Politics

New Bill to Protect Contact Tracing Data from Law Enforcement

By Síle Moloney
New Important legislation has been introduced to ensure that contact tracing in relation to COVID-19 achieves its public health goals and is not weaponized against communities of color. State Senator Gustavo Rivera and Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, chairs of the Senate and Assembly Health Committees, introduced the bill to ensure confidentiality of contact tracing data and prohibit access by law enforcement and immigration enforcement.   Rivera said he was honored to have worked with Neighborhood Defender Services, Center for Community Alternatives, The Bronx Defenders, and the New York Civil Liberties Union in drafting the new bill, based on powerful testimony he


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Mott Haven: Corralling and Beatings by Police At Protest, 260 Arrested, Including Bystanders, NYPD Changes

By Síle Moloney & David Greene
  Participants who joined in a peaceful protest against police brutality in the Mott Haven area of the Bronx on Jun. 4 were surrounded and corralled by police at the end of the march route at East 136th Street and Brook Avenue ahead of the 8:00 p.m. nightly curfew, an action protestors said escalated tensions between them and police, and ultimately led to violence.   In one video tweet, posted by the group Anonymous, some but not all police are seen dressed in riot gear, and protestors are seen being pushed forward by police. Some appear to trip and fall


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UPDATE Bronx on Fire: Looting, Arrests, Air Mail, Fires, Zoo Break-In

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY
Black Lives Matter protests in the Bronx started peacefully on Monday, Jun. 1, as they had done on Sunday, May 31. as reported. By the early hours of Tuesday morning, however, as yet unidentified groups had caused the borough to descend into chaos, marked by multiple arrests, looting, fires, clashes with police, at least one police officer being run over, and an alleged break-in at Bronx Zoo.   Demonstrators gathered in the South Bronx during daylight hours to rally for police reform in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man living in Minneapolis who, it


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It’s Time For The Bronx To Make It Count!

Census 2020
By NYC Census 2020
As of May 10, only 47.8 percent of Bronx households have responded to the 2020 Census. If the trend holds, the Bronx stands to lose millions of dollars in funding for our essential services, just at the moment when we’re all relying on them the most.   If we don’t fight forces that prevent a full count, our funding for schooling, housing, and hospitals is at risk.   The census shapes the funding we get for our public services, and the more of us are counted, the more funding we get. That’s critical money for our hospitals, health care, emergency


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Bronx Businesses Prioritized as City Announces Grants for Those Hit by Looting

By Síle Moloney
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a Small Business Emergency Grant Program for small businesses who have been impacted by looting and experienced damage to their storefronts, with Bronx businesses receiving priority. The City will begin providing grants to small businesses of up to $10,000 per business, thanks to $500,000 in initial funds received from SOMOS Community Care.   The grants will help with recovery, including repairs, security systems, locks, and more. The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City will work with Small Business Services to assess the level of need throughout the city, with the intent


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Bronx Clean-Up Efforts Post-Looting Evoke Feelings of History Repeating

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT
  When Frank Pirraglia, 21, saw the devastation caused by looters on Fordham Road last Monday night, he realized it was also a call to action.  “After seeing all the violence and destruction, I realized I needed to get out there and do my part to try and help clean up,” he said.   On Tuesday morning, it was clear Pirraglia would be part of a larger contingent of volunteers taking swift action to remove the debris left by looters. Such actions were reminiscent of those taken by Bronxites in the 1970s to rebuild their community in the wake of


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Deli Owner Who Survived Yemen Recalls “Night of Violence” on East Kingsbridge Road

By David Greene
By eyewitness accounts, the bright sun would rise over many of the looters who went on an unexpected, overnight shopping spree on East Fordham Road on Monday, Jun. 1, 2020. As dawn set in, the now-infamous creatures of a night of madness seemed to scurry home like rats running from a kitchen light.   In the early hours of Jun. 2, there were repeated sightings of mostly, young men, many carrying what looked like brand new, full backpacks, quickly walking in one direction or another as police vehicles continued to speed back and fourth across East Fordham Road still responding


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Commissioner Jonnel Doris Talks Small Businesses as Phase I of Reopening Beckons

By Síle Moloney
On May 19, as reported by Norwood News, The Center for an Urban Future published a study that showed that Norwood was one of the City’s worst-hit areas economically by the pandemic and related shutdown.   About a week earlier, on May 11, Jonnel Doris was appointed as the Commissioner for the City’s Small Business Services (SBS) department. Previously, he served as the City’s first Senior Advisor and Director of the Mayor’s Office for Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE).   The commissioner gave an interview to Norwood News in which he discussed his agency’s plan to get small businesses


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