Tracey Towers Seniors Weigh in on Need for Honest History during Black History Celebration

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Black History Month was celebrated across The Bronx in February with several events held in honor of the country’s ancestors, while elsewhere, the ongoing debate over the teaching of Black history to children in schools continues to make headlines. Democratic State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33), who broadly represents the neighborhoods of Norwood, Bedford Park, Jerome Park, Riverdale, Fieldston, North Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, parts of Fordham, Belmont, Tremont, Van Nest, Little Yemen and Allerton, held a Black History Month celebration at Tracey Towers housing complex, located at 40 West Mosholu Parkway South in Jerome Park on Saturday, Feb. 25,

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Calling all Bronx Parents! Now is the time for New York City families throughout the five boroughs to register their children for an unforgettable summer of free Fresh Air Fund experiences at sleepaway camps in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley, or for them to visit volunteer host families along the East Coast. The Fresh Air Fund’s Camp Junior in Harriman State Park, New York is named in memory of Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, a 15-year-old victim of gang violence who was murdered on East 183rd Street and Bathgate Avenue in the Belmont section of The Bronx in June 2018. “Camp Junior,”

By SÍLE MOLONEY

District 11 City Council Member Eric Dinowitz, in partnership with BetaNYC, has launched a new mapping tool which shows the level of playground accessibility for residents near their homes and schools. The map was designed to provide an easy way for residents and their families to locate playgrounds that are safe and accessible and to accommodate those with disabilities. The new mapping tool includes detailed information about each playground throughout New York City, including the types of accessible features that are available at each playground. According to the councilman’s office, Dinowitz, a former teacher who represents the Northwest Bronx

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The Lehman Center for the Performing Arts will present Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Songs We Love,” a celebration of the history of American Jazz, spotlighting next-generation jazz stars and iconic songs from the 1920s to 1950s, on Saturday, March 11, at 4 p.m. “Songs We Love” was first presented as the 2016 season opener at “Jazz at Lincoln Center” in Manhattan, according to the event promoters. True to its mission “to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education, and advocacy,” Jazz at Lincoln Center provides a wide range of concert presenters an opportunity to

By ELISABETH ORTEGA-BAILEY

I live on Aqueduct Avenue with my 4-year-old son, Nori, and my husband, Nelson, close to the landmark Kingsbridge Armory that is now 514,000-square-feet of nothingness, thanks most recently to a failed plan to fill it with nine ice hockey rinks. I’m 34, in my second year at Bronx Community College, and have been organizing around the Kingsbridge Armory with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) since I was 16 and attending DeWitt Clinton High School. Nelson and I often joke that in order to live in New York City, you need both a job and a

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Extremely concerned members of Bronx Community Board 6 (CB6) sent a letter dated Feb. 20 to Keith Kalb, interim commissioner at the Bronx borough office of NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) on “the current state of Fordham Plaza.” In it, they refer to what they describe as DOT’s prior eviction of vendors and businesses previously operating in the Plaza, located in Belmont on the border with Fordham Heights and Fordham Manor, to facilitate reconstruction works at the site. The works were completed in 2016, according to CB6. At the time, CB6 members said DOT committed to filling the newsstands

By SÍLE MOLONEY

It all started last summer when student, Gabrielle Cruz, a member of the St. Barnabas High School (SBHS) choir who also plays the piano, spotted a brochure about a program called “Voices in the Hall” on the desk of SBHS teacher and co-choir director, Sharon Traditi. “We should do this!” Gabrielle excitedly said. “What an experience to perform at Carnegie Hall!” And so, the idea began taking shape with more students in September getting excited about the possibility of taking to the stage of Manhattan’s iconic performance venue. A phone call to executive director, Steve Petrunak, of the “Voices

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Zeta South Bronx Elementary School K-2nd grade students and staff are in for a treat on Monday, Feb. 13, when the South Bronx school will host a special musical performance by Liang Wang, principal oboist for the New York Philharmonic, and Junko Ichikawa, an award-winning pianist. According to representatives of Zeta South Bronx Elementary School, located at 425 Westchester Avenue, part of the charter school’s whole-child education approach and its commitment to reversing the quality gap, includes providing students with a robust specialty curriculum and programming through which students can explore and discover their own unique interests and passions.

By ARIEL PACHECO

Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) hosted his annual State of the District address on Jan. 29 at The Forum at Columbia University in front of a packed auditorium with many more waiting outside. As usual, the event was an occasion to highlight the congressman’s legislative victories and present his legislative agenda for the 118th Congress. During his address, Espaillat, a Democrat, committed to increasing funding for public safety, community and cultural programs, infrastructure development, and educational initiatives. “We created and passed legislation to create jobs, to help small businesses, to address climate change, to lower the cost of healthcare,

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Entertainment

Tracey Towers Seniors Weigh in on Need for Honest History during Black History Celebration

Applications Now Open for Summer Camp Named in Memory of Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz

Dinowitz & BetaNYC Launch New Map Showing Accessible City Playgrounds

Lehman Center Presents “Songs We Love: A Journey Through the First 50 Years of Jazz!”

Op-Ed: Bronxites Will Create New Kingsbridge Armory

Bronx CB6 Wants Answers on Fordham Plaza Reconstruction as City Assesses Fordham Corridor Needs

St. Barnabas High School Choir Performing at Cargenie Hall, Sunday, Feb. 19, at 7.30 p.m.

World-Renowned, Award-Winning Musicians to Perform for South Bronx Elementary Students

Espaillat Delivers State of the District Address for NY-13