108 years ago, the Italian brothers known as the Piccirilli Brothers carved one of New York City’s most iconic statues: The lions standing guard at the New York Public Library’s main branch known as Patience and Fortitude.

Now these treasures will soon be undergoing routine maintenance and work and will be covered up as they are cleaned along with minor repairs due to age and weathering like small cracks here and there.

The project costs the library $250,000 and lasts roughly 9 weeks according to NYPL.

amNY writes:

“We love the lions here at the library, they really are our mascots,” said Iris Weinshall, chief operating officer of the New York Public Library. “But they are out there in the cold and the rain and the snow … every seven or eight years they have to go to the spa.”

Caring for the beloved beasts, carved from pink Tennessee marble, is no easy feat. The library hires experts to evaluate the condition of the lions and then perform delicate work to keep them clean and shore up any cracks in their bodies.

Meanwhile over at the Daily News they report:

“The lions have earned some time at the spa,” New York Public Library President Anthony Marx said in a statement.

“For over 100 years, they have stoically guarded our building on bustling Fifth Ave., delighting visitors and providing calm hope at all times that with knowledge we will prevail,” he said. “They are the true kings of this city, beloved by all. As great stewards of this building, it is critical that we maintain the lions and ensure that they are strong to inspire everyone for generations to come.”

Glad they’re taking care of these treasures.

Oh, did you know that the Piccirilli Brothers also carved Abraham Lincoln’s statue at the Lincoln Memorial in DC?

A new report released by New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli this passed Friday reveals that as of 2017, not one of The Bronx’s 70 subway stations were in good condition with each one showing structural deficiencies in one form or another.

According to the report, this is an increase from 2012 when 12 stations were reported to be in good standing.

Westchester Square and Cypress Avenue along the 6 line were among the top 5 worst stations in New York City where conditions structural and architectural components were seen to have had a rapid decline since the last report in 2012 according to the Daily News.

The report also stated that half of the structural components at the 149th Street and Grand Concourse station on the 4 line needed repair (the comptroller’s report made it unclear if it was specific to just the 4 platform or the entire 2/4/5 station).

DiNapoli issued the following statement in a press release:

“Years of underfunding for the MTA capital program has translated into a longer list of needed repairs in New York City’s subway stations, fewer stations in good condition, and ever-increasing rider aggravation,” DiNapoli said. “The rising number of potentially hazardous worn or damaged platform edges is particularly troubling. On the plus side, the MTA has been able to reduce the number of the most serious station defects, but a lot more needs to be done to address declining station conditions. It is up to the MTA to prioritize its limited resources to ensure its next capital program improves service and conditions for riders.”

You can read the report for yourself over here.

When Superstorm Sandy hit the New York City region in 2012, no corner of the region was left unscathed and The Bronx was no exception.

One particularly grim instance was the further erosion of Hart Island, the country’s largest public cemetery where the forgotten and poorest of the poor are interred, where human remains were exposed along with damage done to the sea wall on its northern coast.

Now, after 7 years, New York City will finally begin the process of cleaning up human remains and repairing the damaged sea wall.

The fact that it has taken this long is an absolute disgrace considering the island’s history and who’s buried there.

Over 1 million people are buried here including some of the earliest victims to succumb to the AIDS crisis that gripped New York City in the 1980s and well into the 90s.

The Washington Post reports:

“It’s not the way to treat those who have passed with dignity,” said City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. “This restoration project is a step in the right direction of us treating Hart Island as a public cemetery.”

In 2015, the Federal Emergency Management Agency granted the city $13.2 million for the two-year restoration. Unlike standard sea-wall restorations, the project on Hart Island requires a high degree of archaeological expertise on the handling of human remains.

“Erosion on Hart Island means human remains are exposed and they wash away,” said Melinda Hunt, president of the Hart Island Project, an advocacy group. “There is an obligation on the part of the city to bury people and to keep them buried.”

According to Hunt, there are reports from 1985 documenting that human remains were being found back then, indicating that the problem was decades long and simply exacerbated by Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Last year, 174 human bones were recovered along the shores after two months after CBS News reported that human remains from Hart Island were washing up in local communities with some claiming they had found human bones on Orchard Beach.

New York City Parks Department vehemently denied that this was happening but the recovery of the human bones along the north shore of Hart Island only strengthened previous claims of the occurrences.

Hart Island is currently under the administration of New York City’s Department of Correction which uses inmates to work on the island and makes it near impossible for families and loved ones to visit the graves as there are heavy restrictions for access due to the fact that Corrections is in charge.

Local advocates and lawmakers want to change that including Councilman Mark Levine who wants to transfer control from Corrections to NYC Parks Department and Recreation so that family and loved ones can visit with better ease.

But for now, NYC will finally begin to right one wrong and let these unfortunate souls rest in peace.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-The Bronx and Queens) got a rock-star reception as she greeted constituents under the roar of the elevated No. 6 train Wednesday morning.

The freshman member of Congress, who became a national figure after her upset Democratic primary victory last year, surprised Parkchester passersby with a pop-up event promoting participation in the 2020 Census.

“Our strategy is all about building trust in the community before the enumerators even come to your door,” Ocasio-Cortez told THE CITY.

That trust is crucial in a district where 47% of residents are foreign born, and fear of taking part in an official government count is expected to be widespread.

“There’s been an increased use of one’s immigration status as a form of intimidation,” she said.

For Ocasio-Cortez, a full Census count is more than a matter of making sure her district gets all the funds and services it’s due. In a sense, her own political fortunes could hang in the balance.

A review by THE CITY, building on data and analysis by The Texas Tribune, suggests Ocasio-Cortez’ district could be particularly vulnerable to undercount because a little over a quarter of those living there are non-citizens.

That’s a higher percentage than any other congressional district in the state.

A Census undercount in Ocasio-Cortez’ district and elsewhere in the state could lead to the elimination of congressional districts — potentially setting off politically charged redistricting battles.

New York already is on track to lose up to two congressional seats during reapportionment due to population decline and slower rate of growth, according to a December report by Election Data Services.

“Every member of Congress should be concerned about the Census,” said Jeffrey Wice, a fellow at SUNY Buffalo Law School and redistricting expert who’s a senior advisor to New York Counts 2020.

‘The Damage Has Been Done’

The Trump administration recently attempted to add a citizenship question to the once-a-decade count, which dictates how $675 billion in federal funding — for things like Medicaid, Section 8 housing, foster care and school lunches — is allocated each year.

This controversial effort was unsuccessful, though “the damage has been done,” Wice said.

Ocasio-Cortez’ district is full of communities with apprehension about the Census process, said Naureen Akhter, the lawmaker’s deputy district director.

“We have a high immigrant population, a lot of undocumented folks, a lot of distrust from the community in the government,” she said.

In-person contact, like home visits, likely will be key to district residents’ Census participation. While the 2020 Census will mark the first time the national survey is conducted primarily online, close to 40% of those who live in Parkchester, nearby Castle Hill and Clason Point do not have broadband internet access, according to a July report by the City Comptroller’s Office.

“People are intimidated in many different ways,” said Judith Goldiner, who runs the Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society.

Some tenants have contacted the organization reporting that their landlords have threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement on them, at a time when fear of ICE raid runs high. In one case in Brooklyn, Goldiner said, a landlord asked only non-white tenants to sign a lease with a clause requiring they prove their citizenship.

A Door-to-Door Effort

As Ocasio-Cortez greeted constituents Wednesday, Census Bureau representatives standing nearby handed out flyers, seeking workers to go door-to-door in the neighborhood for the crucial population count.

As of July 12, the Census Bureau had filled 28% of the 121,240 New York area positions it’s recruiting for, according to a presentation last month by Jeff Behler, director of the state Regional Census Center.

“As you see, we’re a year out from the Census, and we’re already here with organizers, enumerators,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “So step one is to hire people from the community. Hire people from Parkchester, from Jackson Heights, from Pelham, from Throggs Neck that are from these communities, that understand these communities, that are already trusted — so when they knock on people’s door, people don’t feel intimidated or strange about it.”

The congresswoman’s surprise appearance spurred double-takes from commuters. Retirees, kids headed to camp and construction workers all stopped to meet their representative — some saying their hellos in Spanish while others briefly whipped out earbuds to shout their support.

Every elected official “should do this,” Jonathan Fogel, a doctor who works at an urgent care center nearby, said before pausing for a photograph with Ocasio-Cortez.

“It’s like seeing a rare bird,” he added.

Sophia Suarez, a high school teacher, cried after meeting the lawmaker known to many as AOC. She took Ocasio-Cortez’s Census count message to heart.

“It’s about creating voice,” Suarez said. “We need to come out in numbers.”

This story was originally published by THE CITY, an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.

There is a deadly crisis in NYC as 18 cyclists have been killed so far this year, far surpassing the 10 who died last year.

New York City wants us to be healthier, reduce our carbon footprint and all the good things that come with cycling yet provides little infrastructure to keep us safe.

It gets worse in the outer boroughs like The Bronx which doesn’t have sufficient bike lanes and as a result, the streets can become very deadly.

The folks at Localize.city an AI-driven site which delves into city data and makes sense of the massive web of information available, analyzed NYC’s worst intersection in a new report.

They took a step further and identified the top ten most dangerous intersections in The Bronx for cyclists for Welcome2TheBronx.

By far the worst neighborhoods in our borough are Mott Haven and Melrose who both took up 7 of the top 10 most dangerous intersections.

As you can see, seven intersections tied in for 5th place across the borough each with 5 injuries.

None of these, thankfully, were fatal but the same can’t be said for others across The Bronx and NYC.

This report came in response to NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “Green Wave” initiative to address the crisis of 18 cycling fatalities this year by pumping $58 million into redesigning and renovating 50 of the worst intersections as well as “ramping up” NYPD enforcement.

“Experts and the city already know where the dangerous intersections are and what makes them so unsafe. Our job at Localize.city is to ensure all New Yorkers are informed,” says urban planner Sam Sklar of Localize.city. “If you’re thinking about taking up cycling you should know if the intersections and streets near your home are dangerous. If you’re moving and cycling is important to you, we want you to find a home that will be safe to cycle to and from.”

We already know that NYPD simply tickets cyclists and let motorists get away with murder so we’re hoping that real action actually takes place against these drivers responsible for murder.

The Bronx’s largest employer, Montefiore Medical Center, was just ranked as the 6th best hospital in the New York region by US News & World Report’s rankings for 2019-2020.

According to the ranking, it placed Montefiore at the top 1% in the nation for, “… complex specialty care in cancer, cardiology & heart surgery, neurology & neurosurgery, urology, nephrology, diabetes & endocrinology, gastroenterology & GI surgery, geriatrics and gynecology. “

The hospital also ranked High Performing for congestive heart failure, colon cancer surgery, COPD, and knee replacement according to a press release from the institution.

In terms of patient experience, however, Montefiore did poorly with only 2 out of 5 stars in that category and this is something we’ve seen many of our readers talk about in the past.

At any rate, it’s great to know we have such outstanding healthcare here in our borough.

Now if only we wouldn’t have such a paradox as the state’s unhealthiest borough.

Since opening in 2015, just months before the fascist, white supremacist, racist pig known as Donald Trump announced his presidential candidacy, the Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point has been struggling first with attendance and now financially.

Attendance has been dropping since the first year and now documents show that last year the course lost money for the first time.

According to factual data and not fake news or alternative facts that Trump and his followers like to spew, the course lost $122,000 and all this on top of other Trump golf courses losing money or showing a decline in revenue according to The Washington Post.

The Washington Post reports:

Before last year, the Bronx golf course had managed to turn a profit of about $500,000 per year — helped by the city paying its water bills and not asking for rent.

Last year, however, the club’s expenses rose faster than its revenue, according to the Trump Organization’s filing. It fell into the red.

“He’s managed to do the impossible: Get this amazing gift from the city, and lose money,” said Geoffrey Croft, of the watchdog group NYC Park Advocates. He said one major problem was “the terrible reputation of the Trump name” in New York, after Trump’s rise as a hard-right politician. Croft also blamed the Trump club’s high greens fees, which top out at $224 per round. Most of the city’s other public courses charge $53 at most.

As per usual, the Trump Organization is blaming the city rather than taking the blame themselves.

The Trump Organization is blaming a gas pipe running through the course is inadequate and caused them delays but ConEd disputed this by saying that they provide adequate gas to the site. They further added that they are not part of the dispute and that it’s between the organization and New York City.