Bronx Health REACH in the News

Bronx Health REACH appeared with NY Assemblymember Dinowitz (right) and State Senator Klein (center) asking to renew the school zone speed camera program.


Unionport School-PS36 students and Saba Quality Plus Deli unveiled their Don't Stress, Eat Fresh healthy bodega marketing campaign on June 12th. Students offered free fruit salad samples to Saba Quality Plus Deli customers and promoted Saba by featuring the fruit salad during morning announcements, classroom and cafeteria presentations and by distributing fliers. The Bronx Times covered the event.

P.S. 333, the winner of the Bronx Salad Cover Competition participated in a school-wide celebration and awards ceremony on June 25th hosted by Bronx Health REACH. Bronx Health REACH partner Henry Obispo from the United Business Cooperative spoke to the students about the importance of healthy eating, and a hot sauce tasting contest was held. Their photo will appear on the cover of the ‘Bronx Salad Toolkit for Schools,’ an adapted recipe and planning guide for schools desiring to grow, harvest and eat a version of The Bronx Salad using their school garden’s produce. The Bronx Times covered the event.

On Thursday, July 12th, Bronx Health REACH joined partner Transportation Alternatives as well as Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein asking for New York state legislators to renew the school zone speed camera program due to expire in July. Bronx Health REACH Director Charmaine Ruddock provided a quote and the event received extensive coverage by News12 The Bronx, WNBC, and WCBS among others.

We Have a Responsibility to Make our Streets Safe for All

James James, second from the left, with New York State Assemblyman Victor M. Parchardo and others advocate for the school zone speed safety camera program.

This post was written by James James, coordinator for the Claremont in Motion bike program, a partner of Bronx Health REACH.

As the coordinator of the Claremont in Motion bike program and a longtime advocate for safe streets, the chance to participate in Lobby Day with Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets, might seem like a routine endeavor that I’ve experienced a number of times over the years. And, while I’ve been to Albany with a number of organizations in the past, to lobby for women’s issues, education issues and safer streets, this lobby day presented me with an unexpected perspective on how we view safe streets in the context of transportation safety and the Mayor’s Vision Zero initiative.

On Wednesday, May 9th I boarded a bus at the Bronx County Courthouse with members of Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safer Streets for our trip to Albany. For anyone who’s been to Albany to advocate for legislation, this wasn’t your typical lobby day. While, the day was filled with your usual legislative staff meetings and photo ops with rushed legislators, the most poignant part of the day for me was hearing the heart wrenching stories of families that had to deal with the death of a child due to the lack of speed safety cameras in school zones. In New York City being struck by a vehicle is the leading cause of injury-related death for children under 14. In addition, vehicles seriously injured or kill a New Yorker, on average, every two hours. That is why this issue is so important.


Throughout the day, as we lobbied legislators on both sides of the issue, it became clear that there were some views that would not be swayed regardless of the discussion around the death of a young child in such an untimely fashion. It’s at this point that we all must find a sense of responsibility for the safety of our streets. The proposed bill would expand the number of school zones operating speed safety cameras from 140 to 290. It’s time to pass this legislation and follow the suggestions of the Mayor's Vision Zero Initiative and New York Police Department police commissioner and support passage of this law. Unfortunately, as the New York State legislative session ended, and the bill did not pass. I, along with the many organizations, advocates and elected officials are disappointed, but we'll be back next year to support safe streets for our children. I hope you'll join us.

MTA Board Votes to Ban Alcohol Ads on Subways, Buses and Trains

The Bronx Health REACH coalition celebrates Building Alcohol Ad-Free Transit’s (BAAFT) recent victory - the October 25th MTA vote to ban alcohol ads on subways, buses and trains. During the September 27th MTA Board meeting with BAAFT members in attendance, one of the MTA Board members made a motion to vote on BAAFT's proposal to amend the advertising policy to eliminate alcohol ads, but another MTA Board member countered that the MTA Board would need more information and delayed the vote. Thanks to the efforts of BAAFT and the Bronx Health REACH coalition members who gathered petition signatures, held rallies, and appeared at various MTA public hearings, the MTA voted in favor of banning all alcohol ads from the NYC transit system. This victory helps to assure that, at least in the transit system, New York City children will not be exposed to alcohol ads.

Pedal to the Grindstone: Biking to Work

Bike to Work Day, held in New York on May 16^th (last Friday), is a celebration of the bike being an environmental and wallet-friendly option for commuting from your home to your work place.  In honor of this event we had a Q&A session with Laura Solis from Bike New York about traveling via bicycle. Here’s what she said!

 If I live, let’s say 5 miles from my job, how long would it take me to get there? 

 That depends on a few factors. I used to live 5 miles away from my last job. The commute using public transportation would involve either 2 buses and the train or 3 buses and it’d take me just over an hour to get there. When I started riding my bike, it took me roughly 30 minutes on a day when I was being mindful not to break into a sweat. There was this one time it took me only 19 minutes, but I never did quite repeat that great timing. 

Do you remember the first time you biked to work?

The first day I tried it out I actually did it on my day off so that there wasn’t any pressure to get there “on time”. I went on a Sunday morning when traffic would be presumably lightest and I timed myself. I don’t remember what my time was, but I remember giving myself and hour and a half and I had planned 3 rest-stops, including a coffee shop along the way. Whenever I think back to that day, I remember how over prepared I was, how much I had overestimated what 5 miles really felt like, and how I had underestimated myself tremendously.  In the end, I only stopped once, and it was to pat myself on the back and tag a swig of water.

Clearly, biking is a great workout for your legs, but does it tone the jiggle anywhere else?

Biking is a tremendous workout, you will have buns of steel in no time and your abs/core will love you forevermore.

Are there any other benefits to biking besides the workout?

I will say that the money I save on transportation I spend on food to keep me fueled. And the saying “you are what you eat”, couldn’t be more true than when you are riding a bike. If I eat a bacon cheddar burger with fries and a shake before a bike ride, I ride like I just ate a bacon cheddar burger with fries and a shake. The bigger the variety of colors on my plate (not including condiments!) and range of food groups, the more vibrant I feel on my bike.

Ok, this may be a little personal but what about the, well, smell? Any tips?

Hygiene in general is a really big deal to me, whether or not I’m on my bike. With that said, I quickly learned how to ride so that I didn’t break into a sweat, but I also learned what was the best way to get rid of the smell of NYC streets that will latch on to your body if you’re riding through traffic. I stocked up on sun dresses when I started riding a bike because there is NOTHING, like riding a bike in a skirt or a dress. The sheer ventilation that you get in all the necessary places will have you smiling up and down the road. I am more concerned with dirt, which is attracted to you if you are wearing lotion, sunscreen in particular. To remove the grime, which usually only accumulates on a ride greater than 5 miles, I use Action Wipes. Action Wipes are amazing! They remove any evidence of your having been active in a matter of minutes, and it does so using all natural ingredients, without drying your skin while leaving you feeling clean and fresh. They also don’t leave any lint behind, which baby wipes often do, and they’re the perfect texture for sloughing off the grease that will one day end up on your leg.

What are the safest routes in the Bronx? Is there somewhere I can find this information?

The Bronx has a great number of greenways (paths surrounded by greenery) as a result of being the greenest borough! Many folks feel really safe along the greenways because the interaction with traffic is very limited. We’ve got the Bronx River Greenway, Mosholu Parkway Greenway, the Hutchinson River Greenway, and the Pelham Parkway Greenway.  Have you checked out the 2014 NYC Bike Map?!!! The promising green dotted lines indicate forthcoming “potential” bike lanes, including an extension of the existing Hudson River Greenway, which currently ends in Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan, but looks to make its way up to Riverdale. There are also lots of green dots along the Bronx Harlem River Greenway as well! In addition to the Bike Map, ridethecity (website and app), maps out direct, safe and safer routes, respectively. They are still one of my most used #bikenyc resources.

Bike lanes are great, but being safe has a lot to do with feeling safe and feeling safe often comes with knowledge which leads to confidence. You can get this sort of knowledge, and subsequent confidence, by attending free Bike New York Street Skills Class and Street Skills Ride. Honestly, it’s where I picked up most of my tips and tricks, or rather advice and instruction. As much as I love the greenways, and hope for more bike lanes in the Bronx, the existing ones are not currently conducive to an efficient commute for me, so you’ll most often see me on the road, safely alongside the cars, without a bike lane.

If I wanted to take a class to learn more about biking in NYC or find a group to ride with, how could I do that?  

Visit www.bikenewyork.org/education to learn more about biking safely and confidently in NYC for free. We have free classes throughout the five boroughs. Our Community Bike Education Center in the Bronx is located in the southwest playground of Van Cortlandt Park.

If you want to ride with a group, I’d recommend our very own Bike Path Cruise Rides. You can also check out the list of bike clubs on our website. A few of my favorites include Social Cycling NYC, NYC Biketrain and InTandem. They are all filled with good people who are very welcoming to new and experienced cyclists.