Mayor Bill de Blasio

Politicians, Hip-Hop Legends Break Ground on New Universal Museum in South Bronx

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT
  The transformation of the South Bronx continued Thursday, May 20, with a groundbreaking ceremony for a new museum which will memorialize the history of hip-hop in the borough, part of a $349 million development known as Bronx Point.   With shovels in hand and scooping dirt from a pile of earth, elected officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., joined hip-hop legends, Grandmaster Flash, Slick Rick, LL Cool J, Chuck D, Nas, and Fat Joe, in marking the ceremonial foundation of the museum’s construction.   The 22-story building


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NYC “Vaccine for All Corps” is Hiring to Help with Local Vaccination Roll-Out Efforts

By SÍLE MOLONEY
In his recent State of the City address, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the creation of “Vaccine for All Corps,” an initiative that aimed to create jobs for 2,000 New Yorkers, by supporting vaccination efforts across the five boroughs. On March 10, the City announced that it is now hiring for the first of these positions via nyc.gov/vaccinejobs.   Recruitment for the “Vaccine for All Corps” jobs is being led by the Workforce1 Career Center System operated by the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), and is targeting candidates from those communities hardest hit by COVID-19.


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Update: Mass Vaccination Site Opens at Co-Op City

By SÍLE MOLONEY
A mass vaccination site opened on Thursday, March 4, at Bronx’s Co-Op City, the largest single residential development in the United States. The vaccination site is open to all eligible COVID-19 vaccination recipients, and reserved 200 vaccinations exclusively for residents on Thursday. The site will be open Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.   The site, which is run by the New York City Department of Health, will administer approximately 500 vaccines each day to start, and eventually 1,000 shots per day when the program is fully ramped up, with continued vaccinations reserved for Co-Op City residents.


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City Council District 11 Race: Mino Lora Endorsed by Communications Workers Union & More

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Mino Lora, an educator and executive director of the People’s Theatre Project, who is one of six candidates running for City Council in the 11th District in The Bronx, has recently been endorsed by Run for Something, CWA District 1, Jewish Vote, and NYIC Action. A special election is being held on March 23 to decide who will represent the district.   According to its website, Run for Something provides a safety net for new and exciting progressive candidates — at all stages of their journey — to help them run efficient, grassroots & voter-contact driven campaigns so that they


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Bronx CB7 Residents Discuss Vaccination Shortages as Borough Sees Highest 7-Day Average Rate

By DAWN CLANCY  
On Jan. 31, as reported by Norwood News, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City’s taskforce on racial inclusion and equity announced a plan to prioritize vaccine availability to an expanded list of 33 neighborhoods hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial list of priority neighborhoods already included parts of the Northwest Bronx like Fordham Heights, Fordham Manor, University Heights, Kingsbridge, and Kingsbridge Heights.   The expanded list now includes the Bronx neighborhoods of Williamsbridge, Baychester and Edenwald. Also previously included were Mott Haven and Melrose, Belmont and East Tremont, Parkchester and Soundview, Highbridge and Concourse,


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City Council District 11 Race: Jimmy Van Bramer & Working Families Party Endorse Mino Lora

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Mino Lora, candidate for City Council in the 11th District in The Bronx, and previously profiled by the Norwood News, picked up the endorsement of City Councilman and Deputy Leader Jimmy Van Bramer on Jan. 26. Lora is running in the March 23rd special election in the district. Van Bramer is chair of the City Council Committee on Cultural Affairs and Libraries, co-founder of the Council’s progressive caucus, co-chair of the Council’s budget negotiating team and a candidate for Queens Borough President. Lora is an educator and the executive director of the People’s Theatre Project.   Van Bramer said that


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UPDATE Elections 2021: Why Biaggi Backs Stringer for Mayor

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  The following story is an extended version of the one that appeared in our latest print edition. Integrity, leadership, the ability to listen and craft creative policy that’s fair to everyone; these are the core attributes State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi sees in New York City Comptroller, Scott Stringer. Passionate in her expression of just how aligned she is with his way of thinking, the progressive senator, who represents parts of The Bronx and Westchester, spoke to the Norwood News about why she was among the first, if not the first, in a hefty list of elected officials to immediately


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Update: City Council Candidate, Mino Lora, Has COVID-19, Governor Reduces Signature Requirements

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Mino Lora, candidate for City Council in the 11th District in The Bronx, and previously profiled by the Norwood News, issued a statement on Thursday, Jan. 7, confirming that she has contracted the coronavirus. “I tested positive for COVID-19, and am quarantining with my husband and our two children,” she said. “My symptoms are mild so far.” As reported by Norwood News, on Monday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio set the date for the Special Election for District 11 and District 15 as March 23, and encouraged “all the folks out there in those two districts who want


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UFT Calls for Fully Remote Learning at all NYC Public Schools Amid Rising COVID Cases

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Citing a 7-day average COVID-19 positivity rate that surpasses 9 percent in New York City, the solidarity caucus of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is calling for the New York City Department of Education (DOE) to follow through on the Governor’s guidance and transition to fully remote learning for all NYC public schools.   The UFT wrote in a press release dated Jan. 3 that both Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio recently suggested ditching the 9 percent threshold, a move the union finds alarming. “Governor Andrew Cuomo remarked that data shows schools are ‘almost without exception’


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