Bronx Connections: 2020 Election Local Lens (Part 1 of 5)

By ELIOT SCHIAPARELLI

Norwood News, in partnership with WFUV radio and BronxNet Television, presents a five-part series on national issues affecting voters in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election, seen through the local lens of Bronx neighborhood communities. Part 1 looks at the environment. Sewage treatment plants, major trucking routes, food distribution centers, and highways like the Cross Bronx Expressway, all clustered together in the South Bronx have created an area with such poor air quality, it has been nicknamed “Asthma Alley,” by locals. According to a 2018 City health department report, pollution levels in the South Bronx

King Casts Himself the Victim Post-Suspension, Appears to Back Theory of a Larger Plot

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Tuesday, Sept. 29, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson released a statement on the findings of the Standards and Ethics Committee regarding Council Member Andy King, following an investigation launched in February 2020 into alleged conflict of interest violations, disorderly conduct, breaking City, and possibly State laws and running afoul of the Council’s anti-discrimination and harassment policies. “I agree with the recommendations of the Standard and Ethics Committee. Council Member King should be expelled from office,” Johnson said. “This is not a decision to be made lightly, but Council Member King has given us no alternative. This is the

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez has issued a statement regarding residents’ concerns in the Allerton community about the possibility of a substance abuse treatment center being opened in the neighborhood. Department of Buildings work permit signs at 2500 Williamsbridge Road had prompted concern among the community that a treatment center was going ahead. The assemblywoman said that she contacted the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports who confirmed that there was no such application pending at the site. Proud to stand with my community to demand answers on the use of 2500 Williamsbridge Road. Together we will make

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Kenny Agosto, district director to New York State Senator Jamaal T. Bailey, announced that he is running for the 15th city council district seat in the Bronx. Though not yet formally listed as a candidate on the City’s campaign finance board website, Agosto announced that he is joining the race in which there are already six candidates who have officially filed to run. They are Ischia Bravo, Elisa Crespo, Oswald Feliz, Latchmi D. Gopal, John E. Sanchez, and Julian S. Sepulveda. One of the candidates will replace the incumbent, Councilman Ritchie Torres, who it is assumed will win

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Former President Barack Obama endorsed Ritche Torres on Friday, Sept. 25, for New York’s 15th Congressional District, which covers the South Bronx. President Obama’s endorsement comes after Torres won the June 2020 primary. In a tweet in which he announcing a number of endorsements, Obama wrote, “I’m proud to endorse these outstanding Democratic candidates who will work to get the virus under control, rebuild the economy and the middle class, and protect Americans’ health care and preexisting conditions protections from Republican assault.” He added, “They’re dedicated to shoring up and strengthening our democracy, a project that’s going to take

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Friday, Sept. 24, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh ordered the Census Bureau to keep conducting the census count until October 31. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who yesterday announced his withdrawal from the mayoral race in New York City, and 2020 Census Task Force Co-Chairs, Carlos Menchaca and Carlina Rivera, issued a statement on the court ruling extending the census period. “This is a win for New York and gives us another month to get a complete count in the City. We have seen the Trump Administration try and fail, again and again, to exclude immigrants

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Bronx native, attorney, and board member of Northwest Bronx Democrats 4 Change, Oswald Feliz, is clear on what his top three issues are in running for City Council in the 15th District. “Number one, I will work to racially and economically desegregate our public-school system,” he said. “We actually have the most racially and economically segregated system in the country, and that has to change.” Feliz said that in a city which has the largest public-school system in the country, with over 1.1 million students, where 70 percent are from minority communities, it is unjust that only a

By DANIELA BEASELY

Mosholu Preservation Corporation (MPC) is partnering with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) NYC to support local, small businesses in the Norwood and Wakefield neighborhoods through the LISC NYC Small Business Relief & Recovery Fund. The Fund will provide grants of $10,000 to minority-owned, small businesses, in response to their needs to successfully retool and adapt to new business guidelines and a changing marketplace, in the wake of COVID-19. LISC NYC embraces an inclusive, economic development agenda that prioritizes targeted investments in public infrastructure, human talent, innovation, diverse enterprises, and community organizations. This aligns with MPC’s efforts to advance the health

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY

Catholic school children enrolled in schools in the Archdiocese of New York returned to class on Wednesday, Sept. 9 for the first time since March when the pandemic forced most of the city into lockdown. However, the return to school was quite different, and not just because of mask wearing. Children of all ages returned to their cathedrals of education at St. Raymond Academy for Girls in Castle Hill, Immaculate Conception in Olinville, St. Philip Neri School in Bedford Park, St. Brendan’s School in Norwood and dozens of others. Students were greeted with warm “hellos” as well as temperature