First Climate Justice Working Group Meeting on Aug. 13 & DEC Celebrates 50th Anniversary

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), 13-member Climate Justice Working Group will hold its initial meeting on Thursday, Aug. 13 at 3 p.m. Established under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (2019), the Group is tasked with establishing criteria for identifying disadvantaged communities to reduce co-pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, compile regulatory impact statements, and manage the allocation of investments pursuant to the Act. The Act is among the most ambitious climate laws in the world and requires New York to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030, and no less than

By Síle Moloney

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the moratorium on evictions in New York State has been extended to Sept. 4. The moratorium was first put in place in March to protect residential and commercial tenants facing financial hardship due to the pandemic. “As long as we are in the middle of the pandemic, there will be no evictions,” he wrote on Aug. 7. On May 7, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the governor announced that the state’s moratorium on COVID-related residential or commercial evictions would be extended for an additional 60 days until Aug. 20. He also announced, at that

By Síle Moloney

Additional damage from Storm Isaias was evident in the Morris Park section of the Bronx as these photos dated Aug. 5 show. Our full story, published yesterday, on Storm Isaias can be read here. Check out our Facebook page for additional videos posted today of both the damage and the clean-up efforts in Williamsbridge Oval Park. As of Aug. 6 at 5.14 p.m., there were 14,494 households still without power in the Bronx. The estimated time for restoration of service, according to Con Ed, is Sunday, Aug. 9 by 11 p.m. Morris Park residents of the Bronx

By Síle Moloney

According to a report by JAMA Dermatology, as COVID-19 infection spreads globally, dermatologists are recognizing a variety of skin manifestations in patients with the coronavirus. JAMA Network Open is a monthly, open-access, medical journal published by the American Medical Association covering all aspects of the biomedical sciences. JAMA wrote that a recent Spanish report categorized skin findings in 375 patients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19, including livedoid, a blood vessel disorder that causes painful ulcers and scarring on the feet and lower legs, and necrotic eruptions, which were noted in patients with more severe disease. Necrosis is a form of cell

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY

Tropical Storm Isaias ripped through an already bruised New York City on Tuesday, Aug. 4, causing approximately 300,000 homes to lose power, including about 20,000 in the Bronx according to Con Edison. The National Weather Service reported sustained winds of 30 to 40 miles per hour during its passage, with a wind gust of 78 miles per hour reported in Battery Park in Lower Manhattan. In the Bronx, the storm uprooted trees and downed power lines along Bedford Park Boulevard, Jerome Park, and Morris Park, damaging several vehicles in the process. Several fallen trees were also seen in

By DAVID GREENE

Amateur fireworks shows continue in the Bronx, and in other parts of the City despite previous warnings from the FDNY that they were causing a disturbance, and were also hazardous. A video of a fireworks show was shot on 209th Street and Hull Avenue in the Norwood section of the Bronx on Friday, July 31. Two cars initially blocked off 209th street causing a back-up of traffic, and once the fireworks display began, it was no longer possible to drive either through 209th Street or down Hull Avenue. Pedestrians were able to proceed on foot down 209th

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced, at a press conference on Aug. 4, the appointment of Dr. Dave A. Chokshi as the new commissioner of the City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. According to the announcement, Chokshi has served at the highest level of local, state, and federal health agencies, including NYC Health + Hospitals, where he was in senior leadership roles over the past six years. As Chief Population Health Officer, Dr. Chokshi’s team transformed healthcare delivery for over one million New Yorkers. Most recently, he served as a key leader in the City’s COVID-19 response. “Dr.

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Dear Readers, Hope you’re well. As if we hadn’t enough to contend with already, what with the ongoing pandemic, a global recession, stifling humidity, a rise in gun violence, and random shark-sightings in New York City, it seems we’re also set to be hit with the tail end of Tropical Storm Isaias later this evening, August 3, so batten down the hatches, hang tight, and check out this year’s ninth and latest edition of the Norwood News. Following the arrest earlier this month of Ghislaine Maxwell on charges relating to human trafficking, which she denies, our cover

By SÍLE MOLONEY

It was not the high-profile nature of Ghislaine Maxwell’s arrest for various, alleged sex trafficking crimes on July 2 that shocked the world. After all, we’d grown accustomed to seeing various photo evidence, interviews with her accusers, and documentaries purporting to describe her relationship with the late Jeffrey Epstein. More unsettling to some people, perhaps, was realizing just how ordinary the former girlfriend and alleged co-conspirator was. She is described invariably as funny, intelligent and charming. She may well be all of those things, and of course Maxwell denies all charges against her, but some would say that therein