It’s been an eventful year in Norwood, with developments in housing, politics and parks making headlines. As 2016 approaches, the Norwood News looks back at some of the year’s biggest stories.

Housing and Development

It was the year of housing in New York as Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration worked throughout the city to

advance his Housing New York initiative, which would build or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing citywide. However, community boards around the city, including in the Bronx, pushed back against two zoning amendments that would have made the building possible.

Community Board 7 and the Bronx Borough Board, a 22-member panel comprised of Bronx New York City Council members and leaders of all 12 community boards, unanimously voted against the amendments, with Bronx Borough President Ruben Díaz Jr. criticizing the plan’s one-size-fits-all approach.

Earlier in the year, members of CB7 criticized an aspect of the plan that would remove a requirement for off-street parking on affordable buildings. Without that provision, it will be even more difficult for residents to find parking. “This community is going up, we’re going to need more parking,” said Adaline Walker-Santiago, chair of CB7. “The senior people do need cars to get around.”

Development has certainly been a major theme in Norwood. In April, the Stagg Group, a family-owned housing developer, opened the Bedford Park Manor, which has 97 new units of housing in three buildings. About 20 percent of the units were set aside as affordable. In January, the Stagg Group purchased a total of three sites–3084 Webster Ave., 150 Van Cortlandt Ave. E., and 410-414 E. 203rd St.–further adding to its footprint in Norwood.

In March, another major developer, The Doe Fund, purchased the site at 3100 Webster Ave. for $29.5 million. They plan to build an eight-story supportive housing complex for HIV/AIDS sufferers and the working poor. Community groups and local politicians expressed concern that the building could become a burden and change the commercial character of the neighborhood.  “The site is an anchor for the 204th Street merchant strip,” said Barbara Stronczer of CB7 and the president of the Bedford Mosholu Community Association. “I feel that The Doe Fund should have chosen a better site.”

Project Renewal also announced plans to build a major supportive/affordable housing complex in Bedford Park on Jerome Avenue. The non-profit developer plans to spend $85 million to build a 12- and 14-story complex at 2880 Jerome Ave. that will hold 213 units of housing.

The fate of the post office at 2963 Webster Ave. remains up in the air. Lilliam Rodriguez, the postmaster for the Bronx, visited the Bedford-Mosholu Community Association on Oct. 7 to tell concerned residents, “We have no intention of going anywhere.” But real estate developer Andrew Maniglia bought the building in 2014 for $1.5 million and has not renewed the lease, which expires in June 2016. The community, which relies on that post office, will be eyeing developments there in the coming year.

Politics

Assemblyman Carl Heastie became the first African-American Speaker of the new State Assembly when he was

elected in February to replace the disgraced Sheldon Silver. Silver resigned as Speaker, though he kept his Assembly position, amid allegations of corruption in January and was convicted of corruption charges later in the year. Many saw Heastie’s ascension as a boon for the Bronx, giving the borough a voice in the innermost circle of political power in Albany.

After Heastie moved up the ladder in March, Bronx Assemblyman Marcos Crespo of the 85th Assembly district took over Heastie’s former position as leader of the Democratic County Committee. Crespo was hailed as a rising star in the Democratic Party, capable of forging unity among the party’s members.

The Bronx achieved another political milestone this year when voters chose Darcel Clark as the first female Bronx District Attorney. Clark, a Democrat and former Bronx Supreme Court Judge, overwhelmingly defeated her opponent, Republican Robert Siano, gaining 85.8% of the vote.

The biggest name in American politics, President Barack Obama, visited Lehman College in the Bronx this year in May. This was his first visit to our borough, and possibly the last, as a sitting president. He visited the college to promote the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, a nonprofit initiative aimed at setting minority men on a path to success.

On civic matters, Community Board 7, covering Norwood, once again said goodbye to its district manager, the third in three years. A vacancy remains, with the Board expected to make an announcement on a replacement in January 2016.

Crime

The year started off with some good news: violent crime went down in the 52nd Precinct, which includes Norwood, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge Heights and parts of Fordham and University Heights. However, by March, crime had spiked, fueled by a dramatic increase in robberies, particularly in the sleepier neighborhoods of Norwood and Bedford Park. By September, shooting incidents in the 52nd Precinct had risen 27 percent compared to the same period in 2014. The situation was brought to a boil when 24-year-old David Hooks was shot to death near the corner of Briggs Avenue and 194th Street, a troubled part of the precinct. Residents voiced concerns about rising violence at a town hall meeting organized by Councilman Ritchie Torres and attended by community members and NYPD officers.

In its fight in the war on drugs, the NYPD (and emergency rooms) saw a formidable enemy in synthetic marijuana, nicknamed K2. In May, CB 7 was the first community board in the city to hold a forum on the topic where Dr. Ernest Patti, ER director at St. Barnabas Hospital, noted a 220 percent spike in emergency room incidents attributed to the drug. Despite a major K2 bust by the DEA, NYPD and Homeland Security in the Bronx in September, use of the drug still continued.

Parks

The heart of Norwood, the Williamsbridge Oval Park, had some ups and downs this year. Park visitors increased,

but with the increase came some problems. In September, the stone staircase on the northeast side of the park collapsed for unknown reasons, leaving park-goers wondering why more regular maintenance is not performed on park infrastructure. Also, a couple of brawls broke out among youths visiting the park in October. Community leaders convened a meeting to address the issue, but due to low attendance, particularly among youth, they were unable to make any progress addressing the growing violence.

There was positive news in the park as well. Significant progress was made towards building a new skate park in the Williamsbridge Oval. Community members, park planners, politicians and skateboarders all put their heads together to move the $750,000 project towards reality.

 

Meantime, the Jerome Park Reservoir was finally open to the public for a pilot project long championed by advocates who’ve yearned to access the perimeter of the park. In early November, park goers got to sample the site, highly cordoned off by the Department of Environmental Protection, which monitors the man made reservoir. It remains unclear whether the pilot project will continue in 2016.

Mere blocks away, the Kingsbridge Armory, slated to be an enormous ice skating center, saw virtually no movement in 2015, save for a town hall meeting by the project’s CEO, Mark Messier, ensuring those interested that the park project continues. Developers have to make good on a promise to have funding in place before they can put any shovels to the ground in 2016.

 Editor’s Note: Do you have a 2015 milestone we missed? Send your thoughts to dcruz@norwoodnews.org.