Op-Ed: Working Together to Welcome Neighbors

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By STEVEN BANKS and ANDREW COHEN

Homelessness is one of the hardest issues we have to confront as public servants and partners in government. But working together to do so is more important than ever because homelessness impacts literally every community across the five boroughs, including our own constituents right here in Bronx Community District 7—often due to rising rents and stagnant incomes, not through any fault of their own. If we’re going to succeed in this fight, it’s because we find ways to tackle these challenges together, collaboratively along with our communities, putting people and neighborhoods first in all that we do. We must make

What Was the Oil Drum Doing on East 204th Street (Picture)

By MARY MELLON and DAVID CRUZ

A salvage drum filled with diesel fuel has finally been collected from the northwest corner of East 204th Street and Perry Avenue after languishing there for several weeks. Residents worried about potential safety risks, including the possibility that it would explode. “I just want everyone to be safe,” said one resident, who first reported the incident to the Norwood News. “That’s basically it.” The resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “I live in the area and walk past the area every day and all of a sudden I see this big yellow drum there. Like, what is this? So

Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

Dear Fellow Readers! The latest edition of the Norwood News, largely covering the northwest section of the Bronx, is out with plenty of community news you can use. We pack 16 pages worth of news so let’s get started! We begin, as usual, with page one. There you’ll find a nice human interest story on Nilda Hofmann, a born-and-bred Bronxite who rose to the rank of NYPD Chief of Community Affairs in January. We’ll take you to the ceremony where the 28-year veteran received her gold star from NYPD top cop James O’Neill. You’ll also hear how the NYPD’s Neighborhood

Flea Market Donations Sought Donations are needed for the Bedford Mosholu Community Association flea market scheduled to be held on March 10. Bring new and used items (except clothing and hard cover books) to the BMCA office at 400 E. Mosholu Pkwy. So., apt. B1 (lobby floor) on Feb. 21 and 28 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., March 3 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. and March 7 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. For more information, call (718) 367-2230 or email bedfordmosholu@verizon.net. Free Tax Filing Assistance Free tax filing is available for families whose total income is $54,000 or less or individuals who

By DAVID GREENE

This week we asked readers their thoughts on how President Donald Trump’s first year in office went. He’s done some things good and some things he’s messed up. He’s going after the pedophiles and the corrupt politicians, but he’s just as dirty as they are anyway. He’s corrupt too; all his business dealings and he doesn’t show his taxes and we don’t know anything more about him than what he’s shown. Everybody has their taxes exposed, but his are hidden. Why, I don’t know. But I prefer him over Hillary Clinton because she’s an old school politician who’s done nothing

By DAVID GREENE

Father Richard Gorman, a beloved community leader and Bronx priest who fell from grace after being accused of a molestation incident alleged to have happened 30 years ago, died Jan. 23 after an apparent heart attack. He was 63. Archdiocese of New York spokesman Joseph Zwilling confirmed Gorman’s passing, calling it “sudden and unexpected.” Gorman, who lived in a home for infirm priests in Riverdale, was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center where he died. Gorman reportedly had heart ailments going as far back as 2002. For years, the seasoned clergyman spoke publically on injustices impacting the Bronx. Ordained by the

Editorial: Not a Good Message, Mr. Council Speaker

When New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson took the reins from his predecessor, Melissa Mark-Viverito, we knew change was certainly inevitable. We just didn’t think this was going to happen. Within two weeks from the time Mr. Johnson was sworn in, out went several members of the Speaker’s Public Technology Unit, whose job was to work with the city’s diverse community and ethnic media. This move, which the office addressed as benign, spoke volumes. Four staffers were let go; all of them Latina women. The four employees worked well in sending out a message to New York’s community and

By NIALL RIDGLEY

Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed an executive order allowing pharmacies to administer vaccines to children ages 2 to 18 as of Jan. 25 to combat the flu outbreak as weekly diagnoses and hospitalizations reach record highs. Cuomo’s executive order suspends a section of state education law that prevented pharmacists from administering immunizations to persons under age 18, thus enabling New York youth to have a better chance at avoiding a nasty flu strain in a particularly beleaguered state. The state has logged 7,800 cases of the flu strain with 1,759 requiring hospitalization. “I urge all New Yorkers to help us

By MARY MELLON

There will finally be a city-funded animal shelter in the Bronx, city officials announced. The 47,000-square-foot Bronx shelter is expected to be built in Co-op City by 2024, and will have room for 70 dogs, 140 cats, 30 rabbits, and 20 animals from other species. The news comes after years of wrangling by animal rights groups in the Bronx, who see shuttling animals to Manhattan as unfair. In a statement, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the shelter will “offer direct adoption because we know how much New Yorkers love their pets, especially those in need of a home.” City-funded animal