Safety

Feds Recall 53,000 Scooters/Hoverboards Made by Brooklyn Company Due to Fire Hazard & Deaths of Two Children

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Jetson Electric Bikes LLC, of Brooklyn, New York, announced the recall of about 53,000 42-volt, Jetson Rogue, self-balancing scooters/hoverboards on March 30, due to a fire hazard and two deaths. According to CPSC and Jetson, the lithium-ion battery packs in the self-balancing scooters/hoverboards can overheat, posing a fire hazard.   In the context of the recall, representatives of CPSC and Jetson, said a 10-year-old girl and her 15-year-old sister died from a fire on April 1, 2022 in Hellertown, Pennsylvania and that the Hellertown Borough Fire Marshal determined that a 42-volt Jetson


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Search for 12-Year-Old Girl from Staten Island Missing Since March 16

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is asking for the public’s help in locating Kaniya Graham, a 12-year-old girl reported missing from Staten Island, and in getting her home safely.   NCMEC representatives said Kaniya has been missing since March 16, and has never gone missing before. According to police, she was last seen on the day she went missing on surveillance footage walking in Lower Manhattan around Beaver Street and Broad Street. Police said she was wearing a white sweat suit which had cartoon characters on it and pink UGG boots. Kaniya is described as being


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University Heights 14-Year-Old Girl Reported Missing, Last Seen at her School

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The NYPD is seeking the public’s help locating a 14-year-old girl from University Heights who has been reported missing.   Police said it was reported to them that Chantal Vazquez Fong Ruby of 1 North Street was last seen on Friday, March 24, at around 8.05 a.m. at her school, located at 2392 Jerome Avenue in Fordham Heights. She is described as female, is around 5 feet, 2 inches tall, is Hispanic, weighs around 120 pounds, has brown eyes and black hair.   Chantal was last seen wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt, a white t-shirt displaying an angel graphic, black


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AG Announces Prison Sentences for Five Bronx Gun & Heroin Trafficking Ring Members

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the sentencings of five people on Wednesday, March 29, for their role in a gun trafficking operation which resulted in the illegal sale of 16 guns in The Bronx. She said the five defendants, who were charged with trafficking numerous assault weapons, high-capacity feeding devices, semiautomatic pistols, and more than 300 rounds of ammunition, all pled guilty and were sentenced for their respective crimes.   Additionally, two of the defendants, Luis Alsina and Michael Alsina, were also sentenced for their roles in the sale of heroin, officials said. Altogether, all five defendants


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Kingsbridge Heights: Search for Missing 15-Year-Old Girl

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  The NYPD is seeking the public’s help locating a 15-year-old girl reported missing from Kingsbridge Heights.   Police said it was reported to the 52nd Precinct that Aljamise Olivares of 2715 Grand Concourse was last seen leaving her home on Saturday, March 25, at around 3 p.m. She is described as being 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighs 85 pounds, has brown eyes, black hair, and was last seen wearing a black bubble jacket, black sweatshirt, and black sweatpants.   Anyone with information regarding this missing person is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477)


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UPDATE Indian Village: Arrest Made in Sexual Assault & Robbery of Woman, 73, in Home

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The NYPD said a man who had been sought for sexually assaulting and robbing a 73-year-old woman in her home in the Indian Village section of the Bronx, has been arrested.   Prior to the arrest, police had been asking for the public’s help identifying the person seen in the attached photo who department officials said was sought in connection to a burglary that occurred in Indian Village, located southeast of Pelham Parkway.   Police said it was reported to them that on Thursday, March 23, at around 9.30 p.m. in the vicinity of Williamsbridge Road and Lydig Avenue, an


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Bedford Park Resident Honored at Bridgefield Civic League Women’s History Month Celebration

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest edition.   Bedford Park resident and community volunteer, Miriam Quiñones, was one of five impressive women honored during a Women’s History Month celebration organized by Bridgefield Civic League in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx on Saturday, March 18. During the event, Quiñones, who is also a freelance photographer with Norwood News, along with each of the other four honorees, was presented with a plaque by president of Bridgefield Civic League, Debra Garland, as well as proclamations from both the City Council, presented by District


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UPDATE Relocated Ridgewood Bank on White Plains Road Celebrates with Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT
The busy corridor of businesses along White Plains Road in Williamsbridge now includes a very modern and renovated branch of Ridgewood Savings Bank. On March 10, local officials joined senior bank management for a ribbon-cutting reopening ceremony at 3951 White Plains Road.   In his opening remarks, Leonard Stekol, chairman, president, and CEO of Ridgewood Savings Bank, said the reopening involved not only a move to a new location but to a building which had undergone various upgrades. “I want to emphasize that while we moved the White Plains Road branch only a few short blocks, this new state-of-the-art [branch]


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Crotona: Police Open Murder Inquiry following Fatal Shooting of 34-Year-Old Man

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Police have opened a murder investigation following the fatal shooting of a 34-year-old man and the non-fatal shooting of a second man in the Crotona section of The Bronx.   An NYPD spokesperson said that on Saturday, March 25, at around 3.07a.m., officers from the 48th Precinct responded to a 911 call regarding a man who had been shot at the intersection of East 179th Street and Mapes Avenue.   The spokesperson said, “Upon arrival, officers observed a 34-year-old male with gunshot wounds throughout the body. EMS responded to the location and transported the victim to St. Barnabas Hospital, where


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