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Robbery Unveils Illegal SROs, Possible Drug House

Just after midnight last Wednesday night, neighbors on Reservoir Place, a block away from Williamsbridge Oval Park in Norwood (and around the corner from the offices of the Norwood News), were disturbed to find a small army of cops and a group of Asians standing in front of a row house on the block.

Earlier that evening, police said a group of armed robbers had called to order Chinese food at 284 Reservoir Place, a two-story wood house containing at least 10 single room occupancies (SROs).

When one of the occupants opened the door after a Chinese delivery man knocked, the armed robbers rushed into the house and rounded up all the residents into a room upstairs.

“Where’s the money? Where’s the drugs?” the robbers said, according to police.

It’s unclear exactly what was stolen from the house, but after a thorough search, police uncovered hundreds of small plastic packages that police said were probably used for packaging heroin.

Neighbors said it was common to see people going in and out of the house at all hours of the night.

Police spent the next day standing watch in front of the house and talking to residents passing by. They referred the illegal amount of SROs to the Buildings Department.

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.

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