Throggs Neck celebrates Irish pride and culture with annual St. Patrick’s Day parade

After heavy rain drenched New York City on Saturday, it was the luck of the Irish on Sunday as the elements had cleared up in time for the 26th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in Throggs Neck.

The Throggs Neck tradition kicked off at noon at the corner of East Tremont and Lafayette Avenue on March 10. More than 50 marching bands and groups made their way down East Tremont to Harding Avenue and were cheered on by a few thousand spectators, many decked out in shamrock green attire and waving Irish flags.

John and Majella Brady were this year’s grand marshals. The owners of P.J. Brady’s, a local bar and restaurant on 3201 Philip Ave., said it was an honor that the Throggs Neck Benevolent Association chose them as grand marshalls.

“We’re honored and we have friends and family come out for this special day in Throggs Neck, which has been here for 26 years now,” John Brady said.

Marble Hill fire injures 10 in the Bronx on Monday afternoon

A total of 10 people, including civilians and responding FDNY personnel, were injured as a result of a three-alarm fire in Marble Hill on Monday afternoon.

Responding units arrived at 36 Marble Hill Ave. just after 2:30 p.m. on March 11 to find heavy fire venting from the first, second and third floors. Battalion 19 warned all incoming units of the interior stairwell being compromised and heavy fire conditions in multiple apartments.

More than 135 FDNY personnel members were in the process of utilizing four hose-lines to knock down the main of fire. Hazmat Company 1 and Hazmat Battalion were specially called to removed multiple burning e-bike and lithium ion batteries from the building.

The FDNY responds to a fire in Marble Hill on Monday, March 11, 2024. Photo Lloyd Mitchell

AOC announces more than $7.5 million in funding for future Bronx renovations and plans

The Bronx is set to receive several upgrades and improvements in the near future, according to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who on Tuesday announced millions in funding geared toward improvements aimed to better the borough.

On March 12, Ocasio-Cortez announced more than $12 million in secured funding for several community projects based in the boroughs of the Bronx and Queens, all located within New York’s 14th Congressional District.

The allocated Bronx funds, totaling more than $7.5 million, includes an eligible grant of $1.5 million to the Riverbay Fund to renovate a former movie theater at 2081 Bartow Ave., eventually transforming the space into an enrichment hub for children, adolescents and young adults in Co-op City and throughout the northeast Bronx providing education, recreation, culture, arts and wellness services.

Other projects that were eligible to receive funding in Tuesday’s announcement include the revitalization of the Bronx River Houses Playground, as well as the Sotomayor Houses basketball court and the Monroe Houses Playground, both located in Soundview, with $1 million in funding for each plan allocated to the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).

Congress member and U.S. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced an allocation of more than $7.5 million for future Bronx plans and improvements on March 12, 2024. File photo

‘Buying cannabis in the South Bronx, like what?’: Borough’s third legal dispensary opens for business

The borough’s third legal recreational cannabis dispensary opened in the South Bronx for business on Thursday.

Bronx Joint, located at 925 Hunts Point Ave., officially opened its doors at 10 a.m. on March 14. The shop, with its exposed brick and graffiti-style murals on the interior, showcased a variety of different cannabis products — including edibles, flower from upstate, and pre-rolls — for customers on opening day.

For owner Alex Ortecho, 39, his new dispensary, which has been in the works for about a year now, is about family and community.

“The people who work here are all family and friends, so we’re able to give our community opportunities,” he told the Bronx Times at his shop on Thursday.

He said the endeavor has brought his family closer together, some of them — like his siblings and cousins — who now work for him.

According to the state, Bronx Joint is supported by the New York Cannabis Social Equity Investment Fund — a statewide initiative implemented during the early days of the legal cannabis industry rollout that gives business priority to people who have been negatively impacted by the over-policing of cannabis.

A Bronx Joint employee makes on of the first sales during its opening on Thursday, March 14, 2024. Photo Paul Frangipane

‘City of Cement’: Bronx orgs speak out against City of Yes for Economic Opportunity

Some community organizations in the Bronx are saying “no” to City of Yes for Economic Opportunity, the set of proposals that would be the most major overhaul of the city’s zoning laws since the 1960s.

The plan, which was recently approved by the City Planning Commission, is now headed to City Council — the final step in the approval process. But some worry that the plan will lead to overdevelopment that will run rampant through neighborhoods in the Bronx and now refer to the policy as “City of Cement.”

“Our neighborhoods are jewels, they’re unique — and they’re being disrespected,” said Laura Spalter of Riverdale, co-chair of the Broadway Community Alliance.

If the plan passes, it would allow more types of in-home businesses, remove the 2-year deadline in some neighborhoods to fill vacant storefronts, allow more businesses to be located on upper floors of buildings, and numerous other changes within its 18 proposals.