Opinion

Op-Ed: Child Abuse, A Public Health Crisis

By RENÉE BARRETT
  Like many mothers, my heart broke as I watched the video footage of a grown man pummeling two young children at the Fordham Road train station in the Bronx on January 22. The video footage is enraging and their screams continue to haunt me.   Child Abuse is a public health crisis. In addition, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) regards child abuse and maltreatment as economic burdens to society due to the extremely high hospitalization and treatment costs they generate (estimated at $585 billion in 2008). According to the CDC, at least one in seven children has experienced


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Inquiring Photographer: Thoughts on U.S. Forces Bombing Iran-Backed Militias in Syria

By DAVID GREENE
This week, we asked readers their thoughts on the recent bombing by U.S. forces of Iran-backed militias in Syria.   “The Biden administration’s recent decision to strike at targets in Syria by all accounts seems like a measured and proportional response to an attack on U.S. forces in Iraq. What President Biden is signaling is that while he prioritizes diplomacy, he will not be a pushover. I would have liked to see the administration consult more closely with Congress before taking such action. Congress has an important oversight role in foreign policy that I think has been overlooked the last several


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Executive Director of North Central Bronx Hospital Promoted to New Position in Harlem

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  Mitchell Katz, MD and president and CEO at NYC Health + Hospitals, the City’s public hospital system, announced on Friday, Feb. 26, that Cristina Contreras, executive director of NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx (NCB), located in Norwood, will be promoted to CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan based in East Harlem.   It was also announced that Christopher Roker, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan in East Harlem, will serve as CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln in Mott Haven. In these roles, Katz said Contreras and Roker will help lead the hospitals’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic


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Op-Ed: Why You Shouldn’t Just Vote In the Presidential Election

By MARGARET GROARKE
  Presidential elections are important. But your vote also matters, probably even MORE so, in local elections. In New York City elections, we choose the people who will be in charge of many of the things that affect our daily lives. If you care about the quality of local schools, the way NYPD polices your community, the state of the parks, how safe it is to walk, drive or bike on our streets, those are all issues that are dealt with by the mayor and the City Council.    So, why did five times as many people vote in the


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Inquiring Photographer: Thoughts on How to Spend St. Valentine’s Day

By DAVID GREENE
This week, we asked readers how they planned to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day amid the COVID-19 pandemic.   “I do have plans with a special guy this year for Valentine’s Day. We talked about the possibility of going out to a restaurant for this day, and we both decided it’s best to just stay at his place, and he’s going to cook for me. It is because we are choosing not to be around too many people, and who knows if restaurants are going to get crowded on Valentine’s Day, due to reopening of indoor dining on this holiday. I


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Inquiring Photographer: Thoughts on Social Media Deplatforming

By DAVID GREENE
  This week, we asked readers for their thoughts on “de-platforming” conspiracy theorists who have spread misinformation on conventional social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. We asked readers if such people then congregate on alternative social media platforms like Parler, will this just ultimately create silos of people with opposing views operating in their own echo chambers.   “The Bible talks about a time when right will be called wrong and wrong will be called right. We are in that time. Twitter allows child porn, but anything from conservatives, Donald Trump or others is banned. Of course, Trump and


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Inquiring Photographer: Thoughts on the January 6th Riots at the U.S. Capitol

By DAVID GREENE
This week, we asked readers for their thoughts on the January 6th riots at the U.S. Capitol.   “I’ve been in a daze. I’m very upset. I feel for these people’s lives, and I walk around afraid because you never know; they could shoot and I could get hit, you know? It’s very scary. I hope the transition will be peaceful. So far, it’s nice and quiet. It’s so sad but yes, [President-elect Joe] Biden will bring the country together, yes. You’ve got to have faith.” Roxanne Home,                         


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Inquiring Photographer: Thoughts on Interim Representation in the 11th City Council District

By DAVID GREENE
  This week, we asked readers their thoughts on the fact that former Councilman Andrew Cohen has stepped down from the City Council since Dec. 31, 2020, to take up a judgeship on the Supreme Court based in the Bronx, ahead of the end of his last term in the City Council, and that a special election to find his replacement will not be held until March 23, 2021. We asked readers in District 11 if they feel they will be properly represented until such time as a replacement is elected.   “The majority of people in government are driven


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Inquiring Photographer: Have the events of 2020 impacted your New Year’s Resolutions?

By DAVID GREENE
This week, we asked readers for their thoughts and wishes for the coming year, and whether the events of 2020 have impacted their New Year’s resolutions.   “Yeah, oh God! I just want this COVID to disappear, you know what I mean? Maybe some people should stop reading these conspiracy theories and get behind the vaccine. That should be the number one thing, because if people don’t take the vaccines, this thing is not going away. For 2021, I’m wishing myself for some good health. That will be my resolution, to stop smoking and getting myself back into decent health.”


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