People Power Movement, in Kingsbridge, Demands Puerto Rican Liberty

Like the Nationalist Party protestors in the streets of Puerto Rico during the 1950s, a band of some two-dozen protestors, many of whom were of Puerto Rican descent, marched from Lehman College to El Grito de Lares, a street dedicated to Puerto Rico’s 1868 uprising against the nation of Spain. They commemorated their protest on Sept. 23, a day before the anniversary of the uprising. For the People Power Movement, a group calling for all-around equity and independence for Puerto Rico, their list of grievances was broad, and at times loaded–outrage over school funding, substandard housing, low-wage jobs, and the assassination

By DAVID CRUZ

Greetings, loyal readers! As expected, the digital edition of the Norwood News is out with, as you guessed it: Plenty of Community News You Can Use! We begin with a story that’s 25 years in the making: pilot access to the Jerome Park Reservoir, long a source of majesty for the Bronx, yet only experienced by a handful. Advocates are pushing, step by step, to grant access to parkgoers who have yearned to take a stroll around the man-made reservoir. Worth a read from our own Adedamola Agboola. Inside, you’ll find a story 76 years in the making: the closing of Freilich

By JASMINE GOMEZ

I was always a fan of the current Pope, El Papa Francisco. Everything I read about him somehow always made me like him a little more. Stories about him getting out of his Popemobile to be among the people despite security concerns, and his statements of compassion towards the gay community made me feel proud to be a Catholic. When I heard Pope Francis was coming to New York, I didn’t intend to take part in the official events, preferring the flawless view I could probably get on my TV of his New York travels. But then, my father

City To Grant Jerome Park Reservoir Access on May 20 and 21

By ADEDAMOLA AGBOOLA

The Jerome Park Reservoir, which has been closed off to the public, will be opened for a trial run in November. The massive reservoir, bordering Goulden, Sedgwick and Reservoir avenues, has been cordoned off with two chain-link fences by the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which holds joint oversight of the reservoir with the Parks Department. The DEP has long cited security concerns and operational costs as one reason why it has kept the reservoir closed. “Within the last 20 years, the only time the public has been allowed access beyond the fences was for a one-day event called

By DAVID CRUZ

One of Norwood’s crown jewels is slated to close after 76 years. Freilich Jewelers, a business fixture in the neighborhood and one of the Bronx’s oldest jewelry shops, is expected to remain open until Dec. 24. For Allan Freilich, who’s owned the East 204th Street store for decades after inheriting it from his father Norman, the decision to close did not come lightly. Retirement age certainly weighed into the decision. So has been the question on whether to renew his lease. Though he professes no belief in superstition, he made an exception this time around. “This is a message being sent that

By DAVID CRUZ

Longtime Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson ended his 27-year run as the borough’s top prosecutor, accepting the nomination as a state judge in what many deemed a plot by Bronx Democrats to deliberately replace Johnson with an appellate court judge. Johnson secured an easy primary win for reelection as DA in early September, only to relinquish the seat just a week after. This left it up to the Bronx Democratic County Committee (BDCC) with a legal obligation to find a replacement, which it did at the party’s judicial convention with party favorite Darcel Clarke nominated to replace Johnson. Many political

Hundreds of Muslims gathered at the Williamsbridge Oval to recognize Eid al Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice. What a HUGE gathering. It was quite grand. Organizers for the North Bronx Islamic Center, which has been building a religious center in Norwood, once again pushed for donations in kind for its impending center. Photo courtesy of the Norwood News. As has been the case for several years, Muslim organizers have pleaded for the completion of the center. It has largely relied on private donations to reach the $2 million needed to build the center.

Venezuelan Band to Perform at Crotona Pk. Sept. 27

From the UN to the BX! A Venezuelan band set to perform before the UN General Assembly is traveling up to Crotona Park for a rousing musical venue marking ten years since Venezuelan emissaries sought to improve the quality of life in the Bronx. The performance, dubbed “A Concert of Hope,” will star the Youth Orchestra De Caracas, a 160-member band hailing from the Latin American country. Typically decked in jackets sporting the Venezuelan flag, the band is comprised of young musicians that were part of the Venezuela National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestra and Choirs. The program

By DAVID CRUZ

Kossuth Playground is in need of a makeover, say park advocates. But it first needs a vision. As part of a broader discussion on the revitalization of Mosholu Parkway, a green freeway linking from the Bronx River Parkway to the Saw Mill River Parkway, Friends of Mosholu Parkland plan to survey residents over the needs of the playground’s improvements. For the past few years Kossuth Playground, found on East Mosholu Parkway North between Kossuth and Steuben avenues, has been eyed for renovations. The only section where neighbors are legally permitted to recreate by the parkway, Kossuth Playground is heavily used,