Vol. 76, No. 10
What’s inside?
Thursday, March 5, 2026
Snow days no fun for Parks Dept. By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
Better access for all
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As New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation battled two recent snowstorms, crews were spread thin, working long hours to clear snow and ice in and around green spaces. For park staff and volunteers, navigating bare-bones resources has become routine, part of a decades-long cycle of scrambling to maintain and steward parkland within one of the city’s historically most understaffed and underfunded agencies. On Sunday, Jan. 25, and Feb. 22, employees at Van Cortlandt Park slept overnight in trailers and on-site Parks Department buildings so they could report
for Monday-morning shifts during active snowfall. Crews in the northwest Bronx and across the five boroughs worked 12-hour shifts beginning at 6 a.m. for several days during and after the storms. But Christina Taylor, deputy director of the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, said parks employees rarely get the credit she believes they’re due. “They just work so hard and they’re so dedicated, but it’s underappreciated by the general public,” she said. “I don’t think they realize how much they’re doing with so little.” In a statement, a parks spokesperson said workers prioritize heavily used areas first, not just those inside the green spac-
es the department maintains. “They focus on park perimeters, commuter hubs, and other high-traffic areas before moving on to interior pathways,” the spokesman said. “Many locations we clear, due to size constraints or materials, need to be shoveled by hand.” Perimeters include sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes and bus stops surrounding parkland. In the 1,146-acre Van Cortlandt Park, the third-largest in the city, staff must clean miles of sidewalks and interior parkland with a total workforce of roughly 30. During the first storm, Taylor said, the park did not have a snowplow on site because it lent its only one to the city’s department of sanitation under an inter-
VC House Museum to be ADAcompliant. Page A5
agency agreement, though it was back in Van Cortlandt possession for the most recent blizzard. Budget constraints remain a central concern heading into next year’s funding cycle. Mayor Zohran Mamdani campaigned on allocating 1 percent of the city’s budget to parks, yet his February preliminary budget proposes about $654 million for the of parks depatment out of a $127 billion budget — roughly 0.5 percent. It also includes a $33.7 million reduction, largely affecting maintenance and operations. “I used to say that parks are like the ugly stepsister of city agencies, but I think CONTINUED ON PAGE A4
Our Bronx backs new housing bill By Olivia Young oyoung@riverdalepress.com
The strain extends beyond customers. Without driveways or designated loading zones, businesses like Marea depend on short-term curb access to unload inventory. Garcia said it has become increasingly difficult. “Apart from them passing by and giving tickets with the buses, they’re closing the street with construction and there’s a lot of parking space taken,” she said. Two doors down at Rosarina Bakery, owner Georgina Núñez said she has accumulated multiple fines since the start of the year, including three tickets totaling $750 around Valentine’s Day. “I went shopping for the bakery supplies, and while I was unloading everything, the buses kept passing one after the other,” she said. “If another bus passes while you’re stopped for even a second, that’s it — you’re getting a ticket.” The week of Valentine’s Day is typically one of the bakery’s busiest and most profitable. This year, she said, customers reported struggling to find parking, with some opting not to come in at all. Núñez
Our Bronx, the nonprofit championing a controversial affordable housing bill called the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, announced its support for a new piece of legislation targeting negligent landlords. The Stability, Accountability and Fair Enforcement for Residents, SAFER, Homes Act and COPA — which gives nonprofits the first chance to purchase a building if its owner decides to sell — are part of Our Bronx’s greater effort to prevent displacement in a borough that has the highest eviction rate in the city. The SAFER Homes Act is sponsored by Kingsbridge Heights City Council member Pierina Sanchez. It aims to make changes to the Third Party Transfer Program, a city initiative frozen in 2019 that transfers ownership of distressed buildings to nonprofit organizations or developers, who rehabilitate the building to keep it affordable. The transfer program has faced scrutiny for discrimination, after the U.S. Court of Appeals found in 2021 it disproportionately seized property from smaller, low-income homeowners of color. Sanchez’s bill would focus the definition of “distressed” so larger landlords with a higher number of violations are targeted. Our Bronx, formerly known as Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, voiced its support at its 52nd annual meeting, during which more than 200 members gathered at Lehman College Feb. 28 to set this year’s agenda. The group’s backing comes at a time when stakeholders are amending COPA after it was challenged by the city’s Law Department last month, who raised concern the bill could unlawfully restrict property owner’s rights. Todd Baker, community development project manager at Our Bronx who has worked closely on amending the bill, said sponsor Council member Sandy Nurse is committed to reintroducing COPA this legislative session. Our Bronx is part of the New York City Community Land Initiative, a coalition of housing justice organizations. The initiative is helping to make changes to the bill, some of which include an option to appeal if a property owner doesn’t believe COPA should apply to their
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Cat’s in the cradle Rescue felines seek forever homes. Page A6 GARY JEAN-JUSTE
While sidewalks remain open, MTA construction areas have slashed curb space — forcing merchants and delivery workers to double-park and risk fines.
MTA fines hurting businesses, owners say By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
Bins are working Rodent populations take a hit. Page A7
In Marble Hill, business owners on Broadway by West 225th Street say a year of construction disruptions by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has now been compounded by its new parking enforcement program, leaving merchants with mounting fines and falling sales. For much of the past year, merchants have operated amid active work zones tied to the rehabilitation of the 1 train structure running above Broadway. The multi-year project, which spans from West 225th to West 242nd streets, has narrowed sections of the roadway, limited curb access and reduced available parking along the bustling commercial strip, presenting challenges to local businesses. Store owners say those challenges have intensified with the rollout of the MTA’s Automated Camera Enforcement program, known as ACE, which uses cameras mounted on buses to issue violations to vehicles that double-park or block bus stops. Fines can reach $250 for repeat offenses.
All camera-captured violations are reviewed by trained city personnel prior to issuance, according to an MTA spokesperson. Violations are civil penalties and do not affect driving records or insurance, and enforcement data is regularly reviewed through a multi-agency framework involving the MTA, the city department of transportation and the department of finance to ensure accuracy and fairness. The BX9 and BX7, routes that run through Riverdale, Kingsbridge and Marble Hill, are among the first lines to install ACE. Merchants say the timing has been difficult. With fewer parking spaces available due to construction, customers and delivery drivers who are forced to briefly double park now risk receiving hefty fines. “Sales have gone down quite a lot,” Alexa Garcia, an employee of Marea Fish Market and Restaurant, located at 5219 Broadway, said. “During lunch hours, people used to come in quite frequently, especially people who work outside – like taxis, Ubers — that would take their lunch break. They can’t stop anymore.”
9/11 firefighter Lennon remembered for service By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
Gerard “Jerr y” Lennon ser ved with the New York Fire Department for more than three years when both towers of the World Trade Center were destroyed in the 9/11 terror attacks. On Feb. 21, hundreds gathered at St. Gabriel’s Church to honor Lennon, who died in December at 59 from chronic obstructive pulmonar y disease, or COPD, linked to his recover y efforts at Ground Zero. Lennon is among a rising number of first responders who have died from illnesses linked to rescue work after the terrorist attacks. Since then, at least 3,000 deaths have been tied to 9/11-re-
lated illnesses. Among firefighters alone, the toll has surpassed 400 — more than were killed on the day the towers fell. According to the World Trade Center Health Program, responders on scene within the first 48 hours are 30 percent more likely to develop COPD, a severe respirator y condition that progressively restricts airflow to the lungs. Born and raised in Riverdale, Lennon attended St. Gabriel’s School and Mount St. Michael Academy. Public ser vice, his sister Deirdre Lennon Goss said, was always part of who he was. “Ever since he was a young, young man, he wanted to be a firefighter,” she said. “He was so compassionate and CONTINUED ON PAGE A4
Michelle Mullen
Lennon’s FDNY jacket symbolized his service at the St. Gabriel’s memorial.