University Heights: Search for 15-Year-Old Missing Girl

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD is seeking the public’s help locating a 15-year-old girl reported missing from University Heights on Tuesday, March 21. It was reported to police that Lavender Rawlings of 2121 Cedar Avenue, Bronx, NY, was last seen on Monday, March 20, at around 2.30 p.m., leaving her home. She is described as female, is 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 110 pounds, is Black with a dark complexion, has a thin build, black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a red winter jacket, black leggings and brown Uggs boots. Anyone with information regarding this missing

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Police said a male victim who was stabbed in the University Heights section of the Bronx on Monday night is not likely to die. No further details were immediately available from the NYPD except that the incident occurred at around 10.30 p.m. on Monday, March 20, at the junction of Webb Avenue and West Kingsbridge Road, the location of a Popeye’s restaurant. The FDNY later confirmed that first responders were alerted to the incident at 10.36 p.m. and that one patient was transported to St. Barnabas Hospital. The person’s condition was unknown at the time. Anyone with

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD is asking for the public’s help identifying the person seen in the attached photos who the department says is sought for questioning in connection to an attempted assault that occurred in University Heights. Police said it was reported to them that on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at approximately 10.22 p.m., three male individuals approached a large group of people in front of 2065 Jerome Avenue, two displayed guns and fired several rounds, striking a 28-year-old man and a 20-year-old man. “The two victims were taken to area hospitals and treated for gunshot wounds to the ankle,” a police

By ARIEL PACHECO

State Sen. Robert Jackson carefully chose In-Tech Academy middle and high school campus in The Bronx’s Marble Hill neighborhood as the site for his latest inauguration as a veteran senator on Feb. 4, following his November 2022 reelection in redrawn District 31. In addition to a large swath of Manhattan, the district also includes the Bronx neighborhoods of Marble Hill, where the school is located at 2975 Tibbett Avenue, Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights, Van Cortlandt Village, and parts of Fordham Manor, Jerome Park, University Heights, and Morris Heights. Education has always been one of Jackson’s central policy issues.

By SÍLE MOLONEY

A New York City Parks employee who was arrested on Tuesday, March 7, in The Bronx on forgery and other charges, has had his case adjourned according to documentation from the Bronx Criminal Court. An NYPD spokesperson said that on Tuesday, March 7, at 9.35 a.m., Anibal Nieves, an off-duty, 47-year-old male employee of NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, was arrested in the 46th Precinct which covers the neighborhoods of Fordham, University Heights, Morris Heights and Mount Hope. He was charged with forgery, possession of a forged instrument, unauthorized sale of a farecard, and loitering. On

By SÍLE MOLONEY

FDNY officials said firefighters have extinguished a fire which broke out in a multiple dwelling in the University Heights section of the Bronx on Friday evening, Feb. 24. The department officials said all hands were called at 6.31 p.m. to respond to the blaze which broke out on the 5th floor of a residential building located at 103 West 183rd Street in Apartment 52. REGISTER TODAY for the 1st Annual @FDNYFoundation Climb to SUMMIT brought to you by @SLGreen taking place at One Vanderbilt in New York City on Sunday, April 23, 2023. Funds raised will help purchase stair climbers

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

At a ceremony attended by many local elected officials, judicial dignitaries, and well-wishers, Ischia Bravo, former district manager of Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7), was sworn in as the first woman and first Latina to hold the position of Bronx County clerk and commissioner of jurors on Feb. 9. The ceremony took place at Gould Memorial Library on the campus of Bronx Community College in University Heights, with Bravo sworn in by Rolando T. Acosta, presiding justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department. Among those in attendance for the occasion were NYS Attorney General

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Though a number of serious crimes were reported on in January in the Northwest Bronx and across the borough, NYPD officials said that for the month of January, the number of overall shooting incidents and murders in New York City declined, compared to January 2022, a drop they attribute to what was called the department’s “enhanced public safety investment” across each borough, in every neighborhood. Department officials said major crimes in the subway system have dropped precipitously, and arrests for overall index crimes stand at a 24-year high for any January in the modern era (when the department starting

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,