UPDATE District 14 City Council Member Pierina Sanchez Presses Ahead in Reelection Bid

By SÍLE MOLONEY

District 14 City Council Member Pierina Sanchez is pressing ahead with her reelection campaign by focusing on her accomplishments and largely ignoring the challenge to her seat in the upcoming Democratic Primary on Tuesday, June 27, by her opponent, Rachel Bradshaw, State committeewoman for Assembly District 78. Sanchez won her seat for the first time in the November 2021 general election and took office at the beginning of 2022. District 14 broadly encompasses some or all of the neighborhoods of Kingsbridge Heights, Fordham Manor, Fordham Heights, Bedford Park, University Heights, Mt. Hope and Morris Heights. It is bordered to the

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY

State committeewoman for Assembly District 78, Rachel Bradshaw, Fordham Hill Co-op board secretary, and candidate in the upcoming Democratic City Council primary election for District 14, joined a group of supporters on Saturday, May 27, as she took her campaign to unseat the incumbent, Council Member Pierina Sanchez who has held the seat since 2022, to the streets of Fordham Manor. District 14 broadly encompasses some or all of the neighborhoods of Kingsbridge Heights, Fordham Manor, Fordham Heights, Bedford Park, University Heights, Mt. Hope and Morris Heights. It is bordered to the south by the Cross Bronx Expressway.

By DAVID GREENE

Several hundred members of different trade unions from across the City stood vigil down the block from Walton High School in Kingsbridge Heights on Wednesday, May 24, as city officials joined local residents for the final community input meeting to determine the future of the massive, vacant Kingsbridge Armory, located at Jerome Avenue and West Kingsbridge Road, also in Kingsbridge Heights. It has remained all but dormant for the better part of the last 20 years. Only Bronxites were allowed inside the school for the meeting. The Kingsbridge Armory residents meeting kicked off at 5 p.m. at the

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Representatives from New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) provided a recap to Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) residents on the latest discussions around the future use of the Kingsbridge Armory during the Bronx CB7 general board meeting held Feb. 22, following EDC’s presentation to the board’s land use committee on Feb. 14. It included an overview of the latest envisioning workshops, meetings held by the “Together for Kingsbridge” working group/steering committee, as well as previous updates on the project. “On Feb. 28, we’ll be doing a focus group with faith-based institutions across the Bronx, and then we

By ELISABETH ORTEGA-BAILEY

I live on Aqueduct Avenue with my 4-year-old son, Nori, and my husband, Nelson, close to the landmark Kingsbridge Armory that is now 514,000-square-feet of nothingness, thanks most recently to a failed plan to fill it with nine ice hockey rinks. I’m 34, in my second year at Bronx Community College, and have been organizing around the Kingsbridge Armory with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) since I was 16 and attending DeWitt Clinton High School. Nelson and I often joke that in order to live in New York City, you need both a job and a

By ARIEL PACHECO

Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) hosted his annual State of the District address on Jan. 29 at The Forum at Columbia University in front of a packed auditorium with many more waiting outside. As usual, the event was an occasion to highlight the congressman’s legislative victories and present his legislative agenda for the 118th Congress. During his address, Espaillat, a Democrat, committed to increasing funding for public safety, community and cultural programs, infrastructure development, and educational initiatives. “We created and passed legislation to create jobs, to help small businesses, to address climate change, to lower the cost of healthcare,

By MIRIAM QUIÑONES & SÍLE MOLONEY

The envisioning process to decide on the future use of the Kingsbridge Armory, located at Jerome Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights, is continuing, and follows previous updates on the project. Envisioning workshops took place on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, and again on Saturday, Jan. 21, but those involved with the “Together for Kingsbridge” working group as still anxious to hear from more community members about their ideas. District 14 City Council Member Pierina Sanchez gave an overview of the project during Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7)’s general board meeting on Jan. 24, adding that at the Jan. 21 workshop, several

By DAVID GREENE

Youngsters were treated to an end-of-summer party as Friends of Devoe Park (FoDP) hosted their first ‘Peace Rally and Back-to-School Giveaway,’ in Devoe Park on Saturday, Sept. 10. Held inside the park, located along University Avenue between Father Zeiser Place and West Fordham Road in Fordham Manor, the event opened with a unity and protection prayer by FoDP core group member, Myrna Calderon. FoDP were supported on the day by local elected officials and the NYPD who provided security for the event, which was organized by FoDP members, John Howard, Calderon, Rachel Miller- Bradshaw, Tobie Buford, Kenson Clarke, Erika

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

This following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition. Members of the Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) were back organizing, yet again, to ensure residents living in the shadow of the majestic Kingsbridge Armory have a say in how the iconic, city-owned structure will finally be used, following news that the latest proposal has reportedly been shelved. Community members came from all over The Bronx for a recent rally, though most were from the Armory’s surrounding area. As reported at length previously, developers behind the most recent proposal, the