Editorial – We’re Just Getting Warmed Up

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

Repealing the Affordable Care Act. Building a wall. Holding federal funds to New York City hostage. A temporary ban on refugees. All this happened in one week of President Donald Trump’s America. And though his executive orders were theatrical at best (except the ban), they’re just getting warmed up. And so is the media. Since the Inauguration, there’s been a wake-up call among career politicians who believed none of this could happen. The reversal of fortune is tough to stomach for Democrats, who are now banding together to stymie the fallout of the Republican president’s policies, which appear to be

Dear Fellow Readers, Happy Groundhog Day! The Norwood News, covering the Bronx, is out with plenty of community news you can use! In this third edition of 2017 we bring you 16 pages packed with thought-provoking news items. As usual, we begin one page and a story we’ve been wanting to cover for some time: classroom space. With Mayor Bill de Blasio announcing the creation of 38,000, parents would prefer to see a school built. And so does local Bronx Community Board 7, which has made it its top request to the city. Read how many seats are needed and

By ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA, PFA

Rapid Refund. Remember that name? It was so misleading, the IRS and New York made tax filing firms correct it’s meaning because it was misleading advertising. So now, we have “Rapid Advance.” No, it’s not your tax refund, but a 0 percent loan given to you on a pre-paid debit card. Well, you might say, that sounds very convenient. It sure is! The tax filing companies want you to use this new card–to spend your money–and they will charge you every dollar for it. So, you’ve finished your taxes! Got your debit card and your loan? You want it now

A few weeks ago I met a man from the South Bronx named Wellington. He was diagnosed with cancer and lost his health insurance. The City of New York fought for him and discovered he was entitled to free health coverage. Within a few days Wellington was in the hospital, getting care. Today he is cancer free. This is a frightening time. People tell me they’re worried about losing affordable health care and don’t know what to do. My answer: Tell everyone you know to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act – or as some people

By DAVID CRUZ

Online grocery purchases are now a possibility for food stamp recipients, thanks to a pilot program. The program allows recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to buy SNAP-approved food from FreshDirect and Amazon. Lobbying efforts from the Bronx Borough President’s Office and federal legislators convinced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to widen the acceptable food outlets SNAP benefits can take advantage of as a way to improve access to affordable food in areas where food deserts are the norm in the Bronx. It also gives a revenue boost to FreshDirect and Amazon. SNAP benefits come in a reloadable

By DAVID CRUZ

This week we asked readers the one thing they would like to see President Donald Trump do and/or not do in his first year in office. I would like to see him make America great as he said he wants to do. I don’t want to see him take away Obamacare, unless he can replace it with something that’s going to be more effective and will include more people. I’m hopeful, let’s give him a chance. Barbara Wadell-Steele Mott Haven I don’t want him to deport any immigrants, because this city was made by immigrants. I’m afraid of Donald

Hello Fellow Readers! The latest edition of the Norwood News, covering all things Bronx, specifically Norwood, is out with plenty of community news you can use. As all stories go, we’ll begin on page one and our front page story focusing on the upcoming HOPE Count by the New York City Department of Homeless Services, which is still dealing with a major homeless crisis. Read what the count is all about and why it’s been met with controversy over the years. Turning to the inside pages, we take a look at some glimmer of hope to the topsy-turvy saga that’s

As we ring in the New Year and wish all a prosperous and healthy 2017, hundreds of families with loved ones behind bars could face the prospect of not knowing if their mother or father, brother or sister, son or daughter has died in a New York State prison. For instance, Lonnie Hamilton, an inmate at Marcy Correctional Facility, died in March 2016 without his family knowing. His father said in media reports that he only realized his son had died after he decided to look for his prison address on the New York State Department of Corrections and Community

Dear Fellow Readers, The Norwood News, covering the Bronx, is out with its latest edition of the community newspaper, bringing you plenty of news you can use. We begin, of course, with page one, and a retrospective look at 2016, a year filled with plenty of tumult. We look back at some key stories that the Norwood News followed over the year, along with some departures and so longs. Moving ahead into 2017, we have a story on a proposal to revert Mosholu Parkway back to the days when six-story buildings were considered tall in the grassy neighborhood. Hear about one community