Schools

“Buckets for the Bronx: 3v3 Tourney” Held at Lehman College

By SÍLE MOLONEY
A free 3v3 basketball tournament: Buckets for the Bronx: 3v3 Community Classic for Bronx teens was held at the Apex Center at Lehman College on Saturday, Feb. 25. The event was organized by local community members, Jessica Altagracia Woolford, founder of Kingsbridge Unidos, and Haramritjot Singh, founder of Cash Cow NYC.   The tournament was open to local high school students aged 14-18 of all genders. It was free to enter and winners earned prizes, including three tickets to a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, various cash prizes, two dozen brand-new Spalding basketballs, and exclusive Cash Cow NYC merchandise.


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UPDATE Applications Open for Fourth Annual Brandon Hendricks Scholarship

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Applications for the fourth annual Oyate Group  Brandon Hendricks Scholarship have officially opened, with an award of $20,000 going to each of two applicants for the first time in the scholarship’s history, organizers announced on March 2.   Previously, as reported, the organization offered $5,000 in total in scholarship funds. Founded in honor of Brandon Hendricks, a 17-year-old, rising basketball star, who, as reported was fatally shot in crossfire at 1726 Davidson Avenue in the Morris Heights section of The Bronx on June 28, 2020, the scholarship, according to Oyate Group officials, provides graduating seniors the opportunity Brandon never received,


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The Bronx Fights Rats: DSNY to Collect Compostable Material from All Bronx Public Schools

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Coming quickly on the heels of last month’s announcement of the roadmap for citywide curbside composting service, NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) announced on Monday, March 6, that all NYC Department of Education (DOE) schools in The Bronx will receive five-nights-per-week collection of compostable material. This means less rat food out in the black bags each night, cleaner streets, and cleaner air – led by students. “Just like with recycling decades ago, young people are our best ambassadors for composting,” said DSNY commissioner, Jessica Tisch. “They see the difference it makes to compost at school, and they tell their parents


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Montefiore Einstein Announces $100 Million Contribution to Albert Einstein College of Medicine 

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  Montefiore Einstein announced on Thursday, March 2, that an anonymous donor is making a $100 million contribution to Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Representatives from Montefiore-Einstein say the gift, one of the largest in Einstein’s history, will support biomedical research that includes basic, clinical, and translational research programs serving the nation and the world. They added that it will also provide direct financial support to students, ensuring greater access to what was described as “the vibrant and innovative learning environment that Einstein provides.”   Reacting to the news, Philip Ozuah, MD, PhD, president and CEO of Montefiore Medicine, the


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Family of Angellyh Yambo Launch Foundation in her Memory on her 17th Birthday

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY
Angellyh Yambo was a 16-year-old high school student with dreams of becoming a doctor when she was shot and killed as she walked home from school with friends in Mott Haven on April 8, 2022. On Tuesday, Jan. 24, on what would have been Angellyh’s 17th birthday, her family and friends gathered at her mausoleum in Woodlawn cemetery to mark the official launch of The Angellyh Yambo Foundation.   During the emotional event, different colored balloons were released into the air marking the exact moment of her birth, 17 years earlier. Later, the family confirmed that the foundation’s website was


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UPDATE Parents & Supporters of St. Brendan School Ready to Fight as Archdiocese Closes 12 Catholic Schools

By DAVID GREENE, SÍLE MOLONEY & SARA MARTINEZ
Norwood parents are gearing up for a fight to keep beloved St. Brendan Catholic School open following an announcement on Feb. 15 that the Norwood school, founded in 1908, will close its doors at the end of the 2022-23 academic year, along with 11 others across the City. Meanwhile four, additional Catholic schools in The Bronx will merge into two.   The news follows the previous closure of six Catholic schools in The Bronx in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic due to declining income, as reported at the time. Of the twelve impacted schools set to close this year, six


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St. Barnabas High School Choir Performing at Cargenie Hall, Sunday, Feb. 19, at 7.30 p.m.

By SÍLE MOLONEY
It all started last summer when student, Gabrielle Cruz, a member of the St. Barnabas High School (SBHS) choir who also plays the piano, spotted a brochure about a program called “Voices in the Hall” on the desk of SBHS teacher and co-choir director, Sharon Traditi. “We should do this!” Gabrielle excitedly said. “What an experience to perform at Carnegie Hall!”   And so, the idea began taking shape with more students in September getting excited about the possibility of taking to the stage of Manhattan’s iconic performance venue. A phone call to executive director, Steve Petrunak, of the “Voices


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Book Review: “Begin Again, James Baldwin’s America and its Urgent Lessons for Our Own,” by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

By JIM FAIRBANKS
  Glaude’s title of “Begin Again” [Crown Publishing, 2020] calls us to renewed action for racial justice. He gives hopeful examples of past Black rights gained, such as the civil rights laws during Reconstruction after the Civil War, and during the Black Power movement of the 1960s. Yet, he writes that each effort was followed by White backlash Baldwin calls the “After Times.”   We are again living in the “After Times” now! This book is not a hopeful story of change; this is a sobering book. Glaude Jr. quotes American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-African civil rights activist, W.E.B.


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