight, I’m here to announce the partnership between NYBG, Cherry Valley Supermarket, Douglaston Development, and Fordham Bedford Housing to construct and

More Questions for MTA’s Bus Route Redesign Plan

By DAVID GREENE

More than five dozen Bronxites attended a town hall meeting hosted by Community Board 7 and state Sen. Gustavo Rivera where Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) officials once again presented their Bronx Bus Network Redesign plan that would update most bus routes across the borough in the name of savings and efficiency for the cash-strapped agency. Joining Rivera at the Feb. 1 meeting at Mercy College was MTA representative Rashid Dolor who had appeared at a CB7 general board meeting a few months before to discuss the plan. His last presentation a few months back was rolled into the general board