Electeds Want Your Questions for Town Hall Forum in Norwood

By DAVID CRUZ

Norwood’s representatives on the city and state level want you to bring your gripes to a town hall forum they’ve organized for tomorrow. The legislators–Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, state Sen. Jamaal Bailey, Assemblywoman Nathalia, and Councilman Andrew Cohen–will be on hand for the forum starting at 7 p.m. at Montefiore Medical Center’s Cherkasky Auditorium. The forum allows residents to share any community concerns with the four representatives. For Dinowitz, this represents his fourth town hall since November, which has drawn roughly 100 residents on average. “I’m hoping we get a good crowd. We have, in the past, trouble getting crowds,” said

Campaign for More Norwood Spots Results in Progress

By DAVID CRUZ, SHA-NIA ALSTON, and ALONDRA VASQUEZ

Parking remains a challenge for Norwood residents and employees who work in the neighborhood. But a campaign led by Councilman Andrew Cohen was able to chip away at one of the top issues that have long plagued the north Bronx community. “I gave them a list, and they made good on it.” Cohen said, to the city Department of Transportation, which moved ahead with the traffic regulation change. It’s at the quiet section on Putnam Place between East Gun Hill Road and Reservoir Oval East where the DOT removed a “No Parking Monday/Friday 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.” restriction, replacing

Bronx Connections: The Health Impact (Part 3 of 5)

By JULIA ROSE HERMAN of WFUV

The Norwood News, WFUV Radio, and BronxNet Television present a five-part series on health-related struggles affecting residents of the Bronx. Urgent Care Offers Lower Costs and Wait Times, But at a Price As urgent care centers pop up across the Bronx, Dr. Barry Baker, a private practitioner, prefers the traditional physician-patient model. But it doesn’t mean he doesn’t keep one foot in the urgent care trend. Dr. Baker, who has an office in Throggs Neck, always knew he wanted to go into private practice. “I saw an ad in The New York Times ‘Practice for Sale’–I contacted the husband and

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

Free Tax Prep Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, 3450 DeKalb Ave. offers free tax return service Mondays through Fridays from 4 p.m. Those who made $54,000 or less in 2018 and have children, or $30,000 or less without children, qualify for the free service. For more information or to make an appointment, call (718) 882-4000. Participatory Budgeting The next round of workshops on Participatory Budgeting, where residents can decide how $1 million in capital funding should be spent in the 11th Council District, takes place on the following dates and times for residents living in Bedford Park and Norwood: Sister Annunciata

Editor’s Pick: Norwood Town Hall Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, Senator Jamaal Bailey and Councilmember Andrew Cohen invite the public to a Norwood Town Hall meeting on April 4 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Montefiore Medical Center Cherkasky Auditorium, 110 E. Gun Hill Rd. For more information, call Dinowitz’s office at (718) 796-5345. Onstage Williamsbridge Oval presents free theatre, Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” in the Rec Center, April 11 at 7 p.m. RSVP bronxacf@parks.nyc.gov. For more information, call (718) 543-8672. Bronx Library Center, 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd., presents Celia Cruz H.S. Orchestra performing chamber music, March 30 at 2:30 p.m.; and

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s sixth edition of the Norwood News with plenty of community news you can use. We’ve packed 20 pages full of great stories impacting the Bronx. As usual, we’ll begin with page one! Our front-page story focuses on progress at the The Bedford Park Manor, which will now be occupied with a live-in super. The tenants have been fighting the landlord, The Stagg Group, for several months over the conditions at the building. Jose A. Giralt spoke to all sides. We also hear from West Bronx Housing, which breaks down the unconventional approach by tenants. Inside the cover

Inquiring Photographer: City Control of Subway System

By DAVID GREENE

With New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson recently proposing the city take control of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), amid the agency’s plan to raise weekly and monthly fares, we asked readers if this would make a difference in terms of service. If they fixed things I would pay a little more. They always say the same thing, but you never see the improvements. Maria Fermin Norwood Yes, I think that would be a good idea. It’s always very slow, both the bus and trains and they’re always fixing it. The problem is too many people not working

Struggling Kingsbridge Heights Strip Could Get Leg Up With Small Business Bills Package

By EMILY SUZANNE LEVER

With evictions of business tenants on the rise across the city, particularly in the Bronx, City Council members looked toward solutions during a meeting of the Committee on Small Business on March 18. And the benefits could be felt in Kingsbridge Heights’ financially squeezed business corridor. In a preliminary budget hearing, the committee discussed some bills aiming to protect commercial tenants by passing laws similar to those protecting residential tenants. Other proposals focused on information-gathering, such as a proposal for a database tracking empty storefronts. “These businesses are key to the ability to start a new life and eventually enter

Complaints Grow on Much-Delayed Jerome Avenue Retaining Wall Project

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

Walking along Parkview Terrace parallel to Jerome Avenue, there is no shortage of people complaining about the $15 million construction project that has inconvenienced them since fall 2015. The complaints range from limited crosswalks, to excessive noise, to lost patience in city promises of quickly finishing the project, which began nearly four years ago. As Kevin Gonzalez walks his Doberman along Parkview Terrace, he points to the orange and white concrete barriers that narrow the space enough for a vehicle to pass through. “I was almost hit by a car right there,” says Gonzalez. Gonzalez has similar complaints of