Sanchez Announces $1 Million in “Participatory Budgeting” Projects

District 14 City Council Member Pierina Sanchez announced a million-dollar investment in various quality-of-life improvements going to schools, libraries, and senior centers in the district on June 20. The funding came by way of New York City Council’s participatory budgeting (PB) process which, according to New York City Council, is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget.   According to the council, the concept originated in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1989. Today, there are more than 3,000 participatory budgeting processes around the world, most at the municipal level. PB was launched


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Fun-Filled “HERO Dads” Father’s Day Event Held in St. James Park

Bronx dads and their kids got together for a fun day of games and activities to celebrate Father’s Day in St. James Park in Fordham Manor On June 15.   The event was part of the HERO Dads a free program at Montefiore-Einstein designed to empower low-income, non-custodial fathers to achieve family and financial success.   HERO stands for healthy, empowered, resilient and open. Funded by the Office of Family Assistance (OFA), and led by a team of psychologists, mental health counselors, and career development specialists, its mission is to help fathers become involved, nurturing parents to their children.  


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Fernandez Discusses Substance Abuse & Legislative Priorities During Jacobi Visit

State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (S.D. 36) paid a visit to NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi in the Morris Park section of The Bronx on Wednesday, June 28, 2023.   The senator spoke with senior leadership about substance abuse and her legislative priorities as chair of the Alcoholism & Substance Use Disorders Committee. She then toured the Comprehensive Addiction Treatment Center (CATC), spoke with Jacobi’s Stand Up To Violence (SUV) Program, and visited the newly renovated Mental Health Outpatient Clinic.   As assemblywoman for A.D. 80, Fernandez had previously responded to concerns over the location of a proposed substance abuse treatment facility


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Annual Bronx Anti-Prom Held at Grand Concourse Library to Celebrate Pride Month

New York Public Library (NYPL) hosted the annual Bronx Anti-Prom event this year at Grand Concourse Library on Friday, June 9.   Each year, NYPL organizes an Anti-Prom event in each City borough at different locations as an alternative to the traditional local high school proms for students celebrating the end of high school, to celebrate Pride and who may feel more comfortable in a different setting. NYPL had encouraged members throughout Pride Month to explore its world-renowned collections. The Library has one of the largest collections of LGBTQ+ history and activism, including hundreds of thousands of letters, manuscripts, photographs, posters,


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DOT Launches Initiative to Reduce Package Theft & Negative Environmental Impact of Truck Deliveries

New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced on June 30 that the agency will launch LockerNYC, a pilot program this summer to cut down on package theft and reduce delivery truck trips. The LockerNYC pilot program, which will run for one year, will allow New Yorkers to conveniently receive and send packages using secure lockers on public sidewalks, DOT officials said.   The pilot will include 15 locations and offer customers free 24/7 access, according to DOT officials. They said the program will be available to anyone who is interested and, unlike other delivery lockers, the LockerNYC program


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City Island Rising Pushes to Expand NYC Ferry Service & Hosts Narcan Training to Prevent Overdoses

City Island Rising, a community based, non-profit association working to improve the City Island community with open discourse and civility towards all, tabled at the City Island Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Spring Arts and Craft Fair alongside Bronx Bound Books on June 3.   According to the organization, board members distributed hundreds of face masks, COVID-19 tests, and collected many signatures for a petition to expand the NYC Ferry Service to City Island. Currently, according to the organizers, the group has collected nearly 1,500 signatures for this effort.   During the final days of his administration, former New York City Mayor


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The Riverdale Y Sunday Market is Open All Winter

The Riverdale Y Sunday Market, which organizers say has emerged as one of the most popular destinations for fresh food and community in the Northwest Bronx, has announced that it will be open every Sunday through the winter.   Since Sunday, Jan. 9, the market, which organizers say champions local, small-scale farmers, food producers, craftspeople, and artists, has been open every Sunday and will remain open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday throughout the year, including during the winter weeks. The Market is located at 4545 Independence Avenue in the Riverdale Temple parking lot (near 246th Street). “It’s amazing how popular


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UPDATE ELECTIONS 2023: Unofficial Results of Bronx Primary Races on Election Night & Ranked Choice

After the polls closed on Tuesday, June 27, NYC Board of Elections released the initial, unofficial results of the primary elections which took place that day, based on a percentage of returned poll site scanners.   The initial results cover both early votes and election day votes. Absentee and overseas ballots still have to be counted, as do the remaining scanners. Below is a summary of the unofficial results for The Bronx. The latest updated results as of June 28 are also now included below.   Democratic incumbent, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark led with 72.72 percent of votes


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New Bronx Research Shows Poor Air Quality Leads to Longer Hospital Stays for Children with Asthma

  Children with asthma spend more time in the hospital when there is a greater amount of “particulate matter” (PM 2.5) i.e. tiny pieces of solids or liquids, and Ozone (O₃), a colorless gas, in the air, according to a new study by researchers at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) in Norwood. The study was published in the Journal of Asthma just days after New York City was blanketed in wildfire smoke from the recent Canadian wildfires, as reported.   In what was described as a first-of-its-kind study in children led by pediatric hospitalist Elissa B. Gross D.O., M.P.H, the investigators


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