Latest Edition of the Norwood News Is Out!

Dear Loyal Readers, A brand new edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of local Bronx news you can use. We begin at the sprawling Concourse Yards in Bedford Park, where Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. is proposing to build a platform to serve as the foundation for potential development. Find out what one professor of civil engineering has to say about the project and whether it’s even feasible. At Montefiore Medical Center, read the life story of Montefiore Health System’s newest cardiologist, and his circuitous route to the Norwood hospital. It’s a story you won’t want to miss.

By DAVID CRUZ

A new era of healthcare is slowly dawning in New York, and many of its city-run hospitals are spending the next four years preparing to shift gears before its event horizon. For NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx in Norwood, that strategy involves the patient experience and its nurses, often deemed the face of most hospitals. NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx is part of the Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the city’s financially beleaguered hospital network that was once referred to as North Central Bronx Hospital. Making things tougher is cuts in state and federal subsidies by 2020, which

By JASMINE GOMEZ

Here’s one idea for what you can do with that toaster or flower pot you no longer use– donate it to the Bedford Mosholu Community Association. The Bedford Mosholu Community Association (BMCA) is hosting its annual flea market on March 5 at St. Mary’s Orthodox Church at 360 Bedford Park Blvd. The group is collecting donations of any old or used items such as appliances, glassware, and toys, with the exception of clothes. The flea market helps the BMCA, a group of volunteers committed to sustaining a quality standard of living for Bedford Park residents, cover the expenses that come

By WENDY JOAN BIDDLECOMBE

Recently, Luis Cruz worked inside Woodlawn Cemetery’s workshop at East 233rd Street to re-attach an angel’s head that had fallen off a 19th century monument years earlier. Later, students from Bronx International High School in the South Bronx searched the snow-covered grounds for a missing piece of that angel’s wing after failing to locate it behind the shop’s somewhat creepy pile of broken faces, arms and other stone extremities. The students are part of the Woodlawn Preservation Training Program, which has been working since the summer to restore monuments on the 400-acre landmark cemetery that would otherwise have gone unrepaired.

By DAVID CRUZ

In a proposal that’s likely several years away from construction, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. unveiled his vision to generate more development by plating over existing open air rail yards dotted around the borough. The concept served as the crux to his ten-page report on the promise three rail yards hold for development. And while two yards in the Concourse and Riverdale sections of the Bronx would work as pragmatic sites, Diaz zeroed in on the Concourse Yard, a breathtaking span in Bedford Park, as having “tremendous potential” in seeing any type of development. The yard houses the B, D and 4

Blood Drive St. Brendan’s Church, 333 E. 206th St. presents the annual “After Super Bowl Blood Drive” on Feb. 14 at 10 a.m., in the rectory. Donors are required to eat a full meal and drink plenty of water before donating. For more information, call (718) 547-6655. BMCA Seeks Flea Market Donations The Bedford Mosholu Community Association is accepting donations for its annual flea market set for March 5. Bring new and used items (except clothes) to 400 E. Mosholu Pkwy. So., apt. B1 (lobby floor) on Wednesdays, Feb. 17 and 24 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Feb. 27 from

By VIVIAN R. CARTER

Wheeled vehicles powered by humans, not steam engines, may again be able to traverse the Old Putnam Trail in Van Cortlandt Park. But not anytime soon. Two community boards are considering a controversial $2.5 million proposal to redesign the trail by adding a 10-foot wide asphalt surface and 3-foot wide jogging trail. The trail, once the New York Central Railroad line, cuts through the center of Van Cortlandt Park, from its southern border, north to the city line with Yonkers. In 2013, a plan to redo the trail was rejected by Community Board 8 of Riverdale/Kingsbridge. The park is designated

Three Lehman College business majors have been selected to join the Bronx Arts Ensemble (BAE) as interns for the spring 2016 term. The Lehman interns will be responsible for assisting in the management of BAE programs. The entrepreneurial, dynamic office environment exposes the interns to many aspects of arts administration, including but not limited to, marketing, program management, accounting and fundraising. Lehman President Ricardo R. Fernandez commented: “I am delighted about this new initiative. Lehman and BAE have partnered in various artistic endeavors over the years. The partnership is now expanding into the business management realm and I am confident that

[URIS id=20221] In his third State of the City address, that once again captured the tenor of inequality, Mayor Bill de Blasio offered a synopsis of citywide initiatives while unveiling a short list of goals specific to the Norwood and Mott Haven sections of the Bronx. Presenting his evening address at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in the Bronx, the first for de Blasio, Mr. de Blasio summarized policies that he points have raised quality of life for New Yorkers, particularly the city’s downtrodden. Without the help of a teleprompter, Mr. de Blasio’s speech seemed to be refresher on