I never thought I’d reach this moment; writing a farewell article in the Norwood News, which is my last as editor-in-chief.

After painstakingly trying to find where to start, I realized I was suffering from writer’s block. To undo that, I took some inspiration from what my predecessor for the Norwood News, Alex Kratz, wrote in his personalized farewell to readers. His exit came as the paper reached its 25-year milestone.

“Here’s to the next 25 years of the Norwood News giving voice to the voiceless and a grand purpose to another editor looking for a job,” wrote Alex.

Not sure if he had me in mind, but I was that next editor. And the following six years would be wild ones.

Before I get to that, I want to go back to 2012.

I was at The Bronx Times Reporter on the other side of the Bronx, having returned to the Boogie Down after an eight-year break from the borough (my first journalism gig was assignment desk coordinator for News 12 The Bronx), so while I had some experience here, I wasn’t a borough wonk. Thankfully, I was trained under veteran journalist Bob “Kappy” Kappstatter, who, on top of knowing the ins and outs on Bronx politics, helped me spot the essence of a news story, write with impact, and convince me that the Bronx has a goldmine of stories.

Eventually my reporting led me to Norwood, and a story on the proposed closing of the vitally important Junior High School 80 on Mosholu Parkway. The story landed on the front page of the Norwood News, and as I was researching background on the story I came upon the Norwood News (the story landed on the paper’s front page, with its jump page including a photo of the meeting, with me seen in the far distance). It soon became a must-read.

It would be another year and a half before Alex, who by then became a contemporary, was leaving. I didn’t want to pass the chance on applying. On Halloween 2013, I had my job interview with Alex and then executive director for Mosholu Preservation Corporation, Roberto Garcia. It was later followed by an interview with human resources. Two months later, I started here.

I never ran a newspaper before. There were times I gulped, second-guessing myself over whether this was the right move, which wasn’t helped when Kappy jokingly called on God to have mercy on my soul. After more than six years managing a tiny bi-weekly newspaper, and bearing witness to how much this paper means to readers, I see what he meant.

Over the years, I’ve had my share of criticism. But I also received praise, accumulating various journalism awards along the way. It’s flattering, though credit shouldn’t go to me alone. Behind me was a core group of dedicated freelancers—photographer Adi Talwar, reporter/photographer/deliveryman David Greene, designer Mauro DeLuca, photographer Miriam Quinones, reporter/photographer José Giralt, and salesperson Janet Geller—who have kept the ship steady over the years. Leading the pack is Judy Noy, the proofreader who will finalize this article you’re reading now. Judy has been with us for more than 30 years, having started when the paper was first established. On the 30th anniversary of the paper, we celebrated with a gala on Nov 1, 2018 and awarded her with a plaque for her dedication to the paper and providing excellent proofreading services. It’s the least we could do. I will miss her and our years toiling away production night by lovingly arguing over words, their placement, and their meaning. Judy was quite the confidante. I’ll miss her honesty, fairness, and that great Bronx accent of hers.

I’ll also miss my boss, Mosholu Preservation Corp. executive director Jennifer Tausig, for her fairness, lending me her ears, and her desire to see all of us produce our best work.

I’ll miss my interns as well, who came and went over the years, the fuel that motivated me during my tenure, witnessing their growth during the few months interning here at the Keeper’s House, some knowing nothing about journalism, but leaving with a desire to continue pursuing it. I like to think it was because of their time here.

The linchpin to the paper’s success are the readers, the neighbors who consistently kept tabs on issues in their neighborhoods and relayed them to the paper so we can investigate them. Their simple message of a desire for an improved quality of life resonated with me. That included a story on an oil-filled drum left virtually abandoned on Hull Avenue and East 204th Street, the ongoing development projects in Norwood/Bedford Park, a peewee football club’s plea for stadium lights at Williamsbridge Oval Park, and who was planning to run for public office.

My last day here is March 18. On March 30, I start work as a news editor for Gothamist/WNYC, covering all parts of New York City. I can’t imagine my time in the Bronx is over. But this isn’t a complete goodbye. The new job will bring me back here.

Journalism is about people, and you won’t find it more crystallized than in community journalism. They are part of an ecosystem that, if taken out of the equation, can be disastrous for any editor. These are words I hope the next editor takes to heart, whoever he/she might be.

Note: This edition is covering the next four weeks, March 12 – April 8, instead of the standard two, while the Norwood News goes through a transition, hopefully followed by its usual biweekly publication schedule.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.