Out & About: Free Concert at VC Park

Editor’s Pick Free Concert at VC Park The Bronx Arts Ensemble presents free concert featuring oldies, pop and R&B on July 15 at 2 p.m. at Van Cortlandt Park’s Rockwood Drive Circle (Mosholu Avenue and Broadway) near the stables. In case of rain, concert postponed to Aug 5. For more information, call (718) 543-8672. Events Lehman College, 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd., W., presents Summer Jazz Institute, July 11 to 13, for educators, to learn teaching methods including improvisations, active listening, and syncopation. For more information and to register, visit JazzPower.org. Williamsbridge Oval presents the following events for ages 6 to

Breaking Down the Ocasio-Cortez/Crowley Race

By MARTIKA ORNELLA

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Democratic primary victory over incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley left many stunned, including members of the Bronx Democratic Party. Referring to the freshly defeated Crowley, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. told a The New York Times reporter, “We need [Crowley] in Washington, DC. Washington is about consistency and seniority.” Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, the Bronx Democratic Party chairman, told Politico that Ocasio-Cortez’s win “rattled” some members of his party. “I think we don’t have to view it all as a negative,” Crespo said. “There is an energetic new base that identifies as Democrats that are demanding and expecting change.”

Street Renamed for NYPD Det. Miosotis Familia

By JOSE A. GIRALT

Top city officials were once again in the Bronx in the span of three weeks to rename a street, this time in honor fallen NYPD Det. Miosotis Familia who was shot to death by an assailant with an apparent mental illness. Familia, 48, who was posthumously promoted to detective, was remembered with a street sign on Ryer Avenue and East 181st Street, in front of the 46th Precinct, where she was stationed. Familia was killed while completing an administrative report inside a mobile command post truck on July 5, 2017. This was the second street renaming in recent weeks for a

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

Excelsior Scholarship Applications for the Excelsior Scholarship are now open for new applicants pursuing a college degree at city- or state-funded colleges/universities for the 2018-19 academic year. Eligible candidates must be New York State residents, take 30 credits per year (including summer and winter sessions), a family whose annual household income is below $110,000, and be on track to graduate on time with an associate’s degree in two years or a bachelor’s degree in four years. Applications will be accepted through July 23. For more information, and to apply, go to https://www.hesc.ny.gov/excelsior/. Bird Walks Free bird walk tours with guides

CB7 Along With Other Boards Get Funding Boost (Web Picture)

By JOSE A. GIRALT

Community boards in the Bronx will see $42,500 added to their operating budgets starting in July. Community Board 7, representing a chunk of the northwest and west Bronx, will now see their budget increase from $223,000 to $265,500, according to figures released by Councilman Fernando Cabrera. Cabrera stopped by CB7’s last general board meeting to present the news. Cabrera chairs the Governmental Operations Committee which is responsible for funding community boards. With rising costs and stringent budgets, community boards across the city have been asked to do more with less. Initially, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s 2019 budget did not include

Thousands of flower enthusiasts paid a visit this past weekend to the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) as kick-off to the unusual “Corpse Flower” 24-hour blooming event at the New York Botanical Garden on Southern Boulevard. Native to the island of Sumatra and can grow up to 12 feet tall. As the plant bloomed, NYBG provided live updates on social media. At one time the unusual flower was designated as the official flower of the Bronx by Stanley Isaacs, in 1939 until the daylilly took the title in 2006. Also known as the Amorphophallus titanum, the flower gets its name

In the aftermath of the street murder of 15-year-old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, the U.S. Attorney’s Office should once again take a hard look at the gang responsible for his murder, the deadly Trinitarios gang. It has been done before, with help from RICO. And it can be done again. An investigation under RICO, acronym for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, certainly fits well for the Trinitarios. The machete-wielding group, with roots in the Bronx, has engaged in racketeering, murder, attempted murder, illegal gun carrying, and drug dealing, according to an indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2013. The

By DAVID GREENE

This week we asked readers their thoughts on the death of 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, and if the workers in the bodega where he was dragged out of did enough to prevent his murder. They say that the owner could have done more. I don’t know the owner’s story, I don’t know how much the owner did or didn’t do, so I can’t say that I would hold him accountable for it. It’s a tragedy and we need to do something about it; it doesn’t make sense to me. I think the NYPD is the best in the world, because they

Dear Fellow Readers, The latest edition of the Norwood News, covering the Bronx, is out and loaded with 20 pages of original news covering the Bronx. In keeping with tradition we begin with page one! This one focuses two vicious stabbings that have caused great pause in the borough: the killing of 15-year-old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz and the near fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old by the Bronx River Parkway. This is apparently the work of the murderous street gang known as the Trinitarios. Find out how many suspects were rounded up for Junior’s killing so far. Our continuing coverage of Junior’s