Politics

UPDATE U.S. VP Kamala Harris Visits The Bronx as Immigrant New Yorkers Rally for Visa Amnesty

By SÍLE MOLONEY & DAVID GREENE
  The following is an extended version of the story that appeared in the latest print edition of the Norwood News.    U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, visited the Bronx on Friday, Oct. 22, at the invitation of Congressman Jamaal Bowman (NY-14). The event took place at the recently opened, state-of-the-art Edenwald YMCA center in the Northeast Bronx, which falls within Bowman’s district.   The purpose of the visit was to promote the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better” agenda, and while the mood among those in attendance, inside the venue,


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UPDATE First Wave of Kids 5-11 Get COVID-19 Shots at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore

By SÍLE MOLONEY & DAWN CLANCY
The first wave of children to receive the newly authorized COVID-19 vaccine had their shots administered at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in Norwood on Wednesday, Nov. 3.   The kids in question were 11-year-old twins, Jamie Onofrio Franceschini and Ryann Onofrio Franceschini, and Kenechi Acholonu (9), Amechi Acholonu (7), and Chizara Acholonu (5).   “Today is a huge relief,” said Chrissie Onofrio, the twins’ mom. “For the last 20 months, we have been doing everything we could to keep them safe. As adults, we have been able to be vaccinated, and have only seen vaccinated people.”   She added,


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UPDATE Election Day 2021: Unofficial Election Night Results & Voter Reaction

By SÍLE MOLONEY, DAWN CLANCY, SARAH HUFFMAN, MIRIAM QUIÑONES & JOSÉ A. GIRALT
  After the polls closed at 9 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 2, and before Norwood News went to press with its Nov. 4th edition, the New York City Board of Elections (BOE) released the unofficial results of the various races.     The unofficial results of the various citywide, judicial and Bronx specific races are attached, as well as the results of the five State constitutional amendment proposals.     In the citywide races, Brooklyn Borough President and Democratic nominee for mayor, Eric Adams, was led in the mayoral race with 75 percent of the vote.   It's official


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District 11 City Council Race: Kevin Pazmino Says “Progressive Left” Has Taken Over Democratic Party

By SÍLE MOLONEY
With campaigning almost at an end, and as the last remaining hours of voting remain on Election Day 2021, District 11 Republican and Conservative Party candidate, freelance filmmaker, Kevin Pazmino, is reminding voters why they should vote for him in the general election race.   Pazmino, previously profiled by the Norwood News [Kevin Pazmino] ahead of the March 2021 special election, ran unsuccessfully in that race against then candidate and now Councilman Eric Dinowitz. Speaking to Norwood News on Nov. 1, Pazmino said, “I would say if people are unhappy with the Democratic Party’s leadership, they should vote for change.”


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Op-Ed: How the Senate Will Decide the Fate of Local News

By STEVE WALDMAN
The Senate is now deciding the fate of local news.   As part of the Build Back Better Act, the Senate is, in the next few days, considering an important proposal: providing a payroll tax credit to local news organizations to retain or hire local journalists.   Why? Local news is in a deep crisis. The Internet has fundamentally broken the business model of local newspapers. The number of reporters has dropped by more than half since 2000.   There are at least 1,800 total “news deserts,” with no local newspapers at all, and thousands more have “ghost newspapers” that


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Kingsbridge: Food & Book Giveaway Held for 100 Families

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Jessica Woolford, founder of community mutual aid group, Kingsbridge Unidos, Latanya DeVaughn, founder of Bronx Bound Books and representatives from State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (S.D. 34) held a food and book giveaway in Kingsbridge on Friday, Oct. 29. The event took place at 4 p.m. at 824 Broadway between 238th and 239th Streets.

UPDATE As Election Day Beckons, Elected Officials Try Multiple Approaches to Curb Gun Violence

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT
Reports of gun violence continue to make headlines in the Bronx and across the City, and some elected officials are making it a focal point of their political endeavors in the lead up to Election Day. Although New York City has seen historic drops in most crime categories, 2021 is proving to be especially dangerous for teenagers.   According to NYPD data, through Sept. 26, 2021, there were 16 fatal shootings involving teen violence. This is more than double the number, at seven, reported throughout 2020 for such fatalities. In addition, as of Sept. 26, 2021, there were a reported


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Family & Friends Mourn the Passing of Kathleen A. Benjamin, Mother of Ex-Assemblyman Michael Benjamin

By MICHAEL BENJAMIN
Former Bronx assemblyman, Michael Benjamin, announced that his mother, Kathleen A. Benjamin, née Conton, passed away at Calvary Hospital (Morris Park) on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, at the age of 86. A native of Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Kathleen came to the Bronx in 1956 and later married husband, Ray Benjamin, in October 1957. She resided at Tracey Towers in the Jerome Park section of the borough, on the border with Norwood.   After three children and ten years as a “stay-at-home,” mother, Kathleen became a para-professional at the school her boys attended, P.S. 130X, on Prospect Avenue


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UPDATE: District 14 City Council Race: For Pierina Sanchez, It’s About the Love

By JASON GONZALEZ & SÍLE MOLONEY
  For Pierina Sanchez, the Democratic nominee for the District 14 City Council seat in the upcoming general election, it’s all about the love. Sanchez is all in for the “Boogie Down,” saying passion for the community is a major driving force behind her campaign. With early voting already underway and only one day remaining before the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 2, Sanchez is transparent and says a vote for her on Nov. 2 will benefit the borough.   “It’s about the love,” Sanchez said during a campaign rally held outside the Kingsbridge Armory in the Kingsbridge Heights section


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