'Play With a Message' Tonight at 7 pm at Bronx's PS 130

Ilectra Scott-Cook, the multi-talented former Norwood News delivery specialist, says Monsters Anonymous, the play she's starring in tonight, isn't just another play about AIDS.

"It's a play with a message," she says.

That message: the spread of AIDS isn't just about unprotected sex or sharing heroin needles, it's about ignorance, which Scott-Cook says, is the biggest problem.

The play is poignant given the fact that Wednesday was World AIDS Day and that there are more than 22,000 Bronxites living with the disease. Plus, it's free and really funny, Scott-Cook says. 

If you can't make out the details, Monsters Anonymous is being performed at PS 130 (The Abrams Stevens Hewitt Academy), 750 Prospect Ave. It's being sponsored by Momo Pros Theater Co. and Bronx Parents United. And did I mention it's free? 

For more information, call (347) 722-1756 or e-mail MOMOE71@gmail.com.

Bronx Health: On World AIDS Day, Diaz Jr. Says Fight Against Disease is Personal

In a speech today, World AIDS Day, at Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. called the fight against HIV/AIDS personal and said battling the disease was one of his administration's top priorities.

"No one is immune," said Diaz, adding that two of his uncles passed away due to AIDS complications and that his chief of staff, Paul DelDuca, is HIV positive.

Even though it was gloomy outside, with heavy rain and gusting winds, it was full of sunshine on the 3rd floor of the FCC Building in the Montefiore Medical Center.

Patients and staff of the Center for Positive Living/ID Clinic were singing and dancing together to commemorate World AIDS Day. With live music and nutritious snacks floating around the room, patients got the chance to shop for free in a vintage shop, win cash prize raffles, design a hand-painted survivor quilt and more.

Diaz and one of the city's deputy health commissioners, Dr. Monica Sweeney both spoke at the event.

"This clinic is dynamic," said Diaz, praising the clinic for its work with HIV and AIDs patients.

Sweeney advised everyone to tell their friends, family, and community to get tested.

According to the latest statistics from the Health Department, 22,961 Bronx residents are living with HIV/AIDS.

World AIDS Day

To mark World AIDS Day, the Citizens Advice Bureau held a candlelit vigil at their community center on the Grand Concourse on Monday, Dec. 1.

On a related note, a campaign launched earlier this year to get more Bronx adults tested for the disease has so far been a success, according to the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

(Photo by Alma Watkins)