By DAVID GREENE

CARMEN RAMOS, WHO lost her brother, Emilio Rosas, to gun violence when he was shot and killed in Belmont on Feb. 17, 2025, urged teens attending a “Safer Streets Community Rally” outside the Kingsbridge Armory in Kingsbridge Heights on March 10, 2026, to speak to family members if they were having trouble.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

A crowd of about 100 people, including faith-based leaders, community activists, cure violence advocates, and several family members who have lost loved ones to violence gathered for a “Safer Streets Community Rally” outside the Kingsbridge Armory at West Kingsbridge Road and Reservoir Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights on Tuesday, March 10.

 

Among the group were members of the cure violence groups, Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence (B.R.A.G.) and Release the Grip / Bronx Connect (R.T.G.). Both groups are part of the city’s crisis management system run by the NYC Office to Prevent Gun Violence, and are programs designed to work with young people, residents, community-based organizations, and the public to promote safer streets and new norms where violence is not accepted.

BISHOP BOYD SINGLETARY (2nd left) places a hand on the shoulder of Marisol Miranda during a “Safer Streets Community Rally” held outside the Kingsbridge Armory on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

B.R.A.G. uses the Cure Violence (CV) evidence-based anti-violence model that originated in Chicago, Illinois. The goal is to identify violently injured youth who are at risk of retaliatory violence, work with victims and their families and friends to help prevent future violence and provide links to resources and more. B.R.A.G. also mobilizes residents to raise awareness and promote non-violent norms.

 

The team mainly comprises credible messengers, people from the impacted neighborhoods who can build a good rapport with youth and other residents due to their prior history of engaging in activities that exposed them to risk of involvement in the justice system.

COUNCILMEMBER PIERINA SANCHEZ (C.D. 14) addresses a rally organized by various cure violence groups, including Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence on Friday, March 6, 2026, beside St. James Park in Fordham Manor, following a March 3rd shooting at the location.
Video still by Síle Moloney

Other groups represented at the rally included Our Bronx, formerly Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, Bronx Community Boards 7 and 8, The 4 Bronx Project, as well as teens from the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center. Bishop Boyd Singletary, senior pastor of the Alpha and Omega Church located in the South Bronx, told the crowd, “We are not just here to point fingers, but we’re here for solutions.” He added, “We’re calling for an end of gun violence, not just gun violence, but all types of violence.”

 

Event organizer Izaiah “Zeek” Barrow, founder of A Floorman’s Dream Pre-Apprenticeship Program, co-founder of the nonprofit, Theory 9, and candidate for district leader in assembly district 81, told the crowd, “The bottom line is we have to come to terms on how we’re going to handle this issue with our youth. A lot of youth are dying, a lot of youth don’t have any outlets, there’s no resources, and there’s just pressure. There’s pressure for them to maneuver a system that’s designed to keep them down, that’s designed to keep them out.”

ATTENDEES GATHER AT the “Safer Streets Community Rally” held outside the Kingsbridge Armory at West Kingsbridge Road and Reservoir Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

Meanwhile, six months after she lost her daughter to gun violence, Dr. Jennifer Garderner said, “We are gathered here today because something is deeply wrong in our community and we cannot remain silent any longer. Our streets were meant for families to walk safely. Our parks were meant for our children to laugh, play and grow.” Garderner’s daughter, Anthonaya Jada “Ming” Campbell, 17, was an innocent bystander who was shot in the head while attending a basketball tournament in Heffen Park in Baychester on August 23, 2025, and who died on Sept 8, 2025. The shooting also took the life of Jaceil Banks, 32.

 

Garderner added, “Too many families are grieving, too many mothers are burying their children, and too many young lives are being lost while the problems that lead to violence remain known and unresolved. Millions of dollars have been placed into budgets and initiatives, yet in many of our communities, the violence continues.” Garderner vowed, “I will not stop until our communities are safe.”

GRIEVING MOTHER MARISOL Miranda says she would like to see stiffer punishments for those who take the life of another while speaking at the “Safer Streets Community Rally” on March 10, 2026, days before the first anniversary of the death of her son, Michael Hernandez, in Brooklyn.
Photo by Miriaim Quiñones

Days before marking the first anniversary of losing her son, another attendee, Marisol Miranda, recalled spending most of her teenage years in jail. She told youngsters in attendance, “You’re at home and you don’t like to listen to your parents. You don’t like to adhere to rules and regulations, but when you pick up a gun, and you shoot and kill someone, you’re going to be told what to do [anyway when in prison by the guards i.e. when to eat, when to sleep, etc.]. You’re going to be losing your life [freedom].”

 

MAJOR CRIME STATISTICS for the 52nd Precinct for the 28-day period ending March 8, 2026, compared to the same timeframe last year (left), and year-to-date major crime statistics for the 52nd Precinct as of March 8, 2026, compared to last year (right). This precinct covers some or all of Bedford Park, Fordham, Kingsbridge, Norwood, Bronx Park, and University Heights.
Source: NYPD

Miranda’s son, Michael Hernandez, 27, was stabbed to death near the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on March 14, 2025. She added, “I want my son’s killer to be accountable for his actions, and the word ‘life’ needs to be behind a lot of these sentences because that’s what you did, was take a person’s life.” Miranda suggested that parents check their children’s bookbags and social media to know what they’re up to.

 

MAJOR CRIME STATISTICS for the 50th Precinct for the 28-day period ending March 8, 2026, compared to last year (left), and year-to-date major crime statistics for the 50th Precinct as of March 8, 2026, compared to last year (right). This precinct covers some or all of Kingsbridge, Fieldston, Riverdale, Marble Hill, and Spuyten Duyvil.
Source: NYPD

Speaking directly to the youngsters from the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center, Carmen Ramos, another attendee, said, “If you have a situation at home, speak to your parents. Bond with your parents. If you don’t have communication with your mother or father, you have other elders. You have family members to talk to.” Ramos lost her brother, Emilio Rosas, who was shot and killed near his Belmont home on Feb. 17, 2025.

 

Meanwhile, Councilmember Pierina Sanchez (C.D. 14) said, “What we do in The Bronx when we have tragic events, we turn that into purpose. We turn around and we show who we are. We are resilient people. So, I am so proud to, and will always, support you in everything that you do for this neighborhood.”

MAJOR CRIME STATISTICS for the 52nd Precinct for the 28-day period ending March 8, 2026, compared to the same timeframe last year (left), and year-to-date major crime statistics for the 52nd Precinct as of March 8, 2026, compared to last year (right). This precinct covers some or all of Bedford Park, Fordham, Kingsbridge, Norwood, Bronx Park, and University Heights
Source: NYPD

In efforts to convince local youth that their circumstances do not have to define them, at a prior rally held Friday, March 6, beside St. James Park in Fordham Manor, in response to a nonfatal shooting at that location on March 3, in which a young man was hospitalized, Sanchez spoke about growing up in the area, which experiences a high proportion of gun violence.

 

Speaking in both Spanish and English, she said despite this, she had gone on to attend prestigious universities, had worked in the White House, and was elected to public office. Other cure violence groups traveled from Brooklyn and elsewhere for the same event in solidarity with their Bronx counterparts.

MEMBERS OF THE Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, now-called “Our Bronx,” and Izaiah “Zeek” Barrow, in a maroon-colored shirt, who is the founder of A Floorman’s Dream Pre-Apprenticeship Program, a co-founder of the nonprofit, Theory 9, and a candidate for district leader in assembly district 81, are seen attending / speaking at the “Safer Streets Community Rally” held outside of the Kingsbridge Armory at West Kingsbridge Road and Reservoir Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights Tuesday, March 10, 2026.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

At the Kingsbridge rally, members of B.R.A.G. and R.T.G. provided information on various programs available to individuals and families in need of assistance. The rally was held nearly one month after Christopher “C.J.” Redding, 16, was shot and killed on Broadway and West 238th Street in Kingsbridge. Redding’s father, Bryan Corley, was scheduled to attend but an attendee said it was reportedly too much finally for the still-grieving dad.

 

One person has since been taken into custody in connection with Redding’s death, while several others remain at large. The rally also came several weeks after hundreds of teens caused a riot in Co-op City, breaking store windows and destroying store property.

MEMBERS OF THE Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, now-called “Our Bronx” attend and speak at the “Safer Streets Community Rally” held outside of the Kingsbridge Armory at West Kingsbridge Road and Reservoir Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights Tuesday, March 10, 2026.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

On Monday, March 2, the NYPD announced that in the first two months of 2026, the city experienced the fewest citywide homicides, shootings, and shooting victims in recorded history, reporting 32 killings and beating the previous low of 38, set in 2018. However, year-to-date boroughwide murders in The Bronx are up 26.7%, the year-to-date boroughwide shooting victim count is up 35.7%, and year-to-date shootings are also up 29.7%. Check out our latest Crime File in this edition of the Norwood News for more specific year-to-date statistics for local precincts.