Neighborhood Notes: Trail Volunteers Needed, Toy Drive, and More

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

Trail Volunteer Sign up to join the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance’s Volunteer Trails Restoration Crew for Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The service helps train volunteers to work alongside trails professionals to develop skills in various areas of trail construction while improving the trails in Van Cortlandt Park. For more information, and to sign up, contact john@vancortlandt.org. Must be 18 years of age to join. Toy Drive The Bronx Zoo is accepting donations of unwrapped toys for its annual toy drive to distribute to local veterans and active-duty members of the military and their families. Anyone donating

Editor’s Pick Celebrate Thanksgiving Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez, State Senator Jamaal T. Bailey, and Councilman Andy Cohen invite the public to the following free Thanksgiving events on Nov. 25: Turkey Giveaway – 4 to 6 p.m. at North Central Bronx Hospital, 3424 Kossuth Ave. RSVP by Nov. 22 to (718) 519-4860. Community Dinner- 6 to 9 p.m. at Lexa Bar & Garden, 357 E. 204th St. RSVP to (718) 409-0109. Events The Jerome Gun Hill Business Improvement District hosts its annual Holiday Tree Lighting on Dec. 4 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the corner of East Mosholu Parkway and Jerome

City Takes Steps to Improve Safety at Shelter. But Where’s the Data

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

Peace officers trained by the NYPD have been assigned at the Jerome Avenue Men’s Shelter (JAMS), but it’s unclear whether it has made a difference since city data provided shows an overall decline of crime around shelters in the Bronx. Previously, the 200-bed men’s shelter for the mentally ill had contracted a security team of eight guards from a private company to ensure safety at the facility. The new peace officers from the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) are overseen by NYPD and are considered better trained to deal with security issues including arrest procedures and restraining

A Special Report on the Vanishing Homeowner, Railing Against Express Bus Service Cuts: Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s twenty-third edition of the Norwood News is out with 28 pages packed full of news from this corner of the Bronx. Let’s begin with page one! Our top story looks at the problem of homeownership in the Bronx, or the growing lack thereof, with more and more limited liability companies snatching up one- to four-family homes across the borough. The Norwood News spent two months delving into the topic, and we’ve got some interesting findings to share. Inside the cover you’ll read a piece on a Norwood man’s mission to change the way the prison

By DAVID CRUZ

A GROUP OF community residents rolled up their sleeves to clean up Devoe Park in Fordham on Nov. 16. Formally known as Friends of Devoe Park, the group hauled out trash, raked leaves, and swept up parts of the massive park, and raked leaves. The group also received help from officers at the local 52nd Precinct and residents from the Bowery Residents Committee. Photo courtesy Rachel Bradshaw

MMCC Thanksgiving Day Food Giveaway Has the Trimmings for 200 Attendees

By MICHAEL TURAY

With Thanksgiving Day on the horizon, it’s the time of the year where generational recipes will be prepared and plates will be filled. Unfortunately for some, Thanksgiving groceries can be hard to come by, but last week the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC) hosted their annual Turkey Giveaway Event, filling a need for underserved Bronx residents. MMCC board members along with their loved ones all came out to lend a hand to dish out Thanksgiving goodies during a two-day giveaway event that saw lines of residents waiting to get a bird and some trimmings to go with it. In the

Bronx Residents Air Out Grievances on Proposed Express Bus Cuts

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

Hundreds of residents in the Bronx turned out at a town hall meeting in Riverdale to let MTA representatives, led by Craig Cipriano, acting president for the MTA Bus Company, know that service cuts to express bus service to Manhattan is unacceptable. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz moderated the Nov. 18 meeting with Councilman Andrew Cohen, both of whom represent Norwood, to discuss prospective cuts to Express bus service that include the BxM4 that goes to Manhattan. In the MTA’s final bus network redesign report, the BxM4, among four other lines, is included on the list of “least financially efficient,” and is

In Stretch of Two Decades, BX Sports Builds Apparel Empire (Picture)

By JEROME GUN HILL BID

The Cafaro Brothers—Alberto, Vincenzo and Angelo—is also the team behind BX Sports, a sneaker and lifestyle apparel retailer found across the Bronx, including the Jerome Gun Hill Business Improvement District. Since 1997 the trio has been hard at work building a sneaker and style empire across the Bronx. BX Sports is a “true family business” with the three brothers at the helm supported by their sister and mother. For Alberto, “family is what makes the engine run.” When Alberto’s brother Vincenzo first decided to open up a sneaker store he was just 22 years old. At the time, the brothers

Norwood’s Graffiti Fighter Turns Attention to Domestic Violence

By SHA-NIA ALSTON

Heather Guerino and her husband Sirio are well known for cleaning up graffiti in Norwood. Now Heather is taking on a new cause by advocating for domestic violence survivors, and putting greater attention toward the issue. “I am on the frontline of this issue because I am working with parents that have gone through domestic violence situations,” Heather said. She even mentioned still seeing the effects of abuse on men and women who are no longer with their abuser. Heather’s advocacy was inspired by the tragic story of Lisa Marie Velasquez, a young woman from the Bronx who intended to