The Week in Rewind | DOT struggles to find vendors for Fordham Plaza, Bronx GOP endorses Marmorato as Velázquez challenger, and Montefiore residents unionize

Every Saturday, The Week in Rewind spotlights a sampling of the wide-ranging editorial work of the Bronx Times.

Abortion care access explored at Morrisania Sexual Health Clinic, the first city-run clinic in the nation offering free abortion meds

Many of the health providers at Morrisania’s 1309 Fulton Ave., a building owned by New York City’s health department, provide services for a Bronx clientele in dire need of better health outcomes. On the building’s second-floor, the Morrisania Sexual Health Clinic is exploring the realm of positive outcomes when abortion care is unfettered and universally accessible.

Morrisania District Health Center at 1309 Fulton Ave. — Morrisania District Health Center, located at 1309 Fulton Ave. Photo ET Rodriguez

The city-run clinic became the first in the nation to offer abortion pills for free, as a part of a $1.2 million rollout for sexual health services last month. The city’s rollout of abortion services will eventually expand access to four public health clinics and provide an avenue to the procedure at no cost to patients, health officials said.

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision last summer striking down Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the city strengthened its abortion protections including measures from the Adams administration that paved the way for free medication abortions.

With roughly 24 states having either passed near-total bans on abortion with very limited exceptions or banned the procedure early in pregnancy, the clinic has also provided abortion services for visitors from abortion-restricted states, the Bronx Times has learned.

“New York does not have restrictions on abortion in the same way that other states like Texas have passed bans,” said Dr. Laura Louison, assistant commissioner of the city Bureau of Maternal Infant and Reproductive Health. “And so our city continues to be a sanctuary and a safe haven for folks who need abortion care. And we’re committed to including abortion access and reproductive justice as really critical facets of public health.”

Seven years after $34M Fordham Plaza renovation, DOT failing to find vendors for transit hub

Fordham Plaza is always busy, with more than 80,000 pedestrians per day buzzing along the Fordham Road business corridor. On any given hour, commuters and local students are scrambling from connecting buses and trains in a sea of public transit generating traffic from and to nearby Bronx institutions.

In 2022, the city Department of Transportation (DOT) solicited proposals for retailers and high-end merchandisers to operate business in the plaza — roughly 24,238 square feet of vending space along with a kiosk and a retired newsstand — but had not found any takers.

After a $34 million renovation in 2016, Fordham Plaza remains without a vendor in one of the city's busiest transit hubs. — After a $34 million renovation in 2016, Fordham Plaza remains without a vendor in one of the city’s busiest transit hubs. Photo courtesy Bronx Community Board 6

Recently, in its quieter moments, once-promising features of a $34 million plaza renovation in 2016 — such as its sitting areas and vacant newsstands — have become canvasses for graffiti and vandalism. Other times, individuals experiencing homelessness have sought refuge under the vacant newsstands and tables in warmer months, and quality-of-life complaints such as public drug use and urination have been reported.

Community leaders are putting the blame on DOT, citing a failure to secure vendors to the location seven years after the renovation.

“There are 80,000 people that pass through Fordham Plaza every day. At the very least, even in its current state, it is a place where people go through, as a kind of a transit hub,” said Rafael Moure-Punnett, district manager for Community Board 6. “In the past though, this plaza served not only just as a transit hub, but a commercial space where people could go and shop. Thirty-four million dollars of public money went into this project, and it’s being wasted. You could argue that the plaza is worse off as a result of this project.”

Kristy Marmorato has been endorsed by the Bronx GOP for the City Council District 13 race. Photo courtesy Friends of Kristy

Bronx GOP endorses Kristy Marmorato, sister of county chair, for Velázquez’s district

Kristy Marmorato was always surrounded by politics growing up. As the sister of Bronx GOP Chair Michael Rendino, she never had political aspirations of her own, until recently being inspired by a controversial housing proposal in City Council District 13.

Now with the backing of the Bronx GOP and NYC Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli, she will face fellow Republicans in a June primary with the shared goal of defeating Councilmember Marjorie Velázquez, a Democrat, in the November general election.

Republicans George Havranek, Phyllis Nastasio, Ariel Rivera-Diaz, Samantha Zherka and Grace Marrero will challenge Marmorato, while conservative Democrat Bernadette Ferrara plans to face the incumbent Velázquez in a Democratic primary.

Marmorato secured the endorsement of the Bronx GOP by a vote of 36-1, besting the five other Republicans. She said that while her brother’s political knowledge has pushed her to be a better candidate, Rendino and the Bronx GOP haven’t had a role in her campaign.

BREAKING: Montefiore residents vote to unionize with 82% supermajority vote

Resident physicians and fellows at Montefiore Medical Center voted to unionize with the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) by a supermajority of 82%.

Turnout for the vote was 63% among approximately 1,200 residents and fellows. The results, which were tallied Thursday, were sent to the National Labor Relations Board for certification. Once the results are officially recognized, workers can begin bargaining for their contract.

Montefiore resident physicians and fellows voted to unionize. Photo Aliya Schneider

Residents in November called upon the medical center to voluntarily recognize its union, a request Montefiore denied.

But the Bronx hospital network told the Bronx Times on Thursday that it is ready to negotiate in good faith.

“Montefiore respects our Interns, Residents and Fellows right to join a union,” the medical center said in a statement to the Bronx Times. “Now that the election process is complete, we will enter the bargaining process in good faith.”

Organizing efforts began early on in the pandemic when residents and fellows found themselves filling in the gaps and lacking support.

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