Inquiring Photographer: Thoughts on the Recent District 11 and District 15 Special Elections

By DAVID GREENE

This week, we asked readers for their thoughts on the recent District 11 and District 15 City Council special elections which took place on March 23, and the use of the new Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) system. “I didn’t know about the special election and now, it’s too late. I wish I would have known because I would have voted in this City Council race. I just thank God that the coronavirus in New York is getting better. I heard about Ranked Choice Voting and I think it’s better to have more choices today.” Delphine Sanders, Norwood “Ranked

By DAVID GREENE

This week, we asked readers their thoughts on life one year on from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I just want this [expletive] to be over with, I just want to go back to school. I just want everything to go back to normal. No, I didn’t think it was that serious when this first started. I thought it would [have been] over by now and it hasn’t – that’s how serious it was, and how many people have died.” Aameenah Islam West Farms “I just came out of the nursing home, and I was with

By MEISHER PORTER

This week, I began leading the nation’s largest public school system, a school system that serves more than one million students, including, many years ago – me! I am both excited and honored to take on this role. Not only because I am a New Yorker, born and bred, but because education is in my blood. Both my mom and auntie were teachers, and between them have 40 years of changing young people’s lives. I became a New York City public school educator because of them, and the amazing teachers I had as a student, myself – like Ms. Pearlman, my

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

On the pandemic front, the good news is that COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and death rates are all decreasing statewide. In addition, the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson has been approved by the FDA, which now provides a third immunization option beyond Pfizer and Moderna, and one which requires just one vaccination dose rather than two. The bad news, however, is that throughout the country and especially within the boundaries of Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7), vaccination rates are alarmingly low. At the latest meeting of CB7’s Health & Human Services Committee on Feb.22, committee members looked

By RENÉE BARRETT

Like many mothers, my heart broke as I watched the video footage of a grown man pummeling two young children at the Fordham Road train station in the Bronx on January 22. The video footage is enraging and their screams continue to haunt me. Child Abuse is a public health crisis. In addition, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) regards child abuse and maltreatment as economic burdens to society due to the extremely high hospitalization and treatment costs they generate (estimated at $585 billion in 2008). According to the CDC, at least one in seven children has experienced

By DAVID GREENE

This week, we asked readers their thoughts on the recent bombing by U.S. forces of Iran-backed militias in Syria. “The Biden administration’s recent decision to strike at targets in Syria by all accounts seems like a measured and proportional response to an attack on U.S. forces in Iraq. What President Biden is signaling is that while he prioritizes diplomacy, he will not be a pushover. I would have liked to see the administration consult more closely with Congress before taking such action. Congress has an important oversight role in foreign policy that I think has been overlooked the last several

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Mitchell Katz, MD and president and CEO at NYC Health + Hospitals, the City’s public hospital system, announced on Friday, Feb. 26, that Cristina Contreras, executive director of NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx (NCB), located in Norwood, will be promoted to CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan based in East Harlem. It was also announced that Christopher Roker, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan in East Harlem, will serve as CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln in Mott Haven. In these roles, Katz said Contreras and Roker will help lead the hospitals’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic

By MARGARET GROARKE

Presidential elections are important. But your vote also matters, probably even MORE so, in local elections. In New York City elections, we choose the people who will be in charge of many of the things that affect our daily lives. If you care about the quality of local schools, the way NYPD polices your community, the state of the parks, how safe it is to walk, drive or bike on our streets, those are all issues that are dealt with by the mayor and the City Council. So, why did five times as many people vote in the

By DAVID GREENE

This week, we asked readers how they planned to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “I do have plans with a special guy this year for Valentine’s Day. We talked about the possibility of going out to a restaurant for this day, and we both decided it’s best to just stay at his place, and he’s going to cook for me. It is because we are choosing not to be around too many people, and who knows if restaurants are going to get crowded on Valentine’s Day, due to reopening of indoor dining on this holiday. I