Inquiring Photographer: Presidential Candidates

By DAVID GREENE

This week we asked readers their thoughts on the Democratic candidates for the 2020 presidential election including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. De Blasio is good to be mayor, but I don’t think he can compete for the U.S. presidential election. He’s not good, I don’t think so. I think Joe Biden has the most experience and he has a plan. All of the Democrats look good. MD Ali Washington Heights So far no one stands out. No, I don’t like [former Vice President Joe] Biden. I don’t know, I think we need new faces and

CB7 Sees Mix of New and Veteran Members to Executive Dais

By DAVID CRUZ and SÍLE MOLONEY

Community Board 7 saw a shift in civic power, as Jean Hill, who presided as chair of the northwest Bronx board, was voted out in favor of 31-year-old Norwood resident Emmanuel Martinez, a relative newcomer to the board. Several familiar faces have stayed on the executive dais, likely adding a mix of fresh ideas and institutional knowledge. Martinez currently serves as chair of CB7’s Veterans’ Committee, having recently hosted the annual Veterans’ Day Brunch, now in its third year. It’s unclear what the vote tally was as CB7 continues to ensure the proper vote count was met but 33 board

Merchants falling in the Jerome Gun Hill Business Improvement District (JGHBID), and supporters were on hand for the first-ever Small Business Recognition Barbecue hosted by the BID on June 21. The event honored longstanding or active merchants of the BID. Check out these fantastic shots by Síle Moloney

Bronx Tenants to New NYCHA Chair: Deliver

By CHRISTY RAE AMMONS AND SHA-NIA ALSTON

New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) recently hired Gregory Russ as the new chairman with a salary of over $400,000. Tenants in public housing and city officials are concerned. Russ has managed housing before, but never anything the size of NYCHA. In Minneapolis, he managed 6,300 units, and in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he managed 2,700. NYCHA has 400,000 New Yorkers living in 170,000 apartments, which is a difference of 163,700 units from where Russ started. “He managed a quarter of what NYCHA has,” said Linda Bailey, a tenant in Gun Hill Houses. “How are you going to manage this? What can

The Buzz of a New Mural, Courtesy of UNHP

By MICHAEL TURAY

Alfredo Bennett, commonly known as the Royal KingBee, led the ceremonial ribbon cutting that unveiled his eye-catching mural on a brickwall at 45-57 W. Tremont Ave., a 51-unit apartment complex near Kingsland Plaza in Tremont, on June 19. A round of applause and loud cheers followed as the Bronx native grinned proudly. The mural–a kaleidoscopic honeycomb that includes KingBee’s signature metallic-style bee–included with phrases such as “Reclaim” and “Save our Swarm” spray painted. In a way the mural captures the story of the apartment building, which, in the 1990s, had been completely rundown. This new display is a far cry

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

Editor’s Pick It’s My Park Partnerships for Parks presents It’s My Park at Mosholu Parkland’s Welcome Garden, Mosholu Parkway North and Bainbridge Avenue, June 22 from noon to 3 pm. Activities include face painting, storytelling, acoustic guitar music, and planting on the sidewalk gardens. For more information, visit www.partnershipsforparks.org/calendar. Onstage Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd. W., presents bachata artist Frank Reyes, June 29 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $45 to $85; $125/VIP (includes preconcert wine and hors d’oeuvres reception at 6:30 p.m. in the Havana Café). For more information, call (718) 960-8833/4/5. The NY Botanical

By SHA-NIA ALSTON & SÍLE MOLONEY

When Dr. Joan Kong arrived as the new principal of PS 11X in Highbridge in September 2011, the first thing she checked out was the school’s library and immediately assessed that it was not fit for purpose. “This is not a library,” she said, at that time, to Roseanna Gulisano, the school’s librarian. “So we are going to start from here and we are going to make this a real library, where kids have the opportunity to read, to enjoy reading, to love books and have the opportunities that they wouldn’t have gotten at home or [by] going to the

Long Lives Celebrated at St. Patrick’s Home

By CHRISTY RAE AMMONS

When Dan O’Sullivan, a 100-year-old resident of St. Patrick’s Home, first saw his niece who came from Ireland to surprise him at the Home’s Centennial Celebration on June 18, he cried out, “Oh, thank you, Lord,” and rose to greet her. Both of their eyes were filled with tears as they embraced. His niece, Mairead Stringer, is a kind of surrogate daughter, since O’Sullivan has no children of his own. Originally from Cork, the second largest city in Ireland, O’Sullivan came to the United States when he was 47, and worked as a taxi and limousine driver. “He was looking

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s thirteenth edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of great community news stories to dive into. There’s almost something happening in this corner of the Bronx, and we’ve captured a good chunk of it. And as usual, we’ll start with page one! Our front-page story focuses on more additions slated for the Jerome Avenue Men’s Shelter, which will now see a drug treatment center offered to those not housed at the shelter. Read the story by Jose A. Giralt. Read why the move has irked Community Board 7. Inside the cover you’ll find a piece on a barely