Highbridge, Bronx - This morning, a ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the official opening of the La Familia Verde Market Highbridge for its highly anticipated second season. Located at the intersection of Plimpton Avenue and Edward L. Grant Highway in the vibrant Highbridge neighborhood, the 10 a.m. ceremony served as an unveiling of an expanded community space to serve the market’s growing number of shoppers, which included over 250 visitors on its opening day.

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and Council Member Althea Stevens joined lead partners, including Monsignor Donald Sakano from the Highbridge Community Development Corporation, Dr. Julie Gafney, Assistant Vice President of Fordham University and Executive Director of the Center for Community Engaged Learning and Aleyna Rodriguez, Executive Director of the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center. Also in attendance were representatives from the Office of Mayor Eric Adams, the Office of Congress Member Ritchie Torres, the NYC Department of Health, the NYC Department of Aging, and various local non-profit organizations.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony brought together a diverse range of participating organizations, including Bestcare, Inc., Essen Health, BridgeBuilders, Highbridge Community Development Corporation, 1199SEIU, NY Reach, Catholic Charities Community Services, Highbridge Voices, Bronx is Blooming, The Bronx is Reading, and Sacred Heart Elementary School. These representatives not only took part in the ceremonial ribbon cutting but also set up informational booths to engage with attendees throughout the event.

On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Fordham University convened community stakeholders, climate and environmental activists, university students, and faculty for a half-day Summit during Earth Week to discuss the collective power of communities in mobilizing toward just climate action. The Summit also featured an Action Fair in which community organizations shared their climate and environmental solution-building with audience members and supported tangible next steps for collaboration and action. 

Welcoming remarks were delivered by Fr. John Cecero, Vice President of Mission Integration and Ministry, Fordham University; Julie Gafney, Ph.D., Assistant Vice President for Strategic Mission Initiatives, Fordham University; Nilka Martel, Founder, Loving the Bronx; and Jessenia Aponte, Bronx Borough Commissioner, New York City Parks Department.

NYC Parks is investing in the future and we need your help. Our volunteers help with forest and wetland restoration, planting and pruning street trees, harvesting and propagating native seed and monitoring local wildlife. By becoming a steward of NYC’s green spaces, you can help ensure that our city’s natural resources are kept safe for future generations. For more information, follow this link. 

The NYC Mayor’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC) and the NYC Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) are pleased to announce the availability of Community Project Grants to encourage individuals, groups, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and other entities located in New York City to implement creative projects that promote community respect, prevent hate violence, and seek to address hate crimes, bias-motivated incidents, and discrimination through pathways outside of law enforcement and the criminal legal system. Applicants can propose projects including, but not limited to, community workshops, educational videos, events, conferences, and social media campaigns. Be creative! Community Project Grants will be administered by OPHC through discretionary funding. For more information, follow this link.

Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since the Artistic Discovery competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.

15th congressional district high school students should submit visual arts work by April 30th, 2023. Winners are recognized both in their district and at an annual awards ceremony in Washington, DC. The winning works are displayed for one year at the U.S. Capitol. The winning artwork is also featured on House.gov’s Congressional Art Competition page. For more information, visit https://ritchietorres.house.gov/congressional-art-competition

Fordham is partnering with La Familia Verde, a coalition of local community gardens that currently operate another farmers market in the borough, and Mary Mitchell Community Center, a Bronx community center, to operate the market.  Additional sponsors include Essen Health, Highbridge Community Development Corporation, and Catholic Charities Community Services.

The market runs every Wednesdays from September 21 until November 16th.  Fordham students in “Ecology and Economics of Food Systems”, a community engaged learning class, will volunteer to assist in operating the market.  They will create awareness about different produce and learn about community preferences to ensure the market reflects the tastes of the area.

The market will operate every Wednesday until the second week of November from 9 - 2 pm on the corner of Plimpton Avenue and Edward L Grant Hwy (immediately adjacent to 1430 Plimpton Ave, Bronx, NY).

The market will accept cash, SNAP, WIC and Health Bucks.

On Monday, September 26th, at All Hallows High School, The Bronx Climate Justice Town Hall connected Bronxites around the borough through an important discussion on policies and actions needed to address the impact of climate change on the borough of the Bronx. Dr. Julie Gafney, Ph.D.,  engaged the participants in diagnosing critical issues in the borough and the next steps to create avenues of collaborative and coordinated actions in response.

The Bronx Climate Justice Town Hall is a televised Bronx Community Town Hall, in partnership with Fordham University, All Hallows High School and BronxNet, discussing community solutions to climate change and environmental justice concerns of Bronxites.

In a magnificent collaboration between BronxNet, The Center for Community Engaged Learning at Fordham University, and the Bronx Music Heritage Center presented a Bronx Art Showcase, featuring artists from the Boogie Down Bronx, representing the richness and diversity of the Bronx.

Watch now Rhythms from The Bronx: A Summer Concert Under the Stars. A concert that brought artists of national and international recognition, including Grammy-award nominee Bobby Sanabria & Quarteto Ache, Master Kora Player Yacouba Sissoko, and HipHop Artist C. Lionel Spencer.