Parks

Love Your Heart During American Heart Month & Forever!

By ARIEL PACHECO & SÍLE MOLONEY
Heart disease is preventable, yet it is the leading cause of death in the United States according to the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute (NHLBI) with more than 800,000 people dying of cardiovascular disease every year. Despite this, a recent poll conducted by Harris and the American Heart Association found that more than half of U.S. residents are unaware of these facts.

UPDATE Family & Friends Remember Cecilia “Ceci” Greene

By DAVID GREENE
The Amalgamated Houses and the larger Jerome Park community is mourning the recent death of Cecilia “Ceci” Greene at the age of 91. Friends have offered an outpouring of tributes to the German immigrant who grew up during and survived the Nazi occupation only to seek and find lifelong friends and a better life in America. Greene died on Jan. 23.

Applications Open for Brandon Hendricks Scholarship as Najhim Luke Found Guilty for Fatal Shooting of Basketball Star

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Applications are open for high school students for the Annual Brandon Hendricks (College) Scholarship. The news comes as Najhim Luke, 22, was found guilty for the fatal shooting of the late Brandon Hendricks, who was fatally shot in crossfire at just 17 years of age in June 2020 in the Morris Heights section of The Bronx. Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark’s office announced on Monday, Jan. 30, that Luke, who, as reported, was arrested and later charged in September 2020 in connection with the incident, was found guilty on one count of manslaughter and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

Bronx Book Swap Promotes Love for Reading and Beer in The Bronx

By SHERICA DALEY
In a quiet, industrial area located in the Throggs Neck section of The Bronx, something unexpected took place in mid-December. The Bronx Brewery hosted a Bronx Book Swap event on Dec. 17 in conjunction with Norwood Community Library, a bookworm’s event at no cost. Participants came to donate, swap books, listen to live music with DJ Buddy Lee, and enjoy a cold brew beer. The event was the first such event when books in Spanish and in other languages were made available and sought, and it laid the ground for the “Books & Brews” Book Club which launched in January 2024.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebrated Across The Bronx

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson hosted a service honoring the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, Jan. 15, in partnership with News 12 The Bronx and Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church, located at 1488 Reverend Dr. Fletcher C. Crawford Way in the Charlotte Gardens section of the borough.

Representation & Equity at Van Cortlandt House Museum  

By SÍLE MOLONEY
At the November Parks committee meeting for Bronx Community Board 8, Parks chair Deb Travis moderated a discussion on the license to operate Van Cortlandt House Museum, the oldest historic house in The Bronx. The Parks committee discussed how the National Society of Colonial Dames of New York, the oldest public/private partnership in New York City, has held the license since the 1896.