Mosholu Parkway Tree and Holiday Display Delights Community after Tough Year

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Although, there was no official Holiday Tree lighting event on Mosholu Parkway this year to reduce the risk of COVID-19, the tree lighting company made a low-key visit in mid-December to install the lights on the big blue spruce on Bainbridge Avenue and Mosholu Parkway, providing some sense of normalcy in what has otherwise been a wholly abnormal year. Before the snow fell, our photographer, Miriam Quinoñes, snapped these shots of the tree and adjacent holiday display which was sponsored by Bronx Community Board 7, and organized by Friends of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP), delighting young and old alike.

By DAWN CLANCY

The Bronx Zoo has officially kicked off the festive season with the return of its annual Holiday Lights celebration. From now until Jan. 10, families and friends of the zoo can meander through an outdoor, illuminated menagerie of land and sea animals from far-away corners of the world. For many, the experience provides a much-needed boost of holiday cheer, and a brief but welcome respite from the stress of the Covid-19 pandemic. Michelle Witkowski, 31, a mother of two, recently travelled from Brooklyn to see the light show. “We’ve had tickets for a month. My kids have been so

By DAVID GREENE

One trend seen throughout the pandemic has been the collaboration between community volunteers, philanthropic organizations and private and government sectors in filling the vacuum created by an unprecedented and urgent need for food and other essential services. One such example is where healthcare plan provider, Fidelis Care, teamed up with Rethink Food in partnership with Essen Health Care each Monday throughout December to provide free gourmet meals, and free rapid COVID testing to both the general public and to local healthcare professionals. Having kicked off the initiative on Monday, Dec. 4, the coalition aimed to distribute 2,400

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York City area may experience severe weather, including potential wind gusts up to 65 mph, starting Thursday evening, Dec. 24, and continuing into Friday, Dec. 25. Accordingly, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is reminding all builders, contractors, crane operators, and property owners to secure their construction sites, buildings, and equipment. Department officials said the agency will be performing random spot-check inspections of construction sites around the city, and if sites are not secured, it will issue violations and Stop Work Orders, where necessary. Winds may reach higher speeds and last longer than

By SÍLE MOLONEY & JOSÉ A. GIRALT

As the holidays reach peak season, the NYPD has also been stepping up its ongoing outreach efforts with local communities, organizing a number of kid-friendly, holiday events across the borough. Meanwhile, the report by the City’s Department of Investigation into the NYPD’s handling of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations this year was released on Friday, Dec. 18, amid some scathing criticism from legal groups. On Friday, Dec. 11, the Police Athletic League (PAL) hosted a bunch of children at PAL’s new South Bronx Center to kick off the holiday season with an outdoor tree lighting ceremony. Organized by PAL

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Monday, Dec. 21, The Woodlawn Conservancy, Inc. announced that it is to be the recipient of two grants from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). One grant, in the amount of $56,250 will support tree maintenance and another, in the amount of $35,000, will support an urban forest management plan. Woodlawn Cemetery is a 400-acre, national historic landmark, and a Level II Arboretum (a botanical garden devoted to trees) with more than 6,000 trees on its grounds. In reference to the grant, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said, “Healthy community forests provide a host of environmental,

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Since the holiday season kicked off, the New York City & Vicinity District Council of Carpenters (NYCDCC), and the Carpenter Contractor Alliance of Metropolitan New York (CCA Metro) has delivered over 300 toys to kids and 500 turkeys to families throughout the Bronx. The carpenters and contractors participated in three toy drives and one turkey drive across the borough in addition to events organized in other parts of the city. The holiday toy drives in the Bronx were carried out in partnership with local non-profit community organizations and agencies, Eastchester Heights Community Center and NYCHA, and local elected officials,

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) announced that residential trash and recycling collection has resumed since Friday, Dec. 18. Residents who have placed material curbside for collection should leave that material out, and residents who have held back material should put it out for collection. The department has asked residents to clear any snow from atop or around containers to make it easier for the crews. However, residents should be mindful that once collection resumes, there will be delays as the department works to collect the backlog of material. DSNY normally collects about 12,000 tons of trash

By DAVID GREENE

Children and their parents received a well deserved “snow day” from both in-person and remote learning this week as a winter nor’easter dumped close to a foot of snow in some parts of the Bronx by Thursday morning, Dec. 17. Residents awoke to blankets of blinding, white snow spread all across the borough’s streets and parklands ushering in, for those receptive to it, an atmospheric, Christmas-like, peaceful silence at the end of what has been a tumultuous 2020. The National Weather Service reported six to ten inches of snow fell across the five boroughs, as bus services from the

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Out and About

Holiday Lights at Bronx Zoo Bring Some Festive Cheer to Kids (& Adults)

Fidelis Coalition Helps Local Restaurants to Feed Bronxites & Get Tested for COVID-19

DOB: Property Owners, Contractors, & Crane Operators To Take Precaution During High Winds

NYPD Hosts Various Holiday Events as DOI Releases Report on NYPD Handling of BLM Protests

Woodlawn Conservancy Receives Two Grants from NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

Carpenters & Contractors Deliver Toys & Smiles to Bronx Kids during Annual Holiday Toy Drive

NYC Sanitation Resumes Trash and Recycling Collection, Releases Guidance for Christmas Day Service

Snow Storm Brings Frustration to Some Bronxites & Joy to Others