Kenny Agosto Announces Run for 15th City Council District, Holds Rally Sunday, Sept. 27

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Kenny Agosto, district director to New York State Senator Jamaal T. Bailey, announced that he is running for the 15th city council district seat in the Bronx. Though not yet formally listed as a candidate on the City’s campaign finance board website, Agosto announced that he is joining the race in which there are already six candidates who have officially filed to run. They are Ischia Bravo, Elisa Crespo, Oswald Feliz, Latchmi D. Gopal, John E. Sanchez, and Julian S. Sepulveda. One of the candidates will replace the incumbent, Councilman Ritchie Torres, who it is assumed will win

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD is seeking the public’s assistance in locating Shani Antoine, 15 within the confines of the 44th Precinct. A photograph of Shani is attached. It was reported to police that she was last seen on Friday September 25, 2020, at her home at 165 West 169th Street in the Highbridge section of the Bronx, at approximately 5.30 p.m. She is described as a female, Black, 5 foot 5 inches tall, weighs 125 pounds, has brown eyes and black hair. She was last seen wearing a blue shirt, red pants, and red and blue sneakers. Anyone with information

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Former President Barack Obama endorsed Ritche Torres on Friday, Sept. 25, for New York’s 15th Congressional District, which covers the South Bronx. President Obama’s endorsement comes after Torres won the June 2020 primary. In a tweet in which he announcing a number of endorsements, Obama wrote, “I’m proud to endorse these outstanding Democratic candidates who will work to get the virus under control, rebuild the economy and the middle class, and protect Americans’ health care and preexisting conditions protections from Republican assault.” He added, “They’re dedicated to shoring up and strengthening our democracy, a project that’s going to take

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Friday, Sept. 24, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh ordered the Census Bureau to keep conducting the census count until October 31. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who yesterday announced his withdrawal from the mayoral race in New York City, and 2020 Census Task Force Co-Chairs, Carlos Menchaca and Carlina Rivera, issued a statement on the court ruling extending the census period. “This is a win for New York and gives us another month to get a complete count in the City. We have seen the Trump Administration try and fail, again and again, to exclude immigrants

By AURÉOLE RIBES

As a youngster in the Sixties and Seventies, Stephen Ritz and his friends would drill a hole in a quarter, put a fishing string through it, and play infinite pinball games at Larry’s Luncheonette on the corner of Gun Hill Road and Tryon Avenue in Norwood. They got away with it for a few weeks. Ritz recalls this little ploy with fondness and has an amalgam of other memories as well. He remembers learning basketball at Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, building little tree houses in Reservoir Oval Park, biking down Gun Hill Road, and meeting the Duncan “YoYo”

By ISAIAH MATHEWSON, MIRIAM QUINOÑES & SÍLE MOLONEY

Following reports on Sept. 18 of the defacing of a mural painted in support of Black trans lives on 204th Street and Perry Avenue in the Norwood section of the Bronx, reaction from allies and various public officials was swift. Their message? Hate has no place in Norwood. The following day, a rally was organized at the mural location by Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez, who was joined by a group of about 30, comprising members of the Black trans community, allies, and local leaders for the purpose of “denouncing hate and the defacing of a mural supporting Black trans lives.”

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Bronx native, attorney, and board member of Northwest Bronx Democrats 4 Change, Oswald Feliz, is clear on what his top three issues are in running for City Council in the 15th District. “Number one, I will work to racially and economically desegregate our public-school system,” he said. “We actually have the most racially and economically segregated system in the country, and that has to change.” Feliz said that in a city which has the largest public-school system in the country, with over 1.1 million students, where 70 percent are from minority communities, it is unjust that only a

By DANIELA BEASELY

Mosholu Preservation Corporation (MPC) is partnering with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) NYC to support local, small businesses in the Norwood and Wakefield neighborhoods through the LISC NYC Small Business Relief & Recovery Fund. The Fund will provide grants of $10,000 to minority-owned, small businesses, in response to their needs to successfully retool and adapt to new business guidelines and a changing marketplace, in the wake of COVID-19. LISC NYC embraces an inclusive, economic development agenda that prioritizes targeted investments in public infrastructure, human talent, innovation, diverse enterprises, and community organizations. This aligns with MPC’s efforts to advance the health

By DAVID GREENE

Three firefighters were injured after an early morning fire broke out engulfing a row of shops along East Gun Hill Road between Jerome Avenue and DeKalb Avenue in the Norwood section of the Bronx on Thursday, Sept. 24. Three of the shops were completely destroyed. According to fire department officials, the fire broke out inside the D’Amigos Restaurant and Bar, a one-story building located at 12 East Gun Hill Road, at 1.27 a.m. The fire quickly spread to two adjacent stores, P & S Wigs and Jewelry at 14 East Gun Hill and a beauty supply shop at 10