3 BRONX WEEKLY April 19, 2020 www.BXTimes.com
Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez who is involved with the Bronx Community Relief Effort.
Courtesy of Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez’s offi ce
BY JASON COHEN
To address the immediate
needs of Bronx residents during
the COVID-19 pandemic, community
leaders, including government
offi cials, nonprofi ts, businesses
and residents came together and
launched the Bronx Community
Relief Effort.
The goal is to raise $10 million
to support food insecurity, small
business relief, distributing microgrants,
personal protective equipment
(PPE) for frontline responders,
nonprofi t economic relief,
connectivity and technology gaps,
equity and justice and housing stability.
Among the people involved
were Assemblyman Michael Blake,
Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.,
CEO of HUB/Third Avenue Business
Improvement District Michael
Brady, Senator Alessandra Biaggi
and Assemblywoman Nathalia
Fernandez.
“The Bronx Community Relief
Effort will go a long way in providing
such assistance, now and in
the future,” Fernandez said. “I am
thankful and proud to see it established.”
Fernandez told the Bronx Times
these issues have been in the borough
for decades and aren’t going
away.
“It goes back to the Bronx’s history
of being the throw away borough,”
she said.
The assemblywoman stressed
that soon the 90-day moratorium
for evictions will be up and thousands
are worried they will be
homeless. Furthermore, many
people have been calling her offi ce
worried about how to pay for funerals.
“How are people going to bury
their loved ones,” she said.
The funds will be dispersed as
follows:
- $2,000,000 for food insecurity
– In partnership with World Central
Kitchen, Here to Here and The
Bronx Private Industry Council
will deliver 50,000 meals a day;
- $1,500,000 for small business relief
– In partnership with the Third
Avenue BID and Spring Bank, distributes
between 100 to 175 grants
to small businesses. Grants are between
$5,000 and $25,000;
- $1,500,000 toward distributing
microgrants – In partnership with
CUNY, the Third Avenue BID and
Spring Bank, distributes $250 to
$750 microgrants to over 2,000 individuals
in crisis;
- $1,000 for personal protective
equipment (PPE) for frontline responders
– In partnership with
Montefi ore, St. Barnabas Hospital
and NYC Health + Hospitals to distribute
over 200,000 masks, visors,
gloves and other protective gear to
healthcare workers;
- $1,000,000 for nonprofi t economic
relief – In partnership with
Hostos Center for Bronx Nonprofits,
distributes between 50 to 75
grants to not for profi ts. Grants are
between $5,000 and $50,000;
- $1,000,000 for connectivity and
technology gaps – In partnership
with Here to Here, DreamYard, Per
Scholas, Knowledge House and others,
provide 1,000 Chromebooks
and hotspots and establish a community
help desk and a tech support
hub;
- $1,000,000 for equity and justice
– In partnership with legal
aid groups, such as Bronx Defenders,
Legal Aid Society and others,
ensures that 2,000 Bronxites are
supported through their criminal,
civil, child welfare and immigration
cases during the New York
stay-at-home order;
- $1,000,000 for housing stability
– In partnership with Bronxbased
housing organizations, such
as Nos Quedamos, WHEDCo, New
Settlement, Phipps Neighborhoods,
ensures that social work, fi nancial
and health supports are available
to 2,500 Bronxites during the New
York stay-at-home order.
For more information and to donate,
visit TheBronx.org. Checks
can be written to The DreamYard
Project Inc. and put Bronx Community
Relief Effort in the memo.
Mail all checks to:
DreamYard
1085 Washington Ave.
Bronx, N.Y. 10456
Yankees co-owner Hank
Steinbrenner dead at 63
BY JOE PANTORNO
New York Yankees co-owner
Hank Steinbrenner has died at
the age of 63 after a long battle
with an illness, the team announced
on Tuesday.
The illness was not related to
the coronavirus.
“Hank was a genuine and
gentle spirit who treasured the
deep relationships he formed
with those closest to him,” the
Steinbrenner family released in
a statement. “He was introduced
to the Yankees organization at a
very young age, and his love for
sports and competition continued
to burn brightly throughout
his life. Hank could be direct and
outspoken, but in the very same
conversation show great tenderness
and light-heartedness.
More than anything, he set an
example for all of us in how comfortably
he lived enjoying his
personal passions and pursuits.
We are profoundly saddened to
have lost him and will carry his
memory with us always.”
Hank was the eldest son
of Yankees’ long-time owner,
George Steinbrenner, who purchased
the team in 1973 and
helped return the franchise
to the mountaintop of Major
League Baseball.
When George Steinbrenner’s
health began to fail before his
death in 2010, Hank and his
brother, Hal, began to take over
the team.
Hank quickly assumed the
role of an outspoken Yankees
owner, much like his father, regularly
creating headlines for the
tabloids whenever he stepped in
front of the microphone.
But Hank’s illness forced him
to take a step back from the spotlight
in recent years, allowing
Hal to become the fi gurehead of
the Yankees’ ownership group.
During that time, he continued
to be active in the family
horse-racing business in Ocala,
FL and in 2016, he founded Steinbrenner
Racing alongside his
son, George Michael IV, which
now competes on the Indy Car
circuit.
He is survived by four children,
daughters Jacqueline and
Julia, and sons George Michael
IV and John, one granddaughter,
Anabel, and his siblings,
Jennifer, Jessica and Hal, and
their families.
This story fi rst appeared on
amNY.com
Yankees co-owner Hank Steinbrenner has died. (REUTERS/Steve Nesius)
Bronx leaders launch community relief effort
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