Bronx Prep M.S. wins NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge
BY STEVEN GOODSTEIN
A Bronx middle school’s
podcast is about periods, period.
A group of girls at Bronx
Prep Middle School, along with
their teacher, started a podcast
earlier this year after National
Public Radio announced that
it was kicking off its fi rst-ever
Student Podcast Challenge.
As part of NPR’s Student
Podcast Challenge, the podcast
beat out 5,700 other podcast
entries from 25,000 students
across the country earlier this
month, which inspired and motivated
the podcasters to bring
it back for a second season.
Back in March, seven eighth
graders at the school located at
3872 Third Avenue, along with
their teacher Shehtaz Huq, decided
to write, produce and record
a podcast which focused
on menstruation to increase
awareness about a topic that is
not typically covered in a middle
school setting.
On the Sssh! Podcast, the
students discussed specifi c
terms related to menstruation,
such as ‘period poverty’, which
relates to the costs women have
to bear to acquire period products
as well as the time and
The Sssh! Podcast team students with teacher Huq (l). Photo courtesy of Bronx Prep Middle School
money lost due to missed work
and/or school because of period
related issues, as well as
‘pink tax’, which is tax added to
feminine hygiene products and
items such as razors, shampoo,
shaving cream and menstrual
products. They also discussed
the cultural shame around
menstruation.
To bring the podcast back
for a second season, the Sssh!
Periods podcast team started
a GoFundMe page on Tuesday,
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A 38 UGUST 23-29, 2019 BTR
August 13, with a goal of
raising $1,800 which would be
used toward equipment and
podcast hosting fees, including
microphones, XLR cords, a
sound mixer, mic stands, headphones,
headphone wiring,
storage drives, recording studio
sessions and a SoundCloud
subscription fee.
In just one week, the team
had raised $2,076, more than
their goal. The GoFundMe
Team donated $1,000 as part of
their Gives Back program. The
school’s principal, Ryan Silver,
also allocated $500.
The podcast team features
eighth grade students Raizel
Febles, Kathaleen Restitullo,
Litzy Encarnacion, Ashley
Amankwah, Caroline Abreu,
Jasmin Acosta and Kassy
Abad.
“People aren’t used to us
talking about a part of our body
that is often sexualized,” Abreu
said. “They get grossed out
over something that is natural,
but the more we talk about
it, the easier it will be for other
generations to talk about their
bodies and not feel ashamed.”
“We did not think that we
would win,” Amankwah said.
“Now that we have, we know
we need to keep doing this
work, not just for the girls at
our school but for all the girls
and women who have messaged
us to say that our podcast made
them feel less alone in their experience.”
“If Cardi B can talk about
politics, we can talk about issues
that affect us, too,” said
Encarnacion.
Since winning the Student
Podcast Challenge, the podcast
team has been covered by media
outlets WNYC, Today Show
at NBC, ACLU, Jezebel, Afropunk,
along with NPR’s Morning
Edition and Code Switch
programs.
“NPR is proud of all the
students who entered the Student
Podcast Challenge, but
the Bronx Prep Middle School
students’ winning entry stood
out,” said an NPR spokesperson.
To donate, visit www.gofundme.
com/sssh-periods.
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A sense of concern and outrage
is brewing in Throggs
Neck about a possible conversion
of an offi ce building into
an unwanted use.
Commercial tenants at
2800 Bruckner Boulevard received
letters to vacate the
property, and community
leaders have formed a coalition
to fi ght a possible alcohol
Westchester Square reels over vagrants
ulder during a confrontation
Continued on Page 67
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While Bronxites prepared
to take a ‘bite out of crime’
at the annual August 1 Night
Out Against Crime, one crook
turned that around and took
a bite out of a local merchant
who tried to interrupt his
thievery.
A.M.A.F. Fashion business
owner Abdul Sol felt more
than an impact to his quality
of life on the morning of Sunday,
July 9, when a shoplifter
tried to leave his store with
a bag of clothing and Sol sufered
a severe bite on his left
rearm and a dislocated right
with the man.
At his 25 Westchester
Square store, Sol recalled how
the shoplifter had on previous
customer.
occasions
been a paying “He spent money here,
it’s not like I never saw him
before,” Sol said. “He came
around two or three months
ago and bought a pair of
shoes.”
But the Sunday of the assault,
the suspect asked for a
shopping bag, grabbed stuff,
and tried to leave, according
to Sol.
“I told him, ‘No, you can’t
take my stuff.’”
A fi ght ensued and Sol said
he “went to the ground with
him. I hurt my shoulder. He
took a big bite in my arm. I was
at the hospital until 6 o’clock. I
still have pain in my shoulder.
I still can’t lift my left arm.”
Sol said he had seen the
shoplifter associate with patients
from the Bronx Psychiatric
Center, so he fi gured he
was a client.
As Bronx Psychiatric Center,
on Waters Place, continues
to release its patients on
the street during the day, they
interact with homeless people
and drug rehab program.
Complaints have been
fi led with the city about beds
being moved into the building
or illegally converting it
into a residential building,
with some folks planning to
take legal action against the
landlord because they have
leases, according to multiple
sources.
Homeowners and renters
are also circulating petitions
to protest what appears to be
“a substance-abuse rehabilitation
program recruiting
staff” to work in the building
and lack of community notice
or engagement on what
may be sited at 2800 Bruckner
Boulevard.
“The community is defi -
nitely mobilized,” said Steven
Kaufman, an attorney who
is leading the Throggs Neck
Strong coalition looking into
the matter, adding “I believe
with mobilization, we might
be able to stop what they want
to do.”
Tenants in the building
say they got letters over the
last two weeks telling them
to vacate the building by
September, said Bobby Jaen,
Throggs Neck Merchants Association
president and coalition
member.
So far, at least 20 complaints
have been logged with
the NYC Department of Buildings,
including those concerning
“commercial space that is
being turned into residential
space” and those saying tenants
see “beds, dressers, mirrors
and chairs,” being moved
in.
As of press time, a meeting
of the Throggs Neck Strong
coalition has been planned
for the Crosstown Diner on
Thursday, August 3, with Jaen
expecting around 125 people,
following a lot of community
organizing and petitioning
that led to a forceful showing
at an earlier impromptu meeting
on Friday, July 28.
Anthony Mameli, Charles
Ruttenberg Realty’s Bronx
commercial real estate manager,
said the company was
planning a grand opening for
its new offi ce at the building
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