Claremont: Search for 14-Year-Old Missing Girl

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York City Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating Luna Romero, 14, of 1560 Selwyn Avenue in the Claremont section of the Bronx, who was reported missing in the 44th precinct. It was reported to the police that Luna was last seen Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020 at approximately 9.30 p.m., leaving her home. She is described as being approximately 5 feet tall, of a medium build, has brown eyes and short hair. She was last seen wearing a black leather jacket, red pants and black shoes. Anyone with information in regards to this incident

By DAVID GREENE

Children and their parents received a well deserved “snow day” from both in-person and remote learning this week as a winter nor’easter dumped close to a foot of snow in some parts of the Bronx by Thursday morning, Dec. 17. Residents awoke to blankets of blinding, white snow spread all across the borough’s streets and parklands ushering in, for those receptive to it, an atmospheric, Christmas-like, peaceful silence at the end of what has been a tumultuous 2020. The National Weather Service reported six to ten inches of snow fell across the five boroughs, as bus services from the

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson formally kicked off her campaign launch for the Bronx borough presidency on Thursday, Dec. 17, issuing a press release in both English and Spanish to confirm the news. The councilwoman for Bronx’s 16th City Council district focused her message on the inequities in healthcare and food security prevalent in the Bronx, in her bid to win the hearts and minds of voters, highlighting that the last year has been especially hard for those at the lower end of the income scale, but offering hope by saying together the community would make it through the crisis and emerge

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

A coalition of local community groups made up of many young volunteers joined forces on Dec. 9 during a “Sticker Shock Campaign,” to alert local alcohol retailers of the dangers underage drinking presents to young people. The groups made in-person visits to various stores in Community Boards 5, 7, and 8 with oral presentations, stickers, and posters reminding both store owners and customers that it is illegal and dangerous to provide alcohol to anyone under the age of 21. The campaign was spearheaded by “We Engage in Prevention Awareness,” (WEPA), a community coalition seeking to eliminate substance abuse,

By DAVID GREENE

This week, we asked readers for their thoughts and wishes for the coming year, and whether the events of 2020 have impacted their New Year’s resolutions. “Yeah, oh God! I just want this COVID to disappear, you know what I mean? Maybe some people should stop reading these conspiracy theories and get behind the vaccine. That should be the number one thing, because if people don’t take the vaccines, this thing is not going away. For 2021, I’m wishing myself for some good health. That will be my resolution, to stop smoking and getting myself back into decent health.”

By DAVID GREENE

In the year of masks and face coverings, Congressman Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan, Bronx) may have been hoping for either some good luck or perhaps he was hoping to chase away some evil spirits from America’s capital. Whatever the reason, the congressman ended up purchasing a traditional African mask during a recent browse through the Bronx, confirming that he would be taking his purchase back with him to Washington D.C. Espaillat, together with New York City Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner, Jonnel Doris, was seen browsing local businesses in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, on Saturday, Nov. 28, in

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York City Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the driver, the vehicle or both seen in the attached video. The driver is sought in connection with a reckless endangerment incident that occurred in the 52nd precinct. On Monday, Nov. 30, at around 11.13 p.m., the unidentified driver of a black SUV shot multiple times at a group of four or five men who were standing in front of 3330 Hull Avenue in Norwood, before driving away. No injuries were reported as a result of the shooting. The vehicle is described as a

By SÍLE MOLONEY

New York State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi was celebrating, on Dec. 15, the signing into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo of a new bill S8298B, for which she was the lead sponsor, which prohibits the State of New York from selling or displaying symbols of hate. The bill states that the State shall not sell or display any symbols of hate or similar image, or tangible personal property, inscribed with such an image, unless the image appears in a book, digital medium, museum, or otherwise serves an educational or historical purpose. The term, “symbols of hate” shall include, but

By DAVID GREENE

The massive ‘Black Friday’ crowds at large stores and shopping malls, where customers often got on line the night before, were noticeably absent this year due to the pandemic, as millions of shoppers switched to online bargain hunting, a move that will potentially change the face of Black Friday forever. On Friday, Nov. 27, the GameStop on White Plains Road, packed one year ago with customers shuffling in and out of the store, or to Modell’s Sporting Goods next door was a very different sight this year. Modell’s declared bankruptcy and closed its 153 stores on August 29, as