Op-Ed: Puerto Rico Status and Finances

By GENE ROMAN

After five years of haggling, debate, and protests, Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York finally approved a debt restructuring agreement for Puerto Rico in January. The Fiscal, Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (FOMB) was able to reduce the government of Puerto Rico’s total debt obligations from $33 billion to $7.4 billion, according to recent reporting by The New York Times. FOMB was created under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act of 2016. It consists of seven members appointed by the President

By SARAH HUFFMAN

Frustrations were evident among the attendees at Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7)’s Parks meeting on Feb. 9, as members and residents expressed their exhaustion when it came to dealing with the Forestry unit within New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Parks committee chair, Barbara Stronczer, shared that she had recently attended a meeting with a Bronx representative of the Forestry unit, along with Ischia Bravo, CB7 district manager, and Karla Cabrera-Carrera, community coordinator for CB7. Stronczer said Forestry informed her the unit does not usually attend community board meetings, even though CB7 has been trying

By DAVID GREENE, JOSÉ A. GIRALT & SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD said a 22-year-old man was shot in the Bedford Park section of The Bronx and the department released photos of a person of interest sought in connection with the case. The shooting took place on Thursday, March 10, at around 4 p.m., opposite 2995 Botanical Square. Police officials said the gunman approached the male victim, produced a gun, and shot him once in the abdomen. The victim was brought to an area hospital. He will likely survive. Norwood News previously reported on safety and other concerns by tenants located at 2985-2995 Botanical Square, known collectively as Botanical

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the person seen in the attached video and photo who is sought in connection to a robbery that occurred in the 50th precinct. On Wednesday, March 9, at approximately 8.20 a.m., the individuals approached a 35-year-old female victim and her 3-year-old son inside the lobby of her apartment building in the vicinity of Sedgwick Avenue and West Kingsbridge Road on the border of the Kingsbridge Heights and Fordham Manor neighborhoods. They produced a gun and pointed it at the woman’s torso and demanded her property. They then pointed the

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on Wednesday, March 9, that a man has been charged with attempted rape in the first degree and additional charges for attacking a five-months’ pregnant woman in front of her apartment building in Melrose in August 2021. Clark said the defendant, Amara Doumbouya, 27, who was apprehended in Cincinnati, Ohio, was arraigned on Wednesday on attempted rape in the first degree, second and third-degree burglary, first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree strangulation, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, third-degree assault, and attempted rape in the third degree before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Steven

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has issued a winter operations advisory for Wednesday, March 9, beginning at 6 a.m., in advance of expected snowfall. A winter operations advisory is the department’s lower level winter weather message, as opposed to the higher level “snow alert.” Following warm temperatures earlier in the week, snow is expected to fall throughout the day Wednesday. Accumulation on pavement is not likely, but a coating to two inches may accumulate on unpaved surfaces. This could lead to slick, dangerous conditions and impact the collection of trash and recycling. DSNY officials said

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on Friday, March 4, that a Rikers Island inmate has been charged with second-degree assault and additional charges for throwing scalding water at a New York City Department of Correction (DOC) officer in the jail, causing first-degree burns. Clark said the defendant, Darrell Woods, 36, an inmate at the jail, was arraigned on March 3, on two counts of second-degree assault, third-degree assault, second-degree menacing, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree obstructing governmental administration before Bronx Supreme Court justice, Steven Barrett. Bail was set at $25,000 cash/$75,000, bond/$75,000, partially secured

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD is asking the public’s help identifying the person seen in the attached surveillance video and photos who is sought in connection to an attempted gunpoint robbery that occurred just north of the Baychester neighborhood. It was reported to police on Sunday, March 6, inside 3431 Baychester Avenue (Bodega), at approximately 10.53 a.m., an unknown man entered the location, pulled out a gun and approached a 27-year-old male victim. The gunman demanded the victim’s property but the victim resisted, and began to fight with him. The victim was able to flee the location on foot

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD said the person sought in connection to the reported murder of a 26-year-old woman and a 6-year-old girl in the Eastchester section of The Bronx, has been found deceased. On Saturday, March 5, at approximately 11.56 p.m., police responded to a call for a wellness check at a building on Monticello Avenue in Eastchester, located in the 47th precinct. Upon arrival, police observed the 26-year-old woman and the 6-year-old girl, both with stab wounds about their bodies and both unconscious and unresponsive. EMS responded and pronounced both deceased at the scene. The identities of the