Vol. 76, No. 7
What’s inside?
Thursday, February 12, 2026
Residents organize to save Knolls By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
Bronx first Power in numbers to bring change. Page A3
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After years of frustration over the gradual loss of neighborhood ser vices, more than 100 residents gathered in Spuyten Duyvil for a meeting aimed at reviving the long-struggling Knolls Crescent Shopping Plaza. The meeting was part of the Save Knolls Kappock Retail campaign, led by the president of Knolls Crescent Cooperative I, Joan Carroll, and board member Karen Kawaguchi. They organized the resident-led effort to address what they describe as a sustained erosion of walkable ser vices in a community with a large senior and fixed-income population.
“This isn’t about one store,” Carroll told The Press. “It’s about whether people can continue to live here independently.” For decades, Knolls Crescent ser ved as the primar y commercial strip for much of northernmost Riverdale. The Knolls Crescent cooperatives just behind it were established as limitedequity housing to promote long-term affordability and stability, a model that helped create a community with a high concentration of retirees, people with disabilities and residents aging in place. In that context, neighbors urged, access to nearby ser vices has always been essential. Residents used the forum to reflect
on what Knolls Crescent once offered, and what they say has been lost. Several recalled a lively commercial strip that functioned as a neighborhood hub, lined with diners, bakeries and candy stores, some with open signs glowing late into the night. “This used to be a place where you could get ever ything you needed without leaving the neighborhood,” one longtime resident said. In recent years, a series of closures has gradually hollowed out the plaza. “About three or four years ago, the Chase Bank disappeared,” Carroll said. “And more recently, the Rite Aid disappeared.” The bank’s closure in 2020 eliminated
the neighborhood’s only walkable ATM, a loss residents said has had an outsized impact on seniors and residents with limited mobility. Several said they now rely on cash back at stores or must travel by bus, car or on foot to access basic banking ser vices. “Something as simple as getting cash shouldn’t require planning a trip,” one resident said. “But that’s where we are now.” While Ben’s Market reopened last year under new ownership after a brief closure, providing a rare bright spot for the strip, neighbors emphasized that a single grocer y store cannot replace the CONTINUED ON PAGE A4
Epstein emails cast scrutiny on Dinowitz campaign donation by Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
sent a community’s needs to elected officials. District leaders connect neighborhoods to Bronx County Democrats, and state committee members to state Democrats. One male and one female representative are elected every two years. Virginia Krompinger is the president emerita of the Ben Franklin club, a lawyer and an activist. She said she wants to make local and national issues heard, from empty storefronts on Knolls Crescent to the Trump administration, which she described as a “threat to our democracy.” Krompinger said she was part of the team that helped secure a Fine Fare Fresh Supermarket at 5661 Riverdale Ave. after the Key Food shut down. She and Ben Jackson also recently volunteered as attorneys on standby for Minnesota residents to call if they had legal concerns about Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, presence. Jackson has been a district leader for two years, and said he has spent his term organizing and campaigning for Democratic candidates such as the Dinowitzes, Gibson,
As the U.S. Department of Justice continues to release unsealed emails tied to infamous financier Jeffrey Epstein, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz of the 81st Assembly District has joined a growing list of elected officials under scrutiny for past campaign donations from individuals whose relationships with Epstein have only recently become public. Records from the New York State Board of Elections show Dinowitz’s campaign received a $1,000 donation in 2023 from Brad Karp, the longtime chair of the prominent corporate law firm Paul, Weiss. Karp resigned from the firm on Feb. 4 amid mounting backlash after newly released records detailed previously undisclosed communication between him and Epstein. The DOJ documents include a series of email exchanges between Karp and Epstein that occurred several years after Epstein ser ved a prison sentence for solicitation of prostitution involving a minor and was registered as a sex offender, including one 2016 email exchange where Karp asked Epstein connect his son to filmmaker Woody Allen for a potential job opportunity. According to assemblyman’s campaign, the donation was made at a fundraiser and is the only contribution Karp has ever given to Dinowitz. No additional donations were accepted before or after that date. On Feb. 6, Morgan Evers, who is challenging Dinowitz in the June Democratic primar y, issued a press release calling on the assemblyman to return the donation. Evers argued keeping the money was inappropriate in light of the newly disclosed records tying Karp to Epstein. Saying the north Bronx deser ves better than “mudslinging,” the assemblyman’s campaign rejected Evers’ idea, telling The Press there was no public information at the time of the
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Orchid show NYBG’s annual floral extravaganza returns. Page A5 Olivia Young
Ben Franklin Reform Democratic Club president emerita Virginia Krompinger is up for female District Leader Abigail Martin’s seat this year.
Dinowitz introduces Ben Franklin club slate By Olivia Young oyoung@riverdalepress.com
Merchant meetup Building new connections with KRVC. Page A7
Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz announced a slate of Ben Franklin Reform Democratic Club-endorsed candidates up for local and state party roles on Feb. 8 — including Virginia Krompinger for female district leader, challenger to four-year incumbent Abigail Martin. Dinowitz, who has held the seat for 32 years, is running for re-election against teacher and disability advocate Morgan Evers. State committee members Michael Heller and Johanna Edmondson, as well as male District Leader Ben Jackson, are also relaunching their campaigns. The Ben Franklin club has been embedded in the community since 1960. For June’s Democratic primaries, several candidates tied to the Unity Democratic Club — the northwest Bronx’s other dominant political group — are looking to unseat Ben Franklin’s incumbents, the latest in a years-long fight for political influence in Assembly District 81. Dinowitz has the endorsements of Bronx
Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Rep. Ritchie Torres, Rep. Adriano Espaillat and Council Member Eric Dinowitz, all officials the Ben Franklin club has backed in the last year. Gibson said she stands with Dinowitz, and although newer and younger populations may run for office, she is a firm believer in legacy. “Consistent leadership is sustainable,” Gibson said. “It’s stable. It’s reliable. It always shows up no matter what … Don’t let anyone ever tell you that the leadership we have today is not the leadership that we need for tomorrow.” The assemblymember said his decades of political involvement are rooted in a love of being in the neighborhood and working with the community. “One thing I’ve learned in politics is never back down,” Dinowitz said, citing several accomplishments throughout his time in office. “Never give in. Never give up. Always stand your ground. That’s the only way to get things done.” State committee and district leader are both volunteer roles made to better repre-
Love advice from those who’ve loved longest By Olivia Young oyoung@riverdalepress.com
A group of RiverSpring residents are bestowing decades of relationship wisdom this Valentine’s season through the recently formed Cupid Senior Squad. The program launched this month, spearheaded by Wendy Steinberg, chief communications officer, and moderated by Maria Schulz, vice president of admissions and resident experience. After Steinberg announced the squad, questions started flooding in. “Many of them have outlived their partners,” Schulz said. “[Cupid Senior Squad] gives them an opportunity to
reminisce … It makes us feel connected to the past and to loved ones that we don’t get to see any longer.” One email submission read, “What’s the best piece of relationship advice you’ve ever heard?” Shirley Johnson, 85, Lita Gottesman, 88 and Harold Wolkoff, 102, agreed on one thing — be yourself. Johnson met her husband of 54 years while she was in her 20s. Coming out of a previous marriage with two young daughters, she was introduced to William Jackson through family. “This man comes in my life, and he looked at me, and he said, ‘You’re what CONTINUED ON PAGE A4
Gary Jean-Juste photos
Shirley Johnson, Lita Gottesman and Harold Wolkoff are three of the five members of the Cupid Senior Squad.