Racism, Mental Heath and Police Virtual Panel Discussion

By SÍLE MOLONEY

In honor of Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, join Brave Souls on Fire as the group hosts a virtual panel discussion on Racism, Mental Health and Police on Wednesday, Jul. 15, 2020 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. EDT. Panelists will include Princess Blanding of Justice for Marcus David Peters, Richmond, VA, Chief Rashall Brackney from the Charlottesville Police Department, Celia Brown from Surviving Race, Bronx, NY, Shaniqua Smith-Spann of Uponyaji, Philadelphia, PA and George Monroe who holds an MA in Counseling from Glenn Allen, VA. There will be a Q&A session at the end of the

By Síle Moloney

On Wednesday, Jul. 8, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza announced additional preliminary plans for school reopening in September, assuming the City continues to meet all necessary COVID-19 public health thresholds. According to a City press release, the plan was driven first and foremost by the health and safety of school communities. Schools will be provided with specific models to develop schedules for students that include in-person and remote instruction every week. Personalized schedules will be shared with families in August, and the Department of Education will continue to update families so they can plan

By Síle Moloney

Ayaris Perez, and his colleague, Edwin Torres, both filmmakers from Norwood, make up half of the Bronx Film 48 team, a Bronx community film initiative established in March 2019, the goal of which is to increase the number of filmmakers in the Bronx, increase the number of produced films within the Bronx, and connect filmmakers through networking events, workshops and an annual 48-hour film challenge. The group is launching the 2nd annual Bronx 48-hour film challenge on Jul. 10 at 5:00 p.m. This time, it’s an indoor film challenge, requiring all short film submissions to be made indoors. “It

By José A. Giralt & Síle Moloney

On Apr. 27, citing concerns over the probable spread of the coronavirus, the New York State Board of Elections announced the cancellation of the State’s presidential primary. The Sanders campaign released a statement the same day, describing the decision as an “outrage”. “What the [NYS] Board of Elections is ignoring, is that the primary process not only leads to a nominee, but also the selection of delegates, which helps to determine the platform and rules of the Democratic Party,” the statement read. Bizarrely, the Board chose not to cancel the congressional, state and other special primary elections

By José A. Giralt & Síle Moloney

Over the past few months, most New Yorkers have focused their attention on the public health aspects of the coronavirus. Now that all indicators show a downward trend, and the spread of the virus is relatively controlled, elected officials and community leaders are facing hard decisions on budgets for public services. From Albany to City Hall to all 59 City community boards, officials are being asked to slash previously agreed budgets due to reduced revenue sources like sales taxes. Locally, Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) is assessing what adjustments may need to be made to its budget. In

By Síle Moloney

The New York Public Library kicked off its virtual, six-week, summer camp program on Monday, Jun. 29, and will continue until Aug. 7. Every week, kids and students of all ages, and their families, can find a new batch of fun, hands-on activities that promote learning, reading, and creativity, all of which can be done from home. The link to the website is here. It is nypl.org/summerreading. Activities will be posted five days a week and will also be accessible on weekends.

Occupy City Hall: Protestors Change Tack

By David Greene & Síle Moloney

The “Occupy City Hall” movement gathered further steam over the last week as the City Council vote on the City budget on Jun. 30 drew nearer. Protestors consolidated pressure on elected officials, calling for specific changes to the budget process, with the defunding of police at the top of the agenda. The Occupy City Hall movement appeared to morph out of a month of sustained Black Lives Matter protests across New York City, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police on March 25, 2020. Despite a series of recently passed State and City

By Síle Moloney

People who rely on an antenna to access free, over-the-air TV (approximately a third of TV viewers) will need to rescan their TV to continue to receive local TV programming and emergency alerts. TV rescans are free and simple, requiring just a few steps with the TV remote. The Media Advisory below from the National Association of Broadcasters provides additional information. TV Rescan Required for Antenna TV Viewers in New York, NY What: A TV Rescan Alert has been issued, July 3, 2020, for New York, NY. TV viewers who receive free, over-the-air local TV will need to rescan

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

The following article is a two-part feature story on the Black Lives Matter protests. Part I The following stories are all too familiar in the Bronx. On a summer afternoon in July 2016, a man saw a tense situation unfolding between NYPD officers and three people at Morris Houses in Claremont Village. One woman was cuffed, and the arguing escalated. The man thought he could help diffuse the situation, but in an instant, he was thrown against a gate by an officer who later defended his action by saying he felt the sergeant at the scene needed to