Out and About

NYPD Hosts Various Holiday Events as DOI Releases Report on NYPD Handling of BLM Protests

By SÍLE MOLONEY & JOSÉ A. GIRALT
As the holidays reach peak season, the NYPD has also been stepping up its ongoing outreach efforts with local communities, organizing a number of kid-friendly, holiday events across the borough. Meanwhile, the report by the City’s Department of Investigation into the NYPD’s handling of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations this year was released on Friday, Dec. 18, amid some scathing criticism from legal groups.   On Friday, Dec. 11, the Police Athletic League (PAL) hosted a bunch of children at PAL’s new South Bronx Center to kick off the holiday season with an outdoor tree lighting ceremony. Organized by PAL


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Woodlawn Conservancy Receives Two Grants from NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

By SÍLE MOLONEY
On Monday, Dec. 21, The Woodlawn Conservancy, Inc. announced that it is to be the recipient of two grants from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). One grant, in the amount of $56,250 will support tree maintenance and another, in the amount of $35,000, will support an urban forest management plan.   Woodlawn Cemetery is a 400-acre, national historic landmark, and a Level II Arboretum (a botanical garden devoted to trees) with more than 6,000 trees on its grounds. In reference to the grant, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said, “Healthy community forests provide a host of environmental,


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Carpenters & Contractors Deliver Toys & Smiles to Bronx Kids during Annual Holiday Toy Drive  

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Since the holiday season kicked off, the New York City & Vicinity District Council of Carpenters (NYCDCC), and the Carpenter Contractor Alliance of Metropolitan New York (CCA Metro) has delivered over 300 toys to kids and 500 turkeys to families throughout the Bronx. The carpenters and contractors participated in three toy drives and one turkey drive across the borough in addition to events organized in other parts of the city.   The holiday toy drives in the Bronx were carried out in partnership with local non-profit community organizations and agencies, Eastchester Heights Community Center and NYCHA, and local elected officials,


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NYC Sanitation Resumes Trash and Recycling Collection, Releases Guidance for Christmas Day Service 

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) announced that residential trash and recycling collection has resumed since Friday, Dec. 18. Residents who have placed material curbside for collection should leave that material out, and residents who have held back material should put it out for collection. The department has asked residents to clear any snow from atop or around containers to make it easier for the crews. However, residents should be mindful that once collection resumes, there will be delays as the department works to collect the backlog of material.   DSNY normally collects about 12,000 tons of trash


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Snow Storm Brings Frustration to Some Bronxites & Joy to Others

By DAVID GREENE
Children and their parents received a well deserved “snow day” from both in-person and remote learning this week as a winter nor’easter dumped close to a foot of snow in some parts of the Bronx by Thursday morning, Dec. 17.   Residents awoke to blankets of blinding, white snow spread all across the borough’s streets and parklands ushering in, for those receptive to it, an atmospheric, Christmas-like, peaceful silence at the end of what has been a tumultuous 2020. The National Weather Service reported six to ten inches of snow fell across the five boroughs, as bus services from the


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Youth-Led Community Coalition Forge Ahead with Underage Drinking Awareness Campaign

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT
  A coalition of local community groups made up of many young volunteers joined forces on Dec. 9 during a “Sticker Shock Campaign,” to alert local alcohol retailers of the dangers underage drinking presents to young people. The groups made in-person visits to various stores in Community Boards 5, 7, and 8 with oral presentations, stickers, and posters reminding both store owners and customers that it is illegal and dangerous to provide alcohol to anyone under the age of 21.   The campaign was spearheaded by “We Engage in Prevention Awareness,” (WEPA), a community coalition seeking to eliminate substance abuse,


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Inquiring Photographer: Have the events of 2020 impacted your New Year’s Resolutions?

By DAVID GREENE
This week, we asked readers for their thoughts and wishes for the coming year, and whether the events of 2020 have impacted their New Year’s resolutions.   “Yeah, oh God! I just want this COVID to disappear, you know what I mean? Maybe some people should stop reading these conspiracy theories and get behind the vaccine. That should be the number one thing, because if people don’t take the vaccines, this thing is not going away. For 2021, I’m wishing myself for some good health. That will be my resolution, to stop smoking and getting myself back into decent health.”


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Black Friday 2020: Crowds of Shoppers Move to Mosques, COVID Testing Sites and Food Lines

By DAVID GREENE
The massive ‘Black Friday’ crowds at large stores and shopping malls, where customers often got on line the night before, were noticeably absent this year due to the pandemic, as millions of shoppers switched to online bargain hunting, a move that will potentially change the face of Black Friday forever.   On Friday, Nov. 27, the GameStop on White Plains Road, packed one year ago with customers shuffling in and out of the store, or to Modell’s Sporting Goods next door was a very different sight this year. Modell’s declared bankruptcy and closed its 153 stores on August 29, as


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City Issues Snow Alert for Wednesday, Dec. 16, Alternate Side Parking, Outdoor Dining to be Suspended

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has issued a Snow Alert for Wednesday, December 16, 2020 beginning at 2 p.m.   As reported by Norwood News, and based on current forecasts, the department expects snowfall beginning late Wednesday afternoon. Total accumulation of eight or more inches is possible, with potential for more in some areas. All winter weather information and information about the City’s response to the storm can be found by visiting the City’s Severe Weather website at www.nyc.gov/severeweather or by calling 311.     While the department is expecting significant snowfall, representatives said its workers and equipment are prepared.


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