Vol. 76, No. 8
What’s inside?
Thursday, February 19, 2026
Arrest in Kingsbridge teen’s death By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
Artist’s journey Dennis Shelton creates from experience. Page A3
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A 17-year-old boy has been arrested and charged in the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Christopher Redding in Kingsbridge. Three additional suspects, two males and one female, remain at large as the investigation continues. The teen was taken into custody Feb. 14 within the confines of the 50th Precinct and charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, manslaughter, two counts of assault and three counts of criminal possession of a loaded firearm. Redding, a sophomore at John F. Kennedy High School, was killed shortly after 5 p.m. on Feb. 11 on West 238th Street
near the McDonald’s at 5765 Broadway. A 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, both shot in the leg, are expected to survive. Police said the gunfire followed a dispute inside the restaurant that escalated onto the street. “Some witnesses started saying it was over something very small — over ice cream or over spilled food — and it escalated,” Capt. Amadeo Oktrova, commanding officer of the 50th Precinct, said. According to police, one of the girls involved in the argument left the restaurant and returned with a group of masked males. A fight broke out. Shots were fired minutes later. “The fight spilled outside of McDonald’s, and unfortunately when they made
it to Broadway, shots were fired and three of our young people were shot,”Oktrova said. The first 911 call came in at 5:12 p.m. An employee at 238 Corner Bodega, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he stepped outside moments after the shooting. “I came outside and I saw the boy lying there,” he said. “The police were doing CPR on him for a long time, but he didn’t wake up.” Redding was struck in the leg and upper body. “Unfortunately, the bullet went through his chest and he succumbed to his injuries on the scene,” Oktrova said. All three were taken to St. Barnabas
n “The administration is playing politics with money,” Chauncy Young, coordinator for the Harlem River Working Group, said. “These decisions impact people’s lives.” By Olivia Young
Preserving Bronx memories, one square at a time. Page A5
oyoung@riverdalepress.com
nesses minimize that fear by ensuring patients cannot hit the floor if they lose their balance. Therapists can reduce a portion of a patient’s body weight during early sessions, easing strain on joints and surgical sites while muscles relearn coordinated motion. “If I take off 20 percent of body weight, it eases the pain,” Siegelman said. “If they get in motion, the muscles start waking back up.” Integrated artificial intelligence platforms analyze each step a patient takes, generating detailed data therapists use to tailor individualized treatment plans. Gait speed, stride length and balance metrics feed into virtual environments that resemble game-like landscapes, where patients respond to visual cues by shifting weight, adjusting pace and coordinating movement. Research has increasingly identified gait speed as a predictive health marker, and Siegelman said the realtime feedback allows clinicians to anticipate challenges before they be-
Five hundred thousand dollars in federal funding toward a long-awaited environmental study of the Harlem River is still in limbo after the Trump administration froze it last October, a move that targeted several Democratic states. For some Bronx-based advocates, the Harlem River Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study was a small step toward a decades-long vision to improve the quality of a river contaminated by raw sewage and bacteria, and ultimately to expand waterfront access for residents in some of the city’s lowest-income neighborhoods. “The administration is playing politics with money,” Chauncy Young, member of the Harlem River Coalition, said. “These decisions impact people’s lives.” One million dollars was secured for the project last June after the city’s department of environmental protection agreed to match the funds appropriated by Congress. This meant the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, lead on the study, could move for ward with an investigation that looks for ways to restore natural habitats and prevent flooding. But, the project never started. During the 43-day government shutdown last year, Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Russel Vought announced the corps would pause $11 billion for “lower-priority projects” in New York, San Francisco,
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Michelle Mullen
Patient Wilfredo Ortiz uses the C-Mill system at the Hauser Rehabilitation Center while attached to a ceiling-mounted harness to ensure he doesn’t fall.
AI is key in new RiverSpring rehab effort By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
Fordham students push for affordable housing. Page A6
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Federal freeze on Harlem River study still in place
History in thread
Civic Reset
Hospital. Redding was pronounced dead. The two younger teenagers are expected to recover. The killing has especially unsettled the neighborhood in part because it occurred in broad daylight on one of the neighborhood’s busiest commercial corridors. It also stands in stark contrast to the broader crime narrative that city officials have emphasized in recent months. Last year was the safest year on record for gun violence citywide, with the fewest shooting incidents and shooting victims in the city’s history, according to NYPD. In the 50th Precinct, which covers Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Marble Hill, Spuyten Duyvil
The Hauser Rehabilitation Center at RiverSpring Living is redefining what short-term rehabilitation looks like in the Bronx, introducing an AIfor ward, technology-driven model that delivers measurable improvements in recover y outcomes. The 79-bed unit opened in mid-December and is consolidated on a single floor. The redesign pairs advanced technologies with integrated clinical care in collaboration with NewYorkPresbyterian. NewYork-Presbyterian clinicians provide on-site coverage five days a week, working alongside RiverSpring nurses and physical, occupational and speech therapists. Shared electronic medical records allow hospital and rehab teams to coordinate treatments and reduce duplication of ser vices. “When we envisioned the Hauser Rehab Center, we wanted uniformity throughout,” said David Siegelman, a physical therapist and RiverSpring’s
senior vice president for quality and corporate compliance. “We didn’t want two separate experiences. We wanted to give the same experience to ever ybody.” Central to the center’s approach is an emphasis on immersive, interactive therapy that shifts rehabilitation from a passive regimen to an active, engaging process. The facility’s rehabilitation gym features ceiling-mounted body-weight support harness systems, robotic-assisted devices and advanced motion-analysis platforms powered by artificial intelligence. Among these technologies is the C-Mill, a treadmill-integrated system that projects shapes, targets and pathways onto the walking surface while sensors track gait and foot placement. “What’s really crucial to understand is that the number one thing we deal with is fear — fear of falling,” Siegelman said. “Once [people] start developing that anxiety, they don’t leave the house. It really could be debilitating.” The C-Mill’s ceiling-mounted har-
Conservative launches congressional campaign By Olivia Young oyoung@riverdalepress.com
Gonzalo Duran, a veteran and vice chairman of the Bronx Conser vative Party, is the latest challenger to Democratic incumbent Rep. Ritchie Torres. So far, Duran is the only right-leaning candidate in the race to represent Congressional District 15. He is also a Republican district leader for the 79th Assembly District — covering the southern Bronx neighborhoods of Concourse Village, Melrose, Morrisania, Claremont, Belmont and East Tremont — and founder of the veteran-centered nonprofit Devil Dog USA Incorporated.
Duran told The Press he considers himself a moderate politician, but aligned with the Conser vative Party because of his belief in fiscal responsibility. He is running on public safety, affordable housing and veterans services, as well as the pledge to push back against what he sees as a rise in socialist policies. Some of his ideas are to increase NYPD presence in high-crime areas, enact stronger legislation to protect tenants from drastic rent raises, and allow veterans legal ser vices if they are denied housing without proper cause. “I know it’s an uphill battle,” Duran said. “But I believe there are more CONTINUED ON PAGE A4
Gary Jean-Juste
Conservative congress candidate Gonzalo Duran’s platform is focused on public safety, affordable housing and veterans services.