Vol. 76, No. 9
What’s inside?
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Contested shelter opens this summer By Olivia Young oyoung@riverdalepress.com
Black History Month
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The men’s homeless shelter at 6661 Broadway will open this summer, signaling an end to five years of pushback from the community. According to a spokesperson from the Department of Social Services, up to 130 men will stay at the shelter, where staff will provide counseling, mental health services and life- skills workshops. Staff will also direct clients to primary healthcare, substance abuse treatment and guidance on how to earn their GED. Preference will be given to men that are from greater Riverdale and the rest of the Bronx.
The site is owned and managed by Westhab, a Westchester and New York City-based nonprofit providing transitional housing and employment services. President and CEO Richard Nightingale told The Press he believes greater Riverdale residents will be more receptive to the shelter once they see how it operates. “We create this really productive environment in the shelter that is essentially exit planning from day one,” Nightingale said. “Our whole model is making homelessness as brief an experience as possible.” Local residents, elected officials and Bronx Community Board 8 members have been outspoken in their opposition to the shelter since 2021, citing public safety.
Critics argued the site was too close to homes and Van Cortlandt Park and expressed concern men with serious criminal records, mental illnesses or substance abuse issues would be accepted into the program. Some flagged the potential for warehousing, which is when a shelter is overcrowded and unable to provide proper services, forcing long-term stays. “Nothing Westhab does is about warehousing,” Nightingale said. “It’s all about getting people from A to B in their lives.” A spokesperson from social services said multiple security officers will be onsite at all times, including at the entrance to control access, and cameras will be installed throughout the building and grounds.
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Men with serious mental illnesses — defined by the city as a depression, schizophrenia or bipolar diagnosis that substantially interferes with major life activities — would go to a specialized mental health shelter, not 6661 Broadway, Nightingale said. Westhab doesn’t allow loitering in front of its buildings, Nightingale said, and the shelter will have a 2,015-square-foot outdoor terrace on the rooftop to prevent clients from congregating on the street. “This is a purpose-built shelter,” he said. “It’s ground-up construction, designed with services in mind.” Nightingale said construction could be CONTINUED ON PAGE A4
Effort to save Knolls Crescent intensifies By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
justice for my son.” Her words hung in the cold air as neighbors formed a tight ring around the memorial, some wiping tears, others joining the chant that rolled down Broadway. The vigil drew clergy, activists and elected officials, each framing the killing as part of a broader crisis. Dr. Cher yl Singeltar y, Alpha & Omega Church executive pastor, expanded that message into a demand for systemic change, arguing youth shootings have moved beyond isolated tragedy. “When is someone going to do something?” she asked, her voice rising over the crowd. “This should not have happened again. It’s happening ever y day. We have the whole world out here, but we killing each other, and we’re tired of it.” She called on leaders at ever y level of government to treat youth violence as a public safety emergency rather than a recurring headline. “We’re going to call for a state emer-
As negotiations move for ward to fill the former Rite Aid space at 21B Knolls Crescent, elected officials have increased pressure on the shopping plaza’s landlords to lower rents and fill vacant storefronts. The now-dilapidated former Rite Aid, which closed last year, became a symbol of broader disinvestment in the corridor. It followed the earlier departure of Chase Bank in 2020, as well as a handful of other businesses in prior years. Now, Junior Frias, owner of Ben’s Market next door, signed a 20year lease with Friedland Properties to close his current business and open a supermarket in the vacant pharmacy space. “I’ve been negotiating with the landlord for like the last six, seven months,” Frias said, pointing to rising rent demands as the primar y obstacle. “It’s just ver y expensive.” The new store is expected to operate as a Fine Fare or similar franchise supermarket, he told The Press, adding if construction proceeds smoothly, the build-out could take four to six months. ` “Hopefully by June, July, we should be there,” he said. The move would close Ben’s Market at 19 Knolls Crescent. The storefront will likely become vacant once the new supermarket opens. However, Frias told The Press he is considering the possibility of opening a pharmacy in the space currently occupied by Ben’s. For residents — many of them seniors living in the limited-equity co-ops directly behind the strip — the shopping center’s losses have reshaped daily life and raised questions about the future of a neighborhood built around walkability. The return of a supermarket to the shuttered Rite Aid — where a CTown supermarket once operated — offers a measure of relief, but multiple storefronts remain vacant and broader rent negotiations remain unresolved. The Knolls Crescent Shopping Cen-
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They have arrived Resident cofounds first women’s professional rugby league. Page A5 Michelle Mullen
Christopher Redding’s parents embrace his younger brother as they call for justice for their late son at a Feb. 18 vigil.
Slain teen’s family demands justice By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
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On the evening of Feb. 18, chants of “no justice, no peace” rang through a busy strip of Kingsbridge, just steps away from where 16-year-old Christopher Redding, known as CJ, was killed days earlier. The teen was fatally shot on the corner of West 238th Street and Broadway in broad daylight, and a 15-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl were also struck and hospitalized in stable condition. According to the New York City Police Department, the gunfire erupted after a dispute from a nearby McDonald’s spilled out onto the street. One 17-yearold has been arrested, and police said they are still searching for three additional suspects in connection with the killing. Redding was the second teenager to die from gun violence in New York City this year, according to Gothamist. In the Bronx, which accounted for more than a third of citywide shootings last year, his death deepened fears that youth
violence remains a destabilizing force despite repeated pledges by elected officials to reduce it. Bishop Dr. Boyde Y. Singeltar y, senior pastor and founder of Alpha & Omega Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Inc., opened the vigil with prayer, acknowledging the family lost “one of the most best parts of their life that they can never get back because of senseless gun violence.” He described the grief as immeasurable and urged the community to remain united around the family in the days ahead. For Redding’s family, the loss and unanswered questions have become unbearable. Around them, the crowd pulsed with anger rather than quiet mourning. Drivers slowed to watch. Teenagers stood shoulder to shoulder near the memorial. “Y’all took ever ything, y’all broke my family apart,” his mother, Shampagne Christian, yelled, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her cheeks. “I don’t get my son to see him have kids. I don’t see him get married. I don’t see my son walking across the stage. I want
Rapid response team on the lookout for ICE By Olivia Young oyoung@riverdalepress.com
The Riverdale rapid response team, a group of residents who monitor Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence in the neighborhood, took to Broadway Plaza on Feb. 21 to speak directly with community members. According to founder Hannah Sherak, the team has not confirmed any local ICE sightings. Still, preparation is critical, she said. Eleven members took shifts from 1 to 4 p.m., handing out whistles, stickers with a number to call if ICE is spotted, and red cards that list a person’s constitutional rights if they encounter ICE
agents. The group aimed to increase its presence in Kingsbridge by stationing members in a high-traffic area. Members created personal connections with passersby quickly, and listened as their neighbors spoke candidly about their fears for themselves and their families. Kelly Terr y, a four-year resident who works to secure grants for a social justice nonprofit, joined the response team a week ago. She said she wants to see greater Riverdale grow into a seamless, detail-oriented network of care for those vulnerable to ICE. “We’re in a ver y dangerous moment,” Terr y said. “If we’re not payCONTINUED ON PAGE A4
Olivia Young
Hannah Sherak, center, founded Riverdale’s rapid response team last November.