Recently enacted emergency legislation protecting New Yorkers from eviction and supported by our local legislators makes a good start on a newly visible housing catastrophe. Too many of our Bronx neighbors face deeply entrenched housing inequity: Scarcity of affordable housing makes rents unaffordable, and forces overcrowding into substandard buildings. more

Francisco Montes went to work every day when most of us in New York City stayed safely at home in an effort to flatten the COVID-19 curve. Francisco was one of hundreds of essential workers who continued to toil for long hours during the worst of the pandemic. They risked their health and that of their families, serving community members as they stockpiled toilet paper and basic food staples to hunker down. more

I am writing about the current state of the U.S. Postal Service. I live in a 299-family co-operative in Riverdale. In the past two weeks, our usual letter carrier has been on vacation. more

There is an old saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” — a variation of which would be, “Don’t judge a person’s intelligence by his prestigious job title.” I give you as today’s example Mr. Norman Wechsler, who (as your paper noted) “is a former principal at DeWitt Clinton High School and a former superintendent for Bronx high schools with the city’s education department.” more

From the moment it rolled out, it was clear the Paycheck Protection Program was not working for everyone. As time went on, it became clear exactly who it wasn’t working for. more

As a humanistic Jew, I have been appalled by the increases in anti-Semitic activity. These include murderous attacks on synagogues, and the march of neo-Nazis with torches chanting, “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville. more

Voting by mail should replace voting at all the polls in its entirety. The two institutions that can definitely be trusted are the county elections board and the U.S. Postal Service. more

Restaurants are big business in this country. At least $900 billion, according to the National Restaurant Association — bigger than grocery stores, and even hospitals, by some estimates. more

My father was a socialist in what became Hitler’s Germany. However, it became clear — at least in much of Saxony — that in their quest for power, many had adopted the anti-Semitic stance of the extremes of left and right. He became a social democrat, and with his colleague Willy Brandt (later mayor of West Berlin and chancellor of a free Germany), they campaigned against Hitler and bigotry. more

There’s a wide open race to replace Andrew Cohen, whom I personally believe shares admirable traits with my Assemblyman, Jeffrey Dinowitz, and state senator, Alessandra Biaggi: Politics is local, and responding to constituents’ concerns is at the top of their agenda. more