Antibody Testing To Begin Next Week

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on May 7 that, beginning next week, antibody testing will be offered on an appointment-only basis for approximately two weeks in Morrisania, East New York, Upper Manhattan, Concord, and Long Island City. Through a partnership with BioReference labs, the City will conduct its own antibody survey at community testing sites in the five boroughs to better understand the spread of COVID-19. The survey will test approximately 70,000 New Yorkers over an initial two-week period, with the capacity to administer up to 5,000 tests per day. Scheduling will open this Friday via a dedicated

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

It took just 15 minutes for City workers to run out of free face coverings at a mask distribution site in Williamsbridge Oval Park on Tuesday, May 5. Distribution of the masks was scheduled to take place between noon and 2:00 p.m., but empty folding tables were already being moved back inside the park’s recreation building by 12:20 p.m. as residents were still arriving. “We gave out 1,700 masks,” said a City worker who did not wish to be identified. New Yorkers across the five boroughs began receiving free masks and face coverings on Saturday, May 2, at

By David Greene

The long-awaited flattening of the curve that officials had been talking about since the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York State came just as reports began to break about an overflow of bodies at local hospitals, nursing homes, and funeral parlors. This, as the Bronx went on to report the highest number of coronavirus cases in the City relative to the borough’s population, and trail only Queens and Brooklyn in terms of the actual number of statewide positive cases per county. As of Apr. 30, according to the State’s health department, 2,459 people have died from COVID-19 in

By Síle Moloney

The NYS Board of Elections announced the cancellation of the New York State presidential primary today, Apr. 27. The State, congressional and other elections will still go ahead on Jun. 23, as planned. Other state presidential primaries have been postponed in recent weeks but not cancelled. The Sanders campaign released a statement the same day as the announcement, describing the decision taken in New York as an “outrage”. “Today’s decision by the New York State Board of Elections is an outrage, a blow to American democracy, and must be overturned by the DNC,” the statement read. “Just last week,

By Síle Moloney

Mayor Bill de Blasio said that social distancing measures are helping the City fight the novel coronavirus, and that this is evidenced by three indicators. These are tracking hospital admissions for suspected COVID-19 cases, ICU occupants in NYC Health + Hospitals facilities, and the percentage of city residents testing positive for the virus. The mayor made the remarks at a press conference at City Hall on Thursday Apr. 23 during which he also announced plans to significantly increase the City’s supply and distribution of halal meals during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, which begins today. De Blasio praised

By Síle Moloney

Just over a quarter million New Yorkers have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Apr. 20 and it’s not over yet. 14,828 have died. Make no mistake. This is a tragedy. Aside from the loss of life, this crisis will forever leave a legacy – the trauma carried by all those who were unable to say goodbye, the horror of discovering bodies in the homes of those who died alone. How can we make sense of it? Some positives may be salvageable. Not only did the pandemic give rise to a statewide centralized care plan, involving both public

By Síle Moloney

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio assured Bronxites that no New Yorker would go hungry during the COVID-19 pandemic when he paid a visit to the Kingsbrige Armory on Saturday, Apr. 18, along with Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz Jr., and number of other City agency officials. “My message today is simple,” he said. “We will not let any New Yorker go hungry – period. If you need food, we will get it to you.” The armory has been transformed into a temporary food distribution center, one of eight set up in recent weeks all over the City

By Síle Moloney

Mayor Bill de Blasio released New York City’s Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) on Thursday, Apr. 16. The budget prioritizes health, safety, shelter and access to food for all New Yorkers, and outlines the spending cuts that will be made to other services to address revenue shortfalls and budget gaps. The mayor said, via a press release, that the cuts, detailed in the so-called Program to Eliminate the Budget Gap (PEG), would be temporary, that there would be no gap in “necessary” services, and that the budget plan would be reevaluated by officials over the course of

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s sixth edition (and my final one as editor-in-chief) of the Norwood News is out with plenty of interesting community news stories to read and share. In a rare instance, which we hope will be a regular thing moving forward, we’ve packed a whopping 32 pages into this community paper! So let’s start with page one! Our top story focuses continues our look into the changing Bronx political landscape, which shifted once again after Assemblyman Marcos Crespo announced he will not seek re-election for his seat. The story looks at a number of upcoming races, including two