UPDATE Eastchester: Man Arrested after Fatal Fire and 14 Hurt in NYCHA Building Explosion

One person has died, one person is critical, and 14 people have been injured following a residential, overnight explosion and fire at a Boston Secor Houses NYCHA complex building in the Eastchester section of The Bronx, according to the City’s fire department. The building is currently undergoing renovations under the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together or PACT program, and the fire followed a gas explosion, FDNY officials said.  

Rape is Rape, Drunk or Not

State legislators were joined by sexual assault survivors and the Justice Without Exclusion Coalition on Thursday, Jan. 15, at Albany’s State Capitol, where calls were renewed to close gaps in State law that may currently protect rapists from being held accountable for their crimes. The gap relates to cases when rape and sexual assault survivors are intoxicated to a degree that renders them temporarily incapacitated and therefore unable to give consent.

AOC, Paris Hilton Call for Passage of Bill Offering Right to Sue Perps for Sexually Explicit Deep Fake AI Images

Bronx Democrat, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Republican Rep. Laurel Lee (FL-15) and businesswoman and activist, Paris Hilton were joined by other advocates and elected representatives on Thursday, Jan. 22, in Washington D.C. as they called for the passage of the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE Act), bipartisan legislation that would grant survivors the right to take civil action against those who knowingly produce, distribute, solicit and receive, or possess with the intent to distribute, nonconsensual sexually-explicit digital forgeries i.e. deep fake, pornographic AI images.

Inquiring Photographer: Thoughts on the Apparent Decline of Good Subway Etiquette

This week, we asked readers for their opinions on etiquette in the New York City subway system further to a video shared on social media by a relatively young New Yorker in which he complains that the situation is way worse than in prior years (particularly as many commuters stand in the doorway wearing headphones, and do not hear people asking them to move).

B.R.A.G. Honored with Keys to City of New York

Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence (B.R.A.G.), the cure violence program run by the nonprofit, Good Shepherd Services (GSS), received the Keys to the City of New York from former NYC Mayor Eric Adams, in the presence of Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, during a ceremony at City Hall on Dec. 29, 2025. The group also received a certificate of recognition from NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD).

Help Prevent Subway Tragedies

At least two men have died, and three others have been injured in a series of unrelated train-related incidents that took place across Bronx train systems in the past month, according to City officials. No criminality is suspected in relation to the incidents involving the two deceased men, while one of the surviving injured victims was pushed in front of or against a moving train. Meanwhile, City officials are reminding New Yorkers that help is available for those who may be having thoughts of ending their lives.