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‘Crazy Eyes’ Beat Female Worker with Metal Pipe for No Reason  Police say this man smacked an MTA cleaner upside the head with a metal pipe. By Dan Gesslein Manhattan Voice November 15, 2022  MANHATTAN - Cops say they caught the “crazy eyed” homeless man who beat a female train cleaner with a metal pipe in an apparent unprovoked attack.  Police arrested 28-year-old Jonathan Frias on Sunday at the World Trade Center station of the E Train. Cops were called when riders allegedly recognized Frias from a wild-eyed photo police released in connection with the attack.  Investigators said Frias has a previous arrest last year for punching a police officer.  At around 6:45 am on November 4, a 46-year-old woman who is employed as a subway cleaner subcontracted by the MTA worked at Chambers Street. She was cleaning the subway platform of the E train when a man approached her. He struck her in the face with a metal pipe. The man fled on foot as MTA workers chased him.  The vic

Mayor Adams holds a public hearing at City Hall to discuss a package of childcare bills. -Photo by Caroline Willis/Mayoral Photo Office Op-Ed By Mayor Eric Adams Ten years ago, 44 New Yorkers lost their lives when Hurricane Sandy hit. We suffered a weeklong blackout in downtown Manhattan, and billions in property damage. As we honor the memories of those whom we have lost, we are also embarking on the single largest urban climate adaptation program in the country so we can keep New York City and all New Yorkers safe. On Wednesday, October 26, we will break ground on one of the most important parts of the plan: The Brooklyn Bridge-Montgomery Coastal Resilience (BMCR) Project. This is a system of storm walls and quickly deployable barriers that will rise into place to protect the Two Bridges neighborhood of Manhattan when a storm surge is headed our way. The BMCR project is just one part of the work we will be carrying out in all five boroughs to make sure that we are p

Experts Weigh in on Growing Threat Posed by Falls for the Vulnerable and Homebound By Allison Simms, Associate Director of Rehabilitation Services at VNS Health HEALTH - While often underreported, falls are a growing issue that cannot be ignored when it comes to senior health and safety. This September provides an opportunity to shine a light on this serious issue during National Fall Prevention Awareness Month.  With more than 3 million people each year being treated in emergency facilities for falls, fall prevention should be top of mind year-round. The statistics on home falls among seniors provided by the CDC are alarming, with roughly 25% of individuals 65 or older experiencing a fall each year. However, the numbers are actually much higher because less than half of falls are reported out of fear and embarrassment. For example, a mother may not tell her daughter that she fell out of fear of being put into a nursing home. In my role as Associate Director of Reh

Simple tips for beating the heat and keeping our  loved ones, neighbors safe By Chandra Wilson  Bronx Voice  July 27, 2022 HEALTH - Across the country, Americans are experiencing record heat waves. In fact, what was once seen as extraordinary weather is becoming the new normal. Whatever the reason, as prolonged heat waves become more common, it’s important to have plans and tools in place for beating the heat.  Adults 65 years and older and people with chronic health conditions are especially vulnerable to hot weather, even over short periods of time. As people age, their ability to retain water and adapt quickly to temperature changes decreases, which means higher temperatures are more likely to put seniors at risk. With that in mind, here are a few tried-and-true tips recommended by experts like the New York City Department of Emergency Management and others, to help you and your loved ones stay safe during the summer. • Water, water everywhere! Staying hydrated is o

By Chandra Wilson HEALTH - After 125 years continuously evolving to meet the changing needs of New Yorkers, the Visiting Service of New York is changing its name  VNS Health , a move that makes it easier to understand and access all the health services offered by the organization, and better reflects its mission and focus. It also puts the ethos of the organization front and center with a new tagline:  The Future of care. The comfort of home. In an announcement that came out on May 18th, VNS Health President and CEO Dan Savitt summed up the rebrand. “This transition to VNS Health represents an historic turning point for our organization,” Savitt said. “Strategically, it supports our forward-looking pillar of growth and diversification, and culturally, it unites us as one organization and one team with one clear mission. It also allows us to expand the reach of our mission while simplifying the health care experience for millions of people in New York and beyond.” VNS Health is an organ

BRONX - This week marks the start of National Nurses Week, a date that was selected in honor of Florence Nightingale, a British nurse whose experiences during the Crimean War significantly advanced the quality and standards of nursing care.  As we acknowledge this week, we not only celebrate our past and present nursing heroes, but also take delight in what is emerging as the next great evolution in nursing – formalized and academic-based nursing research careers. Nurse researchers are nurses that ask questions about health and illness to enhance the delivery of care over a person’s lifespan. We ask scientific questions about how we deliver care and how that impacts outcomes. We ask questions about how best to screen for diseases and why diseases impact people differently.  We also look at healthcare inequities to identify how we can reduce obstacles that may be impeding optimal care delivery. These questions and quality improvement efforts are enhancing drug discovery, identifyi

Visiting Nurse Service of New York nurse Ruth Caballero. -Photo by VNSNY By Chandra Wilson HEALTH - May is National Nurses Month and this week is National Nurses Week (May 6-12). It is no secret that nurses (one of the fastest growing jobs in health care) are considered by many to be the backbone of the health care industry. Let’s take a closer look into the world of one kind of nurse who is always on the go—not in hospitals or doctor’s offices—they’re home health care nurses who visit patients at home.  What makes home health care nurses so special?  I spoke with Ruth Caballero, RN, and Philip Leon, RN, of Visiting Nurse Service of New York to gain insight into what these “visiting” nurses do and how their tireless dedication impacts the people they serve. Here are a few key takeaways from those conversations. You don’t choose home health care nursing. Home health care nursing chooses you. When asked what advice she would give someone interested in pursuing a career in h