Tributes were already starting to pour in on Wednesday by residents of Norwood, Bedford Park, and from other longtime colleagues upon hearing the news.

Daniela Beasley, executive director of the Jerome Gun Hill BID, said, “Sallie Caldwell was one of the most passionate, vibrant and caring people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. She truly set the standard for what being an active, conscientious Bronxite should look like and her contributions to our neighborhood are immeasurable.” She added, “There are no words for how much she will be missed.”

Local graffiti clean-up group, Guerinos against Graffitti*, wrote in a social media post, “We are [absolutely] heartbroken to learn today that Brenda Caldwell-Paris, president of the 52nd Precinct Community Council’s mother, Sallie Caldwell, had passed away. It was just the other week we were smiling, laughing & dancing together at Councilmember Oswald Feliz’s Senior Brunch. She was an absolute delight, fun, and a wonderful person to be around. We are in shock to hear this news. Our condolences to her family & friends.”

Caldwell-Paris later wrote on social media on Thursday, June 8, “Oh my God, I never could have [imagined] sharing what I am about to share with you all right now. My heart is in so much pain-filled with much sadness of sharing with you the passing of my mother, AMAZING AWESOME Sallie Caldwell, who is a Community Legend. After a full life of living, love, laughs, friendship and community activism that touched countless individuals, my mother went home to Glory early Wednesday morning, June 7, 2023.”

The 52nd Precinct Community Council president continued, “As many of you know, my mother has lived in the Norwood section well over 30+ years and has been a long-time, loyal and devoted community activist who always gave back, and helped her neighbors and communities nearby. My mom was a member of Community Board 7, and later on served as their first vice-chair until 2007, under then-former district manager Rita Kesler.”

Caldwell-Paris added, “I believe there is not anyone who didn’t know Sallie, for everywhere I went, there was always [someone] asking me how she [was] doing. Mom was known as Ms. Sallie Mama, Mother Caldwell, Community Mayor but [was] mostly known as a woman who always [maintained] a real, upfront, straightforward, fighting spirt and often spoke her mind.”

Norwood News had spoken frequently to Caldwell over the years as she advocated for herself and other tenants on various issues affecting Tracey Towers, whether it was security concerns about broken doors, broken elevators, broken intercoms and who exactly was being given access to the building, safety issues following two substantial fires which broke out in recent years at the twin tower complex, or concerns over potential changes to the onsite Tracey Towers voting center during elections.

An active tenant, she always spoke passionately on behalf of her neighbors about any issue which might affect them. At last year’s fall festival, she spoke of the most recent rent hikes at the complex which she said residents were told were down to an increase in insurance costs. However, she said tenants were required to purchase their own insurance to cover the contents of their own apartments. She said there was a feeling, therefore, among some residents that such a rent hikes were unwarranted.

We recently spoke to Nelson Dankwa, a fellow resident of Tracey Towers, who said he’d known Caldwell for over 20 years from seeing her in the building. “She kind of goes in and out all the time. I see her, I greet her. I think at one point she was head of the tenants’ association, something like that. She was very active, you know, in community affairs.” Dankwa added, “I see her in the park, all over the place. I was sad to hear that she passed away. I never thought about that. I hadn’t seen her in a couple of days.”

Caldwell-Paris said the Council was very blessed to have had such a trailblazer as her mom who, she said, cared so much about the community, her local precinct relationships, and the community being able to address their concerns.

Former District 15 City Council candidate Kenny Agosto, who now works for the Office of the Bronx Borough President, also paid a heartfelt tribute to the “Mayor of Tracey Towers,” describing Caldwell as “the original, the indomitable, the unsinkable Ms. Sallie Caldwell, proud mother to all of our community, God-loving Christian, [a] bona-fide NYS legislative public servant, [a] super NYC municipal worker, [and] powerful Tracey Towers resident advocate.”

Agosto went on to describe Caldwell, among her many other roles, as a one-woman Herculean Bronx activist, a strong, retired DC 37 union member, an NYC Board of Elections coordinator extraordinaire, a member of the Bedford Mosholu Community Association, a loquaciously frank and fired-up Democrat who, he said, became the legendary first president of the Liberty Democratic Association, and most of all “a loyal friend.”

“Ms. Sallie, you have saved me in every possible way,” Agosto wrote. “I have been blessed to know you. I will always be eternally grateful to you. Thank you for your friendship, your mentorship, and most of all, your LOVE.” He added, “May the almighty God anoint your soul with his perpetual light and may he continue to bless and comfort your beautiful family, friends and community. Rest in Peace & Power, my queen mother. You were simply The Best.”

In perhaps a reference to Caldwell’s fairly sudden death, her daughter appealed to neighbors and colleagues to remember to spend time with their loved ones and friends. “It is so, so precious. Let’s not waste time,” Caldwell-Paris said. “Tomorrow is not promised.”

The funeral service details are included in the attached flier above and will also be streamed on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RevParis713.

According to her obituary, Caldwell, a native of Columbia, South Carolina and born to parents, Rosevelt and Epsie Waden, is survived by her daughter, Brenda, her son, Bert, daughter-in-law, Robin, son-in-law, Reginald, grandchildren, Charnea and Julian, great-grandson, Phoenix, and beloved nieces, nephews and friends. Her late husband, Bernard, died in 1994.

admin

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.