diversity & inclusion
CM Dinowitz Breaks Down Highlights of $107 Billion City Budget & $30 Million for C.D. 11
City Councilman Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11) gave a budget presentation to district residents on Wednesday, Aug. 2, highlighting some of the local initiatives that will benefit from funding, following the adoption of the City’s $107 billion budget for the 2024 fiscal year. The councilman went over the city budget process, discussed the major highlights from the latest adopted city budget, and broke down some of the $30 million plus in discretionary funding for capital projects and other funding secured for C.D. 11, in conjunction with Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.
Allerton Coops Art Exhibit Shows African American Histories of Early Bronx Interracial Housing Complex
In celebration of “Black August,” and as the first offering of a multi-year, research project at The Bronx County Historical Society, the Museum of Bronx History opened “The Allerton Coops, In Living Color” exhibit on Saturday, Aug. 12. According to representatives of the museum, the exhibit recovers the histories of African American and multiracial residents of the Allerton Coops, located at 2700 Bronx Park East, one of the earliest interracial housing complexes in The Bronx.
The 34th Annual Dominican Republic Parade Day in Pictures
Cricket: On the Van Cortlandt Park Cricket Stadium Proposal, the Bats are Out
News of a planned, 34,000-seat, temporary cricket stadium in Van Cortlandt Park ahead of the Cricket Men’s World Cup in June 2024 shook the Kingsbridge community to its core when The City media outlet published details on July 15 of the as-yet, tentative plan for the venue. However, with New York City Mayor Eric Adams struggling to cope with the ever-increasing costs of handling the influx of migrants to the city, private funding from entities such as the International Cricket Council (ICC) for such an event would, no doubt, be considered a welcome investment in New York City’s local economy.
Kingsbridge Heights Community Center Holds 10th Annual Neighborhood Festival
Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC) hosted its 10th Annual Neighborhood Festival on Friday, June 16, celebrating both Pride and Juneteenth. The event was held at the center located at 3101 Kingsbridge Terrace. KHCC is a settlement house founded in 1974 by community activists Janet Athanasidy, Patricia Burns, and Mary McLoughlin, serving the Kingsbridge Heights neighborhood and the Bronx. KHCC offers programs and services in multiple sites for more than 4,500 people annually from English language classes to childcare to early head start programs, a food pantry, gardening, a day summer camp and more. A planned barbecue was brought inside on the day due to a thunderstorm, but the
Art Exhibit Celebrates “Friendship & Activism” of Puerto Rican and Irish LGBTQ+ Activists
In honor of LGBTQ+ Pride 2023, Fordham University Lincoln Center’s Quinn Library and NYPL Belmont Branch, in partnership with the Bronx County Historical Society, opened Have a Heart, an exhibit that celebrates Bronx-born Puerto Rican activist Jesús Lebrón and his central role in struggles for LGBTQ+ rights, including marriage equality. Twenty years ago, in 2003, Jesús, with fellow activist and close friend, Brendan Fay, co-founded The Civil Marriage Trail Project, an organization that helped bring same-sex couples across borders for legal marriage. Among the couples were Edie Windsor (1929–2017) and Thea Spyer (1931–2009) who married in Toronto on May
Manhattan College Student Honored at Pride Ceremony
As Bronx residents and elected officials gathered at Bronx Borough Hall on Thursday, June 1, for the annual Pride ceremony to mark the beginning of Pride Month, one northwest Bronx student was among those being honored this year. The annual tradition of honoring selected members of the Bronx LGBTQIA+ community was also an occasion to witness the raising of the Pride flag, which will fly alongside the American flag and the veterans’ Prisoner of War (POW) / Missing in Action (MIA) flag throughout Pride Month (June). On the day, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson reiterated New York’s commitment to
UPDATE “Early Vote by Mail Act” to Enable New Yorkers to Use Mail-In Ballots for Early Voting
Bronx Assembly Member Karines Reyes, R.N. (A.D. 87) and Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris (S.D. 12) announced on Friday, June 9, that the State Assembly passed their new legislation (S.7394/A.7632) to expand early voting options to include an early vote by mail choice for all New Yorkers. The legislation passed the State Senate earlier this week and now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk for approval. “We have seen how important it is to have access to mail-in voting,” said Reyes, who broadly represents the Bronx neighborhoods of Castle Hill, Unionport, Parkchester, West Farms and Little Yemen. “This critical