Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The latest edition of the Norwood News, covering the Bronx, is out and loaded with 20 pages of original news content covering the Bronx. In keeping with tradition we begin with page one! This one focuses on the re-opening of Whalen Park, which unlike other park projects has opened in record time (see headline). Find out how what prompted this park to open so quickly. Also, you can hear from what parents think of the revamped park. On page 3 you’ll find a great feel-good story of Bobby Gonzalez, a Norwood man who will be honored for his

By DAVID GREENE

This week we asked readers about the latest NYPD statistics that show overall crime is down, but homicides, shootings and rapes are all up substantially. I think it’s worse than ever. I’m going to be honest with you, I was telling people it seems like we’re going back to the ‘90s a little bit, when something was always happening in every neighborhood. It wasn’t just pinpointed in one area, it’s just everywhere now. They need to have more cops patrolling on foot, not driving by. They need to walk through neighborhoods that they know violence is happening and drugs being

By CHRISTY RAE AMMONS and ANGEL MINDANAO

Whalen Park quietly re-opened to the public in June with a colorful, brand new playground that features two slides, monkey bars, and toddler-friendly climbing blocks. To the delight of parents, the area previously known as the “sitting park” was revamped into a more traditional playground. Though the project was first proposed seven years ago, building the Norwood park took less than a year, an unusual time frame given the city Parks Department’s poor track record in completing projects promptly. In 2017, there had been seven projects delayed since 2009, including a bathroom for Ferry Point Park that had been in

By MARTIKA ORNELLA

Browsing the collage of colorful posters that make up the “Norwood Column,” Senator Jamaal T. Bailey, who represents the 36th New York Senate District which covers Norwood, came across one that caught his eye. “This is what the Bronx is about,” Bailey said at the unveiling of the public art installation on July 16, pointing to a poster describing the Bronx as a “mini United Nations. “This is the world’s borough,” he said. The “Norwood Column,” located at the southeast corner of East Mosholu Parkway and the Grand Concourse, across from the Pickwick Arms, is a temporary installation of the

By SOPHIA EBANKS

The city Department of Transportation has picked five companies for the pilot bike share program in boroughs outside Manhattan. Two of those companies, the Hong Kong-based Ofo and Brooklyn-based JUMP, will supply bikes to the Bronx. The program will bring at least 200 bikes to the central Bronx and Fordham area. “Our goal is to make cycling accessible to anyone anywhere,” said Jordan Levine, head of northeast communications at Ofo. “We want to make it both as affordable and approachable as possible by taking away traditional barriers like having bikes being stolen or dishing out a few hundred dollars to

By JOSE A. GIRALT

Five blocks from where Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz was attacked by members of the Trinitarios gang, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an $18.4 million investment for youth-based programs in the Bronx. Inside the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club in Belmont the governor described the initiative as “unprecedented” and revealed a multi-faceted approach to support activities for Bronx kids. The initiative, dubbed New Opportunities for Bronx Youth, will offer kids a variety of activities from academics to sports to the arts, in the hope that gang-related activities will decrease. The murder of Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz was still fresh on the minds of

“Junior’s Law” Orders Bodegas to Keep Minors Safe

By SOPHIA EBANKS

Following the brutal murder of 15-year-old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz outside a bodega in Belmont, two Bronx lawmakers look to make sure small businesses step it up to protect young children in the community. State Senator Luis Sepulveda and Assemblyman Victor Pichardo announced the “Safe Havens for Endangered Children” law, nicknamed “Junior’s Law,” alongside community advocates, religious leaders, and some of Junior’s family members outside of the bodega where Junior sought refuge. The proposed law would require small businesses to provide refuge and call police if a minor in danger were to seek their help. Another measure of the bill will

By SOPHIA EBANKS

‘You are, what you eat’ is an old adage on the power of food to affect the quality of life. For Jodi Moise, curator of the Montefiore Fine Arts Program and Collection, it is also the message of the ARTViews Gallery’s latest photo exhibition, “Growing Your Own Food, A Declaration of Power,” on display through August. The exhibit looks to promote health and wellness in the Bronx, the unhealthiest county in New York State. The Bronx is known to have a high rates of diabetes and asthma. In Kingsbridge and Bedford Park, the rate of diabetes is 15 percent, higher

For some teachers at DeWitt Clinton High School, the last day of school means cleaning out desks until the fall semester. For other staffers, they had to clean their desks out permanently. The Department of Education confirmed to the Norwood News that out of 116 staffers, 74 were let go, including 18 teachers. The DOE classified them as excessed, a term describing a staffer that “no longer has a position at the school.” June 26 was the last day of school, with teachers seen hauling boxes full of paperwork, stationery, and plants. At the end of the previous academic year,