New York Latino Film Festival Screened Largest Number of Films To Date

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York Latino Film Festival (NYLFF), billed as the nation’s premier Latino film festival returned to The Bronx from Sept. 13 to 19, with a combination of virtual programming and drive-in and in-person screenings held across the borough, as well as the FUTURO Digital Conference. It was NYLFF’s 22nd edition of the festival and celebrated the 20th anniversary of the film, “Raising Victor Vargas.” This year, the festival included numerous films from around the world, and screened the largest number of films to date. About Last Night Who does it bigger for #HispanicHeritageMonth than the New York Latino Film

By SARAH HUFFMAN

During the height of the statewide shutdown in 2020, brought on by the need to curtail the spread of the deadly coronavirus, actor, director and writer, Steve Greenstein, like many others, was subjected to long periods of boredom. Lack of work in New York City’s normally thriving entertainment industry prompted him to begin taking walks around the Bronx’s Kingsbridge neighborhood, where he took the time to observe how the pandemic was affecting his community. His thoughts on this prompted Greenstein to begin writing the web show series, “COVID Ditty,” fulfilling a dual need in the actor to stay

By DAVID GREENE

On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Bronxites gathered at various memorial events across the borough to honor the memories of those lost during the September 11th attacks in 2001. They joined family members, friends, and strangers across the City to pause and remember the 2,977 people killed when two hijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan twenty years ago, as well as those who subsequently died as a result of the events of that day. On Saturday, Sept. 11, Bronxites gathered at the 9/11 memorial monument, erected on the grounds of Jacobi Hospital on Pelham

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Editor’s Pick The Off-Broadway in the Boros Fest is coming to the Bronx. Enjoy free, outdoor, theater performances at 1 Fordham Plaza, on Saturday, Oct. 2, from 4 to 6 p.m. For more information, go to nyc.gov/OffBwayBoros. Events Lehman College is marking Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15) with an array of cultural activities, thought-provoking panel discussions, and exciting performances that highlight the many contributions Hispanic and Latinx communities have made to U.S. history. Register now for a wide selection of events. For more information, go to https://www.lehman.edu/cuny-institute-health-equity/upcoming-events.php. In celebration of Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, a Fiesta de

By JASON GONZALEZ

New York City’s “Homecoming Week” kicked off in the birthplace of Hip Hop, on Monday Aug. 16, when the first of five outdoor concerts was held in Orchard Beach in The Bronx. The music-filled week was launched as a celebration of the City’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, despite health officials warning that more people still need to be vaccinated in order for the City, and country, to advance towards the much coveted state of herd immunity. Citywide, as of Sept. 24, just 62 percent of New Yorkers are fully vaccinated, and in the Bronx, that number is 55

By DAVID GREENE

A local car dealership stepped up and made a $2,000 donation to support the film, drama, and music programs at St. Barnabas High School, as 200 students from Grade 9 through 12, returned to class after 18 months of virtual learning. On Wednesday, Aug. 18, Julio Batista, general manager and partner at Teddy Cars, located on Boston Road, presented the check to the school. It’s hoped the funds will help jump start the return of the school’s drama club and restart a music program that ended in 2012. The stage at St. Barnabas High School, located on East

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Bronx elected officials shared various messages to acknowledge the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. According to the website, hebcal.com, this year, Yom Kippur began on Wednesday, 15 Sept. and ends at nightfall on Thursday, 16 Sept. Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year for the Jewish community. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services. Yom Kippur completes the annual period known in Judaism as the High Holy

By DAVID GREENE

Twenty years after 2,753 people were tragically killed when two hijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan on 9/11, family members, friends and strangers once again paused to remember them at gatherings held across New York City on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. Those who gathered at the memorial reflecting pool, and around the 16-acre site where the Twin Towers once stood comprised a much smaller crowd this year than the tens of thousands who have come to pay their respect in years past. Joined our first responders at @NYPDTransit Transit District 11 to reflect and

By SÍLE MOLONEY

To honor and pay tribute to those who were lost on Sept. 11, 2001, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will launch visual memorials on New York City buses, subways and both commuter railroads on Saturday, the 20th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center. “I remember the day vividly,” said New York City transit interim president, Craig Cipriano. “I was working in the Brooklyn division of buses facilitating a new bus operator orientation. When we heard that the first plane had hit the North Tower, we thought it was some kind of an accident. But when we