Politics

Preliminary Report Shows Bronx Had Highest City Unemployment Rate in April 2020

By Síle Moloney
The New York State Department of Labor released preliminary local area unemployment rates for April 2020 on May 27. The unemployment rate in the Bronx was the highest of all City boroughs at 16.5% in April. This compares with a rate of 10.9% in Manhattan, 14.6% in Brooklyn, 16.4% in Queens, and 14.0% in Staten Island.   The current unemployment rates for all 62 counties in New York State can be found by clicking on the following link: County Unemployment Rates.   The rates are not yet seasonally adjusted, meaning they do not reflect seasonal influences e.g. holiday and summer


Read More

Dental Assistants Forced to Care for COVID-19 Patients and Later Fired, Protested on May 26

By José A. Giralt & Síle Moloney
  Nine dental assistants who said they were fired earlier this month by Union Community Health Center (Union) after they were forced to work in a COVID-19 hospital ward protested outside St. Barnabas Hospital on Tuesday, May 25, 2020 to have their jobs reinstated and to receive adequate compensation they say is still owed to them.   As reported last week by Norwood News, the assistants, who were transferred from Union to St. Barnabas Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic and reassigned from their usual dental duties to care for COVID-19 patients, cancelled a previously scheduled protest last Friday when the


Read More

Bronx Hospitals Lead Nationwide Investigative Drug Trial For Severe Lung Inflammation From COVID-19

By Síle Moloney
  Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine announced on May 21 that they were the first sites in the nation to begin evaluating an investigational drug in two separate, FDA-approved trials: one to treat mild-to-moderate cases of COVID-19, and the other to treat severely ill COVID-19 patients.   Doctors are hopeful that the drug being trialled, leronlimab, may prevent an inflammatory condition that fatally damages the lungs and other organs in many COVID-19 patients.   Both hospitals were also the first sites in New York State to begin trials of the drug, remdesivir, in COVID-19 patients, as


Read More

Dental Assistants Forced to Treat COVID-19 Patients, then Terminated, Cancel Planned Protest On May 22

By Síle Moloney
  A group of dental assistants employed by Union Community Health Center in the Bronx, who were terminated after being transferred to St. Barnabas Hospital, and reassigned to care for COVID-19 patients, abruptly cancelled a planned protest which was due to take place on Friday, May 22 at 12:30PM.   The rally was planned to highlight what activists say were unjust terminations, and lack of transparency at both Union Community Health Center and at St. Barnabas Hospital.   The dental assistants – members of 1199SEIU- were told they were being transferred from Union Community Health Center, then put on a


Read More

Elected Officials Distribute Masks, As New Study Shows They Work

By Síle Moloney
As New York State prepares to gradually re-open, State Sen. Jamaal T. Bailey, Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez, and Councilman Andrew Cohen distributed free face masks, gloves and hand sanitizers to residents on May 20, 2020 outside Lexa Bar & Grill on East 204th Street.   Norwood News previously reported that although a number of free mask distribution events were held in the local area throughout May, mask supplies tended to run out in a very short space of time. So, why are masks so important?   A new study from the University of Hong Kong shows that wearing a mask does


Read More

Rally on May 21 To Demand NYC Budget Justice and Caring and Compassionate New Deal

On Thursday, 21 May, at 2:00 p.m., Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY) will be joined by members of the City Council who have pledged to advance a call for a new vision and drastic realignment in City budget priorities.   VOCAL-NY are calling for the creation of a housing, public health and social services workforce. The group also wants to see a collaborative effort by the Department of Social Services, Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, and Housing Preservation and Development, to tackle issues of incarceration, homelessness, overdose, substance use and mental health.   VOCAL-NY is a statewide


Read More

10:00 a.m. Rally Today May 21 to Halt Solitary Confinement

The Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement are asking the public to join them today at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, May 21, for a virtual rally and socially distant actions to demand the legislature pass #HALTsolitary, Elder Parole, and Fair and Timely Parole.   People can register for the Zoom here, read this pdf flyer and this png flyer, and amplify action using this social media and call-in guide.   Activists are asking anyone who can travel safely, to join in person (with masks and gloves, and at least six feet apart) outside the offices of Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie,


Read More

Elected Officials Call To Curtail Fireworks Out of Respect For Front Line Workers

In response to a distinct uptick in midnight fireworks concentrated in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, Council Member Andrew Cohen, and Congressman Eliot Engel have issued the following statement:   “We appreciate that some of our neighbors want to show their support for essential workers and that using small firecrackers – although illegal in New York City – is a way for them to do that during the 7pm clap. However, the fireworks being set off later into the evening – even after midnight – are not firecrackers. They are massive, loud, and startling for many


Read More