Vol. 76, No. 16
What’s inside?
Thursday, April 16, 2026
Police: Bus driver attacked on job By Olivia Young oyoung@riverdalepress.com
Kevin’s Angels lends a hand
$1.00
Johnny Rodriguez, Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus driver of 13 years, was attacked April 4 by a civilian driver after a minor car accident near Riverdale and Ellsworth avenues, the Yonkers Police Department said. Local 100, a chapter of the Transport Workers Union of America that represents 41,000 workers in the New York City metropolitan area, said incidents like these are not uncommon, and called for the maximum amount of jail time against Rodriguez’s alleged attacker. Local 100 MTA Bus Vice President Danny D’Amato condemned the incident, and said
drivers deserve to come home safe from work. “There’s no regard for us,” D’Amato said. “We’re essential people. We serve the public, but we’re not getting the respect that we need.” Union members described 59-year-old Rodriguez, who is a part of the MTA Bus Yonkers Depot, as sociable, caring, good-spirited, happy-go-lucky and a family man. They said he is married, and is a father to a 10-year-old. Rodriguez was not available for comment. Police said the bus driver was making a three-point turn when a civilian driver tried to pass the bus by crossing the double yellow line into oncoming traffic. Security footage obtained by The Press from police appears to show the back of the
BxM1 making contact with the side of a white truck. The bus driver can then be seen exiting the vehicle and approaching the civilian truck driver. The footage appears to show the two men talking for a moment before the truck driver grabs the bus driver from behind. Police said the suspect placed the bus driver in a chokehold unprovoked, threw him to the ground, and slammed his upper body repeatedly into the ground before fleeing the scene in his car. The bus driver was lying in the middle of the road when police arrived, and was soon rushed to a nearby trauma center to treat his head — which struck the pavement — and other injuries, according to police. According to the union, Rodriguez suffered two brain bleeds, a concussion, and
neck, shoulder and back injuries. Police said the suspect was identified as 29-year-old Thywill Anasu from Manhattan. He was charged with assault in the second degree, which is a class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison, according to New York State law. Anasu was arraigned in Yonkers April 8, and his bail was set at $5,000, according to police. He is expected back in court April 14. Anasu could not be reached for comment. Union members told The Press they plan to be present for the next court date to show their support for Rodriguez, as well as to make clear they are pushing for the maximum sentence. BUS DRIVER ON PAGE A4
NYBG study shows Bronx neighborhoods built on former wetlands face flood risks
Free cleaning for cancer patients Page A3
By Michelle Mullen
mmullen@riverdalepress.com
16 terms before losing the Democratic nomination in 2020 to Jamaal Bowman. Engel defeated 10-term incumbent Mario Biaggi for the House of Representatives seat, who resigned shortly before the Democratic primary after he was convicted on corruption charges. When Engel entered the race, however, Biaggi was still a force in Bronx politics. Former editor of The Riverdale Press, Bernard “Buddy” Stein, said challenging Biaggi at the time took guts. Previous reporting from The Press shows Engel faced criticism over the years. In June 2020, resident and member of The Jewish Vote Micah Sifry wrote to The Press voicing his support for Bowman, claiming Engel was “out of touch with everyone he represents.” Sifry cited, amongst other things, a comment Engel had made in 2016 about giving newly elected President Donald Trump the “benefit of the doubt.” After 2016, Engel was critical of Trump.
In a new study, researchers at the New York Botanical Garden urge city planners to rethink how and where New York builds, using the city’s past as a guide to its future. Mapping where water once flowed, where it floods today and where it is expected to flood again, the paper identifies areas across the five boroughs most vulnerable to impacts from intensifying climate change. It suggests historic streams and creeks, long buried under the city landscape, still shape how water moves, even after decades of development. The findings are particularly relevant in the northwest Bronx, which was once blanketed by swaths of wetlands. What is now a dense corridor of buildings and traffic was a shallow basin where water pooled and moved slowly. Centuries ago, a natural freshwater stream, Tibbetts Brook, flowed south through what is now Van Cortlandt Park, Nick Dembowski, president of the Kingsbridge Historical Society, explained. The waterway emptied into the Harlem River through the Spuyten Duyvil Creek. “Before the 20th century, Kingsbridge was mostly marshland,” Dembowski said. “By Kingsbridge, I mean sort of the valley that’s between Riverdale and Kingsbridge Heights, so like the Broadway, Corlear, Tibbett Avenue kind of area.” The brook was buried around 1912 to eliminate wetlands and diverted into the city’s sewer system, making way for development and infrastructure, including the construction of a new railroad. Lucinda Royte, the report’s lead author and NYBG manager of urban conservation data, tools and outreach, worked alongside Eric W. Sanderson, vice president for urban conservation, to bring the project to fruition. In it, Royte introduces what are called “blue zones,” a term referring to places that were historically wet, currently flooded and projected to flood in the future. According to the study, “Blue Zones: Identifying Adaptation Opportunities Using Past, Present, and Future Flooding in New York
ELIOT ENGEL ON PAGE A4
FLOODING ON PAGE A4
Community through birding Local encourages neighbors to look up Page A5
File photo
Eliot Engel, a longtime politician who served the northern Bronx and southern Westchester County, died April 10 at 79 years old.
Longtime Bronx congressman, resident Eliot Engel dies at 79 By Olivia Young and Alexa Lewis oyoung@riverdalepress.com, alewis@riverdalepress.com
Signs of spring Volunteers beautify neighborhood Page A7
Eliot Engel, the former Democratic congressman who represented Riverdale and other parts of the northern Bronx during his long political career, died April 10 at 79 years old. Engel’s family announced his death in a statement, saying Engel died “surrounded by family and loved ones in the borough that raised him: The Bronx.” “During his over 44 years in public service, Eliot Engel fought tirelessly for his constituents at home and for peace and security around the world,” the statement reads. “We love and miss him dearly.” According to reporting by The Associated Press, Engel died of complications from Parkinson’s disease. Engel was regarded for his staunch support of Israel, and push for liberal legislation
that spanned affordable healthcare, gun control, international human rights, and reducing U.S. dependency on imported oil. Over the course of his political service, Engel was chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Assembly member for New York’s 81st district. He also served as congressman for the 16th, 17th and 19th districts of New York, representing parts of the Bronx and southern Westchester County, amid changing redistricting maps. Engel was born Feb. 18, 1947 in the Bronx, and was the grandson of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. He held a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in school counseling from Lehman College, of the City University of New York, and a law degree from New York Law School. His political career began after working as a guidance counselor in New York’s public schools for several years, serving on the state assembly from 1977 to 1988. He first took office as congressman in 1989, serving
Family in desperate search for kidney donor By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
For most of her life, former Riverdale resident Jeanne Monaghan never knew she had only one kidney. Having raised a family without issue, there was little reason for her to suspect otherwise. It was not until her mid-40s that the discovery was made during a routine test for suspected gallbladder issues. “I said, ‘How did I have two children and no one ever found that out?’” Monaghan said, recalling the moment doctors shared the news. “They said because they don’t look at your parts. They look at the baby’s parts.” For decades, the condition posed little problem. Born with a single, slightly enlarged
kidney, Monaghan lived what her daughter Danielle Tiboni described as a full and active life spent raising two children, working and supporting her family without interruption. Over the years, a series of serious health challenges began to take their toll. In 2014, Monaghan was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent chemotherapy and radiation. She pushed through treatment and emerged cancer-free. But the treatments that helped save her life also led her to develop diabetes. Years later, doctors discovered her aortic valve was narrowing, requiring open-heart surgery during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Courtesy Danielle Tiboni
KIDNEY DONOR ON PAGE A4
At 73 years old, Jeanne Monaghan is in urgent need of a new kidney.