There was plenty of holiday cheer to be had on Mosholu Parkway and Bainbridge Avenue on Tuesday, Dec. 7, as the annual, holiday, tree-lighting event, organized by Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) and Friends of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP), made a welcome return. Amid the ongoing pandemic, and prior to the COVID-19 vaccination roll-out, last year’s tree-lighting event was carried out discreetly, with no formal gathering.

 

This year, the event which took place on the Bedford Park/Norwood border, where masks were required, saw about 200 people gather in front of a large stage set-up specifically for the occasion. They enjoyed free, hot apple cider, hot chocolate, and various other goodies served at a handful of decorated holiday booths, while walking snowflakes, snowmen and holiday trees  mingled among the crowd.

 

There were also fun activities for kids, a festive, choral performance by the Celia Cruz Bronx School of Music, some Latin dance instruction, courtesy of instructors from the Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center, and there was even an appearance by the big man himself – Santa Claus.

Bronx CB7 district manager, Ischia Bravo, welcomed everyone back for the first in-person, tree-lighting event in two years. “We’re definitely excited to be back [..] to make it bigger and better for the community,” Bravo said, amid applause from an excited crowd. “So, we’re happy! Thank you for that. We hope everybody’s enjoying just being able to connect with one another for the holiday season.”

 

Bravo gave a big shout-out to Bronx CB7 Parks committee chair, Barbara Stronczer, who she said started the tradition of the tree-lighting event on the parkway several years earlier, describing it as her baby event.

 

“Yes, I did start it with the group, many moons ago,” said Stronczer. “Our first tree-lighting consisted of tying a very small tree to a lamppost on Decatur and Mosholu Parkway South and using City electricity. It’s grown quite a bit since then, so, I’m very happy to be here tonight and to welcome everybody,” she added, before introducing a number of guests which included elected officials, their representatives and sponsors.

 

District 11 councilman, Eric Dinowitz, jokingly encouraged attendees to use as much City electricity as they wanted. “I feel like I just broke a law by saying that!” he said, before adding that he loved coming to events like the tree-lighting one, saying he so appreciated everyone on CB7. “It’s events like these, where we come together as a community, we remember how much we love each other, we remember why we’re here,” he said.

 

“We’re here for each other, especially during the holiday season,” the former teacher said, adding how happy he was to see his former students from the Celia Cruz Bronx School of Music, where he taught for five years. “It’s going to be the most fantastic thing you’re going to hear,” he said of their choral performance.

 

District 15 city councilman, Oswald Feliz, said he was honored and privileged to join the event. “I’ve seen so many wonderful community members, and I just want to thank you for all of the good work that you’re doing in the Bronx,” he said. “This has been an extremely difficult year, and we’re so lucky, and we’re so privileged to have so many wonderful members working around the clock to make sure that our people, our most vulnerable people have the access to housing that they deserve, access to food, and everything else that you do.”

 

Frederic Klein from the Office of Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) thanked Stronczer and the CB7 board, and said the assemblyman sent his regards to all for the holiday season. “He’s going to be back, fighting for all of us in Albany, starting in January,” Klein said.

 

“We did a lot of good this year, thanks to your help. We kept tenants in their homes, we got an eviction moratorium, and we’re going to go right back and get to work in January. So, if you’re having issues, you want to fight with your landlord, you want to get a street sign put in, call us. No job is too small,” he added.

 

For her part, FOMP executive director, Elizabeth Quaranta, said it was great to get outside. “We weren’t here last year. It’s so good to see you,” she said. “I want to thank you. This is what we do in the parklands. Because of you, the parkland is greener, and this is what happens at the end of the year. We like to bring you out so thank you, and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!”

 

Jeremy Scheublin, the new commanding officer of the 52nd precinct, who replaced Deputy Inspector Thomas J Alps in recent months, re-introduced himself to the community, in person, having already joined some virtual meetings. Meanwhile, Scheublin said he was very appreciative of the warm welcome he had received to date from the community, Bravo, and the board.

 

“Special thanks to them for putting this great event together,” the deputy inspector said, before reminding attendees that the precinct was also having a toy distribution event outside the station house on Dec. 20. “Engaging the children in this community is our priority,” he said. “Please spread the word. If you can, stop by. We got, so far, more than 1,000 toys, I’m told.” The deputy inspector was later seen interacting with some parents and a small child who was about to take off with the commanding officer’s walkie talkie before it was gently recovered.

 

The 52nd precinct has been called out a number of times by the Twitter account, “Placard Corruption,” as well as some other residents for allegedly parking police vehicles, illegally, in the vicinity of the precinct. Norwood News previously reported on the work of this group, and on the general issue of illegal parking, when Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged to crack down on offenders.

 

Since its expansion over the years, parking for the additional police vehicles has become even more scarce, and the problem has also been compounded by the number of other impounded or abandoned vehicles which await towing by DMV/DOT.

 

It was so extreme, the path was impassable on a bicycle. And it looked deliberate.

Lawbreaking police officers were forcing people down onto the road, in the dark, with fast moving traffic coming straight from the Bronx River Parkway.#VisionNero#CultureOfCorruption pic.twitter.com/ZFjy3R4nKG

— placard corruption (@placardabuse) December 17, 2021

 

During a recent precinct meeting, Sergeant James O’Brien mentioned that though the precinct has been asking the relevant City agencies to pick up the vehicles, there have been long delays in doing so.

 

Meanwhile, the precinct officials are also promoting a gun buyback event which is taking place at Butler Memorial United Methodist Church, at 3920 Paulding Avenue, Bronx, NY 10466, on Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., no questions asked. There is a five-gun limit on each pay out.

 

 

She thanked the organizers and other sponsors and added, “This is our time to come together to enjoy the year, think about it, reflect on the year that just passed, and to look forward to another great year where we continue to empower each other, educate each other, and take care of our community.”

 

Bravo later thanked all the volunteers for serving at the booths and added, “Friends of Mosholu Parkland, I know they already spoke, but if you look at all these decorations, they spent a lot of time doing this, and let’s give them a huge round of applause.”

 

 

After an initial mishap following the countdown, the holiday tree was finally lit up to the delight of onlookers at the end of the annual, tree-lighting event on Mosholu Parkway, on the border of Norwood and Bedford Park, organized by Bronx Community Board 7 and Friends of Mosholu Parkland, on Tuesday, December 7, 2021. Video by Síle Moloney

 

The district manager then introduced each of the other CB7 board members by name, Ruth Caraballo, Tasha Andrews, Monjour Choudhury, Helene Redd, Andrew Laoisa, Betty Arce, and Edgar Ramos, before also acknowledging the president of the 52nd Precinct Community Council, Brenda Caldwell.

 

“Thank you for joining us and a special shout out to Irene Estrada and Sandra Pabon for joining us today,” Bravo said. Estrada is female district leader for Assembly District 80, and Pabon is the State committeewoman for the same district. Stronzcer also took the occasion to thank the 52nd precinct community affairs officers.

 

Recently inaugurated, District 14 city councilwoman-elect, Pierina Sanchez, was also in attendance and wished everybody happy holidays. “I want to thank CB7’s leadership and the board members for everything that you do,” she said. “This is beautiful. This is wonderful. This is who we are. I’m here to serve,” she added, before encouraging those present to connect with her and obtain her contact details.

 

The event was sponsored by Bedford Mosholu Community Association, Ridgewood Savings Bank, Montefiore Einstein, Assembly Member Nathalia Fernández, Part of the Solution food pantry, and the 52^nd Precinct.

At one stage during the proceedings, a dance teacher with Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center walked a group of kids through some Latin dance moves on and in front of the stage, before the main event, the tree-lighting countdown, took place. The first attempt was met with a temporary delay, amid excited laughs from the crowd. “Don’t go anywhere!” joked Bravo, adding that the first countdown was just a practice run. “We’re going to do this again. Are you guys still with me?” she said, before the holiday tree finally lit up amid cheers from a happy crowd.