Dear Neighbor,
Join us for an evening of celebration during our annual Italian Heritage Month Celebration on Thursday, October 12th at 5:30PM at Schiff Family Great Hall at The Bronx Zoo.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 718-590-3500 or email us at webmail@bronxbp.nyc.gov.
In partnership,
Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson
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Mayor Eric Adams: Good morning. Thanks all for joining. As we promised, we wanted to keep you continuously updated as we move towards this journey. I'm joined this morning with Commissioner Ed Mermelstein and Commission Castro. Commissioner Mermelstein is from International Affairs and Commissioner Castro, as you know, is the commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs.
And before we begin, I want to update you on the emerging weather conditions in New York City. Our team, they have been meeting and coordinating to make sure that we are prepared, as always, for any form of storm that hits the city.
We're expecting periods of potentially heavy rain late tonight and into tomorrow. Our team is monitoring the situation, preparing, prepositioning city resources, and we'll be briefing the media later today. First Deputy Mayor Wright and Commissioner Iscol will be leading that communication. Please stay tuned for further information.
Today, we are in Ecuador. We landed early this morning. And I really want to thank both commissioners for joining me on this trip and navigating to make sure that we can maximize our time on the ground.
And I want to thank everyone here in Ecuador for their warm welcome and hospitality and really ensuring is that we can meet as many people as possible to get a firsthand knowledge of what is taking place around the asylum seeker and migrant crisis that we are facing, and the entire Ecuadorian Ministry for their compassion and care that they are showing as we all work to manage the flow of asylum seekers and migrants throughout this region.
As I have said before, this is a fact finding trip and a trip where we want to communicate with the public in these various cities and states that we are visiting...and countries, I should say. And the genuine empathy for those who are trying to escape violence, poverty and instability is what we're learning when we speak with them, each time we walk into a shelter or interact with men and women who are working there.
People want to help. The volunteers, employees and some of the institutions and agencies remind me of the days when the Salvation Army was helping my family, I shared with them. You see the same level of commitment and dedication from the workers who are here. These want to help people, want to help on all levels: business leaders to the elected officials all want to see how do we address this humanitarian crisis.
And I think about Sister Magda who we met in Mexico that I talked about, working with migrants every day, and people here in Ecuador like those working at the two migrant centers we visited this morning. We saw how much they care. We visited the Jesuit Refugee Center, we talked to people who are helping, and we met with individuals who have made the dangerous journey here from Colombia and Venezuela. And it's clear that they are stretched thin and they need more support and assistance.
Now, think about the mothers who made the trip carrying babies just a few months ago and speaking with some of them. Migrants like Angie Sanchez who have been through unimaginable hardship. Her husband was injured in a guerrilla conflict in Colombia. He struggles to walk now. But Angie, like so many other migrants, is doing everything she can to provide for her family. Her story was extremely impactful and extremely emotional for all of us who heard it.
We talked with migrants about the extreme poverty they are leaving behind, and I felt their determination to seek better lives for themselves and their children. So many people we have talked to here in New York City are dedicated to solving the global asylum seeker crisis so that people like Angie can have a better future.
But in order to help, it must be honesty, and that is extremely important to us, to be honest. We must be clear about what is happening here and how it connects to what is happening in our city and in our country. We must be honest about the reality of making the dangerous journey to the United States.
We need to stop the flow of misinformation. We are hearing that over and over again from the migrants and asylum seekers, the misinformation. We are learning about Ecuadorian asylum seekers who came to America only to realize that they've been sold the lie they will be able to work immediately. As a result, we learned during this trip many are now asking to come back home.
We want to make sure that people come to New York City know what to expect, and they have the opportunity for a safe and dignified migration, one that can lead to the American dream; as I say over and over again, not to an American nightmare. We want every single person who is thinking about risking their lives and their children's lives to come to New York City to know the truth about what we are dealing with.
We all want to help as many people as possible. As we have stated in this administration: our hearts are full and endless, but our resources are not. We want to uphold our values as a city of immigrants, but to do that, we need to stabilize this situation and we need work across international borders to manage it in a way that protects all of us including established New Yorkers who need services and new arrivals who need support. Right now we are in danger of not being able to provide that.
Today we saw the reality on the ground, the reality of the lives of young people and families from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador who have fled. We cannot just sit back and watch things play out. Ignoring the problem is not going to fix the problem. We need to take actions on issues like economic inequality, climate resiliency and the asylum seeker situation, not in the future but right now.
That is why I'm here. We need real solutions to solve these real problems, and it starts here with talking to people who are most deeply affected by it. Those solutions are going to come from all of us working together, just as the people of Ecuador and the U.S. want to do. I am hopeful that it is the start of a real international collaboration on a local level with our mayors, our governors and our national leaders.
We look forward to traveling to Colombia and the Darién Gap tomorrow to talk with more people about the reality of what has happened here and in New York City.
We’ll also be streaming our town hall live on Facebook, YouTube, and X.
Spanish interpretation will be available. CART open captions will also be available: https://bc.typewell.com/
To send a question ahead of time, please email aoc.townhall@mail.house.gov or call 718-662-5970 with your name, neighborhood and question.
The affordable housing lottery has launched for Maven, a 27-story mixed-use tower at 2413 Third Avenue in Mott Haven, The Bronx. Developed by RXR Realty and designed by CetraRuddy, the structure yields 200 residences. Available on NYC Housing Connect are 60 units for residents at 130 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $92,572 to $227,630.
Units will feature stainless steel appliances, white oak flooring, matte black iron fixtures, smart controls for heating and cooling, and subway tiling. Amenities include an open-concept café and gallery on the ground floor, a fitness center, media room, a flexible common area for gatherings and community events, a pet spa, a garage with electric car charging stations, a game room, concierge and an on-site resident manager. Residents will also have access to a roof deck with barbecues, communal seating, and dining spaces. Tenants are responsible for electricity.
At 130 percent of the AMI, there are 46 one-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $2,700 for incomes ranging from $92,572 to $165,230; 11 two-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $3,235 for incomes ranging from 110,915 to $198,250; and three three-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $3,500 for incomes ranging from $120,000 to $227,630.
A new affordable housing project for seniors has opened at 2850 Webster Avenue in Jerome Park, The Bronx, where developers and city officials recently joined for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Located next to The New York Botanical Garden, the 12-story building was completed by Douglaston Development and designed by Stephen B. Jacobs Group.
All of the building’s 188 apartments will be reserved for low-income seniors earning up to 50 percent area median income. The ground floor of the property also contains a 12,000-square-foot Cherry Valley supermarket.
Occupants will have access to on-site social services for residents provided through Fordham Bedford Community Services and complimentary resident memberships to The New York Botanical Garden.
The building at 2850 Webster Avenue is the first phase in a two-building affordable housing development. The second, already under construction, is located at 2868 Webster Avenue and will also have a Cherry Valley supermarket on the ground floor and 277 affordable apartments.
“After a decade of collaboration with community stakeholders, elected officials, and Douglaston Development, we are thrilled to welcome our newest neighbors to The New York Botanical Garden,” said Jennifer Bernstein, CEO and The William C. Steere Sr. President of The New York Botanical Garden. “With more than 40 percent of seniors in the Bronx being rent-burdened, the importance of affordable senior housing like 2850 Webster Avenue cannot be overstated, and NYBG is proud to help address this citywide need.”
No construction timeline has been announced for the second property.
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Simchas Torah Party
YomTov ends 7:11 pm
The office will be closed on Monday 10/9 in observance of Columbus Day
 Our mailing address is: Van Cortlandt Jewish Center 3880 Sedgwick Ave Bronx, NY 10463 |
Defendants Also Charged with Assault for Sickening Three Other Babies, First-Degree Narcotics Possession, Endangering Welfare of
District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that the operator of a daycare, her husband and his cousin have been indicted for Murder under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, Assault, and other charges for allegedly exposing four babies to fentanyl stored in the daycare, leading to the death of Nicholas Dominici, 22 months old.
District Attorney Clark said, “A beautiful little boy lost his life and three precious children aged eight months to two years became seriously ill from fentanyl poisoning. This is a catastrophe. Our sorrow is matched only by outrage because these babies were shields to protect a narcotics operation. Nicholas’ death was entirely—excruciatingly—needless and avoidable. We will get justice for him, the other children and their families.”
District Attorney Clark said Grei Mendez, 36, and Felix Herrera Garcia, 34, both of 2705 Morris Avenue, the Bronx, and Carlisto Brito, 41, of 2707 Morris Avenue, were arraigned today on an indictment charging second-degree Murder, first-degree Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, second-degree Manslaughter, four counts of first-degree Assault, five counts of second-degree Assault, second, third and fourth-degree Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance and four counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Margaret Clancy. The defendants are remanded and are due back in court on November 27, 2023.
According to the investigation, on September 15, 2023, at 2:43 p.m. in an apartment in 2707 Morris Avenue that was a licensed daycare, and where Brito resided in a bedroom, four children were poisoned by exposure to fentanyl, resulting in the death of Nicholas Dominici and acute opioid intoxication requiring hospital treatment for an 8-month-old girl, her 2-year-old brother and another 2-year-old boy. Emergency Medical Service Technicians used Narcan to reverse symptoms of the brother and sister, but Nicholas died. The other boy was treated at the hospital.
According to the investigation, a kilo of fentanyl was found in a closet in the daycare apartment, and six kilos of fentanyl, heroin and other controlled substances were found under a trap door in the floor, under a padded mat where children napped. Kilo presses and other drug paraphernalia were found in the apartment.
District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detectives Manuel Cruz of the 52nd Precinct and Sheldon Smith of Bronx Homicide for their work in the investigation.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
