Op-Ed: A Summer of Renewal for our Students

By MEISHA PORTER

This year has demanded that all New York City families and students do so many things differently—they’ve had to think differently, learn differently, and connect differently with teachers, peers, and the whole school community. At the Department of Education, we know we also have to think differently as we look towards the summer. For the first time ever, we are inviting all students to join us for a free, fun-filled, enriching summer program: Summer Rising. This year, we will serve any student in grades K-12 in July and August who wants to participate, and I am excited to be

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Friends and family members of the late Yadira Arroyo were joined by community members and elected officials to officially rename Blackrock Playground, in Unionport, in honor of the FDNY Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) on Thursday, May 27. Arroyo, a 14-year FDNY Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), was a dedicated leader and public servant who gave her life for the community. She was tragically killed in the line of duty on March 16, 2017, one block from Blackrock Playground. NYC Parks First Deputy Commissioner Liam Kavanagh joined FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro, State Assembly Member Karines Reyes, and Community Board 9

By SÍLE MOLONEY

With a series of sunny, yet smaller-than-usual, diploma ceremonies held on the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University, as well as a university-wide commencement videocast, streamed on Saturday, May 22, graduates of the university were honored for their bravery and determination amid the pandemic, and Fordham flipped the script on an unprecedented year, offering the Class of 2021 a chance to celebrate their resilience, and look forward with hope. During the videocast, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, officially conferred degrees upon nearly 5,500 graduates from ten different college schools, while acknowledging that it was not the commencement

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY

A host of local elected officials joined former tenant lawyer and Hostos Community College adjunct professor, Oswald Feliz, as he was sworn in as city councilman of the 15th Council District, following his win in the March 23rd special election. Feliz assumes the seat left vacant for a few months following the resignation of the former councilman, now Congressman Ritchie Torres, after the latter won the 15th congressional race in November 2020. The swearing in ceremony for Feliz was held on Sunday, May 2, at the Serviam Gardens, located at 2848 Bainbridge Avenue in Bedford Park. Officials in attendance included

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

The transformation of the South Bronx continued Thursday, May 20, with a groundbreaking ceremony for a new museum which will memorialize the history of hip-hop in the borough, part of a $349 million development known as Bronx Point. With shovels in hand and scooping dirt from a pile of earth, elected officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., joined hip-hop legends, Grandmaster Flash, Slick Rick, LL Cool J, Chuck D, Nas, and Fat Joe, in marking the ceremonial foundation of the museum’s construction. The 22-story building

By SÍLE MOLONEY

District 11 City Council Member Eric Dinowitz has called on the City’s health commissioner, Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, and on the commissioner for the Department for the Aging, Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, to immediately move to reopen the city’s senior centers. In his letter, the council member said the centers have long been the only place where many older adults receive food, interact with others, and maintain some level of routine in their lives. “While these centers have remained closed since the onset of the pandemic, we have seen many other facilities across NYC start to open in a safe and

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Video courtesy of the Jr. Knicks The Jr. Knicks announced on May 24 that Clarence “Mugsy” Legget has been named the 2021 Jr. Knicks Coach of the Year, presented by Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS). Legget is currently the executive director of the Wiz Kids basketball program and the director of the SCAN after-school program. Founded in 1977, SCAN-Harbor is a non-profit youth and family service organization that provides a variety of integrated supports to the highest risk children and families of Harlem, East Harlem and the South Bronx. Following hundreds of nominations, from youth basketball coaches across

By JOSEPH LOPEZ

When I was growing up, my mother always asked me if I had washed my hands. To be honest, I always said “yes,” whether I had washed them or not. Like most kids, I didn’t understand the importance of handwashing. As an adult, though, I realize that my mother’s constant reminders to wash my hands weren’t nagging; she was just teaching me good hygiene. And we can all recognize the importance of this, living through a global pandemic. On May 5, we celebrated World Health Hygiene Day. We celebrate this day each year by reminding ourselves of what proper

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY

District 14 City Council candidate and long-time community organizer, Adolfo Abreu, last month, held another of several pop-up rental clinics he’s been hosting in the district in recent months. On Friday, April 30, ahead of the extension of the eviction moratorium by state legislators, Abreu set up shop at the corner of University Avenue and West Tremont Avenue in University Heights and offered residents information on how to force landlords to make needed repairs, as well as how to prevent eviction. Last month, Norwood News reported on Abreu’s involvement in a rally held at 2770-2780 Kingsbridge Terrace in the