With Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. set to deliver his State of the Borough address on Feb. 20, we asked readers to offer their take on the state of the Bronx.

Right now, the main thing I’m concerned about is police actions. Other than that, the Bronx is a good place to live. Yeah, they’re still doing stop and frisk. They stop people for anything: weed, guns. I don’t mind them getting the guns off the street, but stopping everyone is harassment … I do worry about gentrification and that’s scary because it pushes the poor people right out of the neighborhood and we’ve been here all our lives.
Craig Childress
Morrisania

Well, economically, in this capitalistic society, everything is kind of stagnant. No, I don’t believe the unemployment numbers. They have rules that kick people off of unemployment and then they stop counting those people. They’re not really doing anything about homelessness. There’s plenty of space, but there’s not much progress being made to decrease the homeless population. They could make affordable housing more affordable. To be eligible you have to make at least $45,000. That’s not low income housing.
Landon Graves
Kingsbridge

I see a lot of construction, but they’re doing it and not hiring many Bronxites. There’s also a lot of problems with drugs in the Bronx. The Bronx is getting clean. I believe Ruben Diaz, Jr. is doing good things—building infrastructure and community centers—but I do believe the drugs is a problem in the Bronx. It’s the opioids. Crime really hasn’t changed. The schools seem okay, but I think the lunches for the kids could be a lot better. And these teachers don’t understand how these minority kids are growing up; and they’re mostly Caucasian teachers, and right away they call [the Administration for Children’s Services]. They don’t understand how these kids live.
Adrian Cruz
Bedford Park

The problem is the economy. People work like dogs here just to keep a roof over their head. Crime too is a problem. The cost of living outpaces the wages. I don’t believe the unemployment figures; it’s not as good as they say. It’s all speculation and numbers that they come up with to appease the community, but still there are not enough jobs. There’s plenty of housing, but the landlords raise the rent so high that you can’t afford it. And they’re still building and there’s no more room. As New Yorkers, we’re basically good people, but the economy forces people to do bad things.
Joseph Cuff
Bedford Park

In my opinion, right now crime is not down. In terms of justice reform, I feel like it’s really going to get worse because you have people who just cannot and will not be productive members of society, so they’re letting them out without any type of training, mental screening, or medication. I am against the no bail. Some people should get bail, but if you have a chronic domestic violence abuser, he shouldn’t get bail. The only thing going good is the NYPD’s 52nd Precinct. It’s the best precinct in the entire Bronx.
Heather Guerino
Norwood

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.