Bronx cops save man who fell into train tracks after medical episode

Two NYPD officers in the Bronx jumped down onto the train tracks during rush hour on Tuesday afternoon to save a man who had fallen after a medical episode.

According to police, officers assigned transit overtime at the 3rd Avenue-149th Street Station in the South Bronx responded quickly around 5:30 p.m. on May 14 after bystanders said a man had a seizure and fell into the 2/5 train tracks. The NYPD said the man was only “inches away” from the third rail before officers grabbed him.

In body camera footage posted to social media, cops can be seen jumping the turnstiles and rushing onto the busy platform before leaping down into the tracks. Officers were able to aid the man back up to the platform with the help of bystanders, although one of the officers’ gun belts kept getting stuck while he was trying to climb back up, the NYPD reported. But with the help of the people on the platform and his partner on duty, he was able to hoist himself back up to safety.

‘Possibilities are kind of endless’ for 161st Street BID in Lou Gehrig Plaza

The skies clouded over Lou Gehrig Plaza in the Bronx last Friday as motorists and pedestrians traveled along 161st Street. The area’s most famous attraction is Yankee Stadium, of course, but the 161st Street Business Improvement District (BID) is trying to entice both locals and tourists alike to spend time in the plaza just three blocks east of the home of the Bronx Bombers. 

Trey Jenkins, the director of the 161st Street BID, has ideas about how to make the spot that overlooks Yankee Stadium “a proper plaza that you see anywhere else in the city.” Drawing on inspiration from Flatiron Plaza in Manhattan and the Dumbo Archway in Brooklyn, he said his vision is to help give the people in the area a comparable public place, something he says the neighborhood deserves. 

“It’s a really good space for the public, for the BID, for the people in the neighborhood,” Jenkins told the Bronx Times. “Possibilities are kind of endless.”

Those possibilities became a little more realistically “endless” earlier this month, after the 161st Street BID announced it had received a $175,000 grant from a community design and development network called Local Center, which is a partnership between the Urban Design Forum and the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development.

‘A day they will always remember’: NFL stars head to Lehman College for annual youth football camp

Middle school students from the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx had the opportunity to practice football and learn about emotional, nutritional and physical wellness with members of the NYPD and a New York Giants star player.

On May 10, Saint Barnabas Health System (SBH) — in conjunction with the NYPD Sports Unit, Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux and the New York City Board of Education — hosted its second annual “Youth Football Camp” at Lehman College. The event, which also featured former New York Jets wide receiver Quincy Enunwa and 75 students from P.S. 20, 45 and 118, was planned for Belmont Playground, but was forced inside due to inclement weather.

Christine Hughes, vice president and chief advancement officer at SBH, told the Bronx Times the event is entirely about the kids. For them to meet current and former professional football players and play football with the NYPD is a unique opportunity, she said.

Celebrating Albanian culture in the Bronx’s Little Italy

The Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeu Fair is back for its third year in the historic enclave of the Bronx’s Little Italy. On May 19, more than 100 organizations and businesses will come together to support and celebrate Albanian history and culture with food, music and performances.

“Our cultural importance to the Bronx — the best way that it could possibly be manifested, is through this type of street fair,” said a spokesperson for the Albanian American Open Hand Association, the fair’s organizer and a food pantry in the Bronx serving hungry families since 2014. “And so, what better way to honor this type of event than doing it under the name of our national hero?”

Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeu was a nobleman, a military commander and defector of the Ottoman army. In the mid-15th century, he formed his own fleet of soldiers to battle the Ottoman Empire and its occupation of Albania. For 25 years, Skenderbeu kept his opponents at bay. And while he didn’t end the empire’s rule, his perseverance, fortitude and pride was recognized by the people of Albania, solidifying his place in history and in their hearts.

Bronx County Fair returns to Throggs Neck after five-year hiatus

After a five-year hiatus, the Bronx County Fair returned to New York City’s most northern borough last week. The event took place from May 7 through May 13 in Ferry Point Park in Throggs Neck.

Unlike typical county fairs, the Bronx County Fair didn’t feature bake-offs, arts and crafts, pie-eating contests or animals, but had its share of carnival rides like the fan-favorite Alien Abduction, a Ferris wheel overlooking the Whitestone Bridge and the Sea Ray, a spectacular giant swinging ship.

Spectators could try their luck and win prizes, playing a game of “WacAMole” or channel their inner Aaron Judge throwing some baseballs, breaking bottles. The fair also featured food staples like funnel cake, funnel cakes, zeppoles, fried Oreos and Italian sausages.

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