First Baby of 2021 at Montefiore Delights Mom & Dad, Brings Hope for a Brighter New Year

By SÍLE MOLONEY
As many around the borough were welcoming in a, hopefully, happier, healthier and more hopeful new year, with quiet family get-togethers, perhaps tuning in to watch the low-key celebrations unfold at Times Square, where foot traffic was very much reduced to a select few frontline workers for a special New Year’s Eve show featuring The Bronx’s own, Jennifer Lopez, proud parents Gissel Vargas and Jehovell Garcia had a very different reason to celebrate the arrival of 2021. A Happy New Year was certainly in order for the pair as their newborn son, Nathan Garcia, the first baby to be born


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Robin Hood COVID-19 Relief Fund Still Open for Applications, including Emergency Cash Assistance

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The Robin Hood foundation is still accepting applications from nonprofits for its COVID-19 Relief Fund for immediate response grants in key priority areas, as confirmed on Dec. 31.   Speaking to Norwood News by phone, Kevin Frederick Thompson, managing director of communications at the foundation, said that the usual source of funding for many nonprofits across the city has dried up or is temporarily unavailable. The foundation’s COVID-19 relief fund aims to bridge the gap in helping to support nonprofits which typically serve vulnerable populations, including low-income children and families, low-wage workers, individuals and families who are homeless and immigrant


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Statement From Mayor De Blasio on Law Department Report on NYPD Response to BLM Protests

By SÍLE MOLONEY
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio released a video response and written statement on Wednesday, Dec. 30, supporting the findings and recommendations of Corporation Counsel James Johnson’s report on the NYPD’s response to the George Floyd protests in New York City, as reported by Norwood News.    “There are clear lessons to be learned from the protests this year and a necessary drive to bring about real, transformative changes,” said de Blasio. “We must make improvements immediately, and the reports from the Department of Investigation ((DoI) and the Law Department will help guide the way forward. In addition to the


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Update: Murder Investigation Opens after Man Found Shot Dead in Van Cortlandt Village Apartment

By DAVID GREENE
  The NYPD is currently examining security camera footage to assist with their investigation into a homicide after a man was discovered shot to death inside a Van Cortlandt Village apartment.   According to an official police update received Tuesday night, Dec. 29, officers from the 50th precinct were called to ‘The Van Cortlandt Gardens,” located at 3951 Gouverneur Avenue, between Sedgwick Avenue and Van Cortlandt Park South earlier that morning at 10.50 a.m.   According to the statement, officers responded to a 911 call of an aided male inside apartment 1-J. The statement read, “Upon arrival, officers observed a


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Open Storefronts Program Extended through September 2021

By SÍLE MOLONEY
As reported by Norwood News, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed Emergency Executive Order 157, which created the Open Storefronts program on October 28, 2020. Open Storefronts is a free program that allows existing ground-floor storefront businesses to use a portion of the sidewalk and roadways to display merchandise, sell goods and complete transactions, and provide areas for customers to line up from October 30 to December 31, 2020.   On Tuesday, Dec. 29, the City announced that the Open Storefronts program would be extended through Sept. 30, 2021. Businesses may also use the curbside lane to conduct


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Update: Man Arrested on Murder Charges in University Heights Shooting in December

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Police have arrested a man on murder charges in connection with a shooting that occurred in University Heights on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020.   On the date in question, at 8.50 p.m., police responded to a 911 call regarding an assault in progress in the vicinity of West 184th Street and Aqueduct Avenue in the University Heights section of the Bronx, in the 52nd precinct.   Upon arrival, officers discovered a 26-year-old man lying on the ground with gunshot wounds to his chest and neck. EMS responded and transported the man to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.


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Cuomo: Updated Quarantine Guidelines, Extended Unemployment Benefit & Activation of Paid Sick Leave

Bronx Teen First Vaping-Related Death in New York State
By SÍLE MOLONEY
Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed on Tuesday, Dec. 29, that New York has updated its quarantine guidelines to align with the CDC’s recommendations. Individuals exposed to COVID-19 can now end their quarantine after ten days without a testing requirement, as long as they report no symptoms during the quarantine period.   After day 10, individuals must continue monitoring for symptoms through day 14 and if any develop, those individuals should immediately self-isolate, and contact their local health department or their health care provider to report the changes and determine if they should get tested.   “Unemployed New Yorkers will begin receiving


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Short Film Shot in Woodlawn Cemetery with Local Talent available to View for Free through Jan. 12

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  “Brooklyn Burial” is a new short film, shot in Woodlawn Cemetery, which co-stars and is written and directed by Christine Sloan Stoddard, who plays opposite Disnie Sebastien.  The film follows two friends, Cammy and Victrice, during an exchange which takes place in a cemetery after Cammy’s broken engagement. The film asks how Victrice will react to Cammy invoking a poetry spell to address her heartache.   Following a successful Facebook fundraiser, and shot in November 2020 using New York City talent from the Bronx and Brooklyn, the film is now available to watch, password-free, here through Jan. 12.   After


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Padernacht Calls on City & State to Halt Special Election Petitioning Process amid Pandemic

By SÍLE MOLONEY
On Tuesday, Dec. 29, District 11 City Council candidate, Dan Padernacht, announced that he and some of the other City Council candidates in the District 11 race will be holding a press conference on Dec. 29 to call on Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio to immediately waive the signature requirements for two NYC Council special elections that are to be called on or about Jan. 1, 2021, due to what Padernacht described as the inherent dangers associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.   To qualify for the ballot, each candidate in these special elections [in Districts 11 and


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