Cuomo to Bronx Supporters: “I Am Not Going Anywhere!”

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY

The following is an extended version of the story that recently appeared in our print edition. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned from office on August 24, 2021, amid a sexual harassment scandal, made his second public appearance on Thursday, March 17, since he escaped being hit with sex crime charges by State prosecutors. Cuomo addressed a group of Bronx supporters alongside former District 18 city councilman, Rev. Ruben Díaz Sr., during a regular meeting of The New York Hispanic Clergy Organization, a group founded by Díaz. The standing room only crowd packed the Christian Community Neighborhood Church, located at 1437

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition. Were it just “the luck of the Irish” that was needed, it might not have taken two decades for an Irish LGBTQ+ group to finally make history, marching this year for the first time ever, under the group’s identifying banner, in the annual Bronx St. Patrick’s Day parade in Throggs Neck, on Sunday, March 13. But as parade participant, Brendan Fay, knows, changing the world sometimes means shifting hearts and minds, which itself requires imagination, patience, persistence, grace in the face of opposition,

By ELLEN MARY LAWRENCE

Rose Margaret Moran, long-time Bronx resident of Decatur Avenue in Norwood, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, at the age of 90. Born on July 20, 1931, she was the daughter of James Moran and Ellen (Neville) Moran. Rose was the epitome of the song, “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.” As a young girl, she traveled with her mother and younger sister, Mary, by steam liner back to the family farm in Ireland. They lived there for a year, learning the culture and heritage from her beloved grandparents. Rose taught elementary and middle school for nearly

By SÍLE MOLONEY & DAVID GREENE

New York Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15), and New York Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) announced that on Friday, Feb. 4, they introduced federal legislation to address manufacturing issues with space heaters. The “Safer Heat Act” (H.R. 6615) comes as a result of the recent Twin Parks North West apartment building fire that stole the lives of 17 New Yorkers, including 8 children, as reported, and one day before another 2-alarm fire was reported in the University Heights section of The Bronx on Saturday. According to Torres and Clarke’s offices, the new bill is part of a federal legislative

By SARAH HUFFMAN

Lehman College student, Sera Janneh, 27, was among the 17 victims of the Twin Parks North West residential building fire which broke out on Sunday, Jan. 9, in the Fordham Heights section of the Bronx. Janneh was a sophomore at Lehman and was majoring in psychology and minoring in early childhood education. As reported by The New York Post, Janneh’s father, Tijan Janneh, said his daughter got separated from the family, during the fire, as they tried to escape the burning building. Firefighters later told him that his daughter had died. Lehman College released a statement on Thursday,

By DAVID GREENE

Hundreds of Muslim worshipers packed the Islamic Cultural Center, located on Clay Avenue in the Morrisania section of the Bronx, on Sunday, Jan. 16, and thousands more stood shoulder to shoulder, wearing traditional Muslim clothing and face masks, to pay their respects to 15 of the 17 victims killed in the horrific Twin Parks North West fire tragedy on Jan. 9, as reported. As mourners jammed into several blocks along East 166th Street, the funeral and prayer service was attended by many high-ranking, City and State elected officials, including Mayor Eric Adams. As briefly reported, despite the frigid temperatures

By MONICA RICHARDSON & SÍLE MOLONEY

It has been almost three weeks since the deadly Twin Parks fire tragedy occurred in the Fordham Heights section of the Bronx, tragically taking the lives of 17 people, including 8 children, mostly of Gambian descent. Since then, Bronxites have mobilized to mourn and honor the victims, support the survivors, all while facing more tragedy in the form of gun violence across the borough. The NYPD confirmed 63 people were injured in the Twin Parks North West blaze, which, according to a report by The New York Times, was the deadliest since the Bronx’s Happy Land Social Club tragedy, which resulted

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Democrats, District 11 City Council Member Eric Dinowitz, District 13 City Council Member Marjorie Velázquez, both representing parts of the Bronx, and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, representing parts of Queens, announced on Thursday, Jan. 27, Holocaust Remembrance Day, that a New York City Council resolution in support of Rozic’s bill A472A will be introduced in the City Council. The bill directs the commissioner of State education to audit Holocaust education in New York. In the context of the announcement, Velázquez said the increase in antisemitic attacks across the globe, and specifically in New York City was a reminder that the

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced on Monday, Jan. 24, that former Salesian High School teacher, Mariela Barajas, was arraigned for allegedly disseminating indecent material to a 15-year-old. Barajas, 22, of Mount Vernon, was charged on Jan. 24, in Mount Vernon City Court with disseminating indecent material to minors in the first degree, a felony. The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office made the arrest following an investigation, with assistance from the Mount Vernon Police Department and New Rochelle Police Department. While employed at the New Rochelle school, in December 2021 and January 2022, Barajas allegedly engaged