New York City Adds “Play Streets” to Nation-Leading “Open Streets” Initiative

By Síle Moloney

The City will open 12 more miles of streets and an additional nine new miles of temporary protected bike lanes to pedestrians and cyclists starting tomorrow, May 14. The combined 21 new miles brings the City total to 30 miles of Open Streets since the program was announced on Apr. 27.

Dinowitz: Vote By Mail Legislation Gathering Pace This Week, as Presidential Election Beckons

By SÍLE MOLONEY

As COVID-19 surges around the United States, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz has been pushing for legislation that would expand New York voters’ ability to vote by mail in upcoming elections. Building on efforts to authorize absentee voting following the latest primary elections on June 23, it appears that legislation from Dinowitz will be passed in a flurry of Albany activity this week. The legislation would temporarily alter the definition of illness with respect to absentee voting eligibility to include “risk of contracting or spreading a disease that may cause illness to the voter or to other members of the public”.

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Thursday, July 9, the Archdiocese of New York announced that 20 Catholic schools, including six in the Bronx, would be unable to reopen in September due to lack of finances in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The affected Bronx schools are St. John’s School in Kingsbridge, St. Luke’s School in Motthaven, St. Thomas Aquinas School in West Farms, the Nativity of Our Blessed Lady School in Eastchester, Our Lady of the Assumption School in Pelham Bay, and Sts. Philip & James School in the East Bronx. Meanwhile, three Catholic schools in the State will merge. The archdiocese confirmed

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY

The residents of a 200-bed men’s homeless shelter in the Woodlawn section of the Bronx were quietly moved and are currently being housed at a four-star hotel in Manhattan due to concerns over coronavirus transmission. Some residents and workers from the area couldn’t be happier. On Saturday, May 16, as New York City started to see the flattening of the COVID-19 curve, the City’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) transferred 200 homeless men, many with mental illness, out of the Jerome Avenue Men’s Shelter (JAMS), located at 3600 Jerome Avenue. According to DHS, the shelter residents are currently

By Síle Moloney

Congressman Eliot Engel released the following statement following news of his defeat to Jamaal Bowman on July 17, 2020 in the 16th Congressional District race, as reported by The New York Times, with Bowman winning 55.5% of the vote to Engel’s 40.4%. Christopher Fink won 2% of the vote. “The numbers are clear, and I will not be the Democratic nominee for the 16th Congressional District seat in the fall election. Serving the people of the Bronx and Westchester in Congress has been the greatest privilege of my life, and what a remarkable 32 years it has been. We

By Nickolaus Hayes

What Happens when Substance Use Treatment Programs Can No Longer Stay Afloat? Emergency funding could be needed to keep substance use treatment programs in operation as some governments continue to shut down their communities. The Trump administration has repeatedly cited the possible rise of overdoses and suicides when calling for states and businesses to re-open. However, only a hundredth of one percent of the nearly $2.5 trillion was dedicated to mental health and substance use treatment. Many treatment centers, drug courts, and recovery programs have been forced to close, or they had to scale back during the shutdown. Many

By Marisa Marotta

Green spaces have held a special place in the heart of local resident, Barbara Stronczer, for many years. It was only fitting, therefore, that her many years of advocacy to keep Bronx communities beautiful, clean and safe were honored on Tuesday, June 30. A lifelong Bronx resident, Stronczer is passionate about keeping the City clean, and over time has been involved in everything from organizing park clean-ups to beautification projects, and simply helping people in the neighborhood. She currently serves as president of the Bedford Mosholu Community Association and is chairperson of Bronx Community Board 7 Parks’ Committee.

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

The following article is the second of a two-part feature story on the resonance of the Black Lives Matter protests in the Bronx. Part II Stories like the ones that follow are all too familiar in the Bronx. It is not only in the streets of the City where tensions are rising between law enforcement officers and the public. The incarcerated population has also been the subject of abusive practices by those sworn to protect. Norwood resident, José Saldana, is the director of Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) and has firsthand knowledge of how the

By Síle Moloney

The City’s three library systems—The New York Public Library (NYPL), Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), and Queens Public Library (QPL)—are reopening 22 branches for grab-and-go service in all five boroughs, starting Monday, Jul. 13, 2020. In this first phase of the libraries’ gradual reopening, patrons can access a small area of these branches to pick up and return checkouts placed online or on the phone. Masks will be mandatory and social distancing guidelines enforced. The first Bronx based libraries to physically re-open are Belmont, Parkchester and the Francis Martin Library on University Avenue. NYPL confirms there is no specific

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Politics

Dinowitz: Vote By Mail Legislation Gathering Pace This Week, as Presidential Election Beckons

Six Bronx Catholic Schools Abruptly Close

Engel Wishes Bowman Well Following his Defeat in the 16th Congressional District race

More Overdose Deaths in Bronx Than In Any Other County; Substance Use Treatment Programs In Danger

Barbara Stronczer, Green Space Advocate, Honored with Garden Plaque

Black, Brown and Blue in the Bronx: Stories of Pain, Profiling, and Measured Promise – Part II