Religion

Velázquez Introduces City Council Bill to Audit Holocaust Education in Schools, Dinowitz Supports

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


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UPDATE New Rochelle High School Teacher Arraigned for Distributing Indecent Material to 15-Year-Old

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


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UPDATE Medical Incident Reported During Prayer Service of 17 Bronx Fire Victims

By SÍLE MOLONEY &. DAVID GREENE
Norwood News has received eye witness reports that around 3 people required medical assistance, possibly due to frostbite or heat or stress-related illness, during the funeral and prayer service held on Sunday morning, Jan. 16, for the 17 victims, including 8 children, of last Sunday’s tragic fire in Fordham Heights, as reported.   Eye-witnesses told Norwood News during the service, which began at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning, at the Islamic Cultural Center, located at 371 East 166th Street in the Morrisania section of the Bronx, that around 3 people attended to by EMTs and reportedly treated in an ambulance, 


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Norwood: St. Brendan’s Annual Toy Drive Brings Joy to Kids

By SÍLE MOLONEY  
In the spirit of holiday giving, St. Brendan School, a Catholic, elementary school, located in the Norwood section of the Bronx, in the Archdiocese of New York, recently held its annual toy drive for Catholic Guardian Services (CGS).   CGS cares for over 1,000 children in need ranging in age from infancy to 21.   This year, according to school representatives and thanks to the generosity of the school’s students and their families, St. Brendan’s was able to collect 23 bags of toy donations for children to enjoy in time for Christmas.      

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center Honors Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz

By DAVID GREENE
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) was honored by Van Cortlandt Jewish Center on Sunday, Dec. 19, as part of a “Celebration of Appreciation” event held at the center in the Van Cortlandt Village section of the Bronx.   The assemblyman, who is Jewish, was elected to the New York State Assembly to represent the 81st Assembly District on February 15, 1994, and has been the elected assemblyman since then. The district broadly covers the Northwest Bronx section of the borough and includes Van Cortlandt Village where the the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center (VCJC) is located.   The gesture of appreciation


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Bronx Rabbi Brings Food to the Masses during Hanukkah

By DAVID GREENE
A Bronx rabbi continues to actively support the annual menorah lighting events all across the Bronx, amid the celebration of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah while, together with members of his own Morris Park congregation, the annual festival is marked by feeding senior Jewish residents from all across the borough.   Canceled last year amid the pandemic, a public gathering for Hanukkah returned this year to the Bronx Jewish Center, located at 1969 Haight Avenue in Morris Park, once again. The center has been holding gatherings for the Jewish celebration, annually, since 2013. On Sunday, November 28, the congregation returned


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UPDATE Dinowitz Responds to 2nd Rally in a Month Where Anti-Semitic Imagery was Displayed

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Bronx Jewish Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) has formally responded to the organization of a second rally in a month, the latest held outside his Riverdale home on Sunday, Dec. 12, during which anti-Semitic imagery was, once again, on display. As reported by Norwood News, about 50 protestors showed up for the rally to oppose the assemblyman’s proposed bill A8378, according to one witness who works for the assemblyman.   The bill, if passed, and which is still at the committee level stage of the legislative process, would authorize an immunization program against COVID-19 for schools funded with State aid,


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Inquiring Photographer: Thoughts on Organ & Tissue Donation

By DAVID GREENE
With roughly 8,486 people across the State waiting on an organ transplant, as reported, some will die before they receive one. In recognition of Organ Donor Enrollment Day in New York State on Oct. 7, we asked some residents if they were organ donors, and if not, if they would consider becoming donors.   “I am an organ donor. I’ve been an organ donor for over 14 years now. I think if we can give the last gift of life, that’s the greatest gift to give. I think we should follow Spain’s direction where they actually have opt-out donors. You’re automatically


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UPDATE First Wave of Kids 5-11 Get COVID-19 Shots at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore

By SÍLE MOLONEY & DAWN CLANCY
The first wave of children to receive the newly authorized COVID-19 vaccine had their shots administered at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in Norwood on Wednesday, Nov. 3.   The kids in question were 11-year-old twins, Jamie Onofrio Franceschini and Ryann Onofrio Franceschini, and Kenechi Acholonu (9), Amechi Acholonu (7), and Chizara Acholonu (5).   “Today is a huge relief,” said Chrissie Onofrio, the twins’ mom. “For the last 20 months, we have been doing everything we could to keep them safe. As adults, we have been able to be vaccinated, and have only seen vaccinated people.”   She added,


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