NWBCCC Bids Fond Farewell to Karen Washington at The Bronx People’s Festival

By DAVID GREENE

Over 300 Bronxites turned out for a day of learning, planning, and healing, as dozens of local organizations converged on The Mary Mitchell Center, located at 2007 Mapes Avenue in the Crotona section of the Bronx, for “The Bronx People’s Festival” on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. Participating groups included Mothers on The Move, Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association, Laborers International Union of North America, The Point, The Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC), the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative and others. The various groups were on hand to provide guests with assistance, as well as free gifts, as

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Bronx CB7 Mourns Passing of Former Members Bronx CB7 extends its most sincere condolences to the families of both Carmen Miranda, former CB7 Education Committee chair, and Jeffrey Hunter, former member of the Veterans Committee, on their recent passing. “We are heartbroken over the loss of two of our board members,” the board said in a joint statement. “The community has lost dedicated advocates and true community leaders. Carmen Miranda was a mother and activist who was invested in making sure the youth in our community had a voice; and Jeffrey Hunter was not only a Veteran but someone who continuously gave back to our community, and [was] a staunch

By DAVID GREENE

This week, amid the latest omicron variant wave, we asked readers about their recent experience of either getting tested on-site for COVID-19 or of waiting for free, home test kits. “I went to get tested because my granddaughter was COVID positive. I waited 48 hours before visiting the LevelUp Urgent Care on East 204th Street and lucky me I wasn’t cold, because it was a warm day. I was in line from 6 a.m. until 10 a.m., but because I was negative, it didn’t mess up my plans. Some folks came with entire families and at 5:45 [a.m.] there were already twenty

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York City Police Department announced on Dec. 30, a number of street closures, outlined further below, related to the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square. Street closures and parking restrictions are expected to cause traffic delays, and NYPD officials said the use of public transportation is highly recommended. Beginning at 4 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 31, Times Square will be closed to vehicular traffic. At approximately 3 p.m. attendees will be directed by police officers to gather in separate viewing sections. When one section reaches capacity, people will be directed to the next viewing section. As

By SÍLE MOLONEY

In the spirit of holiday giving, St. Brendan School, a Catholic, elementary school, located in the Norwood section of the Bronx, in the Archdiocese of New York, recently held its annual toy drive for Catholic Guardian Services (CGS). CGS cares for over 1,000 children in need ranging in age from infancy to 21. This year, according to school representatives and thanks to the generosity of the school’s students and their families, St. Brendan’s was able to collect 23 bags of toy donations for children to enjoy in time for Christmas.

UPDATE Friends of Devoe Park Celebrate the Holidays at Tree-Lighting Event

By SARAH HUFFMAN

Friends of Devoe Park (FODP) hosted the group’s annual tree-lighting event on Saturday, Dec. 11, in Devoe Park, located in the Fordham Manor section of the Bronx. Attendees at the event were treated to hot chocolate, munchkins, and sugared cookies provided by FODP. The group also handed out Christmas-themed masks, candy canes, and jingle bells to community members. Assemblyman José Rivera (A.D. 78) was also in attendance. Rachel Miller-Bradshaw, founding member of FODP, said the group wanted to host the event because there wasn’t really any such event marking the holiday season in their local neighborhood.

By SARAH HUFFMAN

Outside the Keeper’s House on Reservoir Oval East in the Norwood section of the Bronx is a light blue library mailbox which, since around July 2021, has been regularly filled with used books, all waiting for new homes. The library mailbox is a recent initiative by “Norwood Community Library,” an outdoor, mutual aid, book exchange program. 30-year-old Brandon Montes is the founder of the volunteer-run library which launched in 2018, and he hopes the addition of the library mailbox will further strengthen his growing engagement with the community, through a love of reading. “For a long time, we

By SÍLE MOLONEY

There was plenty of holiday cheer to be had on Mosholu Parkway and Bainbridge Avenue on Tuesday, Dec. 7, as the annual, holiday, tree-lighting event, organized by Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) and Friends of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP), made a welcome return. Amid the ongoing pandemic, and prior to the COVID-19 vaccination roll-out, last year’s tree-lighting event was carried out discreetly, with no formal gathering. This year, the event which took place on the Bedford Park/Norwood border, where masks were required, saw about 200 people gather in front of a large stage set-up specifically for the occasion. They

By DAVID GREENE

This week, we asked readers if they believe the original West Side Story movie accurately portrayed the racism experienced by Puerto Ricans in New York City at the time the movie was made. “I don’t know about the racism; that was, like, 50 years ago, but I saw the coming attractions to the new film, and it doesn’t look anything like the original.” Phyllis Butler, Norwood “I guess that was before most people’s time. I’m 73, I grew up in the South Bronx in the 50s and 60s… I was traumatized, man. My brother had to fight and run from