Despite the fact overall crime in New York City dropped to record lows in 2007, crime numbers in the northwest Bronx’s 52nd Precinct stayed remarkably unchanged from the year before.

Plus, see a breakdown of crime stats by neighborhood.

Kids file into the auditorium of PS 8, free from classes for the day. They laugh and tease one another playfully before their afternoon snack, as Christopher Villafane registers them in his laptop.

Each day after school, children from PS 8 and surrounding neighborhood schools attend the Beacon Program, a free citywide community-based initiative to serve children after class ends. The program can be found at 80 different locations throughout New York City.

Middle School 80 is asking their students’ parents to "show them some love" through volunteering, in an effort to educate children through a community of learning.

The New York City presidential primaries will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 5. To find out if you are registered to vote and where you can cast your vote, call (212) 487-5300 or visit www.vote.nyc.ny.us.

This past month, the League of Humane Voters of New York City released their 2007 City Council Humane Scorecard, which showed the Bronx City Council members in second place for the 2007 calendar year, with an average score of 60 percent (out of 100).

On Jan. 15, the steps of City Hall were bombarded with angry street vendors in opposition of the new legislation, Intro. 665, the "Green Cart Legislation," declaring it insufficient, unfair and claimed it disregards the dire necessities of thousands of street vendors.

This past week, at a public hearing on cable television conducted by the city’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Councilman Oliver Koppell spoke about complaints he has received from constituents on cable television services.

On Jan. 11, the six-year anniversary of the internment of the first “enemy combatant” at Guantanamo Bay, Congressman Jose Serrano called for the prison’s closure.

Longtime Community Board 7 member Sandra Erickson, who was recently replaced as chair of the Board’s Land Use Committee, was picked to be one of the 11 members on the New York State Real Estate Board. Erickson has worked in the industry for the past 25 years, she said.