Here’s a rundown of the stories Breaking Bronx is following this Wednesday, Feb. 22. Don’t forget to pick up your copy of the latest edition of the Norwood News, which is being distributed as we type. 

Stoic 8-year-old Shot in the Chest
Second grader Armando Bigo, 8, was shot in the chest in a Soundview bodega yesterday when a gunman on a bike fired into a crowd of people standing outside of the store. Little Armando stayed poised and calm after he was hit, to the surprise of his mom and the bodega owner. The bullet is still lodged in Armando’s chest, but it appears he will recover.

Touchy Teachers
It’s been a touchy month for the Department of Education –- literally and figuratively. In separate incidents, four teachers have been arrested on charges of sexual abuse. The latest arrest was Chukwuma Duru, a substitute teacher at Bronx Career and College Prep High School, who was charged with forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child. Another teacher was arrested for allegedly punching a 12-year-old in the face.

Feds Bust Bronx Heroine Operation
Federal narcotics agents raided Mobile Creations, 1631 Stillwell Ave., near Morris Park, after nabbing a Suffolk County drug dealer attempting to sell 68 grams of heroin. The dealer set up a meeting with his supplier, James Gainer, who was arrested with 500 grams of heroin he planned to sell for $28,500, according to the complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court. Also seized at the shop were 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, 250 grams of heroin hidden in a vehicle, $40,000 in cash, and a .40 caliber handgun.

Beer Distributor Stays in South Bronx
Manhattan Beer Distributors, who have been in the Bronx since 1979, was awarded nearly $24 million from the Industrial Development Agency to buy and renovate four parcels of land in Hunts Point. Its new headquarters will employ 620 people after three years, with 528 relocated from Walnut Avenue, 67 relocated from Brooklyn and 25 new, according to the New York City Economic Development Corp. Manhattan Beer will pay its new full-time workers $29,400 a year on average, plus benefits.

In 2009, the firm threatened to look for property outside the city when it requested public benefits. “It would be much cheaper to operate across the river in New Jersey,” said CEO Simon Bergson

Ball Tossing Cops Get Disciplined
When Catherine Guzman, Mariana Diaz and two other police officers began tossing a football with a 7-year-old at the Webster Houses in Morrisania, last 4th of July, they didn’t think anything of it. Their commanding officer had other feelings about it.

What are you doing? Do you realize you’re on overtime?,” he yelled at them, according to the Daily News. The two other officers were each docked two vacation days, but Guzman and Diaz appealed their rulings.

“If a police officer can kiss Jenny McCarthy in front of millions and not be charged . . . I don’t see how throwing a football to a 7-year-old can result in disciplinary action,” said lawyer Eric Sanders. The trial date has been set for April 13.

Bronx Pol Gets Taxed
According to the NY Post, Democratic State Sen. Jeffrey Klein’s law firm, which is nestled on a residential street in affluent Morris Park, has run afoul of zoning codes.

An audit by the Finance Department, apparently prompted by a NY Post inquiry, found Klein’s firm listed as a residential property which carries a lower tax rate. It will be reclassified as a commercial property and will now have to pay thousands more in property taxes, the city said.

Espada’s Clinics Get a Reprieve
The health clinic network founded by indicted ex-Bronx State Senator Pedro Espada will continue to receive Medicaid payments from the state, at least until March 5. Espada’s trial on charges he bilked money from the network is expected to begin March 13. The state has been trying to cut off Medicaid reimbursement funds to the network because Espada is still on the payroll.

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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.