Bronx muralist and artist Laura Alvarez who, as reported, recently launched an online fundraiser to repaint the beloved “Norwood” mural, located on East 207th Street and Bainbridge Avenue in Norwood, is stepping up her fundraising efforts, making an in-person appeal to residents at the latest Bronx Community Board 7 general board meeting. The appeal has prompted renewed discussions around funding on other local art projects.

 

As we reported in early March, the mural which requires repainting and which comprises the words “Norwood” and “The Bronx” in large lettering in a bright, floral design, was defaced some time in 2023, originally with a very thick, white line running horizontally across it.

 

Several months later, the mural was defaced or “tagged” once again, seemingly with the sinister word “Ammo,” an abbreviation for the word “ammunition,” possibly by a local gang. Read the full story here for more details.

As reported, Alvarez painted the original mural in 2018 in conjunction with Artbridge Projects, Inc., a Manhattan-based nonprofit. The project was funded by then-Disrict 11 City Councilman Andew Cohen. On Tuesday, March 26, Alvarez attended the Bronx Community Board 7 general board meeting to make an in-person appeal to residents regarding the recent, online fundraising efforts for the repainting, saying in part, “For quite some time, I’ve been trying to get funding to fix the mural I did back in 2018 on 207 and Bainbridge, the one that says ‘Norwood, The Bronx’.”

 

She continued, “It’s been tough to get funding, so because I couldn’t find anything, I started a fundraiser on IOBY [fundraising platform] because they have a matching funds [offer] right now. Up to $500 per person per donation, they match up to $3,000, so I’m trying to get at least $6,000 so we can get a few community events before painting, to get ideas from people, and to see what they want to see, and with those ideas, I would create a mural that would go down well again.”

 

Alvarez added, “So, we have it [the fundraising link] up now for about 5 days, and we [raised] about $1,400, so I’m hoping that by the end of….it’s April 18th and 28th that we get the funding. If not, I will try to still get some other funding. If anybody knows or has ideas…”

The artist added that there were a lot of volunteers who had already signed up to help with the project. “It’s like over 20 people, and a couple of groups that they said that they want to come and join, but we still need the money to get all the paint and all the stuff that is needed for the mural to be up, so any ideas are welcome,” she said.

 

Alvarez went on to say that local running group, Bronx Nomads, Parks employees at the Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center, and students from a local high school also want to help. “Once we know how the funding looks like and we get dates, then I can reach out to the groups,” she said.

 

Further to our initial story on the damage to the mural, and our follow-up on the fundraising efforts, Norwood News was also contacted by at least one volunteer who has offered his services to repaint the mural and have shared that information with Alvarez.

Meanwhile, also in response to our first story on the matter, Sirio Guerino from local clean-up group, Guerinos against Graffitti* said, “Before the Norwood mural was destroyed, more pretty ones [murals] were [destroyed] too, way before that one.” Guerino shared some examples, photos of which are attached to this story.

 

On the subject of funding, a representative for local nonprofit Mosholu Preservation Corporation (MPC), said the organization issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) in January to see if any groups were interested in applying for funding to repaint local murals in the Norwood and surrounding commercial areas as they had some funds available to cover this.

 

MPC provides support to small businesses by connecting them with resources to help their businesses grow and thrive. These resources can include workforce development, local community hiring, access to capital, financial education, storefront improvement grants, and legal services, among others. They also work on neighborhood beautification, as previously reported.

MPC said they had received feedback from one group to repaint the “Norwood” mural but since then, had also been in touch with Alvarez and have since agreed that if she raises the funds herself to repaint the “Norwood” mural, MPC will use their available funding for another community mural project, adding there were some possibilities on Norwood’s Webster Avenue, which has become pretty unsightly due to different business closures (e.g. Sam’s Carpets) and garage closures in recent years, as well as ongoing construction around East 204th Street.

 

Alvarez later said she did not see any RFP from MPC although she said she gets their newsletters and had applied for other RFPs in the past. She agreed she has since spoken to them and has made the arrangement on the funding as outlined above. She added that the RFP did not specify that the available funding was for the “Norwood” mural in particular, which MPC agrees, saying it was general funding for artwork in the neighborhood.

 

“I am not sure if they really make a big effort to spread the word but more importantly, if the RFP was intended for that specific wall, they should have done some research before to see who [had painted] the wall because you don’t paint over someone else’s artwork knowing I [had] been looking for funding for months,” Alvarez said. We’ve reached out to MPC for comment. The person who was involved in the discussions on the mural, Edwin Reyes, is currently on vacation.

Daniela Beasley, executive director of MPC, later said, “MPC always does our best to share with as many people as possible when putting out RFPs. Promoting it all over our public social media outlets and sending to local artist groups, we get all of our artists from RFPs to keep opportunities open and fair for all Bronx-based artists. Once MPC learned this artwork was by Laura Alvarez, an artist we’ve worked with in the past, we chose another location. We hope she acquires all the funding needed to fix the damaged mural; we only ever want to add to the beautification efforts in our neighborhoods.”

 

Since the painting of the original “Norwood” mural was funded by the City Council, Norwood News had asked Alvarez if she had already reached out to the current councilman for District 11, Eric Dinowitz, about funding for the repainting.

 

She replied, “Yes we did, but it doesn’t seem to be a priority for them and it would have to be for the next fiscal year if they finally agree to it. It’s been a long time since the mural was in disrepair so I decided to start a fundraiser. IOBY has a matching funds program now with ConEd and I could raise the funds myself.”

We reached out to Dinowitz’s office for comment, further to Alvarez’s feedback, and were informed that in August 2023, the councilman’s office had been in contact with Stephen Pierson, executive director at Artbridge, about funding for the mural repainting. A representative for the councilman said that, at that time, the application process for the 2024 fiscal year budget had already ended, and therefore the team recommended that Artbridge reapply for funding in respect of the following year’s budget.

 

Dinowitz’s team added that in the funding application completed by Artbridge and sent to New York City Council [for the 2024 fiscal year budget], Artbridge did not request funding specifically from the District 11 councilman.

 

His team said that once the new budget process was in full swing, ArtBridge coordinated once more with the councilman’s office and his team issued the usual documentation to be completed, along with instructions on Dinowitz’s budget process. They added that Alvarez was in copy of some of the correspondence. Additionally, the team said they offered to hold a separate budget meeting to discuss the application, as they had done the previous year. They said they did not receive a reply.

On the matter of the defacing of the mural, the councilman said, “It is never acceptable for our public works and expressions of the community to be defaced or marred in any way. My dedication to protecting our constituents’ abilities to create public artwork is demonstrated time and again through policy and budget. As council member for District 11, I consistently advocate to have arts incorporated in our schools, and am proud to have secured vast amounts of funding for various cultural and arts programs for our community.”

 

Norwood News contacted both Artbridge and Alvarez for comment further to the councilman’s response and Alvarez said that she and Artbridge had a meeting with the councilman’s office on August 28, after being put in contact in July by the district manager of the Bronx Community Board 7.

She said the councilman’s office sent another email to her / Artbridge in January, after Artbridge reached out again about the matter and after the initial Norwood News article came out on the defacing, and that they were told that the 2024 budget was fully allocated and that if Artbridge wanted funding, they would need to fill out a form for 2025, which she said had not been explained to them in the previous meeting in August.

 

She said she laments the situation but doesn’t feel like it is her fault because Artbridge “didn’t fill out some form after so many hours invested in trying to get the funding.” Norwood News has once again reached out to the councilman’s office for comment and a representative responded saying, “The Council Member happily funds arts-based non-profit organizations, and he is passionate about continuing to support public artworks and artistic expressions from the community. The Council Member has reached out directly to ArtBridge recently to see how he can support their endeavors for the new fiscal year, and they are currently in productive conversation regarding this matter.”

 

Pierson also later responded, saying, “ArtBridge has been in touch with Council Member Dinowitz’s office and we have cleared up some small miscommunication. As the city’s FY25 budget is still in the process of being finalized, it’s difficult to say whether council funds will be available for the re-do of this mural.”

 

He added, “I’m wholly empathetic to the many needs of each council district, that are always far out of proportion to the discretionary funds that are available. However, from considerable personal experience engaging with Council Member Dinowitz, I do know with certainty how much he values the arts. One way or another, I know that his office will be helpful; and ArtBridge is here to assist wherever we are needed.”

 

Meanwhile, as also reported, the murals located by P.S. 8 playground on nearby Mosholu Parkway between Bainbridge and Briggs Avenues in Bedford Park are also in need of repainting. Nonprofit, Friends of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP), said students continue to still use the playground as-is, allbeit in its debilitating state, adding that local kids need outdoor space to play in and learn, and added that the playground has also been the venue for several small festivals and local events.

Elizabeth Quaranta, executive director of FOMP, provided some background on the playground’s murals, explaining that a community envisioning process had previously been held, and the needs and wants of local residents were shared on activity boards. She said the ideas helped bring to life the three colorful murals that are still displayed around the playground walls today but which need to be refreshed. She said FOMP are still hoping to raise funds for this project and residents can learn more about it here.

 

In addtion to being an artist and muralist, Alvarez is also an illustrator, author, designer, community activist and educator. Born in Valencia, Spain, she studied Fine Arts in Spain and England. She has been a teaching artist with several organizations and city agencies, and her artwork has previously been displayed on on the parklet on Jerome Avenue, as reported, as well as in other locations across the borough.

 

As reported, Alvarez said donations of any amount for the Norwood mural repainting are still welcome and will be matched (up to $500 per donation) by the Con Edison Power Up Neighborhood Match Program, through the IOBY platform. To donate, click here.

 

On an ongoing basis, Norwood News lists any arts funding opportunities we hear about in our recurring Neighborhood Notes and Out & About listings.

 

To read some of our previous coverage on community murals, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.