Angellyh Yambo Foundation goes live

The Angellyh Yambo Foundation Inc. officially launched on Jan. 24 at 3:44 p.m. The organization’s website went live after it received the federal 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt status.

The foundation is named after Angellyh Yambo, a University Prep Charter High School who was fatally shot last spring near her school by random gunfire following a fight between alleged gang members across the street. The time and date of the foundation’s launch coincides with Yambo’s birthdate and time of birth.

“On Friday, April 8, 2022, at approximately 1:45 p.m., Angellyh’s life was cut short at the age of 16 by a perpetrator who allegedly used a homemade, unregistered ‘ghost gun’ purchased on the internet,” according to a foundation statement. “Angellyh was fatally shot on a Bronx street while walking home from school, when a 17-year-old perpetrator was allegedly aiming the gun at a rival gang member.”

Angellyh Yambo Foundation’s mission is to address the needs of The Bronx, in terms of combatting gun violence at a national level, according to a statement released by Mary Hernandez, the chief executive of the foundation and Angellyh’s great aunt. Angellyh’s father, Manuel Yambo of Kingsbridge and a doorman at The Glen Briar, is also involved in the organization, which is a registered New York state non-profit.

“We are a nonprofit that supports schools in providing aid to other nonprofit organizations that assist victims of gun violence through education, awareness and preventive strategies,” a foundation statement read. “Guns are accessible through different distribution channels, and it appears we are experiencing a high level of availability of illegal guns in New York City and beyond.”

Additionally, the Angellyh Yambo Foundation is designed to bring anti-bullying and self-defense classes to schools, create a way to engage with parents and youth through workshops, help prepare students for college, teach about home finances and promote and increase youth awareness about guns and gun safety.

Visit AngellyhYamboFoundation.org

Tibbetts daylighting
project now official

The Tibbetts Brook daylighting and Putnam Greenway extension can officially move forward as Mayor Eric Adams announced last month a deal to purchase the property for $11.2 million from CSX.

By announcing the deal’s finalization on Jan. 18, the mayor has given the green light for bringing Tibbetts Brook to the surface and remove about 4 to 5 million gallons of water from the sewer system each day. Construction is due to begin in 2025, while design is already underway.

“Rerouting this long-buried waterway above ground will reduce pollution going into the Harlem River, lessen flooding, connect greenways and create even more recreational space for The Bronx,” Rohit T. Aggarwala, chief climate officer DEP commissioner, said in a statement.

The announcement of the deal marks a major achievement for the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, which has spent more than 20 years to get the project started. The alliance is proud to have the led the charge in securing funding for the daylighting project and helping to bring the city’s parks and DEP together on this monumental undertaking, according to an alliance statement.

Tibbetts estuary tapestry

At the same time as the announcement of the daylighting project finalization, the Van Cortlandt House Museum and CALL//City as Living Laboratory sent out a reminder about its “Tibbetts Estuary Tapestry” that has been on display at the museum.

The museum, which is in Van Cortlandt Park at Broadway and West 246th Street, abuts the site where Tibbetts Brook disappears underground at the south end of Hester and Piero’s Mill Pond (formerly Van Cortlandt Lake).

It has an exhibit of the tapestry that was crowd-sourced. Under the guidance of New York City artists Ana de la Cueva and Matthew López-Jensen, participants helped create the tapestry over two years with the help of CALL. They were called on to create their own imaginary garden in separate quilted squares that represent purple love grass, hens and chickens, eastern prickly pear and others.

The artists asked, the participants, “what if there was a coordinated effort to create a mile-long collection of continuous green roofs, transforming this flat, gray expanse into an array of living habitats? The belief is doing so would cool the neighborhood, clean the air, provide habitat for plants, insects and birds and mitigate flooding for generations.

Nick Dembowski, the museum director, sees the exhibition as an opportunity to present a vision of the borough’s future in concert with its past, according to a news release. The tapestry is supported by the Coby Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Mellon Foundation, the city’s cultural affairs department, and individual donors.

The exhibit can be viewed Tuesday-to-Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. General admission is $5; seniors, $3; students, $3 and children, free admission.