Vol. 76, No. 22
What’s inside?
Thursday, May 28, 2026
Fears for future of Kappock post office By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
Meet the candidates Primaries are fast approaching Page A3
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As complaints mount over staffing shortages, midday closures and concerns about mail theft, residents and elected officials are urging the United States Postal Service’s Bronx Postmaster Adela Livingston to intervene at the Kappock Street post office, a small branch many in Spuyten Duyvil describe as essential to daily life. The USPS branch sits along a commercial strip dotted with vacant storefronts, in an area community advocates have spent months trying to revitalize through the Save Knolls Kappock Retail effort. Residents said the post office has increasingly become tied to broader anxieties about neighborhood
decline, accessibility and the erosion of basic local services. In a May 14 letter addressed to Livingston, U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres and Assembly member Jeffrey Dinowitz called the post office at 562 Kappock St. a “cornerstone” of the Knolls Crescent corridor, serving more than 11,000 residents, many of them older adults without easy access to transportation. Both USPS and employees at the Spuyten Duyvil branch declined to comment. The post office rests at the center of a dense residential pocket of Spuyten Duyvil lined with high-rise co-ops and apartment towers, including The Century, The Winston Churchill, Riverpoint Towers and the two Knolls Cooperative buildings.
Spuyten Duyvil local Stephanie Coggins said the post office has become tied to fears about the future of the neighborhood and the services to which residents have access. For many residents, she explained, particularly seniors without cars, the small branch represents more than a convenience. Reaching alternative post offices in Kingsbridge or central Riverdale often requires bus rides, long walks uphill or additional transportation costs. Concerns about the branch have lingered for years but have intensified in recent months as residents noticed reduced staffing, inconsistent hours and increasing mail theft. “There’s a real fear that it’s going to be taken away,” Coggins said. “There’ll be no
place for people to go except somewhere else in Riverdale or Kingsbridge, which would require a significant amount of transportation.” Many neighbors no longer trust outdoor blue mailboxes after repeated reports of stolen checks and glued collection slots that prevent mail from dropping properly. Instead, residents report increasingly handdelivering mail directly inside the branch — particularly when sending checks, rent payments or sensitive documents. On May 9, Coggins sent a letter on behalf of Save Knolls to the Bronx postmaster before reaching out to elected officials, hoping to draw attention to what she and other POST OFFICE ON PAGE A4
Mamdani proposes $20.5M for Sanchezbacked vendor reform By Olivia Young oyoung@riverdalepress.com
“There’s the growing population, and there’s growing poverty, increased poverty among older adults, and more people need more food,” Shapiro told The Press. “Sixty percent of those we spoke with are still hungry … They’re running out of food.” According to research conducted by the organization, roughly 65 percent of recipients live on $15,000 annually or less. Shapiro said many people misunderstand what poverty among older adults looks like, particularly in neighborhoods like Riverdale, where seniors may have spent decades living in the same apartments or homes. “The people we serve have worked and contributed their whole lives,” she said. “They didn’t expect to live this long… It’s very expensive to live in the city on a fixed income.” For Eiferman, aging has brought physical limitations that made preparing meals
More than $20 million would go toward supporting street vendors as part of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recently released executive budget proposal, a breakthrough for Council member Pierina Sanchez and thousands of vendors across the city who struggled to obtain licenses. Sanchez, whose district includes parts of Kingsbridge and Kingsbridge Heights, helped champion a package of vendor bills that was vetoed by former mayor Eric Adams, but ultimately pushed forward by the City Council earlier this year, marking a victory for a decades-long movement to balance vendor demand with the number of legal licenses. Under Mamdani’s proposed budget, the measures in the bills would have the funding they need to become a reality. The Street Vendor Project, part of nonprofit Urban Justice Center, played a key role in recent advocacy. Managing director Mohamed Attia, a street vendor himself for nearly a decade, has been fighting since 2012 for improvements to the system. A handful of city departments are involved in the licensing process, and the $20.5 million would be allocated between them, the Street Vendor Project said. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene would receive the most substantial amount at $14.8 million, followed by $3.62 to the Department of Small Business Services, $2.15 to the Department of Sanitation and $250,000 to the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, according to the Street Vendor Project. The bill package added 2,200 new food vending licenses annually through 2031, and will add 10,500 general vending licenses next year. It also established a division of the Department of Small Business Services called the Office of Street Vendor Services to support and educate vendors. Without licenses, vendors are “operating in the shadows,” Sanchez told The Press. She said the street vendors in her district
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Flower Power NYBG showcases art and history Page A5 Courtesy Citymeals on Wheels
Deborah Eiferman, 104, said meal deliveries from Citymeals on Wheels help her continue living independently.
Citymeals on Wheels keeps older adults rolling forward By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
Beauty of the Bronx Sarah Eccles showcases borough online Page A6
As grocery prices continue climbing across New York City, organizations serving greater Riverdale’s aging population say more older adults are struggling to consistently access affordable, nutritious food — a challenge becoming increasingly visible in a neighborhood where many residents are aging in place. For homebound seniors unable to shop or cook independently, meal delivery programs have become an increasingly critical support system, helping older adults remain in their homes while supplementing limited incomes stretched thin by inflation and rising living costs. At 104 years old, Riverdale resident Deborah Eiferman still lives independently, supported in part by Citymeals on Wheels deliveries that arrive regularly at her apartment door.
“Citymeals is consistent, reliable, dependable,” she told The Press. “Since they were all of those characteristics, I wanted to stay with them.” Beth Shapiro, CEO of Citymeals on Wheels, said the Manhattan-based nonprofit currently delivers nearly 2.5 million meals annually to approximately 22,000 older New Yorkers. The organization was founded nearly 45 years ago after restaurant critic Gail Greene read about seniors going four days without food during a holiday weekend when city-funded meal centers were closed. What began as a one-time holiday effort has since evolved into a citywide network providing weekend meals, emergency food packages, breakfast boxes and mobile pantry programs. Today, Citymeals leaders say the need is continuing to grow as more seniors live longer while relying on fixed incomes that have failed to keep pace with rising costs.
Bronx institutions push for more tourism support By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
As New York City tourism officials push for a $35 million investment in the city’s budget, supporters say the funding could help attract visitors to the “Boogie Down Bronx” while supporting jobs and economic development across the borough. In the northwest Bronx, it may offer an opportunity to draw people to destinations long left off traditional city tourism maps, including Riverdale’s Wave Hill and the historic Van Cortlandt House Museum in Kingsbridge. Across the borough, projects like the future Hip Hop Museum and the Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment are part of a broader effort to expand the
Bronx’s footprint. The debate comes as the city’s tourism industry continues recovering unevenly from the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Message from the Mayor, released alongside his May 12 executive budget proposal, New York City welcomed 65 million visitors in 2025, a modest 0.2 percent increase from the year before. The Mayor’s Office did not respond to requests for comment by press time. Sadie Rosenthal, a spokesperson for NYC Tourism + Conventions, said the tourism and hospitality industry supported nearly 10,000 jobs in the Bronx in 2024, TOURISM ON PAGE A4
Courtesy Wave Hill
Wave Hill’s ongoing effort to draw a wider audience includes programming like guided birding tours. A limited number of binoculars, monoculars and walking sticks are available at no cost to visiting birders.