Borough’s first mobile drug treatment unit opens in South Bronx
The nonprofit Acacia Network, its affiliate Promesa Inc. and the State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASES) on Wednesday celebrated the opening of a brand-new Mobile Medication Unit (MMU) that will provide “substance use treatment on wheels.”
The MMU is the first mobile methadone service in the Bronx aimed at finding and treating people addicted to opioids. While another MMU by Bronx-based VIP Community Services opened in November, it does not currently operate in the Bronx.
“Mobile services are the way to go,” Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said at Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting. “We are not a one-size-fits-all borough.”
The chrome and white truck will be stationed primarily at 997 Brook Ave. in the Days Inn parking lot from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays.
This mobile clinic comes at a time when the overdose epidemic is at its “worst stage ever,” according to Dr. Chinazo Cunningham, the commissioner of OASES.
Campaign finance records open the door for Salamanca’s potential 2025 Bronx BP bid
A filing with the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) indicates that Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson might have some competition at her podium next year.
Current Bronx Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. — who represents District 17 in the South Bronx — has joined the city Campaign Finance Program as a participant for the 2025 citywide elections in the race for Bronx borough president.
While being a participant in the program doesn’t mean a potential candidate has officially launched a campaign, it does “mean the candidate opened a campaign committee so they can raise and spend money,” according to CFB Press Secretary Tim Hunter.
Salamanca told the Bronx Times in a Feb. 6 statement that he still hasn’t officially decided whether or not to run for borough president.
“While I have yet to make any final decisions regarding the borough presidency, setting up an exploratory committee allows me to continue to have important conversations with my family, my team and the wonderful people who call the Bronx home, before I commit to anything,” he said. “When the time is appropriate, I will let Bronxites know what will be next in store for me after my term in the City Council ends.”
Lawsuit calls on Billingsley Terrace landlords to speed up repairs as tenants remain displaced nearly two months following building collapse
Following the partial collapse of a Morris Heights building in December that displaced more than 100 residents, the building’s tenants, along with help from the Legal Aid Society, have filed a lawsuit against the landlords of the property to repair the building and allow displaced tenants to return to their homes.
The announcement of the lawsuit, which was filed against landlords David Kleiner, Yonah Roth, Mo Doe, 1915 Realty LLC, the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, was made Monday morning at 1915 Billingsley Terrace.
The poor conditions at the Billingsley Terrace residence, which has more than 230 housing violations, included an outage of cooking gas to the entire building, harmful construction dust in common areas and an overall lack of janitorial services, along with an infestation of cockroaches, rats and mice in common areas and inside individual apartments within the building.
Additionally, the landlords of 1915 Billingsley Terrace have also allegedly engaged in illegal behavior, harassing and endangering tenants, with their actions including forcing tenants to sign agreements that their apartments were fully repaired in exchange for receiving keys to their apartment units, despite the poor conditions, along with failing to provide adequate security for the building.
The tenants also reported that looters had gained access to their residential units and burglarized their homes, robbing them of their personal belongings following the collapse, despite the vacated units allegedly having been secured by one of the landlords.
Since the collapse, many of the displaced tenants have been living in homeless shelters for nearly two months since the partial collapse, resulting from a partial vacate order of the residents, according to Council Member Pierina Sanchez’s office.
The Bronx is home to New York City’s deadliest roadway: report
When it comes to traffic safety, the Bronx is not the place to be.
A report released Tuesday by the nonprofit advocacy group Transportation Alternatives identified the city’s deadliest street for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists alike: East 138th Street in the Bronx, which spans just over 1.5 miles and saw 12 deaths between 2014 and 2023.
Only Woodhaven Boulevard in Queens had a higher death total — 18 — though its fatalities per mile was lower at 4.4, according to the report.
According to a spokesperson for the nonprofit, the intersections of East 138th and Willis Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard are particularly dangerous. In the past 10 years, these two intersections saw a combined eight deaths: five pedestrians, one cyclist and two motorists.
Bronx teens head to Albany to advocate for increased afterschool program funding
A group of Bronx teenagers traveled to Albany last week on behalf of Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC) to advocate for increased state funding for afterschool programs in New York.
The teens were accompanied by KHCC staff members to “make their voices heard” to state Sen. Robert Jackson and Assemblymember Jeffery Dinowitz on Tuesday, Jan. 30.
“We are genuinely glad that everyone was able to speak about their unique experiences at KHCC and show how immensely appreciative we are of all their support throughout the years,” said Sadie Mahoney, chief officer of Adult and Family Programs at KHCC.
While KHCC staff prepared the data for the presentation, students had the opportunity to present statements about what the afterschool programs had meant to them. According to Bronx Teens Program Director Derwin Greene, the vast majority of the students present were seniors. They made the case that, while they may be moving on from the programs, they want their peers to have the same opportunities in the years to come.
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