Ground Formally and Finally Broken for Oval Skate Park

By MARTIKA ORNELLA and JOSE A. GIRALT

“Today is a big day for the Norwood community,” said city Parks Department Commissioner Mitchell Silver, standing at a podium in front of the future site of the neighborhood’s first skate park. “We’re starting construction on something we’ve been waiting for for a very long time: A skate park right here in Williamsbridge Oval [Park].” Together, with a number of skateboarding enthusiasts in the Bronx, local officials and community leaders gathered at a ceremonial groundbreaking on June 5 to usher in construction of the long-awaited skate park. Councilman Andrew Cohen, representing Norwood, funded $750,000 in capital money towards the construction

Oval Skate Park Project Quietly Gets Under Way

By DAVID CRUZ

Without much of a notice, the bulldozers came to the west side of Williamsbridge Oval Park to break ground on the long-awaited skate park. A large patch of soil blankets the area once used for a dog run, with crews ready to spend until winter of next year to complete the project. But the council member who funded the project is planning a formal celebration. Councilman Andrew Cohen secured $750,000 in capital funding for the project in 2014, holding a news conference on the funding soon after. The price of the project eventually went up to $888,000. It was among

By DAVID CRUZ

The plants that once belonged to Elizabeth Carson have been destroyed. And she knows who did it. It didn’t take long for Carson to know who damaged those beds at Risse Street Garden. It was an apparent team effort. At a meeting among gardeners at Risse Street Garden the morning of April 22, Carson confronted Brendan O’Regan, another gardener, over who destroyed her flower beds. “Those plants have been nicely removed,” O’Regan was captured on Carson’s cell phone video recorder saying, his arms folded as he carefully explained what happened to Carson’s flowers. “Anytime I tried to respond to

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

Free Graffiti Cleanup “Guerinos Against Graffitti” is offering one military veteran free graffiti removal in honor of Memorial Day. Those eligible be a US military veteran who was honorably discharged and wounded in combat. Applicants must submit their photo standing next to their property. Send submissions to ssg.nag@gmail.com. For more information, call (718) 600-2570. Free Immigration Service West Bronx Housing, 220 E. 204th St., provides free basic immigration services. They offer application assistance for citizenship, permanent residence Green Card applications, renewals, and other basic services. Clients can bring an interpreter, if necessary. For more information, call (718) 798-0929 to make an appointment

By MARIYA MOSELEY

A free writing workshop aims to provide a creative outlet for veterans. The Craft of War Writing is a weekly program that focuses on war narratives and offers attendees the opportunity to read curated stories, interact with guest speakers and share pieces about their personal experiences. Jeremy Warneke, a U.S. Army veteran who currently serves as district manager for Community Board 11 in the east Bronx, founded the program in 2015 after hosting a number of war reading series at a local library in the Bronx. His work has been published in the New York City Veterans Alliance, Homefront Progressives

By DAVID CRUZ

Officials representing Norwood are urging the MTA to consider building an elevator at the Mosholu Parkway subway station, which could be a boon to disabled riders who get on and off the station. In a letter drafted to authority president Andy Byford, Assembly Members Jeff Dinowitz and Nathalia Fernandez, Councilman Andrew Cohen, and state Senator Jamaal Bailey, lobbied for the station to get an elevator. The news comes as the MTA Board approved $300 million to reconfigure 18 stations to make them wheelchair accessible, adhering to a 1993 federal ruling that mandates all current and new stations across the system

Inquiring Photographer: Marijuana Arrests

By DAVID GREENE

This week we asked readers their thoughts on Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark’s move urging the NYPD to issue tickets instead of making arrests for recreational marijuana use. I think I see a lot of people smoking marijuana these days. If you try and arrest everyone with marijuana, it’s going to be a whole bunch of people in jail. Nobody would be left out here because too many people smoke it. Half the people in the country want it legalized. You can’t throw them all in jail. I think there are more serious crimes going on. Jackie Fadalla Norwood I

Editor’s Pick Holiday Concert The public is invited to a free Memorial Day Concert, May 27 at 2 p.m., featuring music from Broadway shows by Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Andrew Lloyd Webber, presented by the Bronx Arts Ensemble, in Van Cortlandt Park at West 242nd Street and Broadway. Rain site: Vladeck Hall, 74 Van Cortlandt Pk. So. For more information, call (718) 601-7399. Onstage Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd. W., presents La Sonora Ponceña featuring pianist Papo Lucca, June 2 at 8 p.m., performing salsa. Tickets are $50 to $65; $100 VIP

By MARTIKA ORNELLA

More kids are expected to start 3-K this fall as the city’s universal education program expands to cover more ground. After a morning spent playing with three-year olds at the Learning Through Play Pre-K Center in Longwood on May 23, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced further commitment to growing the 3-K for All program. “We believe in a city that is fair for everyone. The goal of this administration is to make this the fairest big city in America,” de Blasio said. Flanked by Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza and Assemblyman Michael Blake, de Blasio touted the 3-K program he