With Kingsbridge School Set to Close, Parents Now Eye Norwood’s BCCS

By ADELINE HANSSEN

Talk about a long shot. The demand for entry into Bronx Community Charter School (BCCS) in Norwood has increased now that Tech International Charter School (TICS) in Kingsbridge will close at the end of the school year. Parents of the soon-to-close school hope to win the lottery for entry into BCCS. But of the 28 applicants for the seventh grade class and 21 for the eighth grade class, only four of them may be allowed into the school, according to the school’s co-founder. And that’s if there are four slots indeed. Of these applications, 19 come from students who are

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 DAVID CRUZ

Three years ago, PS 77 at 3177 Webster Ave. opened with the hopes of easing overcrowding within the school district. Three years later, the school is overcrowded, according to Marvin Shelton, president of the Community Education Council for School District 10. “I talked to the principal and she said, ‘yeah, we’re capping Kindergarten already,’” Shelton said, recalling a meeting he had at the school recently. “They’re a Pre-K to 5 and they’re only Pre-K to 3, and they’ve already filled up the building. It just shows how backed up the district is in terms of making new capacity.” And

The Norwood News took a look back at 2016’s first editorial, “Welcoming 2016 With Predictions on New Round of Stories,” which forecasted stories for the next 12 months. With that, we look back on these predictions and what really happened: Securing the Oval: 2015 saw more and more police making arrests at Williamsbridge Oval Park, a park frequented by hundreds daily. Fires tormented police for months, but have since subsided. That’s a good thing. Safeguarding the park, a key source of entertainment for a largely working class community, is critical. If a populace fears a park, it will only signal

By BEN ST. CLAIR

In September, while other Fordham University students finished class or relaxed before a Friday night out, sophomore Olivia Greenspan headed to the garden. Tucked away behind Fordham’s Faculty Memorial Hall and the building housing Fordham University Press, the garden is a far cry from the New York Botanical Garden across the street. But to her and many others who spend time there, this garden — St. Rose’s Garden — is one of the university’s hidden gems. Many students are not aware of the garden’s eight beds and numerous kiddie pools filled with soil. Despite the colorful sign on the fence

Gjonaj to Receive Bronx Democratic Party Endorsement

By DAVID CRUZ

State Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj, whose 80th Assembly District edges into Norwood, has become the latest candidate to jump into the race for the City Council seat for the East Bronx. Four others have already declared a run in the Democratic Primary for the 13th Council District seat, which covers a portion of Norwood, as well as Throggs Neck, City Island, Morris Park, Country Club, Allerton and Pelham Parkway. The seat is now held by Councilman Jimmy Vacca, who is term-limited. The mudslinging has already begun, with one of Gjonaj’s opponents charging that a Gjonaj win could leave the Assembly District without

By DAVID CRUZ

The troubled DeWitt Clinton High School, considered one of the worst-performing schools in the New York City public school system, is now left without its principal amid accusations he fixed grades, according to reports. Santiago Taveras was removed as principal of the once-famed school early this week. The New York Times reported Taveras was removed after an internal investigation by the New York City Department of Education found he changed grades on student transcripts while threatening to remove an assistant principal in keeping it quiet by giving the principal a poor rating. Accusations Taveras altered grades was first reported by

By DAVID CRUZ

With nearly half the Bronx population Hispanic or Hispanic-American, the New York City Department of Education is hosting a daylong forum exclusively in Spanish, offering workshops on how to navigate the school system. Carmen Fariña, head of the DOE, is scheduled to make opening remarks. She’s expected to be joined by Yolanda Torres, head of the Division of Family and Community Engagement (FACE). The division has spent the last year attempting to forge stronger ties between parents and schools. There are roughly 741,000 Hispanics or Latinos living in the Bronx, according to U.S. Census data, with residents of Puerto Rico