Politics

UPDATE Elections 2023: CFB Approves Latest “Matching Funds” June Payments to City Council Candidates

By SÍLE MOLONEY
NYC Campaign Finance Board (CFB) approved on June 2 the latest public matching funds payments totaling $1,759,172 to 34 candidates running in the 2023 New York City Council elections. This total amount marks the fourth opportunity for 2023 candidates to qualify for public funding by raising small contributions from NYC residents.   To qualify for public funds, candidates must demonstrate support by raising small contributions in their communities. This encourages the candidates to spend more time speaking to voters and less time fundraising. Click here to see the exact thresholds that candidates must meet to qualify for public funds. The


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UPDATE Health Department Conducts First Aerial Larviciding of Mosquito Season on Marshes & Other Non-Residential Areas

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  To reduce mosquito activity and the risk of West Nile virus, the City’s health department is conducting its first aerial larviciding treatment of the mosquito season on marshes and wetland areas of The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island on Thursday, June 8, Friday, June 9, and Monday, June 12, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., weather permitting.   City officials said the helicopter will treat only nonresidential areas. While two days are allotted for the aerial larviciding, the application may be completed in less time. In case of bad weather, application will be delayed to Tuesday, June 13,


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Op-Ed: Manhattan May Not Notice Parks’ Budget Cut, Other Boroughs Will

By LIANA SMALE
Next time you walk through one of New York City’s 1,700 public parks, take a closer look at the names on the signs advertising park events, or at the shirts worn by people picking up trash. Do they say “NYC Parks” or the name of a private group? While NYC Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks) performs many general park maintenance tasks, oftentimes private groups ensure that parks are clean, safe, and fun spaces.   According to New Yorkers for Parks, the City already spends less on its parks than other major U.S. cities, and this June, according to New


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New Law Allows Raffles for Charity at Sporting Venues as Bronx CB7 & CB8 Youth Leaders Honored

By SÍLE MOLONEY
New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed Intro. 891 into law on Thursday, May 25, which will allow sporting venues to hold games of chance, such as raffles, for charitable purposes.   “Today, we are hitting a home run for New York City nonprofits,” said Adams. “New York City is home to some of the greatest sporting teams in the nation, and we love supporting them, especially when they give back to the community. Today, with the signing of this bill into law, we are stepping up to the plate, and making it easier for the Yankees, the Mets, and others


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Allerton/Pelham Parkway: Man Allegedly Rubs Erect Penis Against Woman Aboard BX12 Bus

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The New York City Police Department is asking for the public’s help identifying and locating the man seen in the attached photos who department officials say is sought in connection with an alleged sexual offense [forcible touching] that occurred aboard a BX12 MTA bus on the border of Allerton and Pelham Parkway.   Police that on Friday, May 26, at approximately 4.30 p.m., a 28-year-old woman was aboard the BX12 bus (5544) at the intersection of Pelham Parkway and White Plains Road, when a man approached her and allegedly rubbed and pressed his erect penis on her buttocks. “The victim


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Final Kingsbridge Armory Workshop Held at Walton High School

By DAVID GREENE
  Several hundred members of different trade unions from across the City stood vigil down the block from Walton High School in Kingsbridge Heights on Wednesday, May 24, as city officials joined local residents for the final community input meeting to determine the future of the massive, vacant Kingsbridge Armory, located at Jerome Avenue and West Kingsbridge Road, also in Kingsbridge Heights. It has remained all but dormant for the better part of the last 20 years. Only Bronxites were allowed inside the school for the meeting.   The Kingsbridge Armory residents meeting kicked off at 5 p.m. at the


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Inquiring Photographer: Thoughts on the Current Shape of the 2024 Presidential Election

By DAVID GREENE
With the recent announcements by Robert Kennedy Jr., a Democrat, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, of their candidacies for U.S. president, this week we asked readers their thoughts on the current shape of the 2024 presidential election.   “I’m looking at the non-traditional candidates. [President] Joe Biden has not been good, and [former President Donald] Trump is not such a good leader. No, Biden has not done a good job. I think Trump’s going to win, but he doesn’t know how to bring together the American people. He’s popular, but as a leader he’s not so great. He didn’t


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Bedford Park: Boogie Down Celebrates 50 Years of Hip Hop at Lehman

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition.   Lehman Center for the Performing Arts was the chosen Bronx venue for the 50th anniversary celebration of the birth of Hip Hop on Saturday, May 6, when the Hip Hop Fever 2023 concert kicked off in conjunction with Sal Abbatiello of Fever Records.   In the early 1970s, Hip Hop was born in the South Bronx and the concert celebrated the early pioneers of the now world-famous music genre. The show featured performances by Grandmaster Melle & Scorpio, KRS-One, Kurtis Blow, the Sugar


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Fordham Manor: AM George Alvarez Opens New Constituency Office at 2633 Webster Avenue

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  Under a dark Sunday afternoon downpour, Democratic Assembly Member George Alvarez (A.D. 78), elected as a rookie State assembly member last year after beating incumbent assemblyman José Rivera who held the seat for around two decades, opened a new, highly visible, street level constituency office at 2633 Webster Avenue in Fordham Manor on April 30.   Alvarez, a DR native, told those gathered that when he started his new role in January 2023, he inherited “an elegant, safe, cool office” on the 10th floor of a building located on Fordham Plaza. “It was safe because you had to get through


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