Bedford Park Student Honored for Tobacco Awareness Initiative

When 17-year-old Miranda Blanco, a 12th grade student at the Academy of Mount St. Ursula, in Bedford Park, decided to join a statewide movement which aims to create the first tobacco-free generation, little did she know she would later be honored with the MARO Reality Check Youth Ambassador of the Year Award (YAYA) for 2021.   Applications for the statewide award were open to students aged 13 to 18 who were part of the Reality Check program, with the awards ceremony taking place annually.   According to its website, “Reality Check is a youth-led movement in New York State that


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UPDATE New “Green” Tremont Playground to Absorb Stormwater & Help Reduce Flooding

The groundbreaking for a new, green playground at P.S. 306/M.S. 331 in the Tremont section of the Bronx took place on Tuesday, Oct. 5. New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), The Trust for Public Land, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson, and Fordham University president, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., joined a diverse student body, teachers, and families for the occasion.   The state-of-the-art schoolyard, which will be open to the community during non-school hours, will serve more than 42,000 residents within a 10-minute walk of home. Newly designed green infrastructure will capture two


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Neighborhood Notes on Redistricting, Bronx Bus Redesign, Booster Vaccinations & More!

Missing Local People  A 10-year-old boy has been reported missing from Jerome Park. For more information, click here A 23-year-old man has been reported missing from Olinville. For more information, click here. A 13-year-old girl has been reported missing form Laconia. For more information, click here. An 85-year-old man has been reported missing from Williamsbridge. For more information, click here.     COVID-19 Updates On June 24, 2021, New York State ended the State disaster emergency (PAUSE order) declared on March 7, 2020, to fight COVID-19. On Sept. 15, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a series of universal mask requirements designed


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“Teddy Cars” Helps Restore Music & Drama Program at St. Barnabas School

A local car dealership stepped up and made a $2,000 donation to support the film, drama, and music programs at St. Barnabas High School, as 200 students from Grade 9 through 12, returned to class after 18 months of virtual learning.   On Wednesday, Aug. 18, Julio Batista, general manager and partner at Teddy Cars, located on Boston Road, presented the check to the school. It’s hoped the funds will help jump start the return of the school’s drama club and restart a music program that ended in 2012.   The stage at St. Barnabas High School, located on East


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DOE Responds to NYC School Safety Coalition Comments following Bronx School Slashing

  The NYC Department of Education (DOE) has responded to remarks made by a representative of the NYC Schools Safety Coalition, Mona Davids, in the wake of a face slashing which took place at Bronx Collaborative High School on Wednesday. Sept. 15, after a dispute broke out between two students.   As reported, an unidentified, 15-year-old student was slashed in the face with an unknown object on the school premises at DeWitt school campus, located in Jerome Park, while another student fled to parts unknown. EMS transported the victim to Montefiore Hospital in stable condition. Police confirmed on Tuesday, Sept.


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UPDATE: Slashing at Bronx Collaborative High School Leaves One Student Hospitalized

  A student from Bronx Collaborative High School was hospitalized following a slashing incident which took place at the school on Wednesday. Sept. 15, after a dispute broke out between two students. Police later confirmed on Tuesday, Sept. 21, that a 15-year-old male was arrested on Sept. 20 in relation to the incident and has been charged with assault.   In response to an inquiry sent to the NYPD on Sunday, Sept. 19, police confirmed that at approximately 1 p.m. on Sept. 15, police responded to a 911 call regarding an assault inside 100 West Mosholu Parkway South in Jerome


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NY Lottery TAKE 5 Top-Prize Winner Sold in The Bronx

The New York Lottery announced on Friday, Sept. 17, that one top-prize winning ticket was sold in the Sept. 16 TAKE 5 EVENING drawing. The ticket, worth $44,137.50, was purchased at Happy Face Convenience Corp., located at 921 E. 180th Street in the West Farms section of the Bronx.   Take 5 players with midday and evening draws on the same ticket must check their numbers at nylottery.ny.gov to determine if they have the winning numbers for the corresponding midday or evening drawing.   TAKE 5 numbers are drawn from a field of one through 39. The drawing is televised twice daily at


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Kids Return to In-Person Learning at Public Schools 18 Months after NYS “PAUSE” Order

Many of New York City’s 1.1 million school children who were sent home in March 2020 when then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a statewide “PAUSE” order, amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, returned to their classrooms on Monday, Sept. 13, as the City reopened public schools for in-person learning once again.   After joining NYC Schools Chancellor, Meisha Porter, at P.S. 25 Bilingual School on East 149th Street in the Woodstock section of the South Bronx on Monday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio later held a press briefing at City Hall. “This is the day New York City’s comeback is


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CUNY Professors, Students Continue Protests against Budget Cuts ahead of Return to In-Person Learning

Before the return to in-person learning this fall, a group made up of staff and students at some Bronx-based City University of New York (CUNY) colleges, vowed to continue their “caravan” protest tactic of driving lines of vehicles past the homes of two CUNY college presidents, to continue to demonstrate their opposition to lay-offs of almost 2,000 adjunct professors that took place at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as reported.   The protestors say CUNY is sitting on $4.8 million in CARES Act funding and funding from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) which could be


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