Handel’s Messiah & Other Holiday Performances on BronxNet

By SÍLE MOLONEY
­The Bronx is celebrating with cheerful holiday performances, and viewers can share in that holiday spirit by tuning in to BronxNet. The seasonal line-up includes Handel’s Messiah performed by The Orchestra of The Bronx and Bronx Opera Company, Manhattan College’s Lessons and Carols, a virtual Nutcracker by the Paige Fraser Foundation, a Parranda celebration by Casita Maria, and Pregones PRTT’s Fiesta Navideña.   Handel’s Messiah features readers from the Bronx community including Dr. Ruth Westheimer, NYS Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, NYC Councilman Andrew Cohen, Congressman José E. Serrano, Bronx Community College President Thomas Isekenegbe, Riverdale Press Editor Michael Hinman, and BronxNet


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Anthony Taveras Morales Sought in Connection with Fatal Shooting of Jaguar Housey

By SÍLE MOLONEY
On Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020 at around 8.17 p.m., police responded to a 911 call regarding a man who had been shot in front of 915 Prospect Place in the William McKinley Houses section of the Bronx, located in the 42nd precinct. Upon arrival, officers observed a 29-year-old man with gunshot wounds to the left arm and head.   EMS responded to the location, and transported the victim to NYC Health & Hospitals/Lincoln, where he was pronounced deceased on Thursday, Sept. 17. There were no arrests and the investigation remained ongoing. The deceased was identified as Jaguar Housey, 29, of


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Bloods Gang Members Indicted for Sex Trafficking Ring in Multiple Bronx Motels

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea announced on Dec. 23 that nine alleged Bloods gang members have been indicted on various charges of sex trafficking of a child, sex trafficking and promoting prostitution, as well as additional charges for running a sex trafficking ring out of multiple Bronx motels and other hotels around the city.   The defendants are Angel Cano, 22, Bronx, Luis Cano aka Lou, 23, Bronx, Brandon Diaz aka Billz, 27, Bronx, Elvis Dominguez aka LV, 24, Bronx, Ashley Garcia, 19, Bronx, Andrew Garcia aka Drew, 23, Bronx, Shaquille


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NYPD Hosts Various Holiday Events as DOI Releases Report on NYPD Handling of BLM Protests

By SÍLE MOLONEY & JOSÉ A. GIRALT
As the holidays reach peak season, the NYPD has also been stepping up its ongoing outreach efforts with local communities, organizing a number of kid-friendly, holiday events across the borough. Meanwhile, the report by the City’s Department of Investigation into the NYPD’s handling of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations this year was released on Friday, Dec. 18, amid some scathing criticism from legal groups.   On Friday, Dec. 11, the Police Athletic League (PAL) hosted a bunch of children at PAL’s new South Bronx Center to kick off the holiday season with an outdoor tree lighting ceremony. Organized by PAL


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Sharp Rise in Grand Theft Auto Rates in 52nd Precinct

By SÍLE MOLONEY
According to the latest NYPD crime statistics for the 52nd precinct covering Bedford Park, Fordham, Kingsbridge, Norwood, Bronx Park, and University Heights, grand theft auto (motor vehicle theft) crimes were up by 128.6 percent in the 28 days prior to Dec.13, compared to the same period last year. Norwood News reached out to the 52nd precinct to see if police could provide any insight or identify any patterns as to why this was the case.   Officer José Fernandez said, “As of now, a lot has to do with people double-parking their vehicles to go into the store, or to


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NY Research into New COVID-19 Strain Underway as Three Airlines Test Passengers Pre-Departure from UK

Bronx Teen First Vaping-Related Death in New York State
By SÍLE MOLONEY
Governor Andrew Cuomo confirmed on Tuesday, Dec. 22, that New York’s Wadsworth Laboratory has begun aggressive research of the new, more contagious strain of COVID-19 first detected in the U.K. in September. Wadsworth has looked at more than 3,700 virus sequences identified in New York already, and has yet to find the U.K. variant present in any of the random samples.   Wadsworth and the State health department have made agreements with six hospitals from across the State to obtain additional samples for further research and are making arrangements with other hospitals to do the same. “If the variant is


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South Bronx: Search for Missing 14-Year-Old Girl

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The New York Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating Carolyn Vasquez, 14, of 760 Grand Concourse in the South Bronx, who was reported missing on Tuesday, Dec. 22, in the 44th precinct.   Carolyn was last seen on Friday, Dec. 18, at approximately 6 a.m., leaving her home. She is described as female, Hispanic, around 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighs 180 pounds, and has brown eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing a red, white, and blue sweater and blue jeans.   Anyone with information with regard to this missing person is asked to


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Update: Man Charged in Case of Dec. 14 Wakefield Fatal Shooting

By SÍLE MOLONEY
On Monday, Dec. 14, at around 9.45 p.m., police responded to a 911 call regarding an unconscious person on the first floor of 3982 Carpenter Avenue in the Wakefield section of the Bronx, in the 47th precinct. Upon arrival, they discovered an unconscious and unresponsive 46-year-old man lying on the floor. EMS pronounced the man deceased at the scene.   On Dec. 16, the death was deemed a homicide and it was confirmed that the victim had sustained a gunshot wound to the head. There were no arrests and the investigation remained ongoing. On Tuesday, Dec 22, the New York


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Woodlawn Conservancy Receives Two Grants from NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

By SÍLE MOLONEY
On Monday, Dec. 21, The Woodlawn Conservancy, Inc. announced that it is to be the recipient of two grants from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). One grant, in the amount of $56,250 will support tree maintenance and another, in the amount of $35,000, will support an urban forest management plan.   Woodlawn Cemetery is a 400-acre, national historic landmark, and a Level II Arboretum (a botanical garden devoted to trees) with more than 6,000 trees on its grounds. In reference to the grant, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said, “Healthy community forests provide a host of environmental,


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