News

Robert Tucker Sworn in as 35th Fire Commissioner of New York City

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Robert Tucker was appointed as the new fire commissioner of the FDNY and was sworn in on Aug. 12. He is the 35th person to hold the position. City officials said, previously, Tucker worked for the Queens DA’s office and was CEO of a private security and cyber intelligence company, T&M Protection Resources. They said he also worked at the FDNY, though never as a firefighter, served as secretary of the FDNY Foundation, and was also a past honorary fire commissioner. “I can think of no higher calling than serving as the fire commissioner for the City of New York,” he said.

Norwood: HPD Launches Housing Lottery Described as Affordable at 3056 Decatur Avenue

By SÍLE MOLONEY
NYC Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD) has launched a housing lottery described as affordable at 3056 Decatur Avenue, a four-story residential building in the Norwood section of The Bronx, as reported by YIMBY. Designed by Node Architecture, Engineering, Consulting, and developed by Zef Perperpaj, the structure will yield nine residential units.

Bronx District Leader & BOE Employee Charged with Bribery, Extortion, Fraud, and Identity Theft

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Nicole Torres, 33, of The Bronx, an elected district leader in the borough, and an employee of the New York City Board of Elections (BOE) has been charged  with illegally demanding payments from Bronx residents to herself and a local organization (the “Bronx organization”) in exchange for selecting those individuals as poll workers, federal prosecutors announced on Aug. 28. 

Swimmers See No Danger in Bronx River Swims

By DAVID GREENE
Following our recent story on unsupervised swims in the Bronx River over the summer and despite some drowning incidents in New York City this summer, swimmers, mostly teens and young children, were once again observed having an unsupervised swim in the river last month. Two sources say the practice has been going on for years, if not decades.

New Protections Against Deed Theft Recently Became Law

By SÍLE MOLONEY
New York Attorney General Letitia James reminded New Yorkers during the summer that a new law (S08306) establishing deed theft as a crime, and expanding the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) ability to prosecute deed theft, went into effect in mid-July.