New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget cuts to the 340B Drug Pricing Program, which went into effect on April 1, have left West Harlem community health centers straining to find options for patients to afford necessary medications.

A flurry of complaints from local community members against CJV Auto Repair and Auto Body Shop regarding limited parking and threats to pedestrian safety culminated in a petition circulated in early March that demanded the removal of the shop’s accumulation of cars from the area. At a Community Board 9 meeting on April 3, Health & Environment Committee co-chair Edwin Torres reported that parking, the smell of fumes, and new developments including CJV using their business license to wash cars, remain an issue. He also mentioned that the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has asked community members to record and photograph any evidence of the shop’s violations.

The Columbia Policy Institute’s economic development center organized a panel regarding Columbia’s role in Morningside Heights on March 28. The panelists were Aaron Passell, an urban studies professor at Barnard; and Dave Robinson, president of the Morningside Heights Community Coalition, which is a local organization advocating for the reduction of real estate development in Morningside Heights. The panel also invited Morningside Heights native and active member of the MHCC, Dan McSweeney, SIPA ’07, to speak on the University’s relationship with the community regarding its expansion and concerns about housing accessibility.