The live music was loud, the food was delicious, and the children couldn’t get enough cotton candy. The 20^th Annual Fall Festival, organized by the Jerome Gun Hill Business Improvement District (BID), was back in full force on Saturday, Oct. 23.

 

Jerome Avenue was closed for six hours from Gun Hill Road to East 208th Street in the Norwood section of the Bronx to accommodate the vendors, volunteers, and community groups.

 

Most of the tents set up at the festival were selling some type of goods or food, but not all. Brandon Montes, 30, is the founder of the Norwood Community Library, and his display was filled with books that visitors could walk away with for free. Montes depends on the goodwill of people to return the books when they’re finished and exchange them for others. “I showed up with two carts filled with books, and I’m now down to just four [books],” he said.  “I think we must have given out 150 books today, easy.”

 

Registered dietitian nutritionist, Dr. Gloria Bent, spoke to festival goers from her stand about the advantages of eating good, nutritious food. Bent makes cucumber water which she says is better for one’s system than soda or juices.

 

Comments from some of the attendees showed an eagerness to return to the sense of normalcy seen before the pandemic hit. Tania Blanco, 40, was glad to see the fair return for its 20th anniversary. “I think the fair is amazing because it brings the community together,” she said.

 

“In these times, we need to see that.” Blanco had a special reason for picking the music as her favorite part of the fair. “It’s always the music,” she said. “I just lost my dad, so listening to the Spanish music, you know, helps me remember,” she added.

Ariana Cipriani, Jerome Gun Hill BID manager of neighborhood development, and Natalia Guendel Bueno, Jerome Gun Hill BID community & economic development associate, had spent several weeks planning and preparing for the event and were happy that it was turned out to be such a success. They were joined on the day by Sallie Caldwell, Jerome Gun Hill BID board member.

 

On the stage, set up just south of Gun Hill Road, Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernández (A.D. 80) received a public service award from the BID, and had praise for the work they do. “I’m so honored to receive the public service award,” Fernández told Norwood News. Of the BID itself, she added, “I look forward to their continued work and I thank them for everything they do for the community.”

 

Other public service awards were presented to Jason Carabello, community relations manager at Montefiore Medical Center, local clean-up and graffiti removal group, Guerinos Against Graffitti*, and Rick Chandler, senior vice president for strategic development at Montefiore Medical Center.

 

District 11 City Councilman Eric Dinowitz was also in attendance at the festival, ahead of his bid for re-election to his City Council seat in the general election, held on Nov. 2. Dinowitz, the incumbent Democrat, had won 85.13 percent of the vote when polls closed at 9 p.m. on Election Night, according to the New York City Board of Elections (BOE) unofficial results on Election Night, based on returns from 14 percent of all voting scanners, as reported.

 

By Nov. 3, Dinowitz’s percent had dropped to 79.31, and Kevin Pazmino (the Republican / Conservative Party candidate) had earned 19.63 percent, based on returns from 99 percent of all voting scanners.

 

Brenda Caldwell-Paris, president of the 52nd Precinct Community Council, walked up and down the street on the day of the festival, along with other council members, giving away face coverings. “We’re promoting mask wearing by giving them away,” Caldwell-Paris said.

 

“We’re also making people aware of the next 52nd Precinct Community Council meeting,” she added. (At the Oct. 28 meeting, free hand sanitizer was handed out to attendees.) While the council has resumed in-person meetings, which are usually held on the third Thursday of each month, Caldwell said at the October meeting that the November meeting may, actually, be held virtually. Residents should call the council at (718) 220-5824 ahead of time to check.

 

Brina Lauriano, 30, walked to the festival from nearby Villa Avenue and said she hopes to see more public events like it which she views as an escape from what she described as the negativity of all the pandemic-related news. “[It] is [a] way to see positivity,” Lauriano said. “It’s hopefully a way to do good.”

 

The positive festival vibe, complemented by music and dance performances, was contagious, and made some of the local vendors and community partners think about returning next year. This was the second year for the Norwood Community Library to have a stand at the festival and Montes expects to be back.

 

“I love events like this because all of us come out and support each other and [it] adds something positive here in the Bronx,” he said. “I’m happy to help and be here for the community.”

Summing up the day, Jennifer Tausig, Jerome Gun Hill BID director of community and economic development, said, “We are thrilled to celebrate the 20th Annual Fall Festival together, particularly after the last 18 months.” She added, “We’re grateful for our sponsors, community partners and our neighbors for their continued support of the BID, and our local small businesses.”

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.