On Thursday, December 22, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., together with New York Yankees broadcaster Suzyn Waldman, will host the borough’s annual Chanukah celebration.
The event will take place at 12 noon in the Bronx County Building, 851 Grand Concourse, in Veterans Memorial Hall. Traditional Chanukah foods, such as latkes and jelly donuts, will be served. The event will also feature a musical performance from world-renowned recording artist Dafka Israel-Potok.
“As borough president, I invite all Bronxites to participate in our annual Chanukah celebration. I am thrilled to have Suzyn Waldman, the voice of our very own Bronx Bombers, join me on this festive occasion,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
"The celebration of Chanukah reminds us that we can triumph over oppression of all kinds, no matter what the odds. It is a triumph of a little light over total darkness. I am thrilled to be partnering with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. to help celebrate Chanukah and light the Menorah in ‘my second home’...The Bronx!” said Suzyn Waldman, who will serve as MC at the event.
Waldman has spent the greater part of her twenty five year career overcoming all the obstacles that go along with being a female sports broadcaster, and has risen to the top of her profession. She is the only woman doing radio color commentary for a MLB team. Suzyn Waldman is the first woman to broadcast a World Series and is prominently featured in the Women and Baseball room in Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
In l987, Waldman became the first female voice heard on WFAN, the first All-Sports Radio station in the country, and was a mainstay on that station for almost 15 years, creating the job of the radio beat reporter, covering both the New York Yankees and New York Knicks. Her news-breaking reports, exclusive interviews and always original and controversial opinions won her countless journalism awards.
Among her accolades include: the International Radio Award for her live and emotional reporting from the upper deck of Candlestick Park during the 1989 San Francisco earthquake, the l996 NY Sportscaster of the Year, by The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters the American Women in Radio and TV's Star Award for Radio in l999. An award winning journalist, Suzyn Waldman is currently the Yankees’ color commentator on WCBS-AM radio.
The event is sponsored jointly by the Bronx Jewish Community Council, Health Plus, the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation and the Bronx Tourism Council.