We posted this last week, but seeing as there will probably be no further posting today we thought we’d once again unveil, in the spirit of MLK Day, your choices for Bronxites of the Year – those who give, and have given, so much to their communities without much recognition or glory. This is a new feature and something we’ll probably do every year. Enjoy!
A few weeks ago, as 2010 came to a close, we asked our readers to submit their choices for Bronxite of the Year-taking a cue from Time Magazine and its annual person of the year. We asked you to nominate a member of your community who you thought made a difference this year, who’s been a force for good, and who’s gone above and beyond.
To be clear, this isn’t a contest, but more of a way to showcase a number of individuals who served the borough with distinction in 2010. We didn’t pick a winner-we’re posting them all below.
So here they are-your picks for Bronxite of the Year.
Meg Charlop at the Tour de Bronx in 2000 (Norwood News file photo) |
Zach Charlop-Powers nominated his mother, Meg Charlop, a long-time Norwood resident and veteran public health advocate who worked at Montefiore for more than 25 years in the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, and most recently as director for community health in the School Health Program. Charlop passed away in a tragic bicycle accident in March at the age of 57.
“My mother was devoted to the Bronx and the people of the Bronx,” Charlop-Powers wrote. “She moved into the Bronx in the 70’s when everybody else was leaving, and she worked tirelessly and fearlessly.”
Charlop’s many accomplishments throughout decades of work include organizing tenants against deadbeat landlords, rallying against the use of lead-paint in Bronx homes, and establishing several school health and fitness programs.
“For the work my mother did, for her unbelievable capacity for love of the people of the Bronx, for her dedication to them, and for the rare ability to actually get things put into motion I think she should be your Bronxite of 2010,” Charlop-Powers wrote.