BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J BTR AN. 1-7, 2021 21
presidential hopeful Andrew
Yang’s nonprofi t Humanity
Forward announced it was
was distributing $1 million in
$1,000 cash payments to 1,000
working households in the
Bronx.
Rash of shootings across
three boroughs hours after
NYPD cuts Anti-Crime Units:
Major shootings throughout
the Bronx and New York
City happened just hours after
NYPD Commissioner Dermot
Shea announced the disbanding
of the controversial, plainclothed
Anti-Crime Units that
compromise 600 offi cers in the
city’s 77 precincts. .
The June 23 Democratic
primary elections:
This primary result saw
the rise of elected progressive
congressman Jamaal Bowman,
a Yonkers educator oust
longtime incumbent Eliot Engel
for the 16th district of the
north Bronx and Westchester.
It also resulted in city
councilman Ritchie Torres
earn the Bronx’s 15th Congressional
district vote as the
fi rst gay Afro Latino person
elected to such an offi ce.
JULY
New York Yankees play historic,
fanless 60 game season:
The 2020 Major League
Baseball season was an odd
one to say the least. Its 60-game
stretch from late July until an
ordinary October postseason
start proved to be a challenge
for the New York Yankees and
other teams as a 10-day injury
inadvertently meant missing
a sixth of the season.
Although the Yankees fell
short to the rivaled Tampa
Bay Rays in a best-of-5- ALDS
round, second baseman DJ
LeMahieu made headlines in
the Bronx after winning his
second ever batting title and
fi rst in the American League
“The Best of The Bronx
Summer Concert Series” debuts
via BronxNet:
Borough President Ruben
Diaz Jr. in collaboration with
the Bronx Tourism Council
and BronxNet announced
the debut of “The Best of The
Bronx Concert Series,” which
begins on Sunday, July 11 and
runs every Sunday until the
end of August. The series will
feature performances from
past iterations of The Bronx
Summer Concert Series Salsa
Fest.
Prior to COVID-19, the
annual concert series was
slated to take place from
July through August at “The
Bronx Riviera,” but was canceled
due to social distancing
regulations.
AUGUST
Bronx charter hosts virtual
Black Lives Matter protest
and sing along:
Students from Classical
Charter Schools hosted a virtual
Black Lives Matter protest
for Juneteenth, which featured
a sing along to Andra
Day’s hit song, “Rise Up.”
The event, which was
broadcast live on YouTube,
was hosted by middle schoolers
Adelaide and Amarachi,
who answered questions on
race and protests from other
students. The full protest
video can be viewed here
and the sing along portion by
students and faculty can be
viewed here.
Bronx resident starts petition
to remove Columbus
statue in Belmont:
One Bronxite wants a
statue taken down in the
borough, following a slew
of historical statues that
have been vandalized or toppled
due to racial tensions.
Castle Hill resident and
activist, Felix Cepeda, 39,
launched a petition calling
for the Christopher Columbus
statue on Arthur Avenue in
Belmont to be taken down.
SEPTEMBER
P Diddy opens Co-op City
charter school on former college
campus:
The iconic rapper Sean
Combs,’ best known as P
Diddy announced the opening
of a new Capital Preparatory
Charter school on the
former campus of the College
of New Rochelle at 755 Co-op
City Blvd.
Expected to educate up to
200 students between sixth
and seventh grade and later
growing to 650 students
through 11th grade, the new
Capital Prep location began
opening under a remote model
on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Demonstrators organize
‘All Lives Matter’ counter protest
on Arthur Avenue:
On Saturday, Sept. 19, an
educational event took place
at D’auria-Murphy Triangle, a
park on Arthur Avenue about
the history behind Christopher
Columbus.
However, the small group
of activists who organized the
program encountered a large
group of aggressive counter
protesters who chanted things
like “all lives matter” and
other more threatening, racist
slogans. According to photojournalist,
Sophia Guida,
several of the original activists
reported being personally
threatened and at least one of
the counter protesters had a
baseball bat.
OCTOBER
Columbus has been a polarizing
fi gure for borough residents,
with some even starting
petitions to remove his statues
from public places.
Three Bronx men, who escaped
from police earlier this
month were fi nally cuffed after
law enforcement discovered
enough cocaine to overwhelm
Scarface along with
$125,000 in cash during the
raid of a Morris Heights apartment,
the DEA announced in
the fall.
Cesar Chavez, Cristian
Rodriguez Chavez, and Roberto
Javier-Batista were
all brought up on possession
charges while Cesar was also
arrested for allegedly overseeing
the narcotics traffi cking
operation that came out of
apartment 1G at 1500 Popham
Ave.
NOVEMBER
Infant boys found dead on
Bronx patio may have been
hurled from window:
Police are still investigating
the harrowing circumstances
surrounding the
death of twin, one-week-old
infants who were found dead
in the rear of a Bronx building
Monday afternoon — and police
believe they were thrown
out a window to their death.
While many details remain
unclear during the active
investigation, the NYPD
confi rmed that two baby boys
were found dead, wrapped in
paper on a rear patio outside
of 1460 College Ave. in Claremont.
DECEMBER
A look at how much snow
has fallen in the Bronx and
the rest of NYC during the
fi rst storm of December:
Several inches of snow
fell on New York City during
mid-December’s Winter Snow
Watch.
Areas of the Bronx have accumulated
over 10 inches of
snow — part of the Woodlawn
Heights neighborhood had 10.5
inches of snow. Other areas,
such as the Riverdale neighborhood,
only had 3 inches of
snow as of 8 p.m.
Far from equal numbers in
latest DOE data on NYC students
returning to in-person
learning:
Just over 160,000 students
in 3K For All, Pre-K for All
and elementary school grades
(kindergarten through fi fth
grade), as well as the city’s
children with special needs,
enrolled in blended learning
will began to trickle back into
school on Monday, Dec. 7, after
Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered
a systemwide shut down two
weeks prior.
2020: year in review
Feb 4, 2018; Minneapolis, MN, USA;
Recording artist P. Diddy a/k/a Sean
Combs prior to the game between
the New England Patriots and the
Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl LII
at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
FILE PHOTO: New York Governor Andrew
Cuomo speaks during a daily
briefi ng following the outbreak of
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
in Manhattan in New York City, New
York, U.S., July 13, 2020.
REUTERS/Mike Segar
The Morrisania Air Rights NYCHA
development Courtesy of NYCHA