Kingsbridge Armory Back to Square One, as Annexes See $10 Million Renovation for Military Use

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT & SÍLE MOLONEY

The following is an extended version of the story that recently appeared in our latest print edition. Big news about what’s going to happen to the Kingsbridge Armory is nothing new at Community Board 7 (CB7) meetings. Discussions on the seemingly ill-fated development have been dragging on for years. At a recent CB7 general board meeting held on Feb. 22, Emmanuel Martinez, chairman of CB7, announced plans to gather input, once again, from the community on what will happen to the landmark building located on Jerome Avenue and West Kingsbridge Road. “I want to make the board aware

By JASON GONZALEZ & SÍLE MOLONEY

For Pierina Sanchez, the Democratic nominee for the District 14 City Council seat in the upcoming general election, it’s all about the love. Sanchez is all in for the “Boogie Down,” saying passion for the community is a major driving force behind her campaign. With early voting already underway and only one day remaining before the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 2, Sanchez is transparent and says a vote for her on Nov. 2 will benefit the borough. “It’s about the love,” Sanchez said during a campaign rally held outside the Kingsbridge Armory in the Kingsbridge Heights section

By ARACELIS BATISTA, DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY

The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition. Music industry professionals have joined forces to form the concept for the International Salsa Museum (ISM) in The Bronx and organizers recently held a press conference in Kingsbridge Heights, outside the massive Kingsbridge Armory which they hope will, someday, be the home of “El Condado de la Salsa.” The ISM is a non-profit which was created to educate and increase the public’s awareness of salsa and to “preserve salsa music’s rich cultural history.” It was founded by musician, music director, and producer, Willy

By DAVID GREENE

Recently, the Bronx V.A. Hospital, also known as the James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, has quietly begun vaccinating veterans of all ages. Soldiers from the different branches of service have been invited to the Kingsbridge Road medical center to get inoculated with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine since Friday, Feb. 12. Current guidelines from the New York State Department of Health only include people over the age of 65, frontline workers, public safety workers, public transit workers, teachers and adults with pre-existing conditions. Arnaldo Colon, of Pelham Parkway is a retired staff sergeant with the

By MIRIAM QUINOÑES & SÍLE MOLONEY

On Thursday Jan. 7, Councilman Fernando Cabrera, representing District 14, joined the 52nd Precinct Community Affairs Unit and the NYPD Explorers in painting over graffiti that had been sprayed on the walls of the Kingsbridge Armory at the junction of Kingsbridge Road and Jerome Avenue. Speaking to the Norwood News after the bulk of the work had been completed, Cabrera, who is serving his final term as a council member and is currently running for Bronx borough president, said, “We’re right here at the Kingsbridge Armory. This was full of graffiti. News 12 reached out to us about

Starting Monday, the Bronx will no longer be the only borough in New York City without a kosher food distribution site as part of the City’s Get Food program. After weeks of advocacy from Bronx elected officials, the City has agreed to distribute free kosher grab-and-go meals at P.S. 24 in the the borough starting Monday, May 11, opening the City’s prevailing meal distribution program to observant residents in the borough for the first time since the program’s launch. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and Council Member Andrew Cohen had been advocating for kosher food offerings in the Northwest Bronx to

Norwood News Year in Review (Development)

By DAVID CRUZ

What a year in 2019 for the Bronx! In keeping with tradition, the Norwood News paused to look back on 2019 with a highlight of several ongoing stories we’ve followed this past year. Development Large-scale development became the operative word in 2019, with a flood of projects happening simultaneously in Norwood and Bedford Park, prompting a story recapping readers on those projects on the Vol. 32 No. 11 edition and an in-depth piece entitled “The Vanishing Homeowner” in the Vol. 32 No. 23 edition. The common denominator was simple: the Bronx has become such an attractive place for developers that it’s

KNIC Project Lumbers Along, New Deadline Set

By DAVID CRUZ

The owner behind the beleaguered and virtually dormant Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC) project, revealed a new start time for the plan, telling the Norwood News he intends to see the ambitious project through despite ongoing delays and legal follies. “I’m very confident we’re gonna get there, it’s just not a straight line, nothing ever is in life,” said Kevin Parker, KNIC’s owner, in a phone interview with the Norwood News. “but we’re not going away and we’re here we’re battling and we’re putting one foot in front of the other taking the steps to get this thing done and

Securing Kingsbridge Ice Center Funding a Waiting Game

Much of the talk across the city has been focused on its failed attempt to keep Amazon locked into a deal that would have brought a state-of-the-art campus to Long Island City, Queens. Critics wanted more than the estimated 25,000 jobs it promised to bring. The outright resentment over how the deal was rushed through with very little input from the existing residents who live in New York City, according to reports, riled progressive Democrats to organize. Hindsight being 20-20, perhaps Amazon’s stakeholders could’ve headed the northernmost borough in the city to find how communities are won over by massive