The Week in Rewind spotlights some of the editorial work of the Bronx Times for the week of June 5-8
THE BIG HAZE: Air quality alert for New York remains Thursday as Canadian wildfire smoke won’t go away just yet
New Yorkers woke up Thursday morning to the ominous haze that has lingered over The Big Apple since Monday — the air still filled with unhealthy smoke from the Canadian wildfires.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation issued a statement Wednesday forecasting that air quality in New York City will be at “Unhealthy” levels through 11:59 p.m. Thursday. The mayor’s office said that it expects the polluted air conditions to be a “multiple day event.”
At one point on Wednesday afternoon, 3 p.m. to be exact, the city registered a “Hazardous” air quality index of over 300, according to IQAir. As of 8:09 a.m. June 8, IQAir reported an “Unhealthy” air quality index in the Big Apple of 184.
Officials are advising residents to stay indoors — particularly those with respiratory conditions — as air quality levels have reached “hazardous” levels. Those most vulnerable to the smoke are advised to wear a high-quality N95 or KN95 mask to reduce exposure if they venture outside.
New York City schools had a scheduled day off for students Thursday, though teachers had to report remotely for professional development. Meanwhile, there were flight disruptions at the local airports.
All over town and on social media, New Yorkers remain stunned by what they saw in the skies above them the past few days. The smoke led to some post-apocalyptic scenes that appear straight out of a movie.
Sanchez, challenger Bradshaw talk housing before City Council District 14 Democratic Primary
New York City Councilmember Pierina Sanchez — who represents the neighborhoods of Kingsbridge, Fordham, University Heights, Mount Eden and Mount Hope in Council District 14 — and challenger Rachel Bradshaw said housing is a primary issue going into the June 27 Democratic Primary, although their visions differ.
Bradshaw told the Bronx Times she’s running because of concerns she has with the management of District 14 — specifically issues surrounding housing, crime rates, cleanliness and noise levels, and education. She said she’s been especially interested in politics the last few years, and was encouraged by members of her community to run for City Council. Bradshaw is currently a member of the Friends of Devoe Park and a shareholder of the Fordham Hill Owners Corporation, as well as a Democratic State Committee member and the president of the Northwest Bronx Democrats for Change.
“What I’ve noticed in the past two years, I’ve just witnessed the district, my community, go through an acceleration of disorder and decay,” said Bradshaw, 44. “And I attribute that to our City Council representation.”
In the 2021 election cycle, Sanchez, with the backing of the Bronx Dems, beat out five other Democrats in a primary to secure the District 14 seat after then-councilmember Fernando Cabrera ran unsuccessfully for borough president.
Sanchez, 34, is a first generation Afro-Dominican Bronxite. After making her way through the Bronx public school system, she went on to earn advanced degrees from both Harvard and Princeton. Before assuming her post on the council, Sanchez served as an urban planner at the White House, was a member of Bronx Community Board 5, and worked as an advisor in the New York City Mayor’s office. She currently resides in Kingsbridge.
Fordham alum sues university through Adult Survivors Act over 2011 alleged rape
A Fordham University alumnus filed a lawsuit against the school on Monday, alleging that the institution failed to protect him from a sexual abuser more than a decade ago.
Francis “Frank” Austin, a former Fordham University Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) student, alleges that his sophomore year roommate Patrick Sweeney violently raped him in February 2011 in his Rose Hill dorm in the Fordham section of the Bronx after he reported numerous threats to the university that preceded the attack. Austin reported the alleged rape the following year to two different professors who tried to prevent him from reporting the incident more broadly, according to the lawsuit. The same student then allegedly sexually assaulted Austin again in May 2012.
Austin, now 32, first sued the university in 2021, but the case was dismissed because the statute of limitations had run out. Thanks to the New York State Adult Survivors Act (ASA), Austin has another chance to seek justice. The ASA, which was signed into law in May 2022, opened a year-long window to take civil action starting in November 2022 for adult victims of sexual crimes whose statutes of limitations have expired.
Austin, who graduated from Fordham in 2013, is being represented by attorneys Lesley Brovner and Mark Peters, of Manhattan-based law firm Peters Brovner LLP.
“Everyone talks about how great college can be, but my sophomore year was the worst year of my life,” Austin said on Monday, his voice quivering at a Zoom press conference.
Austin said the aftermath of the assaults “destroyed” his life, throwing him into a deep depression and causing him to have suicidal ideations. He has also suffered from anorexia, alcohol abuse, difficulties with relationships and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, according to the lawsuit.
Bronxites, Manhattanites celebrate the 175th anniversary of The High Bridge, NYC’s oldest standing bridge
The afternoon’s festivities and merriment took place on both sides of the 1,450-foot pedestrian bridge, with both the Bronx and Manhattan sides meeting in the middle as Plena music — a traditional Puerto Rican music and dance — was in the air.
The High Bridge has been through many phases since its 1848 construction, when it was originally the centerpiece of the Old Croton Aqueduct that carried Croton water across the Harlem River from the mainland to Manhattan in pipes beneath its deck.
In 1864, a walkway was soon built across the bridge, mirroring its modern day usage and acting as a pedestrian walkway between then-rural northern Manhattan and the Bronx. In the century that followed, the aqueduct’s decommissioned status and poor maintenance led to its closure in 1970, before being reopened in 2015.
Washington Heights resident Julio Sanchez told the Bronx Times the bridge is where he met his now-wife, Alexandria, in 2018 on a Tinder date. And on the opposite end of that spectrum, Highbridge resident Donte Tolliver experienced “his worst breakup” a year ago after a walk across the bridge.
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