(Op-Ed) Answers for the Student Homelessness Crisis

By LATOYA JOYNER

Of the 58,000 people sleeping in shelters on any given night, nearly three-quarters are parents and their children, who are unable to afford an apartment in our increasingly unaffordable city. For the six-year-old living in a shelter or doubled up in the home of a family friend, the daunting prospects of learning to read and social dynamics of making new friends are fraught with the instability of homelessness. Children who are homeless are more likely to be suspended and to have behavioral issues in school. Due to the often longer commutes, they may struggle to complete their homework and study

Dear Fellow Readers, It’s that time again! The latest edition of Norwood News is out, featuring plenty of community news you can use! We begin, of course, with the front page story on a new program rolled out by the 52nd Precinct dubbed the Neighborhood Coordination Officer program. Find out how this program, in the works for nearly a year, can do with improve the fraught relationship between the community and police. On page 2 you’ll find our take on what can make the program a true success. More inside-the-cover stories include the latest in several key political races in the

The 52nd Precinct rolled out its Neighborhood Coordination Officer (NCO) program, falling under its Neighborhood Policing Plan, a commendable patrol program in which a handful of cops will permanently stay within a segment of a precinct to derail crime (see the front page story on the introduction of the program). The new role officers have adopted is nearly akin to a small-town sheriff—they know everyone and everyone knows them. For the pair of officers immersing themselves in the respective neighborhoods of Norwood, Bedford Park, University Heights, Fordham and Kingsbridge Heights, interfacing with the public can be awkward, maybe uncomfortable for

By DANIELA BEASLEY

A proposal for a new BP gas station on West Fordham Road was met with strong opposition and little support from the community board whose jurisdiction covers the gas station. The gas station would be replacing a 55-space parking lot at 205 W. Fordham Rd. by Sedgwick Avenue. The plan lays out the gas station as having five pumps, a canopy and three curb cuts serving as entrances and exits. The placement of the curb cuts is what troubled Community Board 7’s Land Use/Housing Committee with respect to driver safety. West Fordham Road, a major thoroughfare, has cars traveling past

By DAVID GREENE

This week we asked readers their plans for the upcoming summer season. Well, I’m planning to get a few extra credits at my school so I can graduate earlier. Having some fun, celebrating my holiday Ramadan, in which we fast for the entire month. It starts on June 6 and ends July 6. And I will help take care of my dad’s two stores and try and have a little fun. Mohammed Abdullah Zerega I’m going to rest, relax and enjoy the weather until the cold comes back. In Norwood, I like coming to the Williamsbridge Oval Park where I

Question from client: “So when is the best time to take my Social Security?” Answer (in my head): “Well, I don’t know Mr Jack, let me just pull that number out of a hat.” Actually, a great question. And one with straightforward answer. Especially today, as the Social Security Administration has just changed the rules and they are even more complex. But let’s start with the basics: You can take it as young as 62 and as old as 70. What will change? The amount of payments and the dollar size. Now, whether you should start to receive Social Security

Vivian R. Carter, the boisterous sales person for the Norwood News, has parted with the bi-weekly community newspaper and now serving as director of communications for local Councilman Andrew Cohen. Ms. Carter embodied the spirit of community. Working on a modest commission, she invested hours into the almost 28-year-old newspaper, offering a wealth of ideas, attending community cultural events, and lending a wealth of personal knowledge to the newsroom. Ms. Carter worked in the fields of law (she had worked alongside current U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch) and education before focusing her attention on the history of Rockaway, a neighborhood

Dear Fellow Readers, The multi-award winning Norwood News, bringing you plenty of community news you can use is out with its latest edition. We have 20 packed pages full of news, with one page devoted to several nods the paper received within the last first. As usual, we take you to page one, and a story about a notorious landlord who faces mounting pressure from Bronx tenants looking to improve their buildings’ quality of life. Tatyana Turner tells you all she knows about Ved Parkash, who owns some 40 residences in the Bronx. Definitely worth a read. Inside the cover, an

By TATYANA TURNER

The results are in! A local grassroots group has finally gotten a clearer idea of how to a plant a greener future for a neighborhood park. The Friends of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP) tallied the results of a survey and found Norwood wants a new comfort station, improved lighting, and renovated water features for Kossuth Playground, which opened in 1930. To bring the proposal to life, FOMP reached out to the office of Councilman Andrew Cohen, who represents Norwood, and Partnerships for Parks to help organize an event that would allow residents to voice the needs for Kossuth Playground. “We had